It was 2.45 in the morning. Jung Yoonmi glanced up at the antique clock that hung on the wall before moving her gaze over to the slightly opened window. It was snowing. She smiled as she stepped forward, and brought herself closer to the window so she could enjoy the lovely scenery.

The weather was getting cold. She yawned slightly from exhaustion. The beautiful white snow painted a picture of sorrow as it fell down onto the ground gracefully. In her eyes, the snow was neither white nor pure but tainted by a vivid bloody red. Staring at the snow with her eyes barely opened brought about a flashback to a memory from three years ago. A memory that she has tried to forget and erase completely. A memory in the snow.

Unfortunately, she couldn't. No matter how many times she tried, it remained stuck in her mind firmly as though engraved.

“It's my entire fault...” She mumbled, stretching her hand out of the window and trying to catch the falling snow. She furrowed her eyebrows, trying to chase away the memory. Walking away from the window, she lied down on her bed.

Slowly, she closed her eyes and tried to get some sleep. She was getting worried because she hasn't been able to sleep properly lately. It was not because of her busy homework load of university thesis and assignments nor was it due to her struggling social life. It was purely insomnia caused by the traumatizing event and it was getting worse as the days go by. Every time she closed her eyes, the scene flashed again and again, as if it was set on auto replay.

She was actually afraid to fall asleep. That was a fact that she could barely admit. The truth is that whenever she tried to sleep, the same nightmare constantly haunted her. Should she call it a nightmare, or was it just another tragic memory that haunts her even in her sleep?

Yes, a tragic memory. That's what it should be called from the start because she knows that she's the reason why the tragic memory was created.

Hopelessness washing over her, she got up and grabbed a picture frame that was placed beside her bed. Yoonmi stared at it as her eyes started tearing up. The tears silently welled up in her eyes and eventually, flowed down her cheeks.

“I'm really sorry. If only you were still alive...  You must be extremely disappointed with what I’ve done three years ago. Believe me, I didn't do it on purpose. If only I could turn back time... If only...” She whispered to the photograph of her parents, sobbing while she wiped away her hot tears.

“I promise I'll protect her with all my might... I'll do anything for her just to make her happy."

"I'll sacrifice anything, even my own life... If I really need to, I'll do it...”

“I love you, Eunmi. I love you... I'm sorry for everything...” She lowered her tone as she brought the picture frame closer to her chest. She hugged it tightly and closed her eyes as her tears continued flowing down her cheeks.

 

 

Flashback, three years ago.

 

“So, where are we heading right after this? It's getting cold...” Eunmi asked as she linked her arm with Yoonmi's.

“Is there anything that we need to buy for our Christmas Eve preparation?” Yoonmi paused, contemplating her own question. Eunmi smiled as she glanced at Yoonmi's serious expression. Then, she took out a piece of paper which held a list of items that they needed to buy.

“I think everything's done. We've got everything that we need.” Eunmi made a small mark on the list.

“How about the raw chicken..?”

“We bought it already, over here.” Eunmi took out the raw chicken from the plastic bag as she put it right in front of Yoonmi's face. Her spontaneous act attracted the attention of others. Some of them stared at Eunmi and giggled, while some of them just glared mockingly at the non-identical twin couple.

“Eun-Eunmi- yah, put that back in the bag! People are staring at us.” Yoonmi whispered. Eunmi put the raw chicken back in the plastic bag as her eyes swept over the people around her.

“Let them be. It's not like we'll eat the raw chicken in public. Gosh, these people... Who do they think we are? The fox twins with nine tails?” Eunmi mumbled, irritated.

Yoonmi shook her head as she smiled slightly. She knew Eunmi would say something like that. Eunmi was the type of girl that would say anything on her mind. Some people might misunderstand her for being rude, but not Yoonmi. She understood it as Eunmi's honesty. She respected that side of Eunmi, a side that she didn't have in herself.

Unlike Eunmi's extrovert personality, Yoonmi is much more of an introvert in the way she thinks and talks. She prefers to keep everything to herself instead of speaking her mind. She's too afraid that people might get hurt because of the things she saya. She often got scolded by Eunmi because of that.

"Stop letting it bother you, just let it out. People might step on us if we're too soft-hearted. Stop being a pushover and say what your mind is thinking. Even though, sometimes following your heart means losing your mind... Oh, just screw it!' Yoonmi smiled unconsciously as she remembered what Eunmi used to always say to her.

“Yah, Yoonmi-ah!” Eunmi patted Yoonmi's shoulder lightly, raising her eyebrows.

“Oh, ye-yes?” Yoonmi stared at her blankly. Eunmi face palmed.

“I said, let's eat something before we go back home... Are you daydreaming or what?”

“Eat? What do you want to eat?”

“Urmmm...ddeokbokki, and... soondae?" Eunmi grinned. Yoonmi looked around the streets of Hongdae, searching for a food stall.

“Oh, over there! Let's go now so that we can go back sooner. I'm shivering...” Yoonmi said as she pointed at a small street vendor across the busy road. She pulled Eunmi with her to cross the road but Eunmi remained rooted to the ground. Yoonmi turned her head towards her sister.

“Why? You said you want to eat ddeokbokki and soondae, right? Let's go. It's getting late and the snow is killing me softly. I'm freezing.”

“I'm too lazy to walk and cross the road. Can you buy it for me? I'll wait for you at the bus stop.” Eunmi blinked her eyes cutely, showing her aegyo. Yoonmi nodded slowly.

“Yay! As expected, my little twin sister is the best!” Eunmi jumped up and down in excitement.

As Eunmi walked towards the bus stop, Yoonmi tried to cross the road. Looking left and right, there were too many vehicles which made it difficult to cross the road. She glanced at the street vendor across the road. It appeared to be closing. She needed to hurry. She really needed to.

She started crossing the road after believing that the flow of traffic had slowed down. An abrupt scream from Eunmi freaked her out. Turning her head, she was instantly stunned.

“Yoonmi, look out!”

Yoonmi was confused. She glanced towards her left and saw a truck heading towards her at a rapid speed. She screamed in panic. There was nothing else that she could think about at that time except death.

Suddenly, she felt her body being pushed hard by someone. She was flung away to the side of the road and her head bumped against the side of the road divider. Her head started to throb. As she tried getting up, her eyes searched desperately for Eunmi.

Her eyes widened with horror at seeing someone lying lifelessly in the middle of the road, blood covering her face and body completely. The surrounding white snow around the body was tainted with crimson blood.

“Eun-Eun... Eunmi...” She tried even harder to get up. But her vision gradually got darker and darker. Her tears fell. The last thing that she was aware of before she fell unconscious was the sound of a loud siren and the commotion of a spectating crowd.