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chapter 04
Yeon-seo clutched the brooch tightly in her hand.
The warmth of this man still lingered. Somehow, it made her feel a strange tingling, and she swallowed hard.
“This is definitely not an ordinary brooch.”
It felt as though countless incidents were tangled up in this single brooch.
“Once you come into the Seoguk household, you can have plenty of jewelry like this. Just put it back in its place.”
Unlike her, Do-heon’s gaze was indifferent, as if he had seen nothing more than an object kicked around underfoot.
“Perhaps it’s only once I enter the Seoguk household that I can truly have plenty of this kind of thing.”
No one else could uncover the truth behind her grandmother’s death. She thought this might be a fateful opportunity.
“If I enter the Seoguk household, I might be able to find something out. Perhaps traces of my grandmother still remain. At the same time, I could also clear Yeon-jae’s debt.”
It was a method she had never dared to consider before.
“You have to enter the tiger’s den to catch the tiger.”
Her heart began to beat irregularly as she thought this. Chewing the inside of her lip and thinking deeply, she finally spoke in a calm voice:
“What exactly is this contract?”
One of his eyebrows raised.
The laugh that slipped out through his teeth seemed almost to mock her sudden shift in stance.
The next day, Yeon-seo arrived in front of the hotel where she was to meet him.
He had asked her to come to the hotel because, in a café or public place, someone could be spying.
“This contract is a secret between you and me. If any details are leaked, you, Yeon-seo, will bear responsibilities you cannot handle.”
She replayed Do-heon’s words in her mind as she walked down the dim corridor and arrived in front of Room 7682.
She hadn’t slept a wink all night. Memories of that day and her grandmother’s face were so vivid she couldn’t rest.
After hesitating for a long time, she took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
“Come in.”
He opened the door, clad in a sleek suit. Unlike yesterday, he was impeccable to the point of suffocating perfection.
In the silent space of the hotel room, floating dust motes were visible. The scent of the man’s cologne tickled her nose.
“Sit there.”
He spoke as a command.
Perhaps because of his innate presence, there was a power in his words that made her obey without reason. Yeon-seo smoothed down her knee-length skirt and sat.
“Read it carefully before deciding. Once the contract is signed, it cannot be undone.”
Do-heon handed over the documents, sitting with one leg crossed. There seemed to be a dozen or so pages.
“So this really isn’t a simple contract.”
With trembling hands, she carefully flipped through the pages. In the quiet hotel room, only the rustle of paper could be heard.
Among the formal clauses, one caught her eye.
[Article 3: The ‘B’ party shall faithfully fulfill the terms of the arranged marriage. ‘B’ is obliged to comply with all physical contact requested by the ‘A’ party.]
“What does this clause mean? Am I reading it correctly?”
It was still hard to believe. He answered calmly:
“Probably. Myeongseonjae is full of eyes. Grandfather, Mrs. Geum, Seogangjae—they’ll all try to verify our relationship, either by using their employees or personally.”
“Why?”
Yeon-seo blinked rapidly.
“If, for any reason, this marriage is broken before my grandfather transfers his shares, I lose the possibility of taking Seoguk.”
He spoke while lightly biting his tongue. The downward gaze made him seem slightly bitter.
“As for Mrs. Geum… she doesn’t want me to have Seoguk.”
For a brief moment, she thought he looked lonely. Perhaps he was similar to herself in some ways.
“You must deceive them thoroughly, leaving no openings. It must appear to anyone that you fell in love at first sight and married for love,” he continued, extinguishing any illusion she might have had.
“To do that, you need to get used to physical closeness. It’s easy to read between a man and a woman—they’ll notice immediately.”
Yeon-seo’s lips trembled slightly.
The phrase “get used to physical closeness” echoed in her ears, and her cheeks flushed. She found it chilling that a man could speak of such things so casually as if discussing work.
Words barely came out. She whispered in a tiny voice:
“How far… do I have to go?”
“I’ll hold you regularly. Everything is to deceive them perfectly.”
“….”
“They’ll even be curious about contraception. I have no intention of giving them the bait they want.”
Yeon-seo silently turned the pages. Her eyes brightened as she scanned further.
[Article 15:
-
The ‘A’ party shall pay 100,000,000₩ within seven days of the contract.
-
Once the ‘A’ party achieves their purpose, they may request a divorce, which signifies contract termination. Upon termination, the ‘A’ party shall pay 10,000,000,000₩ in alimony.]**
“B… ten billion? Is this a mistake?”
The amount seemed excessive. Money she had never imagined touching in her life, yet he showed no reaction at all.
“You have to offer this much for her to comply faithfully. If she fails, she returns double. My future depends on it.”
“So I could really pay off Yeon-jae’s debt with this…”
Her heart raced just knowing she didn’t have to sell her grandmother’s house. Protecting it was more precious than her own life.
At the same time, fear surged. Money isn’t handed out freely without reason.
“There must be a price for ten billion. I’ll have to do as he says.”
In this contract, he was thoroughly the ‘A’ party. Any hope she had of a shared understanding was mere arrogance and ignorance.
She looked up at Do-heon’s eyes—cold yet burning with desire.
She felt a surge of fear at the thought of managing him.
“Do you think I’ll kill you or something?”
He smiled knowingly, as if seeing straight into her thoughts.
“I can do it, as long as I can uncover the truth behind my grandmother’s death.”
Yeon-seo took her personal seal from her old bag, stamped it neatly beside her name, and handed it to him.
“Transfer it immediately.”
With a single call to Secretary Choi, he sent her 100,000,000₩. Seeing the money deposited instantly made her eyes widen.
“Money my grandmother never even touched… and it’s so easy for him.”
While she struggled to hide her bitterness, Do-heon stared intently at her worn bag.
“Is that the only bag you have?”
He pulled a wallet from an inner pocket and handed her a black card.
“You’ll need to shop. Don’t let Mrs. Geum look down on you. The limit is unlimited—buy whatever you need.”
Yeon-seo looked at the card silently.
“No, that’s fine. I have other bags at home. The contract payment is enough.”
She clutched her worn bag as if it were the last piece of pride she had left.
Remembering her own goals, she refused anything unrelated to the contract.
“Why the unpleased expression? Embarrassed? Your pride will only interfere with the contract. I’m not giving this for you—it’s for the contract’s success.”
Yeon-seo lowered her head. His words pierced her like a dagger.
Do-heon ignored her and placed the card in her hand. She reluctantly put it in her wallet.
He tapped the table between them with long fingers and said:
“Then the contract is established.”
His dark eyes fixed her squarely, creating an unfamiliar tension.
“This is the first practice.”
“Practice? What kind of practice?”
Do-heon pressed the table with his palm and stood. Yeon-seo stiffened in surprise at his approach.
“Start with a kiss.”
He tilted her chin with his long fingers and exhaled warm breath onto her lips. Their lips touched briefly before separating.
Their intertwined gazes narrowed.
A cool scent came from his slowly moving lips. His sudden breath seemed to destroy her cells.
“Haaah.”
Her chest heaved as she exhaled shakily.
She tried to push him lightly, but the more she resisted, the more entangled he became. He pressed her lips and ran his tongue over the delicate flesh inside her mouth.
She reminded herself that all of this was a necessary step to achieve her goal. If it could help uncover the secret behind her grandmother’s death, this was nothing.
“Endure it. A kiss is nothing.”
