The Textbook of a Lover - Chapter 10

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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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10.
Sunlight seeped through the curtains and stabbed at the space beneath her eyes. Do A curled into herself, her face buried in the blanket.
“Ugh… my head.”
Her skull throbbed as though struck repeatedly by a hammer. The moment she tried to sit up, searching for medication, an unfamiliar room came into focus.
High ceiling. Furniture that spoke of quiet luxury. A long lamp casting soft light across everything.
“This isn’t… this isn’t my apartment.”
Instead of her familiar studio ceiling, sleek hotel-style molding and a chandelier filled her vision.
Her heart hammered. Who did I come with? How did I even get here?
But the most shocking discovery was what she wore.
Instead of the cotton pajamas she usually slept in, a soft champagne-colored silk pair draped smoothly against her skin.
“What is this? I… I don’t remember changing clothes…”
Do A gripped the collar, trying to steady herself.
“Stay calm. Think. What happened yesterday? Walk through it step by step.”
Yesterday, Do A had become a pariah at work overnight. The atmosphere of avoidance from her colleagues was suffocating.
In a fit of frustration, she’d gone to the main office building, but when memories of warnings and threats surfaced, she couldn’t bring herself to enter. Instead, she’d headed to a nearby bar—that much she remembered.
“But how did I end up at a hotel from there?!”
Do A scanned the room carefully. Mercifully, there were no signs of another person.
She was about to feel relieved when the doorbell chimed—ding-dong.
‘It must be room service, right? It has to be. I came alone, so who else could it be? Surely not…’
Ding-dong, ding-dong.
When she hesitated, the bell rang again, insistent. Do A approached the door cautiously, then pressed the intercom.
“Um… who is it?”
Silence stretched for several seconds, deepening her anxiety. Then a low, clipped voice came through.
“Cha Gyeong, Executive Director of Hyunsin Department Store.”
“I’m… sorry, who?”
“The Cha Gyeong from Hyunsin Department Store who is currently preparing a lawsuit against you for 220 billion won. Does that help you remember?”
Do A’s mind went blank. For a moment, she wondered if she was dreaming.
If not, why in the world was he standing outside her door?
* * *
Moments later, the two of them sat across from each other at the table in the room.
Do A gripped her hands tightly, regarding Cha Gyeong with undisguised suspicion.
“So you’re the one who brought me to the hotel? Among all the bars in the city, it’s quite a coincidence that you happened to be at the very one I went to, isn’t it? Ha ha.”
The corner of Cha Gyeong’s mouth curled coldly.
“Interesting. I found it rather odd that you were drinking alone at a bar near our company headquarters—not your company’s, mind you. Our Hyunsin Department Store’s.”
Right, I was drinking near there. But still, that didn’t mean he had to bring me to a hotel.
“Even so, you didn’t need to bring me here. You could have just put me in a taxi and—”
“How was I supposed to put you in a taxi when I didn’t know where you live? Surely you don’t expect the taxi driver to divine your address?”
Heat flooded Do A’s face.
The more she tried to argue, the more pathetic she felt. Yet there was one question she couldn’t help but ask.
“But… why was my clothing changed? These aren’t the clothes I was wearing yesterday…”
Cha Gyeong’s gaze lingered on her, thick with undisguised contempt.
“I couldn’t bring someone covered in vomit into a hotel room. Fortunately, the hotel arranged an outside service, and it was taken care of with their assistance.”
Vomit? I threw up?
She didn’t want to believe it. She’d vaguely remembered retching in her dream, but to learn it was real…
While Do A reeled in horror, Cha Gyeong added with a sneer.
“I understand what you might be imagining, but I do have standards. There’s nothing I’d want to do with a woman who threw up in my car.”
Complete defeat. There was no room for further excuses.
Do A felt so ashamed she wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear.
“Is there anything else you’d like to know?”
She shook her head side to side.
“No, no. I’m so sorry. I’ll pay you back for everything—the hotel bill, the cleaning, the clothes, all of it.”
“That won’t be necessary. I didn’t leave you on the street because of personal principle.”
“Still, I really am sorry—”
While Do A lamented internally, Cha Gyeong suddenly slid a document across the table. Do A flinched.
The memory of receiving a damage compensation claim from him surfaced immediately.
“220 billion won…”
“Hic!”
Sure enough, the moment Cha Gyeong mentioned the amount from the claim, Do A—already anxious—began hiccuping.
“I’m… I’m sorry.”
Cha Gyeong ignored her repeated apologies and hiccups, continuing as if she hadn’t spoken.
“This is a contract stating that you will enter into a contract relationship with me to settle the 220 billion won lawsuit. I’ve included the conditions you proposed yesterday, though naturally you won’t remember any of it.”
She remembered absolutely nothing.
Yesterday’s version of me—what on earth did you do? What kind of disaster did you create in such a short time?
With trembling hands, Do A picked up the contract and began reading.
[Contract]
[1. Do A shall perform the role of Executive Director Cha Gyeong’s romantic partner for six months.
• She shall accompany Cha Gyeong to family gatherings and official events.
• She shall faithfully fulfill the role of romantic partner in all external relations.
2. If Do A faithfully performs this contract, Cha Gyeong shall not file a damage compensation claim (totaling 2.2 trillion won) for the incident Do A caused in the Hyunsin Department Store lobby.
3. In case of contract breach, Cha Gyeong may immediately file suit.]
Up to this point, it aligned with what Cha Gyeong had previously proposed. But the final line made her eyes widen in disbelief.
[4. Special Clause
• Cha Gyeong shall date Kang Na-hee during the contract period and publicly declare their separation.]
Why on earth was such a clause included?
Do A looked at him, dumbfounded.
“Date Kang Na-hee and break up with her? What is this?”
Cha Gyeong’s eyebrow lifted slightly.
“That final clause is exactly what you demanded yesterday.”
“I… did I really ask you to date Kang Na-hee while drunk?”
Suddenly, a scene flashed through Do A’s mind like lightning—a memory of herself in the car, drunk and clinging to Cha Gyeong.
“Please seduce Kang Na-hee. Let her get dumped by you, let Woo Gyeong-jun get dumped by her. Make it exactly the same as what happened to me, sniff, please.”
Do A squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head vigorously.
‘If I drink again, I’m not human.’
Cha Gyeong watched her beat herself on the head and stomp her feet in self-recrimination, then finally spoke.
“I gave some thought to that absurd proposal you made, and I concluded that for you to perform well as my romantic partner, you’d benefit from some proper motivation. So I’ve decided to accept that condition.”
“Really? You’re actually going to do that?!”
“Isn’t that what you wanted? If you’d rather not, I can remove it. It’s no skin off my back.”
In that brief moment, Do A’s mind spun through calculations.
Then again, if I’m going to play girlfriend, it wouldn’t be bad to get something out of it too.
Besides, Na-hee was sure to fall for Cha Gyeong in a heartbeat if he so much as tried.
As for Woo Gyeong-jun—he’d never even caught Na-hee’s attention before, but after joining a major corporation, he’d started getting her looks.
If that was the case with an ordinary employee, how could Na-hee possibly resist an executive director?
The moment Cha Gyeong gave her any opening at all, Na-hee would come running—regardless of whose girlfriend she was supposed to be.
In fact, knowing he was already someone’s girlfriend would only make her more desperate to steal him away.
Finding no better alternative, Do A slowly nodded.
“…I’ll do it. The contract relationship.”
The instant Cha Gyeong nodded in acknowledgment, anxiety and vengeance twisted together deep in Do A’s chest and rose to the surface.

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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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