Contract Marriage with Memory Loss on Top - Chapter 50

“You’re driving yourself today?”

“It’s a vacation, so I didn’t want to use an employee. I also want to be alone with you.”

Yeon-woo, who had put on his seatbelt in the passenger seat, tried to gather his scattered mind at Ki-won’s blunt words. He should have been used to his way of speaking that left room for interpretation, but occasionally when he heard it, his heart would sink with a thud. Yeon-woo cleared his throat and diligently pretended not to notice, filling his arms with the snacks he had bought from the convenience store.

“Why did you buy so much?”

“I couldn’t guess how long the trip would be. It’s my first time traveling with someone, so I’m feeling excited for no reason.”

Even a day trip was a trip in its own way, so he couldn’t control his excited feelings. Although he had gone on drives with Ki-won several times, this time felt different. Yeon-woo barely managed to calm his pounding heart and looked down at the individually wrapped chocolate snacks.

‘Ah, will there be crumbs…?’

Ki-won had never had a negative reaction to eating food in the car, but he suddenly became worried. He was also concerned that the crunchy sounds he made while eating next to Ki-won while driving might be bothersome. Now that he was about to eat food in the car, there were quite a few things that made him conscious.

“Weren’t you going to eat that? Why are you just holding it?”

Just then, a red light signal came on, and the car gently came to a stop. Ki-won stretched out his hand in front of Yeon-woo, offering to help if it was difficult to open. Yeon-woo blankly looked down at his palm and then gave an answer that it wasn’t the case.

“That’s not it… I’m worried the car will get dirty.”

If he had known this would happen, he should have bought snacks that produced fewer crumbs. Jelly that could be eaten in one bite wouldn’t have been bad either. As Yeon-woo sighed with regret, Ki-won reacted by raising one eyebrow.

“Why are you worrying about that? The powder can be cleaned up later. Moreover, wasn’t I the one who asked if you had any snacks to eat in the car?”

“Still…”

“If you’re really worried, do you want to feed me first?”

“…What?”

“If I eat first, won’t you be less worried?”

He also asked Yeon-woo to put it directly in his mouth since he needed to focus on driving. Yeon-woo alternately looked at the snack and Ki-won, then let out a deflated sound. It was evident that Ki-won had said it for his sake.

After all, Ki-won was not someone who looked for snacks to eat unless there was a special reason. It would be very sweet. Yeon-woo examined the snack in his hand and then took out something else. He had switched to a snack that was relatively less sweet for his taste.

“Should I give you an Americano too?”

Fortunately, he had bought an Americano to give to Ki-won just in case. Yeon-woo placed the Americano next to Ki-won so that he could eat comfortably and opened the snack bag.

“This is a newly released snack that tastes like walnuts. Since it’s zero sugar, it’ll be good to eat without burden.”

“Really? The world has gotten better.”

Ki-won responded to Yeon-woo’s chatter without fail and ate the snack that had come close to his mouth. Yeon-woo was lost in thought as he watched Ki-won eat the food he had given him. It was always his role to feed Ki-won, but facing the opposite situation felt unfamiliar. Yeon-woo, whose cheeks were flushed with a not-so-bad feeling, started eating the snack with his head bowed down. He didn’t know why his heart felt so dizzy just from feeding Ki-won a snack.

***

“The sky looks really gloomy.”

As soon as they stopped at a rest area to take a break, Yeon-woo stretched. The interior of the car was comfortable and spacious, so it wasn’t hard to sit for a long time, but he thought enjoying leisure at a rest area was also one of the charms of traveling.

“Is it going to rain?”

The sky, which had been fine until they started, was causing trouble. As Yeon-woo kept muttering while looking up at the sky, Ki-won approached and smoothed out the wrinkled hem of Yeon-woo’s clothes.

“It’ll probably rain for a bit and then stop.”

“Do you think so?”

Well, it wasn’t the rainy season, and even if it did rain, it would probably be a shower. Agreeing with his words, Yeon-woo looked down at his fingertips. After eating snacks the whole way, he felt sticky and wanted to wash his hands.

“Ki-won, I’ll go wash my hands and come back.”

“Should I go with you?”

“No, I’m not a kid. I can go by myself.”

“Then is there anything you want to eat? I’ll buy it for you.”

“Something I want to eat…?”

Yeon-woo showed a contemplative expression with his mouth forming a straight line. He wasn’t hungry since he had eaten so many snacks, but the buttered baby potatoes, one of the specialties of rest areas, came to mind. Fortunately, the parking spot was near the food corner, so the sweet scent of butter wafted to his nose.

“Buttered baby potatoes…? But I’m full right now, so I don’t really need to eat…”

“If there are leftovers, we can think about it later.”

