Contract Marriage with Memory Loss on Top - Chapter 15
“By the way, Yeon-woo. Where did you usually play the claw machine?”
Yeon-woo almost choked on his sandwich when he heard the question while taking a big bite. He held back his cough and used the excuse of not being able to talk because of the sandwich to buy some time.
‘Come to think of it, I only made up an excuse about the claw machine, but I didn’t know the address?’
It was a blunder. Since he mainly rode in a car when going out, he didn’t know the details of what was nearby. In the first place, he had no reason to look for a claw machine arcade, so he didn’t pay attention to it either. Since he would have to answer as soon as his mouth was empty, Yeon-woo chewed the sandwich as slowly as possible.
During that short moment, Yeon-woo’s head spun non-stop, but there was no brilliant solution. I guess there’s no choice. The only remaining option was to make a guess. He just had to answer with the neighborhood unit. Yeon-woo deliberately pointed out an area with middle and high schools and spoke. It was with the desperate hope that someone had built a claw machine arcade there.
“I did it around Seowon-dong. The claws there seemed to be sturdier than other places. I heard other places have loose claws or something.”
He added all sorts of details to the lie, so it sounded quite plausible. It seemed like he had overcome the crisis, but the following self-loathing pressed down on Yeon-woo’s shoulders.
“Seowon-dong is quite a distance from here, isn’t it?”
Yeon-woo, who was about to say that the driver gave him a ride, stopped with his lips parted. The chauffeur was someone Ki-won had assigned. If his travel route reached Ki-won’s ears someday, it would be easily revealed that it was a lie. He almost made a mistake. Yeon-woo pretended to be at ease and lied smoothly.
“It takes about 40 minutes on foot, but I usually just stay at home, right? I used to walk there and back for exercise too.”
As he smoothly got over the crisis, he gradually gained confidence. Ki-won seemed to have nothing more to say to Yeon-woo’s bold statement and just nodded silently. He almost broke out in a cold sweat. Yeon-woo began to finish the sandwich he was holding.
‘…Come to think of it, will I gain weight?’
It was out of the blue, but what he had said a while ago started to bother him. Yeon-woo’s daily routine was rolling around, eating, rolling around, eating, and rolling around some more. Since he didn’t exercise separately, it seemed like he would easily gain weight if he let his guard down. Yeon-woo pretended to pick up bread crumbs on his thigh and touched his lower abdomen.
‘It seems fine for now, but…’
Yeon-woo’s mind became noisy. It seemed like he should go for a light walk in the evening after dinner.
“Hyung.”
Yeon-woo, who finished chewing and swallowing the small piece, whispered in a serious tone.
“I think I’ll have to go for a walk in the evening.”
“Huh?”
“What if I gain weight now that I’m not going to play the claw machine anymore?”
“I think you should gain weight instead.”
Yeon-woo jumped at Ki-won’s words. That was something that should never be said.
“Oh, what are you saying…! You can rest assured because you have solid muscles, but if I’m not careful, I might get a belly?”
“That’s unlikely, but if you’re really worried, shall we go together?”
Ki-won replied as usual. Yeon-woo’s concern didn’t last long. It was a good suggestion. If he had someone to walk with, he could probably walk longer.
“I’ll go change clothes and come back!”
Yeon-woo gathered the plastic wrappers on the table into the trash can and swiftly entered the bedroom.
Yeon-woo did not realize the fact he had been overlooking until now.
***
It was no exaggeration to say that Ki-won’s stamina went beyond the realm of humans. No matter how much they walked and walked, he showed no signs of fatigue.
Yeon-woo, who wanted to see him struggle, burned unnecessary competitiveness and used his stamina to the limit. But he shouldn’t have. In the end, Yeon-woo, who had consumed all his energy, raised the white flag midway. Since there was still a long way to go home, he had to be carried on Ki-won’s back after that.
Thanks to that, Yeon-woo fell into a coma-like sleep as soon as he lay on the bed. It made him worry about having difficulty at night due to taking a long nap meaningless.
The fluffy mattress and cozy blanket. Yeon-woo, who woke up from a deep sleep, rubbed his face on the pillow as if he was still sleepy. As his senses came alive, his muscles clumped together and screamed. From his arms and legs to his abs and back, there was no place that didn’t hurt. It felt like he had done cardio and strength training together in earnest, not just a walk.
“Ugh…”
When Yeon-woo groaned and turned to his side, his eyes met Ki-won’s, who was pacing in front of the wardrobe. Yeon-woo, blinking slowly, kept rubbing his eyelids with his hand.
“It’s the weekend today…”
The sleepy voice cut through the air and reached Ki-won. Unlike Yeon-woo, who couldn’t open his eyes properly due to morning drowsiness, Ki-won was dressed and ready to go out. Ki-won, who was tying the necktie he had taken out of the wardrobe, glanced at Yeon-woo, who was wriggling under the blanket.
“You’re going to the company on the weekend?”
“Something urgent came up. I’ll only handle the morning work and come back, so don’t skip breakfast and eat.”
“…Okay.”
