By Zephyria 
“Today, we have specially prepared a place outdoors. First, shall we watch the Drone Show on the rooftop of this hotel and then have a conversation?”
As soon as he made eye contact with the organizer for a moment, Yeon-rok realized.
Something’s wrong. Something seems to be going wrong.
He quickly looked around. Yeom Cheon-ho’s face, which looked the same as usual but somehow seemed pale, Kim Jeong-seong’s flustered expression as he had just gotten off the elevator, and the organizer’s eyes, which were gesturing towards the open door to the rooftop, held clear malice.
He didn’t know exactly what it was, but it was clear that Yeom Cheon-ho was in trouble. Yeom Cheon-ho’s hand, which was now painfully gripping Yeon-rok’s hand, was damp with cold sweat. Yeon-rok swallowed hard and deliberately made a loud noise, saying, “Ah!” Yeom Cheon-ho, who had been staring intently at the glass door leading to the rooftop, finally turned his gaze to his partner in confusion.
“Cheon-ho, Darling… I don’t feel very well.”
His voice trembled as he barely pronounced the title he would never usually say. That’s why it felt more genuine. Yeon-rok put his hand on his chest with a flushed face from drinking alcohol. And remembering the time when he had fainted due to a lack of contact with his Name partner, he tried to imitate it as much as possible.
“I’ve been feeling strange since earlier…”
He slurred his words and deliberately staggered, soon completely letting go of the strength in his body. It was an act, prepared to hit the floor hard. Fortunately, before he could fall completely, a strong grip caught him.
“Yeon-rok!”
Yeom Cheon-ho shouted in genuine surprise. It was the first time Yeon-rok had heard the other person, who was always calm and composed, raise his voice like that, so he felt a little guilty.
“Yeon-rok-nim! Oh my goodness!”
Kim Jeong-seong also screamed and ran to hug Yeon-rok. People were surprised and shouted as a person who had been fine suddenly collapsed.
“Excuse me, someone has collapsed here!”
“Is there a medical staff?”
Yeom Cheon-ho, who had laid Yeon-rok down straight, quickly touched his nose and mouth with his damp and cool hands. He was probably trying to check his breathing. Yeon-rok, pretending to weakly dangle his arms while lying with his thighs as a pillow, subtly scratched Yeom Cheon-ho’s body with his hand. Yeom Cheon-ho paused.
Just in case, he quickly scratched in an X shape again. Fortunately, Yeom Cheon-ho seemed to have noticed his intention. He immediately tapped the back of Yeon-rok’s neck and shoulders with the tips of his fingers, returning the answer. Soon, the medical staff rushed over.
“Excuse me. We’ll see the patient.”
As it was a place where many dignitaries and wealthy people gathered, the medical staff was on standby at all times, thoroughly prepared for such unexpected situations. People parted to the left and right, making way. Yeon-rok couldn’t hide his condition even from the medical staff, so around that time, he groaned faintly and pretended to regain consciousness slightly.
“He’s someone who fainted once last month due to a lack of contact. The CEO is so busy… Could that influence still be lingering?”
Unlike Yeom Cheon-ho, Kim Jeong-seong, who didn’t know that Yeon-rok was acting, explained the medical history to the medical staff with great anxiety. Thanks to that, no one seemed to suspect this situation.
“That could be the case. Hmm, the patient’s pulse is really fast.”
It’s because I drank alcohol earlier and I’m nervous from acting. Thanks to being able to pretend to be a really sick patient, Yeon-rok claimed with a voice that seemed barely squeezed out.
“Can I… rest with Cheon-ho, Darling in a quiet place…? If I make contact, I think I’ll feel better…”
It was said that many of the people in this place were well aware of how important a Name partner was. That meant they could understand this situation better than anyone else. Yeon-rok used that to create an opportunity to naturally take Yeom Cheon-ho away from this place. And Yeom Cheon-ho didn’t miss that opportunity either.
“Could you provide an empty room?”
The hotel manager, who had been watching with a worried face at the news that an important VIP’s Name bearer had collapsed, quickly replied.
“Of course. Then we’ll get a stretcher soon…”
“No, it’s alright.”
After declining, Yeom Cheon-ho immediately picked up Yeon-rok in his arms without showing any signs of difficulty. Yeon-rok almost screamed at the sudden action. He felt like he was going to die of embarrassment, but he pretended to be sick, sweating profusely, and buried his head in Yeom Cheon-ho’s chest to cover his face.
