Christmas was in two days and all the employees in the big mansion were worried again. Ever since they worked for their young master they never have gotten a free Christmas, their master refuses to even acknowledge the existence of this holiday. For the oldest employees this was nothing new, in fact their families were used to expending Christmas Eve and New Year night without them but it was so sad to see how the newer staff got their heart broken.  Like one of the new assistant of the young master….

“Sir,” said the young lady as she put on his shoes, never looking up at him. You don’t look up at the master, “would we be able to go home for Christmas?”

“No” swiftly and with elegance, that was the answer and it would stay like that but this girl was a fighter, or so she thought.

“Sir, I have two little children waiting for me, I know it’s still too early to ask but please I need to be with them…. “

All the others in the room looked at each other but kept silent; they were not going to mess with the master. They all had at some point and it’s a miracle they kept their job.

“Excuse you?” the master moved his feet away as if he was disgusted with her presence “has somebody tell this poor excuse of a woman my December policy?”

Still silence, you didn't answer back to master either.

“Listen to me once because I won’t repeat, ok? No one, absolutely no one leaves my ing mansion in December.  You work for me and I don’t want anyone leaving, so shut the hell up and you are working Christmas whether you like it or not. You can leave, but I will make sure you won’t another job in your miserable life? Are you clear?”

“Yes sir...”

“I can’t hear you”

“YES SIR!”

“Good… because of you I’m late to work, so no lunch.” He put on his very expensive coat and looked through the window to the front lobby “where the is my car?!! If it’s not in front of the door by the time I go downstairs I swear to God heads will roll!”

That was about your average day with young master Cho. Nobody knows why he is so cruel and mean but there are rumors that he was not like this, at least not always. There was a time when master cho would always smile and be friendly towards the staff in the house. It might have been when he was five but it really happened.

On his way to work master cho would try to ignore the constant text messages from hot super models and daughters of big entrepreneurs. I mean it’s not his fault that he was with such a likable face with round cheeks and puffy lips and round almond eyes that could easily trap anyone. Annoyed with the unstoppable beeps coming from his phone he decided to shut down the stupid device, he didn’t need it anyways. His driver parked right outside the big building and every one lined up to greet him, they all bowed 90 degrees.

He didn’t say anything nor looked at them; he walked straight towards the elevators and pressed the bottom to the last floor where his office was. As soon as he step outside his secretary was demanding his attention with multiple papers and meetings, and master cho was always busy with work but he found time to go to parties and meet the important people with his famous killer, but fake, smile.

 A couple streets away from the cho mansion, into the common people neighborhood, a boy sold his famous hot cocoa and cookies. It was the same boy that sold roses in the spring, lemonade and ice cream in the summer and pumpkins in the fall.  He was loved by the people for being such a good boy, he would always receive you with a warm smile and his trademark dimples. He was not from that area but appeared suddenly one day in the main street with his movable station and start selling his delicious food. The boy was very handsome but very humble about it. He would always get compliments from the college girls that walked next to him one their way to class, he responded with a thank you, a small bow and a smile that kept the girls and compliments coming. It is said he came from a nearby town and that by selling his things he helps his family, but it’s just a rumor, the real intentions of the boy are unknown.

The morning before Christmas Eve, there was a thin layer of snow on the streets and everyone was sliding and some were falling down. The boy was keeping an eye on the old lady that sold her scarfs next him; he knew that if she fell she could break her bones and it would be really bad for health. Said and done the lady slides when she stepped on a frozen mini pond and luckily the boy hold her before she fell on the hard cold ground.

“You are an angel” said the lady, and gave the boy a big hug

“It’s nothing, you are welcome” answered the boy and hugged her back

“Someone will be saved by your hugs someday, they are the best” the lady smiled to the boy and walked back to her stand

“Haha how can I save a person with hugs?”

