It didn’t get more Christmas-like than this.

                Choi Sooyoung stared delighted and wide-eyed at the colourful lights and lanterns that decorated the street she was walking on. It was nearly ten in the morning and on a normal day, she would still be asleep at this time. But today wasn’t any ordinary day. As a travel journalist, her job was to do one thing and one thing only. That was to document the culture and traditions and tourist attractions in a country.

It was her job yet it was more than that.

It was what she loved to do.

                Her latest assignment had brought her to Manila and Christmas was just a mere two hours away. She was far away from home yet the experience made up for it. She had befriended a bunch of locals and they all insisted that she attend what was called as Misa De Gallo, the mass celebrated close to midnight of Christmas Eve. There was a Church nearby where she lived and it was only a short walk.

Being awake and having to walk at this time of the night had more meaning when she was told there was going to be a lot of food carts outside after the mass.

                Pushing the thoughts of food to the side, she was thankful for the opportunity to go to mass before Christmas. Being someone who transferred from one place to another made it hard for her to stick with a definite schedule. A sense of stability for the meantime felt good and she treasured it; a smile making its way to her lips as she entered the premises of the Church.

                People – both locals and foreigners – were pilling in slowly yet surely and Sooyoung was thankful that she found a seat near the altar. The smile on her face widened as she exchanged greetings of Merry Christmas with people she didn’t know. She wished she had her friends with her. She was certain they would love the experience. Making a mental note to invite her friends to the country for vacation next time, Sooyoung was too immersed in her thoughts to notice someone standing by the end of the pew.

“Excuse me, is this seat taken?”

                Sooyoung turned her head; her eyes nearly popping out of their sockets when she realized it was Kai standing there with a smile on his face. He was smiling like everything was normal instead of the fact that he was in another country just a few hours away from Christmas. Sooyoung blinked repeatedly to check if she wasn’t just seeing things, rubbing the sleepiness off her eyes for good measure.

The smile on his face only widened. “Is this seat taken?”

She slowly shook her head, still not believing what she was seeing as he sat down beside her. “Kai? What are you doing here?”

“Celebrating Christmas with you, of course.” Kai rolled his eyes good naturedly. “Took me a while to get my brother to allow me to go so don’t send me away, alright?”

The brunette could easily picture one Kim Heechul doing exactly that. “You really went all the way here to just celebrate Christmas with me?”

He nodded proudly before his face turned solemn. “I was getting lonely without you, noona.”

                Sooyoung opened to reply but the voice of the lector cut her off as the mass began. There were so many things to say yet the two fell silent and concentrated on the mass. Those things could wait. As the choir’s beautiful voices enveloped the Church, it was beginning to feel more and more like Christmas.

Especially when it was time to give peace, Kai received a kiss

Prompt: Philippines

Happy Holidays to all SooKai shippers out there!