Christmas Eve seemed to be a promising day as the sun shined down radiantly on the snow-covered streets of Seoul. One boy in particular was extra bouncy and ecstatic that morning.

Joon was up bright and early, bounding through his house in a merry mood. “Christmas Eve, Christmas Eve,” he hummed under his breath.

Looking in the mirror, he fixed a few stray strands of hair and smiled brightly. “Time to start plan ‘Cheer Minah Up’!”

Joon grabbed his bag and headed out of his apartment. In a flash, he was in front of Minah’s apartment. He lightly rapped his knuckles on the door and rocked back and forth on his feet as he waited for someone to open it.

A few seconds later, Minah’s father opened the door. “Oh, how may I help you?”

“Hi, Mr. Bang! I’m Lee Joon. I don’t know if you remember me but I was Minah’s childhood friend. Anyways, I’m going to take you anrd Minah out on a fun Christmas Eve date today! Oh, wait. Date sounds a little weird. Umm, how about a fun…” Joon scrunched his face as he attempted to find the right word.

Minah’s father chuckled amusedly. “Well, why don’t you come in Joon? Of course I remember you. You and Minah were practically inseparable,” he said.

“Okay! Thank you!” Joon chirped. He bounded inside with Minah’s father trailing behind. “Minah! I’m here!” Joon called out.

Meanwhile, Minah had just gotten out of the shower and got dressed. She paused when she heard Joon’s voice.

*What could he be here for?*

She walked out with an emotionless expression on her face yet Joon wasn’t fazed by it at all. It only made him all the more enthusiastic.

“Minah, let’s go drive around Seoul today! Your dad has to come too,” he stated.

“Joon, I really don’t wanna go anywhere today,” Minah replied. Joon merely grinned widely and came back with an unbeatable force.

“Well, I say that you have to come with me! Right, Mr. Bang?” Even Minah’s father was overwhelmed by Joon’s zeal.

“Uh, sure,” he replied uncertainly. Minah shot her father a glare and he held his hands up in apology.

“Great! Now let’s go.” With that said, Joon grabbed Minah’s wrist and tugged her out of the apartment. Her father could only follow along, knowing it would be near impossible to stop the vivacious Joon.

Minah gave up fighting him too and allowed her to be dragged out of the building. Outside, a familiar car was parked on the side of the street.

As they approached, Cheondoong came out from the driver’s seat and opened one of the doors for them. He had a charming smile on his face.

“Hello Mr. Bang. Hello Minah. It’s a wonderful day, isn’t it?” he greeted. Minah’s father blinked at the handsome face and slowly got into the car.

“He’s a celebrity, isn’t he?” he asked Minah. She nodded and watched as Joon and Cheondoong got into the car.

“Okay chauffeur, let’s drive around Seoul!” Joon exclaimed. He pointed ahead and Cheondoong gave him a somewhat agitated look.

“Excuse me. What was that you said? Chauffeur?” he questioned, raising an eyebrow. Joon grinned bashfully and scratched his head.

“I mean…let’s go Cheondoong!”

“That’s much better.” Cheondoong started the car and they drove off. Minah had no idea what the two were up to and she did her best to figure out what they had planned. She tried to go through different scenarios, wondering if this was some attempt to get her to forget any bad feelings.

Eventually, she gave up on trying and merely stared out the window while Joon droned on about how excited he was for Christmas and what presents he hoped to get. Secretly, there was a cake by his feet for Minah that they were going to surprise her with. His talk was just a ruse to rid her of any suspicion.

“Do you mind telling me where we’re going?” Minah’s father finally asked after nearly an hour of driving.

“Sorry, I can’t tell you anything. My lips are sealed,” Joon replied, ‘zipping’ up his lips.

“I know this may be frustrating but please bear with us. Today is just a day for the two of you to relax,” Cheondoong added.

A little satisfied with the answer he got, Minah’s father resumed his earlier actions of staring out the window.

---

“No no no! That looks completely stupid!” Mir snapped at Seungho who was setting up the decorations for their surprise party.

The pair, as well as Yongguk, had driven out to the countryside. There, they went to an area of open land and set up a table for a picnic. Albeit, it was a little chilly they were all bundled up to survive the biting cold. Yongguk had brought a few gasoline heaters that warmed up the atmosphere anyways.

