I stared down at my steaming coffee cup, drowning in my singletonness. There were only two days in the year I felt so lonely-Valentine’s Day, and Christmas.

Valentine’s Day wasn’t so bad, because then all my single girlfriends demanded a girl’s night out. I always drank myself full with their stories and laughter. But for Christmas, everyone had their own families. They had all gone back home. There was still stories and laughter, but not for me to listen to.

Home was too far away and too expensive. So I went to the place closest to it-the coffee shop next to my house. At least it wasn’t empty and stark as my apartment.

Still, the warm bustling atmosphere made me feel even more isolated.

“Excuse me?” I looked up to see man with chocolate hair with a caramel sheen. “Would you mind if I sat next to you?” He gestured around the full café with an apologetic smile. “Unless someone is sitting there...”

“O-oh no, no one’s sitting there. You can sit down.” I quickly moved my bag so that he could sit down.

“Thanks.” He sat down, and put on the purple headphones that had been hanging around his neck.

I blinked when I saw they were Dr. Dre Beats. Dang, that guy must either be loaded or really serious about listening to his music.

I sipped another sip of my coffee and forced myself back go back to work. Sure, I guess my paper could wait until after break, but it served as an adequate distraction.

About half an hour, a banging on the table woke me up from my trance. I looked up to see the guy across from me drumming on the table with two pencils.

He made eye contact with me and took off his headphones. “Sorry, I forgot you were there.”

“What are you doing?” I looked over at his notebook and smart phone. He seemed to be using some intricate app that had many buttons and controls, with a screen that displayed a wave.

“I’m composing.”

“Really? What songs have you composed?”

He gave a bashful grin. “Oh, nothing that has been fully recorded and published yet. But that’s definitely my dream. One of my seniors got to perform one of his composed songs, which he produced with some of his friends. I want to be like him.”

“That’s cool. So do you work as a composer or…?”

“I’m actually a singer and a dancer. Basically a performer.”

“Wow. I thought you guys had crazy hours and you don’t get off for holidays.”

He shrugged. “We finished recording all the performances, so we have off.”

“Then why are you here and not with your family?”

His eyes gained a mournful look. “The time we get off is too short to visit my family. All the flights were also taken when we learned we had a break.”

“I’m sorry.” I immediately regretted saying the hollow words when they left my mouth.

He smiled as if my words weren’t pathetic. At that moment, his smartphone started vibrating. He glanced at it and stood up. “Well, I have to go. Nice meeting you…”

“Anmei.”

“Nice meeting you Anmei. Maybe I’ll see you around.”

“Yeah. Merry Christmas!”

“Merry Christmas.”

And with that, he disappeared into the crowd of people.

I smiled and went back to my paper.

Soon, the bell that signaled the opening and closing of the café rung. I closed my laptop and slipped into its case. I put the case into my bag and stood up. As I put on my jacket, my eyes looked at the chair across.

A blue jacket was draped over the back, as if it was to signal the presence of a ghost.

I went to the cashier. “Excuse me, but do you guys have a lost and found?”

“No, I don't think we do.” The girl looked at me curiously as she wiped down the counter. “What did you find?”

“Someone left behind their blue sweatshirt.”

“Why don't you keep it? You're one of our regulars, right? They'll probably come back around the same time you come.”

“Oh. Okay.” I folded the sweatshirt, and walked home holding it defensively in my arms.

 

I went to the cafe every day after that, to see if I could find the guy, but he never showed up. Instead, the sweatshirt began to be my companion.

The sweatshirt was something that began to entrance me. Both the inside and the outside was soft, giving me a feeling of something that never changed. It also had a smell that I loved from guys. Was it their cologne? No matter, it was heavenly.

Maybe I should have hugged more guys.

Three days after Christmas, I walked in yawning.

“Long day?”

“Well... The heater in my apartment broke, so I spent the whole night trying not to freeze.”

“You can sleep here if you want. I'll make sure no one disturbs you.”

“Thanks.”

I settled into my seat, and laid the blue jacket carefully underneath me. I put my head down and closed my eyes.

Anmei.

I turned to see the guy with the purple headphones stand in front of me.

“You came back?”

“Only for you, I did.”

“AHHHH!”

