The Spirit of Christmas

Woohyun is the Spirit of Christmas.
You can be as literal as you want with it.
The only thing about Christmas Sunggyu cares for is presents.
Woohyun decides to show Sunggyu what Christmas is all about.
(prompt by feminabeata)

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a/n: christmas is long over, but seeing how the Secret Santa is stuck, i shall reveal my second story too^^ this one is quite long with 16k words...if you feel brave, continue to read it! leave me a comment if you want <3

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Children all over the world believed in Santa Claus. They were excited on every Christmas Eve, lying in their beds with closed eyes but open ears. They hoped to hear Santa when he arrived on their roof and climbed into the house – optionally he entered through a window when there was no chimney. It was every kids dream to catch Santa in the act and meet him. To tell him about all of their dreams, wishes and hopes. Santa Claus was something like a distant relative to most children. A kind, old uncle, who ate their cookies and drank their milk, before leaving them a present under the Christmas tree.

Though all children loved Santa and yearned to get the presents they wanted, the holiday was also a time for family and fun. Most parents would be home for the holidays to celebrate with their children. They would do things like bake together, play at home or outside in the snow. They would get to visit their friends too and make many, many happy memories. Christmas was the best time of the year for children. No school. No homework. Just a fun time with family and friends. A holiday full of laughter and joy.

It was different for Sunggyu. As soon as he was old enough to perceive and understand the world around him, he learned that only material things were important. His parents were both busy people who earned a lot of money every day. His father worked as a CEO of one of the biggest companies in South Korea and his mother was a famous fashion designer. At a young age, Sunggyu did not understand the meaning behind those job names, but his nanny told him that his parents couldn’t help being at home so rarely. They were important people. They made money to pay for the house, the food, his education and pretty much everything else in his life. Even the love of the nanny was bought with that money.

The nanny was originally from London but she had gotten the job because Sunggyu’s parents wanted him to learn English from an early age on. Hannah spoke Korean too but whenever his parents were around, she only used English. Sunggyu found it hard to follow her then but he knew it would get better someday. His nanny was always around him. He couldn’t remember a day that Hannah hadn’t watched over him. She helped him with baths, dressed him and played with him. Hannah even ate at the table with him when his parents weren’t there. Most of the time they weren’t, so Hannah usually ate with him. His parents would never approve of a servant sitting at their table but Sunggyu didn’t care. Hannah was like a mother to him. A real mother. One who cared for him and pampered him. Someone who asked how his day at school was or who stayed at his bedside when he was sick. She was the center of his big yet tiny world. The boy liked it when his nanny smiled at him. His parents rarely gave him a smile, just like most of the other people around him. Hannah was different. She made him believe that he was being loved.

He was 12 when he lost that trust and the last piece of love he had.




Sunggyu ripped the paper off the last present. It was the newest phone model but he didn’t quite care about it. He just knew it must’ve cost a lot. Not that he cared. He beamed and looked over his shoulder. “I’m done! Hannah, I’m done!”

The blonde woman gave him a warm smile and closed the book on her lap. “Is that so? Your parents bought you quite a lot again.”

He stood up and ran over to her, grabbing her hand and tugging on it impatiently. “Who cares about that? Let’s go out, Hannah! Where are we going this time?”

She grabbed his wrist and pulled his hand away. Her gaze was strict. “Sunggyu, I didn’t teach you to be a rude kid who does things like this.”

Sunggyu pouted and stepped away. He folded his hands in front of him. “I’m sorry, Hannah. I want to go outside with you, please.”

His nanny nodded and stood up as well. “Never forget your respect for your elders, Sunggyu. Come on. Let’s get dressed then. It’s cold outside and we don’t want to freeze.”

The boy smiled widely and ran ahead. “Sunggyu! No running!”, Hannah’s sharp voice called after him. He slowed down and walked the rest of the way to the front door. The older woman caught up with him and then started to dress him. First his boots, then a thick sweater, his green coat, a scarf and lastly, his black beanie. Sunggyu grinned at his nanny and Hannah smiled. “All wrapped up and ready. Let me get dressed too.”

