The shimmering ray of sunshine greeted Naeun as she awoke from her slumber.

She smiled back at the warm sunlight glistening her face.

A fresh, new day is about to begin, she thought. A day full of snowboarding, and snow, and Taemin...

Warmth pulsed through her body and Naeun was certain it didn't come from the sun. After doing a few stretch poses, she made her way to the bathroom to get ready.

~~~

The day Taemin had been waiting for had finally arrived. He only had to wait for a day, but it felt like an eternity to him. He barely had enough sleep with all the excitement. As he finished dressing up, his phone suddenly rang,

"Hello? Ah yes? It's here already? Alright, thank you so much, sir...Yes, have a pleasant day ahead too, sir".

Taemin checked himself in the mirror one last time, "Showtime".

~~~

Naeun anxiously waited for Taemin. She dropped him a text not too long ago in which he replied that he'd be down shortly. They still had fifteen minutes before the bus was scheduled to leave, but that was the least of Naeun's problem. She prayed she wouldn't run into L and experience another showdown between the two boys. Suddenly, Naeun's ringtone went off; it was Taemin.

"Hello?"

"Naeun-ah"

"Where are you?"

"Come outside"

She did as he instructed but didn't spot the raven-haired boy anywhere.

"Where are you?" she asked, and out of the blue, the students beside her squealed.

"Turn around," he said, catching a hint of excitement in his voice. Again, she did as instructed and nearly dropped her phone. She saw Taemin alright, along with a large, crimson red Range Rover Evoque parked behind him. He walked to her, grabbing for her snowboard while Naeun stood there, speechless.

"Ready to go?" he asked, snapping Naeun back to reality. She couldn't speak properly, pausing, and stuttering every syllable that came out of . Taemin chuckled at her adorable attempt to make a sentence.

"Come on," he said, craning his neck to the luxurious car.

The sound of cameras clicking and lights flashing bothered Naeun a little as she tried covering her face with her hair and beanie. Once they got in the car, and Taemin had started the engine, driving them away from the hotel, Naeun finally relaxed. Before she could ask Taemin about the sudden existence of the luxurious vehicle, Taemin had started talking, "I figured since yesterday's incident would still be fresh on your mind, you'd want to travel up the mountains without dozens of eyes staring at you".

He wasn't wrong. Evidence of yesterday's incident wasn't found on any social platforms that Naeun owned, but rumors and gossips spread around her batch like a virus.

"I also thought it'd better for the both of us not to bump into L again," Taemin continued, "Pretty sure he's still humiliated by yesterday". Naeun nodded in agreement. She took a quick scan of the car's interior. Being an art fanatic and all, she couldn't help but be impressed.

Naeun looked back at Taemin, "Did you borrow this from the hotel?"

He shook his head, "I asked my dad to send someone to bring one of my cars over here. I'm surprised he managed to get it here by morning". Naeun's eyes widened again.

This car is his?! And it's only one of the possibly many cars he has?!?!

"You really are full of surprises, aren't you?" she mumbled.

"What was that?" Taemin asked, his focus still on the road ahead.

"Ani, I didn't say anything". 

"Was it too much?" he asked rather seriously.

"A little bit," Naeun admitted, "They took a lot of pictures".

Guilt slowly crept into Taemin; he overdid it this time. He apologized to Naeun and promised that he'd take her thoughts into more consideration. She smiled at him and accepted his apology, although she felt it was unnecessary - she just wasn't used to be treated so kindly by anyone, more so, a boy. Naeun connected her phone to the car's radio and shuffle played her Spotify playlist. The first song that played was 'Perfect' by Ed Sheeran.

How cliché, they both thought.

There they were, on their way to Crescent Peak to ski/snowboard, and coincidentally, the song they were hearing was a love song between two friends that started with a ski trip.

Very cliché indeed.

~~~

"Ever snowboarded with music on?" Taemin asked as he fastened his ski boots into his ski.

Naeun shook her head, "I didn't bring my air pods," she said sheepishly.

He chuckled at the expression on her face again. She really had the cutest expressions he'd seen in a girl.

Also, the most beautiful you've met, his heart teased but quickly shunned it. He reached down to his pockets for his earbuds and gave an extra pair that he brought to Naeun. They decided to start with a few blue slopes as a warm-up before going for the steeper ones. 

Once they had reached the top of the first slope, Taemin suggested their first music (Cue SHUT UP AND DANCE WITH ME cover by KURT HUGO SCHNEIDER <3).

A smile formed on Naeun's face, "Nice choice".

He smiled in return before gesturing an arm for her to proceed snowboarding

"Ladies first".

~~~

Naeun wished she had realized sooner how much more fun snowboarding was with music on. She never thought of the idea initially, afraid that any external distractions would risk her life (she was really paranoid back then) when snowboarding down extremely steep slopes. But as she snowboarded down the slopes with Taemin beside her and music blasting in her ears, Naeun couldn't help but squeal in joy.

