Crystal Snow

August 13, 2026, Seoul, Korea. It's been three years now since Anya moved to Korea and permanently lived here after she landed a significant opportunity to work in the country. On a beautiful summer day, while Anya walked her way to her workplace, she bought some coffee from a coffee shop. Always she wanted to start her day with coffee, rich and dark, with creamy oat milk.  While on her way in, someone bumped into her and spilled his coffee on her dress. What the--- Her eyes were so wide, she gasped and froze with shock.  Thank goodness it's an Iced Americano, and it's not hot, but Anya's white chiffon textile clothing has now smudged with the coffee.  “What did you just do!?” Anya cried, feeling irritated with the person who bumped her.  She could feel her teeth grinding with rising anger. How could she even go to her work looking like this? “Sorry.” Said the guy. His eyes didn’t say that he was even sorry,  gave her a slight shrug, and went into the parked starlit black car. “Hey! Wait!” she screamed. Her face was fuming. Before she could rush to him, he drove away. Unbelievable! Did he just f*&king ignored me?! The car wasn’t longer in sight. My clothes! The worst is that everybody can see her chest now that her dress is wet. Anya could feel her cheeks heated and raised her bag to cover her stained clothes over to her chest. She decided to go home and changed. Before she crossed the pedestrian, someone tall and wearing a hat with a black facial mask approached her and put his oversized jacket on Anya's back. She stops and froze. “I apologize for what happened back there.” It was the same guy she met a while ago. She thought he was gone for good. And her anger just subsides. She tried to look away, but her eyes were drawn to his striking eyes and beautiful brows. "It's okay, sir. Things like this can happen any time of the day. Let’s just say that I AM VERY FORTUNATE today," She said in a sarcastic tone of voice. Then she left without looking at the stranger. At the workplace, Anya's supervisor asked her why she was late, and she told her everything that's happened, but she was cut off before she could finish. “And you want me to believe such excuses? Late is late, do you get that, Anya?”  Anya straightened up. “But…” “I am giving you a warning, Anya. You can leave now.” Without anything to say, she just nodded and closed the door behind her. *** During her lunch break, Anya always comes to the park. Her usual bench was nestled in a quiet spot, dreaming upward as skies of blue and grey woolen coziness all the same. A chorus of greens dance in a breezy wind, each of them ever ignited by sunlight and giving her shade. Chewing her food, she stares at the jacket she’s hanging on the iron armrest. It's the jacket that the stranger lent her a while ago. She recalls what happened. Her mouth fell.  "Now stupid s**t!” she groans, “how are you going to return this to the owner? Huh? You dumb!" cursing to herself, "you didn't even bother to ask his name or phone number or even look clearly into his face. How are you going to recognize him if you crossed paths one day so you could return this? You're stupid as usual!" Someone poked her back. “Ms. Anya? To whom are you talking to?” “Ah!” Anya was startled as she spun around to see her senior. “Oh! No- nothing. Hehe.” She chuckles, scratching the back of her head. I am not going to say that I am talking to myself. What if you will think of me as a crazy woman!  “Ah. I thought you're having a fight with your boyfriend.” She said, hands on her hips. Anya almost choked on her drinks. "Boy—Friend?" How I wish. Her boss crossed her arms, “Yes, your boyfriend. Don’t you?” She stared at her a few beats, and she awkwardly chuckled, “actually, Madam, I don’t have any.” Yeah, great. Why don’t you give me one? Anya wanted to ask what she was doing here and why she was eavesdropping on her. But she refrained herself and asked something instead.  “Is there something I can help you, Madam?” “Nothing. I just saw you sitting here alone. So, I approached you.” Wow. And you’re so friendly. It creeps me out.  “And I heard you cursing while I'm approaching you."  Well, everybody does, including you. Anya just nodded while finishing her lunch and gulped on her drinks. “Let's head back to the office now. It's going to be 1:00 soon." Yeah, let's head back before I receive my 2nd warning and be jobless tomorrow morning, Anya thought. “Okay, Madam. I’ll be right behind you,” she said as she kept her lunch box inside her lunch bag. Anya raises her hands over her head for a stretch. “So happy that I finished my work just in time.” It was already late in the afternoon, and her whole body aching by sitting the entire day. She can see her co-workers getting ready to end the day. Anya's manager asked them if they wanted to join for a drink, and it seems like everyone agreed to join except Anya. She doesn't feel like joining them.  