"Oh-ho! Look where you're standing..."

The noisy giggles stirr Woohyun's attention in the middle of his track.He's already balancing two full bowls of popcorn,and a knitting kit,while waltzing a little bundle in his hand-made wrap carrier across his midsection.The elf hat is somehow misplaced on his head or maybe just a little crooked since his hands are only able to do so much at one time.

But he still makes an amazing impersonation of a Santa's help.

And who other more apropriate to complete the image than the man of the hour himself?

If anyone asked me to play Santa I would've made sure the curiosity died before the question ended, but now...I'm at the mercy of youth.

My entire department is sworn secrecy over any mishap on my whereabouts; as far as everyone's concerned, I'm on a short undercover leave to another state.

"Yun, sweetheart, I'm really barely hanging here. What did you mean?Don't tell me I've stepped into another gooey toy."Hyun cringes, much to my delight.

The whines that escape his mouth are fricking addictive and I'm still a victim by choice to those.

Grinning under the fake beard I close in on him, for the proverbial saving the day, or simply the overwhelmed Woohyun.He's so used to do things on his own,he barely takes in the helping hands.It's only by the inaudible sigh of relief that I know he's greatful for whatever might've come to his rescue.There's no doubt it's only a matter of seconds before the wheels in his head start rolling and he's over analysing and then...

​"Oh my god!" he startles, one hand on his chest,while the other reaches behind him to cradle the gurgling weight in a protective manner.

"Usually, Santa is welcomed with joy."I fake pout, not that it is visible under that white fluffy beard.

"Cut the cra...crabs."he swivels the word in his mouth."And stop pouting,I'm not even impressed."he huffs, a faint snigger at the corner of his lips.

I may be smitten when admitting to this, but I know he's jumping in joy right now.Woohyun is just as much as a kid as ours;except he still sends Santa his wishing letter.

"What are you doing here?"he whispers.

"It's Christmas."I point out."Where else would Santa be?"I wink,grabbing my belly and laughing a merrily 'Ho-ho-ho!', popcorn falling on the floor with each movement.

The audience goes wild, clapping and screaming and blowing foaming baloons out of their mouth.I stop and amaze at the perfection in front of me,before kissing every single one on their cheeks just under the mistletoe.

"I thought you'd be coming down the chimney."Woohyun flicks my forehead, hiding behind his giggle how happy he was to see me.

"It's a hassle to wash this."I point at the attire I'm wearing.

"Doesn't Ms.Claus help you?"Yunhee awes, patting the soft velvety patch of my winter coat.Last year she was too little to understand the whole concept ,but now all the stories she heard were in front of her."Namu always takes care of appa's hazels."

"Hassles."we sing-song.

"Like I said."she frowns, looking intently at me.

Crap! Don't fall for it, Sunggyu! Don't say it. I pray Woohyun is on top of the situation and doesn't blow my cover.Yunhee is already suspicious.

"Yun, don't be rude to Santa.He's not gonna grant your wishes,otherwise."he grabs her small shoulder,adjusting the reindeers ears on her head."Why don't you sing him a carol,like we practised?"he smiles.

I'm halfway melting( not from the heat the suit is drowning me into).

Yunhee is eager to please Namu every chance she has, especially since her little brother came into the family.She's a mother hen herself,which most of the time turns out far more than I can handle,but that's a strange beauty in all of it.

While singing around the Christmas tree,we make ourselves comfortable ,sewing popcorn with red threads and ornating it along with gingerbread figurines and candy canes.

"Appa, who is Chritmas married to?"Yunhee suddenly asks, humming a somewhat familiar tune.

"It means it is jolly, happy; not married, bumblebee."I coo,patting her head.

Woohyun's striken expression warns me before I realise what happened.Yunhee's smug face is just the cherry on top.

Busted! she seems to say,but goes about her business like nothing happened.Since Woohyun hasn't said anything,she doesn't mind playing pretense.

It's later in the night when Woohyun falls asleep, little Kyunghee in his arms, that I get my alone time with her.All the fatigue and worries seem to wash away for the mere time,as we sway in a slow rythm.

"I'm sorry I boost your cover."she whispers, head on my shoulder and small hands hugging my neck.

"Burst."I smile.

"Like I said."

"Right. Aren't you sad;we never got to talk to you about this?"

"It's ok, appa.I knew it is a story.We play like this all the time with teach.I'm glad you came home tonight.Namu wished really hard for it.Maybe there is a secret Santa that we don't see and he does make wishes come true."she says, eyes sparkling with innocent youth.

Hope hasn't died on her, thank God.

"Stop growing up so fast."I whine.

"I'm trying, but the doormat doesn't like me.Everyday Namu measures my height,it is bigger."

We laugh and giggle and I try hard not to fricking cry;these moments will pass by so fast.I have to make more time to spend with them before I'm too old to remember what was it I wanted to do.

For now, I'm enjoying this dance with my daughter,imprinting each scent and breath and word she says into my memory box.

"Appa?"

"What is it?"

"Are kids gonna make fun of my brother because he is called like a girl?"

She's an introvert most of the times,but when the problems start getting heavier she won't back down from seeking help.We've talked  about it before, but she'd been so excited about the whole process that I didn't have the heart to fight it out of her.

"No, bumblebee.I won't let them.Besides, you have the right to change it afterwards."

"I don't want him to.But...maybe he will, if he doesn't like it."she huffs a bit sad.

"I'm sure he'll love it."I peck her temple."It's late , do you want to go to bed?"

"Mmno.I like to dance with you.It's warm and fuzzy."she giggles."Namu is soft,too."

"Yeah, he is."I smile again.