Please be my wife for just one year.

EP.16

The day after the female lead left home.

The newlywed home was so quiet you could hear only breathing.

On the dining table, only one of the two cups that had been set out for them had been used, and on the living room sofa, the blanket the female lead liked to cover herself with was still there.

Sung-ho stopped in his tracks while getting ready for work.

He had found that, without thinking, he had taken out two eggs and set them on the table.

Sung-ho "..."

After staring at the eggs for a moment, he quietly put one back in the fridge.

It wasn't his first time eating breakfast alone.

But for some reason, today felt especially empty.


---

Conference room.

The meeting was in full swing, but Sung-ho's focus wasn't like usual.

HR manager "Mr. President, this matter... how should we..."

"...Mr. President?"

Sung-ho came to himself a beat late.

Sung-ho "...I'm sorry."

The conference room fell silent.

He had never once lost focus in a meeting.

After the meeting ended, Manager Kim approached him cautiously.

Manager Kim "...Have you heard any news about Yeoju?"

Sung-ho shook his head.

Manager Kim "...I hear she's staying at a friend's place."

Hearing that, Sung-ho slowly got to his feet from the chair.

Manager Kim "...Mr. President?"

Sung-ho "Today's schedule."

"..."

"Cancel everything."

"I need to see Yeoju."


---

Afternoon.

A small cafe in Seoul.

Yeoju, seated by the window, was looking at a warm cup of tea.

It was the second day she had stayed at her friend's place.

Her friend had gone to work, and she had come to the cafe alone.

'Was it the right thing to come out like this...?'

Just then, as her thoughts kept spiraling.

Ding.

The cafe door opened.

Familiar footsteps approached.

Yeoju looked up.

Yeoju "...Mr. President?"

Sung-ho, in a black shirt, was standing before her.

Without a word, he sat in the chair opposite her.

An awkward silence hung for a moment.

It was Sung-ho who spoke first.

Sung-ho "...Have you been well?"

Yeoju gave a bitter smile.

Yeoju "You didn't come all this way just to say that, did you."

"..."

"What's going on?"

Sung-ho looked at her.

Dark circles shadowed the skin under his eyes.

It was because Yeoju had left home, and he hadn't been able to sleep properly.

He had his usual unreadable expression, but his eyes were completely different.

Slowly, he opened his mouth.

Sung-ho "...Please come back home."

Yeoju shook her head.

Yeoju "...Didn't you say you wanted to end the contract?"

At that, Sung-ho let out a long breath.

And for the first time.

He spoke his feelings plainly.

Sung-ho "...That day."

"..."

"You should have heard me to the end."

Yeoju's eyes wavered.

Sung-ho "What I wanted to end."

"..."

"Wasn't the marriage."

"..."

"It was the contract."

For a moment, the cafe fell quiet.

Sung-ho went on, his hands clenched tight.

Sung-ho "...I didn't want to be contract spouses anymore."

"..."

"For real."

"..."

"I wanted to be your husband."

Yeoju held her breath.

She couldn't believe it.

Now he was saying he wanted to become a real married couple.

But the unease that remained in her heart didn't go away so easily.

Yeoju "...So."

"..."

"This isn't pity, is it?"

Sung-ho immediately shook his head.

Sung-ho "No."

"..."

"And not responsibility, either."

"..."

"At first it was a contract."

"But then."

"..."

"When I got off work, you were the first thing I thought of."

"If I ate something delicious, I wanted to eat it with you."

"If you got hurt, I worried."

"..."

"When you smiled, I was smiling along with you."

He paused for a moment.

Then slowly, but clearly, he said,

"...I fell in love."

"..."

"With Kim Yeoju."

Tears welled in Yeoju's eyes.

She tried to hold them back, but in the end, one tear slipped down her cheek.

Sung-ho stood up and came to stand in front of her.

He took out a handkerchief and gently wiped away her tears.

Sung-ho "...I didn't want to make you cry."

Yeoju laughed while holding back her sobs.

Yeoju "...It's too late."

"..."

"Do you know how hurt I was, all by myself?"

Sung-ho quietly lowered his head.

Sung-ho "...I'm sorry."

"..."

"I almost regretted it for the rest of my life."

Silence fell for a moment.

Outside the cafe, soft sunlight was pouring down.

Sung-ho gathered his courage and took her hand.

Because this time, he didn't want to let go.

Sung-ho "...Let's end the contract."

"..."

"Instead."

He smiled, looking into her eyes.

Sung-ho "...This time, please become my real wife."

Yeoju wiped away her tears and slowly smiled.

Then she quietly took his hand in return.

Yeoju "...The answer."

"..."

"I'll give it when I get home."

Sung-ho understood what those words meant.

It meant she would come back.

For the first time, a bright smile spread across his face.

But the two of them still didn't know.

That at a table far away, there was someone filming this scene with a camera.

He was one of Kim Woonhak's people.

Woonhak had already been preparing his final move.