“Come on, Sowon,” Yuju said as she shook Sowon awake.

“Five more minutes,” Sowon said as she turned in her sleep.

“No, we can’t wait any longer. I don’t want to get stuck in traffic. It’s a weekend so it’s better if we drive down to the city like right now!” Yuju said as she ripped the blanket off of Sowon.

Sowon—having no choice but to get up—sat up and looked at Yuju. Yuju’s eyes were sparkling and Sowon knew that it would be best to get ready as fast as possible.

“Let’s go! The others are probably wondering why we’re taking so long.” Yuju said as she pushed Sowon into the bathroom.

“Ok, ok,” Sowon said as she laughed. Sowon quickly got ready and told Yuju to head down while Sowon put on her clothes. It was Christmas Eve. Sowon looked outside through the frosted window… time flies real fast.

Sowon grabbed her jacket and her purse as she walked towards the door. She looked back to check if she forgot anything and then she walked out. Sowon looked at her wristwatch, it read 12:54 pm. Sowon groaned, there was probably going to be a lot of traffic. The elevator door opened as she reached the first floor.

“Come on Sowon,” Eunha said. “Now there is going to be traffic!”

“Sorry,” Sowon laughed as she patted the younger girl’s head. “But we’ll have to sit through more traffic if we wait any longer, so let’s get going!”

“LET’S STAY OUT ALL NIGHT!” Yerin yelled as she threw her arms in the air.

“That’s a good idea if we were to come back early then who knows what you would do to Eunha,” Sinb teased.

“Hey!” Yerin said. “I might be a very much gay, but I have some restraint.” Yerin accentuated the “very much” by saying it in her best "engrish" accent.

“Mmhm,” Sinb laughed as Yerin punched her shoulder.

Eunha couldn’t help but laugh as the two got into a little fake fight.

“Come on guys, the clock is ticking!” Yuju said. “By the time we get to the city, Christmas will already be over!”

“Come on, Christmas is still tomorrow, isn’t that an exaggeration?” Umji said.

“Not if we keep waiting here,” Sowon laughed.

They finally all moved to Sowon’s van, where everyone was fighting for the front seat. Ultimately Sowon assigned seats. Yuju sat next to her, Eunha and Yerin sat together in the second row (they were pretty happy with that, but Yerin whined about wanting the back seat where everyone declined because who knew what would happen back there). And Umji and Sinb sat next to each other in the very back. Both of them weren’t very happy. They both silently concluded that Sowon probably put them together so they could get closer.

There was a lot of traffic. The roads were packed and they barely moved an inch since the last ten minutes. The car was quiet and quiet awkward. Yerin looked out the front window to see if there was an end to the traffic. As ironic as it sounds, the silence was deafening. Yerin’s ears rang as the silence continued. She finally felt something touch her hand. She looked over and saw a concerned look on Eunha’s face. Eunha said something but it was inaudible over the sound of the loud buzzing.

“Yeah? What’s up?” Yerin said as the ringing finally went down. She was so relieved that Eunha was trying to start a conversation.

“Why aren’t you replying to anything we say?” Sinb said.

“What are you guys talking about? You guys were the ones not talking,” Yerin said.

“We’ve been talking this whole time,” Eunha said. “Are you ok?”

What? Yerin looked at her in confusion.

“Oh sorry, I must’ve been spacing out,” Yerin said. “What were you guys talking about?”

“Where do you guys want to go first?” Sowon asked, which was probably for the second time but Yerin wouldn’t know.

“Well we can go out and eat first,” Umji suggested, “By the time we arrive at the city it might be lunch or even dinner time.”

“Oh, then we can go to just do random stuff like last minute shopping and karaoke, then go see the huge Christmas tree in the city. Then we can buy some alcohol and come back to the dorm and just have fun for the rest of the night,” Yuju said excitedly.

“Last minute shopping?” Eunha teased.

Yuju’s face turned red, “Sorry, I didn’t know what to get all of you guys so I kinda put it off…”

“It’s ok Yuju! I need to go shopping too!” Yerin laughed.

“That sounds like a plan then, but about the alcohol,” Sowon looked at Umji and Sinb through the rearview mirror, “You two aren’t legal yet.”

