And Hyukjae sat alone on the roof of his dormitory. He rubbed his hands together and pulled his grey hood up over his head to keep in as much as the warmth as possible.

The small present sat in his lap and his eyes wandered over it from time to time. Hyukjae had never been very good at wrapping presents, but against his Hyung’s advice, he’d decided to wrap the gift himself. It was for someone important after all. Overall, there was a little bit too much sticky tape, and the loops of the ribbon was slightly lopsided. 

Hyukjae winced from the cold as he pulled his sleeve up to check the time. It was 11.32pm. Don’t worry Hyukjae, he thought to himself, She’ll come. Hyukjae turned his attention to the landscape in front of him. The city of Seoul was bustling with even more people than usual. People were dashing around, looking for last minute presents for their loved ones. This year, Hyukjae bought this present months in advance, to make sure he had the perfect gift. Not that it mattered… It was only a decoy for the real present. While she would be busy opening the decoy present that Hyukjae held in his hand, her real present was stowed away warmly in Hyukjae’s pocket. For at least the hundredth time since he got to the roof, he gently put his hand in his jacket pocket to check it was still there, and sure enough, he felt his fingers brush along its side. He smiled to himself, just as the door to the rooftop creaked open. 

“Hyukjae-ah, Sorry to keep you waiting~” She said with that smile. Every time he saw his girlfriend of three years, he nearly had to pinch himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. Every day he saw her… She seemed even more beautiful than the last. “Its a shame you’re late Hyoyeonnie…’” Hyukjae said as he stood up, trying to hide his smile, “In the time it took you to get here, i decided to keep your present for myself.” He turned to face her, and his smirk grew into a gummy smile as she pouted at him. “I’m joking Hyo! Besides, it wouldn’t look any good on me.” Hyukjae closed the distance between them and pulled her into a hug. She was so warm, and he was tempted to not let go.

“Hyukkie…” Hyoyeon’s muffled voice said sadly.
“Hyo, What’s wrong?” he pulled out of the hug and held her at arms distance, and she looked down at her feet. He felt his stomach tie into a knot as a tear fell down her cheek. “Hyukkie, I couldn’t get you a gift this year… I’ve been so busy with rehearsals and promotions… and I couldn’t…” Her voice drifted off and she looked up into Hyukjae’s eyes. 
“Kim Hyoyeon you pabo!” Hyukjae said, wiping the tear away from her cheek. “That’s what this is about? I don’t care if you didn’t get me a present!” He thought for a second. “You know what?” The nervousness starting to bubble in his stomach. “I know exactly how you can make it up to me.” Her expression changed from sadness, into curiosity. ‘How? I’ll do anything.” Hyukjae chuckled and kissed her quickly on the cheek. “Anything? How about you wait until i say what it is before you commit like that.” Her head tilted to the side in confusion, making her long blonde hair fall away from her shoulder.

“First things first!” said Hyukjae, producing the decoy present. “This is for you.” Still confused, she took the present with both hands, and her eyes scanned over it, before a smile broke out on her face. “You wrapped this yourself, didn’t you?” She poked at the lopsided ribbon, laughing. ‘Yah! I worked hard on that!’ Hyukjae said, pouting. ‘i can see that. It’s a huge improvement on last year.” She sent a playful wink his way before she started opening the present. As she struggled with the sticky tape, Hyukjae pulled the real present out of his pocket and held it tightly in his right hand.

After a short time, Hyoyeon held the contents of the decoy present in her hand. It was a silver necklace with a large diamond stone as the pendant. “Hyukjae, this is amazing! You shouldn’t have… it must of cost a lot! the size of this diamond…” Hyukjae shuffled his feet nervously and he looked Hyoyeon in the eyes. “Well,” he said with a nervous laugh, ‘I had to get something to match the ring.”

Hyoyeon’s eyes grew wide and she faltered for a moment. ‘To match… the what?” Using his left hand, Hyukjae held Hyoyeon’s left hand. ‘Hyoyeon, I love you more than i have ever loved anyone in my whole life, but I’m sick of you being my girlfriend. Its not enough.’ Still holding her hand, Hyukjae knelt down on one knee and looked up at her. ‘You said that you’d do anything to make it up to me… So Kim Hyoyeon, will you be my wife?’

Tears had started to fall from Hyoyeon’s eyes again, but she was nodding vigorously. Hyukjae silently let out a breath of relief as he slipped the silver ring over her finger, smiling all the while. Hyukjae stood up and pulled Hyoyeon into a breath taking kiss, as snow began to fall around them. 

Twas the night before christmas…