Love. It was funny how that little four-letter word could cause such a range of emotions in people. Some people detested it, others cherished it. It was hard to describe and yet very simple. Very few were lucky to find it when they were young. Yehyangki knew how love felt. He'd been married to his high school sweet heart for five years. Things had never been easy and yet they were the most blissful years of his life. After high school, the couple had moved far away from their parents, declining any financial help, trying to make it on their own. Instead of being a doctor like his father wanted, he decided to become a writer. 'Silly boy,' his father had said one day over dinner. 'No child of mine is going to waste his days writing nonsense. You'll be poor and starving.' His father and mother never quite understood why he'd chosen such a difficult path. It wasn't that he couldn't become a successful writer; his parents just worried that he was setting himself up for heartache and failure. As luck would have it, after many failed attempts, he managed to get a publishing company to take one of his drafts seriously, and within a year's time, he'd managed to sell his first book. The whole time, he'd had Minah by his side. Just thinking about the sweet girl who had always loved him and confessed to him one spring day while they ate lunch in the schoolyard brought back fond memories. They'd started out as friends, but had turned into more. Their relationship had blossomed slowly and progressed. They knew everything about each other, and their hearts were open enough to accept the love that had always been there. They lived together in a small, modest house. Nothing fancy, but with Minah working as a school teacher, and his earnings from his book, they were able to live semi-comfortably.

They'd also had a child together. A sweet, bright little girl named Choon-hee, which literally meant "spring girl". They thought it was a perfect name since she'd been born in spring. Minah's grandmother would watch and take care of little Choon-hee until her parents came home from work. Every night, they would sit on the bed, one on each side of her, and read to her. They lived a simple, quiet life, but it brought them so much happiness and joy they wouldn't trade it for anything. Choon-hee grew, and each year that passed she would grow more and more curious. She loved exploring, and had endless questions. Her parents never tired of hearing about her adventures in the garden, or playing with friends and the new things she'd discovered. She was always happy and spring was her favorite season. She would be delighted as she watched the cherry blossoms "dance" in the wind.

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One Saturday morning, when winter had just begun and the snow covered the leaves of the trees, Choon-hee and her mother were in the kitchen preparing breakfast. She glanced outside the window and gasped, little hand covering in an 'o' of surprise. "Eomma, come quick!" She pointed outside dramatically. Minah set the bowl of fruit down and went over to the window to where her daughter was.

"What is it, Choonhee-ah?" She asked in a calm, sweet voice.

"Where are my pretty flowers? They're all gone and it's all white fluffy stuff outside."

Patting her daughter's head, she smiled and gathered the little girl in her arms. "How about we go see what it is after breakfast? You have to put warm clothes on, it will be cold out. Let's get appa too."

Choon-hee nodded in agreement. Although she was impatient to see what exactly was outside and what it had to do with her flowers missing, she dutifully helped her mother finish preparing breakfast, just as Yehyangki came downstairs. "Appa!" She shouted excitedly, dropping down from the chair she'd been standing on and launching herself into his arms just as he opened them to catch her. He beamed at her, tapping her nose playfully and squinting as she kissed his nose in turn. "Eomma says we can go outside. Let's go, let's go, let's go!" He chuckled, nodding.

"First, you need a coat, and shoes on."

"Yes, appa," she grumbled, climbing the stairs and hurrying to grab her coat, shoes, and other clothing she would need. Her parents were already dressed and ready by the time she came back downstairs. She clapped her hands, ready to go. After taking each of their hands, they went outside and surveyed their surroundings. Choon-hee tilted her head, watching as the white fluff gently fell down to the earth. She was a little surprised by how cold it felt. She puffed out a breath and she could see a puff of white in the air. Fascinated, she continued to exhale, excited to discover yet a new thing. "I can see my breath!"

Her parents just smiled at her, continuing to hold her hands, letting her make her own discoveries. She glanced around, then knelt down onto the ground, squeaking a little when she felt the cold melt into her stockings. "It's...cold." She took her mitten-covered hand and picked some white stuff off the ground and inspected it.

"That's snow. This is the beginning of winter, when the leaves start falling off the trees and it gets colder outside."

"So is winter why my spring flowers are gone?" She asked in a huff, shaking the 'snow' off her mitten. It quickly melted and her hand felt cold.

"Well..sort of. Seasons come and go. There is winter, spring, summer and fall. In summer it gets very hot, and you remember when we took you to the beach? And then in fall, you got to play in the different colored leaves. In spring, your flowers fall down and everything is new and pretty. Then winter comes and everything is cold. But spring will come again," Minah explained gently.

"I don't like winter, it's too cold," she said, pouting and sticking her hands in her pockets.

"Would you like to play with us? Then you will see how fun winter can be," her father suggested, smiling down at her.

She made her 'thinking' face, eyes squinted and glancing up. "Hmm...okay."

Yehyangki took some snow, patting it down in his hands until it was in a ball, and then threw it at Minah. She gasped indignantly as the snow hit her jacket, wrinkling her nose in distaste. Then she smirked, also making a ball of snow, and chased her husband around the backyard with it. Choon-hee giggled in delight while watching her parents run around, hitting each other with snow. She shrieked happily when her father picked her up and piggy-backed her as they ran through the snow. The sun was still hanging low in the sky, and Choon-hee noticed how the morning light made the snow sparkle and shimmer.

"Ohh, look, look! The snow shines like diamonds."

She demanded to be put down as she hopped through the snow, flinging some into the air. Her parents stood side by side, Minah leaning her head on his shoulder as they watched Choon-hee play. They stayed out there for hours, and they taught her how to build a snow-man. He had rocks for eyes, branches for arms, and Choon-hee wrapped her red scarf around him. Unfortunately he was lacking a nose, but that was okay. Soon, it was time to go back inside. Cheeks rosy and nose starting to run, she waved goodbye to the snowman she'd built, ready to be inside and warm again. Minah made everyone hot ginger and lemon tea, reading one of Choon-hee's favorite stories on the carpet.
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Later that evening, as they prepared for bed, Choon-hee took one last look outside her window, seeing that the snowman was still there. The leaves on the trees were covered with snow, and although she missed her flowers, she'd discovered that the world looked different and could be fun even when it was cold. Minah and Yehyangki came into the room, smiling at their daughter. After reading her a story, they kissed her cheeks and said goodnight. Before they left the room, Choon-hee tugged on their shirts.

"Spring will come again, right?"

Her mother nodded, smoothing her hair down and kissing her on the forehead.

"Of course, Choon-hee. Always."

Satisfied with that answer, she wiggled under her blanket and curled up with her teddy bear, closing her eyes and eventually fell asleep.