Waking up is never easy for someone who hates their school. Sungjong gave a groan as his alarm clock went off, signaling the beginning of the day, a day sure to be sure of torture from his classmates as per always. Rolling out of bed with a sigh, his eyes fell on the calendar on the wall opposite the bed, and a small smile crossed his face. Today was to be the last day of school until after Christmas and into the New Year, and he was greatly looking forward to it. Not only did he love the holiday, but two weeks out of the city and away from the daily torture he received at the hands of the boys in his class? Yes. Big, huge, definite yes.

All he had to do was get through this day ahead of him.

He showered and dressed quickly in jeans and a sweater, grabbed his backpack from beside the desk and hurried downstairs. The house was empty but he knew that his parents were both working hard; this was their last day of work for the next two weeks, as well, and so had a long, hard day ahead of them. He popped frozen waffles into the toaster for a quick breakfast, and then was out the door with the warm pastries clutched in hand, headed for the bus stop.

How he wished that this were the year he could get a car! He was so sick of having to ride the bus, of having to put up with people throwing spit-wads and ugly words at him, throwing kicks and making him drop things when they thought the driver wasn’t paying attention. If only his parents could get him a car! His problems wouldn’t be solved, but they’d be a lot easier to manage! Unfortunately, it wasn’t happening anytime soon.

He endured the hell ride to school, doing his best to ignore the cruel words and lewd looks sent his way, but inevitably some slipped through his stone wall. They picked on him because he ‘looked like a girl’, but how was he supposed to help his appearance? Stupid kids anyway. He hated them, hated his school, hated his stupid appearance! If only he looked more like Woohyun or Hoya… they were both so masculine looking though Sungjong was pretty sure they had to be gay, just like him. But just because they were ‘tough guys’, they could avoid telling anyone the truth and jut pick on him for their own insecurities.

The day as he knew it would, dragging on and on; at one point, Sunggyu ‘accidentally’ broke his ink pen; it was positioned just perfectly so that at the break, the ink sprayed all over the other boy’s clothing and face. Sungjong had been excused to go to the bathroom to clean himself up, but as his hand lingered over the door into the men’s room, he heard the quiet sound of a laugh from inside. He froze, then realized it was just a trap for him to get beat up by the hamster faced guy’s gangs of bullies. A quick decision, and then he was in the ladies room instead, cleaning up quickly while the other students were all (supposed to be) in class. When he returned to his classroom, cleaned as best he could and without bruises, Sunggyu had looked furious, but Sungjong was just glad he’d avoided having a beating for Christmas.

School let out and he ran to the buses, beating anyone who might try to catch and delay him. Luckily most juniors like him were picked up after school on this last day, and so only he and a handful of other students rode the bus home. They left him in relative silence and he couldn’t have been more relieved.

He finished packing as soon as he got home, and when his parents returned late that afternoon, the little family packed up the car and drove into the mountains for a snowy Christmas getaway

---

The drive into the countryside was beautiful, his iPad forgotten beside him on the seat as the little family drove through the tall trees and snowy fields. He always felt at peace in the mountains, away from his hell-hole of a school; he remembered begging his parents to move the family to their mountain cabin years ago, when the bullying really started to get out of hand. They refused, though, saying that the commute to work would be too long, and offered to transfer him to another school. He knew, though, that it would be the same anywhere he went; it was his looks that the kids made fun of, and those weren't changing anytime soon.

Shaking the dark thoughts out of his mind, he reminded himself to just enjoy the holiday break. Two weeks without having to see them, without having to see anyone! A smile came to his face as he thought of the glory of solitude, and he soon fell asleep listening to his parents soft chatter in the front of the car.

When he awoke, they had reached their destination; a small community of mountain cabins, all clustered around a little lake. In the darkness of night he could make out other vehicles already parked in front of other cabins, and he smiled when he noted that the Kim's vehicle was already here. They were an older couple, older enough to be his grandparents, but Mrs. Kim made amazing cookies and her husband always had interesting stories to tell. They were from Seoul as well but came to their cabin for Christmas every year, and when the little community gathered for the holiday dinner, it always felt like they were just one big family. Of course, being the only person in the community under the age of thirty-five had its downfalls, but the biggest perk was that he was left mainly to his own devices.

"Come on, Sungjong," his mother said, pushing open her door and stepping out into the snow, her purse in hand. He quickly gathered his things and stuffed them into his own bag before following suit, and after grabbing his suitcase, he followed both parents up the steps and into their cabin. It was cold still, but his father immediately set to work making a fire to cozy it up. Sungjong's eyes adjusted to the brightness of the newly lights, and he couldn't help the smile that overtook his face as he surveyed their little cabin.

It was just a vacation home, so nothing too big, but the one floor cabin was decorated with earthy browns and animal statuettes, reminding him of the actual wildlife that he would typically see during the summers spent here. The entryway led off into a small family room, the fireplace at one side with a big brown wrap-around couch along the wall. The kitchen was just off to the right of the family room, a breakfast bar separating the two rooms; a small table sat in the middle of the kitchen, just big enough for his family to sit down for meals together. Beyond the living room were three doors; the one to the left being his parent's bedroom, the larger of the two, and the one on the right being his. The middle door was the bathroom and that was where he headed immediately, the long drive having taken a toll.

