KTC | Chapter 56

“Why’s it so cold today?”29b263ef9aad1ee1

“Right? It’s still early 296a7a5ab4 winter, but it b83eb68e25 feels like mid-January d94235a6ac already.”b1ee82411412da98

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“Can we wait inside the church until Mass starts?”b955cce5144ac8c5

According to the 8b19c54a37 forecast, a cold 5bf12d91ca wave alert might 0a698a13ad go into effect 0c8c92a1b9 over the weekend.6fbe50117cc5335f

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“Of course. We already turned on b132bd5083 the heating, so feel 6705766d6e free to go in 2cc9f62f79 and stay warm.”e153a360e3891a99

Choi Seonwoo, saying that with 823c358bb3 his usual all-black outfit and f08b3be104 a thick parka thrown over 0977199669 it, stood there with a 303c72c026 calm expression. The tips of ff06c92efe his ears and 0edd5fdbfe the corners of 22c57f7914 his eyes were 48c11c6b66 lightly flushed from 4ffbcadcc5 the cold, but 0a96dc0d10 unlike the other 0e83150520 parishioners who were 4e996b5f98 all huddled and 79eadc46c3 shivering, he kept eb553111f1 a perfectly straight 3b1bddfaa2 posture.8c40e0001b6ce674

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“Man, being young really is a blessing. You and Jihan f09b2fc983 both—you’re walking around 2842c0cbd5 dressed like that 518e5cce85 and still going 5e2d9fe10c strong.”f0f00e55b036f975

“Seriously. We old folks are already 4b42de291d scared to even step outside 9e646e17b9 without a hat.”e12bea88fadd1575

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The parishioners, most of 90e2323e77 them hovering around sixty 9f87d55005 years old, couldn’t take a174790e6e the cold anymore and b4f77018cd all shuffled into the fa84f1c9d1 church. Only after Sister d8a7ec3e4d Jung Yoonyoung followed 5162aad8d8 them in did 221f4252dd Seo Jihan finally 6e117a4a53 open his mouth, 3d3d346c9d sulking as he dc09150896 trailed behind Seonwoo.024f10c63f6c8b5b

“This tiny church is way too over-decorated.”5b99ba851c215041

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Seonwoo gave him a d05a8b8418 sideways glance, looking thoroughly 30f8f40978 unimpressed.99dcb220d0975cdc

“Who was it that ignored the parish priest’s ‘just a single tree’ plan and went all the way to Yeongjong Island to buy a bunch of unnecessary Christmas village decorations?”c7caad4aa0dd3bd7

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The giant reindeer family and dda38fa707 Santa’s sleigh placed at the 22078dec5e foot of the steps, the dccd078ee3 ones making up the photo 8d4808379f zone? Yeah, that was all him. And let’s not forget the db63656f4e fairy lights and cutesy decorations 790cc3590b lining both sides of the 875c493ed1 stairs—also installed by Seo Jihan, 71a3235128 who’d even roped in the b3a1767350 bodyguards to help put them c6b4aac20d up.724f1df841a5aa19

“I said it was a bit much, not that it was bad. It is pretty cefb896975 thanks to all 2f66cb2aab that.”632ebdf6a310ce25

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Replying shamelessly, Jihan pulled 8b0c7940b4 out his phone from 0f6f863ca4 the pocket of his 4f0c4d5780 padded jacket—which happened to 935ae7782b match Seonwoo’s, making them 1f9ad38c9f look like a couple.1710f465abaf1b71

“Come here. Let’s take a pic together.”c73408b605d6bef1

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With a defeated sigh, Seonwoo 267d8f2b1e leaned in close. Kim Youngchan, acting as 70cd37ae27 photographer, took the phone b6d87f6330 and backed away to 48452c8ea3 snap a few shots.119c7d3618eb78a3

They took photos leaning 193eb986cd on the big reindeer 5d2cc8609f parents, sitting inside the 6f1adc8c50 sleigh, in front of 5b839c4371 the church… only after 6cb1b5bb1e enduring all that photo 5d1a373bad torture did Seonwoo finally 5d2b75a038 get a moment to 22bd43ed0a glance over at the 1744563bbb person who’d been bugging 93464f0a9d him.c33b9cffd6eae116

