An impromptu truth game with alcohol began.

Originally, when truth meets alcohol, it becomes endlessly dangerous, but Ji Wan, with the alcohol rising, had no time to think about such things.

“Then I’ll ask the first question!”

Ji Wan excitedly raised one hand and asked.

“Answer what I asked earlier. What did you figure out?”

It seems she was quite curious about that.

Tae Sung answered immediately without much thought.

“It’s exactly as I said. I now know that we’re in a contractual relationship.”

“Really…?”

“I was already more than half suspicious from the start. Today just confirmed it.”

“What did we do today?”

“Horseback riding. According to the setup, you were supposed to have started seeing me because of that hobby.”

As he said this, Tae Sung recalled the file saved as an important document on his phone.

The writings that seemed like a love diary at a glance were probably a scenario for public consumption.

Ji Wan, as if just realizing, clapped her hands and said.

“Ah, so that’s why you interrogated me? Asking about all my likes…”

“You could call it a verification process.”

“Right. There was a scenario. Why didn’t I think of that?”

Ji Wan belatedly recalled the scenario she had received by email after the marriage contract.

It detailed everything from the process of dating to the crisis and the circumstances of divorce, but she had never paid much attention to it.

She had been instructed that it was something to memorize when things got complicated and she needed to step in.

“I had that too, but since it was said to be a crisis scenario, I didn’t look at it in advance to avoid jinxing it. You know, like when they say ‘drive carefully,’ and that’s when you need to be most careful…”

“Are you superstitious?”

“Very much so. But it feels somewhat deflating. I should have adamantly proven that the wife in the scenario and I are different.”

It seems like she made a simple matter unnecessarily complicated.

As Ji Wan grumbled in a deflated voice, Tae Sung countered with a relaxed expression that suggested it was impossible.

“If you had stepped in, I wouldn’t have believed you.”

“Why wouldn’t you believe me?”

“I’m naturally the type who lacks faith.”

“That’s not true!”

Ji Wan’s eyes immediately sharpened.

Tae Sung, who enjoyed her trivial outbursts, couldn’t help but let out a low laugh.

“Alright, it’s my turn now.”

Tae Sung, given the chance to ask, decided to inquire about what he really wanted to know.

“Why did you lend your name for the marriage registration? A divorce record isn’t particularly helpful in a woman’s life. Didn’t you know it was a dangerous deal?”

He was probably curious about this even three years ago when they first made the contract.

Whether he heard the reason or not, he wasn’t sure.

“Hmm…”

Ji Wan hesitated for a moment, as if it was a story she had never shared before.

It was a depressing and boring story to tell, but having joined the truth game, she couldn’t hide it.

Ji Wan moistened her lips with a sip of water and answered in a slightly composed voice.

“I knew it was dangerous. Lending your name is always risky, isn’t it? But I had no reason not to. I needed money, I had given up on marriage, and the situation was too urgent to consider the risks.”

“I didn’t know you had given up on marriage.”

“I did. For me, that’s a luxury.”

As expected, speaking about it brought up bitterness from deep within her heart.

This is why she doesn’t like lamenting.

Strangely, in front of Tae Sung, she keeps finding herself sharing sad stories.

At times like this, a quick change of topic was essential.

Shaking her head lightly to clear the unpleasant feelings, Ji Wan looked at Tae Sung again with a brighter face.

“My turn to ask! You’ve dated a lot of women, right? How many have you dated?”

It was a topic deliberately brought up to change the heavy atmosphere.

In fact, it was something she had been suspicious about for a long time.

Tae Sung’s eyes showed surprise at the unexpected dating question.

“You’re asking with such certainty. Do I seem that experienced?”

“Of course. You’re always flirting, giving subtle eye smiles, and you’re smooth with skinship.”

“I’ll give you the flirting and eye smiles… but I think we lack experience to discuss skinship.”

“You can tell if someone is smooth or awkward even from the slightest touch of fingertips. You’re smooth.”

Ji Wan spoke with an expression that had already made up her mind.

Tae Sung looked at Ji Wan while maintaining a subtle smile, and answered in his characteristically leisurely voice.

“Unfortunately, I’m not the type to have a girlfriend…”

“Come on, I can’t say your personality is great, but I bet you were super popular?”

“I was. Perhaps even more attractive because it was something they wanted but couldn’t have.”

Tae Sung joked with a brazen face.

Ji Wan thought it was annoying, but somehow couldn’t sincerely refute it.

“Why didn’t you date? Are you not interested in romance?”

“I didn’t have the luxury.”

“I’ve heard prosecutors are busy, so I can understand that. But what about when you were in school? Didn’t you have a first love?”

“It was the same then. I was like a racing car moving only on a set track, following a predetermined course.”

It was a statement that implied a lot about his past life.

Hearing this, Ji Wan nodded after a moment of contemplation, as if she somewhat understood.

“It’s strange.”

“What is?”

“Our backgrounds are completely opposite, but the result is the same. A life where we can’t enjoy what others take for granted because it’s a luxury for us.”

At this rather harsh assessment, a small laugh escaped Tae Sung’s lips.

“You really are a journalist, aren’t you? You have quite a knack for pinpointing reality.”

“Right? Everyone says it’s my true calling.”

“Now that it’s come to this, have you ever thought, ‘I wish this marriage was real’?”

“Is that your next question?”

“We can make it that if you want.”