Umji slightly hesitated. “No, it’s totally fine! I’ll have grape juice or something! You guys enjoy yourselves!” Umji said.

“Yeah, don’t worry, I wouldn’t want to be that one person that ruins everybody else’s fun. When New Year’s comes we can all party again then!” Sinb said as she smiled.

Sowon looked at them one last time, “Ok, I’ll get you guys some special drinks then,”

“Ok,” Sinb gave Sowon a “thumbs up”.

“Look, we seem to be getting out of the traffic,” Eunha noted. “Now we know what was making it worse.”

There was a huge crash on the side of the road, seems like the traffic was going even slower because everyone was slowing down to see what the commotion was.

“How could something terrible happen on such a good day?” Yuju said.

“Finally!” Sinb said as she jumped out of the car. She checked her watch and it read 3:27 pm. “It almost took us 3 hours to get here,”

“Where do you guys want to eat?” Sowon asked. “We could also just walk around and see what there is.”

“Dude, It’s Christmas Eve, we need to have turkey!” Sinb said.

“Well, I have a taste for Sushi!” Yerin challenged.

“I kinda want some crab legs,” Sowon added.

“THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE!” Sinb yelled.

Yuju and Eunha laughed at the stupidity of their friends.

“You know there is something called a buffet?” Umji suggested.

The three nodded in agreement, “All three, all three are good,”

They walked down the usually dark street. The lights put up on the trees and lampposts made the walk more majestic and bright. The decorations were really cute and Yuju kept poking Sowon’s side to point everything out. It was as if Yuju had never been outside near Christmas—it seemed novel to her.

They finally arrived at the buffet and to their surprise, it wasn’t too crowded.

“Thank the gods!” Yerin exclaimed.

They were quickly seated and they started to get food.

After getting a plateful of food, they all sat down and started hearty conversations.

After they finished eating Yerin and Sowon looked at each other as the waitress came towards them with the check.

“Hey Sowon, I’m paying this time,” Yerin said.

“No,” Sowon said quickly. “I’ll pay,”

“No, you paid last time!”

“So?”

During their little commotion, Umji took the check and paid for it. The waitress bowed as she walked away to make the transaction. Umji continued to watch as the two continued to argue like they were some old married couple. The waitress walked back towards them to give back Umji’s credit card and then Sowon and Yerin turned and spontaneously yelled,

“I’ll take the check!”

The waitress was slightly confused and flustered, “This young lady already paid for everything.”

The two older girls looked over at Umji with fire in their eyes.

“Next time,”

The group walked into every shop that they passed. Some of them secretly bought gifts for the other members.

“Hey, Sinb can you distract Eunha for a little bit? I have to go somewhere real quick,” Yerin whispered.

“Sure man, you going somewhere to get her something?” Sinb asked.

Yerin nodded her head in response.

“What are you getting her?”

Yerin leaned in and whispered into Sinb’s ear.

“Man isn’t that too over the top?” Sinb said. “But I have to admit, that’ll be cute. Ok, hurry though, I don’t think I’ll be able to keep her occupied for too long,”

“Ok, thanks man,” Yerin said as she fist bumped Sinb.

Yerin ran off and Sinb approached Eunha.

“What are you looking at?” Sinb asked.

“I’m trying to find a good present for Yerin,” Eunha said as she put back the piece of clothing she was holding. “She has a lot of things so I don’t want to give her something useless,”

“I know something that she would like,” Sinb said softly as if she wanted to keep it a secret.

“Really? Do you mind sharing,” Eunha said.

Sinb leaned over, “You,” She whispered.

Eunha’s face got red, “Don’t be stupid,”

“But I’m being serious,” Sinb smiled mischievously, “She would love that,”

“We al-“ Eunha coughed, “Now I know why you’re friends.”

Sinb laughed.

“Aren’t you getting anything?” Eunha asked.

“I already bought it.” Sinb said smugly, “I’m so prepared.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Eunha rolled her eyes.

“Hey, what are you rolling your eyes at?” Sinb smiled.

“Obviously you!” Eunha laughed.

Sinb gasped, “I don’t deserve this kind of disrespect! After all the years I’ve looked after your beautiful girlfriend!” Sinb pressed the back of her hand against her forehead dramatically.

