“Thank you for your hard work. We’ll inform you of the test results as soon as they come out.”
When Yeonrok obediently woke up at 6 AM and cooperated well with what seemed like dozens of health examinations, Kim Jeongseong became even kinder. It might have been because the hungry Yeonrok had glared at him without realizing it. His stomach hurt from being so famished.
As soon as they returned home, Kim Jeongseong set down a heavy bundle in front of Yeonrok, who was seated at the dining table. When he unwrapped the purple cloth, what emerged was a wooden lunch box carefully packed with freshly made, steaming hot food. It was Korean cuisine, with glossy rice, grilled skewers, bulgogi, and even side dishes—all plentiful.
“The staff here haven’t been finalized yet, so we had to substitute with a lunch box like this for the meal. I’m truly sorry. Please be understanding.”
“Not at all! This is totally fine!”
Yeonrok answered with his gaze fixed on the appetizing-looking lunch box. His hand was already gripping chopsticks. Having skipped meals continuously since yesterday’s lunch, he was starving, so he put a spoonful of rice in his mouth and looked at Kim Jeongseong. Swallowing without barely chewing, he asked,
“Come to think of it, did you eat lunch, Secretary-nim?”
There seemed to be plenty to share, so when he asked, Kim Jeongseong answered with an even warmer expression.
“I ate while Lee Yeonrok-nim was getting examined, so please don’t worry about me and eat.”
Since he’d said that much. Yeonrok didn’t decline and took another big spoonful of rice. Kim Jeongseong left his seat, saying he’d bring some fruit as well. One bite of grilled skewer, one bite of seasoned bean sprouts, one bite of rice, a solid spoonful of beef radish soup too… He was eating lunch diligently when he heard someone approaching and looked up to see Choi Hwan. Yeonrok flinched.
“Ah shit, the smell.”
Choi Hwan snapped irritably again as soon as he arrived. Whether he’d just finished filming, his already flashy appearance shone even more today. No, his eyes, subtly covered with pearl, were actually sparkling. Contorting his handsome eyes, he swept back his well-styled hair and created distance. Having been suddenly scolded while eating well, Yeonrok raised the corners of his eyes.
‘Let’s hold back for now. He’s a Name Partner.’
Though he’d had the worst impression from their first meeting, he was still a precious Name Partner. To live the rest of his life smoothly, he had to become friendly with him somehow. Yeonrok extended goodwill.
“If you haven’t eaten lunch, want to eat together?”
Then Choi Hwan, who had been gulping down water, became even more irritated than before.
“I’m on a diet!”
And then he left his seat before Yeonrok could say anything. What kind of rudeness is that? Just as he was glaring at the retreating figure with triangular eyes, flabbergasted,
“Um, I’m sorry. Hwan gets a liiittle sensitive when he’s dieting. I’m really sorry. He’s been particularly like that lately because diet control has been hard. I’ll apologize on his behalf.”
Yeonrok was startled by someone who appeared without any sign. A man with a gentle impression wearing a cap bowed repeatedly, saying he was sorry. Then he soon pulled out a business card from his pocket and handed it over with both hands.
“Ah, that’s right! I’m Hwan’s manager, Jo Junho. Please treat me well.”
I keep just receiving business cards since yesterday. Should I get some business cards made too…? But I’m unemployed? While thinking such thoughts, Yeonrok received the business card and bowed his head in return.
“Ah, yes. I’m Lee Yeonrok. …Um, have you eaten lunch, Manager-nim?”
“Oh my! Don’t worry about me. I already ate before coming in. Ah, that’s right. I happened to buy some coffee and have one cup left over, haha. Would you like some? It’s a new coffee I haven’t even touched, so don’t worry.”
Then he smoothly pulled out a takeout coffee cup from behind his back, where there definitely seemed to be nothing, and politely placed it at Yeonrok’s seat. Then he smiled brightly in a friendly manner, bowed in greeting, and left.
“Then I’ll go check on Hwan. Enjoy your lunch!”
While glumly resuming his meal, Yeonrok thought. Unlike the Name Partners, the people around them were kind and friendly. They all seemed like good people. It was when he was consecutively eating one bite of grilled abalone, one bite of tteokgalbi, one bite of royal tteokbokki. When it felt like a cold wind was blowing from somewhere and he looked up, he flinched. It was Moon Kyeonwoo.
