The Only Man with a Scent in My World <A Fragrant Contract>
Hello!
Today's featured work, <A Fragrant Contract>, is a romance story
about the protagonist Jeong Li-an, a perfume company CEO on a solid path to success,
who falls into despair after losing her sense of smell in a sudden accident,
and her miraculous reunion.
To her, who had lived solely for fragrances,
the loss of smell was a devastating blow, as if her world had stopped,
but encountering a man named 'Han Do-yun' by chance
and perceiving a distinct scent only from him brings the story to a new
turning point.
Smelling the world again through only one person at the edge of loss,
Li-an proposes a secret
and fragrant contract to Do-yun, delivering a sensuous
thrill to the readers.
Let's dive into the review!
The brand 'Eclat'.
A trending perfume brand that instantly captured
people's hearts with its exotic and alluring scents.
Beating famous international perfumes one by one,
this brand dominated the top ranks of annual perfume sales,
and its CEO, 'Jeong Li-an', is the protagonist of this story.
Able to perceive everything from the scent of nature to individual body odors,
she possesses the ability to combine all these scents
to create a completely new fragrance.
The world remembered her as a genius perfumer
and a young, rich CEO.
At least, until a year ago.
Once on a roll, she loses everything
starting from a car accident a year ago.
Her reputation, the position she firmly held, and even her ability—
her sense of smell.
Even now, a year later, her condition
has not improved.
The doctor diagnosing her progress judges that since there is still no improvement
after a year, the possibility of recovery
has significantly decreased.
At the doctor's words, Li-an's face darkens.
Her friend, who accompanied her to the hospital, becomes frustrated
and lashes out at the deeply cynical Li-an.
Li-an feels hurt by her friend's words, as she doesn't understand her inner turmoil.
"...I'm frustrated to death, why are you on my case too?"
"Even so... how could you grab the doctor by the collar and shake him!"
It seems that Li-an, angry at the lack of progress for a whole year,
grabbed the doctor by the collar and shook him.
Anyway, since she needs to continue her treatment,
her friend had to say a word about Li-an causing a scene,
but it wasn't like she didn't understand Li-an's frustrated feelings.
With the company slowly starting to put pressure on her,
the friend sees Li-an getting even more anxious and suggests
they eat something delicious to comfort her.
And Li-an gets completely drunk.
Screaming at the top of her lungs and venting her anger at the world,
Li-an is dragged along by her friend, who is regretting her choice
every single second.
"Jeong Li-an...! Can't you walk straight?
We have to walk to where the car is!"
"Ji-won... I don't feel so good..."
Due to the side effects of excessive alcohol, Li-an's stomach
is turning inside out, and the friend watching her
is also turning inside out in a different sense.
Eventually, the friend goes off to find a convenience store
to buy a drink to soothe Li-an's stomach, leaving Li-an all alone
on the night streets.
Left alone, Li-an feels a sense of despair among the people
passing by on the streets and the countless scenery.
"A perfumer who can't smell...
It's not even funny."
Feeling day by day that the position she had fiercely struggled to reach
was in jeopardy,
she was terrified that all her hard work would turn into nothing.
"Is it ending like this for me..."
As if the anxiety and despair built up over the past year
rushed over her all at once, Li-an sits there
and sheds heavy tears.
Just then, a scent drifting from somewhere
brushes the tip of her nose.
Drawn by the scent, Li-an turns her head
and spots a man.
"Um... why are you crying?"
At the scent she caught for the first time in a year, Li-an freezes.
The fragrance coming from him is cozy and soft,
yet somehow captivating.
"Hey!"
Having fallen into endless despair after losing her sense of smell, Li-an
unconsciously approaches him.
Feeling the possibility that she could bounce back
through her encounter with him, Li-an speaks directly
to the man she just met.
"I... I need you."
And the next day.
Li-an wakes up feeling a familiar scent she had smelled somewhere before.
A scent that feels like the morning sunlight.
The cozy and warm fragrance of grass leaves and pear blossoms.
Opening her eyes to a scent with an oddly peculiar charm, she
is surprised once that her sense of smell has returned,
and surprised again by the fact that
a strange man is lying next to her.
A messy room and an even messier stomach.
Having absolutely no idea what in the world
happened last night, she puts the fragmented memories behind her,
and observes the peacefully sleeping man.
While examining the handsome, youthful-looking man, Li-an
snaps back to her senses when he shows signs of waking up,
and leaves the room just like that.
Convinced that her sense of smell is back, Li-an returns to the company,
but perhaps it was all her delusion, as she
couldn't smell anything at all.
Not the smell of morning coffee, nor the smell of cigarettes at the company dinner...
At the staff dinner before the new product launch,
she drinks excessively once again.
Because she thought that if she created similar conditions to the day she got her smell back,
she might be able to find her sense of smell again.
Feeling no major change, she tries meeting unfamiliar men as well,
but the more she does, the more she is only reminded of the man from that day,
who gifted her that singular scent.
Ultimately, as a last resort, she relies on a single business card
she took from the room she spent with him
and visits a certain flower shop.
However, the flower shop is firmly closed with a 'For Rent' sign attached,
and Li-an is disappointed
at failing to find a way.
Right then, she feels that familiar scent once again,
and Li-an turns around.
"I finally found you..."
Li-an and the mysterious man reunite.
Li-an desperately needs this man to make her comeback.
The only man with a scent in her world that has lost its sense of smell.
Will Li-an be able to regain
a world full of fragrances with him?
This is <A Fragrant Contract>, currently serialized on Naver Webtoon.