12-

 “Soojung, I think your husband might have dropped his brain in the toilet this morning. It looks like he thought today was Valentine’s Day.”

Soojung looks up from her mannequin and jumps back. Her co-design s a box and a bouquet of red roses in her arms. Marked clearly on a tag attached to the roses and a sticker on the box, the package is from Jongin.

“How can anyone mistake January for Valentine’s Day? Soojung, is everything alright with your husband? Your marriage?”

Soojung giggles and assures her co-designer that everything is fine. She lugs the box and bouquet to a fairly clean table on her side of the studio. The roses give off a sweet scent.

She considers phoning her husband before deciding to just open the lid. Inside is just a jaw-dropping gape on Soojung’s part. A tray of twelve, pink and red cupcakes and pink and white rice cakes, a heart-shaped box of chocolates, a thin, sleek, photo album, and two envelopes.

A note on the cupcakes and rice cakes directs her to pass them out to the studio, which Soojung obliges before further delving in the box. Everyone asks questions, and Soojung can’t exactly answer them, just laughing them off.

Considering passing out the chocolates and then waving the thought off, Soojung opens up the two envelopes first. The first, she finds, contains a restaurant ticket and brochure, with Jongin’s scribbled note on a sticky note: ‘Dress nicely! I’ll pick you up straight after work.’

Jongin has never been a flamboyant date planner or gift showerer, so the twelve course restaurant dinner reservation confuses Soojung even more. She tentatively puts the ticket aside, opting for the second envelope. Soojung’s inside lurches a bit. It’s the little Christmas Card.

The last twelve boxes remain unchecked. A small note from Jongin says, ‘Later tonight, check the last twelve for me.’ Soojung wonders if he just forgot to check the two from that morning – a goodmorning kiss and goodbye kiss, now a habit Soojung will be sad to break soon.

And she can’t help but read his best, neatest handwriting in the card, from the first day of Christmas.

‘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.’

The evident effort of the contents in front of her, puts a pang in her heart. Jongin is disorganized and spontaneous, and the amount of planning for the things in front of makes her envision her sweating husband, trying so hard to get it all, just right.

Finally, Soojung opens the photo album. The photographs that greet her, draw a clear, melodic laugh from , earning glances from co-workers around her.

They’re Jongin’s twelve closest friends, namely Soojung and Jongin’s odd but inseparable group of friends that get together every special occasion, such as Sulli’s New Year party. And each of them pose in some form of kissing mode for the camera. Minseok, Luhan, Junmyun, Yixing, Baekhyun, Chanyeol, Kyungsoo, Tao, Sehun, Taemin, Moongyu. In the following pages, Soojung laughs again, looking into kissy faces of the other half of that circle, Soojung friends who happen to be married to each of Jongin’s friends. Sehun unintentionally makes another appearance in Sulli’s photo, reminding her of countless days in high school and college of Sehun photobombing Sulli for every single photo she’d ever tried to take.

Following, Soojung smiles at photos of her family. Her mom and dad, Sooyeon and Kris, Soojung’s parents-in-law, her sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law.

Photos of herself she hadn’t seen in ages, come before photos of Jongin she hadn’t seen in ages. Where her husband possibly dug these out from, she just shakes her head lightly. The photos of them together are awkward and beautiful in their unique way. One of the first photos they took after becoming a couple, back in high school, gets her wiping her eyes. He’s put in three photos from their wedding and honeymoon, making her grab a tissue.

When the photos end and a few blank pages lead to the back cover of the album, Soojung counts the empty pockets. Twelve. Closing the album and placing her hands over it, Soojung breathes, catching herself. She eats her cupcake and rice cake. A medley of unspeakable affection and confusion toward Jongin makes her move stiffly the rest of the day.

-

It’s winter and a dress would be just ridiculous, so Soojung picks out dressy pants and a blouse. Jackson trails her as she fixes up her hair and makeup.

Of course, Kim Jongin is awkward, blushing, and clumsy. In the nicest restaurant Soojung has ever been to in Seoul, Soojung and Jongin sort of look like they belong, with Jongin’s handsome jawline and loose fitting suit, and Soojung’s clean makeup and black locks. But they aren’t the kind of people who actually belong there, and they know it.

Jongin, who’s been pushing off the questions until they got seated, now has nowhere to run.

“So. Explain to me. What was all that you sent me today?”

Soojung’s husband scratches the back of his head sheepishly. He sips water, wiping his hands on his pants.

“I heard, there’s a western song about the 12 days of Christmas, how the guy gets his girlfriend a bunch of presents each day… and well I just wanted to make the last day stand out. To prove, you know, I meant what I wrote in that card, I really worked hard, Soojung. It… was hard…”

Soojung’s outburst of laughter fills their reserved room briefly until a server arrives with their 1^st course. Honestly, Soojung doesn’t know what to do, how to respond. She’s terrible at putting her feelings out, and she’s terrible at being romantic.

