It seemed like I heard the man’s laugh mixed with a snort behind my back as I turned away.

“Just come in, it’s troublesome.”

What’s the big deal about this.

Ji Eun Jae swallowed hard at the man’s voice that sounded like he was talking to himself.

Then the man’s voice was heard as if urging her.

“Are you not coming in? How long are you going to make me stand here like this?”

“Ah, yes, yes, yes. I-I’m coming in. I’ll come in.”

At his words that seemed to urge her, Eun Jae turned around and faced the front door again.

She moved her feet into the man’s house, lifting her palm to block her view. It was a desperate movement to avoid eye contact as much as possible.

While lightly shaking his soaked hair with the towel he had been holding, Yoon Sun Woo followed the woman. Watching her walk ahead with quick steps, he couldn’t help but laugh.

It’s strange, I keep laughing when I look at this woman.

Yesterday she made me wait, but today she arrives 10 minutes early, surprising me.

Is it because she’s such an unpredictable woman?

Sun Woo rolled his tongue inside his mouth and tried to avert his gaze.

Eun Jae, who arrived in the living room first, scratched the back of her neck and fidgeted, unable to find a place to rest her eyes.

It was her second visit, but it was a house she just couldn’t get used to.

At that moment, suddenly a large shadow approached from behind, and pink slippers were carelessly dropped in front of her feet. They were the same design as the slippers the man had been wearing.

Was it the scent of shower gel? As the man came closer, a cool yet sweet fragrance wafted.

“Put them on. You said your feet were cold.”

It didn’t seem like she could look straight at the half-naked man. Eun Jae quickly slipped her feet into the slippers without even answering.

Seeing this, one corner of Sun Woo’s mouth lifted slightly and then quickly fell.

“I’ll finish up and come out, so sit down.”

As he disappeared, Eun Jae let out a comfortable breath that she had been holding in due to tension.

The first day she met him, the man had made her so nervous that it sent chills down her spine.

A dry expression that seemed to have been devoid of emotion for a long time. Yet, the occasional smile he let slip made her stare blankly.

The man’s expression, which seemed both indifferent and languid, came to mind.

Is it because of his unique atmosphere?

“What atmosphere, it’s because he’s naked.”

While muttering complaints and looking around for a moment, the man came out to the living room.

The man, dressed in navy pants and a denim shirt with a luxury logo, walked out while tying a navy tie. Unlike before, he looked neat and tidy.

He sat down at the table first, casually brushing up his still damp hair. He didn’t forget the manners of pulling out the chair across from him.

Receiving the signal to sit, Eun Jae cleared her throat and sat down on the chair.

As if he had been waiting, he pulled the documents on the table close to himself and crossed his arms over them.

“What do you need right now, Ms. Ji Eun Jae?”

“Me? I don’t need anything.”

“No way.”

It seems like you’re the only one who doesn’t know.

When Eun Jae answered with a face that really didn’t know, Sun Woo laughed.

“How are you going to repay the debt you owe…”

As if trying to listen carefully, Eun Jae also leaned her body towards him, raising her crossed arms.

It felt like finally reaching the summit after going round and round. Now she just needed to do that one thing that would come out of the man’s mouth. Then she wouldn’t have to see him again in the future.

“I’ll do what you need most. Then you just need to do what I need. How about it, simple, right?”

Huh? It’s simple, but why are you doing what I need?

You’re telling me to repay it, a favor?

Unable to grasp the meaning of his words, Eun Jae asked with a puzzled face.

“What do I need?”

Eun Jae’s lips were about to move to ask what he knew about what she needed when she didn’t need anything, but he cut her off.

“How long do you plan to keep running from loan sharks?”

“Ah, that…”

I do need that. But why are you offering to do it?

The one who agreed to repay the favor is me, but he keeps saying he’ll do something.

As Eun Jae trailed off, scratching her forehead, the man continued.

“Do you know that Jung Mi Ran is being forcibly discharged next week?”

“What? How can they kick out a sick person like that?”

