On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: Three French Hens

Two Turtle Doves

And a Partridge in a Pear Tree

Hyukjae stood outside of the post off with a large stack of boxes barely balancing as he tried to remember the list he had made this morning.

-reserve the meal

-pick up Jungsoo's gift

-take packages to post office

-finish gift-wrapping

Sunday was the only day that Hyukjae would have time to get things done before Christmas. Starting tomorrow, he would be stuck in the studio all day getting dance routines ready for the upcoming CSW Christmas Showcase scheduled to broadcast live from CSW Galleria on the night before Christmas Eve.

He turned around so that he could back his way through the door to the post office, but when his foot bumped against the door frame, the packages made sure to collapse right on top of Hyukjae after the man had already landed himself on the floor. Adding mortification to mutilation, some old man with plumber drawers stepped right over him instead of bothering to help. Hyukjae had to pick himself as well as all of the packages up out of the entryway with everyone staring, probably thinking to themselves how someone could be so clumsy. Had his life decided without his permission to turn into a contest of whether or not each day could embarrass Hyukjae more than the previous?

Thinking about his chagrin over the past three days had brought a slight blush to his cheeks as Hyukjae stumbled over to the counter with his recollected packages. The clerk scanned and affixed labels to each box, having Hyukjae sign things as she went on. He tried to think of normal, non-blush-inducing things like popcorn and tinsel but then he kept thinking of mistletoe and hot chocolate. Inevitably, the previous night weighed on his mind. 

"Would you like to donate $5 to the LGBT youth shelter this holiday season?" 

Hyukjae snapped out of his thoughts to look at the clerk who spoke discreetly around his stack of boxes. She asked the question as if she were trying to keep from being heard, and Hyukjae figured she probably wasn't supposed to solicit customers like this seeing as the postal service was a government organization. "Mm." He nodded and quickly pulled out a $5 bill from his pocket, making sure no one saw him slide it across the counter to her. 

As he left the packaging center, he couldn't help but realize that the $5 was the same one from last night. He had never paid for the food he ordered on Donghae's behalf. Adding to that, he was actually the one that ate it. That means Donghae had paid for both orders. Hyukjae grumbled and quickly returned to his old, beat-up hatchback. 

Letting the car warm up and defrost the windows, Hyukjae pressed his forehead against the top of the steering wheel. Donghae had spent over $20 on Hyukjae last night if you include the tip. Although this was chump change to someone like Donghae, it was still burdensome for Hyukjae to have that weight of owing Donghae. In any heteroual interaction, if a man pays for a woman's hot chocolate, it turns into a date. What happens when a guy pays for another guy's hot chocolate if the second guy is gay? Two hot chocolates at that!

He refused to let himself entertain the idea that last night was a date. Although, come to think of it, that would have been one of the best dates Hyukjae had ever been on. Contrary to his first impression, Hyukjae found Donghae to be rather kind and incredibly adorable over the two hours they sat chatting in the coffee shop. It seems Handsy Donghae only makes an appearance when alcohol is present. Not that Hyukjae would have minded if Donghae had gotten handsy--

"WHAT?!" Hyukjae exclaimed aloud and pounded his fist against the steering wheel, forcing the car to react with a blaring BUUUURRRRNNNNNPPPPP. The woman holding her young daughter's hand while walking in front of the car shot a nasty look at Hyukjae and he smiled weakly in apology for scaring the two ladies.

"Hyukjae," he looked into the rearview mirror as he began to scold himself, "You cannot think about Donghae getting handsy. Nor can you think about how his lips poke out so invitingly when he pouts in frustration. And you absolutely under no circumstance can think about how soft his hand felt against your cheek." A loud groan and Hyukjae put the car in reverse. He had to distract himself with all the tasks at hand instead of pining over this dude he would probably only see again if he bothered to watch Two Turtle Doves when it started airing in February. (In Hyukjae's defense, the only reason he knew when the drama would air was because Sungmin had not stopped talking about it since the press conference on television the day before. Hyukjae knew the drama's start date well before he spent the night scouring the internet for any background information he could find on Lee Donghae a.k.a. Aiden who graduated from Seoul University with a Master's in both theater and business in 2009 after being born and raised in a small village in Mokpo.)

With gifts getting wrapped first thing this morning and now the packages having been dropped off, Hyukjae drove to the pick up the gift he had gotten for Jungsoo. A man like Jungsoo already has more than anyone like Hyukjae could ever buy. Hyukjae knew that the only thing he could get Jungsoo would be something personal. There were very few things that Jungsoo like more than and alcohol, neither of which Hyukjae knew anything about or was willing to provide. One thing Jungsoo did love very much was Hyukjae. As conceited as the gift may seem to anyone else, Hyukjae knew that the best gift he could give to Jungsoo would be enrolling in university. The composer had been pestering Hyukjae to try and get a degree in business so that the choreographer could open his own studio instead of wasting 'all that talent on those unappreciative idol groups'. As much as Hyukjae loved working at CSW, the idea of having his own studio was really too perfect for him not to dream of maybe one day achieving just that. 