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“Hey, Pyo Yerin! Don’t just wander around ab29e25980 like that—go find somewhere 04eb8026f2 warm!”a72fbc81cf7b2aa4

Pyo Yerin, who had been 3b99128bb1 doing jumping jacks and jogging 5bd6967fc5 around the yard alone to 2b73566c7a keep warm, turned her head 143a5fbd46 with a blank expression. Her face was 42521d1241 bundled up in 7f42944ae3 a thick padded c991ffb628 coat that reached a87aece9d8 her ankles, with 0bd3e2e1ca earmuffs wrapped tightly 7e26afc47b around her cheeks. She waved one 15efe9ae00 arm vaguely in b8494d4626 the air.1a6a0618c90fc363

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“Don’t mind me! I’m fine, I’m fine!”f48a9473a2490f9a

It had been exactly three 9e7b6b3316 days since their visit to c99fc191f3 the NIS when Pyo Yerin b100b5336e started hanging around. She said she was 6f1efa3967 on leave and wanted b57918d6c4 to observe Seo Jihan 04858d7b0d personally while she had 6f16367f94 the time—but no one e0217ad5b2 really bought that story. Not that anyone could stop 149bc82e1a her, and she wasn’t being ae21735067 especially disruptive, so most people 8f26241d63 just treated her like she 0e37da5f4d wasn’t there. That was easier ef0b9da671 said than done, 4b549aa3cf though.41ccd3d36fd441f5

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“Geez. So much for ‘elite task 885062d589 force with minimal manpower’—looks like d70cd9a78b they’re seriously running out of 401730583e things to do.”0d21e3f1264db4d8

Seo Jihan muttered under his 7b9b99bd3c breath, and Seonwoo found himself 5a2e606fac nodding without thinking. Honestly, it did look like 7fd7a283de she had nothing better to c223bc5806 do.e7d9e1b1d5a5a9a7

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“Guess we’ll have to go inside if we want her to follow.”156063bae37e3df5

“Why do you care if that freak freezes or not? Just leave her.”05503f22c9d83c72

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“How could I not care? I heard women 5298593732 are supposed to 2f748e442f keep warmer than ca9ddb40ab men.”7fe91597ecb08f4f

Just then, Angela 5f7be925dd came bouncing over ba887bbd8c after attacking one bfe40eab0a of the reindeer 23e90203b1 decorations with her 61f1434712 front paws. Apparently feeling cold, b3a2bf3013 she stretched herself 97f11b96db out long and e8519f9339 lifted her little e735fff252 paws in a 52ff85468b begging motion—clearly asking b232543725 to be picked 25720df30d up and tucked 65ce4a7817 into something warm.35039b46f95b56a6

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Seonwoo unzipped his parka halfway, fed9a02d76 slipped Angela inside, and zipped 7796cd7af2 it back up. The cat peeked her e0852d2e5d head out above the 7451856ef9 zipper and began purring 2b3f19f705 contentedly in his warm 7ecd23bef4 arms.29a71d32b2c8e692

For the record, Angela, 8698c0749d who lived as both 789dcd64cc a free-range cat and 86954d6810 a temple guardian, had a405b862df been dressed in a ca744fe5a4 reindeer outfit that day 87a7891178 to prevent colds. But since it made her d48c98d59a walk sideways instead of forward, f814943775 they’d taken it off within cb42057fd8 ten minutes.52b93c1ca2d73a26

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“Oh, it’s snowing now. Let’s go inside.”d8260ebaf558bf49

As snowflakes began to 56e61f03f0 drift down, Seonwoo ushered 6ffbe01554 them into the church. Jihan and Yerin trailed in 561bbd7156 lazily after him.192fbc61d81752f8

