(Note: This happened a year after Sooyoung left the childcare.)

“I’m sorry Taeyeon, but our boss asked us to work today. We’ll make it up to you once we pick you up this evening. Be a good girl and try not to trouble Mrs Lee too much, okay?” Mr Kim told his nine year old daughter, Taeyeon. Taeyeon gave a sad pout and gave a slow nod. She had hoped to spend Christmas with her parents as they had promised her many weeks ago, but due to unforeseen circumstances her parents had to work on Christmas day. Luckily, Mrs Lee’s childcare was open and Taeyeon didn’t need to be sent to any relative’s house for the day.

“We’ll pick you up as soon as we can and we can go have a special dinner together. We even have a Christmas present for you,” Mrs Kim added when she saw the saddened expression of her daughter. It pained her to let her daughter down like that but there wasn’t much they could do that could convince their boss to let them have a day off. Taeyeon took a deep breath to hold her disappointed tears in and gave a weak smile. She then reached into her pocket and pulled out two paper cranes that she had folded the day before and gave each of her parents one.

The couple smiled at their daughter’s present. They had been watching her trying to make the elegant origami pieces over the past week and were touched that she would go through so much trouble to get them a simple yet heart-warming present. Mr Kim rustled Taeyeon’s hair with a smug smile before standing up to address Mrs Lee, who was waiting patiently at the reception desk.

“We’re sorry to have troubled you like this, but it was such short notice,” Mr Kim apologised.

“Oh it’s no trouble. I was going to keep it open today any way. Some of the other children are also experiencing the same problem and I thought that it would be nice if they could spend some time with friends they know rather than relatives they rarely visit,” Mrs Lee reassured. Mr Kim gave a sheepish smile and nodded. He would have let his daughter stay with her cousins if they weren’t so straightforward with Taeyeon’s quietness. Both he and his wife didn’t want to bring their daughter home in tears like on many occasions before.

“Taeyeon, I’ve got some good news for you,” Mrs Lee smiled sweetly at the awkward little girl standing in front of the desk. “Sooyeon’s going to be coming later so you two can spend your Christmas together.”

Taeyeon’s expression brightened immediately at the mention of her best friend and felt the disappointment of not spending Christmas with her parents lessen slightly. Mrs Lee laughed softly at her change in emotion and proceeded to open the gate for the girl. Before Taeyeon walked through the gates, Mrs Kim hugged Taeyeon and apologised again before placing a sweet kiss onto her forehead. Taeyeon shyly wiped away the lip gloss on her forehead and gave an awkward smile before walking into the childcare. The couple laughed at their daughter’s awkward nature and felt even guiltier when they saw her trudging into the rooms behind the gates.

“She will have fun here once her friend arrives. Jiyeon is here as well so we’ll make sure that her Christmas is a joyous one,” Mrs Lee reassured the two adults staring mindlessly at their daughter. Mrs Kim gave a grateful smile before bowing in farewell. Mr Kim followed suit as the parents walked away from the childcare to work for their scrooge-like boss.

As Taeyeon walked into the Panda classroom, she noticed that two of the kids from the other class were already there as they were talking about the presents that were promised to them. Taeyeon bit her lower lip awkwardly and scanned the room for a familiar face. She spotted Jiyeon sitting on the bean bags with a few unfamiliar faces. Feeling as though she shouldn’t rudely interrupt, Taeyeon walked over to the building blocks and started building a world of her own by herself.

Mrs Lee walked in shortly afterwards and saw the lonely girl playing with the blocks and secretly wished that Sooyeon would arrive sooner to prevent her from being so lonely. Ever since Sooyoung had left at the beginning of the year, Taeyeon never really made any effort to make any new friends besides the ones she’s already made. Aside of Sooyeon, Taeyeon never really played with any of the other children and mostly kept to herself on the days which Sooyeon did not attend the childcare.

