By Zephyria 
“I thought the flower name bearer of High Priest Yeom Cheon-ho would be someone fitting of his great reputation. But seeing you like this, how should I put it… perhaps you’re a late bloomer…?”
I wish there were some garlic and ssamjang. While Yeon-rok was moving his utensils without much thought, a sharp ‘clink!’ sounded beside him. It was the sound of Moon Gyeon-woo irritably slamming his chopsticks down on the food tray. Moon Gyeon-woo glared coldly at Kim Hyeon-seo, who was blinking in bewilderment.
“Let’s eat in silence. Every time you open your mouth, you spray spit everywhere.”
“Wha—what? Are you talking to me right now?”
Kim Hyeon-seo shouted in panic, but Moon Gyeon-woo turned his head and glared next at Park Chung-seong and Jeong Bo Eun.
“Are you two not going to do your job as guards properly?”
He didn’t say it out loud, but his freezing gaze explicitly conveyed something like, ‘Look at you, just stuffing your faces like pigs.’ The two of them jumped as if they had been struck by a fierce whip and snapped to attention. Even someone as oblivious as they were could clearly tell who Moon Gyeon-woo was hostile toward by now.
Yeon-rok, who had been immersed in his meal, realized a beat late. He wondered why he felt a sense of discomfort that was also strangely familiar—oh, it was because he was being ignored. I see. Since it was a familiar occurrence, he simply licked his lips and indulged in the idle thought of whether he could get a bit more meat.
“How dare you ignore me like this, even if you are the flower name bearer!”
Kim Hyeon-seo protested, his face flushing red. However, Moon Gyeon-woo looked down at him with blatant contempt and suddenly spoke in a sharp voice.
“Believer Kim Hyeon-seo! Did you say that if you had become the High Priest’s flower name bearer, you would have been better than us? Do you have the nerve to say such a thing in front of me?”
Yeon-rok looked at Moon Gyeon-woo in surprise. Wait, he did ignore me by calling me a late bloomer and all, but he didn’t say anything like that? Kim Hyeon-seo, falsely accused, leaped up in protest. This was because Moon Gyeon-woo had spoken loudly enough for everyone in the cafeteria to hear.
“When on earth did I ever say that?!”
“Anyone who heard it would know that’s what you meant.”
Moon Gyeon-woo stared intently at Park Chung-seong and Jeong Bo Eun, applying silent pressure. No matter how clueless they were, they knew one thing: in a situation like this, they had to take his side unconditionally. Jeong Bo Eun shouted first.
“Yes, I heard it clearly!”
“I definitely heard it too. I didn’t realize it until now, but you’re quite a wicked person, aren’t you? Believer Kim Hyeon-seo! You shouldn’t act like this after receiving the High Priest’s grace!”
Park Chung-seong diligently chimed in. As the saying goes, three people make a lie truth. With the three of them ganging up, Kim Hyeon-seo was instantly transformed into a shameless believer. Kim Beon-yeong, who had been chatting with the cooks far away—claiming he had eaten early to be considerate of Moon Gyeon-woo and Yeon-rok—approached them.
“Believer Kim Hyeon-seo? Let’s have a word in private.”
With a benevolent smile, Kim Beon-yeong led away Kim Hyeon-seo, who hadn’t even finished his meal. Immediately, other believers swarmed around him, encircling him as they exited the cafeteria. The sound of Kim Hyeon-seo’s bewildered excuses grew distant.
Even after maliciously framing someone and getting them kicked out, Moon Gyeon-woo looked down at his food tray with a displeased expression. It seemed his already lacking appetite had dropped even further. Yeon-rok, who was actually unfazed, gently coaxed him into eating a bit more.
After finishing their meal and stepping outside, they found a cafe nearby. They stopped by, grabbed a cup of coffee each, and returned to the confession room. However, at Yeon-rok’s suggestion, Moon Gyeon-woo held a cup of chamomile tea. He heard it was good for gastritis.
While the guards, including Park Chung-seong and Jeong Bo Eun, kept watch outside, Yeon-rok sat down on the bedding. In that short interval, Moon Gyeon-woo looked even more disgusted—whether it was with humans in general or specifically with cult believers. Yeon-rok hoped it was the latter. Seeing him sip the chamomile tea slowly, it seemed it was fortunately to his taste.
“Hyung, is your body feeling okay now? How’s the gastric ulcer? Were there any side effects from the name removal injection?”
“I’m fine now, thanks to you looking after me, Yeon-rok.”
Just in case, Yeon-rok checked Moon Gyeon-woo’s tongue, and the name was clear. Fortunately, it seemed the side effects had ended with that one incident. Having another concern, Yeon-rok asked cautiously.
“And what happened with the research funding?”
