It was the tenth time she was reading those words. Still in disbelief, SinB decided it was a problem for her future self to solve, although her mind was definitely not letting that issue go when she went downstairs and almost tripped with one of the steps.

She forced a natural smile—if anything forced can actually seem natural—and tried to look serene. Of course, she wasn’t. SinB didn’t quite know if what she was feeling was good or bad, but what she knew is that it made her anxious, and anxious is not what she wanted to feel the day she had decided to invite her friends to have a lovely evening celebrating Christmas holidays together.

She breathed in and breathed out, but she was unconsciously repeating those written lines in her head.

How did that card end up on her desk anyway? SinB had gone to her bedroom to take her camera, and then she saw it, wondering if it was some kind of joke at first. To be very honest, she blushed while reading the confession, even though she had no idea who could have written it. That person called her “baby”, and said she wanted her, and SinB couldn’t stop thinking about it.

“Hwang Eunbi!” The mention of her real and full name made her come back from her own world.

“Hum?”

“Ya! Are you okay? You weren’t listening!” Sojung exclaimed, surprised by SinB’s behavior. When the latter looked down, the older softened her voice. “Is everything alright? You were spacing out for some time.”

“Uh… I’m sorry, I’m fine. I’m just hungry, let’s have dinner?” It was all a lie—she wasn’t hungry at all. After reading that card, her stomach was completely close.

“Yes! Food, food!” Her friend Eunbi, also known as Eunha since she was SinB’s namesake and they decided to come up with nicknames for the both of them, was especially happy after that suggestion.

That excuse seemed to be enough for now. Everyone was too busy eating, so they didn’t bother to pay attention to the constant thoughtful expression the host was showing. SinB was eating slowly, following conversations here and there, pretending she wasn’t constantly overthinking.

She didn’t have many clues, but at least she was sure that it was a girl—which she would have probably guessed even if it wasn’t explicit in the card because all of her friends knew they wouldn’t even stand a chance if they were a guy—and that she must have gone upstairs to leave the card in her bedroom without a soul noticing it. However, that wasn’t very helpful, because the only available bathroom was next to it since the one placed downstairs wasn’t working, and SinB believed that three quarters of the eleven people who were at her house had used it at least once, including the other five girls that were there at the moment. Well, all of them, except for…

A heavy disappointment went down SinB’s whole body while she discreetly gazed at the person that she had been imagined writing that Christmas card this entire time. She wouldn’t admit it out loud, but there was in fact a special someone that she was wishing for this Christmas.

Sadly, her mysterious girl was not likely to be her… Yuna had arrived later than the rest because she hadn’t finished her shift earlier, and she was one of the few people who hadn’t even stepped on the second floor, thus she couldn’t have left the Christmas card on her desk. Unless she had superpowers, which was impossible, although in all honesty, if someone out of the people who were there had some kind of supernatural ability, SinB was convinced it would actually be Yuna. Anyway, it seemed like she was just trying to uselessly reassure herself so there was at least a tiny possibility…

Still staring at the person she had been crushing on for years, SinB let out an upset sigh, but she couldn’t help but smiling when Yuna started laughing at something Yerin and MJ were telling her; she looked so gorgeous, so beautifully angelic when she laughed, and even the sound of her laugh was pretty and…

Okay, that was such a cheesy thought, what the heck. Well, at least she had something in common with whoever the writer of that confession was.

Deep inside, SinB had some hope, because the way it was written and that cover with the puppy and the kitty made her think it was from Yuna. Both of them are considered the dog and the cat of their group, so maybe not everything was lost. They had been friends for a very long time, always there when the other was feeling blue and the best companion to celebrate good things with, but the fear of being rejected and ruining that cherished friendship was the reason why SinB’s attachment had always remained a secret.

“Have your eyes forgotten how to blink or has Yuna put a spell on them?”

Well, almost a secret. Only one person knew, and SinB often regrets telling him. Not because she doesn’t trust him—after all he’s her best friend, but the incessant teasing made her feel extremely nervous, and they were experts at teasing each other.

“Moonbin, do me a favor and shut the up.”

He chuckled, as expected, and didn’t stop talking, as expected as well. At least he was whispering so no one would hear it.

“Will I ever see the day you confess to her?”

“Can you stop with that?”

“Will I?”

SinB didn’t respond. She was busy considering her other four options, but she was unconsciously making mental excuses for none of them to be the owner of that card. She was really dying to know, but the truth is, she was dying to know if it was Yuna.

“You’re acting weird this evening, are you worried about something?” Moonbin changed his tone when he asked that, he was being serious.

SinB hesitated for a moment. That declaration of love, if you can call it like that, made her flustered, especially when Yuna’s face appeared in her head and it was her voice the one SinB heard while reading it, and SinB felt embarrassed. Even so, she wanted to share this knowledge with someone because she couldn’t handle it on her own and she needed to get an answer as soon as possible.

“Come with me to the kitchen.”