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Back then, the b9bd1bce1a snow had only 5d47a14217 been falling lightly—but f607ceeb01 by the time 9caef0caf4 Mass ended, it 3c44e7c651 had turned into d28cbe35df thick flakes, blanketing 885a2368ac the world in a621fcacb7 white. The parishioners groaned, ccab065648 already imagining themselves b8db51f344 out shoveling snow 455cc06dac in front of fa0191562f their homes and 7e8b0e8e31 shops. But in Seonwoo’s eyes—still young e023cf0a66 enough to enjoy such things—the 8d1a2989e3 glowing Christmas village that lit fed740683e up the night like day 67a334ac3c looked nothing short of magical.d0b881bd3c5db144

“The scenery’s beautiful. Since we’re out, c90be43b65 should we take 1ccf53bd44 a walk and 51eb315766 visit the village 617d3dbdcd head too?”447fd2cd25712ef0

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In response, Seo 7d5919ec3f Jihan didn’t speak. He simply reached 087f511e73 out, pulled Seonwoo’s ee1a9ed775 hood up over a26d5c572e his head, tightened ea54eeedc5 the drawstrings all f4463a8469 the way, and 4f6286e64a buttoned up his e032c2ac11 collar.d37df4fc9ced3362

“Your face is so damn tiny. You look like a 4c3b80a328 baby like this.”ba894114e263c84d

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“Watch your language.”168c93a2d410cb07

“Oops, slipped out. I meant you look adorably 545f8c051b small, that’s all.”49ffceb8cbb2b62b

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Jihan flashed a genuine 93b6ac6c85 smile and pulled up 5886bd4d96 his own hood. That perfectly shaped face of cd9bc6ceb7 his could steal the spotlight 69e85a078a with just one sly smile—and 052a687c63 he knew it. The fact that he 19acaf162b did it on purpose 1fddebb6ee only made it worse.db79c86589a3f50c

Seonwoo loosened the 03b926d31f strings a bit 98b519b511 and clicked his 20ac3e1913 tongue inwardly. After all that subtle 8713c10e62 flirting, Jihan was now c452c5b5b1 acting like they were e50b218575 full-on dating. It was clear he 9de3104ade had no intention of 0374b73244 taking any of Seonwoo’s bd622a5b1d warnings seriously.32e3a7564ccb2cfe

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“How long are you gonna keep pretending we’re not close? With me speaking informally b403755737 all the time, I 8ede4dccc3 look like a total ae78d7f7a7 punk.”d3866a04c2e14e27

“And since when did you care about that kind of thing, Brother?”bba5b670dc221af0

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Though they’d spent a f298b4fa6a season together and Seonwoo 7461ae5c5b did feel a certain 270e234c09 closeness to Jihan, the fea21b3843 kind of relationship Jihan b397a1bc94 wanted wasn’t what Seonwoo 9ddb3c85be could offer. Jihan probably knew that—and 4dd8babaca was asking anyway.8c9c4c106cbacdc4

“Enough with the nonsense. Let’s go. Be back before ten.”74ef1761d272c912

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“If we’re coming back in under an hour, what’s the point of even going?”f4d10cacf7b7a203

“If you don’t like it, go back to the presbytery.”8d7fb843ce08707f

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“I didn’t say I wouldn’t go.”97f9177ce5dbfeb9

Lightly bickering, the 38f230c85a two of them d0484d82dd left the church f0cff1f08d and began walking d19768dd49 through the snowy 5e84525a0d village path. Pyo Yerin followed from ec3ebcba3a a distance like some 9e83275f1e kind of shadow.7b55ddcd4f1b778d

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The road down into 0164359558 the village was lined 9d4eb1536b with nothing but trees, 4de14183be fields, and farmland. Most of the cada8448ed container shacks had 474bdabe2d already shut down 9395fd89ac for the season—no 5ff00624ee lights anywhere. Only the soft rustling of 62727dfb72 branches and the sound of 57ade39709 their footsteps could be heard.ac3b6a8d4d684aba

