“Guys… I’m getting married.”

Slap!

Out of nowhere, Tae-sik smacked Jin-gu right on the cheek. Normally Jin-gu would’ve exploded and started yelling, but this time he just held his face and whispered,

“Wow… this isn’t a dream, right?”

“Is this actually happening?”

“This is insane.”

They all stared at me like they couldn’t process it. Honestly, if I were them, I wouldn’t believe it either.

I’ve never once talked about a girlfriend, let alone marriage. And now I’d skipped like five steps ahead.

“What the hell happened? Explain first.”

Cheol-su summed it up for everyone. He’s a bit older than us and has been through three relationships, so he naturally ends up playing the calm one in these situations.

Thanks to him the mood eased up a little. These idiots really haven’t changed a bit after all these years.

“Exactly what I said. I’m getting married.”

“You? When? Who? How?”

“One question at a time, guys.”

“You?”

“……”

I just stared at Jin-gu without saying a word. He mimed zipping his lips shut. That actually lightened things up a little.

“Well… it just happened. We haven’t picked a wedding date yet. I’ll introduce her next time.”

“Is she pretty?”

“She’s gorgeous.”

“Photo?”

I pulled up a picture on my phone—a selfie we took together at the café earlier. It was the staged one I’d prepared to show people.

Their eyes went huge the second they saw it. They kept looking back and forth between my face and the screen, shaking their heads like they were in disbelief.

“You criminal.”

“What?”

“A washed-up college grad like you seducing a fresh-faced college freshman?!”

“She’s actually older. Two years.”

“How’s a clueless kid like him gonna handle a noona…”

“Hey, you lunatic.”

Haha—

They cracked up at my reaction. Even while laughing, though, they couldn’t stop staring at Ba-da’s picture.

“Hand it over.”

I got embarrassed for no reason and quickly snatched my phone back, shoving it in my pocket. Their eyes were still glued to my pocket.

“Hey, Ha-neul.”

“Yeah?”

“What’s the next coin that’s gonna moon?”

“Why are you asking me? You know I’d rather die than touch crypto.”

“But you made a fortune off crypto, right?”

“What are you even talking about…”

“Everything you’re wearing right now is straight luxury. And this woman… I mean, sister-in-law doesn’t look like an average person either.”

Jin-gu’s eyes were sparkling.

He acts like an idiot most of the time, but he’s weirdly sharp when it counts. Definitely not someone you can relax around.

‘I can’t let them know it’s fake.’

Sorry guys, but this is for your own good too. I know they’d have my back even if they knew everything, but going further than that is dangerous.

Like right now—if I suddenly vanished, they’d notice something’s wrong. And they’re loyal enough to at least look after my family.

“My girlfriend bought it for me.”

“……?”

“She’s got quite a lot of money.”

“How much?”

“Uh…”

I couldn’t answer right away. Come to think of it—how rich is Kang Ba-da exactly? Do I count her family’s wealth too?

‘I should probably leave that out.’

I’m not inheriting any of it anyway.

But even without the family fortune, I’ve never heard a real number, so I can’t even guess properly.

From what I’ve seen lately, it’s way more than I thought. Either way, it’s not something I can just ask her straight-up.

“I don’t know the exact amount.”

“Rough estimate. You’ve gotta have some idea.”

“You see all those buildings out the window?”

“Yeah, the Culture Street area?”

“Yep.”

I pointed toward the busy commercial street outside. Not Seoul, but definitely metropolitan.

“Can she buy everything you can see?”

Probably.

She dropped billions in a single shopping day. Just the official stocks I know about already make my head spin.

Clatter!

Cheol-su dropped his chopsticks. His hand was actually shaking.

“Why?”

“What?”

“Why would a woman like that pick you?”

“Because I’m insanely cool, obviously.”

“You’ve got… a certain persuasiveness. I’ll give you that.”

“Huh?”

I was expecting them to call bullshit, but they actually nodded like they got it. That threw me off more than anything.

