Sungkyu was nervous. He didn’t anticipate meeting up with her again so soon. To be honest, he didn’t know if they’d ever meet up again. They had left things between each other on an awkward (and embarrassing) note, confessing things that weren’t supposed to ever come to light. And so he was dumbfounded that she’d messaged him that morning: “Let’s have lunch!” Quickly followed by, “We need to talk.” Yes, they did. It was time to act like the adults they were and sit down and discuss this in a mature way. And if all else failed and the conversation took a turn for the worse, Sungkyu could always run away from it, pretending that he had somewhere else to be.

He was still reading the message that she’d sent to him that morning, when he reached his destination. He almost ran into the door doing so, but he wanted to make sure that this was where he was supposed to be because it felt like it wasn’t. His heart was beating rapidly in his chest. His whole body was telling him to turn around and go back to his school.

He didn’t listen to it, and soon he was in front of the counter, in front of her. And she didn’t notice that he’d arrived yet. She was busying helping those in line ahead of him. Eventually, he cleared his voice and called out to her, “Hani-ssi?”

The librarian perked up and gave the other a warm smile. “Oh, Sungkyu! You’re early,” she pointed out as she glanced at the watch on her wrist.

“I can wait if you want,” he offered, his eyes scanning around him. People were making their way over to the desk with books in their hands as they were speaking. The library was surprisingly busy.

“It’s okay,” Hani assured him. She got up from her seat. “Hold on. Let me to get someone to cover for me.” And then she disappeared in the backroom, leaving Sungkyu surrounded by a couple of disgruntled book-lovers. He smiled apologetically at them as he stepped aside, waiting for Hani to return.

This can’t get anymore awkward.

But it did. Moments later, Hani returned, and the two of them decided to go to a noodle soup shop nearby in order to warm themselves up from the bitter cold outside. The walk over was uncomfortable, but they could at least excuse themselves for no talking because they were arming themselves against the wind. But now, sitting down at the table across from one another, they had no excuse for the silence.

Luckily, Hani was the one to break it first, “This is…” her voice drifted off as she giggled lightly.

“Awkward?” Sungkyu suggested.

“Yes, very,” Hani agreed with a relieved sigh, obviously happy that the other felt the same way. “But I wanted to talk to you about...well, you know.”

“Feelings?” Sungkyu filled in the blank once again. And ‘feelings’ was phrasing it lightly. There was a better word on the tip of their tongues, but neither wanted to say it.

“Yes,” the librarian replied with a nod. “Especially how I feel about you,” she added, which surprised the teacher. Sungkyu cocked his head and narrowed his eyes. This didn’t seem right. Hani then looked panicked as she further clarified, “I know that we left things between us on a...strange note. I’ve never been in a situation like this before.”

Ah, so her feelings hadn’t changed. Good, Sungkyu thought with a small smile. “Neither have I,” he admitted. “Aish,” he cursed lightly and then sputtered into laughter. “I don’t think anybody has.” He then leaned over the table and whispered to the other, “Are we crazy for thinking this?”

Hani leaned in two and her eyes darted back and forth. “I’ve been wondering that too. What are the chances?” she spoke in a hushed tone. She then pulled back, sinking into her seat and clicking her tongue. “We must be crazy.”

“No. It’s those two,” the teacher retorted. “They’re the crazy ones, right? Ha!” he scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest. “Look at us forming a support group to learn how to cope with them,” he mumbled lowly and shook his head.

He looked up and saw Hani nodding her head enthusiastically. “They are insane. Positively insane,” she said and yet she had the widest and warmest smile on her face. Blush was creeping onto her cheeks. She must really...Sungkyu’s thought was interrupted as her eyes widened. She had caught something out of the corner of her eye. Her head whipped around to look out the window. “And they’re here right now,” she whispered quickly pressing her finger on the glass.

“What? You’re lying!” he exclaimed. He practically jumped out of his seat and looked at where her finger was pointing. And sure enough, to the side of her finger was the couple walking side-by-side down the street. They appeared to be heading towards the restaurant. Please, no. Anywhere but here. Sungkyu hid his face in his hands, cautiously glanced across the table, and saw Hani with her nose buried deep into the menu. She’s hiding too. Maybe...did she too…

The bell of the shop rang. The couple had chosen to come inside.

“They’re here,” Hani whispered as she lowered her menu, exposing her eyes. They flittered from the door and fell on Sungkyu. “What do we do?”

“Gyu-yah! Noona!” a voice boomed from the other side of the room. Sungkyu sighed and Hani put down the menu. They were caught and now prey for the hunter that was Nam Woohyun. Woohyun walked up to their table with Maeri quickly following him. He cocked his head as he looked back and forth between the two at the table. “What are you guys doing together? I thought you broke up,” he asked. But then a reason came to him and he snapped his fingers, pointing at them as he chuckled cheekily. “Are you guys back together? Huh?”

“Oh, this is exciting,” Maeri exclaimed, clapping her hands like a seal. She looked a little too elated (and somewhat relieved) for Sungkyu’s liking. The teacher stared straight at her, but her eyes were fixed on Hani. “We can leave if you want,” she offered. “Come on, Hyun. Let’s give them some privacy.” Maeri grabbed him by the back of his collar and began pulling him towards another table.

“Uh, but we’re not…” Sungkyu was stuttering as he watched Maeri try to make her escape, dragging her fiancé behind her.

The engaged couple had only taken a few steps away from the table when Woohyun suddenly ducked and spun, pulling himself out of Maeri’s grip. She tried to grab him again, but slippery Woohyun had evaded her again. “Hold on. I want to ask them,” he said to her with a grin on his face. “Besides,” he spoke as he plopped himself down in the seat next to Sungkyu. “We’re all friends here. Let’s eat together. Double date!”

Sungkyu hung his head. I thought we’d gotten out of this. He looked over at Hani and mouthed, ‘What now?’ Hani shrugged, nervously chewing at her lip as her gaze shifted over to the man next to him. She then put a smile on her face. “You can join us,” she offered the opportunity, even though Woohyun had already taken it. She turned and faced Maeri who was still standing at the side of the table, disgruntled. “Really, we don’t mind. It’s just a friendly lunch.” Sungkyu was glad that she had slipped that in there. Hani was smoother than he gave her credit for. “You’re not interrupting anything.”

Maeri didn’t budge. “I still feel like we’re intruding.” She gripped Woohyun’s shoulder and shook it. “Let’s ask them later. It’s awkward to ask it now.”

“Ask us what?” Sungkyu directed the question to his friend.

“Well, we’ve been thinking…” Woohyun began but he was quickly cut off by his fianceé.

“We’ll send you an e-vite,” Maeri announced suddenly. “A nice one! Wait for it!”

Woohyun waved his hand to dismiss that idea. “Ah no! It’s better this way. More personal. We are all good friends, right?” He faced Maeri and looked her up and down. Maeri was still standing, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, anxiously. “And sit down already. You’re making me nervous,” he remarked, lightly pushing her to sit next to Hani. And then Maeri finally sat down with a frown on her face. Woohyun couldn’t even begin to guess what was wrong with Maeri (the reason could range from she just wanted to be alone with Woohyun to she had to use the bathroom badly). Instead, he had other things pressing on her mind. “What are you guys doing on Christmas Eve?” he opened up the question to the other couple. Before responding, Hani and Sungkyu exchanged nervous glances. Woohyun hit the table, shocking both of them. “Ah, right. If you guys are back together, then you might want to spend it together alone.”

Maeri kicked him under the table. “I told you it’d be awkward to ask,” she grumbled under her breath.

“Yea, yea,” Woohyun muttered, wincing as he rubbed his bruising shin. “You’re right like always.”

“What do you mean ‘always’?” Maeri’s frown deepened even more.

“Uh, wait,” Sungkyu broke in. “What about Christmas?”

“Maeri and I spend every Christmas Eve with Jonghyun, her little brother,” Woohyun turned towards the other two and began explaining. “Wrapping gifts, baking cookies, decorating the tree, playing games…” he listed, counting them on his fingers one-by-one.

“Looking at the lights!” Maeri interjected, finally with a smile on her face.

“Right.” Woohyun nodded. “The whole thing!” His eyes darted back and forth between the other couple, and his fingers twitched nervously. What he was about to say was pretty sensitive, but he tried to phrase it as delicately as he could: “And considering your families...we thought we could be yours for the holiday.” He practically whispered the first part and then drowned it out with the second sentiment.

Family for the holiday? Sungkyu repeated in his head. It sounded nice, really nice. He wondered which of the two had thought of that idea. Not Maeri, that was for sure, or at least she didn’t act like she wanted them to come. She was fiddling with the napkin in her hands and gave her friend a small smile. Maybe she doesn’t want me to come.

“That sounds like fun!” Hani exclaimed, putting her hand on Maeri’s. She gave her friend a smile in return. “My sister is taking my father with her on vacation overseas. I have no plans,” she confessed. Hani then directed the conversation towards Sungkyu, “How about you?”

“I don’t have any plans,” Sungkyu answered lowly. It was true. He had no plans, but he didn’t know if he’d rather spend the holiday by himself or with the two maniacs and a girl he’d dated. Neither option seemed ideal. Maybe Dongwoo will...

But apparently Sungkyu’s answer was an answer enough for Woohyun. “Fantastic! I’ll text you the details later,” he announced. “This will be fun.”

Sungkyu smiled at his friend and glanced over at Hani out of the corner of his eye. She was giving Maeri the same forced smile that he was giving Woohyun and was looking back at him. There’s no escape for us from this torture, is there?

After they had paid and finished their meals, the foursome was about to separate, much to Sungkyu’s liking because that was one of the most awkward lunches that he’d ever had. Woohyun seemed to be giving him too much attention, essentially ignoring the women on the other side of the table, which was suitable because Maeri was ignoring them too. They must’ve gotten into a fight, Sungkyu concluded. They obviously reconciled, but things were tense between them. And Woohyun looked almost relieved to have stumbled upon them at the restaurant.

Oh well, it was going to be an awkward lunch anyways, Sungkyu thought. At least Woohyun was always entertaining and funny. Although it was awkward, being with his best friend made it somewhat enjoyable.

But unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse.

“Oh, noona! That book,” Woohyun shouted out as Hani was walking away, heading back to work. He had suddenly remembered. “I brought it with me to return it today, while we were out. I’ll walk back with you.”

“Oh okay,” Hani responded, looking slightly astonished. Her eyes flew to her friend.  “Maeri…”

“I’ll just stay around here,” Maeri said, fiddling with the strap of her purse. “We were going to go Christmas shopping after lunch, and I might as well get a headstart. You guys, go,” she urged them and shooed them away. “Woohyun-ah, be quick, okay? I’ll need help,” she called out to her fiancé as he was leaving.

“Okay,” Woohyun chirped back. “And bye, Gyu! We’ll see you Christmas Eve!” And with that, he and Hani walked away, leaving perhaps the two most awkward people of the awkward foursome left to have an incredibly awkward encounter.

Which Sungkyu only made worse by stopping Maeri as she tried to scurry away with a mumbled farewell. “Maeri...ssi,” Sungkyu slipped back into formalities. “About the other day, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said those things.”

