CHAPTER 83

Minhee glared at Taejun, and his gaze wavered before he averted his eyes. This man who claimed he didn’t want love was behaving like someone obsessively possessive of a partner.

‘This man is really confusing. Pick one thing and stick to it!’

Minhee held the contract in front of Taejun and waved it around.

‘And Clause 7-2!! Is there a contract that cannot be canceled under any circumstances until the contract ends?’

Taejun let out a deep sigh, then stepped closer to Minhee, crossing his arms and looming over her in a threatening manner.

“That clause is non-negotiable.”

When Minhee let out a sarcastic snort, Taejun’s eyes widened slightly in surprise. Minhee mimicked his posture, arms crossed, facing him defiantly.

“Whatever. If I don’t sign, that’s that.”

Taejun leaned in, bracing one hand on the armrest of the recliner.  He grasped Minhee’s chin with his other hand, turning her face towards him.

“…I’ll revise it to allow termination only by mutual agreement. That’s the best I can concede.”

Minhee felt like screaming like a child throwing a tantrum. It was so frustrating. She no longer knew what to make of this man.

‘Wasn’t this man supposed to not love me? Or does he like the s*x he’s having with me so much that he wants to keep me with this ridiculous clause?’

‘Why is he doing this to me? He knows I love him, but he’s not returning those feelings. So why does he keep shaking me?!’

Minhee was suddenly tired of it all. Her head was throbbing, and her voice had lost its strength and faded to an almost whisper.

“…You know that this partner contract has no legal validity, right?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Seeing Taejun’s lips descending towards her, Minhee turned her head away. He paused, as if shocked by what had just happened, and his hand fell from her chin.

“I’m tired. It hurts.”

The color drained from Taejun’s face. His large hand came up, hovering near her forehead as if to check her temperature. His eyes frantically scanned her from head to toe.

“Where? How? Let’s go to the hospital. Are you running a fever? That day, out in the cold and dark, it was so dangerous-“

“It’s just a little headache.”

Minhee held back the urge to add, ‘All because of you.’  It was her own head that felt like it was splitting, yet Taejun’s pallor had become sickly, as if he were the one in pain.

“I’m fine now, really.”

“…….”

After popping a painkiller, Minhee lay in bed, fidgeting and wringing her fingers as Taejun sat by her bedside.

With a beep, Taejun, who had taken the temperature of Minhee’s forehead with Rose’s thermometer for the tenth time, muttered.

“It’s different every time I take it. The temple is slightly higher.”

“Then just take the average. What’s my temperature?”

“97.82 degrees Fahrenheit.”

“That’s perfectly normal.”

Taejun reluctantly nodded. 

“You don’t seem to have a …… fever. What about your head? Does it still hurt a lot?”

Taejun asked, furrowing his brow. He knew all too well what it was like to have a headache that felt like it was going to split your head in two. 

‘This delicate woman, who seemed like she might break with just a light touch – how could she be in pain? Is one painkiller enough?’

“It’s really fine now. So you should go back to your room, Taejun-ssi.”

Taejun let out a deep sigh.

“I’ll only stay here until you fall asleep, so go to sleep.” 

“I’m …… so groggy.”

Minhee muttered sulkily, puckering her lips.

“Huh?”

“Cover me with the blanket, please.”

“Oh, right.” 

Taejun pulled the duvet up to her neck and covered her.

“Turn off the light too.”

“Mmm.”

Taejun walked around the bed to the switch by the door. Minhee suddenly blurted out.

“And get me a star.”

“Okay, just a moment.”

Taejun paused with his hand on the switch, turning back to look at her quizzically.

“What?”

Minhee let out a soft chuckle.

“Even the great Taejun has something he can’t do?”

Finally, Taejun smiled as he looked at Minhee. It was the first time she’d seen him smile since her confession.  As he turned off the light, the room was enveloped in darkness.

“Well, I’ll give it a try.”

His voice came softly from beside the bed.

“Sing me a song.”

“…I don’t know any songs.”

“You’re boring, Baek Taejun.”

“I’m sorry.”

Minhee didn’t understand why his apology made tears well up in her eyes.

“…”

There was silence in the room for a while.

“Minhee, are you sleeping?”

Tears rolled down her temples and onto the pillow. Minhee held her breath, trying not to sniffle.

“……I don’t even know why I……. I’m sorry.”

