Contract Marriage with a Male Friend - Chapter 57

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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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#57

A few days had passed like this.
An Soo Yi’s days remained much the same.
Busy, yet peaceful and happy—that was her life now.
Just as it had been when she and Beom Jin were friends together, or perhaps even better than those days by several times over.
Back then, the two of them alone had never felt lonely.
But now, bound together by the name of family, far more people stood at An Soo Yi’s side.
“An Manager!”
At the familiar, cheerful voice calling to her, An Soo Yi suddenly came to herself and walked toward the table with a bright smile.
“Director, Team Lead!”
Today was the day to meet with Pyo Yeon Soo, director of Sunham Sangjo, and Oh Sang Cheol, the team lead. The meeting place was the Sundubu Restaurant, a favorite haunt from when An Soo Yi had worked at Sunham Sangjo.
Since the marriage, she’d joined the New Business Division and thrown herself into learning the work so intently that time had slipped away already.
“My goodness, our An Manager! Your face has really filled out, hasn’t it? You were always bright, but now you look just like the full moon!”
“Is that a compliment, Team Lead? You’re not just saying I’ve gained weight in a roundabout way, are you?”
“Gained weight? If anything, you look even thinner than before. Don’t you think so, honey?”
At Oh Sang Cheol’s question, Pyo Yeon Soo nodded with a worried expression.
“He’s right about that. Your face does look a bit more drawn. Well, I’d know for sure if I held you for a moment.”
Pyo Yeon Soo rose from his seat and embraced An Soo Yi warmly.
“It may be late in coming, but congratulations on your marriage, An Manager.”
“Thank you, Director.”
An Soo Yi returned his embrace and smiled.
After their cheerful reunion, the three sat down and ordered their food, then resumed their conversation.
When the dishes arrived, An Soo Yi took a large spoonful of stew and smiled.
“Mmm, it’s still delicious.”
“Really? Isn’t the food from the Chaebol Family house much better?”
“The home cooking is good, but I don’t think anyone in the world could match the touch of this restaurant’s grandmother. Mmm, I’ve really missed this taste.”
“By the way, An Manager—or should I call you by your name now? Or perhaps something else?”
“I’ll grant that privilege to you alone, Team Lead.”
At An Soo Yi’s playful words, a bright laugh erupted around the table.
“You can be as comfortable as before.”
“Then I’ll call you An Manager only when it’s just us. These days there are public eyes to consider, after all. I’ve got to protect the An Manager image.”
Pyo Yeon Soo gave a knowing wink.
“Sitting here like this with the three of us, it feels like we’ve gone back in time.”
“Why wouldn’t it? We still can’t quite believe it. Going to that wedding felt like a dream.”
“Every time I see your empty desk at the office, I almost burst into tears, I’m telling you.”
“Really?”
“For real! So then, shall we drop the pleasantries and get down to some serious talk about investment in our Sunham Sangjo—”
Oh Sang Cheol, mid-joke, received a sharp smack on the back from his wife.
“Honestly, you can’t go a day without making a joke.”
“But that’s part of my charm, isn’t it? Don’t you think, An Manager?”
An Soo Yi laughed and nodded.
Her worry that things might feel awkward proved unfounded.
Seeing these two treat her exactly as they had before, her heart warmed.
It felt like what visiting her birth family must be like.
“We’ve prepared a modest wedding gift for you.”
Pyo Yeon Soo carefully set on the table a beautiful potted plant with a fresh, verdant green hue.
“It’s a plant called Stukie. You don’t need to water it often—it grows well even if you just let it be. Supposedly it purifies the air when placed on a shelf or desk, and it’s good for concentration too.”
“Wow, thank you so much, Director. It’s really beautiful. I’ll keep it in my study and care for it lovingly.”
“I’m glad you like it. Actually, before we came here, the two of us racked our brains over this. It’s a gift for the daughter-in-law of a Chaebol Family, after all, and we were wondering if we should even put gold leaf on the pot.”
At Team Lead Oh Sang Cheol’s teasing remarks about his newly married younger sister, An Soo Yi burst into laughter again.
Even with such jokes, her mood didn’t sour—rather, these two were people who made her heart feel at ease.
‘Did Beom Jin need people like this too?’
Perhaps he had desperately needed someone who would see him simply as Dok Go Beom Jin the human being, not as a promising heir to the Kangho Group.
Thinking of that man, enduring all those cold years alone, tenderness welled up in her heart.
‘I’ll do better from now on.’
Until now, she felt she’d only been receiving from Beom Jin. Now she wanted to be the one to reach out first and make him happy.
Of course, that included the affectionate words she’d been too shy to say until now.
“How’s work going? Has the job gotten any easier for you?”
At Pyo Yeon Soo’s kind question, An Soo Yi smiled and nodded.
“Yes, I was completely lost at first, didn’t understand anything, but now I’m finally getting the hang of it.”
“That’s good to hear. How’s your husband?”
“He’s doing well, thank you for asking. He mentioned that starting today there will be frequent business trips to the provinces for the year-end project.”
“Ah, so that’s why you had time to meet us?”
When Pyo Yeon Soo smiled meaningfully, An Soo Yi’s pale cheeks flushed like peaches in an instant.
“N-no, it’s not like that.”
“It’s not? There’s plenty of gossip about it even at our company. People say the formidable Dok Go Beom Jin managing director is somehow different with his wife.”
“Really? Truly?”
Seeing An Soo Yi’s wide-eyed surprise, the two burst into laughter.
“Our An Manager—or should I say, An Soo Yi—is still so innocent, whether then or now.”
“That’s right. How would we ever know what goes on in such a grand Chaebol Family?”
“Ah, please stop teasing me, all of you.”
An Soo Yi, embarrassed, covered her flushed face with both hands.
In any case, whether it was Dok Go Beom Jin or anyone else around her—
everyone seemed to live for the amusement of teasing her.
Now even his grandfather, Chairman Dok Go Hyung Jun, had joined in.

