Author’s POV

On the morning of Christmas Day, Donghae and the Super Junior members got up early in order to rehears for the Christmas concert that would be held later in the evening. While choosing what to wear, Donghae saw KakaoTalk message appear on his phone. He smiled and checked what Kayla had written to him.

Log onto Skype~

A short yet wonderful message to receive in the morning, Donghae thought. He started his computer and picked out a shirt while waiting for it to start. He logged onto Skype and immediately clicked the answer button that popped up on the screen. Kayla must’ve been ready to call the second it showed he was online. Kayla appeared on the screen, smiling. “Merry Christmas!” she shouted and kissed the camera.

Donghae laughed, “Merry Christmas, my princess.” He kissed the camera carefully and sat down on his chair. “How are you?” he asked, putting on the shirt he’d picked out.

“I’m good. I’m about to go to bed but I wanted to say Merry Christmas first and tell you where I hid your gift.” She winked and bit her lip mischievously.

“Aw, you’re too cute!” Donghae cooed.

Kayla giggled. “You’re cute too! Your gift is in a placed where you’d never, ever find it! My drawer with bras and .” Donghae raised an amused eyebrow. She was right, it would never occur to him to check that specific place. Not because he didn’t want to take a closer look at Kayla’s undergarments – he wouldn’t exactly mind it – but Donghae was a gentleman, a romantic. He preferred it coming as a surprise what new colours Kayla had added to her small collection. Kayla’s cheeks had turned a bright red.

“Really?” Donghae got up and walked to the wardrobe, glancing back towards the computer. “Are you sure about this?” he teasingly asked, sticking out in tongue in a mischievous manner.

“Yes! Now open!” Kayla demanded. Donghae chuckled while pulling out the drawer. Okay, I can see it but do I pretend I don’t see it just to have a closer look or do I not? Donghae slowly ran his hand over the neatly folded undergarments, scanning everything he saw. Most of the garments he’d seen before but there were a few that he’d never seen Kayla wear. Though he wondered why, Donghae would never ask Kayla to tell him that reason. He picked up the present and closed the drawer, taking a step back to examine the little present. His name had been gracefully written on it and he could smell the scent of his favourite perfume.

“Aw, you sprayed my favourite perfume on it before you left,” he cooed, sitting down on the chair again. “Thanks princess!”

Kayla giggled. “Yes, now open the present! I want to see the look on your face!” she said. Donghae looked up, suspiciously furrowing his eyebrows. What did she mean by that? Kayla’s smirk didn’t make it better either, although Donghae somewhere knew that she was teasing him. He pulled off the wrapped paper, open the little paper box and took out what seemed to be a hand-made set of coupons. As Kayla’s laughter filled the room, Donghae tried to understand what exactly it was that she’d given him. He flipped one of the pages and saw the first gift; a romantic dinner. He smiled, flipping another page which said: a lifetime of free hugs. By every page, Donghae’s smile broadened and by the end when he saw the ‘1 free massage of your request,’ his smiled formed a smirk instead. He knew exactly what he wanted to do with that one... And the last one which had a beautiful picture of Kayla and him together and a text that said: free wish. I’ll save this one for a time when I really need it, Donghae thought. He lifted his head up to meet Kayla’s sparkling eyes.

“Thank you princess, I love it. And I’ll start with one of these free hugs the second you come back home!”

“Great but I want a kiss too!”

Donghae nodded, “Of course. Are you opening your present in the morning?” Kayla tilted her head upwards, thinking about it for a moment, then she got up from her bed and walked to fetch the present.

“This might be against everything I believed in as a child but who cares?” she said while unwrapping the present. Donghae waited in anticipation over her reaction, he really hoped she’d like it. “Aw!” Kayla cooed, “It’s beautiful!” Donghae smiled, watching her study the photo album he’d made. There was one big picture of them together on the front and from there the whole book was packed with pictures, memories with just the two of them.

“I hoped you’d like it,” Donghae said.

“I love it! It’s the best thing you could’ve given me!” Kayla hugged the book tightly. “I’ll go through the whole of it tonight!”

