Chapter 8
Just where was the limit to this woman? Yesterday it was a kiss, today it was dating, and tomorrow—would she be asking to get married?
Utterly dumbfounded, Horang sat with his mouth hanging open like a video with a lagging internet connection, spending a long moment loading before he finally managed to ask back. “W-What did you want to do?” “Date.” “Are you out of your mind?” “I’m perfectly sane.” “Then why on earth would you want to date? Do you love me or something?” “I’m not the type to fall head over heels at first sight.” “Then do you like me?” “You’re not really my type, either.” “Then are you interested in me?” “I hate men with bad personalities. I prefer the affectionate type. With good manners.”
Horang, who had never been looked down upon anywhere in his life, found it absurd and deeply insulting to be rejected flatly—and three times over, at that—but he held it in and asked, “You say you don’t love me, you don’t like me, and you’re not even interested in me, so why on earth do you want to date?” “Who said anything about really dating?”
She asked so nonchalantly, with little crescent moons curving around her eyes, that Horang couldn’t find a single word to say. “Let’s do a contract relationship. Until you undergo your re-operation. Just for three months.”
When Horang drew a giant question mark over his head as if he didn’t quite understand, Bobae began offering a detailed explanation. “You need me until your re-operation, and I need your help if I’m going to write this script. But Mr. Baek Horang, you don’t have a girlfriend, do you? So I’ll fill in as your substitute girlfriend, and in exchange, you’ll show it to me—a chaebol man’s dating flex.”
Even after listening to the explanation, Horang couldn’t readily wrap his head around her words. He had come across contract relationships and contract marriages while reading countless drama scripts, but for it to happen in real life—and to him, of all people—was surreal.
Horang, who had always dismissed such things as absolute fiction that could never happen in reality between two people who felt neither love nor even a shred of affection, felt like he’d just been struck hard in the back of the head.
When he stayed silent and just blinked, too dumbfounded to answer, Bobae smiled brightly and said, “I’ll give you plenty of time to think about it.” “…” “We have to stay together anyway until you’re discharged, so don’t worry too much.”
Watching Bobae walk out of the hospital room while tapping her wrist with a smug air, Horang realized it with absolute certainty: not only did this woman hold his lifeline in her hands, but she was actively shaking it back and forth as she pleased.
“Is there truly no other way besides that woman?”
Horang, who had been clutching his head and agonizing over it alone, ultimately sought out Professor Kwak. He couldn’t just be led around by the nose, doing whatever an unverified stranger demanded. He had to find another way. “There isn’t.”
However, Professor Kwak was resolute. “Don’t just say there isn’t, look for some other method…” “I’ve mobilized every resource available, and I’m still scouring the options with fire in my eyes.” “…” “Right now, the only person who can keep your heart beating is Patient Na Bobae.”
It wasn’t as if Horang didn’t know. He had verified it with his own eyes, after all. He just wanted to deny it. He wanted to believe there was some other way to survive besides her. He didn’t want to believe that the only way he could stay alive was through that woman, Na Bobae. “Why? Is she hard to convince? Is Patient Na Bobae refusing to help?” “No. The problem is that she’s offering to help way too aggressively.” “Isn’t that a good thing, then?”
At Professor Kwak’s words, Horang let out a feeble scoff. If she hadn’t started babbling about “give-and-take” or “if something comes, something has to go back” the very moment they first met, things wouldn’t have turned out like this.
Bobae, who was quick at picking up things, was offering to help enthusiastically—on the condition that she received a price for her help. And an absurd price at that: a contract relationship. “So what on earth is the problem?”
In response to Professor Kwak’s question, Horang let out a long sigh and answered powerlessly. “She says she’ll be my backup battery, so she wants us to date.” “What?”
Startled by Horang’s words, Professor Kwak blinked for a moment before bursting into a hearty laugh. “Hahaha. I thought Patient Na Bobae was a naive little deer, but she’s a dragon. A dragon. A dragon that captures Baek Horang.” “Do you find this funny right now?” “Then should I be sad? Should I cry?”
Horang glared at Professor Kwak, who was even shedding tears of laughter, and let out a heavy sigh. Here he was feeling like he was about to die, and a so-called doctor was having the time of his life. “Why don’t you try dating for once, given the chance?”
To make matters worse, Professor Kwak went a step further. “Did I mishear something just now?” “They say if you’re a virgin till twenty-five these days, you turn into a wizard, right? Then that makes you Gandalf.” “Could you please cut down on your internet browsing?” “Unless making weird rumors is your hobby, go try dating.”
Horang was well aware that rumors surrounding him were rampant. Because he hadn’t even so much as flirted, let alone dated, by the time he reached thirty-two, gossiping tongues had conjured up terrifying tales.
