Chapter 6

Since then, it has been a recurring habit to visit the park whenever they celebrated their birthdays. Beomgyu would always use Yeonjun's name as an excuse with his parents, telling them 'hyung takes good care of me, don't worry!' and 'I don't want to hang out with other kids, just Yeonjun hyung!'. Every time the older boy would show up at his doorstep, no matter the time nor circumstance; as long as he had that bright grin on his face, Beomgyu would undoubtedly follow him anywhere.

It was a cold December morning when Yeonjun almost broke his door bell with his ruthless rings. "Choi Beomgyu, come out!"

"Coming!" Yelled a hyper Beomgyu, hastily wrapping his scarf around his neck and putting on his winter boots. He was out the door in no time, coming face to face with a grumbling Yeonjun by his house gate. The older was beginning to grow taller than him, and now Beomgyu had to adjust to habitually looking up whenever they were close. In a way, he was envious.

"Don't make me wait for you in the cold again, are you going to be responsible if I freeze to death?" The older rolled his eyes, pulling his beanie down to cover his ears. Beomgyu just chuckled, nudging him playfully as they began taking the familiar route to the park. The roads were all coated with a thin layer of ice, and snow piled like little mountains as they were shoved off the pavement.

It only took them two rounds of bickering back and forth to reach the park this time. As they made their way to the maple tree, the snow began to deepen past their ankles, their little bodies looking far more lonesome in the middle of the once green field; that was now a clear terrain of snow.

Yeonjun was a few steps ahead of the younger—one of his many newfound perks of having longer legs—and was not paying attention to Beomgyu slowly drifting behind as he mindlessly hiked his way to the maple tree.

And that was his first grave mistake—because when he didn't stop to turn back, a massive snowball was hauled at him at full speed.

Losing balance, Yeonjun cried out, falling face first into the two feet of white in front of him. Even submerged in freezing temperature, he could still hear the maniacal laughter of the younger from a distance.

"Oh, Choi Beomgyu, you are going to regret this!'' He exclaimed in rage that was both too exaggerated and authentic when he stood up again. The older didn't even bother to dust the snow off his front; a speckle sitting on his now angrily red nose as he rushed to grapple a fistful of snow.

The boy in question was standing some distance away behind him, visibly bent over with hands holding his stomach. Beomgyu felt like he was going to pass out from laughing too hard, but he couldn't stop; not when Yeonjun looked so outrageously furious like that. "Am I? Try to get me, then! You can't! Boo!"

"Well, it is on!" Hollered the latter as the large snowball in his hand was finally coming to fruition. "This is the number one basketball player of our middle school you're messing with."

And Beomgyu was so occupied laughing that he failed to catch what he said; because the next thing he knew, he was seeing white.

From Yeonjun's view, the way Beomgyu melodramatically fell back was pure comedic gold. Now it was his turn to be bent over laughing; their only voices being the sole indications of life breathed into the stoic, tranquil park.

"Choi Yeonjun, you are so dead!'' Yelled the younger boy when his head finally peeked out of the snow. He looked like a little polar bear with his white beanie, and Yeonjun cooed. "If I die, then who's going to play with you? Huh?"

"If I don't kill you myself, I hope you live such a boring life that once I'm gone that you'll regret ever doing this to me!'' Beomgyu yelled just before another snowball was thrown, and he was submerged once again. Then there was another, before he could retaliate; and another.

Minutes stretched into hours, and laughter gave way to exhausted pants. The once perfect body of untouched snow now had numerous plunges of footsteps in them. Even though the sun was barely out, to Yeonjun and Beomgyu, it felt like spring.

They were thirteen.