“Where are we going this time, Hannah?”

“It’s a surprise, just like every year.” The blonde lady said and put on her own boots.

Sunggyu shifted impatiently in his spot. Every Christmas (that his parents weren’t there for), Hannah went out with him instead. They usually ate something in the city; dishes that his parents would usually never allow. Commoner food, as they called it, but Sunggyu loved it a lot. He didn’t understand why the cook in their mansion never made burgers with fries. Hannah sometimes took him to a museum or an aquarium, or they just played in the snow or went to the mall. It was a surprise event every year and for Sunggyu it was something to look forward to.

When Hannah was done dressing herself, she took Sunggyu’s hand and led him outside. They stomped through the snow towards the car that was already waiting for them. He got into the backseat first and Hannah closed the door behind him before walking around to the other side of the car and sitting down next to him. Sunggyu glanced to the front where Jongkook was sitting; his driver and bodyguard. The man always had a blank face on and never talked much. The boy was sure he could kick him between the legs and all Jongkook would say was ‘Your parents will be displeased, young master’. But he was too small to kick him anyways.

The drive took about 20 minutes and then Sunggyu saw the familiar outline of the Times Square mall. “We’re going shopping?”

She nodded shortly. “We can see a movie too. There’s plenty of time.”

As soon as Jongkook parked the car in the underground parking garage, Hannah got out of the car first and went around it to open the door for Sunggyu. The boy smiled at her and climbed out. She took his hand again and led him into the mall. Jongkook followed them quietly. The bodyguard stuck to Sunggyu like his shadow. There were a lot of people walking around but less than usual, probably because a lot of the families were busy celebrating at home. Sunggyu didn’t see a lot of other kids.

They went around from shop to shop for about an hour or so. At some point, the mall started to become really full and Sunggyu had to stick close to Hannah to not get lost in the crowd. Then suddenly his nanny pulled him along somewhere. She told him that she had something she wanted to show to Sunggyu. He followed her innocently, only looking over his shoulder from time to time to check if Jongkook was still there. But then moments later, he noticed the guard was gone.

“I think we lost Jongkook.”

Hannah didn’t look at him. “Is that so bad? You always complain how creepy it is to have him around. Besides, he’s a grown man, Sunggyu. He will find us again.”

“Where are we going, Hannah?” He asked curiously because they were getting in an elevator next with some other people.

She glanced at him and gave him a smile. Somehow it looked different from usual. “Be a good boy, Sunggyu. You know what Santa does with naughty boys.”

He pursed his lips but nodded. The elevator stopped two times but they only got off when it reached the lowest floor. The parking garage. “Are we going back already?”

Hannah didn’t reply and just pulled him along. They walked past Jongkook’s car and Sunggyu pointed it out but the nanny didn’t react again. “I don’t think there’s anything here, Hannah. I want to go back up again...”

They kept walking to the far back of the parking garage. There were barely people around anymore and Sunggyu felt honestly scared. Something was off about Hannah. Her grip around his hand wasn’t gentle anymore. It was hard and impatient. She was dragging him forward by now. They stopped at a black van Sunggyu didn’t recognize. Hannah pulled the door open and Sunggyu gave her a frightened look.

“Get inside. Don’t think about screaming, Sunggyu, or that man will have to hurt you.” She nodded at the inside of the car.

He followed her gaze and spotted a man sitting in one of the seats with a pistol in his hand. A pistol that was pointing straight at Sunggyu. He tried to walk backwards but Hannah grabbed his arm. “Into the van, Sunggyu.”

“I don’t understand.” He whimpered.

“I know, but your parents will.” She looked around for other people and gave him another push. Sunggyu didn’t know what else to do so he got into the van.

