It was time for holidays as Christmas Eve had finally arrived. Every one of their friends had came with their own bags full of decoration to follow up on their tradition every year. Series of red and green ribbons and lights filled the walls of the apartment along with nicely (and decently) wrapped presents under the tree right by the fireplace. With everyone having a great time and sharing stories, this is when Soeun is convinced that Christmas is truly coming. 

But their only problem was the pine tree. 

"Is this all the ornaments we have?" Jimin dangerously held up the box of the fragile decor. 

Jaehee shook her head at her girlfriend. "Of course. After last year, you and Jiyoon unnie were trying to race each other to the tree." 

"And how does that make us only have a box left exactly?" Seeing these two bicker was normal to everyone. 

"Do I have to remind you that Jiyoon unnie made the both of you fall right into it, breaking most of the ornaments?" The older 04-liner took the box before the vocal coach did something reckless with it. 

"Oh." That shut Jimin right up. "Sorry, Jaehee-ah." She leaned over to Jaehee and laid her head on her shoulder with a pout. 

It was a 360 degree flip as the 02-liner had let go of her usual charismatic image to a soft one. This was only seen when it came to her younger girlfriend, of course. 

Soeun muttered a laugh after seeing the Jimin's sudden change, earning her a glare from the latter. 

"How about we get some more? I think there might be some stores open still. And if we hurry, we can get some before they're sold out." Soojin emerged from her room with another box of decorations for the tree. "How about me, Jaehee, and Hyewon go and buy them while the four of you handle the tree." 

"You trust those three alone with just Jihyo unnie being in charge of the tree?" Hyewon couldn't believe her ears at the arrangment. 

This maknae... It was the same thought that Soeun and her other two same age friends shared. 

"Yeah well." The young doctor was now rethinking the arrangment. "I'm sure Jihyo could handle it along with Soeun so... uh..." There was pure uncertainty in that whole sentence. 

Jaehee detached from Jimin, who frowned. "There's no time to dwell on it! It's better if we get going now before it's too late." The theater teacher grab her coat and dragged out Soojin and Hyewon towards the front door in a hurry. 

"Wait! Your coats!" Jihyo ran to the door to catch up to the three with the said clothing draped over her shoulders. 

Soeun huffed. "Can't believe I got grouped with you two as the disastrous team." The dancer sank into the couch, not looking too happy. 

"Oh please, it may not be in the terms of unfortunate events, but in confessing terms, you're basically the leader of this group." Jiyoon snickered. 

"Shin Jiyoon's right. You're pretty much a walking disaster at this point." Jimin retrieved the box from previously and tried to open it, but the ornaments inside of it jumped out hazardously as they scattered across the floor. 

And that was when Jihyo came back from her coat delivery causing the youngest in the room to trip and fall from accidentally stepping on one. 

"Jihyo-ah! Are you okay?!" The composer ran over to try and help, resulting in the same situation from earlier. 

Both moaned in pain as they rolled around holding onto their backs. 

Oh boy... Soeun could only hold her head in worry.

--

They got to work after sorting out the mess, and luckily, the ornaments weren't damaged. Being the two tallest out of the four, Soeun and Jimin took care of the top half of the tree while the shorter two were taking care of the bottom half. Although, there was a vast difference between the two halves. Jiyoon and Jihyo were the experts at crafts with their creativity in both their own careers being living proof. As for Soeun and Jimin, they excelled in their own departments as everything else seems to be a bit on the iffy side. 

"It seems like a Christmas spirit threw up on the top of the tree." Jiyoon was a harsh critic, expected from someone who had multiple art skills. 

Jihyo gave them an uneasy smile. "Y-Yeah! I think it'll look fantastic if you spread out the tinsel a bit more, but either way, it looks great!" Those were infamous compliment sandwiches. She uses those when she wanted to add some criticism and not offend anyone. 

"Welp, we tried." Jimin plopped herself on the couch in exhaustion. "I guess we have to wait for the other three to come back with more ornaments now."

The other two joined her on the couch while Soeun took the lone chair. From a distance, Soeun didn't think the tree looked so bad, besides not containing enough of the ornaments and a missing star on the top, the holiday spirit was there. They all took their own spin on each side of the tree with their choice of decor, and she wondered how it would look after the remaining three were done with it whenever they come back. 

