"Welcome to the Goeun Cabins."

Yoonmi and the children stared up at their very first welcomer: a tall, black-haired teenager who wore a drabby expression of complete boredom and annoyance.... as if he would do anything to be anywhere BUT here.

The guy tediously opened the cabin door for them.

"Come in. Take your shoes off inside. Welcome, yes, welcome." He muttered unenthusiastically.

Yoonmi's shoulders slumped. She couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed at their welcome. She had imagined a jolly looking man with a santa hat welcoming her in a rich, happy voice. But it looked like her expectations had been set a bit too high.

Oh well, she thought. He must have forgotten to put on his santa hat. Or maybe he's just in a bad mood.

"Ugh." The guy muttered distastefully to himself as the crowds of boys and girl came rushing in the cabin. "So many children."

... Okay... maybe a really bad mood.

Choosing to be the positive girl her mom had always told her to be, Yoonmi ignored the continuous negative mutters of the unfriendly welcomer. After all, he was a teenager. And her mom had always told her what type of species they were.

And besides, this was probably going to be the only unfortunate event with the trip... along with the fact that Sulli couldn't make it. But that was fine too--She had the rest of the boys to play with anyway.

So just like that, Yoonmi hurriedly ran after the boys, all smiles.

"Wait for me, Oppa!"

"Then hurry up!" Baekhyun called back. "We'll be late for hot chocolate!"

Yoonmi widened her eyes at the last two words. "H-H-Hot chocolate?!"

Just like that, the six-year-old forgot all about the unwelcoming welcome and sprinted towards the boys, the wonderful image of a steaming cup of hot chocolate already in her head.

"Alright, Oppa, I'm comi---Oof!"

Yoonmi suddenly found herself on the ground, a light pain on her forehead. She looked up to apologize to whoever she had bumped into, only to stop when she saw who it was.

Yoonmi blinked curiously.

"Oh. Hey, Byunghun."

The boy gave a friendly smile back down.

"Hi. Are you okay--"

"BYUNGHUUUN~"

Yoonmi turned around to see Minah running full speed towards them. She was running in such a way that splattered the snow still stuck to her shoes all over Yoonmi's face. Frowning unhappily, Yoonmi flicked the bits of watery snow off of the face. Minah's presence definitely wasn't wanted by her.

"Hey, Minah." Yoonmi's voice was dull. 

Minah only then looked down at her, as if she hadn't noticed her down there before getting hit by all the clumps of snow flying from her feet.

"Oh." She gave Yoonmi a once-over, looking pretty judgmental for a six-year old. "Hey, Yoonmi."

Now, Yoonmi understood that she probably looked pretty lousy right then with her knees still caked with the snow from outside and her hair falling out from her ponytail, but they were in the mountains. There really was no reason a six-year-old girl should get judged by such an appearance in the snowy mountains, even if it was by someone as judgmental as Bang Minah.

As if on cue, Minah's eyes lingered on Yoonmi's messy hair. "You should fix your hair."

Now, if only Byunghun wasn't here and their parents weren't looking--

"Come on, Byunghun." Minah practically dragged the poor guy by the arm. "Let's go explore!"

Yoonmi scoffed as the two left the room, Minah's feet still flying clumps of snow everywhere and Byunghun awkwardly stumbling after her.

"Explore, my ."

All of sudden, the doors of a cabin opened. Out came Ms. Im with her beautiful daughter, a.k.a. the one girl who everyone had been waiting for.

Im Yoona.

Yoonmi could've sworn she heard Mozart Symphony No. 29 playing in the background.

"Oh!" Ms. Im smiled when she caught sight of Yoonmi and the rest of the people. She was literally the older version of Yoona, being beautiful in a mature, gentle way with her flawless skin and dark brown, angelic eyes. Yoonmi always felt the need to bow a bit more down whenever she saw the lady--she was like a goddess you couldn't help but feel respect towards.

"Well, look who we have here, it's Yoonmi and the boys! Did you guys come just now?" Ms. Im exclaimed in her smooth, silky voice.

"Yep!" The kids chorused at the same time. It seemed that the twelve boys had forgotten all about their hot chocolate, now that Yoona was here.

Ms. Im laughed. "Well, you kids go on and have fun first. Jessica and Tiffany will be here any second."

Right after Ms. Im left the room, Kai jumped up and waved at the older girl.