How do you even know my mom’s name? Did you investigate me in such a short time?

“That’s how it is. If you don’t have money, you get kicked out.”

He said it so nonchalantly that they would kick her out, Eun Jae couldn’t say anything in response.

That’s right, if you don’t have money, you get kicked out.

Since she started being chased by loan sharks, she had to stop all productive activities. The money left in her hands was also drying up.

So, it seems like this man is saying he’ll pay off my debt.

Why?

What are you trying to demand from me while paying off such a large debt on my behalf?

Do I have something of that much value to you that I can do?

Eun Jae swallowed hard with an ominous feeling and opened her lips, which had turned red from biting so much, to ask.

“What do you need, sir?”

“Can’t you stop calling me ‘sir’?”

Eun Jae carefully examined the man’s gaze as she answered.

“Then what should I call you? Mister?”

At that, his neatly groomed eyebrows curved sharply.

“Mister?”

“Can I ask you something?”

“If it’s useless, don’t even start.”

“How old are you?”

“Really, so useless.”

Tsk. The man frowned as if very displeased.

“I’m not old enough to be called mister… at least not in looks. How old are you to keep calling me mister?”

“Twenty-seven.”

Unable to find much to refute, Sun Woo turned his head abruptly and crossed his legs.

“Good for you, being young.”

“So, thirty? Or… thirty-one?”

“Write a little more.”

Eun Jae’s eyes widened as if she hadn’t expected that.

“Are you thirty-two?”

Judging by his face alone, he could pass for someone in his 20s. But since he’s a professor, I thought he must be at least in his 30s.

“Three.”

“Eek? Oh my goodness. You really are a mister!”

“What do you mean mister when it’s only a six-year difference?”

Only six years? When I was entering middle school, you were entering university.

The man’s brow, which had become sensitive to the age talk, showed no signs of relaxing.

Now that I think about it, it really was a useless question. As the man kept harping on it, Eun Jae quickly brought the question back to the beginning.

“So what do you need, sir? Please tell me quickly. I’m not a person with a lot of free time, you know?”

“A wife.”

At the man’s words, the space suddenly went quiet as if cold water had been thrown on it.

Only the soft sound of the air purifier turning could be heard.

What did this man just say he needed? Eun Jae thought for a moment that she must have heard wrong. No, she hoped she had heard wrong.

She blinked repeatedly, as if asking what he had said, while fixing her gaze on him.

His calm and deep eyes met hers without wavering.

I must have heard wrong, right? Eun Jae tilted her head and asked again.

“What did you say… you need?”

“I need someone to be my wife.”

As soon as she asked, the answer fell from his lips as if he had been waiting.

This time, the word that pierced her ears so clearly left Eun Jae’s mouth gaping open.

“You heard me.”

Oh my goodness. I didn’t hear wrong?

Eun Jae, whose face had turned red as if embarrassed, questioned him.

“Mister, that’s not something I can-”

“No.”

As if he was offended by being called ‘mister’ even in this situation, he cut off Eun Jae’s words and continued through gritted teeth.

“It’s enough, if it’s you.”

What is? What exactly is enough?

“No? I don’t want to ruin my life like that?”

As Eun Jae retorted with her eyes wide open, Sun Woo, with his brows deeply furrowed, snapped back as if very displeased.

“Is marrying me ruining your life?”

Isn’t that obvious?

We’ve only met twice, no, three times, how can I suddenly get married without knowing what kind of person you are?

“Why do you keep speaking informally since earlier?”

“Didn’t you call me mister?”

“No, but why are you getting angry again?”

“I told you I’m not angry?”

It was dizzying. Heat rose to her head. She had thought ‘surely not’, but to think he would demand something like this.

Eun Jae’s lips, which had been tightly closed as she momentarily lost words, slowly opened.

“Just make me clean, do laundry, wash dishes instead. I’ll do those things as much as you want. But what did you say you need? A wife?”

Seeing Eun Jae react with such disgust, contrary to his expectations, Sun Woo suddenly felt his pride hurt.

