Christmas in Tokyo

By Snapplelinz

Taeyeon knew exactly what she was doing here. It wasn't for a SNSD concert at Tokyo Dome that happened every year. It wasn't for a holiday. It wasn't even for business, if such a thing was possible.

In truth, the singer wanted to escape. 

It had been a year of changes, first with something mind-blowingly happy that had inspired 80% of the songs on Taeyeon's solo album this year. The second change had affected her life and that of her group members when they lost one of their own to a new branch of uncertain fame. 

In some ways, Jessica's departure from SNSD a year ago still left Taeyeon reeling with guilt and chagrin. The only things that had kept SNSD's leader from ignoring SM's social media ban during the crisis and launching a lengthy rant on Naver or Instagram was having the love and support of her friends, family and group members. But more than that, she'd had Baekhyun by her side and in the midst of that professional chaos, they'd been happy in their own way. 

But like most whirlwind romances, some were destined to be blown away. And before Taeyeon could blink, she was single again. Now it was finally catching up with her, all the heartache and resentment that came with losing someone who completes you, if only till their affection runs on empty. So when an opportunity came around to disappear for a few days before Christmas with her family in Jeonju, Taeyeon booked the first flight in the list of possibilities. If she'd picked the second option, she would've been escaping to Sudan instead. 

Unlike previous occasions where SNSD had reserved a hotel suite downtown, Taeyeon had instead chosen to book herself into the Hilton hotel in Shinjuku. She'd never travelled through that part of Tokyo before, but Tiffany had once told her that she'd accidentally found a charming butler cafe in Akihabara, which a few subway stations away from Shinjuku. Taeyeon only hoped she could text her group mate and best friend and ask her exactly where that butler cafe was without being mocked. 

It was a relief when Taeyeon spoke fluent Japanese while checking in and none of the hotel staff seemed to realize that she was anyone famous. It had never happened before and she struggled not to laugh at the absurd irony. It was a relief to not have microphones and cameras shoved in her face and asked every inappropriate question under the sun. 

The hotel room door shut behind her with a soft click and she took in the surroundings of her new refuge. 

For the first time in weeks, Kim Taeyeon smiled. 

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Taeyeon woke up at 07:00 the next morning and had a quiet breakfast in the open breakfast area in the middle of the Hilton lobby. It was entertaining watching the various people who checked in and out of the illustrious establishment. She felt a little lonely watching foreign couples displaying public affection for one another right in front of her. But on the other hand, it was a relief to be away from home and the relentless taunts of what it meant to be single in a place like Korea. Especially when one was so close to the marrying age and getting further away from being new like Christmas cake, as many of her older aunts constantly reminded her.

She sighed and dipped her teaspoon into her boiled pickled egg and continued eating her meagre breakfast. Even when she was supposed to be on holiday and cutting loose, she still couldn't resist abiding by the strict diet that her record label put her on.

Naturally, breakfast ended quickly and she went back up to her room to get her camera with the intention of walking around Shinjuku and doing some sightseeing. As she came back into the lobby and gazed in awe at the paintings which decorated the walls, she didn't watch where she was going and walked straight into another person.

The sharp collision sent both of them tumbling onto the downy carpet beneath their feet. Whoever she bumped into fell on top of her again, crushing her windpipe under his lanky frame. Despite the awkward and uncomfortable situation, she couldn't help noticing that he smelled really good. So good in fact that the scent of his cologne made her think of -

“Kim Junmyeon?!”

Sure enough, it was the Korean singer who was lying on top of her, looking just as shell-shocked as she felt in the moment.

“Taeyeon-unnie?”

Taeyeon watched as his hand reached out to her and for a split second, she wanted to decline. But she ignored her pride and took the help gratefully as they both got back onto their feet.

“Suho-ah,” she began tentatively while he dusted off his jacket. “What are you doing in Japan?”

Suho stopped fussing with his clothes and fixed Taeyeon with a wary eye.

If he'd known in advance that she was going to be in the same city as him, he wouldn't have made the trip in the first place.