Moonbin followed her, brows furrowed but willing to hear anything SinB was going to say. He closed the door behind him and waited until his best friend finally spoke up.

“Someone left a Christmas card on my desk, in my bedroom, and it’s a confession letter.”

He clearly liked the subject, because a wide smile appeared on his face as he was showing fascination for this news.

“A love confession?” he asked, and SinB nodded shyly. “Now?”

“I don’t know when she managed to leave it there. I found it twenty minutes ago, when I went for the camera. I even forgot to take pics after that.” SinB facepalmed herself.

“Oh, wow,” Moonbin said, smirking. “So… someone has a crush on you? Who?”

“That’s the funny part… She didn’t reveal her identity.”

“Ohhhh, this is getting more interesting,” Moonbin claimed, rubbing his hands.

“I’m stressed!” SinB groaned, bothered. “I need to know who this is. Agh, why didn’t she just tell me?”

“How do you know it’s a she?”

“Because she mentions that in the card.”

“Did she give any more info?”

“Not much, but yeah. She made a list for Santa and put it in a hanging sock, and the list is basically a new expensive sofa and… me. She also says she has felt like this for quite some time and she hopes I’m the one who guesses who she is because she’s too shy to tell me that in person.”

She also called SinB baby, but Moonbin didn’t need to know that.

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

“Mmm…” Moonbin scratched his chin. “Wait, what about the handwriting?”

“I tried to deduce whose handwriting it was, but I can’t really be sure because it’s all in capitals… I honestly think she did it on purpose so it wasn’t too evident, so she might have even changed her style…”

“That’s smart. Or dumb, depending on how you see it,” Moonbin said, shrugging. “And who do you think it is?”

“Well, it has to be one of the people who are here today, so… I have five options.” Yes, still five, exactly.

“So, it’s either Yewon, Eunha, Sojung, Yerin or… Yuna. Oh! What if it’s her!”

“I wish that was the case, but it’s the less likely option,” SinB commented, her words tainted with sadness.

“Why?”

“She didn’t go upstairs, not before me at least, so she cannot be the one who left the card in my room…”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes? I think so.”

“You don’t sound 100% sure.”

“I mean… she didn’t. Did she? I don’t know. No, she didn’t… right? . Moonbin, you’re making me doubt now!” SinB complained with a desperate expression.

“Isn’t it better like this? What if it’s her and you’re not considering it? Besides, you want it to be her.”

“And? What I want doesn’t have to necessarily match the reality,” SinB tiredly recognized.

“Who do you actually think it is?”

“I…” SinB’s fingers travelled through her hair. “Not gonna lie, my first feeling was that it had to be Yuna… but it was probably my inner desire, I wasn’t being objective. In conclusion, I have no idea who she is.”

“Then… what are you gonna do? Ask them one by one?”

“That’s the only way, isn’t it?”

“I guess…” Moonbin admitted. “Can I see the card?”

“No.”

“But why!?”

“I already told you the important stuff, there’s no need for you to read it. Besides, I owe this person some privacy.” And there are some details I want to keep to myself.

“Fine…” Moonbin rolled his eyes, but he knew insisting would be useless, and SinB was indeed right, she didn’t have to reveal everything the other person so carefully confessed. “I’ll help you with what I know.”

“Don’t be obvious,” SinB warned him.

“Please, you’re talking to the master of worming info out of people without them noticing,” Moonbin bragged with a grin.

“Excuse me, master of what?” SinB asked with an arched eyebrow. “Anyways… We should come back to the living room and finish eating. I’ll think of something in the meantime.”

“Cool,” Moonbin accepted, opening the door again. He then turned to SinB and lowered his voice. “Just make sure you can set your sight on other things apart from Yuna.” His guffaw got cut off when a not-that-soft punch landed on his arm.

 

💌 💌 💌

 

“So, hum… are you… I mean… you… have you… uh… bought something lately?”

That was probably the stupidest question SinB could have ever asked if she didn’t want to sound suspicious, but she was absolutely helpless because Yuna was staring at her with that intense and charming gaze of her. This didn’t happen to SinB that much, because they were friends, very close friends, and it would really be a problem if she wasn’t able to have normal conversations with her—this incapability of talking only hit her when her feelings were about to be exposed. And right now, the nerves weren’t letting her breathe properly and the vulnerability was taking over her. If Yuna didn’t like her back, SinB couldn’t let her know how she felt in the first place—she’d rather save that embarrassment.

“I… bought food? I mean, I did the groceries for this week.”

SinB contained herself from snorting. Why would she need to know about Yuna’s groceries? She wanted to know about that damn sofa or the sock or the card or whatever, but not the groceries! Jezz.

“I meant… something as a Christmas gift? Isn’t there anything you want?” SinB almost put her hands on for being so obvious. Why was she like that?

“Ah, not yet… There are some things I want, but they’ll have to wait a little,” Yuna giggled and then smiled sweetly at SinB, making the latter melt internally. “What about you?”

“I… same.” SinB didn’t even know what the hell she was even saying, but that response seemed enough for Yuna.

