The conditions for a spouse were simple.

Looks didn’t need to be exceptional, and occupation or family background weren’t very important.

Just 6 months to at most a year.

All they had to do was quietly fill the role of wife by my side.

Only one thing, to have absolutely no personal feelings.

If they could just keep that one condition, but all seven stumbled on this last requirement.

“I will absolutely not waver.”

“You mean just don’t see you as a man, right?”

Those who made such bold declarations couldn’t even last three days at the shortest, or two weeks at the longest, before lowering their eyes in front of the man and reaching out with seductive hands.

Would this woman be any different?

The woman across from the man who had called her but remained silent, quietly stared at him.

No, it would be more accurate to say she was scrutinizing him.

Since entering this place, the man had been sitting at the head of the sofa, staring at her without moving, but saying nothing in particular.

He was either regretting calling her or had a very cautious personality, one of the two.

His snow-white skin and dark black hair, combined with the piercing gaze under his long horizontal eyebrows, exuded a very alluring atmosphere.

His cynical expression, devoid of any readable emotion, was even sensual.

Aside from his overwhelmingly eye-catching face, his height that seemed well over 180cm, the veins protruding on his interlocked hands, and his flawless, superior body couldn’t be fully concealed even by the well-fitted suit he wore complete with a vest.

Just as she thought his gaze examining her was particularly intense, the woman’s eyes met his cool gaze without double eyelids.

“…Do you perhaps know me?”

The man’s gaze had a strangely intimidating charisma that made people feel small.

Apart from that overwhelming presence, there was also a clear, inexplicable contempt in his gaze that had been fixed on her all along.

“How could that be.”

“A person named Han Woo Seok said you wanted to see me.”

“I unintentionally overheard your conversation with a man at the hotel coffee shop.”

“…Ah.”

The gazes scrutinizing each other remained unwavering even without much conversation.

The women Woo Seok had brought before had all avoided his eyes or lowered their heads in front of him. If not that, then they would openly flirt.

This woman’s eyes, which neither avoided his gaze nor seemed to purposely examine him, showed no interest in the opposite sex or even a hint of curiosity.

She was certainly different from the previous women.

“Do you know who I am?”

He was from a family that would be recognizable by name alone, but he rarely appeared in the media if he could help it.

It wasn’t because someone told him not to. He just found the cumbersome attention burdensome.

As the construction company grew and succeeded in winning major domestic and international contracts, Ji Wan’s face would occasionally appear in the news whether he wanted it or not.

While there might be people who didn’t recognize him, his visuals were such that once seen, they could never be forgotten, so he was half in doubt.

“I don’t know.”

After her sharp answer, Ji Wan nodded.

It seemed better for this conversation if she didn’t know.

“Why do you think I called you here?”

“…Well, do you need someone to play the role of a lover?”

It was a guess that if he had called her after overhearing the conversation at the hotel coffee shop, the purpose would be similar to that.

“If it’s something like that, please inquire directly through the company. I’m a student, so I only do this part-time when I have time…”

Cutting off the woman’s words, the man abruptly asked.

“How about marriage instead of dating?”

“Marriage? Well, I suppose I’ll get married someday. I’m not against marriage after all.”

A pure answer came without even a second of hesitation to the direct question.

The man who had been leaning against the back of the sofa leaned his upper body forward and fidgeted with his interlocked hands on his widely spread knees.

Is this woman trying to play games with me from our first meeting?

Is she really that skilled to come on so boldly from the start?

Ji Wan’s face twisted oddly as if he could almost understand the woman’s intentions.

The man, who detested wasting time, stood up abruptly and approached the woman opposite him.

Ignoring her gaze following him, the man took off his jacket and roughly rolled up his shirt sleeves.

“Let’s do it, with me.”

It was a deep voice with resonance, like a sound emanating from the end of a pitch-black cave.

“…Pardon?”

It was serious enough to make one think that whatever this situation was, it certainly wasn’t a joke.

“That marriage you’ll have someday.”

He was full of certainty, even resolute.

“Let’s do it with me.”

*****

Song Seung Han, Hyun Ban, Gung Yoo.

His face was clearly on par with these top male actors on TV.

His transparent skin, neatly laid dark eyebrows, and high nose bridge were one thing, but his way of speaking that lifted and dropped her at will, and his expression that showed no sign of wavering unlike her who was bouncing like on the end of a seesaw, were something else entirely.

This extraordinary man was proposing marriage.

Despite his abruptly cut-off words, his masculinity was palpable. This man, who was undoubtedly in the top 3, no, definitely the top 1 among all the men she had seen, was asking her, and in a hotel room with just the two of them no less.

And at this moment, less than an hour after meeting!!

“So, you’re saying you’ll give me 300 million won in cash right away if we just get married?”

Nod.

“And the marriage will last at most a year, or if I’m lucky, could end in 6 months?”

Nod.

“And if I want, I can continue my studies throughout?”

Nod nod.

The man stood proudly, just nodding his head continuously.

There was nothing to lose.

Even if tuition was covered by scholarships, there were numerous expenses like living costs, food, rent, etc., and this one proposal could solve all the countless part-time jobs she had been doing, counting every second.

