“Wh-wh-where the hell did this little bastard pop out from all of a sudden!”
“Oh my, oh my, this is outrageous! Saying he’ll extort all our Hwan’s money—is he a thug or what!”
“Get lost right now! You need to get beaten up to come to your senses!”
It seemed Choi Hwan’s parents felt quite threatened by this suddenly appearing entity called a Name Partner. The parents roughly pointed fingers and raised their fists as if they’d strike at any moment. While Choi Hwan flinched reflexively, only Yeonrok stood bare-chested, forgetting even the cold as he bravely confronted the two. To put it crudely, he went berserk.
“Huh? Go ahead and hit me. What? You gonna hit me? Hit me then! Go on, try hitting me! You think this is my first time doing this kind of thing?!”
Naturally, for Yeonrok who had always worked diligently and sincerely, this kind of thing was actually his first time ever. He acted as if possessed by all the difficult customers he’d dealt with over the years while working, shouting furiously.
“Hit me! I said hit me! Let’s all go to the police station together, shall we?!”
“What kind of crazy bastard is this!”
When Yeonrok charged at them bare-chested, the two were horrified. As he deliberately approached closer and shoved his Name-bearing chest in their faces to look at it, the father recoiled in disgust and reflexively pushed him away. Yeonrok, who’d been waiting for exactly this opportunity, rolled around on the ground dramatically. It was a dive reminiscent of a soccer player’s Hollywood action.
“Aaaah! I’m dying! Agh! Someone help! I just said the right thing and they’re beating me! Bodyguards! Bodyguard hyungs! Yeonrok’s dying! Aaaaah!”
Yeonrok rolled around while screaming desperately. He built up momentum and threw his body against the building wall while shouting “Someone help!” Seeing this, the two troublemakers faltered and stepped back, intimidated. Choi Hwan still just watched with a dazed expression.
At this point, unlike Choi Hwan’s bodyguards who couldn’t intervene due to their client’s restriction, Yeonrok’s bodyguards rushed over as if they’d been waiting. And they actively cooperated with Yeonrok. They pressured the two people with their massive builds.
“What exactly do you think you’re doing right now!”
“Do you want to be sued for assault? Should we call a lawyer?”
Following Yeonrok’s rampage, when the reliable bodyguards appeared, only then did Choi Hwan’s parents back down. Even as they reluctantly turned away, they pointed fingers at Yeonrok.
“No really, this is outrageous!”
“What kind of crazy bastard! I won’t let you get away with this!”
“Choi Hwan! I’ll call you, so you better answer!”
Yeonrok, who’d been pretending to groan in pain, only caught his breath after the two completely disappeared. Since this was his first time causing such a scene, his heart felt like it would burst the entire time he was acting. When the excitement subsided, the cold he’d forgotten about came rushing back and he shivered. The weather was still too chilly to be charging around bare-chested.
“Ugh, c-cold.”
“Here are your clothes. You’ll catch a cold. Please put them on quickly.”
Jeong Boeun hurriedly brought Yeonrok the top he’d thrown off. As he fumbled to put it on, Park Chungseong subtly gave a thumbs up where only Yeonrok could see. Yeonrok grinned. Then he dusted off the dirt and stood up, turning to look at Choi Hwan.
“You okay?”
Choi Hwan was still staring at Yeonrok blankly with a dazed face. His forehead where his father had punched him was red, his cheeks were red, his ears were red. He seemed still embarrassed about being caught in this state. Understanding that feeling easily, Yeonrok called out to Choi Hwan first with a “Hey,” and held out his hand.
“I did hard work for you, so give me money.”
It was the same flippant attitude as when he’d cook ramen or demand payment after fetching water. He’d thrown out the words thinking that if Choi Hwan got annoyed or angry like he always did, this strange atmosphere would naturally clear. Surprisingly, Choi Hwan just stared at Yeonrok without even blinking, then fumbled in his pocket and took out his wallet. And carefully handed over the whole thing.
“Uh, you can take it all…”
Yeonrok was flustered by the docile attitude. …I was joking, but he’s really giving it to me? Now it really looks like I’m extorting money. Before he could say anything, a grand sneeze burst out and he was pushed inside the house by the bodyguards. And because Choi Hwan ran away like lightning as if afraid of being extorted again, Yeonrok couldn’t return the wallet.
Returning to his room after picking up the comfort doll that had been abandoned on the living room floor, Yeonrok fingered the wallet that was glossy like its owner. He still hadn’t gotten over the cold and sniffled, then grinned. It was because he realized that at least today hadn’t ended completely unluckily.
* * *
Choi Hwan was strange. Not just strange, but very strange.
“What are you doing?”
As soon as Choi Hwan returned from finishing his schedule, he showed interest and wedged his butt onto the sofa where Yeonrok was sitting. Then he carefully examined the puzzle Yeonrok had half-completed.
“Should I help you with the puzzle?”
