Yerin placed the bag of cookie mix on the countertop and tied the string on her apron. She looked over at Eunbi who was struggling slightly with the string and walked over to help her.

“Ready to have fun?” Yerin asked, tightening the ribbon behind Eunbi’s back.

“Yeah! I can’t remember when was the last time I baked actually. Probably like… In grade 10 when we had to learn home economics.” Eunbi sniggered at the memory of her making a mess in the kitchen instead of producing edible food.

“Well… That’s alright. We’re just here to have fun anyway. We’re not even doing that many. Just enough for us, the girls and Santa.” Yerin said as she cut the bag of cookie mix open.

“We don’t even have a chimney for Santa to slide down. How is he going to deliver my present?” Eunbi raised an eyebrow.

“He’ll walk through the front door proudly like a law-abiding citizen that doesn’t snoop around and break into people’s houses.” Yerin said and Eunbi snorted.

“What a buzzkill. Kids must hate you.”

“My kids don’t.”

“Excuse me?” Eunbi blinked.

“Nothing. Here.” Yerin said as she shoved the mixing bowl into Eunbi’s arms. “Toss the mix in with… half a cup of butter, 1 tablespoon of water and 1 egg then mix till soft dough forms.” She read the recipe on her phone. Eunbi placed the bowl and took the bag of cookie mix, emptying it into the bowl without spilling any. She then added the water and cracked the egg.

“Do I melt this butter?” Eunbi asked. “How big is the cup supposed to be anyway?”

“You can just slice off a quarter from the block. Is it soft?” Yerin asked, turning her attention away from the oven.

“It’s hard.” Eunbi replied, poking at the block with her silicone spatula. Yerin grabbed a bowl from the drying rack. She poured some hot water into the bowl and left it by the sink.

“When the bowl is moderately warm, just pour the water out and place it over the block of butter for maybe a minute. It will soften the butter and you’ll be able to slice it with ease.” Yerin instructed before walking back to the oven. She turned the temperature dial to 375°F before going to prepare the baking tray. As she measured the cookie sheet, Eunbi tossed the butter into the bowl and began stirring.

“Is this going to take long? My arms might fall off.” Eunbi jested as she mixed the ingredients.

“Just pass it over if your arms start to get tired.” Yerin smiled. She watched as Eunbi stirred the bowl of mix. The latter was fast at first but as the minutes passed, she slowed down and switched the spatula from her right to left hand.

“Ugh, here.” Eunbi said, finally giving up. Yerin took the bowl from the younger girl and resumed mixing.

“Just relax and rest those arms. Whenever you’re ready, just sprinkle a fine layer of flour over there so we can roll out and cut the dough.” Yerin said and nodded towards an empty surface near the end of the marble counter. Eunbi massaged her arms for a couple of minutes before going to sprinkle the flour.

“Strong Yerin is really strong.” She said after seeing how Yerin mixed the dough at a constant pace without stopping for the past 3 minutes.

“You trained me for this.” Yerin sniggered and Eunbi let out a dramatic gasp, placing a hand on her chest.

“Are you insinuating that I’m fat?” The girl said in a mock insulted tone.

“Light as a feather B.” Yerin smiled. She turned the bowl upside down and let the soft dough drop onto the floured countertop. Grabbing the rolling pin, she began to roll the dough into a large rectangle whilst keeping the thickness to approximately a quarter inch.

“Time for some surgery.” Eunbi said as she raised a cookie cutter.

“Scalpel.” Yerin played along, raising an open hand for the younger girl to hand her the cutter. She took the cutter and positioned it above the dough before pressing down firmly. She picked up the cutter and removed the dough, placing it onto the tray. They began cutting out as many gingerbread men as they could from the rolled-out dough before Yerin placed the tray into the preheated oven.

“How long to leave them in for?” Eunbi asked, looking at the dough through the glass.

“About 8 to 10 minutes. As long as they don’t burn it should be fine.” Yerin chuckled as she took the oven mitt off. “In the meantime, shall we fill the Christmas stockings?”

