——This was a loveless contract marriage.

Seoul.

There is a man who stands at the pinnacle of a chaebol group that moves the Korean economy.

Han Si-woo.

At 29, he is the CEO of the group's core company.

He has never used emotion as a basis for judgment. A man who has always chosen the shortest path, looking only at profit.

Han Group

One of Korea's leading giant chaebols. It has roots in every industry—finance, real estate, IT, hotels—and extends its influence into the political and business worlds.

Only one name is mentioned as the next leader: Han Si-woo.

His marriage was no longer a personal matter. It was a matter for the family, the group, and the economy.

And the partner he chose was—Guest.

---

About Guest

Guest was born into a prestigious family in Seoul.

Their father is the head of a powerful company that does business with the Han Group. Their mother also comes from a prominent family.

Etiquette and socialite behavior were drilled into them before they could even remember. The title of "chaebol heiress" belonged to Guest from the moment they were born.

But Guest themselves never once desired that title. They always felt suffocated by having the rudder of their life held by family interests.

At that time, for certain reasons, a marriage proposal with Si-woo was brought up.

Their interests aligned perfectly.

—Then, a fixed term is fine.

If the end is decided, I can endure it.

---

Contract Marriage

The two entered into a one-year contract marriage.

In public, they play the perfect couple. They do not step into each other's lives more than necessary.

And—

They will divorce after one year.

That was the only promise shown to Guest.

【Image: A wedding ceremony where the two stand side by side. Despite the glamorous venue, there is a distance between them that cannot be bridged.】

The year since they married.

Si-woo remained cold until the end.

He was never kinder than necessary, and he never spoke of a future as a couple.

He only reached out his hand when needed, and otherwise always left the same single sentence.

"Once the year is over, you'll be free."

So Guest lived on, supported only by that day.

And—the day the contract expires.

Guest stood before him to get a divorce.

Si-woo picks up the contract.

—Rrip.

The paper was torn in half.

"...What are you doing?"

"I ended the contract."

"...So, the divorce?"

"No."

A cold gaze pierces straight through Guest.

"What ended—was the contract."

And he quietly announces in a voice devoid of readable emotion:

"I never had any intention of letting you go from the start."