“Here comes Santa Claus, Here comes Santa Claus, right down Santa Claus Lane!” Blared the high pitched singing of Alvin and the Chipmunks from your stereo, filling your apartment with their childish voices. You had been putting off the Christmas cheer, but ever since it snowed last week, the holiday bug was slowly wearing you down and this morning, you finally you broke. You went out and bought an artificial tree and several bags of decorations. You bought cocoa and dough for roll out cookies, and even broke out the holiday box you had brought from home. It was your first Christmas in Seoul and you hadn’t planned on going home for the holidays. Rates were too expensive and you needed to be apart from them and figure some things out in your life.

Currently, you were baking cookies, your home filled with the smell of sugar cookies. You sang along cheerfully to the music, dancing around your kitchen, paying no mind to anything but the baking and the music. In fact you didn’t hear the door opening and closing as Kyungsoo let himself into your apartment.

“What…IS this noise?” Kyungsoo asked, looking a mix of horrified and amused at the music. You look up and smile largely, putting down the cookie cutters and turning to wash your hands. Kyungsoo took off his jacket and put it on the chair of the kitchen table. You rush over to him and hug him excitedly.

“It’s my favorite Christmas music!” You explain and he can’t help but laugh.

“Where is Noona? And who are you?” You make a face and stick out your tongue at him. “Apparently Noona has regressed to a kid again.” You guys always joked about how despite being older than him, you had your moments that made him wonder if you really were.

“Yah~” You whine. “I don’t know what got into me. I just… woke up and needed a Christmas tree. And cookies. And Alvin and the Chipmunks.” He laughed again, shaking his head.

“You bought a tree?” He asks, looking over to the relatively large box and bunches of bags in the living room. You drag him over to show him your haul.

“Yeah, I got a tree and decorations! Look they actually had pink decorations! Pink ornaments and garland and… Oh yeah I got white lights…” Kyungsoo watched you wide eyed, mouth slightly agape. You looked back at him, hair falling in your face. “Are you listening? Don’t you like the star?” You pout holding up a silver star. He takes the star and looks at it. It’s plain. Nothing special about it. Compared to all the things you had bought, it was normal. For some reason this made him break into a smile again and he pulled you to his chest, kissing your forehead.

“I do like it. It will go well with all this… pink. Noona… Pink for Christmas?”

“But I LIKE pink!”

“I know but it’s not exactly… a typical Christmas color.” He brushes a strand of hair from your face, clearly amused. You didn’t get a chance to protest because the song changed. You gasped and broke into a grin.

“Oh this is one of my favorites from home!” You take his hands and start to bounce happily to the song. “I want a hippopotamus for Christmas!” You say the title in Korean for him before bursting into the English lyrics. He allows you to pull him around in a silly dance, watching you curiously. You sang with your full voice, throwing caution to the wind, and matching the song nearly perfectly.

“And hippopotamuses like me too~” You sang, reaching up and poking him in the nose. Kyungsoo looked at you with a brow raised, making you come back to reality.

“You sang in front of me…” You look alarmed and cover your mouth. He was right. You never sung in front of him because you felt awkward, knowing he was a lead singer of EXO. You couldn’t come close to his singing. Between having just a heavenly voice and years of training, there was no way to compete with that. You blush and look away, having not believed that you had done that.

Kyungsoo walks over to your mp3 player and searches the list you have on. He finds something he seems satisfied with and turns back to you.

“Sing this song.” He instructs. You listen to the intro and shake your head.

“No, no, no… I can’t…” Your cheeks are hot. You know the song by heart but you’re so nervous to be put on the spot. “It’s in French. I can’t.” He walks over to you and takes your hands.

“Sing it.” He says more vehemently. His tone makes you swallow and you do as he says. Petit Papa Noël has always been one of your favorite Christmas songs. You close your eyes and sing along with Celine Dion on the Chipmunks. After a few versus, you have gained some confidence back and are singing with a strong voice again.

When the song ends, you open your eyes, glancing up at him nervously. He’s smiling and claps for you. You look at him fully, eyes wide.

“Wah~ You did such a good job! I didn’t know you could sing, Noona!” You shake your head.

“I can’t.” He only laughs and pulls you into a hug again.

“But you can. You did a nice job. I don’t know French, but that sounded nice too.” You snort and shake your head again. “Oh don’t be that way. I’m really happy that you sung in front of me…” You look up at him and gives you a small peck on the lips.

“I feel like you’re humoring me.”

“I’m not. You really did well. But I’m happier that I got to see a side of you I haven’t yet. And I can tell that you used to perform when you were in high school…” You were blushing again. Why did he remember that of all things?

“Why don’t you open the Christmas tree box?” You say turning away from him, trying to change the subject. He turns you back to him and cups you’re your face before kissing you gently. This surprises you because he’s normally not as assertive as you. He pulls away slowly, smiling.