“Oh, um...holiday?” he fumbled, making a sweeping gesture at their surroundings.

Taeyeon looked him over for a few more seconds and shook her head, chucking quietly to herself. “Of all the people I expected to see here...” she trailed off.

Even know he knew it wasn't an insult, Suho still deflated under Taeyeon's pensive demeanour. He wondered if it was too late to book a flight back to Seoul.

“So...we're staying in the same hotel in the same neighbourhood?” Taeyeon asked curiously of her record label mate.

“Looks like it,” Suho agreed, trying to be nonchalant. “Well...don't let me stop your sightseeing,” he added abruptly, pointing to the expensive-looking digital camera in her hand.

Then he turned around and went back towards the elevators which led up to the hotel rooms. Taeyeon watched him go, feeling a strange sense of wistful sadness.

“Suho-ah,” she whispered to herself. “I'm glad it's you and not him.”

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

While Taeyeon explored the area surrounding the Hilton, Suho sprinted back up to his room and got onto his computer to look for flights to Korea. He was scheduled to stay for two weeks and then head back to spend Christmas with his family. But if there was any chance he could leave sooner…

His fingers sped frantically over the keyboard while he searched through every airline known to man and their specific flight itineraries for the day.

Full.

Full.

Full.

4 seats left!

“Daebak,” Suho said excitedly to himself as he scanned a flight on Qatar Airlines from Tokyo to Seoul, leaving from Narita International Airport later in the evening.

There seemed to be a lot of traffic on Qatar's website, so Suho had to enter his credit card details twice before it led him to the 'confirmation' page. Only to discover that the four seats left on the flight he wanted were already sold out.

“Aish, shibal...” Suho cursed, slamming his fist down hard onto his keyboard and regretting it instantly.

Especially when his fingers began ringing with pain that resembled the constant ache in his heart.

Suho ran a hand through his hair as he stared miserably as every last flight out of Tokyo became sold out. With the way it looked, he would have to stay in Japan for the allotted time after all. After seeing how stressed out and unhappy his leader and band-mate was, Kai had suggested that he should take some time off and recuperate. Suho had thought that coming to Japan would be remote enough to allow for a little anonymity, but still close enough to home so he could return any time he liked.

It had been perfect till he run into Taeyeon, who was not only in the same city, but had checked into the exact same hotel. What were the odds?

Suho chuckled grimly at the dilemma he found himself in.

There was only one thing left to do: he wasn't going to leave his hotel room for the duration of his trip.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Even with the strength of his resolve, Suho heard someone knocking on his hotel room door the next morning and hastened to answer it. He quickly put on a polo shirt to cover his bare chest and opened the door without thinking, only to find Taeyeon standing in front of him.

Since winter had arrived and with it, the first snowfall of the season, Taeyeon had donned a pair of skinny jeans, a fashionable beige trench coat, a woolly beanie and furry boots. Even by her usual tomboyish standards, she thought she looked quite good.

Suho thought she looked stunning, just like always.

“Taeyeon-unnie, what are you doing here?” Suho asked in bewilderment, his heart racing in his chest.

Taeyeon wasn't exactly sure how to answer that. While she did enjoy the company of her band-mates, her friends and family, she preferred to spend time by herself. But ever since she'd found out that Suho was staying in the same hotel as her, she couldn't rid herself of the desire to want to spend time with him. Despite the fact that they were signed with the same record label, they kept very different schedules and thus didn't see one another as often as anyone on the street would assume. There had been a time after EXO finally made their debut that Taeyeon could say that she and Suho had gotten along reasonably well; they might even have become closer friends if she hadn't started dating Baekhyun.

In a strange way, seeing Suho in Tokyo gave her a sense of relief from all the discontentment she'd been feeling of late.

“I was just thinking...there's a place I really want to go visit in Akihabara. But I heard that the subway system in Tokyo is very complicated and I'm worried about getting lost. Yunho-oppa once told me that you'd been to Tokyo a few times before and became an expert on riding the subway without getting confused. Do you think you could maybe help me?”

