Chapter 21: Wine and a Proposal

“Where on earth is this?”

Squinting her eyes to see clearly as she tucked her phone away, Seungji asked.

“You’re not going to tell me who it is this time either, are you?”

Jiheum picked up her handbag and turned around.

Seungji shrugged.

Seeing Seungji already nod after reaching her own conclusion made Jiheum feel apologetic.

She already felt bad about hiding the truth by packaging herself as an adoptee rather than an illegitimate child.

She didn’t want to create more secrets over something unimportant.

“No, I’ll tell you. It’s the Representative.”

“The Representative?”

Perhaps because it was an unexpected answer, Seungji fell silent for a moment.

“Oh? That third-generation chaebol!”

Seungji’s eyes sparkled, and her voice rose.

As Jiheum nodded in confirmation, Seungji flew into the living room as if she had never been sulky.

“Why? What’s going on? Did the Representative ask to meet you privately?”

“Yes. But I don’t know the reason either. Instead, I’ll definitely tell you after I meet him.”

“Really? You have to tell me!”

Seungji’s face, full of curiosity, looked as excited as if she were watching a movie heroine.

Jiheum wished all of this were just a movie.

Then she could enjoy the fun of looking at someone else’s proof shots.

***

“You have arrived at your destination. Guidance is now ending.”

The navigation’s voice came to an end.

Jiheum parked her car next to a high wall and looked around.

On both sides of the alley, only towering walls were visible, as if they were competing to see whose was higher.

She had no choice but to dial the number saved as ‘Representative’ on her phone.

The call was answered after only a few rings.

– Have you arrived?

“Yes. But I’m not sure if I’ve found the right place.”

– The white sedan?

“Pardon? Oh, yes.”

The other end of the line went quiet for a moment, and then the overhead door, which had been firmly closed beside the wall, slid open.

– Come in.

Jiheum hung up and cautiously drove her car into the garage.

It was a spacious garage, large enough to easily fit four vehicles.

When Jiheum finished parking and stepped out, she heard someone approaching from the stairs connected to the house.

Soon, Ki Joyoon, wearing a loose-fitting sweater and slacks, descended into the garage.

“Welcome.”

Ki Joyoon gave a beaming smile.

It was a smile meant to win favor, yet it also made people feel tense.

“Where… is this?”

Jiheum asked as she approached.

“It’s my house.”

“Why did you call me here?”

“Why are you so on guard? It’s not like we haven’t seen everything there is to see already.”

Jiheum involuntarily glared at Ki Joyoon.

She couldn’t understand his behavior—calling her to his house just because they had spent a night together.

“No one else is here. I live alone.”

“……”

“And with us… nothing will happen either.”

‘Unless you want it to,’ Ki Joyoon added as a condition, laughing lightly to tell her to relax.

“This isn’t a conversation to have in a garage. So? Should we talk here?”

At his expression that suggested he could do so if she wished, Jiheum had no choice but to follow him.

Jiheum’s eyes widened as she entered the house.

The first floor, where she expected a living room, was almost empty.

It felt as if she had stepped into a museum gallery.

Glass walls stretched out in an L-shape, making the garden look like a painting.

It was like a massive natural canvas capturing the four seasons.

A sofa faced the glass window, while the rest of the space was blocked off by walls and doors.

Ki Joyoon didn’t stop and went up to the second floor.

Jiheum followed quietly behind him.

Upon reaching the second floor, she saw a spacious living room and a small kitchen.

As she glanced around, a large wall seemed to partition the space, and she caught a glimpse of an entirely different area behind a slightly open sliding door.

“Sit comfortably.”

Ki Joyoon gestured toward the sofa in the living room and headed to the kitchen.

Jiheum stood awkwardly before reluctantly moving to the living room.

Through the floor-to-ceiling window, the illuminated garden was visible at a glance.

The outside world was hidden by the high walls and trees.

“Wine is fine, right?”

Believing she would obviously drink, Ki Joyoon held out a glass of red wine.

Jiheum took the wine glass reaching her reluctantly and muttered lowly.

“It’s not fine. I have to drive.”

“I’ll call a driver for you. Drink comfortably. You’ll be craving alcohol soon enough.”

Jiheum stared at him in bewilderment at his certain tone, but Ki Joyoon sat on the opposite sofa as if it were no big deal.

“Are you always this unilateral?”

Jiheum lowered the wine glass to her lap and let out a light sigh.

Not understanding the question, Ki Joyoon swirled the wine in his glass and let his lips stretch into a smile.

“Just because of this?”

