“Are you okay?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Jongin frowned over the piece of green onion pancake.

“We never come here without Chaeyeon.”

Jongin shrugged. Sure, it was more enjoyable when they came with her, but that didn’t mean that they were supposed to be tied down with her. The walk wasn’t far, even in the cold, and the old grandmother had become fond of them.

Kyungsoo shot him a puzzled look at that, and Jongin figured that he should have expected that. Even the grandmother had asked where she was. But green onion pancakes were good, with or without Chaeyeon. Maybe a little better with her, but they warmed him up from within and he wiped the stray crumbs off the corner of his mouth.

The snow had cleared up days ago, and he tugged his beanie down a little more, covering his ears before tipping his head back to see the cloudy sky. She was thousands of miles away, but she was still under the same sky. Maybe it was a little sunnier and brighter, but it was still the same one.

And that brought a little bit of peace back to him.

“Something about you changed.”

“What part?” Jongin murmured, eyes flicking back down to earth.

“You seem more…sure of yourself.”

He wasn’t. Jongin wasn’t sure of himself at all. But for once in his life, he felt okay with that. The corner of his mouth lifted up, “Good.”

“You sound like Ch