By Zephyria 
Since a handsome man was arguing with a mascot costume in the parking lot, people kept glancing over. They weren’t just stealing glances; curious about what on earth was happening, they stopped in their tracks, pointed, and whispered.
I don’t even expect them to get along! Just please, don’t fight in a place like this! Yeon-rok suppressed the urge to scream.
“Did you even receive a proper basic education? How can you act so devoid of common sense and so empty-headed every single day for a whole year?”
“I graduated from Hankuk University!”
“Seeing how stupid you are, I can tell exactly what the standard of Hankuk University is.”
“No, please! Stop fighting. Everyone is staring!”
“Fine, let’s settle this today. I’ll use this opportunity to beat some manners into you.”
“Look who’s talking! You’re the one who should back off! You don’t even like Lee Yeon-rok that much!”
The bodyguards weren’t of much help in stopping the fight. They were breaking a sweat elsewhere. It was because people had started appearing with cameras.
In an effort to hide the VIPs from the cameras as much as possible, they pushed the two fighting men behind the van and tried to form a human wall to block the filming. However, Yeon-rok felt that a post with a title like ‘Mascot Part-timer Fighting with a Customer at the Amusement Park’ had probably already been uploaded to social media.
“Who said that? That I don’t like him that much?”
“Where else would that playboy streak come from? Just pretend you dated Yeon-rok and break up! Then go date some other guy!”
“I told you to stop!”
Yeon-rok tried his best to intervene, but it seemed his words weren’t reaching their ears. Eventually, Moon Gyeon-woo smacked the mascot head. The costume tilted precariously. Thanks to the plush head, there didn’t seem to be a huge impact, but an enraged Choi Hwan raised his fist. Perhaps because his vision was obscured by the costume, his arm flailed wildly in the air.
“You little shit, you want to go!”
“Yeah, try me!”
While Yeon-rok clung to Choi Hwan’s arm to hold him back, Moon Gyeon-woo’s hand smacked the mascot head again. There was no risk of injury, but it was enough to be irritating, and Choi Hwan flew into a rage.
“Ah, damn it, seriously! If it weren’t for this costume, you’d be dead!”
Thump, thump, thump-thump-thump… The mascot head shook more and more violently. Yeon-rok, who had been trying to stop them, was also starting to get angry. It was early summer, so the sunlight was stinging, and the people’s gazes were even more stinging. The fact that they weren’t even pretending to listen to him made him even more furious. Finally, Yeon-rok let out a loud shout and reached out.
“Listen to me!”
What his two hands grabbed were their heads. Moon Gyeon-woo, who suddenly found his hair being yanked, widened his eyes. Choi Hwan also stopped moving. Because Yeon-rok had grabbed and pulled the ears of the mascot head, the costume was on the verge of being ripped off. Sensing the crisis, Choi Hwan frantically grabbed the mascot head with both hands. Yeon-rok wanted to give them both a few smacks on the head, but he barely managed to regain his composure and successfully calmed them down.
“Stop it now, before I strip off everything—whether it’s a mascot head or hair.”
The voice he used to say this was quite chilling.
“S-sorry…”
It wasn’t the first time he’d had his hair grabbed, but Moon Gyeon-woo, shocked that the opponent was Yeon-rok, answered obediently. Choi Hwan also desperately held onto the mascot head that was nearly slipping off. If his face were revealed here, not only would he be chased by people immediately, but the only ending would be receiving harsh scoldings from his CEO and Manager.
“I’ll listen…”
Only after confirming that the will to fight had been completely broken in both of them did Yeon-rok let go. Moon Gyeon-woo seemed to feel a delayed sense of shame as he looked back on himself fighting Choi Hwan in a mascot costume. He gloomily tidied his disheveled hair and clothes.
“Are you really not going back?”
“I’ll just follow you guys around…”
Even while discouraged, Choi Hwan refused to give up in the end. Yeon-rok sighed. What could he do if the man was volunteering for such hardship? However, he did get one promise.
“Then don’t pick fights. Gyeon-woo Hyung said no, but you were the one who insisted on tagging along. You can’t act this selfishly after that.”
“Got it. I won’t pick fights.”
Only then were the three able to enter the amusement park. Naturally, walking around in a mascot costume in a crowded place like an amusement park was incredibly difficult.
Furthermore, the rides they could go on were limited because of the costume. So, while Moon Gyeon-woo and Yeon-rok rode the attractions, Choi Hwan waited blankly under the scorching sun. Because of the costume, he even became a target for young children and was teased. Since the opponents were kids, the bodyguards found it difficult to intervene. Not only that, but since it would be a disaster if the costume came off, he couldn’t properly drink or eat anything. Despite this, he endured steadfastly.
