By Zephyria 
Compared to Choi Hwan’s average monthly income, it was truly only a small portion. Anyone who saw it would say it was a meager amount to give to his parents while earning so much money. However, Yeon-rok scoffed. If he had sent billions of won until now, hadn’t he already done enough to support them for a lifetime? It’s not like Choi Hwan is the only child.
Moreover, he wasn’t only sending money to his parents. His Hyung and Noona were also taking money from him regularly. It was under the guise of business expenses, living expenses, or his nephew’s education expenses. Yeon-rok couldn’t understand why Choi Hwan had to pay for the education expenses of his nephew, who had perfectly healthy parents. Moreover, the amount was enormous. Without hesitation, he cut all of that off as well.
Looking through the messed-up exploitation history, the asset manager clicked his tongue, saying it was a waste of the amount of capital gains tax he had paid until now. He also stopped all the cards that his family members were using. He changed Choi Hwan’s number in preparation for protest calls and firmly instructed the agency to handle it well. As a result, the settlement amount for this month was enormous.
‘At this rate, you’ll become rich soon?’
Even though he earns this much, Yeom Cheon-ho is providing living expenses and other maintenance expenses, so from now on, all that’s left is to save. Yeon-rok brought the bankbook with a proud heart. Choi Hwan looked through the bankbook details without much thought and blinked his eyes.
“…Is this much really left?”
“You’ve been too filial until now, so it’s okay to be a little unfilial from now on.”
Choi Hwan stared at the bankbook details with a complicated face. In fact, Yeon-rok, seeing how harshly he was being exploited, even doubted whether Choi Hwan was really their biological child. As if reading his mind, Choi Hwan replied.
“I’m their biological child.”
“Huh?”
“Jun-ho Hyung was also curious before. I thought you might be too, so I’m answering you. It’s just that my family doesn’t like me very much.”
Saying it nonchalantly, Choi Hwan asked Yeon-rok, who was inwardly flustered.
“How much can I spend freely here?”
“Well…”
Yeon-rok recalled the advice that the asset manager had earnestly given. In addition to the family’s exploitation, the expenditure on luxury items was too excessive compared to his income. But he also felt sorry for the other person, and since it wasn’t his money anyway, he replied like this.
“Buy what you want this month. It’s your money anyway. But don’t overspend too much. I mean, don’t cut your entire fortune in half.”
It was a ridiculous situation where the settlement amount for this month became his entire fortune because he didn’t have any money saved up usually. It was fortunate that he didn’t have any debt.
“I’ll only use a little!”
Choi Hwan was excited and ran out with his card. And a few days later, he suddenly handed something to Yeon-rok. It was a small, flat gift box. Yeon-rok, who was proudly placing the completed terrarium in the indoor garden, was bewildered.
“What’s this?”
“A gift of apology. If you receive this, you’ll forgive what I did wrong in the past, right? It’s all in the past now?”
Since he emphasized the gift of apology repeatedly, he was curious about what was inside. He tore open the wrapping and opened the box, and there was a car key inside. Yeon-rok’s eyes widened as he immediately recognized the logo engraved on the key.
“What is this? Are you kidding me?”
He was bewildered and suspected it first.
“Have you only lived being deceived? Come here, quickly.”
Choi Hwan excitedly grabbed Yeon-rok’s arm and pulled him. Following him with a hopeful heart, he saw a sports car parked in front of the house. The sleek body with its flowing curves shone brilliantly. Unable to believe it, Yeon-rok asked.
“You’re giving me this as a gift?”
“Yeah! Try riding it once, quickly.”
Still dazed, Yeon-rok muttered that this was too much, but he opened the door anyway. As soon as he sat in the driver’s seat, he involuntarily exclaimed, “Wow.” Choi Hwan, who had jumped into the passenger seat without even asking, wiggled his body.
“How is it? Awesome! Originally, you have to wait more than a year to receive this, but luckily, one was canceled, so I was able to receive it right away.”
Yeon-rok started the engine with a pounding heart. The engine sound that roared and vibrated the car body was like a wild beast. He knew he should decline, but he liked it so much that he couldn’t bring himself to say it. He had splurged a bit under Yeom Cheon-ho’s support, but he had never even dared to dream of something like this, which made it even more so.
In the end, after much deliberation, he put his foot on the pedal. Yeon-rok, who carefully drove around the neighborhood once, said to Choi Hwan.
“I forgive all your sins.”
