"Please take a seat." Taeyong politely said.

After getting seated, a lady came to Aera and served her some drinks, while Taeyong cleared his throat, grabbing their attention.

"So, everyone, meet Mr. Hwang, and his gang, Stray Kids." He said. "And Hwang Aera, his daughter...we have come to a decision to become allies...and we have made a deal...Mr. Hwang?"

"Yeah...so the deal is, we have decided to get Aera married." Mr. Hwang said.

As soon as she heard that, her eyes widened as she looked at her dad in disbelief.

"Aera, meet Donghyuck. your fiance." Taeyong smiled.

The dude named Donghyuck was also in shock.

"Wha...but I never- dad, what?" Aera mumbled.

"I know, Aera, I never discussed about it to you, but please, it's for the best." Mr. Hwang said.

"Taeyong hyung, what is this?" The guy named Donghyuck looked at Taeyong. "I never agreed to something like this."

"Lee Donghyuck, will you do it for the team?" Taeyong asked sternly.

Donghyuck stayed quiet.

"I asked you something." Taeyong's gaze turned cold. "Will you do it for the team?"

"Ye...yes." Donghyuck stammered.

"Good." Taeyong looked at Mr. Hwang. "Thank you for this deal, Mr. Hwang. I'll promise that he'll take care of your daughter."

Donghyuck's and Aera's eyes met for a second. His eyes were void of any emotion and he looked away.

"I suppose you both would like to spend some time getting to know each other..." Taeyong said. "Donghyuck, you can take her to the garden till we serve desert."

He looked at her, and motioned her to follow him.

The two went out of the dining hall, and into a garden.

"Why do we have to do this?" He sighed. "Couldn't you tell your dad to not do this?"

"What do you think I did?" She replied. "If I could I would have."

"Why can't you?" He asked. "I thought your dad would listen to everything you say."

"No. Why would you even think so?" She asked.

"Oh, so you're not that the typical 'My dad's rich and he'll do anything for me' bitch." He nodded.

"Excuse me?" She scoffed. "You think I like this? For your information, I have no interest in marrying a stranger, especially a man who can't respect women."

"What did you say?" He narrowed his eyes, and walked closer to her.

"Are you deaf?" She sassed.

"Don't mess with me, Hwang Aera. You don't know who I am."  He said.

"You're Lee Donghyuck." She said.

"I said don't mess with me." He gritted his teeth.

"Oh, yeah? What will you do?" She stepped closer to him, taking him by surprise. "Don't forget that my brother is a mafia too, and that he has taught me self defence."

"Sure." He scoffed.

Aera slammed her hand on the wall beside his ear, making him flinch a little. She was basically pinning him to the wall.

Her eyes were cold and she said, "I'm serious."

He stared at her, as she pinned him to the wall. The corner of his lips slowly turned into an evil smirk, as he grabbed her shoulder, and flipped her, pinning her to the wall.

"Are you sure about it?" He asked, and smirked at her shocked face.

She frowned and kneed him in his groin, making him jerk forward and groan.

"I told you to not mess with me." She said.

He glared at her, but looked behind when they heard a voice.

"I see you both are getting along well." It was taeyong.

Donghyuck rolled his eyes as he slowly got up.

"I'm happy that you both agreed to do this." Taeyong said. "I know it's hard for both of you to marry each other since you don't even know each other, but this was the only way we could sign the contract. And I already can see that you'll get along well in the future."

Donghyuck scoffed and glared at her before walking back inside.

"Is he always like this?" She asked, making Taeyong shake his head.

"Not really, he just met you...he tends to be sassy but comes off rude to some people, you know?" He explained.

She smirked and said, "Well, that will be fun...cuz you know, I'm just the same. I won't let him win."