Chapter 7: Marriage Contract (2)
“How important is the marital relationship in a marriage. People make a huge fuss about whether you can live together because of it.”
“B-But… we’re in a contract marriage… so the marital relationship…”
“Even if it’s a contract marriage, legally you’re still married. You’ve filed the marriage registration and are in a legitimate marital relationship.”
“Yes, that’s true. But honestly… I haven’t really thought about that part yet…”
Bora licked her dry, chapped lips, which were parched because she had already finished the cold water her secretary brought.
Kang Yoon couldn’t help but chuckle as he watched Bora’s bright pink tongue brush her lips.
“You might be the type who unknowingly tempts men, huh?”
“Huh? Me?”
Bora’s double-lidded eyes widened even further, and her cheeks turned as red as a perfectly ripened peach.
“Look at this clause.”
Kang Yoon pointed to a line in the contract, and Bora followed his finger with her eyes.
“No one is allowed to know that the marriage between Kang Yoon and Yoon Bora is a contract marriage. Therefore, the couple must maintain a perfectly happy married life, as anyone would see.”
Kang Yoon emphasized the phrase, “a perfectly happy married life as anyone would see.”
“For the three years that this contract is in effect, neither of us may secretly see someone else.”
“Of course!”
“That means we can’t have any kind of relationship—mental or physical—with anyone else for three years.”
“Yes… right?”
It was obvious, yet Bora lowered her head, feeling an unusual flush, under Kang Yoon’s intense gaze. Her face felt hot, and she was inexplicably embarrassed.
“So, anyway, I’m a physically healthy man, and I have no intention or desire to look elsewhere, which means during the contract period, you have to be my physical partner as well.”
“Hic!”
The words physical partner made Bora hiccup involuntarily.
Kang Yoon couldn’t help but laugh at her unexpected reaction.
“Haha. Wow… you really dislike that, huh?”
“No, that’s not it! Hic!”
She waved her hands desperately, trying to explain, but Kang Yoon placed his hand on his forehead as he watched her red face and hiccupping.
“I didn’t expect you’d resist so much. Honestly, it hurts my pride a little.”
“No, it’s not that… Hic… I just… need a little time to think and discuss it again… Hic!”
Kang Yoon tried his best to suppress a laugh at Bora’s pouty, hiccupping face.
Although he had a reputation for being rough in business circles, it was simply because he kept women at a distance. Most wealthy men or businessmen maintained polite manners and were courteous to women, but Kang Yoon, who kept women at arm’s length and sharpened his words, was always the subject of rumors.
Rumors said he frequented Tenpro for wild parties, preferred promiscuous fun, and avoided respectable women. He had a former lover with whom he had a child, but his family opposed it, and she was sent to the U.S. The gossip exaggerated everything, painting Kang Yoon as a scoundrel, but he didn’t care.
In fact, the worse his image, the more his older brother’s notorious reputation seemed comparatively “more straightforwardly women-loving yet purer”.
Because his mother was his father’s mistress, Kang Yoon had lived his entire life without recognition. Most women who showed interest in him were after his wealth or fame; few cared about the real Kang Yoon. Through several relationships, he realized this.
Women were objects he wanted to avoid, so after turning thirty, he had never seriously dated. Marriage, like love, was meaningless to him—especially since it would happen according to Jin Hyun-sook’s wishes.
“Hic! I’ll really think it over… Hic! We’ll sign it later, okay? Hic!”
Who would have thought that such a cute girl—whose stomach even made little grumbling noises—would roll in front of him so innocently?
“Alright. That’s fine. By the way, your stomach is making quite a sound.”
“Oh… you can hear it? I didn’t eat breakfast today…”
Bora laughed awkwardly, holding her flat, growling stomach, her eyes curling beautifully at the corners.
Kang Yoon silently got up and grabbed his jacket from the coat rack behind his desk.
“Going somewhere?”
Bora, standing up in surprise, had the contract snatched from her hand and placed in a file on Kang Yoon’s desk. He then stood beside her.
“First, let’s eat. Is it okay if we go to a place I like?”
“Oh, yes. You don’t need to eat early just because of me…”
“When your wife says she’s hungry, what kind of husband would ignore that?”
“W-Wife…?”
Bora’s face turned red again as she trailed behind Kang Yoon, who said wife so naturally, maintaining his poker face.
“We’ll eat first. If anyone calls looking for me, tell them to contact me after two.”
“Yes, understood. Go ahead.”
The secretary, putting on makeup, was startled as Kang Yoon and Bora left the office, dropping the lipstick she was holding and bowing in greeting.
Kang Yoon pressed the elevator button to the 28th floor and gestured for Bora to get in.
“Going far?”
“No, about 20 minutes by car. We’ll arrive a bit before lunch since it’s early.”
In the underground parking lot, Kang Yoon headed straight to the largest space next to the elevator.
There were two cars parked side by side: a luxurious black sedan and a sleek dark green sports car.
Beep!
Kang Yoon pressed the remote, and the sports car’s lights blinked cheerfully.
‘How much could this car cost? The color is so pretty.’
“Shall we get in?”
“Huh? Ah, yes.”
Bora, flustered by Kang Yoon opening the passenger door for her, clumsily got in.
“You usually drive this car? Last time you came in that black one.”
“Oh, that’s for appearances. This is the one I drive.”
“Of course… so rich…”
At Bora’s whispered words, Kang Yoon suppressed a smile.
She was so transparent—so different from any woman he had met before.
Perhaps that’s why he felt a little interest in Bora. He thought marriage would be just like any other with no feelings, but somehow, he thought it might be a little enjoyable with her.
“This car is amazing… so quiet.”
Bora leaned back into the seat, fully enjoying the car, murmuring in satisfaction.
“If you want to listen to music, we can play some.”
“I usually don’t listen to music while driving.”
“Really?”
“Sometimes, but I prefer to just open the window and listen to the outside sounds.”
At her words, Kang Yoon slightly rolled down the passenger-side window.
“Thank you. You’re much kinder than I expected, Kang Yoon.”
“I told you, whatever you think, I’m better than that.”
“Ah, yeah, that seems true.”
Although she was at the matchmaking market to save her family and business, Bora was different from the women with looks that screamed ‘How can I seduce this man?’
She was willing to work hard and contribute fairly in a contract marriage with a man she didn’t love, and yet her reaction to marital relations was completely transparent and adorable.
Perhaps because of the good weather and the open road, Bora began humming to herself.
Kang Yoon noticed the melody—it was an old song she liked—and subtly averted his gaze.
“That song… not many people know it, I guess.”
“Huh? You know this song too?”
“I heard it on the radio when I was young. I liked the melody, so I looked it up later.”
“Wow. My mom liked this song, so I heard it often as a child.”
“The lyrics are good too.”
“Right! I didn’t realize it as a kid, but as I grew up, I thought the lyrics were quite beautiful. Amazing… not many people know this song!”
“Maybe it’s because we’re… married.”
“…We’re not married yet, right? Only when we stamp the marriage registration are we really a couple.”
“Should we drive around? We could get the stamp and hold the ceremony afterward.”
“…Not yet. The… marital… relationship… isn’t clearly stated in the contract, so we can’t.”
Although the contract mentioned “physical partner” for the marital clause, it wasn’t meant to imply a real relationship. It simply meant they should act convincingly like a couple to anyone observing. But Bora’s unexpected reaction to the term was so cute that Kang Yoon let it drop.
He glanced at her small, mumbled voice, and saw her long eyelashes flutter as she coughed discreetly while looking out the window. He felt an unusual urge to touch them, imagining them brushing lightly against his chest.
