Chapter 1
Soyu tried her best not to make eye contact with Taeoh, who sat across from her.
“There’s no point in wasting more time.”
His voice was so low it seemed to ripple through the surface of the coffee between them.
Soyu’s eyes trembled in response.
“Shall we get married?”
Was it rude?
Just blunt?
She couldn’t tell.
“Is there any other option besides this marriage?”
Slowly, Soyu lifted her gaze—only to lock eyes with Taeoh, whose pupils were as dark as her coffee.
The moment their eyes met, it felt like sparks flew between them.
“Or do you just need some time to play hard to get?”
Taeoh looked like he couldn’t wait to get out of this dull meeting.
He was exactly the kind of man Soyu disliked most—arrogant and dismissive, someone who didn’t respect others.
“I don’t like wasting my time.”
If her situation weren’t so desperate, Soyu would have stood up and walked away without hesitation.
But unfortunately, Taeoh was right—she didn’t have another choice.
She had been pushed into this meeting, practically dragged here. And if she didn’t lock this man down today, she probably wouldn’t be allowed to return home.
Trying to suppress her emotions, Soyu closed her eyes for a moment.
Taeoh, intrigued, watched as her lashes trembled.
After a long pause, the answer he had been waiting for finally came.
“…Yes. Let’s get married.”
A pleased smile crept across Taeoh’s lips as he ran his tongue over them.
It was the perfect answer—flawless, exactly what he wanted to hear.
A quiet thrill rose inside him at having drawn those words from her.
But when Soyu opened her eyes again, her face had returned to its usual blank calm. She didn’t catch the sharp glint that had briefly appeared in his expression.
“Good. Then there’s nothing left to talk about.”
He stood up lightly and slung his jacket over one arm.
“My secretary will send you the schedule.”
Even this marriage—something that should be deeply personal—seemed to him like just another business deal.
And she was just another business partner.
“Miss Jung Soyu. I’ll see you again.”
With that brief farewell, he turned and walked away.
Exhausted from the short but intense conversation, Soyu leaned back in her chair.
Her first impression of Kang Taeoh was overwhelming.
He clearly hated unnecessary formalities and had a forceful way of pushing everything to go exactly the way he wanted.
Next to him, things like stubborn pride or fragile egos would mean nothing.
Of course he had always stood one step above others. For someone like Soyu, who had always lived quietly below, he was almost unbearable.
Just a few words from him had made her nervous, and the entire room had felt tighter, sharper.
He was undeniably handsome—but even that added to the tension.
From start to finish, it all traced back to one thing: his overwhelming charisma.
Was this really the right decision?
She hadn’t had a choice, but still—she was worried about the future.
Could she really endure a life next to a man who had no warmth at all?
“How did it go?”
When she returned home, Madam Gong Yeonok was waiting for her.
Although Yeonok was Soyu’s mother now, she wasn’t her birth mother. She had married Soyu’s father when Soyu was ten.
“…I agreed to it.”
“Did you? That’s wonderful.”
Yeonok’s bright red lips curved into a wide smile.
Soyu paused, thinking back to the unsettling meeting with Taeoh.
Yeonok glanced sideways at her.
Her fingers, painted in the same red shade as her lips, gently tapped Soyu’s arm as if offering encouragement.
“Your father would be pleased.”
As if telling her to let go of every doubt in her mind.
“Imagine how heartbroken he’d be if he woke up to find the company in crisis.”
Soyu slowly lowered her head.
“The company hasn’t been doing well lately.”
When her father was running things, the business was stable—a solid mid-sized company built on steady profits and long-standing trust with partners.
But for some reason, Yeonok kept insisting the company was on the brink.
“With an alliance with the Kanghwa Group, we’ll be able to rise again. Understand?”
“…Yes.”
“You made the right choice.”
Last year, tragedy struck.
It came out of nowhere, and Soyu had been so shocked she fainted several times.
Her father, who had been perfectly fine that morning, became a vegetable overnight.
The police report said the cause was brake failure.
He couldn’t stop at a red light and collided with a dump truck.
The truck driver had only minor injuries, but her father’s situation was very different.
