Yerin raised an arm to shield her eyes from the sun rays that were pouring through the blinds.

She felt the covers rustle beside her as Eunbi turned over, probably to avoid the blinding sun as well. Yerin wanted to check the time but she was too lazy to move. Since Eunbi showed no sign of waking up, the older girl let her exhaustion and the rhythmic breathing of the former lull her back to sleep.

Yerin woke once again after a couple hours feeling a little more well rested. With her eyes still closed, she reached out to feel for her phone on the nightstand. She pressed the home button and squinted her eyes at the bright screen. 10:03 am. She slid her phone under her pillow and stretched her limbs. Yerin looked over at Eunbi who was still sleeping soundly and decided not to disturb the girl. Quietly, she got out of bed and left the room to freshen up.

Yerin went about her morning routine before shuffling to the kitchen to brew some coffee. She took a sip of her coffee and placed her mug down before jumping slightly at the figure looking at her by the doorway.

“Jesus Christ B, are you trying to kill me?” Yerin panted as she held a hand over her heart, leaning against the counter for support.

“Sorry, I didn’t think you would get scared this easily.” Eunbi giggled.

“I didn’t even hear your footsteps,” Yerin said, calming down a little.

“But I guess you’re fully awake now,” Eunbi said sheepishly. “Yewonnie and the others are coming over for dinner, right?”

“Yeah. They said they’ll be here at around 4 or 5.” Yerin replied and made another cup of coffee for the younger girl.

“I assume we’re going to prepare dinner for them. What should we cook that will appease executive chef Kim?” Eunbi cackled.

“Typical roast turkey and some classic Christmas spread. She won’t pull a Gordon Ramsay on Christmas Eve, will she?” Yerin smiled.

“Who knows?”

“I’m going to boot her out of the house if she does.” Yerin joked. “Grocery shopping?”

“Yep. Let me laze around for a little while more before we get busy.” Eunbi said before strolling out of the kitchen with her cup of coffee in hand.

★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★

By the time they finished cooking, it was about 15 minutes past 3. They took a quick shower and decided to relax before their friends came.

“I concluded that cooking is fun but tiring,” Eunbi said, resting her feet on the coffee table. Yerin nodded with a soft chuckle.

“Indeed, but it’s worth it when you eat together with your friends.” Yerin smiled. She pulled Eunbi’s legs onto her lap and started to massage them without much thought as a TV series played.

“I’m sleepy.” Eunbi said.

“Take a nap then.” Yerin said and patted the girl’s knee. She handed Eunbi a cushion to hug.

“Really?”

“Yeah. A little nap before they come won’t hurt.” Yerin smiled.

“Then I shall. Wake me when they’re almost here okay?” Eunbi said and made herself comfortable before closing her eyes. Yerin switched off the TV to let Eunbi sleep and took out her phone. She looked over and saw the girl’s phone just above her head on the armrest. Quietly, Yerin reached over and took her phone. She smiled when she saw that the lock screen wallpaper was the picture that Yerin took when she tricked Eunbi into a kiss.

“You must really like that photo huh?” Yerin whispered as she swiped up to switch on the do not disturb function. She placed the phone back before unlocking her own phone to send a text to their group chat.

★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★

Yerin hurried to the door and opened it, revealing Yewon and Yuna who were bundled up warmly. They beamed and Yerin mirrored their expression. She stepped aside to let them in.

"Presents go under the tree, extra presents go to the guest room.” Yerin said with a subtle wink as she closed the door behind them. Yuna nodded and arranged her shoes neatly by the wall before shuffling in.

"Hey Eunbi." she smiled at the girl who was staring off into space on the couch.

"Oh hey, you're here." Eunbi snapped out of her daze. She got up to give the girls a hug before Yuna excused herself to the washroom.

"Sojung-unnie and Eunha-unnie are on the way. They should be here in about 5 more minutes or so." Yewon said as she placed the presents under the tree.

"Oh okay."

"I heard from Yerin yo were asleep." the youngest said as she joined Eunbi on the couch.

"Yeah. Was feeling a little tired from all that cooking. Besides, I slept late last night." the girl replied, hugging a pillow.

