Bound by a Ruthless Contract - Chapter 24
She wanted to tell her aunt about her marriage first, not Gye Young-cheol and Woo Ji-hyang.
Ga-eun, who struggled to lift her eyelids, took out her phone from the bag placed on the passenger seat.
There were several missed calls from Gye Young-cheol .
She wondered what Yang Si-mon, who was chased away by Kwon Si-heon, might have said.
‘My head hurts.’
If she went home like this, it would surely cause a commotion.
Before that, she wanted to hear her aunt’s voice.
Then suddenly, Ga-eun clicked on Kwon Si-heon’s message that she hadn’t replied to earlier.
[You’d make a contract without even seeing my face?]
She could almost hear his baritone voice from the screen.
She had put it on hold because she didn’t know how to respond.
As Ga-eun stared down at the unanswered message, she quietly spoke his name.
“Kwon Si-heon.”
The person I’m going to marry.
The heir toHwanhee Group… and the person I’ll divorce when the time comes.
“How strange.”
How did she end up connected to someone like this?
‘Come to think of it, I suppose you could say Yang Si-mon brought us together.’
Life really is unpredictable.
Ga-eun quickly scrolled down from the message window and pressed the familiar eleven digits.
[Electrical Conduit Technician]
The saved name appeared. In reality, it was her aunt’s number.
It was preparation for any contingencies.
Gye Young-cheol and Woo Ji-hyang had forbidden her from directly contacting her aunt.
Claiming it was for her own good, to help her avoid harboring false hopes.
Of course, those were just pretty words – in reality, it was a leash they had put on her.
So they could catch her anytime if she didn’t obey.
Just as she was looking at the three characters of her aunt’s name, Eun Seon-mi, appearing above ‘Electrical Conduit Technician’,
She heard her aunt’s voice.
[He-hello?]
“Aunt, it’s me.”
Ga-Ga-eun! It’s Ga-eun!
A shriek of joy could be heard through the phone.
Ga-eun smiled too, her eyes crinkling.
Even if it’s just one person, having someone who welcomes you is a great source of strength.
Her aunt was her mother’s late-born sister, fifteen years apart from Ga-eun.
The happiest time in Ga-eun’s life was when she lived with her mother and aunt in Byeolnaeri Village.
She didn’t know that happiness would end with a car accident.
Her mother died instantly, and her aunt, who had been sitting next to her in the back seat, severely injured her head while trying to protect her.
Her aunt woke up with severe brain damage, having become like a child.
She stuttered and became extremely anxious when Ga-eun wasn’t around. In the early days, she would wet herself if they were separated even briefly.
Still, it was fortunate they could communicate. Sometimes she would chatter about memories from the past.
She used to be brighter and smarter than anyone else.
She had been like a friend, an older sister, and sometimes even like a mother to her.
If only she hadn’t tried to protect just me, she might not have ended up like this.
So Ga-eun made a decision.
To find her biological father.
She needed to become her aunt’s guardian now, but being young herself then, she desperately needed help.
For her aunt’s sake, Ga-eun voluntarily walked into hell.
[Ga-Ga-eun, wh-when are you coming? When are you coming to see me?]
“I’ll come soon, Aunt.”
[L-liar. La-last time too, y-you said that but d-didn’t come.]
“I’m sorry. This time I really will come.”
Taking a small deep breath, Ga-eun spoke.
“Aunt. I’m getting married.”
[Ma-married? I-I know what th-that is. I know. Wh-when we lived in By-Byeolnaeri Village, he s-said that. Said he’d ma-marry Ga-eun.]
Ah. Ga-eun nodded as if remembering.
[You mean Juhan oppa, right?]
[Ju-Juhan! Juhan! Juhan!]
In Byeolnaeri Village where she lived with her mother and aunt, there was a huge traditional house called Gayundang, owned by a family that had been prominent in the area for generations.
The villagers called the owner of Gayundang ‘Elder’, and his grandson Kim Juhan had been especially fond of Ga-eun.
[Ga-Ga-eun is ge-getting married? I-I want to too!]
Ga-eun smiled bitterly at her aunt’s words.
“Aunt, if you hold on just a little longer, we can live together.”
[R-really? Ca-can I live with Ga-Ga-eun?]
“Yes. Just wait a little longer, okay?”
[O-okay! I’ll w-wait! I’ll e-eat well, eat ve-vegetables well too. I’ll e-eat kimchi well too].
Ga-eun’s eyes crinkled. This time it was a real smile.
Since waking up, her aunt rarely ate vegetables. Even her taste had reverted to that of a child.
Before, she used to eat vegetables well and enjoyed their mother’s kimchi.
Back then… it was so nice.
“I wanted to tell you first before anyone else.”
Before those people.
“Can you say ‘Congratulations, Ga-eun’ for me?”
[Yes! Co-congratulations, Ga-Ga-eun!]
Ga-eun bit the soft flesh inside her lip.
Her nose stung. She felt like crying.
But she held it in.
Though she had outwardly surrendered to them hundreds of times, kneeling before them, her heart never did.
She had made it her proof by never showing them her tears.
Also, when Ga-eun had burst into tears upon seeing her aunt after she woke up, her aunt couldn’t meet her eyes for a while, saying she was sorry for making her sad.
She didn’t want to see her aunt anxiously watching her reactions anymore.
She only wanted to give her aunt joy.
“Aunt. I’ll come soon, so eat well, play well, and sleep well. Okay? Don’t go anywhere dangerous.”
[O-okay. But Ga-Ga-eun, wh-who are you ma-marrying?]
Ga-eun rolled her lips inward.
I don’t really know either, Aunt. I’ve only met him twice – a week ago, and today.
“He’s reliable. Tall and big. Doesn’t seem like he’d lose to anyone. He’s handsome too. Oh, and he’s rich.”
[Mo-money! Th-they said it’s go-good to have lots. Ga-Ga-eun is pretty, so he ne-needs to have mo-money. Ne-needs to be ha-handsome.]
Her aunt was the only person in the world who praised her as if she were someone extraordinary.
She wanted to show her aunt someone she truly loved someday.
After divorcing Kwon Si-heon.
How much time would need to pass?
Her aunt was still receiving treatment. They said things could go wrong during the process.
How much time did her aunt have left…?
Suddenly, Ga-eun felt urgent.
She needed to get married quickly.
So she could divorce and live with her aunt.
