🎁❄★ PROMPT: Christmas Cards ★❄🎁

★★★

'Can I have your picture so I can show Santa what I want for Christmas?’

Sanghyuk let out a snort as he read the disgustingly corny Christmas card he had in his hand.

Shopping with his older sister was boring - especially when she took her time in picking presents for her friends. Unfortunately, Sanghyuk had to endure it for the sake of getting that new game he really wanted for his Xbox.

It didn’t change the fact that he was still bored out of his mind.

Thus, here he was, looking through the shelf of Christmas cards as he waited for his sister to finish - laughing and scoffing at the assortment of corniness and bad photoshopping he was faced with. He had been into art before so he was sure to be extra judgemental about them.

This one in his hand had caught his attention though, mostly because the designs were drawn really well. However, the message completely destroyed his initial thoughts on it.

It was an ordinary white card, with a frame of candy canes, presents, and santa hats decorating its edges. In the middle was a silhouette of a person’s bust shot - not unlike those one would see on social media accounts when someone doesn’t upload a display picture. Its was circled with a decoration of cliche holiday objects coloured in vivid shades of red, green, and yellow. Then, underneath that, was the nauseating pick up line that made Sanghyuk want to cringe and laugh.

If only the artist hadn’t added that line. Sanghyuk turned the card over, searching for the artist’s name. He knew that some companies rarely acknowledged the designer as an individual though, but he was still curious as to who came up with this.

“You like that card?” someone spoke from behind him just as he had found the text he wanted, startling Sanghyuk out of his thoughts. He looked over his shoulder to find a man around his age grinning at him. He had these large, round glasses sitting on the bridge of his tall nose that would’ve looked ridiculous on most people, but seemed to fit him just fine. His dark hair styled up and slightly combed to the side, giving him a professional appearance that contrasted with his casual white turtleneck shirt topped with a dark blue hoodie.

After giving the man a strange look, Sanghyuk shrugged. “It’s okay I guess. Could’ve been better if the line wasn’t so gross.”

The man seemed to be taken aback by the honest reply. “You think the line was gross?” he almost sounded offended. Weirdo.

Sanghyuk scoffed. “It’s cliche. But, well, I guess it works on other people. The drawing’s really nice though, I’ll give him that.”

And there goes the surprised expression on the man’s face once again. “You really think the drawing’s nice?”

Sanghyuk shrugged again, not really getting what the deal was with this guy. Deeming the conversation over, Sanghyuk moved to leave when the man spoke again. “Hey, what’s your name?”

Sanghyuk raised a brow at him. “It’s rude to ask without introducing yourself.”

The other paused, looking dumbstruck for a moment, before chuckling. “My mistake. I’m Ken.”

“What kind of name is K--” And Sanghyuk’s eyes widened as he remembered the name he found on the card. He must’ve made a stupid expression when the man - “Ken”, he reminded himself - laughed again.

“Well, it’s Jaehwan really. Ken’s my alias.” He explained. “And because you just insulted my card right in front of my face, you’ll have to accompany me to that really nice dessert place across the street to make up for it.” Then his grin grew as he leaned closer. Sanghyuk’s eyes widened and he felt his ears heat up. “But because you said my art is nice, I’ll treat you.”

Before Sanghyuk could even say anything else, he heard his older sister call him, telling him they still needed to meet up with their parents. It was enough to shake him out of his stupor and step back from Jaehwan to reply to her. He was about to head to where his sister was when Jaehwan pressed the card into his hand (when had he taken it from him in the first place?). He winked at him as he said “Next time then.” before waltzing off.

Sanghyuk stared after the strange guy, not entirely sure what the heck just happened. What a weirdo. He then directed his attention back to the card and found a number written on it that was definitely not there before. Beside it was what seemed to be a caricature of Jaehwan with a speech bubble that said ‘I forgot to take a picture of you to send to Santa. Call me so we can arrange an appointment.’

For a few minutes, Sanghyuk stood there, gaping at the card. Did that really just happen? Did an artist he insult really just ask him out after hearing his comment about his work? What kind of person even does that?

Then, as he stared at the number on the paper, one thing came to his mind.

Damn, he had to pay for this card now.