It was a thinly-veiled excuse that a 5-year old probably would've seen through. But for the first time in a long time, Taeyeon realised that she didn't want to be alone in a different city. She wanted to be around someone she knew that could distract her from the turmoil going on in her tempestuous heart.

Suho sighed and leant against the door frame. It made Taeyeon all too aware of the veins that rippled through his arms and the exposed column of his neck where he had failed to button up the top-part of his shirt.

“Can't you just get a map of the subway from the concierge?” he asked quietly, hoping he didn't sound as rude as he thought he was being.

Taeyeon's smile faltered and Suho hated himself for putting that look on her face. “Oh um, of course. I forgot about the concierge. I'm sorry I bothered you, I hope you enjoy the rest of your holiday.”

She bowed awkwardly and turned away, her cheeks turning red from embarrassment.

Something shifted in Suho as he watched her walk down the hallway and he couldn't stop himself from shouting 'Jakkaman!'.

Taeyeon turned back and Suho already regretted being so hasty. “What place are you going to in Akihabara?” he finally asked.

“I wanted to check out the butler and maid cafés they have there.”

Suho scrunched his nose in confusion. “A butler café? What's that?”

“I'm not sure myself to be honest. Tiffany suggested I try to go there.”

Suho rolled his eyes and chuckled. It sounded just like something the San Francisco born singer would be interested in, considering how extroverted and zany she was.

“Ok, I'll come with you.”

Taeyeon's eyes brightened and Suho had to force himself not to do something crazy like smiling back or worse, hugging her.

“Chincha? Oh thank you, Suho-ah! Kaja!”

Before Suho could stop her, Taeyeon grabbed his hand and began leading him away.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

In the end, Suho was forced to let go of Taeyeon's hand so he could slip back into his room, only to find out that he'd accidentally locked it when he let the door close. After getting one of the hotel staff members to open up his room again, Suho asked if Taeyeon could wait for him for 10 minutes in the lobby while he shaved and put on some warm clothes.

After he met her downstairs, the two of them walked over an elevated bridge above the road to get to Shinjuku Subway Station, which was a 5-minute walk from their hotel. From there, they hopped on the train and rode in loopy-dee-loop fashion to get to Akihabara.

The neighbourhood was popular for its numerous butler and maid cafés as well as housing the famous Electric Town where you could buy every digital gadget under the sun and of course, an unexpected pleasure for Suho, which turned out to be -

“Omo! There's a Gundam Café here too?!”

Taeyeon watched in a mesh of embarrassment and amusement as Suho dashed into the café dedicated to Gundam Seed memorabilia. He skipped from shelf to shelf stacked with mugs, key chains and extra-large T-shirts with logos from the TV show printed on them.

After buying two bags worth of souvenirs, Suho was in the middle of trying on a Gundam robot mask when Taeyeon couldn't take it anymore and dragged him out of the store. They first found a butler café a few meters away and made themselves comfortable at an intimately decorated table for two.

Taeyeon was surprised when a male waiter dressed in a butler's costume approached their table and got down on one knee before her and kissed her hand.

“Good day, Mistress. I am here to serve you and fulfil your every desire,” the butler greeted in a suave voice.

While Taeyeon chuckled and looked bashfully flattered at the attention given to her, Suho scowled at the butler, who he couldn't help noticing was exceptionally good looking too. What was this restaurant playing at? It didn't help when several butlers ended up waiting on Taeyeon from serving her order, painting her nails and paying her sweeter compliments than any of her old boyfriends.

This wasn't to say that the butlers didn't want to serve Suho hand and foot as well. He just refused point-blank when they wanted to give him a facial at the table.

While Taeyeon was enjoying the attention given to her, she enjoyed it all the more as she watched Suho sulking every time a butler waited on her. Why did he have to be so cute when he was angry? The thought made the SNSD leader blush and she quelled the inappropriate response by downing another shot of saki.