“You will see”

 Soon indeed he would as soon as next day which was very special for someone. Christmas was finally here, and in the air you could hear the carols and laughter. The pure white snow was falling in little snowflakes and the couples were walking to their houses with presents under their arms. As it was said before all the employees of the cho mansion were faithfully working while their master reviewed the new reports from his company in his bedroom. The chefs had finished their 5 star dinner and everything was decorated with red and green, the only one missing was their boss. They wanted to bring him to the dining table so at least they could have a Christmas dinner, but no one dared to interrupt him.

“Who should go?” said the housekeeper.

“Why don’t you send the new assistant? She can’t mess up more than she has already” responded the driver

“No! I don’t want to lose my job!” said the housekeeper “master is not that cruel on Christmas”

Right there the door to the main bedroom opened and their master stepped outside fully dress with his coat and a scarf “I can’t do this anymore!! I need to get out here, breath fresh air!!” he didn’t notice the decorations of the house but when his eyes landed on the Christmas tree he got angrier. “WHAT IS THIS?!!”

“We thought you would like some Christmas spirit, sir”

“We thought?”

“Yes sir”

The others didn’t dare to make a sound, he sighed. Looking around he decided he didn’t care anymore and walked outside of the house. His driver quickly ran over to him and asked where did he want to be taken? But his master answered with a “don’t follow me” and walked by himself down the hill where his house was, under the snow. It was always like this, every Christmas. They didn’t know why his master behaved like this. He would walk outside for a while and then come back, steal some of the turkey on the table, lock himself in his room and didn’t come out till morning. They were able to leave at midnight so they didn’t know that his master cried every eve alone in his house.

Master Cho walked down the lonely streets in silence.  He didn’t expect anyone outside at this hour and that’s what he liked, he wanted to be alone. The night was very cold, and the young master could see the puffs of air every time he breathed.  He didn’t notice how long he had walked until the houses started to get smaller and the streets dirtier.

“Where the heck did I ended up?”  It was a different sight from what he was used to, but he had nothing else to do than explore. Something caught his attention in the distance; more smoke was coming from the entrance to the park. Did someone set the trees on fire?  

He ran in the direction of the “fire”, but all he found was the boy and his stand and the rich smell of hot cocoa and gingerbread cookies. It was a scene itself; there was this boy, dressed in white with his deep red scarf around his neck stirring this big pot of cocoa with a big smile on his face. The young master admired the scene for a few seconds and proceeded to walk back to his house, wherever it was, until the young boy stopped the stirring and started looking for something. The young master was too curious so kept looking at the boy that now held a cup in his hand and served some of the hot liquid in it. He put it on the table of his stand and started to stir the pot again.

“Drink it” said the boy but to whom? The only person nearby was the master and he had never seen him before. He couldn’t just offer a cup of his cocoa for free to a stranger.

“Why should I?” it sounded like he was an arrogant, well maybe he was, but the master was truthfully curious.

The boy looked at him up and down and simply responded “you look cold”

And that was the turning point for master cho “who do you think you are? Eh? Tell me! Do I look like a homeless to you? What the are you trying to say? Can’t you see my coat and yet you say that I look “cold” and why are you giving me your disgusting cocoa for free? Do you think I can’t pay for it? I can probably buy all your ing hot cocoa and your house if I wanted to!!!”

The boy’s eyed opened widely at the stranger’s harsh words “I didn’t mean….”

“No, no. shut the up! Here” he took a $100 dollar bill and gave it to the boy “I will buy your stupid cocoa and you will not underestimate me ever again”

“I didn’t mean….”

“I said shut the hell up!!!!” the master quickly took the cup and engulfed the hot liquid but ended up spilling everything right away

“Are you crazy?!!” said the boy and ran to help the choking stranger “I didn’t mean you look physically cold” he helped master cho stand up and offered his handkerchief to him but the moment their hands met they both got shocked.

“Get away from me!” said the frightened master and the cup slipped and fell as he quickly moved away from the boy. It’s not like he hadn’t got a shocked before but this one was different….

