D.I.O

“…”

When Yongno finally woke up, a long time had passed. He didn’t even need to look at the clock to realize this, as the previously bright living room was now dark. Since the streetlight outside shined through his living room window, it wasn’t pitch black, but since it was winter, the darkness combined with the streetlight meant that it was well beyond time for dinner.

“…?!”

Yongno tensed up after opening his eyes, finding a face right in front of him. More specifically, Eunhye’s calm and expressionless face filled his field of vision. It seemed that he had fallen asleep on the couch and used Eunhye’s lap as a pillow!

“…”

“…”

A lull filled the room. Eunhye simply looked down at Yongno with an expressionless face as he continued to lay on her lap. Meanwhile, Yongno stared at Eunhye, bewildered, as he couldn’t make sense of the situation. After some time passed, Yongno finally spoke up.

“I-I can definitely tell you exercise a lot.”

“Why?”

“Your thighs are rock solid- ugh!”

Eunhye started hitting Yongno’s face with her fist, and he couldn’t help but cry out in pain and anguish. Then, Eunhye pulled Yongno off her lap, stood, and promptly crumpled to the floor.

“Eh? Are you hurt somewhere?”

“… My legs fell asleep.”

“Ah, yeah… you stayed in that position for a while.”

As Eunhye knelt on one knee, Yongno helped her to the sofa. Thankfully, due to her well-trained and conditioned body, Eunhye was able to stand by herself without much delay.

“Yongno.”

“Hmm?”

“I’m hungry.”

Yongno headed towards the kitchen and checked the time. Much to his surprise, it was ten in the evening.

“Oh my god, how long was I asleep?”

Since he had rested well recently, Yongno couldn’t understand why he had fallen asleep. Moreover, he couldn’t believe that he dozed off on the uncomfortable sofa when he was unable to take a short nap on his cozy bed.

“Yongno.”

“Hmm?”

“I’m hungry.”

“Ah! Wait a moment; I’ll see what I have.”

Yongno rummaged through his refrigerator to see what ingredients he had, but there wasn’t much. He did have some food, but it was only instant noodles and snacks. It wasn’t appropriate to give this type of food to a guest.

“Oh, my. I don’t really have anything right now. Wait here. I’ll run to the supermarket and get some….”

“Let’s leave the house.”

“Huh?”

Yongno was caught off guard by Eunhye’s reply, so he froze, rooted in place, dumbfounded once more. However, Eunhye had already gotten up, put on her parka, and opened the front door, so Yongno quickly put on a jacket and followed her.

Since it was already late December and winter had taken hold, the outside air was frigid. It had rained a few days ago, but now, the temperature had dropped so dramatically that anyone not wearing multiple layers would probably freeze.

Yet, the street was filled with people regardless.

“Eh? Why are there so many people out at this hour?”

Yongno stared at the ridiculous scene. Of course, ten in the evening wasn’t too late, but this was his neighborhood, not a city center. It was weird for such s large crowd to be in the street.

‘Also, there’s a lot of couples… am I seeing things?”

While Yongno didn’t go out too often, he could feel a sense of incongruity about what he was seeing and experiencing. There were no festivals or special events occurring, but the streets were bustling with people, and food stalls were lined up on the side of the road.

“Let’s eat that.”

“Skewered barbeque meat? You must be hungry, so we should eat something a little heartier….”

“Go and buy some.”

“Okay.”

Yongno dutifully nodded and approached the person running the stall, who was probably the owner.

“What would you like?”

“Two chicken skewers, please.”

“Do you want them to be spicy or mild?”

“Mild, please. Eunhye, what about you?”

“Same.”

When Eunhye nodded while responding to Yongno’s question, the stall owner realized that Yongno wasn’t alone, and he broke into a smile.

“Dang, I’m envious. On a day like this, you’re walking around with such a beautiful girlfriend.”

“Hahaha.”

Yongno laughed awkwardly. Eunhye wasn’t his girlfriend, but Yongno didn’t see the need to correct the food stall owner. It would’ve been silly to explain that she wasn’t his girlfriend but his friend.

‘Anyway, what did he mean by “on a day like this?”’

Wondering what kind of ‘day’ it was, Yongno was about to ask the food stall owner, but Eunhye was walking away after receiving her skewers.

“Thank you.”

“Have a wonderful evening.”

As the food stall owner waved goodbye, Yongno walked faster to catch up with Eunhye and walk beside her. She had already taken a large bite from her skewer and was busy chewing.

“If you eat all that, won’t you ruin your dinner?”

“It’s already late, so if I eat too much, I’ll gain weight.”

“Well, I guess you’re right. Then we should….”

“Let’s walk.”

“Hmm?”

Though Yongno was surprised by this unexpected response, Eunhye just continued walking ahead, seemingly oblivious to Yongno’s shock. It didn’t seem like she was heading somewhere specific, but she was strolling outside the main area where everyone was gathered. It seemed she was looking for a relatively quiet place.

