Contract Marriage with Memory Loss on Top - Chapter 11
Ki-won Kwon, who entered the study, touched the corners of his mouth that had been raised without him knowing. When he was with Yeon-woo Seo, his facial muscles that he didn’t usually use moved on their own.
While he was immersed in the unfamiliar sensation, the cell phone trapped in Ki-won’s large hand kept ringing. Ki-won, who was sitting at the desk, looked down at the phone screen. It was a call from the secretary he had instructed in the morning to find out about Yeon-woo’s business. Ki-won touched the call button and propped the phone on his shoulder as he unbuttoned his cuffs.
“Yes, this is Ki-won Kwon.”
– I’m sorry for the late hour, Director. I’m calling because a report has arrived regarding the matter you asked me to look into.
“Go ahead.”
– First of all…. It appears there is no one approaching Mr. Yeon-woo Seo. According to the chauffeur, the places he usually frequents are mostly supermarkets or convenience stores.
There was no one approaching him, and the places he went out to were nothing special. It would be fortunate if nothing was wrong, but there were more than a few suspicious parts, so he didn’t feel relieved. Ki-won, who habitually stroked his jawline, slowly lowered his eyelids. Perhaps it was his misconception that he thought he knew Yeon-woo well. There seemed to be parts that were difficult to know with superficial methods.
“Are you saying there’s nowhere he’s been except convenience stores or supermarkets?”
– Excuse me? Ah…. Although it’s rare, he occasionally visits bookstores. In this case, I heard that he goes to pick up books he pre-ordered, so the time he stays is not long.
“What about recent hobbies? Like games or claw machines.”
– According to the chauffeur’s report, it is presumed that there are none. In the first place, he is not someone who goes out frequently….
Ki-won’s eyes, which were slowly opening, glistened as they caught the light. The Yeon-woo that Ki-won knew was a person who had no interest in dolls or games. Just by looking at his personal belongings, it was easy to see that there was no unnecessary consumption. It was strange when Yeon-woo mentioned claw machines, and it turned out to be a lie.
“It would be good to re-investigate Yeon-woo Seo’s personal information. Don’t miss even the smallest detail. Report immediately if you find anything suspicious or doubtful.”
Ki-won’s respect for Yeon-woo ended there. In married life, there should be no secrets between the two. Ki-won, who made a bitter smile, spoke a phone number he had memorized. It was a number that was suspected to be the one Yeon-woo had missed calls and text messages from, and the one he exchanged contact with in the early morning.
‘It’s definitely not an affair.’
If he had cheated during the marriage period, he would have been caught. As it seemed that he had never gone out without the chauffeur, the possibility of an affair disappeared from Ki-won’s guess. Then could it be a call from a friend? But the fact that calls came in regularly in the early morning and that Yeon-woo did not save the number bothered him. Above all, the fact that he immediately deleted the records was also an issue.
Ki-won, who ended the call, massaged his stiff shoulders and narrowed his eyebrows. Whatever the content he was missing, he hated the fact that Yeon-woo was trying to hide something from him.
‘I guess I let my guard down.’
He had slowed down the pace of approaching Yeon-woo. He made it so that Yeon-woo would hold his hand without much thought and not feel repulsed by him touching his face or neck. He had treated him preciously, worrying that if he approached him wrongly, he might get scared and run away, but what he got in return was still lies. Veins stood out on the back of Ki-won’s hand. An indescribable emotion settled in his flickering eyes.
Ki-won, who leaned his upper body against the backrest, took a deep breath. He shouldn’t show any signs of having noticed something. Ki-won, who wiped his dry face, got up with his usual expression.
Ki-won headed to the bedroom. Beyond the door that slid open smoothly, it was dim. Ki-won approached Yeon-woo, who was tossing and turning at small noises. His gaze was briefly drawn to Yeon-woo’s cell phone, which was charging.
“Yeon-woo.”
“Mmm…”
At the low call, Yeon-woo slowly lifted his eyelids. He seemed to have a hard time answering because he was drowsy with sleep. Ki-won decided to take advantage of Yeon-woo’s half-asleep state.
“Do you have any friends you’ve been meeting recently?”
“…Friends?”
The small mumbling voice was hoarse, unlike usual. Ki-won waited for Yeon-woo to add to his words without urging him.
“No…. I don’t have any friends.”
“You don’t even make phone calls or anything?”
“How can I when I don’t have any… It’s been… how many years since I’ve been in contact with my high school friends?”
As if thinking itself was bothersome due to sleepiness, Yeon-woo seemed to be spitting out the sentences that came to his mind as they were.
‘It’s clear that it’s not a friend.’
That was a sufficient answer. Ki-won gently brushed Yeon-woo’s forehead. Then, as he brushed his hair and lightly stroked his jawline, Yeon-woo’s eyelids heavily closed. As if the sensation of being caressed was pleasant, he completely entrusted his face to Ki-won’s touch.