“Hm?” Maeri raised her head, looking him in the eye for the first time that day. “What are you talking about?”

You know very well what I’m talking about, he wanted to shout at her. But that would be the exactly wrong thing to say. Instead, he stuttered, “The date...auction.”

“Oh! That! Pbft!” she sputtered and lightly tapped Sungkyu on the arm (and looked like she immediately regretted it as that hand immediately flew to her purse strap and clenched into a tight fist around it). “I forgot all about that.”

“Really?” Sungkyu raised an eyebrow. Maybe I am crazy. Maeri nodded adamantly and then grinned widely.

“It was just a joke!” she remarked. “And I live with Nam Woohyun, so I can take pranks well,” she pointed out.

“O-oh...right,” he replied lowly. I am crazy.

Suddenly Maeri leaned in and a cheeky expression reminiscent of her fiancé crept onto her face. “So, you and unnie are back together?” she whispered as if her unnie was within earshot.

“No,” he immediately replied. “We just met to have lunch together. As friends.” Maeri pulled back, looking confused. “I don’t think that there’s any chance of us dating again.” Remember what I told you the other night? No she didn’t. Maeri was making it obvious that she was trying to put that night behind her.

“Friends? That’s nice,” Maeri muttered back, eyes downcast. “It’s nice that you two can still be together like that.” She raised her head and smiled. “Unnie could use some more friends. I’m happy...and you could always use more friends than just Dongwoo,” she teased.

“Yah!” Sungkyu yelled back. “I have other friends! There’s Hoya, Sungjong...Woohyun!” He then gulped before adding another, “...and you?” It came out more like a question than he had intended.

“Right,” Maeri replied with a nod. “You have a lot of friends. How could I forget?”

“Exactly,” he retorted. “I’m very popular.”

Maeri laughed. “Right, well, Mr. Popular, I guess I’ll be seeing you later.”

“Later,” he said back, waving to her as she walked on by. Maybe Christmas won’t be so bad.

“So your family is going on vacation without you?” Woohyun asked as they walked up to the library. It was only until after the words flew out of his mouth that he realized that it wasn’t the most tactful question. He watched Hani carefully out of the corner of his eye, to look for her reaction. Like usual, there was a faint small. She wasn’t offended.

“I was invited,” the librarian answered. “But I chose to stay here.”

Woohyun opened the library’s door wide open for her to walk through. He looked at her curiously as she walked by. “Why?” he asked, closing the door behind him. “Any beach resort beats this town.”

Hani spun on her heels, walking backwards and facing the man. “Most of the staff is taking time off during the holidays. Someone needs to stay behind,” she explained and then immediately spun back around.

“That’s nice of you,” Woohyun muttered as she followed Hani to the desk. She walked behind the desk and began ing her coat.

“No, that’s me being the maknae of the staff,” she corrected him with a slight laugh, lightening her tone. Woohyun sighed as he watched her yank her arms out of her coat. “I don’t have those privileges yet. Besides, I don’t mind,” Hani further explained, turning her back to the other while she hung up her coat on the hook along the wall. When she turned to face him again, she still had the same small smile on her face from moments before, but it had failed to reach her eyes. Lies.You mind, Woohyun was about to say out loud, but he bit his tongue at the last moment. These kinds of things, he could say them to Maeri. These kinds of things, he shouldn’t say to Hani because they didn’t have the same type of relationship that he and Maeri have. And yet...why did he feel like he could? They were starting to become too comfortable with each other.

Hani grin grew wider, and her eyes finally twinkled with excitement. “This time of year is nostalgic, right?” she spoke quickly as she leaned against the counter. “There’s no better time of the year to spend at home.”

Woohyun put his hands on the counter and leaned in as well. “But it’s also a good time to spend with the ones you love,” he pointed out in a low voice.

“And I am!” Hani argued. She quickly pulled herself back up straight, rubbing the back of her neck with her hand. The librarian continued as her eyes scanned the room, “Maeri has always been like a little sister to me.”

That’s right. At least she’ll have us then for the holidays, Woohyun thought with a grin. “That’s good then,” he said as he handed the book to Hani. He then put his hands into his pockets as he watched her scan the barcode on the book. Speaking of loved ones, we aren’t the only ones that she could have. Woohyun cleared his throat to get her attention. Hani raised her head slowly as she placed the book aside; she looked confused. “Did Dongwoo ever call you? I gave him your number.”

She gave a short chuckle before replying, “He did.” The librarian then placed the book on the trolley with the others that needed to placed back onto the shelves. She then began to do so, leaving her station at the desk to put the books back.

Woohyun followed her. “And?”

“Nam Woohyun,” Hani said in a stern voice, sliding a book roughly onto a shelf. She shot a glare at the man out of the corner of her eye. “I swear that you’re trying to marry me off more than my own father is,” she joked, but her voice had an edge to it which only grew sharper with what she said next, “I told you. I can handle my own love life.” She moved down the aisle.

“Yea but…” Woohyun tried to fight back but his voice gave out. Hani had turned around to face him again. Never had she looked so tense before, so agitated. It had killed all the fight in him.

“But?” she urged him to continue.

“I just want you to be happy,” he answered in a meek voice. He shouldn’t feel guilty for wishing happiness for someone, but he did at the moment.

The librarian pasted that small smile back onto her face, as if it were proof of anything. “Am I not happy?” She asked.

“I don’t think you are. Not really,” he answered truthfully. There was a marked difference between this Hani in front of him and the one that he knew years back. In high school, she was always of a cheerful disposition, with a bright smile and an even brighter attitude to go along with it. Woohyun knew that she’d gone through a lot since then, but he didn’t think her character would change. When she smiled recently, it wasn’t cheerful, but it was a serene smile. She was content, but not happy. “Lately, you haven’t been smiling like you used to. And...I don’t know. I look at you and you look sad.”

Hani quickly covered with her hand, suddenly becoming self-conscious. “Well, I might not be happy,” she admitted. “But I don’t think a new relationship will help that.” She walked back to the trolley and picked up another book.

“One with Dongwoo would,” Woohyun retorted, walking up to the trolley and scanning the books on it.

Hani smirked. “Why is that?” she challenged.

Because he’s nice. Because he’s positive and will make you happy...Because he’s like me. It’d be comfortable. “Because it would. Trust me,” he said instead and tried to sound as convincing as he could because he knew that his argument was lacking. “Call him back,” he insisted. “He’s a good guy.” Woohyun then picked up a book and handed it over to Hani.

She took the book and finally his advice. “I might,” the librarian responded while clutching the book tightly in her hands.

“Okay then,” Woohyun said with a wide grin. He was glad that she finally conceded and gave him a chance to play cupid again. He then began to backtrack, walking away from her while waving (Maeri was probably lost in her own indecision without him again). “I’ll see you for Christmas Eve. Don’t forget!” With that, he left Hani and the library to go hunt down his (future) wife and the perfects for Christmas.

We should get something for noona...and Sungkyu too.

While Woohyun was gone, Maeri was indeed swirling in the depths of her own indecision. She had tried to take this opportunity, while the rascal was gone, to buy his gift. But what does one give their almost husband? Maeri had spent a long time looking at couple’s items: matching outfits, his and hers sets, even coordinating toothbrushes. Nothing seemed right. Also she’d be essentially buying something for herself as well, so she scrapped that idea. Then she thought about getting Woohyun a watch and attaching a note to it saying something cheesy about their time spent together. But she ended up throwing out that idea as well. Woohyun already had too many watches. And there were also too many options with the different faces and bands. Maeri could’ve been stuck there for hours just weighing her options (and then what if Woohyun didn’t like it in the end after all of that time?). And so, after all of that time, when Woohyun finally caught up to her, Maeri was buying him new shoes for work. She noticed earlier in the week that his black dress shoes were getting beat up and needed to be replaced. It was a rather dull gift, but hopefully a thoughtful one.

“You got me shoes didn’t you?” Woohyun asked in a cheeky tone as he came up to her side. There was a slight skip to his step at the anticipation from the gift (and from figuring it out).

“Pbt! What? No,” Maeri sputtered and horribly denied. She clutched the bag tightly to her chest. “This is for my dad.”

“No,” Woohyun denied, shaking his head. “We got our dads the membership at that indoor driving range, remember?” He poked her in her side as he ‘prodded’ her memory.

Maeri slapped his hand away. “Fine then. I got you compression socks because you have the legs of an old man,” she retorted. She then quickly tried to leave the shoe department, like that would make Woohyun forget that she’d made a purchase there.

Woohyun must’ve been stunned for a moment because it took him a few seconds to return back at her side. “I do not,” he lamely argued. And then a few seconds later, he added, “Do I?” Maeri only shrugged in response with a cheeky smile on her face and continued walking. “Whatever you’re still the older one of the two of us, noona,” he pointed out. “And if my legs look old, yours must be worse. I at least work out.”

“Maybe I should’ve gotten us couple compression socks,” Maeri mused as she looked down at her bag. She gazed back up at Woohyun. “Do they even make those?”

“Eung.” Woohyun nodded. “It’s the hot item among geriatrics this season.” Maeri laughed. It was a lame joke, but it still warmed her heart. After they had fought, in spite of making up, things were still tense between them. Maeri had promised to put more effort into their relationship. And she tried, but her effort was clumsy. She tried to start more conversations and initiate more skinship. But she soon found out there are only so many times that you can ask “So how are you doing?” in a single day, and punching someone on the arm isn’t exactly a loving touch of intimacy. Things were awkward, and she was thinking that things were better when she wasn’t trying. Like right now. Right now felt normal, like it used to be.

“But…” but then Woohyun had to make it awkward again. “Isn’t there a saying that if you give shoes to your lover, they’ll leave you?” He looked straight at Maeri and asked gravely, “Do you want me to leave?” His lip quivered as he pouted.

Maeri stopped in her tracks. “I, uh, um,” she stammered, clutching the handles of the bag tightly. She was just seconds away from running back to the shoe department and returning them. And it was right as she took as step back to turn around was when Woohyun reached out and grabbed her forearm, stopping her.

“Maeri, it was a joke,” he admitted with a nervous smile. He then let go of her arm and put his hands in his pockets. “You’d think that after 12 years, you’d be able to tell.”

“I was kidding too,” Maeri excused herself, taking a step forward.

“Really?” Woohyun didn’t sound convinced.

“Yea,” Maeri lied. To be honest, she was anxious and had been all day. She didn’t want to fight with Woohyun again, and she especially didn’t want him to think that she didn’t want him around (like he accused her of days ago). And so his joke was like her fears come to life. Now, even though Woohyun said that he didn’t mean it, she couldn’t shake off the feeling of dread that overwhelmed her once again. The warm feeling from seconds prior had frozen over.

So she changed the topic of conversation. “Did you think of something to get our moms yet? I’m stumped.”

Woohyun nodded and took her hand into his (and her anxiety died down a little). “I have an idea. I saw something over there,” he said as he pointed to another store. “Let’s go.”

Maeri squeezed his hand tightly. “Eung, Let’s go.”