Yeon-woo, who had been blankly staring at the well-ironed suit without a single wrinkle, got up staggering. He wanted to at least see Ki-won off because it was pitiful that he had to go to work without taking a break even on a day off. It had been 5 months and 2 weeks since he married Ki-won. Whether it was short or long, the Ki-won he faced during that period was still a busy person.
“You can sleep more if you’re sleepy.”
Ki-won gently stroked Yeon-woo’s head as he walked out to see him off even though he couldn’t open his eyes properly. The hair passing between his fingers was like cotton, tickling him.
Yeon-woo captured Ki-won with clear eyes.
“It’s okay… I have an appointment in the morning anyway.”
It was the day he had to visit the loan sharks’ office. At that moment, Ki-won’s complexion noticeably changed. Was there a problem? Since the change in his expression was significant, Yeon-woo had to recall if he had made a prior engagement with Ki-won.
‘I didn’t make any plans on the weekend because I had to go to the office…’
Ki-won, who was adjusting his necktie knot, raised one eyebrow and asked back.
“Appointment?”
Yeon-woo nodded repeatedly at his question. Yeon-woo noticed the man’s lips moving and tilted his head.
“Why are you looking at me like that? Am I not allowed to go out today?”
“No, that’s not it.”
For someone who says it’s not, he seems to have something to say… Yeon-woo, who couldn’t understand the reason, could only urge him to quickly say the reason. Only then did Ki-won reveal his thoughts with a small sigh.
“…I’m just curious who you’re meeting. Is it the person who calls every dawn?”
Even though he asked in a nonchalant tone, Yeon-woo’s shoulders noticeably shook. It didn’t take long for bewilderment to fill his large eyes. He didn’t expect Ki-won to have such thoughts.
“No… It’s not like that.”
It felt like the sleepiness had completely flown away, and ice water was poured mercilessly. He didn’t know Ki-won was concerned about the calls that came at dawn. Yeon-woo fiddled with his clasped hands for a long time. It was not hidden that he wanted to change the topic of conversation.
Thump, thump, thump. His heart was beating fiercely, and his Adam’s apple kept bobbing as he swallowed his dry saliva. Unlike the agitated Yeon-woo, Ki-won, who had a calm face, had already finished preparing to leave. The man approached the bed, holding his coat on one arm. Yeon-woo, who was sitting on the bed, got up awkwardly and quietly looked up at the man who was closing the distance between them.
“You’ll get wrinkles.”
Ki-won poked the forehead of Yeon-woo, who was standing awkwardly in front of him. For someone who denied it, his tone wasn’t natural. It was suspicious behavior to anyone’s eyes, but Ki-won didn’t dare to pry. He took a step back, knowing that Yeon-woo was in a difficult position. Above all, Ki-won had no control over where Yeon-woo went. It was Seo Yeon-woo’s right to go out when he wanted and come back when he wanted.
Yeon-woo, who had been pondering for a while, opened his mouth. If he was going to lie anyway, he was going to do it firmly.
“You must have misunderstood because I said appointment. I’m just going to pick up a book I reserved at the bookstore.”
“Okay, when are you leaving? I’ll call the driver for you.”
“…Ah, the driver?”
He couldn’t take the driver to the loan sharks’ office. But it seemed too abrupt to say it was fine since he usually went here and there in the car driven by the chauffeur. Yeon-woo, who was worried that Ki-won might sense something suspicious, shook his head.
‘I can just get off at the bookstore and go to the office…’
He thought he could tell the chauffeur to wait at a nearby cafe while he looked around the bookstore or to come when he called again. Yes, if he acted naturally as he had been doing, no one would find it suspicious.
“Alright.”
Yeon-woo followed closely behind Ki-won as he left the bedroom. Then he had to stop abruptly because Ki-won changed direction while walking ahead. Ki-won reached out to the small calendar on the desk.
“The 28th?”
On the calendar, there was a date marked by Yeon-woo with a red pen. It was the 28th that Ki-won had just mentioned. The black pupils that had been directed towards the calendar shifted to Yeon-woo.
It felt like he was asking what day it was that he had marked it.
“Ah, that’s the expected end date of our contract. It’s approaching soon, so I marked it in case I forgot.”
“…End of contract?”
For a moment, it seemed like Ki-won’s brows furrowed.
“You’re going to end the contract?”
There was absurdity in his questioning voice. Unless there was a specific intention to terminate, the marriage contract was set to be automatically renewed on a yearly basis. Thinking he was trying to pinpoint this part accurately, Yeon-woo answered yes. He had to end the contract to get rid of the nasty private loan.
“Yes, we have to end the contract.”
He heard that the arranged marriage discussions that had been going around the house since he got married to Ki-won had disappeared. Since the original reason for requesting the marriage was resolved, there was no need for him to stay by Ki-won’s side anymore.
“I see, so that’s what it is…”
Ki-won, who muttered softly, twisted the corners of his lips. It was a stiff expression that didn’t fit the situation. Since it was a fleeting expression, Yeon-woo blinked his sore eyelids a couple of times, thinking he might have seen it wrong.
“Okay, I’ll keep that in mind.”
Ki-won tapped his temple and put emphasis on the word ‘remember’.