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Chapter: 7
Marriage Contract (2)
“Do you know how important the marital relationship is in a marriage? I’ve heard people make a huge fuss over whether they can or can’t live because of it.”
“Th-that… but ours is a contract marriage…. The marital relationship….”
“It may be a contract marriage, but it is still a legally registered marriage where we are officially husband and wife.”
“Yes, that’s true. But honestly, I’ve never really thought about that part….”
Bora licked her dry lips.
She had already finished the cold water the secretary brought her, so she couldn’t moisten her parched lips anymore.
Kang Yoon let out a faint laugh as he watched Bora keep wetting her lips with her pink tongue.
“Are you the type who seduces men without even realizing it, Ms. Yoon Bora?”
“Pardon? Me?”
Bora’s already large double-lidded eyes widened even more, her cheeks flushing like ripe peaches.
“If you look at this clause,”
Kang Yoon pointed at a section written in the contract.
Bora followed it with her eyes.
“Kang Han Yoon and Yoon Bora must not let anyone discover that this marriage is a contractual relationship. Therefore, they must maintain a perfectly happy married life in anyone’s eyes.”
Kang Yoon emphasized the phrase “a perfectly happy married life in anyone’s eyes.”
“I, and you, Ms. Yoon Bora, must not meet anyone else secretly during these three years while the contract is in effect.”
“That’s obvious!”
“That means, for three years, we must not form relationships with anyone else—mentally or physically.”
“Well… yes…?”
It was obvious. Yet Bora lowered her head under Kang Yoon’s intense gaze as if she had committed some crime.
Strangely, she felt embarrassed, her face burning hot.
“Which means, regardless of anything, I am a physically healthy man, and I have no intention or desire to look elsewhere. So during the contract period, you will also have to be my physical partner.”
“Hic.”
At the words “physical partner,” a hiccup burst out of Bora’s throat.
Kang Moon burst into laughter without realizing it at her unexpected reaction.
“Haha. Wow… do you hate it that much?”
“No, it’s not that! Hic!”
She waved her hands to deny it, but seeing her bright red face and the hiccupping, Kang Yoon pressed a hand to his forehead.
“I didn’t expect such strong rejection. My pride is a little hurt now.”
“No, that’s not it… hic… I just need a little time to think and we can discuss it again… hic!”
Kang Yoon could barely suppress his laughter as his shoulders shook at Bora’s tearful expression and constant hiccups.
He had a reputation in business circles for being a reckless scoundrel, but that was mostly because of his nature of keeping women at a distance.
Most chaebol heirs or businessmen were polite and gentlemanly toward any woman.
In such a world, Kang Yoon, who drew a clear line and kept his distance from women, was constantly surrounded by rumors.
They said he was actually extremely promiscuous, a regular at high-end hostess bars, preferring wild relationships and avoiding respectable young ladies. Others even said he had a long-time lover and a child with her, but sent them to the U.S. due to family opposition.
Rumors piled upon rumors painted him as trash, but Kang Yoon didn’t particularly react.
The worse Kang Yoon’s image became, the more it helped mask the truly reckless image of his older brother Kang Moon, who ironically began to be seen as “at least more honest because he openly dated women.”
Just because his mother had once been his father’s mistress, Kang Yoon had never been properly acknowledged his entire life.
Women who showed interest in him were usually after money or status; through several relationships, he had realized that none of them truly liked him—Kang Han Yoon as a person.
For Kang Yoon, women had become something he preferred to keep at a distance. So after turning thirty, he had stopped getting deeply involved with them.
In any case, he was going to end up marrying according to Jin Hyun-sook’s wishes anyway, so love and dating were meaningless to him.
“Hic! Really, I’ll think about it properly… hic! And we can discuss and rewrite it later, okay? Hic!”
A woman who even hiccupped so cutely… a woman whose stomach growled in the cutest way… had somehow rolled right into his life.
“Alright. Let’s do that. By the way, your stomach is making quite a noise.”
“Ah… you can hear it? I didn’t eat breakfast….”
She awkwardly smiled, holding her flat stomach that kept growling, her eye corners curving beautifully.
Without a word, Kang Yoon stood up and took his jacket from the coat rack behind his desk.
“Where are you going?”
Startled, Bora stood up from the sofa.
