Woohyun waved his hand in front of her sister’s face for the nth time now. Still, she gave him no response. She had been like this yesterday and he was now bothered by it. What happened that caused her sister to be like this?

He flicked her sister’s head, hoping the pain would cause her to flinch.

“Oppa!” Jae Hee shouted.

Woohyun let out a relieved sigh. “Thank God. I thought my sister’s soul already flew away. You’ve been staring into space since yesterday, it’s scaring me.”

“I am?”

She was thinking about Jongup. Would she talk to him? But he was a superstar, surely she couldn’t do that. But she already did so before. But that was before she knew who he really was. Her head was spinning from all the ‘buts’ she had in mind.

“What happened yesterday?” Woohyun poured her sister a glass of water.

“Nothing.”

“Nothing my .” Woohyun scoffed at his sister’s lie. “You were acting like a zombie, and you tell me that nothing happened?”

 Jae Hee sighed. “I don’t want to talk about it, oppa.” She drank the water and stood up.

Woohyun pulled her back into sitting position. “It’ll be Christmas eve in a few hours. Stop sulking.”

“Okay. I’ll go to the kitchen and help omma, oppa.”

Woohyun looked at her sister’s leaving figure. He wondered what happened that made her like this. Could be that friend of hers? Could it be that he really was her boyfriend and they broke up? He ruled out that possibility. Jae would’ve told me if she liked someone, he thought.

He leaned his cheek on his hand, pouring himself water. His sister was making him tired from worrying.

-----------------

“Merry Christmas!”

Jae Hee and Woohyun popped the party poppers and jumped around.

Jae Hee sat down between her parents and kissed them on the cheeks. “Merry Christmas, Omma, Appa.” She held a red box tied with a green ribbon in front of them. “Open my present.”

Mr. and Mrs. Nam laughed, untying the ribbon on Jae Hee’s gift. They held out two pairs of matching blue knitted gloves.

“Ta-da! It’s handmade, Omma, Appa. From your beautiful daughter, with love.” Jae Hee grinned.

Woohyun knocked her head.  “Could it be that you made me a white scarf too?” He innocently batted his eyelashes.

She turned to her brother who was sitting beside her, eyes wide in disbelief. “How did you know?”

“I saw it in your room when I went to get a book.”

Jae Hee gritted her teeth. She wanted to punch her brother but thought better. She was going to let it go because it’s Christmas. She dropped her head. Does her brother even know the word privacy?

Woohyun held out her hand to his sister, asking for his present.

She slapped the box in her brother’s hand. “What did you get me?”

“What made you think that I would get you something?” Woohyun raised his eyebrows.

Jae Hee closed her eyes, and inhaled. At the count of three, she opened her eyes and smiled at their parents. “Should we eat the cake now, Omma, Appa?”

Their parents laughed. “Okay. Let’s do that.” Mrs. Nam went the kitchen to get the cake.

Woohyun raised a paper bag in front of her sister. “Of course, how could I forget you?”

Jae Hee narrowed her eyes at her brother, snatching the paper bag. She carefully opened the bag and lifted a new backpack with flower designs.

“Awwwwww. Thank you, oppa.”

Woohyun knocked his head on his sister’s and smiled. “You’re welcome.”

“Aigoo. My children are so sweet.” Mr. Nam smiled at his children. He nodded at the Christmas tree. “You’re presents from me and your mother is underneath the tree.”

Jae Hee and Woohyun went to grab their presents the same time Mrs. Nam came back from the kitchen bringing the cake and utensils.

Woohyun ripped the wrapper of his gift immediately.

“Oppa! You can recycle that wrapper. Why rip it?”

Woohyun just shrugged. “I’m excited?”

Jae Hee clicked her tongue. She opened her gift carefully and hugged it. It was a complete set of Harry Potter books. The one she had been saving for.

“Thank you, Omma, Appa.” She ran and hugged her parents.

Mrs. Nam ruffled her daughter’s hair, laughing. “Should we eat now?”