A Light Contract (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 14
Baek Lee Hyun’s eyes, voice, and words truly seemed as if he genuinely cared for his beloved. It almost gave the illusion that only the two of them existed in this place.
His gaze toward Yura felt strangely intense, and somehow it didn’t seem fabricated merely to persuade the elders.
Her mind clearly understood, yet her heart pounded as if it knew nothing—her heartbeat felt foreign, as though it weren’t even her own.
Even more surprising were the elders themselves, who had accepted his utterly absurd reasoning.
“Alright, if that’s how you feel, then let’s do it that way. What do you think, future in-law?”
“Well, if that’s what they themselves want…”
Yura suddenly realized where Lee Hyun’s confidence came from. Perhaps it stemmed from having parents who readily agreed with and supported his words—he seemed so self-assured because of them.
Although people are fundamentally shaped by their innate temperament, their upbringing and the values learned at home matter just as much. For Baek Lee Hyun, both nature and nurture had become the sources of his confidence.
“Then, we’ll take our leave now.”
Upon hearing Lee Hyun’s sudden announcement, Mi Hee and Young Eun gave him looks of disappointment. Yura, however, was quick to rise, eager to escape this uncomfortable gathering.
With practiced ease, Lee Hyun placed his hand on Yura’s shoulder and calmly—though awkwardly—spoke to the elders.
“Yura’s so busy that we barely have time to go on dates.”
Yura tried her best to smile naturally, though it felt forced.
After politely excusing themselves and stepping outside into the car, Yura turned to him and repeated the sentence that had shocked her most during today’s meeting.
“I love cherry blossoms?”
“No—you don’t. I do.”
Lee Hyun swallowed the rest of the sentence: “You beneath the cherry blossoms.” The moment the phrase came to mind, even he felt confused. He did recall seeing Jin Yoo Ra once long ago, standing beneath cherry blossoms on campus. He remembered thinking she looked beautiful then.
But “beautiful” wasn’t the same as “loved”—at least not to Lee Hyun.
It had merely been an idle thought crossing his mind, and he decided there was no need to voice it aloud. Besides, he dismissed the idea that “Jin Yoo Ra beneath cherry blossoms” was anything more than a fleeting illusion created by the current situation.
“That’s surprising. I didn’t know you liked cherry blossoms.”
“How about a movie?”
Lee Hyun asked an unexpected question. He’d originally left early because of unfinished work—sending Yura home and heading back to the office would’ve been the logical next step. But the word “date,” casually used as an excuse, now lingered in his mind.
“You mean an actual date?”
“Yes.”
He’d never done it before and never wanted to—but somehow, a date with Jin Yoo Ra seemed worth trying. At the very least, time spent with her wouldn’t be boring.
[This is the timeline separator]An absurd reason during the formal meeting set the wedding date, and time quickly passed.
Thanks to Baek Jin Ho’s help, Yura was temporarily excused from her practice sessions with Oh Se Jin. This allowed her to dedicate all her time solely to wedding planning and concert preparations.
Though she’d heard wedding preparations required far more attention than expected, reality proved otherwise. Once the major framework was set, the wedding planner and both mothers handled all the remaining details; busy-as-ever Baek Lee Hyun and Yura only needed to give final approval.
Contrary to stories she’d heard from others, everything had proceeded smoothly—until today.
“You said you’d grant all my wishes, right?”
Wearing a pure white wedding dress, Yura stood in tense opposition to Lee Hyun over an unexpected disagreement.
“Don’t use that argument here.”
“This is the current trend.”
“I don’t like it.”
Truthfully, Yura didn’t know much about current trends herself. She’d merely repeated what the sales assistant had told her, but her reasoning fell completely flat.
She disliked overly revealing styles, and this A-line dress—modestly covered by delicate lace on the upper body—was neither excessive nor lacking, with a clean, elegant finish she genuinely liked.
Yet Lee Hyun opposed it outright. No matter what she said—“It suits my style,” “It’s trendy,” “It looks great on me”—he firmly insisted, “No.”
“Then convince me.”
Running out of arguments, she turned the tables and challenged him directly. He sighed quietly, then turned to the assistant helping with the fitting.
“Could you excuse us for a moment?”
“Of course, please go ahead.”
Once the staff politely bowed and left the room, Lee Hyun strode toward Yura.
“Do you know who designed this dress?”
“The designer? No, I don’t. Is it because they’re not famous?”
The designer’s fame didn’t matter. What mattered to Lee Hyun was the designer’s identity.
When Oh Se Jin appeared on the scene, Lee Hyun had gathered various bits of information—and among them was an interesting piece of gossip:
A rising star in the design world had been secretly involved with Oh Se Jin, and the dress Yura was currently wearing was precisely the one created by that woman.
Though IF Management had tightly suppressed the story, preventing it from becoming public, it was already fairly well-known within the industry.
That alone wasn’t the real problem—the issue lay in what happened afterward.
Damn it—the dress had originally been designed for the woman’s engagement ceremony with Oh Se Jin. After their relationship soured, she commercialized it, and now it had made its way to Korea.
Lee Hyun rejected this dress for one reason and one reason only: it was connected to that bastard Oh Se Jin. Regardless of the reason, he refused to let Oh Se Jin’s name be linked to Jin Yoo Ra ever again.
“The designer has a bad reputation. I don’t want you wearing her dress and getting dragged into gossip.”
“Really? Then why didn’t you just say that from the start?”
She’d expected Yura to scold him for caring about such trivialities, but surprisingly, she backed down easily.
Yura readily complied with his request—she had no choice. Her marriage to Baek Lee Hyun would soon become public news, spreading everywhere.