“You don’t have to worry about that either. The funding was increased, so I have much more leeway than before. The research topic changed a bit, too.”
The funding was increased? What did he change the research topic to? Even though he was so displeased, why would Yeom Cheon-ho increase the funding instead of cutting it? While he was a good person, Yeon-rok felt uneasy, thinking he wasn’t such a pushover to be generous in a matter like this.
“How did the research topic change?”
“It seems that the complete removal of a name will be difficult. So, I’m planning to move in the direction of minimizing the side effects of contact deficiency. I think that will be much easier.”
Having experienced it himself, Yeon-rok understood Moon Gyeon-woo’s change of heart. How severe had the side effects been when Moon Gyeon-woo failed while trying to delete the name? Throughout the nursing process, Yeon-rok had been terrified of what might happen. With a strangely darkened complexion, Moon Gyeon-woo changed the subject.
“What about you? Are you okay? That bastard was just spouting nonsense earlier. Sigh… This is exactly why I loathe cults.”
“Well, I’m definitely a bit lacking compared to Choi Hwan or the Hyungs, aren’t I?”
Yeon-rok said it as a joke, but Moon Gyeon-woo turned serious.
“What are you talking about? Most of the people I know are more lacking than you.”
Yeon-rok had never heard such a negative compliment in his life. Usually, don’t people say, ‘You’re the best among the people I know’?
“Especially Choi Hwan; he’s the most lacking of all.”
“Uh, thanks…?”
Offering an awkward thank you, Yeon-rok observed Moon Gyeon-woo’s expression. He had been worried that the memory of vomiting after being kissed by Yeom Cheon-ho had left such a deep impression that Moon Gyeon-woo might be suffering from a stress-induced illness out of resentment. Fortunately, Moon Gyeon-woo didn’t seem to care about that kiss at all right now.
“Still, I’m glad you seem to be in a good mood now, Hyung. I was worried because you even threw up last time.”
Before Yeon-rok could even finish his sentence, Moon Gyeon-woo’s face changed instantly. His expression was almost like that of a vengeful spirit, making Yeon-rok regret bringing it up.
“Yeom Cheon-ho, Choi Hwan. I will never let them off easy.”
The look in his eyes as he muttered, grinding his teeth, was so murderous that Yeon-rok wanted to keep his distance.
“I get it regarding the CEO, but why Choi Hwan?”
In Yeon-rok’s opinion, Choi Hwan was the biggest victim in this ordeal. Not only was he in a bind trying to clean up the scandal, but unlike Yeom Cheon-ho, all he had done was say a few words of criticism and ridicule to Moon Gyeon-woo.
“I just don’t like him. Besides, I remembered how he put his filthy mouth on me before.”
Put his mouth on him? When on earth? Feeling something was off, Yeon-rok searched his memories and realized Moon Gyeon-woo was referring to physical contact from a long time ago. Just in case, Yeon-rok asked cautiously.
“You mean when you were dating? You both liked it back then.”
Of course, Yeon-rok had been quite shocked when he first saw them, but wasn’t that all in the past? Moon Gyeon-woo leaped up in strong denial.
“Our lips barely touched! We just held hands a bit; we didn’t do anything beyond that. It was truly platonic! We broke up simply because our tastes and hearts didn’t align in the first place.”
Moon Gyeon-woo spoke with an air of forced elegance. Of course, Yeon-rok already knew from Choi Hwan that the two had broken up after a childish fight over who would be the top or bottom position. However, he kept his mouth shut, fearing that if he brought this up, Moon Gyeon-woo might actually kill Choi Hwan. After a moment, Moon Gyeon-woo spoke anxiously.
“Yeon-rok-ah, please don’t misunderstand. I really didn’t enjoy it in the slightest. I wasn’t cheating.”
“I know. I definitely didn’t misunderstand.”
Having seen him vomit, would he really misunderstand? But it was a bit strange. He had felt it for a while, but Moon Gyeon-woo tended to be exceptionally sensitive about infidelity or betrayal. Yeon-rok asked the now-sullen Moon Gyeon-woo.
“Did your exes cheat on you that much?”
Instead of answering immediately, Moon Gyeon-woo sighed. To soothe his mood, Yeon-rok stealthily took his hand. Immediately, there was a tapping sound; looking up, he saw Park Chung-seong knocking and staring through the glass window in the door. Yeon-rok quietly let go of his hand.
“It’s not just because of my exes.”
After hesitating for a moment, Moon Gyeon-woo brought up a story from his past. It was a story from the time he lived with his sponsors in the United States.
“The relationship between the sponsors was truly terrible. I saw with my own eyes how much they cheated on each other multiple times. They fought like animals. There were even times when the police were called.”