Tradition, for Woohyun and Maeri, their Christmas Holiday could be summed up in that one word. Traditionally, they spent every year with Jonghyun at the Yoo residence, and their parents typically would go to a Holiday party. However, lately, the parents had been making an overnight trip to a retreat nearby (probably another of their several attempts to manufacture ‘romantic’ moments for the two). And on those nights when the parents were gone for the whole night, Woohyun and Maeri would go all out for Jonghyun, even writing letters to Santa Claus and then staying up as late as they could to wait for the man in the red suit to come visit. The three of them would pull out the futons and sleep together on the living room floor, making memories on the cold winter night.

However, this year they’d be breaking tradition. First of all, Jonghyun was now twelve years old and growing more defiant by the day. Maeri was wondering if the preteen would even be willing to wear the matching pajamas that their parents usually gave them over the years (even now Woohyun and Maeri would go to bed accidentally wearing matching pajamas because of that). Would Jonghyun even write a letter or bake cookies? Maeri guessed that she and Woohyun would just have to wait and see. Maybe it was time to change what they normally did. And inviting Sungkyu and Hani was certainly a big change. But was it a good one?

Maeri placed a hand over her heart. She was more anxious now more than ever. Christmas shopping yesterday brought her and Woohyun closer to where they once were, but that fight was still stuck in the back of her mind. It had hardly been a week. They needed more time. Her eyes flittered over to Woohyun who was sitting in the driver’s seat as they were riding in the car to her house. He must’ve sensed her watching him. Woohyun stopped singing along to the carols playing on the radio and shot Maeri a smile. They needed more time, but Maeri knew that they’d be fine. They’ve had worse fights. This wasn’t their first, and it surely wouldn’t be their last.

Was she nervous about Jonghyun? Yes. As he was getting older, she was feeling more of a rift growing between them not only because of her age but her gender as well. It was only natural that Jonghyun would gravitate towards Woohyun nowadays. He needed an older male to look up to, and Woohyun filled that role splendidly. Unfortunately, Maeri did not. And sometimes she felt pushed out by the duo. She just hoped that she wouldn’t be stuck in the kitchen baking cookies by herself while the two boys played video games like last year (she liked video games too. It wasn’t fair).

But that wouldn’t happen this year at least. Hani would be there, baking by her side...and Sungkyu too. Maeri’s heart sped up.

Maybe it wasn’t nerves or anxiety. Maybe it was just excitement. Tonight was one of her favorite nights of the year, Christmas Eve. Maeri rolled down the car window and inhaled deeply. Even in air smelled special tonight, magical. There seemed to be a promise of a snowfall too, lingering in the air. “It’s going to be a good night,” Maeri mused as she rolled up the window again.

“Of course,” Woohyun responded as if it were a matter of fact. “It’s Christmas Eve.”

“Of course,” Maeri repeated, and she became more certain that she was just excited. It was Christmas Eve, and she felt like a kid again, like when she and Woohyun had spent their first Christmas Eve together when they were 18. It’s going to be a good night.

“You guys don’t have to spend every Christmas Eve with me,” Jonghyun muttered after opening the front door and being met with two overzealous 30 year-olds dressed in red and green.

The grin fell from Maeri’s face. “Merry Christmas to you too,” she grumbled and walked inside.

“What? Do you have a girlfriend that you’d rather be spending it with?” Woohyun teased as he came inside and began taking off his shoes.

“No, no I don’t,” Jonghyun adamantly denied. His hand shot straight to the back of his neck as he rubbed it nervously. Blush crept onto his cheeks. “But maybe I wanna spend it with my friends,” he added in a small voice.

Maeri peeked around the wall. “She must be a pretty friend,” she remarked in a sing-song tone before disappearing around the bend again, giggling to herself.

“Aish!” Jonghyun cursed at his sister’s shadow. He then cast a shy glance to the man standing next to him. “I don’t have a girlfriend,” he insisted.

Woohyun gave a tight-lipped smile and clapped a hand on the younger’s shoulder. “I believe you,” he responded. “But...I think you have a point.This might be the last year we celebrate like this. Who knows what next year holds?”

Jonghyun grimaced and shook his head. “I can’t believe you two are actually getting married,” he muttered under his breath. “It’s weird.”

Woohyun chuckled nervously. “Why?”

Jonghyun shrugged. “It’s gross,” he answered. “My sister is gross.” Woohyun now genuinely laughed. He could hardly believe that he’d accused the younger of having a girlfriend when it seemed like Jonghyun believed in the elementary school disease of ‘cooties.’ He was cute (and he also had a point. Maeri could be quite gross).

“What are you guys talking about?” Maeri asked, suddenly appearing in front of them and putting an apron on.

“Guy stuff,” Woohyun and Jonghyun replied unanimously. It was their go-to answer for whenever they were talking about Maeri behind her back because she would always react like so:

Maeri shook her head vehemently and waved her hand. “Nevermind. Nevermind. I don’t wanna know,” she sputtered out. She changed the topic. “Are Mom and Dad already out?”

Jonghyun nodded. “Yea they all left a little bit before you came.”

“They couldn’t wait?” Maeri asked. Jonghyun was opening his mouth to answer his sister, but she waved her hand and interrupted him, “I know. I know. Holiday traffic. It’s the same every year.” She sighed and shook her head. “Anyway, we’re out almost out of flour.”

“We can get some!” Jonghyun exclaimed. He made a mad dash for his shoes and quickly stuffed his feet inside of them. “Right, hyung?” He gazed up at the man hopefully.

Woohyun was already in the process of putting his shoes and coat back on when Jonghyun had asked. He nodded with a slight laugh. Woohyun was well aware of how Jonghyun, for lack of better terms, idolized him. Woohyun was the brother he wanted and needed. And ever since Woohyun had moved in with Maeri, Jonghyun had been seeing Woohyun less and less.The young boy wasn’t going to pass up any opportunity to hang out with the other.

And so the two of them left, hurrying out the door while whispering and snickering with each other. Maeri was left behind with a pout on her lips. She didn’t expect them to leave, or to leave so quickly. She’d hoped that Woohyun would offer and Jonghyun would stay behind to help her get things ready. And Jonghyun might’ve done so, if he were her little sister instead of a little brother. But hanging out with your thirty year-old sister may not be so appealing when you’re a preteen. What happened to the cute little boy that used to follow her around?

Maeri sighed and walked into the kitchen. She had planned to organize the things for baking cookies but then something more appealing caught the corner of her eye. Ah yes, her parents might’ve left without saying goodbye, but they did not forget about her. On the counter was a couple bottles of wine lined up, set out for her and her friends to enjoy. And Maeri was about to get a head start on the others. She pulled a drawer roughly open and took out the corkscrew. But before she could twist the screw into the cork of the wine bottle, the doorbell rang.

“Right,” Maeri said as she put the screw back into the drawer. “I should wait for everyone to come...or for it to be an appropriate hour, at least.” She reprimanded herself by knocking at her temple with the heel of her hand, and she began making her way to the front door. When her fingers gripped the doorknob, her heart sped up, probably with anticipation. Who was behind the door? Who came first? Who would she have to be alone with until Woohyun and her brother came back? Maeri yanked the door open.

“Merry Christmas!”

“Oh unnie!” Maeri greeted her friend, letting out a sigh of relief. She stepped aside and let the other in. A wide smile burst onto her face. Once Hani was inside, Maeri wrapped her arms around her in a hug. “Merry Christmas,” she wished and gave the other a squeeze. Right, Jonghyun might have Woohyun, but she had Hani as a substitute sibling, as her sister.

Hani hugged her back, without questioning the sudden burst of affection, and then let go. “So are we baking?” she asked.

Maeri felt her smile widen, tearing at the corner of her lips. “Yes, we are,” she responded excitedly, leading the elder into the kitchen. “I sent the boys out to get some things,” she partially lied. “But we can get started.”

“Awesome!” Hani exclaimed, clapping her hands together. “So does this make me your sous chef?” she joked as she grabbed for the apron that Maeri was handing to her.

A nervous laugh fell from Maeri’s lips. “More like I’m Woohyun’s sous chef,” she confessed. “Unnie, I’m not very good at cooking.”

“Hm,” Hani hummed as she nodded and tied the apron strings around her back. “Then maybe you can be mine for today,” she suggested. “I have this old family recipe we can try out. We used to have it every year for Christmas until…” her voice dropped. It sounded as if had gotten tighter as she spoke. And yet, there was still a smile on her face. It was forced and small but it was still there. “I’ve never made it by myself before.”

Always one for tradition, Maeri didn’t need to be convinced to try out this recipe. Like she tried to do for herself every year, she wanted to help Hani to recover the child-like magic and wonder of Christmas. She wanted to make a good memory for her. “Yes, let’s do it,” Maeri emphatically agreed.

“But first,” Hani began as she walked over to the counter with a sly grin. She picked up a bottle of wine. “Let’s crack up one of these open as we get ready.”

“Call!”

“Do you think noona will be mad that we bought all of this?” Jonghyun asked the other. And to be honest, the two of them had gone overboard. Maeri had asked them to get one thing, and they were coming back two with two full bags each.

Maybe, Woohyun thought with a harsh swallow. Maeri didn’t like it when they spent more than they had to. “We’re having a party though. We need all of this,” he reasoned. True, they needed more drinks and snacks, but perhaps not this many. But it wasn’t like they would go bad. Woohyun sighed. He was already preparing to defend himself. In case they had caught her a fighty mood.“As long as we got the flour, she’ll be happy.” He then shot a worried glance towards the younger. “We did get it, right?”

The two of them immediately stopped in their tracks and rummaged through their bags. “It’s in here, hyung!” Jonghyun exclaimed as he pulled his head out of one bad with a victorious smile.

“Good,” Woohyun spoke in relief. They would’ve been in deep trouble if they had left the store without it. While he was thanking his stars that they had the floor, Woohyun noticed a familiar figure standing in the driveway, slightly hunched with a red duffle bag in his hand. Look who showed up with a bag full of goodies, Woohyun thought as he jogged up to the man. He immediately put his arm around him. “Oh, Gyu! You came!” Woohyun greeted, laughing at Sungkyu’s shocked face.

“Ah, yes. Merry Christmas,” Sungkyu mumbled as he tried to regain his composure (and his heartbeat). His eyes drifted over from his friend to the student standing next to them.  “You must be Jonghyun,” Sungkyu guessed. And instead of extending his hand to shake the younger’s, Sungkyu plunged it into the side pocket of his bag and pulled out a wrapped gift. “Uh, here,” he offered awkwardly to Jonghyun.

Jonghyun put both of the bags into one of his hands, and with the other one, now freed, he grabbed the gift. “Oh thank you, ahjussi,” he (as equally awkward) accepted the gift and went inside.

Sungkyu’s face returned to the shocked expression from moments before. Ahjussi, Jonghyun had just called him an old man and ran off with a gift. Woohyun clapped the teacher’s shoulder and laughed roaringly. “Come on. Let’s go inside,” he said and began pushing the other towards the house. “We need to stop Maeri before she sets the house on fire,” Woohyun joked but there was a twinge of truth to it. So he pushed the other a little harder so they could rescue the kitchen and home from Maeri’s baking-inept hands. Once inside, Woohyun eyes fixated on the duffle bag in Sungkyu’s hands. They had invited their two guests to spend the night, but Woohyun was guessing that there was something else in the bag besides a fresh pair of underwear and a toothbrush. “Did you get me a gift?” he asked bluntly.

