Seoul, Scorching Coffee Shop.

As night fell across the city, Scorching Coffee Shop was seen right across the streets with its soft lights and flashing signage. Sitting on the booth at the far end of the cafe, Shim Mi Young narrowed her eyes at the windowpane. What soon met her gaze was a face that could scare even children off the streets. With her exaggeratedly lined eyebrows and her heavy eye-shadow paired with her ridiculously long earrings, she looked more like a clown than a proper lady.

And that was exactly what Shim Mi Young had wanted. If her mother wanted to force her into going on more of these blind dates, then her 'date' would have to deal with her atrocious appearance. She had been glaring at her reflection for two minutes when a hoarse voice rang out.

"Miss Shim, are you even listening to me?"

Immediately, Shim Mi Young snapped out of her thoughts and turned to the man sitting right in front of her. His eyebrows were furrowed and his lips were set on a thin line. It was obvious that he wasn't pleased with her indifference. Although the man was about 35, he could've passed off as someone in his mid-fifties. If he had lost another 15 pounds and fixed his rapidly receding hairline, he would have probably looked more decent.

Maybe then, he wouldn't look like a disheveled pig.

"Yes, I am," she responded coldly.

Although Shim Mi Young was only 26, her mother had already been arranging all of these blind dates for her to go on in fear that her daughter would never get married. 'Time is running out,' Mrs. Shim would always say as she convinced her daughter to give the date a chance. However, even her mother wouldn't be able to salvage this date.

The man clenched his fists, wanting nothing more than to plow some sense into the woman in front of him, but he restrained himself. "Miss Shim, I hate to be frank, but you aren't what I was expecting," he started. "But I guess you'll do as my wife."

Upon hearing his words, Shim Mi Young almost spat out her drink as her eyes widened in disbelief. "Mr. Sang Kyu, right? If I remember correctly, this is the first time we've met, and you're already talking about marriage?"

"Well, I've heard from a little bird of mine how anxious you are in getting hitched. Seeing how desperate you are, I'll have to indulge you." He grinned, revealing his tobacco-stained teeth.

Her nose wrinkled at the sight. 

"Before anything else, I just started a business, so I'm a bit short of cash. If you agree to my proposal, you'll have to buy our house, and the property should have both our names on it. I already bought a car, but it's on installment. Once we're married, here's what will happen to the salary. My salary will be deposited into the loan, while your salary is to sustain both of us. Capiche?"

Shim Mi Young was so furious that she burst into laughter. She forced a smile, trying her best to hide the mockery behind her gaze. "Do you really think my mother would just offer up two million to marry me off?"

"Two million!" At the sound of her words, Sang Kyu clasped his hands together. Although he tried his best to keep his cool, he couldn't help himself. His voice trembled with excitement. "Although that isn't much, it's still better than nothing. You know what? Let's set our date for next month!"

With that, he reached out to shake Shim Mi Young's outstretched hand. However, before he could even touch her, she immediately withdrew her hand.

"Let's see about that!" Snorting indignantly, Shim Mi Young grabbed her bag and stalked out of the booth. She had absolutely no idea where he had gotten his confidence from, but she was having none of it!

"Miss Shim? Hey! Wait up!" Seeing that Shim Mi Young was making her way out of the cafe, Sang Kyu jumped up and blocked her path. His eyebrows were knitted together as he had taken in her sullen expression.

"Mr. Sang, I don't think we're suitable." Seeing that a number of people were already crowding around the two of them, Shim Mi Young gritted her teeth. Her gaze shifted from left to right as she tried to look for a way out.

"What?" Even then, Sang Kyu wasn't willing to let her off lightly. He reached out and grabbed hold of her arm. "Miss Shim, we have probably just misunderstood each other. Why don't we sit down and talk about it?"

"Let go of me!" Her insides crawled upon feeling his greasy hands latched upon her like a dog on heat. Sang Kyu was like a fly that wouldn't go away! Shim Mi Young violently swung her arm, only to stumble back in the process.

Sang Kyu tried pulling on her sleeves, only to tear a piece of fabric from her clothes in the process. Shim Mi Young yelped out in surprise. That bastard! As it was rush hour, the coffee shop was already crowded with different people, and it was the worst possible time to cause a scene. Upon hearing her scream, they all naturally looked over, curious as to what had happened.

Shim Mi Young squeezed her eyes shut as her heart clenched in defeat. There was absolutely no way she could redeem herself after this. As she thought of the desperate man in front of her, she could only think of numerous ways of getting back at him. However, before her back was about to crash onto the tiled floors, a strong arm swooped her up. Her eyelashes fluttered as she felt a warm hand slithering across the crook of her arm to steady her.

For a moment, Shim Mi Young fell into a daze. Her breath hitched. There was something about the man's grip that had seemed all too familiar to her. The feeling clawed its way to the back of her mind, scratching every inch of her memory. Even his scent was familiar!

Her heart filling with uncontrollable anticipation, she gazed up at her savior, only to be met with disappointment. There was no way she knew him, but Shim Mi Young wished she did. With his thick, perfectly arched eyebrows, and dark, brown eyes, the man looked like he had popped out of the covers of Forbes magazine.

He was tall with broad shoulders to boot. Moreover, he was wearing an expensive tailored suit. It didn't take a genius to know that the man was loaded.

"Miss, are you all right?" Even his voice was perfect with its own velvety ring to it. His gaze fell on her heart-shaped face as he took in the dreaded make-up marring the edges of her cheekbones. 

Stunned, Shim Mi Young followed the man's gaze, only to realize that she was still clinging onto his suit as if her dear life had depended on it. "Oh, ! I'm so sorry. Thank you so much!" She flushed a dark red, letting go of him almost immediately.

The unknown man simply nodded and said nothing else. Fixing his tie, he turned around to leave. Just as he had gone, another handsome young man followed after the retreating figure and handed him a wet towel. From the corner of her eye, Shim Mi Young saw her savior taking the wet towel and wiping his hands before throwing it into the trash can.

A strange feeling surged across her heart. Did he really think she was that dirty?

Shim Mi Young glanced around the room, noticing that the attention wasn't on them anymore. Instead, it was on the two men. She could see various women salivating at the pair as if wanting to take one for themselves. Some were even bold enough to take out their phones to snap a picture of the men's backs.

What a bunch of idiots!

Shaking her head, Shim Mi Young bent down to pick up her bag.

However, just as she was bending down, she noticed a figure rushing towards her. At the sight of the woman's sheer clothing and ten-centimeter stilettos, she shuddered. It was a complete wonder how the woman was even able to walk!

Not thinking too much into it, she stepped aside, too engrossed in her own thoughts. There was something familiar about the man who had saved her. Shim Mi Young bit her lips, reminiscing a distant memory that she had long buried in her heart, failing to notice the woman standing behind her.

Just then, she felt a burning sensation scalding her skin. She gasped out in pain, and she immediately jolted as the hot liquid dribbled down her fingertips.

Coffee! Someone was pouring coffee on her!