“Wow,” Seohyun marveled. “Those were some incredible Christmas tales! Kim Hyoyeon, you are quite the storyteller.”

Hyo rolled her eyes, but smirked nonetheless at her bandmate's compliment. "Thanks, Seobear. I guess reading the tarot cards beforehand got me all inspired."

“Maybe there really is something in reading tarot cards,” Tiffany supplied, taking cute selfies of herself while she spoke. “I mean, we did get nine seats available on a different flight 10 minutes after Hyo made her predictions.”

Taeyeon, who had been sitting in her seat with a sleeping mask over her eyes, took them off to look at the rest of her group mates. “I hate to say it, but Hyo’s tarot card reading may have given us the positive vibes we needed to make our flight so we can do our work. Props, Hyo.”

Hyo tipped an imaginary hat at their team leader and Sunny couldn’t take it anymore. She had been pretending to listen to the airplane radio channels the entire time and finally yanked the white buds out of her ears.

“I don’t believe this! It’s not fair!”

“What’s wrong, Sunny? Are you still thinking about those red sunglasses you wanted to try on back in Incheon?” Jessica asked absent-mindedly while flipping through the latest issue of Vogue she’d brought with her.

“For the last time, Sica, they were just sunglasses. They weren’t even that trendy-looking!”

Jessica looked positively scandalized at what she’d just heard. “You take that back right now, Lee Soonkyu…”

“I will not, Jung Sooyeon. Sunglasses are stupid!”

“I will scratch your eyes out!”

“Guys!” Yuri yelled out just as an airhostess advanced menacingly towards their aisle. “We’re in a super confined space, take it down a notch please.” She advised in an undertone.

Sunny and Jessica continued scowling at each other, but had thankfully stopped shouting in the airplane.

Sooyoung, who had a seat to herself and full as per usual, added her own two cents. “Yuri’s right, ladies. You should be fighting less and gorging yourself more on this delicious airplane food!”

“We would if we were all having the exact same meals,” Yoona quipped dryly. “Seriously, how did you get a whole lobster to yourself, Sooyoung? It’s not even on the airline menu!”

Sure enough, Sooyoung had a big white bib wrapped around and a massive, steaming plate of red lobster balanced perfectly on her airplane tray which slid out from the seat in front of her. And to top it off, she was sipping quite happily from a tall glass of white wine too. She shrugged and grinned widely at the consternation of her eight other groupmates.

“What can I say? Air hosts have a thing for long legs and a devil-may-care attitude.”

“They obviously overlooked the poor tableside manners and the mayo stains on your jeans,” Sunny pointed out.

“Aww, another pair of denims ruined…” Sooyoung hastened to her finger and dabbed hastily at her pants.

“Seriously, what’s with you, Sunny? You’re acting like a Christmas Grinch right now,” Tiffany noted.

“I’m so glad you mentioned Christmas, Tiffany, since telling more stories this year was my idea. Not only did Hyo get all the credit, but there wasn’t a single story about me this time!” Sunny pouted.

Dawning comprehension bloomed on the other eight ladies’ face as they now realised why the cute blonde-haired pixie was being so grumpy.  

“That’s not true, Sunny,” Taeyeon said with a nervous smile on her face. “What about that story with G-Dragon going off to the army? Weren’t you in that one?”

“That was you, Taeyeon! You were GD’s girl!” Sunny fumed.

Taeyeon blushed crimson at that. “Oh yeah, that was me.”

“Yes, it was you,” Tiffany agreed with a sly smile on her face. “You know, I’ve always thought the two of you would make a cute couple. You’re both amazing songwriters, emo and good looking. Think of how adorable your future babies would be!”

“Aish, this idiot girl,” Taeyeon mumbled to herself. “How can you say those things, Fany-ah? Yes, Jiyong-oppa is a brilliant musician, but I’ve never thought of him that way. I guess he has a cute – no, I did not say that out loud!”

When the other eight members laughed hysterically at Taeyeon’s expense, she groaned aloud and covered her face in mortification.

“Ok, moving on from Taeyeon’s creepy , there must’ve been a story with you in it, Sunny,” Yuri tried this time. “What about the one where Taecyeon was dressed up as a mascot?”

“Nope, I was in that one.” Yoona answered.

“Ok, how about the Christmas list one with Donghae?”

“Nope, I was in that one.” Yoona repeated. She realised what she said and started beaming from ear to ear. “Oh my God, I don’t believe it. I got no Christmas stories last year and now I’m in two! I got two guys! In your face, Cupid! Im Yoona totally has game!”

