Ha Yeon hesitantly touched her small, plump lower lip with her finger while looking into Hyun Woo’s eyes.

“Elder brother, do you know which is the highest mountain in the eastern United States?”

“Mount Washington? A friend in the lab was bragging about driving almost to the summit by car.”

“That’s right. It’s 1,917 meters high and has a cog railway and a car road. The road up is really dizzying.”

Ha Yeon explained that Mount Washington in the White Mountains had such extreme weather changes that it recorded the world’s highest wind speed of 372 km/h in 1934, but it’s also famous as a ski resort in winter.

“Elder brother… Shall we go to Mount Washington ski resort on December 31st? It would be meaningful to ski and welcome the new year at a nice ski resort pension.”

“A two-day trip together?”

“…Yes, elder brother.”

They had gone to see autumn foliage and taken weekend drives around Boston, but Hyun Woo had never been on a two-day trip with Ha Yeon.

Not only was Hyun Woo burdened by the idea of going to a ski resort, having never been to one even in Korea, but Ha Yeon’s proposal for a two-day trip was also very surprising.

If the two-day trip to Baengnyeong Island with So Hee had been a sad farewell journey, the trip with Ha Yeon seemed like it would open up the future, which was exciting, but the closer he got to her, the more anxious he felt.

Her father was the chairman of Korea’s leading S Group and could even fly a private jet when coming to the U.S., making Hyun Woo feel like they were aliens from a world different from his own.

Although he and Ha Yeon had never discussed their family background differences, Hyun Woo was increasingly feeling the weight of their differences as they grew closer beyond simple attraction.

“Ha Yeon, what will your parents say if they find out you and I went to the ski resort alone?”

“I’ll just tell them I’m going with you and our friends.”

“Ha Yeon…”

After their first kiss on Independence Day, they had grown closer, and after meeting Ha Yeon’s parents, she had become more expressive in her affection.

Although the economic disparity occasionally made him feel out of place, Hyun Woo’s subconscious was being drawn into the black hole-like charm and temptation of upper-class life.

The Lucifer on one of Hyun Woo’s shoulders continued to tempt him.

Hyun Woo hesitated, saying he had never skied before, but Ha Yeon persuaded him that ski lessons would only take a day.

It felt like if Hyun Woo just reached out his hand, the precious daughter of the S Group chairman would fall into his arms.

Ha Yeon had fallen in love with Hyun Woo the moment she first saw him, and everything she did with him was a first experience for her.

First love with a man, first kiss with a man, first trip with a man…

He had once asked her why she hadn’t dated anyone before, given that she must have had many opportunities to socialize with young men from good families.

She said she detested social gatherings based on conditions and that she found it much more meaningful to read books, play instruments, and engage in cultural activities rather than wasting time on such meetings.

After their first kiss at the American Independence Day festival, she confessed that when she first met Hyun Woo as her brother’s tutor at her house, she saw a flash like a full moon behind his face.

She liked Hyun Woo’s quiet style, his appearance matched her ideal type, and above all, she enjoyed filling in the blank slate that was Hyun Woo.

However, there was little Hyun Woo could offer her. He couldn’t do much for Ha Yeon except occasionally buying her inexpensive meals.

If her intellectual realm was like a sea encompassing literature, culture, and art, Hyun Woo’s medical knowledge and research were more like a deep waterfall than a vast ocean.

Even in conversation, Hyun Woo’s knowledge and research were too specialized to lead general discussions, but Ha Yeon’s knowledge of literature, culture, and art traversed life philosophies, adding depth to their conversations.

Hyun Woo was overwhelmed by Ha Yeon’s family’s economic status, but as time passed, he became more and more captivated by her intellectual charm.

Hyun Woo accepted her invitation for a two-day ski trip.

Ha Yeon was genuinely delighted and said she would prepare all the ski wear and equipment, telling him to just focus on his research.

As the Christmas season approached, Korea too would have carols playing on the streets and many ‘love donation’ activities, while in America, large Christmas trees were being decorated in squares, heightening the year-end atmosphere.

On Christmas Eve, Ha Yeon invited Hyun Woo to her home.

Ha Yeon had prepared bulgogi, japchae, and kimchi, placed white wine on the table, and put up Christmas decorations to enhance the festive mood.

“Elder brother, I’m so excited about our ski trip.”

“I’m worried since I’ve never skied before…”

“Elder brother, I’ll take responsibility and get you off the beginner slopes on the first day.”

They drank wine, listened to Christmas carols, and celebrated Christmas.

Ha Yeon said she spent the morning buying Hyun Woo’s ski wear and equipment, and the afternoon preparing food, as she showed him the ski wear, gloves, goggles, and fur hat.

She couldn’t buy ski equipment because not only was time short, but they needed to measure ski boot size and choose skis based on height and weight in person.

“Elder brother, we can buy them at a nearby ski shop on our way to the resort, so let’s go together and get them.”

“Can’t we just rent them?”

