“Why are you beating around the bush? I’m asking because I want to know the reason.”
When Yeonrok asked again, Yeom Cheonho hummed briefly in thought. Without realizing it, Yeonrok swallowed dryly. His heart kept swelling because it felt like the moment they’d finally gotten close to the ideal Name Partner relationship he’d been envisioning. His body temperature rose and his chest tickled. All his senses were focused on the other person.
“Mm. This is a bit difficult.”
“What’s so difficult about it…?”
“There wasn’t really any particular reason. If I said it was just because I wanted to, would that upset you?”
The man, who was truly elegant and wonderful in every way, answered in a low, deep voice.
“You looked like you weren’t feeling well, Yeonrok-ssi, so I wanted to help you recover faster. Your sleeping face looked so harmless, and also your lips looked dry…”
“Sounds like you had quite a few reasons for someone claiming there wasn’t any particular reason.”
Yeonrok answered sharply, then suddenly felt an impulse and reached out his hand. Yeom Cheonho simply let him grab his shoulder without resistance. His calm eyes widened slightly. Having quickly stolen a kiss from those soft lips, Yeonrok declared boldly:
“This is what it really means to have no particular reason.”
Yeom Cheonho didn’t get angry. He just looked at him with a peculiar gaze, then stuck out the tip of his tongue and slowly licked his own lips. Soon Yeonrok’s face burned bright red.
‘Have I lost my mind? What kind of recklessness made me do such a thing…?’
He belatedly regretted it, thinking he must be drunk after all. His heart pounded anxiously, wondering if the other person might be angry. And yet, Yeonrok absolutely couldn’t tear his gaze away from Yeom Cheonho. He was half afraid, and the other half expectant as he waited for the other’s reaction. Yeom Cheonho’s body slowly leaned forward. It was an intense gaze that didn’t blink even once.
That’s when it happened. Knock knock! At the ordinary knocking sound, Yeonrok startled as if thunder had struck.
“Yeom Cheonho-nim, may I come in?”
“Ah.”
Yeom Cheonho made a quiet sound as if suddenly waking from sleep. Instantly hiding the bit of his inner thoughts he’d revealed, he smiled gently at Yeonrok before giving permission. Kim Jeongseong, who entered after opening the door, was surprised to see Yeonrok’s bright red face.
“Yeonrok-nim, you look like you have a fever. Shouldn’t we go to the hospital after all?”
Only then did Yeonrok remember that Kim Jeongseong still didn’t properly understand this situation. Only after hearing the explanation did Kim Jeongseong feel relieved.
“That’s a relief. I really thought you weren’t feeling well. Thanks to Yeonrok-nim, Yeom Cheonho-nim was able to avoid a great predicament.”
Kim Jeongseong, who was extremely loyal to Yeom Cheonho, sent a truly grateful look. Just like when they dealt with Choi Hwan’s parents last time, it seems I have quite a talent for acting. As Yeonrok felt a bit smug, he suddenly became desperate.
“Today was really exhausting, so can I please go home now for real?”
Deliberately avoiding looking at Yeom Cheonho out of embarrassment, Yeonrok cried out plaintively.
* * *
…And yet, despite saying that.
When he woke up, he was still in the hotel room. Yeonrok recalled the events of last night. He’d agreed to stay a bit longer, pretending to rest more, after being told that leaving right away might raise suspicions about his sincerity. But while lying on the bed in case someone came in, he’d fallen fast asleep from the alcohol.
Yeonrok rubbed his eyes after sleeping so soundly he wouldn’t have known if someone had carried him away. He’d slept so well that he could feel his face was a bit swollen. There was no one around him.
“Young Master, are you awake?”
When he opened the bedroom door and went out, Park Chungseong and Jeong Boeun greeted Yeonrok warmly. It seemed they’d just let Yeonrok sleep soundly while Yeom Cheonho and Kim Jeongseong left first.
“Wow, is it already lunchtime…?”
Yeonrok murmured in a lowered voice. The hotel bedding must be good. His condition was also perfect. Or maybe it was because he’d had such long, close contact with Yeom Cheonho yesterday.
Since he’d woken up at the hotel anyway, he ordered room service and shared it with the two of them. Afterward, when he tried to check out, surprisingly the general manager rushed over to see Yeonrok off personally. The manager was so worried about his health that Yeonrok had no choice but to pretend to be frail.
