TMBF-10

CHAPTER 10

Blink. Blink.

No matter how many times she closed and opened her eyes, Beom Kwon-yeol’s gaze did not waver or retreat.

He simply held her inside his eyes, waiting for an answer.

…Am I dreaming?

No. That couldn’t be.

Yoon Hee-jo immediately denied it. Because she knew her place far too well.

She had never once dared to dream of marrying Kwon-yeol.

She had never even imagined it.

It was something that could never exist—and should never happen.

“…I must be really tired.”

In the end, it was Hee-jo who looked away first.

“I think I’m so exhausted I’m hearing things—”

“It’s not in your head.”

Cradling her cheek, Kwon-yeol pressed his thumb against her full lower lip, rubbing it as if to crush it.

“I asked you to marry me.”

“….”

“With the condition that we divorce in one year.”

Hee-jo’s thoughts tangled chaotically.

Marriage. One year. Divorce.

She couldn’t process all of it at once.

So—

Kwon-yeol… proposed and declared divorce at the same time?

And this wasn’t a dream… but reality?

Barely organizing his words, Hee-jo parted her lips.

“…Why… would you make a proposal like that?”

“I don’t want my life to be held hostage by anyone anymore.”

Kwon-yeol answered immediately.

As if he had been thinking about it for a long time.

“To do that, I need power. And time to build that power.”

“Power…?”

“The deadline for a project I’m currently working on. If I succeed, I won’t need to cling to something like marriage—my position will become unshakable.”

He spoke indifferently.

“I don’t want to waste time dealing with women my family keeps pushing on me.”

Blind dates. Meaningless evaluations. Prenuptial contracts. Weddings. And all the tedious obligations that follow.

“And… you’re the same, aren’t you?”

His gaze darkened as he looked at Hee-jo, who flinched.

Gently brushing back the light brown hair falling over her forehead, he twirled a strand around his finger.

“We know each other well. And after spending the night together, we both know we can’t go back to how things were.”

Hee-jo swallowed.

Unlike her, frozen stiff with tension, Kwon-yeol’s eyes were calm—almost bored—as he played with her hair.

As if this wasn’t a particularly significant event in his life.

“As I promised eight years ago, I’ll become your family. Though the meaning has changed.”

At the word family, Hee-jo felt her body tense.

“In one year, you’ll have considerable wealth. Enough that your life won’t be consumed by Beomho Group anymore.”

Then, you’ll be able to have a real family.

Not someone like me—wearing the mask of family while using you.

“….”

Suddenly, Kwon-yeol frowned.

The image of another man standing beside Hee-jo surfaced in his mind—and for some reason, it twisted something inside him.

Well… he had cared for her in his own way.

Even more than his own younger brothers.

So it was only natural he’d feel this way.

But stronger than discomfort was guilt.

It was likely his mother who had pressured Hee-jo into blind dates.

He knew it well.

His mother pitied Hee-jo—but also feared her.

“Kwon-yeol, you’re of marriageable age now. Shouldn’t you find a good partner and start a family?”

“I have no intention. Nor the time.”

“…Is it because of Hee-jo?”

“I don’t see why her name is suddenly coming up.”

“Well, both of you avoid the topic whenever marriage comes up. So I wondered… is there something I should know? Kwon-yeol, you can let go of your guilt toward your friend now—”

“I’ll be leaving. I’d appreciate it if we didn’t waste time on matters like this again.”

Since she found it difficult to deal with her eldest son, she must have grabbed the easier target—Yoon Hee-jo—and said something unnecessary.

That was always how his mother was.

She lacked the courage to confront things directly and the patience to endure discomfort.

So she always clung to the easier target.

That cowardly weakness disgusted him more than outright malice.

Even if he got angry, she would cry, hide behind his father, and exhaust the other person until she got what she wanted.

Emotional responses were a waste of time.

It was far more efficient to remove himself from the situation.

That is—if it were only his problem.

“Thank you for worrying about me. But I want to get along with Madam. I like that she cares about me… sometimes I even wonder if this is what having a mother would feel like. So you don’t need to assign people to protect me or monitor my schedule in detail. Just… watch over me. That’s what I want.”