Now, Seungho was being criticized for his decorating skills. “If you’re so good at this, then why don’t you do it!” he snarled. Seungho threw the roll of streamers in Mir’s face.

“Fine. It’s going to turn out perfect!” Mir retorted. Grumbling to himself, he began to tie the streamers around trees and string them around the picnic area.

Yongguk chuckled at the rowdy teenagers, remembering how he wasn’t so different when he was their age. He gently placed his Christmas presents for Minah and his father on the table, smiling softly.

“How are you feeling? Excited?” Seungho came over, completely ignoring Mir’s attempt at giving him “advice” on decorating.

“I don’t know. I’m feeling a mix of emotions. Even though I’ve already met Minah before she didn’t know who I was then. So now, I’m afraid of what her reaction will be when she finds out,” Yongguk sighed.

Seungho smiled warmly and patted Yongguk’s shoulder. “It’ll be alright. I’m sure you’ll be able to put a smile on her face again.”

Nodding, Yongguk began to place the food he had brought on the table. “I guess we’ll both find out when she gets here.”

Seungho became lost in his thoughts as he moved through the motions of organizing the food and drinks without thinking about them. He imagined Minah’s smiling face again, feeling his heart fluctuate in an odd, blissful way. If just the image of Minah smiling again could cause his heart to react in a way, he could only wonder what would happen when fiction became reality.

As Mir was putting up the streamers and blowing up green and red balloons, he got into his own world. Would Minah enjoy the party? What if she refused to go with Joon? Then, the plan would be ruined and all the preparations would be for nothing.

*No, don’t think like that Mir. Joon may be an airhead but he can still be pretty convincing.*

After reassuring himself, Mir paused and stared off into the distance. A sudden image of Minah laughing happily and running into his waiting arms consumed his mind and he felt himself growing warmer at the thought. He was certain that his cheeks were now tinged pink.

*, I really hope no one saw that.*

Lightly slapping his cheeks, Mir jumped up and down a few times. *Okay Mir. No more odd, creepy fantasies of you and Minah. Get to work.*

---

Meanwhile, Joon and Cheondoong had stopped the car so that the four of them could get lunch. After that, Cheondoong nodded at Joon and it was time to begin the long journey out to the countryside.

Joon was buzzing with excitement more than he had earlier during the day. His mouth was running nonstop, causing the others in the car to groan in annoyance.

“I’m so happy! I’m so happy! I’m so happy!” Joon chanted over and over. Minah shut her eyes and wished there was some way she could also shut her ears.

Cheondoong did his best to control his temper to no avail. “Joon! Shut up!” he roared. Everything became silent as Joon stared at Cheondoong, wide-eyed.

“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you like that. But, can you please stop talking for a while?” he asked. Joon pouted slightly but nodded.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you mad,” he said dejectedly. Cheondoong felt his resolve breaking but he knew he had to keep strong for not only his sake but for Minah and her father’s.

Minah noticed the change in scenery, seeing fewer buildings and more trees. Now, she was beginning to grow slightly worried. Where in the world could Cheondoong and Joon possibly be taking her?

“Cheondoong, where are we going?” she asked quietly. He was shocked for a moment when he heard her speak. It was the first time she had spoken since she got in the car.

“That’s…a secret,” he answered, smiling mysteriously. His eyes twinkled with excitement and made Minah even more curious.

“Just go to sleep. We’ll wake you up when we get there. I’ll even sing a lullaby if it’ll help.” Cheondoong glanced back to see Minah’s response. She nodded and closed her eyes.

Sometimes in the morning, sometimes every night
I wanna hold you in my eyes

Can you come closer? One step closer? Oh-
If you will accompany me, I'll be the happiest person on earth
You're my sunshine every night
I think this is love, this is love, you and I

                        -You and I by MBLAQ

Cheondoong finished his the song softly and glanced back to find Minah sleeping soundly. A small smile came on his face. He was relieved that Joon and Minah’s father had already fallen asleep so neither of them heard it. He wasn’t even sure if Minah had heard him or not.

However, he was still content to let out his confession even if she hadn’t heard him. He hoped that one day she might accept him and that day would surely be the happiest one in his life.