"So... Soeun." Jiyoon's voice snatched her attention away from the tree.

She acknowledged it with a hum. 

"What's your plan on confessing today?" Jiyoon's question got everyone's eyes on her. 

She shrugged. "No idea." It was true. She really didn't plan anything despite it being a special day. 

The three let out a sound of annoyance. 

"Yah, it's not my fault all my attempts been nothing, but a bust after the next." Soeun slumped into the chair, sulking. 

Straightening her posture, Jihyo felt ambiguous to help encourage Soeun. "Maybe today is different! All the Christmas spirit could possibly help you on confessing today! It is the time of the year for miracles!" The younger 04-liner seem more excited than Soeun about that thought. 

"How old are you again, Jihyo-ah? Don't you think you're a bit too old to believe in Christmas miracles?" Jimin's comment made the younger frown sadly. 

On contrast, Jiyoon threw her arm around Jihyo's shoulders. "Don't listen to Jimin." She said to comfort Jihyo, then turned to Soeun. "As childish as it seems, I think a little Christmas miracle is the one thing you need to finally get your confession across." Soeun gave her a strange look when Jiyoon gave her a greasy wink and finger gun. "And if it doesn't work, then we can conclude that the world hates your guts." 

She saw Jimin nod at the end statement. It seems like something Jimin would agree to since she loves to tease them half-heartedly. 

Bouncing back with her previous energy, Jihyo brightened up at Jiyoon's encouragement. "Yeah, Soeun unnie! What Jiyoon unnie said! Well... Not the last part, but you know what I mean!" 

They were staring at her in anticipation what she might say to all of this silliness. 

Soeun had no choice, but to go along with it since it was literally three of her friends against her. "Fine... I'll try." The dancer sighed. 

"That's the spirit!" Enthusiastically, Jihyo clapped as Jiyoon gave her a proud nod and Jimin gave her an indifference shrug. 

Soeun can already imagine so many things going badly for taking her friends advice yet again.

--

The four were in a middle of jamming out to Christmas carols when the other three had returned with a few boxes of the ornaments. Soeun had stayed on her lone chair watching her two same age friends goof off with silver spoons becoming their mics as Jihyo cheered them on by using leftover tinsels as confetti. She saw Soojin laughed at the chaos that was taking place with Jaehee and Hyewon shaking their heads. 

Soeun scooted to one side of the chair to allow Soojin to take a seat with her - it was a tight fit, but they didn't might the closeness. With their shoulders having to overlap each other's, an arm had to be wrapped around Soojin as the older leaned into her with a hand set on top of her thigh. She was getting known looks and winks from their friends. They were not being subtle enough that she was sure Soojin had to notice it (but the latter was too preoccupied with laughing at Jiyoon and Jimin at the moment). 

"Wow, the tree is... um... something." Hyewon commented, setting down the stalk of boxes next to the Christmas tree. "Just by looking at it, I could already tell who decorated what area." 

Jaehee went over to remove some of it to replace them with their missing decoration. "At least make room for the actual holiday accessory!" Mainly reaching at the top, she had to be on her tippy toes until Jimin instinctly went over to help her. 

Soojin's hand rubbed against her knee - it caught her attention. "I think it looks just fine the way it is. It has everyone's personal spin on it. So, maybe just add in ornaments to the fill up the empty spots." She glanced up at Soeun with a smile. 

The dance choreographer could feel her cheeks turn pink and tried to cover it up with her other hand. She can already feel everyone's eyes on her without even having to look. 

I hate them so much. Hoping this thought got through to each of them telepathically, she narrowed her eyes at them without Soojin noticing. 

"Whatever you say, Soojin unnie." The youngest took over the upper part of the tree to ease Jaehee's toes. 

There were a wide range of the ornaments they've brought. From all the color of the rainbow to transparent to glittery ones. They were also different in sizes from the regular size to the mini sized ones. Some even had Christmas designs on them. And it made Soeun wonder how they were able to find all of these on Christmas Eve in such a short time. 

There was a pat on her knee. Soeun looked at the owner of the hand sitting beside her on the small cushioned chair. The medical profession was already had her eyes set on her, catching Soeun off-guard. 

"Nothing went wrong, right? No breakage? No fires?" Soojin was truly concerned after leaving the 02 trio plus Jihyo alone. 

