Choi Aeri happily skipped down the polished, wooden stairs of her two story house which she shared with her boyfriend while carrying a box of decorative ornaments and humming to the tune of the Christmas classic Jingle Bells. She strode to her living room and set the rather large box on the short, glass coffee table. Smiling, she looked up at the Christmas tree set up in the corner of the room by her boyfriend, Park Chanyeol, and let out a sigh of relief. After four games of tic-tac-toe and one round of paper-rock-scissors, the persistent, six foot man-child that was Park Chanyeol had agreed to put the tree up this year. 

Aeri took the lid off of the box of decorations and, one by one, hung them up delicately. It took her an hour to put up every ornament she had, put up the lights on the tree, and decorate it with silver tinsel. Out of the three years that she has been with her boyfriend, this was the first year she had to do it alone. With a huff, she plopped down on the creme-colored leather couch and closed her eyes. No more than 30 seconds later did she feel the couch sink beside her.

Her eyes fluttered open and she saw her boyfriend sitting next to her playing with his new iPhone the company had given him. "Hey." She quietly said. He gave her a small nod without looking up. "What are you doing?" She asked and pulled her knees to her chest. "Candy Crush. Texting Baekhyun." He quickly responded and looked up at the now decorated Christmas tree. "Looks nice." He quickly said and turned all attention back to his phone. She sighed and muttered a small "thanks" before leaving to the kitchen. 

Chanyeol walked in while she was searching through the refrigerator. He grabbed a small red apple and sat on the tan wooden counter. "So what do you want for lunch?" He asked as he bit into the apple with a lound crunch. "I don't really care." She muttered while pulling out a small orange juice box. She shuffled next to Chanyeol and hopped onto the counter next to him. "Well, neither do I. What do you want? Chinese? American? Mexican?" He questioned. "Like I said, I don't care." She said and took a sip of her juice. A long sigh was heard and Chanyeol jumped off the counter. "When you decide, let me know." He said as he left the room. 

Aeri sighed and looked down, her long, brown hair hanging over each of her shoulders. Tears grew in her eyes and she looked up at the door. Part of her wished that Chanyeol would come back and apologize for his attitude, but that wasn't something Chanyeol would do. Not anymore, at least...

She sniffed, hopped off the counter, and threw away her juice box. She quickly wiped her tears away and left the room as well.

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Chanyeol and Aeri sat in silence as they ate their lunch, Chanyeol playing on his phone as Aeri sat and watched. Aeri looked down at her pasta and sighed. Twirling the long noodles around her fork, she decided to spark up a conversation. "So, I was going to go Christmas shopping tomorrow. Do you want to come with?" She asked with her chin on her palm. Chanyeol looked up at her. "What time?" He asked with a mouthful of food. That sort of thing would usually make Aeri laugh, but she found no amusement in it. "Around noon to three." She answered.  

"Sorry, I can't. Sehun and Kyungsoo invited me to go bowling." He said. Aeri rolled her eyes and dropped her food on her plate with a loud clang. "Of course. God forbid we ever spend any time together." She quickly picked up her plate and put it in the sink. "What's that supposed to mean?" He asked and stood up. "Nothing." She said. She quickly turned around to be greeted by Chanyeol's chest. "What are you talking about?" he asked, "We spend plenty of time together." "Are you blind? I barely see you anymore!" Aeri shouted. Tears gathered in her eyes. "Are you crying?" He asked. "N-no." She whispered as tears silently fell down her cheeks. 

"Look, I'm sorry that I can't go shopping with you tomorrow-" He started. "I-It's not just that!" She sobbed. "Well then what is it?!" He shouted and grabbed her shoulders. A loud gasp escaped and she shoved Chanyeol with all the force she had. His eyes went wide as he stumbled back, trying to catch his balance. He quickly went down, falling on his back and hitting his head on the cold floor. , Chanyeol grabbed his head and curled into a ball. 

"Ch-Chanyeol!" She yelled and knelt beside him. She pulled his head onto her lap and pressed her forehead against his. "I'm sorry...I'm so sorry Chanyeol. Please tell me you're alright. Please." She cried. "I-I'm fine." He muttered and sat up. With a shaky hand, he rubbed the back of his head with a pained expression on his face. Aeri looked at him and panicked. "I-I'm sorry." She muttered as she stood up slowly. "I'm sorry." She whispered and ran out of the room, leaving Chanyeol dumbfounded and in pain on the kitchen floor.

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Days had passed before Aeri had talked to Chanyeol, but he didn't seem to mind. Things seemed to go back to normal, Chanyeol only paid attention to his phone and Aeri sat back and watched. 

It was only a week before Christmas and there were about 3 presents under the tree so far. Aeri was sitting on the couch, drinking hot chocolate and Chanyeol was messing around in the kitchen. Aeri was quietly watching the cute clay Christmas movies that they showed every year around this time. It wasn't until she heard a loud bang come from the kitchen that she decided to check it out. With a sigh, she placed her hot chocolate on the coffee table and walked into the kitchen. She gasped at what appeared in front of her.

