Chapter : 3
The next morning at 9:00 a.m.
I stood in front of the Managing Director’s office in the Strategic Planning Headquarters, gripping the doorknob like a cow being led to the slaughterhouse. The cold metal handle slipped beneath my palm, damp with cold sweat.
Once I go in, it’s over.
The memory of what had happened in the break room last night flashed through my mind like a film.
The offer to lend me 300 million won. And the demand that I mortgage my soul in return.
Because of that offer, I hadn’t slept a wink. I had spent the entire night awake, calculating loan interest, searching for information about the auction process, and tracking down the whereabouts of the front man.
There was only one conclusion.
I couldn’t escape this swamp on my own.
“Phew…”
I let out a trembling breath and opened the door.
At the far end of the room, I could see Managing Director Kang Seo-jun sitting at his desk. He didn’t even raise his head as he signed approval documents.
Scratch, scratch.
The sound of his fountain pen scraping against the paper was the only thing filling the silence.
I stood before him like a criminal.
“You’re here.”
He set his fountain pen down with a click, pulled an envelope of documents from his drawer, and slid it across the table.
“Sit.”
I awkwardly took a seat. The moment I checked the contents, my heart sank.
[Personnel Record Card: Marketing Team 1, Lee Da-eun]
[In-House Loan Application (Rejected)]
[Credit Score Inquiry History]
There was even a copy of the fraud report I had filed with the police regarding my jeonse deposit.
My face instantly grew hot.
I felt completely naked.
My poverty, my failures, and my desperation had all been printed in stark detail on sheets of A4 paper.
“What… is this?”
My voice trembled.
Managing Director Kang looked down at the documents impassively, his fingers interlaced.
“A basic analysis of the investment target.”
“Investment…?”
“If I’m going to lend you 300 million won, I need to verify the value of the collateral.”
He looked me over as though he were inspecting a defective product that had been returned.
“You’re diligent. Five years since joining the company, no tardiness. Top ten percent in performance evaluations. Good reputation among your colleagues.”
His voice was gentle, but it didn’t sound like praise.
It sounded more like he was saying, You’re a slave who’s easy to make use of.
“But your financial situation is a mess.”
He hit me exactly where it hurt.
“Your entire fortune has vanished into thin air, and you don’t even have enough money for the deposit on your next home. You’re worried about next month’s credit card bill too, aren’t you?”
I couldn’t refute him.
Because it was all true.
Overwhelmed by humiliation, I lowered my head and clenched the fists resting on my knees. My fingernails dug deep into my palms, but I couldn’t even feel the pain.
“Let’s get to the point.”
He leaned forward.
A heavy pressure seemed to weigh down the air.
“Yesterday’s offer still stands.”
“What are the conditions?”
I finally managed to part my parched lips.
There was no such thing as a free lunch.
And there was certainly no way a third-generation chaebol heir was a philanthropist.
“Marriage.”
“…What?”
“To be precise, a legal marriage on paper.”
Managing Director Kang pulled out another document.
The title ‘Notice Regarding the Execution of the Will’ was visible.
“These are Chairman Kang Man-seok’s conditions. You must marry and establish a family in order to pass the final hurdle for succession to the group’s management rights.”
His voice was painfully businesslike, as though he were explaining the terms of an M&A contract.
“The term is exactly one year. The succession process will be completed within that period. Afterward, you can divorce me cleanly.”
At his matter-of-fact tone, I instinctively swallowed.
Even if it was only on paper, I would still be the daughter-in-law of a chaebol family.
“But… if I become your wife, wouldn’t I have to appear in the media or attend official events? I’m just an ordinary office worker. I don’t think I could handle my personal information being spread all over the internet.”
He gave a short, incredulous laugh.
“Don’t misunderstand. What I need is the legal title of ‘family,’ not a show-window partner to share the spotlight with me.”
He pointed to a section of the document.
“Your identity will be kept strictly confidential. No media exposure. No tedious appearances with me at official company events, either. You merely need to exist on my family registry like a ghost.”
“…Then do I really only have to sign the papers?”
“No. There is one exception.”
His eyes glinted coldly.
“Family events. You must attend them and play the role of a perfect wife.”
“Family events…?”
