Contract Marriage with Memory Loss on Top - Chapter 52

“…You know we’re getting divorced in a few days, right?”

Ki-won closed his mouth at Yeon-woo’s question. 

“I don’t want to ruin this rare vacation like this.”

It wasn’t an ordinary reason – it was a vacation he took to travel with me and help wrap up the end of the contract. I wanted to prevent such a vacation from turning into a mess at all costs.

“There’s a pharmacy at this rest stop, so we can just buy some pain relief patches. Right, hyung…?”

As Yeon-woo’s whining continued, Ki-won rubbed his thin face as if he couldn’t win against him.

“You’re so stubborn… If the swelling seems to get worse, we’re going straight back up to Seoul.”

“Of course!”

Yeon-woo purposely shook his wrist, emphasizing that he was fine. It wasn’t a lie. It looked bigger because of the bruising, but it was really just a slight sprain. Of course, in order to recover quickly, he would have to use his wrist less for the time being, which would be quite inconvenient.

***

“It’s finally raining.”

Yeon-woo looked at the heavy rain pounding on the car window. Big raindrops fell incessantly on the window, as if it was a downpour. Yeon-woo raised the window he had lowered and sent a gaze filled with regret. From the beginning, there wouldn’t be much reason to go outside the villa, but Ki-won’s words that the scenery was nice lingered in his mind.

‘Even if you look outside, you’ll only see fog and rain.’

Not only was it raining, but the fog was also getting thicker. Yeon-woo, who took a deep breath that made his shoulders rise and fall, constantly looked out the window with his chin propped up.

“Did they say it would rain today?”

Ki-won raised his voice while tapping his fingers resting on the steering wheel. However, unlike Yeon-woo who was disappointed, Ki-won seemed unfazed. Although he said he didn’t know it would rain, he also seemed like someone who had expected it.

“Should I look up when the rain will stop?”

“No, it’s fine.”

Ki-won sternly told him not to hold his cell phone since his wrist hurt. I told you it’s not that bad. He wanted to add that it was overprotective, but he only thought about it inwardly and didn’t say it out loud. He didn’t dislike the situation where Ki-won’s attention was focused solely on him.

As they moved by car, the surrounding scenery changed in an instant. The vehicle that had been driving on a road with few people suddenly entered a mountain road in the blink of an eye. Although there was a road, it was private property, so there weren’t many people using it, and the ground wasn’t completely compacted.

“The ground is too muddy because of the rain. It’s going to be a bit bumpy.”

As soon as Ki-won finished speaking, the car shook greatly. Yeon-woo couldn’t hide his startled expression and looked around. It seemed like they had hit a large rock, but the moment the car bounced, it must have sunk into the mud, and the speed of moving forward noticeably decreased.

“At this rate, the car will get all scratched up.”

Yeon-woo, who roughly knew how much Ki-won’s car cost, turned pale and lowered the car window. As expected, the scenery he saw by sticking his head out was a sight to behold. The car body was a mess with splattered mud, and every time it struggled to move forward, small rocks flew and scratched the body.

“Are you sure we can get to the villa…?”

“The certain thing is that we can’t turn back now.”

Unlike Yeon-woo, whose worries were not insignificant, Ki-won’s face was serene. I don’t know what’s so enjoyable, but the corners of his mouth twisted up greatly at times. Yeon-woo was about to ask if he was laughing at a time like this, but soon closed his mouth. For now, it seemed that he should let him focus on driving rather than striking up a conversation.

‘We can’t even turn the car around, this is big trouble…’

The road was too narrow to turn the sedan around, and it was clear that if they tried to reverse, the wheels would sink deep into the mud. Yeon-woo watched the increasingly heavy rain and raised the car window. He thought it was a downpour, but it wasn’t a rain to be taken lightly. The muddy ground soaked with rainwater became even muddier, and the wet dirt slid down in a thick state. Unfortunately, the section they were passing through was a hill road, so Yeon-woo had to anxiously survey the surroundings.

“We’ve climbed up quite a bit, right…?”

He judged that it would be more dangerous to go back down after coming up so far by car. It was better to continue heading upward like this and enter the villa.

“It’ll probably be a shorter distance to reach the villa than to go back.”

Ki-won seemed frustrated with the car’s lack of speed, as he put strength into his grip on the steering wheel.

That’s when it happened. The car body swayed again, and Yeon-woo’s bottom briefly fell and stuck due to the recoil. Then the sound of the wheels spinning could be heard. This time, it wasn’t something to be easily dismissed. Yeon-woo was startled by the smoke rising from the hood and opened his mouth wide.