Sungkyu straightened back up after taking off his shoes. “Was I supposed to?” his voice was grave, but the smile that broke out onto his face seconds afterwards was anything but.

“Jerk. I got you something,” Woohyun played along, acting offended. Sungkyu rolled his eyes and reached back into the side pocket of the bag, pulling out a bottle of champagne with a red ribbon tied around it. Woohyun quickly accepted the bottle from the other. Indeed, this was a day worth celebrating and cracking open a bottle of sparkling wine.“Thank you!” he chirped. Woohyun then shouted down the hallway (rather loudly too, Jonghyun and Sunggyu both winced), “Maeri-yah! Sungkyu’s here!”

“Oh,” a soft gasp was heard before Maeri came stumbling around the corner. Her face was slightly ruddy, and she appeared to be giddy. “That means everyone’s here!” she exclaimed (over)excitedly. She then waved to their new guest. “Hello!”

Sungkyu chuckled slightly. “Hi,” he responded back with a wave.

“Aigoo!” Woohyun chided as he walked up to his fiancée. “Looks like someone already got started on the festivities.” He put a hand against her warm cheek and then patted it slightly after feeling how hot it was against his skin. “Don’t you know that you shouldn’t drink alone?”

Maeri pouted and shook her head. “I’m not.”

Before Woohyun could ask ‘who?’, someone else came from around the corner. “Hello!” Hani announced herself with a giddy giggle lacing her greeting. Like Maeri, her face was glowing with a red sheen, and her reactions were exaggerated (but cutely so in Woohyun’s opinion), like when she caught sight of the preteen. Hani’s lips formed an ‘o’ shape as she clapped her hands together. “Oh, you must be Jonghyun! Nice to meet you!” she said as she bent down a little to look the younger in the eye.

“Uh huh. It’s nice to meet you too,” Jonghyun meekly replied, avoiding her gaze. His face was beginning to grow red like his sister’s (but for vastly different reasons).

Hani cocked her head and smiled “Are you going to be baking with us?” the librarian asked.

Jonghyun’s head snapped to face her. “Yes, of course! I do it every year,” he insisted, his eyes growing wide as if he was trying to convince the elder with his gaze. He then looked down at himself and the bags still in his hands. “Let me wash my hands first,” he spoke quickly before running off into the kitchen in order to drop off the bags, and then into his bedroom.

Hani giggled at the young boy’s enthusiasm, and the men did too. But one of the four wasn’t laughing. Maeri crossed her arms and looked off into the direction where her little brother had just disappeared to. “Funny. He didn’t seem to be interested in baking with me,” she grumbled.

“You’re not a pretty girl,” Woohyun blurted out, earning glares coming at him from all directions (and Maeri’s glare was particularly sharp). “Uh, I mean...you’re his sister. It’d be weird if he thought you were pretty,” he tried to defend himself. Apparently, it wasn’t enough. Maeri crossed her arms tighter across her chest and raised an eyebrow. There was no appeasing her right now, so Woohyun opted to distract her and change the subject. “You know you’re pretty. Forget about all of this. Let’s bake!” he suggested and ran off into the kitchen.

“If it helps, I think you’re pretty,” Hani tried to offer her friend some consolation.

“Me too,” Sungkyu added with a slight smile.

Maeri’s hands flew up to her cheeks. The alcohol must’ve made them so warm. She shook her head and sighed, “Let’s just bake.” She’d dealt with Woohyun long enough not to take his words to heart, just like how he knew how to deal with all of Maeri’s ‘quirks’ (like her temper that could flare violently without notice). But...Maeri walked into the kitchen, seeing Woohyun grinning broadly as he rolled the empty bottle of wine in his hands. But they’d always forgive each other, sometimes in word or in action. She walked up to his side and smiled back at him.

“You guys got a lot of baking done,” he teased, setting the bottle down onto the counter.

“We didn’t have any flour,” Maeri reasoned with a sheepish grin. It was her turn to change the topic. She nodded over to Hani who just walked into the room. “Unnie wants to bake a cake for us that her family makes every year.”

“Sounds good to me,” Woohyun easily agreed.

Sungkyu then came into the room. “I’m not really much of a baker,” he admitted. His eyes scanned the kitchen, and his smile slowly turned into a frown.

“Neither is Maeri,” Woohyun said, wrapping his arm around Maeri’s shoulders. He then looked down at her and noticed that she was frowning again. “What? You don’t like ovens! You forget to turn it on half the time,” he reminded her. Maeri dropped her gaze, and she tucked in her lips, acquiescing to Woohyun’s point.

“Really? Why don’t you like them?” Hani questioned as she leaned against the counter. She was evidentally eager to learn new things about her old friend.

Maeri traced her finger against the counter, still not raising her head. “They’re hot. I don’t want to get burned,” she mumbled through her excuse.

“You have a lot of fears,” Sungkyu suddenly spoke out. Maeri finally raised her head to glare at the teacher. Maybe Woohyun was a bad influence on him (or maybe he was more like Woohyun than she thought).

“She’s a coward,” his friend added.

Maeri didn’t even hear Woohyun’s slight because she was still focused on the man at the entrance of the room. She slunk out of Woohyun’s arm and marched up to Sungkyu. “How would you like sticking a bare hand into something scalding hot, hm? Let’s see!” she challenged. Maeri gripped the teacher by the wrist and pulled him towards the oven.

“Ah! What are you doing?” Sungkyu fought back (more in word than in action). His voice grew louder as Maeri yanked open the oven door and was trying to put his hand inside, “No! No, no, no, no! Stop it!”

“Sungkyu-ssi,” Hani’s calm voice broke into the hysteria. She appeared by their side with an amused smile on her face. “It’s not even on,” she pointed out.

Sungkyu pulled his hand out of the ice cold oven and cradled it in his other hand as if it were burned. “This isn’t funny,” he insisted as the other three were on the verge of laughter.

Woohyun, being a good friend, tried his best to hold back his laughter (he ultimately failed) as he suggested, “How about we break up into teams. Scaredy cats can get out of the kitchen and find the Christmas decorations.” He turned to his fiancée. “You’re the only one who can remember where they are.”

“True,” Maeri agreed with a nod. She reached behind her back and began to untie the apron.. “There are too many chefs in the kitchen anyway,” she reasoned as she folded the apron in her hands. To be honest, she was slightly happy to give up her baking duty. More often than not, the hot kitchen led to hot tempers and fights. While she and Woohyun could easily brush off arguments, she didn’t want to subject their two guests to them any further. However, she wasn’t going to leave until she warned her friend. Maeri clutched the apron in her hands as she whispered into Hani’s ear, “Be careful. He can be very bossy while cooking. It’s annoying.”

Hani’s gaze flitted over to the man in question. A determined expression fixed on her face. “I think I can handle him,” she responded back in a low tone.

Maeri was about to lean in and tell her something else, but she was interrupted by the sudden reappearance of her little brother. He had not only washed his hands, but he smelled as if he bathed his whole body in Woohyun’s cologne and his hair was now neatly styled. Jonghyun came into the kitchen yelling,  “I’m ready! I’m ready!” like he was afraid of missing out on anything. Maeri looked over at Woohyun, seeing if he came to the same conclusion: Jonghyun was smitten with Hani. Woohyun stared back sternly and mouthed carefully to her, ‘Don’t say a word.’ Jonghyun wouldn’t forgive them if they even breathed a word about his sudden affections.

‘I won’t,’ Maeri mouthed back. Instead of making fun of her little brother, she opted to encourage him instead. “Here, Jonghyun,” she said as she gave him her apron. “I’ve been dismissed from the kitchen by Chef Nam and put on decoration duty. You’ll have to take my spot. Make the Yoos proud,” Maeri urged.

Jonghyun straightened up and gave a mock salute to his sister. “Will do!” he exclaimed. With apron in hand, he rushed over to Woohyun’s side and began putting on the apron while casting a sheepish glance at the pretty librarian. Maeri bit her lip as her eyes lingered on the scene for a few more seconds. The trio was already gathering their ingredients, moving on without her. Without us, she corrected her thought as she felt Sungkyu’s presence behind her. She smiled at herself, gathering strength again. That’s right. We don’t need five people to bake a cake. But we do need five to decorate a tree. And the quicker we get the stuff, the quicker we can do it.

Maeri spun on her heels, facing Sungkyu with a determined look. And in return, he was confused. “Follow me,” she beckoned, gesturing at him to follow her out of the kitchen. They walked down into the hallways. She then stopped suddenly, and Sungkyu crashed into her back. “Sorry,” she quickly apologized for not warning him earlier. Maeri then pointed directly above her head, at the latch leading to the attic. “The decorations and tree are somewhere up there.”

The string to pull down the stairs to the attic was slightly out of her reach. Maeri tried jumping a couple of times to grab at it, but it grazed her fingertips every time. Then a hand fell onto her shoulder. “Let me,” Sungkyu offered. Being significantly taller than her, he was able to grab the string with ease. However, he pulled the string too roughly, and the latch opened, sending the stair clambering down and the duo jumping backwards.

“Thank you,” Maeri spoke through pants. Her heart was racing in her chest at the scare, and it didn’t slow down once she realized she’d have to climb the shaky staircase to the attic. Maybe she did have too many fears. Maybe she was a coward. Sungkyu must’ve sensed her hesitation and growing fear (it wasn’t hard as her feet were practically glued to the floor). He took the lead and climbed the staircase first, slowly because he was just as much of a coward as she was. But it was because he was a coward too, Maeri felt encouraged as she watched him climb up. Her competitiveness was also triggered. If Sungkyu could do it, she could too. And she did.

Sungkyu waited for her at the top of the stairs. “It’s kind of creepy up here,” he remarked with a half-smile. He then took a step forward and immediately retched, “Ew.” He pulled off something from his face, grimaced, and tried to drop it. “Spider’s web.”

While Sungkyu was struggling to get the web from his fingers, Maeri found the light and turned it on. She fought back a laugh when she saw her companion under the light. Because he had paved the wave earlier, his head and shoulders were coated in webs. Not wanting to raise an alarm, Maeri told him in as calm of a voice as she could muster, “You have some here.” She gestured to her own shoulders. Sungkyu frowned deeply as he caught sight of them and retched further as he tried to get rid of them. While he was doing so, Maeri walked closer to him. “Here too,” she quietly spoke as she gently batted away at the web clinging to his hair with the back of her hand. She had to get on the tips of her toes to do so, and her hand just barely touched his head.

“Oh. Thank you,” Sungkyu muttered in return.

Maeri quickly stepped away and began her search for the decorations. Her eyes flittering about in every direction. “Yea, it’s a bit creepy. I think it might be haunted,” she admitted, walking forward carefully with a bent back, inspecting the boxes as she passed by. “But…” she held that word until she found it. “Aha!” She found the corner with the decorations, and she took a wreath into her hands. “It has the Christmas cheer we need,” she finished and placed the wreath around the other’s neck. Sungkyu looked down at the wreath and then up at Maeri, probably wondering when she’d lost her mind. But she paid no heed to his stares and only put a box of ornaments into his hands. “Bring this down, and I’ll send you down the rest,” she ordered.