“I’m so sorry” he tried to give the handkerchief to the young master again but he was rejected

“I don’t need your help” said master cho and cleaned himself with his sleeve

“You are so cold, at least drink some more cocoa. You don’t need to pay me” no matter what they boy wanted to help.

“Why are you doing this to me?!! Can’t you see I’m perfectly warm here” he never knew when he started to cry or why. Who was this boy that made him feel like boiling with just a look and few words?

“I never said physically” the boy bent down to collect the pieces of the cup and throw them away. He walked near the boy and put his right hand over where the master’s heart would be “you are cold here”

The startled master couldn’t say a word, the hand over his heart was like a cue for it to beat faster and make his insides boil with more force. His cheeks burned for the first time in so long but he couldn’t even raise his own hands to hide it. When they boy saw the flushed cheeks of the stranger his smile came up again and the master saw for the first time his deep dimples that made his face wear a deeper shade of red.

“That’s what I wanted to see,” said the boy “now you are getting warmer. Keep it up!” he winked at the master and left him there to attend his pot.

“What’s your name?” said the young master, interrupting the boy one more time.

“Siwon,” answered the boy while pouring cinnamon powder to the liquid, “Would you like more cocoa?”

“I’ll buy the whole pot” the master hasn’t moved from his earlier position

“Really? The whole pot? I said I would give you a couple of cups for free, no need to buy the whole thing. Did you like my cocoa that much?”

“…and you for the night” did siwon hear right?

“Excuse me, what did you say?”

“I said,” responded the young master, “that I will buy the whole pot of cocoa and you for the night” So he did hear well, he wanted to laugh so much right now and not because he was mocking the guy. It was because he also felt the connection but he was impressed with the headfirst personality of the young man in front of him.

“Besides, it looks like you are the homeless one tonight” siwon had to laugh now

“I was just waiting until midnight or until all my cocoa sold out to go home but it’s already midnight and I sold my cocoa so I should leave”

 Master Cho’s heart had a pang with siwon’s words. Would he only get the cocoa? No, he had to get him too. Siwon started packing away but the young master grabbed his arm and stopped him. Siwon looked at his big teary almond eyes and sighed

“I will go with you,” master cho squealed a little. Since when did he squealed? “But on one condition”

“Whatever you want” yes, he was that desperate but whatever master cho wanted he got it.

“You have to tell me your name” well that was easy, master cho thought, but he didn’t want to say his name. Siwon knew he must be some rich boy because of his clothes and the uncountable times he has said so but he was afraid that if he said who he was siwon wouldn’t come at all.

When he saw the doubts in the young face siwon decided that he didn’t care “you know what, it’s okay. I will just spend the night there since it’s late and you want to drink the cocoa and….”

“Kyuhyun, Cho kyuhyun” there, he said it, now he had to wait for siwon’s response.

“Cute name” That was it. To be honest siwon didn’t know who kyuhyun was, and he didn’t care. Since the moment kyuhyun said he would take him siwon already prepared himself to go with him. Together they walked to kyuhyun’s mansion in silence, the two love birds couldn’t think of anything to say and it was fine as long as they were near each other.

The cho mansion was empty when they came back; all the employees had already left for the night. Siwon was looking around in amazement and kyuhyun smiled at the weird face the other was making. “So… where is my cocoa?” he said, finally breaking the silence.

“Oh! Right here!” said siwon while he raised the container in his right hand, his left hand held the cookies.

“Good. Now there should be cups in the kitchen” he started walking in that direction but stopped when he didn’t hear siwon following him. He cleared his throat and quickly siwon followed. They passed by the great meal on the dining table and siwon’s stomach growled at the sight of the food.

