“Hyung-nim, isn’t that Sister-in-law over there?”
A hotel in Namsan.
Daehun and Geunsu were sitting in the hotel lobby to meet someone when they spotted Gwon Jua seated by the window.
“It’s her.”
Daehun spoke in a low voice.
“I’ll go over and greet her.”
Just as Geunsu tried to stand up, Daehun stopped him with a gesture.
“Let’s go together. I wanted to greet her properly too. We only saw her briefly at the hospital, after all.”
“Then let’s go together.”
As Daehun and Geunsu stood up to greet her, an unfamiliar man approached Gwon Jua.
“Huh?”
Daehun froze mid-rise.
He sat right back down.
“Who is that guy?”
“I’ve never seen his face before either, Hyung-nim.”
The unfamiliar man sat down across from Gwon Jua.
The conversation was not long.
There were no nods, no smiles either.
It was a very brief moment.
Shortly after, the man rose from his seat.
The coffee hadn’t even arrived yet.
The two of them watched as the man left the hotel lobby.
They observed his face carefully.
They had to check what kind of man Gwon Jua was meeting.
Only after that man left the hotel could Daehun speak.
“Didn’t he just say… ‘marriage’?”
“…I heard it.”
It had been clearly audible.
That word, marriage.
“Geunsu. What kind of situation is this? I feel like I’m about to get the wrong idea about that woman. This is a situation where that’s okay, right?”
Daehun asked Geunsu with a rather complicated expression.
Geunsu was no less bewildered by the situation.
He knew her as the woman Alex Hyung-nim had been seeing recently,
which was why everyone called her Sister-in-law,
and why she’d even been given the nickname “Code Pink,” yet here she was at a hotel talking about marriage with another man.
It was a situation ripe for misunderstanding.
Even so, Geunsu said something else.
“Hyung-nim. I think the misunderstanding can wait until later.”
“Later?”
“Look at that woman’s expression. That is not the face of a woman who just talked about marriage.”
Only then did Daehun look properly at Gwon Jua’s face.
Gwon Jua was sitting right there in her seat.
Clutching her bag strap tightly.
Her gaze was fixed on empty air.
Her expression was contorted,
a face that looked like it would crumble at any moment, beyond mere confusion.
She wore an expression that looked like she might burst into tears at any second.
It was not the face of a woman who had decided to get married.
Seeing that expression, Daehun’s thoughts changed somewhat.
“Yeah, now’s not the time.”
Daehun looked at Gwon Jua’s face once more.
“It seems a bit early to misunderstand her. Instead, let’s find out what’s going on.”
“Understood.”
Geunsu nodded and stood up to look into the situation.
Even then, Gwon Jua remained seated right there.
*******
“Sigh….”
Gwon Jua let out a deep sigh.
A very thick contract lay before Gwon Jua.
It was thick enough to not pale in comparison to the medical textbook beside it.
The people who had delivered the contract were the Taelim Financial Group legal team.
The marriage meeting with Yun Taegyeom had been the worst.
It had been absolute trash.
He’d sat down, said, “Let’s get married,” and left.
Without asking for Gwon Jua’s reaction or opinion, he’d decided everything on his own and walked out.
It was so bewildering.
So bewildered that she’d remained seated, unable to get up for quite some time.
The way Yun Taegyeom’s eyes had swept over her gave her chills; her body trembled just thinking about it again.
But that was it.
She’d let cutting off all contact serve as her answer.
She hadn’t responded at all.
She’d wanted to yell, “I’m not marrying a bastard like you,” but there was no need.
Even that would have been too kind, too generous a luxury for that man.
Gwon Jua hadn’t accepted any contact from that man.
She’d blocked not only him but every unknown number.
She’d packed her schedule with work, afraid of what her father would say if she went home.
She’d slept in the on-call room.
She hadn’t gone home.
Inbae had asked if something was wrong, but she couldn’t answer.
She was ashamed.
She was pathetic and embarrassed by herself for having created this situation.
She felt sorry toward Inbae.
She didn’t think she’d made such a bad choice, but the situation had gotten twisted.
But there was no problem.
She just needed to resolve the situation and go to Inbae.
Since Inbae wouldn’t confess, Gwon Jua was thinking of doing it herself.
It wasn’t because Inbae had become rich.
Even if Inbae were exactly as he’d been in high school, Gwon Jua would have confessed.
Everyone called him Alex, but Gwon Jua liked the name Inbae.
She still liked the Inbae from that time.
When she was with Inbae, Gwon Jua could finally breathe and smile.
That was enough.
It was fine even if Inbae went broke.
If Gwon Jua earned money, the two of them could get by just fine.
That was why she’d left her phone behind.
To avoid the calls that came from Taelim Financial Group at all hours.
She’d left her phone behind so her medical treatment wouldn’t be disturbed.
And so they came to the hospital instead.
The Taelim Financial Group legal team had cornered the busy Gwon Jua, explained the contract, and left.
Gwon Jua had clearly stated that she would not marry.
