Tap the text to show or hide reading controls.
His very first winter. White snowflakes danced past the floor-to-ceiling windows. Falling silently and softly, the first snow of the year was blanketed the entire world in a coat of pure white.
Sprawled out on the bed, Naru instinctively sensed the snow falling and bolted into the living room. His excited feet felt lighter than ever.
Pressing his face flat against the glass, Naru stared blankly out at the sky for a long time. It seemed a total miracle to him that white snow could endlessly pour down from the vast heavens.
“Wow… snow…”
A soft gasp escaped his lips, immediately fogging up the window. Naru didn’t care about the condensation; he just pressed his face even closer to the glass. He wanted to see the snow as close as possible.
It’s snow, real snow! It’s snowing. Wow…
Was it the sheer joy of seeing the snow? A fluffy white tail suddenly popped right out of Naru’s backside. It had been quite a while since he last showed any hybrid traits, but because his happiness metrics had hit an absolute peak, his tail just burst out on its own.
The fluffy white ball of fur wagged furiously, spinning practically 360 degrees. Before long, a pair of ears popped out too, twitching excitedly.
“Song Naru, what are you doing out here so ear—holy shit, you scared me!”
“Hmm? Gyu-yeon-ah, it’s snowing.”
Gyu-yeon, who had just woken up, noticed Naru was missing from the bed and stepped out into the living room. He had expected another peaceful morning, but so much for peace.
The moment Gyu-yeon spotted the tail wagging in circles, he gasped and clutched his chest. No matter how many times he saw Naru’s partial transformations, he just couldn’t get used to his puppy-like states.
More than that, whenever Naru acted like this, it made Gyu-yeon feel like an absolute piece of trash for some reason.
“Do something about that tail first.”
“Oh, my tail. Wait, why is it out?”
Moving toward the tail with his chin, Gyu-yeon wore a complicated expression—somewhere between a smirk and a scowl. Realizing a beat too late that his tail was exposed, Naru frantically pressed down on his backside.
Fortunately, both the tail and ears vanished back into his frame just as quickly. Deciding that the crisis was averted, Naru gestured eagerly toward Gyu-yeon.
“Look at this, it’s snow!”
“So it is. It seems to be falling a bit early this year.”
Walking over to Naru’s side, Gyu-yeon quietly watched the snow piling up outside the window.
It’s Christmas cake season already. We’re going to be slammed.
Spoken like a true owner of a major dessert cafe, Gyu-yeon’s mind automatically drifted to business. Around this time of year, holiday cake orders usually turned his schedule into a chaotic mess.
Christmas, huh… Christmas…
Gyu-yeon suddenly looked down. His contemplative gaze caught the round crown of Naru’s head. Apparently perfectly content just because it was snowing, Naru was nodding his head rhythmically, humming a completely botched version of a Christmas carol.
“Mmh-mmh, la-la-la… bells are ringing~”
“…”
“Our sleigh is jingle-jangling, make Santa cry~”
“What kind of song is that? That’s not a carol, that sounds like a curse directed at Santa.”
It was a carol that operated on the strict principle that as long as the melody was accurate, the lyrics didn’t matter. Chuckling at Naru’s bizarre and slightly unsettling lyrics, Gyu-yeon fondly ruffled the boy’s hair.
“What do you want to do for Christmas?”
“Ah, Christmas? Eat snow.”
“…What?”
“Eat snow.”
Gyu-yeon, who had been asking in a tender voice, froze with a thoroughly dumbfounded expression. Eating snow for Christmas? Naru’s answers always bounced around like a pinball, leaving his cognitive circuits entirely scrambled.
Was he playing a joke? Gyu-yeon scanned Naru’s face for any signs of mischief, only to immediately resign himself to reality. Naru was serious. Dead serious.
His lips were tightly pursed, and his eyes carried an absolute, unwavering determination to devour more snow than anyone else on the planet. Confronted by this display of pure, innocent madness, Gyu-yeon threw up his hands in total surrender.
