By Zephyria 
A tax audit? What sudden tax audit? Recalling when his agency had undergone a regular tax audit in the past, Choi Hwan asked, bewildered.
“Did they say there was tax evasion?”
“It hasn’t been confirmed as evasion, but usually, these things are likely the result of an insider report. When that happens, things get insanely busy.”
The misfortune of a name partner competitor was Choi Hwan’s joy. However, this time, he couldn’t be purely happy. As Jo Jun-ho increased the speed again, Choi Hwan couldn’t shake a lingering feeling of unease. He stopped running and stepped off the treadmill. Jo Jun-ho glared at him.
“You have ten more minutes to run!”
“Hold on, I need to make a call.”
While catching his breath, Choi Hwan contacted the security team and obtained the phone numbers of Park Chung-seong and Jeong Bo Eun. Since the security team followed Yeon-rok around almost as much as a stalker, he hoped they could pass a message to him. He contacted Park Chung-seong and asked him to tell Lee Yeon-rok to give him a call.
— Yes, I will let him know immediately!
Despite receiving that answer, there was no word for a long time. Growing frustrated, Choi Hwan called again.
“Did you give the message to Lee Yeon-rok?”
— That is…
The voice returning sounded somehow flustered and frantic. Over the phone, he could faintly hear someone arguing, saying, ‘No, he was an emergency patient; does it make sense that he was suddenly discharged at that time?’ The lingering suspicion soon spread into an ominous feeling. While Choi Hwan shook his leg anxiously, Park Chung-seong spoke in a somber voice.
— I’m told the young masters were discharged at 4 AM, and since then, their whereabouts are unknown. I am sorry.
Yeon-rok floated happily through the sky. Everything around him was filled with fluffy white clouds. They were so soft and plush that he thought it would be wonderful to stay submerged in them for the rest of his life. But there was one thing missing. Food.
Feeling hungry, Yeon-rok licked his lips and woke up. He wondered how good the texture of the bedding must have been for him to dream of lying on a cloud. As he stretched lazily, Yeon-rok blinked. Huh? Something was strange.
‘Why am I lying in bed?’
He was clearly nursing Moon Gyeon-woo in the emergency room… Gasp. Only then did Yeon-rok bolt upright. He hurriedly looked around, bewildered.
“What, what is this?”
It was an unfamiliar space, neither the emergency room bed nor his own bed. As he traced back his memories in confusion, Yeon-rok’s expression grew serious. He remembered eating the caramel Moon Gyeon-woo gave him, becoming so sleepy that he drifted off and collapsed.
And, he remembered Moon Gyeon-woo’s tongue, where the name had disappeared.
“Gyeon-woo Hyung?”
Yeon-rok called out loudly. His voice was raspy from such a deep sleep. Now that he looked, his clothes had been changed into comfortable silk pajamas. Tense, he stood up and grabbed the bedroom door handle. Fortunately, it wasn’t locked and opened with a click.
“Gyeon-woo Hyung, are you here?”
As soon as he opened the door, a delicious smell wafted out. Following the scent as if possessed, he found Moon Gyeon-woo cooking while looking at a recipe. He turned to Yeon-rok and smiled brightly.
“Yeon-rok-ah, you woke up just in time. I was making lunch.”
Yeon-rok looked around the unfamiliar house, searched through his recent memories, and finally asked in disbelief.
“Have I been kidnapped right now?”
“No, we just went out for a bit of a long trip.”
A bit of a long trip, my foot! Eventually, Yeon-rok’s voice rose.
“You kidnapped me! Where on earth is this?”
He ran to the window and looked outside to see the foothills of a mountain. It looked like a villa built in the middle of the mountains, but he had no idea of the exact location. Half-doubting, he tried the front door handle; it opened easily, so he returned to the dining table and sat down.
“Are you crazy?”
The caramel had tasted a bit bitter for a reason; it seems it contained a sleeping pill rather than coffee. The more he thought about it, the more absurd it felt. Yeon-rok gestured wildly in excitement, but Moon Gyeon-woo didn’t even blink.
“You must be hungry since you’ve been starving for half a day. Come and eat.”
Well, as he said, he was hungry. Yeon-rok glared and hesitated before picking up the utensils. It was a well-prepared meal with fluffy, sticky white rice, meat side dishes, well-ripened kimchi, and golden-brown fried eggs. Despite being kidnapped, he efficiently emptied a bowl of rice in an instant.
