If a grandson who said he would focus only on work suddenly brought a woman to marry, it would be obvious to be suspicious.

So Yu Kwon also racked his brain. First, he decided to pretend to date Da Eun.

“Please keep it a secret for now. I’ll stay at the company until they hire more staff. Though that won’t avoid gossip.”

Da Eun objectively assessed her situation. The broken engagement wasn’t Da Eun’s fault.

However, Da Eun was still on people’s lips. Continuing at the company wouldn’t do Yu Kwon any good.

“Do as you like about quitting the company. But keeping it secret is not an option.”

“Pardon?”

“We’re going to date noisily for the world to see.”

Even with a loud scandal, it was questionable if Myung Il would believe it.

“The noisier we date, the more we’ll be torn apart by the general public?”

Da Eun, who was about to speak weakly, shook her head.

‘This isn’t something I started without that level of resolve.’

Da Eun steeled her heart once again.

“I can’t prevent everything, but I’ll do my best to keep you from being harmed.”

That was the best Yu Kwon could say.

After all, he had proposed the contract because he needed Da Eun.

Yu Kwon moved to sit beside Da Eun. Then he pulled her chair closer to him.

“About the condom you used the night you slept at my house.”

“…C-condom?”

Da Eun nearly spat out her coffee. Her mind went blank at the sudden intrusion of that word. Yu Kwon raised his hand to Da Eun’s reddened cheek and chuckled.

“I left it there without cleaning it up. Word will start spreading from my aunt’s side soon.”

“Does your aunt even go through your house’s trash?”

“If it were my aunt, she’d rummage through the trash first.”

Aunts who keep such close tabs on their nephew to the point of going through trash. Da Eun could somewhat guess how difficult Yu Kwon’s life must have been.

“Then they must be frantically searching for who the managing director’s partner is by now.”

“That’s right.”

Da Eun thought of Yu Kwon’s aunt, Yong Hee.

The power struggle between the eldest son Yong Hyun and his younger sister Yong Hee was well-known.

Unlike Yong Hyun, Yong Hee started from the frontlines. Rather than showing business acumen to be recognized, she was busy finding her brother’s weaknesses and tarnishing him.

She was also skilled at persuading those around her, often bringing her brother’s people to her side and causing him trouble. Such a woman had been behaving quite tamely since Yong Hyun’s death.

“Perhaps sleeping with me too…”

Da Eun was about to ask if that was intentional but stopped. However, Yu Kwon caught her half-finished question and answered.

“I can create any amount of fake evidence.”

That meant it wasn’t just for evidence, there was personal desire involved.

Yu Kwon slowly raised his hand to touch the collar of Da Eun’s blouse.

“It’s completely gone.”

He said, as if disappointed that the mark he left had disappeared.

Da Eun, with even her earlobes flushed red, distanced herself from him as much as possible. No matter how much she tried to draw the line, he crossed it in an instant. The problem was that she didn’t dislike it.

A countermeasure was needed.

“Shall we discuss some specific details now?”

“Details?”

“Like how we’ll handle skinship or expressions since we can’t avoid them while pretending to date, things like that.”

The shy Da Eun had disappeared somewhere, leaving only the methodical Secretary Song. Yu Kwon looked at Da Eun, who was asking with unnecessarily intelligent eyes, as if she were cute.

“Skinship isn’t something you plan.”

Yu Kwon pulled Da Eun, who had moved away, back towards him.

“It’s something you do when you want to, like this.”

He wrapped his hand around Da Eun’s slender waist.

As the temperature of the hand on her waist felt particularly hot, Da Eun’s body twitched.

Yu Kwon was too skilled, and Da Eun was too inexperienced. She hated herself for getting excited every time.

Da Eun glared at him before slowly opening her lips.

“Should we perhaps have relations too?”

“There are hardly any couples who agree not to have relations before marrying. Especially since we need to look real.”

“…”

“We’ll kiss normally, and sleep together too.”

When Da Eun couldn’t bring herself to meet Yu Kwon’s eyes, he lifted her into his arms.

“W-what are you doing?”

He crossed the living room towards the bedroom. It was where Da Eun had woken up without a stitch on after spending the night with Yu Kwon.

Yu Kwon carefully laid Da Eun on the bed and lay down beside her.

As they lay facing each other on the wide bed, it felt like they could hear their thumping hearts. Da Eun slowly exhaled her already heated breath.

“We’ll be sleeping in the same bed soon.”

“…That’s right.”

“Even if you say you don’t want to now, when a man and woman sleep in the same bed, they might start wanting to.”

Meaning we should keep all possibilities open.

Yu Kwon kissed Da Eun’s reddened earlobe. As he nibbled her earlobe teasingly, Da Eun shuddered and let out a sensuous sound.

“…!”

“What, do you want to already?”

“No, not at all!”

