It had been a few days since the enexpected and forceful meeting between Yoonmi and Suho. It seemed like Suho had already given up on 'brainwashing' her, that was what Yonnmi thought even if it wasn't something Suho had said himself. She was a lot more comfortable when she thought that he had given up rather thank thinking that Suho would still wait for her in front of the university. It would only make her feel more burdened and uncomfortable. Yoonmi walked out of the library alone and she couldn't help but to think of all the things that he had said to her when they were at the orphanage. Ever since Suho sent her home after not answering her question, Yoonmi couldn't think straight. Did she really enjoy living in misery that much? It was to the point that she refused to move on and stop blaming herself. How could she make her beloved twin sister live happily when she, herself, couldn't live happily? How could she? She thought about the matter deeply.

“Why are you doing this? Why would you work so hard to change me when we barely knew each other? Why can’t you just let me live in my own world? Why did you even come into my life and mess up all my thoughts? Why? Just why?”

That was the question that Suho didn't answer that day. It was like how Suho wanted to know about her past. She wanted to know his answer. It disappointed her when he had chosed to remain silent. He didn't answer as he held onto her shoulder gently. His eyes met hers. Her eyes were teary. He let out a heavy sigh and drove her home.

She walked slowly and her mind couldn't stop going back to Suho. She remembered everything he said from his words to his question. At that moment, Yoonmi heard a mesmerizing melody. She froze and realised that she wasn't standing too far away from the Music Room. She didn't mishear anything, did she? Yoonmi closed her eyes and tried to calm her mind as she tired to evaluate the situation. She didn't mishear of hallucinate. It was the same melody she heard before and it was the same voice that sang along to it. A gentle, yet beautiful voice. She could feel the same feelings that she felt when she heard the voice for the first time. There was a sense of complete inner peace that eradicated her distress and allowed her soul to be at rest. To be replised and refreshed. They were the same exact feelings.

“It’s not a ghost just like what the other students said before, right?” Her heart thumped like crazy. Yoonmi clenched her fist and tried to gain some strength as well as confidence so that she could being herself closer to the music room. The voice became clearer as she walked toward the room. She hesitantly grabbed the doorknob and opened the door slightly before she peeked into the room carefully, worried that her presence might interrupt the 'room's owner'.

Her eyes widened when she saw that the person who played the piano was a guy with pale skin. But what frustrated her was that she only saw his silhouette, his back was facing her and she could only hear his beautiful voice. Yoonmi stood at the doorway, mesmirized at the melody that was being played. She sneakily took another glance at him and wondered if he noticed her presence, but fortunately, he didn't. He looked completely immersed and didn't care abuot his surroundings. The music stopped abruptly and she was surprised. She tried to leave immediately, worried that if she stayed any longer, he would realise her presence but suddenly, her phone rang.

Yoonmi panicked. She tilted her head toward the guy and froze when his eyes met hers. He must have realised that she was there. Yoonmi grabbed her phone and checked who called her at the wrong time. The name on the phone's screen made her remember something, something that she shouldn't have forgotten. She promised Eunmi that they would walk home together and her twin must be waiting for her at the front of the university.

‘It’s Eunmi...’ She thought. The guy moved toward her and she was flusterd becasue she didn't know what to do. She had two options; either to stay in place or run away while she still had the chance to. As the guy walked closer to her, she had no other choice boy to run away which left him confused. She made a promise to Eunmi and didn't want to make her twin wait any longer. She ran toward the main gate and she was correct with her prediction. Eunmi was already there and waiting.

“I thought you already forgot about our promise." Eunmi pouted and pretended to sulk.

“I’m… I’m sorry.”

“Never mind, I’m just kidding. I knew that you must've be busy at the library.”

Yoonmi didn't say anything; she wouldn't tell Eunmi that it wasn't the real reason for why she was late. Eunmi pulled her hand with a wide smile and dragged her to her side. The plan was to head home but Yonnmi stiffened as her eyes looked around the front gate. She looked for someone that she hadn't seen lately, someone that wasn't supposed to be there but strangely, she hoped that he would be there, waiting for her just like before. Unknowingly, she was looking for the person who tried hard to change her mind. She looked for Suho who seemed to have made the decision to leaver her alone in her own miserable world.