“My grandfather. Chairman Kang Man-seok. Avoiding his suspicions is the core of this project and your only mission. Other than that, I won’t interfere with whatever you do.”
“Ha…”
It was absurd.
A contractual marriage, something I’d only ever seen in dramas.
But I couldn’t laugh at it.
My situation was even more of a disaster than anything in a drama.
Suppressing my hollow feelings, I carefully asked,
“Why me… of all people?”
“There are three reasons.”
He held up his fingers one by one.
“First, you’re an employee of the company, so your identity can be reliably verified. Second, you’re in desperate need of money right now, so you don’t have the luxury of entertaining other thoughts.”
He stared directly at me, then gave a sardonic smile as he raised his final finger.
“Third, there’s no possibility of emotional entanglement. You don’t see me as a man. You see me as a source of money.”
I couldn’t deny it.
I was in far too miserable a situation to entertain thoughts of excitement or romantic feelings.
To me, he wasn’t a man.
He was the only escape route I’d encountered at the edge of a cliff.
“In exchange, I will fully cover the 300 million won you lost in the jeonse fraud.”
Another sheet of paper slid across the table.
I saw a photograph of a luxury apartment complex in Gangnam.
“And one more thing. If the contract ends successfully after one year, I’ll transfer ownership of one of these apartments to you under your name as compensation.”
“…What?”
I couldn’t believe my ears.
Three hundred million won wasn’t enough?
He was offering me an apartment worth tens of billions of won.
“However, payment will be made when the contract ends one year from now.”
“What? One year from now?”
“Your identity is trustworthy, but it’s uncertain whether you’ll endure this contract until the end.”
Managing Director Kang added coldly,
“If I give you everything upfront and you quit halfway through because you can’t do it, I’ll be the one in trouble. Think of it as a kind of safety device.”
“Then what about right now? I understand that I’ll receive it a year from now, but what am I supposed to do about the loan interest that’s draining me even as I breathe, and the fact that I have nowhere to live?”
“Food and lodging will be provided. Since we’ll have to live together in my house to play the role of a show-window couple anyway.”
He casually gestured toward the documents with his chin.
“And the bank loan interest that’s choking you. I’ll pay it for one year. Once the contract ends, you can use the money you receive from me to pay off only the principal.”
Three hundred million won.
An apartment worth tens of billions.
And on top of that, accommodation and interest payments.
The moment those conditions sank into my mind, the calculator in my head began spinning like crazy.
The immediate worry of finding the deposit that was squeezing the life out of me would be over.
The murderous interest payments going out every month would be saved.
And one year later, I’d receive 300 million won and pay off the debt in full.
Then I’d move into the apartment I’d received as compensation.
Gulp.
I swallowed dryly.
Pride? Morality?
Those were luxuries for people with full stomachs.
Tomorrow, my credit card might be blocked, and I might end up moving from one goshiwon to another.
If Mom found out about this, the shock might make her collapse.
If I simply closed my eyes and let myself be sold, everything would be solved.
Most importantly, all I had to do was register a legal marriage on paper, and I’d receive a huge sum of money a year later.
But…
I’m getting this enormous reward just for registering a marriage?
The last shred of my pride put on the brakes.
I’d spent my entire life working honestly to earn money.
I’d never once lived off someone else’s kindness.
Three hundred million won and an apartment on top of that.
If I simply accepted this absurd amount of money, I felt as though I’d have to crawl at this man’s feet for the rest of my life.
“Surely you’re not refusing?”
Perhaps he had taken my silence as a rejection, because Managing Director Kang frowned.
I raised my head and looked him straight in the eye.
“No. I’ll do it. That marriage.”
The corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
“A wise decision. Then I’ll immediately contact a lawyer—”
“However, I have a condition.”
I calmly interrupted him before he could finish.
A look passed over his face that seemed to say, How dare you, an ‘inferior party,’ set conditions?
“I won’t simply accept it. This must strictly be a ‘contract payment.’ I hate feeling indebted to someone by receiving something without giving anything in return. I’d rather die.”
“Then?”
“I’ll repay it through labor. Labor worth 300 million won.”
I quickly calculated the estimate in my head.
“Payment for acting as the daughter-in-law of a chaebol family. Nighttime and weekend family-event accompaniment fees. And hazard pay for the invasion of my privacy.”
