And so the two rarely walked together viewing cherry blossoms in a gentle atmosphere. Since it wasn’t a very large island, after walking for about 10 minutes, they reached the opposite end.
“He said if we keep walking, we’ll see a path to an open field.”
Moon Gyeonwoo muttered and then froze. Perhaps because it was an island, a seagull suddenly appeared on the path. Was it like the pigeon of the sea? It had no fear of people and flashed its frighteningly bright yellow eyes. Yeonrok spoke without much thought.
“Too bad. I don’t have any shrimp crackers right now.”
“Absolutely don’t give it any.”
When he turned around at the strangeness, Moon Gyeonwoo was glaring at the seagull while breaking into a cold sweat. No way…? Yeonrok turned around completely and asked.
“Are you scared of seagulls?”
“…I’m scared of birds.”
“That’s the same thing.”
Yeonrok scratched his cheek while considering teasing him, then shrugged his shoulders.
“Then let’s go back the other way. It’ll fly away in the meantime.”
Moon Gyeonwoo looked at Yeonrok as if unexpected, and then his face gradually turned pale. The seagull opened its beak and cried out “Kiiiii kiruuuuruk” while flapping and lunging at the two of them. Moon Gyeonwoo let out a silent scream and grabbed Yeonrok’s clothes.
“Agh! No, wait, this thing…! I can’t… breathe…!”
Yeonrok shouted as the terrified person grabbed his collar and used him as a shield, choking him. Moon Gyeonwoo, seized by fear, forcefully tightened his grip. Then an ominous *rip* sound came from somewhere.
Suddenly, cold air touched Yeonrok’s chest. The seagull that had been rushing in to snatch a snack hesitated. Moon Gyeonwoo also stopped. Yeonrok silently looked down at his top, which had desperately had its shirt buttons torn off, exposing his entire chest.
The seagull made a mocking sound as if it had seen quite a sight and flew away. Moon Gyeonwoo let go with a *thwack*, his expression unclear whether it was disgust or contempt.
“How unlucky.”
“That’s my line, you know?!”
Yeonrok felt a sense of déjà vu as he covered his bare chest. It was because Moon Gyeonwoo was staring intently at his chest even while looking disgusted.
“Of all things, doing this again…”
“That’s my line! Why do you keep ruining other people’s clothes!”
Unlike before, Moon Gyeonwoo took responsibility and took off his cardigan to give him. Yeonrok, who had been lightly wearing only a shirt since it was warm in the southern sea, accepted it without refusal and quickly put it on.
Though Yeonrok himself tried hard to ignore it, objectively he had the smallest build among the Name Partners. It wasn’t that Yeonrok was small—he was average for his age—but not only Yeom Cheonho, but Choi Hwan and Moon Gyeonwoo also had bigger builds than him. Only after he properly put on the “slightly” loose cardigan and fastened all the buttons did Moon Gyeonwoo’s gaze leave his chest.
After much difficulty, the two discovered a walking path in the middle. Indeed, at the end of the path was a quite tranquil open field. There was even a pavilion placed there tastefully. He took landscape photos to send to Yeom Cheonho who couldn’t come. Perhaps because he was busy, a reply didn’t come back right away. He also sent them to Choi Hwan to annoy him, and despite it being uncharacteristic, he sent back a crying reply: “ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ”
“Let’s eat lunch.”
Yeonrok walked with quick steps, spread out the picnic mat he’d brought, and took out a three-tier lunch box. When he opened the lid, various foods were contained inside. Yeonrok ate hard including Choi Hwan’s portion, then asked, relying on the favorable atmosphere:
“I’m curious about something—do you really date people because you like them every time? How can you fall in love so quickly?”
He thought he might be ignored since it was a personal question, but Moon Gyeonwoo answered quite generously.
“I have a favorable impression, so I suggest dating. Even if I don’t have a favorable impression, if the other person suggests dating, I accept. If you date like that, you can come to like them to some degree. You just need to find their good points.”
To Yeonrok’s ears, those words sounded like he’d never passionately liked anyone in particular. Come to think of it, there are sometimes people like that. People who have so much loneliness they can’t endure time without a lover. In Yeonrok’s view, Moon Gyeonwoo seemed to be that kind of person.
“Can I ask how many people you’ve dated so far?”
Moon Gyeonwoo made an annoyed expression as if watching his nephew’s whining and answered half-heartedly.
“What are you going to do with that information?”
“Ten people? Twenty people? …Don’t tell me it’s more than twenty?”
Moon Gyeonwoo didn’t reply at all, but Yeonrok could sense an affirmative sign. Surprised, he put down his fork mid-meal. More than twenty people! Had his dating periods been incredibly short? Or had he been precocious since he was young?
“If you start dating President Yeom Cheonho, what number lover will he be?”
“I don’t know. Just shut up and eat quietly.”
