The school bell rings against the delight of every student’s ears, and in less than a second, young boys and girls rampage their way out of the classrooms and into the crisp fresh air. Christmas break finally starts today and as each day had passed before this, the urge to stop trying with homework, to sleep in class, and fool around had already become a burning temptation to every child’s chest. In one of the junior preparatory schools fumbles a small boy, a lean teenager still fair to the restrictions of reality.

He watches all his classmates scatter amongst the once empty premises and smiles in relief of the end of such a long school day. The pale boy feels a tap on his shoulder and he looks to who it is with bright eyes.

"Hi Sungjong! Can you believe we’ll have two weeks all to ourselves! I swear, it was about time." A fragile girl, far too adorable for the human eye, gleams with the idea of a whole fourteen anti-stress days all to herself. She holds Sungjong’s upper arm in happiness and jumps up and down in an explosion of joy.

Sungjong laughs at how hyper she is—a sound that chimes as charming as those of yellow bells sparking the holidays—and grins even wider at how contagious her cheerfulness can be. "I can’t believe it either Soomi!" The two of them laugh together in alike elation. "Hey Soomi?"

The angelic girl tilts her head in wonderment. "Hm?"

Sungjong clears his throat in instinct and gazes the other way in embarrassment. It’s a general question, but at his delicate age, a so very big deal to him. "You wanna hang sometime during the break?" He bites his lower lip in fright of what’s going to happen.

"Of course!" Before Soomi can say anything else, she jolts a bit when her phone rings and finds that it’s her mom. "Oh darn, alright I have to go before my mom throws a fit. I’ll text you, see you later!" She squiggles her way to the gates and waves goodbye.

The moment the cute girl flashes from eyes’ view, Sungjong takes in a sharp breath and makes a shout of success. He covers his mouth in humiliation when seeing some students shooting him looks of surprise and smiles sheepishly. "I did it. I did it. I did it!"

　

　

　

The frail boy checks his outfit in nervousness and tightens up his tie. He dashes to the mirror and inspects his face for anything out of place. Memories of his older friends’ tips come to mind and he breathes sharply.

"Okay, Sungjong. Remember to stay cool, but not too cool. Show her that you’re not any regular old dude. Put her first, but most of all…be yourself."

It’s Christmas day, and after having the nerve to ask Soomi, the two of them had made a plan to meet up today. The pureness in his struggle to prepare himself for their date is unbearably adorable, and it makes one wonder what had went wrong in the world.

He puffs his cheeks, checking himself up and down, and gasps when realizing that he had almost forgot the most important thing about their date! An imaginary sweat wipes away from his forehead, and Sungjong snatches the present tucke underneath his bed. He gulps down his fright and picks up his cell phone.

The girl’s voice from the other line swoons the poor lovesick boy ‘til his knees drill weak. "Hello?"

"S-Soomi! I’m gunna pick you up right now—"

"Sungjong."

His nervousness gets the best over him and he doesn’t notice the sharp tinge in the girl’s voice. "Hm?"

"I can’t go."

By now, she sounds desperate and faint. However being his young age, Sungjong takes it more than just a punch, and he can feel the pain in his stomach making him nauseous. Tears start pouring his eyes, and the brown haired boy doesn’t have the strength yet to hold them in. His lips quiver in regret and in that same second, the tears become one of anger.

"You know what!" His hands rapidly wipe his cheeks. "I don’t care!" Sungjong sets his phone on the table and throws a child’s tantrum.

All his work gone to waste. The days of preparations of finding the right place for their date, getting a new outfit to impress her, making sure that every little detail will fit her every little taste.

"I never even knew why she couldn’t go…"

His bright eyes trail down to his hands and he observes the box in the safety of his palms. "It took me weeks to find the perfect gift for her." A long minute streams by and Sungjong shakes his head. Was all of this for nothing? "No. I have to give this to her!"

The small boy breaks the house upside down in uneasiness of whether or not his mom’s still here. Relief pins him when he sees his mom out in the patio looking at their Christmas lights. "Mom! I need you to drive me now!" Before his mother even gets the chance to squeak a word, he snatches her hand and rushes them into the car. "Drive me to Soomi’s house now!" Sungjong hurries his mom to turn on the car and he covers his mouth in forgetfulness of his manners. "Please!"

It’s a sure thing that Soomi’s still at her house, counting that just moments ago Sungjong had talked to her using her home number. The next ten minutes agonize him to pieces and throughout the whole drive, nothing but Soomi was on his mind. The girl’s house is now seen meters by and when the car parks on the driveway, Sungjong gives no time for any explanations to his parent and sprints to the front door.

The exhales of tiredness come out as small puffs of fog breathing out of his mouth and he takes a second to compose himself. Sungjong pushes the doorbell three times simultaneously and bites his lips. His chest heaves up and down and the winter cold makes his fingers numb to the bone. The door opens and Sungjong notices that time seems to have stopped.

"Sungjong?" Her eyes glitter from the holiday lights hanging down her rooftop and her skin gleams beautiful compared to how dark the night is. ’s wide open in surprise at seeing him so unexpectedly and the guilt of what happened makes her frantically say, "I’m so sorry! My dad wanted me to stay with the family for Christmas and I really did tell him that we were planning this already but he wouldn’t—" The fair girl looks stops short when seeing a box shoved in front of her face and she stares at his expression. "What? You gave me a present?"

Sungjong in the cold air. "Soomi, I know we’re still young, but I really like you!" The frosty air does no prevail when his cheeks blush pink and the tears in his eyes begin to well up. "I-I bought you this present, and I know it’s not the best! But, I want you to have it!"

Soomi doesn’t say anything, and it makes all his hopes break into a million fractures in less than a millisecond. She takes the wrapped box from his hands and opens it. A twinkle sparks her attention inside and she carefully takes hold of it. There lies a silver plates bracelet, one that carries ten charms that describe her perfectly. Soomi gazes at every one of the charms, a teddy bear just like the one she sleeps with, a soccer ball like her favorite sport, a Christmas tree for her favorite holiday, and seven more that doesn’t need words to characterize herself. A tear falls out of one of her eyes. She wonders how someone could know her so well.

As he watches her put the bracelet on her wrist, he moves his legs nervously and looks down. "Soomi…you’re my first love."

A hand wraps around his own and Sungjong shoots his head up in surprise. Everything happens so fast and he isn’t given the time to register anything in when the peck on his right cheek makes him awe in shock. He touches the same cheek in mesmerize at how warm it makes him feel.

The two of them stare down at their feet in embarrassment and together they laugh in happiness.

 

 

"Merry Christmas."