Chapter 8
“It’s been a while.”
Sorim didn’t answer. She only looked up at him with a wary face.
Song Taeha spoke again.
“Aren’t you happy to see me?”
Of course she wasn’t.
She wanted to say that, but she held it in and spoke slowly.
“We open in one hour, sir.”
At her stiff voice, Taeha let out a short laugh.
“I didn’t come to eat.”
“You need to move your car. That’s staff parking.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
He answered carelessly, frowning as if she was annoying him.
Sorim bit her lip without realizing it.
For some reason, when she was near him, it felt like he might step into her space at any moment.
That was why she tried to avoid him whenever she could.
But now he was here again, like a bad sign.
“How much is your hourly pay?”
He asked suddenly.
Sorim frowned, and he added,
“It’s just a normal part-time job, so I don’t think it pays much.”
“….”
He clearly thought she was just a part-time worker doing chores at the restaurant.
It was true she earned minimum wage and did small tasks.
But she still took pride in being a chef.
Sorim looked at him coldly.
“I don’t think I have to answer that.”
“Hm.”
“…Anyway, please move your car.”
She turned around quietly. Talking more would just waste energy.
“Yoon Sorim.”
He didn’t let her walk away.
His slow, heavy footsteps followed behind her.
Just hearing his shoes made her chest feel cold, so she walked faster.
When she reached the staff parking lot again—
“Let’s talk.”
“I don’t think we have anything to talk about.”
Just because he saw her being slapped once.
Just because he used her as an excuse at a blind date.
That didn’t mean she had to listen to him.
But…
He was a VVIP of Le Dosage.
Sorim sighed shortly and stopped in the middle of the parking lot.
She turned around to face him.
He looked at her with a calm, mocking smile, as if he knew this would happen.
“You get paid what you deserve.”
“Oh. What I deserve.”
“Is that enough now?”
A man like him didn’t come all the way here just to ask about her pay.
As she expected, he tilted his head and said,
“No. That’s just the start.”
His cold eyes curved slightly, like he was enjoying this.
Sorim sighed deeply.
“Then please tell me first why you’re so curious about my pay.”
Seeing he wouldn’t back off, she decided to end this fast.
Taeha crossed his arms, one eyebrow raised.
“Last time, I introduced you as my ‘first love I met again after a long time,’ remember?”
“…Is that relevant right now?”
Sorim frowned.
A strange smile appeared on his arrogant face.
“You’ll understand if you keep listening.
That wasn’t completely wrong.”
“….”
“You really look like someone I know. Especially your eyes.”
He pointed directly at her eyes.
Blue eyes, hidden behind black lenses.
Eyes that were very blue.
Sorim stepped back without thinking.
Her eye color had been a big complex since childhood.
Her blue eyes always made people tease her.
So as she grew older, she always wore lenses to hide them.
“…That’s not common.”
“Exactly. That’s why it’s hard to forget.”
He seemed to enjoy touching her weak spot and watching her reaction.
Annoyed, Sorim frowned deeper.
“So what’s your point?”
“Oh, you don’t like roundabout talk.”
He put his hands in his pockets and stepped closer.
“Fine. I’ll be direct.”
He was very close now. Sorim held her breath and glared at him.
He met her eyes calmly, smiling deeply.
“Do you need money?”
“….”
“Let’s make a contract.
It won’t be a bad deal for you.”
At his sudden offer, Sorim narrowed her eyes.
The restaurant Le Dosage was unusually busy that day.
Embassy staff came in for both lunch and dinner.
Sorim couldn’t even lift her head as she prepared ingredients.
Whenever senior chefs called, she rushed over to help.
Only after closing, when she loaded piles of dishes into the dishwasher, could she finally rest.
“You worked hard today.”
She never expected those words from Nam Taeyoung, who wasn’t a gentle person.
Sorim just nodded awkwardly.
Sitting on a small plastic chair, she closed her eyes.
Immediately, Taeha’s gaze came to mind—the way he looked as if he could see through her lenses.
“I’m busy enough already, but everyone keeps bothering me.”
There was faint irritation in his relaxed voice.
“What do you mean…?”
“Marriage.”
He loosened his tight tie and explained.
She didn’t know why he was telling her such personal things, but she just listened quietly.
“Thanks to you, I somehow avoided the last blind date…”
“….”
“But that caused another annoying problem.
I need to clean it up.”
He clicked his tongue and frowned.
“Oh.”
Sorim remembered the past clearly.
The woman at the blind date who threw water at him and screamed.
She knew it wouldn’t end quietly.
Looks like it really caused trouble.
But why did that matter to her?
It was his own problem.
Sorim narrowed her eyes.
She had a bad feeling.
Then he dropped the bomb.
“I’ll ask directly.
Would you pretend to be my wife for two years?”
“…!”
“I’ll give you plenty of money after the divorce.”
He said it casually.
Two years as his wife.
In return, he would give her more money than she could imagine.
Seeing Sorim frozen in shock, he continued,
“Isn’t that a good offer for you?
It’s also a chance to leave the house you’re depending on.”
“….”
“It’s much better than sitting in a restaurant kitchen peeling potatoes, don’t you think?”