Only thing left on the list after enrolling was to make the reservations for the meat at Three French Hens, a butcher's shop down the street from his own apartment. Jungsoo had wanted to hire a staff to cook the meal, but Hyukjae insisted that cooking the Christmas dinner was one of the most important parts of the holiday. 

He swung by his apartment real quick to see if the landlord had any idea of when the clean-up work would be finished, but unfortunately the water damaged was much more extensive than it first looked and had ruined some of the flooring beneath the carpet. It appeared as though Hyukjae and Sungmin would be staying at Jungsoo's all through the holiday.

Three French Hens was within walking distance, so Hyukjae left his car in his parking spot at the apartment complex and decided to walk over instead. The sidewalk was crowded with men in tweed coats and women in furs. Everyone squeezed past one another and hurried on to their next destination. People didn't have to say any season's greetings because they all already knew that the holidays were here. The little bulbs on wires wrapped up the lamp posts and traffic lights weren't shining but would be at nightfall. Kids had their earmuffs on and would stop their parents in front of toy stores to point out exactly what they hoped Santa would bring them. One little boy wanted a train. A plump little girl wanted a miniature wooden castle. And as he passed a few of the stores, Hyukjae could even hear the Christmas songs pouring out from the speakers inside when a patron would enter or exit, letting the door hang open for a minute. Others, such as Jungsoo, felt that Christmas was dead, killed by consumerism, but Hyukjae just couldn't see it. Christmas was everywhere to him. 

Christmas was everywhere except for when that guy coming out of the butcher’s shop pounded right into Hyukjae with no apology causing the dancer to fall back against some other passerby. 

"Careful there." Hyukjae's heart pounded because the strong arms he had landed in belonged to a voice he recognized very well. 

He didn't waste any time in lurching forward and spinning around to make sure there was bit more distance between him and the brunette. "W-what are you doing on this side of town?"

"Don't I even get a 'Hello, thank you for catching me, my knight in shining armor?'" Donghae's laugh was too loud and someone walking by glanced over at the two. "I'm actually looking for you."

Every breath that hit the air was a puff of heat and the two created a smoky mix between them that Hyukjae found distracting. "Looking for me?" How is this possibly true?

"Yeah, Heechul-hyung told me to let you know that we're coming for dinner at your place tomorrow so make sure to get extra food for that." Donghae took a step forward when someone pushed past him from behind.

"My place?" Hyukjae was confused enough as it was, the decreasing distance between him and Donghae wasn't helping. "I'm staying at Jungsoo-hyung's though. My place is messed up."

"That's what I meant. We're eating at your hyung's place." Donghae laughed again and nodded toward the butcher's shop. "Shouldn't we go inside instead of standing out here in the cold. You look like you will turn into a popsicle any minute now."

It wasn't until now that Hyukjae realized his teeth were chattering and his knees had been bouncing in an effort to create some sort of body heat. He put aside all of the confusion and hurried into the warmth of the butcher's shop instead. 

While Hyukjae went to wait in the line at the counter, Donghae silently sat at a table near the door and waited while scrolling through his phone. Hyukjae looked over his shoulder and then back in front as he pinched a small chunk of skin on his forearm between two fingers. “Definitely not a dream.”

"What will it be, sir?" 

Hyukjae answered the butcher and ordered the meat they would need for tomorrow while reserving what was needed for Christmas. After paying the total and feeling the hit his bank account would take, Hyukjae stepped out of line to head over to Donghae. The man was completely absorbed in reading some sort of manga though so Hyukjae had to tap him on the shoulder. "Donghae?"

"Hm?" Donghae's eyes held dark circles when he lifted his head in response and Hyukjae realized that the boy hadn't been reading that manga at all but secretly sleeping. How had Hyukjae not noticed those dark circles before?

"Everything's been ordered." He couldn't help but feel sorry for Donghae. For him to sleep in public like that, the guy must have really been exhausted. 

"Well, in that case, let's get out of here." Donghae stood up and pushed the seat back with the hind of his knees while his arms stretched up over his head lifting the hem of his sweater up to reveal a sliver of stomach. He made a loud sound as he stretched and Hyukjae's mouth hung open when he realized this is what Donghae would look like first thing after waking up in the morning.  "What are you staring at?"

"NOTHING!" Hyukjae coughed and turned to lead the way out of the shop. At least in the cold outside he could blame the tint of his cheeks on the wind and the temperature.

"Where are you going?” Donghae's voice was raised over the sound of the wind whistling down the street. 

The snowfall had picked up within the 15 minutes they had spent inside and it felt as though the temperature had dropped 5 degrees. "My car is that way." Hyukjae pointed off into the distance blurred by the white flakes dropping like rain. 

"Why did you park so far away?" Donghae tilted his head. 

"My apartment is not too far from here and I had to stop by there first to check something out." The two men were practically yelling on the sidewalk as the wind threatened to drown them both out.

"I thought you said last night that your apartment was flooded because you caught the place on fire when my handsome face distracted you from cooking ramen.”

"It is. I just stopped by t--WAIT! THAT'S NOT WHAT I SAID!!" Hyukjae waved his hands in front of him, his fingers a reddish-purple from the cold, as he protested the words Donghae had put into his mouth. 

