Chapter 1. Time to Get Married
“Now, the hopeful new year of 2015 is about to begin! Let’s count down together! 10! 9! 8!…”
A lively New Year’s broadcast echoed from a small, old supermarket near Homigot, a famous sunrise spot in Pohang City.
Ding-a-ling.
Just then, the door opened with the chime of a bell, and Haeyoung stepped inside the humble little store.
Despite her youthful appearance, Haeyoung was muttering grumpily to herself.
“Ugh, who eats ice cream in this freezing weather… Seriously, these people…”
Haeyoung lived in a small town near Guryongpo by Homigot, and was staying at a guesthouse with her friends to watch the New Year’s sunrise on January 1st.
Having lived in the area since she was seven, January 1st to Haeyoung simply meant a flood of tourists. But her friends from the city had insisted on the tradition—watching the first sunrise of the year and wishing for acceptance into a good university.
Every year, guesthouses around this time became absurdly overpriced, but thanks to a local uncle, Haeyoung had managed to book a room at a reasonable price.
While looking around the store, she asked the elderly shopkeeper watching TV blankly:
“Grandpa, where’s the ice cream?”
“Over there.”
The old man pointed with a worn-out back scratcher toward a corner at the back of the store.
Haeyoung bowed politely and shuffled toward the freezer in her slippers.
“They said vanilla flavor, right…?”
She had lost at rock-paper-scissors and was now stuck buying ice cream in the dead of winter. Still, she repeated the order in her mind as she reached the freezer.
Clack.
With firm steps, she slid open the freezer door. A musty scent unique to old freezers mixed with the cold air.
Step, step, step.
Suddenly, heavy footsteps approached from behind.
Whoever it was had a long stride—it wasn’t long before she could sense someone right next to her.
At the same time, a soft scent of fabric softener mingled with the freezer’s stale smell.
Smells like soap…
Realizing that, Haeyoung reached out her hand.
But in that exact moment, another hand entered her view.
Smack.
Their hands landed at the same time on the last vanilla ice cream bar—the very one her friends had asked for.
Like a lightning-fast board game, their hands overlapped. Haeyoung turned her head.
She was staring up at a boy at least two heads taller than her.
And not just any boy—a ridiculously handsome one.
Maybe it was the scent of soap, or maybe just how rare it was to see someone like him around here, but Haeyoung’s mind went completely blank.
Jet-black hair falling gently over his forehead, eyes as clear as gemstones, and a sculpted nose bridge—features you rarely saw in real life.
Even his skin was so smooth and soft, it could outshine most babies.
Looking at the pretty boy so close to her, Haeyoung’s heart gave a loud thump.
His looks could make anyone’s heart skip, regardless of age or gender.
Time seemed to freeze—until the corner of his lips curled into a smug smile, and time began to move again.
“If you’re not buying it, I will.”
“H-Huh?”
Haeyoung finally noticed her hand was hovering uselessly above the freezer.
Meanwhile, the boy—who had completely stolen her focus—was already walking calmly toward the checkout.
“W-Wait! That was the last one!”
Realizing too late that the ice cream had been snatched away, Haeyoung rushed after him.
“How much is it?”
The boy, already at the counter, took out a sleek black wallet that matched his vibe.
“Five thousand won.”
Just then, Haeyoung thrust her hand over the counter.
“Wait a second!”
Her high-pitched voice filled the small store.
The old man and the boy both turned to look at her.
“Hey, I grabbed that first!”
“But I’m the one who brought it to the register.”
Haeyoung appealed to the shopkeeper, but the boy—Tae-seong—interjected coolly.
Stunned by his audacity, Haeyoung planted her hands on her hips and faced him.
“I clearly touched it first!”
“You didn’t grab it. You just stared at my face, so I figured you were letting me have it.”
“Wh-When did I stare at you!”
Haeyoung stammered, flustered.
Smirking, Tae-seong delivered the final blow.
“Exactly 17 seconds.”
“…”
“You were staring. At my face.”
He looked at her with that annoyingly smug, I-know-I’m-handsome expression.
Haeyoung thought to herself,
This guy has a full-blown prince complex.
