Contract Marriage with Memory Loss on Top - Chapter 13
[Mother – Ardent omega, presumed to have died when Seo Yeon-woo was around three years old.
Father – Ardent alpha. Died 4 years ago, there were testimonies that he was addicted to gambling at the time.]
Ki-won also knew that Yeon-woo had no parents. The new part he learned was about his biological father’s gambling addiction. The private detective agency seemed to have anticipated that Ki-won would have questions, so they had prepared a separate document about Yeon-woo’s father, Seo Taeman.
The period when Seo Taeman frequented the gambling house was roughly from 10 years ago. It seemed he started with a game or two at first, then became addicted to gambling and expanded his scale. There were also records of him being kicked out after causing a scene at a gambling house in the Gyeonggi-do area.
‘It’s strange.’
Although he could learn more details about Yeon-woo’s family situation, it didn’t feel refreshing. The more he dug, the more fishy it felt somewhere. It was as if he was missing something, but what could it be? After pondering for a while, Ki-won’s teeth momentarily shifted. Unlike what was written about severe gambling symptoms, there was no debt in Seo Taeman’s name.
It wasn’t that Seo Taeman had enough gambling capital to not incur debt. It could be easily inferred from the fact that he was a day laborer and the condition of the house he lived in.
“Could it be…”
Ki-won, frowning, checked the loan records of Yeon-woo and his biological mother. Sometimes there were bastards who borrowed money under their spouse’s or child’s name for fear of having problems with their own credit. Fortunately, that didn’t seem to be the case, as the records of the two were clean.
Can it be this clean? When expanding the scale at a gambling house, millions of won could easily come and go in a day. If the gambling period was short, it might be possible, but it was at least several years. Ki-won’s face distorted as the feeling that something was off didn’t go away.
Actually, for this part, it would be more accurate to hear directly from Seo Yeon-woo himself. But Ki-won couldn’t do that. Because it was information he found out through a background check. No matter how good-natured a person was, when they heard they had been investigated, they would naturally feel repulsed. He shouldn’t break the trust relationship. Ki-won clicked his tongue at the situation that wasn’t easily resolved.
Countless speculations gathered and rolled around. Ki-won’s eyes looking down at the report turned cold. He shouldn’t be satisfied with just making assumptions. Guesses were not confirmed information.
“This trashy…”
It was only surprising how audacious the private detective agency bastards were to submit this kind of report. He almost instinctively cursed out loud, so he took a deep breath. Ki-won, his complexion hardened, picked up his cell phone. He felt like he had to contact them directly.
Ring, ring-. The call connection tone didn’t last long.
– Yes, this is the private detective agency.
Ki-won twisted the corners of his mouth at the voice coming from the other end of the receiver. Arrogant bastards. There was no need to have a long conversation with low-level guys, so Ki-won immediately got to the point.
“What are the credit ratings of Seo Yeon-woo and Seo Taeman?”
– Mr. Kwon, the executive director, it’s true that we are an agency that can dig up anything, but… you can’t expect much when you give us such a short deadline. These days, because of the personal information protection mumbo jumbo, we also have a headache.
It matched what he had heard from the secretary. It seemed they had acted like this. Ki-won, raising one eyebrow, let out a snort.
“I’ll give you one more day. Prepare thoroughly and submit a report so that I don’t have to ask additional questions. Does it make sense that there is not a single loan record when you said Seo Taeman was a gambling addict and had a large scale operation?”
– No, one day is not enou…
“Even if it’s not enough, you’ll have to make it work.”
When Ki-won interrupted, silence flowed from the other end of the receiver as if a gaping mouth had been suddenly sewn shut.
“It seems I’ve become too comfortable.”
– Mr. Kwon, that’s not…
“Whining for money is something you do after finishing the given task.”
Ki-won, who cut off the other person’s words, added in succession.
“I’m curious. With what nerve are you doing the job like this? You guys aren’t stupid kids with poor judgment, right?”
– Hmm…
“What if I get even a little upset?”
– …We will try our best to send it by tomorrow.
“By the morning.”
– Yes, by tomorrow morning…
It was the private detective agency that had nothing to gain even if they acted up. If Ki-won pulled out, not only would their funds be cut off, but they would also have to take measures to silence him for the information exchanged during the transaction. Still, it seemed their judgment wasn’t completely useless, as they quickly backed down.
“Let’s do things in moderation. I’m not in the mood to put up with jokes right now.”
When he clearly spat out a warning that this was the extent of his tolerance, the private detective agency also seemed to grasp the situation and lost their spirit. The annoying tone was put away, and a promise to send records that had undergone a thorough investigation was returned.