No, I did expect this.

Even I think it’s absurd, so how ridiculous must it be for you.

Still, it’s the first time I’ve been treated like an old shoe, so I’m a bit taken aback.

After organizing his thoughts for a moment, Sun Woo lifted one corner of his mouth.

“I think you’re misunderstanding something, but I’m not doing this because I’m madly in love with you either, you know?”

Because you’re the only person I can reach out to.

Because I have no other choice but you right now.

Because it’s better than waiting indefinitely while going on blind dates until someone like you comes along.

“It’s easy, the way to repay the favor. I’m not asking one-sidedly, let’s give each other what we need.”

“No, I said I’d repay the favor, not that I’d get married?”

“It’s different from the marriage you’re thinking of.”

Sun Woo slid the documents in front of him towards Eun Jae.

“Think of it as a kind of business, maybe that’ll help you understand faster.”

Eun Jae looked down at the paper pushed in front of her. It was a marriage contract.

“A business where we give each other what we need.”

Was this what he meant when he said there was something he needed to prepare?

A marriage contract, of all things, good heavens.

This man is more of a weirdo than I thought.

Eun Jae looked up at the man with a displeased face. But the man continued speaking without changing his expression.

“One year. If things get settled faster, I might let you go even earlier.”

The man kept making proposals that would pique Eun Jae’s interest.

The down payment would be clearing her debt, and the balance would be given as alimony in the form of a cafe after the one-year marriage ends.

“S Coffee we went to last time, I know the CEO through connections, so they’ll treat you well. His father-in-law is at our hospital.”

The moment you stamp this contract, you won’t have to run from loan sharks anymore, and your mother won’t be kicked out of the hospital, he said.

“Moreover, Ms. Ji Eun Jae’s mother will gain the qualification to receive the best medical services. Isn’t this an unbeatable condition?”

In fact, just not being chased by loan sharks would feel like a breath of fresh air. Adding her mother’s situation on top of that, her heart kept wavering helplessly like a candle in the wind.

“One more thing. I’ll file for marriage annulment. I’ll return everything to how it was before, as if nothing happened. From then on, we can live as if nothing ever happened.”

As if nothing ever happened…

Eun Jae quietly chewed on the man’s last words. From beginning to end, there were no poison clauses. The problem was that title.

“I’ll live your one year, Ms. Ji Eun Jae.”

“…”

“Give it to me.”

It was a proposal that revolved entirely around Eun Jae’s interests.

“Even if it’s not 200 million won but more than that, I’m willing to pay. Because to me, Ms. Ji Eun Jae is worth that much.”

Is my insignificant, monotonously flowing time really that valuable to you?

“I’ll do my best to make sure you don’t regret making this choice.”

Anyone can see that the man is the one asking for a favor, and he’s waiting for my answer.

“Why are you going this far?”

“If we get married, Yeon Rim will become mine, so I can at least do this much.”

“Ah.”

“That hospital is everything to me, no different from my whole life.”

In other words, I’m just a means to get that hospital, right?

Eun Jae swallowed the bitter laugh that was rising.

“I know it’s a difficult decision.”

He drank the glass of water in front of him in one gulp and continued speaking.

“Those men we ran into in front of the bathroom before, they looked very dangerous.”

I know. That if I get caught next time, it’ll really be dangerous. That I don’t know what they’ll do, what I’ll suffer.

But don’t pretend to worry about me.

You’re doing this to get what you need, right?

Sun Woo, who had been quietly watching Eun Jae gnawing on her innocent lips without being able to answer easily, let out a short breath.

“I’m just asking for your opinion today, Ms. Ji Eun Jae. I’m not saying we have to do this right now unconditionally.”

So don’t think about rejecting it outright,

“I’ll accommodate you in whatever way you want.”

Think about it a little more deeply.

“Because this marriage is that desperate for me.”

Let’s give each other what we desperately need.

The man’s gaze that met hers looked more desperate than ever.