After Yoon Hee-jae died, this was the first time Hee-jo had earnestly expressed a wish.

He couldn’t ignore it.

But while loosening the reins in the name of respecting her, he ended up letting her waste time with some worthless fool.

If he had known, he wouldn’t have allowed it—even if it was her wish.

But spilled water cannot be gathered again.

Now, the only way was to help her in his own way.

To grant her wish of gaining the “trophy” of marrying into a chaebol family—

and at the same time, give her immense wealth.

If he became the husband she would divorce, and transferred assets under the legal justification of alimony, she would have no choice but to accept it.

Because she would never accept anything from just “her brother’s friend.”

He wanted to completely free her from himself—and from Beomho Group.

People thought she was clinging to the group.

But in reality, it was the opposite.

It was he who kept pulling her back whenever she tried to stand on her own.

…Because he feared she might end up like Hee-jae.

“I think it’s a reasonable proposal—for both of us.”

At the word reasonable, Hee-jo smiled bitterly.

It was so like Kwon-yeol.

He labeled the escape route he created to protect her from hurt as “reasonable,” easing his own guilt in the process.

At the same time, this was also an opportunity he had been waiting for.

As her protector, and as her brother’s friend, he could safely free her from the shadow of Beomho.

Hee-jo felt as if her heart collapsed to the ground.

As expected—

that night meant love to her.

And a mistake to him.

But Kwon-yeol was even trying to use that painful mistake for her sake.

He was giving up the chance to marry into a better family and climb higher faster—

just to save her.

Offering an entire year of his life.

That suffocating sense of responsibility made her want to cry.

It felt… just like Hee-jae, who sacrificed everything for her.

Keeping a promise to a dead friend, pitying a woman he didn’t love, and wasting his life for her—

that kindness felt unbearably humiliating.

But…

just once.

Just this once.

I want to live the way I want.

As her late brother wished, she wanted to be happy.

Of course, she knew.

Choosing “happiness” didn’t mean she would actually be happy by Kwon-yeol’s side.

There would be far more painful moments.

Inside, his family would tear at her.

Outside, his world would wound and shred her.

Even so—

“…One year is enough?”

Knowing it was a poisoned chalice, Hee-jo chose to accept it.

Because this might be the only happiness she could ever choose for herself.

“Yes. It’ll be written clearly in the contract.”

A contract.

She steadied her shaking heart.

She had heard that even love marriages in his world involved contracts.

So this—starting as a divorce-bound marriage—would be even more meticulous.

“…Then may I state my condition as well?”

“Go ahead.”

Taking a breath, she met his eyes.

“After we separate, let’s never see each other again.”

She thought—thankfully, she said it in one go without faltering.

Otherwise… he might have noticed her true feelings.

But strangely—

unlike her calm exterior, why were Kwon-yeol’s eyes shaking?

“…What do you mean?”

“It’s exactly what I said.”

This condition came to her the moment she decided to accept his proposal.

“After the divorce, we live as strangers. For the rest of our lives.”

She couldn’t endure seeing another woman by his side.

Nor could she endure herself breaking at the sight.

If they remained loosely connected, she would inevitably hear about him.

So she wanted a complete break.

She would live with him only as a memory.

Not as her brother’s friend—

but as her husband.

“…This is also a good proposal for both of us, isn’t it?”

At her faint smile, asking for his agreement—

Kwon-yeol swallowed.

Something deep in his chest burned like it might scream,

yet the blood in his veins felt ice-cold.

“…Hee-jo?”

Seeing his reflection in her wide eyes, he hesitated—

then slowly withdrew his hand.

“…Alright.”

The soft strands of her hair slipped from between his fingers.

“Let’s do that.”

Hee-jo nodded immediately, as if it were obvious.

But seeing that—

why did his thoughts—and his heart—pause again?

…It felt like something he shouldn’t come to understand.

“Then we’re in this together now.”

She extended her slender hand.

“Let’s do well.”

He said nothing, just stared at her hand.

In that moment—

“O-opp—?”

“You should answer differently now. We’re married.”

In an instant, Kwon-yeol climbed over her and kissed her—

as if trying to erase the expression he had just shown.

The contract had begun.