Chapter Text
Gangwon District was always like this.
The snow would arrive without warning.
One day, the ground beside the bridge would still be wet with muddy slush. The next, everything would be frozen solid, hard enough to crack softly beneath each step and slippery enough to make people slow down without realizing it.
The morning sky hung low and dark.
A layer of gray seemed pressed over the world, heavy enough to make people uneasy if they stared at it for too long.
Sungchan pushed aside the faint gloom in his chest and continued walking to school.
As always, his route took him across Luwon Bridge.
That’s when he heard the noise.
“Wonbin! Did you see the picture I sent you? My mom said she’s taking me there during vacation! Hey, are you even listening? Slow down! Wait for me!”
A boy’s voice rang out from the other side of the bridge.
The wind scattered the sound, but it couldn’t hide the excitement in it.
The boy ran after a dark figure walking ahead of him, hurrying across the frozen bridge as if the ice beneath his feet didn’t exist.
How lively.
Sungchan didn’t stop walking.
He simply continued forward across the dark, frozen surface.
Below him, the stream had already disappeared beneath a thin layer of ice.
The mountains in the distance sat quietly beneath winter’s embrace.
Silent.
Still.
Almost breathless.
For the first time, Sungchan thought that transferring to Gangwon might not be so bad after all.
At least the winters here felt clean.
And just like that,
he turned fourteen.
Transfer students always carried a little nervousness with them.
Sungchan was no exception.
Even though he kept the same calm expression on his face, his fingertips trembled slightly when he stood at the front of the classroom and introduced himself beneath dozens of unfamiliar eyes.
Once he finished, he quickly returned to his seat.
The classroom behind him dissolved back into scattered conversations.
A low tide of voices.
His desk sat in the last row by the window, where he could quietly observe the entire room.
That’s when he saw him again.
The boy from Luwon Bridge.
One arm rested casually across another student’s shoulders as he talked animatedly with the people around him.
He spoke quickly.
Laughed easily.
Leaning halfway into every conversation as if he belonged at the center of it.
Several classmates surrounded him, and laughter constantly drifted out from their little circle.
The boy sat right in the middle of all that noise.
Occasionally responding.
Occasionally smiling.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere around Sungchan felt noticeably quieter.
Maybe because of the contrast.
Maybe because he still hadn’t spoken to many people.
That was fine.
He turned his gaze away and looked out the window instead.
Snow continued to fall.
The warmth inside the classroom slowly fogged the glass.
Raising a hand, he wiped away a small patch and peered outside.
The world framed itself neatly inside that clear space:
A gray-white sky.
Endless falling snow.
Blurred mountains in the distance.
Sungchan watched silently.
The reflection of drifting snow settled in his eyes.
Behind him, the lively group continued chatting.
Their voices blended into the classroom’s background noise until they became nothing more than a warm blur.
Then one of the boys suddenly laughed and slapped the shoulder of the person beside him.
“Were you yelling for Wonbin on the bridge this morning? Stop shouting so loud every day. I could hear you from my house.”
The boy immediately shot back a response.
Fast.
Defensive.
The others burst into laughter.
“Well, whose fault is that? He walks too fast.”
“Wonbin never waits for anyone.”
“Next time don’t chase him. Just climb onto his back and make him carry you.”
The teasing piled on top of itself.
Comfortable.
Familiar.
The kind of jokes friends repeated every day.
Sungchan paused.
Just slightly.
Wonbin.
For the first time, the name landed clearly in his ears.
He thought back briefly.
The dark figure walking ahead on Luwon Bridge.
The boy chasing after him with the bright voice.
Oh.
That was him.
The memory sharpened.
But only a little.
It didn’t mean much beyond that.
When Sungchan glanced back over, the lively scene continued exactly as before.
The boy named Wonbin was still sitting there.
Surrounded by people.
By the time school ended, the sky had grown even darker.
Students poured out of the classroom.
The scraping of chairs and desks blended into a wave of noise before disappearing down the hall.
Sungchan packed his things slowly and followed the crowd outside.
It wasn’t until he left the school gates that he spotted a familiar figure ahead.
Wonbin.
Walking alone this time.
No friends around him.
No laughter.
Just himself.
His pace was steady.
Unhurried.
Sungchan didn’t intentionally follow him.
He wasn’t sure why.
He simply found himself walking behind him, keeping a comfortable distance.
Until they reached Luwon Bridge.
Then Wonbin suddenly changed direction.
Instead of crossing the bridge, he turned toward a set of stairs leading down to the stream.
Sungchan stopped.
From the bridge above, he watched quietly.
The edges of the water had frozen over, forming an incomplete mirror of ice.
Wonbin stopped near the bank.
He didn’t say anything.
Didn’t do anything at all.
He simply stood there, staring at the stream.
His eyes were calm.
His expression unreadable.
Dark eyelashes catching the pale winter light.
Time seemed to stretch.
From where Sungchan stood, he couldn’t see his face clearly.
Only a faint silhouette.
Softened by the cold.
Almost as if winter itself had melted around him.
A thought crossed his mind.
Are quiet people always like this?
Or is it just him?
The wind had already numbed Sungchan’s fingers.
Yet Wonbin remained where he was.
Motionless.
For a moment, Sungchan hesitated.
Should I call out to him?
The thought had barely formed before it vanished.
Because Wonbin moved first.
He suddenly turned away from the stream.
Without another glance.
His steps quickened.
Then he broke into a run.
The truth was, while staring at the frozen water, the only thing on his mind had been:
Looks like the stream froze earlier than last year.
Mom’s probably making dakdoritang tonight.
If I get home faster, it’ll still be hot.
Hurry up.
Hurry up.
Gotta get home.
The thought made him smile to himself.
Just a little.
Above him, Sungchan opened his mouth.
Then closed it again.
Wonbin’s figure disappeared around the corner before long.
Sungchan remained standing there for another moment.
Watching the empty road.
Before finally turning away and continuing home himself.