GMC 155

Thanks to Yeom Cheon-ho’s invitation for a date, Yeon-rok was able to spend several days barely thinking about Yoo Young-taek. He went to the hair salon to get his hair done and spent time pondering what to wear for the weekend, only to unexpectedly find out about Yoo Young-taek’s current situation.

“Yeon-rok-ah, have you seen this article by any chance?”

Moon Gyeon-woo, who had been staring intently at his phone with a serious expression while they were eating breakfast, asked.

“What article?”

Baffled, Yeon-rok looked and saw that the internet news headlines were completely covered with Yoo Young-taek’s name. Photos of him entering and leaving a hotel with a mistress or spending intimate time in a car had been captured and reported as news. Choi Hwan, who was watching with a curious face, snorted.

“Not surprising. Guys who cheat once usually keep cheating.”

CEO Yeom Cheon-ho probably handled this, right? It was certainly satisfying, so Yeon-rok smiled quietly.

The articles didn’t stop there. In the afternoon, testimonies from employees emerged regarding frequent verbal abuse and physical assault. By evening, the news was even covering a controversy over illegal political funds. It was money received from an elder of the Heavenly Truth Ming Cult, and surprisingly, the amount was in the hundreds of millions. For a politician aiming for re-election next year, it was a truly fatal scandal.

He had been crushed so thoroughly that Yoo Young-taek was now in a position where he could never make a political comeback. No, it wasn’t just a matter of a comeback; he was in danger of going to prison. At this point, Yeon-rok was starting to find Yeom Cheon-ho a bit scary. At the same time, he felt secure. Was this what it felt like to have a powerful backer and someone to rely on?

Yeon-rok wanted to talk to Yeom Cheon-ho about this, but whether it was to make time for the weekend or because of this incident, it was very difficult to see his face. It was due to excessively late finishes and early starts. Eventually, he was only able to see him on the day of their date.

“You look tired; shouldn’t you just rest at home?”

Yeon-rok asked worriedly. Signs of fatigue were etched on the overworked Yeom Cheon-ho’s face. Since there wasn’t a single stray hair or wrinkle in his clothes, he looked fine at a glance. However, [stolen [unauthorized unauthorized copycopy]content]it seemed there was no way to hide the bloodshot whites of his eyes. Rubbing his eyelids, Yeom Cheon-ho gave a slightly weak smile.

“I am a bit tired. If you don’t mind, would you hold my hand while we go?”

“Of course!”

And so, throughout the car ride, Yeon-rok held Yeom Cheon-ho’s hand tightly. A tingling sensation that started from his fingertips rose up to his chest. Feeling shy, Yeon-rok belatedly mentioned Yoo Young-taek to Yeom Cheon-ho.

“I saw the articles about that man. By any chance…”

“Yes, it was indeed my doing.”

Yeon-rok swallowed hard. Sweat pooled in the palm of the hand he was holding with Yeom Cheon-ho for no reason. Sensing this, Yeom Cheon-ho explained in detail.

“The Heavenly Truth Ming Cult became divided because of me, and their power weakened significantly. Perhaps because of that, Assemblyman Yoo Young-taek wanted to align himself with me as well. He had a good excuse in the form of Yeon-rok-ssi, too.”

“I see…”

“His position has likely become quite precarious due to this scandal. Yeom Cheon-ryul would have also noticed Yoo Young-taek’s intention to align with me. Moreover, since the Heavenly Truth Ming Cult is involved.”

Yeon-rok could only nod, amazed by what the other man had accomplished in just a few days. However, Yeom Cheon-ho then spoke with a serious face.

“While investigating Assemblyman Yoo Young-taek’s verbal abuse and assault cases, I found that the extent was more serious than I had expected. He seems to be a hot-tempered man, so security will be tight for a while.”

“That’s fine! I don’t mind. It’s actually fun hanging [stolen content[unauthorized copy]style="font-size:0;position:absolute;left:-9999px;">[stolen content]ute;left:-9999px;">]out with the bodyguard hyungs.”

Yeon-rok answered cheerfully. Looking at him with a gaze that found him cute, Yeom Cheon-ho said:

“I’m a bit jealous of that.”

“…!”

Yeon-rok’s cheeks flushed red again. Meanwhile, they arrived at a fancy restaurant and enjoyed a delicious meal. The second date location they moved to was a gallery operated by Yeom Cheon-ho. He was told he had been there before, but he just felt a vague sense of familiarity.

“Yeon-rok-ssi purchased these works together with me at the auction at the time.”

At Yeom Cheon-ho’s words, Yeon-rok looked at the paintings with curious eyes. They looked quite wonderful to him too. But what money did he have to buy such expensive things? He said they bought them together, but no matter how he looked at it, it was clearly Yeom Cheon-ho’s money.