“…”

“…”

The two walked like this for some time, not talking. Eunhye was usually not the talkative type, and Yongno was surprised by her abnormal behavior, so he simply followed her lead. At some point, something cold landed on the tip of Yongno’s nose.

“Huh?”

Taken aback, Yongno looked up at the sky and cried out.

“Woah, it’s snow. I thought it wouldn’t snow for a while because of how weird it’s been recently, but I guess the weather decided to finally send us some.”

“…”

“It’s the first snow of the season. It’ll probably cause havoc tomorrow, but I still enjoy seeing it. Since I like seeing falling snow, I guess I’m still a little kid at heart, right?”

“…”

Yongno chattered non-stop. He then looked over at Eunhye, who was silently looking up at the snow. She was expressionless, but Yongno could sense that she was feeling a little lonely.

“… Eunhye?”

“I’m planning to move out.”

Even though there was no context, Yongno knew what she was talking about.

“Because of your university?”

“Yeah. My university is quite far away.”

Yongno couldn’t understand what she was saying. Yongno and Eunhye lived in Seoul, and while there were obviously universities outside of Seoul, Eunhye had scored well enough on her entrance exam to be accepted anywhere in whatever major she wished. Despite this, she oddly chose to matriculate to a distant university.

“Are you thinking of going to a different province?”

“No, further.”

“… Overseas?”

“Yeah.”

Eunhye nodded. Ever since starting high school, she had planned to study abroad for university. After chasing her goal for so long, she couldn’t suddenly change her plans. If she weren’t capable enough, then that was another issue, but she had an abundance of talent.

“Is that why you came to see me?”

“No.”

As she spoke, Eunhye turned to look at Yongno. If that were all she wanted to say, it wouldn’t have taken her so long.

“Then, you have something else to say?”

“Yeah.”

“Then say it.”

Yongno felt that Eunhye should get to the point. Actually, he was wondering why she didn’t do so initially. It was unlike her to wait so long to convey whatever she wanted to say to him. She was always direct and headed straight toward her objective. It seemed as if she were born without an inkling of hesitation, and she always maximized her efficiency in everything she did, ensuring every second was used productively.

It was weird that such a person kept going off track, and since he’d known her for a long time, Yongno couldn’t help but be perplexed and surprised.

“No.”

“Huh? What?”

“No, I don’t want to talk about it.”

“… Why?”

“Because you’ll run off again.”

Without any sign of hesitation or change in her eyes, she peered at Yongno. It was as if her eyes had been carved from a precious stone. Though she didn’t have any particular expression, Yongno felt like he was being absorbed by those beautiful eyes. He wanted to ask what she meant by ‘run off again,’ but Yongno couldn’t muster the words as she gazed at him.

Swish.

Unwaveringly, Eunhye turned around. Yongno instinctively prepared to follow her, but Eunhye raised her hand to stop him.

“I need to stop by somewhere, so don’t follow me.”

“What? But…”

Yongno was about to speak, but Eunhye gently cut him off.

“Yoon Yongno.”

“What?”

“Merry Christmas.”

“Huh?”

He hadn’t expected this, and Yongno was left speechless while Eunhye walked away. Once he regained his composure, he retrieved his cellphone to check the date. December 25th. Christmas Day.

“What?”

It was a celebratory day, but Yongno was standing there frozen and unable to move with a bewildered expression.

“Hey~ Merry Christmas, babe! Are you by yourself?”

While walking through an alleyway, Eunhye was approached by a young man who smiled slyly and held a cigarette in his mouth. It was dark out now, and after seeing a beautiful girl walking in an empty alleyway, the man must’ve had some inappropriate thoughts. Additionally, he appeared to be drunk, as he stunk of alcohol.

“Fuck off.”

“Oho, babe, you talk so dirty. Let’s get out of here and go somewhere fun. It isn’t right for two adults to spend a day like Christmas alone and lonely….”

Bam!

As he was mid-sentence, the man’s cigarette violently flew into the air. Eunhye’s lightning-quick roundhouse kick had squarely hit the man’s cigarette and barely missed his face.

“This little bitch… how dare you act up in front of me….”

Reality didn’t mirror what happened in fantasy novels. The opponent wouldn’t back down and cry out ‘expert!’ after seeing a display of tremendous skill. For people who were completely ignorant of what true power and strength looked like, the only measure of a person’s formidability was their appearance.

“If you didn’t call me a bitch, I would have let you off.”

“Hahaha. What the hell are you talking about? Have you lost your sense of-”

Bam!

The young man crumpled to the ground. This time, Eunhye used her hands. Her punch was so fast that even a veteran martial artist would have injured their hand. However, Eunhye had used her open palm to smack the young man’s chin, cleanly knocking him out.

“Worthless.”

It wasn’t known who she was referring to, but regardless, Eunhye turned around and walked away. The falling snow had accumulated quite a bit on the ground, but the scene no longer meant anything to her. It was simply just an accumulation of solidified water, nothing more.

“Worthless.”

She wasn’t able to say what she wanted to Yongno.

‘Let’s go together.’

She didn’t say it.

‘Come with me.’