Funny thing how Christmas comes that fast. Sometimes, time passes way too fast. Especially when you’re having fun. That’s what they say at least. Does that mean that Yoobin is having fun then? That’s why time passes so fast? Well… she’s not really sure but… yeah you can say that. She’s feeling a lot better actually. She’s back in town and she’s fine with her friends. Hyejin is also added to their friend group so… why won’t she be ok? The only problem is Yewon but… Yoobin doesn’t think much about it to be honest. Especially lately. She’s focusing on her studies and her friends right now.

 

And if you’re asking me about now, as in right now, well, right now she’s at Hyojung’s apartment. Well, Hyojung and Seunghee’s, since they got back together now and Seunghee returned back to the apartment. Mihyun was so happy and partying around all day that she would finally get rid of Seunghee’s loud . Yoobin giggles slightly at the memory. It’s a few days before Christmas. Fortunately college classes are over about a week before Christmas so Yoobin has more free time now. So she’s helping the girls around prepare Hyojung and Seunghee’s apartment for the hangout. And yes they’re planning to spend Christmas at Hyojung’s apartment because Hyojung has already made her plans and she has to go for the next days, after Christmas, to her grandparents so they’re doing it for her basically.

 

“Hyojung’s christmas balls are so beautiful.” Yewon comments from the other side of the half decorated Christmas tree. Yoobin is standing at the other side and they’re both decorating it. Hyojung didn’t have any free time the days before to decorate it herself and honestly no one else had to help her out. Until today. Honestly no one decorates their dorms because they all return to their hometowns so it’s kind of pointless to decorate the dorms or apartments just for a few days. But the girls don’t plan to return home this year so decorating is a must.

 

“Mhm. They are.” Yoobin hums as she places a lead soldier on a branch of the Christmas tree.

 

“All her decorations are beautiful actually. She has pretty angels to hang around the windows too. And lights. She even has fake snow!”

 

“Mhm.” Yoobin hums as she takes a small angel and tries to put it in a higher branch this time.

 

“I’m pretty too.” Yewon says, realising that Yoobin wasn’t really paying attention to what she was saying all this time. Yoobin frowns as she reaches an even higher branch, trying to place a mini Santa Claus. She huffs.

 

“What? No I mean… gosh whatever! Yewon just come help me here!” Yewon giggles and walks towards her. She stands exactly behind Yoobin and collides her body close to Yoobin as she takes Yoobin’s hands in hers and tries to hang up the ornament. She’s not that taller from Yoobin though so she’s slightly insecure if she can reach that high but she tries her best to show off her few metres height distance from Yoobin’s height. She grins as soon as she succeeds in hanging up the ornament and she can’t help but grin even more at how annoyed Yoobin looked when she turned to look at her.

 

“Stop grinning. You’re not that taller than me. Only 4 cm in fact.” Yewon smiles more.

 

“It looks like those 4 cm are making the difference here though.” Yoobin scoffs and crosses her arms to her chest. Yewon can’t help but laugh.

 

“Why are you making such a fuss about it? I’m just teasing you. It’s fun to tease you though.” Yewon says as she leans closer to Yoobin and pats her head. Yoobin sighs. She’s not sure herself why she’s acting that way. To be honest, she’s getting too overworked for this because it’s about height and when it’s about height… Yoobin wants to believe that she has a good enough height, that she’s not short, basically. If it was anything else she would have been reactionless like every other time.

 

“Stop grinning and let’s get back to work. The girls will be around here soon.”

 

“Nae eomma!” Yewon says and giggles as she walks towards the other side of the tree again.

 

“I’m not your eomma!” Yoobin grumbles in shock as her eyes widen. Yewon laughs harder.

 

“You just sounded like one though.”

 

“I did not!” Yoobin scowls as she glares at Yewon. Yewon laughs again.