The man with the pistol pointed at a seat and Sunggyu sat down on it. Hannah got into the car as well and closed the door. She gave the man a nod and he hit the wall behind himself twice. Then the van started moving. Sunggyu’s voice shook as he asked: “Where are we going?”

Hannah looked at him and suddenly the boy felt so small. Where had his nice nanny gone? He didn’t know this woman at all. She looked at him coldly, like she hated him. “Do me a favor and shut up.”

“Why?” Sunggyu asked and he could see that she knew what he meant. He wanted to know why she was doing this. She didn’t seem to be a victim. Hannah was in on this with the pistol guy.

“Because I hate your family. They destroyed my father’s business years ago. You don’t know how hard I worked to get to this moment today. To earn your parents’ trust to care for you and then make them feel safe enough to drop their guard. Why do you think I put up with you? Because I liked you?” Hannah laughed out loud. “You are just a tool, Sunggyu. A tool to get me the money I deserve to have. That’s all you would have ever been for the people around you. A tool. A moneybag. We are doing you a favor.”

Suddenly, Sunggyu just knew he was going to die. His parents would pay the ransom Hannah demanded (or maybe they wouldn’t, Sunggyu wasn’t sure if he was worth enough for them to care) and then they would kill him. The boy wanted to break down and scream. To let go of all the sadness inside of him but somehow Sunggyu only felt empty from one moment to the next. Empty and hollow. Maybe Hannah was right and no one loved him after all. He was just a shadow of his parents’ money. A tool that people used.

Minutes later, there was a sudden screech of tires and then a strong jolt went through the van. Suddenly, the car fell to the side and rolled down somewhere. Sunggyu was thrown through the car because his seatbelt hadn’t been fastened. By the time the van stopped moving, Sunggyu wasn’t sure anymore where up and down were. His body hurt everywhere. Something warm was running down his face and he couldn’t find the strength to move. He opened his eyes slowly and spotted Hannah lying close to him. His breath got caught when he saw her staring at him. She wasn’t moving and her body was twisted in a weird position that made it clear that she would never move again. Her dead eyes though, were wide open and staring at him. Sunggyu wanted to look away but he couldn’t move his head. He shut his eyes again and silent tears ran down his face. Even with his eyes closed, he could still feel the dead eyes on him. Burning into him and telling him it was entirely his fault.

He didn’t know how much time passed until someone found the car wreck. He slipped in and out of consciousness while the fireman cut the van open. The voices of the men around him were blurry but eventually they pulled him out of the car. He was placed on a stretcher and Sunggyu could tell they were asking him questions, though he couldn’t understand a word. Even if he could, he had no strength to open his mouth. His consciousness slipped again as the doors of the ambulance fell shut. Ah, he thought, I’m not going to die after all.




Sunggyu was the only one that survived the crash. Nurses and doctors, as well as the newspapers, called it a miracle. The Christmas miracle. Sunggyu spent almost three months in his hospital room, isolated from all the other ‘normal’ patients, the commoners. His recovery was slow but the doctor said there would barely be any lasting damage. The only things that would remain were the big scar on his back and a limp. The surgeon had fixed his dislocated leg as best as possible but Sunggyu would probably limp for the rest of his life. ‘At least you are alive’ the nurses helping him always said. He never replied anything. Sunggyu felt like it would’ve been better if he had died that day. Whenever someone smiled at him, he didn’t see kindness anymore. He saw behind their ugly masks and fake smiles; the fact that they only cared for him because his treatment brought them a lot of money. His parents had donated a huge sum to the hospital for saving their only son.

Sunggyu didn’t care about the donation at all. His father never visited him even once and his mother was only there one time. It was just another reason that showed him that they didn’t love him. He was only another asset in their eyes. If they used him well, he would increase the wealth and fame of the Kim family. It was during that Christmas and the three following months that Sunggyu truly understood what mattered in this world – money. Love was just another thing that was measured in money. The boy discarded his emotions and he became cold and distant, just like his parents. He withdrew himself into his own world and trusted no one. He could only trust himself.



