Oh Christmas Tree

991... What’s your emergency?

~~

After ending the call with the emergency dispatcher, Kibum grabs his Advanced Life Support (ALS) bag and rushes outside of the clinic. The others—the two EMTs in his team and the driver— are already inside the ambulance; the clinic personnel paged them while Kibum was on the phone with the dispatcher.

“What are you guys doing tomorrow? I mean, we’re working tonight but it’s still Christmas tomorrow. Got plans with your families? Friends? Lovers?” The teasing tone in the last word earns a shut up and stop it from Jonghyun and Jinki, who are suddenly sporting matching blushes.

“I think I already know what you two are doing tomorrow. I mean who you’re doing tomorrow. What about you, Minho?”

“Kibum, you know you should never chat the ambulance driver, right?”

“Sure. Just keep evading the usual questions, Mr. Mysterious.”

Minho scoffs but they all see him grinning as he steers around the next corner. “We’re almost there.”

Kibum grabs a pair of black insulated gloves from his ALS bag and pulls it on. He grabs the collar of his orange jumpsuit and strikes a pose. “What do you guys think of my on-the-job couture?”

Working as a paramedic for many years, Kibum has learned to compartmentalize his daily life for his sanity’s sake. His job entails being in dreadful, stressful situations, so he has trained himself to immerse in the dread and stress only when he is already in the moment. But prior to that, even en route to the emergency scene, Kibum is capable of behaving like any employed person during down time. His team appreciates it and they themselves learned to ease up. These trips to wherever the distress calls come from are then like regular car rides. It brings comfort, especially on nights like this one, when they’re on duty on Christmas Eve.

--

Kibum punches in the passcode provided by the distress caller and rushes in.

His singular focus on the (emergency) task at hand has never been put to test. Kibum isn’t pompous but he knows he’s the best paramedic in the company.

But this time he finds himself faltering. The view his eyes are met with is so arresting that it took him an astounding five seconds before he crouches to the figure on the ground. His constant record is two seconds, and in his line of work, a second-long delay is, well, long.

Of course, Kibum was briefed about the situation, so he was prepared to attend to a man who accidentally electrocuted himself and ended up experiencing some sort of paralysis in his limbs.

What Kibum wasn’t prepared for was to see beauty incarnate sprawled on the floor— a man, definitely younger than him, in a very fuzzy green sweater and a pair of short shorts in a tone that compels the eyes not to break the continuity of its color on the legs. His eyes are wide and bright under his jet-black bangs. Kibum is used to having imploring eyes on him, given the nature of his job, but this particular set is igniting something in him. A feeling strange enough to distract Kibum in his mission.

It seems Kibum has been hit by something electric, too.

“H-help me, please.” The voice of the man is as cool and delicate as the Christmas breeze outside.

, what’s wrong with me? Kibum gets down on one knee and unclasps his bag. He examines the man’s eyeballs with his penlight and proceeds to check him with his stethoscope.

The absurdity of the accident finally dawns on Kibum. A string of Christmas lights is wrapped around the young man’s body. Now he understands the choice of an overly fuzzy green sweater— the man is dressed as a Christmas tree. But the festive gesture ended in a fiasco because he decided to light his tree without even checking for faulty wiring.

Kibum has seen various freak accidents, but this is one of those that will merit laughter from him and his team later on, over beer, once the patient is out of danger.

“My name is Kibum and I’m here to help you, okay? Can you move your arms? Can you tell me if you’re in pain anywhere? Any numbness?”

“My name is Taemin. I can move my arms and hands a bit, but I can’t move my legs. I can move my toes a little but there’s tingling in them.”

Even his name is pretty. Kibum scans Taemin’s limbs.

“It looks to me like a low-voltage shock, which can be dangerous too. We’ll need to take you to the hospital so we can assess the severity. But we can’t move you yet, not until I deem it safe.”

Where was he going in those sinful shorts? Kibum cannot explain the odd annoyance he felt. He must be out of his head to feel something akin to jealousy. Is this some sort of a Christmas curse? Wait, is there even such a thing as a Christmas curse?

“I’ll check you for any burns, okay? I’m wearing insulated gloves for protection against electric charge.”

I wish my eyes could have protection too. His skin is radiant. Kibum has never seen anyone in these circumstances look anywhere near like how Taemin looks right now. In spite of his pain and his nerves, his face is glowing.

