By Zephyria 
“I told you, you should have just rested at home.”
Even as he scolded him for acting spoiled, Choi Hwan loved the tenderness with which he held his hand. Leaning against Yeon-rok’s shoulder, Choi Hwan looked down at their interlaced fingers. The neatly trimmed nails, like round pebbles, were cute. He stealthily slipped off the bracelet he was wearing and fastened it around Yeon-rok’s wrist. The way Yeon-rok glanced down at it and then left it there, as if used to it, was also cute.
What am I supposed to do when he’s this cute all the time? A phrase suddenly came to mind.
‘Once they start looking cute, it’s all over.’
It was something an actor had once said while suffering through a dating scandal. In the end, he had defied his agency’s opposition and gotten married. His popularity plummeted, but he seemed to be living very happily with his spouse. Thinking of that actor, Choi Hwan closed his eyes tight.
His life was over. It was over because of Lee Yeon-rok. To be precise, Lee Yeon-rok’s cuteness had finished him off. He had reached a point where even Lee Yeon-rok simply breathing seemed cute… Choi Hwan gushed internally.
Unlike last time, the trip to the cult’s headquarters was far too short. As they stepped out of the car, their interlaced fingers naturally parted. He felt a sense of longing, but the other party didn’t seem to feel it at all, which felt cruel.
“Welcome, Yeon-rok-nim. You’ve brought another flower name bearer with you today?”
An elderly guard greeted Yeon-rok warmly. They exchanged conversation without hesitation, as if they were comrades who had shared hardships together. It wasn’t just the guard; the other people were the same. Choi Hwan began to wonder how he had managed this. Hadn’t it been less than fifteen days since he’d known the people here? Just then, someone hesitantly approached Choi Hwan.
“Um, Choi Hwan-nim, if it’s alright, could I possibly get your autograph? My daughter is a huge fan of actor Choi Hwan.”
“Ah, of course. What is your daughter’s name?”
Choi Hwan wasn’t particularly sociable, but it was a different story when it came to his fans. He responded kindly, as if he had instantly become a different person, and practically held a small signing event. After signing for everyone who wanted one, they moved on.
‘There are fans of mine even among cult followers…’
As he pondered this with a slightly complicated heart, Yeon-rok spoke as if reading his mind.
“Don’t they all seem like very ordinary people? Aside from the strange titles, they actually seem like people who just came to work at a job.”
“I guess so.”
Though he didn’t really agree, Choi Hwan answered meekly. Because Yeon-rok had such a soft and gentle nature, he secretly worried that Lee Yeon-rok might fall for this cult. However, he didn’t say anything that would obviously hurt Yeon-rok’s feelings.
Soon, they arrived at the penitence room where Moon Gyeon-woo was staying. As soon as he grabbed the doorknob, the door swung open.
“Yeon-rok-ah, welcome…”
Moon Gyeon-woo’s voice trailed off, and his warm smile vanished into a stern expression. Choi Hwan curled the corners of his lips into a smirk, mocking him openly. Yes, this was exactly the expression he wanted to see.
“…Why is this one here?”
“What do you mean ‘why’? I came because I was worried about our name partner.”
He wanted to provoke him further, but the gaze Yeon-rok cast upon him was stern. The way Yeon-rok pressed his lips into a straight line as a warning was so cute that Choi Hwan silently entered the penitence room. Moon Gyeon-woo’s face turned as cold and frigid as a winter storm.
Choi Hwan deeply regretted his past of dating such an obnoxious human being. He wanted to erase that memory from his own head, and especially from Yeon-rok’s. Moon Gyeon-woo was likely thinking the same thing. Yeon-rok warned him again.
“Don’t fight. I clearly told you not to fight.”
“Of course I won’t.”
Moon Gyeon-woo lied without blinking. Choi Hwan merely snorted. Not wanting to tell a hypocritical lie like the other man, he shut his mouth entirely. While he didn’t fight for Yeon-rok’s sake, a murderous tension lingered in the quiet silence.
I should have finished that bastard off. Whenever he thought of the day Yeon-rok had disappeared overnight, indignation surged within him. A bookworm like that wouldn’t be a match for him in a fight. When he imagined what the man had done while alone with Yeon-rok, his stomach didn’t just churn—it felt like it was burning. His heart ached, and he felt a bitter taste in his mouth.
What was more agonizing was that since that incident, the relationship between Yeon-rok and Moon Gyeon-woo seemed to have improved. There was certainly a unique bond of empathy shared by people who had gone through a special experience together.
