I scooped the last bit of soup into my mouth and pushed my chair away from the table.

“Heading over to Joy’s?” my mom asked as I pulled on my boots. I slung my overnight bag over my shoulder.

“Uh, yeah.”

My mom walked over to me, giving me a kiss on the forehead. “Merry Christmas, sweetie.”

“Merry Christmas, mom.” I smiled and threw an arm around her for a hug. “We’ll make sure to be back for dinner tomorrow.”

She’d been pretty mad about me missing the electricians, but they’d been able to come the following week. Christmas dinner would go on as planned and I was off the hook.

I walked through the cold afternoon air. I turned down Main, not exactly the most direct route to Joy’s. But I had something I wanted to do first.

The small downtown shopping district was teeming with last-minute Christmas shoppers. I dodged bodies, making my way to the small music shop on the corner. The bell chimed as I walked through the door into the cramped, stuffy space.

I spent twenty minutes flipping through records and CDs, trying to find one that seemed right. I sighed and grabbed an old Michael Jackson album for myself, taking it up to the bored-looking teenager at the counter.

“This it?” he asked in an inpatient tone.

I started to nod, but stopped halfway. In the glass case under the counter was a silver necklace, surrounded by various music-themed charms. “Uh, can I also see that?” I asked, pointing.

The cashier handed me the necklace and I held it up in the soft winter light. “Want to see any other charms?”

“No,” I said quietly, the small flute hanging from the delicate chain. “This is perfect.”

I walked up the stairs to Joy’s front door, dodging a patch of ice on the walkway. I’d spent more than I planned at the music store. I hoped it would be worth it.

Just as my cold hand made contact with the even colder door knob, I heard a door slam inside the house. I hesitated, not wanting to walk in on a fight. Although, knowing Joy’s family, it was probably about dirty socks or stray spoons in the bedroom.

“You have to stop.” I heard Seulgi through the door, her voice taking me by surprise.

“I don’t understand what I did wrong,” came Joy’s voice.

“You can’t just do whatever you want, whenever you want, Joy,” Seulgi shot back, voice rising.

I let go of the doorknob, deciding to wait a few minutes to go in. Hopefully the conversation would turn to something else soon.

“All I did was grab your hand,” Joy said, almost a question.

“In front of my whole family. My dad. My grandparents,” Seulgi explained more calmly.

“So?”

“So, what if they think there’s something going on between us?”

“Uh… there is, Bear.”

Seulgi sighed. “But they can’t know that!”

“Why not? My mom knows.”

“They’re not like your mom. They’re… traditional. They wouldn’t understand.”

“So what? Why does it matter what they think?”

“They’re my family.”

“So they should want you to be happy and do the smart thing,”

“This isn’t the smart thing to them!”

There was a pause. “Is it to you?” Joy asked, barely audible through the door. It occurred to me that I shouldn’t be listening in on them, but I was relieved to finally know for sure what was going on between my two friends.

“Joy,” Seulgi said, sounding serious, “this is the smartest thing I have ever done.”

There was a long pause and I wondered if they were done. Deciding it was probably safe enough, I opened the door.

“Joy, I’m- oh my god!” Joy was sitting on the counter, Seulgi in front of her, the two in mid-kiss. I backed up, back onto the porch, closing the door.

I could hear Joy laughing inside. She opened the door and looked at me. I stood in front of her, avoiding eye contact.

“Come in, dork,” Joy said, still laughing. She went back in the house and I hesitantly followed after her.

“So I guess you know Seulgi’s here.” Joy motioned toward the shorter girl. Seulgi gave a small wave and I tried to smile, both of us awkward. “She’s staying over too, if that’s okay with you?”

I nodded my assent. We were all quiet for a few beats.

“Hold on a sec, I’ll be right back,” Joy said quickly. She trotted down the hall toward her bedroom, tapping Seulgi on the backside as she passed her. Seulgi shook her head, fighting a smile.

“So, uh… How long have you guys been, uh… you know.” My stumbling attempt at breaking the ice.

Seulgi looked at me, her cheeks flushed a deep pink. “Almost two months, I guess,” she answered quietly.

My eyes widened. I’d never expected that Joy could keep something like this a secret from me for so long. Of course, I’d suspected something was up since late November but that still left an entire month of me being clueless.

Joy raced back in, carrying a large speaker. She plugged it into the wall, fiddling with her phone. A song blasted out of the speakers and Joy raced over to the refrigerator, pulling out two large bottles of apple cider. She beamed at us. “What are we waiting for?”

I dug into my bag, pulling out cinnamon sticks and a few bags of candy. Joy ran back into her bedroom and emerged with a plastic shopping bag. She plopped a Santa hat on my head and slid a reindeer antler headband on Seulgi. For herself, a green beanie that resembled a Christmas tree.

We spent the next few hours drinking cider and making a gingerbread house. Joy wasn’t all that helpful, instead opting to make a mess. She danced around and covered her hands in flour, wiping some across Seulgi’s cheek and forehead and leaving a white handprint on my . Seulgi decorated the roof with mints and white icing. Joy did the front and back sides, using almost all of the rainbow sprinkles. I did the sides with red licorice and jelly beans.

I had been unsure how Seulgi would fit into our long-standing Christmas Eve tradition, but I found that I was glad she was there.

The playlist I was listening to while writing