But the legal team had said something entirely different.
“Whether you marry or not is not our concern. We are here only to explain the contract contents accurately.”
Having said that, they explained the contract.
After saying everything they had to say, they left the thick contract behind and departed.
Gwon Jua felt powerless.
No one had listened to Gwon Jua.
Her feelings of not wanting to marry had reached no one.
Everyone was only stating their own opinions.
The contract’s contents were even more outrageous.
Premarital property ownership, property division standards upon divorce, debt liability scope, and separation of inherited or gifted assets were just the basics.
Prohibition of intervention in management, restriction of access to internal information, separation of specific assets acquired during marriage, exclusion of rights to company shares, stock options, and unlisted stocks, restrictions on media interviews and SNS statements, obligation of silence on specific issues, and even obligation to appear on broadcasts.
It wasn’t a marriage contract, but an employment contract—no, closer to a slave contract.
And every clause came with a penalty fee.
It was a meticulous, thorough contract.
If she lived according to the contract, she would have to do nothing but breathe.
No—even just breathing and living would constitute a breach of contract.
The moment she signed there, Gwon Jua would clearly become the puppet of Taelim, of Yun Taegyeom.
She would have to act, speak, and smile exactly as they ordered, exactly as they wanted.
Gwon Jua closed the contract.
She would never sign.
This wasn’t marriage; it was selling Gwon Jua off.
.
.
.
A thick contract also lay on Gwon Sangyeol’s desk.
It was a contract that the Taelim Financial Group legal team had personally come and delivered.
Upon receiving it, Gwon Sangyeol beamed from ear to ear.
He was happy.
The contract’s contents didn’t matter.
It seemed a bit strict, but who lived without being careful to that degree anyway?
Besides, she was entering a chaebol family.
It was natural that every action, every word had to be careful.
But what truly mattered was,
the contract had arrived from Taelim Financial Group,
and the fact that with just a signature, Gwon Sangyeol’s daughter would become the daughter-in-law of the Taelim family.
With just a signature on the contract, Gwon Sangyeol’s company could also form a partnership with the Taelim family and plan long-term.
Everything was perfect.
If only she signed.
The problem was Gwon Jua.
Gwon Jua wasn’t coming home.
She was practically living at the hospital, saying she was busy.
Gwon Jua had to come so he could get the signature on the contract.
She wasn’t coming home.
She seemed to be avoiding him on purpose.
He knew.
That his daughter didn’t want this marriage.
But that was just foolish thinking born of not knowing the world yet.
Once she married and lived it out, a day would come when she would thank and appreciate her father.
A day would come when she realized what a tremendous opportunity he had opened for her.
But to get there, he had to get her signature.
He’d thought about going to the hospital, but not yet.
If he went to the hospital, his daughter would obviously make a huge scene.
It would only backfire.
Now was the time to wait.
He’d agonized over how to get the signature without going to the office.
Just then, the sound of the door lock code being entered rang out.
A moment later, Gwon Jua came into view.
Gwon Jua seemed briefly surprised to see her father, but spoke naturally.
“Dad, didn’t you go to work?”
“I have some business, so I was planning to go in the afternoon. I thought you were working.”
“I came to get some clothes to change into.”
“Alright. Grab your clothes and come see me for a bit.”
“Why?”
Gwon Jua asked.
“I have something to talk to you about.”
“…Okay.”
She entered her room as if fleeing.
She’d deliberately come at a time when her father wouldn’t be home, yet he was there.
It was bewildering.
Even as she packed her clothes, Gwon Jua felt uneasy.
He was definitely going to talk about the marriage.
She worried about what she should say.
Gwon Jua wanted to resolve this situation without fighting with her father.
Gwon Jua came out to the living room after half-heartedly packing her clothes.
Her father was waiting, holding thick documents.
It was that contract.
The contract Taelim Financial Group had delivered.
The moment she saw it, Gwon Jua felt like she couldn’t breathe.
Gwon Sangyeol held out the thick contract to Gwon Jua.
“You got this too, right?”
“…Yes.”
“Hurry up and sign it so we can get you married.”
Gwon Jua was so shocked.
She couldn’t understand her father, holding a contract that her life depended on, telling her to sign so nonchalantly.
In that moment, she hated her father so much.
She wondered if he was really her father.
Weren’t parents supposed to tell you to think it over even if you said you were getting married?
“I believe I told you I’m not getting married.”
Gwon Jua’s voice rose slightly.
“They said they like you. So just do it.”
“I don’t want to. I said I don’t want to.”
Gwon Jua’s voice rose another octave.
Gwon Sangyeol was slightly surprised, but soon calmed down and spoke to Gwon Jua as if soothing her.
As if nothing had happened.
“Just do it. You just have to do it. You just close your eyes tight and sign, what’s so hard about that?”
Gwon Jua looked at the contract, then at her father again, and spoke.
“If this were about buying something, I’d sign too. Even if it were expensive, even if it were a scam, even if I took a loss so bad people would talk—I’d just deal with it. But it’s not like that. My life is on the line.”
