Past is Past

A Contract Wife
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One month later…

Kitchen…

 

“Agasshi… do you think… this will really work?” Kang Chun Hwa asked in a worried tone. “Sajang-nim and Hyun Jung…” She paused and inhaled a deep breath. “… they really hate it. If they find out… I can’t imagine their reaction.”

Park Shin Hye smiled as she scooped the food from the pan into a small bowl. “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure they wouldn’t find out. You tried it just now and if I didn’t tell you, will you know what is the ingredient inside?”

Kang Chun Hwa shook her head softly. “It doesn’t have that taste at all and it’s very delicious. But… sajang-nim and Hyun Jun’s tongue is very sensitive.”

Shin Hye put the bowl on the tray and gave the maid’s arm a gentle squeeze. “No worries. I’ll handle them if they find out.” She assured her with a smile. And just then, someone walked into the kitchen and interrupted their conversation.

“Eomma…” Hyun Jun ran towards Shin Hye and smiled adorably. “Eomma… good morning.”

“Good morning, cutie pie.” Shin Hye held his tiny hand and let out a sweet smile.

Hyun Jun turned to the kitchen island and smelled the nice aroma that filled the whole room. “Hmmm… the food smells so good. What is that?” He asked, pointing at the bowl on the tray.

Shin Hye smiled. “It’s eomma’s new recipe. I specially make it for you and your appa. I’m sure you will love it. It’s very tasty and healthy for children.”

“Yeah! I can try new food again. Eomma daebak.” Hyun Jun cheered happily.

“The foods are ready. Let’s go out to eat now.” Shin Hye said as she helped Kang Chun Hwa to take one of the trays.

As they walked out from the kitchen, Min Ho just came down and was walking into the dining room at the same time.

“Appa… good morning.” Hyun Jun greeted his father as he jumped up onto the dining chair.

Min Ho looked at Hyun Jun with a surprise gaze. “Why did you wake up so early? Today is Saturday. You don’t need to go to school today.”

“He have a replacement class today.” Shin Hye replied for Hyun Jun as she placed the foods on the dining table. “His private class was cancelled last Thursday due to his hockey practice at school.”

“I see.” Min Ho smiled when he saw his wife. He walked closer to her and leaned over to kiss her forehead. “Good morning.” He whispered.

When Shin Hye heard the soft giggle sounds from Hyun Jun and Kang Chun Hwa, her face immediately turned red in deep blush. “G-Good morning.” She stuttered, slowly pulled away from him. She walked to her place and quickly sits down without looking at them.

“Appa, eomma have cooked something new and delicious today.” Hyun Jun said to his father when he sits down too.

Shin Hye scooped few spoons of the new dish to their empty plates before placing it in front of Min Ho and Hyun Jun.

Min Ho glanced at the food before looking at Shin Hye. “What is this? It’s smell very good.”

“New side dish recipe.” Shin Hye said, looking at him with a smile. “Try it.”

Without waiting for his father to try first, Hyun Jun quickly put a big spoonful of the food into his tiny mouth. Kang Chun Hwa who was standing at the side, stared at Hyun Jun with a nervous expression.

“Hmmm… it’s so delicious.” Kyun Jun said, as he was busy chewing the food in his mouth. “Appa, you should try too.”

Min Ho smiled looking at his son’s cute expression. Gently taking his spoon up, he scooped a small spoonful of the food into his mouth. Shin Hye held her breath and looked at him with an anxious gaze.

“How is it?” Shin Hye asked.

Min Ho chewed carefully, allowing himself to taste the food. His lips slowly curled up into a small smile before looking at Shin Hye. “Delicious.”

Shin Hye and Kang Chun Hwa let out a sigh of relief at the same time.

“But what is this? It taste… familiar. But I just couldn’t tell what is that. Is it… pumpkin?” Min Ho asked as he put another spoonful into his mouth.

“Hrmmm…” Shin Hye let out a cheeky smile. “It’s… carrot.” She told them honestly.