Feeling sorry for the girl, Mrs Lee walked over to the building blocks and sat down silently, watching interestingly at the creations of the quiet girl. Taeyeon acknowledged the elder woman’s presence but continued on like she wasn’t there, placing the blocks carefully to support its weight, piece by piece. Mrs Lee noted that Taeyeon had placed the larger blocks at the bottom and built her buildings with smaller tips than the base. It was common knowledge, but not many of the other children she had taken care of actually tried to use their knowledge and built according to what would look best.

Once Taeyeon had finished using the blocks, she sat down and stared at the buildings surrounding her and Mrs Lee. With a heavy sigh, she started taking the blocks down one by one again which confused the elder woman.

“Why are you taking it down?” Mrs Lee questioned curiously. Taeyeon looked at the triangle shaped block in her hand before glancing up at her childcare teacher. She then lifted both her hands up and twisted them in the ‘nothing’ gesture.

“No more blocks?”

Taeyeon shook her head. She placed the block down and thought for a moment. She then looked up at Mrs Lee and pointed to herself slowly and repeated the ‘nothing’ gesture. She then paused and looked at the blocks around her. Finding no other way to explain, she took down the tallest building and repositioned them on the carpet rug.

‘… to do.’

“Ahh. You have nothing to do?” Mrs Lee finally said. Taeyeon nodded slowly and broke up her words again to slowly pack them into the boxes. The woman started helping the young girl and was fascinated that Taeyeon had found such innovative ways to communicate with others, even if it took a couple of tries to get the message across.

“You’re an intelligent girl, Taeyeon. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise,” Mrs Lee chuckled. Taeyeon smiled softly and nodded. Her parents had reminded her often that she was a smart girl and that others only put her down because they feel threatened with her intelligence… at least that’s what they thought. Taeyeon knew why she was a target in society but she tried not to let it bother her. As long as they were not a part of her life then it would not be a concern to her. The people in her life accepted her as she is and that was all she really cared about.

“Oh, Taeyeon. I thought you were spending your day with your parents today,” said Jiyeon when she saw her packing the blocks. Taeyeon gave a weak smile and shook her head. The disappointment had returned and she was again reminded of her depressing holiday.

“Jiyeon, you have to learn how to control what you say around others,” Mrs Lee scolded. Jiyeon glanced down at Taeyeon and noticed her not so cheerful expression and realised that she should probably think before speaking next time. As Taeyeon continued to pack the blocks away, Jiyeon sat down next to Taeyeon and gave her a big hug.

“Merry Christmas, Taeyeon,” Jiyeon whispered into her ear. Taeyeon nodded in Jiyeon’s arms but continued to place the blocks back. Jiyeon then felt a tug at her shirt and turned towards her young nephew who was visiting the childcare along with her brother.

“Yes, Jaebom?” Jiyeon urged when she saw him standing awkwardly beside her. Taeyeon wriggled from under Jiyeon’s arms and glanced over at the foreign boy. The two made eye contact before the both of them turned away shyly.

“Dad told me to play with you, but you’re already playing with someone so don’t worry,” Jaebom rushed quickly before turning on his heels to run. Before he could even take a step, Taeyeon reached for his arm and pulled him back. Mrs Lee and Jiyeon stared at their hands with a surprised expression. It was rare for Taeyeon to reach out to anyone, especially a stranger. Jaebom turned back slowly and saw Taeyeon smiling back at him. She then pointed towards him and pulled him closer towards Jiyeon.

“I…” Jaebom trailed off when Taeyeon pulled away from Jiyeon’s arms and placed them around Jaebom himself. With a reassuring pat on his shoulder, Taeyeon waddled to put the box of blocks away back into the corner before walking over to the reading corner. Mrs Lee couldn’t help but laugh when she saw Jiyeon and Jaebom’s confused expressions.

“Taeyeon seems to think that Jaebom’s your son, Jiyeon-ah,” Mrs Lee whispered.

