The Textbook of a Lover - Chapter 53

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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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53.
Seong Do-ah’s mouth fell open.
Wait—when and where had he heard that?
Even as she retraced her memory, she’d never said anything like that in front of Kyung-jun.
“You’re pretending to be his girlfriend right now because you’re being blackmailed by Yoon, aren’t you? He’s using the fact that you’re kind and naive!”
“No, don’t get it twisted. I’ve learned enough about how the world works because of you—I’m not the type to be used anymore just anywhere. And even if that were true, what’s it to you?”
“What do you mean what’s it to me? If you’re really forcing yourself into this, I’ll fight Yoon even if it costs me my job. That’s the only way I can repay the debt of deceiving you!”
Kyung-jun shouted with the grim resolve of someone fighting for independence.
Seong Do-ah’s voice softened as she asked back.
“Repay a debt to me?”
“Yeah, Do-ah! I mean it!”
“Ah, right.”
With a small exhale, Do-ah’s foot shot out with precise aim, striking Kyung-jun squarely on the shin.
“Ahhhhh! Seong Do-ah, no! What are you doing!”
“Repay? If you’re going to repay anything, pay back my dowry!”
She glanced around to check for CCTV cameras, then hunched her head and hurried away.
* * *
Seong Do-ah sought out a quiet place to gather her thoughts.
Yet ironically, reaching such a place meant passing through crowds of people.
Each time, she felt stares and heard whispers trailing behind her.
“Fine, say it’s fake. But then why would the heir to Hyunsin Group pretend to date an ordinary office worker? Why?”
“This is straight out of a drama, isn’t it? Should we tip off the media?”
“What tip? There were tons of people at the Alumni Association event. Gossip like this spreads on its own.”
This was bad.
Everyone—Do-ah’s company, certain figures at Hyunsin Group, and Cha Kyung’s family—all believed the two of them were genuine lovers.
But what if the truth came out? That her relationship with Cha Kyung was fake?
[EXCLUSIVE] Is the ‘Hyunsin Group Heir’s’ Romance Just for Show?
Contract Relationship with Ordinary Woman to Build Common-Man Image.
Hyunsin Stock Plummets… Cinderella Romance Exposed as Stock Manipulation Fraud?
No. No, no.
That couldn’t happen.
She didn’t want Cha Kyung to suffer that kind of damage because of her contract.
And if the contract was exposed here, it would hand Na-hee and Kyung-jun a weapon to use against her.
She could already see exactly how those two would exploit it.
“I haven’t even finished my revenge yet.”
The thought alone made her stomach churn.
“Absolutely not. I can’t give them any leverage.”
Seong Do-ah changed direction.
This wasn’t the time to clear her head—it was time to come up with an emergency plan.
She climbed the stairs to the third floor of the Pension at a brisk pace.
She arrived at the room, but hesitated before pressing the bell.
‘Ever since that night hike, he hasn’t even acknowledged me… What if he gets angry asking why I came? Especially when he’s already in a bad mood, what if I make it worse…?’
Standing at the door with her finger raised in uncertainty, she heard footsteps climbing the stairs.
‘Oh, he wasn’t in his room.’
When Do-ah spotted Cha Kyung approaching, she froze in place.
Cha Kyung, dressed in light training clothes, saw her standing before the door and, without a word, indifferently walked past her and held his key card to the entrance lock.
As the door opened, he turned to her and spoke.
“Come in.”
“I’m sorry…?”
“You came to see me, didn’t you? Or do you have another acquaintance on this floor? I’m the only one who uses it.”
“No, I came to see you, that’s right!”
The corner of Cha Kyung’s mouth twitched upward, then fell.
“Then come in.”
* * *
His suite had a separate living area—essentially a standalone unit on the third floor.
Do-ah sat on the sofa with her hands folded in her lap, keeping a formal posture. Cha Kyung set a glass of juice in front of her.
She opened her mouth first, wanting to apologize.
“I’m sorry for taking my anger out on you for no reason, Cha Kyung.”
“I apologize for what happened yesterday.”
Ah, so now they could manage to say the same thing together—when they actually needed to?
“No, it’s not your fault at all. I’m really sorry for treating you like that.”
Cha Kyung shook his head.
“No, I was careless. Keeping your situation secret without telling you was deception, plain and simple. You had every right to be upset.”
So he wasn’t angry with her after all.
Do-ah felt a wave of relief, not having expected Cha Kyung to think this way.
But now was not the time to take comfort.
“Cha Kyung, I think everyone’s catching on that we’re fake lovers because of what just happened. And that jerk Kyung-jun even heard directly that we’re pretending to be in a relationship. What are we going to do?”
Cha Kyung crossed his legs as he settled into the opposite sofa. Contrary to Do-ah’s expectation, his face showed no tension whatsoever.
“You met Kyung-jun?”
“Yes. I ran into him on the way.”
“That bastard keeps showing up in front of you—that bothers me.”
It seemed he was more irritated by Kyung-jun lingering around than by the Contract Relationship being exposed.
“That’s not the important part right now! What if rumors about us lying spread?”
“I’ll make sure you come out of this with minimal damage, so don’t worry too much.”
Do-ah felt exasperated.
“No, of course it’d be bad for me too if the lie gets revealed. But that’s not the real problem—you are!”
A company employee pretending to date a conglomerate heir would be forgotten from people’s memories soon enough.
But Cha Kyung was different.
“People are already saying that pretending to be your girlfriend was a scheme to improve your corporate image. If something like that becomes a news article—”
“An article requires evidence. Without solid proof, no one can write a story.”
“But wouldn’t shareholders be sensitive to rumors like this? If it affects the stock price…”
“If rumors from a university alumni hiking retreat can shake our stock price, then South Korea’s stock market would be the first thing to worry about.”
Do-ah sighed inwardly. Why was this man so unbothered?
“What about your grandmother or mother? We did dating practice drills specifically so they wouldn’t find out. Doesn’t that show how serious it was?”
“It’s serious. I’ll take precautions so the news doesn’t reach them, and even if they somehow find out, I’ll explain it to them in a way that they don’t think of it as a Contract Relationship.”
“Will that even work? I don’t think it’ll be enough…”
She still remembered the suffering caused by those stalker rumors.
Even petty gossip had worn her down so thoroughly.
What more, if the subject was the heir of a conglomerate family? The scale of the rumor would undoubtedly be different.
“It’s not enough. Words alone won’t fix this!”
Then Cha Kyung fixed her with a sharp gaze and asked.
“So what exactly do you want us to do differently, Seong Do-ah?”
“We need to make them believe we’re really a couple.”
“How do you propose we do that?”
When had the tables turned, and she became the one on trial? Do-ah felt flustered but tried to formulate a plan.
“Well, what if we asked Seong-chul to run another game and tried to redeem ourselves? In the meantime, we could study each other better and synchronize our answers!”
“We already got so many wrong the first time. No one’s going to buy that we suddenly know each other better in a second round. Besides, it’s impossible to prepare for every possible question in such a short time. Pass, next.”
“Or we could show them what real lovers act like.”
“How, specifically?”
“What if you caught me when I was about to fall? Or we walked together holding hands where people could see us?”
One corner of Cha Kyung’s mouth curved upward in a slanted smile.
“No one will believe that kind of thing.”
Her head throbbed. So what on earth could solve this crisis?
Then Cha Kyung made a suggestion in a measured tone.
“How about this instead?”
When Do-ah heard what he had to say, her pupils trembled.
She blinked hard to hide her shock, but her reddened ears betrayed her.

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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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