Episode 04
She hadn’t been able to harvest all the peaches that summer.
Right in the middle of peak harvest season, Chairman Lee’s luxury foreign car had come rolling straight into the peach orchard.
Lately, the harder she farmed, the deeper she fell into debt.
The peaches couldn’t withstand the typhoons or the blight.
And then her grandmother was diagnosed with lung cancer.
As she pruned the upper branches and picked out the rotten fruit, her mind was filled with only one worry—
how to pay for her grandmother’s surgery, hospital bills, and nursing care.
Money was the enemy.
That was when he appeared like a savior.
Of course, the “secret of her birth” Chairman Lee brought with him was closer to a curse than a blessing.
Even so, it opened a way out.
He said he’d pay off all the debt, save her grandmother, and—after one year of marriage—hand over a portion of the inheritance left by the late chairman.
Even if it was only a portion, Yoo seon had told her it would still be a substantial fortune. Enough that her grandmother would never have to suffer again.
If she trusted this man’s words and rashly broke off the marriage with her own hands, everything could vanish into thin air.
“These days, people sign contracts, not marriage registrations. Are you that out of touch with reality?”
“So I’m askin’ if you can take responsibility, ain’t I?”
She pressed him sharply.
There was no mistaking it—this woman was no pushover. She was pushing the responsibility squarely onto him.
The real problem was her father. There was no telling what kind of spiteful stunt he’d pull next, or what threats he’d make. He had a talent for turning simple matters into complicated ones.
“Ya can’t promise, can ya? Then either you break it off, or—heck—I’ll just marry you myself!”
She smiled brightly.
Just who was this woman, anyway?
“And if I refuse?”
“Ha. If marriage is absolutely outta the question… then let’s do that thing, ya know. The one that shows up all the time in dramas and movies. Let’s do that.”
“That thing?”
“Contract marriage.”
“Contract marriage?”
“You see it all the time in dramas and movies, don’t ya? Three months, a year—set the period, live as a married couple just for that long, then get a mutual divorce when time’s up. We both get what we need till then, say goodbye, and that’s that. Ain’t that neat?”
Another faint smile rose to Gojun’s neat, composed face.
His clean features and long, sharp eyes gave him an aloof, dignified air—but when he smiled, he looked almost sexy, even gentle, enough to make one mistake it for kindness.
So much so that she caught herself wondering what his truly gentle face might look like.
“You must watch too many dramas. So much you can’t tell fiction from reality.”
“Reality can be more dramatic than dramas, ya know. Why? D’ya think contract marriage only works if the woman’s sexy?”
Her reactions always veered off into strange directions, Ma Dosil.
“And if it does?”
“Then… if ya say ya like a woman that sexy… why don’tcha try kissin’ me once? Who knows—you might get a taste for it. And if that don’t work, well… we’ll just have to find another way.”
“Sounds like you’re hitting on me because you want to kiss. I get approached like that fairly often.”
You’re the one who said marriage means wanting to kiss, remember?
How petty.
She shot him a sly glare and fired back.
“And what if I’m hitting on you because I fell in love at first sight?”
Gojun’s eyes—dark as a drawn curtain—slowly traced over her face.
Eyes so black there was no telling what lay behind them.
A rejection, perhaps. Just like how he’d firmly refused throughout this meeting.
His straight nose stood proudly at the center of his face, and beneath it, his full lips parted slowly.
“I’m tempted… to see where that kind of approach leads.”
Huh?
Huh—what?
Was that… the first positive response she’d heard from him?
Did that mean he’d kiss her?
Or that he was agreeing to the contract marriage?
“Which is it? The kiss? Or the contract marriage?”
“The kiss. And the contract marriage. Everything you suggested. Didn’t you say to try it and then choose? Let’s do that.”
Was he just teasing this unpredictable yet oddly naïve woman?
Or was he, like her, at the end of the line—ready to gamble everything?
At this point, it didn’t really matter who he married anymore.