Although rumors were already circulating, neither family had released an official statement yet, precisely to avoid premature media attention.
After all, anything involving CH Group always drew intense public scrutiny—so naturally, their wedding would draw even more.
Every detail—from her dress to her jewelry—would become a topic of heated discussion. There was no need to deliberately invite more gossip by wearing a dress tied to scandalous backstory.
Even without this extra drama, marrying Baek Lee Hyun would inevitably exhaust her—that much was obvious. He was simply that influential and high-profile a figure.
Adding one more gossip item to the pile wouldn’t change much, but if it risked damaging Lee Hyun’s reputation, she wanted to avoid unnecessary controversy.
Had he explained earlier, they could have avoided this pointless argument—it felt like a waste of emotional energy.
While Yura hesitated over what to wear next, Lee Hyun rummaged through the spare dresses and pulled out another.
“This one.”
“This… this one?”
Yura frowned at the long-sleeved, satin ballgown-style dress. It looked like something straight out of a childhood doll set, with only a simple lace trim accentuating the neckline. She didn’t particularly favor excessive embellishments, but this was far from her taste.
“Cherry blossoms may be blooming, but it’s still chilly.”
Thinking he’d chosen long sleeves out of concern for the cold, she gave him an exasperated look—only for him to offer another dress.
“If you don’t like that one, how about this?”
Seeing the second dress—which wasn’t much different from the first—Yura crossed her arms.
“If you’re so worried about exposure, should we just both wear tuxedos?”
“Don’t be sarcastic.”
“I’m not being sarcastic—it just looks so stifling.”
Lee Hyun looked genuinely puzzled at Yura’s indifferent reaction. Just as the dress designs frustrated her, so did his incomprehension of her feelings.
A married friend had once insisted, “You absolutely must go dress shopping with your fiancé.” She’d added that women who came alone, or only with friends or mothers, always looked pitifully lonely.
Even though this was a contract marriage and Lee Hyun clearly had little interest in preparations, Yura had no desire to appear pitiful—which was why she’d pushed him to come despite his packed schedule.
Yura let out a quiet sigh. This whole process felt like such a hassle—she almost regretted insisting.
Wasting so much time on a dress she’d only wear for an hour or two felt infuriating. Not wanting to delay any longer, she shrugged and decided to just go along with his choice.
“Fine, let’s just wear anything. It’s not like it’s some grand ceremony.”
Too tired to argue further, she resolved to accept whichever dress Lee Hyun selected—partly because she held no particular dream or fantasy about wedding gowns anyway.
“Could you call the staff? I’ll try it on.”
“Sure.”
Lee Hyun gave a brief reply and opened the door to call the assistant—when a familiar voice came from outside.
“Was I wrong to come?”
“Mother?”
Yura, who’d been fiddling with the dress, widened her eyes and looked toward the entrance. Seeing Mi Hee enter with a gentle smile, Yura bowed her head.
“No, not at all. It’s fine.”
“Have you decided on a dress?”
“Yes.”
“The one you’re wearing now?”
Feeling Mi Hee’s gaze, Yura shook her head.
“No. Lee Hyun didn’t like that one, so we chose this instead.”
Mi Hee frowned as she looked at the dress Yura pointed to. Yura offered an awkward smile, but Mi Hee simply turned to Lee Hyun and sighed.
“Oh my goodness—what century are we in? Who would wear something like this? Honestly.”
“Mother, this is our—”
“A wedding dress is incredibly important to a woman! It’s not something you decide just based on your own preference. The bride—not decorative flowers—is the true centerpiece of a wedding. She should stand out, not drown in a dress like this!”
“Sigh…”
“I had some business nearby and was passing by—and for some reason, I felt like dropping in.”
Yura had assumed no one could silence the brilliant and capable Baek Lee Hyun—but witnessing this unexpected clash between mother and son, she couldn’t help but smile. An unforeseen ally had just appeared, and Yura’s lips curved into an unrestrained grin.
Seizing the opportunity, she switched on her full “artist-facing” sales smile—soft eyes, perfectly polished—and asked sweetly,
“What kind of dress do you think would suit me, Mother?”
“May I offer some suggestions?”
“Of course, thank you.”
With Mi Hee’s sudden arrival, the tide had turned in choosing the dress.
The future mother-in-law and daughter-in-law called back the staff and began selecting—and reselecting—dresses of various designs. After what felt like endless discussion, they finally settled on one.
Moments later, the curtain parted, and Yura emerged wearing her new dress, assisted by the staff.
Delicate lace lightly covered her hands, and the neckline accentuated her bust’s natural curves. The mermaid-style silhouette elegantly traced her figure, making her appear even more alluringly radiant.
Male lead is a Love-Obsessed Merman
When he discovers she has gone, he risks everything to pursue her on land, enduring agonizing pain to transform his tail into human legs…
One-line summary: Male lead chases female lead. The male lead’s love is a bit sick, an invincible love brain.
Synopsis
During a voyage at sea, Jiang Yang accidentally captures a merman.
Servant: I heard that mermen are fierce and brutal.
Jiang Yang looks at the merman obediently rubbing her palm like a puppy: “You call this fierce and brutal?”
Servant: I heard that mermen have no human nature.
Jiang Yang looks at the merman with wet puppy eyes, obsessively calling her ‘A Yang’ like a childish infant: “You call this having no human nature?”
With great difficulty, she releases the merman back into the sea and returns to shore.
Who would have thought that in less than half a month, the merman, who should have been freely wandering in the South China Sea, would shed his scales, endure the pain of losing his tail, transform into human legs, and come ashore to find her?
He kneels at her feet, rubbing her palm, with merman tears rolling down: “A Yang, don’t abandon me.”
_____
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