Seulgi fiddles with the handle of her coffee cup, tapping her feet rhythmically on the floor as she scans the faces of her three closest friends.

  Maybe this was a bad idea.

  “So, miss Sushi,” Yerim is the first to speak, yawning as she stretches against the back of her chair.  “Tell us why you dragged us out so early.”

  “On a cold Sunday morning,” Sooyoung adds, eyes narrowed from behind her big cup of Americano. Seulgi eyes it wearily. She always prefers drunk-Sooyoung over caffeine addicted-Sooyoung. The first is a sloppy, cuddly mess that likes to hug Seulgi a lot and falls asleep anywhere at any time. The second is hyper aware and even more sassy than usual, especially if she’s sleepy and grumpy.

  Case in point:  “Aka the one day none of us has lessons and we could all be still sleeping in our beds. You better have a good reason.”

  Seulgi gulps, searching Joohyun’s eyes for some moral support. Her oldest friend just snorts, sipping on her hot chocolate and eyeing Sooyoung with a patient, calming look. “I’m guessing you didn’t just decided to randomly offer us breakfast,” she begins, and Seulgi can’t help but give a timid nod. She’s never been good at keeping secrets or telling lies, especially when it comes to her best friends. “What’s up then?”

  Seulgi takes a breath and pointedly avoids looking at any of their faces. “Okay uhm... you guys know I’ve been meeting up with the singer from that bar, right?”

  “You mean the Seungwan you won’t stop talking about? The one with the ‘pretty smile, a voice to die for and the sweetest personality’?” Yerim immediately shoots back, not even looking up from whatever she’s doing on her phone. “Never heard of her.”

  “The Seungwan that moved here from Canada this year to study music and that looks like a baby hamster every time she puffs out her cheeks or something?” Joohyun adds, her pensive face ruined by one of the biggest -eating grins Seulgi’s ever seen. “You may have mentioned her. Maybe once a day since you met her. Three weeks, right?

  “The Seungwan you happen to have a disgustingly obvious crush on that makes you forsake sleep every Wednesday night just so you can go listen to her sing?“ Sooyoung concludes, and by the time she finishes her sentence Seulgi is positive her face has turned into a tomato. “Yeah, I feel like I know her and I’ve only seen her like once. From afar. She’s pretty by the way, you’ve got good taste.”

  This was such a bad idea.

  “Guys!” Seulgi whines, covering her face with her hands and they burst out laughing at her.

  She needs new friends. And a fan to cool down her cheeks.

  “C’mon unnie, we’re just messing with you,” Yerim chuckles, patting Seulgi’s arm while Sooyoung playfully ruffles her hair. “It’s kind of cute actually. You always make this stupid face when you talk about her, all starry eyed and stuff.”

  “I don’t make a stupid face,” Seulgi’s protest is weak, and if she wants to be honest, also pretty false. She doesn’t know how many times in the last month her cheeks have lost sensibility from continuously smiling whenever she’s around Seungwan.

  It’s already bad when they only talk on the phone, worse with the real thing, but Seulgi just can’t get enough of it.

  After their first meeting, they have often met up for study dates which, in one way or another, always turn into random, interminable conversation that keep them in the study hall for hours on end without getting any work done.

  Turns out Seungwan is not only very pretty and very sweet, but also almost too adorable for her own good. Seulgi sometimes feels like she’s barely scratched the surface of her personality, and learning more about her newest friend-turned-humongous crush has become her favourite thing to do.

  Seungwan is a walking music encyclopaedia, has a mild addiction to tteokbokki, tends to ramble but always stops and blushes when she thinks she’s being annoying, and her sense of humour is surprisingly dry; she becomes nervous whenever she has to perform, but does it anyway because it’s what she loves, and denies compliments with shy nods or humble shrugs, saying she still has to improve a lot; her smile is a bit lopsided and one of her eyes closes more than the other when she laughs really hard.

  To put it lightly, Seulgi is smitten.

  Oversized hoodies, messy ponytails and a face bared of makeup and have strongly taken over form-fitting black dresses in her “Favourite Seungwan Looks” list, and for the life of her Seulgi can’t stop blushing like an idiot whenever Seungwan praises one of her drawings, all sincere eyes and admiration in her voice.

  And when she sings.

  Sometimes when they share earphones to listen to music, Seungwan would softly start to hum under her breath and Seulgi feels like she’s back on that damn stool (which has somehow become her reserved spot) at the bar, listening to her for the first time.

  Being around Seungwan feels new and familiar at the same time.

  It’s free periods spent hunched over random books as Seulgi sketches all things blue and freshly dyed hair, brown locks woven with gold falling in front of eyes so alive it’s impossible to capture it on paper.

  It’s getting black coffee to stay awake at four in the morning in a random 24 hour coffee shop after Seungwan’s finished singing, cheeks red from the winter air but her smile so bright under the neon lights it doesn’t feel cold at all.

  It’s like Christmas, only every day.

  “I think we lost her.”

  “Yeah, look, there it is. The Seungwan Face.”

  “Sooyoung, try to wake her up... No, don’t poke her with that fork, put it down.”

