The glowing sign hanging above the crowds confirmed that the flight from Seoul to Tokyo would be soon departing. Taemin’s droopy, pajama dressed frame was dragged through the huge airport by a completely opposite, energetic boy. “Come on! Hurry, I don’t want to be late!” A yawn escaped his dry lips as he nearly stumbled upon his own legs. “I’m tired…” He whined trying to keep up with the speedy figure. “We’re almost there!” They reached a line of people waiting in front of the security check. The older boy checked the fashionable watch laced around his wrist. “6:12AM… We have 10 minutes to talk! See? Running here was all worth it!” The rolling suitcases came to a stop, being levelled as released. “You know Ruki, I think you’re the only person I know who goes back home for a vacation. Usually, it’s the other way around.” The tall boy laughed, fixing his hair. “Well I want to go see my parents for Christmas. Might as well stay there for the week right? I’ll be back for New Year’s though. I don’t think I’ve had enough of this place yet. And I definitely didn’t get enough of you, Tae-chan. I’ll miss you so much, it’ll be unbearable!” He brought the small boy for a tight hug, Taemin responding just as enthusiastically. “I’ll miss you too Ruki. It’ll be pretty quiet without you.” They held onto each other for a few minutes as Ruki listed his future plans. “I’ll buy you lots of stuff!” He began. “Oh Ruki, you know you don’t have to do that! I don’t want to be in debt to you.” He complained, resting his cheek against the boy’s warm chest. “I know I don’t have to and I’ll never expect anything back from you. I just want to shower you with gifts. I like buying stuff for you! Speaking of which, you’re wearing that shirt I got you last time! Well, one of them. You look so kawaii! Taemin, I changed my mind about this trip!” His tired eyes widened as he looked unbelievably at the boy. “Wait, you’re not going?” His nose got pinched, his head shaken back and forth. “No, I am. But you’re going to get into my suitcase and coming with me. I’ll show you Japan and I can introduce you to my parents!” Taemin laughed, the sound muffled by the elder’s coat. “Are they going to be my future in laws? Has it been decided?” Instead of getting a laugh back, he got a frown. “Nyaa~ see, you’re making it so hard to leave!” An announcement reminding people of soon departing planes rung out. “I have to go now… I’ll text you when I arrive.” He leaned down and gave Taemin a firm kiss on the forehead while he squeezed the boy’s hand. “Can I get a kiss back?” Ruki asked, pulling away with reflective eyes. Taemin nodded, leaning up and giving Ruki a kiss back. The taller boy smiled, looking away while wiping his eyes on his sleeve. “I’m terrible with good byes… don’t disappear while I’m gone or something, okay Tae-chan?” Taemin nodded. “I won’t. I’ll be waiting here until you come back. So don’t disappear on me too.” The boy’s face fell into his cupped hands as his tone of voice rose, giving Taemin a shove. “You’re so mean Tae-chan! I’m leaving!” Taemin withdrew his hand from Ruki’s, waving. “Bye, bye!” Ruki angrily messed up Taemin’s hair, blushing as he sniffled. “Buh-bye Tae-chan.” He waved, skipping off past the metal detectors, turning around and offering a final wave before marching through the door. Now alone, Taemin shoved his hands into his jacket. He walked over to the large windows facing the landing strip. After a while, a giant plane made its way down the strip. He pressed his hot forehead against the cold glass, a chill running down his back. Whether Ruki could see him or not that very moment, he shaped a small heart with his hands. He made a popping noise with his lips, pushing himself off the screen as he began searching for exit signs. Taemin dug out a few bills Ruki gave him earlier on the ride here.

“Taemin, thank you so much for driving me off so early in the morning.”

“It’s really… ah, It’s really no big deal.”

“I made you get up so early. Here, Tae-chan. I’ll pay for the taxi back, okay?”

“No, you really don’t have to.”

“Accept this! It’s the last thing I can give you before I see you again. Hey don’t fall asleep!”

“Yeah… okay.”

“I’m just going to put It in your pocket, okay Tae-chan?”

“Uhu…”

