Contract Marriage with a Male Friend - Chapter 14

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#14

“My schedule’s going to be irregular for a while.”
“Suddenly?”
“So you don’t need to pick me up or see me off.”
Sui spun around sharply and set down her shopping bag and purse on the floor to slip on her shoes.
“Make sure you eat properly. You have lunch at the office, so those side dishes I brought last week should last you two weeks.”
“So we can eat together after two weeks?”
She paused.
But Sui finished tying her shoes.
As she reached to pick up the shopping bag and purse she’d set down, Beom-jin was already holding them.
“Come on, I’ll take you.”
“It’s fine. It’s right nearby.”
“Sui.”
His low, thick voice pressed against her heart like a seal.
She felt tears threatening to spill.
“I need to focus on something really important, so don’t get in the way. I’m going now.”
Before he could respond, Sui snatched her belongings from his hands and hurried out through the entrance.
Whether fortunately or unfortunately, Beom-jin didn’t follow her.
The moment Sui got home, she peeled off Beom-jin’s t-shirt and tossed it into the washer along with the blouse she’d worn yesterday.
For a while, she wouldn’t see, hear, or touch anything connected to Dok-go Beom-jin.
Steeling herself with that resolve, Sui showered and threw herself into the housework that had piled up over the week.
She dusted every corner, vacuumed, washed dishes, and scrubbed the bathroom.
After putting away the clean laundry, she decided to wash the bedding too while she was at it.
By the time she’d been moving busily for hours, there was simply nowhere left to clean.
……
Sui collapsed onto the sofa with a sigh.
This was pathetic.
‘Dok-go probably won’t even remember.’
The day after drinking, Dok-go Beom-jin never remembered anything.
As if he had a vacuum cleaner in his head.
Even knowing that well, she’d gotten angry anyway.
Though truthfully, even if Beom-jin did remember last night, his response was something to be grateful for.
He’d chosen to keep their friendship alive.
Hugging her knees, Sui recalled what her mother used to say when she was drunk.

“If you just don’t cry, half the reasons people hate you disappear. You know your father couldn’t stand it when I cried back in middle school? We were the same age, so he didn’t know how to fix it, and that was the problem.”

At least she hadn’t cried in front of Beom-jin just now.

“Don’t cry. If there’s someone you really want to keep by your side. Men get tired and leave.”

Even if he didn’t see her as a woman, crying would have troubled him.
Cry, and he grows weary. Grow weary, and he leaves.
Her mother’s curse, buried deep in Sui’s chest, tightened around her whole body.
She tugged at her hair.
“God. He must have been so confused. Getting angry out of nowhere like that.”
Maybe he was blaming himself.
In reality, Beom-jin had done nothing wrong.
Last night… I said yes too.
But unlike Beom-jin, she couldn’t just face him the next day as if nothing had happened.
She needed time.
Time to become his friend again.
‘Two weeks should be enough.’