“They do offer rentals, but it’s better to use your own equipment for a good fit and comfort. There are so many great ski resorts around Boston in winter. This is a good opportunity to get your own gear.”

Hyun Woo already felt the ski wear Ha Yeon had bought looked expensive, but he felt apologetic about the high cost of ski equipment as well.

Sensing his feelings from his expression, Ha Yeon smiled and said,

“Elder brother, don’t worry too much. I have an unlimited card.”

Hyun Woo was seeing a new world he had never experienced before in Ha Yeon’s house in Boston’s most luxurious residential area, her high-end car, and her lavish spending habits.

As a doctor who graduated from S University Medical School, he too would receive sufficient economic compensation after going through internship, residency, and becoming a specialist, but he was more attracted to the career of a medical school professor, which could secure both money and prestige.

However, seeing Ha Yeon’s lifestyle and her home in Korea, Hyun Woo began to doubt the wealth accumulation he could achieve as a doctor or medical school professor.

No matter how hard he tried or struggled to catch up, it was an unreachable ceiling, an insurmountable wall.

And Ha Yeon, who was above that ceiling, beyond that wall, was waving at him.

Since arriving in Boston, she had consistently shown him goodwill, interest, and love.

The Christmas Eve dinner of Korean food after the snowfall put Hyun Woo in a good mood.

She too was happy, playing carols, drinking a glass of wine, and trying the ski wear on him.

The first snow on Christmas made the atmosphere even more special, and the couple felt a small excitement ahead of their first two-day ski trip.

Ha Yeon suggested he stay over, saying the roads were dangerous due to snow, but Hyun Woo left her house, suppressing the Lucifer on his shoulder.

He changed trains between the Red Line and Green Line, getting off at Longwood Medical Station where HaXd Medical School was located.

With one street as the boundary, one side was an affluent area home to the world’s top medical schools and hospitals, while the other side was known as the R district, one of the most notorious slums in America.

After getting off the subway, he thought about going to the lab, but spending Christmas Eve night in the lab seemed somewhat melancholic, so he headed home.

The dark alleys of the R district, which he usually avoided walking through, preferring to spend nights at the lab, were as expected filled with people stumbling around drunk or high on drugs.

Perhaps because he was an Asian face familiar from ten months of walking these streets, they didn’t bother him.

A Black man at the entrance of the small apartment greeted Hyun Woo.

Black people didn’t often use the ‘Hi’ or ‘How are you?’ greetings that Hyun Woo had learned like formulas in Korea. They always greeted with ‘What’s up?’

At first, Hyun Woo wondered why they asked ‘What’s up there?’, but at some point, he realized it was just a greeting meaning ‘How are you these days?’, and that he could simply answer ‘Not much.’

It felt like a day of going from one extreme to another.

The contrast between leaving Ha Yeon’s house in Boston’s wealthiest area and lying in a small room in the poorest slum of the R district starkly showed the highs and lows of life.

Like the Black people’s greeting ‘What’s up?’, Hyun Woo wanted to ask himself literally.

Just what was up there…

*****

My life changed 180 degrees after giving birth.

There was a big difference between caring for the baby with nurses’ help for three days in the hospital and living at home with my mother’s help.

Mother couldn’t quit her building cleaning job, and her absence fell entirely on me.

Perhaps because of breastfeeding, the baby woke up and cried every three hours even at night, which was hard on both my working mother and me who had to nurse.

Mother named her first grandchild ‘Han Byeol’.

Just as my name So Hee means ‘small joy’, she wanted to give the baby a modest name meaning ‘one star’ in the sky.

When I heard my child’s name from my mother, I loved it immediately because it was so beautiful.

Born into a family without a father, the name meaning ‘one star’ felt lonely, but I prayed that he would grow up to be a person who shines brightly alone like the North Star in the sky, becoming a light for the world.

When registering the birth at the community center, the blank space for the father’s name was heartbreaking, but I proudly registered his birth into the world as ‘Kim Han Byeol’.

Even on Han Byeol’s birth registration day, mother asked if we shouldn’t tell Hyun Woo, but I told her that I had completely let him go in my heart when I gave birth.

Raising my first child made everything feel like a rainbow to me, a first-time mother.

Bathing the soft, fluffy baby made me wonder if such a tender touch existed in the world, and when Han Byeol latched onto my nipple to breastfeed, I saw an angel through his half-closed eyes.

I couldn’t sleep deeply because I had to wake up to breastfeed, and changing diapers and bathing him every time he went to the bathroom was physically exhausting, but seeing Han Byeol’s smiling face made all the hardship melt away.

I had to get the first infant health checkup between 14-35 days after birth and also get the BCG vaccination, so I headed to the local pediatric clinic.

After registering at the reception for the first pediatric visit, I waited nervously in front of the examination room and entered when the nurse called out ‘Kim Han Byeol’.

The pediatrician greeted me with a bright smile, as if he knew me.

.

.

.

“No…”