Yeon-rok had said he wouldn’t date anyone, but how long would that resolve last? Whenever Choi Hwan felt that Yeom Cheon-ho or Moon Gyeon-woo were psychologically closer to Yeon-rok than he was, he became depressed. The thought of unrequited love forever made his future look bleak.
Why on earth were there three name partners? Actually, three was fine. It would be perfectly ideal if Yeom Cheon-ho and Moon Gyeon-woo hooked up and he dated Lee Yeon-rok. But lately, that seemed like a very distant dream.
Surely the other two felt it too. That it had to be Lee Yeon-rok.
I want to erase the past—no, to be precise, I wish that guy would just disappear. Moon Gyeon-woo glared at him with a face that mirrored Choi Hwan’s thoughts. Imagining various ways to beat him up in his head, Choi Hwan glared back without backing down. After a few minutes of this standoff, Yeon-rok’s expression darkened.
Lee Yeon-rok was soft-hearted and kind by nature, so whenever conflict arose around him, he tended to suffer the most. This was true even if it wasn’t his fault or responsibility. Seeing the face of the person he loved grow gloomy, Choi Hwan’s heart naturally softened.
“Have you eaten?”
He wasn’t curious at all, but he tossed out the question reluctantly. When Yeon-rok’s face brightened, Choi Hwan felt that asking the unwanted question had been worth it. Moon Gyeon-woo seemed to have similar thoughts and gave a barely reluctant answer.
“I was planning to eat together once Yeon-rok arrived.”
That was information he truly didn’t want to know. However, Yeon-rok, looking far more relieved just because they had exchanged a few words, cutely suggested to the two of them:
“Then, after we eat, do you want to go pick some strawberries? They grow greenhouse strawberries here, and I heard they’re delicious enough to be supplied to hotels.”
Neither of them would dare refuse Lee Yeon-rok’s suggestion. The way he looked so happy about something as simple as picking strawberries was cute.
After finishing their meal, the three of them moved to the strawberry greenhouse. He had assumed it would be a few simple vinyl greenhouses, but upon arrival, it was a massive smart farm. Yeon-rok marveled, saying he had never seen such a large strawberry field.
“Wow. There are so many strawberries.”
The smart farm manager spoke proudly in response to Yeon-rok’s admiration.
“Thank you for noticing. I’ve put a lot of effort into this place over the years. Here, here are your baskets. If you fill them up, I’ll give you a gift.”
The manager handed out baskets one by one. But something was strange. The basket given to Yeon-rok was moderately large, the one given to him was a bit larger, and the one given to Moon Gyeon-woo was nearly twice the size.
It was a blatant display of favoritism toward Yeon-rok, but Choi Hwan let it slide. He had often seen Mrs. Park, the bodyguards, and other employees at home granting Yeon-rok exceptional conveniences.
The bright red strawberries, ready for harvest, were large and luscious. However, Choi Hwan, who found it nothing but a chore, sighed once and began picking. As he moved with a lazy touch, he suddenly looked around and realized he was the slowest. After a moment of hesitation, Choi Hwan stealthily swiped some strawberries from Moon Gyeon-woo’s basket.
Only after he repeated this three times did Moon Gyeon-woo notice something was wrong. He felt a piercing gaze from behind, but Choi Hwan pretended not to notice. Compared to the incident of kidnapping Yeon-rok, this was nothing. However, brazenly, Moon Gyeon-woo didn’t seem to think so at all. He snapped in a low voice.
“Do you want to die?”
“So what?”
“I really hate how I feel degraded just by dealing with you.”
Moon Gyeon-woo criticized him in a voice full of disgust and then stepped firmly on Choi Hwan’s sneaker as he walked past. Setting aside the pain, a clear footprint was left on the limited-edition sneakers he had bought not long ago. Choi Hwan glared intensely at the back of Moon Gyeon-woo’s head. His mood, which was already poor because he felt like a servant laboring in Yeom Cheon-ho’s strawberry field, had now hit rock bottom.
Meanwhile, Yeon-rok had already filled his basket. Not stopping there, seeing that Choi Hwan and Moon Gyeon-woo’s baskets weren’t full yet, he quickly picked more strawberries to fill theirs. The way he filled them diligently like a squirrel, looking proud of himself, was simply cute.
“You’ve picked them all already? You’re really fast. You picked the strawberries very cleanly, too.”
“It was really fun. Shouldn’t people pay for an experience like this?”
Without a single word of praise for Choi Hwan or Moon Gyeon-woo, the manager engaged in a friendly conversation with Yeon-rok.