“……”
“For one year, I’ll serve as your perfect business partner and wife.”
I drove the point home with a deliberately confident expression.
“I’m saying you should get every last bit of value out of my 300 million won price tag. I’ll make sure you never feel that you’ve lost money, Managing Director.”
Managing Director Kang let out an incredulous laugh.
“Ha. Lost money.”
“Yes. I don’t accept free money. I’ll receive 300 million won as fair compensation for my labor. That way… I think I’ll feel less miserable.”
Moisture gathered in my voice.
He silently stared at me.
His cold gaze seemed to soften just a little.
Just a tiny bit.
“Fine. I accept.”
He pressed the intercom.
“Secretary Kim, we’re going to the lawyer’s office. Have the car ready.”
An oppressive silence filled the back seat of the luxury sedan, where even the air seemed different.
The scenery of downtown Seoul passing by outside the window felt strangely unfamiliar.
Until yesterday, this city had felt like hell.
But inside this car, it was peaceful, without even a trace of noise.
Hell and heaven were separated by nothing more than a car window.
Kang Seo-jun, sitting beside me, was staring only at his tablet PC.
We were close enough that we could almost touch, and the cool scent coming from him filled the car.
I kept swallowing dryly from the tension.
How much time had passed?
The car came to a smooth stop.
The place we were taken to was a conference room at a large law firm in Seocho-dong.
Just looking at the long table and rows of chairs made the place feel not merely solemn, but downright intimidating.
I cautiously took my seat, and a thick stack of documents was placed on the table.
[Marital Property Agreement]
[Money Consumption Loan Agreement]
[Confidentiality Agreement]
The lawyer mechanically went over the major clauses of the contracts.
There were countless provisions, beginning with a clause stating that neither party could claim a division of property upon divorce, followed by provisions stating that neither party could interfere in the other’s private life whatsoever during the contract period.
Even the final clause was brutal:
If either party violated the contract, the penalty would be 900 million won, three times the support amount.
Nine hundred million won.
My breath caught in my throat.
It meant they were completely sealing off any possible escape route.
“Please sign.”
Managing Director Kang signed the contract first with his fountain pen.
His movements were elegant yet cold, without even the slightest hesitation.
Now it was my turn.
My fingertips gripping the stamp had turned white.
The moment I stamped this paper, the ordinary life of Assistant Manager Lee Da-eun of the Marketing Team would come to an end.
All that would remain was the label of Kang Seo-jun’s fake wife and a 300-million-won laborer.
I stared down at the stamp, its tip coated in red ink.
It was an incredibly expensive contract—one that mortgaged my entire life.
Still… I have to live.
I squeezed my eyes shut and pressed down with all my strength.
Press.
A vivid red mark, impossible to erase, was stamped onto the paper like an indelible brand.
“The contract has been established.”
The lawyer gathered the documents and left.
Only Kang Seo-jun and I remained in the conference room.
I fidgeted with my fingers in the awkward atmosphere when he stood up first.
“Pack your things and move in today.”
“Oh, today? I haven’t even mentally prepared myself yet…”
“I hate wasting time.”
He checked his wristwatch and headed toward the door.
I swallowed a sigh as I watched his broad back leave without even turning around.
Right.
The water had already been spilled.
There was no turning back.
He wasn’t my boss anymore.
He was my husband.
No.
More precisely, he was my employer.
I abruptly stood up and followed him.
Then I called out to him from behind.
“I look forward to working with you, sir!”
He stopped and turned around.
His brow was furrowed.
“Let’s settle the way we address each other.”
“Pardon?”
“Other people can hear us. Not ‘sir.’”
Ah, right.
We were a married couple.
I forcibly rolled my stiff tongue.
It felt as though I were chewing on grains of sand inside my mouth.
“I look forward to working with you… Seo-jun.”
The tone was so stiff and textbook-like that I couldn’t believe those words had come from my own mouth.
Perhaps my manner of speaking wasn’t to his liking.
Kang Seo-jun’s eyebrow twitched.
Then the corner of his mouth curled into a sardonic smile.
“Alright. Let’s do our best. Wife.”
A shiver ran down my spine at the word wife.
There wasn’t even a single gram of sweetness in it.
Instead, it carried the full weight of 300 million won.
And just like that, my dangerous and expensive double life began.