 

❅ Present – 24th December – 25 years old  ❅ 
 

“Who’s next, Jungyeop?”

“The Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Cha, I believe, sir.” The man said while looking at the clipboard in his arms.

Sunggyu folded his legs and watched as another grey-haired man entered his office. The man lowered his head as he approached his desk. “Sir, I wish you a Merry Christmas.”

Mr. Cha touched his elbow with one hand and held out an envelope with the other. Sunggyu took it with a blank face and opened it. “Two tickets for the musical ‘In The Heights’?”

The old man smiled – not happy or politely, no, it was a smile of fear. “Y-Yes. It just started recently and this is the only performance where the famous-“

“Mr. Cha.” He interrupted the man. The Chief Financial Office stiffened and looked at him like a sheep before slaughter. Sunggyu found it amusing but his face stayed blank. “Why are you giving me two tickets?”

“I- uh- I thought-“

“Yes, that is the problem. You thought. Apparently, you aren’t very strong in that department.”

“Sir, with all due respect, I’m your senior by 30 years and I’ve already worked for your fa-“

“Mr. Cha.” Sunggyu sighed deeply and threw the envelope on the desk. He folded his hands. “My father is dead and I’m your boss now. You could be 50 years my senior and you’d still need to do what I say. When I tell you to fetch, then you go fetch. When I tell you to wrap up a deal successfully, you don’t go and waste 50 Million Won. Do you think a musical will make me forget about your mistake last month? Especially since you slap my lonely lifestyle so openly in my face when you know I’m single and have no one to go with me. Perhaps you wanted to join me for the night?”

The older man seemed to be angry over his words but Sunggyu saw him doing his best to hold the anger down. It amused him greatly, especially since the man was fighting a lost battle. “Sir, it was not my intention to imply anything like that. I apologize for offending you with the two tickets but the failure of the Hong deal wasn’t my fault. My assis-“

Sunggyu slammed his palms on the desk and Mr. Cha flinched openly. Jungyeop didn’t even bat an eyelash next to him. He was used to the sound. “Do not take me for a fool, old man. I did my investigations and it was you that sent Mr. Hong that ridiculously overpriced quotation. I do not take kindly to people lying to me. Here’s your Christmas present, Mr. Cha. It brought me great joy to pick it for you.”

He gave Jungyeop a wave of his hand and the man stepped forward to hand Mr. Cha an envelope. The old man trembled as he looked at it and then at Sunggyu. “Mr. Kim, sir, please...my wife is sick.”

“You’re divorced as far as I know. Now get out of my office. By the way, about the young man you blamed and fired for your arrogance, Kim Myungsoo was his name I believe. He is going to take your position in the future. Good bye, Mr. Cha.” Sunggyu smiled coolly.

Jungyeop went over to the door to open it. Mr. Cha hesitated but then he crumpled up the letter in his hand. “You arrogant, snobby brat! You are going to ruin your father’s company! He would be ashamed if he knew what you were doing! Firing his trusted friends and then this stupid spectacle every year at Christmas time! Always making us come up here to kiss your and shove presents up it, so you can bathe in your bloated ego, you-“

“Jungyeop.” Sunggyu didn’t even look up but he heard his secretary shouting orders and then the guards pulled Mr. Cha out of the room.

The doors closed again and Jungyeop cleared his throat. “Maybe you could’ve wrapped it up more nicely. He ruined the deal but he is still an influential man in the industry. Was it necessary to fire him, sir?”

“I don’t like people lying to me. I have no need for dogs that bite.” Sunggyu huffed and threw the envelope in the trash bin. “Musical tickets, pff! A cheap present from a cheap man. Is there anyone else?”

“Yes, sir, seven more, actually.”