Contrary to her words, Da Eun’s face was bright red as she gripped Yu Kwon’s shoulders tightly.

Her reaction was so cute it made him laugh.

“I like how sensitive you are.”

Yu Kwon lightly kissed Da Eun’s forehead.

As if such skinship was nothing now.

“Once a week. No more than that.”

Da Eun clutched her trembling chest and put on a serious face.

“Once a week? How many times?”

“…Once.”

“That might be difficult.”

“Then twice.”

“Alright, let’s make those two times very long.”

“…”

She was annoyed at him for so smoothly saying such embarrassing things. Da Eun was still just shy.

“How about making that one time today?”

Yu Kwon asked as he climbed on top of Da Eun.

“It’s Sunday! Tomorrow’s Monday. I need to manage my condition…”

Da Eun rambled on with excuses, forcibly suppressing the rising expectation regardless of her will. But it seemed too late already. The firm body pressing down on her skin proved it.

Yu Kwon placed small kisses on Da Eun’s skin. As his hot lips touched her, her body twitched as if electrified.

Her blouse had somehow come unbuttoned and was spread open on both sides. Her breath kept getting hotter, and her body felt like it wasn’t her own.

This wasn’t why she came. She only came to make a contract, so why was she looking up at this man? Why didn’t she dislike this strange tension?

Her busy mind melted like jelly, unable to think of anything.

“We shouldn’t…”

“Your voice sounds really sexy right now.”

“No, you’re the one who’s more sexy, Managing Director.”

“Is that so?”

Yu Kwon’s hand brushed the hem of Da Eun’s blouse. A sensual sensation bloomed, as if her whole body had become sensitive as he said.

“W-wait.”

“Why?”

“W-we just made the contract today! This is too fast.”

Da Eun, having come to her senses, pushed against Yu Kwon’s firm chest.

“But Da Eun.”

“…Yes.”

“If we do it once a week, does that mean we can do everything except going all the way for the other 6 days?”

No, what is he saying? This pervert…

Yu Kwon kissed Da Eun’s skin. Da Eun’s body trembled.

Leaving the same mark in that spot as before, Yu Kwon pulled away, looking satisfied. Only then did Da Eun relax, going limp.

“By the way.”

Yu Kwon, lying on his side, gazed blankly at Da Eun as she buttoned up.

Under his gaze that seemed to pierce through her, Da Eun’s body tensed up involuntarily.

“Why did you suddenly change your mind?”

Perhaps he had been searching for it all along. An excuse to accept his proposal while pretending to be crazy.

Da Eun raised her eyes to look straight at Yu Kwon.

“It seemed like a good condition.”

That wasn’t all there was to it, but she didn’t want to spill out all her complicated emotions.

A good condition, huh. Yu Kwon muttered, pulling up the corners of his mouth in a smile.

“I see.”

Yu Kwon held out his hand.

Da Eun took that large hand.

Her heart beat faster at the realization that there was no turning back now.

Young Hoon hadn’t answered his phone for days. Despite calling dozens of times, only the voicemail message saying the phone was turned off could be heard.

Worried, Hyang Mi was considering filing a missing person report when she remembered receiving Ju Ri’s number from Young Hoon.

Hyang Mi quickly called Ju Ri.

―Hello?

“Ju Ri? It’s me, Young Hoon’s mother.”

―Ah… What’s the matter?

“Young Hoon hasn’t been answering my calls at all.”

The sound of a door being flung open was heard through the receiver.

―Answer the phone.

Soon, Young Hoon took the phone.

―Oh, Mom? What is it?

“Why aren’t you answering your phone? Do you know how worried I’ve been, you rascal!”

―My phone broke. What’s up?

“If your phone broke, you should have borrowed someone else’s phone to call me!”

―Ah, what is it now.

“Forget it, hang up!”

Annoyed, Hyang Mi abruptly hung up.

This was Young Hoon who used to call frequently to chat about every little thing, worried his parents who had returned to farming might be bored.

Her once obedient and good son had changed in an instant.

Not only did he embarrass them on his wedding day by failing to control one woman, but he also brought in someone worthless.

Hyang Mi clicked her tongue.

She thought of Da Eun, who used to call once or twice a week and come help with farm work on weekends.

Marrying a woman from a good family would only lead to looking down on the in-laws.

Moreover, the thought of how controlled Young Hoon’s life would be if he married into a good family was horrifying.

“But where has that man gone off to again?”

Hyang Mi, who had been cleaning vegetables all day, tossed the basin aside irritably. Her husband, who had rushed out upon hearing that a pig farm might be built in the next village, still hadn’t returned home.

Since moving back to farm, Hyang Mi hadn’t had a single day of rest. The dirt under her nails was so black it wouldn’t come off no matter how much she scrubbed.

Suddenly, she felt overwhelmed with emotions.

“This won’t do.”