“Okay,” Sungkyu seemed to have given in, but he put the box down. He opened it up and took some tinsel that was laying inside. He stood up and sprinkled it over Maeri with a cheeky grin. “You need some cheer too,” he reasoned as he picked up the box. Soon after, he was already carefully descending the stairs.

Maeri gingerly touched the tinsel decorating her hair. A warmness gripped her heart. “I do.”

“What’s next?” Woohyun asked eagerly as he wiped the flour from his hands.

“I need to whisk the eggs for a minute or so,” Hani answered. Since it was her recipe, Hani had taken charge in the kitchen. It had been a long time since Woohyun had to answer to someone else in the kitchen. But he didn’t mind it, not one bit. He had accepted his new role as assistant baker easily. And Hani made it easy, gently commanding him, giving him and Jonghyun encouragement, and not telling him to be quiet when he randomly burst into a Christmas carol. It was a nice change.

Hani took the bowl in one hand and the whisk in the other. Her hair was falling down in front of her face, in the way. She tried blowing it out of the way or tucking it behind her ear, but the stubborn strands would fall away again. Woohyun had been noticing the struggle for awhile. But maybe Hani didn’t. Either she was the ‘suffering in silence’ type like Maeri could be, or she was too focused on the task at hand to notice her hair. In any case, being the good assistant he was, Woohyun was going to help out in this regard too.

“Hold on,” he mumbled as he raced out of the kitchen. He went straight into the bathroom and pulled open a drawer. From his years of rummaging around the Yoo house, he knew it well, like it was his own. He even knew where Maeri and her mother kept their hair ties (and back in his youth when he had long hair, he’d borrowed/stolen some too). He grabbed a hair tie with a triumphant smile and entered the kitchen once again.

Hani was already whisking. Her hair was cascading down in front of her face, making her look like Sadako. He chuckled at the sight, earning a curious glance from Jonghyun who had been put on cookie duty. Woohyun shook his head, silently telling the younger not to mind, and walked behind Hani. The woman was still set on her task, whisking quickly.

Now Woohyun had done this many times before for Maeri and hadn’t thought much of it. In retrospect, he probably should have. But it wasn’t until his fingers were threading through Hani’s hair when Woohyun realized how different this was from when he’d do it for Maeri. The texture of the hair was different. It was much thicker than Maeri’s and a bit coarser, but it made it easier for Woohyun to tie it back. Before he knew it, he was gently pulling her hair through the tie one last time, mumbling, “Here we go.”

“Uh...thank you,” Hani muttered as her hand went back to touch her new ponytail, abandoning the whisking all together. The eggs whites were still flat in the bowl. She brought her ponytail over her shoulder, revealing the nape of her neck. Woohyun’s gaze fixed on that. He’d never thought that part to be necessarily pretty before but now...His eyes travelled down the line of her shoulder. It really was at the perfect height, her shoulders. If Maeri were this height, Woohyun could easily hug her from behind and rest his chin comfortably on them. But Maeri wasn’t.

A clatter rang through the kitchen. Woohyun whipped his head and saw Jonghyun picking up the cookie cutter that he’d dropped. “So Jonghyun, how goes the cookie cutting?” he asked in a teasing tone.

Jonghyun looked disgruntled as he grumbled, “Almost done.”

Hani was whisking away again but she sent a bright grin to her youngest assistant. “You’re doing a great job,” she urged him.

A blush crept onto Jonghyun’s cheeks again. He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand as he mumbled sheepishly, “Uh, thank you, Hani-ssi.”

Woohyun grinned at the sight and picked up a tray full of cookies from Jonghyun’s side. “I’ll just put these in the oven,” he announced. As he made his way to the oven, he whispered lowly to Hani, “Looks like you have an admirer.”

“Ah yes.” Hani bit her lip and shot a glance at Jonghyun who was gingerly peeling away the dough from the cookie cutter. “And lucky me. He’s a cutie,” she whispered.

Woohyun frowned as he opened up the oven door. “And 12,” he pointed out. But Hani only shrugged and smiled coyly in response. Then she returned back to whisking. The eggs were now sticking to her whisk. Woohyun closed the oven door and tugged at the collar of his sweater. They had been baking for a while, and the kitchen was growing hot. Woohyun was feeling a bit too warm.

“Hani-ssi, will you help me decorate these?” Jonghyun asked, pointing to the cookies that had just cooled.

“Of course!” she replied. The librarian pushed her bowl aside and sat down at the stool next to her smitten assistant. The two began frosting the cookies, and Jonghyun was casting shy glances at the woman sitting next to him. Then he scooted closer to her as he was reaching for the frosting. Woohyun raised an eyebrow. Where did you learn this, dongsaeng?

“I want to help too,” Woohyun offered. He pulled up a stool and squeezed right in between the two. There was just enough room for him. And it was the ideal location, with cookies and frosting easily within reach. As he was about to grab for a cookie, an elbow dug into his side. “What?” he grunted at Jonghyun.

“What about the cake, hyung?” Jonghyun reminded him as he narrowed his eyes on the elder. His glare was eerily like his sister’s. The timer was ringing, signaling that the cake was finished baking.

What timing, Woohyun cursed in his head. “Fine,” he yielded, getting up and retrieving the cake from the oven. Being an assistant was beginning to become a burden.

“Thank you, Woohyun-ah!” Hani chirped from her seat.

It was a burden, but it still had it’s perks.

Hani had just finished frosting the cake when Maeri came in to announce that the tree was ready to decorate. She and Sungkyu looked as if they already had a head start, decorating themselves with ornaments. There was tinsel in Maeri hair and ornaments dangling in both of their ears. Sungkyu quickly took his out when he noticed Woohyun staring at it. But these kind of antics were nothing new. When they were 18, bored, and watching a sleeping baby, Maeri had wrapped Woohyun from head to toe in Christmas lights. It had been his idea. And Woohyun hadn’t thought of that moment in years.

Something about this Christmas Eve was nostalgic. Sure they were doing the same things that they’ve always done, but in recent years, it felt like they were just going through the motions. This year, however, it felt like they were doing everything for the first time like he and Maeri did 12 years ago. There was a renewed sense of Christmas magic. Hani and Sungkyu should’ve joined us years ago, Woohyun caught himself thinking. It was a silly thought since the four of them had only been acquainted (or reacquainted in Hani’s case) this year. But that thought kept occurring throughout the evening. Why? He didn’t know.

He thought it again when he held the ladder for Hani when she put the angel on top of the tree, while Maeri and Jonghyun were arguing over who owned the Iron Man ornament and consequently who’d get to hang it. Sungkyu settled the dispute by hanging it up while they weren’t looking.

He thought of it once more as they were admiring the tree, fully decorated. It had been years since they’d decorated a tree like this, filling every nook and cranny. In the past years, the three of them would grow weary of decorating and throw the angel on top, claiming it to be finished when there were still open gaps all over the tree.. But now, with the addition of Sungkyu and Hani, the tree looked like it belonged in a Christmas movie.

Everything was more magical with those two. And Woohyun expected that next activity would go just as well. He was already grinning at the prospect of it as he handed out the sheets of paper.

“What’s this?” Sungkyu asked as he took the paper from his friend.

But he didn’t get an answer right away, at least not from Woohyun. “No way,” Hani blurted out, gazing at the piece of paper in amazement. “You guys still do this? I did this too when I was young.”

“I know. I kind of stole this tradition from you,” Maeri responded with a sheepish grin as she handed out pens. She sat on the couch across from Sungkyu. “I thought it was cute,” she admitted.

“What is it?” Sungkyu asked again as he took a pen from the other.

“We’re writing letters to Santa,” Jonghyun finally gave him the answer that he was looking for. His tone wasn’t as excited as the others. It sounded as if he was being unwillingly dragged to do this.

“Seriously?” Sungkyu questioned. Jonghyun nodded with a heavy sigh, and then began to quickly jot down his letter, getting it over with.

“How else will he know what to get us for Christmas?” Woohyun challenged. Sungkyu looked up, meeting his friend’s gaze. Woohyun was serious about this. He then glanced down at Jonghyun, hoping that Sungkyu would catch his drift. And he did. Jonghyun still believed in Santa Claus. Now, it was up to him to play along.

“Ah true,” Sungkyu exclaimed. “Of course he wouldn’t know unless we tell him.” He was over-acting his role, even making Hani snicker at him. It didn’t matter. Sungkyu didn’t want to be blamed for making Jonghyun lose his faith. Woohyun and Maeri would never forgive him for that.

But playing along also required him to write a letter to Santa, which he hadn’t done since he was younger than Jonghyun. He didn’t even know where to begin, how to address it, let alone what to ask for (he figured that Santa couldn’t give him what he really wanted anyway). He leaned across the couch and whispered to Maeri, “What are you writing?” He tried to peer over her shoulder to read her letter, but she quickly protected it with her body, bringing the letter closely to her chest.

“Are you Santa?” Maeri asked him.

Sungkyu chuckled as he answered. “No.”

“Then you can’t read it. It’s for his eyes only,” she retorted, sticking out her tongue. But she immediately retracted it and crumbled up the paper in her hands. Sungkyu watched her, confused, as she tossed the paper onto the floor with a sigh. “Hyun, can I have another piece of paper?” she begged.

Woohyun got up from his spot on the floor and handed her another. “Don’t know what you want this year?” he guessed.

“I think I want too much,” Maeri answered, her brows furrowed in concern.

“Don’t get greedy or Santa will give you coal,” Woohyun teased as he sat back down onto the floor. Maeri laughed dryly as she tapped her pen against the paper.

Don’t be greedy, those words rang through Sungkyu’s head as he looked down at his own blank paper. He quickly jotted down things that he didn’t consider to be too much, just a new gaming system with the latest games and a new tv to go along with it. That was a lot less greedy than what he originally wanted to write down.

“Done!” It wasn’t him but Jonghyun who announced that. The preteen glanced at his older sister. “Can I order dinner?” he asked.

“Sure,” Maeri gave in, and her little brother pumped his fist excitedly before scampering off into the kitchen. Once he was out of sight, Maeri immediately turned towards Hani. “Unnie, are you done too?” she asked her.

“Yes, I didn’t write too much,” the other answered, folding her letter neatly.

“Can you watch him? He’ll order enough food for an army,” Maeri begged. It was no evident to everybody that Jonghyun would listen to anything Hani asked him too. Hani even got him to sing carols with them, which he refused to do last year.

“Sure thing,” Hani readily agreed and followed the youngest into the kitchen.

“I’m done too,” Sungkyu announced, placing his letter on the table face-up for all to see (and Maeri and Woohyun did read it after he left). He followed the other two into the kitchen while asking, “Are the cookies done?”

“Can’t figure out what you want either?” Maeri asked her fiancé as they both were hovering over Sungkyu’s letter.

