CHAPTER 53…………………………………………………….
When he opened his eyes and saw Cho-hee, the excitement he had felt dropped straight to the bottom again at a single sentence from her.
“So, are you thinking of leaving this place?”
What was her intention in bringing up the contract’s expiration?
Dowoon already knew that the end was approaching.
While he had tried not to think about it, had Cho-hee been thinking only about the end of their relationship the entire time?
At first, their contract had been forced upon them. But as time passed, it felt like Cho-hee had begun to take it seriously.
…Or had that only been his misunderstanding?
Their relationship had begun through blackmail. Even if he tried to correct it now, it was already too late.
He tried to read Cho-hee’s face, but seeing the complicated expression there, he couldn’t tell what she was thinking.
It had always been like that. He could never quite understand what was on her mind.
“I can’t leave Sinuiju. I promised to meet my brother here.”
At her words, the tension in his body eased a little.
At least that means she’ll stay in the same city.
Without realizing it, Dowoon felt relieved. And as if performing in a play, he ended up telling a different lie instead of the truth in his heart.
“I think it’s still too early to talk about the contract expiring. There are many things that still need to be verified, and as you can see, my condition is like this, so everything is delayed.”
In truth, his colleagues were already checking the information Cho-hee had given them. But since Cho-hee had no way of knowing that, it served well enough as an excuse.
Fortunately, she nodded as if she understood.
“…Do you have a place to stay after you leave here?”
“The place I was supposed to meet my brother was the inn where Bok-ssi stayed, so I was planning to stay there.”
“Don’t you already stop by there every week? If visiting that often is fine, how about just staying here instead?”
Dowoon suggested it as lightly as he could. Inside, he was nervous she might feel burdened and insist on leaving.
Cho-hee’s eyes widened as if the suggestion was unexpected.
“I can keep staying here?”
“There’s no reason you can’t. Everyone in Sinuiju already knows you as my wife. If you stay somewhere else, it might become even more inconvenient.”
“Well… that’s true.”
Fortunately, Cho-hee agreed.
Dowoon relaxed, releasing the tension from the hand that wasn’t holding his lifted shirt. Without realizing it, he had been clenching his fist tightly.
“I’m done now.”
At some point during their conversation, Cho-hee had finished applying the medicine and pulled his shirt back down.
Was it just his imagination? Cho-hee also seemed oddly relieved.
“Then I’ll go bring the meal now. Stay here.”
As soon as she left the room, Dowoon let out the sigh he had been holding in.
“…Ha. Thank goodness.”
Cho-hee would keep staying here. She would remain by his side.
Regardless of the contract, he would still be able to see her. From now on as well.
But even as he sighed in relief, anxiety crept in.
The expiration of the contract.
It implied that the relationship between the two of them would soon change.
Whether that change would be for the better or worse, he had no idea.
For the next few days, Cho-hee devoted herself to taking care of Dowoon.
Every day she disinfected his wounds, applied ointment, and carefully wrapped fresh bandages so they wouldn’t worsen.
Tonight was the same.
Late at night, Cho-hee sat beside the bed, carefully examining his injury as she gently spread ointment on it.
Dowoon quietly looked down at her. She was close enough that he could touch her with just a stretch of his hand.
She was so focused that her lips were slightly pursed forward.
What was she thinking?
Though Dowoon had intentionally acted injured to some degree, Cho-hee cared for him with far more dedication than someone simply tending to a wounded person.
He was curious about her intentions.
Even before, he had struggled to understand her thoughts—but now he had even less idea what she was feeling.
As someone who handled intelligence, Dowoon was usually good at predicting people’s thoughts and the actions that followed.
But Cho-hee was the exception.
The more he learned about her, the less he understood.
Sometimes she seemed transparent, like clear glass, her inner feelings visible.
But when he tried to look closer, it was like fog had filled the glass—opaque and impossible to see through.
Still, he couldn’t just bombard her with questions.
Cho-hee often answered in unexpected ways, and that unpredictability was part of why Dowoon enjoyed talking with her.
After finishing the bandage, Cho-hee briefly lifted her head—then quickly avoided his gaze.
“I should stop by the inn tomorrow. Bok-ssi is probably worried about Park Jin. By the way, you said he took a ship to Shanghai, right?”
At the mention of Park Jin’s name, Dowoon frowned slightly.
He usually styled his hair back with pomade, but since being injured he had left his bangs loose, falling slightly over his eyes.
It was such an unfamiliar look that even though it was the same face she always saw, it felt strangely new. Embarrassed for no clear reason, Cho-hee looked away.
For a brief moment, their eyes met.
Cho-hee quickly turned her head and continued speaking.
“He must have arrived safely, right?”
“Are you still worried about him?”
Dowoon frowned in displeasure.
Park Jin? Of course she was worried.
But not just because of him—he reminded her of Shin-sil.
Still, Dowoon acted as though he had completely forgotten their earlier conversation about Shin-sil.
