Three days since receiving the contract.
Kim Yeoju had barely slept.
By day, she sent out resumes looking for a new job, and in the evenings she rushed to the hospital to care for her father.
But reality was growing colder by the day.
"I'm sorry, but it's difficult to postpone the surgery date any further."
At the attending doctor's words, Yeoju nodded, trying hard to look calm, but the moment she left the room, she leaned against the wall and slowly sank to the floor.
Her bank account was empty.
She couldn't get any more loans.
She had already owed her friends favors many times over.
In the end, her gaze turned to the contract in her bag.
A piece of paper she had read countless times over the past few days.
At first, she thought it was an absurd proposal.
But now....
"...Is this the only way."
After murmuring softly, Yeoju finally picked up her phone.
After hesitating for a long time, she pressed the stored number.
After the ringtone rang twice, a low, calm voice came through.
Seongho "This is Park Seongho."
Yeoju swallowed once.
Yeoju "...Hello, I'm Kim Yeoju."
There was a brief silence.
Seongho seemed to already guess why she was calling.
Seongho "Have you made your decision?"
Yeoju slowly closed her eyes.
And then she voiced her resolve.
Yeoju "...I'll sign the contract."
A short silence passed over the line.
Seongho "Understood."
"..."
"Three o'clock this afternoon."
"Please come to SH Group headquarters."
"I'll have the contract ready."
And just like that, the call ended.
Three o'clock in the afternoon.
Yeoju was standing in the lobby of SH Group headquarters, a place she'd never been in before in her life.
A high ceiling.
A gleaming marble floor.
Employees bustling back and forth.
Everything was unfamiliar.
'This is... SH Group...'
As she looked around nervously, Manager Kim approached her.
Manager Kim "You're Kim Yeoju, right?"
Yeoju "Yes."
"The chairman is waiting for you."
The elevator went all the way up to the top floor without stopping.
When the doors opened, a spacious chairman's office spread out before her eyes.
Seongho, who had been standing by the window, slowly turned.
A black suit.
Perfectly in place hair.
An expressionless face.
He seemed like someone without emotions at all.
Seongho "You've come."
Yeoju quietly bowed her head.
Two thick copies of the contract lay on the table.
Seongho sat down and began the explanation he had given that day.
Seongho "The contract period is one year."
"The contract amount is 1 billion won."
"Hospital expenses will be fully covered through the SH Group Medical Foundation."
"Living expenses will be paid monthly."
"During the marriage, we will respect each other's privacy."
He paused for a moment, then added,
Seongho "And one more thing."
Yeoju lifted her head.
Seongho "I will never engage in unnecessary physical contact."
"..."
"I won't force us to share a room either."
"..."
"This marriage is nothing more than a contract."
She looked over the contract once more.
There were no unfavorable clauses.
In fact, it was absurdly favorable to her.
Yeoju "...Chairman."
Seongho "Yes."
"Why are you going this far for me?"
Seongho looked out the window for a moment.
Seongho "This contract is something I need as well."
"..."
"I don't want a contract where one side loses."
There was no sense of lies in those words.
Yeoju slowly picked up the pen.
Her fingertips were trembling.
With this one signature, her life would completely change.
The life of an ordinary contract designer would end, and a completely different world as a chaebol daughter-in-law would begin.
After hesitating for a moment, she eventually wrote her name neatly.
Kim Yeoju.
Seongho signed next.
Park Seongho.
Their names were engraved side by side on the same contract.
After putting the contract in order, Seongho looked at Yeoju.
Seongho "...Only the legal procedures are left now."
Yeoju "Yes."
"We'll file the marriage registration tomorrow."
"...Already?"
"We don't have much time."
Seongho spoke very calmly.
But those few words hit Yeoju with overwhelming reality.
'Tomorrow... marriage?'
It was so sudden that it didn't even feel real.
Then Seongho stood up from his seat and held out his hand toward her.
Yeoju looked at that hand for a moment.
She had signed the contract, but even shaking hands felt strangely awkward.
In the end, she cautiously reached out her hand too.
Their fingertips touched.
A brief handshake.
It was a cold, firm hand.
Seongho "For the next year."
"..."
"Please take care of me."
Yeoju also smiled faintly and answered.
Yeoju "...Please take care of me."
At that moment, neither of them knew.
That this handshake, which had started as nothing more than a contract,
would one day turn into feelings that would never want to let go of each other's hands.