“The good news is that I don’t see any burns on you and the shock seems to have subsided. Let’s get the Christmas lights off you and then I’ll ask the EMTs to bring in the stretcher after about fifteen minutes.”

Kibum feels like faltering again. Taemin is looking at him like a child in a big-budget action movie, watching the superhero flying down from the sky to save the day. Kibum also realizes that serial blinking is so freaking cute.

“This is so embarrassing. You must think I’m an idiot.” Taemin is obviously cringing while Kibum untangles the string of lights from his body.

“Not at all, Taemin. These things happen.”

“Do they really?”

Kibum just smiles at Taemin, realizing how funny the whole thing is, but they’re not exactly friends so he can only smile. Thankfully, the worry on Taemin’s face washes off.

“You have cute dimples, Kibum.”

Kibum gasps. “Are you seriously hitting on me right now?”

“I guess I’m just too happy. When I was down here alone earlier, I was wondering what evil have I done to have this dangerous and humiliating thing happen to me on Christmas Eve. Then you rushed in here and I thought Christmas miracles must be true.”

“Are you sure your legs are still numb? You must be feeling well enough to use pickup lines on your paramedic.”

“My paramedic? Ooh, I like how that sounds.”

Kibum is so astounded but also embarrassed because he knows he’s blushing.

“Okay, I’m only supposed to ask you the standard questions, but I’m really curious. Why did you put Christmas lights on you?”

“You’re curious because you’re interested in me.” Kibum scoffs. “But of course, I’ll tell you why. My family and friends have been posting pictures of their trees, obviously trying to outdo each other. I thought of taking a mirror selfie… post the photo and rub it on their faces that my tree is best-looking.”

Before he ends up voicing out his agreement, Kibum gives the EMTs his signal to bring the stretcher in.

Later, as Jinki and Jonghyun were wheeling Taemin out of his house, Jonghyun turns to Kibum and whispers, “Looks like you’ve met your match, Bummie. The way you go off on people until they’re flustered. You should have seen your face when we were in there. He got you bad.”

“Shut up, Kim Jonghyun.” Kibum whispers back aggressively.

~~

“I don’t know why you wouldn’t share with us your Valentine plans, Kibum. Jinki and I confessed that we’re dating, and Minho came out to us and promised to introduce his boyfriend to us soon.”

“I don’t have plans! I’m just staying in.”

“Don’t tell us you’re not seeing anyone, Kibum. You’re definitely in love. We see the signs. You even hum a lot now, and you look like a fool, smiling so sweetly when reading text messages. Also, I often see hickeys around your neck.”

Kibum was about to tell Jonghyun off when Jinki speaks up too. “And we see cat hair all over your clothes before you change into your jumpsuit. You do not have a cat at home. And you only go home to your parents’— where your dogs are—every other week.”

“You know, Jinks honey, I think Kibum is just embarrassed to admit that he met his boyfriend at work.”

“What do you mean, Jjongie?”

“I mean green fuzzy sweater!”

“Shut the up, Jjong! I am not seeing him!”

“Okay, let’s make a bet. If you can prove that we’re wrong, we’ll get you a signature scarf. And if we can prove that we’re right, what are you going to get us? If you don’t agree to this, the answer is clear.”

“Fine. If you can prove you’re right, I’ll get you the best-looking Christmas tree. By the way, don’t blame me for what will happen next. What you’re asking for is going to be life-changing for you two.”

Jonghyun and Jinki look at each other questioningly as Kibum leaves the room after his vague statement.

~~

Taemin’s been dying to meet the people that matter to Kibum. After all, he invited Kibum for dinner on New Year’s Eve, omitting the information that it’s a family dinner with Taemin’s parents, brother, and maternal grandfather.

Kibum was flustered and fumbling all over throughout dinner because they’re practically strangers to each other, having only met a week ago. Yet Taemin had the gall to introduce Kibum to his family as his boyfriend. If Taemin’s beauty wasn't  so mesmerizing, Kibum would’ve smacked his head because he can see that the angel-faced devil is enjoying Kibum’s agony.

A couple of days before that torture of a dinner, Kibum had spent a whole night contemplating whether he’s ready to entertain the possibility of dating a single dad. Taemin had been babbling nonstop about his adorable daughter, who turns out to be a cat. No, Kibum is not dumb; Taemin had actually led him to believe that Kkoong is human.