  Seulgi pushes Sooyoung’s snapping fingers away from her face, sighing at the knowing, smug looks she’s receiving.

  “Anyway, I invited her to the dinner we always have before Christmas and I wanted to know if it was okay with you. It was a spur of the moment decision and I didn’t think much about it,” Seulgi blurts out all at once, instinctively biting her lip when Joohyun, Sooyoung and Yerim look at her in surprise. “Her whole family is overseas and I didn’t want her to spend the holidays alone.”

  Her friends are just staring back and forth at each other in confusion, then they burst out laughing and Seulgi really thinks they’re ing with her more than usual (and that’s saying a lot) for a second. “Is... is that okay then?”   

  “Of course it is,” Joohyun fondly rolls her eyes, looking at Seulgi over the rim of her mug. “We’re not terrible people. Why would we want her to spend the holidays alone?”

  “Yeah, but it’s your house, unnie, and I invited someone you don’t know.”

  “Seulgi, it’s you. You only befriend nice people and from what you said she sounds almost unrealistically nice.”

  “Was that it? Your big dilemma?” Yerim chuckles, nudging Seulgi with her elbow. “Want us to create a “Lady and the Tramp” situation while we’re at it? I think a friend of mine owns one of those box-piano-thingies.”

  “Isn’t “Kiss The Girl” from The Little Mermaid more romantic though? You can be the screeching seagull, Yerimie,” Sooyoung jests, stealing a piece of Yerim’s chocolate chip cookie for good measure. She grins at the whine that elicits and gives Seulgi a playful wink. “Just tell us if you need wing-women.”

  Seulgi laughs, shaking her head lightly. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  The topic of the conversation changes after that, and after they’re all finished, and Seulgi’s graciously paid for all the drinks as she’d promised, they stroll around the city for hours until it’s almost lunch time. At one point Yerim disappears into a supermarket to get something to drink and comes back with a can of Pringles, telling Seulgi they were on sale and to consider it payback for the coffee.

  Great part of their day is spent gently pocking fun at Seulgi for her crush, but also elaborating wondrous plans to make Seungwan fall for her that even have background actors in them, none other than pedestrians Sooyoung manages to randomly rope in.

  Once again, Seulgi is positive she has the best of friends.

--

  “Why am I the one that has to do this every single year?” Yerim grumbles, attempting to cut a piece of scotch tape without making the long string of lights, that she’s somehow holding up, fall. She successfully sticks them to the window, only to sigh tiredly when her eyes fall on the serpent of wire she still has to put up. “We should draw straws for it.”

  “Unnie’s afraid of heights, Winnie the Pooh here almost fell out the window and I'm setting the best damn table you'll ever see,” Sooyoung drones out, like she does almost every year since they started organizing these dinners, as she makes sure forks, chopsticks and spoons are aligned on the table, in perfect parallel with the napkins. “Better question is, why do we have to use all these things to eat? A knife and I’m good to go.”

  “You’re an animal, it doesn’t count.” Seulgi swiftly catches the tangerine thrown at her and smirks at the bristling girl. She turns off the vacuum cleaner and looks around the spotless living room, satisfied with herself. “And if the old lady in the kitchen wants us to use many forks, we use many forks.”

  “Don’t make me force feed you vegetables, Seulgi,” Joohyun’s voice comes from the direction of the kitchen. She’s been in there for a while now and left Seulgi to supervise in her absence.

  A hard task normally, but Sooyoung and Yerim always make sure to behave for the whole Christmas period. That didn’t stop them from being kicked out of four supermarkets over the last two weeks, but they blamed that on the frenzy to buy gifts.

  Seulgi would rather not know.

  “Where’s your girl anyway?” Yerim asks, cursing a bit when the tape won’t stay in place. “In your spazzing, you did remember to tell her the address, yeah?”

  “Of course I did,” Seulgi mutters, though when both Sooyoung and Yerim are not looking she quickly checks her phone to make sure she, indeed, texted Seungwan the address. She did, but checking again won’t hurt. “And she’s not my girl.”

  “You wish, though,” Sooyoung snickers, one eye closed as she makes sure a small bundle of flowers is placed in the exact centre of the table. “I can’t wait to see you freak out as soon as she arrives.”

  “Wha- I’m not going to freak out! I’m not a twelve year old boy,” Seulgi complains, arms crossed in front of her chest in defiance. “I’ll be my usual self when she arrives. Calm, collected and—was that the doorbell?”

  A few more rings echo in the apartment and Seulgi catapults herself to the door, pressing her ear to the buzzer. “Hello?”

  “Seulgi?”

  “Seungwan,” Seulgi greets back, unable to stop a smile from creeping up on her face. “4^th floor, first door on the right.”

  She hangs up an turns around, only to find Yerim looking smugly at her. Sooyoung, back turned the other way, is shaking with repressed laughter. “Ah, yes, the cool and collected Kang Seulgi. Been a while since we last saw her, she must be dead.”

