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Chapter – 06
The start of the project begins with writing the contract
Aware of the smile that had crept onto his face without his permission, Doh-kyung quickly put on a gloomy expression again.
Of course, he didn’t forget to lower his voice more than usual as well.
“Grandfather is currently in the hospital. His condition worsened over the weekend. So for now, you just come with me to visit him, say hello, and tell him we’re getting married.”
“Ah…….”
“He won’t believe it at first, of course. From Grandfather’s perspective, it’ll seem like a lover suddenly appeared out of nowhere when just before, I was saying there was no one. So before that, we need to get our story straight about things like our first meeting and how we started dating. Perfectly.”
Winter slowly nodded. She figured she just had to memorize the story of their meeting that Doh-kyung made up, so there was no need to worry.
Seeing her serious expression, as if she was trying not to miss a single word he said, Doh-kyung smiled with satisfaction.
He was certain that Winter’s ‘perfectionism’ would apply to playing the role of a fake fiancée as well—there could be no better partner than her.
“After that, until he passes away, you just need to come with me to visit him in the hospital occasionally. There’s nothing else. No physical contact of any kind.”
“So there’s really no harm to me, right? And it’s not a bad thing for your grandfather either, is it?”
Winter seemed to have decided to think of this as a white lie.
At her question, which sounded like a final confirmation, Doh-kyung nodded firmly.
Of course, his grandfather would want to see the woman his eldest grandson Ha-kyung would marry more, but he chose to believe that it wouldn’t be such a bad thing even if his second grandson brought someone first.
After finishing all the explanations, he sat waiting for the answer that would come from Winter.
Believing that she was about 80% on board, his posture—legs crossed, leaning back—showed composure. However, the fingertips tapping on the armrest of the sofa betrayed a hint of impatience.
What if, just in case, Winter couldn’t overcome her conscience and refused his offer…….
“Then I’ll do it. A six-month fake fiancée.”
But thankfully, Winter gave him the answer he wanted. It was one of the most pleasing things he’d heard in his life, easily ranking in the top five.
Doh-kyung smiled brighter than ever.
Thinking he should drive the nail in before Winter could change her mind, he immediately got up and brought over the laptop he carried around with him.
“Then let’s write up the contract.”
“Already? Right after we finish talking?”
“Is there any clause you want to include?”
At Doh-kyung’s question, Winter frantically racked her brain. What clauses absolutely had to be in this six-month dating contract?
Without needing to think too long, Winter blurted out the first condition that came to mind.
“What you mentioned earlier. The promotion! The youngest department manager!”
“What about a salary increase?”
“Wouldn’t that naturally go up with the promotion?”
“Ah, I suppose so. Then shall we write them down one by one?”
Opening a Word document and typing ‘Contract’ at the very top, Doh-kyung pressed the Enter key a couple of times.
After that, he silently tapped the keyboard with his long fingers for a while before stretching his back and showing the laptop screen to Winter.
Inside was a ‘Fake Dating Contract’ with detailed clauses written out.
[Article 1 (Contract Term)
The effective period of this contract shall be six (6) months from the date of signing.
Article 2 (Duties of Conduct)
1. Cha Winter shall faithfully perform the role of a romantic partner in front of Kim Doh-kyung’s family during the contract period.
2. Cha Winter shall visit Kim Doh-kyung’s grandfather, Kim Seok-yong, in the hospital once a month, on one day during the weekend.
Article 3 (Scope of Physical Contact)
Physical contact between the contracting parties shall be limited to the ‘shoulder,’ ‘waist,’ and ‘hand.’]
The contents continued below, but Winter stopped her gaze at Article 3 and frowned at Doh-kyung.
“Wait. What’s this Article 3? You said there would be absolutely no physical contact.”
“Still, if we’re supposed to be lovers and keep our distance in front of Grandfather, wouldn’t that be strange?”
“Th-true, but…… touching the waist seems too close for comfort…….”
“Our goal isn’t just to pretend to be lovers, it’s to make my family actually believe we’re lovers. If we come claiming to be a couple and stand apart with no physical contact whatsoever, would you believe it? What would you think if you were Cha Winter?”
At Doh-kyung’s words, Winter’s lips pressed firmly shut. Even she thought she wouldn’t believe it, so it seemed she would have no choice but to allow this level of skinship.
‘Right. This is for the promotion, for the promotion.’
After steeling her resolve internally, she accepted the condition as if she had no choice. However, she didn’t forget to add one thing.
“Only, contact above the waist shall only be done when absolutely necessary, with mutual agreement.”
Only after confirming that Doh-kyung nodded did Winter turn her gaze away and continue reading the draft contract on the screen.
[Article 4 (Compensation for Effort and Time)
Kim Doh-kyung shall compensate Cha Winter for the time and effort invested in performing the role of his romantic partner, calculated in monetary value.
Article 5 (Cost Bearing)
All financial and material costs required for the pretense of being lovers shall be borne in full by Kim Doh-kyung.
