The hard sounds of his legs giving free kicks to the dummy are heard continuously yet clearly without being absorbed by the damp air. The cold weather is not a reason for everybody to postpone the routine training. I hope it doesn’t out their blooming energy.

         “Do it slowly if you’re unbalance.” I imply, resuming stepping on each stone brick that have been arranged in a round shape. I straighten the position of my hands and look back at Ren who is focusing on his steps. Pursing my lips, I turn back forward.

        Actually, I should teach both of them on this Bagua Zhang balancing for today. But, it turns out that Hyun Seung requested for personal training which he trains by himself with the mannequin over there and I can’t teach them if another is missing. But, I do anyway since Ren insists.

          “Oh my! You’re so fast. My knees are trembling right now.” He retorts with some kind of lilt that proceeds to playful later on. I chuckle at his so-called compliment along with his long breath of sigh like in some kind of despair. Quitting, I hop out of the round bricks, stomping my shoes against the stone floor carpeted with snow. I turn around and watch him stepping carefully. The way he stretches aside both of his arms are fun to be in my view. But he does it wrong.

          “Correct your hand position.”  I point. Nimbly, he turns to me in response but getting pulled to the ground straight away after he does the perky expression that makes him unstable. I frankly grin upon the freak show while he laughs casually on his mistake as he nears my spot, radiating his fun self to me, urging – if can – everybody to laugh along.

          “You distract me, Master Hi.” He ducks his head and shifts his eyes straight to mine, briskly waving off his strands upwards as he straightens his neck. He has such an engaging posture when he did that move until I realize that I have provided oddity in staring him that way.

          “You’re such a double-cross.” Snorting, I shake the fathomless burst away. I don’t know, but I can put into word that he is quiet blunt, like the beautiful boy over there. They have a lot in alike. They’re pretty – for sure – yet attractive in alternate way. They get the same height and even birth date. This is quiet funny, but a thought of them meant to be described like that is worth it and kind of fate to me. I should have recognized these earlier.

        All of a sudden, my head is being smacked from behind by something that I can reckon, it is between hard and fragile. Although it is ‘fragile’ that way, the hit makes my head into a stooping position. “Aish.”

What is this thing?    

         “Hey!”

        I spin around, reacting to the yell and find out Hyun Seung who is gripping a handfuls of snow in both of his hands. His expression is beyond innocent and mischievous but I have a feeling that he will shoot that thing anytime soon.

        “What’s wrong?” Ren asks with an unbelievable tone in his voice, nearing my spot.  

        Giggling, Hyun Seung throws his hand aback, above his head and hurls it with a style. But, when it is zooming our way, I get my leg guarded ready and give a soft kick with a strong force crept on every muscle of my leg as it nearing. I don’t want it to smash into bits just like that. It lands accurate on his hair, giving a new hair dye as well as a shout of cheer from Ren.

        It looks like he is stunted before the exhilaration of him rises on the air and – intriguingly - he declares, “War begins!”

        I stare at him who skittishly squatting on the snow, getting an amount of them and rolls the handful a few times only to keep it aside. He keeps repeating the same movement. Confused, I turn to Ren. He also joins the same movement. Both of them are hurriedly making snowballs as much as, almost like a heap. 

        “Hah, eat this!” I feel my head is knocked again. I shift back to Hyun Seung in disbelief, but he continues attacking anyway until I feel another attack from the opposite. Tilting my head aside, I witness Ren copying the same attack that Hyun Seung starts. You too?

        It is not long until my face is splashed by the snow. My vision gets opaque, totally. It is because I close my eyes. Ah, it is cold. Very. Who did this? Gasping in disbelief, I let out a laugh and I wipe over the cold smashed ice and get my knees bent down to squat. An imagination of them being ‘naughty’ haven’t reach my mind before that it is almost such a craze. Swiftly, I gather the snow and clench it on my fist like they did, lumping for the first one. Well, the shape is far from circle yet so close to amoeba.

        They gape at me when I stand up. It seems like they have stopped attacking me. Okay, the victim is getting up. “What do you call this game?” I ask.

        They look at each other for a moment before Hyun Seung replies, “Er...snowball fight?”

        “Then snowball fight it is.” I throw down the lump to the air and rise my leg, letting a hard force flows through and aim it to Hyun Seung first. This move is far better than throws with hand. That is what I call fight. Then, Ren is next.

        Engrossed in the game, I don’t realize that I am madly laughing when they get smacked right on their faces. This is just so enjoyable and making me regret at the same time because I’ve never played this game with Dong Woon before. I can tell, we got so much fun together but not as this, at least. Escaping from my trance, I glance at them. It looks like they are going to become united and attack back even faster than before – for real. They have those threatening glares.

        “Attack!” I frown at them who yell enthusiastically like life is really depended on this war. But, the furrow of my brows is gradually washed out as their yell are sent along with a vast amount of snowballs. I gawk at them which are towering me. For God sake, I’m asking, are those white big dots real? How they do that?

        Rushing in bated breath, I quickly gather some snow and clench them on my fist as fast as I can be. Throwing one of them on the air, I hurriedly kick each of them which earn a laugh of banter from them as the snowballs don’t even reach their bodies. What? What is wrong with my leg? What is wrong with this leg? As soon as I realize the red siren inside my head, I know that it is doom for me to be in this state.

