Hee Won observed Kang Woo’s reaction. He showed no sign of agitation upon hearing those words.

His composed response actually flustered her instead.

“Is that so?”

After a brief silence, Hee Won couldn’t think of what to say next in response to Kang Woo’s reply. Unable to meet his gaze, she lowered her head and saw her palms already drenched in sweat from long ago.

The silence continued after that.

A moment later, the sound of a chair being pushed back reached Hee Won’s ears.

Startled, Hee Won looked up and met Kang Woo’s eyes. He was looking down at her with an expressionless face.

Had she made a mistake? Was he angry that she had told such an obvious lie?

Hee Won’s mind became muddled.

If Kang Woo left like this, the outcome was obvious.

Even though it was a marriage she didn’t want, the thought suddenly struck her that she couldn’t let him go.

She thought it would be better to tell the truth.

“Cha Kang…”

Hee Won didn’t finish her sentence. It was because Kang Woo, whom she thought was about to leave, leaned towards her and whispered in her ear.

“Seong Hee Won.”

Hee Won was startled by the sudden closeness. She covered her ear where Kang Woo’s breath had just touched and pushed her chair back.

Suddenly, she remembered that night when he had made her ears burn just like now. The place where his breath had touched felt hot. It was as hot as if it had been burned.

Kang Woo was watching Hee Won’s reaction with interest.

“For someone who claims to have been too drunk to remember…”

He trailed off as he took out a note and 300,000 won from his jacket pocket.

“Doesn’t this seem familiar?”

Hee Won’s face hardened. What he had taken out were the traces she had left behind.

“…I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Hee Won forced a smile, pulling up the corners of her mouth that wouldn’t rise naturally. She could feel her lips trembling, but for some reason, she felt she shouldn’t admit it just yet.

“Is that so? Well, I can help you remember if you’d like.”

“…Pardon?”

“The setting might be a bit inappropriate, but how about it?”

Kang Woo slowly caressed Hee Won’s lips.

His hand touching her lips and his hot breath on her face made Hee Won recall that night.

“We were quite passionate, as I recall. The Seong Hee Won who clung to me was quite adorable.”

At Kang Woo’s words, Hee Won’s cheeks turned the color of ripe peaches.

“I thought we were quite compatible that night, but I guess Seong Hee Won doesn’t think so.”

Hee Won’s face turned pale at Kang Woo’s next words.

“I can still remember how you looked crying beneath me. So much so that I want to make you remember forcibly if you can’t recall because you were drunk.”

“…You’re not serious, are you?”

“Shall we try it, you and I?”

Hee Won felt as if Kang Woo’s gaze had become a noose tightening around her body.

She couldn’t deny it. He seemed determined to push her until she admitted it with her own mouth.

“Ah, alright.”

Hee Won was the first to surrender. She stretched out both hands to cover Kang Woo’s mouth as if to stop him from saying more.

“I remembered. Is that enough now?”

Kang Woo lazily lifted the corners of his mouth, as if quite satisfied with Hee Won’s answer.

He was too cunning. Knowing everything yet pushing like this, she felt somewhat resentful towards him.

Hee Won glared at Kang Woo with all her might.

“Glaring is fine, but…”

The situation changed when Kang Woo kissed Hee Won’s palm that was covering his mouth.

“…Mmh.”

Her face flushed red and a strange moan escaped from between her tightly closed lips.

Seeing this, Kang Woo smiled and lowered Hee Won’s hand.

“It’s not my style.”

Kang Woo seated Hee Won and then sat down in his own chair.

“I was planning to do something if you kept resisting, but fortunately…”

Kang Woo crossed his legs and leisurely picked up his coffee cup to drink.

Looking at Kang Woo, Hee Won thought that he would have truly done so.

Kang Woo put down his coffee cup and looked at Hee Won.

“I don’t think you believed that I didn’t know your face.”

“…”

“To tell the truth, I knew about Seong Hee Won. I knew it was you that night and slept with you, and I arranged this meeting because it was you.”

Faced with Kang Woo’s directness, Hee Won decided to be honest as well.

“If you want something, just say it.”

Kang Woo’s expression hardened again at Hee Won’s response.

“What do you think I want?”

“…”

“Are you hoping I’ll say something like I want to avoid the marriage?”

Hee Won couldn’t give any answer.

At first, she didn’t want to marry but it was a marriage she had to go through with regardless.

She had long since accepted that and resigned herself to it for the sake of family peace.

When she didn’t know that this Cha Kang Woo was that Cha Kang Woo, just thinking about marriage was horrifying.

