Seohyun pushed aside the curtain and all she could see was a thick blanket of snow everywhere. She squinted her eyes in the dim light, trying to distinguish roads and pavements but failed. Heavy snowfall since past few days had changed Seoul into a winter land.

     The temperature seemed to have dropped further with the nightfall. Even with a steady stream of heat coming in through the home heater, she couldn’t help but shudder in the freezing ambience.

     “Maybe I stayed in the bath for too long,” she muttered to herself, looking at her wrinkly fingers.

     After throwing the damp towel into laundry basket, she walked to her dressing table. Sitting comfortably on the chair, she grabbed face moisturizer and squeezed the lotion generously. After warming it up in her palms for a while, she gently applied it to her face.

     While massaging her face, her thoughts wandered away.

     Christmas was just a few days away.

     New Year was coming. New project. New challenge. New experience.  

     For the same goal. Same dream.

     Not to forget adding another digit to her age.

     Seohyun stared at her face in the vanity mirror.

     You are getting older Joohyun-ah. Let’s age gracefully. With oppa.

      She patted her cheeks and smiled to her reflection.

      With oppa.

      Speaking about the man. She grabbed the moisturizer with a mission. Her oppa – yes, the Jung Yonghwa, always forgot to wear moisturizer. He often got scolded by makeup unnie for letting his skin dry, especially during winter.  

      Walking out of the bedroom, she sought the masculine figure who declared that her homemade pasta was the best cooking he had ever tasted and it might rival with his mother’s homemade kimchi. To show his appreciation for her hard work, he offered to do dishwashing after they had finished their dinner.

     “Oppa.. you need to wear moisturizer before sleeping. You always forget that,” she walked to the kitchen, expecting him still doing the dishwashing. But she only found wet plates and glasses neatly arranged in the dish drainer.

     Then she heard his train of chuckle in the living room.

      She walked to the living room and found him there lying down on the sofa – his favourite position. He was too engrossed looking at some pictures in his phone, totally oblivious to her presence who was standing a few feet away behind him.

     “Yeppeuda..  You are so pretty..” Yonghwa continuously nodded and giggled while looking at his phone. “Aigoo.. so cute.. why you are so beautiful.. I can’t wait to meet you..”

     Seohyun narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. This was the third time she found her man behaving like this. Looking intently at his phone while murmuring something like “beautiful, pretty, cute” again and again. Every time she asked, he only replied by saying “it’s nothing”. Not only that, he locked his phone and pretended nothing happened.

     Her Tiffany unnie once said that, when a man said nothing, that nothing could mean something.

     He was definitely hiding something.

     Was he… seeing someone else behind her back?

      Aniya, Jung Yonghwa won’t do something shameful like that. This was one of his life values; relationships must be dealt with respect, transparency and honesty. Either it was professional relationship or personal relationship, she could see he was a man of his word. This was how they survive their long distance relationship years ago.

      Seohyun stared at Yonghwa and pursed her lips. She must find the truth tonight. By choice or by force.

     Moisturizing-her-oppa mission had to be cancelled. Now she had to execute another mission; taking a peek at those mysterious pictures in Jung Yonghwa’s phone.

       She tiptoed to the sofa and stood closer behind him. She stretched her neck to see the picture close