Sunshine was streaming in through the drapes, casting streams of light across your bed.

Squinting your eyes, and shielding the sunlight out of your eyes, you sat up in bed.

“Looks like it’s another brand new day” you mumbled to yourself.

Hopping off bed, you then went to get ready.

After about half an hour, you were ready and lounging on the sofa, a book in hand.

‘Christmas is a week away, and once again, it’s me, myself and I’ you sighed.

The doorbell then rang.

‘Who could that be?’  

Leaping off the couch, you then made your way towards the door.

“Hi! I’m Lee SungYeol!” greeted this tall, cheerful, chubby cheeked boy.

“Erm…hi??”

“Oh, and here” he handed you a thermos.

“What is this?”

“I’m one of the Christmas Joy volunteers and today we’re passing out hot cocoa to the neighbourhood” he explained, a huge smile on his face.

“Thanks…”

“You’re welcome” he replied.

“I’ll be going then” he continued.

“Oh, yea, okay”

He bowed politely before leaving.

You then shut the door behind you, and brought the thermos in.

‘Christmas Joy…’ you thought to yourself.

Shrugging it off, you poured yourself a cup of hot cocoa and went back to reading on your couch.

‘Hmm.. this cocoa is good…’

-

[Next day]

Aish… there’s nothing in the fridge.

You flung the door close and sighed.

This means you have to head out to the store for groceries.

As you were about to go into the room to grab your jacket, the doorbell rang.

Changing your course, you then head for the door.

Flinging it open, there stood that tall, cheerful, chubby cheeked boy again.

“Hi, it’s me again!” he grinned.

“I can see that” you replied.

“Anyways, here. We’re handing out cookies today” he smiled.

“Oh, thank you”

You took the package of cookies from him and stared at it.

As he was about to leave, you called out to him.

“Hey!”

He turned around.

“Do you…I mean, maybe you need more volunteers?” you asked.

His smile grew wider.

“Definitely! Are you interested?”

“Yea, I am” you replied, a small smile on your face.

“That’s great! Are you free now?”

“Erm.. I was actually about to…..Yea, I’m free”

‘I guess I can shop for groceries later’

“Come on, you can come with me today. This way, you can get use to the route we take” he suggested.

“Oh, okay. Just, let me grab my jacket”

-

“Hi, Mrs Kim! Here are cookies for you!” greeted SungYeol as he hands out a package of cookies to an elderly woman.

“Aww…thank you SungYeol. You’re always so sweet. Your smile always makes my day” cooed the elderly lady.

“Oh, and who is this pretty lady with you?” she asked, as she smiled gently at me.

“She’s a new volunteer. Her name is…is…” he scratched the back of his neck.

“I’m you” you introduced.

“Nice to meet you, you. You kids are so sweet, most youngsters this days wouldn’t be bothered about charity” praised Mrs Kim.

You both blushed.

“Well, you two better run along now. I see you still have a lot to distribute” she indicated the bag of cookies that SungYeol was holding on to.

“We’ll see you tomorrow then Mrs Kim” bade SungYeol.

You bowed politely and quickly followed SungYeol.

“So, you do this everyday?” you asked.

“Yup, everyday of this week. Just until Christmas” he replied, with a smile.

‘He never stops smiling, does he?’ you thought to yourself.

‘But…he does look really good with that smile’

“you? Hello, earth to you?”

“Yah!”

SungYeol then ruffled your hair.

“YAH!” you shrieked.

Quickly smoothing your hair back into place.

He laughed.

“Do you always space out like that?” he asked, as the both of you approached your next stop.

“No, not always”

He chuckled.

“Why don’t you try out this next stop?” suggested SungYeol as he handed you a package of cookies.

“Okay”

Mustering up your courage, you approached the door.

Taking in a deep breath, you then knocked on the door.

“Who is it?” came a voice from behind the door.

“It’s you, from the Christmas Joy” you announced.

You then heard the sound of jingling locks, and then the door swung open to reveal a girl about your age.

“Oh, where’s SungYeol?” was the first thing she said, as she flipped her hair.

“Erm…” I looked around for SungYeol but he was no where in sight.

“He’s not around today?” you fibbed.

“Ugh… fine. Just give me that”

She then snatched the package of cookies out of your hands and slammed the door close in your face.

“Rude much” you mumbled under your breath as you turn to leave in a huff.

You then heard the voice of someone snickering behind the wall.

Sneaking over, you found SungYeol sitting there and laughing to himself.

“Yah!! SungYeol!” you screamed at him.

“Ye… ye…yes?” he managed in between laughter.

“What’s so funny?” you asked, as you squat down beside him.

He turned to look at you before breaking out into a huge smile.

“You” he replied.

“Me??”

“That girl you just saw, will not go easy on you” he stated, as he stood up.

He held out a hand to me, and I grabbed it as he helped me up.

“What do you mean?”

“Her name’s KeeRin. And well, she kind of has a crush on me”

You gave him a look.

‘Well, he is really good looking. It’s not hard to believe that someone would have a crush on him…’

“And, she kind of only always wants me to deliver her Christmas packages. That’s the reason why I’m always assigned this route every year” he continued.

“Wait… You’ve been doing this for years?? How come I’ve never seen you?”

“Oh, wait… I only moved in at the beginning of this year” you reasoned.

“Yes, I’ve been doing this for about three years now. It’s a really fulfilling job”

“You’re weird, you know that?” you retorted.

“Yah, what do you mean by that?”

