Name: A Marriage on a Timer [Showbiz]
Author: Joyful Surplus

Synopsis

◎ Fortunate rising-star actress × rapper and leader of a hip-hop idol boy group

◎ Marriage reality show | Contract romance | Real feelings or fake | Jerk chases his ex

[Synopsis]

1.

Jiang Duoshun was just like her name: pure-hearted, with a career blessed by good fortune. Everything had gone smoothly since her debut.

The most outrageous decision she had ever made was accepting an offer to appear on the reality show We Got Married, where she was paired with Kwon Jiyong, the leader of a popular boy group, as an “on-screen couple.”

In front of the cameras, they made a home together, held hands while shopping at the supermarket, and posed for wedding photos on foreign streets. At the director’s request, they even kissed on the shore at sunset.

The production team and the viewers all knew this was one grand performance.

But no one knew that after each shoot, they always found a brief moment to be together in some dark corner.

On those stolen nights, she fell into his arms, believing that what began as make-believe had become real.

Until one night, as he held her down on the sofa, her tears and her body both told the truth. Yet Jiang Duoshun’s heart was filled with sorrow.

This relationship had to stay hidden, and one day it would end.

2.

A month after the show ended, a storm broke.

Paparazzi released a series of photos showing Kwon Jiyong visiting Jiang Duoshun’s apartment late at night, with a caption accusing them of having an “intimate relationship despite not being a couple.”

Public opinion exploded. He came to her agency with his manager and a “dating contract” in hand.

They would pretend to be a couple for six months, then break up amicably to put the scandal that they were just bedmates to rest.

He sat across from her, his expression so calm it was almost cold, so she asked to speak with him alone.

In the empty conference room, he spoke first. “What will it take for you to sign? I can’t let this rumor drag down the group.”

After a pause, he added, “Whatever you want, I’ll buy it for you.”

Jiang Duoshun’s heart clenched. The last of her hopes shattered.

After a moment of silence, she deliberately raised her chin and said, “I want a luxury jewelry necklace.”

He agreed without hesitation.

She signed the contract and became his “contract girlfriend,” with a price tag attached.

3.

The six-month term ended, and so did the dating contract.

While packing his things, Kwon Jiyong noticed that the expensive necklace was still in its original gift box, untouched and never taken away by Jiang Duoshun.

He was briefly surprised, then forgot about it.

But as time passed, she appeared ever more dazzling in the news alerts.

On one lonely late night after another, he suddenly found his room so empty it made his heart ache.

At last, he swallowed his pride and went to find her, suggesting they could go back to the way things used to be.

She met him with a cold gaze and said she already had a new boyfriend. He should keep his distance.

The words “new boyfriend” struck his chest like a clap of thunder. Only then did Kwon Jiyong realize, in a daze, that he had fallen for her long ago, and that she really had loved him once.

He couldn’t help asking in a trembling voice, “Did you... love me back then?”

Jiang Duoshun curved her lips into a faint smile, each word as sharp as a blade. “Kwon Jiyong, I never loved you.”

“He once had a woman’s genuine love, but he was the one who put a price tag on it.”

[Reader’s Guide]

1. One-on-one romance, both leads have no prior sexual partners, happy ending.

2. The female lead is not entirely chaste and will date other men.

3. The male lead is a jerk and a bastard early on, then becomes obsessed with the female lead.

4. A little morally dubious; assume the scandals are true.

5. The timeline is messy; everything serves the plot.

6. The characters may be out of character. Please don’t confuse them with real people.

7. Some celebrities will be portrayed negatively as the plot requires.

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