                He made his way out of the airport, standing at the pickup and drop off area. He called in a taxi and hopped in, mumbling his address to the driver as the engine roared. He watched the street around him fade into a blur as the driver came onto the highway, other cars speeding along side theirs. He hadn’t gotten up this early in a long time. He had a few hours until his last day of school before the holidays started on top of that so he’d have to do a whole lot of nothing at home. It was another rainy day. Despite the cold weather, very little snow had fallen in comparison to the buckets of rain. There was even a flood warning in certain parts of the country. So much for a white Christmas, Taemin thought to himself hearing the splashing of the wheels hitting the puddles along the roads and highways. Soon enough, he was back at home in the comfortable warm of his tiny, one room apartment. The bottoms of his pajama pants were soaked from the piled mush atop the streets. He kicked off his running shoes which he put on in a rush a couple of hours earlier and shed his jacket. He staggered across the room like a zombie, falling against the plush cushions that had become icy cold overnight. He forced his arm to the coffee table where he reached the remote and the television. A depressing thunderstorm forecast was predicted for the next few days, maybe even a week or two, the newscasters groaning about how the perfect dream was a white, snowy Christmas, but they were getting the opposite. Luckily though, it snowed all day on Christmas and only began to shower around midnight. He leaned into the body heated couch, his eyelids resting, closed. Christmas. My parents didn’t call to tell me if they’re coming or not for sure. That’s so frustrating. I guess I should just assume they’re not. He tugged his shirt over his head, taking his arms out of the sleeves and burrowing inside of the piece of clothing, trying to save the hot air from escaping. I guess I should tell Minho I’ll spend it with him. Or should I? What if it’s too late? Maybe he changed his mind? What if I say I accepted his offer but he doesn’t want that anymore but he feels too bad to turn me down? Oh man… He scratched his scalp trying to avoid confusing himself and having second thoughts. “Why can’t there just be a flood so that I don’t have to go to school today? It doesn’t have to be anything big. I don’t live on ground level so a few feet are fine… besides, it’s the last day…” He sighed to himself, sitting up, staring at the still clock. He looked at his phone, opening it to the five contacts he had. Umma and Appa are busy, working as usual, and I get charged a lot of money for sending texts outside of Seoul. Minho’s now the only person I can talk to. I’m not complaining. There was a time when I had no one at all. I’ll… I’ll tell him I want to spend Christmas with him. If I can, He added. He prepared to send a text entering Minho’s name into the empty space.

To: Minho
Subject: Christmas
Message: Annyeong Hyung! How are you?
You’re probably still sleeping, huh? I just
wanted to say that if the offer is still there,
I’d really like to spend Christmas with you
and your parents! If that’s still okay… if it’s
not, that’s fine too! Don’t worry about it!

                He stood up, walking over to the bathroom where he reached for his brush and a hair band, brushing his hair back high in a ponytail, dissatisfied by the random strands that refused to fall into place with the others. He shaped his bangs neatly at the side of his face, smiling in the mirror as if in preparation for taking a picture. He squished his cheeks together, forcing them to spread vertically, making him imitate a fish. “These chubby cheeks will be the death of me.” He stopped, disappointment evident as if he thought squeezing them would make them slim. He reached for his makeup bag, courtesy of Ruki, and applied some eyeliner to the corner of his eyes followed by some BB cream under his eyes to hide his dark bags. He turned to leave the bathroom, trying to think of other things to occupy his time.

                When he was at home, he wished he could just leave for school already, but now that he was at school, he wished he could just go home. Luckily for him, most of his classes would consist of easy work due to the fact it was the last day before vacation. Despite that, each teacher still found the nerve to assign a project or essay for over the break. Around 8 o’clock, in his first period, his phone vibrated. He checked it to see a text from a certain Japanese boy.

From: Ruki-Chan~ <3
Message: Hallo Tae-chan! I’ve arrived! The
flight was so boring, it was horrible. I miss
you already! Are you at school now? You
are. I hope you’re not being a bad boy and
falling asleep in class, hai? Anyways, text
me when you get home from school or
something! XOXO Tae-chan! Daisuki da yo!

                He quickly replied with a short “I’m glad you had a safe flight, I’ll talk to you later Ruki! <3” and slid his phone back into his pocket. He looked up at the rest of the class, some wearing Santa hats, chattering away. He tried not to stare at anyone too long, knowing it would only get him in trouble. In his third period class, they had done a secret Santa activity in which they were all given the name of another student for which they had to get a gift for a maximum of 20 dollars. He got the name of a girl he didn’t really know her, but he didn’t really know anyone. “Alright everyone, please give your secret Santa gift to whoever you got.” Taemin turned around, pulling a small pink bag with a pale purple bow attached to it. He stood up hesitantly before swallowing his fears and walking over to the girl and her group of friends. “Excuse me?” The girls stopped their giggling and turned to Taemin, giving him a few too many glares, making him shrink back. “Ew, I think he got one of us…” A girl spoke up. All of them followed up with a disgusted groan. “I just wanted to give you this really quickly, Subin.” He reached out, handing her the bag. “Oh God, kill me now. What is it? A pack of crayons?” She held the bag between her two fingers as if it was covered with disease. “Uhm, no, actually, sorry if this sounds creepy, but I hear you talk about that one boy band a lot, so I got you their newest CD. I mean, I don’t know if you already have it or not, but that’s why I put a gift receipt in there.” The girl suspiciously peaked into the bag, her expression completely changing for one second, fighting with disgust when all that was inside of her was happiness and surprise. All her friends tried to muffle their squeals as she pulled out a photo book and a cd while she looked up at Taemin. “Th-thanks…” Taemin nodded, quickly backing away to his seat, unaware of the joyous unwrapping going on behind him. He pulled out his seat and sat back down. He noticed a tiny box on the corner of his desk with his name written on it. He knew was afraid that it was something to ridicule and humiliate him judging by the flowers on the wrapping paper. He put it away, keeping to himself the rest of the class like before.

