My inspiration for this one-shot is Miss You Most (At Christmas Time) by Mariah Carey and Distance by BoA. Enjoy!

She pulled the curtains aside and watched the snow falling outside through the glass panes. She sighed. She had woken up on Christmas morning alone again, as always, and she wondered why she had never gotten used to it ever since…

She raised the cup she was holding to her lips and drank the coffee she had made for herself as she tried to block the memories that came flowing. The pain and loneliness in her heart had been reduced to a dull ache; it had been three years, after all. But she doesn’t know why, the pain becomes that of a fresh, bleeding cut when this time of the year comes. Maybe because it’s the time when people gather and give love, and while others are celebrating with their loved ones, here she is, alone. Or maybe because it was this time of the year when she made the choice to be alone. Yes, it was not coincidence; she had chosen to be alone.

She had been alone for years, as her family had migrated to Canada when she was twenty, and she chose to stay in Korea. Once in a while she would visit them, or they would visit her, and it was fine with her. She was actually used to being alone, until he happened.

How they met was a funny incident, but he had always thought it was fate that had made a way for the two of them to meet. That’s what he told her. The publishing company where she works as an assistant editor was having a Christmas party in a five-star hotel and she had accidentally locked herself in one of the comfort rooms of the function hall where they had been partying. She had wondered if anyone could hear her from the outside, but she knocked on the heavy wooden door and called out anyway.

Not long after she could hear someone picking at the lock from the outside and finally the door burst open.

“Oh, thank goodness!” she had exclaimed, wiping the perspiration from her forehead.

“How did you manage to lock yourself in there?” he had asked her, and for the first time, she had looked at her savior’s face. His eyes had disappeared as he smiled at her.

She couldn’t help smiling back as he put out his hand, waiting for her to take it. Without any hesitation she took his hand and he led her outside.

“Gosh, how can I thank you?” she had asked.

His smile became more defined. “Your name and number would be enough.”

She had raised an eyebrow and laughed at his straightforwardness. But she found his smile too cute that she didn’t see his remark as annoying at all.

“Give me your phone,” she told him as she held out her hand.

He took out his mobile and handed it to her.

“Kim Hyoyeon. Is this really your name and number?” he asked teasingly as he looked at what she had typed on the screen after she handed his phone back to him.

She rolled her eyes.  “You can always ask around.”

He chuckled. “True,” he held out his hand to her once again. “I’m Lee Junho, by the way.”

Hyoyeon bit her lip as she came to the end of that memory. That memory that she had wanted to tuck in the innermost of her mind; that memory she never wanted to remember. But it kept coming back, haunting her…just like the other memories that came after that fateful meeting and she couldn’t stop herself.

She turned away from the window and crossed the room. She sat on the couch and she began to run her hand along the acrylic upholstery. It was the very same couch where they had cuddled up countless of times…

“Thank you!” she hugged him after opening his gift for her on their 100^th day as a couple. They were seated on the very same couch she was in at the moment. After that night when he rescued her and asked for her name and number, Junho didn’t waste any time. He frequently called her, asked her out, and as she began to know him she gradually fell for him. They became official, but Hyoyeon wanted to keep their relationship from the rest of her co-workers. She had been waiting for a promotion and she had been close to it, and she didn’t want them to say that she only got promoted because she was dating the boss’ son. Junho didn’t like her idea but he tried to understand.

“That’s how much I love you, Hyoyeon-ah,” he had whispered in her ear.

She pretended to cringe. “Aigoo, you’re so cheesy.”

He poked her side. “Yah, since when does love become cheesy? Don’t you love me?”

She laughed. “Of course I do!”

“Then say it. I want to hear it,” he wiggled his eyebrows at her and she laughed harder.

She was never good at expressing her feelings verbally. She was never one to be comfortable with serious talks. Instead of saying the words he wanted to hear from her, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her.

“I think it is better shown than said,” she giggled and pressed her lips to his.

“Fine, if you’re being like this I won’t complain,” Junho murmured against her lips before kissing her back. He pushed her down on the couch and she didn’t resist…

Tears are already welling up in her eyes and she blinked, trying to prevent them from falling. She wanted to forget, but she couldn’t help herself. She could never stop the memories; especially not in this particular time of the year.

“It’s our first year anniversary as a couple, or have you forgotten?” Junho’s small eyes widened as he saw her descending down the stairs in her business suit.