“Oh my, I’m sorry ma'am, I didn’t know that I was much in your debt,” Eunha said as she stifled a laugh.

“Wait, I just realized,” Eunha said as she looked past Sinb’s shoulder, “Where is that so-called beautiful girlfriend of mine?”

Oh, shoot…

“She had to go to the bathroom,” Sinb saw Yerin walking towards them behind Eunha, “There she is! Hey, Yerin! Does it really take that long to take a dump?”

Yerin seemed to catch on quick, “Yeah, sorry, there was a long line.”

“Should we get going? I think the others are waiting for us,”

As they walked, Sinb took out her Polaroid camera and started taking pictures from behind. The lights, the dark sky, nicely dressed girls, what more could a photographer ask for?

Sinb tried her best to take pictures in secret as it was going to be part of their Christmas present. Sadly she couldn’t just get two of the same pictures so if she took a picture of someone together then she would have to try taking two but they would still end up different. They were still aesthetic though. Of course, she tried taking separate ones with all of them, both including and excluding Sinb. Taking pictures was enjoyable for Sinb. Sometimes the others would hear the noise made by the Polaroid and turn to see what it, but Sinb would turn around and pretend like she was taking pictures of the trees. Even though she liked taking pictures, it is quite awkward to take pictures of others when they don’t realize you are taking it.

They finally got to the huge Christmas tree that was in the center of the city. Yuju’s eyes lit up “Look at how big that tree is! Wow, it’s so pretty!” Yuju grabbed on to Sowon’s hand and they ran off to look at the tree. Sinb quietly followed them.

“Look! It’s so pretty!” Yuju kept repeating these words as she pointed at every individual ornament.

Sowon couldn’t help but show her amusement, “You’re like an excited child,”

“But look! I’ve never seen a tree this big in my life.” Yuju said.

“Oh, so then this must be a miracle for you,” Sowon replied.

“It really is!” Yuju said as she bounced on her toes. “This scenery is inspiring me to write a Christmas song!”

“But school is only going to get harder so you’re probably not going to be able to work on it as much,” Sowon said.

Yuju’s expression matched to one of a little puppy when its ears fall.

Sowon laughed as she patted Yuju’s back.

Umji just walked around, she felt like it would be best to not be around Eunha and Yerin and ruin the romantic atmosphere or follow the excited Yuju. She walked the other direction from where the other three went—she wanted to be alone. After finishing her business with Sowon and Yuju, she went to go find Umji. She wanted to be quick with Umji. She took some pictures and then waited for the pictures to form.

Damn, Umji was so photogenic.

Sinb watched, as Umji stood alone. As much as Sinb wanted to go up there and enjoy the scenery with her, she decided that it probably wasn’t the best idea. She still felt awkward around her. Maybe once everything changes, they’ll be able to be friends. Maybe if Sinb gave Umji a chance, they could’ve been the best of friends.

“Where did Umji go?” Eunha asked as she looked around.

“Did she leave with the others?” Yerin asked.

“Maybe,” Eunha said as she grabbed Yerin’s arm. “Where ever she is, I hope she stays out of trouble,”

“Don’t worry, it’s Umji we’re talking about.” Yerin laughed.

“True,”

“Hey, babe,” Yerin said.

“Yeah?”

“Can I kiss you?”

Eunha turned her face and looked at Yerin. “What?”

“You know you wanna,” Yerin teased. “Your face is all red.”

Eunha grabbed her hood and pulled it over her face. “What do you mean…”

Eunha felt a hand grab the back of her head and then she felt Yerin’s lips on hers. Yerin pulled back after a short while. “You’re so cute.”

Eunha looked down at the ground as her hood slid off her head. “One more time,”

“Excuse me?” Yerin said even though she heard; she just wanted Eunha to say it again.

“You’re seriously going to make me say it again?” Eunha groaned.

“Yep,” Yerin smiled.

“You know what,” Eunha wrapped her arms around Yerin’s neck and slightly pulled her down to kiss her. Yerin was amused by the fact that Eunha had to stand on her toes. The cold air around them didn’t seem to affect them anymore, as now the only thing that Eunha felt was warm and sweet. They finally pulled away from what felt like an eternity. Yerin smiled at Eunha, which caused her to smile back. Yerin leaned in and softly bumped her forehead with Eunha.