Perhaps the medicine had clouded his memory.
Cho-hee slowly shook her head.
“What I’m worried about is you helping him. I’m worried you might get dragged into something dangerous.”
Dowoon opened his mouth as if choosing his words, then frowned slightly and closed it again.
“You’re worried about me?”
“Of course. You got hurt because of my request. If anything happened to you, it would all be my fault.”
“Is that why you’ve been treating me so well? Because you feel sorry for me?”
“I do feel sorry… and I feel responsible.”
…And because I like you.
Cho-hee swallowed the last words and smiled.
Dowoon smiled back. The faint hollowness in his expression—was it just the shadow of the lamp?
“We’re comrades, after all.”
Instead of replying, Dowoon exhaled shortly, then squeezed his eyes shut for a moment as if exasperated before opening them again.
“…Comrades?”
Comrades.
It was the same definition of their relationship Cho-hee had emphasized before.
Cho-hee might think of him as a comrade, but Dowoon did not.
Comrades?
Had he taken a bullet and rescued Park Jin simply to grant a comrade’s request?
Calling Cho-hee a comrade was a stretch.
Dowoon had comrades—people like Joseph and Rita—and he had never risked his life just to fulfill a personal favor from them.
Of course, he worked with them for missions.
But he wasn’t romantic enough to gamble his life purely because someone asked a favor.
Which meant that getting entangled in an unplanned situation just because Cho-hee asked for help… wasn’t like him at all.
Is this what comradeship is?
No. What he felt toward Cho-hee certainly wasn’t that.
Pity? Curiosity? Or perhaps…
Before he could even calm his complicated thoughts, Dowoon slowly reached out and cupped Cho-hee’s face with his hand.
Her small face fit easily in one hand. It felt like it might break with the slightest pressure.
The moment his fingertips touched her soft, clear skin, a tingling sensation shot through his entire body.
“…Comrades?”
The moment Dowoon touched her, the air seemed to change.
“I don’t think of you as a comrade.”
The meaning sounded cold, but the tone with which he said it burned with heat.
Confused by the contradiction, Cho-hee tilted her head.
“Not comrades? Then what are we? Just a contractual relationship? Am I just the ‘second party’ to you?”
“How could that be?”
“Then what kind of relationship is it?”
For a moment, an indescribably intense tension filled the space between the man and woman.
“Dowoon-ssi…”
When she called his name with a trembling voice, deep emotion flickered in the eyes that were staring straight at her.
And then it happened in an instant.
Dowoon slid the hand that had been on her face to her neck and pulled her toward him.
His hot breath brushed her as his lips pressed onto hers.
All of Cho-hee’s senses sharpened at once.
Her heart pounded twice as hard, like she was falling off a cliff, and the lips touching Dowoon’s felt so hot they seemed ready to burn.
A tingling sensation like electricity ran from the crown of her head to the tips of her toes.
Her brother. The independence movement. Their contract marriage.
The fact that he had someone he loved.
At this moment, none of it mattered.
The only thing that mattered was sharing breath with Dowoon. The feeling was so intense it seemed like the most sacred thing in the world.
His heated hands urgently cupped her face. Persistent yet gentle, his breath filled her mouth.
“Ah—”
She parted her lips briefly to breathe, but Dowoon gave her no space.
His tongue immediately slipped insistently between her parted lips.
Feeling the soft warmth of him made her hands tremble.
Cho-hee placed both hands on his chest. She meant to push him away, but her arms went limp.
Instead, her arms slid around his waist and pulled him close.
His broad body made it difficult to wrap her arms around him, but she didn’t care.
She clung to him as if she would die if they separated, and in response he pulled her tightly into his embrace.
Their bodies fit together perfectly, like puzzle pieces, without the slightest gap.
Every place where Dowoon touched her felt like it might melt away.
As if they had been one body from the beginning, the two of them shared the same warmth.
“Mm—!”
When Dowoon finally pulled his lips away, Cho-hee gasped for breath.
Taking advantage of the moment, he wrapped an arm around her waist and laid her down on the bed.
Now their positions had reversed, and he was above her.
Then he plunged into her mouth again with the same relentless intensity.
Though his large body overwhelmed her, it also felt strangely safe.
If she could, she wanted to remain in his arms forever.
She wanted Dowoon.
Loosening her hold on him slightly, Cho-hee whispered his name through her swollen lips.
“Dowoon-ssi…”
At that moment, Dowoon suddenly stopped.
It was so abrupt it was as if someone behind him had pulled a string.
Cho-hee, still catching her breath, opened her eyes slightly and saw him sitting upright, covering his mouth with one hand.
His eyes were trembling in confusion. She had never seen him this shaken before.
A cold feeling pierced her heart like a tack.
“Dowoon-ssi?”
“…I’m sorry.”
Her heart froze.
Sorry?
“S-sorry?”
“…It was a mistake.”
With those words, he stood up stiffly.
And before Cho-hee could even call out to him, he hurriedly left the room.
