Beneath the billonaire's gaze

“Are you serious about this?”

Lee Hana’s voice trembled as she flipped through the contract, eyes scanning the neatly typed clauses over and over as if they might change if she stared long enough.

“Like… seriously serious?”

Kang Jae-Hyun leaned back in his chair, one eyebrow lifting slightly.

“Do I look like someone who jokes?”

She looked up at him, then back down at the papers. “This is insane. I don’t know you. You don’t know me. And you want me to pretend to be your fiancée?”

“You’re understanding the situation perfectly.”

Her fingers paused at a highlighted paragraph.

“This clause about public displays of affection,” she said cautiously. “What does that mean?”

“It means,” he replied calmly, “that in public you’ll hold my hand, smile, and behave like a woman in love. And if necessary—kiss me.”

“K-Kiss you?” Her voice jumped.

“It’s a relationship, Miss Lee. You’ve kissed someone before.”

“That’s not the point!” she snapped. “This feels like a drama plot.”

“And yet,” he said evenly, “here you are. No one is forcing you. You’re free to walk away.”

Her gaze drifted to the numbers at the bottom of the page.

₩10,000,000 upfront.

Additional payments per public appearance.

Performance bonus.

Her throat tightened.

She could pay her mother’s medical bills.

Secure Ji-Ho’s education.

Breathe for the first time in months.

“You said one month?” she asked quietly.

“Thirty days.”

“And after that?”

“We announce a mutual breakup. Clean. Quiet. You return to your life.”

“What if someone finds out?”

“Then I handle it,” he said, eyes sharpening. “But if you betray this agreement, there will be legal consequences.”

She closed the folder slowly.

“…Can I sleep on it?”

“You have until tomorrow morning. Eight a.m.”

Later That Night — Hana’s Apartment

Hana lay awake on her narrow mattress, staring at the ceiling.

Her mother coughed softly in the next room.

Ji-Ho mumbled in his sleep.

She reached into her bag and pulled out the contract, spreading it across her bed.

“Just thirty days,” she whispered.

Thirty days of pretending.

Thirty days of survival.

She squeezed her eyes shut.

Next Morning — JH Group, 7:58 a.m.

Hana stepped into Jae-Hyun’s office, the signed contract clenched in her hand.

Without a word, she placed it on his desk.

“I’ll do it.”

He glanced up, unsurprised.

“A wise decision.”

“I have conditions.”

That caught his attention.

“One,” she said firmly, “no kissing unless absolutely necessary.”

“Define absolutely.”

“When cameras are in our faces.”

He smirked. “Accepted.”

“Two. I keep my part-time jobs.”

“I’ll adjust your schedule.”

“Three. Separate rooms.”

“You think I want to share a bed with a stranger?”

She huffed. “You’re the one paying me to act in love.”

“Fine. Separate rooms.”

She hesitated.

“And don’t fall in love with me.”

Silence.

Then—he laughed. Genuinely.

“I can promise you,” he said, “that won’t be a problem.”

“Why me?” she asked quietly.

“You’re invisible. No scandals. No ambition toward me.”

He stepped closer. “And you follow rules.”

“I’m not a puppet.”

“No,” he agreed softly. “But you’re reliable.”

She swallowed.

“And what do I get?”

“A new apartment. All expenses covered. And enough money to change your life.”

The room went still.

That Evening

Hana returned once more.

She placed the signed contract on his desk.

“I’m in.”

Jae-Hyun opened a drawer and removed a velvet box.

He opened it.

A diamond ring caught the light.

“We need it to look real,” he said calmly. “My grandmother notices everything.”

As he slid the ring onto her finger, Hana’s breath hitched.

Fake or not—

Something had just changed.