Utterly shocked, Yeonrok stood with his mouth agape, only blinking. Meanwhile, Yeom Cheonho, who had been giving work instructions to his company via phone, raised his thick eyebrows and stared intently at Choi Hwan. Moon Gyeonwoo’s gaze was practically blazing. Just as Choi Hwan was about to say something again, Moon Gyeonwoo sneered and accused him.
“Now you’re acting all innocent.”
When Yeonrok turned around, wondering what on earth that meant, Moon Gyeonwoo clicked his tongue. However, even while showing clear displeasure, he didn’t seem to want to explain the reason, so he spoke in a sweet voice instead.
“Yeonrok-ah, it’s obvious he caused trouble and can’t clean it up, so he’s acting to cover it up. Is there really a need to listen any further?”
Yeonrok hesitated. To him, Choi Hwan just moments ago didn’t seem to be acting at all. He could feel the sincerity, that’s what it meant. Regardless of what Moon Gyeonwoo was saying, Choi Hwan only looked at Yeonrok while speaking earnestly.
“I’m sorry for being greedy. But I really didn’t do it because I was ignoring you or because I thought you were easy. That reporter said such things about you—incredibly rude things—how could I just sit there? Do you know what escort service means? That you, that you took money from me and did such things…”
Though he couldn’t properly finish his sentence, Yeonrok roughly understood what he meant. He sighed involuntarily. He had watched the video too, so he knew. That Choi Hwan had endured stoically but ultimately couldn’t let that particular question pass and had lost his temper. Yeonrok took another long sigh and opened his mouth.
“Since it’s already happened, I’ll let it slide this once, but if you do this again next time, I really won’t let it go. If something like this happens one more time…”
His gaze as he glared at Choi Hwan while saying this was ice-cold. Yeonrok slowly made a throat-slitting gesture with his thumb.
“Got it?”
“…! Y-yeah! I absolutely won’t do it again.”
When it seemed Yeonrok would forgive him, Choi Hwan’s face lit up brilliantly. Instead of criticizing him like before, Moon Gyeonwoo just hardened his expression coldly. Unable to waste any more time, Yeom Cheonho announced.
“Choi Hwan-ssi, if you’re done talking, please go to your agency with Director Kim. There are truly many matters to discuss to clean up this situation. I hope you’ll cooperate well this time.”
“Alright…”
Nodding his head, Choi Hwan stood up while watching Yeonrok’s reaction. Though he had barely gained permission, his anger still hadn’t cooled, so Yeonrok glared at him. When he clenched his fist tightly, wanting to hit him a bit more, Choi Hwan hurriedly fled.
“Haah…”
Sighing deeply enough to collapse the ground, Yeonrok plopped down on the sofa. Moon Gyeonwoo, who had apparently gone to the kitchen at some point, handed him a glass of cold water. As he clutched his head, Gyeonwoo gently patted his back in comfort.
“Want to drink some water?”
“Thanks…”
His throat was parched anyway, so he gulped it down. Yeom Cheonho waited until Yeonrok had calmed down somewhat before speaking.
“Since things have turned out this way, it would be better to refrain from going out for the time being. The paparazzi will definitely be relentless.”
“Then what about the knitting club…?”
When Yeonrok mentioned his only social gathering, Yeom Cheonho smiled bitterly and shook his head. It meant he shouldn’t go out. Having already seen the chaos in the knitting club group chat, Yeonrok asked anxiously.
“What’s going to happen to me from now on? My face is all over the place…”
“Your face probably isn’t as widely known as you think. First of all, the photos in the articles are definitely mosaicked, and we’re diligently taking down posts appearing in online communities. Once time passes, everything will be fine.”
“That’s right, Yeonrok-ah. You’ve seen plenty of celebrity dating rumors until now. Can you properly remember any faces that weren’t other celebrities?”
Moon Gyeonwoo’s words sounded quite plausible. Listening to the two of them comfort him, Yeonrok steadied his mind. They were right. Once time passed, people would soon find other issues to pay attention to. After patting Yeonrok’s shoulder, Yeom Cheonho put his suit jacket back on, which he had taken off on the sofa. Yeonrok looked up in surprise. Since it was too late to go to work, he asked doubtfully.
“You’re going to the company now?”
Yeom Cheonho, who had quickly fixed his hair and clothes in front of the mirror, answered.
“I came here while working, so I have to return to the company. If anything else comes up or there’s a matter you want to discuss, contact me anytime. I can take calls until 3 AM.”
3 AM…? But you’re someone who goes to work before 6 in the morning…
Yeom Cheonho soon disappeared with hurried steps. Watching his retreating figure, Yeonrok thought. Is that person really okay living like that…? It was certain that Choi Hwan had piled even more work onto the already busy Yeom Cheonho. As he watched with concern, Moon Gyeonwoo sat down next to him.