“Yea,” Woohyun admitted. His gaze went from Maeri, to the trio in the kitchen, back to Maeri again. “It’s because I have everything I want.”

Maeri scoffed, “You’re cheesy.”

Woohyun got up and joined Maeri on the couch. He poked her in the cheek with his pen. “You like it,” he teased.

Maeri smiled, letting the pen in her cheek sink into one of her dimples. “Sometimes,” she admitted. She then gazed down at the paper in her hands. Maybe she had everything too. Don’t be greedy.

“Oh no!” Hani yelped, covering . Her cheeks were filled to the brim, as were Jonghyun’s and Sungkyu’s. After ordering dinner, the trio couldn’t contain their hunger and began eating the cookies to tide them over until the dinner arrived. Little did they know how hungry they actually were. The plates were almost empty now. “We almost ate all of them, and we don't have time to make more! Sungkyu-ssi!” she yelled at the other who was about to bite the head off of another gingerbread man. “Stop eating them!”

“Sorry,” Sungkyu apologized as he gently set the cookie down.

Jonghyun picked it back up and bit into it. The two adults gasped. “It's okay,” Jonghyun spoke through his mouthful of cookie. “It's not like Santa's going to eat them anyway.”

Sungkyu nudged him with his shoulder. “You know?”

Jonghyun nodded, studying the cookie in his hand and resting his head in his free hand. “I found out three years ago,” he revealed with a sigh. He then perked up, eyes wide with fright. “But I don't want to tell noona and hyung,” he begged. “They have so much fun with it. And to be honest...I think those two still believe in him.”

“Really?” Hani asked.

“Yea, just look at them,” Jonghyun urged them. And they did. Maeri and Woohyun were now picking up all of the letters and carefully stuffing them into envelopes labeled “To: Santa Claus at the North Pole” on them. Maeri took them and set the letters by the fireplace while Woohyun was placing a glass and plate on a small table also by the fireside. It was for Santa’s milk and cookies. Jonghyun rolled his eyes at the sight. “Dorks,” he said that word with affection.

“Then maybe we should play along for their sakes,” Hani suggested, gathering up the remaining cookies on the plate. “These are for Santa,” she announced, sending a warning glance at the other two. She then took the plate and walked it over to the couple by the fireplace.

Jonghyun snickered. “What?” Sungkyu urged him to reveal what was so funny.

“You two are dorks too,” he revealed, laughing in full force now.

“Huh?!"

For dinner, Jonghyung, even under supervision, had ordered too much, but that was fine because they all ate too much as well. It was the holidays, and celebrating the holidays meant eating too much and then laying around the house with a bulging belly, which was what they were doing now, laying around the living room, rubbing their full bellies. Sleep was quickly descending upon them, but the night was still young. And Woohyun and Maeri still had things planned to do. Unfortunately, they had planned on doing different things.

“Doesn't anyone want to see the lights in the park?” Maeri asked, sitting herself back up on the couch. A walk was exactly what she needed now to help her digest the massive amounts of food swirling in her stomach. Sadly, her suggestion was met by groans.

“No, not really,” Woohyun grumbled from the other side of the couch. He, however, was fully laying down with his legs over Maeri’s lap.

“Why not?” Maeri argued with a pout. She slapped his legs. “It's tradition.”

“Yea, but it's boring,” Jonghyun chimed in. He was sprawled out on the floor, face down so that his voice was muffled as he spoke. The preteen then to his side, now facing his sister. “And it's the same every year,” he added.

“Nuh uh!” Maeri quickly countered, shaking her head. “Last year they had the lights in the shape of ice-skating penguins.” She glanced over at the man besides her. “Even you said that was cool,” she reminded Woohyun.

Woohyun groaned as he sat up and removed his legs from the other’s lap. “Okay, so almost the same every year,” he amended “But I still don’t want to go.”.

“But it's tradition,” Maeri repeated a bit more forcibly, as if raising her tone would make her more convincing. “We can get hot chocolate,” she tried to entice the other, but ultimately failed.

“We have that here,” Woohyun combatted.

“And it's freezing cold outside,” Jonghyun added, crawling closer to literally be on his hyung’s side.

Maeri hated moments like this. When Woohyun and Jonghyun opposed her like this, she was at a loss. She couldn’t convince the other two even if she begged, which she has done before and it was only to their amusement. However, in the past, Maeri was only just a friend to Woohyun. Now, they were a couple; they were going to get married. And that should change some things, right? Maeri exaggerated her pout and stared down Woohyun with large, doleful eyes. “But...penguins...tradition,” she stammered in a cute voice.

Woohyun was all for change, but not in Maeri’s favor. “We can start a new tradition,” he proposed. He gestured to the other two in the room who’d silently been watching the debate. “We haven't had noona and Sungkyu celebrate with us before, so let's do something we haven't done before.”

“Yea, something that's actually fun,” of course, Jonghyun agreed with his beloved hyung. “Let's play jenga!” he exclaimed, looking at Woohyun excitedly. The elder nodded emphatically in agreement and gave his dongsaeng a high-five.

Hani finally spoke up, “Sounds like fun.”

Like a knife through her heart, her beloved unnie sided with her opposers. Maeri didn’t foresee this coming. Wasn’t there anyone on her side? Maeri looked over at Hani. “But I always lose at that game,” she revealed. Maybe Hani would at least take pity on her and suggest another game. But the librarian’s lips remained in a sealed smile as she avoided Maeri’s gaze and opted to look at the teacher sitting next to her.

“Not my fault that you're a sore loser,” Woohyun tore Maeri’s attention away from the other two. But then he directed the conversation to the only person who hadn’t weighed in yet, “Come on, Gyu, what do you say?”

“Actually,” Sungkyu started. His eyes were fixed on the floor as he gave his opinion, “I wouldn't mind seeing the lights. I haven't seen them before.”

“Really?!” Maeri exclaimed excitedly, jumping off from the couch. Her smile was back on her face and wider than ever. She thought she’d been defeated, but finally she had an ally. “If we go now, it'll only take about...half an hour,” she guessed as she watched her ally stand up along with her. Maeri glanced back down to Woohyun and Jonghyun. “You guys can play a game, and we'll be able to catch the next one. And you can beat me then.”

Woohyun shrugged. “As long as I kick your at some point tonight. I'm happy,” he joked.

“Kay!” Maeri happily accepted the threat of a future -kicking if it meant that her wish would come true right now. She whipped her head around to face her ally. “Let's go!” she beckoned him, eagerly waving at him to follow her to the front door.

“Bye!” Hani waved as they walked past. “Have fun!”

“You too!” Maeri said back and then left her friend with a warning, “Watch out for those two boys. They can be heartless when it comes to games.”

Woohyun rolled his eyes. “She only says that because she’s a sore loser,” he combatted. But he tried to cover the sting by putting a bright smile on his face and giving his fiancee some sweet words before she left, “Bye, honey! Stay warm!”

“Okay, bye sweetie,” Maeri responded back with just as much false sweetness and left the room with the teacher on her tail.

“Are you really that bad?” Sungkyu asked when they were putting on their shoes and coats at the door.

Maeri let out a deep sigh as she buttoned up her coat. “Seriously, it's the only reason why they even like that game, because I lose,” she grumbled under her breath. “The both of them team up against me every time.”

“Those two are really close, like real brothers,” he commented as he shrugged on his own coat.

“Yea,” Maeri muttered as she shifted her gaze from her buttons to the ceiling. “I wish they weren't sometimes.” Her head fell back down, “Wait, that sounds bad,” she quickly retracted. Maeri cast a nervous glance over at the other, hoping that he wasn’t judging her for what she’d just said. But, much to her relief, he was nodding along in understanding. An ally indeed.

“I know what you mean, though,” Sungkyu said, tugging at the sleeves of his coat. “He's your brother. It's like how my noona is spending the holiday with her in-laws. I know why she is, but...I still feel a little upset,” he confessed. His smile looked more like a grimace than anything. And all of the sudden, Maeri felt guilty. She’d lost her perspective. Here was Sungkyu, spending his first Christmas without his parents or his sister, and Maeri was lamenting because she wasn’t her brother’s favorite. And although she’d been whining like a baby over it, Sungkyu was still sympathetic, which only made her feel worse. She couldn’t imagine how the other truly felt right now.

But Maeri didn’t want to breach that issue with him, not now (she didn’t even know if she could). Instead she brought the conversation back to her own petty problems, “Just promise me one thing.”

“What?”

“You won't try to steal my brother too,” Maeri joked with slender smile as she put on her mittens.

Sungkyu scoffed, “I'm not even sure the kid likes me. He keeps sticking to Woohyun like they’re glued together.”

“Well, Jonghyun just misses him,” Maeri excused her little brother, and it didn’t help that Jonghyun tended to be shy around strangers (with the exception of Hani, his new crush). However, Maeri knew her little brother well enough to know something else, “Besides he likes you. I can tell.”

“Really? Why?” Sungkyu challenged her in disbelief. The two of them hardly interacted so Sungkyu’s skepticism was warranted. But Maeri shrugged in response. She just had a feeling about it all. It was hard to explain. Sungkyu took that shrug as a positive response. “It's probably because I'm a cool guy.”

Maeri snickered and pulled her hat on. “Yea, keep telling yourself that.”

“What?” Sungkyu shot her a glare, which quickly softened as he challenged her, “You don't think I'm cool?”

Maeri took a step back and looked him up and down, jokingly analyzing the other. After a few seconds she reached her conclusion, “Well I know that you're going to be really cool if you don't bring a hat.” It was below freezing outside, and the teacher had only his coat and gloves on.

“Don't need it. We won't be gone for that long,” he argued, thinking that he could last half an hour in the cold night. Maeri rolled her eyes and bent down to tie her shoes. Sungkyu was losing his patience and began bouncing on the balls of his feet. They’d spent too much time dawdling by the door. “Come on, let's go. How long does it take for you to put on shoes?” he whined.

“Just one more second,” Maeri begged as she tightened the knot in her laces. But she wasn’t finished yet. She reached into a box and pulled out something only to quickly stuff it into her pockets. “Done!” she announced, jumping up onto her feet. “Now let's go!”

“Hyung, why don't you marry Hani-ssi?”

Woohyun looked up from the box in his hands at his dongsaeng in the doorway. They were in Maeri’s old room, which was now being used to store miscellaneous things, including the games. It had taken him a while in the mess, but Woohyun finally found the jenga game when Jonghyun asked him that question. Woohyun just chuckled. “Because I'm marrying your sister. What you don't want me as a brother-in-law?” he searched for a reason behind the younger’s strange suggestion.

His dongsaeng shook his head. “You're already my brother,” he replied.

Woohyun laughed again at the younger’s words. Jonghyun was becoming more like him everyday, even in speech. But the younger still didn’t reveal the reason behind his question. “Then why Hani?” Woohyun tried the direct approach.

“She's pretty and nice,” Jonghyun praised shyly and lowly as if Hani could overhear them from rooms over.

Woohyun walked up to him and pushed him on the shoulder. “Hey, your sister is pretty and nice too,”he reminded Jonghyun.

The younger frowned. “Not as much as Hani,” he argued.