“Not helping, Yoona,” Hyo muttered when Sunny looked even more depressed. “What about the story where Yuri was a race car driver and got laid a lot?”

“Um, that one had me in it,” Tiffany volunteered. “And once again, Yuri and I went out on multiple dates and had . What is it with people’s warped imaginations? Am I missing something here?”

“You sure are, Toots,” Yuri offered, giving Tiffany a deliberate once-over. “You’re the only one who can’t see how right we are for each other, Fany-ah. You even blackmailed me into going out with you on a romantic date in that other story. Face facts, the ladies love them some Kwon Yul.”

“They do! And I kissed you too!” Yoona exclaimed. “Damn, I really had a great Christmas…”

“I kissed you too, and slept with you. Yip, it was definitely just some warped person’s imagination.” Sooyoung teased.

“Yah! You wish you could get with me, Choi Sooyoung!”

“Haha, you wish, Yul. I’d sooner make out with this lobster than let you near my lady parts.”

“And I’m officially done eating my mango sorbet,” Seohyun said with a shudder, grimacing at the peach-coloured dessert. “And Yuri, may I remind you that I also kissed and slept with Tiffany too. And I wrote an amazing novel about her eyes. I think it’s safe to say that I have just as much game as you.”

This statement was met with a lot of childish giggling and whoops, primarily from Yuri herself. Seohyun tipped her cup of water appreciatively at the girls as acknowledgement of her ability to land women as well.

“Can we all please agree that I’ll be sleeping with some guys in the next Christmas collection?” Tiffany begged.

“Sunny, I don’t know what you’re getting so worked up about. I wasn’t in any Christmas stories last year.” Hyo said, getting back to the topic at hand.

“But you got one this year! You and Taeyeon had such a sweet love story while designing a cool Christmas float.” Sunny whined pitiably.

“That’s true. And it did make me see our Kid Leader in a new light,” Hyo joked, ruffling Taeyeon’s hair in the process while sitting in the seat behind her.

“Yah, the only light you should ever see me in is the one where I punch you for kidding around, Kim Hyoyeon!”

“What’s the big deal about us kissing, Taengoo? You never seem that creeped out with all those stories about you and Tiffany on fanfic websites.”

“Aish, not this again…”

“Guys, we’re getting off-topic, Jessica announced abruptly, which surprised everyone. She sighed and turned to face Sunny, who still looked morose. “Sunny, you’re fixating on all the wrong things. Sure, it’s nice to be thought of, especially during the festive season. But think about the themes in all those stories. They were about love, friendship and doing good things for other people over Christmas. The most important thing to remember is that your family right here will never forget about you over Christmas. We’re all together right now, so let’s celebrate it.” Jessica ended off, a sincere smile forming on her lovely face.

The other eight SNSD members were completely stunned by Jessica’s words of wisdom. Sooyoung was so shocked that she subsequently let a piece of lobster fall right out of her gaping mouth and onto her jeans.

“Damn, Sica-shi…” Yoona trailed off. “How can you be so shallow and deep all at once? It should be a mathematical impossibility.”

“Maybe I just love seeing the looks on all your faces when I say something smart,” Jessica murmured with a knowing look in her eye.

“Well whatever your weird reasons for dropping knowledge on us now, you’re 100% right, Sica. Even though we’re gonna be busy with SM Town for the next week, it’s still gonna be a wonderful Christmas filled with fun and laughter.” Taeyeon promised, laying her hand on top of Seohyun’s, who was sitting next to her.

For the first time since they’d gotten onto the plane, Sunny started smiling. “You guys are right, I’m being silly. I actually got you all into the Christmas spirit and that’s what matters.”

“Exactly, Soonkyu. You’re our group’s official Christmas mascot.” Yuri declared, wrapping her arm affectionately around Sunny’s shoulder.

“I do love the idea of a Christmas mascot. Do you guys think I should call Taecyeon when we land in Paris and see if he wants to…‘hang’?” Yoona asked with air-quotes and a pensive look on her face.

Tiffany shook her head and laughed at Yoona’s antics. “There’s no hope for this girl.”

Hyo stared out of her window at the afternoon sky which was littered with billowing clouds. “I bet you it’s going to be a snowy Christmas in Paris.”

“I will take that bet,” Sooyoung stated with enthusiasm.

“Me too,” Sunny agreed. “Maybe you can read your tarot cards again, Hyo.”

Hyo looked at the rest of her group, envisioning years to come with the nine of them goofing off and having the time of their lives. She smiled serenely at the thought and went back to staring out the airplane window.

“Nah. I wanna be pleasantly surprised when we land.”

The End