“I hope they have better presents than what I’ve gotten so far. They get worse with every new year. Do they not respect me after all I’ve done for them?”

Jungyeop stayed quiet. He knew when it was better not to say anything. Sunggyu folded his hands again and leaned back. “Next.”

The secretary nodded and called the next employee in. For him, it was just another Christmas like always.



“That was the last one, sir.”

“Great. A yacht was definitely a great present to finish the day with. I didn’t have to fire anyone else too.” He stood up and stretched his legs. Sunggyu cleanly folded his blazer over his arm. “Please organize that all the presents get to my house, Jungyeop. I’m going to retire for the night.”

The secretary bowed his head respectfully. “Good night, sir, and...Merry Christmas.”

He was almost out of the door when Jungyeop’s voice reached out to him once more. “Are you going to spend Christmas alone again?”

Sunggyu turned around and smiled shortly. “You know me. I don’t need any company. I’ll just hide in my hole until this awful holiday is over and then get back to work. Like always.”

“Maybe you could visit your mother.” Jungyeop proposed carefully.

The smile fell from his face. “We go over this topic every year. Aren’t you tired of it yet?”

“There is no harm in trying, sir. You hired me to think of your well-being.” The older man smiled.

“No, I hired you to do all the stuff that I don’t want to do, and because you have no family holding you back. Yes, that might have been the main reason.” Sunggyu inclined his head and wandered out of his office. He missed the sad and disappointed look Jungyeop gave him.

Sunggyu whistled as he made his way to the elevator. His office was on the highest floor of the building with the best view overlooking Seoul. He liked it a lot, especially since the whole floor was entirely his office. After he took over the company from his deceased father, the young man had sold the old company building to build a new one. It was bigger than his father’s. More beautiful and majestic; Sunggyu’s whole pride. He entered the elevator with a smile that immediately reflected in the mirrors that surrounded him from all sides. Everything around him was proof of his wealth and Sunggyu loved it. That was all he needed in his life. Money. Wealth. Respect.

Christmas was just another opportunity for him to make money. The sales were always spiking in November and December. It was proof of what Christmas really meant to everyone. It was all about presents, which in the end was just another form of money. A holiday of love and family? Bull. It was just the time of the year when you used money to buy the love of people around you. Presents were nothing else but a tool of blackmail. If you didn’t buy your friends or lovers a present, they would smite you and think you didn’t love them. Sunggyu hated Christmas for its fakeness, so he liked to avoid it completely. Which of course never stopped him from asking all of his higher employees to visit his office on the 24th. All of them had to come and give him a present. It was mandatory. In the end it was mainly an event for Sunggyu’s amusement, but it was also a good time to check on who of those bastards were loyal to him.

A sudden jolt went through the elevator and Sunggyu’s heart jumped in his chest. The lights above his head flickered and he noticed the elevator had stopped moving. He frowned and then cursed out loud. “Are you kidding me?! This is the worst!”

Sunggyu waited for a minute or two for the thing to move again before he pushed the emergency button. He pressed it. And kept pressing it. Still holding on. “Yah! Why is no one answering? Hello? Shingu?! Yoongi?”

No matter how long he pushed the button and called into the speaker, no reply came. Sunggyu ran a hand through his hair. “I’m going to fire all of them!”

He kicked against the doors for good measure but of course the result was rather disappointing. As expected. “Anyone? Let me out of here!”

Sunggyu crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. There was nothing he could do but wait. Maybe the security downstairs had already heard his call for help and was working on getting the elevator running again. He sincerely hoped it for their futures.

“The elevator won’t move before I say so!”

His eyes widened and his head snapped around. Sunggyu yelped and pressed his body into a corner of the elevator. He stared at the figure that he swore hadn’t been in the elevator with him just a second ago. As if that fact weren’t creepy enough, the guy was wearing a damn Santa Claus outfit (beard and all included). Yet his eyes seemed awfully young – and mischievous.