“Well, if you want to…”
Yeonrok answered half-heartedly. Then Choi Hwan took off his jacket and carefully picked up a puzzle piece.
Ever since driving away his troublesome parents, Choi Hwan had acted like someone whose mind was completely elsewhere for a while. Then from a certain day onward, he’d been treating Yeonrok much more warmly. Yeonrok struggled to adapt to this. How nice it would have been if he’d been like this back when Yeonrok was trying so hard to be friendly with him. While thinking that, Yeonrok figured it was better to just go with the flow.
‘It’s better than continuing to have a bad relationship, anyway.’
Yeonrok thought their current relationship was just right. Like appropriately friendly roommates.
Anyway, there were stranger things. Yeom Cheonho and Moon Gyeonwoo. Or more precisely, Moon Gyeonwoo’s attitude of suddenly treating Yeom Cheonho very affectionately. He’d initiate conversations, stick excessively close, or act familiar—it was very noticeable.
‘It’s not affection for no reason. Definitely not.’
They were definitely dating. Since Yeonrok knew well that Moon Gyeonwoo drew lines with ordinary people unless they were in a relationship, he tried hard to ignore it. He had absolutely no intention of getting involved in this chaotic mess of romantic relationships. However, there were times when he had no choice but to interfere.
While Yeonrok and Choi Hwan were putting their heads together working hard on the puzzle in the living room, Yeom Cheonho came home. He looked at the two with an inexplicably pleased gaze, then brought out his laptop from the study. Since the drug incident, Choi Hwan had been consistently ignoring Yeom Cheonho, so only Yeonrok greeted him warmly with a smile. Then Choi Hwan glanced at Yeonrok and suddenly spoke up.
“Hey, my schedule’s pretty free—want to go cherry blossom viewing with me soon?”
“Cherry blossom viewing?”
Come to think of it, cherry blossom season was gradually approaching. Though he’d seen cherry blossom petals falling while walking around in his life, he’d never properly gone to view them, so Yeonrok was interested. However, there was a concern.
“But can you even go? Won’t people recognize you?”
“Uh…”
Even though he’d never been, Yeonrok had heard plenty about how crowded places get during cherry blossom season. Choi Hwan also frowned as he recalled his experiences up until now. Then he placed a puzzle piece in the wrong spot, removed it, and mumbled.
“I just need to cover my face well.”
Even as he said this, he seemed dejected, as if he wasn’t confident he wouldn’t be caught. That’s when Yeom Cheonho, who’d been working, casually said:
“Wouldn’t it be better to go somewhere without people? For instance, my private property.”
“There’s such a place?”
At Yeom Cheonho’s words, Choi Hwan actively responded for the first time in a while. Since it was a chaebol saying this and not just anyone, it was believable. After that, he was about to continue speaking when Yeom Cheonho hesitated and stopped. He familiarly took out a handkerchief from his pocket and pressed it against his nose. Soon a red stain spread across the handkerchief.
“…Ah.”
As if dizzy, he lowered his head while pressing the bridge of his nose. His furrowed brow clearly showed he was enduring. Not feeling any pity for him, Choi Hwan grumbled since he hadn’t gotten the answer he wanted.
“Moon Gyeonwoo left you hanging and you’re suffering.”
When they were dating it was “Cheonho hyung” and “Gyeonwoo hyung,” but after breaking up he callously called them by their names—his manners were unchanged.
“Gyeonwoo-ssi has been busy for a while, so it’s been hard to see his face.”
Come to think of it, though they’d seemed to grow closer recently, he hadn’t seen Yeom Cheonho and Moon Gyeonwoo together for the past week. It was because both of them were working overtime like it was a regular meal. That meant Moon Gyeonwoo was also in a similar situation lacking contact with his Name Partner, right? Of course, Moon Gyeonwoo’s condition wasn’t his concern—Yeonrok only worried about Yeom Cheonho a bit.
“Should I hold your hand for you?”
Since he was someone with a lover, he asked for permission, but Choi Hwan suddenly jumped up from his seat.
“I’ll! I’ll do it!”
Then he abruptly approached Yeom Cheonho and reached out his hand. He reached for the nape of his neck like he did with Yeonrok, but Yeom Cheonho grabbed his wrist with a *thwack*. Perhaps even that counted as contact, as the nosebleed stopped and Yeom Cheonho lowered the blood-stained handkerchief while slowly smiling. At the gaze that looked at him like a puppy trying to climb up, Choi Hwan nervously swallowed his dry saliva.
“Don’t act rudely. Holding hands is sufficient.”
“Yes…”
The deflated Choi Hwan read the room but stubbornly held Yeom Cheonho’s hand. Yeonrok couldn’t understand what on earth his scheme was and looked on with a bewildered face. Was he trying to butter him up since he still couldn’t use his card? After offering his hand to Choi Hwan, Yeom Cheonho belatedly answered Yeonrok.
“And yes, I’d be grateful if you’d hold it.”