“Bring me the proposal by tomorrow. And make a hundred servings of healthy meals according to the suggestions you put forward.”
“T-tomorrow? Even if I work through the night, that won’t be enough…”
“Tsk. The way you trust everything so readily shows you still have far to go before you can learn management. Do you have any idea how many snake-tongued people there are in this industry?”

If it had been Beom Jin, he would probably have shot back, “Then I’ll prepare it, and you’ll have to eat all hundred servings at that meeting,” and the Chairman had said that this was precisely the point—she should be more like her husband in that regard.
‘Do I look like an easy target to tease?’
She was thinking just this when—
“I hear the Chairman is building a high-end hospice facility?”
“Yes, he’s preparing for it quite seriously.”
Rumors had already circulated throughout the industry that the Kangho Group would enter the hospice business.
“I see. If there’s any chance for our Sunham Sangjo to cooperate, we’d like to make a strong pitch, so please put in a good word for us. This is serious business, not a joke?”
An Soo Yi smiled at Team Lead Oh Sang Cheol’s words.
“Oh, by the way, An Manager. Do you remember Bong Seong Tae? We helped him before.”
An Soo Yi paused, searching her memory, then nodded.
“Yes, I remember.”
Once, An Soo Yi had arranged the funeral of an elderly man with dementia whom she’d found wandering alone on the street.
Though she had discovered him and called the police, he passed away not long after.
His sad eyes and lonely demeanor reminded her of her missing father, so An Soo Yi had paid out of her own pocket to give the old man a proper funeral.
Afterward, she had diligently searched for information and told Bong Seong Tae, his only family, about his father’s passing.
Bong Seong Tae, who had been wandering gambling dens and living recklessly, hadn’t even known his father had died.
Upon learning the news, he wept bitterly and swore he would be reborn anew, and An Soo Yi helped arrange various forms of support for him.
“What about him?”
“He’s in Anseong now, and he’s asking if he could receive your help again?”
At the mention of Anseong, An Soo Yi’s eyes widened.
Beom Jin’s business trip was to Anseong.

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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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