Ki-won waited until Yeon-woo fell into a deep sleep. About ten minutes passed. The sound of soft breathing was steady, and the small tossing and turning also ceased. Ki-won did not miss the timing and took Yeon-woo’s cell phone and headed to the table.
The moment the screen turned on, bright light poured around Ki-won’s face. He would soon be able to check the detailed report on Yeon-woo, but there were parts he wanted to examine in advance.
As expected, it’s not there.
The call records and text message records he had found in the morning had completely disappeared. It matched Yeon-woo’s action of deleting the early morning contact. At this point, it was reasonable to assume that the person who left the text messages and missed calls was the same person who contacted him in the early morning.
Ki-won quietly stared at Yeon-woo, who was fast asleep. He just wanted to look inside that small head and see what he was hiding.
‘He said it wasn’t a friend, but the other person’s tone seemed familiar.’
There was also a hint of rudeness in the short sentences. It was hard to be sure, but it seemed clear that it was not one of Yeon-woo’s relatives. If so, there would have been no need to delete them one by one. Suddenly, an unpleasant guess entered Ki-won’s mind.
Threats or harassment that should not be caught by his spouse. Could it be that Yeon-woo was constantly receiving such contact? If not, there would be no reason to delete only the contact records from a specific person.
Confidence gradually filled the guess. The grip on the cell phone tightened. The coldly sunken eyes slowly disappeared behind the closing eyelids. Why hadn’t he expected this kind of thing sooner? He had been stupidly talking about an affair. Ki-won clicked his tongue with a displeased face.
‘That means you can’t trust me that much.’
A bit of heartache mixed with the face that had hardened with rising anger. If he had trusted him, he should have asked for help by using the contents as evidence, not deleting the records one by one. He still didn’t know what kind of threats Yeon-woo was receiving, but there was nothing Ki-won couldn’t solve.
Ki-won, who let out a small sigh, recalled the small changes in Yeon-woo. Looking back, it seemed that he had often lacked appetite recently due to stress.
Yeon-woo probably didn’t intentionally try to deceive him. There must have been a reason. Nevertheless, it hurt him that he still didn’t mean that much to Yeon-woo.
***
Time passed, and the day he had promised the loan sharks was approaching tomorrow. They were guys he hated to see. Just the thought of having to face them, not just talk on the phone, made his insides boil. Yeon-woo grabbed his forehead and groaned at the throbbing headache.
“Should I bring you some medicine?”
Ki-won asked in a worried tone as he was tying his necktie. It was just a stress headache. It would probably get better if he cleared his mind. During the heat cycle, he had been taking bitter pills, so he was sick and tired of medicine. Yeon-woo shook his head from side to side to express his intention.
‘I should take out my passport soon.’
After Ki-won left for work, he decided to take out his passport from the suitcase he had brought when he moved in. Come to think of it, where did he put the suitcase? It had been a while since he had searched for the bag, so its location was vague.
‘Well, it should be somewhere in the house.’
This was also something he could search for after Ki-won left for work. Yeon-woo, who had been lying down all morning skipping breakfast because his stomach was upset, got out of bed. It was to see Ki-won off to work. Yeon-woo stood by Ki-won’s side, mustering up all the energy he had.
“You said you’re sick, so why aren’t you taking medicine?”
Ki-won carefully stroked the forehead of Yeon-woo, who had come close. Yeon-woo did not reject Ki-won’s touch. Strangely, whenever he stood by Ki-won’s side, his irritating emotions were quickly settled. Yeon-woo, who took in Ki-won’s expression of concern for him, gave a faint smile.
Before living with him, when his physical condition was not good, he often felt a lonely feeling alone. Because no one took care of him or worried about him.
‘Was I lacking affection?’
His biological father was always in a hurry to go gambling. He always had to take care of himself, so he thought he was used to enduring pain, but it seemed that wasn’t the case. As the bitter memories were about to fill his mind, Yeon-woo tried to hide his expression. With Ki-won by his side, who indulged him, he had all sorts of thoughts. The past was just the past, and Yeon-woo decided not to be swayed by it.
“It’s just… it’s not painful enough to do that. I guess I wanted to fake being sick because I had a lot on my mind.”
“A lot on your mind?”
Oops, Yeon-woo moved his lips. After contemplating for a while on how to answer, not knowing what excuse to make, Yeon-woo ended up just shrugging his shoulders.
“Yeon-woo.”
“Yes?”
Ki-won lightly grasped Yeon-woo’s shoulders, who was like that. There was no force applied at all, but somehow, there was a sense of intimidation.
“Don’t you have anything to say to me?”
“…What do you mean by that?”
Yeon-woo’s pupils trembled greatly at the ambiguous question. Was he saying that knowing something? There was a nuance in Ki-won’s voice that seemed to be probing the secret Yeon-woo was trying to hide.
‘That’s an overstatement. There’s no way.’
He had diligently deleted the call records and text messages. In such a situation, there was no way Ki-won could have noticed anything. The tension did not linger by Yeon-woo’s side for long. As he put away his agitation, his pounding heart gradually calmed down.