“What…?”

Surprised by his sudden question, So Yi’s voice trembled slightly.

“You’ve been staring at me for a while. I thought you might have something to say to me.”

He spoke in a calm voice, still fixing his gaze on his phone.

“Because you’re handsome.”

As if enchanted, So Yi answered.

Normally, she would never have dared to say such a thing out loud, but perhaps thinking they would never meet again, the words slipped out before she knew it.

Si Heon finally looked up from his phone and turned his head towards So Yi.

She almost lost her breath when she directly met his dark eyes.

His cool, downturned eyes were as deep and clear as a cartoon character’s eyes meticulously drawn with black lines.

“You’re pretty too.”

“I didn’t say that to hear such words in return, but thank you for the compliment.”

Despite her bold words, sweat beaded on So Yi’s fingertips as they lightly rested on the bar.

She was already half-dazed by his sculptural profile, and now his clear pronunciation and perfect voice.

“I almost misunderstood.”

“Misunderstood what?”

“You sitting next to me all dressed up prettily and staring at me. I thought you might have other intentions.”

His lips curled into an ambiguous smile, seemingly sincere yet not.

“What if… it’s not a misunderstanding?”

She was clearly enchanted by something. By the time she came to her senses, the words had already left her mouth.

Her heart was pounding wildly. Thinking she must be crazy, she still forced a smile. After all, they would never see each other again after tonight.

“Are you sure about this?”

Si Heon asked with a chuckle.

He had implied that he knew what it meant for her to be here dressed like that, looking at men. Yet she trembled, saying it wasn’t a misunderstanding.

She even seemed to clench her fist as if making some grand decision. It made him want to tease her more.

“I don’t stop at just once.”

Si Heon slowly leaned back against the bar chair.

“That’s fine with me.”

The woman answered, trying to sound nonchalant. Just as he was starting to wonder how far she would go, he noticed a man wearing a hat behind her.

‘So he followed all the way here.’

He had noticed someone tailing him since arriving in Venice.

The lounge allowed entry to non-guests, which was unsettling, but he hadn’t paid much attention, planning to just have some wine before going in. But now an unpleasant gaze had been fixed on him persistently.

Tapping the bar a few times with his index finger, Si Heon raised the corner of his mouth and slowly stood up.

“Let’s go. No need to waste more time here.”

So Yi’s heart jolted violently. She couldn’t believe he was really accepting.

She had blurted out anything to keep the conversation going, but he seemed to have taken her seriously.

‘I’m crazy! I must be crazy!’

Should she say it was just a joke now?

Should she honestly say that wasn’t her intention?

Even as her mind raced wildly, her body moved on its own.

Knowing full well what it meant to follow him like this, she pretended to be composed as she followed him.

Her mouth went dry and her heart pounded. The thought of a one-night stand with Cha Si Heon made her head spin dizzily.

Passing through a hallway carpeted in deep brown, he tagged his room key to the door lock of a grand suite room framed in gold.

With a beep, the door opened.

He skillfully inserted the key card into the wall slot, then immediately turned to So Yi.

Tilting his head slightly, his lips met hers without hesitation.

“W-wait a moment…”

She thought she needed a little more mental preparation.

First washing up, turning off the lights, lying in bed…

She had planned to proceed step by step, so So Yi was completely unprepared now.

“I prefer to skip the preliminaries.”

As if pushing her along, Si Heon, who had somehow reached the living room with So Yi, tossed off his cardigan.

“But still, I should wash…”

He roughly captured her lips again as she tried to say she wanted to wash up, breathing heavily.

So Yi’s entire body, tense and frozen, was burning hot.

He had only wanted to see how far she would pretend to be confident, but it showed right away.

She had confidently said it wasn’t a misunderstanding, yet she was so adorably flustered just from a kiss.

“Ah!”

Tired of being pushed back step by step towards the bedroom, he suddenly scooped her up in his arms.

Having laid So Yi on the bed, Si Heon propped himself up on his arms and looked down at her.

“I have one condition.”

“A condition?”

“You said it wasn’t a misunderstanding. So you approached me deliberately?”

Though she hadn’t approached him with intent, she couldn’t deny being conscious of him, so So Yi gave no answer.

“Date me for a month. Pretend to.”

Still looking down at So Yi from above, he said.

What did he mean by dating for a month, and pretending to date at that?

Lying beneath Si Heon, So Yi could only blink.

“Even after returning to Korea…”

Si Heon smiled strangely as he slowly lowered his body.

“Pretend to date me for just one month.”

His face drew closer, almost touching.

His languid whisper flowed softly into her ear.

“If you accept my condition… I’ll fall for your seduction.”

At this point, she had no intention of refusing a sweet night with him.

So Yi’s already heated heart pounded fiercely once more.

“What do you say?”

Si Heon’s lips nearly overlapped with So Yi’s.

“If you don’t like it, I’ll let you go now.”

Si Heon’s dark eyes smoldered hotly, as if about to devour So Yi at any moment.

