First Snow
I changed clothes first and waited, and soon my sister emerged wearing the winter outfit I'd bought her last time. Seeing someone else—especially her—wear clothes I'd bought felt surprisingly good. Purely, regardless of whether she liked it or not.
"...You're staring way too obviously, aren't you, oppa?"
"It's clothes I bought with my money. I can look."
"You've gotten so shameless."
"What, over something this small?"
"It's super creepy staring at your little sister like that just because she dressed up a bit."
"Fine, then... I won't look. Let's go."
She tied her scarf securely, and we stepped out the front door. As soon as Gyeo-ul followed me out and closed the door, I pulled her into a hug.
"...Oppa?"
"What."
"Even so... right in front of the door..."
"We're outside."
"...Still."
"...I hate winter, Gyeo-ul."
"What?"
The moment I said it, she yelped in surprise, her voice cracking as she demanded an explanation.
"Hey, quiet down. You're being loud."
"...What do you mean?"
"In winter, you have to wear thick clothes, and it's stuffy. Spring or fall are better—that's all I meant."
"...You said that on purpose."
"Who knows?"
Even I thought it didn't suit me at all, but I grinned slyly anyway, and Gyeo-ul silently hugged me tighter without a word.
...Damn. Sometimes I'd see couples doing this on the street and wonder what the hell they were thinking. Now I get it.
"...Oppa."
"Yeah."
"You hate thick clothes... you mean in that sense, right?"
"What sense."
"That... hugging in thin clothes feels better... something like that?"
"Obviously."
"...Pervert. Creepy."
"This is pretty normal, though?"
"Don't you have any boundaries, oppa?"
"You broke them."
"..."
"I've held back for almost a week, so cut me some slack."
"...Sorry."
"...Huh?"
"Today... it's that day."
"..."
Ah. ...No wonder her punches felt extra serious today. I'm no expert, but I knew enough that during her period, we usually... didn't.
"...You okay, oppa?"
"With what."
"If you really can't hold back... we could... do it..."
"...It's not that bad. And hygiene-wise... it'd be kinda..."
"..."
"We have time. ...Let's eat. Dinner too, since we're all dressed up."
"...Oppa."
"What."
"You say that, but... why won't you let go?"
"It's cold."
"You said it was stuffy earlier."
"You dress stuffy to stay warm."
"...For real?"
"From the way you're talking, it sounds like you want it more than I do."
"No way. Absolutely not."
"You tempted me first anyway."
"I did not!"
"What was that if not seduction?"
"...Anyway, no."
She buried her face in my shoulder, shaking her head side to side in denial. It was so cute, and she didn't feel like a little sister at all.
Having returned the car keys, I was stuck walking everywhere, which was annoyingly inconvenient. We ended up grabbing lunch at a nearby restaurant. After filling up on hot soup, we stepped back out onto the street, and light snow was falling.
"Oppa, it's snowing. Snow."
"Feels like the first snow of the year. Is it?"
"Nah, it's mid-December already. Probably not."
"Lemme check."
I pulled out my phone and searched—it was indeed the first snow in Seoul.
Wild. The year's almost over, and now the first snow?
"It's the first snow."
"Really?"
"Told you. I haven't seen snow all year."
"...You don't go out much, so you're not reliable."
"News is reliable even if I'm not. Look—'Seoul's first December snow in 17 years.'"
"Whoa, for real."
"Wanna take a picture?"
"...What's gotten into you?"
"I like taking photos too. Just never had the chance."
To commemorate the first snow, we pressed our shoulders together on the street and snapped a photo. With masks and scarves on, only our eyes and hair showed, but it still came out pretty nice.
"...Weird."
"Why? Looks good to me."
"You can't see our faces at all because of the masks."
"I know what you look like under there. Who cares."
"This is your prettiest phase right now. I wanna document it a lot."
"Doesn't that give you chills, saying it yourself?"
"Maybe. Less creepy than what you say to me, though."
"What'd I do."
"...Want me to recite it? All the stuff you've said to me."
"...Why do you remember that crap?"
"'You're the only oppa for me forever...'"
"Hey! Stop!"
"Ow, that hurts! Don't pinch!"
I knew it didn't matter if it was the first snow or the second—snow was snow. But I got why people obsessed over milestones like this. It wasn't the snow itself; it was the memory of seeing it with someone you love.