 

“You’re older than me though so… why can’t I see you as a mom too? I mean… since all of you unnies take such a good care of me…”

 

“I’m not your mother Yewon and I won’t be.” Yoobin growls. Yewon laugh. She leans closer to the tree and looks at Yoobin intensely as she says softly and huskily,

 

“There’s another meaning of a mother too Yoobin ah. You can be that kind of mom, you know.” and she winks at Yoobin at the end. Yoobin stares at her in shock as her eyes widen again, her jaw drops and her body feels hot. Her cheeks are basically red now by how much she’s blushing and Yoobin swears she never blushes!

 

“Ya! Kid! you’re supposed to be innocent!”

 

“Have you forgotten that I crossed that line long ago with Jiho unnie?” Yewon asks her as she looks at her with a done look on her face. Yoobin lowers her head and bites her lips as memories of that time comes to her head in a flash. It still hurts. She doesn't like being called a mom because she’s too young for that. And she doesn’t like being called a mom by Yewon of all people because she doesn’t think of Yewon as her kid. She’s in love with her in fact! But maybe she prefers that instead of knowing that Yewon has crossed those boundaries of innocence long ago. And with her best friend, Jiho, of all people. She doesn’t reply and Yewon sees her sad face immediately.

 

“But it’s long ago and I don’t like Jiho unnie anymore and…”

 

“It’s ok Yewon.” Yoobin replies shortly.

 

“Is it?” Yewon asks her carefully as she observes Yoobin who busily keeps hanging up ornaments. Yewon has stopped her task at hand and kept staring at Yoobin, waiting for an answer.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“For real?”

 

“Yeah I mean- gosh Yewon just return back to decorating the tree please!” Yoobin says as she steals a glance at Yewon. Yewon sighs. She knows she just ed it up but… it truly happened ok? They can’t pretend like it didn’t! Yoobin has to accept it and move on like everyone else, right? Yeah, right… But that doesn’t mean it can’t affect her still…

 

Soon, Seunghee and Mihyun return from shopping. They get inside the apartment, as always talking loudly, and Yoobin can’t help but smile at her friends. They’re always loud and honestly she doesn’t know what she would do without them.

 

“We bought… quite many things!” Seunghee exclaims happily as she heads towards the kitchen to hug her girlfriend who was busy cooking. Even though Christmas is only a few days away, the girls already feel like it is now. And that’s because they’re preparing everything for the hang out by now, because the following days all the shops are going to be too busy. Plus the girls like gathering around at Hyojung’s anyway. Especially now that she and Seunghee are back together and Seunghee returned back to their apartment. Their second favorite place to meet up after Hyojung’s place is Jiho and Yewon’s dorm but since it’s in the dorms, they don’t have that much freedom to do whatever they want and the space is small so they prefer Hyojung’s apartment.

 

“Let me check what you bought.” Hyojung says as she takes the plastic bags from Seunghee’s hands. Meanwhile Mihyun plops herself on the couch and groans tiredly.

 

“Gosh it’s so busy out there! Going shopping and returning back in one piece is a miracle!” She says and Yoobin hums in response.

 

“What did you buy?” Yewon asks her curiously. Mihyun smiles. She knows Yewon too well by now.

 

“Oh we bought all the things Hyojung wanted, a few more that we all needed anyway, a few random stuff that honestly wasn’t necessary but Seunghee liked them anyway and she’s not gonna hear the end of it now by Hyojung by the way and-” She says casually before Hyojung’s high pitched shriek cuts her off.

 

“HYUN SEUNGHEE! WHY DO YOU NEED A WIG?” She yells to the said girl who looks like a deer caught in the headlights.

 

“But… unnie I was planning to get dressed as Santa Claus this year…” Seunghee mumbles as she lowers her head and looks at Hyojung with the cutest eyes she can ever make. Mihyun laughs. Seunghee never calls Hyojung an unnie. SHe only does that either when she’s mad at her or being scolded at so she’s trying to act all cute to melt Hyojung’s anger which isn’t really an anger by the way. And that’s actually a common thing in their group of friends. They don’t call each other unnies that often. Only Yewon does because she’s the youngest and she likes calling them that. SHe thinks it sounds sweet and makes her feel closer with them.

 

“A WHAT?”

 

“See? That’s what I was talking about.” Mihyun tells the other two in the living room and laughs.

