First Snow and a Kiss
It was the last day of November. Soon December would come, with Christmas right around the corner. I was wearing a thin coat, yet I didn’t feel cold at all.
After dinner, the streets were dark, the streetlamps glowing brightly, yet the people walking by were so few that you could barely spot them. The area was so exclusive—only wealthy mansions here, no cars or pedestrians to speak of. As I walked, Hyun-seo suddenly offered his arm.
“It’s about time we looked like a proper couple.”
“Huh?”
I had no memory of ever linking arms with him. Tae-yeon stared blankly at the suggestion, wondering why he was suddenly demanding it.
We’d barely walked a few steps when a car suddenly stopped at the end of the narrow alley. The window lowered, and the elderly man inside greeted Hyun-seo with a warm smile.
“Oh, who’s this? Hyun-seo?”
“Nice to meet you.”
The dignified gentleman looked exactly like a corporate chairman—probably had been for decades. He extended a gentle gaze toward Hyun-seo and continued.
“Back from home already?”
“Yes, Chairman.”
“The first time I’ve seen you since your wedding. Your father’s been bragging nonstop about his grandson. Next time, let’s golf together, Father.”
“Yes, I’ll pass that along.”
After a casual exchange, the car drove off. Tae-yeon glanced back at it once, then turned to Hyun-seo.
“Do you know him?”
“My next-door neighbor. Chairman of Dae-yeong Construction.”
All the neighbors around here happened to be chairmen. Why didn’t one of these ubiquitous chaebols exist near me?
That was the difference in living environments. No one around me could reach out to help even when my mom needed hospital bills urgently. Not even distant relatives—let alone chaebols or shop owners. It hit me hard how different our worlds were.
Days passed. It was already evening, but the sky beyond the streetlights was heavy with dark clouds. And that same heavy, low sky seemed to weigh down my heart as well.
I didn’t know where to start or how to say it, but Hyun-seo walked on and spoke first.
“Anything on your mind?”
“Director.”
“There aren’t many people around here, but someone might overhear.”
“Hyun-seo.”
“Speak.”
“The paternity test. What do I do about it? If I have to take it too… am I just going to be fired here? Do I need to resign?”
He stopped walking. Tae-yeon looked up at him. She had always known he was tall, but up close like this, she had to tilt her head back. She was 165 cm—average height—and he was over 20 cm taller, making her look up at him. His eyes, steady and emotionless, held no warmth. From that expression, she felt an inexplicable sting.
He opened his closed mouth.
“I’ll handle it myself.”
“How? How would you? You can’t wake up the mother of our dead child, can you? Do you have her hair? How will you mark it as the real mother?”
Her fingertips trembled visibly. Hyun-seo noticed her slender fingers gripping his arm and gently took her hand instead. His fingers felt icy cold, making her heart ache.
“Should I wear gloves? Why are your hands so cold?”
“I’ve always had cold hands.”
“You’re bragging.”
He squeezed her hand, and warmth seemed to flood from his palm to hers. Still holding her hand, he continued walking. After a few more steps, he glanced up at the sky again.
“Why is the weather so gloomy?”
“It might snow today. Later than usual.”
“Right. Normally November mid-month is when we get snow, but today hasn’t even been the first flake.”
“Don’t change the subject. How do we do this?”
He gave no answer and kept walking, still holding her hand.
“I’m thinking about it. But no matter what, Min Manager won’t quit or get fired.”
“I want to resign.”
He stopped again. His cool gaze softened just slightly as he looked at her.
“You didn’t read the contract?”
“What else can I do? If the lie gets discovered…”
“I’ll make sure nothing happens. Just live like you always have. Don’t you trust me?”
“What do I trust? You’re not God. Humans aren’t worthy of trust. They’re worthy of love.”
“Then let me love you. Is there even such a thing as a love without trust?”
It was so strange—he was quoting theology out of nowhere. Love? Did he love me at all?
Tae-yeon’s cheek puffed out in displeasure.
“We don’t have religion, remember?”
“That’s not about religion. It’s about human relationships. Just stay as Yun-woo’s mother and be quiet. I’ll handle whatever the test requires.”
Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out something for her. A small white envelope appeared in his palm. Inside were two tiny key fobs and an apartment address.
“What is this?”
“It’ll be empty starting tomorrow. It’s your mother’s house. You can move there.”
“Huh?”
All this time, Tae-yeon had been saving every penny to move her mother from the cramped attic room to a decent villa. Still short of enough, she had been accumulating little by little. Now he was handing her apartment keys?
Tae-yeon stared in silence at the envelope, and Hyun-seo spoke softly.
“It’s already registered under your name.”
“How did you even…”
“Consider it a perk.”
“A perk apartment?”
It was something she had never heard of. Being beside Choi Hyun-seo brought surprises she could never have imagined. The very fact that she was standing here as the wife of the company director—who had been Yun-woo’s mother—was already beyond belief.
Hyun-seo gave her a look that said “Of course it’s possible.”
“Yes, it’s possible. Top employees get generous bonuses. I’ve even accounted for the emotional toll on our family. No need to worry. Work is work.”
He drew a clear line, framing it as consideration for an employee. So she was supposed to feel grateful only as a subordinate? The overwhelming gratitude felt like it was being stabbed by a pin, slowly deflating.
Strange. Receiving the apartment keys was already shocking, but the next words were even more disorienting. Hyun-seo spoke again, this time from a different angle.
“Mother must have been uncomfortable for so long. Are you still doing dialysis?”
“Yes. Her condition is worsening, and I’m really worried.”
The concern in his voice was different from the line he had just drawn—gentle and sincere. It left her even more confused. Choi Hyun-seo’s thoughts and actions were like a raging river; she couldn’t keep up. The gifts and care that felt like comfort were just as unsettling.
Just then, Tae-yeon looked up with a small sigh. Something cold touched the tip of her nose.
“Eh? Is it raining?”
When she looked up again, thin flakes began drifting down one by one. They landed on her face and the back of her hand, leaving a cold sensation before melting away.
“It’s snowing. The first snow.”
“I see. The first snow.”
He stared at the sky for a moment, then turned to her, tilting his head curiously.
“Min Manager, have you ever kissed on the day the first snow falls?”
Thinking back, there had never been anyone to share that moment with. Tae-yeon shook her head, and Hyun-seo reached out and cupped her cheeks. Before she could react, their lips met.
At first it was light and crisp, then deeper, with his tongue sliding in. The kiss grew more intense. Snowflakes fell onto their overlapping lips. The hot wetness of the kiss clashed instantly with the cold of the first snow, making her heart race like a broken metronome.
While he prepared an apartment and kissed her on the day the first snow fell—for my mother and the paternity test—without mentioning anything about Yun-woo’s mother… was this man simply the company director? Or was he mine?
Tae-yeon suddenly felt a strange curiosity. Hyun-seo deepened the kiss, intertwining their tongues and pressing his deep inside. She felt dizzy. Somewhere between the cold and the heat, an inexplicable sorrow lingered. Tears fell from her eyes. Hyun-seo wiped them away with his thumb and asked softly.
“What is this?”
“It’s melted snow.”
The corner of his mouth lifted. Even to onlookers it would look like crying, yet this woman was calling melted snow “tears” and claiming it was cute.
“You’re a terrible liar. Is it sorrow? Happiness?”
“You don’t remember the contract clause? ‘Do not ask about anything unnecessary.’ This is exactly that. Don’t ask.”
His laughter was warm as he pressed his lips to hers again. She was nestled against his solid chest, yet the flutter was different from anything she had felt before. An unknown sense of stability mixed with affection, resentment, and longing—everything stirred her deeply.