By Zephyria 
Just inside the door, the shop owner blocked the group’s path, turning the ID cards over and over in his hands.
“…A ‘fast’ birth year, huh?”
“Maybe” my foot.
They were sandwiched between a group that practically radiated the vibe of having worn school uniforms until yesterday; there was no way he wouldn’t check the IDs.
And so, it was revealed that Min-gyu was born in February, crossing over into the year after the other friends were born.
“Customers born in ‘fast’ years aren’t allowed.”
The number on the ID card returned to him had a second digit in the front that was one higher than those of his friends.
‘…Fuck.’
Min-gyu cursed inwardly. What the hell was age in a country like Korea? The way his friends looked at him shifted instantly.
“What’s this, Cha Min-gyu? You were born in ’9X?”
“Turns out Cha Min-gyu is the younger brother. But your birthday isn’t even that early? It’s at the end of next month. Hey, you’re definitely out.”
“Let me see your ID too. Are you really a ‘fast’ one? You’re not even Song Yi-ho, so why are you a ‘fast’ one? Why do you look like you’ve weathered the storms of time all by yourself?”
The watching friends chimed in one by one. Amidst them, the voice of someone who hadn’t spoken much was heard.
“We’ve all finished the CSAT… and we’ve graduated high school. This friend won’t drink; he’ll just hang out with us…. Is it still not allowed?”
“It’s set by law, so no. If he takes even one sip of alcohol, I have to close the shop.”
“Ah….”
Yi-ho’s voice trailed off. A long breath of white mist spread out, following Min-gyu’s deep sigh. He briskly brushed off the friends who were clinging to the hand holding his ID.
“Yeah, Hyungs. The kid is leaving. Have fun.”
Leaving now was the tactful thing to do. Since the law forbade it, there was no way to try, so even the other friends who seemed to want to hang out with Min-gyu didn’t dare stop him.
Before leaving, Min-gyu took one last look at Yi-ho. Even when he furrowed his brows seriously, his eyes remained round. He was just looking at him without saying a word. Min-gyu gave a little wave of his hand and turned around.
The sky had grown dim, and by the time he passed the academy where he had met his friends earlier, snowflakes began to fall one by one. Droplets formed on Min-gyu’s black coat. He brushed them off with his hand.
“I shouldn’t have worn this.”
The clothes that had been well-preserved in his closet were likely to return soaked, even though he hadn’t been out for long.
“Excuse me, sorry to bother you.”
Just then, two people approached Min-gyu.
“We’re university club members, and we’re doing a survey for an assignment. Regarding the problems faced by the recent 2030 generation….”
“I’m a high schooler.”
“…Pardon?”
“I said I’m a high schooler.”
“Ah, we’re not strange people, we just—”
The person who should have been fooled wasn’t, while the strange people thought he was an adult.
Min-gyu ignored the two and strode past them. His reflection appeared in the glass of a closed shop as he walked. It was true that he didn’t look like the youngest person in that naive group.
But you guys, you don’t know. I was born a year later, so my parents had already graduated; otherwise, a minor would have given birth to me. That’s why I felt relieved—or at least didn’t mind—the fact that I was a ‘fast’ birth year. Except for this one time of being kicked out of a bar.
Walking back, Min-gyu arrived in front of the banner he had seen earlier. Because it kept snowing, water droplets had formed even over Yi-ho’s name. He swept his palm across it in one long motion.
Standing in the middle of downtown, he felt it would be a waste to just go home. Maybe he’d watch a movie before heading back. Just as his parents’ messages said there weren’t many restaurants open, most of the places here were closed as well. Still, if he looked, he might find one or two that were open….
“Cha Min-gyu!”
Suddenly, his name called out. The voice was on the quieter side, but because the street was so deserted, it pierced his ears far too clearly for him to think he’d misheard.
“Hey, Cha Min-gyu!”
Min-gyu turned toward the sound. Once Yi-ho, who had been running toward him, realized their eyes had met, he waved his hand as if to say, ‘I’m over here.’ He had draped the jumper he was wearing earlier over his arm, revealing a hooded t-shirt with a sports brand logo. Jeans, sneakers, and a buzz cut.
Wow, calling him a middle schooler was being generous.
It would be a miracle if someone didn’t mistake him for an elementary schooler who just happened to be tall. It felt like the biggest error of the law was that Song Yi-ho was an adult while he himself was not.
Having run right up to him, Yi-ho gasped for air, his face flushed.
“What? Why are you here?”
“I don’t really want to drink either.”
“Aha.”
“So I came out… let’s do something else.”
Perhaps thanks to his consistent exercise, Yi-ho quickly caught his breath and awkwardly brushed the snow off his jumper.
Min-gyu soon flashed a smile that crinkled his eyes at his gentle friend.
“Song Yi-ho. Want to go see a movie? My treat.”
Yi-ho nodded obediently. Fortunately, there were many open shops near the large building where the cinema was located. Their steps stopped at a franchise cafe they encountered on the way to the theater.
Min-gyu felt so good that he wondered if he was some kind of Jekyll and Hyde. Because of that, he planned to foot the bill for everything they did today. Whether it was the cafe, the movie, or dinner. He would make it more fun than drinking.
“What do you want?”
“Iced Americano.”
He felt dissatisfied that the order was somewhat meager compared to his resolve.