“Yeon-rok-ssi’s eye for art was truly excellent. Most of them have risen quite a bit in value recently. This one was bought for about 300 million, but a recent work from this series sold for 600 million. It’s the same for this artist.”

300 million this, 600 million that? Instead of being happy that the value had risen, Yeon-rok grew anxious and subtly kept his distance, fearing that the paintings might be ruined because of him. He felt that if even one painting were ruined by his own unlucky misfortune, it would truly break his heart. Though he became so timid, looking at the paintings was interesting in its own way.

With the gallery, the date came to an end. The time Yeom Cheon-ho provided was not very long. Seeing Secretary Kim Jeong-seong acting restless, it seemed that even this was the result of considerable effort. As they left the gallery, Yeon-rok spoke tentatively.

“I’m worried because you always seem to be overworked. Would it be very difficult to reduce your workload?”

“I would like to, but it seems difficult due to matters outside of company business.”

As expected, the activities as a cult leader were the problem. Yeom Cheon-ryul was truly the root of all evil. Yeon-rok wanted to enjoy more dates together, but instead of [stolen content]style="opacity:0;font-size:0;">stolen contentpestering him, he decided to return home quickly to allow the other man to increase his sleep time even slightly.

“You don’t really have to drop me off at home.”

In the car heading home, Yeon-rok tried to dissuade Yeom Cheon-ho. This was because he knew that he had to return to the company.

“I simply want to.”

“But…”

“Holding Yeon-rok-ssi’s hand for ten more minutes is much more effective than resting for one more hour.”

Yeom Cheon-ho’s words sounded quite plausible to Yeon-rok. Or perhaps, he also wanted to hold Yeom Cheon-ho’s hand. Perhaps it was because he had no memories despite being name partners, but feeling inexplicably embarrassed, he glanced at the bodyguard driving and Kim Jeong-seong before taking Yeom Cheon-ho’s hand.

…Wouldn’t it be even better if they kissed?

Although he had lost his memories, he knew that the closer the contact between name partners became, the better the efficiency. Just as Yeon-rok was about to ask if he could kiss him, Secretary Kim Jeong-seong let out a short scream.

Almost simultaneously, Yeom Cheon-ho reached out and pulled Yeon-rok’s head tightly into his embrace. The last thing in Yeon-rok’s vision was a massive dump truck charging toward their car. Before he could even fully perceive the situation, consciousness was severed along with a massive impact.

“Yeom Cheon-ho-nim, it seems your personality has changed a bit lately.”

Kim Jeong-seong spoke out of the blue. When Yeom Cheon-ho, who had been reading the report on Yoo Young-taek, looked up, the other was smiling.

“Me?”

“Not in a negative sense. Perhaps your damaged brain is recovering? You’ve been feeling quite human lately.”

Yeom Cheon-ho lowered his gaze back to the report to finish the remaining portion. It was the part about Yoo Young-taek’s mistress. Starting with Lee Hye-yeon, Yeon-rok’s mother, he had cheated frequently until now. Perhaps he had become cautious after the illegitimate child, Yeon-rok, was born, as there were no further children. Turning the page to the assault cases, Yeom Cheon-ho replied.

“Humanity… If you call the fact that I’ve become confused and fickle compared to before ‘humanity,’ then perhaps that’s the case.”

The range of recovery possible through contact with a name partner is not omnipotent. It means it is not to the extent of restoring a missing body part.

Nevertheless, there were cases that could be called miracles with considerable probability. For example, a patient on the verge of death from terminal cancer being completely cured after meeting their name partner, a person with a disability due to severed nerves recovering, or a comatose patient regaining consciousness.

Yeom Cheon-ho also felt that the emotions that had grown faint after he fell and injured his head had recovered significantly recently. For him, who had always lived with a mind as calm as a lake, it was a somewhat bothersome and irritating element. However, the world certainly felt more vivid.

“Haha, you definitely have developed those aspects. I was surprised during the workshop.”

Kim Jeong-seong laughed, finding it amusing. He seemed to be recalling what happened at the previous Seoul Eastern Hwamyeong Cult workshop. It was because he had acted in a way that the usual Yeom Cheon-ho would not have. Yeom Cheon-ho gave a bitter smile.

“It was truly embarrassing.”

“But ordinary people all live their lives making mistakes and facing embarrassing situations.”

Kim Jeong-seong was delighted, but Yeom Cheon-ho was truly embarrassed, and not just as a figure of speech. The emotions that had become clearer than before made it difficult for him to think rationally as he once did. A more vivid desire for revenge, fear, anger, irritation… and Lee Yeon-rok.