Everything about Christmas this year felt different.

You had been with Kyungsoo through five of them so far, and whilst each year had been rewarding in their own way, this time was special.

It was your first Christmas after getting married.

You had believed you’d never be that kind of couple who suffered from the cheesy yet endearing honeymoon stage of marriage. After all, you had been living with Kyungsoo for three years before you finally tied the knot last month. Nothing physically changed about your living arrangements to swoon over. You had owned your own home before marriage, and you still did afterwards.

But there was still this unexpected magic that had filled your lives ever since you had uttered I do in front of all your family and friends that had rolled over from the honeymoon in Italy, and continued into daily life as the year approached the festive season.

So when you mentioned to Kyungsoo you needed to pull out the Christmas décor the week before December arrived, instead of nodding mindlessly at you as he read over some work details, he smiled widely, hopping up from the sofa and pointed to the storage closet in the hallway. “Shall we get it out now, baby?”

“Are you free to?”

“We could even put the tree up. I know how much you love Christmas time,” he said, moving past you and into the hallway. Before he could open the door to retrieve it, you wrapped your arms around his waist and smiled up at him giddily.

“Have I mentioned how lucky I am to have the best husband in the world?”

Kyungsoo’s lips twitched and his eyes shifted to yours, unable to keep himself controlled, a grin soon crossing his lips in delight. “No, I don’t think you have.”

“Well, I’m lucky you married me, husband.”

“Who knew one word could be like kryptonite to me?” he murmured, kissing the top of your head before he pulled away from your embrace and opened the door.

He had continued smiling and kissing you throughout the process of putting up the tree, his playful side having you giggling endlessly. You loved his serious side where you could talk to him about anything, but having fun and letting loose with Kyungsoo made you immensely happy too. And as he danced you around your living room, you hoped that married life continued just like this.

As the first two weeks of December came and went, the magic of being married this year was still alive. You watched the cheesy Christmas movies together at night, and you picked out Christmas gifts during the day. You wrapped them together, wrote Christmas cards and even sent them all out hand in hand. It was like your dreams had really come true. You had dreamed that there would be nothing better in life than being Mrs Do and so far, everything felt renewed this year around. Even if you did the same things as last year, they didn’t feel like they did back then.

It could be down to the intimacy. Kyungsoo wasn’t naturally big on public displays of affection, yet this year he didn’t let you go once whenever you were out. He eyed you up lovingly whenever you sat across from each other at coffee shops or out for dinner, and he had you firmly in his embrace as you waited in line to get into the ice rink. Despite being busy with work, the activities of this year together kept your schedule packed and your heart warm during the winter cold.

And at night, when it was time to slip under the sheets of your marital bed, there were a lot of times where sleep came much later into the early morning than you had initially planned for it.

Life was balanced with love and the magic of the season.

When you came down with a cold a week out from Christmas you were disappointed. There were a couple of Christmas parties you had to attend, work needed to be wrapped up before you went on break, and your family was expecting you to come and prepare for your annual get-together. Just thinking about it all made you shrink back beneath the covers after turning off the alarm and close your eyes. If you fell back asleep and then woke up again, there could be a very good chance you might not wake up sick.

It was a feeble attempt when you sniffled with your seemingly blocked nose upon opening your eyes.

“Have one day in bed,” Kyungsoo instructed, ignoring the excuses of your schedule. He kissed you gently before hopping out of bed, telling you that as his wife you had to listen to him about this. It made you smile, he had never controlled you once in your life, and you knew he wouldn’t be able to in marriage either. But it was endearing all the same, to the point that you hadn’t moved during his entire shower. He returned and looked at you, shocked. “You listened to your husband?!”

“Just this once,” you confirmed as he chuckled.

“It’s Christmas time, if you rest now, you’ll feel better tomorrow and then on the big day you’ll be back to normal and able to keep up with both our families’ activities.”

“You’re right, all I’ll need is one day to get back to fighting fit!”

You woke the following morning feeling worse. Your body ached and you were certain if you moved you would be throwing up. There wasn’t anything enchanting about this week at all, and you wished you hadn’t used up so much of the magic from earlier in the month so you could cash it in now. You had gotten too wrapped up in the whirlwind everything had been since getting married that reality dawning on you before the year was out felt bittersweet.

You managed to get through work despite the thumping in your head and Kyungsoo had cancelled going to a work party that evening to hold you in his arms and smother you in love