"Um...hi." Said Chanyeol, cheekily. Not only was he covered with flour, but ingredients of all sorts were spilled all over the counter, something was obviously burning based on the smell and the dark smoke emitting from the oven, and a chocolate mix was splattered across the floor. "W-What happened?!" Aeri dared to ask. "Um...C-Christmas cake?" He answered hesitantly. "Oh for heaven's sake." She muttered and began to clean the ingredients off of the counter. "Here, let me help." He said. "No, it's fine, just let me do it." She answered. "No, I caused this mess, I should clean it." "Just let me do it." "Aeri! Let me help!" "Chanyeol, I'm fine!" Aeri said sternly and opened the oven to get the burnt cookies that Chanyeol had attempted to bake.

"Aeri just let me help you!" He demanded, accidentally bumping her hand before she could put on an oven mitt. "AH!" She screamed as her bare hand touched the burning metal shelf in the oven. She quickly yanked her hand away and held it close to her chest. "Ow! Ow! Ow!" She repeated. "Are you alright?! I'm so sorry! Aeri! I didn't mean to! I'm sorry!" Chanyeol said, panicking. Chanyeol delicately grabbed her hand and looked at it. It was already a medium-red and started to swell. "Let go!" She shouted and pulled her hand away. "Aeri, I'm so sorry, I-" Chanyeol tried. "Just shut up!" She shouted. Everything went silent. Aeri had never said those words to Chanyeol. "I hate you! I hate you! I hate you Park Chanyeol!" She screamed and stormed out of the room. 

Tears gathered in Chanyeol's eyes as he repeated the words in his head. "W-what happened?" He whispered to himself. "You don't hate me Choi Aeri...you never did and never will...I'll show you the Park Chanyeol you know and love. If you can hold on for a little longer, then it will be you and me against the world."

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It was the morning of Christmas Eve and Chanyeol had spent it preparing for the surprise he had planned for Aeri. He made sure that his group of friends, Exo, had helped him gather all of the decorations and supplies needed for his surprise. They all met at his house for their assignments.

"Kyungsoo! I need a cake and a gourmet meal by tonight! Can you do it?" Chanyeol asked. "Of course, but Xiumin is helping me." Kyungsoo said and grabbed Xiumin's arm, dragging him into the kitchen. "Luhan, I need you to distract Aeri until seven o' clock tonight. Here's my card, take her anywhere and everywhere she wants to go. My treat." Chanyeol said and gave Luhan his card. Luhan quickly accepted it with a mischievous grin and left to Aeri's work. "Sehun, Lay, Kai, I need balloons, Christmas lights, and anything else holiday seasoned you can find." He said. "And who's paying for this?" Kai asked with a brow raised. "You are." Chanyeol said with a sarcastic smile. The trio rolled their eyes and left. "Kris, Suho, I need you two to find me anyone who can play a violin and harp." He demanded. "Why violin and harp?" Kris asked. "Girls love violins and harps." Suho said as he dragged Kris out the door.

"Baekhyun, Chen, I need you guys to be singers. Go get dressed in something nice and be back by six thirty." He demanded. "Yes boss!" They both said in unison and ran off. "Oh! What can I do?" Tao asked and jumped up and down. "You," Chanyeol said and put an arm around Tao, "can help me pick something to wear." Tao gasped happily and clapped. "Let's go." Chanyeol smiled and led Tao to his room.

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"Luhan, why are you covering my eyes? It's my house!" Aeri said as she and Luhan walked through the door. "Just be patient!" Luhan warned. Aeri sighed. Why had Luhan forced her to stay away from her house all day long? He had basically pampered her, so she wasn't complaining, but everything seemed suspicious. Luhan finally uncovered her eyes as they reached the living room. She gasped at what she saw. 

Chanyeol was holding a bouquet of roses, and standing in front of a small round table filled with gourmet foods of all sorts. The walls were lined with warm lights, giving off a warm color. There was a person standing in the corner playing a violin to the tune of "What is Love" by Exo as Baekhyun and Chen sang. There were at least 15 presents under the Christmas tree and the rest of Exo was standing beside it, wearing cute Christmas hats. 

"You look beautiful." Chanyeol said with a smile. "W-What's this?" Aeri asked as tears grew in her eyes. "Don't cry! I didn't mean to make you cry!" He said, panicked. "I'm not crying because I'm sad!" Aeri said as tears fell down her cheeks, "I-I'm crying because...this is all so...amazing." "You really like it?" He asked. "Of course I do! W-Why though? Why did you do all of this?" She asked. "I...I wanted to save our relationship." He admitted. "We've been falling off and every day seems like a struggle but I never stopped loving you. I just hope...you never stopped loving me." 

Aeri quickly shook her head. "No! I never did! I always loved you and I always will! I-I promise!" She managed to say before bursting into tears. "Good, because I have a question for you." He said with a smile as he reached into his back pocket. "W-What is it?" She asked. Chanyeol quickly knelt down on one knee and held out a small red velvet box. 

"Will you marry me?"