You laughed and skipped ahead of him before turning around and sticking your tongue out at him.

“Mehrong!”

You then sprinted off.

“Yah! you! Come back here!”

“Catch me if you ~” you screamed back.

-

[That Night]

You flopped down on your bed after a long day of walking and handing out cookies.

“No wonder SungYeol is in such a good shape” you mumbled into your pillow.

At the mention of SungYeol, you thought back to the day’s events.

It’s been such a long time since you last had so much fun.

[Flashback]

“Got you!” screamed SungYeol as he caught you by the waist.

The both of you then collapsed on the floor in laughter like 5 year olds.

“Yah, so what did you mean by me being weird, huh?” pestered SungYeol.

“Well, for one, you never stop smiling” you pointed out.

“I just like smiling” pouted SungYeol.

You nodded.

“And, you just have that happy vibe around you all the time”

“That’s good isn’t it? Our aim is to spread the Christmas joy”

You nodded again.

“Wait a minute, I’m weird because I’m happy, jolly and cheerful?” pouted SungYeol.

You laughed.

“Well, yes. And that chubby cheeks of yours” you reached out and pinched his cheeks.

“Just makes you uber adorable” you grinned.

SungYeol blushed a deep crimson red.

“Aww… are you blushing?” you teased.

“Oh, shut up!” he swatted you away and covered his blushing cheeks.

The both of you then continued distributing cookies and got to know each other better.

At the end of the day, the both of you knew each other from inside out.

[End of Flashback]

A smile slowly crept across your face.

You are quite the shy and timid type, hence you didn’t have much friends.

Okay, no friends!

But, there was something about SungYeol that made you let loose and break out of your shell.

Yawning, you slowly slipped into deep slumber.

-

The week quickly passed, and it was finally Christmas.

You had spent the whole week with SungYeol, delivering hot cocoa, cookies, milk, gifts, and candies.

The both of you had gotten even closer, always seen together.

Practically stuck at the hip!

KeeRin as usual, was still super hostile towards you, but you couldn’t care less.

And today, you had decided that you were going to tell SungYeol something you had wanted to tell him a few days ago.

You sat at your dressing table, applying some light make up on.

Staring at your reflection in the mirror, you smiled.

‘I hope things go well’ you prayed in your heart.

Grabbing your phone and purse off the dresser, you then made your way out.

You had on a light pink dress that ended just above your knees, along with a fur trim coat to keep out the cold and a pair of pink fur boots to complete the look.

There was a spring in your steps as you leisurely strolled towards the park where the both of you had agreed to meet.

As you passed KeeRin’s house, you spotted a couple making out on the front step.

You took a closer look, and your heart fell.

There, on the front steps were KeeRin and SungYeol.

Gasping in shock, you clutched your chest as your heart hurt.

You crouched down, gasping for air when your phone suddenly rang.

Both KeeRin and SungYeol broke apart and diverted their attention towards you.

Shocked, you sprinted off.

You could hear SungYeol screaming your name as you ran, but you didn’t stop.

“you!! Stop!!! Wait!!” screamed SungYeol.

Your legs just kept running, tears streaming down your cheeks.

“Yah, you! Stop”

SungYeol grabbed a hold of your wrist and pulled you towards him.

Causing you to crash into his chest.

You struggled to get free, but he didn’t let go.

He just held you close to him, trying to soothe you.

“you, listen to me. Please…” he pleaded.

You calmed down, and your breathing evened.

SungYeol slowly released his tight grip around you, pulling back to look you in the eye.

You tried to avoid his gaze by turning your face to the side, but he guided you back.

“you-ah, what you saw just now, really isn’t what it is” he started.

You scoffed, not believing him.

“I know it’s hard to believe, but KeeRin really just caught me off guard. I didn’t want to do it! I wasn’t planning on kissing anyone….that wasn’t you” he whispered.

The last part of his sentence caught your attention.

You looked him in the eye, and he stared back at you.

Sincerity reflected in his eyes.

“you, I … I’ve fallen for you…” he confessed.

He gently grabbed your hands, and lifted it towards his lips.

He gently placed a kiss against your knuckles, before pulling you into a warm hug.

“The more I got to know you, the deeper I fell for you”

“And well, I just wanted to make you mine. Only mine…” he whispered into your ear.

His voice sent  pleasant tingles down your spine.

“SungYeol-ah….”

“Hmmm…?” he still held you in his embrace.

“I’ve … fallen for you too”

He tensed up, before relaxing again.

He pulled back and stared you in the eye.

“Really?”

You nodded.

There was a moment of silence before a huge smile spread across his face.

“So….” he started.

“We’re an item then?” he grinned.

You blushed, and nodded.

"Yes!!!” he cheered and pumped his fist into the air.

You laughed at his childishness.

“This is the best Christmas ever!” he screamed, as he grabbed you by the waist and spun you around.

The both of you laughed, as the feeling of bliss filled the both of you.

SungYeol gently placed you down, and you caught your breath.

Time seemed to stop as both of your eyes met, and slowly the distance between the both of you got closer and closer, and finally, you felt his lips on yours.

You wanted that moment to last forever, but eventually the both of you pulled apart.

A happy glow surrounding the both of you.

“This is by far the best Christmas present ever” you exclaimed.

“Definitely” came SungYeol’s reply, as he entwined both your fingers together.

 “Merry Christmas” you wished him.

 “Merry Christmas” he then leaned in and placed a kiss on your forehead, sealing a silent promise to you.