"Hi noona!"

Yoona happily waved back with a smile. The way she smiled was a miniature version of her mother's. "Hello Kai!"

Yoonmi shut the next eleven other greetings out, knowing very well that this greeting exchange would take a very long time. She had better get going with her hot chocolate.

"Wait. Lee Yoonmi."

She stopped walking towards the stairs and turned around, only to see Baekhyun giving her a reprimanding glare.

"What?" Yoonmi asked cluelessly.

It was then when she noticed that the rest of the guys were silently staring at her as well, as if expecting her to say something. In fact, the entire room was silent. The whole world seemed to be expecting her to say something.

"Oh." Yoonmi said after a while. She faced Yoona reluctantly. "Hi, Yoona unnie."

With the final greeting said, the boys got back into their own business of chattering with Yoona. It only made Yoonmi wonder for the thousandth time why Im Yoona always needed to be treated like a queen. Sure, it was polite to give greetings to neighbors. But did it really matter whether or not Yoonmi said a simple 'Hi' to her?

Yoonmi silently watched the boys laughing along to Yoona's jokes. They were soon joined by Jessica and Tiffany a few seconds later, which only made the room louder with chatter and the three girls' giggling.

Yoonmi let out an unhappy breath, feeling left out. She suddenly had a feeling this trip wouldn't be as fun as she had thought it would be.

"Hurry up, guys! It's time for hot chocolate!" Yoonmi's mother suddenly called. The room's chatter immediately stopped, and everyone started skittering upstairs along with little Yoonmi.

She made a face as all the guys and the unnie's ran past her. Their legs were longer, and they were much taller than Yoonmi. Compared to them, Yoonmi felt extremely small... as if she didn't belong.

"Hurry up, Yoonmi." Baekhyun gave her shoulder a light shove as he ran upstairs along with the rest of the older kids.

Yoonmi frowned and rubbed her shoulder, even though she knew that it didn't hurt the slightest bit.

What was the point of hurrying up if no one would pay any attention to her there anyways?

---------------------------------------------

Just like what Yoonmi had expected, everyone started leaving outside to play one by one as soon as they finished their hot chocolate cups. It hadn't taken too much time for Yoonmi to come to the conclusion that the boys had planned this from the start: They had practically come here to build snow angels with Yoona and her older friends.

Which obviously meant Yoonmi was going to be left out of the boys' games yet for another time.

She sighed as she watched Lay drop his empty cup of hot chocolate onto the table before running off to join the rest in the snow. Now, there was only Chanyeol and Baekhyun left keeping Yoonmi away from loneliness... which wasn't much of a comfort, being that they were gulping down their hot chocolate as fast as they could to quickly join the others as well.

A second later, Chanyeol slammed his cup down and ran off as well.

"Aren't they older?" Yoonmi suddenly asked, catching Baekhyun's attention.

"Huh?"

"Yoona, Jessica, and Tiffany unnie. Aren't they older than you guys?"

Baekhyun blinked a few times, as if not understanding why she was saying this.

"Yeah... I guess. Why?"

"Well," Yoonmi crossed her arms. "If they're older and they can play with you, why can't I play with you?"

It was silent for a moment, the only sounds being Baekhyun's light foot tapping and his hasty gulps of hot chocolate.

"... Because." Baekhyun finished his cup. "You're younger, Yoonmi. There's a difference."

She watched the older boy skip away leaving behind his empty cup on the table. There were distant sounds of giggling and laughing from outside, with snow being tossed around and guys running around tackling each other.

The dreaded feeling of being lonely finally attacked the one girl quietly sitting aloof from all the fun... and it did possibly in the worst way possible.

.... There's a difference to being younger than there was to being older?

Yoonmi scoffed outwardly, knowing no one was here to hear her. "What's that supposed to mean? That younger people can't play while older people can?! That guy doesn't make any sense!"

She huffed. Jessica's giggling echoed throughout the cabins.

"Only if Sulli was here. I could've showed him who could have fun or not." She put her hands to her hips. "Younger people can have twice as more fun than you oldies!"

"I gotta agree with you on that one." A low voice suddenly muttered from behind her.

Yoonmi jumped up from her chair with a gasp. Surprised, she quickly flipped around to see who it was... only to recieve quite a bigger shocker.

