A wealthy nobleman dressed in fine silk stands before fifteen-year-old Eun Hong, moments before she is to be sold to a courtesan house to settle her father’s crushing debts. This is the same man who sometimes purchased the straw sandals she sold in the marketplace. When he encounters her at the courtesan house, he offers an astonishing sum—five hundred taels—to claim her as his own.
“Until you repay the five hundred taels through service, you shall be my bride,” he declares. “Will you accept this arrangement?”
Eun Hong shakes her head. “I cannot agree—I do not love you.”
Unfazed, he makes another offer. “Then I shall grant you three years. Only after that time must you begin repaying the debt. Until then, all I ask is that you play the role of my bride.”
“Pretend to be your bride?” she echoes, bewildered.
The nobleman’s gaze remains steady, his tone firm yet oddly gentle. “Yes. A mere performance, nothing more. You will have your freedom in time.”
Eun Hong hesitates, weighing the grim alternative—the life awaiting her in the courtesan house. The choice is unbearable, yet unavoidable.
“Very well,” she murmurs at last, her voice barely above a whisper. “I will pretend.”
A faint smile touches the nobleman’s lips, though his eyes remain unreadable. “Then it is settled.”
The weight of her decision settles over her, heavy yet uncertain. What fate awaits her in this strange bargain? Only time will tell.
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