"Mom, where's the other box of ornaments?" Natalie called out from the storage closet.

"I don't know honey, check the bottom shelf where we always keep them," her mom replied as she rushed through the house.

"I already did," Natalie huffed as she ceased her rummaging and turned to Seunghyun, relieving him of the other box of ornaments he had been holding. "Why the rush?" Natalie then asked, noticing her mom running around gathering her things before heading to the door.

"I've got to head out. I just got called in for a shift at the hospital," she answered as she grabbed her work ID off the table, "Your dad will be home in time for dinner."

Natalie plopped the box she was holding down onto the couch; they would have to do. "What? You're not going to decorate the tree with us?"

Her mom smiled apologetically. "I'm sure you two will do a wonderful job," she said, pulling on her jacket as she made her way outside.

Natalie looked at the undecorated Christmas tree disappointedly. "Oh... Alright. Make sure you close the door so Niko doesn't get out," she called, then waited until she was sure she had heard the sound of the front door closing.

"Hospital?" Seunghyun spoke up, joining Natalie by the Christmas tree.

Natalie nodded, "My mom's a nurse. She gets called in unexpectedly for shifts sometimes if they need her."

"Well, we can just decorate the tree ourselves then," Seunghyun smiled.

"I know," Natalie shrugged, "It's just...kind of a family tradition for us to do it together, you know?"

Ever since she was little, the nearing of Christmas day meant many special things. The wrapping of presents in wonderfully colorful paper with pretty ribbons and bows, the baking of delicious gingerbread cookies with jubilant icing smiles and mini gumdrop buttons, and above all, the decoration of a beautiful tree with her parents. She would pick out all her favorite ornaments first – the silver garland that sparkled so prettily in the sunlight, the shiny blue baubles with frosted snowflake patterns, and the little wooden nutcrackers that wore silly hats and mustaches that were quite amusing to the child Natalie.

Seunghyun could tell she was disappointed at the loss of tradition, but wanted to make the best of the situation. "Well," he paused for a moment to pull a string of colorful lights out of their box, and he held them up to the barren spruce, "How about we start our own tradition?"

Natalie looked at him for a moment, and a small smile slowly spread across her face. "Alright," she nodded, "I sure hope you can reach the top of the tree though, because somebody has to put that star on."

Seunghyun grinned, and they began unpacking the box of colorful Christmas ornaments, placing them on the tree in scattered sections until the whole thing began to fill up nicely. Natalie put on some Christmas music, and the atmosphere was warm and festive. It practically felt like Christmas Eve already, and a glass of hot chocolate would have made things just perfect.