Contract Marriage with Memory Loss on Top - Chapter 44

Assuming that the post cannot be trusted 100%, the problem ultimately boiled down to that damn adaptation period. Since Ki-won was a dominant alpha, he had an influence on Yeon-woo, who was recessive, and Yeon-woo’s recessive body triggered some kind of physical response in an attempt to withstand the dominant’s strong pheromones. That’s what caused the pheromone levels to rise.

‘Hmm… If that’s the case, isn’t it fine since I took medicine?’

While he thought that there wouldn’t be much of a problem since he was relying on the power of medicine to some extent, it was complicated because it seemed like it wasn’t a problem to be taken lightly. There was no guarantee that he wouldn’t face big trouble if he let his guard down thinking it would be fine since he was taking medicine. Yeon-woo’s eyes, which were staring blankly at the cell phone, were filled with worry. Ki-won carefully touched Yeon-woo’s hair on the side and opened his mouth.

“Are you worried that the medicine won’t solve it?”

He was an uncanny person. Yeon-woo only moved his lips at Ki-won’s question, which seemed to have taken his thoughts verbatim. Even though his inner voice wasn’t audible to Ki-won, the man was always one step ahead like that. Having lost the need to pretend to be okay, Yeon-woo quickly weakened and nodded glumly.

“If it’s really hard or you’re anxious, tell me anytime, and I’ll call the doctor for you.”

Ki-won seemed to check the time once and immediately added.

“Or do you want to get counseling again now? I’ll call them for you.”

It was such a kind offer, but it wasn’t easy for him to say yes. He didn’t want to meet a doctor at this time when it was heading towards dawn, even though he wasn’t suffering from a fatal illness. If there were any strange signs or anything, he could just go to the hospital during the day.

“It’s not that bad. If my condition worsens, I can just go to the hospital right away.”

“That’s a relief if it’s okay.”

He must have been frowning without realizing it. Ki-won’s index finger poked between Yeon-woo’s eyebrows and fell off. Feeling embarrassed, Yeon-woo rubbed the spot where the man’s finger had touched and let out an awkward laugh.

“Or how about following this?”

“This…? You mean this post?”

Yeon-woo, who repeated what Ki-won had said as if savoring it, kept blinking his wide-open eyes.

“Pheromone showers can be dangerous, so excluding that, I think hugging and sleeping together is something worth trying.”

“…You think so?”

When he expressed his opinion in a low and steady tone, somehow a newfound belief seemed to form. Maybe it was because Ki-won’s usual image was that of a smart person, but Yeon-woo was swayed in an instant.

Of course, if there was even a slight chance that his heat cycle wouldn’t suddenly erupt, Yeon-woo wanted to try anything. However, what made him hesitate was the fact that the other person was Kwon Ki-won. Incidents and accidents were already happening, so trying to add hugging and sleeping together on top of that seemed shameless.

“If you’re uncomfortable, it can’t be helped.”

As if understanding the silence as a refusal, Ki-won tried to withdraw his suggestion.

“It’s better than nothing, right?”

“It’s not wrong.”

“…Won’t there be any side effects of a rapid increase in pheromone levels when hugging and sleeping together?”

“If it seems like there are side effects, I’ll call a doctor or take you to the hospital.”

It was reassuring to hear Ki-won, who was sensitive to pheromones, say this. The only side effect of increased pheromone levels was the heat cycle, so if it could be caught early, there was nothing to fear. In the very early stages of the heat cycle, taking suppressants would solve it.

“Then can I ask you to do it…?”

Yeon-woo, who had been sitting by the bedside and chatting, soon moved to his spot and lay down. It was also almost time to sleep, and since Ki-won also had to go to work, it seemed good to wrap up the conversation slowly.

“Of course.”

A matter-of-fact voice came back to the question full of caution. It was fortunate that his contract marriage partner was Kwon Ki-won. It was a night followed by mixed feelings of gratitude towards Ki-won, who always put him first, and annoyance due to the ambiguously crumbled wall.

“I don’t know how hugging will turn out yet… Today, let’s just hold hands and sleep.”

“Do whatever makes you comfortable, Yeon-woo.”

Ki-won, who had been trying to offer his embrace to Yeon-woo, changed his posture and simply extended his hand to the side. Yeon-woo’s hand was placed on top of Ki-won’s large and reliable hand. The stability that came just from the warmth being transmitted must be a trick of the mind.