Sunggyu blinked. Maybe it was a hallucination? He didn’t have claustrophobia but maybe it had just never shown itself before. He had never gotten stuck in an elevator after all. Or maybe he was simply so tired that he had overlooked the guy in his glowing red Santa suit? No, impossible. He reached out to give the illusion a shove with his hand and the Santa yelped in shock as he collided with the elevator wall.

“Ouch! Hey!” The Santa rubbed his shoulder and fixed the position of his hat that had almost fallen off; as well as his hair, weirdly enough. A wig, yes, of course it was a costume. “Why can you touch me? Something must’ve gone wrong with the spell. Wait a second.”

Sunggyu furrowed his brows. Where had that man come from and what the hell was he talking about? Obviously he could touch the guy because he was real, though that didn’t explain how he got into the moving elevator. Which wasn’t moving at the moment but that was not the point!

The Santa weirdo started muttering something and in the middle of his – rather scary – chanting, the elevator suddenly moved again. Sunggyu was of course very happy about it, at least until he noticed that the Santa wasn’t moving along with the elevator. Instead, his head soon disappeared through the roof (“Hey! What?! This is not what was supposed to happen! Stop! Who is moving this? I demand you to stop!”) and with the descend of the elevator more of his body kept disappearing. Sunggyu’s eyes were wide in fear. (If it weren’t so scary, he might have laughed at how funny the scene looked with the pair of red boots shaking in the air.)

He shut his eyes and pressed his fingers against his eyelids. “This isn’t real. This isn’t real.”

Sunggyu opened his eyes again and the weird figure was gone completely. He sighed in relief. No weird wriggling boots, no Santa wig and red costume. Sunggyu straightened himself again and cleared his throat. Maybe there had been something in the scotch that Mr. Lee had given him as a present? Some poisons could create very real hallucinations. He shouldn’t have drunk in between the meetings today.

The elevator came to a stop on the ground floor and the doors slid open. Shingu looked at him with a wide smile. “Mr. Kim, I’m sorry for the delay. I don’t know why the elevator suddenly stopped. We couldn’t even reach you.”

He stepped out of it and put his blazer on. “This better not happen again.”

“Of course, boss. Have a safe drive home, and Merry Christmas.” Shingu said.

“Say, did you see anyone with a Santa Claus costume enter the building?”

“Uh...I don’t think so, Mr. Kim. Is there an intruder?”

“No...No, I don’t think so. Never mind. Good bye, Shingu.”

Sunggyu strode through the lobby towards the main entrance.  The big lobby was illuminated brightly but there was not a single soul to be seen except for Shingu, the main security guy and the two guards at the entrance. Sunggyu walked past them with a firm nod and walked towards his car that was already waiting for him.

The driver opened the door for him and he got into the backseat. “Sir.”

“Joseph, please take me home. I’m terribly tired and those idiots gave me a headache.”

The blond man nodded and closed the door quickly. Sunggyu brushed the snow from his blazer that had fallen down on him and then leaned against the window with a sigh. His mood was really ruined after the long day full of bad presents and getting stuck in the elevator. Not to mention the weird hallucination. He watched the busy streets as Joseph drove him home. There were a lot of people strolling through the city core; lots of happy couples and families. All of their smiles and domestic acts made Sunggyu sick. Fake. Fake. Fake.

“You know it’s not all fake.”

Sunggyu jumped in his seat and almost screamed out loud. He looked to his left and saw the Santa weirdo from before sitting next to him. “What are you doing here?! Joseph! Stop this instant!”

The car came to an abrupt halt and the driver looked at him through the rearview mirror. “Sir, what’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong? How can you ask that? Are you blind or is this a bad joke, Joseph? Did Jungyeop put you up to this?” Sunggyu exclaimed angrily.

The Santa guy snickered in his seat. Sunggyu glared at him. “What are you laughing at? Joseph! Throw him out – NOW!”

