Contract Marriage with a Male Friend - Chapter 29

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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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#29

Friday.
Thanks to the chairman’s consideration, Sui left work early and was strolling through the Department Store with Beom-jin.
‘I have no idea what to get them.’
She doubted they’d even look at something as common as ginseng.
And fruit—he’d said their place was already bursting with it.
“Hmm….”
What on earth was she supposed to bring when paying respects to the head of the Kang Ho Group and his family?
“Whatever you buy, they’ll love it. Just pick anything.”
“Seriously.”
Sui cast Beom-jin a pointed look.
He had no idea how much pressure this was.
On top of everything else, there was the guilt of having to deceive adults.
“You’re the one who said it—gifts are about sincerity.”
“…Don’t call me that in public.”
“Actually, you should call me that even more in public. That way everyone will know exactly what we are to each other.”
Beom-jin wrapped his arm around Sui’s waist and pulled her snugly against his side.
She tried to pull away in surprise, but his strength was too much for her.
“The Watchers are everywhere, remember. Especially in crowded places like this—it’s easy to hide in plain sight.”
Sui bit her lip.
She kept forgetting the Watchers even existed.
But that was entirely Beom-jin’s fault.
Because whenever he used the excuse of the Watchers watching to justify pressing their lips together, she’d forget why he’d started the kiss in the first place and find herself swept up without thinking.
“This is your doing.”
“Yeah. It’s all my fault.”
Beom-jin lifted Sui’s hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it.
“Shouldn’t you be used to it by now?”
Whenever they were together, Beom-jin never let his lips and hands stray far from her, claiming it needed to look natural when they visited his family.
He’d interlock their fingers no matter how short the distance, and he kissed the back of her hand with such frequency it was almost comical.
Like a man who’d been holding back doing exactly this for ages.
“It’s only been a week.”
“A week. That’s all.”
Oops. Slip of the tongue.
Unlike the flustered Sui, Beom-jin’s eyes narrowed into crescents as he smiled—the kind of enchanting smile that could bewitch anyone who saw it.
‘I’m in trouble.’
Now she knew.
Whenever Beom-jin looked at her like that, sleep would be impossible tonight.
“Not tonight.”
“What?”
“Just sleeping. Nothing weird is allowed.”
At her words, Beom-jin burst into quiet laughter.
“What’s ‘weird’? You have to explain it so I understand.”
He knew exactly what she meant.
When she gave him a pointed look, he lowered his head and brushed his lips lightly against hers.
“Crazy…!”
Watch. ers.
Beom-jin mouthed the magic word, and Sui’s lips sealed shut instantly.
Then he pulled her close with one arm, cradling her against his chest as he smiled.
“You’re killing me with how adorable you are, love.”
His whisper against her ear sent a tingle down her spine.
“…Did you go to Daehak-ro instead of the office?”
Embarrassed, Sui complained without real heat.
“Daehak-ro?”
“Unless you actually went there to take acting lessons, how else could you be this good at it?”
“I don’t know what you mean. I’m just being honest with my feelings.”
The corner of Beom-jin’s mouth curved up, and though his smile was frustratingly attractive, the warmth in his downward gaze made her cheeks flush hotly.
To anyone watching, they were the very picture of lovers in love.
Yet there were eyes observing them.
“Hey.”
“….”
“You see that?”
“…Yeah.”
Heo Dong-hun’s jaw dropped.
“That’s Beom-jin, right? I’m not seeing things, am I?”
“My eyes are seeing it too.”
“Beom-jin could actually smile?”
No one had ever seen Beom-jin smile before.
Not a single soul.
There simply wasn’t anyone who’d spent enough time around him to witness it.
Even his own family was the same.
After being implicated in a drug scandal while studying in the United States, he’d left home and attended a regular high school, or so the story went.
He didn’t truly resurface until he enrolled at Korea University.
Even then, it wasn’t by choice. Some of his new classmates had recognized him.
