Contract Marriage with a Male Friend - Chapter 26

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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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#26

While Kangho Group found itself rushing to prepare for the sudden wedding of its founding family, Sunham Sangjo proceeded as it always had.
Until just before lunch.
“Sui, what happened over the weekend?”
Cough, cough—!
Sui, caught mid-swallow, hastily covered her mouth with a napkin.
“Why are you talking while she’s eating! You startled her, you know.”
“Ah, no, I was just curious…….”
Pyo Yeon-su, the Sunham Sangjo representative seated beside him, shot her husband a look before patting Sui’s back.
“Sui, are you all right? Here, have some water.”
“Thank you, ma’am.”
Sui accepted the water Pyo Yeon-su offered and drank it down in one go.
Today everyone’s funeral dispatch schedule was compressed into the evening, so it had been a while since they all ate lunch together.
The moment Sui arrived at work, Pyo Yeon-su and Oh Sang-chul were practically vibrating with curiosity about the blind date results.
“I’m, I’m sorry, Sui. I heard you met with Ki Ju-won on Friday. I just couldn’t help myself wondering.”
“Director Oh, shouldn’t you ask her how the interview went first?”
“……I apologize, ma’am.”
He bowed his head meekly to his wife, if only for a moment.
Oh Sang-chul’s eyes began to sparkle.
“Ki Ju-won seemed quite taken with you. He asked you to speak well of him, didn’t he?”
“……Ki Ju-won?”
“Who else would it be? What, is there some other man? Heh heh…… Oh, no, ma’am. I’m joking, just joking.”
“Don’t you know making jokes like that these days causes real trouble? Hmm?”
As Pyo Yeon-su scolded Oh Sang-chul—a sight Sui had grown familiar with—she found her expression shifting to something uncertain.
‘Taken with her?’
That couldn’t possibly be.
On Friday, she’d committed a genuine rudeness toward Ki Ju-won.

“My love.”
“I’ve been so absorbed in work these days that I’ve been thoughtless toward you.”
“That scar on your shoulder—it’s been aching again. For treating you that way that day…….”

It wasn’t her. It was Dok-Go Beom-jin.
His appearance had truly caught her off guard.
It was unfair, though…….
But she was the one who’d chosen Beom-jin.
So she had to take responsibility.
“There’s something I need to tell you both about Ki Ju-won.”
At the seriousness in Sui’s voice, the bickering couple fell silent.
They tensed like they themselves had become Ki Ju-won, hanging on her every word.
“……W-what is it?”
“Sigh, I don’t know why I’m so nervous. It’s not like Ki Ju-won has possessed me or anything.”
In Pyo Yeon-su and Oh Sang-chul’s eyes as they watched her, hope and tension mingled together.
Hope outweighed the tension considerably.
The thought of dashing the expectations of people she respected made her chest heavy.
But this was something she’d have to face eventually.
Soon…… she’d even be getting married to Beom-jin.
‘They said there’d be a news article too.’
This was the moment she truly felt the weight of Beom-jin being from a chaebol family.
A news article published for a wedding.
When she heard that a task force for wedding preparations would be assembled at headquarters soon, she’d nearly fainted.
‘Can this marriage actually happen?’
Even if they were set to divorce after a year, the scale was enormous.
When Sui harbored these worries, Beom-jin, who had driven her to work that morning, spoke with obvious reluctance.

“Unlike the wedding, the divorce will proceed quietly. You won’t need to worry about a thing.”
“That’s a relief, but…….”

