Contract Marriage with a Male Friend - Chapter 64

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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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#64

At the word “woman,” An Soo Yi’s eyes twitched.
Kim Se Na, smiling to herself, continued with an expression of apparent concern.
“I was shocked at first too. Couldn’t believe it. The villa where my friend stays is on sprawling grounds—there are plenty of other villas nearby. Outside of vacation season, they’re usually…… used as places for secret meetings.”
Secret meetings.
At that word, An Soo Yi’s complexion drained to white.
“I know better than anyone that he wouldn’t do anything foolish. I’ve known him since we were children.”
“…….”
“He’s thorough and consistent. He’s always been that way.”
Then Kim Se Na let out a sigh, feigning sympathy.
“But no matter how I look at it, they didn’t seem like an ordinary couple. If they’re the kind of people who drive all the way down to Namhae on weekends just to meet alone—”
“Namhae?”
At An Soo Yi’s sharp question, Kim Se Na slowly nodded.
“Yes, last Thursday.”
Last Thursday was the day he’d left for his provincial business trip.
“Where am I headed this time?”
“Sokcho. Should I bring back some squid?”
“Never mind. We have plenty here. Travel safe.”
“I wish I could come with you.”
“We can go together another time.”
With those words, he’d pulled her close and kissed her deeply.
The same as always.
Or so she’d thought.
Perhaps that fevered breath had been meant to silence her doubts.
An Soo Yi blinked rapidly, trying to shake off the rising wave of dread.
“It was probably someone from a client company. This project he’s taken on involves so many subsidiaries—it’s a major undertaking.”
“Of course. I know better than anyone how thoroughly he handles every task.”
Kim Se Na bit her lip as if in sympathy, letting the words trail off.
“But my friend who took the photos said it really looked like an affair—oh, but that’s not right. My friend shouldn’t have been taking pictures.”
Saying this, Kim Se Na gently turned her Mobile Phone screen to face An Soo Yi.
“I couldn’t believe it even with my own eyes.”
That was putting it mildly.
There were three photographs.
Against a backdrop of open blue sea, two people standing so close their faces nearly touched, turned toward each other as if in conversation.
The backs of two figures walking naturally into what appeared to be an upscale villa.
And then the villa’s front door, firmly closed.
“…….”
An Soo Yi stood motionless, staring down at the photographs with an intensity that made Kim Se Na’s crimson lips curve into a smile.
How anxious she must be.
A woman with nothing to lean on but his affection.
‘If only the woman in the photo were prettier.’
Then An Soo Yi might have wept.
‘So his taste in women was really this…… ordinary.’
As Kim Se Na observed the woman studying the photograph, irritation flickered in her eyes.
Her pale skin was as lifeless as a corpse’s, her large eyes looked oddly vacant, and her thin limbs were unremarkable.
By contrast, her rather full chest seemed almost foolish.
Her face was innocent—no, pitifully innocent—yet her body was needlessly striking.
‘She’s presentable enough, but hardly rare.’
In that vulgar world, a presentable face might earn some attention, but that was all this woman amounted to.
There was no beating sheer luck.
The fact that this unremarkable creature, and not herself—someone with impeccable background and ability—was his wife twisted her insides with fresh fury.
‘But that will change soon.’
The throne would receive its true master. Inevitably.
“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure my friend keeps quiet about this.”
“……Yes. Would it be all right if I left early?”
“Of course. I’ll handle things with the banquet organizers, so don’t give it another thought.”
Thank you, An Soo Yi answered quietly, then turned and walked slowly down the corridor.
Watching her receding figure, Kim Se Na let out a scoff and spun around briskly.
Her footsteps as she returned to the banquet were remarkably light.

***

An Soo Yi arrived home by taxi and went straight to the second floor.
Whenever he was away on business—and his trips had grown more frequent—she spent her time in the study. The master bedroom felt too empty when she was alone.
She closed the study door behind her and gazed at the Stukey on the windowsill, as she always did. It was a wedding gift from Pyo Yeon Su and his wife.
“……What do I do. I came back early without telling Mother.”
At some point, talking to the plant whenever she was alone had become a habit.
“She must be worried.”
But her vision had gone white, and she simply couldn’t bear to stay in that space.
Until she’d escaped the banquet hall, her heart had been still as death. Now it hammered wildly, out of control.
“Ugh…….”
An Soo Yi clutched at her chest.
The pit of her stomach ached as if she’d suddenly swallowed something wrong.
‘Did he really…… come back from a secret meeting.’
Her mind immediately answered no.
But her heart kept raising dark questions.
Business trips that had increased, yet his manner remained as affectionate as always.
Destinations that didn’t match his story, yet his manner remained as affectionate as always.
Communication that dwindled day by day, yet remained as affectionate as…….
The thought stopped short, and An Soo Yi shook her head violently.
“What am I doing right now.”
She’d just sunk deep into the sofa when—
Buzz— Buzz—
Her handbag emitted a long, sustained vibration.
An Soo Yi pulled out her Mobile Phone and checked the screen. Her pupils trembled.
“Hello?”
– Instructor, are you able to talk right now?
“Yes, I can. I can.”
The caller was Bong Sung Tae.
– Where are you right now, if I may ask?
“Right now…… I’m at home.”
– At this hour?
“Oh, my schedule got complicated, so I’m just—”
– That’s good. I thought it might be difficult if you were out in public.
Difficult.
– That man I mentioned before—I think he really is your father.
An Soo Yi’s grip on the Mobile Phone tightened.
– His name is An Dong Jin. Someone saw a heart-shaped mark on his left shoulder during a fight. Does that match a birthmark you remember your father having?
An Soo Yi’s eyes, lips, hands—her entire body—began to tremble uncontrollably.
How did breathing work again? In first, or out first……?
Then, like a dam bursting, tears she’d held back for so long came pouring down her face.
– Instructor?
“I…… I’m sorry. I was just so shocked…….”
– I thought you might react that way, which is why I asked if you were out. I wanted you to be somewhere private.
Sob…….
An Soo Yi let out the sobs she’d been holding in.
It really was him. Her father was alive.
– One more thing…… will you continue working at the company?
There was a note of concern in Bong Sung Tae’s careful question.
An Soo Yi answered through her tears, barely managing the words.
“No, I was planning to quit anyway. Now that I’m actually experiencing it, it doesn’t seem like the right place for me. And now that you’ve told me this…….”
– I’m relieved to hear that. An Dong Jin said the Kangho Group is the reason he’s been destroyed like this. He’s been saving money ruthlessly to take revenge. He said he’d buy people if he had to, make them pay the price for his family being torn apart.
Ah, so that’s what happened.
Through her tear-blurred vision, An Soo Yi saw the Stukey standing quietly on the windowsill.
As she gazed absently at the green plant, a cold premonition tolled like a bell in the depths of her chest.
It was time for her to return to the world she’d truly belonged to.
This precarious contract with him…… it had to end now.

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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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