Deal Breaker - Chapter 12
“If it’s too small, wouldn’t guiding be impossible? But if it’s too big, it’ll be hard for me.”
The man stared at Hyeji as if to say, “What kind of question is that?” but then nodded in understanding.
“I don’t know the exact number, since I’ve never measured.”
He raised his left hand and stretched it from his thumb to his pinky, indicating its length was about the span of his hand. And with hands that large, a span wasn’t just a span. As Hyeji imagined a sausage of that size inside her body, the man asked,
“Do I pass?”
…Do I pass, he asked? It took her a full second to realize he wasn’t talking about what she’d just imagined. Otherwise, he would have caught her having an explicit thought for real.
“I’ll have to review that and let you know later.”
She’d confidently said that it’d be difficult if it was too big, but since she had no experience, she really couldn’t tell if that was a manageable size or not. So she just gave her usual vague answer, the one she used whenever she was pressured to sign a contract, and the man let out another short laugh.
“You can check later, and if it turns out to be different from what you expected, you can terminate the contract.”
“Alright.”
Once again, she caught that “What kind of person is this?” look in his eyes. Maybe he’d thought the same thing during their first phone call, too.
– Noh Hyeji-ssi, do you know what contact guiding entails?
“Yes. It means having s*x.”
She remembered how, when she’d answered honestly, there’d been a long silence on the other end.
“About the contract.”
Hyeji took the contract out of her tote bag, the one Kanghyeon’s secretary had sent her. While other contracts were about five to ten pages, his was thirty pages long.
“I’m not planning to sign today…”
“I meant, have you reviewed it?”
“Oh. Yes.”
“If you have any questions, ask me.”
His eyes swept over the twelve post-it notes Hyeji had stuck to the corners of the contract like flags. The Q&A session they started before the food arrived continued even after the meal, as they moved to the hotel lobby café.
Whatever she asked, Kanghyeon answered seriously. If there was something he couldn’t answer right away, he’d make a note on his phone with a stylus and promise to let her know through his secretary in two or three business days.
There were two contracts, so there was a lot to discuss: the freelance contract for her job as a Guide, and the employment contract for her job as a secretary.
During their first call, Kanghyeon had asked what kind of relationship she wanted.
– I’ve heard that contact Guides often pretend to be lovers or get married, since they’re wary of others’ eyes. Just to be clear, I have no intention of putting up a façade like dating or marriage.
For Espers, not having a Guide means a reduced quality of life, or even life-threatening risk, making them naturally the ‘subordinate’. Because of that, Espers often develop abnormal obsessions and possessiveness toward their Guides. There were also cases where Guides wielded that power and dominated the Espers.
Kanghyeon had been plagued by Guides constantly trying to take advantage of him, so he’d made his stance clear in the contract: Confessions, forbidden. Marriage proposals, forbidden. Romantic or loving relationship, forbidden. The moment any personal demands were made, Party B (Esper) could terminate the contract.
– If you want a personal relationship, Hyeji-ssi, I’m sorry, but that’s not possible.
“I don’t like that stuff either.”
– Glad we’re on the same page.
“I understand that you’re defensive because of your past experiences, but if you reject a proposal I never made, it makes me look like I came here with ulterior motives toward you, doesn’t it? Which I didn’t, at all.”
She only had ulterior motives for his money, not him.
– Fair point.
She’d expected him to be annoyed at being called out so bluntly by someone younger, but instead, he politely apologized.
– How very straightforward.
Then she heard him muttering to himself on the other end, and after a moment, he said something she hadn’t expected.
– You’d make a good secretary.
Han Kanghyeon preferred to hire his exclusive Guide as his secretary as well, since it was easier to work together that way.
– Of course, if you don’t want that, you can just work freelance. But if there’s a job, you’ll have to prioritize my schedule over yours.
She’d thought about staying in school while working freelance, but after hearing that, she gave up on the idea.
“But you have a secretary now.”
– Secretary Yoon will be promoted to HR.
“Oh.”
So she wouldn’t be taking anyone’s job. That made the offer more appealing. As she reviewed the Guide contract and looked into things like real estate collateral loans, Hyeji realized something. Freelancers were disadvantaged in every way—taxes, health insurance, pension, loans, even things like getting a credit card.
No wonder people say salaried jobs are best.
She was about to say she’d think about it, but Kanghyeon sealed the deal.
– And as secretary, you’ll get a secretary’s salary too.
“Separate from my salary as a Guide?”
– Yes.
A double job. Suddenly, she could see herself moving into a Han River-view apartment years ahead of schedule.
