A Light Contract (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 5
The next morning, Oh Se Jin came to meet the CEO of Songrim Art Center after formally scheduling an appointment. Yura Jin was also present at the meeting.
If what had already happened couldn’t be undone, at least she needed to understand the other party’s true intentions. As the saying went, “Know your enemy and know yourself, and you can fight a hundred battles without defeat.”
While meaningless small talk dragged on, Yura kept checking her wristwatch. She impatiently waited for the conversation to end, hoping it wouldn’t interfere with her afternoon meeting.
“Looking forward to working with you, Team Leader Jin Yoo Ra.”
Distracted and unable to focus, Yura suddenly found herself staring at Oh Se Jin’s unexpectedly graceful hand. She declined the handshake and offered only a perfunctory reply.
“I’ll do my best.”
Se Jin awkwardly withdrew his hand and continued with flattery.
“I’ve heard great things about your talent. I’m truly looking forward to it.”
“Oh, our Team Leader Jin’s reputation reaches that far? She’s Songrim’s pride.”
Watching Jin Ho feign politeness just as skillfully as Oh Se Jin made Yura almost sigh aloud. Though he seemed to be trying his best to navigate the situation, to Yura, even that effort felt hollow.
“I’ve reserved a nice traditional Korean meal. Shall we go?”
“Yes, please join us too, Team Leader Jin.”
As Yura stood to follow them for lunch, she suppressed a sneer at Se Jin’s invitation—repeating the same request she’d already refused yesterday. All she could do was let out a quiet sigh.
Was he really this dense, or simply thoughtless? Ah, maybe those were the same thing.
Before Jin Ho, who’d been watching her mood even during his conversation with Oh Se Jin, could say anything, Yura cut him off preemptively.
“Oh, our Team Leader Jin never eats with CEOs.”
“Is that so?”
Meeting his questioning gaze with an indifferent stare, Yura repeated the exact words she’d used before.
“I tend to get indigestion.”
“Oh dear, what a shame. Let’s hope for another chance soon.”
“Sure.”
Perhaps thanks to Jin Ho’s remark, Oh Se Jin surprisingly didn’t persist stubbornly as he had yesterday. Instead, he readily turned away with brisk cheerfulness.
Though he probably thought he was helping her out, since he’d caused this mess himself, Yura figured this small courtesy was the least he owed her. Still, her lingering irritation and hurt refused to subside.
[This is the timeline separator]Feeling she’d wasted enough time at that unnecessary meeting, Yura skipped lunch and quickly tackled her backlog of work. With the meeting time fast approaching, her eyes darted rapidly across the documents.
Meanwhile, her phone kept ringing persistently, but Yura continued ignoring it after checking the caller ID. Eventually, the other party—clearly impatient—sent a short text message:
[Should I come to your office?]Sighing in resignation, Yura finally called back. The other person answered instantly, as if they’d been waiting for the ringtone to start.
“What?”
—What? You’re asking me “what” now, oppa?
His heated voice nearly echoed through the office via the phone. Yura momentarily pulled the phone away from her ear as if it hurt and replied curtly.
“I’m busy.”
At that cold remark, the person on the other end let out a pained groan—it was her older brother, Jin Yoo Gun. Unlike Yura, he enjoyed their father’s complete trust and held the position of Vice Chairman at Jin Hwa Group.
Watching him boil over so easily once again struck Yura as strangely fascinating. How had her hot-headed, thin-skinned older brother become friends with the perpetually calm and collected Baek Lee Hyun?
They say birds of a feather flock together—or that friends tend to resemble one another. At times like this, Yura wished her brother had inherited even half of Baek Lee Hyun’s composure.
—So, that bastard Oh Se Jin’s really joined, huh?
“News travels fast.”
It amazed Yura anew how he always seemed to know things without being told. When Yura had her accident in the aftermath of Oh Se Jin’s sudden disappearance, Yoo Gun and Lee Hyun had both rushed over immediately.
Thankfully, it had only been a minor crash due to inexperience—she’d merely hit a guardrail with no other vehicles involved—and Yura had escaped with just light bruises.
Even then, Yoo Gun had clearly already known everything about her breakup with Oh Se Jin.
Which meant their father, Jin Kang Soo, might have been involved in Oh Se Jin’s abrupt vanishing act.
And if that was true, then their love hadn’t amounted to anything more than that—and their eventual separation had been inevitable all along. That realization had led her to quietly accept it and try to forget, without ever confronting her father about it.
—And of all places, why did he have to come to Songrim? What was CEO Baek thinking, bringing that guy in? Is he even sane?
Yoo Gun’s barrage of questions amid Yura’s thoughts gave her a headache. She exhaled a quiet sigh and gently called out to calm him.
“Oppa.”
—Can I go meet that guy myself?
Clearly unwilling to listen, Yoo Gun kept ranting nonstop.
“Who? Oh Se Jin? Or the CEO?”
—Obviously Oh Se Jin.
Hearing Yoo Gun insist on meeting Oh Se Jin made Yura let out an involuntary chuckle. What did he plan to do—grab him by the collar? For a brief moment, she actually thought that wouldn’t be a bad idea.
If Yoo Gun did that, maybe the stress Oh Se Jin had caused her over the past two days would vanish instantly.
But more importantly, Oh Se Jin was now an artist scheduled to perform at Songrim. Any incident, however minor, would land squarely on Songrim’s shoulders.
“What would meeting him accomplish? Don’t stir up unnecessary trouble. He’s my artist to manage.”
—What? Why the hell are you in charge of that bastard’s concert?!