“WHAT?!” Min Ho and Hyun Jun shouted at the same time. With a deep groan, Min Ho quickly spit out the chewed food and just when Hyun Jun wanted to do the same too, Shin Hye gave him a murderous glare with her index finger pointing at him.

“Lee Hyun Jun! You dare to spit it out, you will be in a big trouble.” Shin Hye warned him.

Hyun Jun paused his action, looking at his father for help but Min Ho ignored him and quickly took a big sip of water.

“Swallow it.” Shin Hye said sternly, her eyes still glaring at him.

Hyun Jun took a deep breath before forcing himself to gulp down the food in his mouth.

Shin Hye sighed and shifted her glare to Min Ho. “What is wrong with you? I thought you said it’s very delicious?”

Min Ho cleared his throat and gently pushed the bowl of carrot away from him. “You know we don’t like carrot.” He said very softly, trying not to anger his wife further.

“You don’t even know it was carrot until I told you.” Shin Hye said angrily as she crossed her arms across her chest. “How can you be so picky on food? You should set a good example to Hyun Jun.” She said as she took a side-glance at his son.

“I… I don’t understand what is carrot has to do with setting a good example to him. Everybody have something they don’t like to eat.” He looked at Shin Hye with a wary gaze. “I’m sure you have something you don’t like to eat too.”

“Ani. I eat everything. As long as the food is good for my health, I’ll eat it.” Shin Hye said firmly.

“But what is so good about carrot. It has a kind of… weird smell that makes me want to vomit.” Min Ho said as Hyun Jun nodded his head, agreed with his father.

Shin Hye heaved another deep sigh. “Carrot is very good for health. It can improve vision, help prevent cancer, slow down aging, prevents heart disease and . It’s very important for us especially for growing child. Do you want Hyun Jun to have a bad vision and wear glasses in young age?”

Min Ho stole a sideway glance at his son before taking his coffee and took a big sip. “I don’t have a bad vision.” He mumbled.

“And this!” Shin Hye pointed at his cup. “Coffee is bad for health but you like it so much.” She said as she looked away and started to eat her food angrily.

Kang Chun Hwa took a step forward and whispered softly to Min Ho and Hyun Jun. “Agasshi woke up very early this morning to prepare this dish. It was not easy to make it. She tried it few times before she succeeds. She knows both of you doesn’t like the smell of the carrot, so she added some honey, frozen apple juice concentrate, fresh parsley and toasted hazelnuts to cover the smell.”

Min Ho and Hyun Jun turned to Shin Hye at the same time upon hearing what the maid said. Taking another big spoonful of the carrot dish, Hyun Jun scooped it into his tiny mouth and smiled sweetly at Shin Hye.

“Eomma, you see. Hyun Jun love to eat carrot now.” Hyun Jun said in between chewing.

Shin Hye looked at him and couldn’t suppress her smile. “Eat slowly.” She said as she poured a glass of orange juice for him.

Hyun Jun smiled and looked at his father. He used his eyes to send a silent message to Min Ho and asked him to eat it too. Min Ho understood but shook his head stubbornly. Although his heart felt sweet knowing Shin Hye prepared all this for them but he really hates carrot.

He glanced at Shin Hye again but she doesn’t even want to look at him. A helpless and defeated sigh slowly escaped his lips. Just when he wanted to surrender and give in to the carrot, a familiar voice interrupted them.

“Good morning.”

Three of them looked up at the same time and saw a smiling Si Wan standing in front of them. “I hope I didn’t disturbed your lovely breakfast.”

“You did.” Min Ho said coldly as his face darkened immediately.

“Good morning, seonsaeng-nim.” Hyun Jun greeted his tutor politely.

“Good morning, Hyun Jun.” Si Wan smiled.

“What are you doing here so early in the morning?” Min Ho asked with an unkind tone.

“Shin Hye didn’t tell you? We have a replacement class at 9am.” Si Wan said as he took a seat beside Hyun Jun.

Min Ho glared at him dangerously. “Shin Hye?” He inhaled a sharp breath. “I’ll be more comfortable if you address my wife as Park Shin Hye-sshi.” He said sourly.

