AP CH 10 (First Snow)

“That’s a golf course. Mighty CC and Mighty Town aren’t even part of the same division. Besides, Simjin already has full control over the ski resort and the casino, so it’s not that simple.”

Among the group seated at the table, the Nam family members subtly lowered their heads and swallowed heavy sighs.

This idiot. As if everyone here didn’t already know that.

Under the table, Seon-woo kicked Jun-woo’s shin. At least he had enough sense not to cause a scene in front of the guests, though his glare toward Seon-woo was filled with silent curses.

The topic Jun-woo had clumsily broached prompted one of Lee-won’s uncles to join in, adding fuel to the conversation.

“Speaking of which, did you hear about the latest with Simjin? I heard they were supposed to meet with President Choi Hyeong-seok during this holiday.”

“What? How come?”

“Apparently, Lee-ri has been hanging out with someone from the Simjin family lately. Didn’t they even show up at Madam Hwang’s event?”

While the two companies were in a collaborative relationship, meeting during a holiday implied something far more significant and intimate. It was a sign of serious business discussions—or even a familial union, like Choi Lee-won and Hee-jun.

For a fleeting moment, Eun Hyeon-chae crossed Seon-woo’s mind, but he quickly dismissed the thought, remembering that the two were cousins.

“Well, that’s one thing, but the more pressing matter is that the meeting fell through. You know President Choi Hyeong-seok has a villa in Taean, right? They were supposed to meet there, but suddenly, it was canceled.”

“Oh my. It seems the relationship has soured.”

“Haha! They were so blinded by immediate profit that they shamelessly aligned themselves with Simjin. Serves them right!”

“Simjin? That’s old news. Besides, doesn’t one of their kids have a bit of a scandalous reputation?”

Perhaps uncomfortable with their family’s dirty laundry being aired in front of Hee-jun, who was attending the gathering for the first time, Lee-won rose from his seat, bringing Hee-jun with him.

“I think I’ll take Hee-jun out for a walk. I’ll show him around the house while we’re at it. We’ll excuse ourselves first.”

“Sure.”

Seon-woo, too, had no appetite left for the conversation. He set down his utensils and observed the situation, wondering when it would be appropriate to leave. That was when a short vibration came from his pocket.

Thinking it might be from Lee-won, Seon-woo quickly pulled out his phone, only to find a message from Eun Hyeon-chae instead.

[Jeon and galbijjim.]

[(Photo)]

It was an image of food so beautifully arranged it looked almost painted—something out of a magazine. The galbijjim and jeon were placed prominently, catching his eye. Before he knew it, a small smile crept onto his lips.

Jun-woo, noticing Seon-woo grinning at his phone, kicked his leg under the table and mouthed silently, “Hey, what are you doing?”

But Seon-woo’s attention was quickly diverted again by another vibration in his hand.

[What about you, sunbae?]

The message had arrived just three minutes after the previous one, a fact that did not escape Seon-woo. Reading the thoughtfulness embedded in that short span of time, he stood from his seat without hesitation.

“I’ll excuse myself as well.”

Seon-woo hurried outside to the garden and made a phone call.

The call barely rang twice before Eun Hyeon-chae picked up.

—Hel-hello?

“Honey^[1]?”

Hearing Hyeon-chae’s trembling voice, Seon-woo chuckled softly and teased him. Yet, the boy was so nervous he failed to catch the joke and asked uncertainty if it was really him.

—Is it really you, sunbae?”

“Yeah. It’s Choi Lee-won sunbae.”

—…..That’s not funny.”

Hyeon-chae’s voice turned calm in an instant, which made Seon-woo laugh even harder this time.

“I saw the picture. The food looks really delicious.”

—…..Did you have dinner, sunbae?

“Yeah, but I couldn’t eat much—it was uncomfortable. Honestly, your family’s food looks way better.”

—Would you like to come over and have some?

“I wish I could do that, too.”

—…..I mean it. I’ll come pick you up.”

“How would you even know where to find me?”

—……

He’s unbelievable. Seon-woo chuckled softly at the silence, which seemed to hold a serious promise. Then, after listening to his laugh for a moment, Hyeon-chae quietly spoke.

—…..Hearing your voice like this makes me so happy. When you called, I thought you’d hang up right away, saying it was a mistake.”

“What exactly do you think of me?”

—….…Sunbae, can I call you sometimes, too?”

At Eun Hyeon-chae’s cautious question, Seon-woo pressed the heels of his shoes into the grass, grinding it slowly. In the end, he didn’t answer and instead changed the topic.

