CHAPTER 65………………..
“I’ve violated the Personal Information Protection Act and even the Communications Privacy Protection Act.”
“Why are you bringing up laws between us?”
Ihan frowned, then lowered his gaze back to the file.
Seungjae, still curious, asked again.
“A contract relationship… what do you mean by that?”
“You’ve seen everything already, so why bother asking?”
“I’m just curious. Taeihan, who seemed like he’d never date anyone in his life, is even doing a contract relationship. Why?”
“To get rid of the stalker, and no need to go on blind dates. There’s no reason not to.”
Ihan summed it up in a single line, but Seungjae still looked puzzled.
“Did you really do a contract because of that?”
Ihan nodded once in response, but Seungjae shook his head instead.
“Taeihan, doing something so bothersome?”
Ihan paused for a moment at the blunt remark.
“You’re not the type to make such trivial and annoying things happen. Saying it was just to get rid of Byulna sounds like an excuse.”
Seungjae sipped his cold coffee through a straw and continued.
“You’re like a hedgehog, always raising your spikes. You poke everyone around you mercilessly to protect yourself. Yet you let someone into your space, allowed them close to you? And it’s a woman? Doesn’t that strike you as suspicious?”
Seungjae muttered to himself as Ihan remained silent.
“At least the Taeihan I know wouldn’t do that without a reason.”
“If you don’t want to get pricked by my spikes, stop talking and leave.”
“Oh, right. I was just about to leave anyway. Came to tease you after seeing the contract, but there’s no reaction at all. Anyway, boring guy!”
Seungjae pouted, slammed his feet on the floor, and stood up.
“Then I’m leaving. I’ll come again tomorrow.”
“Don’t come.”
Seungjae gave a smirk and finally left the office.
Alone, Ihan took his eyes off the approval file he had been staring at.
Leaning back on the headrest, he sank into thought.
He hadn’t reacted in front of Seungjae, but the words lingered.
Like Seungjae said, he really wasn’t the type to enter a bothersome contract relationship.
Of course, the start had been because of Byulna and Sinhwa.
It seemed convenient—he could get rid of the stalker and no longer deal with tedious blind dates.
But, just as Seungjae said, that made him accept an even more bothersome relationship.
Because he hated emotional drain. And yet…
Ihan quietly examined his own feelings, as if solving a puzzle.
What was the real reason for the contract relationship?
The moment he solved the question he had been pretending to ignore, labeling it as mere curiosity:
“One day.”
The answer boiled down to a single word.
Lunchtime.
Haru was having lunch with Dallae and Nari in the cafeteria.
“Do you know what question I get the most from friends these days?”
Nari started, chewing on some braised tofu.
“They all ask if I’ve seen the CEO in person, if he’s really that handsome. Everyone asks me that.”
“Same here. Everyone freaked out over that one blurry photo, so I can’t even imagine what would happen if his real face were revealed.”
Dallae and Nari chatted animatedly about Ihan.
Haru couldn’t help feeling uneasy, unable to escape thoughts of Ihan.
Unsure how to react, he silently moved his chopsticks.
He had no appetite, picking at his rice grain by grain.
“The dating rumor turned out to be false, but thanks to that, Byulna’s quite popular these days.”
“Right. I’ve heard rumors that the two are having an arranged marriage too.”
It could actually happen—marriages between chaebols were considered natural.
Haru found it remarkable how he had ended up dating him.
Even if it was a contract, being involved with a company CEO like this was the stuff of dramas. Thinking about it made the reality sink in.
“But Haru, are you okay? You don’t seem to have much appetite. Are you feeling unwell?”
Dallae noticed his picking at the food and asked.
Haru smiled awkwardly, then finally put down his chopsticks.
“Can I do the rest of today’s work at home?”
“Yes, I already passed along everything this morning, so that’s fine.”
Sensing Haru wasn’t feeling well, Dallae didn’t ask why and readily agreed.
Eventually, Haru left early after lunch.
He felt conflicted. Since yesterday’s events, his mind had been restless.
The contract relationship, started to help Ihan, was turning out to be a burden for him instead.
Had he been too careless? He even doubted himself.
It’s just a contract; a month at his place should be fine.
That complacency made staying by his side feel natural, and living in his house no longer felt awkward.
“I’ll leave after a month; I’ll break up once the contract ends.”
Even that resolution had slipped away as he became attached to daily life and time with him.
All the thoughts that had tormented him circled back to the start of the contract relationship.
Ihan proposed the contract to prevent Byulna’s stalking and stop repeated blind dates.
But looking back now, nothing had truly been prevented.
Byulna raised her voice even knowing she was his girlfriend, and Ihan’s mother said they should break up.
Haru realized she wasn’t helping him at all.
The reason for the contract relationship had become meaningless.
Haru stared blankly at the room Ihan had prepared for her.
Having stayed there for almost a month, it already looked like her own space. Yet it was only temporary.
Payday was coming soon, and the promised month was nearly up.
Organizing her thoughts, she quickly made up her mind.
Haru called the moving company from before.
After asking about temporary furniture storage and hearing it was possible, she hung up.
Her few belongings could fit in a suitcase and a few boxes.
She would ask Dain for help until she found a new place or look for temporary accommodation.
“I should’ve done this sooner.”
She realized she had come too far, driven by the desire to stay close to him because of his kindness.
Tomorrow was her day off, so she decided she would leave then.
Once she resolved this, she moved quickly.
Haru opened her suitcase and began organizing her belongings.
She folded the clothes in the wardrobe and packed small items.
While moving busily, she winced from a sudden pain.
The bandage on her hand, cut yesterday, had partly fallen off, exposing the wound.
Touching it caused pain because it hadn’t healed yet.
Gripping her finger, she groaned and left the room.
“I think it was around here.”
She vaguely remembered where Ihan had taken the first aid kit before.
“Found it.”
Opening the drawer of the bedside table, she found the first aid kit.
A thin notebook-like object fell to the floor along with it.
“What’s this?”
At first glance, it looked like a passport, though not Korean. Yet it seemed to belong to Ihan.
Haru reached to put it back, but paused.
When she opened it and saw the photo inside, her eyes widened.
“How…?”
The face wasn’t Ihan’s.
She checked the name: “Alessandro Tae.”
Though an English name, the surname Tae suggested it was Ihan’s passport.
“But why…”
She couldn’t look away from the photo.
Memories resurfaced, tied to this unfamiliar face.
It was the face of a man she had met in Italy at age twenty.