  “Give me a break, Myemim.” Seulgi grins when Yerim only answers with a raise of her middle finger, and, with nothing else to do, waits by the door. She stalls until she hears a knock from the other side and quickly opens the door.

  It’s a good thing she’s holding onto the handle because damn does Seungwan look gorgeous. She should be used to it by now, and yet here she is, subtly gripping the knob harder.

  A beanie pulled low on her head and a scarf wrapped all around her neck, face red from the winter air and tousled hair falling in caramel waves over her shoulders. Seungwan’s eyes are twinkling and she’s carrying too many bags and boxes for her small frame to handle, yet she shows no signs of being tired.

  “Hi,” Seulgi breathes, feeling The Seungwan Face already sliding in position.

  “Hi,” Seungwan greets back, the corners of her lips peeking from the border of her scarf in one of her trademark sweet smiles.

  “Hi,” a third voice chimes in and Seulgi freezes as Sooyoung materializes behind her. She doesn’t need to look to know her taller friend is sporting a gleeful smirk on her face as she places a hand on Seulgi’s head, giving it light pats. “I’m Sooyoung, this bear’s roommate. Nice to finally meet you, unnie told us a lot about you.”

  It takes all of Seulgi’s self control not to kick backwards to hit Sooyoung in the legs, but thankfully Seungwan doesn’t react much. She looks taken aback for a second, but then she smiles happily, looking at Seulgi with a cheerful look on her face.

  “Oh, did she now?” she teases, and weirdly enough it makes Seulgi relax, used as she is to the gentle banter she and Seungwan exchange regularly.  “All good things I hope.”

  “I told them you are a serial killer wanted in thirty different countries and the government is currently looking for you. Also, you steal candies from kids,” Seulgi sarcastically answers, and she hears Sooyoung mutter how unfunny she is. She doesn’t care, not when it makes Seungwan crack a smile. “The owner of this humble abode is so scared of you she sent me to open the door.”

  “More like you scrambled when you heard the doorbe- geez woman!”

  Seulgi aimed well for Sooyoung’s shins this time.

  “I come in peace, I swear,” Seungwan giggles as she steps over the threshold, a bit awkwardly with all the things she’s carrying. Seulgi takes them before Seungwan can protest and moves back to let her in the house.

  “Thanks, Seul,” Seungwan takes off beanie and scarf, pushing her hair away from her face, and looks at Seulgi with a shy smile. She’s really too cute for her own good. “Sorry I’m late, by the way. Turns out I didn’t have enough bags to carry everything, I had to go buy them.”

  “Don’t worry about it. Anyway, you’ve met Sooyoung,” Seulgi starts, nodding in direction of the girl, who’s back at sorting out various pieces of cutlery near the table. “The light technician is Yerim.” The youngest turns around and mutters a greeting around the strips of tape she’s holding between her teeth. “And Joohyun unnie’s in the kitchen to make sure we don’t starve.”

  “I’ll be there in a minute!” Joohyun yells back. “The soup is almost ready anyway!”

  “Take your time!” Seungwan says, rubbing her hands together. She looks eager and ready, full of energy despite having just climbed four sets of stairs. Ever the workaholic. “Can I help? Is there anything else to do?”  

  “Easy girl, we’re almost done,” Seulgi chuckles, lifting the bags in her hands a bit to peer at what’s inside.  “What’s in these? We have lots of food, believe me. Yerim took care of the shopping personally.”

  “I just hope it’s not sushi,” Yerim adds, finally climbing down from the ladder and leaving the tape roll and scissors on the living room table. “Unnie will freak if we stuff her fridge with more salmon.”

  Seulgi lifts the bags closer and takes a quick inhale, immediately catching the aroma of butter and chocolate she’s become so accustomed to in the last month whenever her “study sessions” were interrupted for a snack break. She meets Seungwan’s eyes, a wide smile on her face and mouth already watering. “Don’t tell me...”

  “Yep,” Seungwan grins back, and only then she notices the confused looks on Sooyoung and Yerim’s faces. She blushes a bit at that, clearly nervous in front of strangers. “I didn’t want to come empty handed and didn’t know what you guys would like as gifts, so uhm...” she wrings her hands together, a weird mix of shyness and confidence in her voice. “I baked cookies and other stuff. They’re not that good, but... I tried.”

  The only sound heard through the Bae apartment in the next minute is the noise of metal clanging on the floor after Sooyoung lets some forks drop from her hands.

  Sooyoung and Yerim both stare at Seungwan with their mouths agape and, after a moment, Seulgi spots the top of Joohyun’s head peeking out from the kitchen corner, her eyes as wide and in awe as the two younger girls’. 

  “Don’t be afraid,” Seulgi laughs when Seungwan turns her head, a lost expression and the silent question of just what the hell is going on clearly depicted on her face. “Give them a minute to process that.”

  “Did I say something wrong? I’m sorr--“

  Seulgi moves closer to Seungwan, balancing the bags on one arm to wrap the other around her shoulder, and moving her forward until they reach the middle of the living room.

  She steps back just in time for Yerim and Sooyoung to gather Seungwan into an enthusiastic group hug.

  “Brownies as a present holy it’s a Christmas miracle!”

