Winter Season Chapter 74

At Seunghyeok’s low murmur, Yihyeon checked the navigation route and the road ahead. The arrow on the screen pointed toward a path covered in snow, where even the boundaries were no longer visible.

After manipulating several buttons and moving the car back and forth to finally get it out, Seunghyeok, with a deep frown on his face, turned the vehicle toward the direction indicated by the navigation.

Streetlights were few and far between, and with not a single passing car in sight, the surroundings were pitch black. To make matters worse, the snow was falling even more fiercely than before.

They must have entered something resembling a town, as massage parlors and illegal gaming dens began to appear intermittently along the road. Passing those by, the car came to a stop in front of a dilapidated building with white tile bricks falling off in places.

— You have arrived at your destination.

As the navigation turned off, only silence lingered in the car. Amidst the soft crunch-crunch sound of accumulating snow, Yihyeon looked at Seunghyeok. Without a word, Seunghyeok unbuckled his seatbelt, opened the car door, and stepped outside.

“Wait here for a second.”

Whether he had business here or not, Seunghyeok brushed the snow falling on his head away with his hand, pushed open a brown iron door, and went up the stairs. Looking up at the second floor, a lit window caught Yihyeon’s eye. Above it hung a sign that looked decades old, reading “Pawnshop.” Yihyeon looked away from the sign and surveyed the surroundings.

Perhaps because they were away from the city, it had been a long time since he had seen snow piled up like this everywhere. When he opened the car door and stepped out, his feet sank deep into the snow, which was piled as high as his shins.

Even in the brief moment of stretching his body, which was stiff from sitting for so long, snowflakes settled on his hair and shoulders. While he was looking around, worried about whether they could return home, he heard the sound of someone coming down the stairs.

A moment later, Seunghyeok appeared holding a black laptop bag. After tossing it into the backseat of the car, Seunghyeok turned off the engine and locked the doors. When Yihyeon looked up at Seunghyeok with wide eyes, he irritably swept back his bangs.

“What are you doing, aren’t you coming?”

“If we drive in this weather, we’ll end up stranded in the middle of the road. I heard there’s a lodging just a bit further from here, so let’s go there for now.”

At Seunghyeok’s words, Yihyeon frowned and looked around. The snow was falling so heavily that you could practically see it accumulating, making it seem difficult to drive. Although he didn’t know how things were unfolding, Yihyeon had no choice but to silently follow behind the leading Seunghyeok.

It was just past six o’clock, but the sky was already as dark as the middle of the night. The white snow stood out even more clearly against the black background. The heavy snow falling unbelievably slowly seemed better described as “pouring” rather than “falling.” Snowflakes repeatedly settled on his eyelashes, the bridge of his nose, and his lips before melting away.

The snowy ground sank deep with every step, and white snow dust scattered over the drifts whenever the wind blew. Looking back, the traces of the two men walking remained clearly behind them.

White steam flowed from between his lips. While staring blankly at the back of Gu Seunghyeok walking a distance ahead, Yihyeon quietly called his name.

“Gu Seunghyeok.”

It was a heavy silence, as if the hexagonal snow crystals surrounding them were absorbing all sound. Within that, his low voice continued.

“Wait for me.”

Only then did Seunghyeok turn around to look at Yihyeon. Noticing that Yihyeon’s fingertips, which he couldn’t put in his pockets because he was trying to keep his balance while walking, were stained red, Seunghyeok took off the black leather gloves he was wearing and handed them over.

Yihyeon hesitated for a moment before taking Seunghyeok’s gloves and slipping his fingers inside. The lingering warmth of the body heat made his frozen fingertips tingle as they thawed.

They walked like that for about ten minutes. Up ahead, a small house with its lights on began to appear.

At the sight of the old word “B&B” attached to the wall, the pace of the two men, which had slowed down, quickened. Seunghyeok stopped in front of the gate and knocked, while Yihyeon brushed the snowflakes off his head.

“Is anyone there?”

The sound of the loud thump-thump knocking echoed in the air. From inside, the sliding sound of a door could be heard, and just as someone’s footsteps seemed to draw closer, the closed gate swung wide open.