“Hmm…”

At the naturally flowing next question, Ji Wan fell into deep thought.

“Being a prosecutor’s wife… I guess ninety-eight out of a hundred people would envy such a marriage.”

“I may not have much time, but I have enough financial stability. There’s quite a demand for that.”

“True. They say a girlfriend should be free, but a husband should be busy.”

Ji Wan, who was laughing playfully, seemed to think a bit more before shaking her head firmly.

“No. I don’t have such thoughts.”

“That’s cold.”

“I’ve never even thought about it before, so I tried just now, but it still doesn’t work.”

At her answer, Tae Sung lowered his eyebrows, pretending to be hurt.

“Am I that unappealing to you?”

She knew it was just an act of being hurt.

But Ji Wan, who wanted to be honest under the influence of alcohol, added an explanation.

“It’s more that I know my place. Tae Sung, you’re too perfect a groom for me to dare have such desires. There’s a saying, right? If you covet something beyond your means, you can’t escape misfortune.”

“…”

“For me, being a fake marriage partner who can be used for money, that’s just right for you.”

By the time she had revealed that much, Tae Sung’s eyes were gazing steadily at Ji Wan.

Was it self-pity?

At first, he thought so, but seeing her unwavering expression, it wasn’t cheap sympathy she was selling.

Then was it the lament of someone battered by a fierce life?

For that, the still cheerful woman showed no signs of fatigue.

He didn’t know for what reason she drew such a clear line, but what was certain was that Tae Sung had never seen this type before.

Though everyone wants different things, he had seen enough of those who approached with the same goal of getting what they want throughout his life.

He had also encountered to the point of nausea those who pretended to want nothing, mimicking a life of non-possession, while actually hoping for just as much to be filled for them.

But someone who knew exactly what Tae Sung had, who desperately wanted it, and yet didn’t approach because of that – this was truly a first.

A woman with more desire than anyone. What thoughts was she so earnestly thinking with that small head of hers…

‘If only she had a little less conscience, it would be good.’

The thought that flashed by momentarily made him laugh even as he had it.

It felt as if he was regretting her firm answer.

“Why are you laughing? Are you mocking me now?”

Ji Wan asked.

Tae Sung nodded, emptying half of his filled glass.

“A little?”

“Unbelievable. Fine, then I’ll end this truth game!”

“Ask anything.”

“Name three of my charm points in 10 seconds! Start!”

Ji Wan threw out an ambitious question.

It seemed far from a truth game question, but Tae Sung answered before she could even finish her countdown.

“Shoulders, collarbone, nape.”

“One… What?!”

“I said it. Three things.”

Tae Sung flashed a smiling eye smile after finishing his answer.

At the somehow seductive smile, Ji Wan unconsciously shrugged her shoulders.

“Don’t just talk about what you see! Be sincere!”

“I am sincere.”

“Liar!”

“I’m telling you, it’s sincere.”

Tae Sung leaned his upper body forward, bringing his face closer to her.

Then, with his eyes near her shoulder, he continued in a languid voice.

“Shall I explain from the first? Your shoulders, stretching out sideways, are pretty.”

“W-What are you saying?”

His gaze slid along her collarbone.

“The collarbone line crossing those shoulders is too beautiful to hide under a T-shirt.”

“How can you say such things…”

Next was the nape.

“Your nape is perfectly my type.”

“…”

“It makes me want to bite it.”

His gaze lingered especially long on her nape.

Those pitch-black eyes that could make a person nervous once again set Ji Wan’s nerves on edge.

A man who could really bite deeply if he wanted to.

The secretive gaze such a man was giving was hot enough to burn.

As if he had read these inner thoughts, the corners of Tae Sung’s mouth curved up smoothly.

“Since I’ve answered… is it my turn now?”

His confirmation question somehow felt like a danger signal.

Ji Wan hurriedly tried to end this disadvantageous game, but before she could say anything, Tae Sung’s lips parted first.

“Did you perhaps imagine it just now?”

“What…?”

“A slightly dangerous imagination.”

Gulp-

Ji Wan, whose fleeting imagination had been caught immediately, could only swallow dryly.

At the same time, her face flushing red was no longer easy to hide.

Tae Sung, looking at her like this, leisurely raised his left hand.

“Three, two… and one.”

“W-Wait! Not yet! Hold on! Stop this!”

It was only after his countdown had already ended that Ji Wan, who had been greatly agitated, regained her senses.

She tried desperately to stop the game, but now that the win and loss had been decided, it was just a meaningless resistance.

The wicked smile on Tae Sung’s face deepened even more.

“I won. Should I make my wish now?”

“D-Do you even have a wish? For me?”

“Originally, I didn’t particularly want anything, but I just thought of something.”

It was truly an unsettling intro.

Ji Wan looked at Tae Sung with pleading eyes, like a herbivore in front of a predator.

Begging him not to play any mean tricks.

And coincidentally, pretending not to know her wishes was one of the things Tae Sung did best.

“For five minutes today, don’t resist anything I do.”

“Five minutes…? What are you going to do…?”

“That’s a secret.”

Tae Sung, covering her anxiety with even greater anxiety, added an incredible afterword.

“…I suddenly feel like doing something.”

The eye smile that followed at the end carried a definite warning.

It seems that before today ends, something that must absolutely be avoided is about to happen.

But Ji Wan, who had lost her right to resist for five whole minutes, already felt her entire body tensing up.