Jiheum was rendered speechless by Ki Joyoon’s confident attitude.

Since he had always lived in a position of looking down at others, it seemed even the word ‘unilateral’ was interpreted differently by each of them.

“I’m about to make an even more unilateral proposal from now on. How about it? Are you ready to listen?”

“What is it?”

Jiheum steadied her heart and gave a small nod.

She wanted to know why he had called her so unilaterally and even offered her wine.

“Ms. Yoon Jiheum. Let’s make a contract.”

“A contract? What kind of… contract?”

Tension seeped into Jiheum’s hand as she gripped the stem of the glass.

Facing an unpredictable opponent made all her nerves stand on edge.

“A marriage contract.”

At the words that came out so nonchalantly, Jiheum’s mind and body froze.

It was a statement she hadn’t expected at all.

No, it was a proposal she hadn’t even imagined.

“A marriage contract? I don’t understand what you mean.”

Jiheum shook her head slightly and laughed.

She was at a loss for words at such an absurd statement.

“Is it that difficult to ask you to enter a contract marriage with me?”

“Marriage, so suddenly? And by contract?”

“I don’t want a marriage that’s like a corporate merger between families. I need a marriage where the parties involved can mutually benefit each other.”

Ki Joyoon explained calmly as if he had expected Jiheum’s reaction.

However, the absurdity and ridiculousness Jiheum felt—like someone who had been suddenly struck from behind while walking down the street—could not be resolved.

“Wait, just a moment. Representative.”

Jiheum set the wine glass down on the table, fearing she might spill it, and parted her lips.

But she couldn’t think of what to say next.

“Not Representative, but Ki Joyoon.”

“The title isn’t what’s important right now.”

Jiheum snapped back sharply at Ki Joyoon, who was smiling gently.

She regretted it a second later, but seeing him so relaxed wasn’t pleasant.

“It’s important to me. You should at least know your husband’s name properly.”

“Husband? Aren’t you getting a bit ahead of yourself?”

“Whether I’m ahead or behind, in the end, I’m going to marry you.”

Ki Joyoon laughed confidently and savored the wine.

Jiheum’s throat was also burning, so she impulsively drank the wine.

She didn’t have the courage to argue while sober.

She intended to create an excuse that she couldn’t remember because of the alcohol.

“Why marriage so suddenly? You don’t know a single thing about me properly.”

“Why would I not know? I know your name, your age, and we’ve even tested our sexual compatibility, which is quite important.”

“Mr. Ki Joyoon!”

Jiheum’s voice rose at the mention of that night, which came out so casually.

She flared up in anger, but no words to handle the situation came to mind.

Jiheum’s lips trembled, and she gulped down the rest of the wine.

Once she set the empty glass back on the table, a heat—whether from the alcohol or anger—enveloped her entire body.

As Jiheum brushed her neck to soothe the rising heat, Ki Joyoon’s soft voice reached her.

“Ms. Yoon Jiheum, you need marriage, don’t you?”

Jiheum lifted her gaze and stared at Ki Joyoon.

The man who had shaken her was perfectly composed.

Just as at the lounge bar, he was always so confident, and it made her both envious and annoyed.

‘Do you ever lose your composure?’

Whether he knew her thoughts or not, Ki Joyoon whispered his next words tenderly.

“I need that thing called marriage as well. So, let’s help each other.”

Ki Joyoon also set his glass on the table and adjusted his posture.

Wiping the playfulness from his eyes, he looked at Jiheum with a serious gaze.

Jiheum couldn’t take her eyes off Ki Joyoon under his intense stare, which seemed to tell her to listen carefully because he was being serious now.

“How about a short-term contract marriage?”

“A short-term contract marriage?”

“Do you not like short-term? If not, should we live together for a lifetime?”

“No! No!”

Jiheum shook her head vigorously from side to side.

Ki Joyoon laughed lightly, asking why she had to look so repulsed.

“Um. Mr. Ki Joyoon.”

“Yes, Ms. Yoon Jiheum.”

Jiheum applied strength to her wide eyes and clenched fists, squeezing out her courage.

She parted her lips, hoping her voice would sound calm.

“Did I perhaps do something wrong to you?”

“Something wrong?”

A hollow breath escaped Ki Joyoon’s lips.

What kind of life must she have led to receive a marriage proposal as if it were a punishment?

Ki Joyoon looked at Jiheum with a bewildered expression.

He suddenly became curious about the life of this woman with a clear face but eyes as deep as an abyss.

“If that’s not the case, then why are you suddenly doing this to me?”