  “Unnie, drop whatever you’re cooking and come here! We have a baker this is not a drill!”

  Seulgi smiles a little wider when she hears Seungwan’s startled laugh, muffled by armfuls of very hyper and very hungry girls, and sees her tiny arms giving awkward pats on Sooyoung and Yerim’s backs.

  “Welcome to the pack, Wan-ah.”

--

  Seulgi is laughing at the string of curses erupting from Sooyoung’s mouth after an Item Box, for the umpteenth time, gives her three banana peels when Joohyun moves next to her to help her gather the last few plates left on the dining table. “Not exactly the merry words you’d expect to be uttered on Christmas,” she chuckles, hiding a snort behind her hand when a blue shell pops up out of nowhere and Sooyoung almost hurls her controller at Joohyun’s TV.

  Playing Mario Kart 8 definitely doesn’t inspire the peace and harmony connotative to the holidays, but it’s for sure the funniest thing they’ve done so far. Yoshi, controlled by a surprisingly skilful Seungwan, zooms through the turns of Mario Circuit like it’s nothing, steadily catching up to Sooyoung’s Bowser and throwing green shells at her without a break. Yerim, doubled over on the floor next to them, is cheering Seungwan on as much as her wheezing laugh allows her to.

  “Puts you into the holiday spirit, doesn’t it?” Seulgi snickers. A Golden Mushroom comes up on Seungwan’s side of her screen and she whoops loudly, finally surpassing Sooyoung as Yerim chants her name and throws her hands in the air. “I just hope your neighbours won’t be pissed at us.”

  “Please, we’ve done more noise in the past. Remember that one Monopoly round last year?” Joohyun asks, her grimace mirroring Seulgi’s. They’d all had to spend a day not talking to each other for the sake of remaining friends. “If they didn’t call the police for that, they never will.”

  Seungwan begins her last lap and spends half her time apologizing to Sooyoung, who’s almost at the point of letting out steam from her ears like a cartoon character when all she gets from an Item Box is one, meagre mushroom. She sounds sincerely sorry, and Sooyoung even snaps out of her competitive self for a moment to tell her that it’s okay,

  Her moment of kindness is interrupted by a loud “SCREW YOU PEACH” when said princess sends her in last place after turning into a bullet.

  “I think you’ve found the only person in the world who could manage to tame Sooyoung,” Joohyun comments as she finishes stacking everything into a tall pile. Yerim insisted she’s going to wash everything by the end of the night. Knowing her, those plates will stay there until five minutes before she heads home. “You weren’t kidding when you said she’s sweet.”

  Seulgi nods rapidly and immediately goes back to stare at the smaller girl that’s laughing at something Yerim just said. “Yeah...” she simply says.

  She sounds helpless even to her own ears.

  And Joohyun notices, of course, there’s no way she wouldn’t. “Why don’t you just tell her?”

  Seulgi sputters briefly, shaking her hands in front of her to shush Joohyun. “Unnie!” she hisses, eyes firmly on Seungwan’s back to make sure she hasn’t heard anything. Joohyun just stares at her, the implication in her eyes clear enough to make her blush. “Am I that obvious?”

  “Extremely,” Joohyun whispers back, a bit exasperated. She sighs and gives Seulgi a meaningful look. “But she’s not the only blind one here.”

  Oh.

  Oh.

  Seulgi almost chokes at that. “Wha- me? Are you serious? No way.”

  “Yes way.”

  “No, I... I can’t.” Seulgi places her hands on the back of a chair, keeping her voice as low as she can. “Besides, what if she doesn’t feel the same way and I drive her away? I don’t want to hurt her and she doesn’t have many friends here yet. And if I can’t be more than that... so be it.” 

  Joohyun is looking at her in concern, and Seulgi attempts a goofy smile to make her feel better. “Unnie, it’s fine. I promise.”

  “Okay, but just so you know,” Joohyun says quietly, a tiny grin spreading on her face when she sees Seulgi’s disoriented expression. “She looks at you the way you look at her.”

  Seulgi doesn’t say anything in return, she just keeps staring dazedly at the back of Seungwan’s head as Joohyun picks up the plates and walks to the kitchen.

  Seungwan crushing on her?

  Son Seungwan, amazing singer from Canada, dutiful student, absolute sweetheart and the most beautiful girl Seulgi’s ever seen... liking her back?

  It sounds ridiculous in pure thought form, how could it be true in real life?

  Yet she thinks back at all those times she was making random doodles on the corners of Seungwan’s books and often found Seungwan rapidly looking away every time she raised her head, a barely visible blush on the younger girl’s cheeks that Seulgi’d never paid much attention to.

  The way Seungwan laughs around her, the hugs, the smiles, the stares. The way she leans against Seulgi’s shoulder when she feels tired, or how sometimes she sends Seulgi a text with the title of a song she just discovered because “it reminded me of you :)”

  Maybe, just maybe--

  Seulgi snaps back to reality when Seungwan jumps up to her feet in celebration, a proud look on her face and arms spread wide as her Yoshi crosses the finish line. Seulgi cracks a smile at the sight, her eyes automatically going back to gaze at the smaller girl that’s starting a celebratory dance with Yerim. Joohyun, back from the kitchen and cocooned on the couch, is straight up cackling at them and the impromptu performance is so amusing that even Sooyoung, sulky as she is for losing, is trying not to laugh.