“What?”
“If I sign here, from that moment on I can’t live as I please. Who I have to meet, what I have to say on TV, what poses I have to make, what expressions I have to wear—I have to do exactly as I’m told.”
“Instead, you’re entering a chaebol family. You can live without worrying about money for the rest of your life.”
“I’ve lived without worrying about money until now too.”
Gwon Sangyeol shouted, and Gwon Jua shot back.
Their voices rose.
“Since when is that your money? It’s my money. I’m the one who fed you, clothed you, and dragged you to where you are today.”
“I know. I’m grateful. That’s why I give all the money I earn to Father.”
“…How many times have you done that?”
Gwon Sangyeol answered, slightly embarrassed.
“I know it’s not many times, but that’s all I can give you. I’ll keep giving it to you in the future. But I can’t sign this.”
“No. You don’t have to give me that measly salary. Sign this. That’s the right thing to do.”
Gwon Sangyeol said again,
as if it were really no big deal.
“I said I don’t want to.”
“I really just don’t understand. If you just sign here, you can live your whole life being called ‘Madame’ and living in luxury. Why are you refusing that?”
Gwon Sangyeol’s voice grew loud again.
“I can’t live as I please.”
“You can’t live as you please without money either. So stop talking like a child. I feel like I’m going crazy every time I talk to you.”
“I feel the same way. I’m thankful you raised me. Still, I’ll live my own life.”
“You ungrateful wretch who doesn’t even know the debt of your own upbringing.”
The moment she heard those words, Gwon Jua looked at her father.
Her father had gaslighted her before, but he had never spoken like that.
He had pressured her without making it seem like pressure, but he had never cursed at her.
But to call her an ungrateful wretch.
I looked into Dad’s eyes.
Dad’s eyes didn’t seem human.
They were filled with greed, as if he had lost all reason.
I felt like I couldn’t stay here any longer.
I thought it was too dangerous.
It felt like he would force me to sign, even if he had to do it against my will.
Gwon Jua said nothing and went out to the front door.
From behind, she heard her father calling her name, but she pretended not to hear and simply left.
Rage and fear drove Gwon Jua forward.
She had come outside, but she had nowhere to go.
Only one person came to mind.
She wanted to see him.
Desperately.
She took a taxi and headed to that man.
******
All I could do was hold Jua, who had come to my home, without saying a word.
Right now, there was no need to ask anything, nor to offer comfort.
There was nothing I could do except hold her.
I had heard the rough situation from Daehun.
Yun Taegyeom, who intended to use Gwon Jua as the new face of Taerim Financial Group.
Gwon Sangyeol, who actively agreed with it and took the lead in pushing it forward.
And caught between them, without any right to decide, unable to say anything properly.
Gwon Jua, simply being swept along.
Gwon Jua cried in my arms for a long time.
She cried, saying she had never wanted this kind of life and didn’t understand why things had turned out this way.
Saying she hadn’t done anything particularly wrong and had lived earnestly, so why had things become like this?
Saying it was her own life, and yet there wasn’t a single thing she had decided for herself.
Medical school, her university, and now even marriage—she cried, saying none of it had been decided by her.
After crying for a long time, she collapsed just like that and fell asleep.
Days of continuous on-call shifts, and then the clash with her father.
Her body and mind must have been too exhausted to endure.
I laid Gwon Jua down on the bed so she could sleep comfortably, covered her with a blanket, and left the room.
I sat on the sofa and stared out the window for a long while.
I tried not to think about anything, but my thoughts wouldn’t stop.
The harder I tried to look away, the clearer they became.
I want Gwon Jua to be happy.
That feeling has never changed, not even once.
If Gwon Jua could be happy somewhere, I could support her.
I could pat her on the shoulder and tell her to go well.
I could smile and give a generous wedding gift.
As long as Gwon Jua could be happy.
But this wasn’t it.
This was not marriage.
This was not Gwon Jua’s happiness.
It was a contract that did not treat a person as a person,
An unfair transaction that handed over an entire life.
This was not a choice. This was being sold off.
I had to stop it.
But how could I?
With what right?
I was only one of Gwon Jua’s friends.
Nothing more, nothing less.
I had no valid justification to enter this filthy fight.
I had not been given the right.
So for the first time in my life, I decided to be greedy.
I decided to take for myself the right that had not been given to me.
I decided to be greedy for Gwon Jua.
Gwon Jua’s right to smile, her right to choose, her right to live her own life—I wanted to give all of that fully to her.
If someone tried to take that away, I would stop them.
From now on, I would stand by Gwon Jua’s side.
To do that, I had to let Taerim’s side know.
I raised my head and called Scott.
“Scott. Call Anna for me.”
“Yes.”
Even though my heart was this tangled, Gwon Jua was sleeping soundly with soft breaths.
That was enough.
Gwon Jua could live like that.
She didn’t need to know anything.
She only needed to be happy.
I would do the fighting.
It was a night when I made that vow to myself once again.