Seo Changbin ⁻ ⁽²⁹⁾

From the age of six, you were taught that your purpose in life was to get married; for your parents, family was the only thing that mattered, and the only thing you should strive for. You never liked that idea; it was outdated. But over time, you accepted it, and it became a goal for you.

You graduated from college, moved out, landed a great job, and your life was going wonderfully, but one thing was missing: marriage. Your parents started pressuring you to find a husband. You were almost twenty-nine, and being single seemed almost sinful.

You started visiting a matchmaker, known for being an expert cupid. She introduced you to several men, and you went on a date with each one, but none of them convinced you.
Some were self-centered, others were too strange, and still others were intense. After so many dates, you started to get tired of them. None of them had won your heart.

Changbin was the son of a successful businessman, and to boost the company's profits, he needed to get married soon. So he started seeing a matchmaker who arranged dates with other single men, but none of them saw him as anything more than a way to make money. And that's how you came into the picture. Changbin was your last hope of getting married before you turned thirty, and you were his chance to make his parents happy.

Dinner was awkward; you only talked about superficial things. Changbin wasn't interesting at all, and you weren't making any effort to change that.
You would check your watch every so often, hoping it was time to leave.

Changbin, for his part, was grateful that you weren't trying to win him over just for your own gain. It was a start.

—"Did you like the lasagna?"

He pointed with his fork at your half-empty plate, with some traces of leftover pasta.