By Zephyria 
The man in the suit knocked on a door with a conference room nameplate and said politely.
“Lee Yeon-rok-nim has arrived.”
Then, he opened the door and gestured to Yeon-rok with a polite hand.
“Please come in. Everyone is waiting for Lee Yeon-rok-nim.”
Swallowing hard, Yeon-rok entered and froze, letting out a gasp. There was someone too famous in the conference room. It was the actor Choi Hwan, whose face even Yeon-rok, who didn’t watch movies often, knew. Yeon-rok doubted his eyes.
‘Huh? Choi Hwan… Why is he here?’
What’s going on? Am I dreaming? He looked at the man who had opened the door for him, wondering if he had entered the right room. He was even more flustered when he received a calm gaze that seemed to say there was no problem. Yeon-rok stammered.
“Um, which, which one of you is my Name Partner?”
“The people inside.”
“Yes?”
The ‘people’ inside? Yeon-rok looked back into the conference room. He had been too surprised by Choi Hwan to notice, but there were two other people inside.
“That person is Lee Yeon-rok? Are you kidding me?”
His name came out of Choi Hwan’s mouth. And before Yeon-rok could even properly grasp the situation, the conversation flowed on.
“Is this a scammer, by any chance?”
“I already hate this so much…”
“Choi Hwan-ssi. Lee Yeon-rok-ssi is the first among us to register their ‘Hwamyeong’. So there’s no way he’s a scammer.”
After the rude conversations and the final confirmation from the Matching Center employee.
“Yes, that’s right. Lee Yeon-rok-ssi’s Hwamyeong, or rather, Name Partners, are these three people.”
The series of situations was so absurd and unbelievable that Yeon-rok couldn’t help but ask back.
“What the hell… I mean, I’m sorry. Is that even possible? Three Name Partners? Three? Are you serious?”
The Matching Center employee nodded as if understanding Yeon-rok’s reaction. Then, he handed over the document envelope he was holding. Choi Hwan, annoyed by the sight of Yeon-rok receiving the documents with trembling hands, urged him.
“Ugh, seriously. Let’s hurry up and get this over with. I have a schedule.”
Due to the guilt of making these people wait for three hours, even though it wasn’t his intention, Yeon-rok sat down in a shrunken state. He unconsciously placed his hands together on his lap. The Matching Center employee, still wearing an awkward smile, closed the door and left.
“Well… have a good time!”
The door closed, leaving only the four of them behind.
A heavy silence hung in the room for a moment. The first to speak was the tallest of the three men. Three business cards were passed around to each of them.
“My name is Yeom Cheon-ho.”
On the black business card, the name Yeom Cheon-ho was written, along with the company name and title below.
Yeom Cheon-ho
CEO HM Capital Co., Ltd.
Next, Choi Hwan sighed deeply and took out three business cards from his pocket.
“I’m Choi Hwan.”
Choi Hwan
The front of the flashy, glittering gold business card had only two letters: his name. It was a glimpse of something that could be pride or arrogance, implying that just his name was enough. He was, in fact, a famous actor to the extent that it was true. Finally, the person who had been sitting with his arms crossed and in a defensive posture reluctantly took out a business card.
“My name is Moon Kyeon-woo. This is what I do.”
Genexa Bio, Inc. Korea Branch Research & Development Division Dr. Kyeonwoo Moon, Ph.D.
Senior Research Scientist
It was just a plain and practical-looking white business card, but the problem was that all the contents were in English. Then, the gazes of the three men turned to one place. Yeon-rok, who couldn’t even read Moon Kyeon-woo’s business card properly, was at a loss for words. He struggled to not be intimidated by the seemingly impressive business cards, sweating profusely, but he answered firmly.
“I… don’t have a business card.”
Yeon-rok was somewhat dazed as he answered, his mind blank since earlier. It didn’t feel real.
“What a waste of time.”
Choi Hwan frowned and stood up. He opened the door roughly and complained to his manager, who was waiting outside.
“What did the director say? Is he being difficult? Seriously, being late because of something so trivial…”
The conversation was cut off as the door closed, but Yeon-rok knew that ‘something so trivial’ meant him. Next, Moon Kyeon-woo stood up. He opened the door and left without a word, exuding a cold aura. The last to stand up was Yeom Cheon-ho. He smiled at the flinching Yeon-rok and said.
