Yoo Seo-jin sat across from Kang Min-jae in a private meeting room, her hands trembling slightly as she clenched them together under the table. The man in front of her looked calm, almost amused, his sharp suit and meticulously groomed appearance emphasizing the icy demeanor he carried.
This was her last chance. Her father had made it clear—if she couldn't salvage this engagement, she would be cut off from the Yoo family entirely. For the first time in her life, she felt desperate.
"I'm asking you," Seo-jin began, her voice barely above a whisper, "to reconsider the engagement."
Min-jae leaned back in his chair, a slow, deliberate movement. He tilted his head slightly, his sharp eyes scrutinizing her as if she were a mildly interesting puzzle. "You're asking me to reconsider," he repeated, his voice dripping with mockery. "That's rich, coming from you."
"I made a mistake," she admitted, swallowing her pride. The words felt foreign in her mouth, but the urgency of her situation left her no choice. "I misjudged you back then. I see that now. I'm... I'm willing to fix this."
Min-jae's lips curled into a faint, sardonic smile. "Fix?" He chuckled, the sound humorless and cutting. "What makes you think I want to be fixed with you?"
Her face burned with humiliation, but she held his gaze. "Because our families need this. Your father and mine want this alliance. I know you value your father's company, no matter how much you pretend otherwise."
Min-jae raised an eyebrow, leaning forward slightly. "So this isn't about you. It's about salvaging your position in your family."
She flinched at the bluntness of his words but didn't deny them. "You're right. But this is also about you. If you want to protect Kang Group, this engagement will strengthen its position."
He laughed softly, shaking his head. "Do you really think you have any leverage over me, Seo-jin?" He reached into his briefcase and pulled out a thick folder, sliding it across the table toward her. "If you're so desperate, I anticipated this."
Seo-jin hesitated before opening the folder. Her eyes scanned the contents, and as she read, her jaw dropped.
The contract was unlike anything she had ever seen.
Terms of Engagement Contract:
No alimony in the event of divorce.If a child is born, the first child will belong to Kang Min-jae, including sole custody rights.Any subsequent children will alternate custody (even-numbered children to Seo-jin, odd-numbered to Min-jae).Both parties will finance their own personal expenses independently.There will be no commitment to emotional or physical intimacy.Only Kang Min-jae has the right to initiate divorce proceedings.Both families are excluded from intervening in personal matters of the couple post-marriage.
Seo-jin's eyes widened further with each clause she read. She looked up at Min-jae, stunned. "This… this is absurd! No one in their right mind would agree to this!"
Min-jae smiled, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed. "I know. That's why I wrote it. You're not marrying me, Seo-jin. You're marrying a prison sentence."
Her breath caught in her throat. "You're doing this on purpose."
"Of course," he said coolly. "I don't want this engagement any more than you do. But if you're so desperate to save yourself, you'll sign it. If not, the door is right there." He gestured lazily toward the exit.
Seo-jin's hands trembled as she stared at the contract. The terms were insane. Signing it would mean giving up almost everything—her pride, her freedom, her control. But not signing it would mean losing everything she had ever known.
Her father's words echoed in her mind: If you don't fix this, you're no longer my daughter.
She took a deep, shaky breath, her vision blurring slightly as she picked up the pen. "You've changed," she whispered, unable to look at him.
Min-jae's smile turned cold, his eyes like steel. "You have no idea."
She signed the contract with a heavy heart, each stroke of the pen feeling like another nail in her coffin. When she finally placed the pen down, her hand shaking, Min-jae slid the folder back toward him and tucked it neatly into his briefcase.
"Welcome to hell," he said, his voice calm but laced with venom.
Seo-jin looked at him, her face pale and her expression unreadable. For the first time, she realized that Kang Min-jae wasn't just indifferent to her—he actively loathed her.
As he stood and left the room without another word, Seo-jin sat frozen in her chair, the weight of her decision sinking in. She had gotten what she wanted—or so she thought. But the man she had once rejected had become a force of nature, one she could no longer control.