Contract Marriage with Memory Loss on Top - Chapter 27
How could he make such a mistake? Yeon-woo, who changed into dry clothes and laid on the bed, let out a sigh he could no longer hold back. He wanted to leave a memory of being a good person until the end, but it wasn’t easy. Of course, Ki-won would also know there was no intention in the situation just now, but it took time for his disturbed heart to recover.
Yeon-woo rolled around on the bed until Ki-won came out, then hugged the stuffed animal placed in the middle. It was the teddy bear Ki-won had won for him. The bear was still looking down at Yeon-woo with an annoying face. After fiddling with the bear for a while, Yeon-woo laid down curled up in a ball. He didn’t know when the soreness in his buttocks and waist would go away. Yeon-woo felt the bruised areas and carefully rubbed them. The throbbing pain from the bruised areas made Yeon-woo’s brows gradually narrow.
Bzzz-. Bzzz-.
While waiting for Ki-won to come out, a vibration rang from somewhere. Yeon-woo, who raised his upper body squirmingly, turned his head towards the direction of the sound. A call was coming in on Kwon Ki-won’s cell phone placed on the desk.
‘Secretary chief?’
The secretary chief was contacting him even outside of work hours. Yeon-woo tilted his head and turned his gaze towards the bathroom. He was contemplating whether he should pass the cell phone to him.
‘It could be something important.’
Yeon-woo took Ki-won’s cell phone and approached the bathroom door. Knock, knock. He tapped the door briefly but there was no response. Yeon-woo alternately examined the cell phone and bathroom door, then listened closely to the situation inside the bathroom.
Splashing sounds were heard at irregular intervals. Is he still washing up? It seemed like a long time had passed since Yeon-woo washed Ki-won’s hair and left, so it was strange.
“Hyung…?”
At Yeon-woo’s slow call, the splashing sounds that were heard from inside stopped as if it were a lie. Yeon-woo, who decided to wait a bit longer, was pacing in front of the door when the firmly closed bathroom door opened. Ki-won, who wrapped a long towel around his waist, met eyes with Yeon-woo who was looking up at him.
“You got a call.”
“Thanks.”
The man lightly shook the water from his hair and crossed the doorstep. Usually he would wear a robe inside before coming out, but today the towel wrapped around his waist was all. Yeon-woo pretended not to look and furtively stole glances at Kwon Ki-won, then went and sat on the bed.
“You don’t have to answer it?”
The call ended before Ki-won could answer. Still, he didn’t seem to have the intention to call back, so Yeon-woo had to briefly tilt his head.
“I have an idea what it’s about.”
After hearing the man’s words, Yeon-woo nodded his head slightly and followed behind him with his eyes. The man roughly gathered clothes to change into and was preparing to leave the bedroom. As expected, it seemed he was going to the study to change clothes and handle remaining work. Although the time spent with him was short, it wasn’t, so he could easily guess.
However, this prediction of Yeon-woo’s was shattered at once. Kwon Ki-won, who he thought would go outside the bedroom, naturally tried to undress inside the room. Yeon-woo, who was examining the situation from the corner of his eye, flinched and whipped his head towards Ki-won.
“What are you doing…?”
“Changing clothes.”
“There’s a bathroom, but here…?”
“The bathroom is filled with humidity so the wound throbs a bit. It can’t be helped when washing up, so I was going to change clothes here at least. Is it not okay?”
“…Ah.”
Yeon-woo, now convinced, nodded his head slightly. Rather, he was the one lacking consideration. Yeon-woo moved busily to give up his spot.
‘He must be in a lot of pain…’
Yeon-woo, who became sad, drooped his eyebrows. A determination to take better care of Ki-won followed. Kwon Ki-won merely quietly watched Yeon-woo leave the bedroom without adding any words. He only very briefly wiggled his fingertips.
***
Morning came. As if the sun was going to rise from the west, Yeon-woo opened his eyelids wide even though Ki-won didn’t wake him up. It was to help with Ki-won’s preparations to go to work. Last night, Yeon-woo ruminated on the fact that Ki-won got hurt because of him and came up with this solution. He wanted to help first before Ki-won asked for assistance.
‘I thought I woke up early… Guess not.’
The bed was empty. It seemed Ki-won had woken up first and was preparing breakfast. Yeon-woo, who rubbed his eyelids, staggered out of bed.
“Hyung…”
His voice lacked strength as it was morning. When Yeon-woo entered the kitchen with listless steps, surprise flashed across Ki-won’s face. Yeon-woo voluntarily waking up early was rare enough to startle Ki-won.
“I’ll set the plates.”
