“Just. It’s not like I don’t have money in my account. And I’ve already received so much. So I feel a bit awkward using it.”
“Mm, that’s understandable. I get it. It could be burdensome.”
Yeonrok nodded his head, thinking his feelings were being understood, but then Yeom Cheonho said this:
“But it’s my way of expressing sincerity, so I’d really like it if Yeonrok-ssi would use the card. Please do so from now on. Understood?”
“Yes? Yes? Yes…”
He answered reflexively and was stiffening up, thinking this wasn’t right. Choi Hwan appeared huffing angrily, making Yeonrok flinch as if burned. Embarrassed and ashamed at having been holding hands intimately with Yeom Cheonho, he quickly pulled his hand away, but Choi Hwan had already seen that scene. Yeom Cheonho glanced down at his now-empty hand.
“…Huh?”
Choi Hwan sent a subtle look to Yeonrok, whose face had turned red, then approached with large strides as if forgetting his anger and plopped down on the sofa. Unlike Yeonrok, he didn’t seem intimidated by Yeom Cheonho at all. Rather, he sent overtly searching glances and spoke casually.
“What brings you home?”
“How could the homeowner leave the house empty for so long?”
“Well, you have been gone for a while.”
The conversation didn’t continue after that. Yeom Cheonho was truly so busy he couldn’t even keep up the conversation. Nevertheless, Choi Hwan and Yeonrok continued to hold their positions. At the same time, they quietly glared at each other in a battle of wills because of what had happened earlier in the kitchen. Yeonrok somehow felt like he’d lose if he left first.
‘That’s really my Name Partner? That?’
As they were sending each other sharp glances filled with such thoughts, Yeonrok’s gaze caught Yeom Cheonho reaching for nothing. He picked up his cup as if thirsty, confirmed it was empty, and put it back down. All the while, he flipped through documents without taking his eyes off the monitor.
Yeonrok, who had been inwardly bothered by this, stood up. When he brought a cup of water from the kitchen and handed it over, Yeom Cheonho looked up and smiled kindly.
“Thank you, Yeonrok-ssi. I was just getting thirsty.”
“It’s nothing.”
After exchanging such a shy conversation and turning around, sure enough, Choi Hwan picked a fight.
“Hey.”
Yeonrok ignored him, but Choi Hwan persistently kept talking.
“Hey. Why don’t you pour water for me but you pour it for him?”
Then what exactly do I like about you to pour you water? However, Lee Yeonrok held out his hand instead of engaging in an extremely childish and low-level war of words.
“50,000 won.”
“What?”
“Give me 50,000 won and I’ll pour it for you.”
At his attitude of brazenly demanding money, Choi Hwan’s handsome eyes shot upward.
“We’re the same Name Partners, so why are you only taking money from me?”
“150 million.”
“What’s that?”
“The amount President Yeom Cheonho gave me in a lump sum.”
The money Yeonrok had borrowed to buy a cozy nest where he could get along lovingly with his Name Partner was a bit less than 150 million won. According to Kim Jeongseong, Yeom Cheonho had paid it all off at once and then just gave him the house he’d been living in. He said to use it as a vacation home when he sometimes wanted to spend time alone. So Yeonrok’s feelings toward Yeom Cheonho were exceptionally good.
“So if you want to boss me around too, give me money.”
As if at a loss for words, Choi Hwan’s mouth moved soundlessly before he suddenly stood up and ran to his room. He came back and forcefully threw a check in front of Yeonrok.
“Take this… and from now on, you pour my water!”
At some point, Yeom Cheonho had stopped working and was observing them, but the two were too busy glaring at each other to notice.
“What are you talking about? How is this 150 million? You want to hire a water-only servant for just about 100,000 won? And it’s 50,000 won per instance.”
“That’s over 50,000!”
“This is a retainer fee. The 50,000 won is separate.”
“…!”
As if determined to boss Yeonrok around, Choi Hwan resolutely took out more bills and threw them. Yeonrok slowly picked up the bills to annoy him, stuffed them in his pocket, then dawdled as he poured water and presented it before Choi Hwan. Choi Hwan ostentatiously gulped down the water.
Yeonrok snorted. Does 50,000 won sprout from the ground? If he could earn 50,000 won for free just by pouring water, Yeonrok would do it as much as needed. It seemed the improvement of his relationship with Choi Hwan had completely failed, but he didn’t care. It had been a ruined relationship from the start anyway.
