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 hi 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!"

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