The chauffeur died instantly, and her father lost all ability to care for himself.
“Just trust me, sweetheart.”
While Soyu was still drowning in grief, Yeonok had taken over the company without hesitation.
She acted like a queen, ruling over the employees and aggressively expanding the business.
There was no sense of sorrow or love for her husband in her actions.
As a result, the company became cold, hollow, and lifeless.
It lost its humanity.
“Your father would be proud of you. Do you think you could meet a man like that anywhere else? He’s more than you deserve.”
It was Yeonok who had eagerly agreed to the arranged marriage with the Kanghwa Group heir. She had no idea what kind of danger it might bring and hadn’t even asked Soyu for her opinion.
Maybe it was because the offer hadn’t come for her own daughter, Dahae—but for Soyu instead.
Either way, she seemed to believe this alliance would bring them everything they needed.
“Our family will rise again, and you’ll be the lady of Kanghwa Group. It’s a win-win.”
Her tone was as gentle as ever.
But somehow, despite the softness of her voice, Soyu couldn’t shake the feeling she was being scratched by something sharp and red—like Yeonok’s lips and nails.
“My daughter, I’m so proud of you.”
Yeonok’s attitude had subtly shifted ever since Soyu’s father lost consciousness.
It was hard to put into words—too sly, too vague—but Soyu had to hide the sharp doubt blooming inside her.
Besides, Yeonok now held the lifeline of the person Soyu loved most in the world.
Soyu had no choice but to obey.
She had to lower her head and keep quiet.
In a house where her father had disappeared, Soyu was utterly alone.
“…You’ll keep your promise, right?”
Until now, Soyu had only listened, but her voice finally trembled as she spoke.
No matter how scared she was, there was one promise she needed to confirm.
The very reason this marriage existed at all.
Yeonok silently played with the large diamond on her ring.
“The promise… that you’d take care of my father until the end.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Yeonok’s face stiffened in an instant.
Sometimes, Yeonok acted like a completely different person—just like now.
Gripped by the familiar fear that always seemed to choke her, Soyu instinctively took a step back.
“Are you accusing me of abandoning my own husband?”
“N-No, Mother. I didn’t mean it like that…”
She hurried to explain, but it was too late. As if triggered, Yeonok struck her sharply across the cheek.
The sharp edge of her ring tore Soyu’s smooth skin, and blood welled up.
“You’ve got some nerve, speaking like that to a mother who’s been struggling for this family.”
Soyu cupped her stinging cheek.
Her fingertips felt the warm, sticky fluid.
She swallowed her tears as hard as she could.
“Just do as I say. Understood?”
“…Yes. I’m sorry.”
Her trembling voice echoed in the silence.
From the staircase, her stepsister Dahae watched with amusement, then giggled and headed upstairs.
“It won’t happen again.”
Yeonok stared at Soyu for a moment, then as if nothing had happened, gently caressed the cheek she had just struck.
“My poor girl.”
The chill of her touch sent shivers down Soyu’s spine, but she didn’t dare flinch.
“I’ve just been a little on edge lately.”
Yeonok cupped Soyu’s delicate cheek in her palm.
“You have to understand me. Who else will? I’m having a hard time too.”
When they had first met, Yeonok had held her hand and promised to take the place of the mother who died when Soyu was just a baby. She’d said she would raise her as her own, with no difference between Soyu and her biological daughter, Dahae.
Soyu still remembered how deeply moved she had been.
She kept telling herself Yeonok wasn’t a bad person.
That she just lost control sometimes.
That she couldn’t possibly be heartless enough to abandon a man in a coma.
Because what else could Soyu believe?
She had to believe it, or she wouldn’t survive.
“I’ll rebuild the company before your father wakes up.”
Soyu slowly nodded.
“And I’ll make sure both my daughters live happily.”
“Yes.”
“And your soon-to-be husband? He’s a popular man. That kind of wealth, looks, education—you don’t see that every day.”
Soyu thought of the man she had sat with just hours ago.
She still didn’t understand why someone like him would agree to marry someone like her.