***

“Working another all-nighter, Sui? What are we going to do about that?”
“It’s fine. I’m used to it by now.”
“Nothing’s wrong, is it? You haven’t looked well lately. You’ve lost weight in just a week.”
Sui’s expression grew embarrassed, and she lightly rubbed her cheek with the back of her hand.
“Have I?”
“You have. You’re doing all the company work these days, and you’re not even getting a stipend for it.”
“I just… didn’t want to be alone.”
Team Leader Oh Sang-chul nodded with understanding.
“Sounds like your friend’s been pretty busy.”
“What?”
“You know, that incredibly handsome friend. The one who comes to pick you up when I’m running late?”
“Ah…”
“You grew up together like siblings, right? Always playing together.”
At the thought of Beom-jin, a corner of her heart throbbed.
Yet Sui smiled without showing it.
“That’s right. He’s been pretty busy. Guess he’s really good at what he does.”
“Works at a big company, doesn’t he? Doesn’t he ever try to introduce you to someone?”
“Well… he’s too busy with his own work.”
“Maybe he likes you?”
Noticing the shift in Sui’s eyes, Team Leader Oh quickly added defensively,
“No, no—I just thought since you two are close and both respectable people, you know? The proverb says darkness falls beneath the lamp.”
“We’re absolutely not like that. We’re like siblings, I’m telling you.”
“Still, you’re not actually siblings… Okay, okay, I hear you. Whew, every time you give me that look, I get chills. Why are you so much like my Yeon-su?”
Team Leader Oh joked that Sui’s expression was exactly the same as his wife’s laser-eyed glare whenever he misspoke.
“You’re really nothing to each other?”
“I said so, didn’t I? Say something like that one more time, and I’m not talking to you anymore.”
“Just confirming. So should we set up a real appointment with Ki Representative? Actually, he called yesterday.”
At the mention of Ki Representative, Sui’s eyes widened, and Team Leader Oh smiled knowingly.
“See, I knew it. You’d forgotten, hadn’t you, Sui?”
“Ah, well… I’ve been so busy lately.”
“So because your friend got busy and you were bored, you volunteered for extra work, but forgot about the blind date?”
Restless, not bored.
But she couldn’t say that, so Sui offered an embarrassed smile.
“Get into a relationship. Then you won’t have time to be bored.”
Would that be true? Then would this hollow, restless feeling go away?
“Oh, I’ve got a call. So get ready soon—we’ll arrange something. And don’t you dare say you can’t make it, or I’m really going to cry, okay? At this rate I want to eat noodles at your wedding before next year.”
Sui watched Team Leader Oh hurry away with his jokes, and the moment she was alone, she sighed.
‘There was a blind date too, right.’
Over the past week, the only thing on her mind was Dok-go Beom-jin.
Of course, there was that too, but…
‘How is he doing?’
Beom-jin hadn’t contacted her.
Not once.
He always listened to what she said and followed her lead.

“I need to focus on something really important, so don’t get in the way.”

This time too, he was faithfully respecting her request not to bother her.

“So we can eat together after two weeks?”

That faithful fool was apparently going to wait the full two weeks before contacting her.
But still.
How could he not reach out even once?
He always used to ask when she’d be getting off work.
If she was working late, he’d always come pick her up.
If her shift ended in the morning, he’d be waiting at the bus stop, and they’d eat breakfast together before heading to work…
‘Why am I disappointed?’
I don’t even understand my own heart.
…Maybe I’m better off not understanding it.
Because understanding it might mean crossing a line I can’t come back from.
Just as Sui was thinking this and heaving another sigh,
“Sui!”
Team Leader Oh came running back, breathless from a phone call.
“What is it?”
“Sui, the newspaper called. They want to interview you?”
“Me?”
Seeing Sui’s stunned face, Team Leader Oh nodded vigorously with excitement.
“It’s Gusan Newspaper, no less. A major outlet!”
“Why would they want to interview me…”
“They have a column every Saturday introducing different professions, and this week’s topic is Funeral Directors. Apparently, someone recommended you as a talented young professional?”
“Really?”
“Would I lie about something like this? Look, I just got a message.”
Team Leader Oh showed his phone screen to Sui.
[Hello. This is Kim Hyun-wu, a reporter with the Social and Culture section of Gusan Newspaper.
Our paper runs a column every Saturday called “Work and People” where we feature stories from various professions.
This week’s topic is “Funeral Directors—People Who Help with Life’s Final Journey,” and we would like to interview an active professional in the field….]
“It’s real?”
“Of course! Would I kid about this?”
“Who could have recommended me?”
“I’m not sure, but look here—it says you were recommended as a conscientious and trustworthy Funeral Director, so they’re extending this interview offer.”
“That’s kind of them, but…”
“Sui, would you do this for us? Actually, we’ve been struggling lately because competitors have been rising up. If you do this interview, it would really help the company a lot.”
Seonam Mutual Aid’s representative, Pyo Yeon-su, was Team Leader Oh Sang-chul’s wife.
“Please, Sui. I’ll make sure our representative—I mean, Yeon-su—gives you a nice bonus.”
“Well…”
An hour or so should be fine, right?
It would help the company too.
‘Dok-go… No, no stray thoughts either.’
“I’ll do it.”
At Sui’s answer, Team Leader Oh let out a loud cheer of joy.
And two days later, when Sui visited Gusan Newspaper’s headquarters, she encountered an unexpected situation.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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