Yeoun Café smelled like roasted beans and cinnamon — comforting, familiar. Kang Hye-rin smiled as she stepped in, adjusting the collar of her cream blouse as if to hide her exhaustion.
Park Se-hee waved from their usual corner, her grin bright and teasing. "Well, if it isn't the soon-to-be Mrs. Lee! I should be bowing right now."
Hye-rin laughed — the kind of light, practiced laugh that didn't reach her eyes. "Don't you dare. You'll make people stare."
"They're already staring," Se-hee said, sipping her latte. "You're on every finance blog and gossip column. 'LJ Group CEO Engaged to His Secretary' — catchy headline, huh?"
"I wasn't his secretary," Hye-rin corrected automatically, stirring her drink too hard. Coffee sloshed over the rim. "And it's not that big a deal."
"Not a big deal?" Se-hee leaned in. "Hye-rin, you're marrying the city's most desirable CEO. That's—"
"Complicated," Hye-rin interrupted smoothly, smiling again — too quickly. "He's not as cold as people think. He's just… focused."
Se-hee studied her quietly, her grin fading. "You don't sound like someone in love."
"What do you mean?"
"You sound like someone trying to convince herself," Se-hee said gently. "You used to complain about him all the time — how he drove you insane, how he never smiled, how working under him was like surviving military service. And now you're marrying him?"
Hye-rin's smile faltered. "People change."
"Do they?" Se-hee tilted her head. "Or are you changing for him?"
For a moment, the noise of the café dimmed. Hye-rin looked down, fingers tracing the rim of her cup. She wanted to tell her everything — about the contract, about her family's debt, about how love had nothing to do with it. But the words stayed trapped in her throat.
Instead, she forced a small laugh. "You watch too many dramas."
Se-hee sighed, leaning back. "Maybe. But even in dramas, the girl's smile doesn't look that tired."
Hye-rin looked up, startled. Se-hee reached over, squeezing her hand. "Just… promise me you're not doing this for anyone but yourself, okay?"
Hye-rin nodded slowly, the lie forming before she could stop it. "Of course."
But when she left Yeoun Café, her reflection in the glass door didn't look like a happy bride. It looked like someone pretending not to drown.