It had been a few months since Yun Sera hid herself away from the public world. Though she was no longer required to stay in the hospital, she didn't have plans to return to university anytime soon either, and intentional or not, she had also cut contacts with everyone she knew.
If it had been anyone else, they would not have found her but once you're under the surveillance of a company backed up by the highest levels of security and with the most wealth in the country, suddenly you're walking around with a spotlight on you at all times.
The streets of Seoul were busy during this time of year as students rushed to catch their trains back home. Sat in a café that would normally be packed during a cold morning, Sera was sipping an iced coffee and mindlessly watching something on her phone when someone sat down opposite her.
She looked up then quickly sighed, adjusting her cap in an attempt to hide her face better.
"You're very good at hiding."
"What's the use in that if I got found anyway?"
Younghee didn't say anything but she did notice something felt off. The entire time from before she had even sat down, Sera seemed to be trying to cover her face as much as she could. She had a mask pulled over her face before getting her coffee too but she didn't seem to pay as much attention to that as to her forehead.
In the silence, her hands moved to fix her hair, pushing more of her bangs to one side compared to the other.
"How's the scar healing?"
Sera snapped her head up immediately, her eyes as if warning Younghee. "What do you want?"
"For you to stay hidden. Don't get found by your friends or minions or whatever." Younghee pointed to the area just about covered by the hat. "Though I don't think I'll have to worry about that as long as that stays, right?"
-
Ari's plane landed the morning after the last day of the winter term. The drive from the airport back to her house passed by the basically deserted campus. The snow had covered most of the pavement and the meadow by the entrance but from an unknown starting point, there was a pair of faint footprints.
Following it, Ari stopped behind the girl who was finishing off a small snowman. Despite the chilly weather, after adjusting it's head, she took her own scarf off and wrapped it around the neck as a small chuckled sounded.
"Hi."
-
Nari woke up at 6am the day winter break started, for no particular reason. Almost everyone she knew had gone home by now and for the few that stayed, the holiday was time to spend with their significant other. She knew she'd be alone for a long time but if you asked, Nari would be adamant that she wasn't not lonely.
And honestly, she didn't feel lonely. Was there another way she would've preferred to spend the weeks leading up to Christmas? Of course, and even though that wasn't doable now, she wasn't going to let that ruin her whole winter break.
A phone call that morning was a reminder of why she decided to stay yet it also somehow made her feel reminiscent. "Are you coming home?"
The frosty air entered her lungs as Nari took a deep breath but it was still nowhere near as painful as the thought of being back in that house. "No, I couldn't get the plane tickets on time."
Her sister was understandably silent for a few seconds before Nari heard a faint sigh. "Okay. Rowan and I got you some things, we'll leave them in your room."
Looking at the grounds covered by a blanket of white, Nari zipped her coat up as the call dropped. In that moment, the built-up stress disappeared as the thought of creating something from scratch entered her mind.
As she put the final piece on the snowman, she finally noticed her bare shaking hands. Before her brain could completely comprehend how cold she was, Nari took her scarf off so she could give her completely masterpiece a proud nod.
Just then, a small laugh could be heard behind her. Nari jolted as she turned around, caught completely off guard as she didn't expect anyone to be left on campus.
Oh it's just her.
"What are you still doing here? Aren't you going home for winter break?"
"No, airports are too busy during this time."
She stood up and dusted herself off, avoiding the uncomfortable stare from Ari.
Because she was someone who couldn't understand wanting to spend time away from family, Ari felt a little sorry. After a small moment of silence, she spoke up. "Do you want to come to my house?"
"I'm back!"
Before the front door even completely opened, a head popped out from the corner and the next second, Ari was pulled into a tight hug.
After a good minute, her Mum who had rushed over with her apron still on finally peeled herself away and welcomed her back.
Nari saw a girl give her a friendly smile before turning back to the tv without greeting her sister.
"Welcome back Ari, I've missed you so much! Oh thank you Unnie, I missed you too!" Ari mumbled sarcastically as she changed her shoes.
"Are you a friend of Ari's?" Ari's mum asked as she put out a pair of slippers for Nari.
To her surprise, the girl who seemed to be spacing out quickly changed her resting face to a smile and shook her hand. "Yes it's very nice to meet you. Thank you so much for letting me stay over."
"Of course! Come in, come in, I'm almost done cooking."
A warm dinner was waiting for the two after they dropped their bags off in Ari's room. Although her Mum tried to downplay the effort she had put into the preparation, the table covered with freshly prepared meals gave away just how much she had looked forward to her return.
The table that had been half empty for the past couple months was finally full today.
After dinner, Ari gave Nari a more in-depth tour of her room rather than just the glance before being rushed to eat. One thing about Ari was that she liked cosiness. The wooden floors were hardly visible, covered by a large carpet that extended all over and although the weather now was appropriate for multiple blankets, those would stay on the bed during the warmer seasons too.
Her desk was swarmed with either unfinished romance and fantasy novels or half-burnt candles, and despite being so messy, it had a somewhat charming looking to it. The walls however, were left undecorated, or stripped of their decorations as suggested by the faint tape marks all-around.
It's not deliberate but it would be like this for a while until Ari finds an alternative way to fill the emptiness.
"You can shower first, the bathroom's just down the hallway."
