Chapter 10
A contract. That was the plan she had desperately conceived the night Ha-ryeong opened her eyes again on this bed.
In the past, beneath the roof of Baekya Group, she had been utterly powerless.
Like a herbivore abandoned by its herd, left alone in the vast grassland.
For that reason, Ha-ryeong had to seize the upper hand in this second chance.
It was her line of defense, her foundation.
All for that heartbreaking goal: to undo Do-yun’s death.
“…….”
Without blinking even once, Ha-ryeong studied Baek Ju-heon’s expression.
His face, as cold and white as porcelain, revealed not a trace of embarrassment.
Or perhaps it was just her imagination —
He actually seemed slightly amused.
Instead of taking the documents, Ju-heon fixed his gaze on Ha-ryeong, who stood before the bed.
His cool eyes were not much different from the way he had looked at her in the hallway moments ago, yet now a strange ripple stirred within them.
Suddenly, Ha-ryeong felt a ticklish sensation near her chest.
It was she who grew flustered first, quickly reciting her purpose.
“Since this is an unwanted marriage for both sides, I thought it best that we maintain a proper distance.”
That was all she managed.
She had wanted to slash at Ju-heon with sharper words, but the fleeting tickle in her heart made her offer sound rather bland.
But the response she received was completely unexpected.
One of Baek Ju-heon’s jet-black brows, like ink wash painting, arched upward, and then the corner of his mouth on the same side curved into a gentle arc.
It was a smile Ha-ryeong had never seen before — if it could be called a smile.
Then, in a tone laced with amusement, he answered her proposal.
“Who said it was unwanted?”
“……Pardon?”
Instead of answering, Ju-heon’s gaze slowly drifted down Ha-ryeong’s body.
His gray eyes passed over her two eyes, across the mole on her cheek, and down her slender nape.
In that instant, Ha-ryeong felt as though sparks were crackling across her skin.
Had that man ever looked at her like that in her entire past life?
More to the point — what did such a gaze even mean?
Soon, Ju-heon’s eyes traveled past her delicate collarbone toward her soft, rounded chest.
Startled, Ha-ryeong crossed her arms over her chest.
With a soft thud, the contract she had been holding fell to the floor.
“Interesting. Let me have a look.”
Deciding not to let his eyes wander any lower, Ju-heon obediently lowered his gaze and hand, picking up the contract.
Then he began to read the clauses written there, one by one.
“Number one. Seo Ha-ryeong and Baek Ju-heon shall sleep in separate rooms and refrain from any physical contact.”
Why was that? She had written it with serious thought, yet coming from Ju-heon’s lips, it sounded utterly childish.
She felt like a fool who had deluded herself while the other party had no intention of granting her wishes in the first place. An excuse she hadn’t prepared slipped out on its own.
“……We don’t know each other well, and there’s no need to. Sharing a room would only be uncomfortable, and that — contact is—”
She reached her limit. As things stood, there was no logical way to explain.
Should she say that if, by some chance, an accident happened between them, she couldn’t afford to have a child? That she must never get pregnant this time, so not even a fingertip should touch?
There was no way she could offer such an explanation.
Her ears burned red with unwarranted shame.
Just then, Ju-heon cut in, seizing the turn.
“Did you say we don’t know each other well?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
It was obvious. This marriage had been arranged extremely suddenly.
Like striking a vein of gold in the ground — had Ha-ryeong’s father not found a weakness in Baekya Group, Ha-ryeong would never have become a daughter-in-law of the Baekya household.
Before the marriage arrangements began, Ha-ryeong hadn’t known Baek Ju-heon, and surely the same was true for him.
Yet another unexpected answer flowed from his lips.
“Seo Ha-ryeong. Born in spring, twenty-seven years old. You resemble your mother greatly. You majored in Korean painting at university. Height 166 centimeters — exactly a 20-centimeter difference from me. At first glance, you look fragile, but…”
By the time Ha-ryeong’s eyes went wide in astonishment, he delivered the final line.
“…your personality seems otherwise.”
“……How do you—”
“Isn’t it natural to look into one’s marriage partner? This much is only basic decency.”
“Decency… you say?”