Taemin couldn't contain his excitement either after hearing Naeun scream and whooped along with her.

Hours of fun passed by when the sky darkened. 

 "We should probably go", Taemin said but she refused. 

"You haven't gone to the diamond slope yet". 

He told her that it wasn't a big deal and that there'd always be another time.

"Besides, I don't want to leave you down here alone," he said and Naeun cocked an eyebrow.

"Who said anything about leaving me here? I'm going with you".

That caught Taemin by surprise, "I thought you didn't like snowboarding alone in the dark?"

Naeun hesitated to answer, but recomposed herself and replied to him, "Well, I'm not alone - I have you - and it's not completely dark yet. Plus, there'll be streetlights to guide our way down and...I want to give it a shot. I'm tired of feeling so scared all the time".

She truly never cease to amaze me, Taemin thought.

"Alright," he said, "Let's go conquer the beast".

When they had reached the top of the mountain, they were in awe by the view. They could still see the faint sun, bidding its goodbye to the sky as the moon took its place. Taemin double-checked his pockets, ensuring they were zipped so his earbuds wouldn't drop in the middle of skiing. Although he was impressed by Naeun's sudden bravery, music wouldn't be safe at the height they were at, the darkness that enveloped the sky, and the extreme steepness of the slope they were about to sled down. 

He noticed Naeun tense. Her body seemed prepared for what lay in front of her, but her mind was still far from ready.

"You'll be fine, I'll be right behind you". 

Those were the exact same words Taemin said to her back at the skating rink.

"I know," she replied, but fear was still present in her eyes when she stared back down at the slope.

"Do you trust me?" Taemin asked out of the blue. Naeun snapped her head back to him and a wave of assurance calmed her anxious mind. She nodded and snowboarded down, Taemin trailing behind her.