The suffocating feeling of being dragged to a slaughterhouse disappeared. Surprisingly, she even felt relieved in a corner of her heart that he was her marriage partner. After meeting Kang Woo, a bit of will started growing in her heart. If her partner was the gentle man from that night, living together might not be so bad.

But it was too hasty a judgment. She still didn’t know what Kang Woo wanted, or what his true self was like.

Unable to withstand Kang Woo’s gaze demanding an answer, Hee Won lowered her head.

“I don’t like it when people avoid my gaze. So I’d prefer if Seong Hee Won didn’t do that either.”

“…”

When Hee Won raised her head and met his eyes, deep and heavy emotions were swirling in them.

“Let me ask directly. Does Seong Hee Won want this marriage?”

Kang Woo asked Hee Won with serious eyes.

“…What about you, Cha Kang Woo?”

Instead of answering, Hee Won countered with a question.

It was possible because Kang Woo wasn’t forcefully ordering like his father.

“With Seong Hee Won, I think I could develop the desire to marry.”

“…”

“So I’d like it if Seong Hee Won could think positively about this marriage too. Besides, I’m the type who doesn’t let go of what’s once in my hands.”

Hee Won was confused by Kang Woo’s answer.

It was hard to understand his words about not letting go.

“Let’s get married, you and I.”

“…”

“Didn’t you say you wanted to run away?”

She had wanted to run away.

If only she could escape from that hellish house, she was prepared to even sell her soul.

“Let me make a proposal.”

Kang Woo spoke in an emotionless voice, different from before.

“I can give Seong Hee Won what she wants.”

“What I want?”

“Yes. I’ll let you run away. So in return, Seong Hee Won should cooperate with me.”

“Cooperate?”

“Seong Hee Won can give me what I want.”

Hee Won felt somewhat disappointed at Kang Woo’s words about making a deal.

She had thought Kang Woo was different from her father because he asked for her opinion first, but it was a misunderstanding.

He too had something he wanted from her. Even though she had learned painfully through life that nothing comes without conditions, she had forgotten it due to the brief kindness he had shown.

Unable to hide her disappointment, Hee Won asked.

“…I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

Kang Woo looked at Hee Won with an unreadable gaze and said.

“I don’t want marriage. I despise women who throw themselves at me physically, women who only see my background and come running. But this time, there’s a reason I have to accept it. I’m rather glad that Seong Hee Won is the partner. We can fulfill each other’s wants.”

“Wants?”

“I won’t have to hear any more about getting married, and Seong Hee Won can gain freedom. If you just endure for three years, I’ll set you free.”

“Are you talking about… a contract marriage?”

Kang Woo lifted the corners of his mouth at Hee Won’s words.

“As expected, Seong Hee Won is a smart woman. Yes, that’s right. The effective period of our mutually beneficial relationship is 3 years, with the condition of divorce after 3 years.”

“…”

“If Seong Hee Won needs freedom, is there any need to be bound by marriage? In that sense, I think we’ll be a good match. What do you think?”

Kang Woo took out a ring box from his pocket and held it out in front of Hee Won. When he opened the ring box, inside was a sparkling ring set with diamonds.

“What is this?”

“It’s a wedding ring. If you put on this ring, I’ll understand that Seong Hee Won accepts the marriage.”

“A… wedding ring?”

Hee Won was flustered by the sudden turn of events.

She had thought marriage to Kang Woo might be okay, but she didn’t expect to make a decision this quickly.

“If you want to refuse, now is the time.”

“…Is a contract wife all you want?”

“What I want from Seong Hee Won is the position of my wife.”

“Why are you proposing a contract marriage to me? I think there would be other people besides me.”

Hee Won wanted to confirm before giving an answer about the ring.

Why her specifically, even for an arranged marriage, he was the future chairman of LS Group and with his outstanding looks, it seemed like no woman would refuse him.

This marriage, which anyone could see was heavily skewed, was like a contract with conditions.

Whether it was an arranged marriage or a contract marriage, it was natural to choose based on conditions, but Hee Won felt empty somewhere in her heart.

Kang Woo, looking down at her face, said.

“First, this marriage has conditions that I can’t refuse.”

“…I see.”

“And second, as I said, because what Seong Hee Won and I want is the same.”

“…I’m not sure I understand.”

It wasn’t that she didn’t understand Kang Woo’s words at all.

But for some reason, her heart put on the brakes when it came to readily accepting his proposal.

“If Seong Hee Won refuses the marriage, I’ll have to find another woman. I think it would be the same for Seong Hee Won, wouldn’t it?”

Kang Woo closed the ring case and asked Hee Won.