She found herself between strangers’ shoulders, listening to the soft tremor of their breaths as the cold materialized in small clouds that rhythmically puffed out of their mouths. In other instances, she would’ve been trembling while allowing the numb freeze to settle into her, but now– just for now– she was uncomfortably trapped between a middle-aged man and a young woman who seemed to be in her early twenties.

Her eyes flickered to the watch on the man’s right hand. 6: 30 pm. It seemed that the bus was a little later than usual today. Usually, the bus would arrive at 5: 45 and leave her at the bus stop in front of her house at around 6: 15. Looks like I’ll get home late today. Once again she glanced upon the watch on the man’s hand. Before she could grasp what time was shown on the watch’s face, the man moved right hand up to check the time himself. She heard a soft sigh coming from his lips. What a strange man. Don’t people usually wear their watches on their left hand?  Preoccupying herself with straying thoughts, she slightly tilted her head to the woman on her right. She seemed to be fixated in her thoughts, as her glove-covered fingers fiddled on her lap. Every so often, the woman would close her eyes for 15 seconds (Seulgi counted at least 6 times; it was 15 seconds every time.) and clench her fingers really tightly. Thinking that this lady had some serious troubles to deal with, Seulgi decided to quit her straying eyes.

She reverted her eyes towards the shoes she had chosen for today; they were black loafers, covered in a slight dusting of snow. These shoes had accompanied Seulgi for a long time; in fact, they were the only fashion article from Seulgi’s youth that had been preserved well; everything else was ei