“Oh yes!” Eunbi clapped her hands. They hung their aprons up before walking out to the living room where six stockings were laid out on the coffee table with a big brown paper bag on the floor beside them.

“Let’s do it in age order. Sojung first.” Yerin said, grabbing a stocking. Eunbi placed the thin book into the stocking and made sure that the edges weren’t folded before filling it up with assorted candy and a couple of mini candy canes. They decided to exchange stockings and skip their turn so that the surprise won’t be ruined.

“Big Eunbi now.” Yerin said, holding the stocking open.

“Funny how you call her big Eunbi when I’m taller than her.” Eunbi snorted and Yerin rolled her eyes.

“Small Eunbi then. Little kid Eunbi.”

“Heol, I didn’t ask you to say that.” Eunbi laughed as she placed Eunha’s gift into the stocking followed by another handful of assorted candy and more mini candy canes. They filled Yuna’s stocking with her present and candies but Yewon’s with only candies.

“I wonder how big a stocking has to be to fit this.” Yerin said aloud as she lifted the last present from the paper bag; a soft and cuddly giant teddy.

“A customized one.” Eunbi grinned. Yes, she was serious about getting Yewon the huge teddy.

“I honestly cannot wait to see her reaction.” The older girl said as she squeezed the teddy in her arms. “This is really soft.”

“She’s going to sleep extra peacefully with this by her side.”

“Yuna has a new cuddle competitor thanks to you.” Yerin laughed. There was a soft ding from the oven and Eunbi looked over.

“Guess it’s time to get back to work.” The younger girl said as she stood up. Yerin hung the stockings up on the wall as Eunbi took the cookies out of the oven.

“Let it cool for 15 minutes. We can prepare the frostings while we wait.” Yerin said as she removed the sheet of cookies and set them on the countertop. She handed Eunbi a decorating bag and a bottle of red frostings. “Spoon it into the bag and squeeze a little to make sure it comes out fine.”

Eunbi did as Yerin instructed and filled the remaining bags with blue and yellow frostings. By the time they were done, the cookies were all cooled down.

“What should I decorate it with?” Eunbi asked.

“Anything you want. A heart shape, their names, a little drawing. Just have fun.” Yerin grinned as she began drawing with her bag of white frostings. She began drawing a jibang on the cookie, leaving a gap for its eyes and mouth. Yerin was so engrossed in drawing the jibang that she didn’t notice Eunbi grinning mischievously beside her.

“Rin.” Eunbi called and Yerin looked up only to have a blob of red frosting smudged onto the tip of her nose. Her eyes focused on Eunbi who was grinning.

“B…” Yerin narrowed her eyes.

“Yes?” the girl replied sweetly.

“You made a big mistake.” Yerin said and Eunbi instantly fled the kitchen with the former giving chase, of frosting in hand. She jumped at Eunbi and tackled her, bringing them down to the ground. Using her weight to hold Eunbi down, she smacked the girl’s flailing arms away.

“I’m sorry! I have sinned!” Eunbi cried as she squirmed, trying her very hardest to get away from Yerin’s iron grip but it was futile. The older girl squeezed a blob of icing onto her finger and smudged it on Eunbi’s cheek. The girl stopped struggling and lay on the floor in defeat.

“Such a kid, B.” Yerin laughed as she got up and offered the younger girl a hand. The latter took it and Yerin pulled her up.

“Should I make up for my sins?” Eunbi asked.

“Sure, but ho-” Yerin was silenced by a kiss to her nose.

“There we go. All gone.” Eunbi smiled and her lips. Yerin was speechless. “Do I get one too? Truce.”

“Truce... Truce.” Yerin nodded and planted a smooch on Eunbi’s cheek. Rather than kissing the icing away, it was smudged into a bigger patch.

“Yah!” Eunbi stepped back as she wiped her cheek. Yerin sniggered but quickly realized that it was time for her to go.

“Whoopsies~” She sang before running towards the kitchen, not forgetting to take her bag of frosting with her.