“Did you make songpyeon too?”

—Not yet.…Do you like songpyeon^[2]?

Not yet? Usually, that’s done the day before the holiday. Thinking it was odd but not worth dwelling on, Seon-woo continued nonchalantly.

“Not particularly. It’s just something I saw in dramas or read about in textbooks—families gathering to make songpyeon during the holidays. It looks nice. I wondered if your family does that, too.”

—..…We do.

“Really? I bet you’re terrible at it.”

Seon-woo, secretly surprised at the unexpectedly familial image of the Shimjin household, couldn’t help teasing when Hyeon-chae didn’t even try to claim he was good at it.

“Do you know? There’s a saying that if you make pretty songpyeon, you’ll marry someone handsome or beautiful.”

—..…That’s just a superstition.

“So what if it is?”

Seon-woo chuckled playfully, his voice taking on a mischievous tone.

“I just want to see the ones you make.”

He heard a sharp intake of breath on the other end of the line.

                                    ****

In this massive mansion, six people squeezing themselves into a four-seater sofa in a less than-five-pyeong reception room was unusual. But at this moment, none of them cared about the sofa’s size.

The youngest was on the phone with someone, laughing!

Eun Hyeon-chae, the treasured youngest child of the Simjin family, was a beloved gem to everyone, including the former chairman Eun Jwa-hoon and all other family members. Born with everything one could ask for, Hyeon-chae never experienced longing or lack. Whatever could be desired was already placed in his hands before he even had the chance to wish for it. Raised amidst such abundance, Hyeon-chae grew up without ever knowing dissatisfaction.

When the child, who had overcome countless hurdles to be born, first smiled, the entire family was captivated. However, born physically frail with the dominant alpha trait to complicate matters further, Hyeon-chae suffered from mysterious health issues that confined him to a hospital bed for most of his childhood. The family, heartbroken by this, poured endless love and care into him, but no one noticed when things began to take a wrong turn.

At some point, the child stopped smiling. By the time the family realized something was wrong, it was already too late. The boundless affection they showered on Hyeon-chae had left behind not joy, but boredom and emptiness—emotions far too mature for a child.

The family shed tears countless times over Hyeon-chae’s indifference to everything. Then, on the eve of the holiday, the youngest said something unusual. They wanted galbijjim and jeon.

Hyeon-chae, who usually only asked for something out of necessity and never expressed any personal desires, had just said something that caught everyone off guard. His second sister, Eun Chae-yeon, repeatedly asked if he had really just said “galbijjim,” while his eldest sister, Eun Woo-gyeong, quickly placed an order with a hotel catering service without hesitation.

When the news reached Eun Woo-yeon and their parents, even they canceled their pre-scheduled appointment out of concern and returned home.

With the dining table lavishly laid out like a feast, a palpable tension filled the air. Finally, Hyeon-chae descended and, undeterred by the stiff atmosphere, took a seat at the table.

That’s when the strange behavior started. Instead of eating, he took out his phone and began taking pictures. He seemed dissatisfied, shifting his position little by little until he had taken nearly ten shots and was finally content enough to sit down. Even then, he didn’t pick up his spoon, just fiddled with his phone. Everyone seated around him was shocked and stared at Hyeon-chae in disbelief.

“Well, if we’re all ready, shall we eat?..…Hyeon-chae, didn’t you say you wanted galbijjim?”

“Not really.”

The answer was given in a flat tone, his mood seemingly worse than before. Even President Choi, who had gently prodded, raised an eyebrow in frustration.

From the moment Hyeon-chae refused to put down his phone, Eun Woo-yeon and Eun Chae-yeon had exchanged concerned glances, sensing something was amiss. Suddenly, Hyeon-chae sprang to their feet and ran out to the terrace, answering a call.

“Hel-hello?”

At the sound of a voice filled with urgency—a tone none of them had ever heard before—Chairman Eun nearly choked, spilling water down his front, while President Choi dropped her knife onto the table with a loud clatter.

Eun Woo-yeon and Eun Chae-yeon exchanged a wide-eyed glance.

“It’s real, isn’t it?”

“I told you, Hyeon-chae has a lover!”

The first to react was Eun Chae-yeon, who immediately ran after Hyeon-chae. The rest of the family, abandoning the feast altogether, quickly followed and crowded into the sitting room adjacent to the terrace……And now, here they were.

