Chapter 07
Do you know how important a husband-and-wife relationship is in a marriage? People say couples fight over whether they can even go on living together because of it.”
“Th-that may be true, but ours is a contract marriage…. A marital relationship—”
“Even if it’s a contract marriage, we’ve officially filed the marriage registration and are legally husband and wife.”
“Yes, that’s right. But honestly, I haven’t really thought about that side of things….”
Bora licked her parched lips with her tongue.
The cold water the secretary had brought was already gone, so there was nothing to moisten her dry mouth.
Kang Yoon let out a hollow chuckle as he watched Bora’s deep pink tongue repeatedly sweep over her lips.
“Ms. Yoon Bora, are you the type who seduces men without even realizing it?”
“What? Me?”
Bora’s large, double-lidded eyes widened even more, and her cheeks turned red like ripe peaches.
“Look at this clause.”
Kang Yoon pointed to a line in the contract with his finger. Bora followed the words with her eyes.
“Han Kang Yoon and Yoon Bora must never allow anyone to discover that this marriage is contractual. Therefore, they must maintain a perfectly happy married life in the eyes of others.”
Kang Yoon emphasized the words perfectly happy married life.
“Neither you nor I are allowed to secretly meet anyone else during the three years of this contract.”
“That’s obvious!”
“Which means that for three years, we can’t have any kind of relationship—mentally or physically—with anyone else.”
“…Right?”
It was obvious, but under Kang Yoon’s intense gaze fixed squarely on her face, Bora lowered her head for no reason at all.
For some reason, she felt embarrassed, her face burning.
“So, one way or another, I’m a healthy adult man. I have neither the intention nor the desire to look elsewhere, which means that during the contract period, Ms. Yoon Bora will also have to be my physical partner.”
“Hic!”
The words physical partner made a hiccup pop out of Bora’s throat.
Caught off guard by her reaction, Kang Yoon burst out laughing.
“Haha. Wow… is it really that unpleasant?”
“No, that’s not it! Hic!”
She waved her arms, insisting that wasn’t what she meant, but seeing her flushed face and nonstop hiccups, Kang Yoon pressed a hand to his forehead.
“I honestly didn’t expect such strong resistance. My pride’s a little hurt.”
“No, really, it’s not that…. Hic…! Just give me a little time to think it over and discuss it again later…. Hic!”
Kang Yoon’s shoulders shook as he barely suppressed his laughter at Bora’s teary, hiccuping face.
He was known in high society as a complete jerk, but that reputation existed mostly because he had always kept his distance from women.
Most chaebol heirs and businessmen prided themselves on gentlemanly manners and kindness toward women.
In that world, Kang Yoon—who kept women at arm’s length and spoke sharply—was constantly surrounded by scandal.
They said he partied excessively and was a regular at luxury clubs.
They said he preferred sleeping around and avoided respectable women.
They said he had once had a lover, even a child, and that his family had sent them off to the U.S.
Rumors piled on top of rumors, turning Kang Yoon into trash in the public eye, but he never bothered to react.
The worse his image became, the more his brother Kang Moon’s image benefited—painted as “the purer one, despite openly having women.”
Just because his mother had been his father’s mistress, Kang Yoon had lived his entire life without true recognition.
From experience, he knew that most women who showed interest in him were after his money and status—not Han Kang Yoon himself.
Women were something he wanted to keep at a distance, and after turning thirty, he stopped forming serious relationships altogether.
Marriage would happen according to Jin Hyun-sook’s wishes anyway. Love and romance had long felt meaningless to him.
“Hic! I’ll really think it through carefully…. Hic! And then we’ll write it later, okay? Hic!”
To think that a woman who hiccupped this cutely—and even had an adorable growling stomach—would come rolling into his life like this.
“All right. Let’s do that. By the way, your stomach’s making quite a noise.”
“Oh… you can hear it? I didn’t eat breakfast….”
Bora hugged her flat stomach and smiled awkwardly, the corners of her eyes curving beautifully.
Without a word, Kang Yoon stood up and took a jacket from the coat rack behind his desk.
“Where… are you going?”
As Bora rose from the sofa in confusion, Kang Yoon took the contract from her hands, slid it back into the file, placed it on his desk, and turned to stand beside her.
