Seohyun pushed aside the curtain and all she could see was a thick blanket of snow everywhere. She squinted her eyes, trying to distinguish roads and pavements in the dim light 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 closely. While trying to grab the sofa to balance herself, she totally forgot the moisturizer in her hand. The bottle dropped and thudded loudly on the floor.  

      This had startled the man in question, who also dropped his phone on the floor.

      Almost cheering to the opportunity, Seohyun quickly kneeled down to snatch the phone.

      “Aaa..andwae!” Yonghwa was now groaning, after he threw himself on the floor to grab the phone but missed it by millisecond.

      “Oppa.. let me see what is so interesting in your phone. Jaebalyo,” she batted her eyelashes at him while waving the phone in her hand.

     “Andwae! Give me my phone back,” Yonghwa jumped to his feet and pulled her body towards him. With his long limbs, he easily locked her in his arms and managed to press the phone’s lock button.  

      He cheered loudly while she whined in frustration. Now she needed extra seconds to unlock his phone.

     “Give me my phone back please,” he pleaded, while trying to pry her fingers away from the phone.   

     “No!” Seohyun huffed, still trying her best to wiggle out of Yonghwa’s death grip.

     “Please cheonsa.. jaebal..” He pleaded again.

     “I will give it to you.. But after I see what makes you act strangely like this,” she flashed him her sweetest smile but Yonghwa noticed her flared nostrils.

     Uh-uh. Not a good sign. He was in deep trouble.

     “Really, it’s nothing Joohyun-nah.. It’s not important..” He tried to persuade her by hugging her tighter and burying his face on her neck.

     She must not easily give up. She must be firm on what she wanted. Using another hand to gently push his face away from her neck, she looked straight into his eyes. Eyes never lied.

     “Then why don’t you let me see it?” She raised her eyebrows questioningly.

     “B-Because.. because.. “ He stuttered. “Really, it is not important at all..”

     “Important or not. I have to see it,” she said firmly. “Or who you are seeing.”

     “Aniya! It’s not what you think! I would never do that!” Yonghwa gasped in disbelief.

     “It is not a person? It is a pet?” Seohyun tilted her head in confusion.

     “A-Aniya.. It is a person.. but.. but.. it’s not what you think!” Yonghwa stumbled on his words again.

    “Oppa! I have enough of your giggles and chuckles when you are alone with your phone. You keep saying ‘yeppeuda.. so beautiful.. so pretty’..” She mimicked his giggle.

      “Well.. she is pretty..” He scratched his head.

      Seohyun’s eyes widened in surprise. She looked down, staring at his phone in her hand.

     “She.. is.. pretty?” She whispered. “Oppa.. this is.. the first time I hear you say that to someone else..” 

      Her quivered voice and heaviness in her tone made him stiffened.

      No no no. He didn’t mean like that.

     “Are you.. happy with her? You sounded so happy when you were looking at her picture just now. I guess.. I guess she makes you happy,” she staggered in his arms, looked down and tried to hide her tears from his stare.

      But deep down, she tried to hold her smile. She was just feigning her sadness. She totally believed in her man when he said ‘it is not what you think’. Now she tried to guilt trip him and win her mission by using her acting skills. Well, she didn’t win Best Star Awards for nothing right?

      “No no no. Oppa didn’t mean that way, mianhae,” Yonghwa gently cupped her face and brushed her tears away.

      Seohyun exaggerated her fake cry by stifling her sobs and let more of her tears coursed down her cheeks.

    “Chincha mianhae. I didn’t realize you are hurting. Let’s see the picture together,” he looked at her apologetically. “But promise me you won’t feel pressured after you see it, okay?

       She cheered silently, it seemed her acting skills were really helpful this time.

      “Pinky promise,” she gave him her genuine smile and pecked his lips, still holding his phone.

      She purposely took her seat on the sofa two feet away from Yonghwa, warying he would act choding and snatch the phone from her but Yonghwa quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her to sit on his lap.

       “I said we will see it together?” Now it was his turn raising his brows questioningly.

      “Umm, arasseoyo,” she blushed, fully aware his hands circled around her waist, and he comfortably rested his chin on her shoulder like it belonged there.

        “It is so cold. And you are warm,” he leaned his cheek against her cheek while hugging her tighter. “Unlock my phone, you know the password.”

      Seohyun let herself sat comfortably in his embrace. Holding her breath, she tapped numbers of their birth date – his phone’s password.  Her heart skipped a beat while waiting for the screen to unlock and finally it showed a picture of…