By Zephyria 
Yeon-rok had never received so many gifts in his entire life.
“Are all of these really birthday presents for me?”
Upon returning home from the Hwamyeong Cult, Yeon-rok had fallen asleep, unable to fight off the exhaustion. When he woke up in the morning, he found a mountain of gifts piled up in the drawing room. It seemed that while he was visiting the cult, gifts for him had been steadily accumulating at the club.
Beyond that, since Yeon-rok was known as Yeom Cheon-ho’s flower name bearer, gifts had arrived from various other places as well. When he asked how those people knew his birthday, Secretary Kim Jeong-seong replied with a smile.
“Keeping track of the birthdays of key VIP clients is a fundamental basic for any businessman.”
The secretary added that there was a secret information-sharing network among secretaries, and that some people likely did background checks as soon as Yeon-rok was officially recognized as Yeom Cheon-ho’s name partner. It meant a truly vast number of people now knew Yeon-rok’s birthday…
Regardless, receiving gifts from strangers was still exciting, so as soon as he finished breakfast, he hurried over to unwrap them. However, Moon Gyeon-woo and Choi Hwan quietly followed him. For Yeon-rok, who always craved companionship, having them there was nice, but he was a bit puzzled.
“Aren’t you two busy today?”
“Yeah, I don’t have a schedule today.”
“I wanted some rest, so I took a day off.”
The expressions on their faces as they spoke weren’t great. It didn’t seem like it was due to a lack of physical contact, but rather as if they hadn’t slept well. Feeling inwardly concerned, Yeon-rok reached out and asked.
“Do you want me to hold your hands?”
Choi Hwan looked delighted and tried to grab his hand quickly, but Moon Gyeon-woo swiftly intervened.
“No, Yeon-rok-ah. Open the presents first. Holding hands can wait until after. You want to see what’s inside, don’t you?”
Naturally checked, Choi Hwan’s eyes narrowed. With a snort, he pressed himself close to Yeon-rok as if to show off. As he tried to wrap his arms around him from behind and softly rub his face against the nape of Yeon-rok’s neck, a fire ignited in Moon Gyeon-woo’s eyes.
“I can just do this.”
Yeon-rok, who had pulled the nearest gift toward him, felt a strange vibe and looked back. Both of them were pretending to be interested in the gifts, diligently unwrapping their own. Tilting his head in confusion, Yeon-rok finished unwrapping his gift. Inside was an oversized T-shirt that anyone could wear comfortably.
Since many of the gifts came from people who didn’t know Yeon-rok well, a large portion consisted of generic useful items or food. Among them were some eccentric gifts that seemed to completely ignore the recipient’s taste.
“Huh? What is this?”
No matter how he looked at it, the garment looked like a fluorescent orange plastic bag. It even made a rustling sound, making Yeon-rok burst out laughing. Suddenly feeling mischievous, he put it on and looked in the mirror; at best, it looked like a firefighter’s outfit, but mostly, he looked like he was wearing a safety vest. Yeon-rok asked playfully,
“Does it look good on me?”
“It’s actually really cute.”
Moon Gyeon-woo gave a sincere compliment without teasing, but a miss was a miss. Moreover, looking at the brand logo, it was surprisingly an extremely expensive piece of clothing. When Yeon-rok took it off, Choi Hwan naturally took it and put it on, stealing the attention. Yet, for some reason, it actually looked great on him.
‘Huh? This can actually be fashion?’
After rummaging through nearby gifts to find some accessories to put on, Choi Hwan leaned nonchalantly against the sofa, looking like he was in a professional photoshoot. Yeon-rok remarked in admiration,
“Why does it look so good on you?”
“Well, it’s my face, so of course it does.”
The top actor, possessing strong conviction and confidence in his looks, beamed with pride.
“Can I have this? It would be great to wear when I want a unique look occasionally.”
“Sure. I don’t really need it anyway.”
When Yeon-rok readily agreed, Moon Gyeon-woo glared at Choi Hwan. Choi Hwan gave a triumphant, smug grin. Invisible sparks flew between the two. Sensing that strange vibe once again, Yeon-rok looked back to find both of them each gripping a gift and diligently tearing off the wrapping paper.
By the time he had opened all the numerous gifts, it was already afternoon. Since it was an amount he couldn’t possibly handle alone, he first sorted out a few things he truly wanted. He then distributed the remaining gifts to the household staff, bodyguards, and other people around him. Moon Gyeon-woo and Choi Hwan also took a few gifts, and for some reason, both of them looked incredibly pleased.
Though he felt a slightly odd atmosphere, Yeon-rok was still unsure at this point. It was only a few days later that he truly began to feel that the discord between his name partners—specifically between Moon Gyeon-woo and Choi Hwan—had intensified.
“Here, Yeon-rok-ah.”