  “Wooohoo!” Seungwan pumps her fist in the air and turns around, pushing wild locks of hair away from her eyes and winking at Seulgi. “Wanna play, Seulgi? I’m feeling lucky,” she chirps, and Seulgi’s heart skips several beats. She doesn’t answer right away, just keeps staring dumbly in front of her, but she still manages to catch Joohyun slamming a palm to her forehead in exhaustion.

  “Wait, what about my honour?” Sooyoung whines, stomping her feet on the floor like a kid. “I demand a rematch!”

  “You’ve continuously lost for the past two games, Sooyoung ah. You either need a miracle or a win on Very Hard mode to keep any shred of dignity left,“ Joohyun jokes, blocking as best as she can Sooyoung’s quick tickle assault. ”Though I’m not sure you could handle that.”

  “Alright then, grandma,” Sooyoung stands up abruptly and jabs her index in front of her, pointing at the older girl. She raises her chin and grins at Joohyun, challenge and mirth shining in her eyes. “You and me, Rainbow Road. To the death.”

  Joohyun just smirks and her entire demeanour changes. The shift is subtle, but noticeable enough that even Seungwan, who’s known her for so little, does a double take, her arm immediately snapping forward to hand Joohyun the controller. The eldest ties her hair back in a ponytail and quickly selects her character. Seulgi’s pretty sure Luigi isn’t supposed to feel this intimidating, but somehow Joohyun makes it work. “Bring it on, Park Sooyoung.”

  “Great, she went full into game mode,” Yerim mutters and rolls her eyes, standing up to make space for the two contestants. She cracks her back and looks over to Seulgi and Seungwan, completely engaged by the battle to the death that just started on Rainbow Road. “Want something to drink? We’re going to be here a while, I think.”

  Seulgi shakes her head and lazily sits down on the couch, watching amusedly the showdown. After Yerim’s disappeared in the kitchen, they do their best not to laugh at Sooyoung when she’s hit by an indefinite number of red shells, while Joohyun effortlessly maintains the lead for the entire race. At some point Seungwan takes the vacant spot left and sinks in the soft cushions next to Seulgi, eyes fixed on the screen. She tucks her knees close to her chest and rests her chin on them, completely at ease and peaceful.

  Sooyoung is yelling something at the screen again and Joohyun is laughing, but Seulgi would be more than happy to keep staring at Sungwan’s profile, highlighted to perfection by the fluorescent colours coming from the screen.

  Seungwan turns around right then, all flushed cheeks with a happy glint in her eyes, laughter still spilling from her lips as she pushes stray locks of hair behind her ear. “You don’t want to play, Seul?” she asks, impossibly soft, and Seulgi feels herself slip more and more. Her heartbeat picks up the pace and she in a much needed breath of air.   

  “No, I’m good,” she manages, smiling back like a the fool she is. She wants to say something more, scratch that, she needs to say something more, but Seungwan is looking at her with her head curiously tilted to the side and her eyes look so deep and Seulgi is just falling way too hard and way too fast. “Seungwan I... uh...”

  “Yeah?”

  Oh, everything.

  “I’m glad you came,” Seulgi blurts out, and it feels surprisingly easy to breathe after the words tumble out of . She keeps looking at Seungwan, smiling softly at her and, for once, not feeling like her tongue is stuck to her palate as she speaks. “I... I’m just happy that you’re here, that’s all.”

  “Thank you,” Seungwan says, and like that first night at the bar, Seulgi is sure she’s not imagining the way her cheeks get imperceptibly redder. “I’m happy to be here, too.”

  She thinks about what Joohyun said just minutes before and smiles, scooting closer to Seungwan and trying to control her heart when the younger girl leans slightly into her.

  Maybe, just maybe.

--

  “Seulgi, you didn’t have to come with me. My place isn’t too far from here, I can go alone.”

  “I know, but I wanted to,” Seulgi retorts, smiling when she sees Seungwan’s creased eyebrows. Now that she’s put on her beanie and raised the scarf up to , her eyes and nose are the only visible parts of her. “I need to walk a bit, your cookies were the last straw. If I don’t digest something I’m going to waddle home.”

  Seungwan chuckles, pushing the door of the apartment building open and taking a few steps in the immaculate snow that coats the small garden of Joohyun’s apartment complex.

  The snow hasn’t stopped falling yet and Seulgi instinctively curls up as best as she can in her jacket, arms wrapped around her body to preserve some heat as the winter breeze feels like a slaps against her skin. She turns around and sees Seungwan with her head reclined back, mouth barely parted and an expression so blissful and distracting it almost makes Seulgi slip on ice.

  Saying she looks like an angel wouldn’t even begin to cover it. Seulgi feels like a freezing corpse instead. “How are you n-not cold?”