Donghae chuckled at her enthusiasm, “Nah, you should sleep, princess. You need lots of it if your family is coming over tomorrow. But I’m really pleased that my efforts paid off. You have no idea how painful it was to ask Hyuk and Kyu to be secret photographers. I swear to god their paparazzi dream came true!” The two of them laughed, both imagining the naughty duo sneak about, hiding in the bushes or behind street corners.

“I love it, very much,” Kayla sincerely said. “Now we each have something that reminds us of the other while I’m away,” she added happily, hugging the book tighter to her chest. Donghae smiled.

“Not that I need that. You’re always on my mind, princess,” he replied with a wink. Kayla giggled, shaking her head. She put the book aside and glanced at the clock. Donghae tilted his head, knowing that it was probably time to say good night to her.

“I don’t want to sleep...” Kayla whined. Her pout was too adorable and Donghae wondered if they’d even be able to say goodbye, he wasn’t sure he could manage it.

“You need it, princess. And I have to go too. We have the Christmas concert tonight and we have rehearsals soon. I’m surprised no one has told me it’s time to go yet.”

“Mm...  I- Oh, hi, Sophia.”

“Hey, what are you- Oh... Hi, Donghae!” Out of nowhere another head had popped up on Donghae’s screen. He recognised her from the photos Kayla had shown, although he hadn’t actually talked to her in person.

“Hi, Sophia,” Donghae greeted back.

“Wow, you are good-looking. No wonder Kayla likes you,” Sophia complimented. Donghae lowered his head in slight embarrassment. Though that was nothing compared to the embarrassment Kayla felt. She instantly hit Sophia’s arm and tried to push her away.

“I don’t like him because he’s good-looking!” she argued lively.

“Don’t you think I’m good-looking?” Donghae cut in, smirking. Sophia started laughing while Kayla pouted.

“That’s not what I meant,” she mumbled. Sophia rolled her eyes and pushed her sister off the bed. Raising an eyebrow at the camera, indirectly to Donghae as well.

“How old are you?” she asked. Wow, she’s merciless... Donghae thought, swallowing hard. He figured as long as he didn’t say anything that might offend then maybe he’d have Sophia’s approval by the end of this conversation, however, he had no idea what she would think felt offending.

“25...” he replied carefully. Sophia made a grimace. Oh crap... She must think I’m too old...

“So, you’re older than me, huh? Hm, you look very young to be that old. I’m not saying you’re old, just older than me. I’m impressed that my sister is dating someone that much older than her. It’s not unusual of course, amongst younger people nowadays. Gee, I’m sounding like an old lady or something. Sorry. Is that your natural hair colour? I’ve heard idols colour their hair a lot. And how popular are you and your group? Are there any more good-looking guys in it or do you find yourself the hottest one? I’d say that I’d completely understand if you admit that it’s you, because like I said, you’re very hot. Am I talking too fast?” Finally Sophia stopped talking, smiling brightly at the poor Donghae who stared at her in total bewilderment. He wasn’t sure if he’d even understood the words he should’ve been able to understand or if the complex sounds Sophia just uttered actually were words.

“You’re not talking too fast, Sophia. Just very much TOO much!” Kayla muttered and pushed her sister away.

“Hey! I’m not talking ‘too’ much! I’m having a conversation with your hot boyfriend, am I not allowed to have that?” Sophia retorted.

“I’m not sure you should call him ‘hot’ consdering that you have a boyfriend too...” Kayla pointed out. “Besides, Hae needs to go to his schedule and we have to sleep now.” Donghae chuckled, pondering about whether or not he should point out that none of Sophia’s questions currently had answers...

“Are you saying that because you don’t want me to talk to Donghae or is it because you don’t?” Sophia asked, smugly raising a brow at her sister.

“You. Now shut up and get off my bed!” Kayla said and this time actually used force to push Sophia off the bed. She let out a small shriek but quickly recovered again.

“As you wish. Bye, Donghae! It was nice talking to you!”

