Deal Breaker - Chapter 14
“Don’t tell me you have some weird fetish…”
“No, it’s nothing like that.”
Kanghyeon ran his hand over his face again. The way he did it so roughly made Hyeji worry that his soft, egg-like skin would get damaged.
“It’s nothing like that. Even if I did, I’d never share any private preferences with a work partner.”
So basically, he does have a weird fetish, doesn’t he? Hyeji’s attention was drawn in that direction.
“I’m asking if you’re okay because having your first time with someone you have no feelings for could be really traumatic.”
“Well, I can’t know that either.”
“True. You don’t know until you experience it.”
Kanghyeon let out a sigh, clearly troubled. Why was something that didn’t bother her so much of a concern for this man? As someone without experience, Hyeji had no way of understanding.
“I can promise I’ll be as considerate as possible… but, honestly, this is a fundamental issue.”
“Huh?”
After being quiet all day, he suddenly changed and started firing questions at her like a machine gun.
Have you really thought this through before making your decision? Did you explain everything accurately to the adults around you and talk it over with them before deciding? He started asking all kinds of questions that had nothing to do with himself.
“I am an adult.”
“A twenty-year-old isn’t adult enough to handle a contract like this all by herself.”
“I’ve signed a lot of work contracts, and I know how to read lease agreements too.”
“I’m not sure that proves you know your legal rights, but it does show me that things aren’t easy at home.”
“……”
He saw right through her. She had never told any of the Espers about her family situation, worried they might try to lowball her if she seemed desperate. She’d even bought expensive clothes at department stores to hide her poverty, but in the end, she’d blurted it out herself.
“So what?”
Hyeji crossed her arms defensively, as if putting up a shield. Was he going to look down on her for her situation?
“So, in the end, you chose this because of your circumstances, didn’t you?”
“What do my circumstances have to do with you, CEO Han?”
The line sounded like something straight out of a morning drama, but it came out of Hyeji’s mouth.
“I think you’re misunderstanding.”
“I don’t think so.”
Hyeji’s sharp attitude didn’t make Kanghyeon act all high and mighty, as she’d expected from a ‘CEO’ in a morning drama. Instead, he looked troubled and softened his voice.
“I’m not trying to judge you morally, Hyeji-ssi. I’m in the same position. You think I’d judge you?”
“Then what is it?”
“To be honest, to me, it just looks like adults trying to exploit a student who should be protected.”
“……”
“You’re probably wondering why, as ‘Party B’ in the contract, I’m saying all this and risking offending you, when I should be buttering you up.”
“Yes.”
“But no matter how much of a stranger someone is, who could just stand by and watch them get pushed off a cliff? I’m just worried you’ll be forced by your circumstances into making a choice you don’t want and end up regretting it. And that I’ll be part of that unwanted choice and regret.”
After calmly laying out his thoughts, Kanghyeon paused and stared at Hyeji for a moment before asking,
“So, why do you want to do this?”
The tension between them was more taut than ever, but Kanghyeon himself looked much more relaxed than at the start. He’d acted like he didn’t really want to sign the contract, and now she understood why.
“Judging by how relieved you look, I guess this was what you wanted to ask from the beginning.”
Kanghyeon leaned back into the sofa, the corners of his mouth twisting into a wry smile.
“It’s kind of ridiculous that I’m being a nag, but I couldn’t not ask.”
A ‘good nag’, if you could call it that. Thinking over his words, Hyeji realized this contract might well feel off-putting. The fact that the other candidates hadn’t found it off-putting almost seemed like a red flag by comparison.
“No matter how much of a stranger someone is, who could just stand by and watch them get pushed off a cliff?”
Who could just stand by and watch someone get pushed off a cliff, he said.
There are people like that. There are even people who don’t just watch, but wait at the bottom with their mouths open, hoping for someone to fall.
Of course, there are also people who warn you, “That’s a cliff,” like this man.
While Hyeji gathered her thoughts, Kanghyeon waited quietly, never pressuring her. By the time the sunset outside the window had turned to dusk, Hyeji finally spoke.
“If I was forced to sleep with someone I didn’t even like, with no say in the matter, that would be exploitation and coercion. I’d never have chosen this job in that case.”
“But here, you’re the one making the choice.”
Hyeji nodded.
“And in a capitalist society, everyone sells the abilities they have. The ability I have is guiding, and the medium is my body.”
“Well, you’re not wrong.”
“When you mentioned being pushed off a cliff, it made me think. Am I really standing at the edge?”