 

“Anyway. As I was saying, except for all those I also bought…” Mihyun says as she digs her hand into her jacket’s pocket and searches for something.

 

“Yewon ah! Look what I have here!” She says as she finally pulls her hand out and waves it high in the air as she holds a pack of candies.

 

“Unnie!” Yewon screams happily. She rushes towards Mihyun and gives her a kiss on the cheek as she gets her candies happily.

 

“They’re Santa Claus candies!” She says happily as she smiles in glee. She opens the package and stuffs one in immediately. She smiles in poor bliss as she happily swallows her candy.

 

“Thank you.” She mumbles with still full. Mihyun laughs.

 

“You’re welcome kid.”

 

“Your teeth will ache, Yewon ah. It's no good.” Yoobin says as she looks at both of them slightly disappointed.

 

“Let the kid live a little.”

 

“Mmm she always acts like that, unnie. Let her be. She’s an eomma.” Yewon teases Yoobin who groans once again. Mihyun laughs and high fives with Yewon, succeeding on making Yoobin annoyed.

 

“You two. Stop fooling around and come help me finish with this.”

 

“I’m sorry but I can’t. I’m tired.”

 

“Yeah I can’t too. I’m eating.” Yoobin glares at Yewon who laughs sheepishly.

 

“I can keep you some when I finish?” Yewon asks sheepishly again.

 

“I don’t want candies. They’re bad for the teeth and the stomach.”

 

“You’re NO fun!” Both Mihyun and Yewon say.

 

“No, for real. At least to me. I always have stomach ache and toothache after I eat them. That’s why I stopped eating them from a really young age, in fact.”

 

“Gosh! That’s a trauma! Poor Yoobin ah!” Mihyun teases her and Yoobin glares at her.

 

“Don’t you have anything else to give her then? Please unnie!” Yewon says cutely and pouts as Mihyun who laughs.

 

“I’m not a convenience store Yewon ah. I’m a human.”

 

“Didn’t you buy anything for Yoobin unnie?”

 

“No.”

 

“Why? She’s a good unnie you know! How many times has she saved your you know!?” Mihyun laughs. It’s fun seeing Yewon getting all worked up for Yoobin and she likes seeing it. Yoobin on the other hand keeps decorating the Christmas tree mutely.

 

“I know, kid. And I’m grateful for that. But I really didn’t buy anything else and for anyone else. I only saw those candies and bought them. The rest are for Christmas. Sorry.” Yewon pouts disappointed.

 

“I’m ok Yewon. Really. Now come here and help me out.” Yoobin says softly.

 

“Can I keep eating my candies though?” Yoobin sighs.

 

“Fine.” Yewon hops happily as she screams in glee.

 

“Thank you unnie!” She says as she stands next to Yoobin and gives her a kiss on her cheek. It’s just a small peck, it doesn’t last not even for a second and Yewon quickly returns back to decorating but Yoobin is left there frozen. Well, not her hands. She keeps on decorating. But her mind is elsewhere. It’s stuck in that peck. It feels… nice. All these interactions with Yewon feels nice. Yewon in general is a nice girl. If she keeps being like this and isn’t actually lying or hiding something or not planning to change, Yoobin might end up getting even closer with her. And she’s not even thinking of the walls she has once built up cause they’re basically gone by now. Yewon is a lot closer to her than she has ever been before so the walls are basically useless at this point. Should she be worried about that? She kinda is. She can’t be sure about Yewon and she doesn’t fully trust her. Not yet. But she wants to. She’s… still confused as ever…

 

Is this even new at this point? Not really. Yoobin has been confused for a long time now, when it came to Yewon at least. She was always confused and so she is now. It’s something only Yewon can cause her.

 

“SEUNGHEE! NO HOT SANTA CLAUS! THIS IS CRAZY! YOU RUIN THE IMAGE OF THE SANTA CLAUS! Santa Claus is supposed to be poor and nice and give gifts to the kids, not a hot y woman like you! What have you done!?” Hyojung is heard in the background and the three laugh loudly in the living room.

