Chapter  16  The First Snow

The first snow fell when Hina stepped outside the Glory Hotel.

She lifted her face, and closed her eyes, and felt the snowflakes, icy and feathery-light, like wisps of gossamer brushing delicately upon her skin.  

She held up her skirts, and stepped onto the tram, but stayed on the step, a gloved hand coiled around the railing for support, the other hand outstretched to catch the falling snowflakes.

As the tram rounded the corner, a hand stretched out from nowhere and pulled her off the step so suddenly, and with such fluidity, that it was almost dream-like; and then she was on solid ground, and the snow was falling in sheets all around, and the tram was moving further and further away from her; and she looked up and saw him, and it was not a dream, he was real, and he was here, holding her hand tight, and smiling at her, a real smile, that lit up his eyes and made him look impossibly handsome, and she felt the blood rush to her cheeks, making her giddy and light-headed, like a young girl catching sight of her lover, and making her heart stir, and beat just a little faster.

He pulled her to him, so that she was against the hardness of his body, and they stayed in an embrace until she remembered that she had a gun in her coat pocket, and took it out, and pressed it against him. He looked down, and laughed, and released her.

"You are the first woman that I have ever embraced in the first snow; you will always have that distinction, my lovely," he said, his eyes alit with mischief and laughter, snowflakes peppering his hair, and turning it white, so that he appeared like a beautiful, untamed, mythical snow god.

They strolled along the street, side by side, and occasionally, their hands brushed against each other.

He looked down at her. "What are you doing out alone on this cold, snowy night?" 

"I bought a new coat, and I wanted to wear it," she preened, and twirled, and he smiled.

"Would you like to hold my hand? It is cold, and my hand will warm you." He grinned at her.

She tilted her head, and looked at him. "Are you flirting with me? Because, if you are, you are wasting your breath. You should save it for her." She smirked at him.

His smile faded a little.

They walked on silently for a bit.

"She called me a monster today. Am I a monster in your eyes?" he said softly.

She reached out her gloved hand, and laid it comfortingly on his arm.

"She does not know you like I do; perhaps, you should show her what you are like under that monstrous mask of yours."

" Perhaps, you should not feel so much for her," she said, gently.

"Because she has cast her eye in another direction," he said moodily.

"That path is fraught with obstacles as well," he said grimly.

She laughed. "The path to true love is never smooth, but, you know what they say," and she reached out, and laid her hand gently over where his heart beat, "it is better to have loved than never to have loved at all."

They had reached the Glory Hotel.

He placed his warm hand over hers, and they stayed like that for an instant, saying nothing, but smiling at each other in perfect understanding.

He withdrew his hand, and bowed to her, and stood there, waiting in the falling snow, until she was safe inside the Glory Hotel.

A man was waiting for Dong Mae when he returned home. He had been engaged by Dong Mae to report to him on anyone displaying particular interest in the Lady Ae Shin. He had taken this extra precautionary measure ever since he had discovered the secret identity of Lady Ae Shin as a freedom fighter and a member of the Righteous Army. He had resolved to protect her, unknown to her, and the news brought by the man made him uneasy: a stranger was asking for information on the whereabouts of Lady Ae Shin, and when followed, had been observed lurking in the bushes, and outside the Go mansion, presumably to catch sight of Lady Ae Shin. Furthermore, said the man, the stranger had taken abode at the Glory Hotel, and had been staying there since yesterday.

"Point him out to me, and I will reward you," said Dong Mae.

Dong Mae wasted no time, and set off for the Glory Hotel at once with the informant. 

When it came to protecting the woman that he loved, tiredness, and sleep were but trivial, and anxiety, and concern for his beloved rendered him strength, and speed, so that he was in the hotel in no time at all, positioned at a secluded corner, from where he was offered a clear and unobstructed view of the comings and goings of the guests of the hotel; he bided his time, and waited patiently, and sure enough, barely half an hour had passed, when the informant nudged his elbow vigorously, and he looked up to behold the stranger who had shown such an unusual interest in the Lady Ae Shin, walking in through the swinging doors of the Glory Hotel with a shuffling gait, and a dazed look on his face. He stumbled up the grand staircase, holding onto to the gold-plated railing with difficulty, as if he had difficulty seeing, and walking. 

Dong Mae waited until the man had disappeared around the curve of the grand staircase before approaching Hina at the desk.

She opened her eyes wide, and stared at him in surprise.

"I do not believe that you would hasten here in such a hurry; such a short time has elapsed since our last fond farewell in the snow, so it must be for the love of a woman - that woman."

He grabbed the hotel register from her. "Give me that."

"No! My guests have a right to their privacy!" She attempted to snatch it back, but he was too strong for her, and wrenched it from her grasp.

He leafed through the pages, until he reached the entry that he wanted.

It was listed under Lee Duk Moon. Room 205.

He passed the hotel register back to her.

She caught his hands, holding them tightly between her own, and said urgently, her eyes filled with worry, and concern for him, "Do not make her your weakness."

He softened instantly, and she saw again the face of the charming man in the snow, the man who had held her hand tightly in his, and pulled her in an embrace so close that they could hear their hearts thudding against each other, feel the warmth of their bodies pressed against each other in an embrace borne of comfort, trust and loneliness, two lonely beings searching for love, two lost souls yearning for solace; the man who had flirted with her, and walked with her, and eased the loneliness, just a little, and made it, just a bit more bearable, on a cold, wet, snowy night...

He reached across the desk, and cradled her face gently, tenderly, between his palms, and murmured, his eyes sad, his voice tinged with rueful regret, "It is already too late."