I jerked my head up once I heard the shrieking. I blinked away sleepiness as fast I could and tried to pinpoint the sound. Immediately I saw a bunch of girls standing front of the TV.

“Welcome EXO, to our studio!” Another round of shrieking came.

“Welcome! How were your holidays?”

A bunch of good looking men said their responses. I sighed and laid my head back down again.

“Lay, I saw that you had a new hoodie. For the viewers who don't know, it's black with a gray knit pattern on the hood and in the front. Did your taste in clothing become more sophisticated? If I remember correctly, your old hoodie was a solid blue.”

“Actually, I...I lost it.”

My head shot up again at the familiar voice. My eyes met the familiar face on the TV screen.

The guys around him snickered. The host chuckled too. “Have you gone looking for it?”

“Well with our activities the past few days, I haven't had time. But I'm sure it's in good hands and I will find it once I have the time again.”

The interviewer went on to the other people, but the guy's request kept ring in my mind.

I took the sweatshirt in my hands and examined it. Suddenly, I noticed a tag on the side of the jacket inside.

“Hi! If you found this sweatshirt, please call this number. Thanks!”

 

When I went home, I took the phone and dialed. I started playing with the cord nervously.

“The number you are trying to reach is not available right now. Please leave a message after the beep.”

“Um hi...Lay? I think that's your name. Anyway, I saw you on TV today and heard you lost your sweatshirt. Well, I have it. I'm Anmei, the girl you met at the cafe? Yeah. So um, I'm at the cafe every night. I guess...well I hope to see you again. And that you get your sweatshirt back. Bye.”

I hung up the phone and hugged the jacket in my hands. As I stared outside window, I wonder if hugging Lay would be like hugging the jacket.

“Stupid!” I told myself aloud before turning away. “He's a singer. You would never get the chance.”

Well, I could hug his sweatshirt as much as I wanted to while I still had it.

“Two hours until it's New Years!” The announcer on the TV said with a smile.

I quickly shut it off. Three days of waiting at the cafe had revealed nothing. I was pretty much resigned that Lay was never claiming his sweatshirt back.

I sighed and put my head down on the sweatshirt as I huddled on the couch.

KUNK KUNK

I blinked my eyes open. Wha-?

KUNK KUNK

“Coming!” I croaked out, then cleared my throat as I quickly got up from the couch to answer the knocking.

I opened the door and blinked.

In front of me, a man with sunglasses and a baseball cap.

“Hello Anmei.”

I blinked again.

“Sorry.” He took off his sunglasses and baseball cap and I came face to face with the guy of the purple headphones.

 “O-oh, hello. You want to come in? I'll get your sweatshirt.” I left the door open and went to my room to get it.

When I went back, he was sitting on my couch. “Here you go.”

He stood up again and made no movement to take it back. “How was your Christmas?”

I shrugged. “So-so.”

“No presents?”

“Nah. I was alone anyway. How about you?”

He shrugged. “I had my friends, but...” he pursed his lips.

“It’s not like home?”

“Exactly.”

“Well… I must be taking up your time! Here, your sweatshirt.” I the article of clothing in his hands. For some reason, he was making me nervous.

“Anmei.”

“What?” I looked up at him.

“It’s New Year’s Eve.”

“Right, exactly why you should go. You probably have to be somewhere, and we’re strangers.”

“Strangers?”

“Yes, strangers. I don’t even know your name!”

“My name is Yixing, Anmei. Lay on TV. I am the guy with the purple headphones who composes and sometimes taps on the table while listening to music. I’m also the guy who forgets his sweatshirt.” I grinned, and he continued. “You are the girl Anmei who is curious about strangers enough to learn everything about them but never say anything about yourself besides your name. You pick up random strangers’ sweatshirts and call them a week later to return it-“

“Hey! You’re making me sound like a thief!”

“And you’re the girl who celebrated Christmas alone. Which no one should have to go through.” He stepped forward.

I took a deep breath in. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the time on my digital clock turn from 11:59 to 12:00.

At that moment, I saw Yixing’s face coming closer and I closed my eyes.

His kiss spoke home as much as his sweatshirt. For that moment, I felt like I belonged. That there was someone else for me, and I wasn’t alone.

But this time, there was really someone else.

When he drew back, he rested his forehead against mine.

“Merry Christmas, Anmei, and Happy New Year.”