“What are you looking for? Are you waiting for someone else besides me?” Eunmi asked before she began to look around and hoped that she might see something or maybe someone that caught Yoonmi’s attention.

“Er... uh, no-no one. Let’s get home quickly.” Yoonmi denied as she stuttered before they started to walk away. Along the way home, they weren’t talking to each other much. Eunmi seemed to beexcited to play with the snow on the road while Yoonmi silently kept her eyes on her sister.

“Eunmi-ah…you really love snow, don’t you..?”

“Yeah, of course! We feel cold, but we don't mind it, because we're not in harm's way. And if we wrapped up against the cold, we wouldn't feel other things, like the bright tingle of the stars, or the music of the Aurora, or best of all, the silky feeling of moonlight on our skin. It's worth being cold for that. Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire. It is the time for home. It is no season in which to wander the world as if one was the wind blowing aimlessly along the streets without a place to rest, without food, and without time meaning anything to one, just as time means nothing to the wind.” Eunmi answered excitedly before she realized that she shouldn’t answer it brightly. She frowned in the middle of a smile because she realized Yoonmi must be feeling guilty and would begin to blame herself for being the reason why they haven’t celebrated Christmas anymore. “But… But, it’s alright! Winter is not that fun actually. Right, Yoonmi?” She continued, placing her arm around Yoonmi’s shoulder. The other houses in the neighborhood had Christmas lights up and trees visible through their windows, but not theirs. They were the only ones who didn't care anymore, and Eunmi was used to it. Seeing Yoonmi stiffly staring at the snow, Eunmi tried to grab her hand when Yoonmi suddenly spoke with teary eyes.

“I miss the snow. I miss looking at it, walking in it, tasting it. I used to love those days when it was so cold, everyone else would be tucked away inside, trying to stay warm. I would be the only one out walking, so I could look across the fields and see miles of snow without a single footprint in it. It would be completely silent; no cars, no birds singing, no doors slamming. Just silence and snow. God, I miss the snow, the stars, the moon, the wind, and blankets of pure, pristine snow… It’s something that my ego wouldn’t let me admit, I miss our past… I miss when we used to play with the snow together… I miss that…”

“Yoon- Yoonmi-ah….” Eunmi began to feel uneasy with Yoonmi’s sudden confession, was she hurt by what she said earlier? Was she beginning to blame herself again? Eunmi began to regret her answer earlier.

“I’m sorry for making you suffer by having such a useless and spoilt twin like me. You don’t have to pretend that you’re completely fine with everything when in fact you’re not. I should have realized this earlier. I even swore to myself that I’d do anything to make you happy but I can’t even forget about the past… That’s what turned me into who I am today. I can’t even do the simplest things that you like and I still want to make you happy… Look at how pathetic I am…” Yoonmi said and looked straight into Eunmi’s eyes. When she saw how happy and excited Eunmi was earlier, every single question that Suho had asked her automatically echoed in her mind.

“Yoonmi-ah… Why are you being like this all of sudden? I said I’m fine… I'm totally fine with it.” Eunmi said as she hugged her twin.  Eunmi bit her lower lip, and realised that she made another lie. Yoonmi really looked different lately, but Eunmi had to refrain herself from asking Yoonmi. Today, it seemed like Yoonmi would tell the reason about her sudden change all by herself. She knew there must be something that had happened. Eunmi tried to drag Yoonmi to continue walking home but Yoonmi insisted. She still had something that she wanted to say

“Should we celebrate Christmas this year?" Yoonmi asked as she wiped her tears away. She needed to be strong if she wanted to bring happiness into someone’s life. Hearing that, Eunmi faced Yoonmi in disbelief.

“Are-are you serious? You don’t have to force yourself-”

“No, I’m serious. The time has come. Let’s start a new life… A much better and joyful life. Can we? Let’s start all over again…” Yoonmi whispered sincerely, she really meant what she said. Eunmi smiled widely as she tightened their hug gratefully. She had never thought that this day would come; the day where Yoonmi would stop blaming herself for everything, to forget about the accident and start a brand new life and she was more than happy to hear that.

 

 

“Am I dreaming or what? Did you just give me a present? A Christmas present?!  If this is a dream, please don’t wake me up! I beg you!” Hyejin yelled dramatically as she grabbed the small box that was wrapped adorably away from Yoonmi’s hand. Yoonmi chuckled, entertained with Hyejin's exaggerated reaction.

