Eighteen, and Winter (6)
I heard Teacher Jeong calling us, so ajusshi and I scooped up Dali and headed back inside. It looked like the adults' conversation had wrapped up.
The problem was my appearance. Sure, my hair was a mess, but my clothes were soaked through, inside and out. I'd rolled around in the snow, and the snow ajusshi had dumped on me had gotten into my collar and sleeves, leaving everything drenched from top to bottom. I'd gotten revenge by stuffing snow down ajusshi's clothes, but I was definitely the messier one.
Still, it felt good to play together after so long.
As we headed toward the entrance in that state, ajusshi's younger sister spotted us and her eyes went wide.
"Whoa? Seojin, why are you such a mess? What happened? And why is oppa like that?"
Her shocked gaze scanned me up and down, leaving me momentarily speechless. While I was trying to think of an excuse, ajusshi spoke up first from beside me.
"We took Dali out, and we ended up rolling around in the snow a bit."
Her expression grew even more serious at that, laced with a bit of fussing.
"Huh? You rolled around? You're not hurt, are you? No slips or anything? Your clothes and hair are totally... Hold on."
She circled around me, checking me over, straightening my hem, even brushing off my hair. Normally, I'd expect a "Be more careful next time," but this was beyond worry—it was full-on fussing.
Then, suddenly, she tilted her head.
"But why did you two come back in together?"
The air around us felt a little heavier for a moment.
"Uh... well..."
Ajusshi trailed off vaguely, and I just blinked awkwardly, unable to come up with a good answer. We'd gone out together, so we came back together—but that might lead to questions about why we'd gone out together in the first place. It made me nervous for no reason.
Just then, footsteps approached from behind, followed by unni's voice.
"I saw Yeonho out walking that puppy earlier. He ran into Seojin on the way."
Unni said it casually, like it was no big deal, straightened my collar, and quickly looked away.
At her words, ajusshi's sister nodded right away, convinced.
"Oh, got it. That makes sense. Our Dali is so cute, after all. Good thing we picked her up outside, right?"
I'd just breathed a sigh of relief at unni's save when her words made me blink again.
"Picked her up outside? Dali was a stray?"
When I asked, she nodded eagerly, like she'd been waiting.
"Yeah, about... a month ago? We were coming back from the ski resort, and she just started following us. She seemed so young, we couldn't leave her, so we brought her home. We planned to foster her temporarily and return her if the owner showed up, but the time passed, no owner came... and she officially became family."
"Whine... whine..."
As if she understood, Dali started whimpering right after, rolling onto her back to show her belly and wagging her tail furiously.
"That's impressive..."
I said it without thinking.
"Taking care of a pet isn't easy."
She scratched her head sheepishly at my words and smiled.
"I was really worried at first. Would it be okay at our house? What if someone objected... I thought of everything."
Then, with a grin in her eyes, she continued.
"But once we brought her home, no one minded. They all wanted to hold her first. I was so relieved. Probably because our family goes crazy for small, cute things."
Unni muttered softly beside her.
"Crazy for small, cute things, huh..."
It didn't seem directed at anyone—just a casual mumble to herself.
Thinking about it, I got it. I'd always liked small, cute things myself, so loving a puppy like Dali felt natural.
We handed Dali off to one of the staff for a bit, and the four of us headed back to the drawing room. When we opened the door, the adults were already waiting. The atmosphere was lighter and softer than before, with laughter circulating and relaxed expressions all around.
I didn't know what they'd talked about, but it hadn't gone badly, at least.
The conversation seemed to be wrapping up.
"Then, we'll take our leave for today."
Mom and Dad bowed slightly in unison.
Chairman Han waved it off with a laugh.
"What are you saying? I'm the one grateful you made time to come."
Madam Han nodded, adding her smile.
That was when it happened. Chairman Han's gaze shifted to me, and his expression softened in that subtle way again. I still couldn't figure out why he always looked like that at me.