It was the unfriendly black-haired dude who had greeted them when they first had come here.

Yoonmi gave the strange guy a quick once over, not finding much difference from how he had looked before. Only, now, he was wearing a simple gray T-shirt instead of the black jacket, and there was a pile of books instead of earphones in his hands.

Yoonmi reluctantly gave a short bow, feeling the need to be polite to any stranger no matter how intimidating or unfriendly they seemed.

"Anyeonghasseyo, my name's Lee Yoonmi--"

The guy suddenly dropped his pile of books onto the table with a loud 'thud'. Yoonmi jumped at the noise.

"Lee Yoonmi?" He looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "That's a really uninteresting name."

Yoonmi frowned. "Well, then, what's yours?"

"Kim Hyunsoo."

"That's a really uninteresting name." Yoonmi quickly retorted before he even got to finish the last syllable of his name.

Hyunsoo smiled in amusement at the little girl.

"How old are you, four?"

"Six." Yoonmi corrected him with a roll of eyes. It had always been annoying to hear people assume she was four just because she was a bit too small.

"You're awfully short for your age." Hyunsoo remarked as he grabbed the chair across from Yoonmi to sit down in.

Yoonmi made a face, semi-glaring at the guy. She wasn't sure exactly who he was and what he was doing here, but she didn't need any background information to decide that she definitely didn't like this ahjusshi.

"Well, why are you here all alone instead of playing with the other kids?" The older guy asked casually.

Yoonmi immediately sighed, reminded of her loneliness all over again.

"Just because." She muttered lowly. Even now she could hear the giggles and laughter from outside echoing throughout the mountains.

Hyunsoo raised an eyebrow as he opened up to a page in one of his books.

"Is it because you got into a fight with them?"

Yoonmi shook her head. "No."

"Then are you waiting for your other group of friends to come?.... That means.... even MORE kids?"

"No." Yoonmi shook her head again, much to the older guy's relief. This brought her to look up at him curiously.

"It seems like you really hate kids."

Hyunsoo shrugged. "I don't hate them. I just dislike them. Mainly because I have to deal with them every Christmas when they come up here to the mountains to play."

He gestured to all the others outside.

"They're loud. Amazingly loud."

Yoonmi frowned.

"Then why are you talking to me right this second? I'm a kid... I'm probably the youngest kid out of all of us."

"Well, like I said before," He turned a page in his book. "I don't like kids because they're loud. But you don't seem as loud. I can handle calmer kids like you just fine... just as long as you don't annoy me."

She didn't know why, but Yoonmi suddenly wanted to try annoying him. It was a kid instinct--You just had to try doing what people told you not to do. Mainly out of curiosity.

Kind of like a 'Are you underestimating my loudness?'

"But answer my question already." He interrupted her thoughts. "Why are you here when you could be outside having fun with all the other kids?"

Yoonmi hestitated for a moment. But when finding no harm in telling this random stranger, Yoonmi finally spoke up.

"Because... they won't play with me."

"... They won't play with you? Why?"

"Cause I'm a girl. No girls are allowed in snowball fights with the Oppas."

Hyunsoo frowned and looked outside. "I can spot exactly three girls among them playing."

"Well, they're different."

"How? They and you seem the same to me."

"They're all older than me by almost five years.... can't you tell?"

Hyunsoo squinted his eyes as he tried looking at Yoona and her two friends one more time, only to shake his head. "You guys all look the same to me, to be honest."

Yoonmi looked at him incredulously.

"But... they're obviously much older. They're almost in middle school!"

He blinked at her in confusion.

"So?"

After a few seconds, Yoonmi only sighed.

"Nevermind... You're too old of an ahjusshi to understand me."

Hyunsoo choked on his hot chocolate.

".... Pardon me?"

"Careful not to burn your tongue, ahjusshi. That hot chocolate's really hot--"

"What did you just call me? A... A...."

"Ahjusshi? Yeah. Why?" Yoonmi blinked up at him blankly, as if not understanding why he looked so incredulous.

Hyunsoo dropped his cup of hot chocolate onto the table, looking at the girl with 100% solemness.

"I... I'm not an ahjusshi!"

Yoonmi laughed out loud. "Silly ahjusshi, even a cow would know that you're an ahjusshi!"

"But I'm not!"

"Well, how old are you?" Yoonmi demanded.

"Eighteen."

