Prologue
"You have two choices, Miss Lee."
His voice was calm, eerily composed. Like he wasn’t talking about a marriage, but a business deal.
"Either your father rots in prison for fraud and unpaid debts…" Min Yoongi’s cold eyes bore into hers, emotionless. "Or you marry me."
Lee Aera couldn’t breathe.
The chandelier above cast a golden glow over Yoongi's private office—luxurious, grand, suffocating. Her fingers trembled against the velvet of the armrest.
She wanted to laugh. Or scream. Maybe both.
“You can’t be serious,” she whispered.
Yoongi leaned back in his chair, fingers steepled under his chin. “I’ve never been more serious in my life.”
And just like that, her freedom was auctioned off in silence. Her father’s mistakes had finally caught up to her. And the man demanding her hand? The same Min Yoongi who used to smile at her at charity galas—now the devil dressed in black, offering her a golden cage.
Marriage to the man who could destroy her entire family… or a disgrace that would ruin them anyway.
The choice was hers.
But not really.
.
.
.
You’re the only hope left, Aera.”
Her mother’s voice echoed in the cold, dimly lit kitchen—no longer filled with the warmth and laughter that once defined their home. The walls, once painted in luxury, now stood faded, chipped by time and debt.
Lee Aera stood quietly, her fingers tightening around the chipped porcelain teacup. She hadn’t taken a sip.
Outside, the world kept moving. But inside their once-grand estate—now stripped of staff, cars, and prestige—time felt frozen.
“We gave you everything, Aera. The best schools, the best life. Now it’s your turn to give back.”
She lifted her gaze to meet her father’s. Once a tycoon, now a man hollowed out by years of bad investments and trust in the wrong people. The shame in his eyes hurt more than the plea in her mother’s voice.
“Min Yoongi is not a bad man,” her father said, though even he didn’t sound convinced. “And he’s offering us a way out.”
He’s not offering. He’s buying.
Aera wanted to scream it. But instead, she nodded slowly. Because if she didn’t… their home would be seized. Her father would be tried. Their name, already stained, would be ruined forever.
They didn’t say the words aloud.
But she heard them.
"Sacrifice yourself… and save us all"
.
.
.
.
Min Aria peeked into her brother’s room, eyes sparkling with mischief. “Oppa,” she grinned, “are you seriously getting married before me? Should I start calling her eonni already?”
Min Yoongi didn’t even glance up from his tie, adjusting the knot with practiced precision. “Don’t get used to it. It’s just a contract.”
“Still,” his mother chimed in from the doorway, arms crossed and expression soft, “I never thought I’d live to see this day.”
He froze for a second. But only a second.
“I’m not doing this for romance, Mom,” he said, voice firm. “You know that.”
“But I’m still allowed to be happy, aren’t I?” she smiled gently, her eyes shimmering. “It’s been nine years since your father passed. You’ve buried yourself in work ever since. Maybe this girl… maybe she’ll bring some life back into you.”
Yoongi said nothing. He didn’t believe in fairy tales. The only reason he was marrying Lee Aera was because her family owed him millions and she had no other choice. He wasn’t the type to believe in fate—or love.
But still… he let his mother brush his blazer, and he didn’t stop Aria from teasing him. Because somewhere, deep in a part of him he didn’t like to touch—he missed the feeling of family. Of warmth. Of something real.
Maybe Aera would hate him. Maybe she’d never even look him in the eye.
And maybe… that was safer.