 

___

 

Jiho is messily throwing outfits on her bed and Yoobin sighs as she watches her.

 

“How long are you going to search for an outfit?” She asks, not really waiting for an answer.

 

“For long! You shouldn’t even be here in the first place!”

 

“Wae? I just came to pick you up but if you don’t want to, then I’m leaving.”

 

“I’m not the one who wants to be picked up pabo.” Yoobin turns to look at her as she has already walked towards the door.

 

“What do you mean?” She asks her half confused, half… not really.

 

“You know what I mean.”

 

“No I don’t. Please do enlighten me.”

 

“Arin !”

 

“What about her?” Yoobin asks with narrowed eyes and an expressionless face. Jiho throws her hands in the air as she groans. She plops herself down on the bed, on the messy stack of clothes as she sighs.

 

“She should be the one you'll be picking up, not me!"

 

"I still don't get you. Why can't I pick you up?" Jiho huffs tiredly.

 

"Don't play it dumb with me. I have to get dressed, and prepare everyone's gifts, including yours. So if you can please just go…" Jiho says as she stands up and points at Yoobin as she talks. Yoobin nods her head and walks towards the door once again.

 

"Oh! By the way..." Yoobin turns to look at her again.

 

"Go pick up Yewon." Yoobin glares at her. Jiho glares at her back harder.

 

"Now Yoobin! She's working nonstop these past few days. She's tired and it will be really nice of you to pick her up. Please." Yoobin sighs.

 

"Fine. But I'll do it only because you told me to."

 

"Yeah yeah whatever. We both know you're trying to avoid her and the cafeteria, Yoobin! You can't hide from me!" Jiho says as Yoobin walks out of the dorm. She sighs as she closes the door behind her. Why is she avoiding Yewon really? Why is she avoiding the cafeteria mostly?

 

She knows why. Because there's where things started. There's where she first saw Yewon, where they firstly caught each other's eyes. She's afraid that… that this might happen again and she doesn't want that. But what is she talking about? She already liked Yewon! She never stopped liking her! Then what!? She's afraid of getting emotional? Of falling deeper? Something like that.

 

Without her realizing it, she's standing in front of the cafeteria's glass doors again. She takes in a much needed and deep breath and walks inside the cafeteria. It's busy. Jiho was right when she said that Yewon was working nonstop these past few days. The place is too busy for Yewon to even have a five minutes break!

 

She walks towards the counter and looks around, wondering where in the heck Yewon is. As she stands there though, Yeji, a coworker of Yewon’s comes towards her as she greets her.

 

“Hey there! You looking for Yewon? Wait here, I’ll go get her.” Yeji says before Yoobin has the time to reply. She waits by the counter as she looks around the cafeteria. It’s busy, a lot more than it used to be on a daily basis. Not like Yoobin comes here everyday but the few times she has, she knows the place was for sure less busy than how it is now. Fortunately it’s near the time the shop is about to close so no more people are coming in and the rest that are inside the shop are slowly slowly gathering their stuff or paying for their orders.

 

“Oh hey unnie!” Yewon greets her from behind her with a smile and that’s when Yoobin turns around to look back at the counter. Yewon was fast. She has already walked from the other side of the busy cafeteria to the counter in seconds and Yoobin hasn’t even caught a glimpse of her.

 

“Hey.”

 

“Are you lost?” Yoobin looks at her weirdly and Yewon chuckles.

 

“I was just trying to make a joke. You never show up around here so it’s… kind of weird. Not in a bad way. It just… caught me off guard.” Yoobin smiles softly. If this surprised Yewon then… maybe she should do it more often, right? No. No you won’t. But she knows that it’s pointless trying to stop herself from being close with Yewon. Yewon is always around her no matter what Yoobin does. Avoiding her doesn’t work at this point.

 

“Jiho asked me to pick you up so… here I am.” Yewon nods as she says,

 

“I see. I guess I need to thank my ex for that then.” She says and chuckles. Yoobin is surprised once again that Yewon talks so naturally about Jiho and her being once girlfriends as if it doesn’t matter anymore and doesn’t affect anyone, which is kinda true. Everyone is past that, everyone except… Yoobin. She’s also surprised that Yewon is in the mood for jokes and talking after having such a hard day.

