24
Voice of my Heart
Dinner on Christmas Eve was a simple affair. Both families dressed up in red and green. Myungsoo wore a green plaid shirt with red accents while you wore a red one with green accents. Myungsoo laughed at you and asked you where you got the shirt.
“Why? So you can get one like it and add to the fifty million you already have?” you asked as he took the pie you were holding from you. The moms started whispering together about something before giggling and hurrying off to the kitchen while Myungsoo’s dad dragged your dad off to show him a new gadget he’d gotten.
“I swear. Our moms are worse than the girls at school,” Myungsoo said, walking into the kitchen and putting the pie on the counter. You wandered into the living room and plopped on the couch, turning up the volume on the movie playing soundlessly on the TV.
You dad drove the presents over to Myungsoo’s house earlier in the afternoon, and their tree sat in the corner of their living room, twinkling lights and shining ornaments. You glanced over to it and smiled, admiring the picture frame ornaments.
“Who decorated the tree this year?” you asked, moving to the other side of the couch to lean on the arm rest to get a better look at the ornaments.
“I did. I think my mom might’ve rearranged some of the picture ornaments though,” he said, pointing at the pictures of you and Myungsoo hanging next to each other. “I don’t remember putting those together.”
“It might be a hint.”
“It might be,” Myungsoo said with a laugh, sitting down next to you. “Did you get me a brick again this year? I was going through the presents, and the one you got me was pretty heavy.”
You got Myungsoo a brick every year. And with the brick usually came a hidden gift card or a clue to what his actual gift might be. His collection of bricks was growing in his backyard. He just needed one more to complete his pyramid.
“Of course. I get you a brick every year. Why would I suddenly stop?”
“I dunno. I was thinking maybe you’d change your mind and get me something I could use.”
“You can use my bricks! You’re using one of them as a paper weight!”
“What am I supposed to do with the rest of them?”
“Build a house.”
Myungsoo laughed and reached out to tickle you on the couch, making you squirm in his arms and yell. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever,” he said, wrapping his arms around you and resting his head on yours.
“Kids! Time for dinner!”
“Yay!” You threw your arms up and slid out of his arms before hurrying into the kitchen.
Myungsoo blinked a few times and sighed. So maybe he did put their pictures together on purpose.
--
After dinner, the families watched movies on the TV together until about eleven at night. Then the dads couldn’t stand it anymore and started sorting out everyone’s presents to open.
Wrapping papers were torn, thank you’s were exchanged until the only two gifts that remained were your present to Myungsoo and his gift to you. But the only one you saw was your gift to Myungsoo’s left under the tree.
“Well, the old people are tired, so we’ll head to bed first. Good night kids. Let us know what you got each other in the morning,” your mom said, grabbing your dad’s arm and tugging him towards the guest bedroom.
“Wait, honey. We can stay for a couple more minutes to-”
“I said, we’re tired. Come on,” your mom said through gritted teeth, pulling harder on your dad’s arm.
“But-”
“Now.”
Your dad sighed and let himself get tugged away into the guest bedroom, leaving you and Myungsoo in the living room to stare.
“That was weird.”
“Definitely,” Myungsoo said as you leaned over and slid your gift over to him. He stared at it for a second and laughed. Even the wrapping paper was a plaid pattern.
“Open it,” you said, smiling at him.
He picked it up and passed it from hand to hand before putting his ear next to the box and shaking it.
“Don’t shake it!” you almost yelled, eyes going wide. Myungsoo blinked at you a few times before putting it down slowly with a grin on his face.
“You didn’t get me a brick this year?”
You sighed. “No, I didn’t get you a brick this year. Just open it?”
Myungsoo laughed and untied the ribbon slowly before carefully peeling off the wrapping paper. You pinched the bridge of your nose and waited for him to carefully undo the tape.
“Am I bothering you?”
“No. I already know what it is,” you said, rolling your eyes. Myungsoo laughed again and undid the paper a little bit faster to be met with a brown box.
“You didn’t do the thing where it’s a box inside of a box inside of another box, and there’s a brick in the last box again, did you?”
“Maybe I did.”
Myungsoo ripped the tape off and opened up the box before freezing. Inside of the box, carefully packed with Styrofoam peanuts and bubble wrap was a brand new lense for his camera. He picked it up carefully out of the box, and noticed that it was the upgraded version of the one he had now.
“You know, I still feel bad about scratching your old lense a week after you first got it. You were so excited about it, and then I ruined it,” you said, smiling at him sadly.
“I stopped being mad at you about that the day after. Your mom told my mom that you felt so bad that you cried yourself to sleep that night.”
“I didn’t cry! It was just a few sniffles, that’s all,” you said, getting defensive.
“Will this even fit on my camera?” he asked, examining it carefully.
“Yes. I went to the store to go pick one out for you, and the guy told me that not all lenses fit with all cameras, so I called your mom, and your mom said she’d send you out on a grocery trip and call me back. So I waited a bit and she called me, then I stopped at your house to nab your camera and take it up to the store so I could make sure it fit.”
Myungsoo blinked a few times.
“So yeah. It fits,” you said with a laugh. A grin slowly appeared on his face, and he shook your head.
“What?”
“Nothing, I’ll tell you later. Now. Your gift. Close your eyes.”
You narrowed your eyes at Myungsoo. “You’re not going to draw on my face again, are you?”
“It was just one time. And I can’t believe you didn’t open your eyes when you felt me drawing on your face.”
“Because you told me not to!”
“Okay, okay. I’m not gonna draw on your face. Just close your eyes.”
You sighed and closed your eyes. Myungsoo stood up and went over to the couch, lifting up the cushion and pulling out a box with a ribbon wrapped around it. He sat back down in front of you and scooted closer, pulling you closer to him at the same time. You raised an eyebrow while keeping your eyes closed.
“Are you ready?” Myungsoo asked, smirk on his face. He knew you couldn’t see it, but he was pretty sure you knew he was smirking anyway.
“Yes, Myungsoo. Why the theatrics this year? It’s not like-”
And he leaned in to kiss you.
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