He thought what a series of coincidences this was, but soon realized it was just lunchtime so everyone had come out to eat. Since Moon Kyeonwoo didn’t even glance his way, Yeonrok wondered if this person didn’t know of his existence.
“Moon Kyeonwoo-ssi? Want to eat together?”
He called his name but there was no response. Looking closely, he had earphones in his ears. After hesitating, Yeonrok got up from his seat and lightly tapped Moon Kyeonwoo’s shoulder. As soon as he did, as if a bug had touched him, he roughly turned his body.
“Don’t touch my body without permission.”
He’d only tapped lightly, but it was as if Yeonrok had done something very shameless to him. Though he was angry, Yeonrok held back once more and asked with a smiling face,
“Lunch, if you haven’t eaten…”
Before the words were even finished, Moon Kyeonwoo quickly turned his head, grabbed only food from the refrigerator, and swiftly left. Yeonrok was now starting to get angry. Two people were rudeness incarnate and one person never showed his face.
‘Could it be that I’m also rude?’
In communities where Name Manifestation bearers gathered, it was often said that birds of a feather flock together. It meant that when they met, they were surprised to find their partner had similar tendencies and matched them so well. Following that logic, didn’t it mean he was similar to those bastards too? Since Choi Hwan and Moon Kyeonwoo were consistently rude, he didn’t have much expectation for Yeom Cheonho either, and now even his own character was becoming questionable.
‘Right, there’s no one who matches well from the beginning.’
No matter how he looked at it, both Choi Hwan and Moon Kyeonwoo seemed like people with ruined personalities, but Yeonrok, who had desperately longed for Name Partners all this time, decided to exercise a bit more patience. As he was firming his resolve, the secretary returned with fruit and dessert.
“Ah, thank you. …There’s a lot, so would you like to eat together?”
Yeonrok, who had been rejected from eating together proposals all day long, asked dejectedly while looking up. Kim Jeongseong, who met those eyes, flinched, then looked around once before pulling out a chair and sitting down. Yeonrok’s face brightened completely. After carefully and politely eating one piece of apple, he pulled out a small envelope from his pocket.
“Oh right, if you need anything, please purchase it with this card. Yeom Cheonho-nim has decided to pay living expenses and dignity maintenance fees to everyone.”
Opening the envelope, there was a credit card inside. Fiddling with the card without saying much, Yeonrok asked,
“Um, the president… when will I be able to meet him?”
“Ah… Yeom Cheonho-nim is really very busy these days. But I’ll try to relay your message.”
Kim Jeongseong answered properly with a trustworthy face. Then after eating only one piece of fruit, he left his seat. He seemed busy so Yeonrok couldn’t hold him back, and ate fruit alone, crunching for quite a while.
After that, Yeonrok waited endlessly for contact from Yeom Cheonho. However, even after more than a week passed, he not only didn’t see Yeom Cheonho’s face but didn’t receive a single contact. With no choice, he decided to try building friendship with the two people, Choi Hwan and Moon Kyeonwoo. And soon realized it was a foolish choice.
* * *
“Aaaaargh! These personality-ruined bastards! Fucking assholes!”
Yeonrok, filled with rage, flailed on the bed and started pounding the pillow. He couldn’t stand it because he felt wronged, annoyed, and infuriated.
Yeonrok had a dream. A dream that when he met his Name Partner, he would really treat them well, give everything he had, understand and consider them, and live happily together. That dream had been shattering completely these past few days. Beyond shattering, there wasn’t even a trace left to find.
Over the past week, he had constantly tried to become close with his Name Partners. He tried hard to smile often and start conversations. However, Moon Kyeonwoo was cold, chilly, and beyond that didn’t even answer with a contemptuous expression, and Choi Hwan was disgusted.
‘Ah! I don’t like you, so stop acting friendly!’
After experiencing this several times, many thoughts arose. Does everyone avoid me because my conditions are too poor? Even so, we’re Name Partners—even if we can’t be lovers, can’t we just get along well as friends, or at least close acquaintances? Is something wrong after all? My life is cursed with bad luck, so maybe it really was a computer error…
While Yeonrok was struggling hard to build friendship, Yeom Cheonho still didn’t show his face. No, in fact, it was questionable whether he even came home. Yeonrok gritted his teeth but still tried desperately to win favor from the other two somehow.
The easier one to approach was Choi Hwan. As a famous actor, related information was all over the internet.