“Get something expensive instead of that.”
“Uh….”
Yi-ho, who had ordered without even looking at the menu, belatedly scanned the menu board above the part-timers’ heads. After a moment, Yi-ho answered again.
“I like Iced Americano. I don’t eat sweet things.”
“Huh? Why?”
Come to think of it, Min-gyu realized he had rarely seen Song Yi-ho eating snacks or treats. Even when they stopped by a convenience store, he would buy sparkling water instead of Coke or Sprite.
“Well, my family runs a rice cake shop.”
“Yeah.”
Mok-dong Rice Cake Shop. The place that made the most delicious rice cakes Min-gyu had ever tasted.
“They make sikhye and plum extract there too. I ate so much of it since I was little….”
Ah. That was a perfectly convincing explanation.
“Then do you hate rice cakes too?”
“I don’t hate them, but I don’t eat them.”
“Because you ate too many when you were young?”
“That too, but….”
Yi-ho said with a mock-serious expression.
“Rice cake fat doesn’t go away.”
Hmm?
“This. It’s all rice cake fat.”
Song Yi-ho pinched the pale cheek fat near his jaw to show him. It was one of the elements that made him look even more like a child.
Without realizing it, Min-gyu reached out to the opposite side. Yi-ho let him do it, as if to let Min-gyu understand his grievance more clearly. Min-gyu pulled the skin out, just as Yi-ho had done.
What the.
The cheek stretched way out. A handful of pale, dough-like skin was pulled out, making him wonder how he had hidden all this under his jaw.
“Wow. You called it rice cake fat, but did you stick a glutinous rice cake to your face?”
“Right? This has to be rice cake fat. But my mom says it’s just how I am.”
Honestly, Cha Min-gyu wanted to laugh. He felt as if the soft, squishy sensation still lingered on his hand. The tickle from the touch traveled up his arm, and he wanted to laugh out loud, but Yi-ho’s expression was so serious that he bit the inside of his cheek to desperately hold it in. It seemed to be a real complex for Song Yi-ho; if he laughed now, he might end up sparring without gloves in the middle of the street.
Song Yi-ho, holding his Iced Americano, and Min-gyu, holding a seasonal Gigantic Chocolate Frappe, left the cafe and headed for the cinema. By now, the early winter sun had vanished, and it had grown dark. Snow had piled up enough that a small crunching sound could be heard with every step.
Yi-ho suddenly murmured.
“Is this the first snow?”
“The first snow fell in November.”
“No… usually people say ‘the first snow of this year.’ Since today is January 1st, isn’t this technically the first snow?”
“…….”
It was a quite absurd perspective. This was the first time in Min-gyu’s life he had met someone who agonized over such a thing.
“…I guess it could be the first snow.”
Then again, he wasn’t technically wrong.
“It’s better for this to be the first snow than to have barely noticed the actual first snow while preparing for the CSAT.”
“Hmm….”
Yi-ho seemed to have something else he wanted to say. By the time the fingertips resting on the cup holder turned red, Yi-ho slowly spoke.
“Cha Min-gyu, is there anything you want?”
“Suddenly? Just because I treated you to coffee and a movie?”
“No, since you’re a ‘fast’ birth year, your birthday is coming up soon. As a birthday present.”
“Oh…, I’m touched.”
The corners of Min-gyu’s mouth twitched as if pulled by a string.
“But by then, I’ll have moved out of my studio here and moved in front of my university, so how are you going to give it to me?”
“I can just meet you and give it to you.”
“Song Yi-ho, are you going to come find me on my birthday?”
“…Yeah, even if you move, I can just take the subway.”
“What, if I go to a university far away, you’re not going to keep your promise?”
The gift had suddenly become a promise, but amidst the absurd interrogation, Yi-ho didn’t perceive the difference.
“Why are you making such an impossible assumption?”
“You never know what happens in the world. I have to make sure.”
Yi-ho looked at Min-gyu as if he were strange and replied.
“I’ll look into how to take the train. …Wait, did you apply to a university abroad?”
“Ah, not that far.”
“Haa….”
“Anyway, as long as it’s domestic, it’s fine, right?”
Min-gyu moved closer to Yi-ho. Because he walked while nudging Yi-ho, the footprints left on the ground became winding.
“Song Yi-ho, no matter where I am, you’re bringing the gift and celebrating my birthday all day long.”
He couldn’t understand his own psychology. However, Min-gyu asked Yi-ho persistently, as if he needed an answer right this second.
“…Alright. I will.”
In the end, he had managed to extract the answer in a childish way. While Min-gyu looked quite satisfied, Yi-ho quietly took a sip of his Americano and looked up.
On the road without streetlights, a shadow fell over Yi-ho’s face and then disappeared. In that brief moment, it seemed Yi-ho had turned his head toward Min-gyu. The face staring intently at Min-gyu appeared as if a light had been switched on.
Like the crushed ice grains in his mouth, like the first day he moved breathlessly in an unfamiliar dojang, like when they reunited at school.
And like when he had run urgently toward him from afar today.
…His eyes are really beautiful.
The gentle, round shape of his eyes evoked such a sentiment.
“Song-i Song-i.”
“Huh?”
As they passed a dark mountain path and the workshop building appeared, revealing Song Yi-ho’s face once more, Min-gyu recalled something from his childhood.
His eyes were still miraculously beautiful.