"Come on Eunji!" The tall boy nudges his girlfriend in the shoulder and wiggles his eyebrows in playfulness. "You must really like me don’t you?" His santa outfit describes him perfectly and it’s hard to take him seriously.

 

The short haired girl, eyes brilliant and sharp, scoffs and turns her head away. "Why would you think I like you so much?"

"Because…you’re my girlfriend?"

The sky’s painted with a silver murkiness, not really changed from the morning, and the chilliness makes the heap of freedom all the more gratifying. As usual, a smile plasters Sungyeol’s face, and it makes everyone around him smile also. His hands tangle with Eunji’s in admiration, but the girl’s expression isn’t at all as cheerful as it should be.

The two of them agreed on meeting up for a quick dinner with a bunch of their friends, since Sungyeol had to leave earlier than everyone else does. The air tinges with this sweet, bitter atmosphere. "Are you sure we’re walking the right way?"

She does her best to avoid his question, and to her dearest relief, Sungyeol doesn’t push it any further. No answers are needed from him either when the restaurant they’re heading to is front of them. The boyfriend opens the door for her, as of any true gentleman, and follows after. A bunch of hands shoot up from one of the farther tables and the two sees that it’s their friends waving to them.

"It’s about time you guys came! I’m starving!" Their friend with the pigtails laughs. They take it as an invite to seat themselves down. A few jokes are shared at how goofy Sungyeol looks with his holiday attire, and Sungyeol laughs along with them. It’s his favorite time of the year, why mustn’t he go all out?

The diner has a pleasant, benevolent aroma that contrasts with the outside air. It sends the good kind of goose bumps that one takes to their relish. The smell of food tickles everybody’s noses and all of them can feel their stomachs urging to be stuffed with such nice fragrances. A waitress with bright blue pants brings over their meals and instantly the sound of chewing and sipping overtake the ambience.

When the majority of them are about done with their dinner, the order for desserts comes rolling in. Plates of cookies floor all of their attentions and Sungyeol takes one and gives it to Eunji to eat. Right before she’s about to grab it, he snatches it away and grins. "You gotta tell me why you like me first!" Everything’s suppose to come out whole-heartedly, but the annoyance is clear on Eunji’s face.

"Why do you keep bugging me about that?" Her voice explodes with a horrible irritation that makes everyone look at the couple. Sungyeol gulps at the attention and lowers down in embarrassment. However Eunji doesn’t notice his humiliation at all—not even the slightest—and rambles on. "You won’t answer me!" In the midst of the hype, the frustrated girl jolts out of her seat and leaves the restaurant.

A few immature awes are spread and Sungyeol glares at his friends, all the while shocked at his girlfriend’s unusual behavior. He doesn’t know what to do with such a profound situation and dashes out of the restaurant to find her. After a couple hours, it’s no surprise that the weather’s freezing cold and he snuggles his arms inside his pockets. Worries intrude his mind realizing that Eunji’s out in this frigid temperature and he frantically searches for her in panic that she’s not in any danger. No words describe the relief when his girl, a lovely so beautiful, is within his eyes’ sight. She’s gazing out into the stars.

"Eunji." At the sound of her name, she turns around and sighs when seeing him.

"Can you stop bothering me?" Eunji quickly averts her eyes seeing the confusion in Sungyeol’s face and walks away from him.

"I’m never gunna stop bothering you!" His outburst makes her stop and she clenches her fist.

The two of them are now at an open market street, both sides bombarded with shops full of snacks and gifts. A few wanderers glance at the strange couple, but the two takes no notice. Eunji scowls and turns around once more. "You know it’s hard to look at you with such a ridiculous outfit." Sungyeol can’t tell whether or not that was meant to be a joke. "I-I don’t know why you keep asking me why I like you."

However even with this claim, the both of them know the reason why. Eunji’s never been one to admit her soft spots; in fact it was something she was infamous for since childhood. She was always one to stay firm for herself, take care of herself, smooth life’s way for herself. With that sort of survival, it was then known that she was cold hearted, and you can imagine everybody’s shock when the news came that the "ice princess" was dating Sungyeol, someone so lovable and friendly. Their personalities are complete opposites, no doubt about it.

And with her restriction set upon herself, it also complimented with her bewildering ignorance toward many things, including toward her boyfriend. She doesn’t know that Sungyeol loves her to a heart’s death, that he’d do practically anything for her. The boy’s got it hard, and for that reaIson, he must know the reason to why Eunji’s still dating him. Otherwise the fear that any day she might get tired of him, will linger in fear behind his mind. If he knows the reason why she likes him, he’ll do his best to keep it that way.

"I need to know." Somehow the two of them enter a convenience store and find comfort in the newfound warmth.

The desperation in his voice puzzles Eunji. "Why? I’m your girlfriend aren’t I, isn’t that enough?"

A child, an adorable boy wearing a red sweater, tugs on Sungyeol and it marvels the couple away from their argument. The child whispers something to his mother’s ear and points at Sungyeol. The parent chuckles. "Is it okay if he gets a picture with you. He’s always wanted a picture with Santa." She says the last sentence with a tease and it makes the teenagers laugh at such a cute kid.

"Sure!" A click goes off from the mother’s phone and the child waves goodbye to Sungyeol. He holds his mom’s hand but stops short and looks a Eunji. "You must be happy dating Santa!" The comment is so absurd, that it makes the girlfriend bawl.

She wipes a tear from laughing so hard and nods her head. "I am." The two of them stare at one another in smile and blush under identical sympathy. But Eunji wants to set something straight. "Sungyeol. I’m only gunna say this once." She pauses a moment before grasping the right words to say. "I like you for you. The way you are is perfect, and if you change who you are than I find no reason to like you." A chuckle breathes out of her. "I don’t know if that make sense."

Sungyeol smiles in content, one sheepish and charming, before looking up at the ceiling. Eunji, curious to what he’s looking at, also gleams at the direction his eyes are on and turns pink. "Well look here, it’s mistletoe."

"Oh shut up will you." Eunji grins and steps closer to her boyfriend.

Their lips meet in fondness and Sungyeol breaks it apart for the tiniest second in forgetfulness to say something that also needs to be said.

　

 

"Merry Christmas."