He settled into his small bedroom that night, the house still a bit chilly but the piles of blankets making his bed more than warm enough, and he fell to sleep with thoughts of Christmas cookies spinning through his mind.

---

Sungjong woke to a warm house, his legs sticking out of the covers and hanging off of the bed as he slept. He could smell what he was pretty sure was bacon in the air, and after untangling himself from his blankets, stumbled into the bathroom to clean up for breakfast. A quick shower later, dressed in a warm sweater and jeans, he headed out into the kitchen to find his parents sitting at the table, chatting with one of their neighbors. Sungjong immediately recognized Mr. Kim, his pleasant face scrunching into a smile when he saw the teen, and Sungjong stepped close to give him a hug.

"Hi there!" the older man chirped, returning the gesture tightly before releasing the teen to hold at arms length. "Goodness, you just get taller and taller, don't you?" he smiled, then turned back to the Lee's. "Remember, one o'clock!"

"Yes, we'll be there," Mrs. Lee agreed, nodding her head at the older man. He gave a grunt of satisfaction and turned to leave, squeezing Sungjong's shoulder as he went.

"I'll let you folks get back to your breakfast," he laughed as he stepped out the front door. As soon as it closed behind him, Sungjong turned to his parents with a curious stare. His father shrugged, lifting his fork full of scrambled eggs to fill his mouth, but his mother let out a quiet laugh.

"Oh, the Kim's have invited us over for lunch today," she handed Sungjong a plate that she pulled from the warm oven, it's contents still nice and hot thanks to her placing it inside of there. He gratefully took it and sat down to dig in, and as he was chewing his first bite of toast, she added, "He wants to introduce their grandson."

Oh hell. Sungjong stopped chewing, freezing as he thought immediately of the fact that his solitude from the monstrous teens at school was about to come to an end. He just knew that despite the Kim's being such nice people, there was not way their grandson wasn't going to pick on him. Especially when he found out that Sungjong was gay.

His appetite lost, he pushed the plate away and made to stand. His father caught his hand, though, and looked pointedly at the food. "Your mother made that specifically for you," he reminded, quietly, and after a moment the teen sat and picked up his fork to continue eating. The food tasted like cardboard now, his stomach twisting into knots as he dreaded the upcoming meeting at the Kim's. A glance at the clock showed it to be almost ten, and that meant only three hours before hell began.

Unfortunately those three hours passed quickly, and so at almost one, Sungjong found himself standing behind his parents, holding a pie tin as his mother knocked on the door. All he really wanted to do was turn and run, go have fun in the snow in the woods, off in his special places that he'd claimed over the years, but before he could make good on his urges, the door opened.

"Come in, come in!" Mrs. Kim called happily, her face split into a wide smile as she hugged them and dropped kisses to their cheeks. Sungjong smiled in return but felt like he was about to be sick, and when she took the pie from him to place it on the counter, he had to fight down the urge to bolt back out the door. 

"Come, sit," she said, bustling them into their cabin, identical in structure to the Lee's but vastly different in decor. The festive wreaths and ornaments hung everywhere almost muted the brick color of the walls, but the sunshine yellow couch and loveseat couldn't be hidden no matter how one tried. Mr. Kim was sitting in his recliner, and he called a greeting as his wife ushered them in, motioning for them to take seats. Sungjong perched on the couch next to his parents, feeling awkward for the first time ever around the kind elderly couple.

"I am so glad you came!" Mrs. Kim said, carrying in a tray of sandwiches which Sungjong immediately stood to help her with. She refused, though, and motioned for the kitchen; "There's some bowls of soup on the counter, Sungjong, would you mind grabbing them?"

He did as she asked, balancing the six bowls on a tray as he stepped back into the room. He nearly dropped it, though, when his eyes landed on the boy who stood in the doorway to the bedrooms. His dark hair was messy and his clothing nothing special, but he was gorgeous. Sungjong had never seen anyone like him; he looked like he belonged in a magazine, the way he stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame casually as his eyes swept over the occupants of the room. Then his dark eyes met Sungjong's, and the other boy's lips twitched into a slight semblance of a smile that made Sungjong's heart do flops in his chest.

"Hi," he said softly, and the other boy nodded in greeting before crossing the room to take the tray from Sungjong. He stood a good few inches taller than Sungjong, his shoulders wider, his face exquisite up close.

"You're a guest," he admonished, his voice soft and light and oh so quiet, and Sungjong stood stupefied as the taller boy took the tray and carried it the rest of the way into the room. Mr. Kim immediately started making introductions, and as Sungjong remembered how to walk and moved in to take his seat once again, the elderly man motioned to him.

"Sungjong, this is our grandson, Myungsoo."

The meal passed quickly, the adults talking about work and business and politics, things that Sungjong normally would have tried to take interest in, but today it wasn't going to happen. He felt so self-conscious of every little movement, knowing that the other teen was probably paying close attention and making his judgments as he did so. His hands shook as he lifted the spoon to his lips and he mentally smacked himself for being so nervous; it wasn't like Myungsoo was going to be any different than the kids at his school. 