“Even though it's late, Merry Christmas.” Yoonmi greeted, a week had passed since her first Christmas with Eunmi after three years. She was glad that she’d changed,  and Yoonmi was happy because her changes really made her feel much better than before.

“So, our ice princess has changed into snow princess, glad to hear that!”

“Hyejin-ah, let’s meet again, in half an hour before our last classes start. I’ve got to go somewhere else." Yoonmi said and ignored Hyejin’s sarcastic remark before she left her and headed elsewhere. Yoonmi quickened her steps as she walked toward the Music Room. There was something that she needed to clarify and straighten up. She had to make sure that what she had seen before was real. Otherwise, it would keep bugging her. She hated that, to be honest.

When Yoonmi arrived at the Music Room, she stood in front of the door and inhaled deeply before she pulled the door open slowly and fortunately, it was left unlocked just like before. She took a few steps into the room but she saw nothing, no one was sitting at the piano and it was dusty; as if it hadn't been touched by anyone but she had clearly seen that the piano was played by someone a week ago. Yoonmi was confused and began to doubt what she had seen the week prior. Was she hallucinating? She took another big step. She was now completely in the room but she still didn't see anyone, not even a ghost. Her eyes were to busy examining the abandoned Music Room but she didn't realise that she was being watched.

“I knew that you would come back…” A voice spoke. Yoonmi swiftly turned around and saw that a guy leaned leisurely at the piano while he stared at her with a sly smile and it seemed like he already knew that she'd come. Since when did he get here? After he saw Yoonmi's surprised expression, he chuckled before he took a seat on the chair and blew the dust off the piano and from the chair beside him.

“Sit.” He said, but it sounded more like a command. It was as if she was enchanted by him. Yoonmi just took a seat next to him without saying anything. As he played the piano, Yoonmi sneakily glanced at his side profile before her gaze moved to his fingers. Why he didn’t sing? It's what mesmirized her, after all.

“What bring you here?” He asked.

"You’re not a ghost, are you?” Yoonmi asked back. He stopped playing the piano.

“Do I look like one?”

Yoonmi shook her head slowly in response. He smiled at her answer before he continued playing the piano.

“What are you?”

“‘Who are you?’ That’s how you’re supposed to ask me. I’m a living being, I’m human being, and I’m not a ghost.” He replied in a calm tone, which made her more confused.

“I’m sorry…”

“I’m not blaming you, the other students just love to make up stories when they weren’t sure about something.”

“Why are you here? This room is supposed to be left empty, but you’re still here… Playing the piano and making people scared for nothing…”

“Aren’t you scared, too?”

‘Am I..?’ Yoonmi paused and questioned herself. She wasn’t scared of him, she barely realised that.

“Look at the snow…it's beautiful isn’t it? It’s like a king; winter is the king of snowmen, turning tree stumps into snowmen and houses into birthday cakes, spreading icing sugar over lakes. Smooth and clean and frosty white, the world looks good enough to bite. That’s the season to be young, catching snowflakes on our tongues. Snow is snowy when it's snowing…but the heart can get really cold if all we've known is winter…” He said all of sudden as he stood up and walked towards the window. His lips formed a smile and his eyes sparkled while he saw the falling snow from outside of the window.

‘He must be a winter lover too, just like Eunmi and Suho…’ Yoonmi murmured before she looked down. She admitted the truth behind what he said. If she had heard that a week ago, she would have hated it so much and she was glad that she changed and is now able to open up her heart. But his poetic words reminded her of Yoonmi of Suho. But who exactly is she talking tho? Who could he be?

“Who are you…?” Yoonmi repeated her question and his attention shifted toward her.

“Xiumin, that’s what people call me.” He answered, without explaining any further about himself.

‘Xiu…Xiumin…?’She repeated the name that she just heard a couple of times in her mind, and she felt that there was a slight coldness hidden behind the meaning of his name. Their eyes met again, but neither of them spoke. The silence remained for a few seconds before Xiumin spoke.

“The first snow is like the first love. Do you remember your first snow?” Xiumin asked with a sly smile on his face. Yoonmi moved her gaze towards the piano and tried to avoid his question. She really wished that she could turn the time back, so that she could relive her memorable first snow with her twin and her late parents. If only she could do that…