Soeun pouted. "Why am I being part of them? I'm responsible!" 

"Explain that to the cookie incident the other day." 

Oh... I totally forgot about that. It only brought back bad memories, not the whole accidentally burning down the kitchen, but the whole 'I-almost-successfully-confessed-but-our-friends-ruined-it-for-coming-back' thing. "I- you can't blame me! You know how powerful Jihyo's puppy eyes are." She sulked. 

"I expected you to have more of a willpower since you're the 'oh so mentally strong and stubborn' Park Soeun." Laughing, Soojin reached up to squeeze the younger's cheeks. 

Soeun made a whining sound due to the older's hands feeling extremely cold against her warm skin. She reached for both of the older's small hands into her large one and brushed her fingers across them repetitively. The older must have forgotten her gloves before going outside to the store. 

"Soojin unnie, your hands are freezing." Soeun held them up to and unleashed a warm breath on them. 

"Thanks, Ssong-ah." Soojin appreciated the kind gesture. 

"Next time, don't forget your gloves when you go outside." Then moving to push them onto her warm cheeks. "Can't have you losing your cute little baby hands now." 

Soojin giggled at Soeun's cheesiness. "You can blame Lee Jaehee for that." 

They were in their own little world. All their friends around them were used to being ignored whenever they were in the same room together. Soeun didn't pay any mind to everyone's judgmental and teasing looks because all her attention was on the beautiful girl next to her. And maybe, Soeun didn't seem too bothered about the fact that she's going to have a whole chain of teasing later on tonight. 

--

Their Christmas Eve began to slowly come to an end for the actual day of celebration, Christmas. After spending the day of just eating, singing, dancing, playing games, and watching movies, the clock striked midnight. They exchanged their presents with each other; some more thoughtful than others. (Jiyoon thought it would be funny to give Soeun a old keychain, and the dancer was not amused.) Then they settled down and separated into smaller groups to hang around and enjoy the rest of the night with hot chocolate - the supply was starting to go empty along with whipped cream and mini marshmallows. 

Soeun scanned the room with a smile. Christmas season never failed to bring their friends together over the years, no matter how busy their lives have gotten. It was a familiar site to her; Jimin and Jaehee sitting closely together in front of the fireplace with a single blanket over their shoulders and a mug of hot chocolate (or hot green tea for Jaehee), and Jiyoon telling her plans on making Christmas songs with the younger couple, Jihyo and Hyewon, who were listening attentively as they shared a mug together.

However, there was one person missing. Where was Soojin? She searched around the kitchen and the area around their bedrooms, only to not see the older in neither of those places. 

"If you're looking for Soojin unnie, she's standing outside by the balcony." Hyewon, with Jihyo and Jiyoon, pointed at the backdoor, which had the curtains pulled across. "I saw her walk out earlier." 

"Thanks Hyewon-ah." 

Soeun slid the door open, enough to slip outside into the below zero weather. She felt her body tremble at the sudden change of temperature the further she step away from the warm apartment. Not bringing a coat or a blanket before entering the balcony was one of her regrets. Her arms hugged herself as she walked to the spot by the railing where Soojin stood. 

Noticing the new presence next to her, Soojin turned her head to the side to see Soeun next to her. "Aren't you a bit insane for coming out without something." She used a hand to throw over one side of the blanket she had onto the younger. "Scoot closer to me, or else, the blanket isn't going to be effective at its job."

They huddled together. 

"What are you doing out here in the freezing cold when it's nice and cozy inside?" Soeun asked curiously, knowing Soojin didn't favor the dropping degrees of the weather. 

The older took a sip of the cup of hot chocolate she had in her other hand before answering, "because I thought I could get you to spend some time alone with me for the rest of tonight." She laughed at Soeun's bewilderedness. "It worked, didn't it?" Another sip. 

"Y-Yeah." Soeun was completely taken back. 

Soojin grinned and looked up to the sky. The dancer did the same. 

The view of Seoul was breathtaking from their balcony. Lights of multiple colors shined brighter at night like stars on a clear night sky.  Bright streaks of driving cars helped illuminate Hangang bridge, leaving reflections on the surface of Han River. The padding on top of the skyscrapers and gentle rain of snow gave the city the Christmas feeling. It never failed to leave Soeun in awe. 