So yes, Kibum is certain that his friends are in for a slew of shenanigans because being best friends with him means that they wouldn’t be able to get rid of Lee Taemin the moment he enters their lives.

Kibum knows he only has himself to blame for the misadventures he experiences in the process of romancing Taemin. How they met was already a foreshadowing of things to come. It’s his fault, really, for falling in love with a man who adorned himself with Christmas lights and actually lit it without regard for the possibility of electrocution.

Taemin is as clumsy as he is beautiful, and it is this hilarious irony that makes him interesting to Kibum, who easily gets bored with people. This is also why Kibum feels his head ache every time Taemin asks him when he’s going to bring his boyfriend home to Daegu to meet the Kims. His mom and grandma would surely fawn over Taemin; everybody is inclined to do so because the rascal is not only very pretty but also very adorable. It’s just that his folks keep their house immaculate and they have a collection of expensive antique ceramics.

Aside from his clumsiness, Taemin’s recklessness also drives Kibum crazy. There was one time, out of the blue, Taemin suggested they get their names tattooed on each other’s body.

“I’ll have Kim and Kibum tattooed on two of the petals of my existing tattoo of peonies. Where are you going to put Lee Taemin?”

“I don’t know, Taemin. I’m not really the tattoo type of guy. I don’t want a single one seen on me.”

“Aw, come on, hyung! Then just have my name tattooed on a hidden part of your body. You know, a part which only I get to see.” Taemin winks at Kibum repeatedly, earning a shove and a laugh from the latter.

“Okay. But don’t get jealous of the tattoo artist who’ll see and touch whatever that part is.”

“Hmm… actually, hyung, I love your flawless skin. I think you look best without a tattoo.”

Taemin is good-natured and cheerful, but on the flip side, he has a temper, which is usually triggered by jealousy (irrational jealousy, in Kibum’s opinion). He would ask Kibum about the people he assists in emergency scenes, implying that something could be borne out of it. Kibum would laugh sarcastically, ready with a sassy retort like how ridiculous it is to think one can meet a prospective date in his workplace a.k.a. the emergency scene. He’ll end up biting his tongue because he’ll remember how the two of them met. So to pacify his sulking lover, Kibum would pull out his phone from his pocket and turn on the camera’s selfie mode.

“Do you really think I could look at anyone else when I have someone that looks like the one on the screen beside me?”

Taemin’s pout loosens and his lips spread into a smile. He swipes Kibum’s phone with his thumb to change the camera mode to video mode and starts kissing Kibum’s jaw, down to his neck.

“Taemin, what are you doing?”

“Just keep the video on, hyung. I’ll give you something to keep in your phone, in case you need a reminder that you have a good boyfriend.”

Boyfriend. Kibum is still in awe at how fast they moved into each other’s lives (he had to keep up with Taemin).  He is actually scared. But even if the uncertainty of what the future holds for their whirlwind relationship scares him, Kibum is more scared of the thought of losing Taemin.

“No, I don’t have a good boyfriend.  I have the best one.”

Taemin squeals and pushes Kibum down on the couch. Kibum struggles to get a word in, since Taemin is busy pressing wet kisses all over his chest.

“But seriously, Taemin, you should stop being jealous because you have no reason to be jealous in the first place. I only have eyes for you. Besides… I’ve sat in one of the dance classes you teach. You have a classroom of people pining for you, Taemin. Shouldn’t I be the jealous boyfriend between us? What did you see in me, anyway?”

“I cannot explain it, hyung. But when I saw you for the first time, I just felt that I have to have you. If we had met in a club, I’d walk right up to you and just kiss you. If you were in a bookshop I happen to be in, I’d pull the book out of your hands and kiss you. No matter where we could’ve met, I’d kiss you.”

“Liar.”

‘No, I’m serious. I just wasn’t able to kiss you when we met because I was afraid you’d get electrocuted too.”

“Well, that seemed to have happened anyway. In a different way. Our meeting was electric. But I still don’t understand why you chose me. You don’t even know me well yet.”

“Of course I know you, hyung. You’re mine.”

Kibum isn’t able to process Taemin’s words because he is too distracted by Taemin’s mouth.

But Kibum believes Taemin. And like Taemin, he now believes in Christmas miracles.

##