“You must have been really shocked today.”
Yeonrok nodded repeatedly. He had never even dreamed in his life that he would become the protagonist of such a nationwide scandal. While offering Yeonrok more water, Moon Gyeonwoo sighed.
“That reporter’s remarks made me really angry too when I heard them.”
He nodded again. Perhaps because Choi Hwan was a young and famous actor, the reporters were really writing fiction. It was even worse because of the interview Choi Hwan’s parents had done. Though he hadn’t watched it, Yeonrok was certain he was currently receiving the most criticism in Korea. Moon Gyeonwoo frowned for a moment before reluctantly saying.
“Still, revealing you as his Name Partner wasn’t a bad choice for you right now. Though it’s cunning and shrewd…”
“Isn’t it a pretty bad choice for Choi Hwan though?”
Yeonrok recalled what Jo Junho had said to Choi Hwan before. Revealing himself as a Name Manifestor was the same as publicly announcing he was married, and he had asserted it would be a fatal blow to Choi Hwan, who was at the height of his youth.
“That’s true, but it’s his own karma.”
“Choi Hwan didn’t do it on purpose…”
“Well, did he really not?”
Though Yeonrok, who had personally experienced how vicious Choi Hwan’s parents were, defended him, Moon Gyeonwoo sneered sharply.
“A guy who’s experienced paparazzi countless times does that kind of thing outdoors? He must have done it knowing full well he’d be photographed.”
“H-he didn’t really kiss me. He just wiped something off my face.”
“But you were close enough for them to mistake it like that.”
Moon Gyeonwoo spoke in a stiff voice, but Yeonrok let it go in one ear and fell into deep thought.
Could he really have…? Did he do such a thing prepared even for a dating rumor fatal to his acting career? Does he like me that much?
‘If that was his intention, I should’ve hit him a few more times.’
What kind of suffering am I going through because of this bastard—it makes me even angrier. While grinding his teeth, on the other hand, Yeonrok felt strangely odd. On one hand, assuming he had put his precious career as a lower priority, it seemed to mean he was that desperate for him, and how satisfying that was. But because he didn’t want to acknowledge his deficiency this way, Yeonrok quickly changed the subject.
“Anyway, I don’t think Choi Hwan intended it to that extent.”
At least at that time, in that moment, Yeonrok didn’t sense any particular deception from Choi Hwan. Though he may have been careless about the paparazzi’s filming, he probably didn’t orchestrate it. Of course, the trouble he caused afterward is a different story…
“That aside, I don’t understand why Choi Hwan’s parents or that bastard Yeom Cheonryul act like that toward their children. Aren’t parents supposed to cherish and care for their children? Maybe I… can’t understand because I’ve never had a family.”
Of course, Yeonrok knew well that not all parents in the world cherish and love their children. However, whether it was the parents who abandoned him at the orphanage or seeing Choi Hwan and Yeom Cheonho’s situations, he simply couldn’t understand it. If I had a child, I would love and cherish them more than anyone else in the world.
“Yeom Cheonryul…”
Moon Gyeonwoo murmured in a voice lost in deep thought.
“What?”
“No, I’ve been thinking about it for a while, but I feel like I’ve heard that name before. Where did I hear it? Nothing comes up in internet searches though.”
After tilting his head a few times, he soon shrugged his shoulders. Then he spoke in a casual voice.
“Anyway, let’s have dinner and rest now. Today must have been a really hard day for you.”
* * *
The next day, Yeonrok came downstairs for breakfast and ran into Choi Hwan. Choi Hwan, who had been glaring at his phone with a distorted expression, jumped to his feet.
“You’re up? Did you sleep well last night?”
When Yeonrok snorted and tried to sit down, Choi Hwan even pulled out his chair for him. He personally placed Yeonrok’s utensils and poured his water. As someone had said, he was like a complete errand boy. Only when the meal was almost finished could Yeonrok understand why Choi Hwan was being so servile.
“What? I’m going out where?”
When Yeonrok’s voice rose, Choi Hwan dropped to his knees with a thud. And he started begging desperately.
“It’s not a place where your face will show. Really. You just need to speak…”
“How can I go on a broadcast!”
Wanting to tear into him once more, Yeonrok glared at his well-styled hair. Though Choi Hwan flinched, he clung to Yeonrok’s legs.
“Really just once, please…? The secretary and lawyer for that Yeom Cheonho and our company president also said it seemed okay. Really. Even I think this would be better for you.”
His opponent begged desperately. Though he didn’t seem to be lying, he really didn’t feel like doing it.