Shin Hye scoffed at his absurdity. Ignoring him, she looked at Si Wan with a warm smile. “Oppa, have you taken your breakfast yet? If not, let’s eat together.”

OPPA??? Min Ho turned to Shin Hye and looked at her in disbelief.

But before he could say anything, Si Wan cut in first. “Thank you. I’m famished.”

“Ahjuhma, can you please take an empty plate for Si Wan oppa?” Shin Hye said to Kang Chun Hwa.

The older woman glanced at Min Ho’s angry expression and gulped nervously. “Y-Yes.” She replied as she quickly disappeared into the kitchen.

Si Wan smiled when he saw Min Ho’s blackened face. Good. If it was so hard for him to say the three words to Shin Hye, he doesn’t mind to give him some pressure to help both of them.

After the maid came back with the plate and spoon to him, he started to eat the foods in front of him. He took a big spoonful of the carrot dish that Shin Hye made and put it into his mouth. “Hmmm… this is really delicious.” He looked up at Kang Chun Hwa and showed his thumb up. “Ahjuhma’s cooking skill is the best.”

The maid smiled embarrassedly as she shook her head. “This dish was made by agasshi.”

“Chincha?” Si Wan looked at Shin Hye. “Wow, you can cook very well. What is this?”

“Carrot.” Shin Hye said the word loudly as she stole a sideway glance at Min Ho. “You think it’s delicious? But too bad. Some people just don’t know how to appreciate it.” She said with her voice laced with sarcasm.  

Si Wan glanced at his best friend and smirked. Now he remembered. Min Ho hates carrot. This is going to be fun. “No worries. I love carrot. I’ll finish it for you.” He said as he looked back at Shin Hye.

Shin Hye smiled and put the whole bowl in front of Si Wan. “Thank you.”

Hyun Jun and Kang Chun Hwa moved their gazes from Shin Hye to Min Ho with their hearts pounding extremely fast against their chests. They know it wouldn’t be long before Min Ho explodes like a volcano.

“Oppa… do you want coffee or orange juice?” Shin Hye asked.

“I want…”

But before Si Wan could finish his sentence, Min Ho stood up abruptly and walked to his wife. He held her hand and pulled her up. “I need to talk to you.” He said, glaring at her dangerously. And without waiting for her to reply, he half dragging her towards the stairs.

Hyun Jun turned to Si Wan and pouted his lips when he heard Si Wan laughed. “Seonsaeng-nim, you gave eomma a big trouble.”

Si Wan grinned and Hyun Jun’s head. “No worries. I’m just helping your eomma and appa. You have to thank me if you get a baby brother soon.”

 

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Bedroom…

 

“Do you want to die?” Min Ho almost shouted at Shin Hye after they both entered their room and closed the door.

Shin Hye took few steps backward to lengthen a safe distance between them as she crossed her arms. “What did I do wrong?” She asked fearlessly.

Min Ho inhaled sharply. “Have you forgotten what I told you? I asked you to stay away from him. And you even dare to flirt with him right in front of my face just now.” He glared at her. “Si Wan oppa?” He chuckled sarcastically. “I hardly even hear you calling me Min Ho oppa.”

“W-What is wrong with that? H-He is your best friend. It means… he is my friend too. And furthermore… he is Hyun Jun’s tutor and we should communicate closely to… ahhh…” Shin Hye stop mid-sentence and was startled when Min Ho suddenly lunged forward, swept her off her feet and tossed her onto the bed with him hovered on top of her.

“Yah, Lee Min Ho. What are you doing? You… ahhh…” Shin Hye winced when Min Ho leaned over and took her lower lip in between his teeth, biting it softly. “What communicate closely? If you dare to go any closer to him, I’m going to kill him.” He threatened her dangerously. “And what ‘Yah, Lee Min Ho’? He is oppa and I’m ‘Yah, Lee Min Ho’?”

Shin Hye blushed and looked away.   

