“Eomma, do you think Santa will arrive tonight?” 

Hye Kyo was tucked inside her bed, the dim yellow light of her lamp illuminating the room, the features of her mother looking softer under the light, as if she was a warm, glowing fairy in the dark. 

“Oh, he will. I’ll make sure he’ll arrive tonight.” She patted her head. “Have you made your wish, baby?” 

The child nodded in response. “I put it in my Christmas sock. I really hope he reads it and grants my wish.” 

“What did you wish for?”

The child hesitates for one second. “Eomma, I— I feel shy saying this to you.” 

Bong Hee chuckled, kissing her forehead. “Whatever wish you want to have is not too much or too little, my love, but if you want Santa to be the only person to know your wish, then I’ll let it be—“

”I want a telescope.” She suddenly blurted out. “I really want a telescope, Eomma. I want to see what the stars look like up close, and I’ve been reading books about it, too. They’re all so pretty, Mama. I want to see everything in the sky up close.” 

This sudden declaration made her heart swell. One of the best things that her little bundle of joy inherited was her enthusiasm, as well as her father’s intelligence. Noh Hye Kyo immediately outrivaled baby Noh Ji Wook for being one gifted child, with the ability to recognize numbers and shapes in the span of 5 months of being out of the womb. Now at the age of 5, she wants to explore the beyond with a telescope. A freaking telescope! But of course, the couple needed to be aware of the costs of it and thought of it well for the sake of their daughter, since the pay was a different story when it came to them. 

“Oh love,” she sighed, caressing her daughter’s cheek before giving one last kiss goodnight. “I’m sure Santa will give you what you want this Christmas, don’t worry.” 

“I hope so.” She looked down on her fingers. “Where’s Appa?” 

“He’s working late tonight.” Bong Hee replied with a sad smile. “He has a lot of bad guys to deal with today.” 

“I can’t believe bad guys exist until Christmas.” She pouted. “Appa isn’t always home because of them.” 

“Baby,” Bong Hee cooed, “Appa is doing his best to keep the bad guys away from the city. He’s doing this for you, too.”

“I know, Mama.” She sulked, before closing her eyes and yawning to herself. Bong Hee stayed for a few minutes until she felt her daughter’s breathing slow down, and she turned off the lights and walked out of the room, making sure that she doesn’t interrupt her daughter’s sleep. 

____

Noh Hye Kyo wakes up feeling groggy, but when she saw the snow falling from her windowpane, it was as if lightning struck her as she immediately jumped out of bed to run towards the Christmas tree, only to find a large box underneath it. 

“Mama!” She squealed. “There’s a big box underneath our tree!” 

Bong Hee stepped out of the kitchen wearing a green, deer-decorated Christmas sweater that she bought from a store back in Hongdae at a cheap price (well, after a few arguments with the owner anyway), and she smiled at her little, excited bundle of joy. 

“I told you Santa will arrive with a present.” She walked over to her, tickling Hye Kyo’s tummy. “Now, do you want to open it?” 

Hye Kyo looked around the living room, and Bong Hee watched as her daughter’s shoulders started to sulk. “Where’s Appa?” 

“Appa is still too busy today.” She sighed. “But, I’m sure he wants you to open that present right now.” 

Hye Kyo nodded slowly, the excitement draining from her body, but it was then replaced with confusion as to why this box had to be three times bigger than she is. Suddenly, she finds herself ripping out the wrapping paper and all of a sudden, the box shook from the force. When she opened the flaps of the box, a squeal left her lips. 

“APPA!”

HIdden inside the box was Noh Ji Wook in a red version of Bong Hee’s sweater, red dear antlers on top of his head as he held his arms out wide, and another box by his legs. Hye Kyo jumped in delight when he finally stepped out the box and carried his little angel in his arms, biting her cheeks and giving her small kisses, making her giggle. 

“I thought you had work today!” Hye Kyo whined, but Ji Wook shook his head in response. 

“We don’t have work on Christmas Day.” He spoke, pinching her cheek. “Which means, you have Appa all to yourself today!” 

The daughter screamed in delight, and when he placed her down, he took out the other wrapped box inside the bigger box, laying it in front of her. Bong Hee rushed over to Ji Wook’s side to watch as she unwrapped the present, and another scream leaves Hye Kyo as she saw her present. 

“I got a telescope!” She screamed. “Santa got me a telescope!” 

The couple laughed at their little daughter, knowing very well that they had their months of frugality to thank to at least earn a good telescope model for her, and in the end, it was all worth it. 

“This is the best Christmas ever!” Hye Kyo exclaimed. “All my wishes came true!” 

“Wishes?” Bong Hee asked, and her daughter nodded in response. 

“I got my telescope, and my Appa is home for Christmas. All my wishes came true!” 

The couple felt soft after their daughter’s declaration. All Hye Kyo wanted to be exact was to actually find a day where her father was home for an entire day, given that he always worked and she was already asleep whenever he arrived. So when she heard that he had no plans to go to work for the day, she never felt more elated to finally be with her Appa and spend time with him. 

“And our wish came true as well.” Ji Wook muttered as he gave a small kiss on his little wish, feeling it nuzzle into his neck. 

“Merry Christmas, Eomma and Appa.” She spoke. “I love you.” 

“And we love you, too.” Bong Hee replied, joining in the group hug, with Ji Wook giving kisses to the two girls he loved the most in his lifetime, aside from his stepmom of course. 

“Now, do you want to go outside today? You’ll have to change into something warm first if you do.” Bong Hee pointed towards the snow covered backyard. 

Hye Kyo jumped in delight before she sprinted towards her bedroom. In the midst of it, Bong Hee grabbed something from the cabinets as well. 

“I have a gift for you, too.” She approached Ji Wook, in which he raised an eyebrow at her in response. A small box wrapped in red was presented to him, and it made him hesitate for a while what was inside of it. To his surprise, he unraveled a plastic covered stick, an all too familiar tool. He looked at the two red lines on the indicator, and this time, he was the one that squealed in delight, lifting Bong Hee in his arms with utter joy. 

“I found out about it yesterday.” She laughed, squeezing his cheeks. “I thought it would be a great present for you if you knew about it today.” 

“I couldn’t ask for more, to be honest.” Ji Wook beamed at her before she leaned in for a kiss, and another, and another, until they heard small padding of footsteps that stopped them from their small make-out session. 

“Merry Christmas.” He whispered by her lips. “I love you, and our little Hye Kyo, and whoever is in your womb right now.” 

“I love you, too.” She whispered as well before giving him one last kiss. “Now you better put me down, I need to beat your asses in snowball fighting so I could redeem myself from last year.” 

And they did just that, and somehow, in the smallest things that they find themselves in, the Noh-Eun family was happy with whatever they had, and it made all the difference.