"Oomph~"

Yonghwa hissed as he hopped around on one leg and held his other foot up. He'd hit his shin against a chair leg as he tried to move around in the dark.

Darn, this Santa thing is too hard, he thought angrily, wincing and biting his lip as waves of pain continued to radiate from his shin. Setting down his sack on the floor, he sat on the couch and took off the boot from the painful leg. He sat there for a couple of minutes massaging his shin.

A week before, he and his wife had been talking.

"Honey, you have to do it again," Seohyun said as she sat at her vanity table, writing up a list. "But why?! The kids are all big now, and they all probably don't believe in Santa anymore," he complained as he laid sprawled in their bed.

"But Yongyong's still 4, he needs his Santa," his wife replied, continuing her list.Yonghwa raised his head on one arm, trying to peek into her list. "So, who's been naughty and who's been nice?!" he teased.

Seohyun turned away from her list and looked at him pointedly."Which list do you want to get on?" she asked with a serious face. Yonghwa was stumped at trying to think up an answer.

"Fine, I'll do it!" he cried out, crossing his arms as he turned away from her and sulked. Seohyun suppressed a giggle as she grinned to herself, watching her choding roll around in bed. "Great! You're on the nice list now honey," she said as she knelt on bed and tried to coax her husband to face her. He stubbornly kept his face away from her, sulking like a little child."Oh, come on honey, the kids will enjoy it!" Seohyun cooed, rubbing his back soothingly. Yonghwa finally huffed and turned towards her and lifted an index finger.

"This is the last time, alright Hyun-ah, the last time!" he warned. His wife gave him a huge smile and nodded. He sighed in relief, then suddenly lunged and trapped her within his embrace.Leaning his forehead against hers, he looked into her eyes and whispered."Now that I'm on the Nice list," he said, a knowing grin spreading on his face, "How about getting on the naughty list for a bit?" he said, wiggling his eyebrows. Seohyun squealed as she playfully struggled against her husband's attack...

☃✧☃✧☃✧☃✧☃✧☃

Yonghwa sighed as he looked up towards the staircase, continuing to rub his aching leg. Somewhere upstairs, his beautiful wife was asleep in their king-sized bed. Their five lovely kids were all in their beds as well, while here he was, stumbling around in the dark in a stuffy Santa suit, pretending to be Santa for a sleeping audience.

Sighing deeply, he laid down in the couch and settled himself comfortably. He could still remember the previous times he'd been the Secret Santa. His wife had always insisted that he wear the costume, just in case one of the kids woke up and saw him.

He grinned widely as he boasted to the empty room. "I've never been caught, ever!" he spoke out loud, rubbing his fake white beard with one hand.

"Santa? Is that really you?"

Yonghwa froze as he heard a little voice from the direction of the staircase. He kept quiet for a while, holding his breath and not moving a muscle. He actually tried to squeeze himself into the cushions of the couch.

Little footsteps ran from the staircase and stopped in front of him. Yonghwa had turned his face inward, facing the back of the couch. He remained as quiet as a mouse.

"Santa?" the little voice whispered again. Yonghwa pretended to snore.

"Santa? Why are you sleeping on our couch?" the little voice whispered again. Yonghwa debated with himself, but finally decided to play his role. He turned around and found a wide-eyed Yongyong in his pajamas, staring at him in wonderment.

"Santa get up! You'll be late for the other kids' presents!" little Yongyong said, tugging on his suit.

"Ho ho ho Merry Christmas, Yongyong!" Yonghwa said in his best imitation of Santa's booming voice. He rolled up into a sitting position, which was quite a feat especially with his huge, costume belly.

Lil' Yongyong gasped and covered his mouth with his hands. His eyes grew rounder and he stared at him in awe.

"Y-you know my name?" the little boy asked slowly, very much surprised.

Yonghwa cleared his throat before speaking again in his Santa voice. "Of course I know your name, little boy! I know all the kids' names! I even know your noonas' names," he said, and he proceeded to tick off his daughters' names one by one on his fingers.

Yongyong giggled and clapped his hands in delight. "Whoah, you really ARE Santa!" he cried out, then lunged at Yonghwa with a tight hug. The father smiled fondly as he hugged the little boy back.

The child then saw the huge red sack on the floor. "Are those presents?" he asked, his eyes as big as saucers again.

"Yes!" Yonghwa replied with a smile. "Would you like to see yours?" he offered as he reached for the sack.

The little boy's smile suddenly disappeared, and he hung his head sadly.