Those little memories piling up in a corner of my heart made it thicker, happier. The future? Didn't cross my mind at all.
Of course, no matter how nice the snow, we couldn't wander bareheaded forever, so we ducked into a nearby clothing store. I'd planned on a café, but Gyeo-ul offered to pick something out for me. Come to think of it, I'd asked her to do this last time.
...She never forgets stuff like this.
I got a call from a military buddy and cut it short. When I turned back, Gyeo-ul was browsing, flitting around the racks. It wasn't crowded, and no pushy staff approached.
"What kind of clothes do you like, oppa?"
"Stuff that's comfy to wear and move in."
"...Besides that."
"...Never really thought about it, but if I had to say, nothing flashy."
"Nothing flashy?"
"Black, gray. Or basic colors. You know, everyday stuff you see all the time on the street."
"Similar to me."
"Honestly, fashion's not my thing. These colors just feel easy."
She grabbed a black long coat, held it up to me, and eyed it critically. I took it and tried it on in the fitting room.
...Not bad, kinda. Hard to judge with bias, though.
I stepped out holding my old padding jacket and asked her.
"How's it look?"
"...Yeah."
"No, how is it."
"Yeah."
"...Kim Gyeo-ul."
"I said yeah."
"What does that mean."
"Exactly what I expected."
"And what was that expectation, exactly."
"Secret."
Watching her toy with me like this made me want revenge. ...Sigh. Patience. It's that time for her—no pain, but she's probably in a funk. If teasing me cheers her up, fine.
"Okay, coat it is. Now pants..."
"Oh, picked those too. Here."
"...When?"
"Was looking at the mannequin ones."
"So you're not picking; the staff did."
"You did the same when you picked mine."
"...Fair enough."
Budget wasn't an issue, and it wasn't some fancy store. Following what fashion pros chose seemed smarter than forcing personality.
With that in mind, I gathered the clothes, paid at the counter, and left. I swapped into the coat right away—next to Gyeo-ul, the padding looked mismatched, even without onlookers.
"...What now."
"Why the sudden question, oppa."
"Came out without a plan. No idea what to do."
"...You dragged me out."
"You said eat out. I was fine either way."
"Really?"
"Yep."
"...What were you gonna do originally?"
"...Gotta spell it out?"
"Yes."
"Lunch, then... rest a bit."
"..."
"...Home for dinner."
"...Too long."
"You begged for a hard workout."
"Never."
"Right, after dinner then. Workout and bed. You skipped today."
"I'll do it anyway."
"You're flexible enough, but your strength sucks. I could tell."
"You're too strong, oppa."
"Still, you should manage proper push-ups."
We bantered about nothing as our feet naturally carried us to a café. ...Just bought coffee to go—they only did takeout. Now what. Zero plans.
As I pondered, someone passing Gyeo-ul stopped, turned, and stared at us.
...Who?
Didn't recognize the girl.
"Um... Kim Gyeo-ul?"
"...?"
"...Or not?"
"...Ah."
Gyeo-ul stared hard, then clapped as realization hit.
"...Should I take off my mask?"
"No. I remember. Same class."
"No way, really?"
"Yep."
"And who's next to you... boyfriend? Or oppa?"
"...Uh, well..."
Gyeo-ul hesitated, swallowed, then answered clearly.
"...Oppa. Real brother."
"Oh, got it. You two look so alike."
"We get that a lot."
"Um... how'd Suneung go?"
"Okay, I guess. You?"
"Me too... decent."
"Cool."
"Yeah."
"..."
They exchanged awkward one-liners until silence fell.
"Anyway, good luck on Suneung. The year was... fun. Get into a good uni! Let's grab food sometime!"
"...Sure. You too."
"Bye, oppa!"
"...Ah, yeah. Take care."
Even in this cringe situation, she wrapped up politely and left. Impressive.
...Would've been easier to ignore us. They didn't seem close. Gyeo-ul barely remembered her name.
"...Classmate?"
"Yeah."
"Not friends?"
"Not really..."
"She got lots of friends?"
"Yeah... tons. Probably close with my friends too."
"...Gyeo-ul."
"...Let's go home. Dinner at home, oppa."
"...Sure."
Her sudden mood swing? I wasn't so inconsiderate as to refuse.