Please be my wife for just one year.

EP.19

On the way back after finishing the marriage registration.

The car was unusually quiet.

Yeoju was looking out the window, and Seongho kept his hands on the wheel, staring straight ahead.

But both of them had a faint smile on their faces.

The contract marriage was over.

And from now on, they were a real married couple.

After driving for a while, Yeoju cautiously opened her mouth.

Yeoju "...CEO."

Seongho "Yes."

Yeoju "Do I still have to keep calling you CEO?"

The corners of Seongho's mouth lifted slightly.

Seongho "If you don't like it, you don't have to call me that."

Yeoju "...Then what should I call you?"

After thinking for a moment, Yeoju said playfully.

Yeoju "Seongho-ssi?"

"..."

Seongho's expression turned subtle.

Yeoju "What?"

Seongho "...It's awkward."

Yeoju "Then how about Seongho oppa?"

Seongho coughed awkwardly.

Seongho "...That's even more awkward."

Yeoju finally burst out laughing.

Yeoju "Then I'll just call you CEO."

Seongho let out a small laugh too.

A little while later.

Seongho "...At home."

Yeoju "Huh?"

Seongho "You can call me Seongho."

Yeoju's face reddened slightly.

Yeoju "...I'll try."


---

Evening.

When they got home, Seongho loosened his tie with a much more relaxed expression than usual.

Yeoju looked around the living room.

It was the same house, but today it felt completely different.

Not a house brought in through a contract.

It was now a home the two of them would live in together.

Yeoju sat on the sofa and looked at the marriage certificate.

Seongho sat down beside her.

Seongho "Does it still not feel real?"

Yeoju "A little."

"..."

"At first, I thought we just had to live together for a year."

Seongho looked at her.

Yeoju "I didn't know it would turn out like this."

Seongho "I didn't know either."

"..."

"When we first met."

"I didn't know you'd become someone I'd want to keep looking at for this long."

Yeoju's heart skipped a beat.

Yeoju "...So you can say things like that too."

Seongho "I practiced."

Yeoju "Again?"

Seongho "Yes."

Yeoju laughed.

But Seongho didn't laugh.

He just kept looking at her.

His gaze was so serious that Yeoju's laughter gradually faded too.


---

A little while later.

Seongho spoke carefully.

Seongho "...Yeoju-ssi."

Yeoju "Yes."

Seongho "May I ask you one thing?"

Yeoju "...What is it?"

Seongho hesitated for a moment, then opened his mouth.

"...May I kiss you?"

Yeoju's eyes widened.

For a moment, she couldn't say anything.

Then she gave a very small nod.

Yeoju "...Yes."

Seongho didn't rush.

He simply moved closer, slowly.

And then, just briefly.

He carefully kissed her.

It was their first kiss.

There was no contract.

And it wasn't an act for anyone to see.

It was simply something they did because they wanted to.

Seongho pulled back right away.

Seongho "...Is that okay?"

Still blushing, Yeoju nodded.

Yeoju "...Yes."

A little later, Yeoju smiled softly.

Yeoju "CEO."

Seongho "Yes."

Yeoju "Aren't you way too nervous?"

Seongho froze for a moment.

Seongho "...Did it show?"

Yeoju "Big time."

"..."

When Yeoju burst into laughter, Seongho finally laughed too.

And a little while later.

Seongho took her hand.

This time, he didn't let go.


---

That night.

The two of them were sitting side by side on the living room sofa, watching a movie.

But neither of them was really watching the movie.

Yeoju kept thinking about that moment from earlier.

And Seongho's gaze was on Yeoju sitting beside him rather than on the screen.

Then Yeoju said.

Seoyoon "...Seongho-ssi."

Seongho turned his head.

Seongho "Yes."

Yeoju "We're a real married couple now."

"..."

"Let's get along well from here on out."

Seongho looked at her for a moment, then squeezed her hand tightly.

Seongho "Yes."

And then he quietly added.

"For life."

Yeoju smiled as she held his hand back.

The two of them were no longer bound by a contract.

They were a married couple who had chosen each other.

But their happy time didn't last long.

The next morning.

A single old letter arrived for Seongho.

The sender was his father, who had already passed away.

And the first sentence of the letter said this.

「Seongho, if you are reading this letter, then you must not trust Eunhak.」

Seongho's expression hardened.

Now the final secret was beginning to reveal itself.