Article 6 (Performance Reward)
Upon the successful completion of the dating conduct stipulated in this contract, Kim Doh-kyung shall promote Cha Winter to the position of Department Manager within her assigned department as compensation.
Article 7 (Non-performance and Damages)
If the purpose of this contract fails to be achieved, and the cause is clearly attributable to Cha Winter, Kim Doh-kyung may claim reasonable damages.
Article 8 (Special Provisions)
Should conditions deemed necessary by the parties arise in the future, they may be added as special provisions upon mutual written consent, and such provisions shall have the same effect as this contract.
Article 9 (Confidentiality)
The contracting parties shall not disclose this contract to any third party. This provision applies not only during the contract period but also after its termination.]
She was briefly surprised at how plausible the content was for something written in a hurry.
Then, upon reading the seventh clause, Winter’s brow furrowed again.
“Claiming damages? What’s this about?”
“If Cha Winter’s acting is too poor, or if she’s so bad at lying that the fact that we’re a fake couple is exposed, I’m saying I will hold you responsible.”
“Hah, responsible?”
Letting out a short, incredulous laugh, Winter quickly closed the laptop.
“I’m not doing it!”
“Seems like you lack confidence?”
“……Excuse me?”
“You’re doing this because you’re not confident in your acting or your lying, aren’t you? It’s basically tucking your tail between your legs.”
At the shameless provocation, Winter’s mouth fell open.
Of course, she wasn’t confident in either acting or lying, but that wasn’t why she had said she wouldn’t do it—it was out of fear of failure.
It was just that this toxic ‘liability’ clause, which applied only to her without any clear standard, felt unfair.
“Being good at lying isn’t something to brag about, Mr. President! No, Kim Doh-kyung!”
“Kim Doh-kyung?”
As Winter glared at him with unkind eyes and called him by his name instead of his title, Doh-kyung’s brow wrinkled sharply.
“What, are you going to start using banmal (informal speech) too?”
“I’m just reading what’s written on the contract. I think at the very least, during this contractual relationship, we should see each other as mutual collaborators, not as ’employer and employee’.”
“Collaborators?”
Doh-kyung let out a scoff. Where had the woman who had been demure when he called to receive her thanks before, and right up until he mentioned the contract dating earlier, gone?
Right now, in front of him, was a small dog baring its teeth.
“You seem to have forgotten, but this is a company.”
“But right now we’re not working—we’re writing a thoroughly private contract.”
“Ha.”
A sound of admiration escaped him at her spirit of never backing down a single word.
From what he’d looked up beforehand, Winter was known for being sharp about everything and handling work neatly, earning good reviews within her team.
However, it was also said that she was stubborn and couldn’t rest until she’d pointed out anything she thought was wrong, even to her superiors.
Seeing her talk back to him, the president, so clearly and argue about the contract clauses, it seemed those evaluations weren’t wrong.
He almost felt like he should give higher praise to the former team leader who had stolen this kind of woman’s ideas and passed them off as his own.
“Well, fine. Calling me ‘Doh-kyung’ is certainly more natural than ‘Mr. President,’ at least in front of Grandfather. I sincerely hope you’ll continue to keep business and personal matters separate so well that you won’t call me ‘Doh-kyung’ in front of other employees.”
The sarcastic tone made Winter bite her lip hard. Seeing his relaxed smile, it was clear he was enjoying this situation, which was infuriating.
After giving Winter, who was huffing, an even deeper smile, Doh-kyung returned to the main point.
“So, you’re not going through with the contract because you’re bad at lying and acting?”
“It’s not that I won’t do it because I’m bad at it. The problem is Article Seven.”
“What’s the problem? Which part?”
Seeing him shrug his shoulders as if he genuinely didn’t understand, Winter held back her anger and quickly spoke.
“That part about claiming damages! Why am I the only one who has to bear liability?”
“Because Cha Winter suffers no loss from this fake dating failing.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“If this dating is exposed as fake, I’ll end up disappointing my grandfather. I’ll even get the stigma of being a bad grandson who tried to deceive an old man on his deathbed. But what do you, Cha Winter, lose?”
Winter’s lips pressed tightly shut.
She thought about what she would lose if this fake dating failed, but nothing particularly came to mind.
There was the reward of a promotion, but that was something newly gained, not something she would be losing that she already had.
So she waited in silence for Doh-kyung to continue.
“That’s why you might not be as desperate for this fake dating as I am. Sure, you might get the result of a promotion to department manager, but that’s something you could eventually achieve on your own if you have the ability and luck. So I want to give Cha Winter a sense of responsibility. A commitment to do this properly.”
“So the responsibility you’re giving me is this damages clause?”
“Exactly. Because even if it’s out of fear of this clause, you’ll work hard.”
Winter fell into thought for a moment.
Doh-kyung’s smile was about to spread at the corner of his mouth again, assuming she understood his intent as she pondered seriously.
Then, something completely unexpected came out of her mouth.