Suho unwittingly got his revenge an hour later when they sat down in a maid café and Taeyeon watched him conversing eagerly with their waitress in fluent Japanese. She hadn't even known that EXO's leader was able to speak Japanese before this; his pronunciation and the intonation of every word he spoke sent a secret thrill shooting up her spine. But she wasn't about to admit that, not when Suho paying attention to anyone else but her left a decidedly sour taste in .

After their waitress had finished giving Suho a very pleasant shoulder massage and shot him a twinkling eye-smile before leaving, Taeyeon finally couldn't take it anymore.

“I didn't realise that EXO had a third language division.” When Suho looked confused, Taeyeon elaborated. “EXO-J.”

Suho chuckled, which annoyed SNSD's leader even more. “Since when have you been so fluent in Japanese?”

“I don't know...only a short time I guess.”

“It didn't sound like that a minute ago. In fact, you sound pretty fluent in Japanese when flirting with y women.”

Suho stared aghast at Taeyeon's obvious dig at their waitress, who'd done absolutely nothing to her. “Wow. I didn't know you were part of a K-pop group called SNSB.”

“What does the 'B' stand for?”

“I think you already know.”

Taeyeon saw red at this callous remark of Suho's. “I change my mind, I think SM should make an EXO-J. You can be the leader of that too, since the 'J' would stand for 'Jackass.'

Suho scowled at this while Taeyeon sat back in her chair, looking distinctly pleased with herself. He couldn't explain it, but it pleased him all the same to see Taeyeon so vexed about him being friendly to another woman, even though they were bickering in a public place. Considering that the beautiful lady sitting across from him had been unaware of his romantic feelings for such a long time, jealousy on her part was a nice change of pace.

Still, Suho was still a gentleman at the end of the day, especially when in the company of a woman he knew and respected. He sighed and grabbed hold of the bottle of tomato juice. Taeyeon watched silently as he bent low over his plate and began squirting the red condiment all over his egg and rice. Then he wordlessly pushed his plate towards her.

“Mwuh hae?” Taeyeon asked with suspicious confusion.

“It's a peace offering.” Suho explained.

Taeyeon looked down and saw that Suho had written 'please forgive me' in Hiragana. The gesture was unexpectedly sweet, causing the cheeks of SNSD's leader to flush like pink blossoms.

“Mianhe, Taeyeon-unnie,” Suho continued, flashing that heart-stopping smile that had made many EXO fangirls cry themselves to sleep because they couldn't have him.

“Aish, shibal,” Taeyeon grumbled. Nevertheless, she began eating quite contentedly from Suho's peace offering.

That's when he knew he was definitely forgiven.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Taeyeon and Suho ended up spending the rest of their vacation together. It became a habit of Taeyeon's to phone Suho first thing in the morning on the hotel phone to ask if he had plans for the day; she did this quite consciously, knowing full well that even if Suho did have plans, he'd cancel them to spend time with her instead.

The thought delighted her to no end.

For Suho's part, he was rapidly getting used to Taeyeon desiring his company more and more as time went by on those cold, wintry days. It was becoming dangerously easy to believe that she could feel something more than platonic friendship for him.

But when he willingly let Taeyeon paint little snowmen onto his fingernails and watched the adorable way she pouted in concentration whenever she drew outside the lines, Suho found himself falling more and more in love with her as Tokyo sunsets turned into Tokyo sunrises spent with that wayward goddess.

It was even more enthralling to Suho when Taeyeon offered to shave his face for him. She made him sit on a chair next to the desk in his hotel room while she filled a plastic basin that she got from House Keeping with warm water. She took the round brush and lathered it in shaving cream, slathering Suho's cheeks with soft, white foam. Then she carefully sheared his face, top to bottom with long, even that would've impressed a barber.

There was something so tender in her ministrations that Suho let himself drift off for once without thinking about all the what-ifs that had led up to this moment. He had come to Tokyo to escape Taeyeon and somehow ended up doing just the opposite. He didn't have the heart to mind it terribly though.

