Last Christmas
I gave you my heart
But the very next day, you gave it away
This year
To save me from tears
I'll give it to someone special

25/12/2011

Yuri nervously tucked at her short green knitted dress as she entered the high-class restaurant situated in the heart of Seoul.

“Kwon Yuri, table for 2.” Yuri said.

“Ms Kwon, your guest has arrived. Let me lead you to your table.”

This was her last Christmas dinner in Seoul before she embarked on a trip to Los Angeles to pursue a career in music in a few days time. Just three months ago, Yuri had won a singing competition organized by an American record company; being the first Asian to have ever done so. Her family and friends were extremely proud of her and they were all supportive of her moving to the States to chase her dream.

But there was something that was holding Yuri back, or rather; there was someone she could not let go of. He would be her best friend since childhood, the man whom she had grown up with, Siwon.

Yuri never really thought much of developing their relationship because everything between them already felt so comfortable. In fact they had been living in the same apartment since college, just in different rooms. Siwon never had any other girl in his life other than her. They spent all their time together and most people were mistaken that they were a couple.

It was not until they attended a party together last week at Yoona’s house when Yuri got drunk and kissed Siwon in the swimming pool. Despite not being fully aware of what was happening, Yuri could swear that Siwon responded to the kiss and even intensified it. After that, they pretended like nothing had happened and were back to normal.

Yuri has been pondering what to do about this. The kiss made her aware of how she felt for him. She wanted to know if there was any chance that they could progress. But she was going to leave for Los Angeles, a fact that cannot be changed.

Even so, Yuri was determined to let him know how she felt before she left. This may be the last time they would see each other again. Who knows what would happen if Yuri moves to Los Angeles for good while Siwon stayed in Seoul.

As Yuri approached the table, Siwon got up from his seat and pulled out her seat for her. Yuri liked how sweet Siwon would always be to her just because she’s a girl.

“Yuri, Merry Christmas.” Siwon lifted up the champagne glass and toasted Yuri. “I was surprised you would ask me out for dinner on this special night, perhaps your last Christmas in Seoul for a long time.”

“Siwon, you’re special to me. You’ve been one of the most important pillars of support in my life. Thank you for everything you have done for me.”

Yuri will always remember how Siwon would never fail to be by her side when she needed him. When she was 12, they were playing at a park and Yuri had a bad fall. Siwon carried her on his back to the clinic as quickly as he could because he was scared that she would get a scar from the accident. There was also a time when Yuri felt sick in the middle of the night and Siwon stayed up to look after her, which resulted in him getting no sleep at all and doing badly for an examination.

Of course, they did have their fights and arguments too. Siwon had his flaws as well; he was as stubborn as an ox which always made Yuri angry when she could not reason with him. He like to do things his ways and always thought that what he did was right. But their disputes would always blow away and after a few days of cold war, they would start talking to each other again as though nothing happened.

“You’re my best friend; it’s my duty to be there for you.”

Yuri tightened the grip around the present she had prepared for him. She continued to have a casual conversation with him as they enjoyed the food. By the end of the meal, Yuri had already consumed a large amount of wine and was starting to feel a little tipsy. But she needed the alcohol to give her the courage to do what she wanted to do.

“Siwon, I want to give this to you.”

Yuri placed the present which was a small box wrapped in golden wrapper in front of Siwon. Siwon dug into his pocket and took out a present as well.

“I hope you like it. You can open it now if you like.”

Yuri opened up the present which was a necklace. Her long slender finger wrapped around the pendent of the necklace which was meaningful to her. It was a Treble Clef made of crystal.

“Thank you, Siwon.”

Yuri could not take her eyes off it because it was beautiful and extremely thoughtful of him.

“Can I open my present now?”

“No. Open it when you’re in your room tonight.”

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26/12/2011

Yuri was almost too excited and nervous to fall asleep the whole night. She knew that Siwon would have seen her present by now and she wanted to know how he would react to it. The present simply contained a note which wrote “I love you. I wonder how you feel about me.” It was short and sweet but it took Yuri a lot of courage and persuasion from Yoona before she would write it and give it to him.