  “Canada will do that to you,” Seungwan answers, skipping to where Seulgi is with a gentle smile. She clasps Seulgi’s hands in hers, bringing them to her face to blow warm air on the tips of her fingers. “You either turn into an iceberg or get used to the temperature.”

  Seulgi doesn’t know if she should be thankful or frustrated by the fact that Seungwan doesn’t seem to notice the crimson colour her cheeks have become in the split of a second. “Is that why you were hot before? I forgot to tell you unnie cranks the heating to the max, sorry. She can’t stand the cold at all.”

  “It’s fine, don’t worry. And thank you again for inviting me along,” Seungwan looks up, a thoughtful gleam in her eyes as she gazes up at Seulgi. “Overseas everyone is friends with everybody, but here socializing is a bit more difficult. I’m glad I could meet them. Your friends are wonderful.”

  Seulgi knows she’s thinking about her parents, her friends, everything she left behind. It tugs at the strings of her heart and she ducks her head to look at her better.

  “They’re your friends too now,” Seulgi immediately says, grinning back at the delighted smile Seungwan gifts her, “but I’m the best, right?” she adds after a moment, attempting to wink and knowing she failed miserably when Seungwan snorts.

  “Yeah, the best at being annoying.”

  Seulgi pouts and dramatically pulls her hands away, trying not to shiver when she feels like she’s stepped in ice cold water as soon as Seungwan’s warmth fades away. “Said annoying friend is currently freezing her off for you, don’t forget that.”

   “You just need to shake the cold off.” Seungwan’s tone become playful, with a certain dose of mischief Seulgi’s never heard in it. Have Sooyoung and Yerim rubbed off on her this fast? God, she hopes not. “And I know exactly how to make you move.”

  Seulgi watches as Seungwan leans down to grab a handful of snow and balls it up swiftly, eyes never leaving Seulgi’s as she steps back a little, tongue between her teeth and one arm in front of her to keep her balance. “Seungwan, no...”

  “Seungwan yes!”

  Seulgi has barely the time to dodge the first snowball that Seungwan has already made another one and is taking aim. She ducks behind a small bush and looks around in a panic as snow crashes around her. “Come out and meet your destiny, Kang Seulgi!”

  Seulgi laughs in disbelief, checking her surroundings from behind the leaves as she prepares ammunition. Two can play that game. “You’ll never get me alive!”

  She doesn’t know how long they play in the snow like kids, nor how long it takes for her to forget how cold it is, too busy staring at the way Seungwan laughs and trying to avoid being hit.  

  Seulgi just knows she’s happy.

  Seungwan, tiny as she is, is hard to get and her aim is scarily good, but Seulgi compensates by throwing snowballs at the speed of a machine gun. She actually thinks she might be winning, until a curved shot accidentally hits her right in the side of her neck, drenching her face and sending snow all inside her jacket and shirt. Seulgi lets out a silent scream and leans against the nearest thing she finds, a lamppost, trying to catch her breath in small, quick intakes.

  She sees Seungwan‘s eyes widen in worry, her body moving in a frenzy on the slippery ground as she scrambles to get closer. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Seulgi-ah, I’m so sorry!”

  Seulgi shakes her head weakly and grasps Seungwan’s forearms once she’s close enough, laughing breathlessly and shivering from head to toe, but more amused than anything else. “N-n-no head sh-shots... I-I w-w-win...”    

  “Seulgi, be serious!” Seungwan scolds her lightly, taking her hat off and pushing it on Seulgi’s head to offer her some kind of warmth. She pulls Seulgi closer and clutches her arms around her, burying her face in Seulgi’s shoulder. Her voice sounds small when she speaks again. “How are you not mad at me? I just hit you point blank with a snowball. To the face.”

  Seulgi gladly soaks in the heat of the embrace and she doesn’t know what prompts her courage, if it’s the after-shock of a the ice currently melting in her shirt, or a Christmas miracle, or simply having Seungwan this close to her, but suddenly words are spilling from her lips and she doesn’t have the will to stop them.  

  “H-how could I be mad?“ she asks, bringing a hand to hold the back of Seungwan’s head loosely. She’s frowning, Seulgi can feel it even through the layers of her clothes, and Seulgi brushes her fingers through her hair until she’s sure the creases have disappeared and Seungwan relaxes against her. “I like you way too much.”

  Seungwan freezes against her. Seulgi freezes too once the reality of what she just said hits her.

  She pulls away hastily, but Seungwan keeps her still. Not with her arms, though they’re still firmly around Seulgi’s waist, but with her eyes. They’re open wide, brown shining like amber under the street light, and Seulgi is hooked like the first time she saw them.

  “Do you mean it?” Seungwan asks rapidly, so quiet yet Seulgi hears it loud and clear.

  Seulgi opens to answer, but words fail her at first when she notices that Seungwan’s hands have moved. They’re not on her waist anymore, but on the collar of her jacket, dipping in slightly so that she’s effectively pulling Seulgi in, closer by inches.

  “I-I do...” she manages after a while, hands helplessly twitching at her sides. “I really do.”

