Thinking back on what had just happened, a small, helpless smile crept across Yukino Shinto's slightly flushed face.
Ever since she could remember, no one had ever treated her the way Rai Hikaru did.
As a yuki-onna—a snow spirit born of winter's solitude—she had grown up surrounded by cold and silence in the deep mountains. Even after stepping into human society, she never really found warmth there, either.
She'd never been good with words, and because of that, living among humans had never gone smoothly for her.
Not only did she have to constantly hide her inhuman nature, concealing her snow-white aura and unnatural chill, but she also had to endure the hostility of others.
Her beauty made her a target.
Women envied her.
Men wanted to possess her.
No matter where she went, she drew glances that either cut or clung. She had no one to rely on.
Only her own strength as a yuki-onna kept her safe from harm.
But even with all that power... loneliness clung to her more tightly than the snow.
Later, a friend—one of the few who still treated her kindly—introduced her to a man. Said he was decent, gentle, and might make her happy.
In a small café, after a timid first meeting arranged by that friend… they were suddenly engaged.
It had all been so fast—she'd never even held his hand. And then, before they could meet a second time, he was killed in a truck accident.
Her friend told her to move on, to forget him.
"It was only an engagement. You weren't even married yet," they'd said.
But Yukino still slipped that silver ring onto her left ring finger—and never took it off again.
Deep down, she knew that as a yuki-onna, true happiness with a human was a distant, impossible dream.
She'd heard the rumors too:
Men who married snow women were cursed—taken by frost and misfortune.
Maybe her fiancé had died because of her. Maybe her love truly was a curse.
She couldn't bear the thought of hurting another soul.
So she decided to call herself a widow, to use that identity as a barrier—to turn away every man who came after.
But ironically, after she began wearing the ring… the harassment grew worse.
Instead of warding men off, it seemed to draw them in—
as if the sight of a "lonely widow" awakened something darker in their hearts.
Eventually, she withdrew from the world.
She rarely went out.
She avoided contact, avoided conversation, until most of those "flies" finally gave up.
But isolation had its own cost.
Even a snow woman could feel loneliness. And over time, her anxiety around people only deepened; her silence grew heavier; her heart more shut away.
Still, deep down, she longed for something.
For someone who could talk with her.
Eat with her.
Sleep beside her.
Love her.
Yet that longing remained locked away, guarded behind years of shame and fear of her own curse.
Then today—by sheer chance—she met Rai Hikaru.
From the first glance, she couldn't explain it. Something in that boy's face—still tinged with youthful innocence—made her heart beat faster.
And today he'd helped her so much, with such kindness and quiet strength.
She couldn't help it anymore. Her heart was already starting to melt.
If I lived with Rai-kun, she thought dreamily, I'd definitely be happy every day… He'd never let someone like Takahashi harass me again.
He'd protect me. He'd—
Smack!
The sharp sound of a slap rang through the room. Yukino had struck her own cheek with trembling fingers.
"Ugh! What am I thinking?!" she gasped, eyes wide with panic. "I'm shameless!"
"I'm a disgrace of a widow—how could I let such filthy thoughts cross my mind? He's a high school boy, for heaven's sake!"
"How could someone like me ever deserve someone like Rai-kun…?"
"I already had a fiancé once! How could I betray his memory like this?"
"And I'm a yuki-onna—being with me would only bring Rai-kun misfortune! I can't repay kindness with a curse!"
Tears welled and spilled silently down her cheeks as she covered her face.
She felt agonizingly torn. Because the truth was—though she called herself a widow—she had never once been touched by any man.
Her fiancé had died the day after their first meeting.
They'd never even held hands… let alone kissed.
And the curse of her kind—the flaw of a snow woman's body—was that if she never conceived a child, her loneliness would grow unbearable with time.
Every year it deepened, gnawing at her from the inside.
It was a hunger colder and crueler than any winter.
She had endured for years, repressing it with willpower alone.
She avoided men entirely—and even denied herself… the smallest release… except a few times, in secret, when she thought she couldn't go on.
She'd even told herself, if the urge ever became too much—she'd rather end her life than betray her vow to her dead fiancé.
But then—
That boy's face flashed through her mind again.
Rai Hikaru.
Yukino's lips trembled.
"No... I mustn't," she whispered to the empty room. "I must never think of Rai-kun that way. Not even in my mind. I can't… defile him…"
Ten minutes later.
Behind a closed door—
No one heard the breathless, broken sounds that filled the room, soft and helpless as melting snow.
"…Rai-kun… Rai-kun…"
Her voice trembled, dissolving into the sound of falling water.