Hyejeong says: The best match for you is the one I arrange—because I know you better than you know yourself.

“This must be a joke,” Seolhyun said, staring at the limp green tights. No way was she going to stuff her body into those. “Dr. Shin gave us your size, miss,” said a young woman, whose name tag identified her as Moonbyul.

“She did?” Well, if Hyejeong assumed she wore a size 0, then she had to be out of her mind. But the material did stretch, so who was she to enlighten the matchmaker with the truth?

Moonbyul handed her the elf costume, which consisted of a short green dress, like a skater’s, with white faux fur edging the hem and a wide red belt. A green Santa-style hat with a white fur ball dangling from the end completed the outfit. But the star of the outfit had to be the gold painted pair of slippers with curled-up toes.

“The changing room is this way,” Moonbyul said as she guided her down the dimly lit mall corridor. Seolhyun followed, clutching the uniform, the hat and shoes.

“I can’t tell you how pleased we are that you agreed to do this,” Moonbyul was telling her. “You already have an audience of children waiting.”

This wasn’t news Seolhyun wanted to hear. “Where will Santa be while I’m floating through the air?”

“Oh, he’ll be right behind you.”

“Great.” So she wouldn’t be doing a solo flight. If she was going to descend from the clouds, Santa should do the same.

“Only…Santa will be on ground level,” Moonbyul explained. This was unfair. The woman stopped and, frowning, bent down to pick up an empty beer can. “Oh, dear,” she grumbled. “I’m afraid Jinyoung’s been at it again.”

“And who is Jinyoung?” Seolhyun asked a bit fearfully. Moonbyul’s voice was a low whisper. “He’s Santa.”

Was she saying Santa was a drunk? Outrageous! “Santa?” Seolhyun cried.

“Don’t misunderstand me,” Moonbyul hurried to say. “Jinyoung’s a wonderful Santa and the kids love him. The problem is, the children can be a bit wearing…as you’ll discover for yourself in a few minutes.”

Moonbyul led her through a dark tunnel to some kind of alleyway deep inside the mall. “There’s a ladies’ room back here where you can change into your costume. I’ll wait outside and once you’re done, I’ll have one of the technicians help you into the harness.”

Seolhyun gaped at her. “We want you to be as safe as possible,” Moonbyul said in a confiding voice. “The wire will lower you from the top level of the mall to the ground floor.”

“Oh.” Seolhyun couldn’t recall if the mall was two or three levels. One thing was guaranteed—she’d have her eyes closed the entire flight.

As if reading her mind, Moonbyul added, “You have to play this up, you know.”

“Play this up?” Seolhyun asked skeptically. “What do you mean?”

“To the crowd. We want you to yell out that Santa’s on his way and all the boys and girls will be getting a gift from him.”

“We’re giving them gifts?”

“Candy canes. The children look forward to receiving those.”

A cheap candy cane was a gift? That seemed to be an exaggeration—but who was Seolhyun to nit pick over truth in advertising? They finally got to the ladies’ room and Seolhyun went inside. She removed her shoes and then her jeans and sweater. She hung what she could on the hook of the stall door, then sat on the toilet in order to slip on the tights.

Force them on was more accurate. The fit was so tight, they felt like an extra skin. Unfortunately they didn’t reach all the way to her waist. One wrong move, and Seolhyun feared they’d roll down and reveal features—like her —that she’d rather keep private. It helped a little to jump up and down and then wiggle around, pulling on the waistband as she did. She also did a couple of squats. Still, the tights didn’t stretch quite as far as she would’ve liked.

“Is everything all right in there, dear?” Moonbyul asked.

“Just fine,” Seolhyun told her. Thankfully, the miniskirt fit. The shoes were good, too. She adjusted the hat in the bathroom mirror and realized she’d need to secure it for the flight. Digging around the bottom of her purse, she located two paper clips, which worked—sort of. How long those paper clips had been there and where they’d come from would forever remain a mystery. Seolhyun could only be grateful for their presence.

She opened the restroom door, feeling more than a little foolish. Moonbyul stood back and brought both hands to her face. “Oh, this is just perfect.”

“I look okay?”

“You look wonderful. The children are going to be so excited.” Moonbyul glanced at her watch, then led Seolhyun to an elevator. Silently they rode to the second floor, where a crew of men seemed to be waiting for her. Eight—or was it nine?—life-size plastic reindeer were lined up against the wall beside an authentic-looking sleigh.

Before Seolhyun had a chance to ask any questions, two of the men stepped forward and strapped her into a harness. They moved her arms, each grasping one, lifting them up and down. One of the men murmured something. She couldn’t understand what he’d said, but got the gist of it when he made the sign of the cross and raised his eyes heavenward. “Don’t look down,” the other man advised her tersely.

“You don’t have a thing to worry about,” Moonbyul said with a smile. Suddenly a voice came over the loudspeaker system.

“Boys and girls, moms and dads—is that Santa’s sleigh I hear?” The man next to her jingled bells and everyone looked up to where Seolhyun stood.

“Okay, boys,” Moonbyul whispered and stepped back. Suddenly Seolhyun was hoisted from the ground. Her feet made running movements as she scrabbled to find her footing and instead found only air.

“Play to the crowd,” Moonbyul instructed in a loud stage whisper. “Santa’s on his way!”

Seolhyun called out, doing her best to sound enthusiastic although she was absolutely terrified. “I can see him now! Look, here comes Santa.”

And then it happened. Seolhyun gasped as her tights rolled down, catching on her thighs. She didn’t know what to do. The tights slid farther down and everyone in the entire mall seemed to be staring up at her. “I can see the elf’s underwear,” a little boy called, pointing at her.

Suspended above the ground, Seolhyun watched as several mothers covered their children’s eyes. “Get her to the ground fast,” Seolhyun heard Moonbyul hiss.

The men released the rope and Seolhyun plunged downward. “Yiiiiiii!