"A HOMERUN! We won!"

 

A series of loud cheers invaded the once quiet room of Irene's and awoke the owner of the room. Irene tried to leave the bed, but Wendy hugged her so tightly that she couldn't move. She would hate to disturb Wendy's sleep.

Irene had a perfect opportunity to kiss Wendy because her forehead was right at Irene's lip level. If Irene leaned forward, she could have all the kisses she wanted, although she was disappointed that it was not Wendy's lips she was kissing. Determined to get her first kiss of the day, Irene inched closer to Wendy, just a bit more... Suddenly, Wendy woke up and rose from the bed. Her abrupt movement startled Irene and caused the latter to fall out of the bed. Fortunately, the room was carpeted and the pain for Irene was much lessened. "Irene! Are you alright?" Wendy jumped out of the bed to check on Irene. "It hurts." "I'm sorry." Wendy kissed Irene on the forehead to ease her pain. "One more kiss?" Irene pointed at her lips and got what she wanted. "Do you feel better?" "Maybe a few more kisses." Irene kept on asking for kisses until their parents informed that they were heading to the mall to shop for winter coats. * The mall was surprisingly empty on Boxing Day. The two families thought they would have to fight for parking space and squeeze themselves into the store, but none of that happened. The clothing store they went to was in a form of Nordstrom, where the same category of clothing by different brands were sold in the same location. The parents thought shopping would be easier because there were many options. But too many choices could make things worse. "Irene, which one?" Mrs. Bae held up various coats for Irene to decide. "The purple one." It was a null statement, as they were all in purple. Her mother just threw the most expensive one into the shopping cart. "Wendy, which one do you like?" "The fluffy one!" Irene answered for her. The fur around the hood made Wendy look even more like a squirrel. "Our daughter is a legitimate fluff ball. I love this concept." Mr. Shon patted Wendy on her head. The two families continued to walk around the store after they had accomplished their primary goal. Wendy spotted someone familiar in the ladies' section. * "Joy, let me pick an outfit for you!" Seulgi leaped into the air happily. She had waited two days and  she couldn't contain her excitement. "Wow, you revenge is really cruel. I'd rather have you hit me in my face than ask me to wear a horrid combination of clothes." "Joy! I wouldn't hit you! Also, my fashion sense is not subpar." "Says every fashion terrorist." Seulgi sighed in defeat, then another idea popped into her mind. A statement that Joy couldn't disagree. "No matter what you wear, you'll still be the most beautiful." "I would like to yell at you, but you're right." * "Irene, is that Ms. Park?" "Ms. Kang too." "Let's follow them." They sneaked away under their parents' watch. "Honey, are those children Irene and Wendy?" "Let's follow them." The parents followed suit. * Seulgi and Joy left the clothing store without purchasing anything, because Joy complained about the clothing style of the store, and Seulgi knew better than to trust her own fashion sense. Seulgi started to walk away from the store exit, yet she was pulled back by a force, the frozen in place Joy. The bear waved her hand in front of Joy, but the younger girl was just staring straight at the store opposite to them. "Joy, what's wrong?" Insteqd of replying verbally, she pointed at the store on the left to Build-A-Bear, the jewelry store. "Joy, I am not prepared to propose yet. Maybe in a year?" "No. I mean, you can propose, but that's not what I'm concerned about now." She shifted her position a little, and now she was gesturing at the snack bar. "Didn't we just eat?" "No, look closely!" Seulgi observed from behind Joy, and she realized what shop she was referring to. "You want to build a bear?"

 

"No, what are you talking about? That is extremely childish, but, well, if you want to go there, I'll go, albeit reluctantly. I really don't want to go, you know? But well, it's our date. I'll accompany you there. I totally don't want to go there! Right? Yes. It's not me who wants to go, it's Seulgi. I'm Joy Park, the most beautiful Queen. I don't like teddy bears, except for one Kang Seulgi. I didn't say that. It was Seulgi's fault. It's because she is making me go to the bear store. I don't like bears. I like food. Food is good. Food is everything. Bears are annoying. Chickens are the best. I love chickens. I hate bears." Joy kept on ranting and marched towards Build-A-Bear without giving a care to the bear next to her.

 

*

 

"Welcome to Build-A-Bear! My name is Mary. Would you like to build a bear?" The store employee greeted the incoming customers.

 

"She, she wants to." Joy denied her eager will to build a bear. She would never admit that she liked bears.

 

"No, we both are."

 

"Alright, four guests that is. Come on in!"

 

"Four?" Joy turned around and she almost had a heart attack. Why hadn't they noticed the kids and the parents tailing them in the mall? There was hardly any people shopping here today.

 

*

 

After leading the eight of them to the workshop area, the four waited in their seats for Mary to come back with the supplies. The two pairs of parents sat on the opposite side and took photos of them.

 

"We should make the bears according to ourselves and exchange when we're done." Seulgi suggested while eavesdropping to Irene and Wendy's conversation.

 

"Why?"

 

"Because the kids are doing that and we have to compete with them. We cannot lose in the cheesiness department."

 

"A wild Pokemon appears and now Pikachu is trying to fight them. How original."