"Spare me the details." Yewon sniggered.

"Huh? What det- Yah! I was scrolling my SNS you dirty minded kid!" Eunbi huffed and crossed her arms over the pillow.

"Just kidding~ I know you're innocent." Yewon smiled. "For now." she added and stuck her tongue out when she saw the pleased look on the older girl's face morph into a sour expression.

“Have a drink.” Yerin said as she walked out of the kitchen with two mugs of hot chocolate just as Yuna returned to the living room.

"Thanks." Yewon smiled and scooched over to give Yuna some space. They talked for a while and picked out a movie just before the doorbell rang. Eunbi opened the door to welcome their long-legged friend and… Short-legged friend.

“Hi! Are we late?” Eunha asked as they kicked their shoes off.

“Not at all, you’re just on time.” Yewon smiled and stood up to give the newcomers a hug.

“Are you guys hungry?” Yerin asked.

“Just a little. I smell something nice, so I’ll be looking forward to it.” Sojung teased.

“Don’t push your master chef expectations on me.” Yerin raised her palms and took a step back.

“I’ll judge it leniently.” The chef winked and everyone laughed.

“Gather around then. The holy feast is about to start.” Yerin clapped her hands. Eunbi smiled and followed Yerin into the kitchen to help the girl.

“Utensils are laid in the right order, 1 point,” Sojung said and the girls sniggered.

“On the menu, today is pumpkin soup with wild mushrooms, roast turkey with lemon, parsley and garlic and of course, mac and cheese,” Yerin said as she set the dishes down on the table.

“Woah… Why do all of these look so good?” Yuna said as she looked at the dishes with wide eyes.

“Because Yerin is secretly a culinary genius. Maybe she’s secretly an Executive chef too. Chef Jung.” Eunha giggled.

“I think if you ever want a change in career, you could just join Sojung-unnie’s restaurant.” Yewon nodded.

“All these flattery.” Yerin chuckled. “I’m not that good, I only followed the recipe. It’s the presentation that makes it look good. Come, let’s say grace and tuck in.”

They held hands and said a short prayer before Yerin and Sojung helped serve the food.

“The soup is great!” Eunha exclaimed after tasting a spoonful.

"She's right. A solid 3/5. Good texture and flavour." Sojung sniggered.

"Gordon Ramsay will be happy to hear. These are all his recepies. Including dessert." Yerin declared proudly.  The chef laughed and nodded, drinking the rest of her soup. As usual, they ate mostly in silence and savoured the delicious food.

★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★

After enjoying the apricot and frangipane tart with a glass of wine, the girls settled down in the living room and got comfortable to start their movie. Throughout the movie, Yerin would get up and disappear for several minutes before returning to her seat beside Eunbi. Having enough of the distraction, she caught Yerin by the wrist when she stood up and pulled her back down.

"Could you stay here? It's kinda distracting." Eunbi said with a slight frown. Yerin knew the girl was annoyed but she simply smiled and stood up regardless. She left once again and Eunbi felt ready to snap. The latter was ready to give the older girl a piece of her mind when Yerin returned with a bouquet of flowers. She looked at Eunha who nodded and paused the movie. Yewon reached up and turned the lights on.

"What are you doing?" Eunbi asked, extremely confused and flustered.

"Well... Here. I'd like to give your present of the day now." Yerin said with a smile and handed Eunbi the flowers. The latter took them and looked at their friends who had this same smile on their face as if they all knew something she didn’t.

“What’s going on? Why are you all smiling like that?” Eunbi asked suspiciously, looking at them with narrowed eyes. She turned back to Yerin who tugged at her pant leg and got down on a knee.

Eunbi was speechless.

She watched as the girl took a small blue box out of her pocket and opened it, revealing a silver band with a small diamond on it. She was so shocked that she didn’t realize that the other girls quietly slipped away from the couch and disappeared into the hallway.

“B, I think that… y’know, after living with you for a year, dating throughout college, being by each other’s side… Maybe it’s time that we settle down. Properly. These kids have been teasing us that we behave like a married couple so why not be a real married couple?” Yerin chuckled. Eunbi looked back to see that the couch had been vacated. Instead, they were all standing in a semicircle behind Yerin. Sojung and Eunha were holding balloons and Yuna and Yewon had their hands behind their backs.

