Translations/Notes:

Jeongmal gamsahabnida - Thank you very much

Yongsan Electronics Market - A Huge electronics market, unaccessible by car. Indoor and outdoor.

                Taemin’s eyes lit up as he spotted Minho a few blocks down from his window. The tall boy made his way over under his large black umbrella that matched his black attire. Taemin, on the hand, was dressed in all sorts of shades of reds and pinks, feeling like he matched the season. He skipped over to the door where he put on his pale rain boots and tossed on his thick, fuzzy coat. Before the older boy had even finished walking up the steps, Taemin swung the door open. “Woah-” He began before Taemin fell into his arms, giving Minho a tight hug. “Annyeong Hyung!” Minho squeezed the boy with one arm, keeping the umbrella steady with the other. Taemin pulled away, only to lock the door, before meeting Minho’s chest once more. “You look like a teddy bear.” Minho commented. “Is that a bad thing?” Taemin asked, the urge to go change already flowing into his muscles. “No, not at all. It’s cute. Come closer or else your shoulder’s going to get soaked.” Minho ordered, putting his arm around him. “Hyung, do you have any idea what you want to get your parents yet?” Minho moved his hand in a wavering motion, a ‘maybe, maybe not.’ “I was thinking a necklace for my mom and, I don’t know, a watch for my dad? Or maybe something to do with cars- I don’t know! I’ll see what catches my eye when I get there.” He admitted, looking towards Taemin. “Speaking of jewellery, I’m going to have to inspect your wrist.” He caught Taemin’s gaze as well as his wrist, lifting it up to reveal a leather bracelet with a green bead, vibrant against the gloomy backdrop. “Inspection passed?” Taemin smiled, sliding his hand down slightly, snaking his fingers around Minho’s. “Indeed.” They shared a laugh, walking closely under the umbrella.

                The finally hit the overflowing stores, waiting ten minutes just to simply check the map of the center. He quickly took a picture with his phone, trying to save time. “So let’s not go to more places than necessary, ne?” Taemin nodded, too preoccupied by the crushing force of the hordes of people around him. Minho led them out of the mess, holding onto Taemin’s hand with as much strength as he could, trying not to lose him. “Six stores. Six stores, Taemin. Okay? Bear with me.” He whispered out a ‘yes Hyung’ before latching his fingers onto Minho’s coat.