She didn’t hate good-looking guys, but ones who knew they were good-looking? Instant turn-off.
She scanned him from head to toe, then scoffed:
“You’re not that great, okay?”
At her sarcastic remark, Tae-seong’s brow twitched.
But then he smiled, as if saying her opinion didn’t matter in the slightest.
“You were the one staring. Not very convincing.”
With that, he turned to hand his card to the old man.
“Ring it up, please.”
“Like hell you are!”
Haeyoung slapped her hand on the ice cream.
“Don’t you have any sense of fairness? How can you steal what someone else grabbed—especially the last one!”
“First to the register wins. Isn’t that right, sir?”
The two teens locked eyes, silently begging the store owner to take their side.
Clearly uncomfortable, the old man scratched his head with his back scratcher and finally said:
“W-Well… There is such a thing as fairness, I guess.”
Then he glanced toward Haeyoung.
“This young lady did touch it first, so I suppose it’s only right to let her have it…”
“Yes!”
Haeyoung clenched her fist in triumph.
Tae-seong’s face crumpled like a piece of paper.
Just in case the old man changed his mind, Haeyoung quickly reached into her pocket for money.
But then—gurgle.
Like a thunderclap, her stomach rumbled loudly.
There hadn’t been a single warning. Her gut had suddenly declared war.
“…!”
The noise was so loud it pierced through her padded coat and the TV broadcast. Both she and Tae-seong heard it clearly.
“Urgh—!”
Doubling over in pain, Haeyoung clutched her belly.
“S-Student! Are you okay?!”
“G-Grandpa, d-do you have a bathroom?”
The ice cream? Long forgotten.
The only thing on her mind now was preserving her dignity as a human being.
“Over there! Inside the house!”
The old man pointed to a dark wooden door covered by a thin floral curtain.
Haeyoung staggered toward it, muttering one last thing.
“Th-The ice cream… Ugh…”
Well, she tried to say it, but failed.
Even speaking felt like a luxury now. She flung open the door that led to the attached house and disappeared.
Tae-seong, watching the whole thing unfold, let out a strange smile.
He had never been so happy to see someone’s digestive emergency.
“Sir, I’ll buy it.”
“H-Huh?”
“I’ll pay double.”
“B-But the girl…”
“How could she eat ice cream with an upset stomach?”
“Well… I suppose…”
“Wouldn’t it be nice to start the new year with a good deed? Protecting a kind student’s dignity.”
With a charming smile and calm tone, Tae-seong persuaded the shopkeeper.
It worked.
“Dang, not only is he good-looking, he’s smooth too…”
Finally, the shopkeeper took his card.
Tae-seong walked out with the first ice cream of the year, smiling in victory.
At that moment, neither he nor Haeyoung—both newly turned nineteen—could have imagined:
They would be meeting again. Very soon.
* * *
Haeyoung returned home early after watching the sunrise.
She had planned to eat hangover soup and watch a movie after, but after last night’s digestive disaster, none of that had been possible.
Still rubbing her tender belly, she reached for the doorknob and recalled the events of the day before.
“Ugh, what a jerk.”
In the end, she’d lost the ice cream to that guy.
Her friends had whined bitterly about it, too.
The store owner’s claim that the boy had bought the ice cream out of concern for her? Total BS.
“Yeah right. If he didn’t laugh in my face, that’d be a miracle. Concern? Pfft.”
Grumbling, Haeyoung stepped inside.
What a way to start the year. With bad luck like this, she worried about how her senior year would go.
“Grandma! I’m home!”
Still in a bad mood, she instinctively called out as she took off her shoes.
Just then, her grandmother Boksun called from the kitchen.
“Haeyoung! Come here for a second!”
Haeyoung tossed down her bag and walked toward the voice.
“Yeah? What’s up?”
She sat across from Boksun, who had a serious look on her face.
“Now that it’s the new year, you’re nineteen, right?”
“Right. Why?”
Shrugging casually, Haeyoung waited for an answer.
Then, in a solemn voice, Boksun said:
“Haeyoung, it’s time for you to get married.”
