Deal Breaker - Chapter 13
So, in the end, they discussed the terms of the employment contract for the secretary as well, and finally turned to the last page. When her eyes landed on the certificate beneath it, Hyeji remembered the moment she’d realized—half embarrassed, half impressed—that this document was sandwiched in among the contracts.
A test result for sexually transmitted diseases.
Because direct contact with bodily fluids was an essential condition for guiding, using a condom was not allowed. Which, of course, meant there was a risk of STI transmission.
Han Kanghyeon had even thought of that in advance and sent her his own test results. The results were clean.
He’s really thorough. Now that she thought about it, this is actually really important. Why didn’t anyone else send one?
He was the only one who had.
“Well, I don’t have anything else to ask.”
As she was about to turn over the results page, Kanghyeon raised an eyebrow.
“Oh, I don’t have any questions about this.”
“But I do.”
“Yes?”
What was he going to ask? Something like, Hyeji-ssi, do you have any STIs?
“I don’t.”
“You can’t prove that just by saying it.”
He was right. No argument there.
“If we end up signing, I’ll submit my test results too.”
“Yes, please do.”
Hyeji gathered all the documents and put them back into her shopper bag. Was it finally over? They’d met for lunch, but outside it was already dusk. She was just waiting for the right moment to get up, but Kanghyeon, tapping his hands atop his crossed knees, showed no sign of leaving and just observed her.
“Are you sure you don’t have any other questions?”
“Yes, none.”
Honestly, it was just that the contract was so long that there’d been a lot of questions, but it was much more detailed than the other contracts. So there were plenty of questions she didn’t even need to ask him, compared to the others.
There was a clause stating Party A could refuse any stage of guiding at any time, and Party B had to immediately accept that. Another clause stated that the Esper could not touch any body part besides the ones required for guiding, unless given permission. It even specified exactly which parts those were.
There were even answers to questions Hyeji herself hadn’t thought to ask.
If an accidental pregnancy resulted from guiding.
The contract described several methods of contraception in detail and specified that the Esper was responsible for the costs. As long as Party B took full responsibility for contraception, any resulting pregnancy was Party A’s responsibility.
[ Party A must faithfully fulfill the obligation of contraception to prevent pregnancy. If Party A neglects contraception and becomes pregnant with Party B’s child, this contract shall be terminated immediately upon Party B becoming aware of the pregnancy. ]
That wasn’t the end of the clauses about pregnancy. It said that, in the event of an unplanned pregnancy, Party A was to file a lawsuit against Party B for child support and related costs, while Party B could claim damages for breach of contract.
The gist of these ironclad terms was that this man had absolutely no intention of taking responsibility for a child.
He must have added that clause in case someone tried to trap him with a pregnancy.
Well, there must be Guides like that. But it had nothing to do with Hyeji.
“Please take your time reviewing everything. If you have any more questions, just ask me anytime.”
“Okay.”
“It was prepared in a rush by my lawyer, so there might be some flaws.”
No, this was by far the most thorough one. Compared to this, thinking other contracts were watertight made her feel foolish.
“So, this isn’t your usual contract?”
She thought maybe he’d already had contact Guide contracts before, which was why it was so detailed, but he shook his head.
“Oh, I must have given the impression that I’ve done a lot of contact guiding.”
Realizing his thoroughness had led to an unexpected misunderstanding, Kanghyeon’s eyes grew troubled.
“It’s my first time.”
His shy smile made him look his age for the first time.
“You’re a first-timer too, of course.”
“Yes.”
She’d just barely received her grade, a total rookie Guide, after all.
“I still have something I’m curious about.”
“Yes?”
So that’s why he was still here.
“Please don’t take this the wrong way, I’m not asking for any improper reason. This is just something important for this contract, from my perspective.”
“Yes, go ahead.”
“Do you have experience?”
No, I don’t.
Hyeji couldn’t answer right away. It wasn’t out of embarrassment.
Which answer would make him call off the contract?
She just didn’t know what the ‘right’ answer was.
When Hyeji, who had always answered boldly until now, hesitated, Kanghyeon figured it out and asked,
“No experience, right?”
Hyeji nodded. So this was the answer that made him back out. Kanghyeon’s expression visibly darkened.
“Do I have to be trained for that too?”
“No, that’s not it.”
Flustered, Kanghyeon raised his hand to stop her. He looked at her with obvious awkwardness, then sighed and asked,
“It’s your first time, but… with a stranger…?”
“As long as he’s good-looking and has a nice body, it’s fine.”
“Ah.”
He must have realized she’d included that in her contract requirements. Still, why did he ask?
“You’re really okay with your first time being with me?”