Beom-jin, whose eyes had narrowed at her concern, suddenly pressed his lips to hers.
No matter how hard she pushed his shoulders away, he wouldn’t relent, and she’d nearly been late despite arriving early.
“…….”
Sui came to her senses while absently touching her lips, lifting her head.
Pyo Yeon-su and Oh Sang-chul were gazing at her with gleaming eyes and warm smiles.
“Why are you two looking at me like that…….”
“There’s good news, isn’t there? That’s it, right?”
“You really have to ask? I can tell just by looking at you—no questions needed.”
Oh Sang-chul, seeing his chance, hastily opened his mouth before any sparks could fly his way.
“You’ve made it work with Ki Ju-won, right? Right? Or wait—it’s more than that, something’s progressed?”
“What? No, it’s not that—”
“Ki Ju-won was ready to go straight to marriage if you just agreed to it.”
At her husband’s words, Pyo Yeon-su’s eyes and mouth fell open wide.
“Is that really true? Sui, is it? Did Ki Ju-won really propose?”
Pyo Yeon-su asked as if she might burst into fireworks that very moment.
The way her heart fluttered for the romantic life of an employee she thought of like a younger sister was palpable.
“Well, I…… I am getting married, actually.”
Pyo Yeon-su pressed one hand over her own mouth and the other over her husband’s.
The restaurant was filled with other people who shared the building.
Any commotion would damage Sunham Sangjo’s image.
With that thought, Pyo Yeon-su stifled the squeal escaping through her lips, taking a deep breath before speaking slowly.
“You just said marriage, right, Sui?”
“Yes, but the other party isn’t Ki Ju-won.”
The joy that had shone in their eyes faded quickly.
They blinked as if they’d been struck from behind.
“If it’s not Ki Ju-won…… then who on earth are you marrying…….”
Then Oh Sang-chul’s eyes suddenly widened.
“You don’t mean…… that childhood friend?”
Sui’s face flushed with shame as she hung her head.
“Yes. That childhood friend.”
“Huh…… huh, well, huh huh, I see.”
Oh Sang-chul let out sounds that were neither quite laughter nor quite sighs, his face deflated.
Pyo Yeon-su, steadying herself, asked to confirm.
“So you mean the tall, handsome young man who sometimes used to pick Sui up in front of the office? You’re marrying him instead of Ki Ju-won?”
“I’m very sorry. When I was first introduced to Ki Ju-won, my feelings and circumstances weren’t clear. But then…….”
“You met someone else and came to understand your own heart?”
At Oh Sang-chul’s neat summary, Sui replied softly, “Yes.”
“I feel terrible about this.”
“What are you saying.”
Pyo Yeon-su grasped Sui’s hands firmly with both of hers.
“We introduced Ki Ju-won because we wanted to see you meet a good person and live happily.”
“Right, well, I mean, I’m glad Sui found such a person, so that’s what matters.”
“I understand how much you both care for me and I’m truly grateful.”
At Sui’s heartfelt words, Pyo Yeon-su patted her shoulder encouragingly.
“Really, this is wonderful. Whenever I saw you going around alone, I’d sometimes worry. The world can be dangerous, but our Sui shines so brightly.”
“That’s right, just like my wife.”
Oh Sang-chul, seizing the moment, interjected, and Pyo Yeon-su shot him a sharp look.
But her mood didn’t seem particularly bad.
The atmosphere softened as a result.
“When are you planning to hold the wedding?”
“Autumn? Winter? Isn’t that too soon? If we’re looking at about a year…… next spring?”
Sui answered in an even smaller voice than before.
“It’s…… within three months…….”
Clang—!
Oh Sang-chul dropped his spoon.
Pyo Yeon-su froze in surprise as well.
“Three months?”
“D-don’t tell me…… there’s good news coming……?”
Only then did Sui realize they were misunderstanding, and she frantically waved her hands.
“No! No, it’s not that. Nothing like that. It’s just that Dok-Go wanted to be together as soon as possible…… he decided to move things forward.”
Realizing she’d just uttered something embarrassing, Sui’s face flushed crimson.
“A-anyway, I’m not pregnant.”
“That’s a relief…… though I’m not sure if relief is the right word.”
“I don’t know. My mind feels completely blank right now.”
The couple looked exactly like an older brother and sister shocked by their younger sister’s sudden wedding news, and Sui’s heart swelled with emotion.
Would she ever meet people this good again in her life?
‘They’ll find out anyway, so I should tell them beforehand.’
Sui drew a breath and parted her lips.
“Actually, the person I’m marrying is…….”

***

Oh Sang-chul set down a paper cup of instant coffee on the table.
“I never thought Sui would become the daughter-in-law of Kangho Group.”
At Pyo Yeon-su’s words, Oh Sang-chul settled onto the sofa, holding his own paper cup, and spoke as usual.
“It’s something to celebrate. She seems like she’ll be happy. That’s what—”
As her husband continued, Pyo Yeon-su nodded in agreement.
“Let’s stay behind Sui like we do now. Until that day comes.”
Silence flowed between the two as they sipped their coffee.
Yet even in that silence, the couple understood each other’s thoughts.
“I’ll contact the house. We need to let them know Sui’s getting married.”

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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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