"But Santa~ I don't think I have a present in that sack," he whispered sadly, tweedling his thumbs behind him.

Yonghwa stopped untying the sack, surprised at the little boy's sudden change in mood. He leaned against the back of the couch as he looked at his youngest and only boy.

Lil' Yongyong looked up at him, his eyes starting to become pools of crystals. "Santa, can I make a confession?" he asked with a sigh. He sounded older than a three-year-old toddler. Yonghwa couldn't help but nod.

The little boy sighed and sat beside him on the couch, leaning against him. Yonghwa wrapped an arm around his sad shoulders."You see Santa, I'm pretty sure I'm not on the Nice list this year," the little boy said as he started on his tale of woe. The father grinned behind his fake beard, finding it all a bit too funny. The child didn't notice anything.

"I've been a naughty boy, Santa. You see, I've been bothering my noonas all year. I've been teasing Hyunnie noona a lot, coz she's always busy. I want to play with her sometimes, but she prefers playing with Jonghoon hyung," the little boy said, sighing deeply. Yonghwa kept silent and pat the little boy's shoulder as he continued his laments.

"HeRan noona always yells at me when I borrow some of her pink stuff. I just want her to play with me, too," he said, sniffing. "And then Hwayoung noona, well, she plays ball with me sometimes, but lately she's starting to wear pink a lot, too, and I'm afraid she'll start to be like HeRan noona, so~" Yongyong took a deep breath before whispering, "I hid all her pink stuff."

Yonghwa's smile grew wider as the confession progressed. He never thought such deep concerns were held inside his four-year-old's mind. Wow, I've got smart kids, he thought proudly.

"And then there's MeeYon noona. Well, we do play together a lot, but the other day she brought all her dolls and left to play with her friends, so I felt so lonely, and my toys were lonely, too, so~~ I painted her mirror," the little boy's voice was getting softer.

"And then Omma got angry when she saw me painting MeeYon noona's mirror, and said to wait till Appa gets back from Japan~~"

YongYong gave one last big sigh and stood up to face Santa.

"So you see Santa, I don't deserve a present this year. Can you just please not let Appa know what I did? Then maybe he could bring me something from Japan~~" his voice trailed off.

Yonghwa cleared his throat again, this time because he was so touched with his kid's confession."Alright Yongyong," he said as he ruffled the kid's hair. "I won't tell your Appa anything."

The little boy's face lit up at his words. "And please Santa, could you make sure he comes home safely from Japan, too? That would be the best Christmas ever! We'll all be together tomorrow," the little boy pleaded.

Yonghwa felt choked up at the little boy's words. He simply gave a nod in reply. "Yey thank you Santa!" he said, clapping with joy and hugging him."Okay, you can go now. Oh, and please don't forget to leave presents for my noonas, alright?" Yongyong said before running upstairs towards his room."Good night Santa! Merry Christmas!" he called out from the stairs as he walked up excitedly.

Yonghwa sat in silence for a couple of moments, brooding. He wasn't sure exactly what had just happened, but one thing's for sure: he and his wife had the best kids in the world. Chuckling and shaking his head, he proceeded with his job of stuffing the stockings hanging on the mantelpiece.

As he opened Hyunnie's stocking, a card that said "Dear Santa" was stuffed in it. Yonghwa pulled it out and read:

Dear Appa,

Yeah, I've always known it was you all along since I was 3. I saw you stumble and your beard fell off ㅋ ㅋ ㅋ ㅋ ㅋ

I still love you for pretending all these years, though.

P.S. The twins know, too. We watch you every Christmas Eve from the top of the stairs. Please don't make a mess of it this year, MeeYon and YongYong don't know yet.I love you! Merry Christmas to the coolest Appa in the world ♡

☃✧☃✧☃✧☃✧☃✧☃

Yonghwa slipped into bed and hugged his sleeping wife from behind. She sighed as she woke up from slumber.

"Are you done?" Seohyun asked sleepily as she turned and wrapped her arms around her husbands neck. Yonghwa started kissing her all over her face and neck. She giggled despite her half-awake condition.

"What's that all about?" she asked as her husband continued attacking her playfully.

"Have I ever told you I love you? And that you're the best wife and mother in the world?" he said, showering kisses along his wife's collarbone.

"Yes, I think you have, several times," she replied breathlessly.Yonghwa came up to look at her."Well, I love you sweetheart, and thank you for being the best mother to our awesome kids... Merry Christmas..." he whispered before kissing her with all the love and joy he felt.

~Merry Christmas chingoo-deul~