“There has been a problem in one of the articles. I have to be in the office to check it out,” she answered, grabbing her coat and hurrying to the door.

“But, honey, Cho Rong told me they can handle it. You’re hardly needed there.”

“I need to be there. I have to see it. Everything must be perfect,” she stared at his devastated face and sighed. She stepped toward him and gave him a peck on the lips. “Let’s go out and celebrate some other time, okay? I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

He had always tried to understand and he had always been there beside her, even if she had taken him for granted not just one time but countless of times. He would always forgive. But the Christmas three years ago had been the last straw.

“Hyo, will you marry me?”

His voice rang clear in her mind, as if he was still there in front of her, though he had asked her that significant question three Christmases ago.  

Hyoyeon hadn’t expected his question. Well, she had thought that one day he would propose marriage to her but not on that day. She was recently promoted, but it wasn’t the position she had been after. It was a step higher than where she was. She had been so close; this close to her dream position and she couldn’t let anything ruin that.

She stared at Junho, shock all over her face as he kneeled in front of her and slipped the ring on her finger.

“Hyoyeon?”

Her gaze shifted on the ring on her left forefinger. She wanted to say yes, but…

“I would love to, but not now,” she said softly.

Junho’s eyes widened, and the happiness she had seen there earlier was replaced by shock. He hadn’t expected her answer. He stood up and nodded.

“I see.”

He looked angry, so Hyoyeon began to speak defensively. “I don’t think you see at all-”

“No? I perfectly understand now, Hyoyeon! You’re choosing your career over me, your ambition over my love,” Junho suddenly burst out.

“I thought you understand!” she yelled.

“I tried to! But the fact that you wanted to keep our relationship a secret, the fact that you wouldn’t want to marry me because of that damn promotion bothers me. It keeps me thinking…do you really love me? Do you even care about how I feel?”

“I didn’t exactly say I don’t want to marry you. Just not now.”

“When? I can’t wait forever, Hyoyeon!”

Her eyes widened as she heard those words. It hurt her. She thought he would understand. She thought he would always be there for her. She was wrong. He would never wait for her.

“Fine,” she looked at him defiantly. “You don’t want to wait? Then don’t.”

It was the coldest day for her as she watched Junho walk out the door and out of her life. But she stayed firm in her decision. If he couldn’t understand her, then she was better off alone.

Hyoyeon got what she wanted months after; she got promoted to her dream position, but she could find no happiness in her heart. All she could feel was emptiness. She had shared her success with her family over the phone and they were happy for her, but it could have been better if she could share her happiness with someone who is by her side. Only she let that someone go.

She felt emptier as her anger faded and she became filled with longing and remorse. She had been too blinded by her ambition that she didn’t realize his importance. But just when she was about to admit her mistake and come running back to Junho and ask for his forgiveness, she saw him with another woman. She heard from her co-workers that she is an heiress, and Junho had been dating her for nearly a month. It broke Hyoyeon. So, she had been that easy to replace. But life goes on for her and she must move on. Only she gets pulled back every time the snow falls and covers the ground.

Would it be too much to wish for Junho to come back to her?

She wiped her tears and got up from the couch. She couldn’t take it anymore. She has to go out and entertain herself, or else she would go crazy dealing with the pain all alone.

She called friends, asking any of them to shop with her but none of them is available. What would she expect at this time? She had no choice but to go out alone…again.

As she went past shop displays, her heart began to lighten a bit and the pain had somehow dulled…but she knew it’s only for a while. The moment she would step inside her empty apartment the loneliness and pain would keep her company again. That had been her fear as the day came to a close and as much as she didn’t want to, she knew she has to go home.

It was already dark when she parked her car in the building’s parking area. She got out of her car and stepped toward the elevators.

The operator smiled and greeted her and she smiled back wanly, leaning her frame against the mirrored wall. Any second now, and I would be alone again, she thought as she watched the digital numbers increase while they ascended.

Ping!

She hesitantly stepped out of the elevator, bowing slightly and mumbling a thank you to the elevator boy.

“Merry Christmas, Miss Kim!”

She nodded and waved. Bowing her head she made her way to her apartment.

“What took you so long? Where have you been?”

She froze. That voice. Is she hearing things now? She stared at the pair of shoes before her and blinked. It didn’t disappear. She slowly ran her gaze upward, until it met with Junho’s twinkling ones.