Not once did Naeun fall.

~~~

"I'm famished," Taemin said, rubbing his belly as he finished securing his ski and Naeun's snowboard. She told him she could do it herself, but he insisted. Her heart fluttered a little by his kindness.

"What do you feel like eating?" she asked to which he replied, "There's a nearby barbeque restaurant that looks pretty good. How about that?"

Naeun nodded. She was about to dial Eunji and Krystal and told Taemin to inform Kai and Key when he stopped her.

"Actually, I was thinking if we could go together, just the two of us," he confessed with such boldness and smoothness.

And again, Naeun's heart fluttered. She decided to play along, "Is the Lee Taemin asking me out on a date?"

He shrugged and replied, "Maybe," but his eyes avoided hers. Naeun did a thinking pose to which Taemin found adorable, yet again. He reached out a hand for her to clasp. She giggled before clasping her hand into his. They didn't let go until they had reached the barbeque restaurant.

Though the mountains were flooded with tourists, there weren't nearly as many students who traveled there, to Naeun's delight. She promised herself she'd start ignoring the stares and glares received from Taemin's admirers, but she was glad not to worry about them that evening. Despite the long queue of the restaurant, Naeun and Taemin managed to get a table after ten minutes of waiting - one of the perks of coming in as a couple rather than a group.

The two ordered all sorts of cuttings but they were all beef. No chicken, no pork, just beef. 

Naeun savored every bite of them. As Taemin was flipping over the new batch of meat on the grill, Naeun was busy preparing a wrap.

She gestured the wrap to him, "Here".

Taemin was taken aback but immediately leaned in, opening his mouth wide. Flavors from the sauces Naeun had mixed, along with the marble of the beef exploded in his mouth.

"Mass-is-eo?" Naeun asked and Taemin throbbed his head.

The entire time they were at the restaurant, Taemin and Naeun couldn't stop laughing at each other's jokes, especially Taemin's. Admittedly, his jokes weren't the funniest Naeun had heard, but she couldn't stop laughing her brains out. She felt she'd get indigestion if she didn't stop chortling any time soon. Taemin nearly choked on his water at the mention of that.

"So, this is what's it like to be on a date, huh?" she asked.

"You've never been on one before?" Taemin replied in surprise, "I would've thought boys would be flooding all over you with your beauty and personality".

BA-DUM, BA-DUM, BA-DUM.

Naeun's heart was beating like a drum again. Not once has a guy ever showered her with so many compliments and teases. She wondered if she'd ever get used to Taemin flirting with her.

It is considered flirting, right?

"And you have?" she asked him back.

He shrugged, "Just a couple of blind dates my mom likes to set me up every now and then". She gave him an Ahh expression. It shouldn't have come as a surprise; it was normal for wealthy families to start finding someone suitable for their child(ren) at their age.

"Have you ever had any crushes before? I'm honestly curious to know what your ideal type is". 

Naeun thought for a second.

"I have, once in elementary and middle school, but they both had pretty bad reputations in school. You could say they were the equivalence of a mini-Myungsoo". 

Taemin chuckled at the analogy, "Guess you're into bad boys, huh?"

"Mm...I find their vibes attractive, but I wouldn't date one," Naeun replied.

"Why not?"

Naeun simply answered, "They're just not made for me". Taemin nodded, looking rather amused.

It was Naeun's turn to be curious, "What's your ideal type?"

 Every girl would want to know what catches the attention of the hottest boy in school; Naeun was no exception.

"Mm...one who is loyal to me," Taemin answered, "Like a sunflower, a girl who looks at me, and me only".

"Ooh, that lucky girl is going to enjoy making you jealous," Naeun smirked deviously. Taemin frowned and asked what she meant by that to which she replied, "Believe it or not, we find it cute when we see boys get all jealous and pouty".

As they munched on the last remaining slices of meat, Naeun suddenly announced to Taemin, "Sunflowers are my favorite flower". He replied with a Nado.

"Guess we both really have a lot of things in common," he continued, raising his glass of water. Naeun raised hers as well, "I suppose we do," and clanked their glass. Once she put hers down, an idea popped into Naeun's head.

"Have you ever been called an Oppa before?" This time, Taemin did choke on his water. Naeun laughed hysterically at his now red and teary face.

"I'll take that as a no," she said in between laughs.

After a few smacks Naeun gave to Taemin for paying the bill behind her back while she went to the bathroom, the two drove back to the hotel. Despite having another exciting day, Naeun's heart ached when she caught the sight of the Christmas gift she bought for her mother and sister. Since it was Christmas Eve, Ms. Lou had reluctantly removed the curfew rule for the remaining days of their stay at the resort. Naeun promised her family that she would call them before midnight to wish them a Merry Christmas regardless of her extreme exhaustion. She was about to text her mother about today's event when Taemin texted her:

Pretty Boy: Whatcha doin?

Kitty: Nothing much, what do you want?

Pretty Boy: ...

Kitty: Kekeke

Kitty: What're you doing?

Pretty Boy: Texting you ;)

Lame, Naeun thought, rolling her eyes.

Pretty Boy: Wanna go for a ride? Kai and Key went out to bowl again.

Kitty: Got something to show me again, Mr. Surprise me every day?

Pretty Boy: You need to work on your nicknames there honey

Her breath hitched.

H-honey? I'm pretty sure he noticed what he just called me, right?

OMG, what do I say?

Should I just pretend I never saw it?

She suddenly heard Eunji say that she was going to run some errands. Naeun didn't look at her but bid her goodbye before she heard the door close. She wasn't surprised if her 'errand' had anything to do with a certain brunette wearing a Mickey Mouse beanie everywhere he went.

Pretty Boy: And to answer your question, yes - there is a place I want to bring you to.

Kitty: Alright, but we gotta be back at the hotel in an hour. I gotta call my family.

Taemin replied with an 'okay' sticker. She took in a deep breath before grabbing her coat and (his) scarf.

~~~

Like every other night, she was the first to arrive in the lobby. However, with the night still young, she again worried about bumping into him.

Please don't be late, please don't be late...

And then, she spotted him. Relief washed over her when he stood in front of her, knowing that if L were anywhere near the lobby, he wouldn't dare try approach her. He smiled at her warmly and Naeun gladly returned it. 

Who would've thought that of all the prettier girls in school, Taemin chose her to befriend with; he chose her to accompany him on his night walks when any other girl would die to even just stand beside him and converse with him instead of just showing their affections through gifts. She knew, however, that they only liked him for his fame and looks. They didn't know the real Lee Taemin as she did.

"Are we just gonna stand here while you stare at me, or are we gonna head out to the parking lot? Either scenario is fine with me," he winked. Naeun quickly avoided his gaze but not before he caught a flash of pink on her pale cheeks.

"So, where are we going?" Naeun asked as she buckled her seatbelt. "I'll give you a hint," he smirked, "Turn around." 

She stared in disbelief. Sitting comfortably on the passenger seat, were her Christmas gifts for her mother and sister. "Wha--How?!?!" Her mind flashed back to her roommate. "Eunji took them, didn't see?" He said nothing and turned the engine on. "Where are you taking me Taemin, and why did you ask Eunji to steal my gifts?" He avoided her question and simply told her to enjoy the ride and rest while she could since the drive was going to be a long one. The frown on her face did not falter.

Taemin gave in, "You said you missed your family right? I figured since you always talk about spending Christmas with them, tomorrow would be the first time you'd celebrate the season without them." Naeun's eyes sprung wide.

No way, she thought.

"Y-you're not driving me to Seoul, are you?" A tiny smirk formed on his lips. 

Oh my God...

"It's past midnight," he said. 

This guy..

"Merry Christmas, Naeun-ah."