The Snow Globe
A Magical Christmas Collection 2022
Chohee couldn’t believe she broke her favorite snow globe on Christmas. She lost count of the years it had been with her. She couldn’t bear to say goodbye. If it wasn’t shattered into so many pieces, she would probably have it repair. It was beyond. After a quick breakfast, she was out the door to visit the pop-up snow globe shop in the neighborhood. She didn’t have much hope there would be any good replacement.
Snow gently fell from the clouded gray sky as she stepped closer to the shop. Christmas was indeed a beautiful time of the year. She was glad there was less people out on Christmas. It would be even better if there was no one in the shop. She aimed to be there right when the door should be open. 10 AM.
Chohee checked her phone every few seconds for the time. When the clock 10, she pushed pass the glass door to Snow Globe Heaven. Confusion circled her for a second. She arrived there ten minutes ago and she for sure did not see anyone unlocked the door. She sighed, if it was opened, she could have gone in ten minutes ago. Putting the thoughts aside, she entered and started browsing the wide selection of snow globes. Soft Christmas instrumental played in the background. Various shapes. Sizes. Creativity. But nothing matched the one that she broke. A simple rounded globed with simple stars hung from the top of the globe, a wooden bench with a streetlamp next to it filled with water and snow floating.
“Merry Christmas, Miss. May I help you?”
Chohee turned to the voice that jumped at her out of nowhere. A gentleman with a brown apron with the store name embroidered on smiled with crescent eyes. His hair extended to his neck, tucked behind his ears. Chohee leaned closer to his name tag, Jeonghan.
“I saw that you have been browsing for a while. Are you looking for anything in particular?”
“I broke mine. Looking for a replacement.”
Jeonghan smiled, one mischievous one as his mind wondered about something. Then he said, “if you love that one that much, then, of course, it can’t be replaced. If you want to find another, you’ll have to open your heart,” he patted his heart, “for a new one. Not a replacement.”
Chohee stared at him a little too hard, but he kept his playful face.
“Let me show you our magical collection.” Jeonghan leaded her toward the back, away from the entrance. Passed more shelves into the far back, a glass counter blocked off a section to the back storage. Their special collection locked in a glass case like those expensive jewelry.
Jeonghan went behind the counter and allowed her to browse the new collections. She mused over a few and skipped over many. Chohee looked up when she heard a bell rang, a sleigh bell. To only find Jeonghan staring carefully at her as if he didn’t hear anything.
“Did—”
“I have the perfect one.” He disappeared behind the door and returned with a Christmas gift box in his hand. Jeonghan set the box down and opened the lid, pulling out a snow globe different from all the ones she had saw in the shop. He extended the globe to her. Chohee took it into her hands and stared at the tree in the middle, a Charlie Brown tree, but with more branches and meteor shower lights falling. Filled with water and floating snow.
“If you shake it, you’d get the perfect magical experience.”
Chohee gave him doubtful eyes. The way he said it. It sounded like a challenge like there was another reason.
“Shake it.” Jeonghan brought both of his hands into a fist before him and shook his body along.
He didn’t have to tell her. She was going to test it anyways. Chohee shook it one time, two time, and the third time. Sleigh bell rang in her ears and the lights above her flicked into a strange pattern.
When the crazy light stopped flashing, Chohee opened her eyes. She gasped and fell a few steps backward. A different man stood in front of her. His eyes were stronger in gaze, less friendly. He raised an eyebrow, observing her in every way he could. She was no longer in the shop. She had no clue where she was at. It was dark as if midnight arrived and they were the only two around accompanied by the falling snow. She felt like she was in a pitched black room, but she could see him clearly.
She cleared . “Where am I?”
“Jeonghan said you needed assistance.”
Chohee scowled, his tone made it sound like she needed special assistance in finding a snow globe.
“I don’t need assistance. I was just browsing. If you’ll kindly show the way out of this place.” Chohee eyes wondered her surrounding one more time as she spoke.
He didn’t respond. When Chohee looked at him, he had extended his hand out. Chohee zeroed into his hand with question in her eyes.
“The way out is to take my hand.”
Chohee scoffed and laughed. “Very funny. You expect me to believe that?”
She was better off depending on herself to find the way out. If there was a way in, there had to be a way out. He didn’t bring her in, so he wouldn’t need to bring her out.
