Jessica:

"Annyeong Ho-Jin, what's up?", I asked generally, entering the park/garden. (Hey)

"Annyeong, Jessica..." He said, a smiled in an odd manner, which made me giggle, "What's so funny?" (Hey)

"Aniyo, aniyo, gwenchanayo!" I said, trying to stop myself from getting hysterical. (No, no, never mind!)

"Nae...anyway, I was thinking, are you going to the Masquerade ball?" he asked, to my surprise. (Yeah)

"Uhm...molayo. If only I had someone to go with me," I said, depressingly, and realised how desperate I must've sounded. (I don't know)

"You do. You have me," he whispered, standing about a foot away from me, so I had to look up at him. 

https://youtu.be/NZITKMNFCAw

(note: it is recommended to play this while reading the next couple of paragraphs to enhance the experience)

It was as if I was seeing him in a different light...I had never considered Ho-Jin, as I thought it would be weird for everyone if I dated my best friend's elder brother, but his words had changed all of that. He had never looked as cute and handsome at the same time, before that moment. I just stood there, not being able to break our eye-contact. I had to throw my head up in order to see his face, as he was more than a foot taller than me. For the first time, I noticed the tiny scar that was near his left eyebrow. I remembered Hae-Ri telling me that some kid had thrown a stone at him when he was a kid, so that explained it. His curly-black hair fell over his eyes, almost covering them, and I couldn't help but observe his perfect jawline. 

He gently took my hands, and I didn't break away. It suddenly came to me, it was like something inside me had been evoked. I liked Ho-Jin. 

"I'll go with you, if that's what you want," I said, staring into his deep eyes.

"I would really like that," he whispered again, sending a shiver up my spine, making me wriggle slightly. 

I realised that it wasn't just because of him; it had started snowing! The first snow, what a coincidence! Before I knew it, Ho-Jin took off his grey hoodie, and gently slipped it over my head.

"Keep it," he told me.

"A-arasseo," I said, flustered, "Well, I should probably..." (O-okay)

"Yeah, y-yeah me too...", he stuttered, and gave me an awkward little wave.

I laughed and waved, turning the other way and heading back inside. The hoodie was very comforting, and for some reason, it smelled like pine needles. 

I knocked on the door of our room. Tap tap tap.

"Nae! Come in quickly, otherwise  the mosquitos will get inside!" Hae-Ri said in a jolly way, swinging the door open. (Yes!)

I just laughed, and in fact, I couldn't stop laughing and bursting into giggles for the next hour. I'm sure Hae-Ri must've realised, but for a while, she didn't hammer me with questions.

"Okay, I can't stand this any longer. Something great has obviously happened, and I'm getting a feeling that this is related to my brother. I saw you guys in the park. Spill," she demanded, narrowing her eyes.

I wondered if Hae-Ri would be alright with it.

"So...uhum, yeah. Ho-jin and I are...uhm," I said, not sure whether it was right to continue.

"Go on," she persisted.

"Okay please don't freak out but Ho-Jin and I are going to the ball together and I think he likes me. And to be honest, I think I like him too!" I let it all out in a single breath.

"You and Ho-Jin?! Daebak! I never would've expected it, but damn girl, my brother has pretty high standards!" she teased. (Amazing!)

"So you're okay with it?" I re-checked.

"Of course!" she reassured.

"Oh thank god!", I breathed a sigh of relief, and hugged her tight, "Speaking of which, you seem much happier compared to the afternoon...it's Hae-Jun, isn't it?" I asked.

"Well...he asked me to go to the masquerade ball with him!!" she grinned from ear to ear.

I felt so happy for both of us, especially my best friend. She'd been going through a lot, and she deserved this.

Min-Jae:

Jessica texted me:

Yah! I'm really sorry, but I've got bad news for you. I'll tell you at breakfast.

...

I knew that this was going to be related to Hae-Ri, but I just hoped that it wasn't as bad as I had thought.

The three of us met at lunch, and Hae-Ri was quickly but efficiently stuffing the Goguma (sweat potato) and Oksusu Guksu (Corn noodles) in her mouth.

"Are you going somewhere?" I asked her.

"Eoh nae, I'm going home for the weekend," she said, her expression becoming grim for some reason that I was unaware of. (Oh, yes)

"Hae-Ri, you haven't told him yet," Jessica reminded Hae-Ri, but she was looking at me.

"Majjayo. Hae-Jun and I are going to the ball together! By the way, weren't you gonna ask some girl to go with you? Have you confessed yet?" she said, to my disgust. (Right)

Was this the bad news that Jessica had been mentioning? It had to be, or was there anything worse? I surely hoped not.

"A-aniyo. There's no point, she doesn't see me as anything more than a friend," I said glumly. (N-no)

I had lost the battle; but this was only round one. I had to come up with something else, unless Hae-Ri actually liked him, in which case that would be really immature of me to do.

...

Later in the evening, the most astounding thing happened. First, there was a knock on my door, and when I opened it, there was none other than "the" Hae-Jun.

"Mmm, how can I help you?" I asked coldly.

"You must be Min-Jae, Hae-Ri's friend? I actually do need your help, is it okay if I come in?" he asked politely, to my utter shock.

He needed MY help? Out of all the people, did he have to pick me? A guy that he didn't even know existed?

But weirdly enough, he wasn't anything that I had imagined him to be; an ill-mannered, rude guy. Instead, he was extremely polite, even if he had barged in all of a sudden.

"Eoh, keure," I agreed, not meaning to. (Oh, sure)

He smiled, and stepped in. I was ashamed and embarrassed by my messy room. I didn't want anybody to see this, especially him of all people.