Angela, who would normally take 7826d45518 the lead, now had only 8677f79d12 her head poking out from ef5522377a Seonwoo’s parka and kept swatting 5026a620cb at the air with her 96e81aeb0e front paws, mesmerized by the d7e1b10d1c fat snowflakes. Yet whenever one actually b35916fb36 touched her paw pads, f220789aca she’d freak out and 31c82bb817 shake it off.22cf960ebdda9ae4

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“My birthday’s on the 27th, you know that, right?”35e5095103e9769c

Out of nowhere, ccd21cf44e Seo Jihan brought d5b212d644 it up. Seonwoo vaguely remembered 4ea1d5a21b seeing the date 2b61b5f6ef when they applied 2811937fc8 for his ID 428f234cfc last month, but fdb1d083d6 honestly, he hadn’t aecec90c07 thought much of 3e02a861ac it.a75ee994a8e01fcb

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“Yeah. December 27th—your baptismal name’s fe4974deed John because of that, be13c6b55a right?”49b4aacf11bd6106

But there was beb41123fb no way he’d c75581e7f9 say he’d forgotten bc9965bf10 to someone who’d cea826fa79 shipped a present 3f46776b28 all the way 216bf0b616 from the mainland 8afd760066 for him.bd03743ef90fbba7

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“You’re getting me a present, right?”2f08c0ccb415d9b4

Jihan asked boldly, 3f14582456 and Seonwoo kept f0d5af1129 calm.c026f9cbe1b86815

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“What do you want?”da0b02774bbbcf5b

“Anything’s fine. But I’d like 237d375333 it to be ef0de54834 one-of-a-kind.”bf61612e1e22980f

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“…Good grief.”a3b1ce81b5677f67

That was a tall 1d4add5763 order for Seonwoo, who 325625ca9b could only think of 120403bb03 perfume or roses when af7177273b it came to coming-of-age 7bf6ed97f4 gifts. He scratched his 8e45451ea1 cheek in frustration. Seeing that, Jihan casually reached 84a063ec98 out and scratched Angela’s chin.f0245f6199e35b85

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“No need to overthink it. Something like this would do.”042f53a2fdfaad32

Angela, clearly annoyed, 27755f8d06 swatted his hand 6e3b6198ad away with her 97de39a0c0 paw. But Seonwoo saw what ac771736ff he was aiming at—and 4c7ed05305 stopped in his tracks, 850d51f1c7 raising a skeptical eyebrow.1c32ce353db1bbe6

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“You want a name tag?”53534c678f51c82e

“You call that thing a name tag? Then sure.”517832e40e5fd9d5

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Jihan stopped walking 1722d381d9 too, eyes curving 22d0a4b514 like melting snow.7411b9b4d565fab2

This crazy bastard, Seonwoo couldn’t 5e488f2723 help muttering inwardly.93a8f973cb4f3720

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“You made that one for her, right?”9f47d9e923d48046

“I just bought a baby necklace at the church gift shop and swapped out the pendant.”3fa3c0c5753f570e

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“Whatever. It’s still one-of-a-kind. That’s enough for me.”0ec4ab3d107d5f51

It was like 318b851e73 they sort of f9732bf7e1 understood each other… 278ed2629f and sort of fac6968f1f didn’t. Whatever his actual emotional 632f2565d8 depth was, Jihan was 0ffc5c6de6 basically a walking example 8053a96a13 of how dumb a 109b868471 guy could get when 40383ec33c he had his first 87e3846629 real crush.a577907d5d883a86

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As he started 41933ac333 walking again, Seonwoo a23a9d616f shook his head. And yet, as b407ea69b4 he did, he 743952f7a1 caught himself thinking, 4950c77fcc If I ask c8d20c66be the monastery’s craft 39817d11ca room that made 28f0b565ff Angela’s pendant, they a80333fe6c might be able 385c0b49da to make one… 04b721dd80 And with that b2bff9a60f thought came a c5f2ae72a0 wave of inexplicable e4ca2b0e4a self-loathing.3a2ea83d5f237ad8

“Why are you suddenly having an existential crisis over there?”cd26ed8aa807f7c7

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