Chohee walked and walked her journey of pitched black. What frustrated her was where he stood, there was light. She walked for a couple of minutes, yet she couldn’t locate anything. It was an empty place. There was nothing. And she wasn’t stupid, he watched and reacted to her every move. She could almost feel his breath laughing at her. She spun around out of nowhere and he had to immediately stop his trace to prevent himself from crashing into her.
“Nervous with me around?”
“So nervous. I can’t think straight. So will you leave?” There was some truth. His presence was disturbing.
“I can’t leave even if I want to.”
Everything he said sounded gibberish. Like he wasn’t even answering her questions.
He added, “Because you need me.”
Chohee lost it. The man before her was completely insane. She should have just stayed home for Christmas. “Need you for what?”
“You tell me.”
She should have just ordered something online. They stopped caring the old model, so there was no way she’d find anything similar. Online obviously had the widest selection. Just not the rarest. And it wasn’t that their magical collection wasn’t superb. They were just a little creepy, but…Chohee looked up and he was smiling. Half grinning.
There were lights in the distance. Not daytime light but lights from the meteor shower tree. Wait. The tree looked awfully familiar. She couldn’t be…trapped in the same globe she shook?
“You can trust me,” he said.
“Says the people who shouldn’t be trusted.”
“Seems like you’re attracted to me and don’t want to leave this place.”
Chohee scoffed and turned toward the tree. As she walked closer there were people. Goosebumps and the hair behind her neck rose. She was a hundred percent sure there was no one earlier. It couldn’t be possible.
He cursed under his breath when his feet were forced to follow her. Chohee enjoyed the peace for a second until she saw him at the corner of her eyes.
“I thought you left for good.”
“I can’t leave you.”
Chohee stopped. His words. She couldn’t believe she let his words have some weights.
“Where is this place? Where’s Jeonghan?”
“You’re handed over to me, Yoo Kihyun. And I will be the one to help you find your snow globe.”
Chohee bored into his eyes. Exactly how much of his words could she trust. “I don’t want any snow globe from this place.”
“You can’t come and go as you like. You shook the snow globe. Now I must complete your wish,” Kihyun said.
Chohee gave him a blank stare. She didn’t ask him to fulfill anything. They just didn’t seem to understand what each other were saying.
“My wish is for me to complete.” Not anyone else. She walked away.
Families, couples, friends, and singles circled the tree. They stargazed it. They had smores, coffees, hot chocolates, and various delicious snacks in their hand. At least she could ask for directions now.
A young couple came her way. “Excuse me?”
They walked pass her. Chohee turned to the older gentleman to her right. “Excuse me?”
He walked pass her. Frustrated, Chohee turned to Kihyun with fire in her eyes. “Did you do something to them.”
Kihyun pressed a smile. “Not them, but you. I only did something to you.”
Chohee in a deep breath and closed her eyes. She shook her head and her body for the chills to leave. She must escape him. Chohee attempted to ask for directions again, but they really didn’t see or hear her. Kihyun shook his head at her undeniably stubbornness.
Chohee came to a bench under the tree. Surprisingly, no one occupied it. She sat and massaged her legs. Her hands were frozen. She huffed and her icy breath was visible for a second before it disappeared. Kihyun stood in front of her. He wasn’t tired at all. He stuck out his hand. Thinking he was pulling the trick of ‘hold my hand’ again, she opened , but nothing came out. Then a coat appeared onto his hand. Chohee eyes widened. gaped slightly. Kihyun draped the coat over her. Chohee flinched at his touch and ran with the coat on her.
Treading against the snow was difficult. She stopped to catch her breath. She crouched down, hands resting on her knees. Her heart fell to her stomach when his pair of shoe appeared. When would this nightmare end?
“Are you tired now?” he asked. “You tried everything. Why not try something you haven’t?”
“In which…” she breathed.
“Take my hand.”
There was no such thing as magic. It was an illusion. She was hallucinating. He was not real.
Chohee grabbed his wrist and bit his hand hard. Her teeth dug into his skin. She fell flat to the snow. He was bleeding. He was real. What was true and what was not? How was she to believe him, when she got stuck in the snow globe after listening to Jeonghan?
