“Hyeseong, can you bring a basin?”

Wearing rubber gloves, Taeyun wiped away the water with steady movements. The heavy snowfall had caused the problem.

Only now did he fully understand why Director Ji had seemed so worried earlier. The building was old, and she had mentioned that water seeped in whenever it rained. Snow, it seemed, was no different.

Water had trickled down the wall and soaked the floor.

“Here.”

“Thanks.”

Taeyun and three other men, including Hyeseong, rolled up their sleeves and got to work. Unfortunately, the leak had spread to near the wardrobe and the blankets were damp, too.

“I’m so sorry you have to go through this.”

“It’s fine.”

Taeyun smiled faintly and reassured the apologetic Director Ji.

It took them a long time to finally finish cleaning up. Despite it being the middle of winter, he had worked so hard that he was covered in sweat.

“Whew… the laundry room…”

He carried the wet quilt down the hallway, looking around for the room.

Director Ji had said it was in a corner on the first floor, but there were no signs, and opening every door to check would be impractical.

“Excuse me!”

At that moment, he saw Ina enter the building.

He called out to her, but she did not respond.

As she headed upstairs to the second floor, Taeyun quickly closed the distance between them.

“Just a moment!”

“……”

Ina stopped and looked up when he blocked her path.

His face was flushed red with exertion, and beads of sweat were running down his forehead.

“Where’s the laundry room?”

“In the corner of the first floor.”

Her eyes were filled with wariness, and she spoke in a cold tone.

Her red, full lips stood out vividly against her pale complexion. Her large eyes, straight nose and long, flowing black hair commanded attention at first glance.

She was beautiful — almost like a doll.

Taeyun stared at her, spellbound, for a moment.

By then, Ina had already said what she needed to say. As if she had finished with him, she brushed past him and started up the stairs again.

Instinctively, Taeyun reached out and grabbed her arm, but flinched and pulled his hand away at once.

“I can’t find it.”

“…Ha.”

As if annoyed that he kept speaking to her, Ina let out a quiet sigh.

But Taeyun pressed on, unfazed.

“Could you show me? As you can see, what I’m carrying is pretty heavy.”

His arms were full of wet blankets.

Ina turned and headed back towards the ground floor, her expression showing her displeasure. Without another word, she strode down the hallway, jerked open a door and stepped inside first.

“Thank you.”

“Taeyun, there you are. You’ve worked hard.”

As he thanked her, Director Ji arrived and helped him.

After confirming that he had gone in, Ina left the laundry room immediately.

Director Ji glanced after her, looking awkward.

“She can be a bit prickly, can’t she?”

“No. It’s fine.”

“She’s actually very kind. She’s just been hurt a lot. She’s soft-hearted and cares deeply, which is why the children follow her more than anyone else. She was supposed to leave last year after graduating, but she didn’t do well in her university entrance exams.”

Ina turned twenty this year. Technically, she was no longer allowed to remain at the orphanage.

She achieved top marks in every subject, but fell ill with severe gastroenteritis on the day of the national exam, performing badly as a result.

As residents had to leave at eighteen, she insisted on getting a job immediately. However, Director Ji persuaded her otherwise and kept her on personally.

“She needs to do well this year.”

Director Ji murmured anxiously as she loaded the blankets into the washing machine.

“She wanted to apply to the pharmacy program at your university. It’s quite famous.”

“I see…”

“She’s been studying while working part-time and saving up for when she leaves next year. If she moves out now, she won’t be able to save anything. I told her that she could stay here for another year. But she has to take the exam again. She should go to college.”

Taeyun nodded, listening carefully to every word.

Only once everything was settled did Director Ji look at him with concern.

“Go have dinner. You must be starving.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“You’ve worked hard.”

She patted his back as they headed toward the dining hall together.

***

The day passed in a blur.

As soon as they arrived in the harsh weather, they cleared the snow from the yard and fixed the leaking room.

The hours slipped by as they played with the children and helped with chores, and before they knew it, it was dinnertime.

Dinner was served in a small dining room next to the main hall.

“Do you want this?”

The child sitting next to Taeyun nodded shyly.

Taeyun smiled brightly and put a sausage in the child’s mouth.

Before eating himself, he decided to feed the younger children who needed more help. Once he had portioned the food out onto trays and helped the children eat it, his day’s tasks would finally be complete.

“Want more soup?”

“No.”

Choa, who turned five this year, joined the orphanage when she was two. Her mother promised to return soon, but never did.

As she chewed her rice, Choa blinked slowly and asked curiously.

“Do you leave after three nights?”

“Ah… yeah.”

Already looking disappointed, Choa pouted and took a sip of water. Although she could use chopsticks to some extent, she still often fumbled and spilled things.

After attending to the children seated on either side of him, Taeyun lifted his head and glanced around.

At another table, Ina was also skipping her own meal to feed the children.

Five of them at once.

She handled them skillfully, feeding them, wiping their mouths, and cleaning up spills.

Although she spoke briskly, she was gentler than anyone else.