During his self-defense classes, the security guards had taught him what to do in case of a kidnapping. First, eat well and listen to the kidnapper. Moon Gyeon-woo wouldn’t hurt him. Therefore, starving himself would only be his own loss. After eating his fill, Yeon-rok asked.
“Hyung, did you eat?”
“Yes, I ate while you were sleeping.”
A man who skipped meals as naturally as he breathed—surely he had done so in this situation. Yeon-rok stood up and opened the refrigerator. It was full of fresh ingredients. He took out some vegetables and meat and placed them on the cutting board. Moon Gyeon-woo hovered behind him, curious about what he was doing.
He didn’t try to stop him at all while he held the kitchen knife. Then again, Yeon-rok had no intention of harming anyone with it. He finely chopped the ingredients, poured them into water with rice, and stirred while boiling. The porridge was complete.
“Here, eat.”
“Yeon-rok-ah…”
A look of emotion flickered across Moon Gyeon-woo’s face. He sat down and quietly began to eat the porridge Yeon-rok had made. Recalling what the doctor said at the hospital, the gastric perforation was faked, but it didn’t seem like he had lied about the gastric ulcer. Yeon-rok waited until he finished the porridge before interrogating him.
“The hole in your stomach was a lie, right?”
Sure enough, he nodded readily. Next, Yeon-rok asked the thing he was most curious about.
“Did your name really disappear?”
“Yes.”
Moon Gyeon-woo nodded without hesitation again. Yeon-rok hadn’t seen it wrong. A name cannot be physically removed. Even if it were removed through a procedure like a laser, it would just reappear elsewhere, making it meaningless.
“Hyung, that research actually succeeded…”
Yeon-rok muttered with a feeling he couldn’t quite describe. The thought that Moon Gyeon-woo’s name had disappeared left him feeling empty, yet at the same time, he wondered if the man’s feelings for him remained the same even now that the name was gone. He hesitated before asking.
“…Do you still like me?”
Moon Gyeon-woo’s eyes curved into a smile. His gaze toward Yeon-rok was still full of affection.
“Of course, Yeon-rok-ah. I still like you. And I will continue to do so in the future. I came here with you because I wanted to prove that.”
He was grateful for the sentiment, but Yeon-rok felt a stifling frustration in his chest. Why were all his name partners so extraordinary in such a negative sense?
“Hyung, I think you’re a bit crazy. Even so, you kidnap me?”
With the happiest expression he had ever worn, Moon Gyeon-woo beamed.
“Now that my name is gone, do you think CEO Yeom Cheon-ho would let me keep living in that house? I want to keep living with you. Still, I’m sorry for bringing you here without permission.”
Was this supposed to be an excuse? No matter how he looked at it, the man seemed a bit insane.
However, strangely, he didn’t feel that bad. Thinking that he himself was also a bit strange for feeling this way, Yeon-rok stood up from the table. Perhaps because he was still a kidnapper, Moon Gyeon-woo didn’t seem entirely at ease and quickly followed Yeon-rok.
“Right, let me introduce the house to you. First, this is the bathroom.”
The interior of the bathroom was sparkling clean. Amidst that, a cup with two toothbrushes standing side by side caught his eye particularly well. There were also two bedrooms with large beds. As they went up to the second floor, Yeon-rok asked suspiciously.
“How many people have you brought here so far?”
“You’re the first.”
Hearing those words, the slight annoyance he had felt unconsciously vanished. Seeing how brightly Moon Gyeon-woo smiled upon receiving that question, Yeon-rok quietly averted his gaze.
On the second floor, there was a study. It had an outdoor terrace with a table and chairs, a room that looked like it had been transplanted from Yeon-rok’s hobby room, and a room with a gaming console. At the very least, it seemed he wouldn’t be bored while staying in this house.
“Do you want to take a walk to help with digestion?”
“A walk is possible?”
Half-doubting, Yeon-rok followed Moon Gyeon-woo out. As he slipped on his sneakers at the entrance, he noticed that the shoes were the exact same design. When he opened the door, a well-maintained garden appeared. It was surrounded by high walls, and naturally, the main gate was not opened for him. He walked along the high wall. Everything visible beyond it was mountains.
The house seemed to have some age to it, but the walls were brand new. Since both the house and the yard were spacious, he didn’t feel too suffocated. After soaking up some sunlight, Yeon-rok returned to the house. Moon Gyeon-woo, with a face eager for a reaction, asked cautiously.
“How is it?”