“This was a great idea, by the way.”

“What?”

“Inviting all of us here to celebrate Christmas. We’re getting busier year after year, but I’m glad we still have time for these gatherings,” Yuna said, longing in her tone. “Also, you decorated the house very nicely, I really like it.”

“Ah, that… thanks.” SinB blushed, not sure if it was just because of the compliment though. “Have you decorated your house too? Maybe some holly, or a Christmas tree, or some lights…” Or some socks.

“Nah, not really. You’ll see it when you come over, but yours is on another level, I mean, you even put some tinsel on the second floor.”

“Uh? How do you know that?” SinB was suddenly tense but wishful at the same time.

“I just went to the bathroom like ten minutes ago, so I hadn’t seen that earlier, but it really looks pretty,” Yuna explained, and SinB’s excitement disappeared in a second.

“Ah… so you haven’t seen my room…”

“Your… room? What about it?”

“No, it just… uh… I just don’t want anyone to get in because I didn’t have time to… to clean it properly, yeah.”

Yuna’s eyes closed halfway as if she was trying to discover some kind of lie through SinB’s words. Why was she looking at her like that?

“Says the one who always has everything polished and tidy? You’re probably exaggerating… Besides, Eunha has told me it is very pretty now, so I don’t think you should worry too much,” Yuna claimed, nice as always and again with that beautiful smile that almost made SinB ignore the fact that Eunha had mentioned her bedroom when it had been at least six months since the last time she had come to SinB’s place. Yuna and Moonbin are the only ones who had entered those doors lately.

“Wait, how does she know?”

“I thought… you had showed it to her or something.”

“I… no, I have not. I have to ask her about it.”

SinB was about to go when she noticed a hand grabbing her wrist, and then she stopped, realizing it was Yuna and unable to take her eyes off her now.

“Don’t be mad at her, now I feel bad…”

“Ah, no, no, don’t worry, I’m just curious about… her opinion on my decorating style, haha,” SinB improvised.

Yuna nodded and let go off her, for SinB’s displease.

“Talk to you later, then?” Yuna said, and it somehow seemed as if she was begging for it, but it could just be SinB’s impression.

“Yeah.”

She didn’t want to leave, but the clock was ticking and, in the worst situation, she had still four more people to speak to with the aim of knowing if that card was theirs. Moreover, even though it hurt she had to accept something: that Yuna wasn’t the one who wrote it.

 

💌 💌 💌

 

“I’m glad you loved the food.”

Eunha was complimenting the food over and over again, and SinB found it hard to find a way to slyly ask her about why she was in her room earlier. It was almost fascinating how this girl could enjoy something that much that she even had to talk about it nonstop after eating it.

“Thank you so much for preparing everything today, SinB, I’m having so much fun!” Eunha exclaimed, with her well known cheerful and cute voice. “And I missed everyone so much, it’s been a while since the last time we all met!”

“Yeah, me too.”

SinB’s mind was not working as fast as she could, since she didn’t know how to subtly bring up the topic, so she just asked:

“Yuna told me you think my room is pretty now.”

“Yes! It really is. I’m sorry, I didn’t want to sneak into it, but I confused it with the bathroom’s door,” Eunha excused herself with nervousness. “The last time I saw it your walls were painted in a different color and I really prefer how they look now.”

“Uh… thanks,” SinB said softly, not wanting to make Eunha feel embarrassed. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure!”

It was now or never. SinB started to think that Eunha was indeed the one behind that confession, so it was the time to discover it. Although she didn’t really know how she would respond to it or which answer she would give her. She didn’t want to destroy anyone’s feelings, but hers were devoted for another person…

“Did you… perhaps… brought a card here…?”

“A… card?”

“Yeah, uh… more like a… love confession?”

There was an uncomfortable silence between them for five long seconds that felt like much more for the both of them. Eunha was fidgeting in her seat all of a sudden and that was all SinB needed to confirm her suspicions.

“I… How do you know?”

So it was her. It was Eunha.

“Well… It was on my desk, so…”

Eunha’s facial expression changed in less than one second. It turned to disbelief, then to perplexity and then to fear.

“Your desk?! Who left it there?! Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.”

She practically jumped off her seat and run—which was very unusual for her—to the entrance where the coats and purses were. SinB went after her, not understanding that behavior at all, and when she arrived at Eunha’s side she noticed the latter had something in her hand that she pressed close to her chest with a relieved sigh.

“Oh, god, you scared the out of me.”

“I… what?” SinB needed a clear explanation.

“My love letter… it’s still in my purse, thank god.”

“Your… uh? That is your love letter?” SinB questioned, frowning and looking at the yellow paper in Eunha’s hands.

“Oh, for a moment I thought someone had read it… for a moment I thought Yerin had read it!”

“Yerin…?” SinB then understood and she felt extremely stupid. “Ah. Wait. You like Yerin. You wrote a letter to her.”

“Shhhhhh!!!”