Yuri got out of her bedroom and noticed that the door to Siwon’s bedroom was still shut. That was uncommon because he would normally be an earlier riser than her. Her heart almost stopped when the door swung open and Siwon’s college friend, Tiffany stepped out of the room dressed in his shirt.

“Good morning, Yuri,” said Tiffany as she gave a little wave and went towards the kitchen.

She was soon followed by Siwon who was topless and wearing nothing but his boxer shorts. Yuri’s eyes met his, which reflected guilt and uncertainty. Yuri walked towards him, still keeping her cool despite her mind having already understood what just happened.

Siwon placed his hands on his hips and bit his lips. “Yuri, you’ve met Tiffany before. I wanted to tell you that we’ve been dating for a couple of weeks but I didn’t have the chance to.”

Yuri hasn’t seen Tiffany enter the apartment they shared before. Siwon always seemed so distant from Tiffany, nothing more than casual schoolmates. But what made Yuri upset the most was that Siwon had kissed her just a week ago.

“But what about the kiss last week… I wasn’t imagining things right? We both felt something when that happened.”

“I’m sorry, Yuri. It was my fault, please forgive me. I read what you wrote in the present…”

“Forget about it.”

Yuri did not know what else to say because she felt an intense disappointment in her heart, something she had never encountered before. She wanted to cry but she did not know if she had the right to. But all she knew was that she had lost Siwon and there was nothing more she wanted to hold on to.

Yuri moved out of their apartment that night without saying a word to him.

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24/12/2012

‘Ding Dong!’

In an instance, the door swung open and Kwon Yuri was greeted by the sight of her best friend, Yoona who was decked out in a red dress with reindeer horns on a headband.

“Yuri, I’m so glad you could come back this year!” Yoona cheered before pulling Yuri in for a long, tight hug and kissing her on the cheek.

Yuri was so glad that she managed to booked a flight ticket back to Seoul at the last minute, she wouldn’t have been able to squeeze on this flight if not for a sudden cancellation by another passenger. She had been very busy as a pop star, jetting around the world to promote the album she had just released. Yuri was a one hit wonder and a global music sensation.

“Good to see you, Yuri,” said Donghae, Yoona’s husband who came towards her and gave her a polite peck on the cheek as well. “You wouldn’t believe how frantic Yoona has been since she heard you were coming home.”

Yuri was proud to see that the couple she had brought together before her departure was still going strong. She was the match-maker between Yoona and Donghae; both her friends from college.

“How have you been for the past year?” asked Yoona as the two ladies took a seat on the couch by the fireplace while Donghae excused himself to the kitchen to prepare the roast turkey for dinner.

Yuri smiled. “I’ve been through many ups and downs this past year but I’m thankful that my album has been so widely received.”

“I’m so proud of you.” Yoona replied as she wrapped her arms around Yuri. “I knew you could do it.”

“Thanks Yoona.”

“There’s somebody I want you to meet tomorrow. Remember my cousin, Yunho that I was telling you about?”

Yuri nodded and laughed. “You’re seriously going to set me up on a date with him?”

“Yes, you’ve been so busy with your career that you don’t have the time to meet any prospective good husbands. Now that I know of a good one, I’m going to make sure that you give it a try.”

Much as Yuri wasn’t keen on it, she agreed. Maybe this could be the start of something new. It was definitely time she moved on from Siwon. That night she got a call from Yunho to meet tomorrow at a café for lunch.

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25/12/2012

Yuri entered the café and took a seat by the window where Yunho was seated and enthusiastically waving to her from. It was awkward between them but Yunho tried to make it as comfortable between them as possible which made Yuri feel thankful for.

“Are you hungry? Let’s get food.”

Yuri nodded and Yunho waved the café attendant over to take their orders. As Yunho was intensely staring at the menu and debating over a tuna or chicken sandwich, Yuri took a glance at the girl who was approaching them. It was Tiffany. She looked slightly different now with bright red hair but there was no way Yuri would ever forget how she looked. Tiffany recognized Yuri as well and looked shocked.

