“Haven’t we been to this shop before?”

“No, Siwon. Only one that was pretty similar.”

“Oh. Then why do we go into this one as well?”

“Because we might find something here.”

“Kibum… Really?”

“Yes. We still don’t have gifts for Eunhyuk, Donghae, Kangin, Ryeowook or Kyuhyun. We need to visit more stores.”

“You know what?” Siwon stopped and crossed his arms in mock irritation. Though he was not entirely happy at the moment, if he was to be honest. “Shopping with you is like shopping with a woman.”

“Keep that to yourself,” Kibum frowned, turning back to the shelves again, studying the small figurines in fascination. They were currently in a small, but very peculiar store with lots of weird items, mostly things that could go for collectibles, like paintings from unknown artists, decorations of various kinds, classic toys and the figurines Kibum was currently studying. Fortunately, there did not seem to be as many Christmas shoppers inside this store as the rest of the mall. In fact, there was only two other couples there, besides Kibum and Siwon. “And by the way, have you ever tried shopping with Heechul-hyung?That is like shopping with a woman!”

“That comparison is unfair,” Siwon said, but still smiled slightly. “He is so close to being one anyways, it shouldn’t really count.”

“I bet he would hate you for saying that,” Kibum remarked as he proceeded to look at a small music box at the next shelf. “And what do you think about this one for Ryeowook? He’s a er for these kinds of things, after all.”

Siwon moved over and gently put his arms around Kibum’s waist as he leaned slightly over the younger man. In response, he felt Kibum lean back into his broad chest, slightly hesitant, but lovingly, nonetheless. Siwon smiled, and pushed down Kibum’s red Christmas scarf a little bit, leaning in to place a soft kiss on the exposed skin. He heard Kibum sigh in response, as he smaller man turned his head slightly to face him, his expression a mixture between mischief and a reprimand for being unfocused. Siwon gave him his best innocent eyes, which earned him a soft kiss from those sweet, sweet lips he adored so much. But too soon, Kibum’s attention went to the music box again.

Putting his head on the slim shoulder, Siwon looked at the box in his lover’s hands. It was beautiful, but simple; a symmetrical red box with slight engravings of some kind; a pattern of flowers, apparently. The edges were lined with gold, and as Kibum’s pretty fingers gently opened the case, a tiny angel in white clothing stood up from the center and started spinning slowly, music floating out as the beautiful sound reached out to the couple. It was obviously a simple melody, but Siwon found he was captivated by it nonetheless. It was obvious that Kibum was too – maybe even more so than himself. Time seemed to stop for a little while, the other shoppers around were forgotten, and so they stood, just watching and listening to the beautiful melody. Eventually, the music came to a halt, and everything seemed to snap into motion again.

“That was gorgeous,” Kibum whispered, studying the box intently. “I’ve never… I didn’t think music boxes were that nice.”

“New experiences every day,” Siwon nodded, thinking to himself how adorable his lover could be when he was interested in something peculiar. “Do you really like it, love?”

“Yes,” Kibum confirmed, closing the lid and turning the box around to look at it from different angles. The carvings were so intricate and unique, he could not stop staring at them. The hinges were small and nearly invisible, but still painted in the same deep, passionate red as the rest of the box. Kibum found himself ridiculously in love with it, for reasons he could not quite understand himself.

Siwon smiled to himself. Maybe he had found a Christmas present for Kibum, at last? He was not the most creative guy, especially when it came to things like this; of course he wanted to give his most precious lover something special, something he would really like, but Kibum was generally so happy and satisfied with everything, it was difficult to find something that really put and extra spark to that smile. Sure, it would mean a lot coming from Siwon, since he was his boyfriend and whatnot, but he still wanted it to be really special. This box was perfect, from the way Kibum seemed to be entirely taken by it. If only not…

“Let’s buy it for Wookie, then?”

Yes. Kibum had suggested it as a gift for Ryeowook.

“It’s almost a shame to give it away to someone else… I like it so much!” Kibum stated, almost pouting. Almost. “But I guess Wookie deserves it.”

Of course, Siwon knew the eternal maknae would be just as happy for it as Kibum would be. Maybe, most likely. But Siwon could see how dearly Kibum wanted the box, how he held it so gently in his hands as if it would break. It was a shame to give it to Ryeowook, but if he said anything about it, would Kibum not realize Siwon was buying it for him? Siwon was no expert in discretion, as opposed to his younger lover.

Tch. Dilemma.

“Excuse me?” Before Siwon had figured out his little problem, Kibum solved it for him by leaving his embrace and approaching the elderly man at the counter of the small shop. “How much is it for this one?”

“Hmm?” the old man looked up from what he was working on, a small wooden doll. “Oh, that one? 100 000 won.”

“…”

“What?!” Kibum exclaimed in a rare blatant show of surprise.  Siwon raised his infamous eyebrows next to him“I mean… I’m sorry, but is there any particular reason why it’s so expensive?”