Everyone pretended to be absorbed in their own activities—reading newspapers, scrolling through tablets, or fiddling with their phones—but their ears were entirely tuned to the terrace, where Eun Hyeon-chae was on the phone.

“Did you have dinner, sunbae?……Would you like to come over and have some? I mean it. I’ll come pick you up.”

Eun Woo-yeon slapped Eun Chae-yeon on the back in excitement.

“Did you hear that? Sunbae! He said sunbae!”

“Ow! That hurts!”

Chairman Eun was already wiping away the endless stream of tears rolling down his face with a tissue.

“Hearing your voice like this makes me so happy. When you called, I thought you’d hang up right away, saying it was a mistake.”

When the words ‘so happy’ left Hyeon-chae’s lips, even President Choi, who had been holding back, finally broke down into tears. The couple clung to each other, sobbing uncontrollably, while the four siblings erupted into a heated debate about their youngest sibling.

“Is that really Eun Hyeon-chae?”

“I’m telling you, they’re dating! A hundred 100%, it’s a campus couple!”

“Didn’t you hear that? ‘I thought you’d hang up,’ he said. They’re not dating—they’re just in the talking stage.”

“Maybe they had a fight recently.”

“Come to think of it, he’s been coming home late a lot. Acting weird too. Must be someone from school—who on earth could make Eun Hyeon-chae act like this?”

“Should we have someone keep an eye on him?”

“And what if we get caught? Can you handle that fallout?”

“Woo-gyeong’s right. Don’t stir up trouble unnecessarily. Just leave it alone. I’ll quietly check if they’re a decent person myself—”

The sound of the call ending abruptly silenced President Choi. At Eun Woo-gyeong’s quick hand gesture, everyone immediately pretended to be absorbed in their newspapers and phones as though nothing was amiss.

Moments later, Eun Hyeon-chae appeared.

He stopped in his tracks, his gaze sweeping over his family, who were all awkwardly crammed onto the small sofa, pretending not to notice him. His brow furrowed slightly in confusion before he finally spoke.

“……..What are you all doing there?”

“Ahem. Uh, who was that just now? Sounded like you were on the phone.”

“……Someone.”

Hyeon-chae dismissed the question and was about to walk past when he paused beside Chairman Eun.

“Do you know how to make songpyeon?”

“Huh? Songpyeon? Why, do you feel like eating it? Should we have some delivered?”

“No. We have to make it ourselves.”

Hyeon-chae’s lips quirked into a small smile as he swallowed the words he didn’t say aloud: It has to look attractive and perfect.

                             *****

The pleasantly crisp weather had vanished in the blink of an eye, giving way to a season where the cold wind compelled people to pull their coats tighter.

Eun Hyeon-chae was still faithfully trailing behind Nam Seon-woo, and Seon-woo, for his part, didn’t discourage him.

“Ah… sunbae.”

Hyeon-chae let out a small gasp as something cold and fleeting brushed against the tip of his nose. Following his gaze upward, Seon-woo saw white snowflakes drifting down from the sky.

“The first snow of the year,” Seon-woo murmured, thinking to himself how winter had already arrived. When no response came, he turned to find Hyeon-chae fidgeting, his face tense, his hand clenching and unclenching nervously.

Amused by how obvious his intentions were, Seon-woo stifled a laugh and casually slid his hand into his pocket, pretending not to notice. A barely audible sigh of disappointment escaped from Hyeon-chae.

It seemed he had abandoned whatever plan he’d been scheming, as he belatedly replied, “This is my first time seeing the first snow.”

“It snows every year. How can this be your first time?”

“I didn’t realize when it first started falling every time. It never meant anything to me.”

Did he really understand what he was saying? Seon-woo stared at him, but Hyeon-chae met his gaze with clear, unguarded eyes.

Perhaps it was the falling snow that made Hyeon-chae’s clothes seem thinner than usual. Concerned, Seon-woo asked, “Aren’t you cold?”

Hyeon-chae shook his head and softly replied, “……I think I like the snow.”

“Yeah. I didn’t realize it was this beautiful before. Me too.”

“Haven’t you seen snow a lot before, sunbae?”

“This is my first time seeing it with you.”

Eun Hyeon-chae’s face turned a sudden shade of pink. As if trying to hide his embarrassment, he quickly turned his head away. Pretending to play with the snowflakes that melted as soon as they touched his hand, he avoided meeting Seon-woo’s gaze.

Nam Seon-woo, finding the shy act endearing, let out a soft chuckle. His eyes, however, lingered for a long time on Hyeon-chae’s unusually plump lips, unable to look away.

---