“But no one’s hearing us…?”

“Ah, I’m so embarrassed, please don’t mention this again out loud,” Eunha said, covering her face with her hands.

“I… I’m sorry. I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable, just… it must have been another person and I thought it was you.”

“Another person… another person what?”

“I… received a love confession in a card, but it doesn’t say who it is, and when you said you had been in my room, I thought…”

Eunha was more relaxed now; she kept the letter again in her purse and closed it.

“It’s fine, I just… get very shy about it. I thought of giving it to her at the end of the night, but I don’t know if I’ll find enough courage,” Eunha recognized, her cheeks bathed in pink.

“Then I wish you very good luck with it,” SinB said, hugging Eunha to give her strength.

“Thank you, SinB,” she replied, smiling tenderly. “And good luck to you too finding out about your secret admirer,” she added with a soft chuckle.

“Thanks, I will definitely need it.”

“It sounds exciting though, like some kind of riddle you need to solve.”

“I can think of a hundred adjectives that suit this situation more than ‘exciting’…” SinB claimed.

“Mmm… that person had a similar idea to me, right?” Eunha said, and then she giggled. “We must have something in common, or maybe we both are just a little bit dumb.”

 

💌 💌 💌

 

SinB thought by interrogating Yerin she would kill two birds with one stone. It would be amazing if the latter had actual feelings for Eunha, but she didn’t know it yet, which meant she wasn’t out of the enigma called “discover who wrote the love card.” SinB hoped Yerin wasn’t the one after her because that would completely devastate Eunha, and Yerin too since nothing would be reciprocated. That’s why she was so indecisive whether to as her or not, but she couldn’t deny she needed to at least discard her as one of the options.

“Do you like the tree?”

SinB found Yerin contemplating the Christmas tree with interest, so she started a conversation that could led them to the important subject.

“Of course! It’s really pretty, I was looking at the different things you’ve put on it… I really love the socks.”

The what. SinB cleared .

“Ahm… yeah, they’re nice.”

“This one is similar to the one I have at home,” Yerin said with a timid laugh.

“So… you’ve hung a sock?” SinB was prepared for the worst.

“Yeah, I thought it would be cute, and you never know if Santa will actually leave your presents there,” Yerin said with a smug smile.

“And which p-presents… ha-have you asked… for?” SinB asked, stumbling on her own sentence.

Yerin then blushed and acted flustered, and that wasn’t helping. That attitude was making SinB reconsider if she actually wanted to know the truth, because she was suspecting she was right and she didn’t like how that could end. And why was Yerin giggling stupidly? Oh god…

“I want my crush to like me back.” SinB almost choked on her own saliva, but Yerin was too deep in her own fluster to notice it. “That’s the most important present to me.”

“Uh… eh… ah… oh… that’s… I didn’t know you had a crush.”

.

“I never told you about it,” Yerin admitted, smiling brightly at SinB, but still with reddish cheeks. “But I think I’m ready, because I want her to know it before this year ends, so since you asked and we’re friends, I will tell you her name.”

SinB didn’t know what to do. She was the one who got herself into this mess and she supposedly wanted to solve the mystery, but now, with Yerin acting so weirdly towards her, Eunha liking her and SinB being head over heels for Yuna… She wasn’t sure it was a good idea to find out. The best thing she could do was change the subject and socialize with someone else or …

“Eunbi,” Yerin pronounced.

SinB blinked several times in a row with a bizarre facial expression that made Yerin knit her brows.

“I… You are the one who… the card… I… your crush…”

“What?” Yerin said, with certain dread in her gaze. “Oh, you think I have 0 chances with her…”

Afraid of saying it but knowing there was no way out, SinB questioned:

“With… me?”

“Uh…? No, why would I… oh! Oh my!” Yerin then let out a burst of laughter while SinB’s face was totally bewildered.

“Why are you laughing…?”

“I’m sorry, this is so…” Yerin was having trouble to breath normally, so SinB waited, a little bit annoyed if she had to be honest. “Eunbi as in Jung Eunbi, as in Eunha! Not you, SinB!” The aforementioned let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding with a huge and noticeable relief.

“Good. Yeah. Good. Good!” SinB repeated, more to herself than to Yerin. “Because, well, I think you should go for it,” she assured, smiling at Yerin who was now the one taken aback for SinB’s strange behavior.

“Should I?”

“Yes! Absolutely. You two are made for each other, seriously. I have a hunch she likes you back, it’s like a sixth sense, haha,” she added, feeling certainly ridiculous after saying that. “So, be brave and confess, I support you! You can do it!”

“You’re such a good friend, SinB! Thank you so much!” Yerin’s smile was even wider than usual, making her eyes look like two lovely and curved lines, and she was sincerely grateful for her friend’s encouraging words.

“Anytime, Yerin. Fighting!”

SinB’s excitement didn’t explode exclusively because she wanted to be a supportive friend, but also because she was genuinely happy that Yerin wasn’t the author of that Christmas card. That and the fact that two of her closest friends were about to be happy together was definitely what she called killing two birds with one stone!