“Thank you…” You blink several times, trying to comprehend what was going on.

“For what?” You ask hesitantly.

“For continually showing me how incredibly faceted you are. I enjoy discovering all your different layers.” You smile a bit and wrap your arms around his neck.

“Well I can’t show you all at once or I’d scare you away. Or you’d get bored of me.” He hugs you close, shaking his head.

“Never. You are far too 4-D for me to get bored and I don’t scare that easily.” You laugh.

“You say that now…” He gives you a look before kissing you again, this time a little less gently. The kiss lasts longer than the last, leaving you a bit breathless.

“I say that now and I mean it. I like learning about you. So don’t hold back.” You smirk a bit.

“So serious.” You tease. “Oppa is so serious.” His cheeks turn pink. Being called ‘Oppa’ was something you only did on rare occasions, usually to , or when you were feeling particularly affectionate. At the moment, you were feeling a mix of both.

“Noona…” He said, looking particularly flustered. You throw your head back and laugh. He made you so happy. The little things he did and the little ways he reacted always brought you just a great joy. You let go of him and took his hand.

“Help me decorate? You can have some of the cookies I bake…” He smiles and bends down, starting open the tree box.

“I think that sounds like a deal…” With a happy squeal (which makes him laugh), you start unpacking the bags, pulling out decorations.

—

A few hours later it, it’s dark outside. The tree was handsomely decorated in pink and white. Chinese take-out containers sat on the floor, mostly empty. A tray of half frosted, half decorated cookies sat next to the take-out. The holiday music had been changed to slower tunes and the volume lowered considerably. The lights were off, the glow of the tree the only light in the room.

You sat snuggled next to Kyungsoo on the couch, talking in low voices and drinking hot cocoa. You both had a blanket covering your laps, your legs resting over his lap. Suddenly you had a thought.

“Thank you, Kyungsooie…” You placed a hand on his, smiling slightly. Kyungsoo tilted his head with a smile, looking at you curiously.

“For what?”

“For helping with…” You gesture to the food and the tree. “With just everything. I won’t see my family this Christmas and it’s just… You helping really makes this place feel like home.” He links his fingers with yours, his smiles wider.

“It was my pleasure, Noona! It was a lot of fun. Plus you bought me take-out and made cookies. So, really I should be thanking you…” You laugh lightly, finishing your cocoa. He finishes his off too and you take his mug. He pulls the blanket off you and helps you get to your feet. You glance over your shoulder at him, smiling happily before grabbing the tray of cookies as well and heading to the kitchen.

When you walk out of the kitchen, you see Kyungsoo standing at the glass door of your balcony. He turns around and smiles.

“It’s snowing, Noona.” You rush over to him and look out the door. You smile, humming happily. You loved winter and you especially loved the snow. You opened the door and stepped out onto your balcony. It was cold, but the snow fell in thick fluffy pieces, coating your hair and shoulders. “Noona, you’re going to catch a cold…” He chides you, following you outside. He wraps his arms around you from behind. You smile up at him.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” You ask, a sense of wonder in your voice. You smile seeing Kyungsoo’s dark hair being littered with the white puffs of snow. You felt his hand on your chin, tilting your face up towards his, just before he pushed his lips against yours. You aren’t sure how long you stand like that, lips locked and the sound of snow gently falling on and around you. But when you finally pull away to catch your breath, he smiles down at you.

“You’re beautiful. Everything about you is just… beautiful. I know we haven’t been together very long but… I think I’m falling for you.” You bite your lip, staring wide eyed at him. You weren’t sure how to react. You had felt this way about him for a while, but were too afraid that telling him would scare him away. After all, you were older and didn’t want to come on too strong.

“Kyungsoo… What are you…?” You whisper, turning to face him fully. You see him lower his eyes to the ground for a moment and if it wasn’t dark, you’d be sure he was blushing. Almost shyly, he lifts his eyes, nibbling on his lower lip.

“I think… No… I’m… I’m in love with you. _____, I think I have for a while and just… wasn’t sure how to say it.” Slowly you smile more and more. Your hands cup his face and you bring his forehead down to touch yours.

“I love you too, Kyungsooie.” He broke into an eye smile and hugged you tightly against him. You gave a soft laugh, incredible happiness and slight relief filling you. This was more than you could have ever asked for.

“Noona?” Kyungsoo asks, kissing your temple. You hum your answer, raising your brows slightly. He smiles a gummy smile before ducking his face into your neck. “Can we go inside? It’s really cold.” You laugh and pull him inside, closing the glass door behind you.

“Better?” You ask with a smirk, brushing the snow off his head and shoulders. He gently grabs your wrist and kisses it. Slowly, he leads you to the couch and pulls you down next to him. He covers you both with the blanket and rests his head against yours. His fingers lace together with yours and he sighs contentedly. You can’t help but feel extremely lucky as he finally answers you.

“Yes. Much.”