CEB - 16

Chapter 16: The Marriage Contract

‘I need to be more careful with my words.’

Startled by Min-hyuk’s mention of the blind date, Dan-jung soon realized that Im Secretary must have overheard her conversation with her mother while in Min-hyuk’s car and reported it to him.

Dan-jung was well aware of the destructive power of rumors. Whispers spread like wildfire, and they were already suffocating her.

“You don’t need to worry about that. I’ve already told my mom I can’t go.”

“While I trust you, Miss Choi, I think it’s best to take precautions.”

“What do you mean?”

“You just said earlier that nothing is certain until we’re at the altar. But as you know, if something happens, I’ll lose my position as president.”

“That was just a figure of speech! I didn’t mean it literally. I was thoughtless. If I upset you, I’m sorry.”

“In that case, let’s draft a marriage contract.”

“A marriage contract?”

Dan-jung’s eyes widened in disbelief. She had assumed such contracts were only for Hollywood celebrities, never imagining she’d face one herself.

“The condition of this marriage is that neither annulment nor divorce is allowed.”

“Yes, I understand that.”

“But what if you decide to call off the wedding the day before? You can do that, just as you said earlier.”

“No, that was just… talk.”

“And if you later demand a divorce, there’s nothing stopping you either, right?”

“Well… I suppose so.”

Dan-jung regretted making Min-hyuk anxious with her careless words. Still, his logic wasn’t entirely wrong.

“So, I propose drafting a contract stating that neither annulment nor divorce is possible. Of course, this isn’t one-sided. I’ll also commit to fulfilling the conditions you set.”

“What conditions?”

“To love you as much as I can.”

“Haha. Yes, I did ask you to love me, didn’t I?”

Dan-jung felt defeated. Min-hyuk’s rational arguments were unassailable, and his lightning-fast decisiveness left no room for objection.

“You asked me to document your conditions in writing, so you could say this is the same concept. If I fail to meet your conditions, you can file for divorce. But if you break the agreement…”

“If I break it?”

“I’ll sue you for breach of contract. Considering your situation, I’ll set the compensation at a minimum of 10 billion won.”

Min-hyuk proposed an amount he knew Dan-jung could never afford, ensuring she couldn’t leave even if she wanted to.

“Wha—10 billion? Where am I supposed to get that kind of money?”

Dan-jung was stunned. It was an unimaginable sum—money she could never earn or steal in a lifetime.

She realized she was now firmly caught in Min-hyuk’s web.

“As long as you don’t seek annulment or divorce, it doesn’t matter.”

“Well, yes, but still…”

“I just want to make things more secure. There’s no other intention.”

“…Alright. I have no plans to divorce anyway. But I’ll add one more condition.”

“Go ahead.”

“For the first hundred days after marriage, I’d like you to hold back.”

“Hold back?”

Min-hyuk frowned, confused by her request.

“You know… what couples do at night.”

“You mean intimacy?”

“Yes, that.”

“Why? Didn’t you say you didn’t want a show marriage?”

“Because I believe love should come first, followed by physical union. Since we’re getting married without dating, I’d like us to spend the first hundred days as if we were dating.”

Dan-jung intended to bind Min-hyuk just as tightly as he had bound her. To do that, she needed to make him fall in love with her.

“Fine. I’ll do as you wish. Let’s draft the contract and sign it tomorrow.”

Min-hyuk, feeling reassured, unknowingly smiled in relief.

“You’re early.”

“I have something important to discuss.”

After settling matters with Dan-jung, Min-hyuk had come to the family home in Hannam-dong to prepare for the quick marriage.

“Alright, let’s sit down.”

Yeon-joo also had something to discuss and led them to the living room sofa.

At that moment, the doorbell rang, and Min-hee rushed downstairs.

“Hyung, you really proposed to a hotel employee?”

Min-hee, determined to stop Min-hyuk’s marriage, plopped onto the sofa and questioned him.

“Yes. How did you find out?”

“Does that matter? How could you make such a decision without consulting the family?”

“…I was planning to tell you today.”

Min-hyuk chose to address Yeon-joo rather than the emotional Min-hee, believing a rational conversation would be more productive.

“Hye-mi came by earlier. She still has feelings for you.”

“I know.”

“Do you think Hye-mi would make a poor spouse?”

Yeon-joo carefully probed Min-hyuk’s thoughts.

“Considering our past breakup…”

“Yes, I see.”

“And besides, I absolutely cannot divorce.”

“Hmm… That’s true.”

Yeon-joo understood Min-hyuk’s concerns. His entire future depended on this decision, so she expected him to be cautious.

However, she couldn’t accept Dan-jung, rumored to be “easy,” as her daughter-in-law.

“Hye-mi says she’ll never leave you again. She went through a lot after your breakup.”