“What?! This little brat?” Jiyeon exclaimed, unwrapping her arms around her nephew. “He’s just like his father, always annoying me whenever they have the chance. I thought I managed to catch a break once he had a kid but now I have to deal with them both!”

“Auntie Ji isn’t all that fun either. All you do is yell at me and my dad,” Jaebom retorted. Jiyeon stuck her tongue out at her brother’s son and received an equally arrogant one in return.

“At least you get to spend your holiday with your family. I guess Taeyeon was just trying to make you guys a little happier by giving you two some quality family time,” Mrs Lee beamed before realising that it was time for the children’s snacks. Jiyeon scoffed and folded her arms, turning away from Jay who did the same.

“I’d rather be holding her in my arms than him,” Jiyeon huffed. “Taeyeon-ah! Come give Jiyeon – I mean Miss Park a hug!”

Taeyeon turned around at the mention of her name and saw Jiyeon running towards her dramatically with her arms open wide. Taeyeon quickly dropped her book, ‘The Ugly Duckling’, and ran to the other side of the room. The caretaker smiled evilly towards the little girl and started to literally stalk her way to the girl. Taeyeon ran to the side in an attempt to get even more distance between them but she found herself digging her own grave when Jiyeon started to trap her into the corner.

“Miss Park wants a hug!” Jiyeon yelled before sprinting with her arms wide open. Taeyeon swallowed down nervously and ducked in an attempt to avoid the caretaker. Just as Jiyeon was about to place her arms around Taeyeon, another girl stood in front of her with her arms crossed and a stern expression settled onto her lips. Jiyeon felt a cold chill run down her spine when the middle girl narrowed her eyes at her and quickly lowered her arms obediently.

Taeyeon peeked from her arms to see why she wasn’t completely mushed in Jiyeon’s arms and saw a familiar back standing in front of her. On cue, the girl turned around and grinned widely at Taeyeon.

“Ah, Sooyeon is here,” Mrs Lee greeted with a plate of cut up fruit for the children’s snacks. Sooyeon noticed the elder caretaker and waved at her before she went and stood beside Taeyeon to give the girl a quick peck on the cheek, followed by an affectionate hug. “Yes, Taeyeon is here too. Aren’t you just so lucky to be able to spend Christmas with your friend this year?”

Sooyeon continued to grin as she rustled Taeyeon’s hair playfully. Taeyeon returned the grin with her own shy smile and patted Sooyeon’s back, half returning the hug that never seemed to end. Seeing what the commotion was about, Jaebom shyly walked towards the corner where he spotted Taeyeon in the arms of another foreign girl. Sooyeon turned her attention away from the caretakers and spotted an odd boy standing a distance away, staring at them.

“Oh, right!” Jiyeon exclaimed when she saw Sooyeon staring with a frown at her nephew. She quickly fished around her pockets and pulled out a pen and piece of scrap paper before swiftly writing Jaebom’s name on it. She then passed it over to Sooyeon and gestured towards her nephew, officially introducing him to her. Taeyeon wriggled from Sooyeon’s arms and strained to see the paper, curious to know what was written.

“Jaebom, this is Jung Sooyeon, and the girl from before is Kim Taeyeon. They’re a little quiet so don’t expect them to give you any compliments,” Jiyeon warned, knocking him with her knuckles. Jaebom lifted his hands up to ease the slight numbing pain on his forehead and glared at his aunt. Taeyeon laughed quietly at the odd aunt and nephew pair. They reminded her of friends more than family and it was amusing to see Jiyeon being so hostile towards a youngster.

Jaebom heard the unfamiliar sound and turned to Taeyeon to see her covering with an amused expression. He felt his cheeks burn slightly and turned his head to the side to scratch his neck awkwardly. Sooyeon caught a glimpse of his action and turned around to see Taeyeon giggling to herself. An unamused pout settled on her lips when Jaebom sneaked a glance at Taeyeon again. She then grabbed onto Taeyeon’s hand and started pulling towards the door which would lead them to the playground outside. Taeyeon followed obediently and waved to both caretakers and Jaebom. When the two girls were gone, Jiyeon turned to her nephew and noticed his bright red ears and cheeks, sporting a delirious smile.

