You Accepted the Contract (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 5
The woman in the rain suddenly whirled around and looked toward the gathering spot. Then she stomped one foot hard toward that place. But what good would that do to vent her frustration anyway?
After that, she turned again and walked past Si Yoon’s car.
“She must feel really wronged.”
A gloomy thought crept back into Si Yoon’s mind as he gave a faint chuckle.
Was she upset because she couldn’t deal with Bill? Or because she hadn’t gotten paid?
Watching her shiver, cry sadly, and even wipe her lips in the rain—yet he was still having such thoughts. He felt pathetic himself. And just a little ashamed for misjudging her.
But that was all. He didn’t want to care about her anymore. Si Yoon started his car with a loud roar.
It seemed, yet also didn’t seem, that some water pooled at the roadside had splashed slightly onto her. If it had, he’d feel just a bit more sorry—that’s all.
And just like that, the memory of her and that moment began fading from Si Yoon’s mind.
And now.
Still holding that same business card from “Everything Helper Service,” he felt uneasy again—nudged by the same faint curiosity and growing suspicion about her as before.
Si Yoon sank deeply into the sofa and lifted the card to look at it.
“Chloe Choi. Chloe… Choi…”
He read the name on the card in a lazy voice, then picked up his phone with his other hand.
* * *
Mi Joo was grocery shopping at the supermarket. It was a part-time job she did once a week for an elderly couple who had difficulty moving around.
Every week, she bought a set list of items—milk, cereal, a fixed amount of meat and vegetables—and delivered them. It wasn’t a difficult job.
It was Jenny, the cheerful supermarket employee known for her cute expressions and unique fashion sense.
It didn’t sound like nagging, more like cheerful chatter, which Mi Joo found endearing. Jenny pulled out a lipstick from her pocket and lightly applied some to Mi Joo’s lips.
For a moment, Mi Joo remembered the embassy party and the man in the parking lot who’d said she looked pretty before turning away.
“Why am I suddenly thinking of him?!”
She quickly corrected her thoughts—it wasn’t that man she missed, but rather envy for the women who stood confidently and beautifully dressed in front of such a handsome man. She felt embarrassed for randomly recalling him without reason.
Yet no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t forget how flustered she’d been in front of him, her ears burning red.
“My hair was all messy, and I’d even wiped off my makeup to go babysitting—how ridiculous must I have looked?”
Plus, she’d only been wearing her uniform, which followed strict guidelines. Compared to the middle-aged woman elegantly dressed and escorted by the man, or the blonde woman in a daringly low-cut dress, she’d felt utterly plain.
The man had stood like a mountain, hands stuffed in his pockets, seemingly unmoved no matter what stunning beauty stood before him. Even that glamorous woman hadn’t captured his interest.
“Well, I guess he’s just not interested in women. His tastes… really are something.”
Strangely, that thought offered some comfort—but it also left a bitter aftertaste.
Jenny prattled on again.
But Mi Joo’s situation was just as precarious. Entering on a student visa, she barely scraped through each semester. Even if tuition was covered by scholarships, she couldn’t survive this expensive city on part-time wages alone.
Moreover, her student visa restricted the types of jobs she could take, and she wasn’t shameless or ruthless enough to risk illegal or dangerous work just for money.
Jenny continued with a gloomy expression.
Soon, a new immigration chief would be elected. The leading candidate had long advocated anti-immigration policies, and if elected, Mi Joo’s already limited options as a student would shrink even further.
Worse yet, under stricter immigration laws, she might be forced to abandon her studies and return to Korea before graduation.
“I really want to graduate… Is there anywhere I can earn serious money?”
Mi Joo thought again of Si Yoon. Maybe he was preparing to file a lawsuit.
Before she could finish, Jenny clasped her hands together and shivered.
Mi Joo knew herself—there wouldn’t be any witness fee, and she shouldn’t even hope for one.
If people could pay for testimony, truth itself would be distorted by those chasing money.
She felt ashamed for even entertaining such thoughts, yet she couldn’t stop wondering—what if meeting him again might somehow lead to earning money?
* * *
A few days later, Si Yoon picked up Mi Joo’s business card again.
—Everything Helper Service.
