Contract Marriage with a Male Friend - Chapter 2

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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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#2

It was absolutely absurd.
Beom Jin drew attention wherever he went.
With that height, that build, that face, it would have been strange if he hadn’t.
Young and old alike, men and women, and even the so-called pseudo-religion practitioners took interest in him, which meant Beom Jin naturally attracted both the “Have you heard the Way?” types and the “Guaranteed Health and Longevity Product Sales” types like a magnet.
Thanks to this, Soo-i had not only witnessed firsthand the “jade stone plate scam”—something she’d only heard about as urban legend—but had even been recruited as a sales associate once, a rare experience indeed.
‘At least today it’s just ordinary pseudo-religion evangelism.’
Whether that counted as a blessing was debatable.
“Your ancestor is quite angry with you. Haven’t you been feeling tension in your shoulders lately?”
“Mm. A little?”
The woman clapped her hands sharply.
“I knew it! That’s because your grandfather is sitting right on your shoulders. He’s very upset—he keeps asking why you haven’t given him travel fare for the afterlife.”
“My grandfather is alive.”
“Oh my! You must have exceptionally youthful looks running in your family. I thought it was your grandfather, but he says it’s your great-grandfather.”
“Ah.”
The closer Soo-i heard the two of them talking, the more frustration welled up inside her.
Despite all the warnings she’d given him, he was still listening intently to whatever this stranger had to say.
Beom Jin was as incapable of refusing requests as he was of asking for things.
When people spoke of him like this, they usually gasped or looked bewildered.
They said that when Beom Jin kept his mouth shut and stared with that expressionless face, a chill ran down your spine and your body went rigid.
They swore no one could withstand that sharp, piercing gaze.
But Soo-i disagreed completely.
To her eye, Beom Jin was simply a dull, vacant boy fighting off sleepiness.
His eyes happened to have a sharp cast to them, which explained why others saw him that way.
In any case, Beom Jin rarely managed to brush off people who spoke to him.
Because of this, he constantly lost time to pointless conversations, and only after Soo-i stepped in and grabbed his hand to drag him away could he finally escape.
This was the pattern that had repeated between them all these years.
‘Isn’t it time he learned? And his mind is sharp, too.’
Yet why did he still get trapped like that?
……Though I suppose I’m in no position to talk.
After all, I couldn’t refuse the Team Lead’s request either, dragging my weary body through the night shift.
On top of that, I had to put up with the District Office Employee’s persistent pestering.
But Soo-i’s reasons for not being able to refuse requests ran deeper.
……What if it’s Father?
‘Birds of a feather flock together, as they say.’
Maybe that’s why I’ve been friends with Beom Jin for over a decade now.
Thinking such thoughts, Soo-i approached the man and woman standing face to face.
“You came out already?”
Soo-i, smiling brightly, took Beom Jin’s hand.
His long, thick fingers naturally curled around hers in response.
‘If only I could get used to pushing people away as easily as I’ve gotten used to holding hands.’
Whether or not he sensed her thoughts, Beom Jin met her eyes and smiled gently.
As if he’d been waiting.
“Oh my, you two are a couple, aren’t you! How wonderful! Salvation is always better received together with someone you love.”
“You don’t get along with your family, do you?”
“Pardon? What do you mean by that……?”
Soo-i fixed the woman with an unwavering gaze.
As if she were peering into someone within those eyes.
“That’s why you’re so upset. To forget your sorrow, you deliberately took on this kind of active work.”
“I-I’m not sure what you mean. Ha ha. Why don’t we go inside somewhere nearby and talk? There’s a temple of ours close by—”
“There’s someone on your shoulder too. An older woman crying tears of blood?”
At Soo-i’s words, the woman’s pupils dilated, then began to quiver finely.
“I-Is that really true? You can actually see something?”
“Instead of doing this sort of thing, why don’t you comfort yourself? Or if it’s dangerous for you, shouldn’t you stop?”
Soo-i turned away abruptly and pulled Beom Jin’s hand. “Let’s go.”
“W-Wait! Just a moment! How did you know? Tell me before you go!”