“…Why are you guys suddenly acting like this?”

“Come to think of it, it’s not that weird. Ha-neul was popular even back in school, right?”

“Girls have different instincts. Back then I just thought he was average, but now that he’s cleaned up? Yeah, he’s actually good-looking.”

“Plus he’s got the full male package. I still remember the first time we went to the public bath and I was like…”

“Shut up!”

Seeing them say the dumbest things with completely straight faces—it was obvious they were hammered. Probably because the topic was juicy, I kept catching them sneaking glances at me.

But no matter how much I tried to stop them, they were fully fired up and even started dragging out my old embarrassing stories.

“Yeah, remember? We could’ve bought half the White Roses back then. But you still followed her around because you liked her.”

“Why are we bringing that up now?”

“Be real—what was she missing? Pretty, rich family, top of the class. Huh?”

“Her personality was trash though.”

“Yeah… honestly we were kinda scared of her too.”

Baek Jang-mi took over the student council as a freshman and straight-up declared herself the main character.

Looks, money, the whole “I’m the protagonist” attitude—she had everything. Famous across campus, great reputation.

“Thanks to her, college was hell for me.”

After getting bullied all through school, I just wanted to do better in college. But her little power games ruined everything.

She probably chased me because “How dare you not like me?” Even thinking about it now pisses me off.

“If it wasn’t for you guys, I would’ve dropped out.”

“Yeah, yeah. You owe us for life.”

“So anyway—any useful info? Did sister-in-law drop any hints?”

Jin-gu perked up, ears practically standing. Friend’s girlfriend → sister-in-law real quick. Pretty funny to watch.

“Hey, that’s illegal.”

I shut him down immediately.

In a world where public companies do illegal land speculation with inside info and prosecutors cover it up in broad daylight—what even counts as illegal anymore?

I’ve never asked Ba-da about that stuff and I never will. So naturally I don’t have any high-level tips to share.

“I’ll help however I can within my limits, but—”

Using her influence is a completely different thing. And even if I offered, these guys would probably refuse first.

No matter how close we are, money changes everything fast.

“Ah, too bad. Was hoping to ride sister-in-law’s coattails a little.”

“She gave me the card so we could have fun with friends.”

“Of course! Sister-in-law is the best, right?! Come on guys—cheers!”

Jin-gu raised his glass and instantly turned the mood around. Guy’s easy like that.

We kept drinking and talking—mostly reminiscing about military days, school memories, or teasing Cheol-su about his new baby.

“So how hard is it really?”

“My wife’s the one struggling. She’s still working while taking care of the baby. I just do chores.”

“Lucky bastard. Enjoy it while it lasts.”

“You jealous?”

Cheol-su just shrugged.

Jin-gu knocked up his junior back in school and got married right away. Everyone tried to talk him out of it, but his sense of responsibility was insane. Kid’s already five.

“You know how hard I fought just to come out tonight? My son was clinging to me crying ‘Daddy don’t go~’ I almost broke down.”

“Bet it was rough. Wasn’t it your kid who cried and refused to play with my daughter last time?”

“…Let’s just drink!”

Empty bottles started piling up under the table. My face was bright red as we kept chatting nonsense.

“Heyyy—Ha-neul!”

“What?”

“When you have a daughter, promise her to my son, okay?”

“What kind of nonsense is that?”

“If my son marries your daughter, he’ll have an easier life. Honestly I just want my kid to live comfortably.”

“……”

Jin-gu dropped out of school to support his kid after getting married. The job he rushed into sucked, and he had it really rough.

Out of all of us, he’s worked the hardest and gotten the least credit. His words hit heavy.

“Jin-gu, you’re drunk.”

“I’m sober!”

“Cold water has its ups and downs too. My daughter comes first. Ha-neul, you’ve seen my wife, right? Our daughter’s gonna be gorgeous. Once I have a son I’ll—”

“Then my third kid can marry—”

They started seriously planning: first kid with Jin-gu’s, second with Cheol-su’s, third with Tae-sik’s. Watching them, I could only give a bitter smile.

