“Hey, Kyuhyun, do you think boys like these kind of stuffs?”

It was a fine, cold afternoon, with snowflakes falling at rythmic intervals, slowly forming a pile of white matter near your feet. The clock was ticking--slow but sure, to a moment every Christian in the world awaits for; Christmas eve. And there you were, at the city centre, staring at every display windows you pass, until you found a pair of red, fine-knitted mittens, being in one of the racks of those stores. It was so adorable, really.

Kyuhyun, who was behind you, yawned widely and blinked a few times when he realized you were throwing an annoyed stare at him, waiting for an answer. "Too cute."

You pouted at his answer, putting back the mitten into place. Damn it, you thought, what should I buy then?

You continued to walk as you huffed out icy vapor from your lips, when you heard Kyuhyun grumbling behind you, "Now, tell me what are we actually doing here?"

Your steps came into a halt as you started to blush, thinking about an answer to that question, before you finally said, "...Buying some Christmas presents for my friends."

As if not sure with your answer, Kyuhyun walked beside you and laughed at your now-lit-up cheeks, poking them playfully. "Are you sureee~?" He chuckled, that typical cheeky smile he always has when he pranks you was plastered on his face. "You're blushing so hard, you know that?"

You felt something inside you explodes as Kyuhyun touched your cheek. Those happy, tingling feeling travelled all over your body, resulting you who's unable to think straight. Damn, think of an answer, think of an answer...Don't let that brat embarrass me...

 "It's for my...boyfriend", you finally managed to huff out. Lies.

You don't have any boyfriend, to bluntly state it. Since you've always had your eyes glued to a certain someone. And the man? Is Kyuhyun. That childhood friend of yours whom never even once failed to annoy you, yet the one you never even once be able to get mad at.

You liked him--you've always liked him. And this year's actually the first time you spend your Christmas eve together with him.

That's why you forced Kyuhyun to walk around Seoul with you today--to find a Christmas present for him. For Kyuhyun. But you lied, saying that you would give that to your boyfriend...Well, good job.

Suddenly, as if snapping you back into reality, you felt Kyuhyun stopped poking your cheeks. You turned your head, trying to face him.

And you swore you caught a glimpse of a strange expression on his face before he finally blurted, "Oh", suddenly walking past you without saying another word.

Confused by his actions, you ran after him and asked, "W-what's wrong?". Kyuhyun froze for a while there, before the tense expression on his face got washed away by his sudden chuckle. He patted your head with a smile, "Nothing."

And you know you're not stupid, because you realize that his smile just now was frankly fake.

...But nothing should've gone wrong, right?

As if nothing happened, you scoffed it off right away, and tried to align your steps with Kyuhyun’s, whom was already way far in front of you.

~

After that, you spent three hours straight, trying to find the perfect gift for Kyuhyun. It was getting dark already, and it seems that Kyuhyun had a sudden change of mood. You've gone into and out from many shops, and on every single thing you point into, Kyuhyun would always say, "Oh no." Or, "What the hell are you pointing at?!" Or even, to the lovely brown-and-white-checkered shawl you last pointed onto, he said, "Man, do you even have any sense of taste? Any boy wouldn't want that, okay?!"

And that was it. You threw the shawl onto the basket where you found it, and pulled a shock-faced Kyuhyun out of the store forcefully. It was dark already when you both made your way outside--people were walking around you, but you didn't care.

"Damn it--what are you trying to say here, Kyuhyun?" You screeched, both your hands on your hips as you glared at the man who had just now pissed you off. But the latter--he wasn't even less angrier. "What?"

"You--oh God, Kyuhyun, you insult everything I've picked!" You grumbled angrily. You know it wasn't the actual reason that made you angry, but you blurt all them out anyways.

Unexpectedly, Kyuhyun bragged back.  "Hey--I'm the one who should be angry here!!", leaving you dumbfounded, silent. He breathed out loudly, continuing, "You're the one who dragged me out here for the whole afternoon, without me knowing the purpose of it at first, and when you told me what all this is for, it's only to look for a gift for your boyfriend?!"

You felt as if something hit you by that sentence, making your blood all boiled up inside you. Without thinking straight, you screamed, "God damn it, Cho Kyuhyun--do you want your ing Christmas present or not?!" You huffed hard, grasping for air, before continuing, “Don’t you know all I did today is to find a Christmas present for you, you brat?! Since I don’t know what you like, or what you want, then I decided to drag you all around Seoul to find a…gift for…you…”—

—Pause.

It took a few seconds until you realize that you've...simply talked too much. You quickly covered your mouth with the two palms of your hand, your eyes wide in shock and your cheeks lit red in embarrassment. Damn. It.

You were cursing yourself, when you dunked your head deep down, sinking it within the folds of your shawl, not even having the courage to lift it back up again. When suddenly, you heard Kyuhyun chuckle. Not chuckling, even, since he was laughing really hard.

“Oh God”, he said, in between his laughters, “Oh my God.” He laughed so hard, and it was practically unstoppable, that you decided to wait for him to stop while you just sink your face in your shawl even deeper.