They’d approached him trying to deepen their connections, but he’d ignored them consistently.
Needless to say, he never attended the upper-class social gatherings.
When a handful of curious types tried various methods to track his movements, they were always thoroughly blocked.
And if it had just been blocking, that would’ve been fortunate enough.
Beom-jin never left those who dared to follow him alone.
The families of those unable to resist idle curiosity began to crumble, one by one.
Embezzlement, hiring fraud, slush funds, abuse of power, sex scandals—the variety was impressive.
After that, no one approached Beom-jin again.
His vigilant defenses weren’t to protect himself.
They were to protect the girl who was always at his side.
“Is that the one Hyun-woo mentioned?”
“Fair skin. Thin, but curves in the right places. Always dressed in black. But mostly—there’s something subtly alluring about her… yeah, I think so?”
Heo Dong-hun whistled low.
“She’s been with him since college? That’s insane. Beom-jin of all people?”
“Kim Se-na came back to the country because of Beom-jin, apparently.”
At the name Kim Se-na, Heo Dong-hun’s attention sharpened instantly.
“Seriously? She came back for that bastard?”
“You’re one to talk about being creeped out by Beom-jin. How many years have you been pining after Se-na?”
“C-come on. Forget that for now. But look at him—isn’t that crazy? Not in the VIP Exclusive Area, no security detail or ceremony at all. Just the two of them casually walking through a Department Store in Gangnam. And the way he looks at her….”
Like he’d go mad with affection for her.
“Se-na told her grandfather she could tolerate a mistress or two. But a man like Beom-jin? He’s worth it, she said.”
Shit. Heo Dong-hun, who’d harbored feelings for Kim Se-na, let out a half-resigned groan.
“Yeah, honestly, even if that bastard were just some street thug in the Kang Ho Faction instead of the Kang Ho Group, the women would still line up. I get it. Fuck, he’s not even an actor. Why does he have to be built like that? It’s not like he’s switching to MMA.”
Then Heo Dong-hun’s expression hardened with determination.
“Hey, let’s go.”
“Where?”
“To Beom-jin.”
“Are you insane? If we interrupt his date, that bastard might actually kill us.”
Heo Dong-hun drew in a breath.
This was an opportunity.
A stroke of rare fortune—the chance to marry Se-na.
“If I see them like that with my own eyes, maybe I can finally give up.”
“So you’re planning to bring Beom-jin over to show Se-na? And her too?”
“If I miss this chance, I’ll regret it forever. Help me out, buddy.”
At Heo Dong-hun’s desperate expression, Han Jung-o sighed.
“Can’t be helped.”
But internally, Han Jung-o was pleased.
The fact that Beom-jin was visiting the Department Store run by his family with his girlfriend was a golden opportunity for him as well.
‘I’ll show Father that I’m just as capable as my brother.’
Each harboring their own hidden agenda, the two men approached Beom-jin and Sui, who were still deep in their date.
“Is that you, Beom-jin?”
Beom-jin, who’d been gently touching Sui’s cheek, cracked his eyes open at the sudden voice.
Who dared interrupt his time with Sui?
The moment their eyes met, he stiffened.
Steeling himself, Heo Dong-hun forced words out.
“It is you, right? Man, good to see you! How long has it been anyway?”
“Long time, Beom-jin. How’ve you been?”
Taken aback by Beom-jin’s icy glare, the two quickly shifted their attention to Sui.
“Y-you’re still looking great, ha ha. But who’s this lovely person beside you? Could she be your girlfriend?”
As the intruders’ eyes turned to Sui, Beom-jin’s entire frame went rigid with cold.
He was about to speak.
But Sui, sensing his mood, tugged his hand and introduced herself first.
“Hello, I’m Sui.”
Sui understood perfectly.
Beom-jin’s mood was extremely poor right now.
That look in his eyes meant he was about to explode.
‘He tells me I need to show myself to others, and then…’
This really was something else.
She drew a deep breath and forced the words out.
“…Are these your friends, love?”
Beom-jin’s eyes widened in surprise.

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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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