A Day in Winter

It was midway through winter break, and Gun had started his winter break classes at school which he had signed up for earlier in October.

The first day of his classes coincided with Hyuk's doctor's appointment. Since that was the case, the trio decided to leave the house together. Yeo Ri had decided to accompany Hyuk since she didn't want to be home alone.

Gun separated from them at the bus stop, while Hyuk and Yeo Ri headed to the hospital together on his bike.

There were significantly less people who applied for the winter break classes as compared to the summer break classes. Out of the original thirty people in his class, only about seven people decided to apply for the classes, which included him, Choi Da Na, Noh Ha Jun, and several other academic overachievers.

Gun had wanted to drop the classes due to his current circumstances, but he couldn't. He was going to become a third-year student next year and he needed to start preparing for the college examinations as soon as possible. Even Yeo Ri persuaded him to go to the classes, since they didn't know when else he would have the time to study. Besides, the classes were free for him since he was a full-scholarship student.

The classes were five hours long; three subjects for 90 minutes each and a short break in between.

During the first break, Noh Ha Jun and Choi Da Na approached him.

"Hey, Gun, are you free this weekend?" Ha Jun asked.

Gun raised his head to look at them. "Why?"

"We're throwing a birthday party for the both of us," Ha Jun explained. Then, Da Na quickly added, "Mine and Ha Jun's birthdays are only a few days apart, and we used to celebrate them together. This year, we decided to uphold the tradition again."

"I see," Gun nodded. This was the first time he was invited to a friend's birthday party. "I can't promise anything, but we'll see," he replied, neither accepting nor refusing the invitation.

"Great! We'll see you there," Ha Jun grinned, taking it as if Gun had already agreed to come. "I'll text you the address later. It's fine if you don't bring gifts," he added half-jokingly. To be honest, even if he didn't get anything from Gun, as long as the other boy came to the party, that was good enough.

"You have to come, okay? Promise!" Da Na says. Inwardly, she was complaining about how difficult it was to see Gun outside of school. The only reason she even applied for the winter break classes was for the sake of seeing Gun. But luckily, her birthday was coming up and Ha Jun had proposed the genius idea of reviving their old joint-birthdays celebration.

Gun looked to be deep in thought. Before the two left his side, he immediately called out to them. "Wait. Can I bring someone else with me?"

Ha Jun barely contained his excitement, hastily replying, "Of course! The more the merrier."

Hearing the answer, Gun finally revealed a smile. "Thanks."

Meanwhile, on Hyuk and Yeo Ri's side.

Three people stood outside of the hospital's entrance.

Hyuk crossed his arms on his chest, looking at Yeo Ri critically. His slight frown showed a small fraction of the concern he was feeling.

Hyuk's checkup might take some time, so in fear of becoming bored, Yeo Ri had called Min Chae and asked her out to play. Min Chae, having been bored out of her mind, naturally agreed immediately.

"Don't go too far," Hyuk reminded. "Don't follow strangers. Don't talk to strangers. Don't take anything from strangers," he seriously warned.

Yeo Ri fought the urge to roll her eyes. She pouted, "I know, Oppa. I'm not a kid."

Of course, he knew that she was not a kid. But still, it did not disperse the worry in his heart. After all that had happened, he was extremely sensitive about Yeo Ri's wellbeing. Just letting her out of his sight for a few hours was already making him anxious.

Hyuk sighed softly, patting her cheek lightly, "I know."

Min Chae watched the interaction with fascination. No wonder Yeo Ri liked her brothers a lot. Both of them cared so much about her; even the ferocious-looking Hyuk was soft towards the girl. It was no wonder that her views on the man was so skewed. He was like a totally different person when he was with her!

At that moment, Min Chae thought that Hyuk and Gun were really similar.

"Take care of Yeo Ri for me, Min Chae." He looked at Min Chae, giving her a slight nod as a sign of passing the responsibility of taking care of Yeo Ri to her.

"Of course; leave it to me!" Min Chae puffed her chest proudly, a grin on her face. No one was going to bother Yeo Ri on her watch! She was determined to have a fun-filled, peaceful date with Yeo Ri.

Hyuk nodded in satisfaction. After shooting Yeo Ri a look that said, 'be careful', Hyuk finally left. Yeo Ri and Min Chae walked hand-in-hand, thinking of where to go.