“So, I was thinking...we've been doing everything I wanted to do in Tokyo,” Taeyeon began tentatively, dunking the razor into the tub of warm water and scraping off shaving cream across the plastic edges. “Is there anything you want to to today instead, Suho-ah?”

Suho thought it over for several seconds before he had an answer.

“I want to do Noraebang with you.”

The only succinct thing Taeyeon could manage to say in response was 'Uh, I think it's just called karaoke here in Japan.”

“Oh, then I want to do regular karaoke with you instead.” Suho said with sudden determination.

As a general rule, Taeyeon constantly tried to get out of doing Noraebang with any of her fellow artists from SM, unless it was with her group mates. Under those circumstances, singing, even for fun, felt like work somehow. It was especially embarrassing when Changmin-oppa always insisted on making her sing DBSK's debut song 'Hug' to him while forcing her to sit in his lap. And yet, with the way that Suho's brown eyes crinkled with happiness, she just couldn't say no to him.

Not when those warm brown eyes were the most mesmerising things she'd looked at in a long time.

“Ok, I'll sing karaoke with you.” she finally told him.

It felt even better to her when his smile became brighter than a 100-watt light-bulb.

That night, they walked a couple of blocks away from their hotel and found a tiny karaoke bar in the central hub of street vendors and bourgeois clothing stores that made up Shinjuku. It wasn't long before the private room they'd booked had a table that was littered with an assortment of snacks and numerous green and white bottles of sake.

After getting through about five bottles of sake, Suho slipped out of the karaoke lounge for 5 minutes and managed to procure some Santa hats for him and Taeyeon. They donned their newest souvenirs and began singing a raucous version of 'Dear Santa', TTS' recent Christmas release. Taeyeon laughed her head off when Suho did all of the girly dance choreography and cute faces she, Tiffany and Seohyun made for the song.

She'd never seen Suho properly drunk before. It was pretty amusing watching the way he teetered dangerously on his feet and how he yawned and looked ready to doze off in-between singing his heart out. And his smile seemed to gain even more traction the more inebriated he became. Taeyeon had always thought that Suho was very handsome, but now...it was as if her uninhibited senses had awakened to every contour of perfection that lined his cheeks and coursed through his pale skin.

He was breathtaking.

“Taeyeon-ah,” Suho slurred, his cheeks shiny and red. “Why did you stop...breathing?”

“Mwuh?” Taeyeon asked, hiccoughing slightly as she spoke. “I'm breathing right now, pabo.”

Suho waved an impatient hand at Taeyeon's. “Ani! Just now...when you looked at me, you stopped breathing. When our eyes met, you had no...air...in your eyes.”

Taeyeon giggled uncontrollably at Suho's choice of words. She placed a hand on his lanky shoulder to steady herself and leant closer into him. “Aish, this guy doesn't know how to speak when he's drunk,” she mumbled half to herself. “You mean that I was frozen?”

“Yes!” Suho exclaimed. “Let it go! Let it gooooo! Can't hold it back in the hole!!!” he sang with gusto a second later, clutching a hand to his chest.

Taeyeon laughed even harder at the fact that Suho had sung the wrong lyrics. Why did he have to be so cute when he was drunk?

“That's not the right word,” she protested. “It's 'can't hold it back any troll'!”

“It doesn't matter,” Suho mumbled, holding his cheek in his hand as he struggled to stay awake. “Taeyeon-unnie, tell the manager to stop spinning the room around. It's going too fast!” he yelled out nonsensically.

He tried to stand up, but instantly became wobbly on his feet.

“Omo!” Taeyeon cried out when Suho nearly lost his balance. Luckily she grabbed hold of his arms just in time so that he fell into her chest instead.

“Aigo,” Suho said by way of apology, his hand accidentally brushing against Taeyeon's in his bid to stand up straight. “Kwenchanayo, Taeyeon-shi?” he asked in concern.

He looked so earnest that it made Taeyeon smile. As it turned out, she could handle her drink a little better than EXO's leader.

“Ne, kwenchanayo, Suho. Maybe we should go back to the hotel now so you can sleep.”