                They entered the first store which was a blinding white, no colour around the diamond upon diamond jewelry. Minho glanced over a few of the cases before they were approached by an older lady. “Is there anything I can help you two with?” Minho looked over, giving his friendly smile. “Ah, yes. I’m looking for some jewelry as a gift for the holidays.”  The woman ushered them over to one of the larger cabinets, swiping her hand above it as she began speaking. “Our rings start at eight thousand, necklaces start at fourteen thousand, bracelets start at ten thousand, and brooches start at twelve thousand.” Taemin’s lips twitched at the pricing accompanied by a coughing fit from Minho. “Wow, she’d have to be one lucky lady to get the higher up stuff here, huh?” Taemin spoke up as Minho was now concluding his spasm into his sleeve. “Yeah…” The woman smiled politely, pointing out a few specific pieces. “These are our most popular. This is ring here is 18 carat and only costs around thirty thousand. Here’s a cheaper one, not as good as the other one, but still a favourite. It’s nine thousand five hundred.” Minho stared at it for a while before pulling away. “You know, I think you might have just made a deal. I’ll just go outside to make a phone call, okay?” The woman nodded. “Of course.” Minho turned around, bringing Taemin along with him, their leisurely walk turning into a speedy gait. Once they were out, Minho pulled out his phone. He read something off the screen, mumbling to himself before looking around, mentally marking a destination. “Alright, next place.” They headed down another packed hallway as Taemin tugged on Minho’s hand. “I thought you were going to make a call?” He said, slightly confused. “What? Oh, please. That place was too rich for my blood. It should be too rich for anyone’s blood as a matter of fact. Anyways, come this way, stay close. They walked into another store, less prestigious-looking this time. They slowed down, Minho stopping at each shelf and Taemin joining him. “Hey, Hyung, this one looks really pretty.” Taemin pointed out a bracelet with protruding red stones. “Yeah, but see, my mom’s favourite colour is blue, so I was hoping to get her something with blue. Possibly sapphire because it’s her birthstone.” Taemin looked around the store, finding a colour coded pattern. “Hyung, there seems to be blue stuff over there.” He pointed, his finger catching Minho’s attention. He led them over to the cases. After much inspection, one caught Minho’s eye. A deep voice belonging to neither of them came from behind. “Do you like that one?” Minho turned around, a youthful man standing beside them. “Yeah. Can you tell me about it?” The man unhooked a key from one of the loops on his pants, unlocking the hinged glass as he raised it, taking the ring out. “It a fourteen by ten millimeter Ceylon sapphire. The stones around it are lab created white sapphires. It was a hundred dollars but since its Christmas, we have it at a low price of seventy nine ninety nine. It’s very pretty, no?” The man lifted Taemin’s hand, slowly sliding the ring onto the younger boy’s ring finger. “Ne.” Taemin giggled, sharing a smile with the man before raising his hand in front of Minho. “It looks very good on you.” The worker added, leaving Taemin to bow his head. Minho slid his hand down to Taemin’s waist; lifting Taemin’s ringed hand into view as he quickly eyed the salesman, unamused. He turned back to Taemin, nuzzling into his hair as he angled the boy’s hand in several directions. “It looks great. What sizes does it come in?” He asked, his eyes darting back to the man. “Sizes seven through ten.” He turned the ring a few more times before sliding it off of Taemin’s finger and handing it in the worker’s direction. “Can you hold onto this ring in size eight for me?” The man took the ring back, placing it into the protective case before locking it once more. “Of course. And when will you be picking it up?” The man asked, taking out a sort of notebook from his pocket and scribbling something into it. “Let’s say… closing time.” He hummed as he jotted it down. “And your name is?” He looked up towards him expectantly as he was ready to write. “Choi Minho.” He wrote it down and looked up with a smile, tearing the page out and shoving the notebook back into his pocket. “Alright, well I’ll put this away. When you come back, just say your name at the counter and that you’re here to pick up a ring.” He said, pointing to the check out and the huge line in front of it. “Alright, thanks.” He bowed at them, receiving a bow back before they headed out of the store. “I think that ring was really pretty, Hyung. It kind of looked like a sunflower, you know? The way the white sapphires were all around it.” Taemin commented, lifting his hand as if the ring still sat neatly on the base of his ring finger. “Yeah, I really liked it a lot. But I mean, there are still other stores, you know? There’s two more so I don’t want to force myself to buy a ring there when I could find a better one somewhere else. It’s just not worth it. But I agree; it was really nice. I’ll keep that one in mind when I look at the others. Speaking of which, I never asked you what you wanted for Christmas, Tae.” He admitted, looking towards the boy. “I don’t want anything, really. I feel like you’ve given me so much already, asking for more would just be horrible. But what do you want, Hyung? Surely you have something on your mind?” He asked earnestly, the elder’s interests in mind. “No, I refuse to let you get me anything, especially if you’re not letting me get you something.” Taemin pouted, huffing. “That’s ridiculous, Hyung! I really want to get you a present! Just tell me something, anything.” Taemin begged, but Minho only shook his head. “Nope, nope, nope.” They argued down the hall for a bit, each one insisting to get the other a present. Finally, when Minho could see no other option, he offered the only thing which he could see as a compromise. “Then how about this, I don’t get you a present and you don’t get me one. It sounds reasonable. That way it’s fair and there’s no problem.” Taemin whined, defeated, as he crossed his arms. “Fine.” Minho raised his gloved hand, searching for Taemin’s attention. “Pinky promise?” Taemin cracked a smile, locking his finger with Minho’s. “Pinky promise.” A simple promise and from what Minho could see, both of them were happy. “Alright, let’s get going.” The next store they entered seemed to be very similar to the first, so their visit there wasn’t long, but they found more nice accessories in the fourth. There were several blue necklaces and such but none of them were made of or with sapphire. Once he found one Minho could admit he liked, he asked for assistance with the ring. “Excuse me; can I get some assistance over here?” He asked, looking towards the nearest employee. “Yes, what can I help you with?” Minho pointed over to a simple ring, studded with blue along the sterling silver. “Can I see this ring?” The worker nodded, taking it out of its spot and handing it to them. He lifted the ring up to the light, looking up illuminated crystal. “What size does it come in?” He handed the ring back. “We have it in sizes six up to ten but size seven, eight, and nine are sold out.” Minho sighed in disappointment, handing the ring back. “Okay, thanks.” The worker smiles and place the ring back. “Okay, thanks.” They turned around and walked back towards the exit. “So?” Taemin asked. “So we go back to the store with that ring you tried on and we get it. Then we go buy a watch, which should take less time, and then we go home.” They made it back to the shop, getting into the long line that led to the check out. “This is going to take a while..” Taemin whined, wrapping his arms around Minho’s waist as he nuzzles into the boy’s ped coat. Minho hugged him back and they swayed back and for, waiting in a line that never seemed to move.  Once they were at the front, Minho gave his name and they received the ring in a small, white box. They linked arms as they went off to buy a watch for his father. As Minho had, predicted, it had gone far more smoothly. He had bought an all-black, matte, Diesel watch for just over a hundred dollar. “We can finally leave this place. On our way home, can we stop by the liquor store?” Taemin nodded, buttoning up his coat as they headed for the doors. “It’s not for us, right?” Minho chuckled, letting out an amused chuckle. “Oh come on Taemin, you’ve never drank in your life? Not even once? Loosen up a little. You should try it, even if you just take a sip. But, no, it’s not for us. It’s for Christmas dinner. It’s for my parents.” Taemin rolled his eyes, nudging the taller boy in the side. “Drinking is bad for you. Plus, people do weird things when they’re drunk.” He said, recalling all the strange people he’s seen when he walked through the city late at night. “Oh? Like this?” Minho asked, stealthily sneaking his hand under Taemin’s legs, picking him up and swinging him around. Taemin squealed, surprised by the sudden actions. “H-Hyung put me down! Please!” Minho laughed, ignoring the please. “I can’t if you’re clinging onto me.” He teased. “I’m clinging because I’m scared!” He stated, hugging the older boy’s head tightly in fear. “Well sorry, princess.” He slowed down, placing the boy back on his feet. “One day I’m going to get a heart attack because of you.”
“Well come on then. The faster we go the less time I’ll have to bug you.” He laughed. “Fine, fine. Let’s go Hyung.”