Kihyun scowled at the pain. Blood seeped onto this sleeve. “What are you? A dog?”
He fisted his palm to sustain the pain. He lifted his sleeves and examined the blood coming out of the fresh wound.
“Take your and then what? Kiss you?” Chohee couldn’t see how taking his hand would solve anything.
Kihyun inhaled a deep long breath. “You’re right.” Chohee glared at him. Where exactly was he getting at now. “I can’t complete your wish for you. Afterall, you have to make the choice.”
Kihyun extended his wounded hand. Chohee watched as the blood rolled down his skin and dripped onto the snow. She couldn’t possibly have bit that hard? Was she that nervous, scared that she almost chewed his hand off? Chohee reached out her hand. It inched closer and closer to his hand.
“And not just anyone can kiss me,” Kihyun smirked. “But you’re in consideration.”
She was exhausted. He was right. He seemed to have trapped them here. He had more control than she did. If taking his hand may make a difference, she should at least try. Second by second as she inched closer, people in the distance vanished into the thin air one by one. The lights dimmed. Her hand centimeter way from his.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
She wasn’t going to doubt. She grabbed his hand, her life depended on it. Kihyun smiled and wrapped his fingers around her cold hand. He was warm. She searched his eyes, and there was gleaming light. That playfulness. He grinned and tugged her upward. She crashed into his embrace.
Her eyes opened and she gasped. Jeonghan waved his hands frantically in front of her. Chohee took a step back and collected herself. Jeonghan smiled innocently.
“You can take it. It’s a gift for you,” his eyes glimmered like a child, but the corner of his lips curved in a mischievous way.
Chohee looked at the globe in her hand and placed it back on the counter. “No, thank you.”
She dashed to the exit. She never recalled ever leaving a store in that of a hurriedly. She passed the shelves and back to the front. She walked from one corner to the other, but she couldn’t locate the door. Her heart drummed loudly in her ears. The coat she wore was suddenly too warm. She turned around and around, but all walls were enclosed, no door. How was that possible? Was she trapped in the store like how she was in the globe too? There was definitely a door, that was how she entered.
Jeonghan showed no concern when she returned. He dusted away. Her vein tightened on her forehead, pulsing.
“Where’s the exit?” Her annoyance and impatience surfaced. She didn’t care if she came off rude.
Jeonghan pointed to the snow globe and Chohee held onto the last bit of sanity she had left.
“It’s a gift from the owner. If you don’t take it, you can’t get out.”
Chohee in a deep breath. She held her hands to prevent them from shaking. How could she take such a creepy thing home? It can’t be at home. It’d probably bring her nightmare.
“May I speak to your owner?”
Jeonghan gave her another one of his creepy smiles. Chills traveled down her spine, and she had to walked around when he disappeared to the back.
Five minutes passed and the door handle moved. Chohee focused her gaze on the door. She placed her hands onto the counter for support. Kihyun walked through the doors with a smile more wicked than Jeonghan. Her eyes fell on his rolled sleeves and his wrist was bandaged exactly where she bit him. Chohee shook her head. It was an illusion earlier. He wasn’t real.
“How did you get that?”
Kihyun smiled and looked at the bandage. “My dog bit me.”
Chohee frowned. She had to leave the shop. “I don’t want your gift.”
“Why not?” Kihyun rested his elbow on her counter and leaned toward the globe, “It’s one of a kind.” That intentional smile.
Chohee examined his parted hair, hair color, his face structures, his movements, to his words. Was he the same person? Could he really have been at two different places?
“Am I that handsome?”
Her focus pulled to his smile. She couldn’t soften her eyes.
Kihyun pushed the globe toward her, and the lights inside lit up. “The choice is yours.”
The choice is yours…it echoed and echoed. It rang in her ears. That phrase. Chohee looked at the bandage once again before her hand reached for the globe. If this situation was the same as the globe, she knew taking the globe was the smarter choice.
Chohee let out a sigh of defeat and looked up at him.
Kihyun smiled, “Merry Christmas.”
There was a twinkled in his alluring eyes that pulled a string in her heart. With the globe tight in her hands, she ran. Ran out straight the door she entered. Just as she originally came in. She stopped outside to catch her breath. The snow danced wildly outside and in the snow globe. With each step she walked away from the shop, she heard the sleigh bell.
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