After finishing breakfast, a familiar doll suddenly appeared in front of Yeon-rok as he was drinking water. It was the doll whose floppy ears and tail had been neatly repaired. Yeon-rok marveled as he examined the attachment doll, which was as old as he was. The side, where the stuffing had almost been peeking through a tear, was now clean. Yeon-rok expressed his gratitude sincerely.
“Wow, thank you… It really looks like new. It’ll probably stay intact for another 20 years.”
“Seeing you happy makes me feel good too.”
Looking at Yeon-rok with eyes full of affection, Moon Gyeon-woo asked in a tender voice,
“Do you want to go out somewhere today? The weather is nice, so let’s go eat something delicious.”
Choi Hwan was also present. Watching the harmonious atmosphere between Yeon-rok, who was fiddling with the doll with a softened heart, and Moon Gyeon-woo, Choi Hwan interrupted.
“What’s this? I don’t have a schedule today either, so I’m coming along.”
“….”
Even though Moon Gyeon-woo’s expression became so cold that a chill seemed to blow, Choi Hwan didn’t even blink. Yeon-rok, who had seen Manager Jo Jun-ho walking around with a miserable face recently, claiming he was busy to death, asked suspiciously,
“Are you sure you don’t have a schedule?”
“I’m telling you I don’t,” Choi Hwan replied nonchalantly. It was strange, but since he said so, there was nothing more to say. However, going together was a separate issue. This was because Yeon-rok knew all too well that the relationship between these two was poor. Yeon-rok tried to soothe them gently first.
“Gyeon-woo Hyung spoke first today. Either get his permission, or let’s go later.”
“When is ‘later’? I don’t know when I’ll get busy again.”
However, Choi Hwan did not give up easily and clung on persistently. He had been told to get Moon Gyeon-woo’s permission, but the actual decision-making power lay with Yeon-rok. Moon Gyeon-woo, already displeased that Choi Hwan was disrupting his date plans, poured out a torrent of vitriol.
“Stop acting like a child.”
“When was I acting like a child?”
“Can’t you see that Yeon-rok is feeling burdened? He can only force himself to get along with you so many times; all you do is whine until my ears hurt… The more I see you, the more I’m sick of it.”
Stung by the harsh words, Choi Hwan bared his teeth to argue back but soon closed his mouth. Seeing him hang his head in discouragement, Moon Gyeon-woo finally realized his mistake. It wasn’t that he was worried about the emotional wound Choi Hwan might have suffered. He had simply noticed the other’s tactic.
Sure enough, as soon as the dynamic shifted from anger to a one-sided scolding, pity filled Yeon-rok’s eyes as he looked at Choi Hwan. Gritting his teeth, Moon Gyeon-woo changed direction. Unable to stand the sight of Choi Hwan gaining Yeon-rok’s sympathy, he forced his voice to sound soft.
“Fine, whatever. If you’re okay with him just following us around, then go ahead and join.”
Moon Gyeon-woo had given the permission, but in the meantime, Choi Hwan looked up at Yeon-rok with eyes that were falsely moist.
“Is it really okay?”
“Well, Gyeon-woo Hyung did give permission…”
Yeon-rok answered hesitantly, trailing off. This was because Yeon-rok also realized that Moon Gyeon-woo had been forced into agreeing and that Choi Hwan was playing a trick.
In truth, he had been quite troubled lately. If only one person had shown interest in him, he would have been pleased. But with two people liking him at the same time, it was utterly disconcerting. He felt lucky that Yeom Cheon-ho wasn’t part of this particular dynamic.
Of course, he didn’t mean that he preferred the times when he was being shunned. Though it was a secret he could tell no one, Yeon-rok was beyond relieved—he was even happy—that the two of them cared for him. On the other hand, he realized that his goal of being ‘friendly roommates who just hold hands and hug’ had half-failed.
Usually, there are two ways to resolve such a situation: decisively reject the other person’s feelings, or date one of them.
However, these methods were impossible due to the specificity of the ‘name.’ This was because discord in the relationship directly affected their health. Whether they liked it or not, these four people were bound to live together for the foreseeable future.
Above all, the biggest problem was Yeon-rok’s own heart.
To be precise, the affection he felt for all three of them.
To be honest, among the three, he liked Yeom Cheon-ho the most. This remained true even now that the secret of him being the leader of a pseudo-religion had been revealed. There were still some unsettling parts, but he was someone who had consistently shown kind goodwill, and they were the furthest along in terms of physical progress.
Yet, that didn’t mean he disliked Moon Gyeon-woo or Choi Hwan.
Despite the lingering resentment from the past, weren’t they treating him with utmost devotion now? Moreover, in terms of affection, it was deeper than could be compared to Yeom Cheon-ho. Since attention and affection were all the more welcome the more one received, Yeon-rok simply couldn’t bring himself to coldly push the two away. Thus, lately, he had spent many nights tossing and turning, worrying about how he should conduct himself in the future.
Whether he knew of Yeon-rok’s heart or not, Choi Hwan acted as if he were oblivious.
“Thanks! Should I drive today instead?”