Kang Yoon took the contract from her hands again, placed it back into a file, set it on his desk, and then turned to stand beside her.
“Let’s go eat something first. We can go to a place I like today, if that’s okay.”
“Oh, of course. You don’t need to skip your meal early just because of me….”
“My wife is hungry. What kind of husband would ignore that?”
“W-w-wife…?”
Bora’s face flushed red again as she followed behind Kang Yoon’s broad back, repeating the word “wife” in disbelief.
“I’ll be out for lunch. If anyone calls looking for me, tell them to contact me after 2 p.m.”
“Yes. Understood. Have a safe trip.”
The secretary, who had been fixing her makeup, jumped in surprise at Kang Yoon and Bora suddenly leaving the office and quickly bowed.
Kang Yoon pressed the elevator button for the 28th floor and gestured for Bora to get in.
Watching him press “B2,” Bora asked,
“Are we going far?”
“No. About 20 minutes by car. It’s a bit early for lunch, so we’ll arrive ahead of time.”
Arriving at the underground parking lot, Kang Yoon walked confidently toward the largest parking space next to the elevator.
There were two cars parked side by side: a luxury black sedan and a sleek dark green sports car with a slightly grayish tone.
Beep.
When Kang Yoon pressed the remote, the sports car’s lights blinked with a cheerful sound.
‘How much is this car even worth? The color is so pretty.’
“Get in.”
“W-what? Ah, yes.”
Bora flusteredly climbed into the passenger seat as Kang Yoon opened the door for her.
“You usually drive this car? Last time you came in a black one, I think.”
“That one is for public use. This is the one I drive myself.”
“Right… rich people…”
Muttering “rich people,” Bora’s voice made Kang Yoon suppress a laugh.
How could someone be so transparent?
Bora was clearly different from any woman he had ever met.
Perhaps that was why he felt a slight interest in her.
Unlike his past belief that marriage with anyone would feel the same, emotionless, he strangely felt that life with Bora might actually be enjoyable.
“This car is really nice… it’s so quiet.”
Bora leaned back into the snug seat and murmured in satisfaction.
“If you want music, you can turn it on.”
“I don’t usually listen to music while driving.”
“Really?”
“Sometimes I do… but I prefer opening the window and listening to the sounds outside.”
At her words, Kang Yoon lowered the passenger window slightly.
“Thank you. You’re much more… kind than I expected, Kang Yoon.”
“I told you. Whatever you think of me, I’m better than that.”
“Ah, that really seems true.”
Bora was someone completely different from the women he had met before—women who looked at him as a target to seduce for his wealth and status.
She was someone who, even entering a contract marriage not out of love, sincerely intended to help as much as she would be paid.
And yet she was so transparent that her feelings showed the moment the phrase “marital relationship” was mentioned.
The weather was nice, the roads were clear, and the car sped smoothly forward.
Without realizing it, Bora began to hum.
The melody was from an old song she liked, and even that surprised Kang Yoon once again. He glanced sideways at her.
“That song… not many people know it.”
“Huh? You know it too?”
“I heard it on the radio when I was young, and liked the melody so I looked it up later.”
“Wow. My mom liked this song too, so I used to hear it a lot when I was young.”
“The lyrics are good too.”
“Right! I didn’t understand it when I was young, but as I grew up, I realized the lyrics are really beautiful. It’s surprising—there really aren’t many people who know this song!”
“Maybe it’s because we’re husband and wife.”
“…We’re not husband and wife yet. We have to stamp the marriage registration first to be husband and wife, right?”
“Should I turn the car around? We could stamp it first and hold the wedding later.”
“…The contract doesn’t clearly specify anything about… that… marital… relationship thing, so we can’t.”
Even though they had used the term “physical partner” in the contract regarding marital relations, it was not meant in a literal sense.
It was only intended to ensure they acted convincingly as a married couple so no one would suspect anything.
But Bora’s unexpectedly strong reaction had made him cut his explanation short because it was amusing.
Perhaps the phrase “physical partner” had bothered her so much that she was muttering quietly to herself.
Kang Yoon glanced at her side profile.
Bora avoided his gaze, coughing lightly and looking out the window, her eyelashes fluttering.
For some reason, he felt an urge to brush those long eyelashes.
Or better yet, to have those long, dark feather-like lashes brush against his chest.
