Merry Merry Match

Heerim was eighteen years old when she first met the punk Park Geon.

“I really hate kids like you. The type who puts on a threatening air and show off their strength.”

“Give me a break. I hate people like you too. The kind who subtly rank others, I guess. The kind who act like they’re better than everyone else.”

They lived in worlds completely different from each other, but shared the same wounds—and because of that, he was someone she could never truly hate.

At twenty-nine, Heerim reunited with Park Geon, now a gangster.

“You seem like the type who wouldn’t care about scars. But you’re surprisingly sensitive about it.”

“Someone I used to like really hated the idea of scars being left on my face.”

He was still a man from a different world, yet one who shared the time they had lost— and because of that, the man once again stepped inside the solid fortress of Heerim’s heart.

“I was wondering… if there might still be a chance.”

The time that had been frozen for ten years between them began to move again.

“Marriage?”

So he had heard her, as he asked again. Heerim spoke while deliberately looking off into the distance, “Yeah. I’m asking if you’d quit what you’re doing now and marry me.”

“…Who brings that up while eating fish-shaped bread?”

Geon looked completely flustered by the situation. As if to prove a point, Heerim bit into the crispy head of the fish-shaped bread. She wanted to bring it up lightly since it was such a heavy topic.

“Honestly, I don’t think marriage is something I absolutely need in my life. I’m capable enough, I can live without relying on anyone else, and I’m not the type who feels loneliness deeply. I’ve always been that way.”

Fiddling with the bag of fish-shaped bread, Geon asked, “Then why would someone so impressive want to take in a thug like me as her husband?”

“Well… I thought I’d raise a guard dog to protect the house.”