 

💌 💌 💌

 

There were only two people left: Sojung and Yewon, the oldest and the youngest out of the girls. SinB was starting to give up at this point, because Yuna undirectedly disappointed her, the two Jung made her anxious for nothing, and Sojung and Yewon were actually together almost the entire time. Like, physically. SinB lowkey wanted to forget about the card and spend the rest of the night with Yuna, but the latter was actively chatting with Dongmin, and SinB couldn’t break in just like that. What was so interesting that they had to talk about it for so long though…? They don’t fancy each other… do they? No, impossible. They’ve always been very close friends, that’s all. They’re from the same year and they know each other since kindergarten, same as Moonbin and SinB.

“I got some info.”

Speaking of the devil!

“Took you long enough.”

“Hey, I’m having some fun too, not just trying to decipher some kind of puzzle as you are. Just relax, okay? Even Yuna asked me if you’re okay.”

“She asked you that? Seems to be too busy with someone else though…” Moonbin looked at the same place SinB was staring at and couldn’t hide a loud laugh.

“Eunbi… are you jealous?”

“No, why would you say that?” SinB responded in annoyance.

“Oh, you are. You are!”

“Agh, whatever.”

“Oh, this is funny,” he said, and Eunbi rolled her eyes. “Don’t be, he doesn’t like her, and I’m sure she doesn’t like him either. It would be weird, like saying you and I are dating.”

“It’s not the same, because you are gay and I’m a lesbian, but Yuna and Dongmin are both bi.” SinB didn’t understand why she was giving herself reasons to tear herself down.

“I’m not talking about the damn ual orientation; I’m talking about the kind of bond they share. There’s nothing romantic between them, believe me. Besides, Dongmin has a crush on Jinwoo, and I do believe it’s mutual.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, but you didn’t hear it from me; actually, you didn’t hear it at all,” Moonbin demanded.

“Okay, okay…” Suddenly, SinB had the feeling that everyone was falling in love with each other in front of her eyes and she was just realizing that now. “Do you, by chance, like one of the guys too?”

“Maybe, maybe not,” Moonbin playfully answered.

“You’re not gonna tell me? I’m your best friend! And you know who my crush is.”

“I’ll tell you if you discover who your secret author is.”

“Ah, so never,” SinB said with a whiny grunt.

“Well, I do have a hint, but you didn’t even bother to ask me.”

“What is it…?” SinB disinterestedly asked, since she thought it was useless at this point.

“Sojung has mentioned she wanted to buy a sofa these Christmas. She even showed me a pic of the model she likes,” Moonbin revealed with a satisfied grin. SinB opened her eyes with surprise and started to connect the dots in her head. “You’re welcome.”

“But it doesn’t make sense?”

“Why?”

“I don’t know… it’s Sojung. She’s like an older sister to me, in the best way but also in the worst.”

“Well, maybe she isn’t. You still have other four options.”

“I’ve talked to Eunha and Yerin and I know for a fact that they are not the girl we’re looking for. Yewon would be weird, like you and me, you know? We also know each other since forever and our relationship has never implied anything romantic… or I hope so. And I already explained what I think about Sojung.”

“You just want an excuse for it to be Yuna.”

Moonbin was right, SinB wished it was Yuna, but believing that would be deceiving herself, and what a mature adult in her early twenties should do is face things the way they were. Just because it was Christmas, magic was not going to come to save the day.

“But she isn’t, I also talked to her, so… I guess I’ll go find Sojung.”

SinB sighed and Moonbin encouraged her with a cheerful “fighting” that SinB was grateful for but didn’t show too much enthusiasm at.

She found Sojung alone for one instant in which she was serving herself a glass of water, and SinB thanked the gods for it because it was the first time in the night that she could talk to her privately.

“Hey,” SinB greeted her, imitating Sojung’s action. “Do you want anything else? I have chips, chocolate, cookies and different drinks.”

“No, it’s fine, thanks,” Sojung answered, raising her glass of water.

“Moonbin says you were looking for a new sofa.” SinB was tired of this absurd riddle, so she didn’t waste time in bringing up the subject subtly anymore, if she ever did it before.

“Ah, yes! I’m actually very happy about it.”

“Is that all you wanted to get these Christmas though?” SinB dared to ask.

“Hum… well, there are more things, but the sofa was my main purchase,” Sojung informed SinB with a satisfied smile. “I can’t wait for it to arrive.”

“Oh, so… you already bought it?” That wasn’t what the letter said.

“Yes! Yesterday, do you want to see the model? Look.” SinB nodded and let Sojung showed her the sofa, although she wasn’t really paying attention to that. Instead, she was trying to solve some math problem in her mind and the results she was getting didn’t add up. “What about you?”

“Uh?” SinB had already forgotten what they were chatting about.

“I mean, what do you want to get for Christmas this year?”

SinB chuckled ironically.

“A machine to make me rich?”