But suddenly, you felt your chin being lifted, by one of  those slender fingers Kyuhyun has, until you were face-to-face to him. You closed your eyes, though, not having enough courage to see the look in his eyes. “Hey”, he chuckled. You blushed as the harmony of it reached your eardrums. “Open your eyes, would you?”

Despite that request, you clipped your eyelids even tighter, trying to mumble, “No”, and sound stern, but failed. Your ears caught another laughter slipping from the latter’s lips, and you pouted as you hear that. He’ll never stop laughing at me, you thought. But suddenly, his hand reached out to your hips, pulling you into his hug.

And you couldn’t actually believe your sense of hearing when you heard—and you felt—that his heart was beating as fast as yours.

“Don’t you know”, he started, your hair at a gentle pace, “How surprised I was when you asked me to accompany you on Christmas eve yesterday?”. Your eyes widened at his words, but yet, he continued, “Don’t you know how much time I’ve spent in front of the mirror this morning—and how I rummaged my wardrobe to find a decent clothing for me to wear today?” You shook your head, absolutely clueless, but you blushed at the thought of it. Why did he do all that?

And, as if he could read minds, he said softly, “Because I want to look perfect in your eyes.”

“I was really expecting for today—for our walk together, and then for the fun of it, I asked you why. And you said it’s because you’re looking for Christmas presents for your boyfriend, and—“ He breathed, “—don’t you know how hurt I was?”

“And then I lost my mood. The reason why I insult everything you picked is that—is that…I don’t want him  or whoever he is, get a good gift from you.” “I-I’m sorry, I know that sounds selfish”, he quickly added, tightening his hug around your waist, “But I—I just can’t bear having you walking beside me, when your mind is for someone else.”

And then Kyuhyun’s warm hands cupped your face, until your now-teary-eyes met his coal black pupils. And there, you couldn’t see nothing but sincerity when he smiled—the sweetest smile you’ve ever seen in your life, you swore—and said, “But after that, when you told me that all this—all what you did today, was for me—I couldn’t think of anything anymore. Don’t you know how happy I am right now?!”

Kyuhyun then chuckled, happiness was clearly contained in it. And you swore you saw him blushing so bad, and you can’t help but laugh as well. “Stop with the laughing, Kyuhyun-ah”, you blurted between your breaths, “You’re driving me crazy!”

But that didn’t even stop his laughter. “It’s yourself whom you should blame, for making me as crazy as this”, he said, as he ruffled your hair lovingly. “Hey, by the way, I appreciate all these things you did for me today—walking this far to find me a gift…but…I only need one thing, to be honest.”

“What, then?” You smiled, asking him.

And you couldn’t believe what he did next. Under the falling snow, under the illuminating street lights, under the bright moon shining breath-takingly in the Seoul night sky—he locked his lips with yours. For the first time, you felt thousands of fireworks exploding inside your body, and your heart drumming faster onto your ribcage, faster than what it should be. It was a sweet, brief kiss, but once your lips were linked with his, you swore, the sky above you—the sky you see everyday,was a thousand times more beautiful.

“What I want is you”, Kyuhyun said, after he managed to pull away, smile never leaving his face, “What I want is you, to be more than just my childhood friend. I want myself to be more than just a neighbor whom you go to school together with, and more than just the guy whom you look for when you have trouble.” He sighed, his face was as red as a crab, and you know yours were, too. “I love you so much,jagiya. Can you…be mine?”

And your wide, genuine smile speaks louder than millions of words.

You saw Kyuhyun looking like a puppy, waiting for your answer eagerly. You tried to act cool at first, but ended up chuckling at the next second, extremely happy to your heart’s content. Kyuhyun’s eyes pratically gleamed as he saw your reaction, as he straddled you into a hug, whispering, “Then I’ll take that as a yes, princess.”

The bright stars above you became the witness, as you both started to walk again, fingers entwined with each other. Seconds passed peacefully, but then as if remembering something, Kyuhyun’s steps came into a halt so suddenly. “W-what’s the matter?” You asked, surprised.

You almost bursted as you saw his face burning red again, as he tried to stutter some words out from his lips, which you find it really cute in your eyes. “I—uh...I just remembered…That, uh…Oh God, how do I say this…That, boyfriend, thing, you said earlier today…” You blinked, but smiled a second later as you slowly got his point. “Yes? What’s with it?” You played dumb, playing along. His cheeks flushed even redder, as he mumbled out, “Uhm…you…you don’t have a…boyfriend, right…?“

You chuckled at his words, finding him so cute when he stutters like that. You snuggled up your coat, smiling and leaning your head onto his shoulder while swinging his hands in your grasp back and forth, saying, “But I have one now.”

Kyuhyun blinked for a second, but then he smiled so wide, from ear-to-ear, and kissed your forehead gently in the process. “I love you, so much.”

Chuckling, you answered, "I love you too."

That felt so perfect--everything was perfect, you almost couldn't believe that it's happening.

It felt just like a dream.

.

.

.

But you could feel the warmth of Kyuhyun's hand in yours, your fingers entwining with each other, and his chest heaving at every step you both take.

...It wasn't just a dream.