When Yeon-rok woke up in the morning, he rushed out of the house as soon as he finished eating. The sports car that Choi Hwan had bought was a brightly colored, sleek red. Because Yeon-rok kept going back and forth to the indoor parking lot to see his car, the bodyguards had already parked it in front of the house by the time Yeon-rok woke up.
Admiring the car once like that, exercising with the bodyguards, and then chatting was his recent daily routine. Today’s topic was nicknames.
“How about Red Hare? The logo is also a horse shape.”
“Why are you bringing up such a tacky name out of nowhere? Then how about Cherry, Scarlet, or Red?”
“Uh… I’ll think about it.”
Chatting with the bodyguards, Yeon-rok polished the car that he had polished yesterday and the day before, making it shiny again and again. It was too expensive to handle roughly. He was too scared to go far, but after driving around the neighborhood a few times, the morning routine was over.
“Should I drive it to the next knitting meeting…?”
Park Chung-seong and Jeong Bo-eun also seemed to like it, so it would be nice to drop them off near the meeting place and let them ride it to their heart’s content.
After that, he had a meal, watched a movie, and diligently pursued his hobbies. Late in the afternoon, Yeon-rok looked down at his car from the rooftop garden and murmured.
“It would be perfect if every day was like this these days.”
He didn’t know when his fickle mind would change again, but he had become quite close to Choi Hwan, and his relationship with Moon Kyeon-woo wasn’t bad either. Yeom Cheon-ho was, needless to say, friendly. And recently, Yeon-rok’s thoughts were half on the sports car he had received as a gift and half on Yeom Cheon-ho.
Everyone was the same Name partner, but Yeon-rok somehow felt that Yeom Cheon-ho was a bit more special. Whether it was because he had been kind to him from the beginning, or because he had paid off his debt, or because they had kissed twice… Of course, there was the unsettling aspect of the Bluebeard’s Room, but he was trying to ignore it.
‘I don’t want to stir things up and get a headache for no reason.’
He just wanted to live peacefully and comfortably for a while. Maybe he had even bled from his nose, as Choi Hwan said. Maybe there was nothing special in the room and he was just probing his intentions for no reason… While thinking such thoughts and just looking down at his sleek car from above, he saw.
“Oh, it’s Moon Kyeon-woo.”
He was walking home in casual clothes. When he came up to the rooftop in the late afternoon like now, he could often spot Moon Kyeon-woo, who had finished work on time, returning from exercising. He wasn’t as bad as Yeom Cheon-ho, but he often worked overtime, so it seemed he was taking care of his physical strength by running on his way home. Watching Moon Kyeon-woo without much thought, Yeon-rok murmured.
“But where did he leave his bodyguard?”
It’s a little strange since he’s not someone who shakes off his bodyguard like Choi Hwan. Continuing to watch, Moon Kyeon-woo, who had come close to home with about two blocks left, slowly slowed down. He was taking out his earphones from his ears and operating his phone, as if he had been listening to music, when someone suddenly jumped out of the alley. And he struck Moon Kyeon-woo with a blunt weapon. Yeon-rok’s eyes widened.
“Wh, what?!”
Moon Kyeon-woo, who had been hit in the head, collapsed on the spot. They dragged him and put him in the back seat of a parked car. Yeon-rok jumped up from his seat without a second thought. An alarm was ringing in his head. It was an alarm coming from the instinct that his Name partner was in danger. He had a strong intuition that he had to follow them right now.
He slid down the staircase railing and quickly ran out without even putting on his shoes, taking less than 10 seconds. He rolled into the sports car, started the engine, and stepped on the accelerator. Glancing back, he saw Jeong Bo-eun and Park Chung-seong, surprised by Yeon-rok’s sudden action, opening the door and running out. He felt relieved. Yeon-rok focused on his goal.
“Could that be that stalker from last time?!”
It was fortunate that it was a neighborhood where mostly wealthy people lived and the buildings were spaced out, so the population density was low. Since there were hardly any people walking around in the neighborhood usually, Yeon-rok stepped on the accelerator as he saw fit and barely caught up with the car that had been far away. After doing so, he was worried.
“What should I do? What should I do…?!”
His head was spinning with worry, anxiety, and unease. Should I hit them from behind? No, Moon Kyeon-woo is in the back seat. If I go a little further from here, it’s the main street. Then won’t I miss them? If the light turns red, if I get trapped between the cars…