[c]
It is the season’s first snowfall, and despite her love for the delicate ice blossoms, Yoon-hee feels worry first and foremost. Cold weather always hits Yoon-shik so hard, and he still hasn’t gotten over the persistent coughs of his last cold. He’s doing better, but not well enough for Father to continue their lessons – which also means no lessons for Yoon-hee. So the snow, lovely to the eyes and the heart, cannot be welcomed wholeheartedly.
[b]
His kid sister is crying again. And this time, she has decided that she won’t be the only wailing toddler in the house and so she pulls hard on Beo-deul’s braid, making the young servant’s eyes well up with tears as she plays chorus girl to her mistress’s high-pitched crescendo.
In-soo watches on with some interest; he finds it fascinating that his sister can be such an ill-behaved brat. He knows that his father’s to blame; his father’s iron hand softens to goo when it comes to Hyo-eun, and he lets her get away with her every whim. Of course, sometimes In-soo, too, feels like yanking the braid of his servant, but he learned early on that his father has little patience for him. Besides, his crafty mind already knows that trouble is only worth it if one doesn’t get caught.
[a]
The weather has warmed considerably, enough so that when you stand in the sun little trickles of sweat tickle the back of the neck. But Yong-ha can’t bear to take off the jacket with the gold embroidery and fur lining that his father brought back from China; not yet, not while he’s still madly in love with it. And not until that boy with the dark face has seen how beautiful he looks in it because see, he decided he had to be wearing this jacket when he finally introduces himself to the boy.
