Outside, snow covered the landscape, and thick winter clouds hid the morning sun.

Inside, the house was filled with the warmth of laughter.

"Brother! Let’s go! Please, let’s go! Play outside with me!"

Alen had been studying quietly, but the little guy suddenly disturbed him. He looked down at five-year-old Rian, who was pulling on his hand with all the strength he could muster. Rian had black hair and black eyes, just like him.

"It’s snowing outside, Rian. You should stay in, or you’ll catch a fever," Alen warned gently.

"Do you remember how sick you were for a week after playing in the snow last year?"

"Ughh! No, I was small back then! I’m big now!"

Alen looked at his little brother, who was five years younger than him. "You’re just a little guy. You aren’t going to get big anytime soon."

"Hmph! No, I’m a big guy!" Rian turned to their parents, who quickly looked away, not wanting to get caught in the middle of a sibling struggle.

"Hmph! I’m a big guy! Whatever... I’m not going to get sick. Let’s play outside... Please?"

Alen sighed and looked at his parents. They exchanged a fond glance and nodded, giving him permission to take the boy outside.

His mother walked over.

"Wait a minute... Take these."

She handed him two matching green scarves. She had knitted them herself, and they felt incredibly thick and warm.

Alen took his scarf, wrapped it around his neck, and tossed the end over his shoulder. He then knelt down and helped his brother put his on. Little Rian looked adorable bundled up in the oversized scarf, his eyes shining bright with excitement at the thought of playing in the snow.

"Let’s go," Alen said.

He looked back at his parents, who had followed them to the front door.

"Take care of yourself and Rian, Alen," his mother smiled.

"I will, Mom. Don’t worry!"

Alen nodded, took Rian’s small hand in his, and opened the door.

Outside, the courtyard was completely swallowed by a thick blanket of pristine snow.

Alen knelt down again to tie Rian’s shoelace, which had come loose. Standing back up, he pointed a stern finger.

"Let’s go. But make sure you don’t take off your scarf or your gloves."

Because they were wearing warm, thick sweaters, the cold wasn’t too biting. But Alen knew that if they played in the snow with bare hands, they could easily get frostbite. That was what he was afraid of.

"Okay!"

Rian agreed, though he was completely distracted by the snow and clearly hadn’t processed a word Alen had just said. He immediately started running forward, leaving tiny footprints behind him.

"Hey, hey! Wait! Don’t run! You might slip—"

*Slip~*

Right on cue, Rian’s shoe slid on a patch of ice, and he tumbled face-first into the snow.

"Ouch!... Hehe... The ground is soft!"

Rian giggled, sitting up and immediately starting to gather a pile of snow.

"Sigh... What a notorious little boy," Alen muttered, shaking his head. He stood a few feet away, casually tucking his hands into his pockets.

Suddenly, someone tapped him on the shoulder.

He looked back and saw his best friend, Sam, standing just behind him. Sam was wearing a thick sweater with the hood pulled up. He smiled brightly.

"Hey, buddy. How are you? Did you bring your brother out to play?"

"Huh? Oh, it’s you," Alen said.

"Yeah, he kept insisting I come out with him."

"Hehe... Same here. My mom insisted I bring my little sister outside too."

Alen looked forward and saw a girl around Rian’s age joining his brother in the snow. Since they were neighbors, the children were quite familiar with each other and played together often.

"Sigh... What a pain... I was right in the middle of studying, and now I have to be out here," Alen grumbled.

"Hehe... Well, it’s good for you! Why do you study so much anyway when you already get the top grades every time? You should relax a little."

"Tch! Do you think just being at the top is enough?...I don’t study just to get good grades. I study to learn. I like learning new things."

Sam rolled his eyes.

"Listen to this old man trapped in a kid’s body."

"W-What?!"

Alen swung his leg to kick him, but Sam easily dodged it, completely used to annoying Alen by now. He hopped backward.

"Hehe... You know, Alen, you’re really starting to become a nerd."

"Hey! I’m not a nerd! Come here, you bastard..."

Alen ran forward to grab him, but Sam immediately bolted away with a laugh.

"Hehe! You know, Alen, just yesterday Saya told me she felt lonely because you haven’t come to see her in a while..." Sam yelled over his shoulder. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Alen stopped running, his annoyance instantly replaced by genuine worry.

"Is that true?"

"Nope! It’s a lie! Hehe!" Sam laughed loudly.

"Just mentioning her name completely changes your mood. What a lovesick fool!"

Alen’s face turned bright red.

"You bastard! I’m going to kill you!"

He sprinted forward, chasing Sam through the courtyard. Both Rian and Sam’s sister stopped playing to watch the two older boys, giggling as the teenagers acted more childish than they did.

Eventually, Alen felt too tired to keep chasing him. He slumped down into the snow, looking up at the cloudy sky, panting heavily.

"Hehe... You can’t catch me," Sam boasted, laughing breathlessly a few feet away.

"Did you forget I’m a marathon champion? You’ll never catch me..."

Alen ignored him. But as Sam was laughing, a fist-sized snowball suddenly shot through the air and smacked him right in the face.

*Puff!*

"Ugh! Who the hell hit me?!" Sam sputtered, wiping snow from his face.

"Hehe... Your face looks a little red, Sam," Alen laughed.

Suddenly, another snowball flew through the air and hit Alen squarely in the face too.

*Puff!*

"Ugh!"

Alen wiped his eyes and looked in the direction the snowballs came from.

Rian and Sam’s sister were standing together, winding up their arms to throw more projectiles at the older boys.

"Hey, wait a second..." Alen started.

But to their dismay, a barrage of snowballs was already flying toward them. Both Alen and Sam scrambled to dodge.

As they were dodging, Sam suddenly scooped up some snow and hit Alen in the shoulder.

"You damn traitor! You’re hitting me too?!" Alen yelled.

"Hehe... It’s a snowball fight! Everything is fair in friendship, rivalry, and snowball fights!" Sam yelled back.

"Tch! You’re making up your own lines!"

Alen quickly packed a snowball and hurled it back at Sam, who dodged it with a laugh. Soon, it was an all-out free-for-all. The kids didn’t hold back, targeting both of them relentlessly.

"Yo! Take this, Brother!" Rian shouted, throwing another snowball.

"Ugh... Rian, stop shooting at me! Whose side are you even on?!" Alen complained.

"I am the universal brother!" Rian declared proudly.

"Ugh! Everyone is a traitor!"

Laughter filled the courtyard as everyone immersed themselves in the joyful snow fight.

High above, the dense clouds slowly began to part, revealing a brilliant, warm ray of sunlight.

It was a reminder that even when our lives are shadowed by dark clouds, a time will eventually come when a ray of happiness descends upon our world.