“You already have a pretty cool house for yourself, I don’t think you should be that greedy,” Sojung jokingly said, pinching her friend’s cheeks.

“Well, dreaming is believing, right?” SinB quoted those lines from the card, waiting for some kind of reaction from Sojung… that didn’t come. The tall girl just finished drinking the water and soon enough Rocky and MJ appeared in the kitchen, both holding hands and very eager to start a new conversation with the girls.

SinB was desperate. Sojung didn’t seem to be who she was seeking, which meant it could only be one person. Excusing herself after a couple of minutes, SinB left the kitchen, decided to come clean to Yewon and put an end to her headache.

 

💌 💌 💌

 

“What would you do if you had a crush on someone but were afraid to tell them straight away? Would you write them an anonymous Christmas card confessing your feelings?”

Yewon raised her eyebrows and snorted, because she didn’t expect SinB to come to her in a rush to just say something like that.

“Why are you asking me that all of a sudden?”

“Answer me!”

“Are you okay?”

“No!” Yewon looked at her with a worried face and SinB tried to recover her composure. “I mean, yes! I am okay, I’m just… Yewon.”

“Tell me, Eunbi,” her friend responded with the same tone and a sarcastic smile.

“Can you answer that? Please.”

Yewon was confused, but she finally responded to the first question SinB had made.

“I… yes, I would. I think it’s cute and lowkey romantic. And I’m the type to be too shy to confess in person, so I would probably do it that way first.”

“So that means… it’s you.”

“Sorry, Eunbi, but I literally have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Yewon, it’s okay, I’ve found out, at last,” SinB said, and then gave her friend a comforting hug. “Oh, no. I’m sorry. I never knew you felt that way. And I feel horrible because I don’t feel the same way… I’m sorry.” She kept on hugging Yewon, who at this point was absolutely baffled. “Oh, , this is so unfortunate! I’m very sorry.”

“It’s not that I hate your hugs, but… what is this for? And why are you saying sorry?”

“Because I have feelings someone else…”

Yewon wrinkled her nose and reflected for an instant before grabbing SinB’s arms and making her look seriously as ever in the eyes.

“Wait, wait, wait. You think I have feelings for you?!”

SinB’s voice sounded so fainted when she responded:

“Y—you don’t?”

“Holy sh—Eunbi! How could you think something like that!?”

“I couldn’t until you wrote that Christmas card!”

“What’s with you and the Christmas cards? I haven’t written any Christmas card!”

“But you just said—”

“I said I would! Conditional! Are you really okay?”

SinB gulped and let her body fall on the coach as if she had no energy left at all.

“Well. Then forget everything I just told you. I’m just gonna be here in a vegetative state for the rest of the week.” Yewon couldn’t believe her friend.

“I’m genuinely confused. Why did you think I wrote you a Christmas card? Also, you like someone and didn’t tell me?!”

SinB forced herself to sit up straight and speak with naturality.

“To sum up: someone, and that someone is a she, left an anonymous Christmas card on my desk confessing her feelings for me and I’ve been trying to guess who out of the five female beings who are here today apart from me was the responsible of it but I’ve failed miserably and now I feel pathetic.”

“And you thought it could be me?”

“You were my last option if that reassures you,” SinB claimed, “but it had to be someone!”

“And are you sure the others are not?”

“It’s either Sojung or some of the guys have pranked me.”

“Are you sure it can’t be someone else?”

“I’ve run out of options, and Sojung doesn’t even make sense either.”

“Well…” Yewon bit her lower lip. “It’s not Sojung.”

“Maybe I should just ask her and erase that 1% of probability that is left,” SinB considered, about to stand up.

“No, it’s not her, I’m sure,” Yewon said, stopping her from her actions. “Sojung is already dating someone.”

“Are you kidding me? Before this day only MJ and Rocky were a thing and suddenly everyone else has fallen in love too?” Yewon shrugged timidly, and something inside SinB’s brain clicked. “Let me guess, she’s dating you.”

“Yes…? How do you…?”

How did she know? Well, there were not more possibilities. It could not be Yerin nor Eunha, and SinB was hoping—begging internally—it was not Yuna the one Sojung was dating, so the only option left was Yewon. However, she didn’t answer the latter’s question because she was still trying to take everything in.

“I can’t even mad at you for not telling me. Like, I don’t feel anything at this moment. This is incredible. It all feels surreal,” SinB recognized, mentally exhausted. “But, hey, congrats, I’m very happy for the both of you, I truly am, it’s just that, you know, it’s been a weird evening and I’m kinda tired, but anyways, how long has it been?” SinB didn’t even take a breath to say all that.

“You’re tense,” Yewon observed, and put a hand on SinB’s shoulder. “We started last week; we were going to tell you tomorrow because, you know, we’re going slowly.”

“That’s nice. I mean, if you’re happy, that’s great.”

SinB was assimilating all the information at once: that four of her friends were practically married, that she had spent the evening trying to find someone that apparently didn’t exist and that she was still deeply crazy for Yuna, who would never know it and didn’t seem to reciprocate her devotion.

