By Zephyria 
After a while, he heard the sound of two people’s footsteps, followed by the sound of a door closing. Only after a long time did Yeon-rok slowly come down from the stairs.
He walked listlessly and stared for a moment at the place where Yeom Cheon-ho and Choi Hwan had kissed. Then, as if nothing had happened, he walked to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. He paused to take out water, paused again to take out a carbonated drink, and then closed the refrigerator again. He opened the wine cellar next to it and took out any alcohol he could grab. He didn’t even touch a cup.
He walked listlessly back to his room. He tilted the bottle of alcohol while hugging his Cherished doll, Lime. It smelled good.
“It’s worth the expensive price.”
He spaced out for a moment, reminiscing about something, and then tilted the alcohol again. He drank the whole bottle until his face turned red. And he slowly washed his face.
“Damn it, so embarrassing…”
He sighed heavily repeatedly. As he swayed his body slightly from side to side, feeling tipsy, the alcohol hit him hard. He lifted Lime up high.
“Lime-ah, will you, be my Name, partner?”
The scruffy dog doll nodded its head as Yeon-rok moved.
“You’ll do it? Thank you… I’ll cherish you from now on.”
After hugging Lime tightly and giving it a kiss, Yeon-rok laid it on the bed and covered it with a blanket. After patting it, he sat down on the chair. Taking out his diary, he gripped the pen with his flushed hand. And he wrote wildly in his diary, intoxicated with loneliness.
[Date: xx/xx/20xx]
Couple hell, fuck
“Ugh, ugh.”
Yeon-rok groaned and grabbed his head, then grabbed the area near his solar plexus. His head hurt and he felt nauseous. In short, he had a hangover.
“Oh dear. Young Master, you should drink in moderation.”
Park Yeo-sa clicked her tongue and placed bean sprout soup in front of Yeon-rok, who was groaning. Yeon-rok thanked Park Yeo-sa for her deep grace and drank the soup first to calm his stomach, when Choi Hwan staggered into the kitchen. Yawning, he paused when he saw Yeon-rok.
“Why do you always look like that? Dress up a little.”
His gaze was on the apple hair that was tied haphazardly with a rubber band. He would dress up if there was anyone in this house he needed to impress. Muttering inwardly, Yeon-rok sipped the hot soup and said nonchalantly.
“If I go around like this, the blood circulation in my scalp will be good and my hair will be thicker.”
Choi Hwan’s movements, who was sitting down, stopped for a moment. After taking a few spoonfuls of rice, he asked in a cold voice after a while.
“…Does your hair really get thicker?”
Of course, it was a lie. But Yeon-rok only nodded, amused by Choi Hwan, who was soon tying up his bangs. Choi Hwan had a ridiculous hairstyle until his manager, Jo Jun-ho, came and pointed out the risk of traction alopecia and revealed the truth. Surprisingly, even that looked good on his face, so Yeon-rok felt a little jealous.
After making fun of the fool to his heart’s content, Yeon-rok focused on his hangover cure, when Choi Hwan, who had been glaring at him, crossed his arms and said.
“Hey. I’m dating Yeom Cheon-ho.”
A reckless tone, as if a immature high schooler was calling out the homeroom teacher, and a face with a smug look. The corners of his lips turned up in a cool smile. Before Yeon-rok could answer, Park Yeo-sa’s punishment fell on Choi Hwan. The spatula she was holding hit Choi Hwan’s thick arm with a sharp sound. Then, Park Yeo-sa scolded Choi Hwan, who was surprised and widened his eyes.
“Don’t be so rude and call older people by their names! You can’t do that!”
“He said he’s dating Cheon-ho Hyung…”
Choi Hwan, completely intimidated, corrected himself, but Park Yeo-sa glared at him menacingly and put down the side dishes. Choi Hwan’s lips pouted sullenly.
“Oh, I see. You’re dating the CEO.”
Yeon-rok, who had given up on many things after drinking from the bottle last night, replied indifferently, and Choi Hwan crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes as if he didn’t find the reaction interesting. Yeon-rok didn’t care. He had decided not to expect Name partners to be life partners, companions, or family anymore. Now, his goal was simply healthy survival…
The reaction actually came from Jo Jun-ho, who was shocked and spaced out.
“What! Hwan-ah, what are you talking about?”
“We decided to date last night.”
As he replied nonchalantly, Jo Jun-ho’s face turned pale and then red, and he jumped up.