“What if I don’t have kids?”

“You insane?”

“Why?! Even if you don’t get it, sister-in-law’s genes need to be passed down for generations!”

Well… it’s a fake marriage.

If the whole “turn Kang Ba-da into a real lover” plan actually works, who knows. But raising kids? That seems rough.

I’ve never asked her opinion, but she picked a fake marriage specifically so she could live easy. No way she wants kids.

Of course I couldn’t say that out loud, so I twisted the topic a bit.

“You guys usually try to talk people out of marriage. So why are you suddenly pushing for kids?”

“Ha-neul. Weren’t you the big anti-marriage guy?”

“Yeah—so why are you guys like this now?”

“No no—we actually think people like you need to get married even more. Because being single only makes sense once you get married.”

“……?”

“Once you’re married, you’ll finally realize your old thoughts were right.”

Pfft—cough cough!

Everyone cracked up at Jin-gu’s line. Then they exchanged looks like they’d silently agreed on something.

“Hey! Married life is so damn happy.”

“Having a kid completely changes your mindset.”

“Yeah, obviously.”

The two of them (excluding Jin-gu) nodded at each other. Jin-gu immediately lost it.

“You ungrateful bastards! You were just laughing and agreeing with me a second ago!”

“Shut up you idiot!”

“If you wanna die, die alone you lunatic!”

Hahaha—

The four of us filled the whole place with laughter.

* * *

‘…Are they having fun?’

After finishing everything she needed to do, Kang Ba-da flopped onto her bed and kept glancing at her phone.

She’d given Ha-neul her card because he was meeting friends. It was already pretty late—no messages, no payment alerts.

“Maybe you should message him first, miss.”

The nanny who’d been with her since she was tiny spoke up carefully.

A small smile tugged at her lips. She’d watched Ba-da for years, but this was the first time she’d seen her act like this.

‘So cute.’

Ever since she got home, Ba-da had been glued to her phone. When the nanny asked casually what was up, she’d just shake her head and say “Nothing,” but it was obvious—she looked exactly like a girl with a crush.

“Won’t it seem like you’re clinging too much?”

“Men usually don’t get it unless you spell it out. Sometimes you have to make it obvious.”

“But…”

I’m not actually his girlfriend.

Ba-da buried her face in the pillow to swallow the words.

Even if he’s busy, couldn’t he send just one text? Then again—it’s just business. What was she even expecting?

In the end she felt stupid for getting even a little upset over something so small.

‘Should’ve put it in the contract.’

Contact once an hour.

If that was a clause, she wouldn’t be waiting like this. Did Ha-neul really feel nothing for her at all? The longer she waited, the more down she felt…

Bzzz—!

Her phone vibrated mid-thought. She shot up and checked immediately.

: Ba-da-ssi~

: [photo with friends]

: Sending my friends off now~ coming to see you!!

Pfft—

Ba-da let out a tiny laugh. The second she saw the message (which reeked of alcohol even through text), her gloomy mood vanished like magic.

The photo with his friends was so shaky it was hard to see clearly, but somehow Ha-neul’s bright smiling face stood out perfectly.

“Got a message?”

“Yeah. But it’s a total mess.”

“Oh?”

“Completely. I should tell him to only drink in front of me from now on.”

No one else gets to see how cute he is. That’s mine forever.

Ba-da zoomed in on the photo again, cropped just Ha-neul’s face, and saved it.

“He’s really cute.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, super cute.”

Hehe—

Feeling oddly happy at the nanny’s words, Ba-da hummed a little tune while typing back.

: Get home safe~

She was very pleased with how cool and casual her reply sounded. Finally she set the phone aside and got ready for bed.

“You should sleep too, Nanny.”

“Yes, rest well, miss.”

The nanny slipped out quietly.

Alone in the silent room, Ba-da slowly closed her eyes.

“…Still three days left.”

The weekend she’d promised to meet Ha-neul felt so far away.