  Red blooms all over Seungwan’s cheeks and she lets out a soft laugh. “I...” hangs half open, with the barest hint of a smile that makes Seulgi’s stomach flip in the most pleasant way. “Seulgi...”

  “Wan-ah,” Seulgi whispers back, acutely aware of how close they are. A few inches and she could lean her forehead on Seungwan’s, some more and their noses would touch, some more and—

  Seulgi forces her attention away from Seungwan’s lips, but her jaw goes slack when she sees Seungwan’s eyes aren’t locked with hers, they’re fixated on instead. Seulgi instinctively her lips and only then Seungwan snaps her gaze away, eyes wandering as her teeth sink in the rosy flesh of her own bottom lip.

  It sends Seulgi’s head in a haze and her voice in stutter-mode. “Sh-shouldn’t we move? T-to keep... warm...? You’ll get c-cold, too...”

  “Yeah...” Seungwan sounds breathless. She gulps, audibly at that, and her eyes hold a silent prayer when their meet Seulgi’s. “But can we try something else first?”

  From then on Seulgi doesn’t remember much.

  She doesn’t know if the words “yes, please” were said or they remained stuck in . She doesn’t know if she nodded, made any affirmative sign. Heck, she doesn’t even know who leaned in first.

  None of that matters.

  Seungwan’s lips are soft like Seulgi thought they would be. The kiss is deliberate, unhurried and tentative, but Seulgi feels sparks of warmth coming to life in her chest. She pulls back briefly, but doesn’t have the time to even think about what to say that an arm snakes around her neck, pulling her back in and making her reconnect with Seungwan’s.

  Seulgi is barely aware of the melting snow dribbling down the back of her shirt. She inches towards Seungwan a bit more, letting her fingers tangle in strands of brown and blonde. Seungwan’s breath hitches and she cups Seulgi’s cheek to press deeper against her. Her touch is wet and cold, but it’s not the reason why Seulgi shudders from head to toe, blood thundering in her ears. Seungwan tastes like the wine they had at dinner, chocolate cookies and something that reminds Seulgi of oranges.

  It’s dizzying, breathtaking, almost uncontrollable.

  So very warm and Seulgi already knows she’ll never get enough of it.

  She makes a small, disappointed sound when Seungwan pulls back to breathe and her knees threaten to buckle as soon as she opens her eyes. Seungwan’s panting, white clouds of air escaping her parted, swollen lips. Her eyes are slightly hooded and looking back and forth from Seulgi’s eyes to her lips.

  Seulgi leans down again, or maybe it’s Seungwan the one that leans up. Again, not important. Seungwan’s nose and fingertips feel like icicles on Seulgi’s skin, but the rest of her is very warm and Seulgi all of a sudden forgets what being cold even means.

  “Wan-ah,” she gasps when they come up for air and Seungwan moves those cherry lips of hers to Seulgi’s jaw, her hand slowly trailing to the back of Seulgi’s neck to keep her still.

  Seungwan smiles, impossibly delicate, and pulls Seulgi down to connect their foreheads. Her other arm loops around Seulgi’s waist, encompassing her with warmth when she slowly begins to rub up and down her back. “God, you’re freezing,” she whispers, voice a bit hoarse. It gives Seulgi goose bumps and makes her head feel light all at once. Why does she feel like she’s burning, then? “I’m still sorry about hitting you in the face.”

  “You like me back,” is all Seulgi says, completely ignoring the wet material of her shirt because Seungwan’s fingers are toying with the baby hair at the nape of her neck and somehow that seems much more important to her. She can’t help the goofy grin that spreads on her face at what she just said. “Oh my god, you actually like me back.”

  Seungwan laughs and nuzzles their noses together. “I have for a while now,” she says, breath hot against Seulgi’s mouth before she gives it a quick peck. “You make it hard not to.”

  Seulgi follows when Seungwan leans back, melding their lips once again, and this time she’s afraid she might seriously lose her mind. This kiss like the first, but also completely different. It’s slow and uncontrollable, hot and cold, intimate and raw. Seungwan bites down on Seulgi’s bottom lip, angles her jaw to kiss her better, and Seulgi keens into her, running her tongue over the seams of Seungwan’s parted mouth.

  Time has stopped, nothing else exists in this world but the two of them and all Seulgi can think of is Seungwan.

  Seungwan, Seungwan, Seungw--    

  “Baby shark, doo doo doo doo doo- Baby shark doo doo doo doo doo- Baby shark...”

  Her phone. Her ing phone.

  Christmas miracles are ing bull, there, she said it.

  Seulgi thinks briefly about digging a hole and hide there for the rest of her days when Seungwan pulls away from her lips because she’s laughing too hard, body literally bent and half leaning on Seulgi so she doesn’t fall.

  “I’m... I’m so sorry,” Seulgi groans mortified, holding Seungwan loosely by her forearms just to make sure she’s stable.

  “Just turn it off,” Seungwan tells her, wiping away a single tear. “Please, before I bust out a lung.”

