The Stranger Who Touched Me—and Didn’t Hurt at All

“You crazy bastard, you followed me all the way here… oh?”

The unfamiliar man, who had been walking anxiously while glancing back, finally collided and spilled an entire glass of champagne all over Taehwa.

“…….”

Hic. The man gasped for air.

He seemed startled that what he thought was a wall or a pillar turned out to be a person.

Looking at the completely wine-soaked front of Taehwa’s shirt, his already large eyes opened even wider, then he slowly raised his head to check Taehwa’s expression.

Seeing the chilly expression, the man set his half-empty champagne flute on the floor and began stammering out excuses.

“I’m so sorry!

I didn’t think there would be anyone here.

The stage isn’t very visible from this spot….

Ah, I’m not making excuses, it’s just, this place is really tucked away… what am I even saying….

I sincerely apologize.”

The man, who had been trying to explain himself, ended up bowing deeply for forgiveness when his words got tangled.

Seeing his flustered state, Taehwa let out a small sigh.

To be fair, he himself was partly to blame for not sensing the other’s approach until the fragrant alcohol soaked his chest.

This situation meant his senses had dulled to the point where he couldn’t even avoid someone charging at him.

Given that this event had a higher population density than any he’d attended in the last five years, it would have been strange if he were fine.

Even at this very moment, excessive stimuli were endlessly amplifying his fatigue.

The music only grew louder, lights changed colors intermittently in the dark venue, and the smells of cosmetics, perfume, sweet alcohol, and faint sweat mingled into an unknown stench, assaulting his sense of smell.

So he couldn’t place all the blame for the earlier collision on the man.

And most of all…

“You should have watched where you were going… I’m really sorry.”

“It’s fine.

You can go.”

What could he do when the other was apologizing?

He couldn’t exactly pick a fight with a civilian.

“The dry cleaning bill… no, I’ll buy you a new one.

You must have been really startled?

And with alcohol, not water….”

While getting soaked with alcohol was annoying, Taehwa hid his irritation and replied indifferently.

“Go.

The dry cleaning and compensation are settled.”

“But how can I just leave it…”

“…….”

“Huh, what? They’re coming this way?

Did they see me?”

The man suddenly cut himself off, crouched down, hunched his shoulders, and began muttering to himself, though it was unclear who he meant to hear.

He even stretched his neck out to check the situation, as if he’d already forgotten he was in the middle of apologizing.

Taehwa watched this scattered behavior with a somewhat exasperated feeling.

Should he just tell him to pay up and get lost?

The man peeked behind Taehwa, and when their eyes met, he let out a small sigh.

He wore the expression of someone who had just realized what he’d been doing.

He smiled awkwardly and scratched his head.

“Uh, anyway, I apologize again.

I’m sorry…”

“…….”

“Ah, I happen to have a handkerchief!”

Here, the man said cheerfully, rummaging through his pocket and pulling out a handkerchief.

Taehwa recoiled from the approaching hand more disgustedly than he had from the spilled wine.

“…….”

The man’s eyes widened at Taehwa’s soundless, swift movement.

His gaze asked, ‘How did you move away so fast?’

“Ah! It’s not that I was trying to do anything… I just thought you should wipe it off first.”

The man blinked, then, perhaps thinking his actions might be misunderstood, made a vigorous wiping motion with the hand holding the handkerchief.

As if anyone wouldn’t understand.

It was simply that Taehwa had no intention of letting a stranger touch his body.

“It’s not necessary.”

“…It’s dark, so you might not see well, but the wine is still dripping down like this.

Even down to your pants here.”

The man said with a troubled expression, tracing a line with his index finger from Taehwa’s chest down.

“Don’t worry about it.”

“You’ll probably feel really uncomfortable.

If that’s the case, at least take this handkerchief…”

“It’s really fine.”

Taehwa raised a hand, conveying his refusal as calmly as possible.

“I’m fine, so you can just go…”

“Wait a second, excuse me!”

It was before Taehwa could do or say anything.

The man closed the distance of three or four steps in an instant, pushing Taehwa behind a nearby pillar.

Taehwa reflexively almost shoved the man away, barely stopping his hand in mid-air.

He took a deep breath, keeping his arms, which were closer to weapons than mere limbs for a civilian, pinned to his sides.

The man, completely unaware of the perilous situation he had just created, simply peeked around the pillar.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

The words Taehwa spat out, swallowing his inexplicably quickened breath, were sharper than intended.

But the man had no sense of awareness.

“Shh!”

“Shh?”

Taehwa’s irritated echo made the man seem to come to his senses, rolling his large eyes and mumbling.

“Ah… sorry.

I didn’t push hard, but did it hurt?

If it hurt, I’m sorry…”

“…….”

“…Uh, but you know what?

You’re even more soaked than I thought.

I touched it without realizing earlier, and my whole palm is damp…”

Stuck between a pillar and a man considerably shorter than him, Taehwa glared down fiercely.

“So… since I’m already damp… I thought I could wipe it for you with this handkerchief, you see?”

The man, trying to redirect the conversation and act friendly, met Taehwa’s piercing gaze head-on, gave an awkward smile, and began wiping Taehwa’s shirt with the handkerchief he held.

“That’s what I meant…”

When Taehwa knocked away the hand clumsily wiping the wine with his arm and growled a low “Move,” the man coughed as if he’d been waiting for that and obediently stepped back.

“I’m telling you this so you don’t misunderstand… there’s someone I really don’t want to meet, and I think they just saw me this way.

I had to hide before becoming too conspicuous, so I ended up being rude like this.

Uh, I just hope you can understand…”

“…….”

“You’re so tall, you probably attract attention often anyway.

Ah, I’m not blaming you at all!