Woohyun sighed. Jonghyun had been favoring Hani (and himself) too much today. He knew that Maeri was more disheartened by it than amused. And he was well aware that Maeri was envious of his and Jonghyun’s closeness (hard not to when her eyes practically glowed green). It was time that they were both more considerate about her feelings (even the irrational ones). He wagged a finger in front of Jonghyun’s face and chided, “Be nice to your noona.”

“Fine,” Jonghyun gave in with a huff.

Woohyun grinned and wrapped his arm around the younger’s shoulders as they both left the room. “Besides, if I don’t marry Hani, maybe you can,” he pointed out in a cheeky tone.

But the joke was lost on Jonghyun, who took it as a real possibility. His eyes grew round and his smile, broader. “True!”

Maeri wished that she’d thought this through a bit more. She fiddled with her mittens as they walked by a display of twinkling lights in the shape of stars darting across the park like shooting stars. It was completely silent. The only thing to pass from their mouths were white puffs of air and the occasional “oohs” and “aahs.” Maeri winced. She’d been too excited that someone finally agreed to do her favorite tradition and see the Christmas light displays at the park, and she neglected to realize that it meant that she and Sungkyu were going to be alone, together, together alone in the park at night under the glow of twinkling light in completely awkward silence. She sighed. Things had been going well today too, but they also weren’t alone often. Whenever they were, they had a task to concentrate on. But now, there was nothing to distract them. Now all they had to concentrate on was each other. And the lights. Stupid lights.  Woohyun was right. They were the same every year. Why was she so set on seeing the stupid lights?

Maeri decided to take a break from looking at the stupid, blinding lights and suggested that they buy hot chocolate from the vendor. At least that will give them something more to add to their conversation, “hot” and “yummy” in addition to the “aahs.” Sungkyu readily agreed probably because, like Maeri predicted, he could no longer stand the cold. The tips of his ears were a dark red, his nose was rosey, and his hands were tucked into his sleeves. The hot chocolate was what they both needed. And fortunately for Maeri, it became more of a conversation starter that she had expected.

While walking away from the vendor, Maeri had accidentally tipped her cup and the hot chocolate spilled onto her mittens. “Crap!” she cursed and stopped in her tracks, careful to not spill anymore

“What?” Sungkyu gasped and stopped besides her.

“I spilled,” Maeri murmured, still stopped in a hunched over position.

Sungkyu scanned her up and down. “Did you get burned?”

“No, my mittens protected me,” she answered as she slowly straightened back up. Not a drop more was spilled. She smiled triumphantly until she noticed the chocolate stains on her pink mittens. “Oh,” she gasped. A frown fixed on her face as she held up her mitten-clad hand to the other, showing off the stain. “But now they're ruined."

Sungkyu chuckled and lowered her hand. "You can wash them,” he reminded her.

Of course, where was her head? Maeri tried to laugh it off, "Haha, right...Crap!" she cursed again and froze in her step. She felt the hot chocolate sink again into her mittens.

"Seriously? Again?!” Sungkyu sounded exasperated, and maybe a bit amused. He stepped up to her side. “You can't even walk and drink at the same time."

Maeri straightened up again and gazed down at the cup in her hands. A third of it was gone already. "It might be the mittens," she muttered as an excuse.  

"You might be a klutz,” Sungkyu retorted with a chuckle. He walked in front of her and looked down at the cup in her hands. Without a second thought, he took it from her. “Come on. Let's sit over there," he said as he nodded over to a park bench that was in front of a Christmas Tree display. Maeri muttered an ‘okay’ and wrung her hands together as she followed Sungkyu to the bench. He sat down first and waited for Maeri to be fully seated and situated before handing her cup back. He must’ve been tired of her spilling. Maeri muttered a ‘thank you’ and then they both turned to gaze at the display.

This was Maeri’s favorite of all the lights in the park. It was the biggest and the brightest. It was so bright that she could see the Christmas tree from her window at home. But nothing was like seeing it in person. If Woohyun was here, he’d remark about how it was the same old thing and want to move on. Maeri, however, took comfort in things like this that didn’t change, that always stayed the same year in and year out. It was probably why she was found of antiques, and tradition.

"Oh,” Sungkyu muttered. It was different from his usual ‘oohs.’ He was surprised. Maeri glanced over at him and was surprised to see that Sungkyu wasn’t even looking at the tree, but down at the bench. “I have been here before," he confessed, half-believing in it himself.

Maeri turned her body to face him. "Really? When?" she asked. Had he seen this display before?

Sungkyu raised his head. "When I was 18, I kind of ran away from home,” he admitted

"You ran away?” Maeri challenged. She couldn’t imagine Sungkyu running away. He was so straight-laced, so...perfect. Woohyun didn’t even run away, and he was more impulsive. But Sungkyu cast the doubts from her head with a short nod. “Rebel,” she remarked. “Why?"

Now he finally turned to the Christmas tree as he told her, "I wanted to be a singer, but my parents didn't approve. So I secretly went to do auditions in Seoul."

"How did it go?"

Sungkyu whipped his head to face her and smirked. "I'm a famous singer now, didn't you know?" he joked.

"So not too well, huh?” Maeri surmised and she dropped her gaze back to the drink in her hands. It was growing cold. “Sorry."

"Yea, it didn't go too well. And after running out of money, I somehow ended up here,” Sungkyu said and looked around the park. It must’ve looked like an entirely different place now under the nightfall and lights. “I remember the pond,” he stated, pointing at the pond behind the tree. And then his finger fell down and traced a scar etched into the bench. “And I did this."

Maeri followed his finger and watched it redraw the sad face drawn into the bench. "That's sad," she thought out loud.

Sungkyu snorted. "Well, I wasn't very happy," he retorted. Maeri raised her gaze, about to say something else in response, but saw that Sungkyu was smiling. And it wasn’t the type of smile that he had whenever she said something silly or stupid, thoughtless. This smile was warmer, fonder, as if it were a nice memory.

Maeri felt one forming on her own face. "Then why are you smiling?" She asked.

Sungkyu bit his lip in thought, trying to restrain his smile, before replying, "When I was hungry, tired, and thinking about spend the night on this bench, a girl came up to me and gave me food and enough money to go home."

Maeri’s jaw dropped. "That's so..."

Sungkyu cut her off and tried to fill in the blank. "Nice? Sweet? Incredible?"

"Weird."

"Huh?"

"Gyu, that was me," Maeri spoke slowly as the realization sunk in. We met already. We met 13 years ago. How? Why? What? Maeri’s mind suddenly went back to when they first met (again) at his parents’ home, when Sungkyu was sitting dejectedly on his parents’ bed. There was a reason why that scene was so familiar. It was because she’d seen it before. She’d seen him before. Oh my god, she cursed in her mind. She had acted so silly back then.

While Maeri was going through a crisis, Sungkyu was silent. But then he broke it,  "Eh, you're lying.” He gave her a nudge, trying to snap her out of it. But Maeri remained still, slowly shaking her head. “Aish. Don't you know it's wrong to lie?"

Maeri finally snapped out of it and snapped back, "I'm not!” She stared Sungkyu in the eye, trying to convince him with her gaze. But instead she got caught up in his eyes, his face, his entire being. The image of his 17 year-old self came to her as clear as day. You look the exact same. How could I not remember? But the other couldn’t recollect her yet, so it was her turn to jog his memory. “I remember. Hani-unnie and I were stopping by the convenience store after our practice. On our way there, I saw...you, looking really sad,” she told him. Her eyes fell back down to the sad face on the bench. “So when I left, I gave you the rest of my food and money. I left it there,” she ended by nodding over to the bench beside them.

“Woah,” Sungkyu muttered like he did when they were looking at light displays earlier. “You weren't lying."

Maeri faced him again. "I told you," she spoke lowly. She tried to have more strength in her voice, but Sungkyu was so quiet. His face was so blank. Maeri wondered if she ruined the memory for him. His kind stranger ended up being her. Was he disappointed?

"I'm sorry,” was all he could say in response.

Maeri held out her hand. Sungkyu cocked his head as he stared at it. "You owe me money,” she joked as she shook her hand, demanding repayment.

"Yah!” Sungkyu yelled with a smile on his face. He slapped her hand away. “I paid hundreds to save you from some creepy old man," he reminded her.

Maeri giggled sheepishly and put her hand back into her pocket.  "Right. Thanks for that again."

"You're welcome.” Sungkyu then groaned as he lept off from the bench. “Now let's go look at the rest of the lights. I'm getting cold." He sniffed loudly as he rubbed his hands up and down his arms.

Maeri smirked. She foresaw this happening. "I told you to wear a hat, but no. You didn't need it," she teased as she followed him off the bench and down the sidewalk.

"Yea yea yea," Sungkyu muttered under his breath before sniffing loudly again (maybe his teeth were chattering too).

"Wait. Stop," Maeri ordered him as she reached into her pocket.

Sungkyu did so and raised an eyebrow.  "What?"

Maeri pulled out the bright pink earmuffs from her pocket, stood on the tips of her toes as she gently placed the earmuffs over Sungkyu’s cold (almost frost-bitten) ears. After adjusting them a little, she smiled at Sungkyu. "Now we're even."

On the path out of the park, the way was decorated with a tunnel of lights, flashing different colors as you walked by. This was new, and slightly overwhelming and blinding. Maeri was glad when they were nearing the end of the long tunnel. However, because she was blinded by the light, she didn’t notice wait was waiting for them at the end of the tunnel. There was a pair of ruffians (as Maeri would later describe them) in their early twenties sitting on the benches at the end of the tunnel. One of them hollered, "Woooooo! Look it's a couple underneath the mistletoe!"

Maeri looked around. "Really where? I don't see them," she muttered. In fact, no one else appeared to be around. Her stomach grew heavy as Sungkyu nudged her and pointed above their heads.

"It's us,” he said. And sure enough, when Maeri squinted, she could make out the green sprig hidden among the flashing lights. It was a trap.

"Oh," fell from her parted lips. She just continued to stare up at the mistletoe, at the blinding lights. How? What do I do? She quickly glanced over at Sungkyu. He was blinking madly to get rid of the spots in his eyes from the lights. Move! Why aren’t you leaving? Are you waiting for something? Am I?

"What are you waiting for? Kiss her!" Apparently someone else wanted them to move and get on with it. One of the ruffians tried to spur them on.

"Aish! We're not together," Sungkyu shouted right back at them. He sounded frustrated with them already.

"Are you guys related?" the second ruffian jumped off from the bench and asked.

"No," Maeri answered with a snort.  

"Are you gay?"

"No!" Sungkyu yelled with a stamp of his foot.

"Then kiss!" the first ruffian lamely argued, as if there was no other reason why the couple couldn’t kiss.

"Aish! Mind your own business,” Maeri growled at their antagonizers. She then spoke to Sungkyu, “What's with those kids?"

"I don't know,” Sungkyu answered back with a sigh. “Maybe they're too full with the Christmas spirit, if you know what I mean."

"How about we just Christmas hug and get them off our backs?" Maeri blurted out. She then tucked her lips in, forbidding anymore ridiculous suggestions to slip out. She should’ve suggested that they leave or ignore them. What would hugging solve? And what in the world was a Christmas hug anyway?

