“Lauren ah, please introduce yourself, let’s get to know each other.” Jiyeon beamed and encouraged Lauren to say something to other pupils who were unusually quiet.

“Hi everybody.” The litte girl waved and smiled like an angel. “I’m Lauren Kim. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too.” The whole class cried out in excitement.

“Wow, you’re so pretty!” A boy sitting at the end of the classroom uttered praise and waved back at her. “Come here and sit with me, Lauren.”

Lauren looked up at Jiyeon as if she was waiting for her permission. Jiyeon bent down to ask her new pupil. “Lauren ah, do you like to sit with him?”

“Neh,” she nodded. Until then Jiyeon noticed that her eyes are brown and beautiful, yet sad somehow.

“That’s nice.” Jiyeon smiled and led her to the boy’s table. “Lauren, this is Mason Moon. Be good friends and help each other, okay?”

“Yes, teacher.” Both children replied in chorus.

“Everyone, attention please!” Jiyeon clapped her hands. “Today we will start with a small test in which you draw a simple picture in 20 minutes. You can draw whatever you want. Let’s start!”

“YES!”

Her little pupils said obediently and began doing their test. The only sound that could be heard was the rustling of crayons drawing on notebooks. Jiyeon leaned back on her chair and looked vacantly into the grey space outside while enjoying the peaceful morning. Suddenly, a man’s face came to her wandering mind, and it only took Jiyeon a second to realize who he was.

Beep.

Her cell phone rang and then it was back to reality. Jiyeon looked at the flickering screen which was showing the name ‘Sujireongi’. There was a message from Suzy that read:

Unnie, I’ll bring you lunch and hear about your first-snow man on the same occasion. I’m just dying of curiosity!

That is the so-called twin telepathy. Suzy always knew exactly what her sister was thinking or feeling despite the distance between them. Jiyeon smiled and decided to a little.

But I totally forgot about him.

Seconds later, Jiyeon’s eyes widened as soon as she read the three-word message from Suzy.

No lunch anymore.

Obviously, Suzy was threatening her. That smart girl has always found good ways to get what she wants. It’s somehow dangerous. Jiyeon sighed in defeat and quickly typed her reply.

I’ll tell you, okay? Don’t be so mean to your unnie. Ah, what did you cook for lunch?

After sending the message, Jiyeon looked up from the screen and noticed that most of her pupils already finished their test. Lauren and Mason were laughing happily while examining their pictures. It seemed like Lauren had adjusted well to the new environment.  

Just then Suzy’s reply came. Shrimp tempura, pear salad and kimchi jjigae.

Because test time was up, Jiyeon had to stop exchanging messages with Suzy. She stood up and walked around the classroom to assess her pupils’ drawing skill. Most of them drew easy things like house, flower, sun, star, balloon…But when it came to Lauren, she surprised Jiyeon with her amazing family picture. There were three figures with names written below. Jiyeon took the picture and began examining it. The first figure was drawn with blue crayon and named ‘Myungsoo Appa’, the second one in pink color named ‘Rennie’, and the last one in yellow was ‘Sungjong Ajussi’. Though the drawing was still immature, it was extraordinary for a four-year-old kid.

“Lauren ah, you are really good at drawing.” Jiyeon praised while Lauren’s hair.

“Teacher, it’s because my appa teachs Rennie to draw everyday. Appa draws well, too!” She said proudly.

“Really?” Jiyeon smiled. “But why don’t you draw your mother?”

Lauren instantly put her finger to her lips and looked around before whispering to Jiyeon. “I don’t have a mother.”

Jiyeon was totally speechless. She had wondered why Lauren’s uncle took her to kindergarten instead of her mother, but she thought that maybe her mom was too busy. Jiyeon couldn’t help but feel sorry for this little girl. She must have been very sad without a mom beside. Jiyeon started wondering how Lauren’s father could take care of his daughter alone. It must be very difficult for him.

“Lauren ah, don’t be sad. I don’t have a dad, but it’s okay.” Mason tried to comfort his new friend by gaving her a big lollipop. “This is for you. My mom said sweets can make us happy”.

