I walked down the empty corridor and returned to the door, which I had left ajar.
An Zhi was peering through the crack, observing the hallway.
“It’s fine. There isn’t anyone suspicious out here. Shall we go?”
“Mhm.”
An Zhi opened the door and stepped out.
Her small hand naturally found mine, interlacing our fingers.
She pressed her body close to mine in a timid manner, looking cautiously to her left and right.
Today was Tuesday.
After two days of rest, my body had recovered to the point where I could barely feel any pain, so I decided to take her out.
I had gone out ahead of time to scout the surrounding area for a while, and I hadn’t found anyone suspicious following us.
The men from before were still in the detention center, and no news had come from Wings Star World, so it should be safe outside.
“This is great. We can be like we were before,” An Zhi said, a smile gracing her face.
Lately, her emotions had been showing more clearly through her expressions, which constantly encouraged me.
It was evening now.
I walked side by side with her down the street.
The shops on both sides were fairly lively, with clerks enthusiastically introducing their products.
Between the various streetlights, someone had hung strings of lights that flickered with a mix of red and yellow glows.
Snowflake ornaments hanging from the strings reflected the light, giving off a strong wintry atmosphere.
“Everyone is so thoughtful. It really feels like a holiday,” An Zhi remarked.
“Yeah. Do you like those ornaments?”
“I do… they’re pretty. Snowflakes are cold, but they’re very beautiful.”
We happened to reach the small circular plaza by the Subway Station.
A large Christmas tree stood in the center, the star at the very top radiating a warm yellow light.
While I was recovering from my injuries, I had happened to miss Christmas.
‘I’ve already missed one Winter Solstice; I can’t be half-hearted about Christmas. I need to make up for everything we missed.’
An Zhi might have been thinking the same thing, as she squeezed my hand tightly.
“Speaking of which, the old you was quite similar to a snowflake. Everyone thought you were beautiful, but they were afraid to get close. After all, a snowflake melts the moment you touch it. It’s a beauty that deserves to be cherished that way.”
A few young couples were sitting on the benches around the plaza, huddling together to add a bit of warmth to the winter.
Praised by me, An Zhi tucked her face into her hood and gently pulled at the brim.
“Am I really that pretty? No one besides you has ever praised me like that… saying I’m like a snowflake or that I’m beautiful.”
“Of course. I’m very lucky that such a beautiful snowflake didn’t melt in my hands. I’ve only just realized that snowflakes that never melt actually do exist.”
“Don’t say that… it’s embarrassing.”
An Zhi’s small hand felt hot.
She turned slightly and hooked her arm through mine.
Taking this opportunity, I pulled out the snowflake ornament I had bought when I was out scouting earlier.
*Jingle jingle*
— a bell rang from inside the snowflake as it danced in the air.
Even if she gripped it in the palm of her hand, it wouldn’t melt.
“This… is it for me?”
An Zhi stared at it intently, reaching out toward it.
“Merry Christmas. I think it suits you.”
“Mhm, thank you. Mingshan, thank you so much! I love it!”
She took the ornament and held it in her palm before carefully hooking it onto the zipper of her hoodie’s neckline.
The “snowflake” swayed against her chest, mirroring the intense heartbeat she was transmitting through my arm.
“It won’t melt. As long as I’m with you, it won’t melt,” she said, hugging my arm tightly.
“Yeah. Then let’s stay together.”
I led her to a bench behind the Christmas tree, and we sat close together.
People flowed in and out of the Subway Station in an endless stream.
Everyone was laughing and talking, enjoying the scenery unique to Christmas.
As night fell, the breath we exhaled began to turn white, yet sitting there with An Zhi, I didn’t feel cold at all.
“It’s getting dark,” she said softly.
“Yeah, it’s late. Do you want to go grab something to eat?”
I suggested.
“Mingshan…”
“Hmm?”
When I turned my head, curious as to why she called my name, her teary eyes were already inches away.
Her moist lips met mine.
I couldn’t help but lower my head, kissing her under the flickering lights.
She had been looking down and staying silent for a while; had she been wanting to kiss me all that time?
“Mph — “
She parted from me reluctantly, her gaze flickering away.
“Let’s go eat. I’m hungry.”
“Alright. After we eat, we can look at the clothing stores nearby and pick out some clothes, okay?”
“Mhm…”
She didn’t seem to have recovered from the lingering sensation yet, as she stood up of her own accord to head toward the street.
I led her away from the small plaza and into a Chinese restaurant.
It was the most luxurious-looking Chinese restaurant in the vicinity, having opened only after I graduated.