“I’m rather curious why you’re so surprised. These are all just basic facts. Anyone listening would think I’d done a background check on you.”
Ju-heon was right. In truth, once marriage talks began, these were details one would know even without trying.
Only — the Baek Ju-heon of the past hadn’t known even that much.
He had never thought to remember her birthday, never even asked about her personal information as a formality.
Standing beside Baek Ju-heon, Seo Ha-ryeong had been no different from a wooden doll, without even a breath of life breathed into it.
But why now, why was he looking at her like this, and why did he know so much about her?
As billowing questions rose in her mind, a thunderous answer fell.
“There seems to be some misunderstanding. I, Baek Ju-heon, am interested in you.”
Interested…
The word was far more provocative and profound than the “decency” he had mentioned earlier.
What kind of interest did he mean? Ha-ryeong couldn’t bring herself to ask.
Fortunately, Ju-heon’s interest soon shifted to the contract in his hand.
“Number two. Baek Ju-heon does not object to Seo Ha-ryeong having a job.”
Gulp — Ha-ryeong swallowed silently, trying not to be heard.
She was afraid he might raise another objection, like before.
But her worry was unfounded; Ju-heon readily agreed.
“Why would I need to object to you working? Do as you please.”
“Ah… Okay.”
She barely suppressed the habitual “thank you” and focused her attention on Ju-heon’s lips as he read the next clause.
Every item had been carefully calculated, but this last one was effectively the most important.
“Number three. Seo Ha-ryeong and Baek Ju-heon shall not mind or interfere should the other see other people.”
Even though she had written it herself, Ha-ryeong felt a pang in her chest.
At the same time, she saw the tip of Baek Ju-heon’s finger, which had been perfectly still until now, tremble ever so slightly.
It seemed unlikely, but he looked almost angry.
Seeing that, Ha-ryeong’s voice unconsciously quickened.
“Anyway, you already have another woman.”
“Another woman?”
At Ju-heon’s questioning look, Ha-ryeong forcibly suppressed her indignation.
“Yes. She came to the house earlier today. Gong Se-ra, I believe.”
“This is getting more and more interesting.”
By now, the half-folded contract fluttered limply between his long fingers.
On his face, which had shown little change in expression until now, a genuine, amused smile surfaced.
Slowly, Baek Ju-heon rose from where he sat on the bed.
Then, step by step, he walked toward Ha-ryeong, who stood pressed against the door.
In an instant, a large shadow loomed over Ha-ryeong.
Unlike that menacing shadow, however, he spoke in a rather gentle tone, revealing a shocking truth.
“It seems you’ve got some serious misunderstandings. Gong Se-ra and I are nothing to each other.”
“……That can’t be.”
“People outside call her my fiancée and all, but I’ve never actually been engaged to her. Grandmother simply favored her. More importantly…”
Flinch — under Ju-heon’s gaze, now even closer, Ha-ryeong’s trembling eyelashes fell.
The density of the air between them had become unbearably high.
In that density, Ju-heon slowly lifted Ha-ryeong’s small chin, forcing her gaze, which she had carefully averted, back to meet his own.
His frozen stare was more intense than blazing fire.
“The phrase ‘anyway, you have…’ bothers me. You don’t happen to have another man, do you?”
“Th-That’s absurd!”
Flustered, Ha-ryeong jerked her chin to the side.
A flicker of self-reproach crossed her heart — because of the plans she had laid out for the future, she had inadvertently misspoken.
But she was not given time for a long reflection.
Baek Ju-heon turned her chin back to face him.
Only this time, he didn’t stop there.
His fingertips lightly lifted her chin, then dropped a heated gaze onto the small, pursed lips above it.
And then, he whispered something Ha-ryeong could never have imagined.
“Too bad, but I have no intention of keeping a ‘proper distance.’ Arranged marriage or whatever — I intend to give this marriage my all, and I plan to have children.”
“Children…”
“Yes. Yours and mine.”
For a moment, Ha-ryeong’s breath seemed to freeze.
In this second life, she had thought she only needed to change herself.
That only she, the weak and powerless version who could do nothing, needed to transform.
It was a colossal delusion and miscalculation.
The biggest variable was the man right in front of her.
Her cold, indifferent husband — Baek Ju-heon.