“You can take whatever you want” said kyuhyun

“Really!?” said siwon. He was very hungry but he couldn’t eat his cookies and he was polite enough to wait for the owner of the house to invite him to eat. He took one of the plates and started serving himself. Kyuhyun came back with the cups in his hands and blushed at the sight. Siwon was stuffing everything at once in his mouth as if he hadn’t eaten anything in months. For others it might look improper but it somehow made the bubbling start again. He looks so… different, kyuhyun though. He might try to eat like that later, to know how it feels like but for now he wanted to see siwon.

When siwon was done kyuhyun took him to the living room and they sat in front of the chimney, taking sips of the left over cocoa. Kyuhyun was deep in thought about what happened today, in Christmas Eve no less. He started laughing randomly and siwon had to ask…

“What is it?”

“I hate Christmas”

“What? Nobody hates Christmas…” kyuhyun lowered his eyes and stirred the cup some more and siwon knew that he was not kidding “did something happen?”

 Kyuhyun didn’t speak in that moment; he was remembering all the past Christmas. He took another sip and talked his heart out. “I guess I hate it that much because I was always alone in these days”

“Alone? Don’t you have a lot of people working for you?”

“I do, and they were here of course but when I say alone I mean my parents where never here” it was a typical rich child case, siwon thought. His parents had to work every holiday, even the ones where the family was supposed to be together. “I never got to drink cocoa with them, they never opened my presents with me and I never got a happy New Year hug. As a kid I was happy because I was still innocent and believed it was fine but when I grew up I realized how stupid I was. It was also in Christmas that they said I was the new CEO of their company and that they were leaving to I-don’t-know-where to get their deserved “vacations” and leave all the ing work to me. I have never seen them again.”

Ok, so it wasn’t the typical rich child case and to this siwon didn’t know how to react. What do you say to a kid that has never gotten his parents love? By now kyuhyun must have been crying but he didn’t have any tears left.

“All this time they just saw me as another employee”

“I’m sorry” siwon said and it was true. He took his cup away and hugged kyuhyun as tight as he could. Now he knows why he was so cold.

“This why I brought you here” said kyuhyun, his face buried in siwon’s chest.

“Eh?”

“You feel so warm” that place, between siwon’s arms, was better than standing in front of the chimney. “Please… don’t go.”

“I’m not leaving, not until morning” responded siwon, caressing the young master’s back.

“Not even in the morning,” kyuhyun looked up and gasped at his closeness with siwon. “I… have never felt this before; you can’t leave me like this”

Siwon smiled at brushed his fingers through the caramel hair; he had an idea of how kyuhyun was feeling like since he was pretty sure he was feeling the same too but he was still a stranger. “Kyuhyun, I have to come back to my parents. I can’t stay here without them knowing where I am, they will be worried”

Kyuhyun hugged siwon tighter and curled under siwon’s embrace. “If you are leaving then at least keep me warm tonight, I fear that when you leave I will become cold again.”

Siwon didn’t have another answer but to take kyuhyun’s chin in his hand and kiss the boy. He was tired of the words and he wanted to show that he was affected by this man too. It was a very sweet kiss, a light pressure waiting for a response. When kyuhyun’s lips opened siwon took a step further inserted his tongue into his mouth, turning the innocent kiss into a more passionate one. They kissed until they had to take a breath but even then they gave each other little kisses in between.

“I think I can stay for a while” said siwon when kyuhyun rested against him, still hugging.

“That sounds very good” responded a sleepy kyuhyun between yawns.

“Merry Christmas” said siwon, or that’s what kyuhyun thought he heard before falling in a deep sleep, the best he had ever gotten in any Christmas.

The next morning, all the employees were very surprised to find their master sleeping in the living room and cuddled up with a stranger but they didn’t want to interrupt. It was their first time to see him sleeping so peacefully. They wanted to know who the stranger was but they could ask when he wakes up. The housekeeper and the driver looked at each other with smiles; maybe they will get New Year’s Eve free this year.

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Hope you liked it ^^ Happy Birthday Appa!  love you! (siwonniefan)