* * *
After that, Choi Hwan, perhaps because he’d made a lot of money until now, didn’t know the value of money and constantly ordered him to pour water at any time. With an arrogant attitude, he’d deliberately scatter 10,000 won bills and command “Water,” and Yeonrok would pick up the bills and pour water. After repeating this several times, at some point the orders became natural.
“Hey. Go make me some ramen.”
Choi Hwan found Yeonrok, who had set up camp near the most trafficked area in the house and was loitering until someone came, and arrogantly ordered him. As Yeonrok faced those eyes calculating how to make his opponent feel humiliated, he stretched out his hand while lying comfortably sprawled on the sofa.
“Making ramen is 100,000 won. If you want to add an egg, that’s 10,000 won.”
“…Do you have a conscience?”
“Looks like your diet’s over? Eating ramen and all.”
“…Don’t tell Junho-hyung. That’s 100,000 won flying away too.”
Choi Hwan spoke fiercely like a villain who’d committed nothing but crimes his whole life. The aura of threat emanated strongly from his sharp eyes and his brow furrowed viciously. Yeonrok quietly looked at that malicious face and said.
“Your acting is totally showing.”
“Huh? It’s showing? That can’t be?”
The flustered Choi Hwan’s expression immediately crumbled. Honestly, even from Yeonrok’s perspective, the acting was so good he’d wondered if it was real. He’d just poked at him. To Choi Hwan, who was making a vicious expression again, Yeonrok smoothly held out his hand again.
“Advance payment for keeping the secret.”
“…!”
Having thoroughly collected money as payment for keeping his mouth shut to the manager, Yeonrok headed to the kitchen. He carelessly crumbled in the ramen, roughly added water, boiled it vigorously and brought it out, and Choi Hwan picked up his chopsticks with eyes full of the will to find fault.
After slurping one bite, he suddenly raised his head and looked at Lee Yeonrok. What the hell? You made it fucking well? That was clearly the look in his eyes. Of course he made it well. When living alone, wasn’t ramen the most optimized food for filling meals? He’d eaten it until he was sick of it, so now even with his eyes closed he could make the egg a moist soft-boil and the noodles perfectly chewy.
“Ah, no way. I even ate the rice…”
Choi Hwan, who’d tried to eat just a couple bites of noodles and throw it away but gave in and despaired, trudged off to the gym. Yeonrok contentedly watched Choi Hwan go off to waste his precious day off burning calories.
After putting the dishes in the dishwasher and returning to sit on the sofa, he fiddled with his phone then looked around. It was especially quiet and still today. Usually he was with the working people until late hours so he hadn’t noticed, but listening lately, the air in the house before quitting time was quite lonely and desolate.
He was lying idly on the sofa when he bolted upright at the sound of someone. Then he was disappointed. It was just Moon Gyeonwoo coming home early from work.
Even though Yeonrok stared intently, Moon Gyeonwoo didn’t spare him a single glance today either and went into his room with a cold air. Yeonrok lay down like a wilted banana, then stretched his neck long again at the presence of someone coming out. Moon Gyeonwoo, dressed nicely, went out again without giving him a single glance. Going to meet friends? Suddenly deflated for no reason, Yeonrok flipped through his phone contacts.
Acquaintance, acquaintance, work colleague, former work colleague, acquaintance, person he’d lost contact with, here too someone he hadn’t contacted in years. The end. He’d thought there might be at least one person to meet, but they were all people he’d met through work. It meant they were all just casual acquaintances it was natural not to contact after work hours.
“Should I try working out too…”
As he was debating whether to go to the gym where Choi Hwan must be diligently burning off the ramen calories and pointlessly flipping through phone numbers of orphanage friends that had changed years ago, he heard the sound of the front door opening. Yeonrok’s face brightened as he bolted upright again.
“Secretary-hyung!”
“Lee Yeonrok-nim.”
Kim Jeongseong greeted Yeonrok with a respectful attitude today as well. Then he pointed out being called Secretary-hyung.
“I told you to call me comfortably.”
“This is comfortable for me. How much more comfortably should I call you? Jeongseong-hyung?”
When Yeonrok subtly tried to deepen their friendship, Kim Jeongseong immediately became serious. It was a bit hurtful.
“Secretary-hyung would be better. It would be troublesome if Lee Yeonrok-nim called me too familiarly.”
“Yes, well… Has Secretary-hyung had dinner?”
“Yes, I ate before coming in. What about Lee Yeonrok-nim?”
“I haven’t yet.”
It seemed he’d have to eat dinner alone today, so Yeonrok reluctantly stood up. He could feel his condition gradually deteriorating again. Since holding hands with Yeom Cheonho that one time, he’d had no contact with anyone.