When he returned home like that, Ms. Park was organizing dozens of packages with the employees. They were being stacked neatly in front of Yeonrok’s room, and at a glance they were all luxurious gift packages, so Yeonrok asked in surprise:
“Ms. Park, what are all these? Who sent them?”
“Our Young Master is here? The sender should be written on the card.”
Even though gifts had arrived like a mountain, her tone suggested this was natural rather than remarkable. Yeonrok tore off and read a card attached to a gold-wrapped package. It was from some clothing company, with writing expressing hope for continued good relations in the future and wishing for a speedy recovery. Kim Jeongseong, who had just arrived home, explained to the bewildered Yeonrok:
“These are gifts sent by the people who greeted you yesterday, Yeonrok-nim. Word must have spread that you eventually collapsed. There are quite a few health foods. Ah, Ms. Park. Here’s a ginseng set.”
“I can boil it thoroughly and give it to our Young Master.”
Ms. Park happily swept up the ginseng sets, which even at a rough estimate numbered more than a few boxes. Yeonrok asked in confusion at the pile of gifts that would probably take all day just to unwrap:
“Do I need to send something in return…?”
“These kinds of gifts are ceremonial, so most are handled by the secretarial office. Ah, of course if there’s someone you’re particularly close to or want to treat specially, you can send a personal reply.”
Since there wasn’t really anyone like that, Yeonrok shook his head. There were dozens of people he’d greeted yesterday alone, so he couldn’t even remember them properly. He settled down and started opening the gifts one by one. The variety was truly diverse, so it was more fun to unwrap than expected. He was diligently opening them, setting aside just the food items separately, when crash—a sound came and Choi Hwan stomped up to the second floor.
“You!”
Because he pointed his finger right away, Yeonrok, who’d been taking out a pretty amber-colored liquor bottle, frowned. Why start a fight as soon as we meet?
“Why didn’t you come home yesterday! Did you, did you stay out overnight?”
“…? Yeah. I slept at the hotel.”
At those words, Choi Hwan trembled like a vibrating phone. His face turned pale and he asked urgently:
“You slept alone, right…?”
Could he say he slept alone? Yeom Cheonho and Kim Jeongseong had been in the same room, but ultimately Yeonrok was the only one who’d slept in the bed, so he nodded.
“Probably? I got drunk and just passed out… But why are you asking?”
Choi Hwan’s face brightened again as he approached closely. He bent his tall frame and circled around like a dog or cat seeing its owner who’d come home with the smell of another animal. He even hooked his finger on Yeonrok’s collar and pulled it. Thinking he was picking fights for no reason from the start, Yeonrok got irritated.
“Ah, what’s with you?”
“You…”
His lips only moved with a face that had much to say, then Choi Hwan suddenly raised his voice, fuming.
“Always remember that you’re my Name Partner! Got it?”
“When did you dismiss me for not matching your grade, and now you’re calling me your Name Partner?”
When Yeonrok shot back, Choi Hwan shrank again as if he’d never raised his voice. Choi Hwan fidgeted restlessly, then sat down with his butt on a nearby spot and said:
“Th-that was back when we weren’t close…”
So does that mean they’re somewhat close now? But at least he knows the sins he committed before? As Yeonrok stared at him while taking out some fruit syrup, Choi Hwan took it somehow and apologized quietly:
“Sorry…”
Since it didn’t really matter whether he apologized now or not, Yeonrok let it go in one ear and out the other. Choi Hwan helped unwrap packages while reading the room. He kept asking if these things were to his taste. Thinking he wanted them, Yeonrok gave him a few and he went back to his room in a good mood. As he’d thought before, he really had a capricious and restless personality.
And a few days later, Choi Hwan came to find Yeonrok and suddenly asked:
“Didn’t I get paid this month?”
“Ah, right. I was going to show you but forgot.”
Yeonrok, who had been diligently decorating a miniature terrarium, got up from his seat. After declaring “your money is all my money” last time, Yeonrok had really ended up managing Choi Hwan’s assets.
‘Are you really okay with me managing your fortune? If you leave it all to me like this, I could skim off the top.’
‘Go ahead then. I don’t care. You handle it all.’
He’d even tried to threaten Choi Hwan, but he just found it annoying and pushed it all onto him. Having no choice, Yeonrok diligently looked through past records with the asset manager Yeom Cheonho had assigned. First of all, since Choi Hwan was spending a considerable amount of money on his parents every month, he started by fixing that.
And so it was arranged to send exactly 1 million won per month.
