Time goes resolutely too slow for Taekwoon. It’s not that he doesn’t like Christmas, but all the effervescence makes his patience grow thin. He can’t stand anymore the repetitive carols played without discontinuing in the coffee shop, neither the offensive hat which is itchy as hell but the team manager (a.k.a. not cutie but annoying barista Jaehwan) didn’t gulp his allergy story. And there are his co-workers, even more excited than usual, who don’t stop bothering him with ‘Christmas magic’, threatening him with mistletoe kisses, out of nowhere glitter attacks (the sparkling things sticking to his skin for days despite his hard scrubbing) and out of tune chorus.

         He feels exhausted and more than once, he’s ready to snap. That’s usually when Hakyeon miraculously steps in, asking for the mistletoe to be put back in place, forcing Sanghyuk to apologise and making him clean all the spilled glitter off the coffee shop floor, interrupting the singing outbursts ‘for the sake of the customers’,... handing a sweet latte with a beautiful starlight coffee art to Taekwoon.

         Taekwoon rewards him as usual with a grunt but Hakyeon’s smile doesn’t falter. He just scolds Taekwoon playfully.

         “Did you forget the magic word Taekwoon?” He’s already extending his hand to pinch the other’s cheek but before Taekwoon could even react and push it away, Hakyeon stops himself, pulls his arm back to his side, and with a last smile, turns away to attend to customers. That’s when Taekwoon realises how forced this smile was and how weary Hakyeon actually looks. He shouldn’t be so surprised: this is after all one of the busiest period of the year and even the more cheerful personae would be affected, or so it seems... Hakyeon never gave up on teasing him before.

         Taekwoon sighs. He can’t wait for the festivities to be over and to have his peace of mind back.