# Chapter 7
Just as December was beginning, the Christmas season quickly approached with carols filling every street in the blink of an eye. Mugyeong, with his black scarf tightly wrapped around his neck, left his home. Haeseung, who had been waiting outside, first checked the scarf Mugyeong was wearing and smiled with satisfaction. Since receiving the gift from Haeseung, Mugyeong had worn the scarf almost every day without fail.
“Why are you standing out in the cold? I told you I’d call you while sitting with the heater on.”
A significant change had occurred in Mugyeong’s life. He had recently purchased a car. He had arranged with Haeseung to take it for its first drive after receiving the delivery this morning. Mugyeong’s face showed traces of tension he couldn’t completely hide.
“Did you remember your license?”
“Hey, why would you ask about something so basic…”
Despite chiding Haeseung for his unexpected question, Mugyeong quickly checked inside his wallet. His driver’s license was neatly tucked inside. When he took it out to show Haeseung, he nodded with a relieved expression. Mugyeong pressed the button on the smart key to start the engine.
“You could have started it from your room, you know?”
“I know.”
He had known that, but he was too excited to think clearly. Watching Mugyeong, Haeseung lifted one corner of his mouth and climbed into the passenger seat. Mugyeong got into the driver’s seat a moment later and adjusted the seat appropriately. Haeseung chuckled with a hissing sound like air leaking from a tire.
“Kang Mugyeong is all grown up. The little squirt is driving now. So adult-like.”
“I am an adult.”
“Oh really? I should get my license soon too. That’s how I’ll become an adult faster.”
Haeseung spoke as if a driver’s license was some kind of adult certification.
“Just make sure to wear your seatbelt. If you don’t want to die.”
“Yes, Captain!”
Haeseung’s joking helped ease some of the tension. After shifting into drive, Mugyeong slowly pressed the accelerator. And so began his nervous first drive.
***
After Christmas passed, the last day of the year arrived. Since the first drive, Haeseung had gone on three more light drives in Mugyeong’s car. Mugyeong’s driving skills were impeccably stable without any flaws. During their most recent drive, Haeseung had fallen asleep, unable to resist his drowsiness, even drooling. When Mugyeong shook his shoulder saying they had arrived home, Haeseung had blinked his eyes nonchalantly as if he hadn’t slept at all, and Mugyeong had given him a look that suggested he was wasting his effort trying to act.
Mugyeong’s car traveled along highways, national roads, and local roads in search of a quiet beach suitable for watching the sunrise. By the time they turned onto a side street following the navigation system’s directions, the snowflakes visible outside the window had grown noticeably larger. At this rate, it would soon pile up to knee height. Haeseung, already worried about the return trip to Seoul, said:
“What if a lot of snow piles up?”
“Don’t worry. I have snow chains and we can drive slowly.”
“You think accidents won’t happen just because you’re careful? Someone could rear-end us suddenly, or someone might drive the wrong way toward us.”
Immediately after speaking, Haeseung regretted his words, feeling like he had jinxed them.
“If you’re that worried, let’s stay a few more days and go back after the snow melts.”
“You barely managed to squeeze out time for this overnight trip, and here you are, Kang Mugyeong, all talk.”
“I’ll do well. Let’s just enjoy this with peace of mind.”
When the clichéd promise to drive well omitted the object, the nuance changed completely. Hearing the ticklish phrase “I’ll do well” spoken in an affectionate tone like one would use to soothe a child, Haeseung felt strange. He wondered what it would be like if Mugyeong got a girlfriend. Knowing well the guy’s caring side beneath his seemingly indifferent exterior, Haeseung could easily imagine him in a beautiful relationship. Though perhaps not quite a fairy tale prince, Mugyeong would be like those handsome male leads in dramas that female viewers go crazy for. That image seemed as familiar as if he had seen it before. The thought somewhat dampened Haeseung’s spirits, which had been high throughout the trip. Whether it was jealousy, disappointment, or emptiness, Haeseung himself couldn’t identify the emotion.
When they reached the guesthouse, which also served as a seafood restaurant, the navigation system ended its guidance. It was the lodging they had reserved in advance. Given how little was available in the area, they were grateful to have secured even this level of accommodation. After greeting the guesthouse owner, they took their luggage from the trunk. They had brought snacks, drinks, and cup noodles from Seoul. The alcohol had been procured with great difficulty through Haeseung’s noona, which required adding a significant tip and enduring lengthy lectures about young kids already planning to drink. Only after telling the lie that they would drink it right at midnight on January 1st—a lie no one would believe—did the nagging finally stop.
The two entered an unfamiliar, cramped room with just one old blanket and a small refrigerator sitting alone. If one tried hard to find a positive, the floor was nice and warm, creating a cozy atmosphere despite the cold weather outside. Haeseung put down his luggage in the corner and immediately lay spread-eagled on the floor.
“Kang Mugyeong.”
“Yeah?”
“Do you know what time the sunrise is?”
“7:40 AM. I’ve already set an alarm for 7.”
“Oh, not bad.”
“That’s basic.”
“There’s a ton of snow outside. Want to have a snowball fight?”
Mugyeong crossed his arms and looked down at Haeseung with an incredulous expression.
“Did you forget I’m a shooting athlete?”
Haeseung had expected to be scolded about how they weren’t kids anymore to be having snowball fights, but as expected, Kang Mugyeong was Kang Mugyeong.