“…”

“Can’t you give her another chance? I think she could be a great support for you.”

Yeon-joo planned to patiently persuade Min-hyuk, knowing her rational son could be convinced with logical reasoning.

“Honestly, Hye-mi would be the perfect bride. People eyeing your position would back off immediately.”

Min-hee, who had been hesitant to interrupt, chimed in to support her mother.

“Mother, I’m capable of protecting my position on my own.”

Min-hyuk cautiously countered, unwilling to abandon Dan-jung.

“About that girl… I heard some troubling rumors.”

Yeon-joo wasn’t ready to back down either.

“Rumors? What kind?”

“She’s rumored to be easy. Apparently, she rejected over a hundred men personally.”

“Eh~ Really? Ha! How could you marry someone like that?”

“It’s just a rumor. Rejecting a hundred men doesn’t mean she dated them. Besides, Miss Choi has been named the kindest employee three times—a highly capable hotelier.”

“But why are you abandoning someone like Hye-mi for a complete stranger? And an ‘easy’ woman at that?”

Min-hee, unable to contain herself, scrunched her brows in frustration.

“Because I love her.”

“What?”

Min-hyuk’s declaration of love shocked Min-hee into silence.

“What do you mean…?”

Even Yeon-joo, wide-eyed, thought she might have misheard.

“I love Miss Choi. I don’t want to lose her.”

“Oh my.”

When Min-hyuk emphasized his words again, Yeon-joo covered her mouth, momentarily speechless.

She had always believed her son incapable of love. Yet here he was, declaring his feelings for someone!

“But you can’t feel emotions!”

Min-hee, incredulous, pressed further. How could he feel love for an ordinary woman when he hadn’t even felt it for someone as perfect as Hye-mi?

“When I look at her, my heart races. I want to hold her, keep her close.”

Min-hyuk didn’t hide his physical reactions or his desire to embrace Dan-jung. Whether this was love as others described it, he didn’t know. But he had decided—to love Dan-jung starting today.

“Are you truly capable of feeling love?”

Yeon-joo sought confirmation, having never seen her son express happiness, sadness, or anger in all these years.

“Yes, I’m fully aware.”

This much was true. Min-hyuk genuinely intended to love Dan-jung from that day forward.

“Alright then. I’d like to meet this young lady soon.”

Yeon-joo no longer opposed their marriage. If Dan-jung could heal her son’s decades-long emotional void, what did it matter if she was “easy” or from an ordinary family?

“Miss Choi, is it true you’re dating the president?”

As Dan-jung arrived at the hotel locker room, the afternoon-shift female employees swarmed her, eager for gossip. They had postponed leaving work just to confirm the truth about her scandal.

Some had even placed bets on whether the rumors were true.

“Uh… How did you find out?”

Dan-jung saw no reason to hide it anymore, especially since she was getting married. Besides, the persistent rumors about her being “easy” were exhausting.

If she openly admitted to dating the president, perhaps they’d stop calling her names behind her back.

“Oh my, oh my. This is huge! Incredible.”

“Wow~ Miss Choi, I’m so jealous. The president is amazing.”

“See? I told you! I saw the president holding Miss Choi’s hand yesterday.”

The source of the rumors was none other than Lee Soo-yeon, the office gossip queen.

“Hehe. So it was you.”

Dan-jung chuckled bitterly, realizing Soo-yeon must have seen her and spread the word. She figured nearly everyone in the hotel had probably gossiped about her by now.

“So, Miss Choi, are you marrying the president?”

Another employee, envious and excited, asked about her marital status.

“No, asking about marriage after just meeting someone is rude, don’t you think? Right, Miss Choi~?”

Soo-yeon, who had spent the day spreading rumors, now tried to curry favor with Dan-jung.

“Ah~ Actually, I might need to take some time off because of this.”

“What~?!”

The announcement sent the women into a frenzy.

“Oh! You startled me.”

Dan-jung pressed her hands to her chest, trying to calm her racing heart.

“This is huge news!”

“Wow~ Congratulations, Miss Choi!”

“Congratulations! By the way, what will Manager Na do? She must be so mad~.”

Soo-yeon, ever eager to stir the pot, began gossiping about Manager Na.

“Hehe. That’s right. She was so desperate to catch Miss Choi. Feels good, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah. What will Manager Na do now? Hehe.”

Other employees joined in, badmouthing Manager Na, who had openly tormented Dan-jung.

“Hey, stop it. What if Manager Na hears you?”

Though Dan-jung tried to quiet them, she secretly felt vindicated. She didn’t know why Manager Na had targeted her, but it seemed she wouldn’t be able to anymore.

And hopefully, the baseless rumors about her being a call girl would stop too.

‘Oh no!’

Meanwhile, Manager Na, standing outside the locker room, overheard everything and was utterly shocked.