"Then you're an ahjusshi!"

"Jesus Christ, I'm not an ahjusshi, you little--" He stopped himself, being reminded that he was talking to a little girl. "... Nevermind. Just... I'm an OPPA. Not an ahjusshi.... I'm only eighteen! What kind of eighteen year-old gets called 'ahjusshi'?! You better call me Oppa, understand?"

Yoonmi tried not to scoff. This ahjusshi was really weird. Why was he telling her to call him 'Oppa' when he was twelve years older than her?!

But before she could say anything about it, a woman's voice suddenly called from upstairs.

"KIM HYUNSOO. Stop bothering the kids and get over here to help me with the laundry!"

Hyunsoo rolled his eyes as he stood up from his seat.

"ALRIGHT, I'M COMING." He made a face. "And I'm not bothering the kids.... I'm simply teaching a girl what the difference between an ahjusshi and an oppa is."

Yoonmi gave him a questioning look.

"Oh," He looked at her. "That was my mom... She runs the cabin. Do you wanna come help me with the laundry?... Actually, let me refrase that. You better help me with the laundry. You think I'm crazy? I'm not doing the laundry of forty people by myself!"

-------------------

"Ugh."

Kim Hyunsoo stretched his hands out tiredly, only to realize that the six-year-old in front of him was zooming away with the laundry without the slightest bit of sweat.

His jaw dropped.

"Aren't you tired?!"

Yoonmi looked up at him in between folding a green T shirt. "No. Why?"

".... Gee," The older guy leaned back in amazement. "You're pretty well educated in doing chores. Does your mom make you do your laundry?"

"Mmhm. The entire family's."

"The entire family's?! Isn't it tiring?"

"I'm used to it. And besides, I don't do it alone. I do it with Baek--" She stopped herself, a frown forming on her face. Just the thought of the guy got her annoyed at how much of a meanie he was. He was probably having fun right now building a snowman with Yoona or Jessica.

"Baek?" Hyunsoo blinked. "Who's that?"

"No one."

He raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean no one? She's obviously someone."

"It's a he. And no, he doesn't deserve being a someone."

"A he?" Hyunsoo suddenly brightened up, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Your crush?"

It took a second for Yoonmi to process what he had just said. And when it did, her face contorted into the most disgusted face a six year old could possibly make.

"EWW. On oppa?! No!"

"... 'Oppa'? Oh, he's your oppa. Nevermind, then. That must've sounded disgusting."

"Yes, it did!"

He laughed. "Alright, alright. Calm down already. No need to throw daggers at me with your eyes."

Yoonmi pouted, obviously still very disturbed. "Whatever. And here." She threw the last folded shirt at him. "I'm done. Now what do I do?"

Hyunsoo looked down at her, opening his mouth to tell her 'Nothing'... only to quickly stop himself: The girl was looking up at him with the most eager eyes he had every seen anyone make.

"How about helping me make dinner?" He suggested instead.

Yoonmi brightened up. "Yeah! Yeah, yeah yeah! I love cooking!"

He scoffed in response. "As if I'll let you do the cooking. You're still six! I'll be the chef, and you be the assistant."

"No way! I wanna do some cooking too!" She suddenly pointed at him before he could open his mouth to reply. "And don't you dare tell me 'No Girls Allowed in Cooking', because I know for a fact that girls are the ones who cook!"

Hyunsoo smiled after a while. "I get it now."

"... Huh? Get what?"

"Nothing.... Seems like you hear that from the other guys a lot, huh. 'No girls allowed'."

"Of course! That's all they say to me.... Even after I prove that girls can do things guys do too."

"Videogames?"

"Mmhm."

He smiled again. "Alright, tell you what, then. How about you be my extra important assistant chef for today?"

The girl's eyes lit up again. "Will I get to cut vegetables?"

"Sure. With scissors, though."

"Aww--"

"Hey, I can't let you bleed in the middle of a happy Christmas."

"Fine. But I'm gonna wash them!"

"Of course you will."

Yoonmi happily giggled to herself, which Hyunsoo found extremely abnormal even for a little girl.

"Say," He suddenly said. "Aren't you six years old? Shouldn't you be playing with little barbie dolls and princesses?"

Yoonmi looked up at him. "Huh?"

The older guy shook his head. "Nevermind. Let's go play chef in the kitchen."