CHAPTER 1: The Proposal No One Saw Coming
📍Seoul, South Korea – Kim Corporation Tower
The air inside the towering skyscraper was always cold — not just from the centralized AC but from the woman who ruled the 57th floor like a queen carved out of ice. Jennie Kim. Seoul's most talked-about, envied, and feared CEO.
Dressed in a jet-black pantsuit, her high heels clicked authoritatively against the polished marble floor as she entered the boardroom. Her mandu cheeks, always sharp with subtle contouring, were lifted slightly — not in a smile, but in the hint of a smirk. Her cold cat eyes scanned the room.
No one dared speak. Not even breathe too loud.
She sat at the head of the table, the leather of her chair sighing beneath her. The meeting lasted twenty minutes — twenty excruciating minutes of her dissecting sales reports, slashing budgets, and shooting down vague strategies with a sharp "Do better or don't show your face here again."
And then she walked out.
📱 "Eunbi, my office. Now."
The message popped up on the phone of her secretary, who rushed into Jennie's penthouse-style corner office on the top floor.
"Miss Kim," Eunbi bowed respectfully, holding a notepad.
Jennie stood by the glass window, looking down at Seoul like she owned every inch of it. Her arms were crossed, one brow slightly raised.
"My father has given me a month to get married. Or I lose my position as CEO." Her voice was like ice cracking on still water.
Eunbi gasped softly. "But... Miss Kim, marriage? You never—"
"I'm not asking for suggestions." Jennie turned, her eyes hard. "I need a man. One who will marry me, sign a contract, take my money, and disappear from my life when the time is right."
"Like... a fake marriage?"
"A contract marriage. Legally binding. But fake in every other way. He plays the role of my husband in front of my family and the media. After a year, we divorce. Quietly."
Eunbi hesitated. "That sounds... risky. What if your father finds out?"
Jennie leaned closer, her lips slightly twitching in a mock smile. "He won't. And if he does, I'll handle it. Like I always do."
She walked over to her sleek glass desk and slid a folder across to Eunbi.
Inside was a list: eligibility, requirements, the contract draft. The man had to be good-looking, well-mannered, and able to keep secrets. Preferably someone struggling financially. Someone who wouldn't dare fall in love with her.
Because Jennie Kim didn't do love.
Not anymore. Not after—
She cut the thought short. Emotion had no place here.
"Start the search today. I want results by the weekend."
"Yes, Miss Kim."
As Eunbi left, Jennie exhaled slowly and leaned back in her chair. The skyline stretched out before her, but for the first time in years, it looked distant… unfamiliar.
📞 Buzz buzz
Her phone lit up with a message from her father.
> Appa: Hope you're meeting someone this week. Remember, just one month. I mean it. Love you.
She didn't reply.
Instead, she murmured to herself, "Love is a liability, Appa. I'd rather buy a husband than fall for one." 😌
She poured herself a glass of wine and sipped it calmly.
Outside, the world thought she was Seoul's perfect CEO. Powerful, poised, and polished.
But inside?
Jennie Kim was preparing for the greatest performance of her life.
A marriage without love.
A husband without feelings.
A lie that had to look like a dream. 💍✨