Once they had finished, she sent them out one by one.

“Thank you for the meal.”

Choa, having finished, wiped her mouth with her sleeve and bowed.

“Can you make it up to your room on your own?”

“Of course.”

Choa bowed again and stood, holding her tray in her tiny hands.

Taeyun quickly took it from her.

“I’ll carry this. Go on upstairs.”

“Thank you.”

Taeyun gave Choa a small smile.

After clearing her tray, he picked up a fresh one.

He filled it generously with food and strode over to Ina, who was still busy with the children.

“……”

When he set the tray down in front of her, Ina looked up at him, puzzled.

“Eat. You must be hungry.”

“I’ll eat on my own.”

“The kids are done.”

He casually tossed out the remark and turned away to grab another tray. Perhaps because he had worked so hard, he had suddenly become hungry.

As he filled his plate, Hyeseong came up beside him.

“Man, I’m starving. Aren’t you?”

“Of course I am. Let’s eat. You worked hard.”

“It was nothing. The kids are so adorable.”

Hyeseong had joined him on previous volunteering trips, too. He loved children, and today was no exception — he couldn’t take his eyes off them.

“Brother, want some water?”

“Thanks.”

Taeyun sat down first. Hyeseong returned with two cups of water and sat down next to him. The other club members who had come along were already eating at the same table.

Everyone looked exhausted.

“We’ll be busy tomorrow too. I heard they’re doing a full building cleanup.”

“We should help as much as we can before we leave. Though with this snow, I’m not sure we’ll even be able to.”

Despite the forecast predicting an end to the snowfall by nightfall, it continued unabated. The yard that they had cleared earlier was covered in snow again.

Taeyun turned to look out of the window, his gaze meeting Ina’s.

“……”

Now alone at the table, she ate the food he had brought her while everyone else had left.

Startled, she quickly lowered her gaze.

He had heard from Director Ji that she worked part-time in the mornings. Feeling guilty about staying on for another year, she threw herself into caring for the children more earnestly than anyone else.

After quickly finishing her meal, she tidied her tray and left before the others.

“Brother. Are you getting more?”

“……”

“Brother!”

“Huh? No. I’m done.”

He had been staring blankly after her. Startled, he rose to his feet.

“Let’s clean up. We should rest.”

“Yeah.”

Taeyun caught sight of her through the window, walking outside in the snow.

Glancing in her direction, Taeyun began to clear the dining hall.

***

“What am I going to do if she stays sick like this…”

Ina carried Ayeong in her arms as she paced up and down the hallway on the first floor.

The little girl sleeping beside her had had a fever for days and caught a cold.

Director Ji had offered to look after her tonight, but Ayeong clung to Ina, refusing to let go.

“You poor thing.”

Ina patted Ayeong on the back and let out a quiet sigh.

Ayeong had arrived only six months ago and was slower to develop than other children her age.

Perhaps because she saw herself in the girl, who had grown up without her parents’ love, Ina had held her close — and now she would not leave her side.

“Your fever will go down soon. You’ve had your medicine.”

Ina carefully adjusted the blanket in the worn baby carrier so that the child wouldn’t feel the cold.

Humming a soft lullaby, she gazed out of the window.

Snow was still pouring down from the dark sky.

She had lived there all her life, but she had never seen this much snow before.

It was rare.

“Drift into sleep, little one…”

She sang quietly.

What would happen to this child if she took the exam this year and left this place?

She looked at Ayeong, her gaze dropping heavily.

Thud.

“Ah, it’s freezing.”

At that moment, Taeyun stepped inside the main building, brushing the snow off his shoulders.

Ina turned around quickly and headed upstairs as soon as she saw him.

“Why are you out here in the cold?”

“……”

“And you’re dressed so lightly.”

He had already closed the distance between them. His gaze swept over her thin cardigan and he spoke with concern in his voice.

She said nothing.

“Is this the child who’s sick? Here—this is the medicine. The director asked me to bring it.”

Caught off guard, Ina was handed a paper bag containing medicine.

As Ayeong’s fever had not gone down, it seemed they had sent a different type of antipyretic to be taken alongside the one she had taken earlier.

Until Ayeong fell into a deep sleep, going into the room was not an option. If she cried, the other children might wake up.

“Is there anything I can help you with? With your studying, I mean.”

In response to the sudden question, Ina looked at him blankly.

As he spoke, Taeyun pulled the hood of his sweatshirt down. His hair was still damp — he must have just had a shower.

“You want to apply to Korea University’s College of Pharmacy, right? You’re retaking the exam.”

“……”

“If there’s anything you don’t understand while studying—”

“Excuse me.”

He had been speaking without pause. At last, she cut in.

Taeyun smiled brightly and leaned in to listen.

However, Ina’s brow was tightly furrowed.

“You said you’re leaving in three days.”

“Huh? Ah, yes.”

“Then just complete the volunteer work you came for and go. Don’t pretend to be kind. Don’t act like you care.”

Her tone was cold and razor-sharp.

At her words, Taeyun’s expression hardened.