“The twelve blank photo pockets, we’re supposed to fill them with twelve new photos this year.”

And Jongin holds up a white polaroid camera, which Soojung suspects was used for the more recent photos.

On the fourth course, Soojung drops a bad question.

“Did you get this idea from Taemin too?”

Soojung instantly regrets it, and Jongin reddens over that dark skin of his. She quickly waves her fork.

“No, don’t answer that. It doesn’t matter, Jongin. It really doesn’t. Just… thank you.”

Just those words are enough to get her husband blushing and grinning.

“You know… I’m so bad with this kind of stuff… If I wanna be a spectacular husband, Soojung, I have to get Taemin’s help. You understand, right?”

Soojung ignores Jongin, placing lemon-scented shrimp in . She shakes her head to herself.

“How does Naeun live like this?”

After twelve whopping courses, Soojung is stuffed, and having trouble acting like she isn’t as she walks through the fancy gate. Jongin’s arm comes winding around her neck and she stops in her heels. His arms tangled around her hold out the polaroid just in front of her, and Soojung’s face stiffens.

“Kimchi, Soojung.”

She manages to smile just as the flash goes off. He lets her take the photo and shake it off while he starts the car. The ride is quiet, Soojung mostly lost in how happy she looks in that square photo, how happy they both look.

MJ comes darting when the door clicks closed. Jongin scoops him up, and Soojung doesn’t know what’s coming when the puppy’s wet nose and tongue slop on her cheek. She just gives a little squeal and narrow eyes the both of them.

“Work pretty busy?”

They’re sitting cross-legged on top of the sheets, facing each other, the photo album and polaroid camera in Soojung’s lap, MJ in Jongin’s.

“It’s going to get busier and busier until the show in two weeks.”

“I’ll be here to relieve your stress, don’t you forget it.”

“But what about yours?”

Jongin doesn’t answer her. He breaks eye contact to grab the photo album in her lap, pulling out the little Christmas card from the front pages. Soojung hadn’t even know it had ended up there. He stretches over to his bedside drawer for a pen, and holds out both to her.

“Check the last twelve boxes for me?”

Inside the flap, the hand-drawn boxes bring tears to the brim, and Soojung works hard to press it all down.

“I don’t remember getting twelve kisses today, Kim Jongin.”

MJ gives a little bark in agreement, and it helps Soojung hold back the last of those tears. Jongin grins, edging himself closer.

It doesn’t happen all the time but it does still happen way too often, at least, in Soojung’s opinion, and it happens this time. Soojung heart starts beating crazily and her eyes flutter in anticipation and there’s a ring in her head because Kim Jongin is coming closer and closer. And his full lips press into her forehead, above her closed eyelids, at the tip of her nose, at her cheekbones, at her lips, at her chin, at the nape of her neck before he nudges her down on the bed.

Soojung is jittery and blushing, and MJ gets lowered onto the floor near his own little puppy bed before a long lock of lips follows.

With lidded eyes and wonderfully plump lips, Jongin looks down at her.

“You’d better check those boxes now. You’re not gonna have time any later.”

Right before Soojung puts the pen on the card flap, using Jongin’s chest since she’s lying down, she bites her lips.

“Does it count if I kiss you?”

Jongin frowns for a moment.

“Didn’t we already talk about this a few days ago?”

Soojung shrugs against the sheets. She goes ahead and speed checks all twelve boxes, practically slamming the card and pen on the bedside drawer after. She grabs her husband her lifts herself up to share her fluttering, nervous breath with him. His lips welcome hers and her fingers tighten against his neck. She’s back down on the bed with Jongin so close to her when they breathe again.

With a smirk, Soojung cups Jongin’s cheeks, tapping them sort of roughly three times.

“You did well, puppy. You did so well, good boy.”

“Hey! Who’re you calling puppy?!”

And it might have been breaking the rules that don’t really exist since they kissed a lot more than twelve times, but Soojung and Jongin don’t care about that. 

The incredibly, just absolutely unforgivably overdue 12th Day of Christmas. Even the ridiculous fluff in this whole, long thing doesn't make up for the fact that the last day of Christmas drabble gets updated in... April. Orz. Plus, let me just apologize with a very ugly, crying face for leaving Jongdae out of Jongin's friend circle TT^TT. I'M SOWIE JONGDAE I WUB YOUUU

Anyways, best of luck to all of you, whom I suppose will be approaching final exams and end of school year tasks like me? 

Lastly, both I and my sister extend our deepest prayers and condolences to the Sewol Ferry tragedy victims, families, and loved ones. 

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By Jellyfriedgreen7