Yeon-woo fully felt Ki-won’s warmth and tightly gripped the teddy bear with his other hand. He should have quickly closed his eyes and fallen asleep, but his heart was pounding uncomfortably. Yeon-woo, who was worried that his heartbeat would reach Ki-won’s ears like this, closed his eyelids and tried his best to relax his body. He didn’t want to get caught being tense.

***

The days passed by really quickly. As usual, Yeon-woo’s activities began after Ki-won left for work. After finishing his routine of sitting in front of the terrace door and basking in the sunlight, Yeon-woo leisurely looked around.

“I should slowly start doing it now.”

The monologue echoing in the empty space sounded somewhat sad. Yeon-woo scanned his traces left here and there and recalled that the contract expiration date had come close enough to be expressed with one hand.

It seemed like it would be more convenient to pack his belongings in advance when the expiration date approached. He was already expected to be busy submitting divorce papers and getting documents from various places, so the sooner the preparation, the better.

He had also planned how to live after the divorce. For now, he was thinking of getting a lease in Gyeonggi-do. Whenever he had time, he searched the internet and found quite a few good properties. Most of them said immediate move-in was possible, so he just needed to check the actual place.

‘I should pack my clothes in advance too.’

He decided to put everything in a suitcase except for about two days’ worth of clothes. If there was a basic task to be done before that, it was to go into the warehouse and take out the suitcase. Recalling the incident where he had a hard time taking out the bag last time, it already seemed like he could smell the musty dust.

Yeon-woo, who brought a chair from the kitchen and entered the warehouse, stopped in front of the shelf where the bag was placed. When he stepped on the chair and stood up, his field of vision became much higher, and the suitcase appeared right in front of him. Carefully taking out the bag so that the same thing wouldn’t happen again, Yeon-woo noticed one thing while getting down from the chair.

Huh, come to think of it, that box is gone. Thinking that he might have seen it wrong, he looked around the shelf, but there was no object that could be assumed to be a wooden box. Yeon-woo, who was trying to brush it off as nothing significant, had Kwon Ki-won’s voice pass through his mind.

– Have you been to the warehouse recently?

The voice of Ki-won asking if he had been to the warehouse. The more he thought about it, it was a somewhat awkward question. Why would Ki-won, who didn’t care where he wandered around, ask such a thing? It had to be considered strange because Ki-won, who didn’t say anything even when Yeon-woo entered the dressing room filled with luxury items, expensive clothes, and accessories, asked about the warehouse.

It’s strange. Yeon-woo scratched his cheek and left the warehouse with the suitcase and chair. Even while taking each step, the whereabouts of the missing wooden box lingered in his mind. It seemed like he was unnecessarily thinking about something unrelated to him, but curiosity was not easily resolved.

– There was one familiar object. It’s an old-looking wooden box with a very worn exterior… Strangely, it felt like I had seen it somewhere before. Of course, it must be my imagination.

– Did you open it?

– Of course not. It’s yours, so why would I open it?

Did he get rid of it because I said I saw the wooden box? His head shook slightly. He didn’t know what was inside the wooden box since he didn’t open it, but there was no reason for Ki-won to do that. He decided not to attach great meaning to a conversation that had passed lightly. Yeon-woo, who returned the chair to the kitchen, immediately crossed the bedroom threshold and put down the bag.

Once the clothes were organized, he had to take out all his personal belongings from the drawer, so he was busy. Yeon-woo, who was diligently moving, stopped his steps at the sound of vibration echoing in the bedroom.

“Hello?”

Yeon-woo picked up the phone, answered the call, and started clearing the rest of the luggage.

– Yes, this is the real estate agency.

The voice of a middle-aged man entered his ear. Yeon-woo recalled that he had sent text messages and made calls here and there to look for a house.

“Ah…”

If he had known this would happen, he should have saved the contact information. Since he had contacted so many places, the information that it was a real estate agency alone didn’t make it easy to infer which house it was. It seemed to be either Pyeongtaek or Suwon, but he wasn’t sure.

“I’m sorry, but which real estate agency is this?”

– It’s Daebak Real Estate. Aren’t you the one who inquired about the fully furnished room available in Bijeon-dong?

“Yes, that’s me.”

– That place is vacant. I’ll give you the password, so you can go in and take a look for yourself. If you check it out and like it, please contact me.

“Oh, really? Alright.”

“Okay-. I’ll send you the password via text message.”

Since he was looking for a place to live later than usual, he was focusing on places that were available for immediate move-in, so it was even better that there was currently no one living there. As soon as the call ended, Yeon-woo checked the incoming text message and put the phone back in its place.