The breeze drifted through her blonde locks as she whizzed in and out of the alleys of the town on roller skates. There were a small group of kids skating close behind her.

"Come on, ppali wa! (Hurry up!)"Yeri called cheerfully, glancing behind, "last one to the store has to buy everyone grape soda!" The girl was having so much fun. This was what summer should be about, not having a care in the world! Although she had two jobs, one as a part-time baby sitter and the other at the market with her mother, there was something uplifting about spending the days outside. She knew some people who had to work in stuffy offices or worse, had enrolled in classes. School in the summer....who ever heard of it? It was one thing when you were in a university, but quite another when you were doing it by choice. Many of her gal pals had become engaged that year, so they decided to sign up for marriage classes.....cooking, cleaning, taking care of a baby.... "You'll need it when it's your turn to get married, Yeri." they'd said. The pretty 19 year old scoffed at the idea. Yeah right.

The blonde skater was so lost in thought that she didn't even hear the calls of warning from the children behind her, or see who she was about to run into. The impact brought her to reality with a splash, as she and a woman fell over into a tank of fish, soaking themselves both into gross water. 

"I'm so sorry miss--"

:"Agassi! " In a flash, Yeri's mother was there, helping the woman to her feet, water dripping from her dark purple skirt. Agassi? Was this woman a v.i.p. or something? She was dressed up rather well, although her dress suit was soaking wet, and there was a bit of seaweed hanging from her hair bun. Perhaps it was a friend of her mom's. Yeri squenched at something shiny on her jacket lapel: the name tag said "Baek Eun Ja, District Market Inspector." The teenager let out a small gasp. Market Inspector??

"Miss Baek, are you alright?" the older woman asked, attempting to dry the inspector off. "Please forgive my daughter. She's so fun-loving, she wasn't paying attention---"

"Joesanghamnida! Joesanghamnida! (I'm sorry)" The baby-sitter disappeared into the market area and came back with a handful of paper towels and a large clear bag of rice cakes. "Please, take these as token of my apology," she said, bowing deeply.

The girl's mother lifted the woman up to her feet, drops from shoes and skirt were forming puddle around her feet. "Young lady, what on earth were you doing?" came the cold inquiry.

"I was just playing with my friends," Yeri answered, not meeting the inspector's eyes. The children were huddled farther away, near the small convenience store, peering around the corner.

"What university are you enrolled in?"

"She isn't enrolled in one," the older saleswoman exclaimed, "she works with me in the market."

"Hmmph. Well, even if you aren't a student, you should still have better behavior than that. A girl your age shouldn't be running riot through the streets, you're too old to play with children. No education, no self-discipline, coloring your hair, at that rate you might not ever get married!"

 

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That night, the words of what the market inspector had said still floated around in her mind. You might not ever get married....that part didn't hurt so much. The part that had stung was the fact she said that she had to grow up. The lady had made her seem so....childish. Was that true? Quietly, the pretty teenager watched as her mother cut celery at her cutting board in the kitchen. Their home was a cozy little place, but they liked. Yeri pulled out one of the wooden chairs, and sat next to her mother. For a few moments, neither one of them said a word,

"Eomma, mianhae."

"Gwaenchanha." The ahjumma said, softly. It isn't your fault. Ms. Baek is often in a bad mood, and she's only the messager. 

That did nothing to improve her mood, working at the outdoor market had been their main source of income ever since her father passed away. Summer was nearly over, and babysitting jobs were going to be a lot less frequent when school began. What would happen to them now? It was too tiring to even think about. "Good night, mom."

"Chamganman!" (Wait a second)

Yeri turned around, just as she was about to head to her room. Her mother was hesitating, something was up.

The 40-something year old took a deep breath. "I've arranged for you to have a marriage meeting tomorrow afternoon."

"What?!"

"His name is Cha Eun Tae, and his father owns a construction company, he's a very nice man, and despite you coming from a poor family and not having much education, he wants to meet you."

The young blonde was overwhelmed. For the first time in years, she was enraged with her own mother. Yeri had no interest in being married off like all her friends had been, she wanted to keep her freedom as long as she could; she'd told her mother that countless times. 

"Eomma! How could you do this?" the girl cried, "Arrange me for someone I don't even know? I had plans of my own."

"What plans? You know we couldn't afford it, not even when the market was still open."

"I could get another job. The people around here know me very well, I could get more babysitting jobs--"

"Ye Rim!  .

The girl didn't even wait for the woman to finish, she just slammed the door. How could she be so selfish??

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The sun had barely even begun to rise yet, and the sky was barely light enough to see, but Yeri didn't mind. She just needed a moment to think. Quietly and carefully, she pulled our her only pair of skates, the very ones that her father bought her a few years ago. Those purple and white skates were very special to her, she believed that she could go anywhere on those, and that morning, she was going down to the convenient store for instant ramen.

It was a special kind of freedom, being able to zoom around and get anywhere she wanted. She didn't expect her mother to understand. All she'd ever done was tell her what she couldn't do. You can't dye your hair, you can't paint your nails that color, the list went on and on.

"Ok, one cup of instant noodles and a candy bar." declared the cashier, when Yeri had picked out what she wanted. "What's a person doing up at this hour eating junk food?" At once, the girl was jolted out of her thoughts, she looked at the man for the first time. He was young, about her age, and kind of cute. He did have a rather nice smile. "Oh, I just wanted to get out and take a walk, clear my head for a bit," she said, shyly, "I've never seen you here before."