"Christmas hug? What's that?” Sungkyu found the phrasing odd too. “We hug and say 'Ho ho ho'?" he joked, imitating Santa’s hearty laugh.

Maeri laughed. "If you want. You can jiggle your belly like a bowl full of jelly if you want to too," she proposed.

Sungkyu smirked. "I'll pass."

"Kiss already!" The two ruffians shouted to them in unison.

"Who are those people?” Maeri groaned. She turned to face the dastardly duo, stamping her foot as she did so. “Get a life!"

"Get some!" one of them retorted.

"Okay, he did not just..." Maeri’s complaints stuck in . A hand reached out, pulling her in, and she collided in a firm chest. One hand wrapped around her waist and then another slightly above it, holding her tighter. Maeri’s cheek was pressed against his shoulder, and her eyes darted about as she was slowly absorbing the fact that Sungkyu, Kim Sungkyu, was hugging her. And as she absorbed that, she felt like her being absorbed into the hug as well. She leaned in, on him, pressing her cheek harder into the woollen fibers of his coat. It was rough, but it was warm. Her arms were hanging still and awkwardly at her side. This, this was all she could do for now. All that she would allow herself to do.

And Sungkyu must have reached his limit too. He pulled away and tapped her nose, whispering, “Ho ho ho," before walking down the remainder of the tunnel. Maeri stayed behind for a few seconds, but she made sure to stepped away from the blasted mistletoe lest it land her in even more trouble. Her steps were stumbling as she grabbed her racing heart. She closed her eyes tightly and cursed, “Oh .”

This isn’t good.

This isn’t good, Woohyun thought as he assessed the situation in front of him. He walked around the table, studying the slender stack of jenga blocks. Woohyun hadn’t lost this game in years, and he prided himself of being the king of silly games like this. But the king was on the verge of losing his crown, and the usurper was none other than Hani. That librarian used her wiles to coerce Jonghyun into a conspiracy, and the two of them teamed up against Woohyun. Each of them were laying blocks askew so that the stack would be unbalanced and helped each other to find easy blocks to take out. And what help did Woohyun get? None. Instead he got stabbed in the back by his beloved dongsaeng and his...librarian.

“Okay,” Woohyun cheered himself on as he found a block that looked like it could be removed easily. He just had to slow and careful. He just needed steady hands and a focused mind. Woohyun got down onto his knees and began to move the block ever-so-slightly. And the stack shook.

“You’re gonna lose,” Jonghyun baited him. “You’re going to knock it down.”

Woohyun ignored him. A reaction, that’s what the younger wanted, but he wouldn’t get it from Woohyun. He wouldn’t be distracted. He continued to nudge the block out with his finger. It was almost free. If he could do this, then Hani’s turn was next. She’d knocked the stack over, and Woohyun could keep his crown. “Just a little bit more,” he murmured. “Just a little bit...oh!”

A jolt traveled down his spine and down his arms, causing his hand to twitch and knock the stack of jenga blocks over. He lost. He lost the game and his crown. But he couldn’t be concerned with that now. His ear was still hot and it tickled. He slowly raised his hand to the ear which Hani had just blew into. He couldn’t believe it. Even now, looking at her covering to stifle her giggles, Woohyun couldn’t believe it. He thought that she was always so...innocent, but thinking back on it, Hani was much more mischievous than he gave her credit for.

"I didn't realize that you were such a cheater,” Woohyun said with a half smile.

"I'm not. I swear,” Hani insisted. “But I think you...and Maeri are a bad influence on me." She then turned her attention to the fallen stack and began collecting the fallen pieces. Jonghyun was too busy celebrating his victory to help out. It was the first time Woohyun had ever lost to him and he was relishing in it (the smug look on his face was much like his sister once again).

Woohyun turned his attention back on the woman. "We corrupted you?" he asked as he helped her to stack the blocks back up.

"No, not really,” Hani clarified. She retracted her hands into her lap. “I just only do bad things when you're around. But it's fun,” she added the last part in a quiet voice.

“I’m glad you have fun with us,” Woohyun responded, and he truly was. Because of him and Maeri, Hani was not only having fun but was looking much like her old self again, happier. “You look happier today,” his thoughts slipped past his lips.

Hani’s natural smile twitched at the corner, unsure. “Well...it’s Christmas,” she reasoned. “It’s hard not to be happy on Christmas.”

“True,” Woohyun drawled out. He didn’t know what he did to make her uncomfortable again. It wasn’t his intention; it was far from it. Why are things so awkward now? His eyes searched for the front door. Where is Maeri? Why isn’t she back yet? At least if Maeri was here, he wouldn’t be the one losing. If she was here, maybe Hani would be comfortable. Where are you?

Maeri and Sungkyu returned almost ten minutes later. And just like Woohyun hoped, Hani seemed to relax again, and Woohyun was finally winning again (or at least beating out Maeri and sometimes Sungkyu). With the addition of the two new players, the games not only became more interesting but also louder. It wasn’t surprising that Maeri and Woohyun raised their voices at each other, but Sungkyu was just as loud as the both of them and had a temper to match Maeri’s. And even Hani raised her voice from time to time to just be heard (but her laugh was also the loudest of the five). Their voices become increasingly hoarse after a rousing game of Mafia. Each of them accused the other relentlessly until even the members of the Mafia were confused about what was going on (or maybe the alcohol had a role in that too). Eventually not only their voices grew tired, but their bodies as well. Jonghyun was the first to close his eyes, leaning against the couch with his chin hooked over the armrest. They took it as a sign to end their games and go to bed themselves.

Maeri and Jonghyun allowed their guests to sleep in their bedrooms. And at the moment, Maeri was helping Hani to get situated in her room (whereas Jonghyun just languidly pointed Sungkyu in the general direction of his bedroom. What a good host). Maeri had just finished laying an extra blanket on her bed when Hani asked, “Where are you all going to sleep?”

“The living room,” Maeri answered and in a smaller voice she added, “It’s tradition.” She then let out a deep breath. Traditions were supposed to continue on for years, but she could feel this one slowing to a halt. She sensed this as the night was ending and Woohyun was laying out the futons in the living room for himself, Maeri, and Jonghyun. She was overwhelmed with the premonition that this would be the last time. Maeri gripped the sleeves of her pajama shirt. And this would probably be the last set of matching pajamas that the three of them would wear. She ran her fingers against the flannel fabric gently. “This might be the last time, and I want to treasure it.”

Hani nodded. “Jonghyun is growing up fast,” she remarked. It probably wasn’t appropriate for a twelve year-old to sleep by his older sister’s side anymore, even for one night for the sake of tradition.

It’s not just that, Maeri thought. “We all are, unnie,” she corrected. Her fingers now grazed against the cool surface of her engagement ring, which still felt unfamiliar on her finger. “It’s probably not appropriate anymore for Woohyun and I to act like this either.”

“What do you mean?” Hani questioned as she sat down onto the bed.

“This...isn’t how engaged couples should spend Christmas, is it?” Maeri returned her unnie’s question with one of her own. And this was the thought that haunted her as she saw Woohyun lay out the futons and saw Sungkyu walked down the hall to Jonghyun’s room. What newly engaged couple spends the holiday with a younger brother and friends in tow? Maybe they should’ve gone on a trip like their parents do, instead of doing the same old thing that they did every year. If they’d done that, maybe Maeri wouldn’t feel so low now at the thought of this long-standing tradition ending.

“But I like how you guys celebrate Christmas. It’s fun,” Hani countered, trying hard to fight back a yawn, but ultimately failing. Maeri soon followed suit, yawning herself. Right, it’s too late to be having this kind of conversation, she thought.

“Me too,” Maeri tried to put an end to the conversation. “I don’t want it to change.” Even though it’s a little too late for that.

Hani sighed. She noticed the concern still painted all over Maeri’s face. “Maeri, you worry too much. Everything will be fine,” she assured her. Her hand took Maeri’s hand and squeezed it tightly for a second before letting it go. It was quick but comforting still. “Go to bed,” Hani urged her. “Everything will be fine.”

“Okay,” Maeri relented and began to leave the room. “Good night, unnie.”

“Good night.”

It was an hour after he went to bed when Sungkyu realized that he left his phone in the living room on the coffee table. Sungkyu contemplated about just waiting until morning to retrieve it, but he was a hard time falling asleep in a strange bed in a strange home. Maybe having something familiar would help him sleep. So he snuck out of his bed and down the hall as quietly as he could in case the others were asleep.

And they were. When Sungkyu reached the living room, he saw the Yoo siblings and Woohyun laying on the living room floor, curled up on their futons. Jonghyun was sleeping between the couple probably to keep them from doing something inappropriate, but it didn’t matter as the couple appeared to be in a deep sleep. Woohyun was snoring, and Maeri was laying on her stomach with her face squished into the pillow. “Cute,” he mumbled at the sight. The three of them were. They looked like three cubs, hibernating for the winter.

Then out of the corner of his eye, he saw his phone still laying on the coffee table that had been moved next to the couch. Sungkyu carefully laid his feet on the ground as he walked to the table. He didn’t want to wake up any of the sleeping cubs. So when he got to the table without making a single noise, Sungkyu smiled brightly as he picked up his phone. “Oh,” the smile faded as he gasped. He then quickly covered his mouth and his eyes darted over to the trio. They were still sleeping. He let out his breath as he bent down, reaching for thing that surprised it. It was a crumpled piece of paper that had been pushed under the coffee table, but Sungkyu had an idea of what it might be. After all, he’d seen her throw it in that general direction hours earlier. And so with the paper in one hand and the phone in the other, Sungkyu scampered off back into Jonghyun’s bedroom, not caring how much noise he made anymore. It wasn’t like those three were going to wake up anytime soon. They slept like the dead.

When Sungkyu entered the bedroom again, he flipped on the lights and quickly began to straighten out the paper, the letter to be more exact. Sungkyu snorted as he read the first line on the paper. Yes, it was what he thought it was: Maeri’s letter to Santa. And just like Jonghyun had said earlier, it really looked as if she still believed in Santa Claus. Sungkyu mouthed the words as he read the letter. As he continued to read, his cheeky grin faded and his brows furrowed, scarcely believing his eyes. He couldn’t believe it even after his second or tenth read.

Dear Santa Claus,

I'm sorry. I tried to be good this year, but lately, I've been faltering. I haven't been completely faithful to Woohyun, emotionally. It's not like I kissed anybody or anything. But I want

I really don't deserve any presents :(  

But if I could just wish for one thing, it would be that Sungkyu finds a nice girl-

I’d wish that I wouldn't like him anymore

I wish that he would like

I want boots.

I GIVE UP! This letter . I'm writing a new one.

The letter fell from Sungkyu’s hand as he fell onto the bed listlessly. “Holy sh...she likes me,” he mumbled. He then ran his hand down his face. Now he couldn’t fall asleep, not after knowing this (especially not with her in the next room). “Holy ,” he cursed again as his head fell against the pillow, hard. “Maybe Santa does exist,” he mused aloud. After all, he’d gotten what he really wanted.

Now what?