Ha-yan lost her entire family in a fire when she was just a kid. Even as an adult, the misfortunes never stopped, leading her to flee to Edmonton, Canada—a place where she hoped there would be fewer Koreans. One day, while working as a server at a taco restaurant…... more>>

“Yan, could you do me a favor and find a Korean guy for me?”

Her coworker, Hailey, suddenly asks for a bizarre favor. Ha-yan, who hardly ever interacts with other Koreans anyway, plans to just brush it off. But then…

“Good thing. I was trying to be nice so you’d like me.”

…Why does this guy Hailey is so desperate to find keep talking to me?

“Be careful around people. Especially those who approach you as if they want nothing.”

“Why, are you worried about me?”

“…No.”

Moreover, even though she tries to push him away because the new emotions feel uncomfortable, he effortlessly closes the distance. Jay lives in a world completely opposite to Ha-yan’s. He’s someone she feels utterly incompatible with. As the time they spend together gradually increases, she realizes she’s becoming more and more greedy for him. But ultimately, due to her trauma, she coldly cuts off the relationship…

“I’ll try harder. So…”

“Let’s never see each other again.”

Unable to escape the past that clings to her, Ha-yan packs everything up and returns to Korea.

***

Three Years Later…

The two meet again when she’s tasked with photographing his photoshoot—now that he’s become a national ice hockey player.

“Mr. Joo Chan-hwi. Would it be possible for us to pretend nothing happened in Canada?”

“But why are you leaving out exactly what we should ‘pretend never happened’?”

“Excuse me?”

“The time we spent together wasn’t just a day or two. Don’t be so vague; why don’t you explain it in detail? And tell me what kind of relationship we had.”

His tone is as if he’s joking, but his eyes are unbelievably cold. Ha-yan is shocked by this unfamiliar side of Chan-hwi, whom she once thought she knew better than anyone.

“Then there’s another way. How about it?”

“Another way…?”

“We hook up. Like before.”

And just like that, the relationship she thought had ended in Canada reignites. But this time, the situation is completely reversed, as if they’re in a Shootout.

***

Shootout: In ice hockey, a method to determine the winner when a game remains tied after regular time (3 periods, 60 minutes) and overtime. <<less