After two hours of hardship in detention, Winter dragged her exhausted body towards the front doors of her family restaurant. Mr Jeong had not made ‘cleaning’ easy for her at all. After a thorough cleansing of the dirtiest classroom that Winter had known ever existed, he had demanded for her to re-visit certain spots in the class, while he barked other commands at her. When she finished, he simply flung her journal at her without warning and left without a word. Winter had never felt such a myriad of negative emotions toward a person before, apart from Shin Ah.

            She was about to plunge into a cosy bean bag at the corner of the diner for a rest when her mother dropped a package of food into her open arms.

            “What—“ Winter winced as heat radiated from the package onto her skin.

            “It’s half soy, half garlic chicken. Take it to this address, it’s right around the corner. Oh, and don’t receive money from them.”

            “Mom! But I just got home! Jun Yeong—”

            “It’s the same person from yesterday. Because you refused, there was nobody available to deliver the package to him. Despite this silly situation, he called again today, which is why I decided not to accept any money from him. Winter, just do me this one favour and make the delivery.” Her tone was icy cold, a clear indication that she had not gotten over the quarrel from the day before. “And don’t talk about Jun Yeong. You can’t bring up favouritism whenever I ask you to do something!”

            Knowing that it was a losing battle, Winter bit her lip, took the paper containing the address from her mother’s hands, and made to head out again.

            ‘Right around the corner’ turned out to be a ten-minute walk from her house. By the time she reached the entrance of a tall, glass building, her back was sticky with sweat despite the chill November weather. Winter took a deep breath and entered the building through a set of automatic glass doors. She was immediately greeted with a wave of cool air from the air-conditioned setting, and the chill wind took her mind off the heat.

            She had entered what seemed like the lobby of a powerful, extensive company. The four walls were made of tinted glass, such that only people inside the building could see the scenery from outside. There were a cluster of cushioned armchairs at one corner which looked intimidating to Winter. Somehow, she imagined young people, teens like her, sitting on those chairs uncomfortably while waiting for adults to call their names; she never liked the feeling of suspense. Plastered on the wall across from the entrance doors was a beautiful, framed painting of a vase of flowers. Under it, a pale, slim woman sat behind a marbled desk. Winter guessed that this was the information counter. She inched her way towards it, cautious not to make a sound as she felt that the atmosphere here warranted it. The lady behind the counter was concentrating hard on a pile of documents, completely unaware of her presence.

            “Erm, hello,” Winter said softly, clearing her dry throat. “I’m here to make a delivery.”

            “A delivery?” the woman looked up, perplexed. The look she gave Winter, as if she did not belong there, made her feel more unsettled than she already was. “I received no message expecting a delivery. You must have come to the wrong place.”

            Well of course I did! Winter thought bashfully, which part of this highly polished place looks like they want chicken? She threw a furtive glance at the lady and was surprised to find her staring back. Her black pupils glided up and down, none too shyly, at Winter’s body. Belatedly, Winter realised that she was still carrying her school bag. She must have been in a rush that there wasn’t sufficient time to put it down earlier. Damn it! Winter thought, I must look like a schoolgirl.

            “Did you just come from school?” the lady inquired, and Winter wondered whether the lady could read her mind. “Is this supposed to be a prank or something similar?”

            “No! No, not at all. Actually, I was just leaving. I don’t think this is the right place after all…” Winter said hurriedly, turning towards the entrance doors, blood rushing up to her face.

            She barely made it to the middle of the room when a single hand clamped hard on her arm and whisked her unceremoniously to an unlit corridor she hadn’t noticed before. A whimper escaped from before it was stifled by another hand. They pushed her into a dark room along the corridor and Winter heard a door close behind her. Her heart thumping crazily, she wondered how it was possible to turn from a crazy schoolgirl into a victim of kidnap within a split second. She kicked out wildly and her feet landed home. The arms released her instantly and she turned to see a teenage boy, around a head taller than her, hugging his knees in agony.

            “Ow! What was that for?” he inquired, his face twisted in pain.

            “Who are you? What do you want from me?” Winter said breathlessly, as her heart seemed intent on running a marathon. “Were you trying to kidnap me?”

            “Kidnap you?” the boy said incredulously. “I came for this!”

            He pointed at the package of chicken she was holding tightly in her hands. The cardboard packaging was dented in some areas as though it went through a tough fight. Instead of handing it over, Winter simply stared at him, her eyes questioning.

            “The chicken,” he said again, this time enunciating the word clearly, “half soy, half garlic isn’t it? I made the order.”

            “I don’t get it,” Winter said. Now that they were both calmer, she could see him more distinctly now. He was wearing a black cap, shirt, and training pants, together with wide-framed spectacles that seemed too big for his small, angled face. He looked about eighteen, Winter thought, though she could not understand why a boy his age would have anything to do at this strange, cold place. Involuntarily her eyes shifted down to his lean, muscled arms, and she remembered h