A Painful Obsession

“What are you saying…?”

Taeyun was momentarily speechless at her icy remark. Although he had sensed that she was cold, he hadn’t expected her to speak like this.

Feeling flustered, he opened his mouth to respond, but Ina beat him to it by meeting his gaze.

“It’s temporary anyway. The kids get hurt.”

“It’s not temporary. I plan to come at least once a month—”

“That’s what everyone says. The children wait every day, only to end up feeling disappointed and hurt. So don’t pretend to be kind. Just do whatever you need to for your CV, then leave. Isn’t that why you’re here?”

“That’s not—”

Even when Taeyun tried to explain, she ignored him and went upstairs.

She walked away too quickly for him to stop her. Even if he had managed to catch up with her, he wouldn’t have known what to say.

He had planned to visit her once a month.

However, as she said, there was no guarantee that he would be able to keep that promise.

“Ha…”

After standing there for a long moment, a bitter smile curved across his lips.

***

The next day began before dawn.

After clearing the snow that had fallen through the night and finishing breakfast, it was nearly noon.

“You must be exhausted.”

“I’m fine.”

“There’s just so much to do! To be honest, we hadn’t even dared to think about doing the laundry. But thanks to you, Taeyun, we now have a tumble dryer. We can finally give the place a thorough clean. It’s wonderful!”

Director Ji beamed at the thought of being able to wash the blankets despite the bad weather.

When she mentioned the volunteer trip, Taeyun’s father quietly arranged additional support through the group.

This was kept confidential from the other club members — only Director Ji knew.

He had also promised continued support going forward.

Not only had a tumble dryer been provided, but also winter coats and other necessities for the children.

This made a significant difference.

“The kids were so excited about getting new jumpers! Although we receive some government funding, winter coats are expensive. Most of the children have to wear hand-me-downs or go without.”

Given the orphanage’s limited finances, it was difficult to afford coats costing over two hundred thousand won each.

“I see. I’ll take them out in a little while.”

Taeyun replied, and Director Ji nodded.

“They said the snow will stop this afternoon. Let’s take the bus and go together.”

Fortunately, there was a small department store near the orphanage. Rather than buying the coats themselves, the staff decided to take the children so they could choose their own.

Although the orphanage had previously received goods as support, this was the first time the children had gone in person to pick something out.

At that moment, Choa, who had been playing in the nearby snow, ran up to Taeyun.

“When are we going?”

“Hmm… in about an hour? Maybe after lunch.”

Having looked after her during mealtimes for the past two days, he had clearly made her feel more at ease with him.

Taeyun crouched down in front of Choa and tied her scarf back on tightly.

“If you stay out in the snow too long, you’ll catch a cold. Let’s head inside now. Your gloves are soaked.”

He checked them, his brow creasing slightly.

Her old wool gloves were soaked from playing in the snow. Yet, for some reason, she grinned brightly.

Her innocent smile made his eyes warmly curve.

“The snow is amazing.”

He recalled Director Ji saying how rare it was.

That must be why the children rushed outside at every opportunity to touch and play in it.

“It’s okay.”

“Wait. Then wear different gloves, okay?”

When he removed her gloves, her hands were red and stiff from the cold. She had been shaping snowballs with those tiny hands until they were frozen like this.

“They’re too big.”

He slipped his own gloves—taken from his pocket—onto her hands. They were obviously oversized, far too large for her small fingers.

“But if you keep wearing wet ones, you could get frostbite.”

“I don’t want these. I want mine.”

Pouting, Choa pointed at her own gloves still in his hand.

At her stubborn insistence, Taeyun looked momentarily at a loss.

What should he do?

“Choa!”

In that brief moment of hesitation, Choa grabbed her gloves back from his hand and pulled them on quickly. Then she scampered off towards her friends and started rolling snowballs again.

He sighed and pressed a hand to his forehead.

“Brother, what are you doing?”

Hyeseong had come up beside him without him noticing and nudged him.

“It’s nothing. When are we heading out?”

“After lunch, I think. I just asked.”

“Right. It’s almost lunchtime. Let’s go to the dining hall.”

“We’ve finished here anyway. Let’s go together. We’ll probably have to shovel snow again tonight. It’s going to freeze quickly. Why is it snowing so much?”

Hyeseong grumbled.

With a faint laugh, Taeyun walked towards the dining hall with him.

Glancing back across the yard, he saw Choa running around with a big smile on her face.

***

After lunch, they headed to the department store with the children.

The kids were thrilled as they chose their coats and winter accessories.

“It’ll be warm this winter. I don’t know how to thank you.”

The delighted expressions on the children’s faces brought tears to Director Ji’s eyes.

Thankfully, as winter was coming to an end, the coats were on sale and cheaper than expected. Although she had initially felt burdened by all the help she had received, this eased her mind somewhat.

“It would’ve been better if they’d had these earlier in the winter.”

“That’s why we bought them a little big. It’s more than enough. Winter will come again soon—they can wear them then.”

Upon hearing Taeyun’s regretful tone, Director Ji waved her hand and thanked him again.

As he looked around, his gaze paused on something nearby.

A display of red scarves and gloves.

He suddenly recalled Choa’s frozen, red, stiff hands when she was rolling in the snow.

Without hesitating, he walked over and picked up a set.

Then he approached Choa, who was looking around with wide, curious eyes.

“Choa, give me your hands. Let’s try these on.”

“Wow… it’s so pretty.”

Taeyun wrapped the new scarf around Choa’s neck and put the gloves on her hands. She let out a series of delighted exclamations, clearly pleased.

“Do you like them?”

She nodded vigorously.

Her bright smile spread wide, and Taeyun found himself smiling back without realizing it.

“Now you can wear these when you have snowball fights, okay?”

“Okay!”

“They suit you so well, Choa.”

“Hehe.”

At the compliment, she lifted her gloved hands and admired them from every angle, clearly thrilled.

“It looks like we’ve bought everything.”

Director Ji finally looked relieved only after they had purchased items for the children who could not come.

Before Taeyun could speak, Director Ji suddenly exclaimed.

“Oh—Ina. Ina couldn’t come.”

Taeyun hesitated to mention that they hadn’t bought her anything. However, he felt awkward about bringing it up himself.

Ina had gone to her part-time job and couldn’t join them.

“We should get something for her too.”

“I can pick it out.”

Taeyun answered quickly.

“Would you? Then you choose, Taeyun. She’ll be starting university next year. Get something college students wear.”

Her specific request took him by surprise for a moment.

Unlike with men’s brands, he was not familiar with women’s fashion.

After wandering through the women’s section for a while, he stopped in front of a mannequin.

“This is nice.”

It was a white, goose-down jumper that would complement her pale skin beautifully. When he pressed it lightly, its luxurious softness was clear to see.

“It needs to be warm.”

He remembered how she had always worn thin layers.

For a moment, he could almost see her in front of him, sharp eyes and cold words included.

“I wonder if she’ll even wear it.”

A small, wry smile curved his lips. Judging by how she had treated him so far, he doubted she would say anything nice, even if he bought her one.

“I’ll take this. Please gift-wrap it.”

“What size would you like?”

“Ah… the size.”

He hesitated, clearly uncomfortable. He had no idea what size she wore.

Seeing his dilemma, the sales associate offered gently.

“You can describe her build compared to mine. Is she on the slimmer side?”

“Yes. I think she’s a bit slimmer than average.”