Bound by a Ruthless Contract - Chapter 155

Walking back from the hospital with Aunt, I was keenly aware of the early autumn breeze that had arrived sooner than usual this year. The gentle wind carried with it a promise of change.

Aunt’s footsteps were light, suggesting her good spirits.

“How was your appointment today, Aunt?” I asked softly.

“G-good,” she stammered with a gentle smile. “The d-doctor is kind. He… he really l-listens to me.”

“I’m glad. The doctor says you’re a wonderful person too, and that your drawings are beautiful.”

Her face lit up with childlike joy. “R-really? T-tomorrow, I’ll… I’ll draw something for you.”

As I watched her innocent delight, my hand unconsciously drifted to my still-flat abdomen. Though smooth to the touch, I knew a new life was growing within – a life that was once meant to be both his and mine.

No. That thought was incorrect.

This child was mine alone. Only mine.

My life would never again intersect with Si-heon’s. Neither would this child.

From the beginning, it had always been just the three of us – Mother, Aunt, and me. I was simply returning to how things should be.

There was no reason to be afraid.

Mother had raised me with boundless love despite being alone. Aunt had done the same.

I could do this. I will succeed.

I was my mother’s daughter, and I had Aunt by my side.

“G-Ga-eun, you’re t-touching your belly again. Think of s-something else.”

“Oh, sorry, Aunt. How about we get some ice cream?”

“I-ice cream! Y-yes!”

Inside the ice cream shop, I ordered Aunt’s favorites – strawberry and vanilla.

“E-eat with me, G-ga-eun.”

“Of course, let’s eat together.”

I took a small spoonful of the strawberry ice cream with the pink plastic spoon. The sweetness bloomed across my tongue.

‘I promise to speak only sweet, beautiful, and happy words to you, my little one.’

As my hand began to drift toward my belly again, I quickly took another bite of ice cream. I was still being watched, after all.

‘I need to leave soon.’

After departing from Seoul and meeting Si-heon’s parents in Danyang, I had come to Yeonjun at Chairman Kwon’s directive. It was unexpected – I had thought he would send me abroad immediately.

“Stay here for now,”

He had said with calculated precision.

“I’ll send word when I’m ready. It would be wise not to entertain any foolish thoughts. Though I doubt you would act rashly, given you have someone to protect.”

Chairman Kwon was right.

I harbored none of the “foolish thoughts” he worried about. How could I, when I had people to protect? My aunt and my baby – my family.

But there was something else unexpected, rivaling the chairman’s actions. The friend who supposedly clashed with Chairman Kwon, as mentioned by Artist Ja-myeong, turned out to be Kim Juhan’s grandfather, Kim Hak-sun – the owner of Gayundang, a hereditary pillar of the community and the heart of Byeolnaeri Village.

Known simply as “The Elder,” Kim Hak-sun had once embraced my mother when she bore a child without a husband, along with her younger sister, my aunt. His support had allowed us to settle into the village without struggle.

Just as before, Kim Hak-sun welcomed my aunt and me back to the village.

“To think that Kwon’s daughter-in-law was our Ga-eun… I missed the wedding due to stomach trouble. Well, well. How fate works in mysterious ways. Regardless, welcome back. Make yourself at home.”

True to Chairman Kwon’s words, he was helping us stay unnoticed by the villagers. However, there was one puzzling aspect…

“Don’t worry,” he had said with quiet conviction. “That nouveau riche won’t know about his great-grandchild. Not ever – if that’s what you want.”

The startling revelation was that Kim Hak-sun was deceiving even Chairman Kwon himself.

“Oh? Why am I helping you, you ask?” Kim Hak-sun’s eyes gleamed with mischief. “Just imagine how that pompous fool’s perfectly polished face will crumple when he finally learns the truth! And if he never finds out – well, that’s equally satisfying. Ha ha!”

“…Thank you, Elder.”

“No need for such formality. If it weren’t for you, Juhan would have gone astray long ago. I bound him too tightly with family rules.”

Kim Hak-sun’s expression softened as he gazed at me thoughtfully.

“I’m grateful you were there for our Juhan back then.”

“Ah…”

“Living in that grand house, following every strict rule – how suffocating it must have been for such a young child. Because of you, our Juhan could experience a proper childhood.”

He smiled warmly, saying he would do anything for me just for that reason alone. Though he was a strict elder, he was also a grandfather who deeply cherished his grandson.