I had reserved a table in advance, and the owner had even gone through the trouble of decorating the table with fresh flowers and candles.
I hadn’t felt this way when I made the reservation, but once I was sitting face-to-face with her, meeting the gazes of passersby, I started to feel shy.
“I rarely have experiences like this… I’m so happy today that I feel like I’m going to stop breathing… Mingshan, you’re teasing me.”
She wasn’t shy at this point.
She leaned over the flowers to catch their scent, then observed the candle flame that was as steady and bright as amber.
“We still have to go buy clothes later.”
“Mumble, mumble…”
I couldn’t hear what she was saying.
‘It was a real blunder not to have the owner arrange a seat where we could sit together.’
To her, eating at a restaurant was a rare event, let alone a dinner with such a sense of formality.
Did I make her feel satisfied?
Looking at the way she mumbled and the way her eyes sparkled, I must have succeeded.
Realizing this, a warm current welled up in my heart, warming my entire body.
‘I’ve grasped happiness; I’ve created happiness. Can this feeling really be this moving?’
I blinked rapidly, nearly shedding tears of joy.
Crying in a place like this would be quite embarrassing.
The sweet lotus root served as a cold appetizer was placed on the table, and An Zhi tentatively picked up a slice and put it in her mouth.
“Wow, it’s so sweet — it’s chewy and delicious.”
As she spoke, she immediately picked up another slice, chewing on the food like a hamster.
“I thought you’d like it. After all, your lunchbox always had desserts in it back in college, so I guessed you had a sweet tooth.”
“Mhm, mhm… mumble mumble…”
She was talking while eating, making it even harder to understand what she was trying to say.
Was there really such a hurry?
“There are other dishes, too. All of them are things I guessed you liked from years of observing your lunchbox. Please look forward to it.”
“Hmph.”
Hearing me say that, she looked up and puffed out her cheeks slightly.
“What’s wrong?”
“You weren’t looking at me back then; you were actually looking at my lunchbox… you glutton.”
“Because peeking at you wasn’t a good thing to do. We weren’t dating back then.”
I didn’t expect that to trigger a bit of an attitude.
I thought she would praise me for being attentive.
Another blunder!
“I wasn’t blaming you… back then, I didn’t know how you felt about me, or if I liked you in my heart. I only found out later.”
“Me too. I must have liked you. I was very happy when we held hands for the first time.”
“Mhm… if only I had been a bit bolder, we could have been together sooner.”
We reminisced about the past.
If we had been bolder, if we had gotten closer to each other…
Would we have been even happier?
We chatted, eating dinner in that romantic atmosphere and enjoying each other’s presence.
Time passed quickly.
By the time we finished, it was past 8:00 PM.
I walked out of the restaurant with her.
There were far fewer pedestrians on the road than before, and the weather had turned colder.
For safety reasons, I planned to take her home and wait until tomorrow to pick out clothes.
As for things like underwear, we could just buy them online for now.
Fortunately, we were very close to home, and we soon entered the residential complex.
The time from evening to night was still too short.
If all those things hadn’t happened before, we could have used more time to go to more places on a date…
That day would surely come.
Inside the elevator car, while the two of us were alone, she suddenly spoke up.
“Buying clothes… I haven’t measured my sizes yet…”
“Hmm? Your underwear size?”
“Mhm… my three measurements. I don’t know them…”
“This…”
The sudden question left me at a loss.
‘She actually doesn’t know her own measurements?’
No, she definitely had people in charge of her wardrobe before, and she never bought her own clothes…
It was normal that she didn’t know.
‘Wait, why is she telling me this? To have me measure her?’
“Help me measure…”
“Help you… as in? We can go to the store tomorrow and have a saleswoman help you measure…”
“No. I don’t want anyone else touching me.”
The elevator doors opened then, and she fell silent once more, walking home with me with her head lowered.
I walked her to her door, then turned to check the corridor.
Once I was sure no one was there, I went back into my own home.
The heating was already on, and the gust of hot air made me a bit uncomfortable.
Just as I was about to take off my jacket, I saw An Zhi walk out from the bathroom.
She was draped in nothing but a bath towel.
“Aren’t you cold?”
I asked.
“Mumble, mumble…”
She muttered.
I moved closer, and only then did I hear her say, “I want to give you… a Christmas return gift.”
She took another step forward.
“Help me… measure my body properly.”
“An Zhi…”
The distance between us vanished until even her breathing was distinct.
Then, the bath towel slid from her shoulders —
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