“Ani, let's do more karaoke! I want to sing all over Japan!”

Suho dropped so quickly that Taeyeon felt sure he had fallen. But in truth, Suho had only gotten onto his knee and grasped Taeyeon's hand in his. He looked up at her and smiled as she sang a song just for her:

“Some day, when I'm awfully low, when the world is cold, I will feel a glow just thinking of you. And the way you look tonight.”

Taeyeon's heart soared into her chest when she recognised that famous ballad by Frank Sinatra.

“Yes, you're lovely, with your smile so warm, and your cheeks so soft. There is nothing for me but to love you, and the way you look tonight.”

It was ironic that Suho couldn't remember the lyrics to 'Let It Go', but could remember the words to an old song, especially one in English, so perfectly.

Even though he was close to keeling over into a drunken heap, Suho wanted Taeyeon to know just once how he truly felt about her. And it was incredible that his singing voice could still articulate so well.

“With each word, your tenderness grows, tearing my fear apart. And that laugh wrinkles your nose, touches my foolish heart...”

Suho got back onto his feet without letting go of Taeyeon's hand. He gathered the rest of his courage and pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her. Soon they were swaying together in an unmistakable slow dance while Suho continued singing to Taeyeon.

“Lovely, never, never change...” Suho whispered in Taeyeon's ear while he moved with a fluid grace as he led them in the dance.

It had months since Taeyeon had danced like this with anyone. Normally, the intimacy of such an act would have her running for the hills. But maybe the liquor had done its job of switching off her overly anxious brain for one night.

“Keep that breathless charm. Won't you please arrange it? 'Cause I love you. Just the way...you look...tonight,” Suho concluded into a velvety lower register.

Taeyeon was still holding him close long after he stopped singing. It was all she could do to smile naturally. “Wau! That was really good, Suho! Jal hat so yo!” she exclaimed, acting like one of EXO's fangirls.

But Suho's face had turned serious at the end of the song and he couldn't contain what he was feeling any longer.

Taeyeon stopped short at the way he was looking at her; for the moment, she couldn't remember how to breathe or move her limbs.

Suho inched painstakingly closer, bending his head just a little to compensate for the fact that Taeyeon was shorter than him. The beams of the overhead lighting danced through her eyes, making them sparkle like stars, making it impossible to think rationally or turn away. It was almost painful to be so close in proximity to her and yet so far away in thoughts and deeds.

Taeyeon had at least a second of warning, but found she didn't have the strength to repel the force of Suho's true inclination when it crashed into her and their lips finally met.

He'd been drinking alcohol for hours, and yet, his lips were cool and tasted inexplicably sweet. The kiss was excruciatingly chaste, so much so that it frustrated Taeyeon when Suho's mouth only seemed to hold hers hostage with careful of lustre. But his intentions and overwhelming desire became more palpable when his fingers closed possessively around as he pulled her further down with him. He traded lighter brush and then rougher pecks, nibbling away at the last vestiges of her sanity as his kisses ignited a scorching heat deep within her.

Towards the end, Taeyeon had found her voice again, only to whisper Suho's name in-between panting and trading feverish kisses with him. The karaoke disco ball reflected off of their trembling bodies in a kaleidoscope of bright rainbow lights. After a while, everything and everyone else began to fade away and soon, all that Taeyeon could see, hear or feel was Suho as his lips danced over every pore on her body.

Kissing Taeyeon had somehow sobered Suho up and when he finally pulled away, his mouth and cheeks were taut and shock and guilt.

“Taeyeon-ah… I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that.”

Before Taeyeon could stop him, Suho walked out of the karaoke lounge. And then he ran for his life back to the hotel, his heart in his throat as he wallowed in self-pity at what he'd just unleashed.

Taeyeon ended up walking back to the Hilton by herself, but despite the late hour and the silence, the streets of Shinjuku were safe. She didn't even feel angry that Suho had left her, only worried and overwhelmed by what had happened between them. She wanted to talk to him about it right then and there, but she too was physically and mentally worn out.