“Now that you’re a little bit calmer… who is this person you’re whipped for?”

“I haven’t said I’m whipped!” SinB exclaimed, suddenly all flustered and shy.

“See, you’re whipped.”

“Shut up, Kim Yewon,” SinB said rolling her eyes.

“Are you still stressed because of that mysterious person that wrote that confession to you?”

“No, don’t you see I’m totally careless? Affected, me?! No way,” SinB commented with a bittersweet irony emerging from her voice.

“Why don’t you just forget about it and confess to the one you actually like?” Yewon suggested, with that typical tone of her that seemed to keep the universal truth.

“Because I would die if she rejects me, and that would kill our friendship and it would be my fault, and everything would be ruined.” Yewon chuckled.

“You’re so dramatic. Anyways, who is she?”

SinB embarrassingly glanced at Yewon before murmuring:

“Yuna.”

“Since when?!”

“A couple of… years?”

“What?! Talk to her now.”

“No, what the ?”

“You have to tell her!”

“No. I am a coward, yes. So, I will just not think about it and you won’t either, okay? Okay.”

“You are so hopeless. What if she likes you back?”

“I don’t know, maybe next year we’ll find out.”

“Ugh, Hwang Eunbi…” Yewon shook her head and patted SinB’s back while the latter pouted like a child. “Well, don’t worry, kid,” she added with a guffaw. “It’s not that bad, after all, because next year is actually pretty close!”

 

💌 💌 💌

 

It was late when everyone left. Everyone except for Yuna, who was still helping SinB clean up some things, even though the latter said there was no need for it. Moonbin offered a hand as well, but he understood SinB preferred to be alone with Yuna and he seemed suspiciously happy to drive Sanha home.

“Hey… it’s kinda late,” SinB realized.

“Oh, yeah, you must be tired. I should go home so you can sleep,” Yuna said, and she smiled, but her voice sounded slightly gloomy.

“Actually, I thought, maybe, I don’t know, you would like to stay for the night? There’s another bed and I have breakfast for tomorrow, and your place is quite far, so…”

It wasn’t the first time they had slept in each other’s home, but suggesting that out loud, with only the two of them in the house and a dim light coming from one of the lamps, turned the scene somehow intimate enough for SinB to flush. When did the other lights turn off though? And why? She couldn’t even remember, and she didn’t care.

“I’d like that,” Yuna timidly accepted, and SinB thought she was adorable. “Did you have fun?”

“Yeah, it was nice to meet everyone again.” She wasn’t lying, she enjoyed the gathering. At least the second part of it, when she gave up trying to discover who the mysterious girl was and allowed herself to relax and not overthink. “Did you?”

“Yeah, I think I needed it. I’ve been stressed with work lately, and I really missed everyone. I missed you.”

They both knew she was talking about her specifically, and that statement plus the sweet and lovely tone Yuna used for saying it made SinB smile like a fool.

“I missed you too,” SinB admitted shyly.

The twelve of them don’t get to meet with that much frequency lately, but Yuna and her did see each other often, and they practically texted every day or called each other, sometimes even more than their other all-time childhood friends. However, they still missed each other when it had been a while since the last time.

“Do you mind if I ask you something?” Yuna said, getting closer to SinB, who was just standing in the middle of the corridor with some awkwardness.

“What is it?”

“Is everything alright? You seemed to be annoyed earlier, although later on you were acting normal, but… were you okay?”

SinB’s distress attacked her all of a sudden, getting out of her body through tears as she couldn’t hold them anymore.

Tears. , was she crying? Oh, no. That was ridiculous. Why was she crying?!

She wanted to make them stop, but she didn’t find the strength for it. It’s not that her eyes were like waterfalls now, but her cheeks were getting wet and she hated it because she couldn’t even explain why she was crying.

“Oh, no… SinB? Are you…? Come here.” Yuna embraced her with comforting tenderness and comforting phrases, and that only made the crying girl cry harder. . “It’s fine. Don’t worry, baby, I’m here.”

Something rang on SinB’s brain when she heard those reassuring words. Yuna had just called her baby, and that obviously didn’t go unnoticed. It made her tears stopped from falling although her face was still a mess.

“Thanks, I… I need a tissue. I know I look horrible right now.”

“Here,” Yuna said, handing one to SinB. “And you look beautiful, by the way, you always do.”

“Ah, why would you say that…” SinB said, obviously flustered.

“Because it’s the truth, my mysterious girl.”

There was something unusual in the way they were interacting. Be it the atmosphere, the light or those sweet words, something was more intimate, cozier and warmer. And that something pushed SinB out of nowhere and urged her to gaze at Yuna’s lips and immediately meet them with hers.

The realization of her imprudent action hit her a few seconds later, but by the time it happened, Yuna had already responded to the kiss and was caressing SinB’s jaw so delicately that it almost felt like a pleasant tickling.

