The customers of a certain restaurant were experiencing either jealousy or severe secondhand embarrassment for the past 30 minutes because a certain couple had been acting as if the world belonged to them alone and the rest was just renting the place. The two of them weren't particularly displaying their affection to each other physically, it was just that the way they interacted with each other was like there were no other people around them. Not to mention how Gimyung kept on teasing her about her awesome flying kick before and Haejin's face would turn beet red as she shoved food into Gimyung's mouth. One moment they were bickering, and the next second they were laughing like teenagers in love. Those who had seen Kim Gimyung in fights would be utterly shocked at how gentle and friendly his face could be. 

"Just eat, Gimyung-ah. Stop talking about what happened," said Haejin as she shoved a spoon of meat into Gimyung's mouth to stop him from talking, feeling quite embarrassed that Gimyung kept on gushing about her flying kick.

Her boyfriend was still laughing even with his mouth full. "But, seriously, noona~"

"What?"

Gimyung grinned. "Did you learn taekwondo?"

Haejin was busy stuffing her mouth, so she could only nod. 

The boyfriend's eyes grew wide and excited upon hearing that his girlfriend learned martial arts. "Really? Since when?"

"Hmm," she hummed as she put down her chopsticks, recalling some moments of her teenage years. "Ryujin and I learned it since our last year of elementary. We had no one who could protect us all the time, so we thought, we should do something about it." She smiled, but her eyes were somewhat sad.

The thought of Haejin having to live a hard life with just her brother soured his mood in just a second. It would be great if they had met a long time ago so that he could be with her throughout everything she had to go through. Of course, Gimyung understood that he couldn't return to the past, but he couldn't help thinking about it since Haejin had become someone important to him, something that he didn't even realize. And it seemed that Haejin noticed the change in his expression.

"Kim Gimyung," she called him gently.

Gimyung looked up, staring into her obsidian eyes.

"I know what you're thinking, but it's all in the past. Since then, I've met people who became precious to me," she paused and smiled. "And, we've found each other. Isn't all that matters?"

Sometimes, he forgot that his girlfriend is older than him despite calling her noona at any chance he had. He chuckled. "You're right. We're here. That's all that matters."

Haejin smiled in satisfaction. "Good. Now, eat, Gimyung-ah."

They spent the rest of the lunchtime munching their food and talking about themselves and the people around them. It made them feel even closer to each other after sharing more about their lives. There were times Gimyung seemed a bit reluctant and embarrassed while sharing about what he went through before he found Shinwoo, but Haejin made sure he knew that there was nothing he should be ashamed of.

"We all make mistakes, you know. The most important part isn't the mistake you made, but what you decided to do after." Her voice was reassuring and comforting, making Gimyung think that he really had to be even better from now on. "You didn't run away and you haven't made the same mistake till now. Isn't that more important?"

Gimyung nodded, feeling proud that he had found someone willing to take the time to truly understand him despite what he did in the past. "Thank you, Haejin-ah," he said softly as he smiled warmly.

Haejin felt her face warm up, still not used to the way Gimyung said her name like she was the most precious person in the world. She could only smile, afraid that if the opened her mouth, she would say something corny.

When they were done with lunch, Gimyung acted fast before Haejin could protest about who should pay and about splitting their bill. Gimyung just smiled and said that she could pay the next time they went out to eat. He made sure to work even harder to earn more now that he had a girlfriend. If he could, he'd like it if Haejin didn't have to spend anything on their dates although she'd definitely complain about that.

"Are you going back to work after this?" asked Gimyung, feeling reluctant to let her go.

Haejin gave him a mischievous smile. "Why? You don't want noona to leave, Gimyung-ah?"

He knew she was teasing her, so he should do the same, shouldn't he?

Gimyung hugged her in the middle of a busy street, so tight that she couldn't break away. He didn't even care when people were staring at them, whispering about how they were being so affectionate. "If I say yes, will you stay?"

She sighed, tiptoed, and gave him a peck on his lips. If he wanted to be such a teaser, she could do it as well. "Will you let me off with this?"