So she settled for heading back to her hotel room and calling it a night with the intention of sorting things out with Suho the next day.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Taeyeon never got the chance because when she went to look for Suho, she found the door standing open and all of his belongings missing from his hotel room. When she went to enquire about him at reception, they told her that he'd checked out 30 minutes before and headed to Narita International Airport.

If she'd seen Suho as planned, Taeyeon most likely would've told him that kissing her was a mistake and that they were better off as friends. But now that he'd left without saying goodbye, it had left a gaping void in her chest that he'd occupied for two weeks.

Taeyeon never expected that hiding out in Japan could lead to all these new and strange feelings she had for another member of EXO. But try as she might, she couldn't make herself regret any of it as she asked the hotel receptionist to arrange for a cab to take her to the airport.

As she headed down the freeway a few minutes later, Taeyeon asked herself for the umpteenth time why Suho decided to leave Tokyo today of all days. They'd both seen the news last night saying that many flights leaving the metropolis would need to be cancelled in light of a pending snow storm hitting the city in a few hours. That only made her worry more about his safety, anxious to get to the airport as soon as possible.

She arrived at Narita International Airport an hour later, making a beeline for 'International Departures', already guessing that Suho would probably be flying home. The airport was packed to the rafters with numerous people arriving and still more people on standby flights looking for any way to get out of the country. But it with it being a few days till Christmas and a pending snowstorm on the way, Taeyeon couldn't see how anyone was going to be able to get in and out of the airport.

In the midst of that chaos, she couldn't help admiring the effort the airport staff had made to decorate the massive building with a host of big Christmas trees draped in festive lights and tinsel. Giant angels and stars painted with glittering golds and silvers hung from the ceiling like merry celestial visitors brought to life.

After heading to several airline counters with flights heading back to Seoul, Taeyeon heard an interesting titbit: SM Entertainment's very own private jet had landed at Narita Airport 20 minutes before and was scheduled to fly to Seoul within the hour.

That could only mean one thing: the SM jet had come to pick up Suho to bring him back home.

Instead of heading to Airport Security like she previously intended, Taeyeon changed course and headed towards the secret exit that would lead her directly onto the tarmac. It only involved chatting up a security guard, taking a few pictures with him and giving him her autograph before he let her head outside.

A few traffic control officers were outside sweeping up melted snow residue that had formed muddy clumps around the wheels of the surrounding airplanes. The SM jet was just a few metres away and Taeyeon could see a lone figure heading towards the open airplane door with a bag slung over his or her shoulder. The shock of blonde hair that accompanied that body made her guess that it was Suho.

“Suho!”

Taeyeon sprinted with all her might over the tarmac till her lungs felt like they were going to give out.

Suho, who'd been lost in his own sombre thoughts, turned around sharply at the sound of someone calling his name.

He'd barely slept at all after fleeing back to the safety of his hotel room the night before. Kissing Taeyeon had been everything he'd ever dreamt of and more, but he couldn't get the look of confusion and what seemed like revulsion on her face when they'd finally stopped. He knew that talking to her about it would've been the mature thing to do, but he needed time to think about how he'd approach her next. And then there was also Baekhyun to think about too. He may have broken up with Taeyeon, but they'd still dated – how would his band-mate feel about him kissing his ex-girlfriend?

Suho couldn't believe it. Taeyeon was at the airport – she came after him. But he didn't want to jump the gun and get excited about her being there. Instead, all he felt was more sadness.

“Taeyeon-ah, what are you doing here?'

“I could ask you the same thing,” Taeyeon shot back, feeling angry all of a sudden.

It was bad enough that Suho left her at the karaoke lounge last night after kissing her, but now he just had to go and look so damn good looking too on top of everything. It made her even more frustrated.

“I came to talk to you this morning and found out from the hotel staff that you left! Suho...I didn't realise that you were this much of a coward.” Taeyeon said in a reproachful tone.