  She straightens her back and pushes her hair away from her eyes. Seulgi’s jaw goes a bit slack at the sight. Add a dishevelled, breathless, happy Seungwan to her list of “Favourite Looks”.

  Seulgi pulls her phone out of her pocket, interrupting the song just as Grandma Shark is introduced. “It’s my alarm clock. I had to pull some all nighters the past week and this woke me up from my power naps. I just,” she helplessly shakes her head, feeling like she’s getting smaller and smaller the more Seungwan grins, “... forgot I had it on.”

  “The Shark Family Song? Really?” Seungwan is chuckling still, but she looks totally amused and it brings a shy smile to Seulgi’s face.

  “Yerim introduced it to me. Reminds me of her, actually.”

  “Why?”

  “Cute at first, then you hear it over and over again and it turns demonic. That’s Yerim for you.” Seulgi grins when Seungwan laughs again, and her phone buzzes right before she can slide it back into her jacket. She blinks, surprised at the name on the screen.

  Speak of the devil, and Yerim will appear.

  Seulgi’s two words in the message when she understands what it’s about and she pales. “Oh no...”

  “What is it?”

  “Stop faces under a lamppost, children may be watching” Seulgi reads, face heating up immediately, and she hears Seungwan gasp softly next to her. She looks around and only then she spots the bright, tell-tale light of a recording camera in the near darkness surrounding Joohyun’s balcony. “Very funny guys!”

  “THANK YOU!” a chorus of three voices echoes in the silence of the night and Seulgi rolls her eyes at them.

  “Get me out of here,” she pleads, grabbing Seungwan by the shoulders and shaking her a little. “Quick, before they start singing romantic songs at us!”

  “Well, you were walking me back to my place, weren’t you?” Seungwan giggles, biting her lip timidly. Something this simple shouldn’t be as captivating as she makes it to be. Maybe Seulgi is just in too deep. “It’s not too far from here and on the way we can talk. About... everything. Only if you still want I mean, you really don’t have to--”

  “Again, I’d love to,” Seulgi interrupts Seungwan’s rambling with a smile. The embarrassed chuckle she gets in response makes her heart beat even faster than it already is.  

  “SHA LA LA LA LA LA MY OH MY LOOKS LIKE THE BEAR’S TOO SHY AIN’T GONNA KISS THE GIRL!”

  “Oh my god, stop it! People are asleep!” Seulgi hisses loudly and the only answer she gets is the sound of distant laughter followed by, finally, silence.

  Maybe they finally took pity of her poor soul.

  Seungwan laughs and intertwines their fingers, tugging Seulgi along until they’re in the empty street. She tucks her hands in her pockets and tilts her body towards Seulgi’s, a hopeful gleam in her eyes. Seulgi grins and loops their arms together, gently pulling Seungwan close until they’re flushed at the hip.

  They walk in peaceful silence for a few minutes, then Seungwan starts to hum a song and Seulgi bursts out laughing, recognizing the familiar tune right away.

  “Really? Are you trying to serenade me, Son Seungwan?”

  “You dork,” Seungwan huffs, but a delicious blush appears on her cheeks and she bumps their shoulders together. She glances at Seulgi, the corners of curling upwards timidly, and pulls her even closer than they already are, pressing against Seulgi’s side to share some warmth. “You wouldn’t mind if I did that, be honest.”

  “Of course not.” Seulgi answers immediately, unable to tear her eyes away. “You know how much I love your voice. I could listen to you for hours on end.”  

  “Are you going to make me sing all the time just because now I’m your girlfriend?” Seungwan complains, but she’s blushing even harder than before.

  Girlfriend. Seulgi’s head reels at the word. It suddenly feels like summer around her. “Maybe once in a while. Some lullabies when I can’t sleep or cheerleading chants when I have to study. Oh, and church hymns to keep Sooyoung and Yerim at bay.”

  “It's a business relationship then, I get it.” Seungwan sticks out her tongue at her, but leans her head on Seulgi’s shoulder anyway, washing her entire left side with warmth. “If I have to sing, does that mean you’ll paint for me? Can I have a portrait? And a portrait of the portrait?”

  Seulgi feels on cloud nine. Scratch that, she’s on an atmosphere of her own where everything is blue and smells like oranges and chocolate.

  “Anything you want,” Seulgi whispers, leaning down to place a peck on the crown of Seungwan’s head. The singer soon begins to croon again and Seulgi immediately joins her, a soft smile playing on her lips as their voices seem to naturally fit together. She’s listened to this song a lot of times ever since she first met Seungwan. Some of the English words are still hard to pronounce, but she has the chorus down at least. How did it go again?

  Have yourself a merry little Christmas...

A/N:

Hello to anyone who's made it this far.

This was supposed to be short, but again I can't seem to be able to limit myself when it comes to RV and Wenseul in particular, so, my bad... 

Thank you so much to everyone who subscribed to this story, seeing your support made me want to write better and faster. Don't know if I managed any of those things, you can let me know with a comment down below if you want. You can also tell me if it was lame, I won't mind (jk I'll probably cry a bit, but I always appreciate criticism, so seriously, write whatever).

That's all for me, byeee