“Uh...Sir? Are you okay? I’m not sure what you mean...” The blond man gave him a worried look.

He wanted to scream in frustration. Was everyone trying to mess with him today? Did he have to do everything himself? Sunggyu reached out to grab the Santa guy again and shove him out of the car himself but his hand went right through his arm. “What-“

“He!” Santa gave him a triumphant look. “I did the spell right this time! You can’t touch me! And your friend cannot see me by the way.”

Sunggyu was sure that somewhere beneath the fake beard lay a smug grin. He was furious. “Stop messing with me, you weirdo! Get out of my car! There are no spells or anything! I don’t know who paid you and Joseph to play this prank on me but I’ve had enough! I guess Shingu was in on it too? Ha ha! Very funny! Now leave.”

His voice was cold but Santa didn’t seem intimidated at all. He just snickered again and pointed to the front of the car. Sunggyu followed his gaze and noticed Joseph looking at him weirdly. The guy in the costume laughed. “I told you: he cannot see me. Or hear, for that matter. He is thinking you are going crazy. Right now he’s calculating which hospital is the closest to drive to.”

“I don’t need a hospital!” Sunggyu shouted and his driver jumped.

“S-Sir, maybe you drank something bad. It could be alcohol poisoning.”

He considered the option. “You seriously cannot see the guy next to me?”

Santa raised his arms and jumped around while waving excitedly. “Here, here! I am here!”

Joseph looked at the spot before frowning and glancing back at his boss. “No...? Sir, there is no one but you and me in this car.”

The weirdo stuck out his tongue. “Told ya.”

Sunggyu was now really considering a hospital visit. “Joseph-“

A finger touched his temple and Sunggyu felt something like a cold spark. Suddenly, he couldn’t speak or move anymore. It was as if something had paralyzed him. He couldn’t feel his body anymore. And then his mouth moved by itself, spouting words that weren’t his. “I was just playing with you. Please take me home.”

Sunggyu wanted to protest, to scream and struggle but it was like his body didn’t belong to him anymore. He was definitely drunk. Maybe he had fallen asleep in the office. Sometimes it happened. Yeah, that seemed pretty damn logical. Definitely more logical than the reality in front of him. This feeling scared him – like he wasn’t anchored to the world anymore. Had he died?

He felt the cold change into something warm and fuzzy. It wrapped itself around his mind like a warm blanket and Sunggyu started to feel drowsy.

“Don’t be scared. I’m not going to hurt you.” A voice echoed in his thoughts. It was kind of soothing and reminded him of something. Something safe. “I’ll see you at home. Sleep, Sunggyu.”




A hand shook his shoulder and Sunggyu stirred awake. He sat up and massaged his temples. Somehow his head was hurting. “Joseph?”

“You fell asleep, sir. We have arrived.” The blond man helped him out of the car.

Sunggyu gave him a nod and walked over to the entrance of his house. He only lived together with his driver (and bodyguard) Joseph, his cook Yein and occasionally Jungyeop slept over as well. Otherwise the house was mostly empty. He knew that people expected him to live in some gigantic mansion with 100 butlers and maids (people had weird fantasies about rich CEOs) but Sunggyu didn’t want that. He only trusted a few selected people in his life. Having a big mansion with a lot of workers would mean trusting a lot of strangers. He knew he wouldn’t be able to keep an eye on all of them. It was safer to live this way. Sunggyu didn’t mind doing a bit of housework. He had been fed with a golden spoon since birth but he was an independent adult now. Sunggyu knew that the fastest way to get things done was doing them yourself. He had had someone who took care of his every need once and that person had betrayed him dearly, so now Sunggyu preferred doing things with his own hands.

He shuffled into the house and took his shoes off. Sunggyu loosened his tie and walked towards the kitchen. The light shining into the corridor showed that someone was in there. A pleasant scent reached his nose and Sunggyu smiled. “Yein.”