“You idiot! How can an actor act so recklessly! We’re about to start filming, what if rumors spread! You’ll be treated like a married man now! Do you know why celebrities hide their Name Awakening?!”
“Ah! Why are you so surprised all of a sudden. He’s my Name partner. Isn’t it natural to date then? It just so happens that I have two hangers-on.”
Choi Hwan looked at ‘Hanger-on 1,’ who was focusing on his hangover cure, whether Jo Jun-ho was tearing his hair out in frustration or not, and said arrogantly.
“Honestly, if I’m an actor of my caliber, my Name partner should be at that level too.”
Jo Jun-ho sighed deeply, grabbed his cell phone, and got up from his seat. Choi Hwan shouted at him as he made a phone call somewhere.
“Hyung, are you going to tell the President now!”
The President here referred to Choi Hwan’s agency President, not Yeom Cheon-ho.
“I’m going to call the President, so watch your mouth! You’ll really be in trouble if an article comes out!”
“Do you think I’m stupid! Like I’d do that! Ah, damn it, Hyung, wait a minute!”
Choi Hwan noisily left the dining room with his manager. Park Yeo-sa clicked her tongue and cleared away the food that Choi Hwan had left unfinished. It was a movement that created a strangely cold wind. Yeon-rok rolled his eyes and quietly sipped his bean sprout soup, when Moon Kyeon-woo appeared. He was always stylish, but he was particularly sleek today.
“Park Yeo-sa-nim, didn’t the flower delivery come today?”
“Yes, it did.”
While Park Yeo-sa answered with a strangely drawn-out tone, not a single word was exchanged between Yeon-rok and Moon Kyeon-woo. There wasn’t even a single glance exchanged until Park Yeo-sa reappeared with a large bouquet of roses.
“Here you go.”
What Park Yeo-sa brought was a bouquet of roses so lush and red that even Yeon-rok, who treated the other person like a random stone, was surprised and stared. Whether Park Yeo-sa was subtly cold or not, Moon Kyeon-woo didn’t care. He simply smiled and disappeared with the bouquet of flowers.
“Tsk!”
As soon as Moon Kyeon-woo left, Park Yeo-sa sighed loudly. She didn’t like Choi Hwan, and she clearly didn’t like Moon Kyeon-woo’s behavior of playing sweetly with his lover while having a Name partner. Seeing Yeon-rok, who was carefully picking up side dishes while watching her, Park Yeo-sa asked with a friendly smile.
“Shall I give our Young Master some more soup?”
Yeon-rok keenly noticed that ‘our’ was added before his title.
“Yes! Please give me some more soup!”
“Okay. Eat a lot, eat a lot. Your stomach must be upset from drinking. Shall I make you some honey water too?”
Park Yeo-sa took care of Yeon-rok meticulously. Her gaze and touch were full of affection for the other person. Only after drinking two bowls of hot soup did Yeon-rok feel better and thought. It seems that both Choi Hwan and Moon Kyeon-woo have incurred Park Yeo-sa’s displeasure… Thanks to that, he enjoyed an unhealthy sense of satisfaction while receiving Park Yeo-sa’s favor.
After finishing breakfast, Yeon-rok wandered around the large house like a patrolling dog, checking here and there. He only glanced at the white door on the second floor from a distance before taking his cigarettes and going outside. As he wandered around the house again, he saw two familiar faces at some point.
“Hello, Hyungs!”
When Yeon-rok greeted them, the two bodyguards who were quietly following him bowed their heads. It doesn’t matter how far away from the house he is. Even if he’s only been out for a minute, the security team subtly follows him. Curious about how they did this, he asked, and the answer was that the security teams had taken lodging nearby and were on standby at all times.
“Did you have a good breakfast?”
The bodyguards, who asked politely, had their eyes on Yeon-rok’s hair. Oh, right. I still have my bangs tied up. He was momentarily flustered, but Yeon-rok brazenly pushed forward.
“It suits me, right.”
“Yes… It suits you well.”
The two bodyguards, with solemn expressions that didn’t reveal what they were thinking, agreed. The two people’s names were Park Chung-seong and Jeong Bo-eun. The moment Yeon-rok heard the two people’s names for the first time, he thought to himself.
‘Aren’t the two of your names a little unique…?’
But he didn’t show it on the outside. The people who would have the most trouble because of their names would be themselves, above all else.