                He arrived at home, out of the weary weather. He had just managed to reach the living room, feet away from his bed, when someone knocked on the door. His head hung at the thought of having to walk back to the door. Just as he turned the doorknob, the door came open in his direction and his feet left the ground as his body was thrown over a shoulder. A wet, dark haired boy came through, shutting the door behind him with his foot. “Minho, what are you doing?” He got dropped onto the couch as Minho sat down on the floor in front of him, hugging him around his waist and he rested his head on the younger boys thigh. “Minho, is everything alright?” The older boy shook his head. “What’s wrong?” He asked, placing his hands on the damp boys head. “I’m so sad.” Taemin frowned at the words, gently scratching Minho’s scalp. “What’s wrong?” The boy looked down at his bag, fishing something out, lifting it up. “Look at the lens. Look at it.” He raised a camera to Taemin’s face, the same camera Taemin recognized as Minho’s camera. The lens was severely shattered, a spider web of cracks decorating it. “How did this happen?” He felt the glass, nearly cutting his finger. “Today during school, the teacher bumped into me and it flew out of my hand and down some rocks. It still works but what kind of picture are you going to take with a shattered lens?” He was clearly very upset and Taemin felt horrible that he couldn’t help. “Um… how much does it cost to replace it?” Minho sniffled, peaking up. “Too much.” He crawled up onto the couch, pulling his portable laptop out of his bag and onto his lap, opening it. “Did you look it up?” Minho leaned against Taemin, sliding the computer onto the smaller boys lap. “The one I have isn’t sold anymore and this is the closest one to it.” His thin finger pointed at one of the lenses on the screen, circling it. “Five hundred ninety nine dollars? Wow.” Minho nodded, sinking further into it. “The one I’d really like is that one, but it’s a whole six hundred dollars out of my budget.” He pointed to another one with a red ‘$799.99’ underneath the picture. “Nikon eighteen dash two hundred millimetre VR II IF dash ED Lens?” Taemin asked, struggling to read the full name. “Yeah. It was something I was hoping to upgrade to when I saved up enough money, but I guess I’ll have to wait a few more years. I have to find a cheap one to use, I guess. I’m going to go use the bathroom.” He stood up, walking over to the white door across the room. “Ne.” The moment the door closed, Taemin reached down his bag for his pencil case, ping it and grabbing of his pencil hurriedly, nearly dropping it. He scrawled down the name of the camera lens, scrunching it up and shoving it down his pocket just as the toilet was flushed, Minho coming out, wiping his hands on his pants a few seconds later. Taemin tucked the pencil behind his ear, smiling as he patted the space beside him. “Do you want a drink?” Minho plopped back down nodding as he took his laptop back. “I was actually about to ask for one.” Taemin jumped up, skipping over to the kitchen where he took out a mug and some coffee beans. “Is coffee fine?” Taemin asked, looking over at the seated boy. “You’re just reading my mind right now, aren’t you? You don’t drink coffee though, so how are you going to make it?” Taemin put the beans in a grinder, powering it up. “I remembered my parents used to drink coffee. Well they still do, but they’re not around so they don’t use this thing. Anyways, they dropped it off at my place last time they were here and it’s kind of just been lying around here, so I dug it up. I made coffee for my parents a few times but I’m far from a barista, so you’ll probably spit it out right after you try it.” Once he grinded the beans, he put one spoonful into his drip coffeemaker and filled it with cold water. He let the coffeemaker get down to work while he turned around. “Hey Hyung, what do you call a cow who’s just given birth?” He leaned back against the counter as the machine hummed. “What? I don’t know.” Minho asked, confused at the sudden question. “Just guess!” Taemin insisted. “Uh… I really don’t know.” Taemin’s smile spread across his face as Minho finished his sentence. “De-calf-einated! Ba-dam-ts!” He said, his fingers imitating a drumming motion. Minho stared at him, dumb founded. “Get it? Because coffee is decaffeinated… and like if I cow gives birth… the calf is out.. so.. Never mind.” He said, disappointed, turning around to receive the finished cup of coffee. After a moment of silence, Minho snorted, standing and walking up behind Taemin, surprising the young boy as he turned around into a hug. “Thanks for cheering me up.” Taemin smiled while handing Minho the cup of freshly brewed coffee. “Oh, and about Christmas, I got your text. I called my parents to let them know you’d be coming along with me. They’re ecstatic to meet you. Also, I know I’m really late, but I’ve been so busy with school that I haven’t had a chance to go shopping for presents. Seeing as tomorrow is literally the last opportunity, do you want to tag along and help me out?” He took a sip of the coffee, looking astonished. “Wow, this is really good! Maybe I should stop going to coffee shops and come here instead to save some money.” He joked, making Taemin giggle. “Thanks. Uh, yeah. I want to go shopping with you. I have nothing to do anyways.” Taemin admitted, wiping Minho’s lips of the dark brown drink with his sleeve. “Alright, you can help me pick out something for my mom then. I never know what to get her but two minds are better than one, right?” Taemin smiled, nodding. “Of course.” 

A/N: Wow, this is the earliest I've ever updated on a Sunday. Super proud of myself. //Self-high-five.