The brunette looked up from the pot she was stirring and gave him a smile. “Welcome home.”

“Shouldn’t you be at home? I gave you three days off work if I remember correctly.”

Yein shrugged. “I’m going home after I finished this. I didn’t want you to starve over the next few days. You can’t cook at all.”

“There are things called home delivery.” Sunggyu wandered over to the table and slumped down on a chair.

“Sunggyu, it’s Christmas. You shouldn’t eat fast food by yourself in front of the TV.”

“Not everyone needs a loud home with a big family, Yein. I’m content like this. I got my presents. Christmas is finished for me.”

Yein shook her head and turned of the stove. She untied her apron and slipped it over her head. “Presents aren’t all there is to Christmas.”

“You buy your children something every year, though. And they would hate you if you didn’t. Try asking your kids about all this business about love and so on. They only love you as long as you give them something worth some money.” He commented dryly.

She gave him a glare, something not even a lot of men dared to do to him. “Kim Sunggyu! You might be my boss but you should watch your tongue. I don’t know what makes you think like that but my children are not money-obsessed and snobby like other people in this room. You keep coming home with lots of presents every year but they are worth nothing.”

Yein left the kitchen with quick steps and Sunggyu huffed. He heard how she put on her coat and a moment later there was a shout of “Merry Christmas, you ” before the door was shut with more force than necessary. Sunggyu snorted. “Did she just call me an ? This girl...Just try not giving your children presents for once.”

“You know she’s right.”

Sunggyu jumped as his eyes found the red figure in the room. “Not again! You damn stalker! Get out of my house!”

“No~” The Santa sang and shuffled over to the pot to sniff it. “Mmhm...this smells simply wonderful. Good choice for the cook!”

And then suddenly that Santa guy had the audacity to grab a spoon and try to taste it. Sunggyu closed the distance between them and tried to take the spoon from him. This time his hand didn’t slip through the other man’s body again which caught him by surprise and made the spoon end up on the floor. “Hey! Why are you so rude?”

“You are the one who is rude! That’s my food and this is my house! Get out!”

He grabbed the weirdo’s arm and tried to drag him out. Sunggyu saw the Santa raising his other hand but he couldn’t dodge it in time. Instead of a punch, only a finger made contact with his face. It touched his forehead and Sunggyu felt another spark like he did in the car. He blinked as his body froze once again. The man slipped out of his grip and straightened his clothes.

“I really don’t enjoy doing this but you leave me no choice. I’ll break the spell once you have...uh...calmed down and listened to me. Let’s sit down and eat dinner. I’m starving and it’s Christmas. You shouldn’t eat alone.”

Sunggyu found himself sitting down against his will. He could only watch as the fake Santa moved around the kitchen as if he owned it. He knew where the bowls were as well as the silverware. The intruder filled two bowls with the stew that Yein had prepared. He placed one in front of Sunggyu and took a seat opposite of him with his own bowl. Sunggyu’s body moved on its own to scoop soup into his mouth. He struggled against the invisible binds holding him but it was useless. It scared him. What the hell was this guy? Some kind of psychic? Or were the hallucinations worse than he initially thought?

“Calm down, okay? You know what...I’m going to loosen the restraints if you promise not to lash out at me like a maniac again. Eating like that is probably not exactly comfortable.”

Sunggyu gave him a long look and the Santa weirdo nodded. He stood up again to touch his head and Sunggyu felt a warm prickling. He tested his own movements and noticed that he could move his hands again. Legs didn’t work, though. “What are you? And don’t tell me you’re Santa Claus. I know your beard and hair are fake!”

The other man sat down again. “Oh no, I’m not Santa. Well, maybe, sort of. It’s what humans call me and picture me as but it’s not really what or who I am.”

He casually took off his hat, the wig and the fake beard. Sunggyu finally got a clear look on the weirdo and noticed the other was much younger than he thought. His hair was somewhat purplish and his face was...handsome. His s