Donghae's laugh died down quickly as he looked from Hyukjae's dark fingers to the white dusting atop the soaked red mop of Hyukjae's hair. "Come on. I'll drive you to your car at least. You can't walk in this." He opened the passenger's door of the royal blue Jaguar and waited for Hyukjae to climb in. 

"Thank you." Hyukjae mumbled as he walked past Donghae and climbed into the seat, careful not to shake the melted snow everywhere and mindful to keep his dirty boots in one spot.

Donghae on the other hand quickly shook water everywhere when he had made it around to the other side and got into the driver's seat. Humming to himself, he cranked up the heat before checking all his mirrors for any signs of traffic. 

The bustling street from before was almost dead as everyone had hurried indoors once the weather turned sour. Hyukjae held his hands in front of the small vents that blew out hot air as he looked over at Donghae through the corners of his eyes. "Why didn't you just call or text my phone instead of coming all the way out here?"

"I did." Donghae's smile was the warmest thing in the city at that moment. 

"You did?" Hyukjae was already scrambling to check his phone as Donghae nodded and pulled out onto the road. 2 New Messages. 3 Missed Calls. "You did."

The only sounds in that short ride six blocks long to Hyukjae's apartment complex were Donghae's humming, the heat rolling through the vents, and what Hyukjae hoped only he could hear: his pulse racing through his veins. His next 'thank you' was quiet and he could only hope that Donghae didn't think it was rude as he exited the vehicle.

"No problem. Be careful." Donghae called out through the rolled down window as Hyukjae looked in from the other side. 

"Mm." Hyukjae nodded and retreated before his blush could come back and give everything he had just though away as if it was not a secret at all. 

It wasn't until he had gotten the heat started in his own vehicle and saw Donghae's car disappear into the sheets of snow that he realized he had left the bag with the meat for tomorrow's dinner in the Jaguar.

Call or text? This was the question running through Hyukjae's mind as he paced back and forth across the room that Jungsoo had put him up in. He had looked at Donghae's number in his phone so many times that he practically knew it by heart. He still hadn't saved it in the contacts list from the missed call log, unsure if that would be inappropriate or not. Technically Donghae hadn't given him the phone number so Hyukjae had no liberty to really use it. This was a minor emergency though. Donghae had the meat.

Hyukjae sat at the edge of the bed to try and still his mind as he tapped out a short text: 

I think I left the meat in your car. -Hyukjae

That just sounded weird. Erase. Erase. Erase.

A very deep breath, and Hyukjae looked back down at the phone to type a new message. However, when he looked at the screen it showed Call Connected. "Fudge bucket! I must have hit the call button on accident." Hyukjae was so befuddled that he actually made the statement out loud before scrambling to end the call. He only hoped that maybe--

~BWARA MR. SIMPLE SIMPLE ~

Incoming Call:

708-555-4099

Now it would definitely look weird if he ignored the call. 

"Hello?" He tried to sound as normal as possible and the opposite of so nervous that a mental breakdown was on the table for happening any second now. 

"Hyukjae?" Donghae's voice was soft and there was a low noise in the background that Hyukjae couldn't identify. "Did you call?"

"Oh," the laugh was shaky, and Hyukjae had to hold the phone with his shoulder as he wiped his sweaty hands on his jeans. "I, um, think I left the meat from the butcher's in your car." 

The line was silent for a moment except for that soft background noise and Hyukjae regretted swallowing so loudly in that instant. 

"Yeah, you did." Donghae let out a whoosh of air that sounded as though it could have been a laugh. "I can bring it by tomorrow if you want."

"Mm." Hyukjae responded quickly. "Just, it has to be out of the freezer around 6 AM so that it can thaw." His breathing was too loud, too obvious.

"I have to be up for a script reading around that time anyways. What time were you planning to start cooking?" The background noise started to sound like bubbling, and Hyukjae couldn't help but be distracted by it, wondering if Donghae was actually cooking at this very moment. Was he wearing a cute little apron? Did he have an oven mitt on?

"Well I should be done with schedules around 2 PM. It will take a couple of hours to cook it. If that's too much trouble though I could just go pick up some new meat tomorrow morning." Hyukjae started speaking quickly, afraid that if he didn't say it all fast enough it would just disappear, leaving him speechless. 

“Two o’clock sounds great. I'll be there." A electronic beep repeated three times, and Hyukjae was even more curious as to what Donghae had been doing. The image of that other man pouring himself a cup of hot tea after boiling water in a pot on the stove, sipping out of a ceramic mug flooded Hyukjae's mind. 

"Oh, well that's perfect.” Before he knew what he was doing, and without even saying goodbye, Hyukjae had ended the call. At least he had managed to sound quite cheerful before he did so. 

"Ugh." He laid back on the bed, holding his handphone against his chest trying to warn himself that he was setting himself up for disappointment. His eyes grew heavy from the long day and from the worry of when this was all going to be ripped out from under him. 

~DING~

1 New Message 

12.12.16  (21:42)

“Night, Hyukkie”