“Ah yes, there is,” he smiled, putting the doll away and accepted the music box from Kibum and studied it for himself. “This particular box is handmade by Kwon-sshi, he is famous for his work. He creates all of his music boxes by hand, carving them himself, as well as composing the melodies they play. No box is like another, they are completely unique, from the pattern on the outside to the melody inside; and they are all made with the utmost care and love. It must be a gift to someone really special, then.”

“Well…” Kibum hesitated, looking back at Siwon, who only smiled slightly in amusement. Secretly, he was also concerned about the price. 100 000 won… That was a lot of money for a small wooden box, even if it played the most beautiful melody… “Sort of… It’s a friend, so…”

“A very good friend?” the clerk smiled kindly. “Not a lover or wife then?” Siwon wanted to facepalm. Obviously, the older fellow had not seen their open show of affection earlier. Whatever, that would be his problem. Kibum, though, only smiled and shook his head.

“No, a good friend, almost like a brother,” he said, though he looked a bit sadly at the box. “I don’t have that much money, though…”

“Not even along with him?” The clerk indicated Siwon, who was standing off to the side, though obviously in Kibum’s tow. Kibum shook his head in response. Although they wanted to purchase many of the gifts to their fellow members together, they had decided not to spend too much. None of them had all that much money anyways, despite being famous idols; so the group had decided to give each other a bit cheaper gifts this year, to save everyone some money.

“I’m sorry,” he said, smiling apologetically, but the older man nodded in understanding.

“Not everyone can have all the money in the world,” he said with a small smile and put the box away.  Kibum thanked him for the help, and dragged Siwon out. It was obvious that he was a bit disappointed, but Siwon, on the other hand, was having a difficult time keeping a goofy grin off his face. Kibum had not bought the music box for Ryeowook. He still had a chance! Now, how to lure Kibum away for a while…

It took him two hours and seven shops later to finally be able to escape. They were actually done with their shopping at this point, and were in fact only waiting for their van to come and pick them up, along with Sungmin and Yesung, who, oddly enough, had paired up to go shopping. Siwon thought it was weird, but did not really question it, as it gave him an opportunity to leave Kibum without worrying about the younger being alone. He briefly considered letting them in on his plan, to destract Kibum, but eventually decided against it, as he figured they would be unable to keep a secret. At least to Kibum; his younger lover was difficult that way.

“Ah!” he exclaimed, pretending to just remember something as the current conversation neared a halt. “I forgot! Shindong-hyung asked me to buy some cookies for him!”

“Really?” Sungmin frowned. “Leeteuk-hyung won’t be happy about that.”

“Of course he won’t,” Siwon replied lightly. “That’s why he asked me to do it. I’ll be right back, just hold the van for me, okay?”

“Do you want me to come with you?” Kibum asked kindly, looking up at his boyfriend. Normally, Siwon would have said yes, yes please come with me, my love, I don’t want to go anywhere without you. But not now. That would ruin the entire reason for his escape, after all. And he was not in the mood to be cheesy.

“Nah, it’s okay,” he said, leaning down to give Kibum a small kiss in consolation. “It’ll go quicker if I go alone, then we’ll be out of here quicker.”

“Alright, if you’re sure,” Kibum shrugged, obviously not thinking any more of it, but he still gave Siwon a warm smile. Siwon felt his own lips tugging upwards, and quickly put another kiss on Kibum’s forehead. “I’ll be right back!”

He had just rounded the corner to get out of sight from the others before he broke into a run, dodging unsteady shoppers in the crowded mall and ignoring the bothersome Christmas mascots wobbling about, trying to get attention. Normally, he would have found them cute and entertaining. Today, though, he had a special mission in mind.

He would buy Kibum the music box. It was expensive as hell, and Siwon was sure it would take far more of his budget than he had even planned to use on Christmas presents in general, but if he could see that look on Kibum’s face again, he was sure, it would be worth it.

If he could see the way Kibum’s face lit up again over something so simple, he would pay any price.

Soon, he spotted the small store, and dove in. The clerk, now alone in the shop, looked up at him expectantly.

“I’ll take that music box, please. Oh, and if you could wrap it up, that would be nice.”

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YEAH BABY 50 SUBSCRIBERS Thanks a lot to everyone who has subscribed thus far, I love all of you! *_* I never expected to have such a positive reception, on my first asianfanfics fanfic, nonetheless! Thank you so much! :D A special shoutout to SuJuSeoul, for being number 50!! :D 

Also, this chapter. xD There was very little SiBum in it, despite Siwon and Kibum being very much in it. D: I actually had to go back and add a few tiny kisses because there was nothing in it, what is this crap. xD Jeez. I'm sorry that these last two chapters have been so short, but I need to write a bit shorter chaps if I'm going to catch up with the days I've missed. xP Please bear with me!!

Also, this chapter's plot should be credited to -GreenPumpkins and LoveSuju4eva, since they suggested the Christmas shopping theme, with LoveSuju4eva specifying the SiBum couple. :) Thanks a lot to you! <3