 

“So… when are you done for today?” Yoobin asks her, ignoring the teasing comment Yewon just made. Yewon looks at the big round clock above the counter.

 

“Hmmm… well in 15 minutes I suppose… but no one will leave in time so I’ll give them another 15 minutes. So in about half an hour from now. Sorry.” She says and smiles apologetically to Yoobin.

 

“It’s ok. I can wait.”

 

“Thanks. Now, excuse me but I gotta go.”

 

And Yoobin did. She waited for about half an hour and maybe a bit more until even the last customer was gone.

 

“Offf! Finally!” Soobin groans as he tiredly plops himself in a chair. Yeji agrees as she cleans up the last table. Yewon just smiles at her tired friends. She heads towards the doors and locks them. She turns off the lights, wipes and mops the floor and finally heads at the back of the counter. She helps Yeji clean up the last glasses and mugs and then counts the money they got.

 

“I wish boss would come for once. I mean… it’s Christmas Eve…” Yewon mumbles. She sounds slightly sad and Yoobin can’t help but look at her carefully, observing her facial expressions carefully.

 

“Yeah same. I mean… I never see him. Not even on holidays. He never makes time to see us, not even for a little while. But he should be visiting the cafeterias more often. It’s his work! Right?” Yeji says. Their boss is her uncle, but he’s always strict and busy with his company. After having so many branches with cafeterias, he became rich and now he rules his own company, which is about how to improve the cafeterias. So, in conclusion, he made Yeji his under boss for that specific branch, but honestly she’s not doing much, it’s just a title. He never comes to visit them and he only sends a plain envelope with their salary every month.

 

“Girls, he’s just a cold boss. What more did you expect from him?” Soobin says. Yeji hums in agreement even though it’s her uncle they’re talking about. Yewon only sighs softly. She gives the money to Yeji, who’s going to send them to her uncle and she finally forms a smile as she remembers something.

 

“Wait here! I’ll be back real quick.” She tells both Yeji and Soobin who look at each other confused.

 

“Unnie? What’s wrong?” Yeji asks, slightly worried.

 

“Should we get worried?” But Yewon already gets to the back of the coffee shop, behind the counter.

 

“Nah. She’s just being crazy again.” Soobin says.

 

“I heard that!”

 

“That’s good then! I don’t need to repeat myself when you get here!”

 

“Choi Soobin!” He laughs. Yewon returns back to the counter with a smile on her lips as she holds two small gifts in her hands.

 

“Sorry they’re both small but… we were kind of busy these past few days so I didn’t have time to get you both something better.” Soobin opens his mouth but Yewon beats him to it.

 

“And no, it’s not the same present, Soobin.” She says and laughs. Soobin closes his mouth and scratches the back of his neck, slightly embarrassed that his friend found out what he was exactly thinking.

 

“Merry Christmas guys!” She says happily and gives them both their presents. They both hug her happily and give her their presents as well. She’s surprised they got in such trouble to buy her something as well, but she’s happy. Yoobin looks at the trio who’s hugging and smiling softly and she smiles softly as well. She’s happy Yewon is such a nice person and has such nice coworkers. Yewon’s eyes fall on her and she smiles even more. Her heart swells and she wants to go and hug Yoobin as well. But she doesn't. Instead of that she pulls back from the hug and says,

 

“Gosh I would like to stay more with you guys but I need to go. Yoobin unnie came to pick me up half an hour ago actually so now I feel super bad for making her wait for so long.” Yewon says shyly and bites the inside of her cheek.

 

“Ah right! No worries! Go you two! Have fun! Merry Christmas!” Soobin bids them goodbye as he basically pushes them both from the back door of the coffee shop. She waves goodbye at both Yeji and Soobin as she takes Yoobin’s hand and walks away. It’s an instinct but now that they’re a bit further from the cafeteria, she realizes what’s going on and pulls her hand away. No matter how soft and warm and right Yoobin’s hand and hold felt… Yewon doesn’t want to overstep the boundaries. Not yet at least.