“Even though it’s not shooting, I could still…”
“You could what? What could you possibly do?”
Though he was dismissed before the fight even began, Haeseung had no proper comeback. It was clear that Mugyeong was a world-class shooting athlete, so it would be a one-sided, insipid fight not even worth discussing the skill gap. Nevertheless, Haeseung was surprised that he didn’t feel like they should avoid the snowball fight. It was due to a groundless belief and subtle expectation that Mugyeong would attack moderately, let him win sometimes, and occasionally let himself be hit. Haeseung energetically got up and said:
“Let’s go.”
“Really? You want to do this?”
“Don’t be cheap and put rocks inside your snowballs.”
“What kind of sportsman do you take me for? Dress warmly.”
Haeseung put back on the padded jacket he had taken off and tossed aside. After leaving the guesthouse and walking some distance along a snow-covered trail, they reached the edge of a small mountain. Walking along the trail, their feet sank deeply into the snow, making their pace inevitably slow, like running in a dream. Seeing the pristine white snow field without a single footprint, they couldn’t help but exclaim in awe. Haeseung excitedly rolled around in the snow until he felt a light impact on his head and looked toward Mugyeong. Mugyeong, with an annoying smile on his lips, bluntly said:
“Why are you acting surprised? Just make some snowballs.”
For every ten snowballs Haeseung threw, Mugyeong was hit only three times. On the other hand, when Mugyeong threw ten, Haeseung was hit twelve times. Of course, he couldn’t actually be hit twelve times, but that’s how it felt. Mugyeong was also twice as fast at loading snowballs, so Haeseung soon became as ragged as a wet newspaper.
“Time out!”
“There are no time outs. In real combat, a time out is surrender.”
A snowball thrown by Mugyeong hit Haeseung’s face. Suppressing the surge of emotion, Haeseung shook off the cold snow covering his face and glared intensely at Mugyeong.
“Is this how you want to play?”
“What?”
“I’m feeling the unfairness right now.”
“In what way?”
“It’s hard to pinpoint. I’m feeling it in every aspect.”
“That’s strange. I’ve never had a more fair match than this.”
Taking advantage of Mugyeong’s momentary distraction, Haeseung threw a firmly packed snowball with all his might. Mugyeong, hit by the snow, made a dumbfounded expression, and Haeseung brazenly retorted:
“You’re too good.”
“I told you. I’m good at this.”
“Even for someone good, you’re too good.”
“Don’t tell me you were hoping I’d go easy on you?”
At those sharp words hitting the mark, Haeseung faltered. Mugyeong smiled generously with an expression that seemed to say, “If that’s what you wanted, you should have said so earlier.” Haeseung immediately made a face as if to say, “What nonsense are you talking about?” but in truth, he was struggling to maintain his composure.
Their gazes clashed tensely. Was it time to finally surrender?
The thought of being mercilessly pelted with snowballs and then having to surrender suddenly made him feel miserable. He felt disappointed that Mugyeong, of all people, would treat him like this—he had naturally expected Mugyeong to go easy on him. But the misery soon subsided, and gradually, his stubbornness kicked in.
“Kang Mugyeong. Come here for a second. I think I’ve got a cramp in my leg.”
“Don’t try to pull a fast one.”
“Please. Help me up. I think my butt is going to get frostbite.”
Mugyeong approached with a suspicious look and put his hands under Haeseung’s armpits. Haeseung, not missing the opportunity, attempted a headbutt. The attempt was good, but the timing was poor, resulting in an unexpected situation. Their lips collided forcefully, and for a moment, their vision went dark.
“…Mph!”
Both of them, without any cue, simultaneously pulled far away from each other. Though it was just for a split second, the electrifying sensation of lips touching remained vivid.
Mugyeong stood with a dumbfounded expression, covering his mouth with his hand. The fingertips covering his lips trembled slightly. The shock must have been immense. As far as Haeseung knew, this was Mugyeong’s first kiss.
Looking at Mugyeong’s rigid face, Haeseung somehow felt as though he had done something morally wrong, and his conscience pricked him. However, part of him also felt spiteful, wondering if such a brief touch of lips was really something to be so shocked about. Haeseung quickly launched a preemptive strike, shifting the responsibility for the accident to Mugyeong.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“I’m sorry.”
Mugyeong apologized with a blank expression, not clearly understanding what he had done wrong. Inwardly perplexed by Mugyeong’s submissive apology, Haeseung brushed off his backside and put on airs as if granting him a special pardon just this once.
“Be careful in the future. You really startled me.”
Crunch, crunch—the careful sound of footsteps in the snow followed behind Haeseung at a regular interval as he walked ahead. His expectation that if he launched a preemptive strike, Mugyeong would naturally blame him in return, leading to raised voices from both sides, had been confounded. With Mugyeong so dazed, the accident was ending insipidly, as if it had never happened. Haeseung felt bewildered and confused. A fluttering snowflake silently settled on Haeseung’s lips, where the tingling sensation had yet to fade.
Feeling a prickling sensation on the back of his head, Haeseung suddenly turned around. His eyes met Mugyeong’s, who had been following behind. Mugyeong had been smiling with a mix of accomplishment and sadistic pleasure, exuding his distinctive intense energy, but the moment their eyes met, he immediately stiffened and withdrew his smile.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