“Do you have a room?”

A middle-aged woman with a troubled expression looked Seunghyeok and Yihyeon up and down. Then, looking up at the snowy sky, she stepped back as if telling them to come in for now.

“What business brings you out in this weather? Come in for now.”

Bowing their heads as they crossed the gate, a typical old-style house came into view. It was a structure where two buildings that looked like Hanoks were connected with a wooden veranda in the middle.

While Seunghyeok and Yihyeon stepped under the eaves to avoid the snow and brushed off the snow piled on their heads and shoulders, the middle-aged woman who had opened the door brought over towels and handed them to them.

“There’s only one room left, would that be okay?”

He locked eyes with Gu Seunghyeok for a moment, but it wasn’t a situation where they could say they liked it or hated it. When they nodded, the woman pointed toward the room on the right side of the veranda.

“I’ve turned on the boiler, so it’ll get warm soon. You must be cold, so hurry up and wash. I’ll prepare dinner for you.”

After thanking the woman and opening the door, a fairly clean interior appeared. It had the atmosphere of an old country house with yellow linoleum flooring and folded floor mats and blankets in one corner.

The attached bathroom was a tiny size where one person could barely take a shower. The sound of the boiler running could be heard continuously from somewhere with a whirring noise.

After taking off their sneakers and socks, which were completely soaked from trekking through the snow, they stepped inside. As soon as his feet touched the floor, a sigh of relief naturally escaped Yihyeon’s mouth.

The same seemed to be true for Gu Seunghyeok, as he sat on the floor with his upper body tilted back and his arms behind him. Yihyeon stood up and took off his coat with his back to Seunghyeok.

“I’ll wash first.”

Entering the bathroom and taking off his wet clothes, Yihyeon grabbed the showerhead and turned on the water. As his body thawed in the warm water, he finally felt like he could breathe again. It was a bit unpleasant to have to put back on jeans that were damp and cold at the hems, but it wasn’t a situation to be picky. When he quickly washed, dressed, and came out, Seunghyeok was not in the room.

Thinking he might have stepped out for a moment, Yihyeon took a cigarette in his mouth and went outside, where he saw Seunghyeok by the old chicken coop next to the building, also with a cigarette in his mouth, talking on the phone with someone.

“Yeah, I found it. I’ll bring it up tomorrow, so find someone who can handle the forensics. Someone who won’t make the cleanup troublesome.”

As he walked to the side and lit his cigarette, he felt Seunghyeok’s gaze glance over. Seunghyeok, who hung up the phone, put it in his pocket and exhaled cigarette smoke.

“Go wash up.”

“Yeah.”

Watching the snowy landscape silently, Yihyeon spoke first.

“They say it’ll stop a bit tomorrow.”

When he pulled out the gloves he had received earlier and handed them to Seunghyeok, Seunghyeok put them in his pocket. After that, silence returned once again. A mix of white breath and cigarette smoke flowed from between their lips. The silence surrounding them was uncomfortable yet not uncomfortable.

Who would have known that a day would come when he and Gu Seunghyeok would stand side by side, peacefully watching the falling snow and looking at the same scenery? The atmosphere reminded him of the old days when absolutely nothing had happened.

“…….”

Yihyeon realized he had unconsciously recalled the past and bit his molars hard. Then, he left the spot first.

The meal prepared by the B&B owner was simple. After sitting side by side across from Gu Seunghyeok and finishing the meal—which consisted of several vegetable side dishes and grilled fish—sleep washed over him so heavily that his eyes kept blinking shut, even though it was only ten o’clock.

While sitting against the wall looking at his phone, Yihyeon’s head kept nodding downward repeatedly. Seeing this, Seunghyeok prodded Yihyeon with his toe.

“Hey, Kwon Yihyeon. Spread out the blankets and sleep.”

He rubbed his eyes and tried to unfold the blankets that were folded in the corner, but there was only one set of double-sized blankets for both the floor and covering. Yihyeon, checking Gu Seunghyeok’s expression with a troubled face, laid down two pillows side by side. Seunghyeok’s brow furrowed. Yihyeon murmured as if making an excuse.

“…There’s nothing we can do.”