Ki-won took out his wallet and said he would buy them. Yeon-woo looked at Ki-won’s back and hesitantly moved his steps towards the restroom.

‘Doesn’t it seem like I’m only showing him the sight of me eating all day?’

Yeon-woo, who had paused his steps, tilted his head. The unnecessary worry that he seemed to be showing Ki-won only the sight of him eating all day wouldn’t go away.

No, he was thinking too much again. Yeon-woo shook his head hard to shake off his distracting thoughts and put strength into his steps. Even if he ended up with a glutton image, he was already facing a divorce anyway.

Just in case Ki-won, who might have bought the buttered baby potatoes, was waiting for him, Yeon-woo almost ran into the restroom and looked in the mirror while washing his hands.

“Oh my goodness…”

There were crumbs and sugar powder all over his mouth. He couldn’t believe he had talked to Ki-won looking like this. Yeon-woo vigorously rubbed his mouth with his flushed face.

‘If it was smeared, you should have told me…’

Looking back, as soon as he got out of the car at the rest area, he was in a hurry to look up at the sky or look around. Maybe Ki-won hadn’t noticed the snack powder either, so a belated sense of relief followed.

“…hey! Who are you!”

Just as he was about to wipe the moisture with a hand towel and leave, he heard a scream-like sound from somewhere, and Yeon-woo’s ears perked up. Judging by the voice, it seemed to be a quite elderly woman. Wondering if something had happened, he hurriedly went out and saw a man who looked like a thug confronting a woman.

‘What’s going on?’

The thug was pushing the woman’s shoulders with a flushed and angry face, and next to her, a small child who seemed to be her grandson was crying. Yeon-woo’s eyes next turned to the man’s dirtied pant leg. There was tteokbokki soup splattered on his pants and shoes, and he could roughly guess what the situation was.

‘The child must have spilled it there.’

It was unfortunate that he had spilled it on someone’s leg of all places. Yeon-woo worriedly watched them and hesitantly moved his steps. There was nothing he could do by stepping in, so he tried not to meddle unnecessarily. Above all, Ki-won would be waiting for him.

‘Should I report it to the police?’

It was so noisy that fortunately, there seemed to be people who had the same thought as him since many people had gathered around. Listening carefully to the murmurs, he heard someone reporting to the police.

Let’s just go back for now. As he moved to go back to where Ki-won was, he naturally moved further away from the spot where the fight had occurred. Will it be okay? Even though he knew it wasn’t good to meddle unnecessarily, he couldn’t help but keep turning his head.

That’s when it happened. Despite the child and woman’s continuous apologies, the man who had been spewing curses suddenly showed a threatening gesture towards her. Yeon-woo’s eyes, which had been watching from the side, widened instantly. He thought it would end with a threat, but the man couldn’t control his anger and actually swung.

“What are you doing…!”

His body moved before he could think. Yeon-woo quickly ran and grabbed the man’s arm, telling him to calm down. He tried to persuade the man, saying that no matter how angry he was, violence was not the answer, but the man’s strength was so strong that his body swayed.

“Are you not letting go? Who are you!”

Yeon-woo’s ears hurt from the man’s shout. It was a situation where he himself could get hurt at any moment, but Yeon-woo couldn’t easily let go of the man’s arm. He couldn’t bear to do so because the child’s eyes watching this scene were filled with fear.

“Someone please help! What strength…”

Even when he tried to withstand it by putting his weight into it, Yeon-woo’s body shook like a sheet of paper. He called for help, worried that he might fall on his bottom if he made a mistake, but no one readily stepped up. He understood their feelings too. They must be hesitating, not knowing what might happen to them if they intervened wrongly.

‘If only Ki-won were here…’

If it were the well-built Ki-won, he might have subdued the man in an instant, but for Yeon-woo, the opponent was endlessly overwhelming.

“You bastard! Let go!”

The arm Yeon-woo was holding swung down heavily from top to bottom, and Yeon-woo ended up tumbling on the ground. As he fell, he must have incorrectly supported himself on the ground, as his wrist throbbed, but Yeon-woo looked up at the thug rushing towards the woman with terror-filled eyes rather than his own pain. At this rate, the verbal fight was about to turn into an assault case. Yeon-woo immediately lowered his gaze and looked towards the child. As expected, the child had turned pale and was in a state where he couldn’t even scream.

He didn’t know what kind of courage had come to him, but such a thought crossed his mind. Ah, even I have to step in. Yeon-woo, who abruptly stood up, ran between the woman and the man. Rather than the woman, who might be the child’s mother or grandmother, getting hit in front of the child, he thought it would be better for him to get hit. The trauma of a family member getting hurt because of one’s own mistake would last a lifetime.