I didn't even realize I'd fallen asleep until the taxi slowed to a stop in front of Master Brews.

"Here we are, sir." He said. The driver's voice snapped me out of my half-dreaming state.

"Oh," I straightened up and ran a quick hand through my hair. After a glance outside, I handed the driver the fare and said, "Here, keep the change."

"Thank you," the taxi driver said with a slight nod before pulling away from the curb.

As I stepped out in front of the coffee shop, the warm, rich aroma of freshly roasted coffee beans immediately greeted me, blending perfectly with the sweet scents of cakes, bread, and pastries. It was the weekend, after all, and this was where people near the business district usually came to get away from work-related stress. Inside, where a few customers were busy typing away on their laptops, baristas continuously called out names over the hiss of the espresso machine, and several groups of young people clustered near the counter, laughing and taking selfies of their pastries and drinks.

And then there was me, the guy who is about to meet his soon-to-be fake boyfriend.

I took a deep but quick breath and immediately scanned the room to find a particular table by the window. The person I was supposed to meet here, according to his text, would be wearing a black shirt.

"Black shirt...black shirt..." I mumbled under my breath, trying to spot him in the crowd. As expected, the café was packed with customers, and several men were wearing black shirts. I heard that it's a new trend among minimalists. They said it's because of its simplicity, and black is a simple color that could easily go with everything.

Well, whatever. All I cared about now was finding that one guy who dared to sign up as my fake lover and who was, apparently, somewhere among these people.

Then, I spotted a fiercely looking guy sitting at a particular table by the window wearing a fitted black shirt, just like how Tooth Fairy described it to me in the text.

"Could that be him?" I asked myself in a hushed tone.

I gulped as I took a hesitant step forward, trying to get a closer look. The guy hadn't attached a picture to his résumé, so I had no idea what to expect.

But I definitely hadn't expected this.

He was...well, handsome, but the attractiveness was a little intimidating. His black shirt fits perfectly over his well-toned chest, and I could actually see the faint outline of his abs underneath. His hair was silver, but not the "old man" kind of way; it was more like the stylishly cool kind that guys like him could pull off effortlessly. And despite his résumé saying he was thirty-three, he didn't look like one. Maybe late twenties, at most.

He reminded me of my father's bodyguards; the ones who never smiled and looked like they knew one hundred ways to kill a man with just a teaspoon.

I swallowed hard and forced myself to move.

There's no backing out now...

"Uh, hi...?" Thankfully, I managed to greet the guy despite my hesitation, and my voice came out of me just enough to make a nice impression.

The man looked up the moment I spoke, and for some reason, I felt like I was being analyzed with just one glance, to the point that it was unnerving enough to make me take half a step back.

"What do you need?" he asked flatly. I was surprised. I didn't expect his voice to be so calm, even though he looked scary. However, it didn't help me much to make the words come out of my mouth as naturally as I had wanted them to.

Regardless, I blinked and tried to get my mouth to cooperate.

"Uh, are you...Tooth Fairy?"

The guy didn't answer right away. Instead, he swept me with his gaze from head to toe before meeting my eyes again and speaking.

"You're...Eric25?"

"Yes, yes I am..." I replied quickly, doing my best not to sound as nervous as I felt.

For a moment, the guy just nodded slightly, as if confirming I wasn't a scammer or something.

Then, without a word, he gestured at the chair across from him.

"Sit."

That's...it?

No handshake? No "Hey, nice to finally meet you"?

Just...sit?

Wow.

He could be at least friendly.

Anyway, it's fine.

I took the seat across from him without complaint and forced a professional smile. His cold attitude is precisely the kind of attitude my father can't stand, so I'll put up with him.

For now.

"Before anything else, I'm Eric Vale. Nice to meet you, Tooth Fairy." I tried to sound as casual as I could while slowly extending my hand for a shake.

But he didn't move.

Instead, he said flatly, "Allen Flynn."

I froze mid-gesture as my hand awkwardly hung in the air for a second before I slowly pulled it back. I forced a little laugh, pretending like I hadn't just tried—and failed—to shake this guy's hand in the first place.

A little later, a waitress approached us with a notepad and asked enthusiastically, "Would you like to order anything, sir?"

I turned to Allen and tried to sound composed as I asked if he had anything in particular in mind.

"Do you want anything? Something to drink, maybe?" I said.

Without looking at me, he replied, "Just black coffee."

For some reason, he kept on glancing out the window. His attention would sweep over the other customers in the coffee shop as if he were observing them.

"This guy really is weird..." I murmured to myself while trying my best not to stare at him too obviously. And since it looked like our orders would take a while, I decided to get to the point.

"So, can we talk about the terms and conditions of our arrangement as lovers?"

Allen finally looked at me, but his serious expression didn't change.

"Sure", he said.

"Good." I cleared my throat slightly and explained everything in brief detail. "I want you to play as my lover, just enough to make my father mad and stop him from forcing me into an arranged marriage with our business partner's daughter."

"In that case," Allen continued while retaining that calm but firm tone, "If I'm going to play your role as your lover, there are a few things that I want to make clear." Then, he leaned forward and started counting on his fingers. "First, payment. Second, the schedule. Third, the boundaries."

"Alright," I said, trying to sound more confident than I already felt. "How much do you want for the payment?" I didn't even hesitate to ask that question because I know for a fact that money would never be a problem for me. "I'm willing to pay any amount just to carry out this plan perfectly", I added.

"One million, plus allowances for clothes and accommodations or whatever I might need to make my act believable."

"Actually, you don't need to put too much effort into your appearance. What I need is someone who embodies everything my father hates, including someone who doesn't meet his ridiculous aesthetic standards." I paused, just to give way for my gaze to flick over his plain black shirt and overall bodyguard aura, "So, yeah, you're already perfect for the job."

But Allen suddenly raised an eyebrow as he leaned back in his chair while his arms crossed over his chest.

"You didn't say you needed someone ugly," he said flatly.

My brain short-circuited for a second.

"I—what? No!" I blurted out, just loud enough for people to glance our way, "That's not what I meant!"

Allen didn't say anything. He just stared at me with that serious face of his. That's when I totally resigned and raised both my hands in surrender.

"Okay, let me clear that one up for you," I said quickly. "My dad hates plain-looking people. He thinks everyone should look like they just stepped out of a luxury magazine ad. So, yeah, you're definitely fine as you are."

There was a long pause before Allen responded to my explanation.

"Okay. A plain boyfriend it is, then."

He didn't say a word after that. He was utterly unfazed.

And for some reason, I couldn't shake the feeling that what I'd said didn't exactly make him feel any better, that I might've just insulted the guy I was about to pay a million bucks just to pretend to be my lover.