“Why on earth would you eat snow on Christmas?”
“Because that’s what you do on Christmas.”
“What kind of logic is that?”
“Is it not snow-eating day?”
To Naru, Christmas was single-mindedly defined as “the day you eat snow.” While being reared under Beom-hyeon’s thumb, he had grown up without ever having the luxury to celebrate holidays, but a precious memory from his earliest childhood remained anchored deep in his mind.
Christmas back when he lived in the countryside. To Naru, it was specifically pronounced Keul-soo-mas.
All the village elders in the countryside pronounced it that way, so Naru had assumed that was its official name.
‘Merry Keul-soo-mas, you rascals! Look at those tails wagging. Go on, go eat some snow, haha! These pups are absolutely thrilled.’
After loosing their holiday greetings, the elders would playfully swat their backsides and tell them to go eat snow. Back when he was just a tiny pup, Naru would faithfully trot behind his mother, picking up and eating the pristine, untouched snow off the ground.
It was cool, refreshing, and melted instantly on the tongue like cotton candy. The absolute best.
Lost in his nostalgic daydream, Naru cutely tugged at the edge of Gyu-yeon’s shirt.
“If we don’t eat snow, what are we going to do?”
“Well, maybe we can close the cafe early and go out for a magnificent dinner.”
“Yes! My system highly approves of that plan. Let’s eat meat.”
“We’ll need to place a cake order too…”
Gyu-yeon loosely mapped out a holiday blueprint in his mind. Since there was still plenty of time left on the clock, he intended to plan everything out slowly and meticulously.
If this had been the old Gyu-yeon, he would have spent his Christmas cycle hitting the clubs, but now that he had a boyfriend he prized above everything else, he was determined to dedicate all his processing power to getting it right.
Besides, it was obvious that Naru had never experienced a proper Christmas in his entire lifecycle. Looking at Naru’s innocent, wide-eyed face, Gyu-yeon vowed to make this a holiday the boy would never forget.
“If we’re going to do this properly, I should probably lock down a luxury hotel reservation too. That’s the only way to really set the mood…”
Overhearing Gyu-yeon’s quiet murmurs, the corners of Naru’s mouth curled into a wide smile. A spectacular dinner coupled with a luxury hotel stay—it was impossible not to get excited.
Counting the remaining days on his fingers, Naru desperately tried to stabilize his racing heart as he began prepping for work. Watching his petite frame bounce away excitedly, Gyu-yeon couldn’t help but burst into a warm laugh.
Look at him, he’s absolutely thrilled.
The morning hours ticked past with maximum velocity. Having finalized their preparation modules, Naru and Gyu-yeon exited the residential vault together.
Waddle, waddle.
Because he was encased in a massive, heavy down puffer coat that extended all the way down past his shins, Naru’s movement speed sustained a severe deceleration block.
Click.
Trailing right behind his boots, Gyu-yeon reflexively snapped a photo of him. Within a handful of frames, Gyu-yeon’s mobile wallpaper—which had previously been an accidental selfie Naru took while messing with the console—was updated to display the boy bundled up in his massive puffer coat.
How does this kid manage to clear the benchmark for pure cuteness every single day without a single frame of rest?
While indulging in a moment of solo pride, Gyu-yeon suddenly caught a strange anomaly on his scanners, looking forward and letting out a sharp shriek.
“Oh, seriously—hey, Song Naru!”
“Hmm?”
“Why on earth are you eating that?! Do your sub-routines want to trigger a severe stomach virus alert, eh? Spit it out right now.”
“I d-didn’t eat it.”
“Bypass the thoughts in your head and spit it out before I start counting. One, two—”
Ptu! Pth-pth!
People always said that when puppies became suspiciously quiet, they were probably getting into trouble.
Apparently, that saying was true.
While Gyu-yeon had been distracted for only a moment, Naru had crouched beside a brick wall, happily scooping up the snow piled on top and stuffing it into his mouth.
