hi! i decided to update this one first because it's almost Christmas so its more fitting. hope you enjoy!

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Of Christmas Wishes...

On a chilly Friday evening, Hyoyeon stumbles into the coffee shop looking for something to warm up her almost blue fingers.

‘Unnie! Why don’t you use the mittens you got last Christmas? You would never lose them!’ she can almost hear Seohyun, her flat-mate, whining.

And Seohyun is right, she supposes – the mittens had a string attached on either end so she could just wrap them around her neck instead of leaving it on bathroom counters, library shelves, dance class window-sills… the list went on; for Hyoyeon had a tendency to be forgetful. But even so! She doesn’t want to run the risk of losing them – they were a special gift, you see!

So yet another winter season is passing by, taking with it several victims – candy pink mittens from Tiffany, rainbow striped mittens her mother had picked up at the subway station, rabbit-shaped mittens she purchased from a street vendor in Myeongdong, even a pair of basic black ones from the Dollar Store. But through all this, the red and white mittens with pretty snowflakes sit preciously in the very box it came with – crinkled wrapping paper, lopsided bow and messily written card intact – inside the top drawer of her dresser.

Hyoyeon shakes her head and smiles before moving up to the counter and ordering a Salted Caramel Mocha with a warm cinnamon pretzel.

“Here is your buzzer, Miss. I’m sorry it might take a while because we are very understaffed today. So please take a seat.”

“Neh!”

With Seohyun away visiting her grandparents for the weekend, Hyoyeon has all the time in the world.

And sure enough, the coffee shop is totally crowded today. Couples sharing frothy drinks, groups of high school students still in uniform, girls dressed in their winter finest out for an evening of shopping and gossiping, and even a few grandpas in cute newsboy caps – a sample of Seoul’s population.

Hyoyeon is still turning her head around trying to spot a vacant seat when she hears her name.

“Hyoyeonie! Over here.”

She looks over to where the sound came from. It’s a sunbae from her University named Hong Sung-mi and it looks like she just might have an empty booth all to herself.

“Score!” she mutters in her head before making her way over.

“Annyeonghaseyo, sunbaenim.”

“Annyeong, Hyoyeonie. How are you?”

“Just a little frozen.. but great, otherwise!”

Her sunbae smiles good-naturedly and offers her a seat, which Hyoyeon is only too happy to accept. She’s in a talkative mood today after having spent the entire day working on a paper so the two of them are soon chatting cheerily.

As they start on the topic of the upcoming Winter Festival at school, Sung-mi’s phone rings –

“Oh! You’re here? Great… I’m in the corner booth. Yes, I'm so excited too. Can’t wait! geurae..itta bwa annyeong!”

 As soon as Sung-mi hangs up, Hyoyeon lets out the giggle she’s been holding back. “Your boyfriend, sunbae? You sounded so girlish and lovely when talking to him!”

The older girl smiles back, “Someone very important. How do I look?”

“Gorgeous, of course! But maybe I should move to another seat. I don’t want to intru—“

“No, that’s alright!” her hand encloses Hyoyeon’s wrist, “It’s actually someone you know so stay and say hi.”

The romantic side of Hyoyeon is sparking with excitement. A chance to see love blossom between this lovely sunbae and someone she knows? Quickly, Hyoyeon runs a mental list of all her close male sunbaes – and there are a lot! Co-members of the dance club… Track team co-members… her older brother JaeJoong’s friends… her cousins Youngwoon & Jongwoon and friends….

She is still deep in thought when –

“Hyoyeon?”

‘huh?’

Her heart drops.

‘It can’t be, right? It can’t possibly be him… not him.’

But it is him – her long-time friend and equally long-time crush.

Her Hyukjae