It was early morning on the day before Christmas Eve. Jiyong pouted as he stared into his coffee, almost forgotten cigarette hanging from his lips. Tomorrow evening, his boyfriend would be here. He’d been off gallivanting around Asia, opening ramen shops and quite probably STILL celebrating his birthday. Ji had missed him very much and this was probably the last Christmas they’d get to spend together, for a few years what with pending enlistments rapidly approaching. Jiyong had searched for the perfect gift and still had yet to find anything that was just right. He’d even gone on several shopping sprees in Japan while BigBang was there for their “Last Dance” tour, and he’d still come up empty handed. Mostly. He had of course managed to fill out his own ever expanding wardrobe, of course.

          After putting out his largely unsmoked in the ashtray, and quickly spraying the room with air freshener to keep Dami from fussing, Jiyong picked up his phone to message his best friend. Maybe he would have some ideas to point him in the right direction before he hit the streets of Gangnam to shop once again.

To Youngbae-ya <3 :I’m stuck! I have no ideas left!

                       :What do I get????

                       :YAH! Don’t ignore me! I’m in distress here…

                                                                                                         To Whiney Dragon :I’m not ignoring you.

                                                                                                                 :Finish your coffee, some of us are actually busy, you know…

                                                                                                                 :Stop stressing. I’m sure all Ri wants is to be with you. It’s not like you expect him to

                                                                                                                get you anything.

To Unhelpful Sun :P :Thanks for nothing Bro

                                                                                                       To SUPER Annoying Dragon :Literally can’t roll eyes hard enough.

         After chugging the rest of his now cold coffee, Ji huffed to himself and got dressed to continue his perfect gift quest. Having decided that maybe something simple and cute and kitschy would be better than something extravagant he headed out his door with renewed purpose, admiring the snowflakes as they fell from the sky.

          It wasn’t long after that when he found himself literally almost walking into a street vendor’s cart and nearly running over the matronly green haired woman running it. “Omo, I am so sorry, I didn’t mean to bump into you,” Jiyong stammered as he bowed repeatedly and apologized profusely. It was then that he really took notice of her wares. And while it wasn’t what he initially was looking for, he felt it was kind of perfect. So much so that he didn’t even mind that the ajumma had her cart in a spot where there shouldn’t be anyone, even if she did wink at him and laughed as he walked away.

          Meanwhile at Youngbae’s house an equally frustrated with gift shopping maknae flopped dramatically on his hyung’s couch. When that didn’t get a desirable response, he upped the ante with some whining. “HYOOOONNG, pleeeeeaaase!” Seungri pleaded dramatically, only to earn himself an eyeroll and a shove.

          “Instead of being pathetic here in my living room, why don’t you try, I don’t know, telling your man that you are home already?” Youngbae lectured as he herded the group’s youngest member towards the door. “Go, I have things I need to do as well, ya know, Maknae.”

          Ri let out a sigh as he slipped on his shoes to head out the door. He’d already pestered Seunghyun and even Daesung to help him pick out a gift for Jiyong and gotten nowhere. Both of his other group mates had tired quickly of his pickiness at gift choosing as well. Youngbae had suggested that maybe Ji just wanted to spend the holiday with him and didn’t actually need a gift. He did, after all have literally everything he wants or needs. Cuz hello, black card.

          Either way, Seungri headed out into the weather, looking up to watch the light snowfall, as it made its way to the ground. He was so entranced by the crystalline structures that he didn’t see the young girl pulling her wagon until he’d plowed right into her and knocked her hat right off the green hair on her head.

          “Yah! Ajusshi! Watch where you are going wouldja?” The girl fussed as Ri tried to help her right herself, while muttering several apologies. “Here, take this,” she said, ing something into his hand as she stomped off with her load, still muttering to herself. “Maybe that’ll help others know you are coming since you don’t look where you are going.”

          Seungri couldn’t believe his luck as he stared at the item now in his gloved fingers. It was perfect. He turned around and headed home, not noticing the girl still watching him as she chuckled to herself and gave a wink.

          Christmas morning finally came; Jiyong curled himself easily into the lap of his favorite panda boyfriend. Handing over the gift he had painstakingly wrapped the night before. Seungri set it aside to hold the elder man in his arms.

          “You didn’t have to get me anything, Hyung. Getting to spend this day with you… it’s enough. I have everything else I could need or want.” Jiyong swatted at him as he blushed, but before he could do much more, Ri placed his own gift on the other’s lap. “Please, open mine first,” he murmured. “It’s a set, one for you and one for me. I hope you like it.”

          Ji lifted the lid, peering inside. What he found inside brought tears to his eyes. Holding up the pair of bells so listen to them tinkle and ring the most musical sound he’d ever heard. They really were a perfect set, his gift and Seungri’s.

          “Open mine please,” he asked of his love brushing the tear on his cheek away. Inside the box, Ri couldn’t believe what he had found. Inside a simple frame was a poem, the words brought tears to his own eyes as well.

We’ll take refuge in bells, in the swinging bells,
in the peal, the air, the heart of ringing.
We’ll take refuge in bells and we’ll float
over the earth in their heavy casings

Over the earth, over meadows
and a single white daisy, over the bench on which love
carved its imperfect symbol, over a willow
obedient to the will of cool wind,

over the Tatras’ green lake, over crying
and mourning, over binoculars shining
in sun

Over the border, over your attentive gaze,
over the pupil of somebody’s eye, over a rusty cannon,
over the garden gate which no longer exists,
over clouds, over rain drinking dew,

over the town park where a Swiss Army knife,
lost lifetimes ago, lies hidden still

When the night comes, we’ll take refuge
in bells, those airy carriages,
those bronze balloons.

A/N  The Poem is called "The Bells"  and is one of the few works of Adam Zagajewski that has been translated from the Polish is was originally written in.