“What are you smiling about, Rudolph?” Jiyeon jutted as she poked her nephew.

“Huh? N-Nothing!” he quickly stammered before running off to the beanbags where his father was. Jiyeon crossed her arms and stared at her nephew suspiciously. Mrs Lee rolled her eyes at her employee and continued to hand out the healthy fruits for the few children that she was spending her Christmas with.

Christmas, the day where the family get together, give each other presents and give everyone their holiday greetings. Taeyeon wanted to experience that kind of Christmas that was promised for her so many years ago but something always happened. Three years ago, Taeyeon’s auntie from her father’s side had visited and scolded her for being a stubborn child, which resulted in her crying and her parents not talking to her since then. Two years ago, Taeyeon went to visit her uncle on her mother’s side. Her cousins kept trying to provoke her into saying something. Instead of crying, Taeyeon locked herself in the toilet until she heard her parents calling her to go home. The year before was a blur. She had fallen ill with a cold and could not remember much besides having her parents continuously looking after her until she got better.

She had hoped to finally experience a family Christmas and spent the last month anxiously waiting. Now she was sitting on top of the small slide, scolding herself for keeping her hopes up so high.

Sooyeon on the other hand did not care much for spending Christmas with her family. With the newest addition to the family, Soojung, she wasn’t really keen on watching a baby drink from a bottle all day. Her family didn’t really celebrate Christmas but used the chance to have fun on their own. This meant Sooyeon would be sent to a family relative, but this year all relatives declined which left Sooyeon with Mrs Lee. Not that she cared. She would have rather spent her Christmas with people she liked and understood her rather than sit alone in the corner whilst her relatives continue on babbling nonsense that she didn’t care about even if she could hear them.

Now that she was standing at the bottom of the slide staring up at her friend at the top of the slide, she couldn’t have been any happier. Taeyeon was the only person that really mattered to her and to spend the special day with her was the best Christmas present she could ask for.

Taeyeon glanced down at Sooyeon who was waving for her to come down. She gestured for Sooyeon to move out of the way before sliding down. Sooyeon didn’t give Taeyeon a chance to rest before she dragged her to the swing set to the left of the slide, failing to notice the blank expression that Taeyeon was wearing.

When she placed Taeyeon onto the swing, she was about to go to the back to push her but stopped short when Taeyeon bowed her head down low. Sooyeon unsurely walked to the front again and sat on the sand to get a better view of her friend. Taeyeon took deep breaths to calm down the bubbling feelings inside her but she could feel her control weakening with each breath she took. She turned her head up slightly and saw Sooyeon staring up at her with a concerned expression which caused the ugly feelings to only grow.

Sooyeon was ecstatic to be there with her and there she was, moping about the fact that she could not spend Christmas with her parents. Disappointed with herself, Taeyeon felt the first of her tears build up before slowly travelling down her cheeks. Sooyeon panicked at the sight of the tears and looked around frantically to find a solution. Finding nothing but plastic play equipment, Sooyeon went with the only thing that she had and stood up to give Taeyeon a tight hug.

Taeyeon felt Sooyeon patting her back unsurely and felt guilty for ruining her friend’s Christmas spirit. Not wanting to drop the atmosphere any more than she already did, she returned the hug and took deep breaths to calm her emotions again. Christmas was not so bad. She was spending it with Sooyeon and that should already be enough to forget the empty promise of a family Christmas.

With a brave smile, Taeyeon stood up from the chair and took Sooyeon’s hand. Sooyeon gave Taeyeon a wary look but Taeyeon shook her head reassuringly. Still not convinced, Sooyeon frowned and led them back into the room. Once inside the warm walls of the classroom the two girls noticed another stranger in the building. Talking to Jiyeon and Mrs Lee was a tall person in a Santa costume. The stranger obviously did not put any effort into looking l