“Thank you, Mason.” Lauren grinned, but her eyes glittered with tears.

Jiyeon took the red crayon and wrote on Lauren’s picture. When she gave it back to the little girl, her face brightened into a smile of happiness. As Mason craned his neck to look at the picture, he uttered, “Oohh, you got 100 marks!!!! Daebak!!!”

“You will definitely become a good artist. I’m sure that your appa is very much proud of you.” Jiyeon gave Lauren an encouraging smile.

“I love you, teacher.”

She wrapped her arms around Jiyeon’s neck. On the cold winter morning, that embrace warmed their hearts and made them feel closer to each other.   

There she was sitting on the deserted hill behind the kindergarten and waiting for Suzy. Closing her eyes, Jiyeon inhaled the mixture of snow, wet soil, grass, and rotten branches. Behind her back, witch hazel and amaryllis flowers started blooming. This is one of her most enjoyable moments as she could rest in the silence and listen to her own heartbeat.

“Unnie!”

Suzy’s voice suddenly broke the silence surrounding Jiyeon. She opened her eyes and waved at her sister. Suzy was wearing the red sweater which Sungyeol gave her for her last birthday. Because Jiyeon and Suzy are a twin, they have the same birthday. In order to be fair they always get the same gifts with distinguishable colors. As for Jiyeon, she got a white sweater as birthday present from Sungyeol. She still remembered how Suzy treasured her own sweater. Though it was summer back then, she wore it all day without feeling hot. Since that time, Jiyeon had known that her sister’s heart belongs completely to Sungyeol. But she was not sure if he could recognize it.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. There was a traffic jam on my way here.” Suzy explained and put the mess tin on the bench.

“It’s fine.” Jiyeon said while taking a look at her lunchbox. All dishes smelt delicious, especially hot kimchi jjigae.

“I added a lot of tofu to kimchi jjigae. Quick eat it while it’s hot.” Suzy handed Jiyeon the spoon and urged her.

Jiyeon eagerly tasted the soup first and several seconds later she uttered, “Wow, your cooking skills are obviously progressing. It tastes so good! Why don’t you bring Sungyeol some kimchi jjigae? He likes it too.”

“Aishh, why do you suddenly mention him? How can I bring him lunch when I’m even not his girlfriend?” Suzy grumbled and turned away to hide her blushed cheeks. She always became sensitive whenever Sungyeol was mentioned.

“It’s just my opinion. Never mind.” Jiyeon shrugged and continued to eat her lunch.

“Did you forget why I come here?” Suzy frowned. “Now, tell me about your first-snow man.”

Jiyeon sighed and began to tell her twin sister about the guy she accidentally met that morning. Because she didn’t have much to say, it only took her a minute to finish the story.

“How does he look like?” Suzy asked curiously.

“Hmm…tall, handsome, smart…Ouch! Why do you hit me?” Jiyeon cried when Suzy suddenly hit her on the arm.

“Because your story is too boring. I thought it must be romantic or sensational, but it’s not!” Suzy pouted.

“Ya! I told you everything I know. Besides, we only met in a wink, what else do you expect to hear?”

“It’s enough. I’m going back home.” Suzy closed the mess tin and stood up. “Goodbye, unnie.”

“Bye bye, Sujireongi~” Jiyeon chuckled while teasing her sister.

“The second time I hate you in this morning.” Suzy glared at her and walked away.

"Thank you for the lunch."

Jiyeon called after her sister before coming back to her class.

Myungsoo’s working day ended a little later than usual. He had spent a busy, hard day with a lot of things to do. He almost forgot seeing the clock and finally when he did, it was already 6PM. Myungsoo rushed to the garage after making a quick call to Lauren’s teacher.

“Work late, huh?”

Hearing a sudden voice, Myungsoo turned his head back and surprised to see Woohyun standing beside his car. Woohyun was holding a pretty doll in his left hand and a Teddy bear in the right one. He showed them to Myungsoo and grinned, “Let’s go! I’m going to kidnap your beloved daughter.”