“Let’s eat first. Is it okay if we go somewhere I like today?”
“Oh, of course. You don’t have to eat early just because of me if you’re not hungry….”
“My wife is hungry. What kind of husband would pretend not to notice?”
“W-wife…?”
Bora’s face reddened again as she followed behind Kang Yoon, who said wife so easily while maintaining his poker face.
“We’re heading out for a meal. If any calls come in, tell them to contact me after two.”
“Yes, sir. Have a good time.”
The secretary, who had been touching up her makeup, jumped in surprise at the sight of Kang Yoon and Bora leaving together, dropped her lipstick, and bowed hurriedly.
Kang Yoon pressed the elevator button for the 28th floor, then gestured for Bora to get on.
As she watched his finger press B2, Bora asked,
“Is it far?”
“No. About twenty minutes by car. We’ll get there early since it’s before lunch rush.”
In the underground parking lot, Kang Yoon walked confidently to the largest space right next to the elevator.
A luxury black sedan and a sleek, dark green sports car stood side by side.
Beep.
When Kang Yoon pressed the remote, the sports car’s lights flashed brightly.
How much does that car even cost? The color’s so pretty.
“Get in.”
“Huh? Ah—yes.”
Bora hurried into the passenger seat, flustered by Kang Yoon opening the door for her.
“Do you usually drive this one? I think you came in the black car last time.”
“That one’s for official occasions. This one’s for when I drive myself.”
“As expected… rich people….”
At Bora’s muttered words, Kang Yoon barely held back a laugh.
How could someone be so transparent?
Bora was clearly different from the women he’d met before.
Maybe that was why—he found himself becoming interested in her.
Unlike before, when he thought marriage would be the same no matter who it was with, life with Bora somehow felt like it might actually be… enjoyable.
“It really is a nice car… it’s so quiet.”
Bora leaned back into the seat, murmuring contentedly.
“If there’s any music you want to hear, feel free to put it on.”
“I usually don’t listen to music while driving.”
“Really?”
“Sometimes I do, but… I like opening the window and listening to outside sounds more.”
At her words, Kang Yoon lowered the passenger-side window slightly.
“Thank you. You’re much more… considerate than I expected, Mr. Kang Yoon.”
“I told you. No matter what you imagined, I’d be better than that.”
“…Yeah. I think you’re right.”
Though she had come to the matchmaking market to save her family and business, Bora was nothing like the women who looked at him with calculating eyes, wondering how to ensnare him.
She agreed to a contract marriage with someone she didn’t love, yet promised to work just as hard as the amount she’d receive.
And at the same time, she became so flustered at the mere phrase marital relationship that her thoughts showed plainly on her face.
Maybe it was the nice weather, or the clear roads stretching endlessly ahead.
Without realizing it, Bora began humming softly.
Recognizing the melody as an old song he liked, Kang Yoon glanced sideways.
“Not many people know that song.”
“Huh? You know it too, Mr. Kang Yoon?”
“I heard it on the radio when I was young. I liked the melody, so I looked it up.”
“Wow. My mom loves that song, so I’ve heard it since I was little.”
“The lyrics are good too.”
“Right? I didn’t understand it as a kid, but as I grew up, I realized how beautiful they are. It’s amazing—hardly anyone knows this song!”
“Maybe it’s because we’re a married couple.”
“…We’re not married yet, though? You have to stamp the marriage registration for that.”
“Should I turn the car around? We could stamp it first and hold the ceremony later.”
“…No, um… that marital relationship thing… wasn’t clearly specified in the contract, so that won’t work.”
He’d used the phrase physical partner in the contract, but he hadn’t meant they’d actually have a physical relationship.
It was just meant to ensure they could convincingly act like a normal married couple in public.
But Bora’s reaction had been unexpectedly adorable, so he’d cut himself off.
Seeing how she kept mumbling about the words physical partner, Kang Yoon glanced at her profile.
Bora cleared her throat and turned to look out the window, her long eyelashes fluttering.
For some reason, Kang Yoon felt the urge to brush those lashes with his fingers.
Better yet, he thought, it would be nice if those long, black, feather-like lashes brushed against his chest instead.
