The Novel: Marry Me, Mary! (Chapter 1)

I won't lie: I'm very excited over what I'm about to do. It's the manhwa story, carefully compiled and made into chapters by a wonderful person at Baidu. Maybe it's the otaku in me, I always make it a point to check out original thing if I stumble upon a drama remake of it. And it definitely explain some things in the drama, like why is there a strawberry in the show's logo? I know it's random, but I was sure they had a reason for it. And I was right.

Chapter One: The Encounter (Manhwa: 1-5)
Mary has two best friends in her life: Ji Hye who loves to love, and thinks that to live in this world is to experience love, lots of it; thus she goes through a series of relationships. So Ra on the other hand, thinks that dating is a waste of time and that one should wait for Mr. Right to appear.


That was how Mary got stuck in between the opinion of two polar opposites. Love...she herself doesn't really understand what it is. 
One day, she got strung along to a rock concert. She didn't want to go at first, but somehow she got pushed into it. The aroma of strawberries was in the air. 


Mary hates rock music, thus she put on her earphones, immersed in her own world and oblivious to the noise around her. 

So Ra couldn't stand Mary's blatant disregard for her favorite rock n' roll, and went to pull the earphones out of her ear. Mary was startled, as if struck by something. She felt strawberries falling from the sky; on stage there was a long haired bishonen with melancholic eyes, and she found herself completely mesmerized. 

After the concert, a throng of fans stood outside the entrance, shouting for Mu Gyul. Mary stormed past the crowd. A crew member told them that Mu Gyul had already left through the back exit, and the disappointed crowd dissipated. Only Mary and friends stayed back, but only because Mary is demanding for compensation monies: she wants laundry fees for her strawberry stained clothes. 

Suddenly, Mu Gyul showed up to pay his bandmate as promised for driving the crowd away. Mary immediately rushed towards him and stuck out her hand, asking for compensation. He looked indifferent. 


At this time, the manager showed up and told Mary, "Miss, you sure are strange. Everyone at the concert got their clothes stained, and nobody got any (compensation monies). So why should I give it to you? If you don't like it you shouldn't have come, or you should've brought an umbrella with you!!" She retorted, "How can I go back home in this? I can't even walk on the streets! So, pay be back!" The two bicker back and forth.


Mu Gyul couldn't stand the noise the two were creating (remember how peace loving he is, in the drama?), and interrupted them. He gave his own jacket to Mary and said icily, "Here, I'll give you my jacket to wear so you don't have to worry about walking in public. Give me yours, I'll return it to you if I manage to remove the stain." (note: lmao, he ends up wearing HER jacket, the very feminine one)


Intoxicated By Strawberries
A few days after that, Mary is still thinking about what happened that day, her thoughts are filled with strawberries. Nowadays, she gets a little sensitive at the word "strawberry", as if intoxicated by them. When her friends go out to get groceries, she would remind them to buy strawberries. Everything she buys are strawberry related: from cups, bowls, clocks, clothes, bag to stationery. In short, EVERYTHING. 

One day, looking at the calendar she exclaimed, "Eh! today is Deathrock band's concert. Should I go? Should I go and return the jacket to him and get mine back as well?"

All of a sudden, So Ra came into her room and threw a small parcel to her. "Mary, Ji Hye asked me to buy this for her. Please hand it to her," and left as abruptly as she came. Mary asks So Ra whether she was going to the concert, but So Ra told her to go by herself, as she has got something on.


Hearing So Ra's reply, she felt reluctant to go. Mary opens the parcel, and the contents left her blushing: it was sexy lingerie in every design and color imaginable. After some deliberation, Mary decides to go alone...(LOL: she really does bring an umbrella with her. To an INDOOR concert.)


Chloe Says: Please note that in the original translation it wasn't stated what Mary's friends names were (they were called A and B, respectively). But I named them according to their personality in the drama. It's interesting to note that So Ra, the romantic dreamer is the one that digs Deathrock music, while Ji Hye, the one with a sweet and docile appearance is really the playgirl!


And...Aha! Deathrock, now we know why there's a Tim Burton influence on the OST. First chapter, Deathrock and strawberries... is complete! Let's do the Lettuce Dance to celebrate this moment:

Credits: TVDaily, Won Soo Yeon@daum, Baidu's Marry, Me Mary!