                They walked into the beer store and Minho already seemed to have one in mind as he sped down aisle after aisle until arriving at the back of the store where he lifted and expensive looking bottle from the cooling shelves. He prepared his ID as they approached the cash register. They checked out and were done with their shopping. Taemin looked around and noticed they were very close to Yongsan. “Hey Hyung, can we walk through Yongsan on our way home?” Minho looked at him puzzled. “The electronics market?” Taemin hummed. “Yeah, er- I haven’t been there in a while… yeah. Please Hyung? It would so nice of you!” Minho scratched his head, turning down the street towards the market. “I never considered you too be a techy guy Taemin.” Minho admitted. “Yeah… me neither.” Taemin laughed awkwardly, whispering the second part under his breath. They began walking through the streets, no cars around them. Taemin looked back and forth between stores, searching, looking. There were a few stores with laptop on his right and a few with televisions on his left. There was all sorts of electronics Taemin had never even heard about, regardless of the fact that he didn’t keep up with the trends. Finally he spotted something that looked a lot like what he was looking for. He waited for them to walk passed the store a bit before he turned to Minho. “Hyung, I need to go to the bathroom.” Minho stopped looking around. “Aw man, Taemin, you could have said so back when we were at the liquor store. They had a bathroom there you know.” He kept looking around in search of a bathroom. “But I didn’t have to go then. I have to go now. You know what, I actually think I saw a bathroom back there so I’ll just-” He pointed behind him at nowhere specific before Minho cut him off. “Oh? Okay, great. Let’s go.” He already began to turn around before Taemin planted both of his hands flat on the elder’s chest. “N-no, it’s fine! Look, I’ll go by myself. I don’t want to lose you though, okay? So how about you sit on the bench right here?” He said, nodding towards a wooden bench outside one of the nearby stores. “Taemin, I mean, are you sure?” He asked, skeptically. “Yeah, I’m sure! Just stay here Hyung. Okay?” He began pushing Minho backwards until the boy fell back on the bench. “Now don’t go anywhere, okay? I’ll be right back!” The older boy gave in, waving Taemin off. Now that Minho was out of the picture, Taemin sped up; occasionally looking behind him to make sure Minho wasn’t trailing him, neither in person nor with his eyes. He stepped into the store that he had spotted a few seconds prior, last night’s phone call with his parents once again fresh in his ears.

“Annyeonghaseyo Umma.”

“Taemin! How have you been Honey?”

“Do you mind if I get Appa in on this call before I say anything?”

“Of course.”

His shaking fingers dialed his father’s phone number and after seconds, his dad connected as well.

“Hello?”

“Hello Darling! Taemin says he has something to ask both of us.”

“Ah, alright. Speaking of which, Taemin, I’m so sorry neither of us can come back for Christmas this year.”

“It’s fine Appa… Umma, Appa, I wanted to ask you guys for a huge favour…”

“What is it Taemin?”