Taejun let the words slip out like a sigh and slipped quietly out of the room. As soon as she heard the door click shut behind her, Minhee threw her arms around the quilt and cried out loud like a child. She missed her mom. 

‘Mom. You should have written in my birthday letter that loving someone can be so painful and difficult…….’

***

Minhee and Luca were browsing the colorful and glamorous dresses in the department store’s dress section.

A few days ago, Minhee had sent an SOS to Luca, unsure of what dress to wear to the charity gala. Luca had promised to meet her at the dress department of Bloomingdale’s, where he had worked as a personal shopper before, and help pick out a dress for her.

[Thanks to the boss deciding to attend the party, I managed to snag a spot as a personal assistant too!]

Luca giggled, shrugging his shoulders.

[Luca! I’m so glad you’re coming! I was worried I wouldn’t know anyone there.]

[Me too!! Sweetie, dress shopping is the most fun part for me! These kinds of dresses are for special occasions or fancy parties, right? I actually enjoy the preparation time more than the party itself!]

Luca’s infectious excitement also lifted Minhee’s spirits a little.

[That’s true! I’m really grateful you came to help me.]

Minhee didn’t have a dress in her wardrobe that she could wear to a formal event like the charity gala. She thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to use this as an excuse to buy one.

With expert precision, Luca flicked through the dresses on the hanger, picking out the one he liked and slipping it over his arm.

[King J’s fiancee is the hottest designer in New York these days, so there’s going to be a lot of models, influencers, and young socialites there. And I heard even Princess Celeste, who’s close to Designer Jia, will be attending too! I’ve never seen royalty in person my whole life. It’ll be so fun to ogle all the fashion at the gala.]

[Luca, don’t forget the most important one – The ‘King’ is coming too, my favorite VIP, King J!]

Minhee smiled brightly, but the smile faded quickly. In the past, she would have written D-Day down and counted down the days in excitement.

But the heavy thoughts of Taejun that weighed heavily on her mind couldn’t be completely pushed aside, even by the excitement of potentially seeing her long-time idol up close.

[Ah right, I was wondering why you weren’t mentioning him. Here, try this one on.]

Luca held up a flowy spaghetti-strap dress, tilting his head thoughtfully.

[Sweetie, you seem a bit different somehow. When I first saw you, you looked so innocent, but now there’s a subtle sensuality to you. It’s fascinating! I’m getting some inspiration…]

[Sensual? I’ve never heard that word before in my life. Maybe it’s because I’ve lost some weight……? Thank you so much, Luca!]

Minhee’s appetite had been poor recently, which may have caused her to lose some of her cheek fat.

[You’re welcome. Well, let’s find a daring, eye-catching dress that’s sure to stand out! Something you’ve never worn before. One that’s sure to make the boss do a double-take!]

Luca chuckled teasingly.

[……] 

Minhee silently averted her gaze from Luca and idly skimmed through the dresses on the racks.

[……What’s wrong? Did you fight with the boss?]

Luca whispered conspiratorially, observing Minhee’s expression.

[No. We’re not…Mr. Baek and I, we’re not like that.]

[Oh, I’m sorry!! Have you broken up already? But that’s weird, I’m usually pretty good at sensing these things…]

[You’re wrong, Luca. Your boss has no intention of having a serious relationship with a woman. Or rather, he has no intention of having one with me, to be more precise.]

[Ugh… Sweetie, come on. The eligible bachelors in Manhattan are all commitment phobes, I tell you. They think they’ll die if they settle down with one woman! It’s the same for both gay and straight guys.]

Minhee pressed her lips together, biting them. She suspected that Taejun’s case was less about fearing commitment and more about fearing love itself – a case of philophobia. (T/N: Philophobia is an irrational and intense fear of falling in love or becoming emotionally attached to another person.) But that wasn’t the kind of thing she could carelessly reveal to someone.

[I mean, since you’ve broken up and all… Isn’t our boss kind of boring as a boyfriend? He’s blunt, he’s much older than you, and he doesn’t have a single romantic bone in his body. I bet he’d just bark out orders to his girlfriend in a flat voice without a single sweet word. Grr!]

Luca bared her teeth, letting out a threatening growl from his throat. Suddenly, she wondered if that was the impression Taejun gave others, then remembered how she’d had a similar impression of him before she’d really gotten to know him.