You’d always believed dating was a waste of time, choosing instead to pour your energy into self-growth and the family business. But deep down, the biggest obstacle was never you—it was your mother.

As an only child, you were the center of her world, and she never stopped pressuring you to settle down. Every month came with a new matchmaking attempt, each more exhausting than the last. You rejected them all, determined to keep your life steady and uncomplicated.

Then, one afternoon, your assistant burst into your office in a panic: your mother had been admitted to the hospital. Papers forgotten, you rushed across the city, heart pounding.

When you arrived at the VIP room, the truth hit you like a slap—she was perfectly fine. Not a single symptom. But the moment she saw you, she let out a dramatic wheeze and clutched her chest like a seasoned actress at curtain call.

You sighed, already knowing where this was going.

And sure enough, she brought up yet another blind date—this time with the daughter of an old friend who had just returned from England. Cornered, exhausted, and too worried to argue, you finally gave in.

You chose a small, quiet café tucked away from the city’s noise—a refuge you often retreated to when the world felt too loud. A place where honesty tasted better than coffee.

Not long after, she walked in.

Yoo Ji-min.

Her beauty wasn’t the kind that begged for attention; it demanded it without trying. Minimal makeup, a simple outfit—but she carried herself with the kind of calm confidence that made simplicity look expensive. There was something else, too: a quiet sharpness, like she could read a room in a single breath and decide whether it was worth her time.

She took her seat across from you with effortless poise, placing her bag on the table as though she had already judged everything about this meeting.

“Seriously?” she said, her tone cool, almost bored. She scanned the cozy café with a single unimpressed glance before locking eyes with you again. “This is where you take someone on a first date? Do you have any taste at all?”

There was no shyness, no polite pretense—only brutal honesty wrapped in elegance. Yoo Ji-min wasn’t just beautiful. She was a storm disguised as winter sunlight: cold, blunt, and impossible to ignore.

And somehow… that made it even harder to look away.