“Yuri… It’s great to see you again. Congratulations on your successful debut.”

Yuri nodded and there was nothing more that she wanted to say to Tiffany. Yuri was not bitter towards her but seeing Tiffany reminded her of the pain she felt when she saw her walked out of Siwon’s room.

Yunho made his orders and Tiffany recorded them down before returning to the kitchen to submit the orders to the chef. After that moment, Yuri could not quite focus on her conversation with Yunho and forced a smile on her face as he did most of the talking.

Their food arrived, much to the delight of a famished Yuri. She dug into her spaghetti and took a sip of her ice lemon tea. Yunho, on the other hand, had a look of disgust on his face.

“I told the waitress no cucumbers in my sandwich! I hate this green stuff!” Yunho complained and started picking out the cucumbers one by one from the sandwich.

Yuri chuckled. “You should just ask for another one.”

Yuri tried to wave for Tiffany’s attention but Tiffany was in the kitchen. Yunho was growing grouchy and tossed his cutleries aside, staring at the sandwich helplessly.

“I’ll get her for you.”

Yuri stood up before Yunho could protest and walked towards the kitchen. As she approached the door, she heard Tiffany talking to someone.

“Yuri’s here with a guy.”

“How does she look now?”

Yuri gasped as she recognized the voice to be that of Siwon’s. She wanted to barge in and see him but Tiffany replied before she could do so.

“She’s definitely grown prettier. Her hair is longer now but it’s still black. She lost a bit of weight. Why don’t you just come out and see her? You two would have so much to say to each other.”

“I have a lot to say to her but I would rather keep that to myself.”

“It’s such a pity that you let her go just like that. You two had feelings for each other. You shouldn’t have used me to make her misunderstand you.”

Yuri came out from her hiding place and made her presence known to Siwon and Tiffany.

“Siwon, is what Tiffany said true?”

Siwon stayed silent and stared wide-eyed at Yuri. Yuri took a look at him from head to toe and nothing had changed about him.

 “Tell her how you feel, you idiot.” Tiffany nudged Siwon but he continued to keep his silence and had his eyes glued on Yuri. “Tell her what happened a year ago.”

“Yes, tell me. You fool.” Yuri said in frustration. She wanted to know what was going on right now.

Siwon sighed and turned his back away from Yuri.

“Ok I give up. I’m going to tell you what happened. Siwon always had feelings for you, since like forever. But he didn’t dare to let you know so he kept his humongous crush on you to himself. He was overjoyed when you confessed to him in the note but he was scared that he was going to hold you back from chasing your dreams. So this noble idiot decided he would make you misunderstand that he’s an and hopefully you would forget him and move on! That’s all. I’m out of here.” Tiffany said her piece and walked out of the kitchen, leaving a dumbfounded Yuri and a muted Siwon there.

Yuri threw her arms around Siwon from behind and rests her head on his back.

“Why are you so foolish? Why did you have to lie to me about Tiffany?”

“I wanted you to pursue your career. I didn’t want to come in your way. I wanted to make you give up on me so I came out with the plan to use Tiffany to make you misunderstand.”

Siwon turned around and wiped away the tears that had fallen on Yuri’s face. Yuri threw her arms around him again and because Siwon was making pastries, Yuri ended up having some flour on her face. This made him chuckle and he wiped the flour away as well.

“You know we can still be together even if I went to Los Angeles. As long as we're in love, we could make things work. You’re a fool, Siwon.”

“I should have told you this last Christmas. I love you, Yuri.”

“I love you too, Siwon.”

Yuri tiptoed and pressed her lips on Siwon as they engaged in a sweet yet passionate kiss. But their moment was soon interrupted by Yunho who came to the kitchen looking for Yuri.

“Yuri, what’s taking so long? Have you got me a new sandwich?”

Yunho gasped when he saw his date making out with the chef. The couple paid him no attention as they continued their lip lock. Yunho left the kitchen dejectedly. He had lost both his girl and sandwich for Christmas. 

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Merry Christmas to all readers! I hope you like this story suited for the festive season! :) I even made a special poster for it! ;)