“Happy?” Eunha said.

“Yeah,” Yerin replied.

“We’re finally back,” Yerin sighed. “Now… TIME FOR THE ALCOHOL!”

“Now kids, before we start this, I need you guys to know that there are rules you need to follow,” Sowon said as she held onto the alcohol. “One, don’t go crazy, two don’t do anything you’ll regret and thr-“

“Yeah, yeah mom, don’t worry,” Sinb said.

“No alcohol for the two of you,” Sowon said as she pointed to the two youngest.

“Yeah, we know. What did you get us?” Sinb said.

“I got you guys some sparkling grape juice!” Sowon exclaimed as she took it out of the plastic shopping bag.

“Better than nothing,” Sinb joked.

“Let’s play truth or drink!” Yerin suggested.

“But two of us can’t play,” Yuju said.

“Well I guess then they can’t avoid any questions that are thrown at them,” Yerin said.

Sinb laughed, “Challenge accepted, I’m in.”

“Might as well,” Umji said.

“Ok I’ll start,” Yerin said. “Let’s start off easy, Sinb, what’s your uality?”

“I thought you already knew,” Sinb said.

“You never actually told me!” Yerin pouted.

“Ok, well, I’m Panual,” Sinb said casually.

“I would’ve thought that you were aual,” Sowon said.

“Why?” Sinb replied.

“Because of your face,” Sowon laughed.

“Girl…” Sinb glared at Sowon. “Ok, Sowon, if you had to date someone in this room, who would it be,”

Sowon let out a long sigh, she poured the vodka into her glass and drank it. Sinb muttered under her breath, she forgot that Sowon was allowed to drink.

“Ok, Yerin,”

The game continued on and Sinb was enjoying the older girls getting drunk. It was funny.

“Ok Yerin, have you and Eunha ever had ?” Sinb asked.

“GIRL! OF COURSE!” Yerin said as she slapped Sinb’s thigh, her speech was slurred, “You know me, I love my wife.”

Eunha slapped her side, “Why did you tell her that?”

“I’m sorry babe,” Yerin said as she turned to Yuju, “Yuju, have you ever dated?”

“nnNopE,” Yuju said. Her head rested upon Sowon’s shoulder. “My parents wouldn't let me date,”

“That’s terrible!” Yerin said as she started patting Yuju’s back.

Sinb looked at the clock—12:23 am; it was officially Christmas. Sinb looked over at Umji and poked her.

“Hey, follow me,”

Umji looked at her and reluctantly got up. Sinb usually has no business with her so something must be up.

Sinb brought Umji to a place that was away from the other members. Sinb stopped then turned around. She looked at Umji straight in the eyes. She took a deep breath.

“Do you wanna date?” She said nonchalantly.

“Why?” Umji said softly. She knew that Sinb had no romantic feelings for her. She asked this stupid question already knowing the answer. She asked hoping that the reason wasn’t the same as what she was thinking.

“I don't know, I mean you like me and I think that this way maybe I can learn to understand you more.” Sinb said. 

Umji’s heart felt as if it were being squeezed. She looked down at the ground. She didn’t know how to reply. She looked up at Sinb’s face and let go of her breath, as she was subconsciously holding it. “Yes…”

“Then the deal is sealed then, from today forward, you will be my girlfriend,”

Umji looked down at the floor as she didn’t want to look at Sinb, as she looked at Sinb’s feet she thought, “This is my punishment.”

HEY SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT! THIS CHAPTER DEFINITELY WASN'T WORTH THE WAIT ;-; 

I SUCH A DISSAPOINT!

Anyways ya'll probably thinking "author thing... it's only September... why is it already Christmas in this story?"

Well... cuz... time skipsss

Anyways I promised that this was going to be a double release and it is! But i ain't gonna post the next chapter til maybe... the end of this week? Idk so ya'll have to wait! muhahaha

Since I'm nice, I'll give you a little spoiler. It's about Umji's past so some questions that you have about her will be answered! 

Well! Until next time! Sorry about the short update ><