President Baek Horang is supposedly a regular at gay clubs. No, he’s actually super obsessed with women and is a total energizer. I heard he has great stamina and lasts forever. Actually, he has a secret child hidden away. He’s got local mistresses and kids in countries all over the world, etc.
He had simply worked hard at his job—why on earth were such vicious rumors swirling around him? However, Horang didn’t give a damn about other people’s talk. As long as the rumors didn’t impact the company’s stock prices, he responded with thorough indifference. Perhaps his silence had only added fuel to the fire, though.
“Let’s drop that subject. Is there any other information that might help my heart?” Horang asked, gently rubbing his left chest, while Professor Kwak wiped the smile from his face and said, “This isn’t an absolute certainty, but…” “Please, tell me anything.” “I think the distance between you and Patient Na Bobae affects the battery charging.” “Distance?” “If you get farther than a certain distance from Patient Na Bobae, it doesn’t charge, but conversely, if you get closer than a certain distance, it seems to charge faster. There feels like some kind of rule to it…”
As Professor Kwak trailed off, Horang fell into deep thought. He knew all too well from personal experience that moving beyond a certain distance stopped the charging. But to say that getting closer made it charge faster?
Horang absentmindedly checked his smartwatch. To his shock, the battery had charged up to 40%! “When did it charge this much?”
Ever since it dropped to 9% earlier, the total time he had spent with Bobae was barely an hour. Yet somehow, it had already charged up to 40%? When on earth had it picked up so much juice?
Struck with suspicion, Horang asked, “What was the battery level when we went up to the hospital room?” “Around 1 to 2%.” “How long was I with that woman?” “You were together the whole time until you woke up from anesthesia, so about three hours?”
It didn’t make sense. When they had stayed together for a full three hours, the battery had only crawled up by about 10%, yet in the span of just one hour, it had surged by 30%? When had it charged so massively?
Could it be then…? Suddenly, the kiss he had shared with Bobae on the rooftop flashed through his mind.
If Professor Kwak’s hypothesis—that the distance to Bobae affected the battery charging—was correct, the only thing that could explain the sudden, massive jump in battery percentage was the kiss. After all, there was no closer distance than that. “Why? Do you have an inkling of what happened?” “I need to go.” “Go where?” “There’s something I need to check.”
Stepping outside, Horang headed straight for the hospital room. To prove Professor Kwak’s hypothesis, he needed Bobae. And physical contact with her, too.
The hospital room was empty. He checked the rooftop, but Bobae wasn’t there either. Where on earth could she have gone in this massive hospital?
Horang scoured all the places Bobae might visit, including the hospital lobby and the walking trails, but she was nowhere to be seen. “Where on earth did she go?”
Fortunately, his battery was at a safe level, but not knowing where Bobae was made him anxious. The thought—What if my battery suddenly drains? What if it plummets below 10% again like before?—brought a wave of sheer terror.
Growing restless, Horang quickened his pace. As he thoroughly scanned his surroundings looking for her, a familiar voice drifted over from somewhere. “Should I get Seollongtang? Or pasta? No. It’s been a while, I should get tteok-twi-sun [rice cake, fried snacks, and blood sausage]. If I dip fried squid into spicy tteokbokki sauce… mmm, sounds delicious.”
It was Bobae. She was drooling while staring at the food displays in front of the food court. Sporting the happiest expression in the world, she suddenly turned gloomy and began tapping her own head repeatedly. “Ah, right. I had appendicitis surgery, didn’t I? I’m such an idiot. I’m supposed to be fasting, so why did I come to the food court? Ah, they say old habits die hard—how did my feet naturally wander toward the food court?”
The moment he saw her, Horang let out an involuntary sigh of relief. Finding her put his mind at ease. He was reassured. His frantically beating heart settled back into its normal rhythm, and the cold sweat trickling down his spine seemed to stop.
Walking over to Bobae, Horang said, “What are you doing here? I’ve been looking all over for you.” At his nonchalant words, she turned around with a bright, sunny expression. Giving people heart attacks for no reason. “You were looking for me? Why?” “Who said I was looking for you?” “You literally just said you were looking for me. Why were you looking for me?”
Even though he had searched the entire hospital from top to bottom to find her, seeing her expression that clearly said ‘I knew it’ made him unwilling to admit it easily. “I wasn’t. Why would I look for you?” “You really weren’t looking for me?” “Really wasn’t.” “Is that so? Well, whatever, then.”
Bobae coolly turned on her heel and started walking away. Once a certain distance opened up, Horang checked his smartwatch and began following discreetly behind her.
The current battery level was 40%. The distance to Bobae was around two meters. This kind of distance didn’t seem to have much effect on the charging speed. To verify Professor Kwak’s hypothesis, he needed to close the distance between them a bit more.