It wasn’t long until Cheondoong saw the party set-up. Little lanterns hung from strings and lit up the entire place. It was a breathtaking sight and he was impressed that Seungho and Mir had managed to make it look so nice.

Shaking Joon lightly, Cheondoong then got out of the car to open up the other doors. Joon woke up and his eyes sparkled.

“Yes! This is going to be great!” he cheered. He scrambled out of the car and headed towards the table.

Seungho, who had seen the car arriving, went over to Minah’s side and peered in the window to find her sleeping. He noticed that she was only wearing a cashmere sweater that would provide no warmth whatsoever against the chilly winter air. As careful as possible, he opened the door and caught her head before she crashed to the ground. He had slipped off his jacket and now he proceeded to bundle Minah in it.

Cheondoong woke up Minah’s father and saw Seungho. He nodded at him with a tiny smile. Seungho nodded back and gently picked up Minah.

“What’s this? What’s going on?” Minah’s father asked.

“This is the surprise we were talking about. Just wait a bit and everything will click,” Cheondoong replied. He led Minah’s father to the table and pulled out a chair for him to sit on. Yongguk sat up, his back completely straight, and stared at his father.

His father gazed back at him, his eyebrows furrowing as he tried to place the familiar face he saw.

As Seungho carried Minah to the table, her eyelids fluttered and she awoke. She gasped in surprise to find Seungho carrying her. He gave her a warm smile and didn’t say anything.

“Seungho…when did you get here? What’s happening?” she asked. Not replying, Seungho placed Minah on a chair beside her father. Then, he rushed over to where the others were.

Yongguk stood up and went beside them. Mir chuckled and pulled him into the center. “Don’t be a scaredy-cat.”

“Minah. Mr. Bang. I’m sure you both are wondering what you’re doing here and our reasoning for bringing you out here,” Cheondoong started. Minah felt like snapping at him for stating the obvious but found her intrigued by not only the beautiful set-up but also the purple haired man again.

*Why is he here? Why does he keep showing up?*

“To answer both questions, we have to introduce you, or reintroduce you, to this man right here,” Seungho continued for him.

“You’ll never believe who this guy is! He’s-mmpf” Joon’s voice was muffled as Mir slapped his hand over his mouth.

“Hey, let me speak too, you baby ,” he muttered. Joon glared at him but allowed Mir to speak. “Anyways, the man you see here right now is none other than Bang Yongguk. Minah’s older brother and your son Mr. Bang.”

Both father and daughter seemed frozen in their positions, their facial expressions paralyzed in shock. Yongguk smiled sheepishly and waved.

After what seemed like a lifetime as the two put their minds back together, the pair flung themselves towards Yongguk who managed to engulf the both of them in his arms. Blissful tears escaped their eyes as the reunited family hugged one another tightly.

*I have a brother. And he’s here in my arms.* Minah couldn’t understand the pure joy and happiness she was feeling at the moment.

*My son. How many years has it been? I thought you had died. I’m so glad to see you again.*

The four friends watched the family reunion with warm, tender smiles of their faces. After they pulled out of the hug, Minah wasted no time in hugging the four of them and thanking them profusely. The widest smile was on her face and that was enough for the boys. They finally got to see her happy again and that was all they needed.

The party began and there was much laughter and smiles as they ate food. Gifts were exchanged albeit Minah and her father had prepared none, but those would be given in the future. All they cared about was the happiness of being together.

All of them lay in the snow together afterwards, not feeling the cold at all due to the body heat radiating from one another. They stared up at the bright constellations that seemed brighter than in Seoul.

*Byunghee-ah. The stars are beautiful tonight. One of those stars is you, right? You’re watching us, you’re always watching us. Today, I feel like I can start anew. I know you’re always with me so I won’t feel bad for moving on. I’m happy to be with my family.* Minah smiled softly and reached up towards the sky. She turned her head and met eyes with each of her four friends. They exchanged warm smiles with one another.

*I’m happy to be with these four guys. They helped me realize that no matter what happens, I can have a new beginning.* 

THE END

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Yes, you read that right. It's the end. I found that I really enjoyed writing this story. I hope you guys liked it a lot too. Although it may not be an ending with finality to it, I think I like it better ending a little ambiguously. It leaves some interpretation up to you guys :)

Thanks so much for sticking through this story and reading it. I truly love all of you readers! <3 ^.^