“Well I never really ask you two for anything and I don’t spend my allowance on stupid things... I keep the house clean and I don’t stay out late… I also have money saved up myself… And maybe since you guys aren’t coming home for Christmas, this could kind of be my present a few days in advance…”

“Where are you going with this, Sweetie?”

“Can I have some money?

“How much are we talking about, Taemin?”

“It’s, um… It’s just that… eh-”

“C’mon, spit it out.”

“I need three hundred and fifty dollars…”

“What, Taemin, why do you need that much money, Honey? Are you in trouble or something? Did they not get the rent for this month?”

“Exactly, Taemin. Is something wrong-”

“No, it’s just… For Christmas you know?”

“Taemin, if we’re going to be giving you that amount of money, we need to know exactly what it’s going towards.”

His mom stayed silent.

“It’s… it’s for a camera lens. I have four hundred and seventy dollars saved up!”

“You don’t even have a camera, what do you need a camera lens for?”

“It’s not for me. It’s for… it’s a present for a friend.”

“That’s one expensive present.”

“It means a lot to him!”

“Isn’t that a bit too much?”

“Taemin, Sweetie, is this friend really that important to you?”

“…yes. Yes, mom. He’s really important to me. More than I can explain. I’ll… I’ll get a job! As soon as I can! I promise you, I’ll pay you back!”

“No, Taemin, that’s a bit too much-”

“Alright honey, I’ll give you the money.”

“What? Seoyeon, we can’t just give him that much money for such a reason!”

“Yes we can. We are well off, not to mention this friend seems really important to him!”

“Well I disagree. I won’t do it.”

“Well I will. Taemin, Sweetie, I’ll put the money in your account okay? Please take care of yourself, and don’t forget to thank that boy for being your friend.”

“W-what? Okay! Jeongmal gamsahabnida! Saranghaeyo Umma!”

“Saranghaeyo Taemin.”

“Seoyeon, you better not end up regretting this.”

“I won’t. Alright now, it’s late in Seoul so you get to sleep okay Taemin?”

“Ne. Good night!”

“Good night.”

               He reached into his bag, ping a pocket and taking out a fold piece of paper. He walked up to the counter bowing. “Hello. I was wondering if you had this lens here.” The man looked at the photo, and scratched his chin before his eyes lit up as if he saw the light under his eyelids. “Ah, yes we do. Are you interested in buying it?” Taemin nodded. “Alright, I’ll be right back.” The man went into the back, past some drapes and came out with a box. “Here you go.” Taemin whispered a ‘thank you’ as he examined the heavy box. “Wow…” The man laughed, pushing some numbers into the register. “That’s a very professional lens. Is it for you?” The man asked. “No, it’s for a friend.” Taemin explained, intrigued by all the nonsensical detailed gibberish at the back. “Wow, that’s a very lucky friend. Is it a Christmas present?” Taemin nodded. “Do you want it wrapped?” The man offered. “No thank you.” The register rung as a total came up. “We actually have it a hundred dollars off this week so your total comes to $791.00.” Taemin sighed at the large number, taking out his wallet. “I’ll pay with Visa.” The small machine was pushed over towards Taemin and he swiped his card, putting in the code. After confirming the payment, he took the box and gently and placed it deep in his bag. “I’m sure the person will deeply appreciate the present.” The man said as Taemin walked out, both of them bowing.

“Then how about this, I don’t get you a present and you don’t get me one. It sounds reasonable. That way it’s fair and there’s no problem.”
“Pinky promise?”
“Pinky promise.”

                “I hope so too.” Taemin mumbled. He ran back towards Minho, only slowing down once he was a few feet behind the boy. “I’m back.” Minho turned around, smiling as he stood up. “Did you make it to the bathroom?” He asked. Taemin nodded. “Yup.” He hoped Minho could tell that his bag had grown in size. “Alright, let’s get going home them, shall we?” He stretched out his hand. Taemin took, and was shocked when it was hit with a tight squeeze, nearly making Taemin’s eyes tear up. “Ouch, Hyung! What was that for?!” He tried squeezing back, knowing he couldn’t even attempt to compare to his strength. “Just making sure your hand hadn’t fallen asleep.” He laughed, leading Taemin back to the roads. He looked up at Minho, the boy who he had made a promise with just hours earlier. “I’m sorry Hyung, but some promises are made to be broken…” He said, hoping his low, quiet voice would get carried away with the wind. “Huh?” Minho leaned it. “Nothing.”                

A/N: I'll Upload a cover later Dx OTL