“Can you stop laughing?”

It’s been fifteen minutes since class ended, but the thought of Sojung tripping and almost falling in front of their classmates remains funny to Soobin.

“You—“ She stops to regain her breath, wipes the tears out of her eyes and reaches for Sojung’s arms for support. “Should’ve seen your face. It was hilarious!”

“You’ve said this about ten times already, Soobin,” Sojung sighs. “It’s not even funny anymore.”

“It is!” Soobin starts cracking up again, and Sojung was ready to elbow the tiny girl’s stomach when a thought crossed her mind.

What is the best way to control Park Soobin? Making her curious.

She needed to come up with something quick. A lie that would make Soobin shut up and forget about the embarrassing episode for at least a few minutes. But what exactly?

“Park Soobin, if you don’t stop being an idiot right now, i’m not going to give you your Christmas gift before you go home for the holidays.”

Word after word, it comes out of before she can think of something better — of something that is actually a lie, and not about the cute necklace she spent hours choosing the other day especially for the girl in front of her.

“Wait, what? You got something for me?” Soobin’s eyes are sparkling with excitement as she looks up to Sojung, who wishes she had used her brain properly this time. 

She’s usually not that impulsive — actually, she’s known for being a quick thinker, a natural problem solver — but all the teasing coming from the other girl was starting to get on her nerves.

At the end, with Soobin staring expectantly at her with those big, adorable brown eyes, Sojung is left with no other choice but to accept that the surprise is over now. Or least half of it is

“Why are you surprised?” The older one tries to play it cool. “I get you something every year.”

“Yeah, but you always tell me what it is,” Soobin reasons, “Or you tell me to choose something for you buy.”

It’s useless to try to fool Soobin at this point.

 “Yeah, fine, you got me,” She lets out a deep sigh. “But you’re not getting this gift any earlier.”

Soobin glares at Sojung, but it doesn’t take long for a pout to appear on her lips. The older one can’t help but to stare at her with a fond look on her face, because even after knowing each other for three years, Sojung never knows how to act whenever Soobin looks this cute. 

It must be because it takes her back to when they first met. Soobin was pouting the same, but an annoyed frown was also taking over her delicate face. It was raining hard and she looked like a lost puppy, and before Sojung could process what she was doing, she was already beside the cute, tiny stranger offering her some help.

“Are you sure you don’t want to spend the holidays with me?” Sojung asks carefully before a few minutes of silence. It makes Soobin stop in her tracks and look down.

“I wanted to, but—“ Soobin shakes her head. “I’m really trying to get on their good side.”

“I understand,” Sojung nods, and they’re walking so closely now that their arms brush with every strep. “I hope they treat you better than last year.”

Before any of them can notice, their hands are already entwined. It’s like a magnet.

“Yeah,” Soobin breathes out, a sad smile appearing on her lips. “Me too.”

 

—

 

A week passes. 

There are now only four days left for Christmas, and suddenly a crying Soobin is knocking on Sojung’s door at three in the morning.

“What— Oh my god ,” Sojung’s tone softens when she realizes it’s Soobin, and her arms instantly wrap the girl in a tight hug when she takes in her red face and her wet cheeks. “Hey, hey, it’s okay.”

She tries to calm the younger one as she closes the door and drags her towards her bed, thanking the heavens above for the fact that Jiyeon, her roommate, wasn’t home that night.

“What happened?” Sojung asks when they’re settled down, her arms not leaving Soobin’s waist for a second.

Soobin doesn’t say a word, only takes her phone out of her pocket and shows Sojung the text she received a few hours ago.

It’s from her mother, and the content makes Sojung’s blood boil. 

Your father and I talked and we decided it would be better if you didn’t come home this year . Who says that to their own daughter?

“I’m so sorry,” She whispers as she brings Soobin closer, letting the girl rest her head on her shoulder. Her sobs have gotten quieter, but they’re still loud enough to break Sojung’s heart. “They don’t deserve you. They never did.”

“I just don’t get it. I studied so hard to get here, and they don’t accept it just because this is not the future that they wanted for me.” Soobin pours her heart out and Sojung takes every word in like it’s her own story. 

“They’re the ones losing,” She says as she pulls away and carefully lifts Soobin’s head up with her hands. “You’re an amazing, beautiful, kind and intelligent woman. Anyone would kill to have a daughter like you, they’re just too stuck-up to realize that.”

Soobin sniffles, but her lips curl up in a small, shy smile. “You’re going to make me cry.”

Sojung chuckles. “You’re already crying.”

“Shut up.” Soobin glares at her best friend, but soon she’s back into her protective embrace.

“Just so you know, my offer is still up,” Sojung reminds the girl, looking at her expectantly. “I’m leaving to Busan in two days.”

Soobin smiles, and it’s almost blinding this time. “Only if you help me pack up.”

Sojung smirks, reaches for her hoodie and gets up from the bed. “What are we waiting for?” 

