CHAPTER 11:NO CONTRACT*
1068 Words
4:47 AM turned into 6:00 AM and we still hadn’t moved.
My hand was still in his. His thumb kept brushing over my knuckles. Not romantic. Just… grounding. Like he was making sure I was real.
“You didn’t sleep,” Taewook said.
“Neither did you,” I said.
He finally let go. Stood. “Coffee. Then we deal with the rest.”
“The rest?”
“Jihye,” he said. “Chairman. Your mother. The press. Pick your poison.”
I chose coffee first.
He made it the same way. Black. No sugar. He remembered again.
We drank in silence at the counter. Sunlight hit the glass walls and turned the whole penthouse gold.
“You said stay,” I said. “Because I want to.”
Taewook didn’t look up from his cup. “I meant it.”
“So what’s the contract now?” I asked.
He set his cup down. Looked at me. Direct. No mask.
“No contract,” he said. “No clauses. No leverage. You stay because you choose to. Or you go. I won’t stop you.”
My chest did something stupid. “You’re letting me go?”
“I’m giving you a choice,” he said. “I never had one at 19. My father picked my wife. My life. My war. You get to pick yours.”
I stared at him. The man who kidn*pped my ex. Who kept a basement. Who said “I use them” on night 1.
And now he was giving me an out.
“I’m not going,” I said. “Not yet. I still have Jihye to deal with. And my mother’s shares are safe, but her company isn’t.”
Taewook nodded. “Good. Because I need you.”
He walked to his desk. Pulled out a folder. Not black. Blue. Softer.
“Inside. 3 things,” he said. “One: Jihye’s immunity deal. Signed. She works for us full time now. Two: Your mother’s company. 18% is back in your name. Legal. Untouchable. Three…”
He paused. Slid one paper across the table.
“Annulment papers. Signed by me. Dated today. You only have to sign if you want out.”
I looked at it. My name wasn’t on it. Only his.
“You’d let me leave,” I whispered. “After all this.”
“Yes,” he said. “Because I’d rather lose you than keep you in a cage.”
I picked up the paper. Didn’t sign it. I tore it in half.
Taewook’s eyes flickered.
“I’m staying,” I said. “Not because of Minho. Not because of revenge. Because for the first time since I died… I’m not alone.”
He didn’t say anything. He just walked to me. Stood close.
“Soyeon,” he said. “I don’t do this.”
He reached up. Brushed his thumb under my eye. I didn’t realize I was crying.
“I don’t comfort people,” he said. “I don’t trust people. I don’t… feel things. But you.”
He dropped his hand. “You make me want to.”
The door opened. Joon. “Chairman Kang is here. He says it’s urgent.”
Of course he was.
_9:15 AM. Living Room._
Chairman Kang didn’t sit. He stood in the middle of the penthouse like he owned it. Because technically, he did.
“You exiled him,” he said to Taewook. “No police. No statement. You think you’re above the law?”
“No,” Taewook said. “I think the law is too slow.”
The chairman’s eyes moved to me. Then to Jihye, who was standing behind us with her head down.
“And her,” he said. “The girl who tried to kill you on a bridge.”
Jihye flinched.
“She saved me,” I said. “She jumped in front of the gun. Blank or not, she chose me.”
The chairman scoffed. “Sentimental.”
“No,” I said. “Strategic. She knows everything Minho planned. She’s the only one who can predict him if he comes back.”
The chairman was quiet. Then: “Your mother’s shares. 18%. It’s in your name now?”
“Yes,” I said.
“Good,” he said. “Because I’m buying 10% from you. At market price. Today.”
I blinked. “Why?”
“Because if you own it, Minho’s allies will come for you,” he said. “If I own it, they come for me. And I don’t lose.”
He pulled out a check. Handed it to me.
420,000,000,000 won.
My hands shook.
Taewook took it from me. Looked at it. Then handed it back.
“Sign,” he said to me. “It’s clean money. No strings.”
I signed.
The chairman nodded. “You’re not stupid, girl. Maybe not crazy either.”
He turned to leave. Stopped at the door.
“Taewook,” he said. “Your mother would’ve liked her.”
Then he was gone.
Silence.
Jihye finally spoke. “I… I should go. Pack. Before he changes his mind.”
“No,” I said. “Stay. For now. We have work to do.”
Jihye looked up. Tears in her eyes. “Why? After everything I did—”
“Because you jumped,” I said. “And because 24-year-old me is tired of hating you.”
Jihye broke down. Sobbed. For real.
Taewook watched. Then looked at me.
“You chose mercy twice in 12 hours,” he said.
“I chose to stop being her,” I said.
He nodded. Walked to the window. Seoul below us.
“My father gave you 420B,” he said. “What are you going to do with it?”
I stood next to him. Shoulder to shoulder again.
“I’m going to build something he can’t burn,” I said. “A company. In my name. Not Kang. Not Cha. Mine.”
Taewook looked at me. For a long time.
“Then I’ll fund it,” he said. “No contract. No equity. Just… because I want to.”
He reached for my hand again.
This time, I was the one who held on.
Outside, the city was loud.
Inside, it was just us.
And for the first time since I came back…
I wasn’t surviving.
I was living.
- Writer