“I’m sorry, Lee Yeon-rok-ssi. I have a busy schedule, so I have to leave first. My secretary will explain the details. Then, I’ll see you next time.”
With everyone gone, Yeon-rok, left alone, belatedly opened his mouth wide. The first impression of his Name Partners, or rather, Name Partners, whom he had been so looking forward to, was truly the worst. It was the moment when the thought that he had considered Name manifestation to be the first stroke of luck in his life was shattered.
* * *
Yeon-rok sat blankly, waiting for someone to appear and shout, ‘It was a hidden camera! Were you surprised?’ He desperately hoped that Choi Hwan or the other two would return with mischievous smiles and apologize, saying, ‘Sorry, it was all an act. This person is your real Name Partner!’ But no one came back.
After a while, there was a knock, and Yeom Cheon-ho’s secretary quietly opened the door and bowed politely.
“Hello, Lee Yeon-rok-nim. My name is Kim Jeong-seong. I will be in charge of carrying out Lee Yeon-rok-nim’s schedule today.”
Startled, Yeon-rok belatedly snapped out of his daze and stood up to greet him.
“Ah, yes. Kim Jeong-seong-ssi.”
“Please feel free to speak comfortably.”
“…I’m more comfortable like this.”
Only then did Yeon-rok finally accept the situation. He picked up the documents that he hadn’t been able to read because Choi Hwan was urging him. It was a document officially certifying the four people as Name Partners by the government. As soon as he opened the envelope, the first page showed four photos of each of their Names. The same clover pattern was printed on each one. Yeon-rok rubbed his eyes.
“Are you saying I really have three Name Partners? Can that even happen?”
It felt like he was having some kind of low-quality dream. Not only did he have three Name partners, but one of them was even Choi Hwan? More than anything, the fact that all his Name partners were men was shocking. Yeon-rok, who had never doubted that he was heterosexual, couldn’t understand it at all. Even if he were bisexual, shouldn’t at least one of them be a woman?
…Or not? What if this actually reflected the common tastes of the four of them? What if it was a somewhat rational outcome? His head suddenly started to spin.
“I need to see someone at the center.”
Yeon-rok, who had jumped up from his seat, brushed off Kim Jeong-seong’s words and went outside. He was planning to grab any of the center’s employees and get an explanation. He was walking quickly, almost running, when he suddenly heard a conversation.
“No, one of them is just too shabby.”
Instinctively realizing that they were talking about him, Yeon-rok stopped dead in his tracks.
“Are they really Name partners? Or is it some fake Name made up to get money?”
“It’s real. He was the first one to register, how could he fake a Name? He showed up looking like a beggar… I was so embarrassed.”
“But I heard one of the three is a celebrity. Who is it? Tell me, just me.”
“No way. I even signed a confidentiality agreement.”
“Come on, just tell me the initials~.”
“I can’t. I don’t want to see someone’s life ruined… Oh, oh.”
The employee, who had been bickering with a colleague, was flustered when he saw Yeon-rok standing there blankly. While the employee who had been caught gossiping turned bright red, the other one glanced around and slipped away.
“W-When, when did you get here? I thought you’d come out after we were done talking…”
The employee, sweating profusely, quickly adopted a polite attitude. Yeon-rok retorted curtly.
“Everyone seems to disappear when a beggar shows up.”
“No, that… What I just said wasn’t about Lee Yeon-rok…”
Cutting off the employee’s clumsy attempt at an excuse, Yeon-rok demanded an explanation.
“I really don’t understand. I’ve never heard of anyone having three Name partners. Isn’t there some kind of mistake?”
“Ah! I can understand why you’d think that. But we were so incredulous that we checked it several times. Just a moment. I’ll show you the data right away.”
The employee was more flustered than just being caught gossiping. Soon, the employee found the desired data and eagerly explained, showing the phone screen. On the screen was a paper titled “Case Studies Related to Multiple Matching of Name Bearers.”
“It’s not impossible, though the probability is really rare, about one in a million among those whose Names have appeared. We ran the matching program several times just in case. Above all, the matching rate and timing of the Name manifestation between the three of them and Lee Yeon-rok are very close.”