***
Yeon-woo, with a determined face, narrowed his eyes with his arms crossed. He had been repeating this in front of the bathroom mirror for about 10 minutes. Gradually, he found himself funny, and a powerless laugh escaped through his teeth.
“I shouldn’t do this…”
Yeon-woo pressed down the corners of his mouth that kept trying to go up with his fingertips. He didn’t want to be looked down on when he went to meet the loan sharks tomorrow. He had properly paid off 300 million won, and only the interest remained. He was confident he could repay even that interest in full within this month. So there was no need to be cowed or intimidated. Since it was a matter of facing them confidently and coming back, Yeon-woo practiced a dignified expression.
“…Let’s just go naturally. I’ll be looked down on even more like this.”
He was only envious of Ki-won, whose expressionless face made the atmosphere scary. Yeon-woo repeatedly licked his bitter mouth as he left the bathroom. Entering the bedroom, Yeon-woo quietly looked at the passport placed on the desk. Come to think of it, he had never traveled abroad despite having a passport made.
‘Because I didn’t have the leisure to do so.’
Yeon-woo picked up the passport and stroked the stiff cover surface. It would come up later. After completely getting rid of the private loans and becoming free, he wanted to go abroad at least once. He tried to imagine traveling alone, but it wasn’t easily imaginable. Leaving alone for an unfamiliar place seemed both scary and exciting.
‘It would be nice… to go with my brother.’
In a few weeks, Ki-won would completely disappear from Seo Yeon-woo’s life. Even knowing this, he tried to include Ki-won in his future plans. Yeon-woo repeated to himself hundreds of times not to act emotionally. Because there was nothing more unsightly than clinging to someone who couldn’t be with him.
Places like drawers, nightstands, and desks were more than visible to Ki-won. So Yeon-woo pushed the passport he was holding under the bed mattress. If Ki-won suddenly found out he had taken out the passport, he would ask for the reason, and Yeon-woo didn’t want to lie again. It seemed he should be used to it by now, but deceiving others was still difficult.
‘Well, there’s no need to get used to that kind of thing.’
Yeon-woo, who flopped down on the bed, quietly looked up at the white ceiling. There was nothing for Yeon-woo to do as the cleaning was done by a separate manager and lunch was also delivered. It was still surreal that the price of 300 million won was resting comfortably for 6 months. Of course, there was the side effect of having a divorce record, but it wasn’t considered a big disadvantage to Yeon-woo who had no intention of getting married after Ki-won.
“Contract extension…”
If it wasn’t a situation where he had to pay interest, he would have naturally extended the contract. The unsettling feeling made Yeon-woo’s body heavy. Yeon-woo, who wiggled and moved to Ki-won’s side, buried his face in his pillow.
‘It’s rather better this way.’
Even if he extended the contract, the relationship between the two would eventually have to be sorted out someday. He knew that a relationship started with a contract could not last a lifetime. Either way, goodbye was inevitable. He should break up cleanly, but what’s the use of leaving lingering attachments? Yeon-woo, who deeply inhaled the familiar scent into his lungs, rolled back to his own place.
The time when he first heard the part-time job offer at the private detective agency flickered before his eyes. He had intended to break up like a knife the moment the contract period ended, whether it was marriage or dating… Affection was truly a frightening thing.
Yawn, Yeon-woo let out a long yawn. The bed was fluffy and the room was warm. It was the perfect condition for drowsiness to come. It was when Yeon-woo, who had burrowed into the blanket, was blankly blinking his eyes. The box he had seen in the storage room in the morning was floating around Yeon-woo. Something that seemed to come to mind but didn’t quite come to mind poked Yeon-woo’s head.
“Ah, sheesh… this is really bothering me.”
Yeon-woo irritably pressed his eyelids. It was Ki-won’s possession that wasn’t new and looked very old. How could he possibly know that? Even if he tried to stop thinking about it, thinking it was a misunderstanding, the box that filled his mind appeared again, driving him crazy.
I don’t know. Let’s take a nap!
Rather than worrying about useless things, taking a nap seemed like a more productive thing to do. Yeon-woo closed his eyes, holding on to the drowsiness that was trying to run away. Until just a while ago, his eyeballs were sore and he felt fatigue, but now that he made up his mind to sleep, his mind was wide awake.
It’s really a ridiculous body. Yeon-woo, who buried half of his face deep in the pillow, started a meaningless fight with himself. Let’s see who wins, you or me. If you close your eyes, sleep will come someday. Yeon-woo slowly exhaled and relaxed his body.