Suho hung his head in shame, realising that Taeyeon was right. He should've stayed and faced the music instead of running away from her and his feelings. There was no excuse for what he'd done, not for any of it.

“I'm sorry, Taeyeon. I couldn't face you after what I did; I don't know what came over me.” he fibbed.

Taeyeon shook her head and stepped infinitely closer to Suho. “Kumanhe. Tell me the truth, Suho.”

Suho sighed and blew cold air through his parted lips. It was now or never to set things right. “Ok, I'll tell you everything. I've liked you for a very long time now, probably ever since EXO debuted. To the world, you were SNSD's leader and a goddess. But to me, you were just Taeyeon: smart, beautiful, caring, funny, talented. I even liked your more pensive side. I was waiting for the perfect moment to finally ask you out on a date when the unthinkable happened: you started dating my friend and my band-mate. It broke my heart to see you with Baekhyun, but what could I do? He liked you and you were happy with him. So I said nothing and carried on; sometimes it made me act very cold towards you and I apologise immensely for it. It was the only way to hide my true feelings. But even after you two broke up, I still hadn't gotten over you. It was making me crazy and I needed to take a break away from everything. I never thought I'd see you here in Tokyo of all places before Christmas and spending all this time with you made me fall even harder for you. I'm sorry I messed up everything between us, I understand if you'd prefer that I keep from my distance from now on.”

The wind caught in Taeyeon's hair as she processed what Suho was saying to her. It was certainly a lot to take in and she needed to make sure that she didn't make things worse somehow.

“Suho-ah,” she began tentatively. “I'm not sure I feel the same way you do.”

Suho's heart crumpled deep within him at her words. He nodded slowly at her and turned away, feeling hot tears stinging his eyes mercilessly.

“But...”

He stopped short and faced her again. She said 'but'!

“I've enjoyed my time in Tokyo with you and when you kissed me last night, it made my heart jump in my chest. I haven't felt like that in a while, it felt...really good. So...if you're willing to put up with my strange mood swings and emo outlook on life, I'd like to give this a try and catch up with your feelings.”

Suho could hardly believe what he was hearing. But Taeyeon hadn't run away; she was standing in front of him, looking nervous, but sure of what she was saying.

“Taeyeon-ah, are you sure?”

To make her feelings more plain, Taeyeon leant into Suho and planted a chaste kiss on his frozen lips. When she pulled back, she opened her eyes and blinked adorably, making Suho fall more in love with her by the minute.

“I'm sure, especially since I've seen how bad a drunk you really are. If that's your worst habit, I can accept that.” Taeyeon teased.

Suho scowled, but inwardly he was doing the samba. “Yah! What about you dragging me to a butler café and almost letting a man paint my nails and give me a facial?”

Taeyeon giggled at this and stood on her tiptoes, wrapping her arms around Suho's shoulders. “But you have such pretty nails now,” she murmured in a husky tone against his neck.

Suho couldn't take it anymore and tilted his head so he could kiss Taeyeon. This time, there was no hesitation or fear. He was finally kissing the girl of his dreams and she wanted him to.

Through bleary eyes, Taeyeon's eyes skimmed over the SM jet behind Suho. “You really called for the Company's private jet to pick you up?”

Suho blushed profusely at this. “There was no other way to get out of Tokyo today before the snowstorm hit. After having such a hard time booking a first-class flight to get here and since I've never used the private jet before, I figured I'd finally call in a favour.”

Taeyeon chuckled at Suho's logic. “I can't stop you from getting on the plane and heading home. But if you want, I can go get my things at the hotel and come with you.”

Suho only had to think it over for a second. “I think I can ask the pilot to only take off two hours from now.”

Taeyeon smiled at this as she pressed her lips against Suho's. She had no idea how things were going to turn out when they got back to Seoul. She didn't even know if their busy schedules were going to work against their blossoming romance.

But for now, she was exquisitely happy.

She'd gotten the one Christmas wish she'd never thought to ask for: someone who loved her just as she was.

The End. 

Musical References: 'The Way You Look Tonight' by Frank Sinatra