Nari nodded. She set her change of clothes down before seeing the storage room in the bathroom's mirror. Behind some boxes however, something more colourful stuck out, attracting her attention.
Inside the room were only a few boxes that occupied a small corner, the rest of the space were generously filled with art supplies that were starting to collect dust. The walls were filled with paintings of landscapes, animals and flowers, all with loving details but what had Nari curious was the large canvas covered by a piece of cloth.
Just as she was about to turn around, thinking it was rude as she'd already snooped too much, she paused. "Ah, sorry, I got a bit distracted."
"It's fine."
Waiting until she heard the bathroom door shut, Ari walked up to the lone canvas that wasn't hung on the wall. It wasn't that there was no space, in fact, there was a space dedicated for it but it wasn't something she was sure on. She lifted the cloth, revealing a portrait. The girl in black and white stared back at her with a bright smile she hadn't seen in a long time. She looked the same as she always did, maybe a bit more mature now compared to then but that wasn't the only thing to have changed and she knew it was about time she accepted that.
She pulled her phone out, making the call to someone that had been waiting.
"I don't think I'd go again next year though, oh," Ari smiled, "there's someone here I think you'd want to talk to, I'm going to shower" she said before quickly passing the phone to Nari.
Flustered, Nari stayed as silent as possible for as long as possible as she tried to think of an excuse.
"Hello?"
"...Hey"
"Nari? What are... Wait, I thought you said you were flying out yesterday?"
"I was planning to but my flight got cancelled at the last minute.. And it's impossible to get tickets this late."
"Oh. Have you met the cats? They're the same breed as pinwheel, aren't they?"
Nari blinked in surprise, "you remember pinwheel?"
"Of course, she was one of the first few things you told me about. Anyway I have to go, sleep well, okay?"
"Yeah.."
Nari took a deep breath, staring at the ground as if thinking hard about something. So focused that she hadn't realised someone had been stood by the door for a while.
"You're a smooth liar."
She looked up, taken aback by the suddenly cold demeanour. "Huh?"
"You never bought a ticket, did you? And it's not because airports are busy during this time either."
"What are you talking about?"
"Don't get me wrong, you're welcome to stay here but why are you lying?"
There was a clear moment of hesitation and Ari could see exactly when Nari had decided telling her the truth would be easier than to avoid the question.
At least I won't have to explain anything because you'd never understand.
"Because I can't set a foot back into that place without her."
"What has Younghee got to do…" she trailed off. Ari's eyes lingered over to the freshly dried long hair and it seemed like she had pieced something together in her mind.
...There's no way, right?
-
Being the heir to their family business, Youngjun had been busy since birth maintaining a well-planned out life so it was only on his rare days off that he was free to be as lazy and carefree as he wanted. Those 24 hours every few months are the only joy he looks forward to and even though he spends half that time asleep, he never thought of it as a waste.
This year, it so happened to fall on Christmas day. Nothing is celebrated by their family due to everyone's busy schedules, except new years but even then, it was more of a business event than a family gathering so having today free meant he had some expectations.
He waited until around noon before knocking on Younghee's door. Being greeted with silence, he let himself in to the empty room. Thinking she was around the house somewhere, Youngjun walked around a bit, giving himself a tour.
One thing Younghee had the most were books and after that were photo albums, especially from middle school. That being when he had left to study abroad, he felt like he had to see what he missed. He flipped through them slowly, realising half of it were filled with pictures of Younghee and a girl with short brown hair.
For some reason, the more he looked, the more resentful he became of himself. Not for leaving but for how he left.
How can a brother not even know who his sister's friends are?
A page fell onto the floor as he placed the album back. Youngjun paused for a moment as he saw the picture then smiled. Maybe it worked in his favour Younghee doesn't change much.
So that's where she went.
A photo of Younghee and their cousin outside of S middle school the day of orientation was stuck on it and underneath was a good luck message and a small drawing of a cat.
There was a café outside the train station that had gained attraction since it's opening thanks to it's cute packaging and reasonable prices. The queue that would usually end down the street today had tripled in size and normally, Younghee wouldn't wait for something like that but the line seemed to have moved instantly, or felt like it did.
She had waited over two hours but Younghee was still as twitchy when she stood by the shop entrance as when she had gotten off the train.
This was somewhere she shouldn't be, hence why she had chosen to take public transport on a day it would probably be the most nightmarish, so no one else would know her whereabouts but as her breathing grew heavier, she was starting to regret her decision to come in the first place.
A collective sigh of disappointment sounded from behind her as a worker shut the door with an apologetic smile before hanging the 'sold out' sign up yet she was the only one who breathed a sigh of relief. Everyone inside was too busy preparing orders to be paying attention to anything else so Younghee was glad she saw her, even if she didn't see her.
"You're back."
Youngjun was sat by the dining table as the front door opened for the first time that day since he'd woken up. It was only in their household where such a lively day would be so silent.
And just like every other day, his sister's attitude towards him had remained unchanged.
"Where did you go?"
"None of your business."
"Did you see her?"
"...Yes."
He smiled faintly.
Sure there were things he didn't know about her now, but Seo Younghee's a creature of habit. She doesn't change much. For some that will be a good thing but for others, a devastating realisation.