With her arms around Yuna’s neck and both of them meeting each other’s taste for the first time, SinB decided those were the best Christmas ever—at that very moment, nothing else mattered.

“I guess,” Yuna said, only leaving a few millimeters between their mouths, “there’s not a secret anymore that I wrote you a confession letter in the form of a Christmas card. Just telling you because you might find it when you go to sleep.”

Nothing else mattered except for that.

“Wait… it was you the whole time?!” SinB exclaimed and inevitably made the space between them bigger, for Yuna’s disappointment. “You wrote it?!”

“You already read it?!”

“How could I not to?! It was on…” SinB loosened up the moment she felt Yuna’s breath on her again, even if it was for a short instant. “… my desk.” She finished her sentence with a cute tiny tone that made Yuna kiss her again.

SinB had fallen way too hard for her, and she didn’t mind. She didn’t know how or when it started, but after so many years of friendship, one day she just found herself drowning more and more into Yuna’s charm. Her weird antics, her lame jokes, her outstanding talent, her sparkling eyes, her intellectual mind and the depth of her words when she gave her life advices, how well she listened to SinB, the sweetness in her actions, the way she could make her laugh with stupid puns, how soft her hands felt when they held hers, the passion she emitted in anything she did, their incessant and interesting chats at night… everything had become fascinating for SinB at some point. And now her heart was melting like warm honey because of Yuna’s touch, Yuna’s voice, Yuna’s gaze, Yuna’s scent and Yuna’s taste. SinB couldn’t get enough, and she almost forgot what their conversation was about when Yuna pecked her lips again.

Almost.

“You know what happened to me earlier?” SinB started, trying to focus on her speech and not on how gorgeous and sensual Yuna was looking. “I read your card, thought it was yours, then convinced myself it wasn’t you after talking to you, and then tried to find out who it was out of the rest of our girl friends. It was exhausting, if you ask me. And I was anxious and stressed and sad because I thought it wasn’t yours.”

Yuna softened after SinB’s explanation and held her into another caring hug.

“I’m sorry you felt like that because of my stupid card.”

“No! Don’t call it stupid, it’s… lovely, actually. I like it a lot,” SinB recognized.

“I’m glad you do,” Yuna admitted with a bashful smile. “Why did you think it wasn’t mine? I was afraid to be too obvious, I mean, even the cover was a puppy and a kitty… I chose that very consciously.”

“I know! I… I believed it was you. But I was unsure because maybe I was fooling myself since I wanted it to be you. And then I asked you about the second floor, and you said you hadn’t been there before, and I had already read the card by then, so I assumed it couldn’t be you. Why did you lie to me?”

“Eh? I didn’t lie to you,” Yuna denied with a small laugh. “I really hadn’t gone upstairs, I asked Dongmin to leave the card at your bedroom because I was going to be late and it would have been too evident.” SinB felt stupid. Right. Another person put it there. Why wouldn’t she consider that option first before taking things for granted? “He’s the only one who knew it, so I asked him for help. I told him to leave it under your cushion though—that way you would have read it after the friendly gathering instead of in the middle of it and you wouldn’t have worried about that. I’m sorry on his behalf, I promise I will scold him for his carelessness.” The way Yuna said that was not scary but undoubtedly y, but SinB kept that thought to herself.

“I’m so happy it was you the one who wrote it.”

There was timidity in SinB’s words, but it all disappeared the moment Yuna started stealing kisses from her once again. This time, she decided to actively respond to that gesture, with more passion and eagerness, as if shame had completely vanished. SinB felt like she was floating, aware of how she couldn’t ask for a more perfect Christmas or a more perfect present than Yuna.

“Did you notice we’re under the mistletoe?” SinB mentioned, pointing at the ceiling that had been previously decorated with a big and aesthetic mistletoe.

“I did notice, that’s why I’ve kissed you.”

“Excuse me? I’ve kissed you!”

“Hum… are you sure, miss Hwang?”

“Yes! How can y—” Yuna’s lips were on SinB’s before the latter could finish her sentence.

“Well, I did it just now, didn’t I?”

“Choi Yuna, you’re so… so…”

“What?” she whispered on SinB’s ear. “What am I?”

“Agh, stop, you’re gonna sleep on the couch tonight!”

“At least we both agree I don’t need to sleep on a different bed,” Yuna said with a non-innocent look and a playful chuckle that made SinB let out a long sigh, although she was definitely finding Yuna’s behavior amusing.

“I love you.”

SinB pronounced those words sensing her heartbeat almost in , but absolutely convinced about their meaning and honesty. Yuna then pulled her closer, put a strand of SinB’s hair behind her ears and kiss the tip of her nose in the most affectionate way possible.

“I love you too.”

Feeling on cloud nine, SinB intertwined her fingers with Yuna’s and got lost in those deep and shining eyes for the millionth time while the latter giggled and said:

“By the way… Merry Christmas, baby! May all your wishes come true.”

SinB smiled broadly at Yuna and claimed:

“You can bet they have.”