“With a face like yours, you’ll scar. Make sure to apply some ointment before bed.”
Leaving Soyu standing there, Yeonok turned and walked gracefully toward her room.
Soyu stood alone, glancing around the house.
When it was just her and her father, this place had felt like a palace.
The food was delicious. The air was warm. There was laughter and joy everywhere.
Now, it felt like a ruined wasteland tangled in thorns.
There was no joy left. No warmth.
Tears fell down her cheeks.
She had always hated the fairy tale Cinderella as a child.
The idea of being mistreated by a stepmother and stepsister, only to be passively “rescued” by a prince—it had always felt pathetic.
But now… she couldn’t deny it anymore.
She was Cinderella.
No—worse.
At least the prince in the story loved Cinderella.
But Kang Taeoh did not love Jung Soyu.
She was just being sold to the Kanghwa Group like an object.
[RE: Kang Taeoh – Jung Soyu Marriage Schedule]
Just then, a dry, business-like email landed in her inbox, outlining their wedding plans.
Soyu wiped her tears with the back of her hand and walked to her room.
She opened her laptop immediately.
She couldn’t afford to fall apart.
No matter how much she cried, suffering wouldn’t spare her.
This was just something she had to get through.
There was less than a month left until the wedding.
Two days later, Soyu met Taeoh again.
The only things that had changed were his clothes and watch—everything else was the same.
He was cold. Expressionless.
“Don’t you think this is all happening a bit fast?”
Soyu hesitated before cautiously asking. It had been on her mind ever since she saw the schedule.
Taeoh set his coffee cup down and looked at her.
His eyes were so dark, they seemed like they could swallow everything soft around them.
“You mean the wedding? Normal couples take six months or more to prepare, right?”
“We’re not a normal couple.”
His firm tone left her speechless.
“Our wedding planner will handle all the tedious details.”
“Yes… I know.”
“More importantly, your mother requested it. She wants the wedding as soon as possible.”
“Oh… I see.”
With that, Soyu had nothing left to say.
Taeoh was adjusting everything to fit her family’s wishes. She had no right to complain.
It was her wedding, but nothing was truly hers. Every part of it was being decided by someone else.
Frustrated, she bit her lip to keep a sigh from escaping.
“I didn’t know that. So… the article comes out tomorrow?”
“Yes. As planned.”
The scenario written by Taeoh’s secretary was tight and convincing.
The story was that they had met while studying abroad in high school and had quietly nurtured their love ever since.
It was 99% fiction, with just a sliver of truth—Soyu had indeed studied abroad in high school.
Enough truth to fool people completely.
“Then… should I pick out my personal items for the shoot, or…?”
She didn’t finish the sentence.
Taeoh suddenly stood and walked toward her.
He was taller than she expected, and Soyu instinctively shrank back.
Was he angry? Had she said something wrong?
Though his expression didn’t change, an odd tension radiated from him.
He leaned in, just enough to make her think he might kiss her.
Startled, Soyu held her breath.
But Taeoh’s gaze never moved—it had been fixed on one spot from the beginning.
“Where did you get that injury?”
It was the mark left by Yeonok’s ring the night before.
She’d covered it up carefully with makeup, but apparently Taeoh had sharp eyes.
Soyu quickly raised a hand to hide it.
For some reason, she didn’t want to tell him the truth.
She wanted to hide it.
“It’s… just a scratch.”
Taeoh frowned, clearly displeased by her answer.
“Would you mind stepping back a little? People are staring.”
“Who scratched you?”
His voice was casual, but the words dropped like a stone.
“I can’t stand it when someone leaves a mark on what’s mine.”
Soyu had no idea how to respond.
His presence alone was overwhelming.
“I don’t know if it was a person or an animal, but pass this along clearly—”
She knew that by “mine,” he didn’t mean it romantically. Just a legal attachment. But something about it still stirred her.
She might’ve burst into tears if she’d let her guard down even a little.
“—if it happens again, I’ll snap their neck.”
For the first time since her father’s accident, Soyu felt what it meant to belong somewhere.
But to feel that from such a violent threat—did that make her completely broken?