A Light Contract - Chapter 27

At the moment when Lee Hyun and Jin Ho were having a battle of nerves, Yu Ra and Se Jin were also having an argument.

“How long are you going to keep saying such nonsensical things?”

Yu Ra, unable to ignore Se Jin who remained unchanged, finally shot out a remark. She didn’t realize until now how unpleasant the word ‘we’ could be.

Whether it was due to the influence of marriage, or if it was because Lee Hyun sensed her own unstable feelings towards him, wasn’t clear.

However, it was evident that her current position was not just Jin Yu Ra of Songrim Art Center, but also added the status of wife to CH Group’s Vice President Baek Lee Hyun. So it was inevitable to feel even more unpleasant.

“Until you understand my heart.”

Thinking that ignoring him completely might not be the best course of action if he’s going to be like this, Yu Ra wore a sneer.

“Why are you doing this now?”

“I told you. I still love you.”

Se Jin just spouted the same nonsensical words as last time, unchanged. Love, a word now so dubious in its existence, was just laughable.

There seemed to be something else in Se Jin’s logic of talking about love without any clear reason. Yu Ra twisted her lips at that strange uneasiness.

“Did you become regretful belatedly? Which part?”

Could it be that he thought Yu Ra’s family would be a strong backing? But that doesn’t make sense since she had already told him she was the second daughter of Jin Hwa Group when they were dating.

If not that, could it be her changed position now? Even so, she hadn’t surpassed Argon, so she didn’t have any great power. What part exactly had fostered such persistence in him?

“Rather than regret, I just want to undo my mistake and find you again.”

“The bus has already left. I’m married.”

“There’s a good method called divorce.”

Yu Ra felt as if something had strongly struck her head for a moment.

She had found it odd that he didn’t back off even when told she was getting married, and was still clinging to a woman who had even gone on her honeymoon, but she didn’t know he was hiding such intentions. Moreover, divorce? Yu Ra swallowed her startled heart inwardly, like a thief feeling guilty.

She had gone through with the marriage under the premise of divorcing Lee Hyun after two years. So Se Jin’s statement made her feel chilled, as if her weakness had been exposed unnecessarily.

Of course, Se Jin didn’t know about the contract, but on the other hand, she wondered if there really was such a feeling of love left to think to that extent.

Yu Ra stared at Se Jin with a completely distorted face. She couldn’t be sure what emotion his eyes held, but it was clear that it wasn’t love.

Over the long period of 5 years, she had met numerous artists and faced people with various personalities.

Having met many people and frequently engaged in tense confrontations, it’s not comparable to Yu Ra when she was dating Se Jin.

She didn’t know then, but now she meant that she had gained enough experience to gauge what was inside that person.

She didn’t know why Se Jin was showing such a twisted obsession towards her, but no proper solution came to mind either.

She had coldly rejected him and even got married to prevent him from coveting her again, but none of it seemed to be of any use in this situation.

“Are you crazy? Do you think that’s something to say to a woman who just returned from her honeymoon?”

“There’s no love in that marriage anyway.”

Yu Ra sneered at Se Jin’s confident words. He looked just like a pubescent boy going astray, imposing only his own feelings without knowing what the other person’s heart was like.

“Who says that? That there’s no love.”

“You don’t love a guy like Baek Lee Hyun.”

“Oh dear? But I do love him.”

Yu Ra herself was surprised by the words she casually blurted out. She had thought it was lingering attachment to an unfulfilled first love.

It was an emotion she had been deliberately ignoring more to prevent it from deepening. Bitterness spread as she wondered if this unexpected outburst was her honest feeling.

Yu Ra masked her surprise and bitterness with displeasure, hiding her emotions and giving a cold glance.

“And don’t refer to someone else’s husband so disrespectfully. He’s not someone you can treat carelessly.”

“That’s not love. You’re mistaken.”

“You’re the one who’s mistaken.”

As they exchanged words about who was mistaken about whom, Yu Ra felt irritated, feeling like she was sinking deeper into a swamp the more they talked. She wanted to wrap up the conversation at this point, but Se Jin seemed to have no such intention as he blurted out something that sounded forced.

“I know you still have feelings for me too.”

“Don’t tell me, because of that fountain pen?”

“That has meaning too, but your anger towards me is the proof.”

“At some point, I couldn’t even remember who gave me the fountain pen. I was just using it because it felt familiar in my hand. I was going to throw it away and buy a new one, but luckily it disappeared, so that’s fortunate.”

Yu Ra twisted her lips while rubbing her temple, tired of even responding to these words now. The subtly disappeared fountain pen finally brought relief.

Se Jin was seriously mistaken. He seemed to think that the reason for this anger was rooted in lingering attachment. That’s why he was being forceful, spouting such nonsensical sophistry.

He even believed that she was keeping that fountain pen because it was his gift. Who would have known that such a trivial fountain pen would become an excuse for Se Jin’s obsession? She should have thrown it away earlier, but what’s the use of blaming herself now for using it out of familiarity?

Yu Ra waved her hand while pressing her throbbing forehead.

“Let’s stop. This kind of conversation.”

“Alright, it was too heavy a topic. There’s a cafe nearby, it’s the kind of atmosphere you like. Let’s go.”

Yu Ra felt her insides twist at the feeling of talking to a wall. He wasn’t this inconsiderate before, it was regrettable how he had changed to this extent. Apart from that, not wanting to be swayed anymore, she rejected his proposal in a firm voice.

“It’s practice time now, Pianist Oh Se Jin.”

“We can eat something and then do it. Come on, Yu Ra.”

As she was about to step back to avoid the hand stretching out with the familiar call, that’s when it happened.