“You too, Sophia,” Donghae said. His head had been so messed up by all the English that the minute Kayla started speaking in Korean again, Donghae hardly heard any of those words either. Kayla, though thinking it was adorable, still apologised for her sister.

“She gets a bit overly excited when she gets tired. And speaking of tired... I’m really tired as well, my love. Mind if I go to bed?” Kayla asked sweetly. Donghae shook his head.

“Of course not. I’ve kept you up too long already. You need sleep. Good night, my princess. We’ll talk more when you’ve got time and when I’ve got time...” He sighed dramatically, causing Kayla to giggle.

“I agree! Have a good day, my prince. Love you!” She waved into the camera and made a kiss in the air.

“Sweet dreams, princess. Love you more,” Donghae replied, waving back. He clicked on the red button and ended the call. He stretched out his stiff limbs and shut down the computer before walking out of his room, arriving at the exact time that the members were starting to put on their shoes.

“Oh, Donghae. Perfect, I was just about to get you,” Leeteuk said. “We’re leaving now so are you ready?” Donghae nodded and grabbed his jacket. He and the other members headed down the elevators and got inside the cars that would take them to the arena where the SM Winter Concert would be held.

“So,” Eunhyuk began, having a smirk on his face. Donghae looked up at him with a wondering look in his eyes. “Did she like the present?” Eunhyuk’s smile appeared instead, and so did Donghae’s.

“She absolutely loved it,” he replied. Eunhyuk and Kyuhyun both seemed rather smug and high fived one another cheerfully. Donghae chuckled at their silliness but knew that they were proud, after all, some of those pictures had been perfection. He remembered one especially that was a picture of him just observing Kayla while she was speaking. His eyes had really been glued to her and the love in them could not have been unseen unless you were blind and closed your eyes. Donghae may have been a romantic all his life but even he had been surprised of how extremely lovingly you could look at someone else. He’d put that picture as the second to last one in the album, followed by a picture that had the same perfection; a kiss, naturally. Although, Donghae had no idea where that particular picture had been taken and KyuHyuk refused to tell him. Donghae turned his head to look out the window while the car murmured soothingly in the background and the lampposts that still weren’t lit, along with the people that walked down to street in the middle of their busy Christmas shopping. Donghae sighed happily. Maybe this Christmas wouldn’t be so bad after all? “Merry Christmas, princess,” he mumbled.

-

New Year’s Eve 31 of December, 2011

“Kayla, how wonderful to see you!” Kayla smiled and hugged the woman who had greeted her. For the last hour, more and more people had been dropping in, joining the already ongoing party. Although it was only 02:30pm and still nine hours to go until the new year in Oxford, Kayla knew that it was just half an hour until the clock struck midnight in Seoul. All day she and Sophia had prepared for the dinner and helped their mother fix everything. Now the guests dropped in one by one or in groups, depending on whether they were friends or family. Even some of Kayla’s old friends had stopped by to greet her a Happy New Year. One of her friends, Felicia, had even stayed because her family was on vacation. The whole atmosphere was loud and cheerful, though, the night was still young and many things could happen before the New Year took its beginning. Kayla looked at the clock on the wall, thinking that it might be time to call Donghae now, so there wouldn’t be too much trouble with traffic.

“Sophia!” Kayla called, grabbing her sister’s arm.

“Yeah?”

“I’m going out for a moment. In case anyone wonders where I am,” Kayla told her sister and then went to put on her shoes and walked out on the street, steering in the direction of a park that lay pretty near. While walking, Kayla dialled Donghae’s cell phone number. The chances were big that they’d already went up on the roof where they apparently used to be with the rest of the SM artists.

“Princess!” Donghae answered the phone after two signals. “I didn’t think you were going to call me. What a happy surprise!” Kayla smiled.

“Yeah? I thought I told you I’d call. I’m not letting you begin the New Year without me, you know. Although, the contact might break before the clock strikes twelve...”

“Let’s hope it doesn’t then,” Donghae said. “How are you, my love?”

“I’m good, it’s good. There are quite a lot of people at our house right now but nothing unbearable, haha!” Donghae chuckled along with her. It felt comforting hearing his laughter. “How are you?” Kayla continued.

