She could never really forget and , still to this day , she had his image clearly printed in her mind. The little man haunted her dreams and his absence literally made her cry every holidays. Even more than 7 years after he left , she was touched by his absence.

Now aged 22 , Sunmi wasn’t living home anymore but made sure to come back to her parent’s house every Christmas Eve. Just in case.

She still had a great life. She did well in school and found great friends that , even though she spend more time with them than with him , couldn’t quite take his place. It was like if she had a special link with him all this time. Her parents pushed her to have a boyfriend when she turned 18. They found it weird to see their gorgeous daughter not have a boyfriend just yet. She finally accepted to hang out with someone without taking it too seriously.

The boy happened to be really sweet. He was so caring and romantic that she slowly forgot. Not Xiumin , but that she missed him. She always kept a special place just for him but she learned to heal alone. She learned to be fine without feeling empty. He helped her a great time in that.

Even though somethings were weird. She didn’t felt like being in a relationship, or, at least, that wasn’t the way she thought she would be and feel in one. She felt like being great friends with him and have a great connection but something was always missing to call him her lover just yet. Even when they kissed her mind wasn’t right on him. Even on their first time , she wasn’t completely his.

That was life , anyway. Nothing is perfect. As we grow up we realise nothing is ever as we thought it would be and this was no exception. She just learned to deal with it. Slowly, he was introduced in her family as her official boyfriend and everyone was happy. Somehow, every but her.

Every night , like this one, they gathered at Sunmi grandma’s house ,like usual. It was the tradition. Her grandma was an old medium and it was also part of the tradition then to have their fortune tell by her. The old woman was now in her old 80’s and her family expected it to be one of her last Christmases.

“ My dear Sunmi , could you come and help me get the gifts in the bedroom? “ Her grandma asked and Sunmi nodded as she raised from the table were everyone was gathered to help her grandma.

Together , they walked to the second story and went into her bedroom. The gifts were placed on the ground and her grandma sat on the bed to take her pills as Sunmi bent down to grab the gifts. “  Are you alright , grandma? “ She asked her as she looked really out of breath.

“ I am fine. All this fortune telling just made me tired , that’s all. “ She said offering her hand for Sunmi to take. Putting some gifts on the bed next to her , she took her grandma’s hand. “ Would you bring the gifts down for me? I’ll take a little nap now. “ She said and Sunmi nodded.

Bringing the gifts down , she posed them under the tree and the kids of her cousins ran to the gifts , looking for those who belonged to them. Sunmi laughed at they started to open the gifts and she sat on the bed while looking at them.

One of the girls received a Barbie and another a baby doll. The boys received a camion and fake guns. One of the kids received an extra gift and everyone was surprised about the fact so they all gathered around to see what the famous gift was.

The child opened up a little doll of an elf and Sunmi felt her heart tighten at the view of it. She quickly turned her gaze away , which didn’t passed unnoticed by her boyfriend.

“ Are you alright , honey? “ He asked her while posing a hand on her waist. She cough and pushed him away a little.

“ I am fine. I’ll just go home early , alright? See you tomorrow. “ She said pushing people lightly to make her way to the entrance of the house.

“ Wait , I didn’t give you my gift yet. “ He said sadly.

“ Let’s just do that tomorrow , alright? I don’t want to hang too much tonight. I am sorry. “ She said grabbing her coat and exiting the house all at once.

She quickly realised she should have put her coat on before. The cold grabbed her to the bone and she zipped it up to her neck. She decided to walk down the 5 blocks separating her parent’s home from her grandma’s. It wasn’t that much of a big deal, it would only take 10 minutes and it would be done.

She started to make her way through the snow and smiled a bit as some started to fall on her. It didn’t snowed on Christmas since a long time. Probably for at least 7 or 8 years. Well except that one year 3 years ago but it didn’t last long. She was happy to see the snow as it reminded her of the last happy Christmases that she passed. Those memories she kept for herself all those time.

It was long passed 11 but still some kids were playing outside in the snow. Many parents called them to come back inside. She smiled to herself as she remembered how better holidays are when we are younger. No stress for the gifts , only happiness in their eyes.

She rapidly arrived to the house and took her keys out. When she turned the knob she was greeted by the darkness of the room. As she didn’t felt like opening all the lights , she went to the living room to open the Christmas tree’s lights instead.

It filled the room of a certain warmness and she smiled to herself as she took out her coat , staying only in her Christmas party dress. She posed it on the couch and turned to the tree and grabbed a decoration that fell off. She was about to put it back when she heard the clock ringing midnight.

Her smile faded away as she realised it meant it was midnight. She finished posing the decoration and looked at it. She could see her own reflection and , once again , a tear fell down her face. She still looked at her reflection to erase it and fix her face. She saw her sad eyes filled with the emptiness that inhabited them ever since the past 7 years.

She kept looking at the tree when she realised she actually saw something else in her reflection. She looked back intently and noticed a shadow right behind her. She gasped and froze into her place. She gulped searching for the right reaction to have. She looked over her shoulder but couldn’t see enough so she took the risk to turn completely to the stranger. She was sure to have locked the door behind her.

She looked at the shadow who was technically still on the dark of the main hallway. “ Who are you? “ She asked with an unstable voice. She heard the person laugh a bit with a manly voice that seemed oddly familiar. “ I am not kidding , I can call the cops anytime. “ She said with a more stable voice.

The person stepped into the light of the living room and she froze in place. “ Did you missed me? “ The man asked and she couldn’t believe her eyes.

He was there. In front of her eyes. Finally back after 7 years. Only he wasn’t as small as he used to be. He was looking like a 25 years old boy. A really handsome 25 years old boy. Her heart started to beat incredibly fast as he separated the space between them, He stopped a couple of meters away. She looked at his face as she recognized the features she dreamed and missed so much. His eyes were the same color. A deep brownish color sparking with joy. His smile was wider a bit but still handsome. His face kept this childlike look that she liked for so long but his body changed. He was now taller than her and had larger shoulders and a really nice haircut.

“ H-how? “ She started to say all emotionally and ended up putting a h