Worried, Yeon-rok kept looking back at Choi Hwan. Is he really okay like that?
And naturally, he was not okay.
Eventually, around lunchtime, Choi Hwan, who had been following the two while dripping with sweat, finally collapsed.
“Ugh, uuu…”
Choi Hwan groaned with a deep frown. A cold, damp towel was placed over his face. He recalled the memories before he collapsed.
He had expected it to be hot walking around in a mascot costume. That’s why he had intentionally worn only the head, but the heat was beyond imagination. It was even heavy.
Just watching Moon Gyeon-woo and Yeon-rok having fun through his limited field of vision made his temperature rise, and sweat poured down as he followed them. Since he couldn’t drink water comfortably, he felt dizzy from the insane heat, and in an instant, all the strength left his body. That was his last memory.
He realized that a cool hand was holding his. Beneath the towel, he smirked. He rubbed his cheek against the hand, acting cute and pitiful.
“Yeon-rok-ahhh…”
However, what returned was a hand being ruthlessly shoved away and the sound of someone gagging.
“Ugh, what are you doing!”
“Ah, fuck!”
Choi Hwan snapped his eyes open, brushed away the towel, and cursed. The one who had held his hand wasn’t Yeon-rok, but Moon Gyeon-woo. Yeon-rok, meanwhile, had stopped fanning them with an amusement park pamphlet and was staring at the two of them with a blank expression. After confirming that he was safely lying inside the van, Choi Hwan burst out in irritation.
“Why the hell are you holding someone else’s hand!”
“Why do you think?”
Moon Gyeon-woo sneered with a look of disgust. Choi Hwan, understanding the situation without any further explanation, gnashed his teeth. He must have grabbed it because he couldn’t stand the sight of Yeon-rok holding his hand! Moon Gyeon-woo spoke in a voice that was creepily kind.
“As his name partner and a doctor, I couldn’t just stand by while a patient’s condition was this poor. You’ll need to be hospitalized for a day.”
Before Choi Hwan could strongly protest, Yeon-rok spoke with a worried face.
“Yeah. You were unconscious for almost ten minutes. Do you know how much the bodyguard Hyungs struggled to carry you back here? Like Gyeon-woo Hyung said, it would be best to go to the hospital. Did you diet too severely? To think you’d actually collapse… You must have become too frail.”
Frail enough to collapse… I’m frail? I, who am 187cm tall, have broad shoulders, and possess such great muscles, am frail? Speechless, Choi Hwan couldn’t even think to argue and was carried straight to the hospital. In fact, the van had been heading toward the hospital even before he regained consciousness.
At Hwamyeong Hospital, where Yeom Cheon-ho and Yeon-rok had already been hospitalized once, Choi Hwan was immediately transferred to a VIP room. This was due to Choi Hwan’s fame. Choi Hwan claimed he was fine, but Moon Gyeon-woo said this:
“The dehydration was very severe, and since he fell head-first, there is a concern that an impact was sustained, so we must perform a detailed examination.”
“I was wearing a mascot head, what detailed examination!”
Naturally, Choi Hwan’s shout was ignored, and he was forcibly sent straight to the examination room. Choi Hwan was indignant as he had to fast, have blood drawn, and even get an MRI. Moreover, since he had followed them by pushing his schedule back excessively, he was caught and dragged away by his Manager before dawn.
However, Moon Gyeon-woo’s grudge toward Choi Hwan was not settled there.
“Yeon-rok. Can I come in?”
Yeon-rok, who was clumsily strumming a guitar in the hobby room while following a performance video, answered, “Yeah.” After carefully putting the guitar down and turning around, he saw Moon Gyeon-woo standing there, hiding something behind his back.
“What is that?”
“A surprise.”
What is this all of a sudden? Curious, Yeon-rok peeked. Then, he heard a faint whimpering sound from somewhere. What Moon Gyeon-woo presented with a “Ta-da!” was, surprisingly, a yellow-furred puppy.
“Wow!”
Greatly surprised, Yeon-rok quickly took the puppy into his arms. Soft, fluffy, and panting, the puppy squirmed in Yeon-rok’s embrace and rubbed its wet nose against his chin. Yeon-rok, who had fallen into a trance while holding the warm puppy, suddenly snapped back to his senses.
“Where did a puppy come from?”