Behind them, the woman’s desperate voice called out, but Soo-i ignored it and quickened her pace.
‘This kind of work for long enough, and you develop a skill.’
“An older woman” was a magical sentence that could be interpreted any number of ways.
Nearly everyone had lost a family member or acquaintance matching that general description.
She’d developed enough skill to manipulate people now, but the problem was that Beom Jin—Beom Jin of all people—was still standing there with that blank expression on his face.
“I told you to ignore people like that or get away from them entirely.”
Soo-i walked forward with a deliberately stern expression and didn’t notice.
She didn’t see the relentless, greedy light in Beom Jin’s eyes as he gazed at their joined hands.
“Yeah.”
“Then why didn’t you avoid her?”
“I was worried our paths might not cross.”
Soo-i turned her head. “Huh?”
“I came early and waited for you.”
In an instant, Beom Jin’s eyes emptied themselves of that dense emotion and became clear and innocent as could be.
“There’ve been suspicious people around this area lately, I heard.”
Thump.
Soo-i tried hard to ignore the forceful pulse of her racing heart.
For over a decade they had remained friends without ever drifting apart, hanging around each other as something between close friends and relatives.
So it was reasonable to say that he deserved this much kindness.
Of all people, Beom Jin was closest to family for Soo-i.
And she suspected he felt the same way.
His mother had passed away long ago, and his father, a lawyer, was far too busy to spend much time at home.
Because of this, from their first year of high school, the two of them had spent most of their time together.
They walked to and from school together, ate dinner together whenever possible, sometimes breakfast too, and attended the same university.
This pattern continued even after they entered society.
While their individual schedules prevented them from being together as much as they had been in school, it remained true that they spent more time together than with anyone else.
“It’s morning already, look how bright it is.”
“Still. This area has few people around.”
“……So if I’m late for work, that’s on me?”
Beom Jin looked at her with an expression that seemed to say ‘you’re bringing this up now?’
When did she become aware of his caring, of how he treated it as something natural and obvious?
Then Soo-i quickly shook her head.
‘Pointless thinking.’
Our relationship will not change.
Just as it always has.
“Afternoon shift?”
At Beom Jin’s question, Soo-i nodded.
“I didn’t get a wink of sleep. At least the process wasn’t complicated, or I’d still be working by now.”
Beom Jin, watching Soo-i smile while unable to hide her exhaustion, reached out his hand.
Pat.
A large hand settled gently on her small head.
“Wh-What are you doing?”
But Beom Jin said nothing, simply stroking her hair.
He wasn’t the type to chatter or ramble on.
He simply listened quietly and offered wordless comfort.
Just like now.
His hand gently tousled her hair.
At the pleasant sensation spreading from Beom Jin’s fingertips, Soo-i found herself closing her eyes without thinking.
Despite appearances, the vacant-seeming Beom Jin was someone with plenty to look after you—and sometimes, like this, made you want to lean on him.
“At work, you can’t do this kind of thing, understand? If you keep taking on all the hard tasks while everyone else slacks off, I’m going straight to personnel and reporting it. Don’t try to handle everything on your own again like last time and end up working late. Got it?”
When Beom Jin didn’t answer, Soo-i slowly lifted her eyelids.
“Why aren’t you answering?”
“You have to promise the same thing.”
“Me?”
“You came home late doing the Team Lead’s work instead.”
……I have nothing to say to that.
Soo-i’s cheeks flushed slightly, embarrassed.
“You’re usually so quiet, but sometimes you suddenly speak so well.”
Beom Jin shrugged slightly, then fixed Soo-i with an intent stare.
It was his habit to wait in silence, holding someone’s gaze until he got the answer he wanted.
“……All right.”
“If you leave work late at night or in the early morning, call me.”
Why is my heart racing like this, really.
As Soo-i looked away and bit her lip, Beom Jin’s brow furrowed slightly, as if displeased.
“Soo-i.”
Long, thick fingers gently lifted her delicate chin.

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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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