“We can go like this.”
“Ah, I understand. I’ll guide you to the nearest room.”
Throughout the journey to the room, Yeon-rok pretended to be dead and took all the strength out of his body. Even after arriving at the room, the medical staff came in and out a couple of times, checking his blood pressure and temperature, so he didn’t let go of his tension. Throughout all of this, Yeom Cheon-ho sat beside him, holding his hand tightly. Yeon-rok could feel the other person’s hand gradually regaining warmth.
Then, finally, the surroundings became quiet. Did they leave? Did everyone leave…? Just in case, Yeon-rok slightly moved his fingertips and scratched the other person’s body. Yeom Cheon-ho leaned in without any reaction and said this in Yeon-rok’s ear.
“Yeon-rok, everyone has left, so you can stop scratching my butt now.”
“Eek!”
Startled, Yeon-rok opened his eyes wide and looked up, only to find that his hand was indeed touching a vague area that was either his thigh or his butt.
“I, I was trying to touch your leg. Please believe me.”
“It’s okay to touch my butt.”
I’m not okay! Me! Was the place I scratched earlier also his butt? Still, Yeon-rok was relieved that everyone had left and finally took a deep breath that he had been holding back. And belatedly worrying, he fiddled with Yeom Cheon-ho’s hand, which had now warmed up.
“Are you okay? You seemed unwell earlier… Did I do something unnecessary?”
“No. You were a really big help. Thank you sincerely.”
Yeom Cheon-ho’s gaze towards Yeon-rok was deep. It was more than friendly, and at the same time, it seemed like he had lowered the wall in his heart a little, though not completely.
“If we had gone to the rooftop as it was, I would have definitely shown an unsightly appearance. Because I have…”
After pausing for a moment to choose his words, Yeom Cheon-ho soon confessed honestly.
“I have a severe fear of heights. And there are really only a few people who know that fact… I’m really curious where the organizer got the instigation from.”
Listening to the story, Yeon-rok suddenly recalled the time when he had gone to the company to meet Yeom Cheon-ho last time. It was a little strange that there were no windows in the office, but now he understood that he had a fear of heights. He had only seemed like a perfect person, but he also had a weakness.
“The people who were with us are all sharks. It means you should never show weakness. If rumors of health problems were to spread later, it would have spread negatively to the company. Thanks to Yeon-rok, I was able to avoid a big loss. How should I compensate you?”
“I just wanted to help. Compensation is fine.”
It wasn’t something he did wanting compensation, and he didn’t want to receive it either, so Yeon-rok refused. Yeom Cheon-ho, who was always so eloquent, was rarely silent while holding Yeon-rok’s hand. Thanks to that, Yeon-rok, who had become awkward, only wiggled his toes under the blanket.
“When I was young.”
Yeom Cheon-ho, who had been looking down at Yeon-rok’s hand with dark eyes, opened his mouth. Yeon-rok was inwardly surprised because he hadn’t expected this person to reveal his past.
“There was a naive time when I regarded that person as my father. One day, that person told me that he would show me something good. So I followed him to a high place. And I was pushed and fell. I thought I was going to die for sure, but I was lucky enough to get caught on a tree and survive.”
Yeon-rok’s eyes wavered. It was an excessively heavy story. At the same time, he also felt chills. Lee Seong-myung, no, Yeom Cheon-ryul, who had approached him so kindly. That person was someone who had tried to kill his son. Instead of carelessly comforting him, Yeon-rok gave strength to the hand he was holding and said,
“So that’s why you developed a fear of heights.”
“I tried to fix it, but there are things that can’t be solved even with money and people.”
The man who said that there was nothing that couldn’t be solved with money and people admitted it with a smiling face. Then, thinking that the atmosphere had become too heavy, he changed the subject.
“Do you have any other questions? Ask me at this opportunity.”
He did. There were quite a few things he wanted to ask. But before he could even think about it, a question popped out of Yeon-rok’s mouth without him realizing it.
“…Why did you kiss me last time?”
“I thought you didn’t remember.”
Yeom Cheon-ho replied in a somewhat troubled tone and raised his head, which had been lowered. Unlike usual, his neatly combed hair was slightly disheveled, falling over his smooth forehead. His face, with its strong features that gave off an imposing atmosphere even with the slightest frown, was, however, equipped with only the kindest and softest aspects in front of Yeon-rok.
“Do you perhaps want an apology?”