Not wanting to deal with Yoo Gun’s explosive temper any longer, Yura calmly cut him off and ended the call.
“Enough. I have work to do.”
[This is the timeline separator]Lee Hyun had lunch with a political figure early in the morning and attended a series of back-to-back meetings throughout the day.
After a quick sandwich for lunch and a visit to the construction site of a large-scale integrated shopping complex, he returned to his office without showing any signs of fatigue.
Before he could even catch his breath, Lee Hyun was already rapidly scanning through pending documents at his desk when his executive secretary, Ahn Myung Jin, entered the office. Without even glancing up, Lee Hyun spoke as if expecting him.
“Report.”
“It seems IF Management approached Songrim first with the proposal.”
At Ahn Secretary’s first sentence, Lee Hyun—who had been staring at his monitor—slowly leaned back in his chair. Crossing his long legs, he rested his chin on the fingertips propped against the armrest.
“So it wasn’t Songrim’s own carefully developed project, then.”
“No. IF Management originally intended to partner with Argon, but pianist Oh Se Jin strongly requested Songrim instead.”
A faint smirk appeared at the corner of Lee Hyun’s lips.
“Oh Se Jin made the request himself? How interesting.”
It was laughable—after vanishing without even offering a proper goodbye at their breakup, now he was scheming to linger around Yura’s orbit.
To Lee Hyun, Yura was merely the younger sister of a longtime friend—a girl from a family his own had known for years.
Watching her grow from a small child into a young woman, he’d noticed how remarkably similar their personalities were—always composed, rarely showing emotion, consistently rational and objective. That’s why he’d considered her an ideal marriage candidate.
That perspective had shifted precisely because of Jin Yoo Ra’s romance. He’d never seen the usually solemn girl smile so brightly before. The gentle curve of her lips and the soft arch of her eyes when looking at Oh Se Jin had genuinely surprised him.
He’d been amazed that someone could change so dramatically—only for the relationship to end abruptly and emptily. Whether it was rebellion against the breakup or an expression of her long-held resentment toward her father, Jin Kang Soo, she’d left home and started walking her own independent path.
Ever since, Yura seemed to keep men at a distance. Now that Oh Se Jin had returned, how would Jin Yoo Ra change this time?
Would it reveal whether she’d stayed single because she couldn’t forget him—or because he’d made her build walls against all men? And perhaps this situation might work to his own advantage.
Reading through Oh Se Jin’s transparent ploy, Lee Hyun asked pointedly,
“Who’s the assigned manager?”
“The manager is…”
“Ah, so at Oh Se Jin’s request, Team Leader Jin Yoo Ra was appointed, I presume.”
Lee Hyun interrupted Ahn Secretary, stating it as a certainty. Otherwise, Oh Se Jin would never have chosen Songrim in the first place.
“How intriguing—Oh Se Jin and Jin Yoo Ra.”
Lee Hyun found himself newly curious about Oh Se Jin’s motives for reappearing now.
Artists—whether singers, instrumentalists, or actors—are famously sensitive and demanding individuals.
Concert planners must fulfill their needs and support them to ensure successful performances. And it was precisely Jin Yoo Ra who, through years of such work, had helped elevate Songrim to the industry’s second-highest rank.
So perhaps, at this very moment, she could discern the truth hidden in Oh Se Jin’s eyes.
Of course, as an outsider, Lee Hyun couldn’t definitively judge anything—but five years and her profession might just introduce unexpected variables.
“Vice Chairman Jin Yoo Gun of Jin Hwa Group has started keeping an eye on Oh Se Jin.”
Hearing Ahn Secretary relay Yoo Gun’s move, Lee Hyun narrowed his eyes slightly and gazed out the window.
“Always… one step too late.”
[This is the timeline separator]Yura quickly took charge of an impromptu meeting. With all concert-related plans already finalized, the performer had suddenly changed the musical piece, forcing them to adjust the staging accordingly.
Since most schedules were already locked in, they now had to prepare a last-minute concept meeting for Oh Se Jin’s concert, further delaying their timeline.
Disruptions like this were deeply troubling for Yura. Dozens—sometimes even hundreds—of people worked together for a single performance. She couldn’t let their hard work go to waste.
In performances, only the artist ever receives attention. No one remembers the countless individuals working tirelessly behind the scenes.
Even artists rarely thank the staff—typically offering gratitude only to the planning company. That’s why Yura always made a conscious effort to acknowledge their dedication herself.
This time was no different; having to overhaul plans that multiple teams had painstakingly developed left her deeply uneasy.
While everyone had their designated roles, she had to calm any anxious employees, swiftly assess the situation, and resolve the issue without causing panic.
“Then, PR team, please proceed with Option A. Staging team, prepare the stage according to the ‘healing’ concept. I know it’s tough, but please give it your all until the very end.”
“Yes, understood.”
“Then let’s wrap up the meeting here.”
Yura beamed a warm smile toward her efficiently moving team.
“I’ll treat everyone to dinner afterward.”
“If Team Leader Jin’s treating, I’d drop anything to join! Haha.”
“Thanks for sticking with me.”
“Don’t mention it.”
As her staff filed out of the meeting room one by one, Yura didn’t forget to offer words of encouragement. She believed this was part of a leader’s duty.
Just as she greeted them and stepped into her office, the youngest staff member, Ji Hye, approached shyly with flushed cheeks and pointed somewhere inside the office with a gesture.
“Team Leader, over there.”
Hearing this, Oh Se Jin came over with a gentle smile.
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
_____
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