Min Ho cupped her face and forced her to look back at him. “You are mine.” He said possessively.

Shin Hye bit her lip. “No, I’m not.”

Min Ho held her gaze and understood what she meant. The damn three words again. He sighed deeply. “I thought you said you will wait a little longer.”

Yes she did but impatience is one of the most basic character flaws of women. She heaved a deep sigh too and doesn’t want to go to that sensitive topic now. “I didn’t flirt with him. He doesn’t have any bad intention too. You know him better than me. You should understand that he is not a bad person.” 

Min Ho’s gaze softened as his fingers gently caressed along her jaw. “And I didn’t say I don’t like the food you cook too. I just… don’t like carrot.”

“I know.” Shin Hye said as she looked into his eyes. “And that was why I tried to think of something else to make the dish doesn’t taste like carrot at all. I’m not forcing you to like what I cook. I just want you to eat something healthy and stop eating something that is bad for your health.”

A wide smile slowly spread across his face. He likes the way she cares for him. “Wae? Are you scared that something will happen to me and I’ll die…” His sentence was cut off when Shin Hye covered his mouth with her hand, stopping him to continue.

“Stop talking nonsense!” She scolded him.

The smile on his face grew wider as he took her hand away from his mouth. “I’ll prefer if you could shut me up with your lips next time.”

Shin Hye glared at him with her face reddened further.

Min Ho chuckled at her cute expression. “I think I’m being too soft to you lately. You are not scared of me anymore.” He said as he stole a kiss on her lips. “But I love fighting with you. Whenever we did, I always get to know something new about you.” He said again and stole another kiss.

“Y-You should go now. You will be late.” Shin Hye tried to push him away but it only make his arm tightened around her waist.

“I think I’m just going to call back and cancel the meeting. I don’t feel good with you staying with that wolf downstairs.” He said unhappily.

Shin Hye smiled. She loves seeing him jealous and being possessive over her. It means he care for her too. “Don’t worry. I won’t be staying here with him. I’m going back to visit my eomma later.”

“Good.” He said with a satisfied smile.

“Then… let go of me. You have to go now.” Shin Hye tried to push him again.

Min Ho shook his head and let out a mischievous smile. “I still have twenty minutes.”

And before Shin Hye could protest, he already leaned down and captured her lips.

 

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Park Residence…

 

“Everything is alright with samo-nim. Her condition is stable and the dialysis went very well. Mrs Lee doesn’t need to worry.” The personal care assistant assured Shin Hye with a smile.

“Thank you for taking care of my mother.” Shin Hye bowed politely at the older woman.

“This is my job.” She smiled. “I’ll leave you two to talk. Call me if you need anything.” She said before walking to the door and left the room.

Shin Hye took a seat on her mother’s bed and held her hand. “You look so much better lately.”

Han Ae Jung nodded with a smile. “I think it was because I have enough rest and doesn’t need to travel too much for the dialysis. I have to thank Min Ho for that.”

“He will be glad to know you feel better.” Shin Hye smiled.

“Is everything okay with both of you?” Han Ae Jung asked in concern.

Shin Hye nodded. “Yes.” It was so much better compared to what she imagined earlier.

“But he doesn’t seems to know that you are the little girl that he met at the orphanage fourteen years ago.” Han Ae Jung said. The last time she talks to Min Ho, he was clueless when she hinted him about it.

Shin Hye let out a long sigh. “He doesn’t know. But… it’s not important at all. That was just a short encounter and it’s normal if he doesn’t remember.” She paused and looked at her mother. “I don’t think it will change anything even if he knows about it. As long as we are happy now… the past is just a past. Present… it’s all that matters, right?”

Han Ae Jung squeezed her daughter’s hand softly and nodded. “Yes. As long as both of you are happy, it’s all that matters.”

 

After about two hours chatting and keeping her mother accompanied, Shin Hye came out from her room and let her sleep. She walked to the stairs and when she was about to go down, suddenly someone grasped her arm and dragged her into a room. It was Park Hae Jin’s room and the person who pulled her inside was her brother.