I mean, we were facing each other.

Rather than raising suspicion, I thought it’d be better to hide together…”

What started as a brazen excuse gradually deteriorated, as the man became seriously distracted by watching for passersby, until it was no longer even an excuse.

“So this is all because that crazy bastard has annoyingly good eyesight….

Looking at this, being tall isn’t always a good thing….

No, I heard that bastard was busy being summoned everywhere, so why is he showing up at an after-party like this…”

The man, not even knowing what he was saying anymore, finally seemed to spot something promising and raised his eyebrows. “Going the other way?” he exclaimed brightly.

He then frantically dug into his back pocket and pressed something into Taehwa’s hand along with the handkerchief.

Then, he bowed his head.

“I’ve been very rude.

For now, wipe the wine with this and please contact me at that number.

Please.”

His speech was rushed, but the direction of his half-turned shoe tips, as if ready to bolt any second, radiated impatience.

When Taehwa reluctantly nodded, the man deliberately kicked over the champagne flute he had set down earlier.

Then, he hurriedly disappeared into the crowd.

Taehwa watched his retreating back incredulously, and when he had completely vanished, opened his hand to see what the man had given him.

“…….”

A thoroughly soaked handkerchief.

And inside it, a piece of paper the size of a business card.

[cafe name

coffee & dessert

open 10:30AM – close 9:30PM

insta @cafe_name_ ]

****

[Post]

[The Horrific Symptom Experienced by 0.1% of Imprint Namers Worldwide (feat. Love Tattoo)]

(Screenshot from a daily drama featuring a Namer as the protagonist)

Name Interference

No cure

It sucks

[108 comments]

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└ Some say it hurts, others say it just feels disgusting—what’s the criteria?

└ According to academia, the level of the imprinter’s obsession is a factor lol. A recent paper came out saying if the other party is polyamorous or capable of multiple loves, the interference effect doesn’t occur.

└ Really???? That’s interesting…

└ I want to turn back time. Why am I being tested like this?

└ #22 I want to die. Why did I get entangled with such a bastard..

└ I agree. It really sucks. Worse than sucking.

└ The Name Interference effect itself probably isn’t just 0.1%? I learned most people feel it to some degree, just varies in intensity.

└ What exactly is it? Just reading the post, I’m not sure if it’s really a disease.. the explanation seems too lacking.

└ Jst rvlting) Think of it like the feeling when someone touches you suddenly.

└ Huh? Are there people who don’t feel gross when touched suddenly?

└ lollol The commenter above was simplifying it; it’s not just a matter of feeling lol It’s a recognized medical condition with its own disease code lollol

└ It’s a scraped post, so it can’t be edited!! The OP added an explanation in the first comment!!

└ 【A type of peripheral neuropathy that can occur in Namers. Long considered a psychogenic mental disorder, it was recently recognized as a peripheral neuropathy after proving a correlation between mutations in genes Namers possess and genes causing peripheral nerve disorders. About 50% of Namers with an imprinter show symptoms and signs of Name Interference, and among them, about 1.4% experience severe neurological disorders. Common in teens and twenties, it can manifest with various symptoms. Mainly presents as tingling or burning sensations, and in severe cases, even light touch can cause pain.

[Knowledge Encyclopedia] Name Interference [name interference effect] (Korea University Hospital Medical Information, Korea University Hospital)】

Got this from the first comment.

└ Ah thx thx

└ When the love tattoo first appeared, it was nice, right? It shows up right after manifestation, since we’re Namers… you all know? Like, can’t sleep well, tossing and turning, headaches, even auditory/visual hallucinations… But when that all disappeared, it felt so good. Then, f*ck, after imprinting, it got so much worse.

└ Just reading your comment, the pre-imprinting phase seems way more severe. I’m curious how exactly it got worse after.

└ The symptoms the OP mentioned don’t all come at once, and they were severe right after manifestation but gradually improved hehe But the interference effect happens when you come into contact with someone, right? Think of your whole body turning into a siren then hehe It’s like having a body ache and then being continuously beaten with a club by someone.

└ Does it make me too much of an a**hole if I say this disease is romantic…?

└ #222 It’s romantic…

└ Do you know what the problem is, everyone? Even if you break up with your imprinter, if they still love you (ugh, disgusting….), the interference effect doesn’t end…

└ Right. If you have Name Interference, you can’t date other people even after breaking up with your ex lol

└ Huh?? That’s crazy;;; I take back calling it romantic. Bleh.

└ A lot of people get Name Scars because of that.

└ What’s a Name Scar, teacher?

└ A scar left on the skin from trying to remove a Name, like removing a tattoo

└ Just saying ‘scar’ might be misleading, so I’m leaving this comment as I pass byㅠㅠ It’s a much more serious disease than Name Interferenceㅠㅠ The pain is so severe you’d rather dieㅠㅠ

└ Right. After breaking up with a lover, if you impulsively try to remove the love tattoo and fail, getting a Name Scar, some people commit suicide.. It can’t be treated and it hurts too much.

└ Wow… It’s much more serious than I thought

└ It’s not that there’s absolutely no treatment for Name Interference; there are currently prescribed medications, but they aren’t effective for everyone, so doctors’ opinions vary.

└ I went to the hospital recently for the condition in the post, and the doctor said there’s even a fuss about getting that minimally effective treatment medication covered.. Even though it’s insanely expensive because insurance doesn’t cover it.

└ 0.1% among Namers seems like a very small percentage statistically, but there seem to be a lot in this post..

└ Statistically, yes, but it’s a symptom found in over 90% of teen and twenty-something Namers, so… it’s plausible there are quite a few here too.

└ Oh… Teens and twenties… The age when love blossoms. Seems somewhat scientific yet mystical.