"Noona! That's foul play!" He pouted like a little kid. "Now I have to let you go." He sounded a little sulky, but he let her go anyway, smiling when he heard the crisp laughter of his lover.

Haejin reached out her right hand. "Here. I'll let you hold noona's hand until we reach the station." She laughed again when he took her hand in his, still pouting a little but then he smiled widely.

They kept holding hands as they walked and chatted more about their days when she noticed a group of students was suspiciously gathering in a narrow alley they were about to pass. She saw a boy being cornered by those who were bigger than him. The boy was obviously trembling as he held his bag tightly to his chest. She hated such a scene.

She let go of Gimyung's hand and silently walked to where those teenagers were. Gimyung was confused at first as to why his girlfriend suddenly let go of him and walked away until he noticed the situation. He was pondering if he should step in, but knowing Haejin, he decided to watch first. If the situation turned bad, then he would step in.

"If you need money, you should earn it, kids," Haejin said coldly as she stood behind those boys.

Those problematic-looking high school students turned to see who was bothering their fun and snickered when they saw a woman shorter than them. They checked her out from head to toe and back, making Gimyung want to smash their heads to the wall. However, it seemed that it was unnecessary because his girlfriend did it first.

"Watch how you use your eyes, boys." Her voice grew even colder.

The boy whose head was smashed was clearly the leader, for the other boys' faces turned pale watching her doing that. She chose the right person to defeat first.

"How dare you!" yelled the leader, angry and humiliated. He must have wanted to sound tough but he was still on the ground, holding his bleeding nose, looking pathetic.

Haejin must have broken it, making Gimyung grin.

Her face was as cold as her voice. "How dare I? Why shouldn't I?"

The leader struggled to stand up, and when he finally did, he lunged at her. Well, unfortunately for him, even before he could get close to her, he was kicked. This time, it wasn't a flying kick, but the kick was strong enough to send him back to the ground.

"I will only warn you once. If I ever see you again doing this, you'll live a living hell." She turned to the rest of the boys. "What? You'd like to kiss the ground too?"

That was all she needed to say to make those cowardly boys scurry like sewer rats.

"And you," she addressed the still trembling, but in awe, boy.

"Ye-yes?" he stuttered.

She sighed. "You should've fought back."

"Bu-but they'll hit me," he said, his face pale imagining getting hit by those boys.

Gimyung was quite surprised since he thought she would be comforting him as she did with the harassed girl before, but this reaction of hers was more interesting.

"So what?" Her voice wasn't as cold, but it wasn't friendly either.

The boy seemed shocked.

"If you get hit, then you get hit. If you don't want to fight, then run. If they blocked your way, struggled through it. Don't let them trample you." When the boy didn't say anything, she asked, "Do you understand?"

The boy nodded.

She sighed, then smiled. "If you decided to run, run straight ahead and get into the police station. You don't have to report it if you don't want to. You can just stay there until you feel safe. Or, you can always learn how to defend yourself."

The boy looked up at her. "Defend myself?"

Kim Haejin nodded.

"But I'm weak."

"Then you just need to grow stronger." She turned to look at Gimyung and then back at the boy. "Well, you don't have to be as strong as him. That guy's strength just doesn't make sense." Gimyung laughed at this.

Haejin continued, "You just need to be strong enough to safe yourself."

Gimyung walked to them. "You can't stay weak and expect others to save you. Safe yourself," he added. "My girlfriend isn't free enough to go around and save people after all."

"Now, you should go home. They won't bother you, and if they do, call me." She smiled and handed the boy her business card.

The boy thanked her and ran back home.

Gimyung warped his arm around her shoulder. "Noona, should I recruit you for Big Deal?"

Haejin laughed, amused by the idea. "You're too late, Kim Gimyung-ssi. The police department beat you to it," she whispered and laughed again.

He laughed along. "Well, what you do now suits you best, Kim Haejin-ssi," he whispered back and stole a kiss.

"Gimyung-ah!" She might sound angry, but Gimyung knew she liked it because her cheeks were beet red.

He gave her his bad-boy smile. "You did it first, noona~"

Haejin remembered the light kiss before, and her face grew even redder.

Kim Gimyung was truly a formidable opponent.