 

“Sorry about that…'' She mumbles. Yoobin looks unaffected by whatever Yewon is saying or doing and Yewon is confused again. Why does Yoobin always look so calm? What’s on her mind? WHat does she think or feel?

 

“Sorry about what?” Yoobin finally asks her as they walk side by side. She looks at the window displays which are all decorated for Christmas and smiles slightly. This Christmas, she feels the Christmad warmth and spirit hugging her completely. She feels happy, even slightly giddy she must say. Unlike her Christmas two years ago…

 

“About making you wait for so long.” Yewon finds the perfect excuse quickly. It’s true though. She really feels sorry for making Yoobin wait for that long. It’s just… she wonders… did Yoobin realize that they were holding hands? She she care? Or she didn’t mind? Is she annoyed? Maybe she thinks Yewon is weird? Yewon can’t help but get too bothered by her many thoughts. That’s what Yoobin is doing to her. Thinking of her very little actions towards her. She doesn’t want to straightforwardly ask her though because she’s afraid that she’ll cross the boundaries or hear something that might hurt her. But she knows she’ll have to do it at some point. Even if it hurts. She wants to know what Yoobin truly feels for her. Just… maybe not yet? It doesn’t feel like the right time anyway…

 

“It’s ok.” Yoobin answers shortly.

 

And I guess it is.

 

The two finally reach Hyojung's apartment and everyone greets them happily.

 

"Woa there! You two finally came! I thought Yoobin kidnapped my favourite junior for a second there!"

 

"Why would I do that?" Yoobin asks her as she glares at her slightly.

 

"Nah. Yoobin wouldn't do that. But she would have definitely made out for hours with Yewon. If she wanted to." Jiho says with a smirk and winks at them. Yoobin glares at her and Yewon looks at her in shock as she blushes madly.

 

"I would never do that as well. Guys chill. You're going too far and I'm starting to think that you all have such wild imaginations. Actually, no. I don't want to know about that. I just went to pick her up, ok? She was working all this time. So stop assuming anything.” Yoobin says as she glares at them, already feeling done as she crosses her hands to her chest.

 

“That’s what she said! Dun dun dun!” Seunghee says, trying to mimic a tragic music sound at the end. The rest burst into loud laughter at Seunghee’s antics and Yoobin rolls her eyes.

 

“Let’s just choose a Christmas movie please! You all giant babies.” She says as she plops herself on the couch next to Jiho. Jiho looks at her with a smile but as she’s about to wrap her arm around Yoobin’s shoulder, she sees Yewon’s slightly awkward smile as she stands near them. She smiles at the younger one as she stands up and plops herself on the carpet, next to Mihyun. Yoobin looks at her slightly confused but Jiho doesn’t look at her back. She’s just smiling slightly as she steals a glance to Yewon who immediately sat next to Yoobin. Yewon looks back at her with thankful eyes and she finally turns to look at Yoobin.

 

“What movie do you wanna watch?” She asks her, trying to make a conversation as the trio of their goofy friends, Jiho, Mihyun and Seunghee, are already joking around loudly. Shiah and Hyejin just look at them with a smile, joining their craziness silently and Hyojung is still in the kitchen, finishing with the popcorn and other snacks she was preparing earlier.

 

“Just not Home Alone again. Or Polar Express.”

 

“WHAT? You must be joking now right? Those are a custom! We watch those every year! We can’t skip them this year!” Seunghee exclaims loudly as she turns around and looks at Yoobin in shock, as if Yoobin has just said the most unholy thing in the world.

 

“Hyun Seunghee! Lower your voice. We’re here to have fun and spend Christmas together, ok? If Yoobin doesn’t want to watch those movies this year it’s ok.” Hyojung says as she enters the living room, struggling to hold all the bowls with different snacks in them. Yoobin immediately stands up and helps her settle them all down carefully at the mini table.