...Why is he doing that again?
I wanted to duck my head, but it was awkward to blatantly avoid his eyes, so I managed an ambiguous smile.
His lips curved up once more. Feeling burdened, I glanced at Madam Han instead—and she was looking at me with a similar expression.
What the heck?
Then, unni, who had been quiet, glanced between the two of them and spoke cautiously.
"Um... before we go, there's something I want to say."
All the adults' attention turned to her. Madam Han asked gently first.
"What is it, Seoyeong? Feel free to speak."
Unni didn't continue right away, just working her lips for a moment. Then she slowly shifted her gaze—looking at me, then ajusshi, then Madam Han and Chairman Han in turn—
And suddenly grabbed ajusshi's hand, who was standing in front of her.
"I..."
Her hand was trembling slightly.
"I'll... try to get along better with him."
The adults' faces lit up at once. Madam Han, overjoyed, grasped unni's hand tightly again.
"Thank you so much, Seoyeong. Take good care of our son."
As Madam Han bowed once more, unni bowed back in surprise. But up close, I could see unni's lips twitching. She was smiling, but it looked forced. Still, considering the mood, she was at least trying.
It felt admirable, in her own way.
But why did I have to see that?
With that thought, I turned to look up at ajusshi. His expression wasn't great, honestly. Not joyful—somehow unnatural. Not openly displeased, either. Burdened? Tense? Hard to pin down, but not comfortable, for sure.
Still, things would improve with time. They were both adults; they'd figure it out.
As long as unni and ajusshi got along well and it actually worked out, I'd be happy too.
That thought made my chest tingle oddly.
*
On the way back, the black car we'd arrived in that morning was already idling at the main gate.
"We owe you so much today."
Mom and Dad kept thanking them profusely right up to the end. Unni and I bowed alongside them.
Ajusshi's sister leaned toward me, waving.
"Drive safe, Seojin! Come play anytime!"
Her smile was so bright, a rude thought crossed my mind: She looks younger than me.
I gave a wry smile and lightly waved back, then my eyes met ajusshi's, who was standing beside her. Just for a split second.
Before I could decide what to say, it was time to get in the car. I climbed in without a word.
As the door closed, I saw Chairman Han and Madam Han through the window. I rolled it down a bit and gave them a final wave.
"Thank you for today!"
As they waved back, ajusshi's figure came into view beside them again. This time, I waved first.
And mouthed silently, 'See you next time.'
Ajusshi looked stunned for a moment, then awkwardly scratched his head. He raised a hand and waved back carefully.
Seeing that made my mood lift without warning. I waved wildly through the window, grinning wide.
As the car pulled away from the mansion, our family started slipping back into our usual vibe.
Dad, in the passenger seat, let out a long sigh and glanced back.
"Phew... Chairman Han's a good man, isn't he?"
I nodded after a moment's thought.
"Yeah. At first, I thought he was kinda scary... but he's surprisingly kind."
Dad chuckled.
"Haha, he is scary. Was even more back in the day. But he's got a lot of heart."
As I nodded at Dad's words, Mom smiled at me.
"By the way, Seojin, they really seemed to like you. Both Chairman Han and Madam Han."
Dad chimed in.
"Yeah, their faces just lit up whenever they looked at you."
"Huh? Me?"
I blurted it out in surprise. Come to think of it, they had kept smiling at me. I'd been wondering why... Was that the reason?
It left me with a strange feeling. Good? A bit burdensome? Hard to say.
As I mulled it over, my eyes drifted to the seat beside me. Unni was silently hunched over, tapping away at her phone screen.
She hadn't said a word since earlier, which finally struck me as odd.
"Unni, what've you been doing?"
I asked carefully. She glanced up from the screen, shot me a look, then smirked.
"Sending some pics to someone. Some very important ones I've been saving."
"Oh... I see..."
I was curious, but hearing "very important" made me decide to drop it. The vibe felt like I shouldn't pry.