Christmas Special

Wendy absolutely detests Christmas. Not even Yerim can understand her hatred for the holiday season. Yerim doesn’t understand that to Wendy, Christmas means burying herself in tons of work until the wee hours of the morning. Christmas means spending time alone and Wendy hates it.

It because while everyone is opening up presents and eating turkeys with their loved ones, Wendy is all alone. Wendy doesn’t have anyone and she never tells anyone this because she hates to burden her friends. So she spends Christmas by herself, opting to stay in the office and work so that she doesn’t have to be reminded of how alone she is.

There was a year when it was a white Christmas. She decided to spend some time in her apartment instead of diving into work like usual. She watched the white snow drift slowly, beautifully outside her windows, a wine glass in hand. She twirled the wine glass, the wine swirling in it. Her heart felt cold and empty. She sipped her wine, cringing when the usually sweet wine tasted bitter for some reason. She vowed never to spend Christmas at home ever again.

This year is no different. Wendy is cooped up in her office, going through some paperwork. The view from her office is spectacular and she takes a minute to admire the scenery. Since her office is on the 50th floor, she has a bird’s eye view of everything. Decorations and neon lights are abundant, illuminating the streets brightly. People bustle around in pairs or groups. Wendy frowns at this, scrunching up her eyebrows, slouching a little.

She clears , straightening her posture again. Time to get back to work.

Minutes of silence pass and she realizes she has been reading the same line over and over again. She exhales softly, putting down her pen on her desk with a thud. Her eyes flicker towards the black clock on the wall. 11pm. She takes her black blazer, shrugging it on. Grabbing her phone and purse, she decides to visit the hotel café and grab a drink.

The elevators slide open and she enters the hotel lobby. The hotel lobby is decorated with bright lights and a huge Christmas tree with a golden star sitting atop. Colourful boxes of presents lay at its foot. Wendy sighs, shaking her head while walking to the café. She passes by the front desk, noticing Irene packing up.

“Joohyun?”

Irene looks up, tugging a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Her eyes immediately brighten upon recognizing the girl in front of her.

“Oh,  Seungwan ah,” she calls fondly.

Wendy grins – seeing Irene does wonders to her mood.

“Going home? Do you need a lift?” Wendy asks.

Irene’s eyes widen in surprise, “No, no! I’m sure you’re on your way home to be with your family. I shouldn’t bother you.”

Wendy visibly deflates and Irene notices. She blinks, standing up and leaning over the counter to take a closer look at Wendy.

“… I’m not spending it with my family.”

Irene nods her head slowly, unsure of what to say. She doesn’t pry though, and Wendy’s grateful for that. The receptionist taps her chin, seemingly in deep thought. She looks at Wendy, eyeing her hesitantly.

“Do you want to spend Christmas with me?”

Wendy tilts her head, eyebrows raising up. “You’re not spending it with your family?”

Irene shakes her head disappointedly, “Not this year. My parents are in Europe right now. They’ve been away for two months now. Seeing the world and all.”

“I see…”

“So spend it with me.”

It’s more of a statement than a question but Wendy nods anyway. The girl packs her stuff and the duo leaves together.

///

The car ride to Irene’s apartment is silent. Mostly because Irene is fast asleep, head tilting towards the car windows. Wendy only chuckles to herself, murmuring a “her neck will hurt like this”.

Wendy turns on the radio, switching to her favourite radio station. Rhythm and blues music start to play and Wendy turns down the volume a little, letting the soft music fill the car. Wendy knows it’s dangerous so she keeps her eye on the road when she’s driving. Whenever she encounters a red light, she turns towards the sleeping girl automatically.

Irene sleeps beautifully, all soft lips and closed lids. She hardly makes a sound and Wendy can barely hear the sounds of her breathing. Her chest rises and falls evenly with every breath. Cute, Wendy thinks.

She looks like a sleeping beauty.

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