 

“But Hyojung ah, it’s our thing we can’t-” Hyojung just chuckles as she plops herself down next to Seunghee and whispers something to her ear. Seunghee kept on mumbling how she wanted to watch those movies again and the pout couldn’t leave her lips.

 

In the end, they end up watching Home Alone and Polar Express, again. Seunghee is the happiest as she keeps on commenting on random scenes, laughing loudly or singing along as if it was the first time she is watching those movies. Hyojung and Hyejin are also laughing at random scenes, Shiah is cuddling with Mihyun, both of them not really paying much attention to the movies, while Jiho is also laughing hysterically and commenting on how she is also capable of doing all those cool things the kid did in the movie or how she can settle better traps and all.

 

Yewon and Yoobin are both watching the movie quietly. Or so Yoobin thinks. She’s focused on the movie as she eats her candy popcorn slowly. She’s watched those movies so many times already and thought that she was too tired and bored of them to watch them again but in the end, she gets hooked again. They’re both nice family movies to watch at Christmas. With a nice meaning too. So of course she gets slightly hooked again.

 

Yewon on the other hand isn’t really watching the movie but Yoobin. She likes seeing Yoobin soft expressions and how her eyes are focused on the TV screen. She looks almost hypnotised by the TV. Yewon wonders what she’s thinking. Or why her expressions are so soft and calm. Like, there were so many funny things going on! How can't she laugh or something? Seunghee, Mihyun, Hyojung and Jiho in front of them are laughing way too loudly, almost crying of laughter! Maybe Yoobin isn’t a human.

 

“How can a mother forget her own kid?” Yoobin mumbles at some point. Yewon looks at her more carefully and wonders for a second if Yoobin asked that to her or if she was just asking herself loudly. She decides to answer to her though nonetheless.

 

“She has so many kids, unnie. It’s logical to lose count or get confused.”

 

“I wasn’t talking about this mother specifically. I get that she might get confused by the neighbor’s child at that moment, but later on at the airport? I know they were late but… it just doesn’t make sense! I think she’s careless.” Yoobin says as she stuffs another popcorn in .

 

“She’s not careless Yoobin. Don’t be so harsh on people.” Yewon says softly as her hand reaches out for Yoobin’s. Yoobin’s motions slow down as she turns to look at Yewon.

 

“She just forgot the real meaning of their holidays for a few seconds there. She forgot that she was doing everything for her family, plus… the circumstances weren’t helping her either.” Yoobin narrows her eyes at her.

 

“All I’m saying is that she’s not careless. I know how careless parents are. And I’m telling you, she’s not like that for sure. She’s trying so hard to fix things later in the movie anyway.” Yoobin sighs. She sees the sadness but mostly emptiness in Yewon’s eyes and she knows that Yewon is talking about her parents. Her parents are the careless ones.

 

“You’re lucky your parents care for you.” Yewon mumbles as she finally stares back at the TV screen, breaking their eye contact. Yoobin thinks about it. Yes, her parents care for her. So much that when she was at her worst they embraced her with love and made her feel loved, the warmth and safety of home, and gave her so much time to heal from all her mental traumas. They also helped her keep her mind busy by making her do a lot of activities here and there, I mean, who does all those? Who accepts their daughter after making so many mistakes with love and messing up her only friendship she ever made ever since she was a baby!?

 

She’s not sure why she’s doing this, but she holds Yewon’s hand tighter, wanting to make her feel ok. Even by the slightest move she could ever make. Yewon smiles and Yoobin feels better.

 

“Enough with the drama. What did you wish Santa Jiho- I mean Santa Claus to bring you for Christmas?” Yewon asks Yoobin as she turns to look at her, her smile, and happy expressions returning back to her face. Yoobin giggles slightly. She glances towards the said girl, Jiho, who’s busy laughing over the movie. She then glances towards the long forgotten movie and then back at Yewon as she says,

 

“Nothing much. I don’t feel like I want something. To pass the exams this semester maybe?” She jokes at the end and laughs slightly. Yewon does too. She brings her legs close to her chest and wraps her arms around them. She rests her head on her knees as she looks at Yoobin comfortably. She already mi