 

Mary presented the catalogue of animals for them to pick from, ranging from the classic Teddy Bear that almost everyone likes, rabbits, cats, to dogs.

 

"I'll take the bear." Joy whispered to Mary.

 

"No problem. A bear for this guest!" Mary shouted across the room to let the other staff member prepare for it. Joy nearly banged her head onto the table. She should have told her that it was supposed to be kept a secret.

 

"Oh, Joy! You like bears!" Amidst the internal conflict of Joy, Seulgi commented when she should not.

 

"Keep talking and I will destroy the bear. Bears, to be specific."

 

"Ms. Park, violence is never the answer." Wendy reminded Joy using her own words.

 

"I should never have said that."

 

*

 

The second step was to select a sound for the bear or record a personal message. Joy requested alone time to record her message.

 

"Kiss me." Irene said to the sound recording machine. As anyone would have expected, she asked for a kiss.

 

"OK." Wendy mistook Irene's words and kissed her on the lips.

 

"I was recording but thank you for your kiss."

 

"All my love is for you."

 

"I know."

 

The parents knew documenting the build-a-bear process would be a treasure for life.

 

"I love you love you. I love you love you. You know, you know I love you."

 

"Ms. Kang, you sing well." Wendy complimented and Irene nodded along with her statement.

 

"Thank you. It's precisely ten seconds, I am such a genius. Did I just quote Joy?"

 

"Yes." The parents answered in place of the kids.

 

Frustrated groans were coming from the room Joy was in, however, no one dared to knock on the door, because she warned the possible dangers afore. So they chose a representative.

 

"Joy, are you alright?" Seulgi tapped lightly on the wooden door and stuck her ear to the surface of the door to listen to the noises inside the room.

 

"I'm fabulous." Joy opened the door abruptly and Seulgi fell on her due to the unexpected lose of balance.

 

"I'm so sorry!" Seulgi pushed herself back up and checked on Joy. She had never reacted this quickly in her life. 

 

*

 

"I want a cuddly bear! Like Wendy!" The other three agreed with Irene. Who would want a firm bear to hug at night? The whole point of stuffed bear was to cuddle it.

 

To speed up the process, the employees helped out with the stuffing of the bears, as the four of them were choosing a heart to place inside the bear.

 

"Do you have a black heart?" Joy furrowed her eyebrows. The designs offered on the table were not up to her standards.

 

"In fact, we do."

 

"Perfect."

 

Seulgi and the kids watched in horror and proceeded with the most elementary design that was in store. Their top priority was to keep their own hearts. Nonetheless, they didn't forget to choose their favorite colors. Aside from Seulgi, they all made silent wishes.

 

"I wish that we will forever be in love with each other." Seulgi kissed the heart of the bear.

 

Mary informed them that they can pick out a scent for the bear. This time, Joy, Seulgi, and Wendy settled on strawberry, orange, and vanilla respectively. 

 

"Do you have fabric softener scent that I can put?"

 

"In fact, we, again, do."

 

Build-A-Bear was officially on the Seulgi's list of weird stores.

 

*

 

The staff stitched the bears and closed them shut. It was now time to groom them and choose outfits.

 

"Seulgi, I'll get the outfit. You just stay put, alright? I don't need a crazy bear sitting in my room."

 

"I should be hurt that you said that but I can't even trust my fashion sense."

 

Seulgi the bear had on a black sweatshirt because Joy preferred less flashy clothing. Joy's bear had on a black cloak, like a witch. Irene and Wendy the bear wore matching outfit, Irene's with a purple, leaned towards red, sweater and Wendy's with a baby blue sweater, and white shorts. There was only shorts because shorts or long pants were indistinguishable with such short legs.

 

"I have to admit that the outfits are very accurate. Black bear, witch, purple maniac, and oluff." Mrs. Shon marveled.

 

"Let's switch our bears and get the birth certificate."

 

Because everyone was getting tired and creativity escaped from their minds, they decided to name the bears based on the most symbolic moment.

 

"This is Fluffy, because Wendy is a fluff ball."

 

"I named her Sunshine, because Irene is my sunshine!"

 

"This is Sooyoung, because I really like Joy..." Seulgi faded out her own voice so that Joy won't hear her.

 

"I am calling this bear Ddeulgi, because it it much cuter than the real one."

 

"Please buy me three cheese burgers."

 

Vomiting sounds were heard, coming from not only Joy, but also from the kids and the parents.

 

*

 

Seulgi and Joy did not go to dinner because they both would rather have KFC at home than to wait two hours for a table in overpriced restaurants. They were silent throughout the whole dinner as they were busily devouring fried chickens.

 

"Can I listen to the recording?" Seulgi asked after they have emptied the KFC box.

 

"Only when you are alone, and crap, I need to use the bathroom!" Joy rushed to the bathroom and slammed the door shut.

 

"Well, I'm all alone now."

 

Seulgi prepared herself with motivational speeches and finally pushed the "play" button, which was on the bear's heart.

 

"I love you. Don't tell anyone." Seulgi smiled upon hearing Joy's recording.

 

"I love you too."

 

"I can hear you!" Joy screamed from the bathroom.

 

"That's the point! I love you!"

 

*