“W-what…are you doing here?” she managed to choke out.

He put his hands in the pocket of his trousers. “Aren’t you going to invite me in?”

She blinked again. Then she recovered slightly from her initial shock. “Y-yah, you might rob me or me,” she joked, trying to lighten the tension she could feel building between them.

Junho’s eyes disappeared as he let out a bark of laughter. “Hyoyeon, Hyoyeon…you haven’t changed at all,” he shook his head.

“So what brings you here?” she asked again, her heart pounding hard against her chest.

He took a deep breath. One hand reached inside the pocket of his trousers and he fished out a small velvet box.

Hyoyeon’s eyes widened, her heart suddenly filled with anticipation.

He opened the box before her and there inside nestled the ring he gave her that she gave back to him.

“I just came by to drop this. I believe this belongs to you,” he said, taking her hand in his and putting the velvet box with the ring inside on her palm.

“What…does this mean?”

He shrugged. “I’ve decided to wait for you to accept my Christmas gift,” he said nonchalantly, nodding at the ring. “And to wait for you to give me a gift back.”

His statement somehow angered Hyoyeon. Though it seemed like he was talking in riddles, Hyoyeon almost knew what he meant. She slammed a fist on his chest.

“How dare you! You decided, just like that? After telling me you won’t wait for me? After replacing me so easily? After leaving me alone for years, miserable and lonely?!”

“Hey!” he held her wrists to prevent her from giving more punches on his chest. For such a small girl, her punches are quite strong.

“I hate you, I hate you, I hate you! I hate you for doing this to me! I never minded being alone until you came! You ruined everything!”

“Hyoyeon,” Junho let go of her wrists and caught her in a tight embrace.

She struggled for a while, sobbing. Gradually she stopped struggling, but she never stopped crying.

“Shhh...,” Junho whispered. “I thought that was what you wanted.”

“What do I want?” she hiccupped on his chest.

“That I leave you alone so that you could concentrate on your goal…so that you could follow your ambition. And now that you got what you wanted, I’m thinking that maybe it’s time for you to accept my proposal,” he explained.

“But you said you wouldn’t wait for me!” she accused.

“I’m sorry,” he began to caress her back. “I was just so angry and hurt back then. I thought you don’t love me enough that your career is more important to you than I am. I was so jealous of your dream.”

She pulled away and looked up at him. “What about that heiress?”

He looked puzzled for a minute. “Who?” then understanding dawned on his face. “You mean Min Young? She’s my god sister. She agreed to help me make you jealous so that you’ll realize my importance. But I think it didn’t work. Instead of bringing you closer to me it just made you angry and more distant.”

She eyed him warily. “How do I know that you’re telling the truth?”

He chuckled at her remark. “I won’t come back if I have found someone else, Hyo. And at first I thought about it…but I couldn’t. My heart just won’t listen. I’ve always been sure that you’re the one for me, then and now.”

A fresh batch of tears began to fall from her eyes.

“I’m so sorry. It’s not that I didn’t want to be with you.  Maybe I was just too blinded by my ambition and I didn’t realize how important you are…that my very dream was just to be with you. All my dreams are nothing when you’re not there to share them with me.”

He wiped the tears from her eyes. “Hearing you say that tells me that I came at the right time.”

She shook her head. “You’re two years late…,” she looked at him and saw that he looked alarmed by what she said. “But never too late to fix things up between us,” she added.

Junho pulled her again and hugged her and this time she hugged him back.

“I love you, Kim Hyoyeon.”

“I love you back, Lee Junho,” she whispered, closing her eyes, somehow disbelieving that Junho came back.

He pulled away from her and took the box from her hand. He kneeled in front of her and took out the ring, then slipped it on her finger…for the second time.

“Will you marry me this time, Hyo?” he asked, his face solemn.

“Yes,” she answered loudly, nodding her head vigorously.

He stood and picked her up and began twirling her around. She could see it in his eyes how she made him happy, but she was happy, too. A second chance is rare, and they were among the lucky ones to receive it. Maybe because fate knew she should not be alone, not only during that coldest, most wonderful time of the year, but all throughout the rest of her life. 

Next would be Minstal or Yongseo?

Whew, finally… my first Junhyo fic! I didn’t know if it’s to your liking, though, or it’s too cheesy for Junhyo. Anyway, thank you for reading and I hope to see comments on how it is.