48. The First, Second, Third, and Fourth Days of Christmas
[Drabble Collection] One Hundred Kissɛs1-
On Christmas Day, Jongin gives Soojung a red envelope. Inside, is a card.
Unevenly spaced lines, drawn in a fading black, create unevenly spaced boxes on the left side of the card. The structure of the boxes turns Soojung’s mouth into a frown. There are twelve rows, with only one box on the first row. The boxes increase by one per row, two in the second, three in the third, and so on, until the last row contains the longest row, of twelve boxes.
On the right side, is Jongin’s handwriting.
‘I can’t promise this every year.
But to thank you for marrying me,
I’ll promise,
I’ll always put this much effort into whatever I do when it comes to you, my Jung Soojung.’
Jongin doesn’t answer the puzzled question she poses after she’s read the card. He simply takes her cheeks in his large hands, and presses love to her lips, the subtle bloatedness of his thick lips in the morning taking her by surprise.
Then, with a cheeky smile and sleepy eyes, he takes a pen, drawing a check in the very first box at the very top row in Soojung’s little Christmas card.
2-
It’s difficult for Soojung to get up the morning after Christmas, and after many attempts, Jongin finally scoops her up from the bed, dropping her feet first to the cold tiles of the bathroom. Then holding her close, she’s fully awake to another bloated-lip kiss to start her morning. As Soojung washes up, he checks the first box on the second row of the card he gave her on Christmas. She tilts her head at him and he only smiles back.
Some time later in the day when Soojung finally catches a breath from a flurry of her mother-in-law, her sisters-in-law, and a couple, hyper nieces-in-law, Jongin hugs her and her hair gently, meeting his lips with hers in a pleasantly understanding gesture, of admiration and thanks. Soojung appreciates the little moment, but runs off to tend to a loving call from her father-in-law soon after. She doesn’t see the card until just before she slips into the bed in Jongin’s room, Jongin waiting on the bed with a sleepy smile. The second box on the second row, has a solid check.
3-
Soojung is more exhausted than she realizes, and knocks out immediately when Jongin’s car pulls out onto the road back home. She awakes to a hand tilting her head, followed by her husband’s lips, undoubtedly recognizable just by the plush fit even when her eyes are closed. He’s out of the car when her eyes are fully opened, off to the trunk to cart food, gifts, and other luggage neatly packed by her mother-in-law, all the way up to their 7th floor apartment.
When Soojung is packing her mother-in-law’s cuisines into the fridge, Jongin pads over to the kitchen, that same, little Christmas card with the odd grid in his hand. He shows her the black ink check on the first square of the third row.
The rest of the day is lazy. Soojung doesn’t even have to cook, only wash dishes after their dinner, and Jongin decides to creep up behind her while she’s washing, circling her waist.
“Look this way.”
She does without protest and is caught with a long kiss that leaves the water running over her hands for a long time.
They both have work in the morning, but neither of them end up resisting the temptation. So they make love, rather early for bedtime, and when Soojung feels the comfort of their mattress for the first time in days, fully with her , Jongin is muttering to himself above her.
“I guess on the earlier days this thing does have its disadvantages…”
And to Soojung’s dismay, the whole night, Jongin kisses her once, only once.
“Sorry Soojung, I have to go by the card.”
4-
In the morning, the third row is fully checked. Kim Jongin tracks the whereabouts of the card religiously as he washes up, puts on a tidy suit, and packs up his briefcase. Soojung hands him his usual mug of coffee to go. He thanks her with a quick, but sincere, kiss. He’s a little tight on time.
“Soojung, check the first box for me?”
As she does, Soojung reads over Jongin’s handwriting in the card again. She smiles and scoffs at the same time.
For his too short lunch break Jongin insists on swinging by Soojung’s studio, scarfing his sandwich down like an animal, and rinsing with mouthwash just to pull her into a dark corner behind a few mannequins, and kiss love into her soft breath. Her co-designers and interns coo at her all day.
A kiss of relief at coming home to Soojung and a fusion of her own cooking with her mother-in-law’s.
Wrapped in the blankets in bed, Jongin checks the rest of the boxes in the fourth row. Soojung pretends not to notice too much. Whether he wants her to react different or not, she doesn’t know, because he just leaves the card on the nightstand, turns off the lamp light, and pulls her into his arms, for the last good-night kiss.
Happy Holidays from Jellyfriedgreen7~!
It's been a long time since I've updated this, right? (I think...) So my mission for the next few chapters of this collection is to bring you guys Kaistal's 12 Days of Christmas! /Cheers/ Please, I beg of you, don't die from all the cheesiness. I know. I'm terrible. -_-
On another note, I ended up writing a mini-fic for a Secret Santa gift this Christmas, so if you're a HunHan shipper, go click! ->>
Sorry about the poster. I'm still working on those graphic art skills. T.T
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By Jellyfriedgreen7
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