“Mm... I’m all right. I’m not too fond of New Year, even though I see each new year as an opportunity to do better, be better and improve as a human being. It also reminds me that I’m getting older, which I don’t like. And- Oh shut up, Hyuk!” A thud that sounded like Donghae had hit something was heard in the phone. Kayla chuckled, she could imagine that Eunhyuk had pointed out that Donghae was like a 25 year old man trapped in a 5 year old boy’s body. “Sorry about that, princess. Hyuk is being annoying...” Kayla rolled her eyes amused, giggling silently. “Shut up, hyung! I’m talking to Kayla! And I just have a young mind! That’s not my fault and it’s a good quality!” Donghae shouted to the people in the background.

“It is a good quality, Hae,” Kayla confirmed. “It makes me think of you as less old!” She could hear loud laughter in the background now. Ops, did Donghae have the speaker on?

“!” Donghae’s distant voice confirmed her theory. She laughed loudly along with the other members on the other end. She had a clear picture of Donghae realising that in the argument with Eunhyuk, he’d accidently pressed the speaker button on his phone. “Ah... I’m leaving now...” Donghae sighed heavily. “I’ll be back soon,” he informed the members and then Kayla heard him closing a door.

“Are we alone now?” she asked.

“Mm... They’re teasing me more than usual... It’s not fun. It makes me miss you...” Donghae must’ve pouted. There was no other expression that he could’ve given in this situation.

“Aw! I’ll be home soon, my prince. You just have to hold on a little longer. Oh, right. Speaking of coming home, you can’t pick me up at the airport... It’ll be so much people there then and believe me I won’t look good after that long flight. But I’ll hurry home!”

“Mhm... You really think you can keep me away? I will think you look beautiful no matter what. And I am picking you up! But if you’re worried about fans and such... I could wait in the car? If you put on the phone when you land I’ll text you where I’m parked and you can come there. Does that sound good?”

“Perfect! You’re so smart, my prince!”

“Haha, thank you, my princess. Hm, what time is it? Is it midnight soon?”

Kayla checked her watch, it showed four minutes to 03:00pm, which meant four minutes to midnight in Seoul. “It’s four minutes left. You should go back to the party, it would be awkward to miss the first few seconds of the new year.”

“That’s true... But I know what my first sentence for 2012 is going to be!” Donghae exclaimed happily.

“Yeah? Let me guess... If the phone call doesn’t break then it’ll be something along the lines with ‘I love you, my princess’?”

“Mm, might be... You’ll just have to wait and see.” Kayla chuckled. “I’ve probably woken up when it strikes twelve in England, so you can send me a text if you want then.”

“I will,” Kayla replied. “Though I know that my first sentence for 2012 will be the same as yours, almost, even though you won’t hear them. You’ll just have to take my word for it!”

Donghae chuckled. “I trust you, princess. Oh, it’s time... Hold on a sec.” Kayla stopped walking. She’d reached the park now and could see the last glints of the sun as it disappeared behind the trees. It was stupid how quickly it got dark in the winter in Europe in general. At least the northern part of it. “I’m back! It’s only thirty seconds left now!” Donghae exclaimed cheerfully.

“Spend them well,” Kayla advised.

“Of course. I’ll start now. Ahem, Kayla, you’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen and not a day goes by that I’m not mesmerised by your beauty. Not only on the outside, but you’re beauty on the inside too.” In the background, Kayla heard the people countdown. Ten, nine... “You are in my eyes perfect and no one can take that away from me.” Three... two... one! “I love you, my princess,” Donghae said at the same time as the others around him shouted out ‘Happy New Year’. Kayla’s smile was definitely at its broadest right now, and her whole body was filled with happiness.

“I love you too, my prince,” she replied in lack of words that could possibly express her feelings in that precise moment of pure euphoria.

Hehe, I’m so freaking cheesy, aren’t I? xD Oh well, I love it and I hope you do too! Hope you liked this chapter~ Thank you for reading and welcome new subbies! I love you all<3