“No matter what you do, whether you hold hands or kiss, if I don’t even blink an eye!”

The woman hesitated, trying to say something.

“…Then please promise that you won’t do anything to me either.”

As if that much was nothing to him, Ji Wan, who seemed just annoyed by the repeated nodding, just tilted his head slightly.

“O-Okay. Let’s do it!”

There was no need to consider for long.

She urgently needed to pay off debt, and more than anything, no matter how handsome he was, the cold-blooded man before her was far from her ideal type.

“I, well, my life hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing, so I don’t get shaken easily. In that sense, I’m more straightforward than anyone. This isn’t something to brag about, but I’m not in a position to date right now…”

Instead of nodding this time, the man loosened his tie knot.

“I’ll be the one to confirm that.”

Ji Wan suddenly approached and grabbed the waist of the woman standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.

“Oomph!”

“I don’t have much time to wait and watch.”

The man who had bent his upper body close enough to almost touch, pressed his face against hers.

Their breaths were precisely conveyed between their touching lips.

Was this man simply trying to confirm a kiss?

Was he trying to confirm that she wouldn’t be swayed at all even by such provocation?

For this, the heart of a dating novice with no romantic experience began to beat fiercely.

This wasn’t a matter of having feelings for the other person or not.

Especially for a woman experiencing this level of close skinship for the first time.

The woman rolled her eyes as the man approached with his dark eyebrows lowered, his eyes revealing not even a fraction of his thoughts.

“…Um, excuse me.”

“Shh.”

The fingertip that firmly blocked her lips was resolute.

As if to say he wouldn’t let her off if she backed down here.

He was quite a decadent man, with his jet-black hair combed back over his snow-white face.

Even the gesture of brushing her hair back was infinitely tender for a man who seemed like he would rip off all the shirt buttons one by one, unsatisfied with just unbuttoning them.

“Even so… won’t you regret it?”

The woman regretted it as soon as she said it.

Because those were the words she wanted to say to herself.

At a distance where they would touch if moved even by a breeze.

The man’s lips, barely touching hers, slightly sneered.

“I’m someone who has never felt regret.”

He was an unfathomable person.

His face, whose expression couldn’t be read at all, was like that.

“So let me ask for the last time.”

Emphasis was placed on the word ‘last’.

“Do it, or not.”

It was an emotionless question without ups and downs.

Including the leisureliness that suggested this tension could be easily withdrawn with just one word from her.

“…L-Let’s do it!”

With even darker eyes, the man let out a twisted smile and lowered his lips.

Was it just an illusion that even the breath escaping between his lips felt cold?

Just before their lips touched.

Ji Wan reached for the ribbon of the woman’s blouse, who was looking up at him wide-eyed without any thought of closing her eyes.

Swish.

The woman hastily stepped back, clutching the ribbon that came undone easily with just one touch.

“W-What are you trying to do? Don’t tell me, you want to go all the way with me. What do they call it… Ah, testing our compatibility! Are you really going to do that too?!”

The woman’s chest heaved violently as she stepped back a couple of paces, spitting out words like a machine gun.

“Why, is that not allowed? It’s 300 million, in cash no less?”

The man asked quite roguishly, with one hand thrust into his pants pocket, surpassing even his outstanding appearance.

The woman’s eyebrows rose in bewilderment.

“You said it was a fake marriage! O-Of course it’s not allowed. Why is that necessary in a purely contractual marriage? It’s not like we’re going to show that to others, right?”

The woman shot back, raising her chin as if questioning him.

Even though it was an expected reaction, his mood turned strangely sour.

He could line up women who were desperate for him and couldn’t resist him, enough to circle Seokchon Lake Park several times.

This was the first time he had been treated like this anywhere.

Was she not openly saying, even showing with her whole body?

That she was doing this purely for the money.

As if she was Sim Cheong throwing herself into the Indangsu for her father, this woman was acting as if she had no choice.

“Ha!”

A dejected laugh escaped through his slightly raised teeth.

Her gaze and actions at every moment of looking at him were like that.

Not satisfied with scrutinizing him to check for ulterior motives, she only showed cautious movements at every turn, not even knowing how to be prettily surprised.

He felt like he had been played by this novice, this naive woman who knew nothing of the world.

“Let’s do the contract.”

Ji Wan turned around.

“…Pardon? Did I, perhaps, pass?”

As if it wasn’t a big deal, Ji Wan lowered his gaze to check the time on his left wrist.

“Tie it. There won’t be a chance to untie it again.”

The man who was turning to leave the room slowly turned his body back.

“I’ll be calling you often, but it seems a bit odd to call you ‘Miss Helper’, so let’s introduce ourselves. I’m Seo Ji Wan. And you are?”

To the man’s concise question that neatly wrapped up the situation, once again the woman rolled her eyes.

“…Pardon?”

“It seems a bit strange to call my future wife ‘Helper’, don’t you think?”

To the man’s incredulous question, the woman replied equally incredulously.

“Didn’t you already know my name?”

“…”

“My name is Do Eum. Kang Do Eum.”