“Back to what I was saying, I asked your dad the other day for your hand. That’s what we were talking about on our little stroll. He said he had been protecting you but now he can finally take a break because I’m here to protect you. Which I will, until the end of time. I’m not perfect but I will try my hardest to give you the best that I can afford. You are my princess after all. With that said…” Yerin took the ring out and held it between her thumb and index finger. “Will you marry me?”

Eunbi stared at Yerin for what seemed to be the longest 1 minute of her life. The younger girl’s eyes were slightly red and filled with tears yet she didn't say anything. Yerin almost thought Eunbi was going to say no. Panic began to build up in her gut.

“B?” Yerin asked. Four pairs of eyes darted nervously between the pair. Suddenly, Eunbi too got down on her knees. “Wha?”

Eunbi smiled and dug her hand into her left pocket to pull out the ring she had got, earning the loudest gasps she had ever heard from the onlookers.

“I had meant to do the same thing you . Guess you beat me to it.” Eunbi chuckled a little and Yerin almost dropped her own ring. Flabberghasted. That’s what her entire body felt. She was sure her brain had turned into a puddle of mush in her skull because she couldn’t think of anything to say.

“Ah, you romantics! You’re paying for my diabetic injections!” Sojung yelled.

“You’ve said everything I wanted to say so stand up, your knee will hurt.” Eunbi said and grabbed Yerin by the arms, pulling her up. Yerin’s mouth could only open and close but no proper words could come out so she just looked like a goldfish.

“I'll marry you of course. I don’t think I can ever marry anyone else. Besides, this is what I have been wanting for the longest time.”

“So those jokes you made… About us being like a married couple and me giving you my last name were hints?” Yerin finally asked.

“In a way, you could say that. Since you proposed first, I guess I’m going to be Mrs Jung from now.”

“Talk about adding to the confusion of 2 Eunbis. Now we have 2 Jung Eunbi.” Eunha laughed.

“You won’t be Jung Eunbi for long,” Sojung said with a wink and Eunha’s jaw dropped.

“Woohoo! Congrats you guys!” Yuna suddenly shouted and popped the party popper she was hiding behind her back. Yewon too, pulled the string and the paper confetti flew into the air, showering Eunbi and Yerin.

“What are you waiting for? Put the rings on!” Yewon hollered. Yerin smiled at the younger girl and tenderly took her hand, placing the cold silver band on her fourth finger. Eunbi then took Yerin’s hand and slipped the ring on, rubbing the back of the latter’s hand with her thumb.

“Yey~” Eunha cheered and tossed the balloons at them. “Live happily ever after okay?”

“I think we will.” Yerin smiled and held Eunbi’s hand tightly.

“I want to be your bridesmaid!” Yewon jumped and raised her hand.

“Me too!” Eunha beamed and bounced on the balls of her feet.

“You can all be.” Eunbi chuckled. “Right?”

“Right.” Yerin grinned and planted a quick kiss on the girl’s lips.

“Congrats.” Sojung said and smiled at Yerin. She ruffled the girl’s hair with the brightest smile Yerin has ever seen.

“Thanks unnie. Call me when it’s your turn. I’ll definitely help out.” Yerin winked and Sojung nodded with a grin.

Needless to say, it was definitely the best Christmas of their lives with many more greater ones to come.

My dear readers, hope you have enjoyed the story :) Sadly, this will be the last chapter... But not to worry! I still have many ideas that have yet to be put into words so do look forward to it! Writing this has been a blast and after reading every single one of your comments, I'm glad to see that many of you have enjoyed this fluffy month ^^ If you want to hear more from me about my stories, feel free to follow me on twitter! @Hwangie_HJ :)

For those of you who celebrate, Merry Christmas :) Eat lots of good food, enjoy the presents and of course, have fun during this festive season. For those that don't celebrate, have a great holiday! It's a great time to rest after a long year. Take care and dress warmly if it's winter for you~ Careful not to fall sick :)

Till next time ;)