His stomach clenched in knots as he sat there, and he barely choked down the food in front of him. None of the adults seemed to notice his apprehension, luckily, and he was too worried to look at Myungsoo to see if he had. When he finished up his soup and sandwich, he stood and gathered the empty bowls and plates on the small coffee table, earning a smile from Mrs. Kim as he did so.

"Oh, Sungjong, you're such a sweet boy!" she exclaimed, and he flushed when he statement brought the other teen's gaze to his face. He nodded to her but didn't say a word, and carried the dirtied dishes into the kitchen. He relaxed at the kitchen table while he started to run the dishwater, but then the same soft voice from earlier startled him and shoved his heart back into his throat.

"Yah, you shouldn't be doing that!" Myungsoo stood in the doorway, his bowl and plate in his hands and his eyes on the sink filling with water. "You're a guest, I can wash these!"

"I don't mind, I usually do this," Sungjong replied, surprised that he didn't choke over his own words, but Myungsoo shook his head and pursed his lips as he studied the slender teen.

"I can see why my grandparents speak so highly of you," he finally said, a tinge of amusement in his voice, and he stepped closer to place his own dishes in the sink. "Okay, you can wash. I'll rinse, though."

They didn't speak much as they finished cleaning the utensils, but Sungjong could feel himself beginning to finally relax. The other teen wasn't that talkative, and certainly wasn't what he would call friendly, but he didn't seem to hold any of the animosity or mean-spiritedness that Sungjong was used to from people his age. When they finished up and made their way back into the family room, they found that the Lee's were getting ready to leave and head back to their own cabin. Sungjong grabbed his own coat from the peg by the door, hugged Mrs. Kim and thanked them for the wonderful meal, and moved to head out.

"Sungjong!" The call startled him, and he turned back to meet Myungsoo's dark eyes on him. "Do you play board games?" the tall boy asked, almost shyly, and the smile that split over Sungjong's face was immediate.

"Yes, I do," he said, and Myungsoo's face lit up in return.

"Would you like to stay and play... um... I don't know, something?" The tall boy gestured to the shelf along the wall, stacked with games that Sungjong had played for years against the elderly couple, and he couldn't help the laugh that bubbled from him.

"Sure... but I warn you, you're gonna lose."

---

The next two weeks seemed to fly by, almost every waking moment spent with the tall teen. Sungjong found that he was a senior in high school, his parents were recently divorced and so he had moved in with his grandparents, and he was obsessed with photography. Myungsoo had an almost shy quality about him; while he seemed confident in everything he did, he was mild mannered and easily embarrassed, especially when Sungjong made a comment about how he ought to be a model or something. He'd hoisted his camera and said he preferred to be behind it, and then promptly snatched a few pictures of Sungjong before the other teen could protest.

They were comfortable around one another, their budding friendship easy, and when it came time to leave, Sungjong wished that they could pause time forever. The two teens snuck out that night, the mountain air cold as their breath frosted in front of them, but Sungjong led the taller boy to his favorite spot there at the mountain get-away. A large flat rock outcropping that overlooked a drop off, the stars seeming brighter than anywhere else in the world. Sungjong used a small whisk broom to brush some snow away, then layered a thick blanket down for them to sit on. They made themselves comfortable, a second blanket wrapped around their shoulders; Myungsoo poured hot chocolate from the thermos he'd carried into a pair of cups and handed one to Sungjong, their gloved fingers brushing.

"I don't want to go home," Sungjong said after a moment of silence, and the other teen turned to him with a questioning look in his eyes. He let out a sigh and dropped his gaze to the steaming cup in his hands, and continued. "School... it's hell. I hate it. No one is nice to me, they insist on making my life a living hell because... well..." he paused, unsure of how to say it without making Myungsoo run screaming, but to his surprise the other nodded and turned back to look at the starry sky.

"Because you're gay." he finished out softly, and Sungjong's heart caught in his throat. It wasn't a question, it was a statement of something that Myungsoo had already guessed, and he was suddenly afraid of whatever the attractive young man next to him was going to say about that. To his surprise, though, a long while passed where he didn't say anything, and then he let out a sigh and took another sip of his hot chocolate before continuing. "They treated me like crap at my old school, too. I mean, at first everyone was like, in love with me or something, but then when I came out to them, I was shunned. So yeah, I understand."

Wait. Myungsoo was gay?? Sungjong turned to stare at him, his eyes wide as he tried to form the questions that he so desperately wanted to ask, but to his surprise Myungsoo laughed at him.

"Yah, your face right now!" he said, pulling his camera up and taking a photo. The unexpected flash in the dark night made Sungjong flinch, and he squeezed his eyes shut as he cried out in shock. Then fingers gently touched his cheek, and soft lips pressed to his own in a kiss. 

---

School started back up and it was the hell that Sungjong knew it would be, but it could no longer affect him. He met up with the new student outside of the school, and with Myungsoo's hand in his, entered, ready to take on the day and anything that came along with it.

 

A/N

Merry Christmas!!! I hope you enjoyed your present!!!