“Alright.”

Her reason had already crumbled to white dust. There was no room to consider the meaning of his proposal.

Seemingly satisfied with So Yi’s answer, Si Heon gave a brief smile.

So Yi’s eyes fluttered closed as Si Heon’s face overlapped with hers once more.

So Yi’s fingertips dug into Si Heon’s firm shoulders.

She felt she might lose her mind from the hot sensation spreading to every corner of her body. Even just from a single kiss, her head kept going blank.

“Breathe a little.”

Thankfully, he signaled when to breathe first. As her inhales and exhales tangled chaotically, making her chest heave messily, he kissed her again.

It was the real start. Though she felt dizzy several times, thinking she might stop breathing, fortunately he pushed just enough to not make her completely lose her mind.

His words about not stopping at just once seemed to be true, as So Yi couldn’t sleep all through the long night. Even while showering, and after showering, So Yi was in his arms.

In the end, the two of them collapsed into sleep only when the pale dawn began seeping through the white curtains.

Bzzzt.

Si Heon woke to the loud vibration. So Yi had already disappeared somewhere, and the afternoon sunlight of Venice filled the room.

− Elder brother, who is this woman?

As soon as he answered the phone, Jang Woo’s urgent voice poured out.

“What woman?”

− I just sent you a message, look at it.

Si Heon took the phone from his ear and checked the message.

He had felt someone following him since the lounge last night, and his prediction turned out to be right.

In the article Jang Woo sent, there was a huge photo of a woman in a black tube top dress following him into his room without any hesitation.

“My girlfriend.”

When Si Heon answered dryly, Jang Woo’s voice rang out as if about to tear through the phone.

− What?! What did you say?!

“Anyway, how’s what I asked you to look into going?”

Si Heon asked as he got up and headed to the living room.

− Ah! I contacted the bar, but they said only you and I were at that bar that day.

“And you checked all the CCTV too?”

− Yes. Should I try to get the contact info for everyone who visited that day?

The sound of Si Heon’s exasperated sigh came through the phone.

“Never mind. What did my mother say?”

− What would she say? She’s the same as always.

“So she’s still intent on sending me off like that.”

Si Heon let out a low, bitter laugh.

− Don’t be too upset, elder brother. I’m still going with you as your secretary, after all.

Jang Woo’s voice, accompanied by a faint sigh, sounded quite serious.

Heo Jang Woo.

Si Heon’s college junior, he had finished his studies with support from Si Heon’s mother. Afterwards, saying he wanted to repay her, he joined H Telecom which she runs, and is now a secretary in the headquarters secretarial team.

“Right. If I feel like I’m about to die of frustration there, let’s commit ritual suicide together.”

− Why are you saying such horrible things? More importantly, what’s this about a girlfriend all of a sudden? What does that mean?

“It means exactly what the dictionary definition says, so if you’re curious about the meaning, look it up.”

Si Heon hung up on Jang Woo with a smirk.

Just then, a call came in from Si Heon’s elder sister, Cha Si Yeon.

“What is it?”

As soon as he answered, Si Yeon’s sharp voice poured out.

− Who is that woman!

It seemed Si Yeon had seen the article too.

− Are you really trying to drive Mother crazy?

“I don’t think she’s the type to lose her mind just because her son is dating a bit.”

− What? Haa… Are you rebelling or something?

Si Heon approached the minibar and answered indifferently while stretching his neck from side to side.

“Rebelling? I’m just saying I want to date a bit, that’s all.”

− That doesn’t make sense! The very fact that you’re meeting such a woman!

“I guess it was love at first sight.”

− Fine, let’s say you temporarily lost your mind. But didn’t you forget that we agreed to discuss relationship matters with the family first before announcing them externally?

“I was planning to do that, but as you know, I didn’t intentionally announce this externally.”

− Cha Si Heon! You really!

Si Yeon shouted, seeming to have lost her temper completely.

− You think I don’t know you? You think I don’t know you’re not the type to go around dating women without being able to predict even that much! Did you not see the articles about how laid-off employees can’t sleep from distress while you’re enjoying luxurious dates at luxury hotels?

“I guess I was that blinded by the woman.”

Si Heon grabbed a water from the minibar and approached the window.

− Sigh, we’ll talk about that when you get back. For now, Chahan Life’s PR team is working to take down all the articles as quickly as possible…

“No, don’t take them down.”

Si Heon interrupted Si Yeon as he gulped down water and wiped his lips with his thumb.

− What?

“I said, don’t take down the articles.”

His lowered voice suddenly turned serious.

He was already annoyed that she had disappeared without a word.

She had vanished without leaving a phone number or even a note.

After sleeping with him in exchange for a month of fake dating.

− What are you saying!

“If you take down the articles without my permission,”

Si Heon said in a firm voice.

“I’ll officially release articles confirming we’re dating.”

Having finished speaking, Si Heon hung up and approached the window.

His eyes flashed sharply as he looked down at the sunlit, glittering canal.