        Descending lower, I raise my arms to cover the most important part of my body from the meteor-like snowballs. “Ah!”

        I cry. I don’t even know where I get courage to do that. Is this the spirit of losing? I can’t imagine how people will survive if snow falls like this over years. I bet human will start to extinct like my gut at this moment.

        “Stop it!” I shout, half-laughing when I feel the icy cold medium glosses through the opening of my arms and lands on my hair, which is soon dripping on every strand before come into contact with the skin of my face. The feeling of cold is random but with different term. This is not the coldness that I despise.

        “Yah, Master Hi! Eat this more!” Peeping through my fingers, I look at them rushing my way, hugging their only weapons. Are they going to bury me with those white soils? God, this vantage position sure helps them. Struggling while kneeling, I decide to keep my body safe by crouching, but quickly change my mind and wave my hand in desperation towards them. “No! Don’t! No!”

What have I done?!

        “Say no, no, no, no, no!” They melodiously tease, purposely tilting their head to left and right, following the tone of repetition words that roll on their tongue. What are them? A nursery ‘rhymer’? That is kind of absurd to have people teamed up and do the same thing, except one is following another. 

        Smiling, they drop the snow.

        Dush!

        I gawk, leaving a small gap between my lips.

         “How could you teaming up against me?!” I argue, throwing back the remaining snow on my hands to their face. Ren squints at the sight of this. He slowly opens his eyes that luring for, I don’t know. He simply stares, like this. “Oh yeah?”

        “Ye-ah.” I stammer.

        “This too?” He shoves a fist of snow into a punch right towards me. As a response, I cringe and close my eyes. In fact, I don’t receive something hard but in total opposite, I accept a gentle touch below my lower lip, the region between my chin. Cracking my eyes open, I find his fist vaguely touchs my skin. “Dush.” He mouths, playfully repeats the same movement of kick boxing. His fingers softly brush against my bottom lip, making me shiver under his touch.

        “You scared.” He simply chuckles.

        Well, he doesn’t make me scared though. Abashed, I my head upwards, staring at the wide appeasing sky, just to cover up the distracted face. The sky, it is just white. I can’t say it gloomy either.

        “So...what did you all got for Christmas?” Hyun Seung asks to no one in particular, directing only at us, actually. There is a bit of seriousness in his voice like he doesn’t smile or grin like always when he asks, indicating a change of topic when it apparently gets silence.

        I thoroughly flick the remnants snow lied on the fabric of my sweater, keeping quiet. I feel like want to shut my mouth at the time. He asks a question that registered a negative answer in my head. So, it would be better if I keep quiet.

        “Aih...some random stuffs like an earmuff, hat and scarf. What about you?” Smoothing my knees against the pant, I listen to Ren’s answer, mentioning about random stuff and boring norm, like he suffers it every year.

        “Me? My parents prepared me a pair of home slippers. It seems like I’m going to mistaken which my slipper and the bathroom’s one. They look alike!” Hyun Seung reveals half scoffing with an exclamation that finally pulls a grin on his face. I know that he won’t be serious for a long time.

        “So Master Hi, what did you got from your family?” He continues asking. I mentally sigh. The breath is gone right to the atmosphere as I keep my head tilting to the peaceful sky. In the meantime, I lay my head restlessly on my right shoulder.

        “What do you think?” I say in a breath. “My family don’t celebrate Christmas fancily. So, gifts aren’t really making sense.” I cross my arms, bringing back my knees up to my chest. Even though, I never crave for them. It is such a waste. It is better if I start feeling grateful of what I have.

        I sigh again, apathetically realising presences on either side of me.  

        “To be truth, the best gift in life is,” I turn my head, looking with half-lidded eyes at Hyun Seung who continues his word, “...knowing that we have someone who loves us unconditionally, who can make us laugh, who is there to listen and who warms our heart. The best gift in life is best friends.” He laudably speeches and some dust-like snow off of my shoulder, softly smiling at me.

        “Friends are gift you give yourself. You’ve us. We’re together no matter what.” Ren rejoins in his calm face. “No matter what happen, we’re still friend right?”

        I keep staring at the white velvety carpet that spread in front of me, casually making small circles on the surface.

        They get me wordless. I kind of believe that they have power of comforting. These bishounenes – apparently - are occupying the massive space inside my heart. It takes that I’m glad. I’m proud to have them as my friend. Fundamentally, they kill the sorrow that lived inside me, they changed the daily regime of mine, like, they forced me to examine and encourage me to grow, open mind and that is why I dare to say that they get the best in me.

        “Yeah.” I whisper, closing the lid of my eyes bit by bit. Slowly yet not hesitantly, I hold up my arms, making an attempt to link arms with them. Holding them closely, I lock my eyes with the darkness of the lids and lay my head comfortably on a shoulder. I don’t know whose shoulder is this. But, I softly smile as I realize that I don’t even want to look up. It is just so comfortable.

        And so, it is true. Friendship is like a Christmas tree, decorated with warm memories and shared joys. Both of you are the slightly cracked ornaments that always makes me smile.

No matter what, we are together. We are friends - best friends- forever and ever.