If there was something to gain, a contract marriage wasn’t a bad deal.
If it meant protecting the memories he shared with his mother, then living a fake marriage for three months—or even a year—was worth it.
“Then where do we do the ki—”
At that moment, her phone vibrated loudly on the table.
She almost ignored it—but the name Grandma was glowing on the screen.
Someone she could never ignore.
“Could I step out and take this call real quick?”
“At a moment like this?”
“This call matters to me, too.”
“Go ahead.”
Seeing the man raise his eyebrow as if granting her a favor, she jumped up and hurried out of the room.
If he found out about her grandmother, all her plans might fall apart.
She rushed to the emergency exit and answered the phone.
She hadn’t been able to visit her grandmother often since she’d been hospitalized two months ago—too busy cramming through the bride-training schedule Chairman Lee had forced on her.
“Grandma. How are you? You okay?”
[Hey, where are you? I dont know why they’re runnin’ so many tests at this hospital. I’m suffocatin’ to death. Can’t I just go home?]
“The chairman said he’d get you surgery at the best hospital in the country, and let you recover somewhere nice. He said he’d pay off all our debts, too. So you just focus on getting’ better, okay? I’ll come see you soon.”
[I heard you went on a blind date and are getting’ married. Is that true?]
“Who told you that? Did the chairman even say that much? You’re worried for nothing…. I was gonna tell you myself. Don’t worry. I met a few guys—he’s real handsome, loaded with money. I’m gonna live easy now. That’s why I’m getting’ married.”
A complete lie.
No—half a lie.
The man she met today was exceptionally handsome, the son of a chaebol family, with conditions so good they were excessive.
But the idea that she’d marry him and live a pampered life depending on him—that was pure fiction.
After marriage, they’d each take what they needed and then part ways as strangers.
That kind of pink, drama-like romance didn’t happen in real life.
She was certain of it.
There was no way someone as proud and distant as Gojun would ever give her his heart.
The way he’d looked at her all day—bored, irritated, watching her like she was pathetic.
That was why his earlier positive response had been so unexpected.
Her grandmother spoke again, her voice heavy with concern.
[What about Daehong?]
Her best friend—and longtime male friend—Choi Daehong.
Her grandmother had long insisted there was no such thing as “just friends” between a man and a woman, and she’d had her eye on Daehong from early on.
Daehong, playing along with her misunderstanding, had acted like a dutiful grandson-in-law. The two of them had conspired behind her back, playing pretend.
“What are you talkin’ about? He’s my ride-or-die buddy. Even if I stripped naked in front of him, he wouldn’t see me as a woman.”
[Hey, that boy’s been following’ you around forever ‘cause he likes you. If you get married, he’ll be heartbroken. He even called me sayin’ he can’t reach you, askin’ me to tell you to contact him. Says he’s comin’ up to Seoul soon. Meet him once. At least give him a call.]
She’d ignored Daehong’s missed calls, using her busy schedule as an excuse. Partly because she knew he’d nag her endlessly.
“Got it. Grandma, don’t worry about me. Just take care of yourself, okay? I’ll come to the hospital soon.”
[Marriage is a lifelong affair, they say. Think carefully. It’s not somethin’ you decide overnight.]
“I’m grown. I’ll handle it. I’m busy right now, so I’m hangin’ up.”
She couldn’t afford to listen to more lecturing.
And she couldn’t let her grandmother catch on to her plan.
She ended the call without giving away any more information.
“Hoo….”
She let out a deep sigh, like a soldier heading into battle.
She’d gotten Gojun’s tentative consent, at least—but every time she stood in front of him, she found herself blurting out awkward, nonsensical things.
She couldn’t help being nervous.
He was that kind of man.
Click.
She opened the emergency exit door.
“Ah—!”
Gojun was standing right in front of it.
Up close, his silhouette was overwhelming—
a man so large and imposing it made her instinctively stiffen.