"Oh, yeah. I'm new. My dad wanted me to work during the summer," the handsome cashier said, "I've come to this store lots of times, though. I think I've seen you before."

"Yeah probably. I used to work in that market over there, selling fish. But now that its closing, I'm sorta out of a job." The blonde handed the man a 5000 won note. "I'm gonna eat this here, by the window. I hope you don't mind."

"Of course not. My boss isn't here yet. Mind if I join you?" The pair sat at the stools near the window, and got acquainted. Both of them really were the same age 19, and wasn't sure what career they wanted yet. They found out that they had a lot in common, both of them had parents who didn't seem to understand their dreams. Not only that, they both enjoyed retro American music, playing arcade games, and drinking grape soda. 

"I once drank 15 cans of grape soda in one sitting," the teenage boy bragged.

"You're kidding!"

"I actually think I broke a world record."

"For the sodas?"

The cashier shook his head. "Nope. For staying the bathroom all night ." The couple laughed. They had been talking for so long that the sun had come up, making the entire block easier to see. Yeri sighed, as she wistfully stared across the street to the row of vacant tents. 

"You know something?" she announced. "I think I figured out what I kinda of job I want."

"What's that?" the acquaintance asked, between bites of his ramen.

"I want to own a disco roller rink. It'll be great, it'll have strobe lights, arcade games, and 70s music blasting through the speakers. It'll be much better than getting married."

"Married??"

She nodded. "My mother is making me go to a marriage meeting this afternoon. It's with a chaebol named Chi Tae Eun, or something like that. I wonder what kind of jerk he'll be."

Suddenly the man broke out into a burst of coughing. The woman patted him on the back, asking if he was okay. He insisted that he was fine, just that something had went the wrong way. Once, she was sure he was fine, the long haired skater reluctantly said goodbye and headed back home. She was halfway up the block when she threw one sorrowful glance back at the convenience store. I don't even know his name, she thought.

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The young woman stumbled down the block to the cafe. She was a little late, but not by much. Besides, wasn't it considered a good thing to make the man wait on you? At least that's what her mother had said, along with advice on how to wear high heels. I miss my skates. Yeri's hair had been brushed back into a ponytail, and her ripped denim jeans had been replace with a black pencil skirt. Her white tshirt had been swapped for a white ruffle blouse. She looked more like a woman going on a job interview than one about to meet a date. With a deep breath, she opened the glass door, and stepped in.

Where is he? Who could he be? Just look for the most arrogant and flashy looking person in the room, and that would be him. Yeri glanced around the nearly empty cafe. No guy here seemed to fit that description. In fact, no guy here was even alone; they'd all had dates of their own. The teenager's heart sank. Maybe he wasn't coming after all. Maybe he had reconsidered getting involved with a girl who hadn't even taken the college entrance exam and just changed his mind. Maybe she should just go back home to avoid any further embarrassment. Yes, that's what she would do-

"Sorry I'm late. I hope you're not too mad."

Yeri turned around as a man tapped her shoulder, her brown eyes widening. "It's You!"

Indeed, it was the boy she had met just hours before at the convenience store, now dressed stylishly in a blue collar shirt, white pants and Vuitton loafers. He certainly was rich.

"Yep, it's me, the chaebol jerk Cha Eun Tae! Oh, it's alright, I know you didn't mean it that way," he added, as he saw her face growing red from embarrassment, "You're Kim Ye Rim, right?"

His date nodded.

"I was surprised when you mentioned a marriage meeting before. I was against it too, but that was before I knew it would be you. I'm not disappointed anymore." For a moment, the two stood there staring at each other, as if lost in a daze. Neither one of them could believe how blessed they were that they had been the ones set up. Both of them had imagined something horrible that they would wind up meeting. Eun Tae and Yeri stood there for so long that a waitress came by to ask if they were ordering anything. The chaebol spoke first.

"You know what? On second thought,I don't think so. We're heading out. Yeri, I know a great skating park not to far from here. Wanna go?"

"You know it!"

                   ---------------------------------------------                         3 YEARS LATER                           ---------------------------------------------------

Everything was a colorful blur as the 70s hit "Instant Replay" blared out over the speakers. A disco ball sparkled like a chandelier, making rainbows dance off the woman's holographic skates and matching skirt. Yeri's Disco Roller Skating and Arcade....it did have a nice ring to it. The former teenage dreamer was now 22, and her dream of owning a business had become a reality. Who knew that the guy her mom had set her up with was actually a charming man? His father, the president of a construction company, had bought ownership of the old fish market and as a wedding present, gave the deed to her, so she could use the property any way she wanted. Yeri had decided to create that dream disco place, and with the help of her now husband, Eun Tae, it was a complete success. Her mother no longer had to sort fish, but she ordered it for dinner, imported. Who knew that things would turn out so well. Yeri sighed, taking a break, and heading to her corner office to sit. Her purple and white skates, stood up in the corner, sparkling and untouched. It happened, Appa. Did you see? God has made my dream come true!

"A toast my lady?" Eun Tae was there, holding two cans of their all time favorite drink, grape soda. That day was their wedding anniversary.

The blonde haired business owner smiled. "Cheers!"