“Oh no…”

“What, what is it? Is the car broken down?”

The startled Yeon-woo tried to unfasten his seat belt and get out, but Ki-won stopped him.

“It’s raining, so stay seated. I’ll go out and check.”

Before Yeon-woo could answer, Ki-won, who had gone outside, headed towards the front of the car body. As the hood opened, the front view was completely blocked. Yeon-woo had to open the car window again to grasp the situation of what was going on.

“Hyung, how is it? Is it okay?”

“Hmm… I think the engine overheated.”

“What?”

Today’s luck was not good. Not only did he get caught up in a fight at the rest stop, but heavy rain was pouring down. Now, to top it off, the engine had overheated. Yeon-woo couldn’t stop fidgeting, worried about Ki-won standing in the rain.

“Then, can we wait a bit and then depart?”

“Even if the engine cools down, I don’t think we can use the car.”

It was a series of surprises. Yeon-woo doubted if he heard correctly and tapped his ear.

“Is it completely broken down?”

“That, and the more time passes, the wetter the ground will get, so it will become harder to climb the mountain.”

“Then what should we do…?”

Yeon-woo fixed his gaze on Ki-won, who was returning to the driver’s seat. Should we call someone? But he knew it was impossible because he had already experienced firsthand how dangerous the mountain road was.

“If we walk for about 10 minutes, we’ll arrive at the villa.”

“Really?”

It was good news amid the situation. Even considering the muddy and slippery ground that prevented them from speeding up, he thought they could arrive within 20 minutes. As Yeon-woo was about to get out right away to get ready, Ki-won told him to wait and opened the trunk.

What Ki-won brought were two umbrellas. It seemed like he carried them for emergencies, as the packaging hadn’t even been opened. Yeon-woo received them and was finally able to step out of the car.

“Be careful getting out.”

Yeon-woo heeded Ki-won’s words that the road was slippery and carefully took each step.

“The tires can’t help but sink in this situation.”

Half of his sneakers were swallowed by the mud. Yeon-woo barely shook off the mud that was heavily pulling at his feet and stood next to Ki-won.

“We’ll have to use just one umbrella.”

“I think we have to… The rain is really coming down heavily, isn’t it?”

Perhaps because of the added wind, the direction of the falling rain was all over the place. The road was so rough that it seemed like they would have to hold hands tightly while walking, but the umbrella interfered with this. Yeon-woo closed the umbrella he was using and stood close to Ki-won’s side. The unused umbrella was perfect for the role of a support. With an umbrella in one hand and Ki-won’s arm in the other, he was able to maintain a much more comfortable gait.

“This rain… It will stop, right?”

“Well, I think we’ll have to go to the villa and check.”

It was frustrating that the rain had to stop for them to request external help or not. In the meantime, the air was really fresh. The scent of the forest that could be smelled in the unique rain smell greeted Yeon-woo. Yeon-woo burst into laughter at the absurd situation, but then pulled down the corners of his mouth in despair.

Every time he took a step, the muddy ground splattered in all directions. Yeon-woo alternately examined the hems of his pants and Ki-won’s pants, and concluded that it was difficult to save the clothes. Ki-won’s shoes, which always gleamed, had long lost their color, covered in dirt.

Yeon-woo, lost in the unnecessary sentiment of seeing Ki-won’s disheveled appearance like this, looked beyond the hazy fog. It seemed like they had climbed up a lot, but the fog was so thick that the shape presumed to be the villa was not visible.

“Do we still have to go further?”

“It looks like it’s around here.”

It was unexpected that there wasn’t much left when he thought there was still a long way to go. The fog must be severe. Yeon-woo moved his eyes busily to find the villa Ki-won mentioned.

“Oh! It’s over there, right? No, it must be there!”

Yeon-woo, who lacked hands, stretched out the umbrella he was using as a support and pointed to the magnificent mansion. He was just starting to feel his legs ache as he consumed stamina faster than usual since the ground was muddy, so it was fortunate. Yeon-woo, who discovered the destination not far away, led Ki-won, saying let’s go quickly.

“Let’s go fast!”

Ki-won, who had been walking slowly to match Yeon-woo’s pace, was finally able to move at his original walking speed.

As if he had never been worried, Yeon-woo, who had escaped from his pale face, innocently entered the well-kept yard. Unlike the hilly road, the area where the villa was located was overall flat and densely covered with grass, so his legs sank less. Yeon-woo, who had become like a wet rat, eagerly waited for Ki-won to open the villa door.