Yeon-woo stood next to Ki-won who was making salmon salad and took care of the plates. For breakfast, it was fine to eat packaged food or simply eat some bread, but unless there was something special, Ki-won always made the food himself. Isn’t he tired? Yeon-woo quietly looked at Ki-won’s face.
“You can sleep more.”
“You said your hand hurts. Wanting to help even a bit more, my eyes opened on their own.”
“Is that so?”
Ki-won answered in a low voice, standing behind Yeon-woo who was placing plates on the table. Ki-won practically trapped Yeon-woo, who bent his waist to place tableware on the opposite side, in his embrace. It was to take the plate Yeon-woo was holding.
“But Yeon-woo. Don’t forget you’re a patient too.”
“Ah, I’m… okay… I just need to be careful when sitting or lying down.”
It was too close. To not show his agitation, Yeon-woo hurriedly escaped from his embrace. He didn’t understand why he was reacting so sensitively when there was no special intention. Yeon-woo held his hands together and raised the corners of his mouth awkwardly while meaninglessly fiddling his fingers.
“Sleep is so important for wound recovery.”
Yeon-woo’s lips gradually protruded as he listened to Ki-won’s words. He did it because he wanted to help Ki-won, but Ki-won seemed to not like it. He felt a bit sad that his intention didn’t seem to be conveyed in the flow of conversation. As if seeing through Yeon-woo’s heart, Ki-won approached and tapped Yeon-woo’s fingers.
“Still, thanks for the thought.”
He found it funny that he melted smoothly at a word of thanks. Yeon-woo laughed vacantly for no reason and sat on the dining chair.
Like that, he was eating for a while. Because he sat next to the terrace, Yeon-woo quickly noticed it starting to rain. He had planned to go for a walk in the morning and stop by the court to get divorce papers, but it was troublesome.
“Hyung, do you know it’s raining now?”
“It is. According to the weather forecast, it will rain all day nationwide.”
“Gasp… All day long?”
He was going to go out when the rain stopped, but that plan was ruined in an instant too. Yeon-woo stared blankly at the terrace then stuffed a piece of salmon into his mouth.
“Why?”
“I was going to go to the court and get the papers today. Walking helps reduce bruising and swelling too. I was going to go and come back to get some fresh air too, but I guess not.”
Honestly, he wasn’t terribly disappointed since there were more days than just today. Yeon-woo, who planned for tomorrow, blurted out words without any special meaning.
“Ah, about that, it might be a bit difficult.”
Yeon-woo’s gaze was drawn to Kwon Ki-won’s calm tone. He lined up the story as if starting a casual conversation, without any change in expression.
“I think we’ll have to do the uncontested divorce on the last day of our contract.”
“Gasp… Why?”
He thought there must be a reason for him to say this much. Yeon-woo tilted his eyebrows worriedly, as if asking if something happened.
“It’s nothing much, but an important project with an overseas client will start soon.”
“What does that have to do with divorce…”
“The client company takes the company’s image very seriously.”
Ah, Yeon-woo sighed, opening his mouth slightly.
“If an article comes out during the divorce preparation period, it’s no good. The media loves to write sensational articles, so how much will they try to dissect our relationship?”
“That’s true…”
Yeon-woo, who firmly bit the tip of the fork, made an unsatisfied expression. The divorce was decided for Kwon Ki-won. But the fact that it could rather cause harm to him made Yeon-woo perplexed.
“Then until when do we have to be careful? A project takes some time, no?”
Although he wasn’t well-versed in company work, he knew it wouldn’t end in a day or two. Worries piled up in Yeon-woo’s head, wondering what if the project continued past the contract end date.
“That’s right. But you want a divorce, right Yeon-woo?”
Kwon Ki-won’s eyes, as he asked the question, became strangely sharp. Yeon-woo hesitated then slowly nodded his head. The divorce was a necessary process anyway. Even if they extended the contract, it didn’t mean they were getting farther from divorce.
‘Hyung would have sufficiently known the disadvantages of a contract marriage and proceeded…’
Kwon Ki-won was no fool. Yeon-woo had never exposed his face at an official event yet. Thanks to that, there were only speculative posts about who Ki-won’s spouse was, and no one knew the exact identity. However, if they got divorced, even if ‘who the spouse is’ fell into obscurity, the news that ‘they got divorced’ would spread. Even knowing that, Kwon Ki-won chose a contract marriage.
Moreover, even if they extended the contract, no one knew if the timing of the divorce later would be appropriate. Perhaps there could be a more difficult issue than the project. It was better to quickly proceed, striking while the iron is hot.