Soobin is laughing so loudly through the entire walk to her dorm that she’s pretty sure she woke some people up on the way. 

Sojung couldn’t care less about the fact that they were running and chuckling like teenagers at such an ungodly hour — all that mattered was that Soobin was happy, and that she would be spending the holidays with her favorite person in the world for the first time.

 

—

 

“You can give me my gift now.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because you’re stuck with me now, miss Park. I have no reason to give it to you until Christmas day.”

“I hate you sometimes.”

“You know you don’t.”

 

—

 

“Are you excited?”

Sojung asks as Soobin takes a sit beside her and closes the door, giggling to herself as she watches her friend struggle to put on the seat belt.

“Yes, but i’m also kind of nervous.” Soobin confesses, playing quietly with her nails.

“Nervous?” Sojung frowns. “Why?”

“I know it’s stupid, but what if your family doesn’t like me?”

“That’s impossible,” Sojung scoffs. “If anything, they’ll love you more than they love me.” 

Soobin’s laugh echoes through the car. “How can you be so sure of that?”

“I don’t know if you remember, but Dayoung is literally obsessed with you,” The older one reasons. “It will be the same with my parents.”

Soobin lights up at the mention of the younger girl, and the sight alone is enough for Sojung to melt into a puddle of fondness. “It’s been a while since I last saw her.” 

“Yeah,” Sojung laughs as she starts the car. “Mom says she’s got a girlfriend now.”

“A what ?! Isn’t Dayoung still a child?”

“She turned twenty this year, Soobin.” 

“But still !” Soobin whines and Sojung has to stop herself from cracking up at her friend’s exaggerated reaction.

“It would happen eventually,” She says, eyes focused on the road. “It seems like she’s happier than never ever since she met this girl. And you know how happy that kid can be.”

The younger one sighs, rests her cheek on her fist as she looks outside of the window. “That’s good, then. Everyone deserves to be happy with someone they love.”

They stop at a red light, and Sojung can’t help but to stare longingly at Soobin after her last words.

“Yeah,” She breathes out, her mind goes back to the gift she’s got for the other girl. “I believe that too.”

 

—

 

It takes them four hours to get to Busan. Sojung is exhausted, but she can’t help but to smile when she looks up and notices all the Christmas ornaments around her house and through the entire neighborhood. She only realizes she’s been staring at the same place for minutes when she hears Soobin giggling behind her.

“What?”

“Nothing, you just look really happy to be home. It’s cute.”

Sojung’s cheeks start to burn and her first instinct is to shove her friend. “Stop.”

She walks to the trunk and Soobin follows closely behind, chuckling loudly despite being pushed by the older girl. Sojung can only sigh as she glares at her friend. She doesn’t have it in her to ever be mad at Soobin, even when she’s acting like the little devil that she is — the girl is just too cute, small and adorable for her own good.

Or, maybe, it’s just because Sojung likes her too much. Both options are valid.

They grab their stuff but, before any of them can process what’s happening, the front door of the house opens and suddenly Sojung is lying on the snow with a puppylike person hugging her like there’s no tomorrow.

“You’re finally here! I missed you so much!”

“D-Dayoung, I can’t breathe.”

“Oh, sh— sorry.”

Dayoung helps her sister get up from the cold floor and then throws herself into her arms again, giggling like a child when Sojung lifts her up and spins her around.

“I missed you too, dummy.”

Their moment is cut by a cough coming from behind them, and the scene they witness when they turn around is priceless. Soobin is pouting with her arms open, looking like an abandoned kitten in the middle of the winter.

“What about me, Yomi ?”

Dayoung chuckles and runs to give Soobin one of her bear hugs too, while Sojung watches everything with crossed arms and a fond smile on her face.

“You’ll never stop calling me Yomi, will you?”

“I’m glad you know about that.” 

Dayoung is about to complain when their parents finally come out of the house, their faces lighting up at the sight of their daughter.

Sojung darts towards them and finds herself engulfed in a hug within seconds, having a hard time trying to answer all of their questions about how she’s been doing in Seoul.

Dayoung sees the cry of help in Sojung’s eyes and rolls her eyes before moving to save her sister, dragging a shy Soobin with her.

Sojung thanks Dayoung silently before slipping from their embraces, proudly placing her hands on Soobin’s shoulders. “Mom, dad, this is Soobin.”

“Oh, dear, you’re as cute as Sojung told us you would be!” Her mother says with an enthusiastic smile on her face, while Sojung wears a dreadful one on her lips.

Her dad chuckles at the situation in front of him before deciding to step into the conversation. “Welcome, Soobin. We sure heard a lot about you. I’m sure you’re going to feel at home with us.”

That makes Sojung even more embarrassed, but at least her dad didn’t specify what exactly they heard about Soobin — unlike her mother, who just gave the girl a reason to torment for as long as she lives for free — so she