After a short drive, Kim Ha-neul and Kang Bada ended up at a quiet little café, sitting across from each other. They sipped their drinks in total silence, both thinking the exact same thing.

‘…How the hell do I seduce her/him?!’

Ha-neul just wanted a calm, peaceful life.

Bada wanted to win at love.

Different goals, same mission: make the other person confess first.

‘If I confess to Bada-ssi first, that’s straight to bad ending.’

She only went for this contract marriage to keep all the family and society guys away. If he made the first move, she’d probably freak out and shut it down fast.

Contract canceled. Him discarded. Simple as that.

So Ha-neul was dead-set: she had to confess to him first.
tui
‘If I confess first, I lose all control.’

Bada was thinking the exact same thing.

Biologically, guys are wired to want multiple partners. Modern marriage laws try to lock that down, but the old instincts don’t just disappear.

But she grew up as Daehan Group royalty. She’d rather burn everything to the ground than let someone take what’s hers.

Right now money could keep his body tied to her, but to own his heart too? She needed way more than cash—she needed the upper hand.

“……”

The table stayed dead quiet, but their brains were working overtime.

‘Okay but… what do I actually do?’

Silence hung heavy over the table.

Ha-neul kept racking his brain for something—anything—to say, but nothing decent came up.

Truth was, he wasn’t great with words. He became a writer because typing felt way easier than talking.

‘What do normal couples even talk about?’

No clue.

You’d have to have dated to know.

And dating required… dating.

For someone who could go a whole day barely speaking, picking a conversation topic felt impossible.

‘I’ve gotta come up with something.’

No way he could just give up here. He forced his mind into overdrive, desperately searching for anything usable.

Football? Didn’t know enough → skip.

Deep philosophical stuff? Hell no.

Someone once warned him never to bring up military stories.

He’d already burned through every short board game topic he knew. If he’d seen this coming, he would’ve binged some romance dramas for reference.

‘Oh—wait. That one thing.’

Maybe pure desperation, maybe luck—something finally clicked. A tiny smile crept onto his face.

“Bada-ssi, did you know Pluto’s surface area is about the same as Russia’s?”

How could anyone not find it wild that a random planet floating in space is roughly the size of a whole country?

He vaguely remembered some documentary snippet from years ago and silently praised his own genius. If he explained it smoothly, maybe she’d think he was kind of smart and—

“Yeah, exactly. Pluto’s about 17.9 million square kilometers. Actually its diameter is smaller than Russia’s longest point-to-point distance.”

“……”

“Oh, and after they kicked Pluto out of the planet club, it got called a ‘dwarf planet’ for a while. There was tons of debate. Eventually they made a new category called ‘plutoids’ named after Pluto, and in that group—”

Bada’s eyes lit up as she launched into full explanation mode. Watching her go, Ha-neul realized he’d messed up.

‘…Right. Earth science major.’

He’d completely blanked on the fact that she was basically a walking science encyclopedia. Now she was like a fish back in water—zero chance of stopping.

She even pulled up saved photos on her phone to show him while talking. Apparently she really did love this stuff, even if she used to live in the lab.

“But this part is actually pretty cool…”

The more he listened, the more he actually got into it. Her explanations were super clear, and it wasn’t just dry science facts either.

“Look at this—doesn’t it look wild?”

“Kind of looks like a heart, right?”

“Exactly! That’s why people call it ‘Pluto’s Heart.’ Official name is Tombaugh Regio.”

“Tombaugh? What’s that mean?”

“Oh, it’s named after Clyde Tombaugh—the guy who first discovered Pluto back in the 1930s. They took his name for it.”

“Ah, got it.”

Pluto’s Heart, huh.

This could make a killer plot point in a web novel later. According to her, climate changes might make it disappear in the next ten years or so.

“Pluto was obviously named after Hades, right?”

The whole Hades-Persephone love story is pretty famous. Tie that to Pluto’s Heart and frame it as “twisted love”… could work.

“Fits perfectly with the current divorce-novel trend, doesn’t it?”

Persephone got kidnapped and forced into marriage, then had a secret affair with some hero. If Hades finds out and divorces her…

Sure, making Hades the main character might be tough because of source material limits, but using him as a side character handing out related quests in a constellation story? Solid.

As he laid out the idea—

Bada nodded enthusiastically.

“Pretty interesting, right?”

“Yeah, it is.”

“Mhm. Pluto’s average surface temp is like -248°C. So ‘frozen love’ would hit perfect.”

“Oh—gotta jot that down.”

He asked for a quick second, pulled out his phone, and started typing notes.

“By the way… Persephone’s honestly kind of pitiful.”

“Yeah, totally. Kidnapped, forced marriage, half the year stuck underground. But still…”

“Hm?”

“In the whole Greek-Roman myth category, she’s actually one of the happier ones. Most gods are total players, but Hades is supposed to be a real devoted husband.”

Bada tilted her head, clearly curious. So he gave her the quick version of the Hades-Persephone story.

“When Persephone got so sad she stopped eating and drinking, Hades swore on the River Styx—he’d definitely send her back eventually to comfort her.”

“Is that a big deal?”

“Swearing on the Styx is unbreakable—even Zeus, king of the gods, can’t break it. That’s why she gets to spend half the year up here.”

“Hmm… makes sense.”

Bada nodded slowly, seriously. The mood shifted suddenly. Ha-neul looked up in surprise as she spoke carefully.

“If… hypothetically…”

“Yeah?”