Startled, Gyu-yeon began his magical countdown, and Naru reluctantly spat out the mouthful of snow he’d been hiding.
Gyu-yeon stared at him in disbelief.
Honestly… what am I supposed to do with him?
Feeling guilty under Gyu-yeon’s expression, Naru awkwardly wiped his mouth and looked up at him with innocent eyes that seemed to say,
“I don’t know anything.”
“…Honestly you are.”
Seeing that familiar expression again after so long, Gyu-yeon let out a helpless laugh.
Meanwhile, Naru calmly walked toward the parking garage and stopped in front of Gyu-yeon’s car.
“We have to go to work, Gyu-yeon.”
Stop thinking about scolding me and start driving, he silently added.
He tugged at the passenger-side door, which remained locked.
With a sigh, Gyu-yeon walked over and unlocked it for him.
“Wow… everything’s completely white.”
The commute felt especially lively today.
Naru spent the entire drive admiring the snow outside the window.
“It’s so pretty… really pretty…”
When they arrived at the café, he stood outside for a long time simply staring up at the sign.
Completely absorbed in the snowfall, he didn’t even notice that the tip of his nose had turned bright red from the cold.
Only then did he finally open the café door.
Jingle.
The pleasant sound of the bell was followed by cheerful greetings from the staff.
“Good morning, Naru!”
“Morning, Song Naru.”
“Good morning!”
Everyone seemed unusually energetic thanks to the first snowfall.
Naru greeted them as usual before changing into his uniform.
Once preparations for opening were finished, the staff naturally settled into their usual pre-opening chat.
While Gyu-yeon was busy ordering ingredients for Christmas cakes, Seo-yeon excitedly gathered everyone together.
“Big news! Naru, Geon-hu has a boyfriend now!”
“A boyfriend? Really?”
“I’m the only single one left! Come on, Geon-hu—tell us everything! Spill!”
Today’s topic of conversation was Geonhu’s new relationship.
Getting a boyfriend before Christmas—what wonderful news.
Excited, Naru poked Geon-hu’s arm repeatedly, urging him to tell the story.
Embarrassed, Geon-hu scratched the back of his neck and waved his hands dismissively.
Seoyeon, however, only grinned more mischievously.
“Come on, brag a little! When did you start dating? And how far have you two gone?”
“We’ve been together about a month… Wait, you’re even asking that?”
“Oh, come on! Of course I’m curious.”
As everyone laughed, Naru tilted his head.
How far have you gone?
He’d heard the phrase in TV dramas before, but hearing it in real life felt different.
Unable to answer immediately, Geon-hu gave Seo-yeon a knowing grin.
“Well… a month is plenty of time.”
“Oh my gosh! Then again, these days people kiss before they even start dating!”
…
Kiss before dating? Really?
While the others laughed, Naru quietly fell into deep thought.
He didn’t know the exact meaning of “how far you’ve gone,” but judging from the conversation, it seemed to refer to the stages of physical intimacy between couples.
Do people really become that physically close before they’re even dating?
Growing strangely anxious, he began reviewing his own relationship with Gyuyeon.
Did we kiss before dating?
We did.
…Although it was because he was giving me medicine.
Still, it counted.
We kissed again afterward too.
But beyond that…
Nothing.
Even after they started dating, Gyu-yeon had never touched him any further.
Ever since childhood, when Beom-hyeon had subjected him to abuse that bordered on sexual torture, Naru had never once wanted sex himself.
To him, taking off his clothes for physical intimacy had always meant pain.
Gyu-yeon has never forced my clothes off.
He only kisses me gently.
He never says he loves me and then hits me or shoves strange things between my legs.
Being with him has always felt safe… comfortable…
But…
If we’re lovers… are we supposed to do… that?
After thinking for a long time, Naru slowly turned his head to look at Gyu-yeon.
Reading Settings