Horang picked up his pace slightly and moved closer to Bobae’s side. He got quite close, but the battery remained completely unmoving. The moment he tried to get even closer to test it more definitively— “Do you have something to say to me?” Bobae abruptly stopped and spun around. “W-What would I have to say?” As a startled Horang stammered, Bobae smiled brightly and said, “Like telling me you’ll accept my proposal? Telling me you’ll date me?” “No way! Why would I date you?” “Then why do you keep following me?” “Who’s following you? I’m just walking my own path.”
At Horang’s confident reply, Bobae looked at him with suspicious eyes. He was trailing along behind her like a needy puppy, acting like he had something to say, but since he kept flatly denying it, she couldn’t figure out why he was acting so weird. “Why are you looking at me like that?” “You really aren’t following me, huh?” “I told you I’m not.”
When Horang stubbornly insisted, Bobae flashed an understanding smile. Then, she suddenly bolted and started running somewhere! “Damn it.”
Horang quickly chased after Bobae as she ducked into a doorway. And right after— “Oh, my goodness! Why is a man walking in here?!” An older woman was glaring daggers at Horang with fierce eyes.
Looking around, Horang realized that the place he had barged into was the women’s restroom, and he realized he had been completely played by Bobae. “I-I’m very sorry.” Bowing his head in apology to the woman, he stepped back outside. A moment later, Bobae poked her head out and said, “I was right. You were following me.”
Her brightly grinning face was so irritating that Horang wanted to bite her right then and there. Sinking his sharpest canines straight into her!
Returning to the hospital room, Bobae sat on the edge of the bed and asked, “Tell me honestly. Why were you following me?” “I told you that’s not what I was doing.” “If you weren’t following me, why’d you walk into the women’s restroom?”
Ah, seriously. If only he could keep his mouth shut. Watching Bobae banter and tease him, Horang felt his blood pressure rising to unprecedented heights. “You followed me because you were scared, didn’t you?” “What?” “You were scared your battery would drain, so you followed me. Am I right?” “Scared? As if.” “Stop fighting it and let’s date?” “What?”
Horang’s eyebrow twitched. “If just Mr. Baek Horang gives the okay, I’ll charge you up nice and full so your battery never discharges. So stop playing hard to get and let’s date.”
In all his life, he had never met a woman so aggressively forward. It wasn’t as if women hadn’t approached him in the past—they had, but they usually offered shy confessions or seductive provocations. Never had he encountered a woman who charged ahead with such wild, untamed audacity.
Watching Bobae chase after him without caring about the odds, Horang thought to himself: ‘This woman is dead serious.’
If that was the case, he needed to treat her with absolute sincerity, too. Rising from the sofa, Horang slowly walked toward Bobae. Step by step. Very slowly. “Can you handle it?” “H-Handle what?”
As the playful mood instantly turned thick and sultry, a nervous Bobae began to stutter. “Because once I start something, I’m the type to see it through to the very end.” “The… end?”
In Baek Horang’s life, there was no such thing as “moderation.” Whether it succeeded or failed, once he started something, he was the style to push it through until the very end. The end of success.
When Taesung Group, which had only ever run hotels and resorts, opened its very first shopping center and everyone opposed it saying it wouldn’t work, Horang had stubbornly seen it through to the end. The end of victory.
He had never dated past the age of thirty, so he didn’t know where the end of a relationship led, but Horang was certain of one thing. “If we start, I’m not going to just timidly hold hands and call it quits, you know?”
Because Horang had stepped in so close, his thigh brushed against Bobae’s knees. Startled, Bobae scrambled up onto the bed to get away from him. But Horang didn’t stop—he continued advancing toward her like a predatory beast closing in on choice prey, letting out a low, low rumble. “Still think you’ll be okay with that?” “W-What?”
Just a moment ago, Bobae had been doing her utmost to provoke him, but the tables had completely turned 180 degrees. Now, Bobae was the one fleeing while Horang was the one hunting her down. “You said let’s date.” “A-And?”
Startled by how close Horang was crowding her, Bobae lost her balance and fell backward. Before she could even feel the soft texture of the blanket beneath her, Horang loomed right over her body. “We’re not kids anymore, after all.”
Reflected in Bobae’s trembling eyes—shaking as if an earthquake had hit—was the face of a starving predator. Yet Horang didn’t care at all, pressing even closer toward her.
Having never been this close to a man before, Bobae felt her heart pounding wildly enough to burst. Clenching the blanket with her delicate fingers to shake off her trembling, his hot breath settled softly against her ear. “Even if it’s just a contract relationship…”
As Bobae looked up at him with trembling eyes, a smile played on his lips as he continued, “If we’re adults, shouldn’t we date like adults, too?”