“If you ever wanted to end this contract marriage…”

“That won’t happen.”

Because I don’t want to die.

He barely swallowed the rest.

She flinched at his firm tone, but kept going softly.

“So… just in case. If you ever really wanted to end it… please talk to me first.”

“And if I do?”

“Huh?”

“What would you do if I said I wanted out?”

“Um…”

She hesitated like the question carried real weight. The air got thick. Neither of them smiled easily.

How long did the silence stretch?

Finally Bada lifted one corner of her mouth.

“…I’d give you half the year free.”

Flutter—

Ha-neul forced a smile back at her witty comeback. His lips trembled just a tiny bit—too small for her to notice.

‘She’s saying she’ll never let go. Ever.’

Makes sense. If word got out that a chaebol heiress broke an engagement, it could hurt the group’s image. If she gets fed up, probably just ship him overseas for a while.

‘I’m never going overseas.’

People joke that Korean police are useless, but globally Korea’s one of the safest countries.

Step into nearby China or the Philippines and a few million won can make a person disappear. “Accidents” happen easy.

‘Die abroad and they won’t even find the bones.’

She said it like a joke, but there were thorns in it. Half warning, half test.

‘Can’t let my guard down with her.’

Persephone at least had the Earth Goddess as backup. He had nothing—had to stay tense 24/7.

“Haha—no way that’d happen. I’m way too happy with how things are right now.”

Ha-neul pulled out every social skill he’d learned from military life and endless part-time jobs. Bada watched with a soft smile.

“Wow… you really can’t lie at all.”

How was it so obvious?

He thought it was a killer line. Apparently zero effect. That stung a little.

‘Should I just kidnap him for real?’

If she straight-up Hades’d him—snatched him and locked him at home—maybe someday he’d look at her the way Persephone looked at Hades. Of course forced feelings are worthless. Still annoying to watch him lie.

‘Well… nothing I can do right now.’

Money-forced relationship from day one.

She never expected it to be smooth sailing. Whatever his real motives, him going along for now was already enough.

‘Got too excited for nothing…’

She blamed her own loose lips. Books said in moments like this, pretend you don’t know and just listen. But she got carried away rambling about earth science.

Still—she was grateful he nodded along and actually listened.

“……”

The conversation that finally got going started cooling off again. Heavy silence returned. They exchanged careful glances.

Same quiet as before, but one thing was different.

“Well… that wasn’t so bad, right?”

“Yeah… wasn’t awful.”

Smirk—

They looked at each other and shared the same awkward little smile.

* * *

“Heyyy, long time no see!”

“Everyone’s married now—hard to find a time. We should start doing couple meetups.”

“Yeah, but first Ha-neul needs to get married.”

“That’s actually what I wanted to ask about today. Heard you’ve got a good friend of your wife—gonna introduce her?”

“Wait—what? Kim Ha-neul’s coming too?”

“Yeah, already in the area apparently.”

At their friend’s words, everyone’s eyes went wide. Ha-neul showing up to gatherings was rare.

They all knew his situation and understood, but still—people get disappointed. They’re only human.

“Looks like even he’s starting to want to settle down.”

“Ha-neul? Seriously? The ultimate ‘Bachelor of the Century’ who wouldn’t glance at the hottest girls chasing him?”

“Yeah I thought the same. But check the novel he’s writing now—it’s not like that. Title’s ‘Life Becomes Amazing After Marriage’.”

“…Pure virgin delusion.”

Pffft-hahaha—

All four burst out laughing at once. With Ha-neul here, two were married, one was in a long-term live-in—prime setup for that kind of joke.

In an era where everyone avoids marriage, Ha-neul was actually the normal one. But as usual, numbers win.

“But seriously—when’s he showing up? What happened to the half-retired solo king being the latest? World’s upside down…”

“Sorry I’m late. Hey.”

“Hey hurry up and—… huh?”

The friend who turned with a grin at the familiar voice froze. The others looked stunned too.

Ha-neul, busy taking off his coat and missing their reactions, sat down and asked the usual auntie for an extra setting.

“I’m not late for the time we set. You guys just came super early. Wives kick you out or something?”

“No—you… wait… Kim Ha-neul…-ssi?”

His friends exchanged looks at his reaction. Even the organizer looked lost and just nodded slowly.

“…Did the soju here get stronger?”

“Right? Maybe. Haven’t drunk in forever. Does Ha-neul look kinda cool or is it just me?”

“You guys too? Thank god. I thought my LASIK went bad and freaked out.”

“Come on—let’s drink and snap out of this dream.”

“Deal.”

“Cheers!”

Ha-neul shot them a resentful glare. They completely ignored it and clinked glasses anyway.

“Ahhh—yes, that taste!”

“Okay I’m starting to wake up now.”

“Where… oh still the same?”

“Yeah.”

“Still not sober yet.”

Hahaha—

They laughed at each other in disbelief, then immediately started refilling glasses. Watching them, Ha-neul finally spoke.

“If you guys go up to the fourth verse I’m just going home.”

“No—fuck! What the hell is going on?! Kim Ha-neul! This is all because of you! What happened?! Did you win the lottery?!”

“Yeah.”

“Or met some perfect girl somewhere—wait what?”

“That too.”

“……”

Clink—gulp!

While his friends sat stunned, Ha-neul silently refilled his own glass and downed it in one go. After three rounds like that, he finally said it.

“Guys… I’m getting married.”

…What?

At the bombshell, all his friends froze in perfect unison.