"Seoul always look better at night during the winter time," said Soojin without tearing her eyes away from the view. "Times like these are the best to savor." 

Soeun guided her eyes to the one beside her and studied her perfect side profile. "Yeah, it really is." 

The older looked down at her almost empty cup and slowly rotated it with the use of her wrist, watching the now cold chocolate move around inside. Then she let out a breathy chuckle. 

"Isn't there something you've been wanting to tell me, Ssong-ah?" She tilted her head at Soeun. 

A rush of nerves washed over the dancer's body. "W-What do you mean?" Dang it, Park Soeun! 

Soojin shrugged as she concentrated on her twirling with her mug. "It seems like you've been wanting to tell me something for the pass couple of weeks." She halted her actions. "And you seem to become more jittery lately, especially when the year's coming to an end soon." 

Was I that obvious? Despite the cold, Soeun started to feel herself sweat. Now or never. Christmas miracle, they said. The younger took a deep breath, coming out as a white mist in the air. "I do have something I've been meaning to tell you." She already felt the goosebumps on her forearms and going dry. 

"What is it?" Looking at her, the cup in Soojin's hand was left abandoned on the wide, steel railing. "You can tell me anything, Ssong-ah." She reached out to intertwine her hand with the other's. 

I can do this. I can do this. Soeun swallowed down her nervousness. "I-I... um... huh..." Her mind was once again a mess with Soojin carefully watching her. 

Soojin let out a sigh of frustration. "Park Soeun, please just confess to me." She shoved Soeun with a frown. 

Wait what? Soeun stumbled to the side, taking the blanket with her. The younger was in complete shocked with the sentence that left Soojin's mouth. "W-What do you mean?" 

"You know what I mean! This has been so frustrating, just literally waiting for you to come out with it!" Soojin looked like a child having a fit right now. 

"Wait! How did you-" 

"Know? I've been knowing for two years out of the three we've been living together!" She delivered light punches on Soeun's shoulder, who was still in shock. "Why do you think I've been returning every skinship and dropped the most obvious hints! Ugh, Park Soeun you're such an idiot!" 

"W-Well... I-" Soeun was speechless. She didn't expect any of this to happen. 

Soojin crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm not blind, Soeun-ah." Angrily, she pouted. "Now, hurry up and confess, or else, I'll do it for you." 

"I mean... you kinda did." Sheepishly, Soeun scratched the back of her head. 

"...Park Soeun..." Now, that wasn't a pleasant tone. 

"Kidding~" Soeun chuckled. Then she looked at the older in the eye with all seriousness. "I love you, Soojin unnie." And there it was. 

Soeun pulled her close by the waist and leaned down as Soojin had her hands on her shoulders. Their lips finally pressed together at last. To Soeun, there was a taste of hot chocolate and a hint of peppermint. And god, she doesn't mind getting addicted as long as the owner of these lips stayed by her side. They leaned their foreheads against each other's after they've backed away to take a breath. Exchanging smiles and giggles, Soeun couldn't be more at bliss. 

"You finally did it." The feeling of Soojin's breath ghosted onto Soeun's lips. 

The younger went for another kiss. A short one. Then she breathed out, "yeah, I did." Well, kinda. 

Soojin shook her head and couldn't stop herself from laughing, but she replied to Soeun's confession with a, "I love you, too, idiot." 

Then Soeun dove for Soojin's lips again as the surrounding cold no longer became a bother with the cup on the railing and blanket on the balcony floor forgotten. 

--

"About time." Was the first thing Soeun heard when they both walked back into the apartment. It was definitely from Jimin because who else would it be?

"Excepted from the idiot." Jiyoon joined in on the teasing. 

Soeun rolled her eyes at her same-aged friends. 

"Yah, that's my idiot you're talking about." She felt Soojin pinching her cheeks with a smirk. 

"Can't believe, it had to take Soojin unnie to actually tell you, in order, to get you to confess." Jaehee gave her a disapproval face as she leaned her head against Jimin's shoulder. 

"But at least, they're dating now. And that means we don't have to torture ourselves on watching them dance around each other anymore." Hyewon said in relief. 

"But congratulations, though!" Jihyo was the only one that was happy for her. 

Soeun could already predict another round of teasing, but at least, she has a beautiful girlfriend now. 

Best Christmas ever. Soeun beamed at the thought.