“I’ll take care of what my wife eats.”

At Lee Hyun’s voice, which was no longer surprising, Yu Ra unconsciously found herself smiling.

Se Jin was suspicious of Lee Hyun’s movements, appearing at exquisitely perfect timing every time. No, he had thought so consistently since he first appeared. He firmly believed that this timing was absolutely not a coincidence.

“Did you put a tail on Yu Ra? How do you always appear like this?”

“Even without that, I always know where my wife is. That’s what being a couple means.”

To Se Jin, Lee Hyun’s words seemed like an intention to play with Yu Ra in the palm of his hand under the name of being a couple.

The Yu Ra that Se Jin remembered was not someone who would dance in anyone’s palm. She was a free-spirited person with strong will and convictions of her own. It might feel cold at times, but even that became her charm.

But now she seemed unable to discern properly, falling for Lee Hyun’s sweet talk. So he wanted to wake her up.

“Even couples have privacy, if you suffocate her like that, Yu Ra won’t like it.”

A sneer spread across Lee Hyun’s lips.

The provocation, as if knowing everything about Yu Ra, grated on his nerves. How much could you possibly know about Jin Yu Ra, it was a laughable statement.

Lee Hyun walked slowly to stand beside Yu Ra. Naturally placing his hand on her shoulder, he intensified the possessiveness he had shown towards Song Min Woo.

“You probably don’t know because it was just a light relationship of less than a year. My wife is the type who enjoys being bound.”

He felt Yu Ra’s shoulder, wrapped in his hand, twitch slightly. Lee Hyun met her eyes with a gentle gaze.

Her eyes, full of a strange feeling, seemed to reluctantly agree as her pitch-black pupils disappeared behind her whites for a moment before reappearing.

Lee Hyun displayed an affectionate appearance as if to show off, throwing a slanted gaze at Se Jin.

The corners of Se Jin’s mouth trembled as if he wanted to spit out curses right away. As Lee Hyun raised his eyebrows as if asking if he had anything more to say, he sneered with a completely distorted face.

“How did you get in here? This is not a place just anyone can enter.”

“Oh my, the manager personally guided me in.”

The suddenly chilling atmosphere turned its arrow towards an unexpected person.

“Team Leader Jin Yu Ra, how exactly are you managing my schedule?”

“Pardon?”

“I’m asking why your acquaintances have been visiting for personal reasons during my practice time since last time.”

Lee Hyun’s patience, which he had barely been holding onto, ran out at Oh Se Jin’s changed target.

He might not know about other things, but to blame Yu Ra for this situation was a cowardly act. He knew Se Jin was low, but if he was this low, there would be no hesitation in stomping on him.

Yu Ra was momentarily flustered by the sudden turn of events. While she felt somewhat wronged since she hadn’t called him, Se Jin’s words weren’t wrong either.

Feeling that she needed to change this atmosphere before it got worse, Yu Ra flinched to move forward.

Then she felt Lee Hyun’s hand on her shoulder grip even more tightly. Yu Ra turned her gaze to Lee Hyun, sensing an ominous feeling.

And Lee Hyun’s criticism, no different from mockery, followed.

“Why did you hit on someone else’s wife? If you have time for that, wouldn’t it be better to devote yourself more to practice?”

“You’re going too far.”

Yu Ra sighed with a dumbfounded face at the instantly chilled atmosphere.

Lee Hyun sneered at Se Jin, who was not hiding his anger, as if finding him laughable.

“Hitting on a married woman isn’t going too far? If you have time for that, why don’t you properly control your ever-increasing speed? I heard rumors that your collaboration with the orchestra in the last performance was a complete mess.”

“What nonsense! That was…”

“It was a speed agreed upon with the orchestra, and a small arrangement to bring out the rhythm, you said in the interview. Saying that was Oh Se Jin’s unique style.”

Yu Ra was somewhat surprised by Lee Hyun’s brilliant evaluation. As it was when he faced Song Min Woo last time, she wondered if she might have misjudged Lee Hyun’s tendencies a bit.

He seemed to have no interest in art, but to notice even the subtle mistakes in piano performance, he could be said to have quite a deep knowledge.

Surely he couldn’t have cultivated this level of knowledge in that short time after deciding to marry her? Of course, with his brilliant mind and excellent concentration and observation skills, he would learn quickly, but she judged that even this much would be difficult.

Yu Ra also knew about Se Jin’s mistake. It was clear that he had momentarily lost his sense of speed due to being caught up in emotions, yet everyone around was just evaluating it as a small happening, or some kind of performance.

To make that clear, IF Management and the performance planning team were busy explaining and defending him.

She was newly curious about the backing that could change even such a mistake into a collaboration with the orchestra.

If he had that level of power, Yu Ra’s insignificant influence wouldn’t be necessary in comparison. Yet, what was this persistent obsession towards her? Was it really love?

“Is it really true?”

For a moment, Lee Hyun’s voice, which coincided with Yu Ra’s thoughts, felt eerie. Perhaps Lee Hyun was showing such a sharp reaction because he knew Oh Se Jin’s hidden intentions. Is there anything this man doesn’t know?

The momentary silence like the calm before a storm felt like it was draining Yu Ra’s blood. Yu Ra stepped forward to prevent anyone else from speaking first.

“I’m sorry, Pianist Oh Se Jin. Please forgive my husband’s rudeness.”

“Jin Yu Ra.”

Lee Hyun’s chilling voice descended over Yu Ra’s head as she politely bowed. Undeterred by this, Yu Ra ended the situation in a calm tone.

“We’ll be leaving first for today.”