Contract Marriage with a Male Friend - Chapter 27

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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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#27

“Hello, this is Sui. Would you be able to call me when you have a moment?”
The moment she sent the message, Gi Ju-won’s call came through.
Startled, Sui hurried to the Break Room.
“H-hello?”
“Sui? Can you talk right now?”
“Yes, I can. Are you doing okay?”
His use of her name hung in a brief silence.
“Ju-won…?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Your voice sounds lovely over the phone, Sui.”
Sui bit her lower lip at the warmth in Gi Ju-won’s voice. The affection was unmistakable.
There’s something cruel about shattering another person’s hopes—she hated herself for it.
She wanted to run from this moment.
But she couldn’t.
“Ju-won, if you have time, I’d like to meet. There’s something I need to tell you.”
“I have a feeling this isn’t going to be good news. Am I right?”
“I…”
Gi Ju-won laughed—a bitter sound that made Sui’s chest tighten.
“I should have apologized first for how I left that day. I’m truly sorry.”
“No, it’s not that. You seemed just as startled as I was.”
“Still, I shouldn’t have disappeared like that. I was terribly rude, and I apologize.”
Sui hesitated, then spoke carefully.
“Manager O… he doesn’t know anything about this. So…”
“I know. Please, don’t worry about it.”
Gi Ju-won took a long breath.
“I’m sorry. It’s just… I’m disappointed. For the first time in my life, I wanted to get married.”
“…I’m truly sorry.”
“At this rate, we’ll be apologizing all night.”
The bittersweet laugh made Sui’s heart heavy.
“I’m sorry. I hope you meet someone wonderful.”
As if Gi Ju-won were standing before her, Sui bowed her head.
After the call ended,
“Sigh…”
Sui exhaled without meaning to.
Her mood sank.
She felt as though she’d done nothing but cause trouble for everyone.
‘But… I made a promise.’
Afraid that Sui might change her mind, Beom-jin never took his eyes off her whenever they were together.
“[What about lunch?]”
…Like this.
Messages came mostly when they were heading home, checking in on each other’s location.
But this morning, after dropping her at the company,
“[Eat properly. If you’re struggling, let me know right away. I’ll come pick you up.]”
“[Really? You’re going to leave work to come get me?]”
“[Whenever you want, anytime.]”
Remembering the messages she’d exchanged with Beom-jin, heat rose to Sui’s cheeks.
Even when they were just friends, Beom-jin had a way of looking after her, clumsy as it sometimes was.
But now that they were, even if it was contractual, a Prospective Couple—
Even though they were apart, she felt as though Beom-jin was pressed against her back, his arms wrapped around her waist.
“…”
Sui’s fingers moved across the screen.
“[I ate. How about you?]”
“[Not yet. I confirmed you ate, so now I need to eat.]”
“Seriously…”
Heat continued to flood her face.
Why did he keep saying things like that?
“Anyone would think it was real.”
She murmured softly to herself.
This was embarrassing.
Because the “anyone” she meant was herself.
Beom-jin’s kindness was proof of how desperate she was to escape her home—nothing more.
‘Don’t get confused.’
Because there was nothing quite as painful as being left in limbo, neither one thing nor the other.
Suppressing the flutter in her chest, Sui left the Break Room.
It was time to return to ordinary life.

***

One in the morning.
Sui headed to the Parking Lot after leaving the Funeral Hall.
Instead of the ordinary SUV Beom-jin usually drove, a sleek black sedan was parked there—the expensive car he’d claimed belonged to an executive.
‘It’s strange seeing it.’
Beom-jin must be used to that fancy car by now.
‘I wonder how much trouble he’s had all this time.’
The thought that he might have suffered was sharper than the fact that he’d deceived her.
Taking a deep breath, Sui was just about to step forward when—
Click.
The driver’s door opened.
Long legs emerged first, then Beom-jin appeared in a sharp black suit.
“Hey, love.”
Sui froze on the spot.
But Beom-jin, unbothered, simply smiled and spread his arms wide.
“You’ve had a long day.”
Sui’s grip tightened reflexively on her bag’s strap as she glanced around.
“What are you doing?”
“Don’t say things like that out here—!”
“Why not?”
Beom-jin’s eyes crinkled as he smiled.
“We’re getting married now, after all.”
While Sui’s mouth hung open in protest, Beom-jin closed the distance with long strides and pulled her into his arms.
“You’ve worked hard today.”
His low, resonant voice came from above her head, and Sui’s heart began to race.
“I’ve been dying to see you.”
His tone was casual, almost matter-of-fact.
Yet he spoke with such practiced ease—as if these words came naturally to him.
“But… this is still the Funeral Hall. It’s still my workplace…”
“You clocked out, didn’t you?”
“Still, someone might—”
“Might what?”
Bending down, Beom-jin whispered against her ear.
“Did you forget? The watchers who follow me around.”
Oh, right.
Beom-jin placed a soft kiss on her cheek, and Sui’s expression shifted.
“Love.”
“S-still, not like this out in public—”
“You didn’t want to see me?”
So close their breath mingled, Beom-jin’s gaze bore deep into her eyes.
“I hope you wanted to see me. Otherwise I think I might feel very sad.”
“…”
“Well?”
When Sui didn’t answer, her cheeks flushed red, Beom-jin placed a gentle kiss on her lips.
“Beom-jin…!”
“I’ll keep going until you answer?”
Her lips pressed together, Sui whispered softly.
“I… wanted… to see you too.”
“Your voice is too quiet. I don’t think I heard you. If you’re shy—”
Beom-jin tapped his own cheek with his index finger.
“Show me with action instead. Then I’ll be able to see it from far away.”
Beom-jin’s demeanor was exactly as it always was.
So calm and composed that the one blushing seemed strange by comparison.
‘I wonder how the kids who called Beom-jin a fox felt.’
Sui’s eyes suddenly widened.
Those who said such things were mostly boys, but occasionally there were girls too.
Perhaps…
They’d seen this side of him before her.
“Why is your expression like that?”
“What? I…”
“Do you hate this?”
Just as Beom-jin was about to lift his lowered head, misinterpreting her silence,
Smack.
Sui grabbed his face with both hands and kissed him.
“There, that’s enough. Let’s go home now. It’s too late.”
After stealing that kiss, Sui turned away, stiff and awkward as she walked. Beom-jin watched her retreating figure and suddenly laughed aloud.
“Ha-ha.”
Really—
‘She’s adorable. I could just swallow her whole.’
He wanted to keep her inside him completely.
Then Beom-jin strode ahead before Sui’s hand could reach the car, opening the door for her.
“…I could do that myself.”
“When I’m with you, my wife won’t get in a car on her own. That’s my principle.”
Quite the principle he had.
Sui hid her embarrassment behind a curt mutter.
But Beom-jin seemed so delighted by his own gallantry that her cheeks burned all the more.
“Beom-jin.”
The moment he settled into the driver’s seat, Sui turned to him.
“If I had refused, would you have asked someone else—”
But her words dissolved into his mouth.
His hand cradled her head as he pressed his lips to hers, his tongue immediately seeking entrance, weaving together deeply.
“Mmph—!”
A breath apart,
Then their lips met again, hot breath and sweetness mingling desperately between them.
His lips traced down her jaw, lingering at her neck, rubbing insistently.
“What were you trying to say?”
Her arms around his neck, Sui gasped softly.
“If… I… had… refused… would you… have…”
Asked someone else?
Her voice fractured between breathless moans as Beom-jin met her eyes.
“What do you think I would have done.”

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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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