Just those words brought back the moment Mi Joo’s once-innocent face had transformed into that of a woman hardened by life’s trials—and the time he’d doubted her sincerity.
“So what does that have to do with me? I just need to get the job done.”
His uneasy curiosity about Mi Joo had now turned into resolve—he needed to see her, if only to get the job done.
It might just be an excuse, but so what? He needed a female business partner right away, and she clearly needed work and money—so it wasn’t a bad arrangement for either of them.
At the end of that thought, he even considered how she might react to his proposal.
“She might refuse.”
He knew it wouldn’t be easy, so if she did say no, he’d understand completely.
Anyway, he had to meet her. After briefly hesitating, he slid the card between his fingers, then tapped in her phone number.
He hadn’t tried memorizing it, but Mi Joo’s number was already imprinted in his mind and quickly tapped out by his fingertips.
The call started ringing—but the other side seemed in no hurry to answer. The dull tone continued.
“If you hand out cards claiming you’ll do anything, why won’t you pick up the phone?”
As the final ring ended, Si Yoon tossed the phone onto the sofa.
It wasn’t something worth getting angry over, yet his temper flared anyway. While taking a breath to calm himself—
Buzzzz.
A vibration came from near Si Yoon’s thigh as he sat sunk deep into the sofa. He glanced at the screen.
The number wasn’t saved, but he recognized it instantly as Mi Joo’s.
Instead of answering immediately, he lowered the phone back onto the sofa. A pleasant tremor ran through his hand, and just before the call cut off, Si Yoon swiped to answer.
A clear, bright female voice came through. Just from hearing it, a smile formed at the corner of Si Yoon’s lips, as if he were somehow glad.
“Hello.”
Startled by the sudden Korean, the other end fell silent for a moment—then a calm voice spoke again.
“I called after seeing your card. You know who I am, right?”
She must know. Her heart was racing exactly as it had when she’d recently met that man.
Hearing his name slip from her lips made Si Yoon smile faintly. She still remembered his name.
Her voice sounded slightly trembling.
For days, she’d agonized over this moment, deciding she’d testify as many times as needed if he asked.
She’d felt ashamed for even considering profiting off someone else’s misfortune and hardship. And she’d resolved not to compromise her beliefs or morals, no matter how tough her circumstances.
“Oh, a witness… No.”
His “no” carried a hint of laughter. At that sound, Mi Joo’s tension eased.
“I’m glad. That means you haven’t been stressed over that incident.”
Had she really been worrying all this time? Her remark about it being “good” made Si Yoon feel oddly itchy somewhere inside.
Maybe his prefrontal cortex was overstimulated from working nights without sleep. Blaming some obscure part of his brain, he continued.
“I’d like to ask you for a job. A proxy service.”
Mi Joo hesitated briefly.
She’d been ready to meet him repeatedly if it meant testifying—but she hadn’t expected, nor wanted, to see this man again for anything else. She feared her feelings might waver.
Yet his next words shook her resolve completely.
“I’ll pay you generously.”
Money—the most tempting word for Mi Joo. Rent, car insurance, gas, textbooks. Others might wonder what was so hard about covering those, but for Mi Joo, an orphan who’d been managing alone through years of study abroad, it was far from simple.
The only thing she could cut back on was food. It wasn’t that she lacked food—it was that she constantly chose to forgo eating to afford other necessities. Would anyone truly understand such a life?
Standing before that wealthy man at the embassy residence, she’d suddenly felt shabby. If he saw the reality—that she had to skip meals just to save money—how ridiculously pitiful would he think she was?
“Ah, it’s just my inferiority complex.”
She felt silly—shrinking and cowering unnecessarily in front of someone who probably wasn’t even thinking about her. Yet she stubbornly tried to prop up her crumbling pride by making up an absurd excuse.
“You don’t handle jobs for Koreans?”
She answered firmly.
“So is this racism?”
Sensing she might reject him no matter what excuse she gave, Si Yoon preemptively struck back sharply.
“If you don’t want that kind of misunderstanding, let’s meet and talk. I’ll send you the address.”
“You said you’d do anything—‘Everything Helper Service.’ I’ll cover your travel fee.”
His voice carried arrogance, as if he’d pay any amount. Si Yoon wondered what expression she was making on the other end of the line. Would money really make her agree to absolutely anything?
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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