He’d only asked one question, but Moon Gyeonwoo’s short patience seemed to have run out. Yeonrok shrugged his shoulders, finished Choi Hwan’s portion, and began eating his own lunch box.
After eating fruit for dessert until he was full, his body felt drowsy. While Moon Gyeonwoo was putting away the lunch boxes, he took out the blanket he’d brought, properly covered himself with it, and lay down. As he watched the petals falling softly, his eyes gradually closed. However, before long, all his sleepiness fled.
“Pff…”
It wasn’t the sound of snoring. Even though he’d clearly lain down inside the pavilion, perhaps because of the wind direction, petals kept falling on his face. When Yeonrok kept making “pff pff” sounds, Moon Gyeonwoo looked at him irritably.
“You really require a lot of attention.”
Saying that, he got up from his spot and sat facing the direction the wind was blowing. When Yeonrok looked at him with wide eyes, he said coldly:
“Now really be quiet.”
What? He knows how to show this kind of kindness. Yeonrok felt awkward and tossed and turned.
Moon Gyeonwoo had no interest in viewing cherry blossoms and never took his eyes off the tablet the whole time. His face, which was originally pale, looked even paler today. The fatigue showed in his downcast gaze and he seemed to have lost some weight too. With his pretty face becoming gaunt, a sense of pathos emanated from him, like a man with a deep story. Even though in reality he was just someone who fell in love quickly, making Casanova look tame… Yeonrok stared at him intently and asked.
“You’re really not dating President Yeom Cheonho, right?”
Perhaps because his work kept being interrupted, Moon Gyeonwoo glared with a terrifying look. Yeonrok asked without caring.
“Then should I hold your hand? You don’t have a lover right now anyway.”
As if it was an unexpected suggestion, Moon Gyeonwoo blinked. A contemplative look briefly crossed his face. His eyes alternately looked at the research records in the tablet that still had a long way to go and the innocent face of his young partner. Certainly, his condition had gotten quite bad now and he was in a state that needed management.
“…Fine.”
The hand Moon Gyeonwoo extended was as cold as ice. When Yeonrok quietly held it, it slowly warmed up. Soon Moon Gyeonwoo let out a sigh-like exclamation. As color came to his pale, white face, it was like watching a landscape where winter passes and spring arrives. Yeonrok was watching quietly when he suddenly muttered.
“When your Name manifests, there are too many disadvantages. But… this isn’t bad.”
Agreeing with what he said, Yeonrok nodded his head. Being in contact like this, even with someone he didn’t particularly like, it felt like his loneliness was significantly lessened. Was Moon Gyeonwoo feeling something similar? While wondering, Yeonrok continued viewing cherry blossoms, immersed in the peaceful and warm atmosphere.
As he watched the endlessly falling cherry blossom petals, his eyelids slowly, heavily sank. As his body relaxed, his consciousness gradually descended. Before falling into a gentle nap, Yeonrok felt in his drowsiness a touch like warm petals descending onto his Name between the open cardigan flaps and then falling away, but he soon forgot about it.
* * *
At the weekly dinner gathering where everyone ate together, the atmosphere was utterly cold. Whether he had romantic withdrawal symptoms, Moon Gyeonwoo in his state without a lover looked quite heartbroken and gloomy. After checking things out for a long time, he seemed to have ultimately decided not to date Yeom Cheonho. At least Choi Hwan chatted away, talking to Yeonrok like an oblivious person.
“Hey, want to come tour the broadcasting station? I’ll buy you something delicious too.”
“No way. I might suffer some disaster again if I go.”
“Ah, this time I really won’t…”
Generally, what Choi Hwan said to Yeonrok was all just whining and throwing tantrums asking him to play. Since he’d been wronged before, Yeonrok was listening with one ear and letting it out the other when Yeom Cheonho politely spoke up.
“Did you both enjoy your cherry blossom outing?”
“Well… It was better and nicer than I thought. It was well-maintained. I want to go again next time.”
Yeonrok answered sincerely. The cherry blossom outing he’d gone on with Moon Gyeonwoo was more enjoyable than he’d expected. He was also relieved that his relationships with his Name Partners seemed to be gradually improving recently. Apart from the relief that at least he wouldn’t suffer and die alone, he felt less excluded now.
But strangely, after Yeonrok said the cherry blossom outing was good, Choi Hwan suddenly became dejected and just poked at his chicken breast salad for a long time.
“I’m glad you enjoyed yourselves. And…”
As if the cherry blossom outing was merely an introduction before bringing up an important matter, Yeom Cheonho got to the main point.
“About Yeonrok-ssi’s knitting group.”
“You do knitting?”
Even though it had already been nearly two months since Yeonrok started attending the knitting group, Choi Hwan reacted as if it was the first time he’d heard of it. Moon Gyeonwoo showed almost no reaction—it was unclear whether he knew about it or was just indifferent to everything right now.
