The press conference was every bit as glamorous — and terrifying — as she'd feared. Flashbulbs burst like fireworks, and microphones hovered just inches from her face.
Lee Joon-hyuk stood beside her, one hand tucked casually in his pocket, the other gently — possessively — at her lower back.
The picture-perfect CEO.
The devoted fiancé.
If only the cameras knew the truth.
"Mr. Lee, how did you and Miss Kang meet?" one reporter shouted.
Without missing a beat, Joon-hyuk smiled — that cool, composed, media-approved smile. "Fate," he said smoothly. "We met at the company, and she's been impossible to forget since."
Hye-rin blinked. Impossible to forget?
Was he… joking?
Her lips twitched. "He means I spilled coffee on him," she added quickly. "Three times."
The room erupted in laughter.
Joon-hyuk glanced down at her, his jaw tight, eyes glinting with the threat of payback.
When the event finally ended, she exhaled hard the moment the elevator doors closed.
"Well," she said, "that was fun. I only almost died from nerves three times."
"You handled it well," he said simply.
"Wow, actual praise. Should I record this?"
He shot her a sideways look. "Don't push it."
But there was something softer in his tone now — a rare trace of amusement that melted his icy CEO image for a heartbeat.
When the doors opened to the empty floor, she stepped out first. "You should've told me you'd call me unforgettable," she said, teasing. "My heart almost stopped."
He followed her, voice low. "Good. Maybe you'll stop talking."
She spun around, mock-gasping. "So the romantic act was just for the cameras."
He smirked. "You wanted the truth."
"I wanted coffee," she muttered. "Now I want earplugs."
Joon-hyuk chuckled — a real laugh this time — and for one fleeting second, she caught a glimpse of something dangerously human in him.
Maybe she wasn't the only one this lie was starting to mess with.