“Oppa… you… you scare me.” Shin Hye said, watching him closing the door behind them.

Hae Jin walked to her and held her shoulders. His expression was anxious. “Shin Hye-ah… you have to help oppa. If you don’t, oppa will die this time.”

Shin Hye looked at him worriedly. “What happened?”

“For you, it’s just a small matter.” Hae Jin paused and inhaled a deep breath. “I need one billion won.”

Shin Hye widened her eyes and held her breath. Did she hear correctly? One billion won? “W-What… what did you just said?”

“I said I need one billion won urgently.” Hae Jin repeated in impatiently.

“O-One billion won? Why do you need so much money?” Shin Hye asked again.

Hae Jin pursed his lips. “My… my friends told me about this very reliable shares and… and I invested in it. I thought… I thought I could earn some money from it but…”

“But you loss again and owe the bank one billion won?” Shin Hye asked.

Hae Jin looked away and shook his head. “N-Not the bank. Is… is the loan shark.”

“What?” Shin Hye felt her head spinning upon hearing that word. “Have you lost your mind? How can you borrow money from the loan shark? Do you know how much interest they charged and what will happen if you can’t pay them back on time?”

“I know!” Hae Jin shouted back. He took several deep breaths to calm himself down before looking at Shin Hye again. “Shin Hye-ah, you have to help oppa.”

Shin Hye bit her lip as her eyes reddened. “How am I going to help you?” This is one billion won he was talking now. Where can she find so much money in a short period of time?

“You can ask your husband.” Hae Jin said. “One billion won is just a small amount to him.”

Shin Hye immediately pulled away from him and stepped backward. Of course asking Min Ho could solve the problem easily but after the five billion won she has taken from him, she doesn’t want to take his money anymore. With the dialysis machine and the medical fees, she has already owed him a lot.

She shook her head. “I… I can’t.”

Hae Jin’s gaze darkened instantly as he glared at his sister. “How can you be so cruel to your own brother? Your husband is so rich and I only need one billion won. Why is it so hard for you?”

“It’s not about the amount of the money.” Shin Hye raised her voice too. Tears started to well in her eyes.  “How should I ask him? How do you want me to ask him?” She bit her trembling lip. The five billion won has already turned her into a gold digger to him. She fought so hard to regain her self-respect in front of him and now… she have to sell it off again because of one billion won? She can’t do it.

“Do you know what is the price I have to pay in order to get that five billion wo

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Comments

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Onewsanity
#1
Chapter 32: Most of us are here reading this amazing story again. Looking forward to more of your works, Jasey! 💙
Khawahish #2
Chapter 34: I don't even remember that how many times I have this story.........
Athena66
#3
Chapter 35: Jasey its always a re reading tine each year...Still remains my fav
sindhushree
#4
I was feeling bored so ......I am rereading this.....thank you jassey........just remains of the time when I was fangirling about min shin couple.......nice old memories....thank you
tonnettie
#5
Chapter 33: Naming is one of the most thoughtful moment that I always look forward to.
RParkSJ #6
Chapter 34: Wow! Captivating story. I couldn’t stop reading once i started!
I was actually in agony in some of the chapters. Rollercoaster ride.
Thank you very much for this fanfic.
Boss_lady #7
Chapter 34: Daebak.......Ncoohhhhh this is wonderful. Thanks for this awesome piece, I enjoyed every chapter. You are such a good writer, It's just like a drama lol I was reading and imagining Kim tan and cha eun sang. Can't wait for the heirs part 2

Their fan from Nigeria.
Boss_lady #8
Chapter 34: Daebak.......Ncoohhhhh this is wonderful. Thanks for this awesome piece, I enjoyed every chapter. You are such a good writer, It's just like a drama lol I was reading and imagining Kim tan and cha eun sang. Can't wait for the heirs part 2

Their fan from Nigeria.
Iram_89 #9
Chapter 35: Wonderful story... Fell in love instantly with it after a long long time... ?????
liltash85
#10
This story deserves to be reread again. -☺️