"Sorry about the mess," I couldn't help saying, as I had always been a people's pleaser.

"Trust me, my roommate's worse!" he laughed it off.

I swivelled my eyes around all four corners of my room. The grey walls were covered in posters; my desk was full with stacks of books lying everywhere; and my floor was cluttered with clothes that I hadn't managed to put in the laundry.

"You play guitar?" he asked, noticing it on the heavy, black stand.

"Nae," I said, eager to get done with this 'meeting', "Shall we get to work?" (Yes)

"Right, of course. So Hae-Ri must've told you that we're going to the ball together?" he said anxiously.

My stomach dropped, "Nae." (Yes)

"Well, I need you to tell me a couple of her preferences. What flowers does she like? And what's her favourite colour? Most importantly, what should I get for her, as a present?" he muttered quickly.

I decided to lie, as that was the only option that I saw.

"She loves roses, especially red ones! And her favourite colour would definitely be blue, she's a big fan, alright. And as for a present, she would love a pair of black boots, make sure they're knee-high," I bluffed, feeling guilty and cruel, but relieved at the same time.

"Okay, thank you! I really appreciate that you helped me, I hope we talk in the future!" he grinned, which annoyed me to bits. I didn't feel guilty anymore. 

Hae-Ri:

I woke up on Saturday, and came back to reality. I was going home with Ho-Jin for the weekend. but I had to get back at 7pm on Sunday (the next day) as it was the Masquerade Ball and there was no way that I was going to miss that.

I jumped into the hot, steamy shower, and quickly rinsed my hair. I chose the first pair of clothes that I lay my eyes upon; a woollen off-shoulder beige sweater, with a brown short skirt and my black converse shoes. Before hurrying off to pack my bag, I quickly put on my rice water face mask, and applied some serum on my face, and gently - but thoroughly - massaged it into my pores. I then squeezed out some of the moisturiser that my dermatologist had recommended - but I had never tried - and applied it too. 

I stuffed a couple of jeans and tops into my bag, along with some underwear and the rest of my daily-use necessities. I texted Ho-Jin to meet me at the University main gate.

...

It was a dreadful ride all the way home. If only we weren't in such a situation, I could've enjoyed the view of the snow. One of the first snows. 

The bus wasn't really crowded, which I appreciated as I hated a full room and it made me nauseous.

...

Ding-dong.

I rang the bell, and nervously looked at Ho-Jin, who gave me a look of reassurance. Omma opened the door, and held her arms out, waiting for us to hug her. We immediately fell into her arms, and I struggled to not start crying.

"Where's...appa?" Ho-Jin asked.

"He's waiting for you in the hall...come, I'll make you some Nimbu Pani. Bbali Khaja!" Omma said, with a fake smile, thinking that she could fool us into believing that it was going to be alright. But we weren't little kids anymore, and we knew that everything was going to be all wrong, wrong, wrong. (Lemonade, come on in quickly)

We walked into the hall, which somehow looked emptier. The walls were missing a couple of photo-frames, and a few vases were gone.

"Annyeonghaseyo Appa!" we said in unison. (Hello dad)

"Annyeong, my kids!" he smiled, which was comforting in an odd way. (Hello)

We sat down next to him, and Omma got lemonade for us. She didn't forget to pour mine in my cube-glass cup, which had been gifted to me by my best friend in India. Even though it seemed like a childish thing, it brought back many sweet memories.

"Thank you, Omma!" I said, trying to hide my sorrow, and the fact that I still didn't know the reason for their divorce.

Ho-Jin bought it up.

"Omma, appa. We're bound to have this conversation sooner or later, so will you please explain why you have made this decision?" he asked directly.

I held my breath.

"Would you like to tell them?" Appa suggested Omma, who flew into a rage.

"What?! Aren't you the one who's to blame, why should I go through the pain of telling them?" she yelled aggressively, to our shock. 

"Come on! You're being immature in front of the kids!" appa screamed back at her. 

I had never seen them fight like this before, "Stop!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, tears in my eyes.

"We're not kids anymore, and we need to know the truth!" Ho-Jin agreed.

"Okay, fine, that's fair. Your Appa cheated on me," she mumbled, not sounding like our good old mother at all - but some sad, lonely person.

"What?!" Ho-Jin and I screamed in chorus.

For once, I felt ashamed and disappointed in my father; the man who I had looked up to, all my life. But at that moment, I was disgusted by his deeds. Never had I expected that this day would come. My brain felt like it had frozen, and I stared into space.

Silence. Silence is often comforting, but sometimes, it could be pretty scary. I got up, and shuffled over to my abandoned room, like a zombie. I dumped my bag in my closet, and hid under the covers, wanting to disappear forever. The familiar smell of the sheets helped me drift off to sleep, and away from this cruel life of mine. Something or the other always had to ruin things.

I slept till dinner time, when the savoury smell of dal -rice wafted into my nostrils. I rubbed my eyes, and came back to reality. Even though facing my parents was the last thing I wanted to do, I was hungry. I splashed some cold tap-water onto my face, and entered the dining-room, where my family awaited me. The dinner was appealingly inviting, and Omma had especially taken out the silverware for us. I took my seat beside Appa, as I knew that my parents wouldn't want to sit next to each other. 

They had told us in the afternoon, that Appa had already moved out. That explained the untold emptiness. He had taken all his stuff, and moved to his own apartment, which was closer to our University. I was still too upset, and I wondered how my Omma must've been feeling. I kept taking a glance at her, and she wasn't eating. She played with her food, just like how a 5 year old kid would have done. 

...

Appa left after dinner, and I went to bed earlier than usual. I couldn't take this anymore, I never should've come.