One of her co-workers, Jackson, asked her why she wouldn't join them, and her Manager Mr. Jung said."You must be disappointed because I gave you a warning lately. Come on, let me make up for you! You did a good job today!” He patted her shoulder. Everybody cheered for Anya to agree. “Come on, Unnie (big sister), join us just for a while," said Sia, one of her co-workers.  Anya had no choice but to join them, so she agreed to go with them. *** They head to a pleasant restaurant where they can drink. They had fun, and their manager sang when he's in tipsy mode, and everyone is laughing so hard, and they're now all intoxicated except Anya.  Anya is a heavy drinker, and she can't be quickly drunk; she's looking at them poorly as they sing and laugh. She wanted to go home, but her manager and her supervisor tried to stop her and pleaded to stay longer despite their drunken state. She had no choice but to wait for them to go home. After three hours, everybody seemed so tired from having an eventful evening, and they went home now. And since Anya is the only one who didn't go wasted, she's in charge of sending everybody home one by one.  She sent her co-workers and her manager, and lastly, her supervisor, Ms. Jo, seems to recover a little from her drunkenness. Ms. Jo asked her, "Anya, are you not drunk at all? You're a tough one! I saw you drink every drop of the glass! Look at you! You're unbelievably still standing firm as nothing happened" Ms. Jo seemed to be amazed by how Anya managed not to get wasted.  Anya softly smiled. "Back in my early-20s, I was a heavy drinker, and my body got used to drinking a lot. That's why I can't easily get wasted these days. Ms. Jo," she said as she and her supervisor called a cab.  "Early 20s? Wait, how old are you now? " Anya smiled and answered while shoving her supervisor inside the cab, "yeah, Ms. Jo, let's not talk about those hurtful questions, okay? Now go home safely." There’s no way you can know my age. And besides, you can look at my records. Anya approached the driver and gave him the address and the payment. "All right now, self, let's go home!" At the bus station, Anya was listening to her all-time favorite Korean K-pop band, she's listening to "Euphoria" on her earphones, and the big screen across the bus station suddenly flashed her favorite band's beautiful faces, her eyes got big, and her smile is also big she seems to feel butterflies on her stomach every time she sees them on screen. I wish I could meet them one day! Who knows? I'm living in Korea right now. Everything's possible.  Then the bus came to a halt in front of her. Tsk! I still want to look at them on that screen. She was mumbling as she climbed into the bus.  The bus is giving a hissing sound as it closes.  She climbed out and headed to the right road,  walking on her way home. It was still early for her despite it being close to midnight, she decided to stay a little while in the park near her house, and it's also near the coffee shop where the coffee incident happened earlier that day.  She looked around while approaching the swing. It's quiet now since the stores are closed and the people are in their homes now. Anya enjoys her alone time. She loves sitting and staring at the sky for minutes to hours.  While enjoying the night swinging and singing along to her earphones, listening to "Crystal Snow," one of her Idol's Japanese tracks, it's also her favorite song. Anya sang the pre-chorus and chorus part of the song, which is her favorite part of this track. After singing, Anya's voice seems to break like she's going to cry. She gets emotional while listening to this song, and she looks down at her shoes and sighs. What a life!  After a hectic day, being alone is a salve, a chance for true serenity to calm every part of her being. And somehow, it feels odd. It was as if the world had shrunken away only to leave a cold void around her skin. A moment after, she heard someone clapping from the slide area.  Anya quickly stood up and looked around. "Who's there?"  A moment after, she saw a slim figure of a guy sitting at the edge of the slide. She narrowed her eyes on the person. "That's a pleasant song you sang. I like that song, you know." He said as he leaped and stood on the ground. She couldn't see his face clearly because the place was dim-lit.  "Yes, I like that too," Anya said, “and thanks anyway.” She slid her sling bag on her shoulder and readied herself to walk away from the park.  "Hey! I'm not a bad person, please don't go," The guy called.  Anya paused. She looked over to her shoulder and said,  "Sorry, but I'm tired. I want to go home now. Bye."   "I don’t mean to scare you. Please don't be, and I’m sorry.." He sounds regretful of what he just did. Anya sighed. “Don’t worry. It’s okay. And thank you for the compliment earlier. Have an enjoyable night Mr.," And she left. He followed her with his stare, and he looked disappointed. She looked scared at me. I will do nothing bad to you, Miss, don't go. And that's my favorite song you sang earlier. And he sings the pre-chorus and chorus part, which Anya also sang earlier. And he has a very angelic voice. While humming the song,  he watched the lady walking away. Then, his phone rings, he fishes out from his pocket. "Hello?"  "Hey! Where are you! What took you so long? Come back here now immediately!" said the person calling on the line.  "Yeah, I'm coming back there now. Sorry.”  "What's with that guy?" She seemed terrified of that guy's sudden appearance. She's walking like she's running; it scared the hell out of her suddenly. Woosh.! He's very scary, rubbing her arms for the goosebumps. She looked back at the park, but the guy was no longer there. That makes her more scared. What? Where is he? f**k! I think I saw a ghost! I know I shouldn’t stay late at night! And she rushed towards her apartment building. ******* The following day, Anya’s boss tasked her with persuading a difficult writer to sign a contract with their firm. She has tried to contact the writer for two days and has received no response. According to her study, the writer lives in Busan, is somewhat elderly, and has a distinct attitude. So she decided to travel to Busan for a few days to track out the writer's address and persuade her to sign a contract. She was lying in bed, her phone in her hand. , Is it necessary for me to go? I have so far not been to Busan. How am I going to last three days there? She rolled herself on her bed. Hey! You've now been in Seoul for three years! Busan is a simple task for you! Keep your spirits up! Boostin her spirits! She got out of bed and walked to the bathroom to shower, singing all the way.  She's finished showering and is now getting ready for her trip, packed three days' worth of clothes, and assuring herself that she can do it. She doesn't have any close friends in this faraway country. Thus no one can accompany her on this trip. She's on her own and a little frightened. *** Anya arrived at Busan station after a long KTX ride. She began looking for a nearby hotel as soon as she arrived. She checked her emails as soon as she arrived at the hotel, hoping for a response from the writer, but there was still no good news. Anya sighed and flopped down on the bed.  “Arggg! You! Hard one! I'm going to make you sign no matter what!”  She shouted in anguish. She began to examine the writer's address. She wanted to cry as she looked into it because she needs to take numerous buses to go there and she has never been there before, but our courageous girl Anya walks there without hesitation. “What occurs in the future will remain in the future! This is something I can handle!” It’s already evening when Anya got back to the hotel. Even though Anya had a difficult day, she was unable to locate the writer's whereabouts. It’s already evening when Anya got back to the hotel—walking lousily in the hotel's lobby, “Stupid me,” talking to herself again.  "Ma'am, are you all right?" asked a hotel employee. Anya looked at her. Do I look okay? She thought, "Ah, yeah, Miss," Anya said, straightening her posture and responding to the hotel personnel.  “Thank you. I’m simply exhausted." " Is this your first time here?" the staff asked.  "Yes, this city is enormous, and I can't manage to locate this writer, even though I only have three days to do it."Anya expressed her unhappiness with the situation.  "If you need directions, please approach us at the front lobby, Ma'am, and have a pleasant evening." the staff replied  " Yes, thank you, Ms." Anya replied politely and bowed and left.  Anya awoke at 7 a.m. the following day. She's lying on her bed, thinking about what she'll do for the rest of the day. She spends the entire night searching for the writer's location. She finally has an 80% probability of locating the writer today, “Ok! Let's get this stupid one,” Cheering herself. She asked the front desk personnel for directions before leaving the hotel to catch the correct bus to her destination. Anya is presently headed to Bosu Book Street located at Bosudong 1(il)-ga, Jung-gu, Busan, South Korea. According to Anya's research, the author owns one of the shops in this area. **** Anya's eyes widened as she spotted a lengthy book store; she was enthralled by the scenery she was witnessing. “Oh my goodness! This is heaven!” She speaks as if she is dreaming. Anya is enchanted by the beautiful aroma of the books on display outside. “Anya! Keep in mind why you're here.” She reminded herself to return to reality. “Ugh!” She groaned in exasperation! Anya began looking for a specific store that the writer owned. She inquired at every business she passed till an hour later when she came across this posh-looking establishment, and becoming intrigued, she stepped inside.  "Excuse me, Ma'am," she said as she approached the lady who was organizing the books on the shelf. "Yes, what can I do for you, young lady?" she asked. Anya's eyes widened, and she appeared ecstatic to see the lady.