Warning: I did not proof-read this. You're welcome to point out if I made any mistakes. Also, this so much that I'm kind of embarrassed for publishing it.

The sun was just setting down by the horizon and up on the hill there was the most perfect view over the lake where the pink-stained clouds reflected in the still rippling water. Hyukjae had felt contentment fill him up to the brim as he saw the sky but his thoughts were slightly changed the moment he stepped out of the car and had the freezing wind cooling his neck with an icing shiver. He purred and rubbed his hands together.

“I didn’t think it’d be this much colder in Hwacheon! You told me there wouldn’t be much difference at all.” Hyukjae looked over the car to where a girl appeared on the other side with a typical look he knew was ‘What-did-I-tell-you’-look.

“Honey,” the girl emphasized the word as she walked to stand next to him while wrapping her arms around his waist. “I told you, it depends on how you dress. As long as you’ve got proper clothes, you won’t feel much difference from the temperature in Busan.”

Hyukjae grimaced a little before whiningly shoving his girlfriend away. Cold simply wasn’t his thing and it always made him grumpy if he didn’t get to be in a warm place.

“Come on now; get your bags so we can get in already!”

“Hana! Hyukjae! So good to see you.”

The couple’s attention turned to the man’s voice coming from the direction of the villa 20 meters away and they both broke out into smiles as they saw Hana’s father walking though the snow towards them and quickly embraced his daughter in a big hug.

“How was the drive here? You must be exhausted.” He continued as he greeted Hyukjae warmly as well and took two bags and helped with carrying them back to the villa.

“It was rather calm,” Hyukjae answered. “Not too much traffic.”

Once the villa’s door was opened, Hyukjae could practically feel the warmth oozing out of the house and he gladly stepped inside after stomping off the lingering snow on his shoes. Just as soon they had got in there definitely was that particular Christmas atmosphere lingering in every corner and Hyukjae knew spending the holidays here was a very good decision. It was his first time visiting Hana’s family in Hwacheon, since it was her grandparents from her mother’s side who lived there in the big villa, and Hwacheon was pretty far away from where they lived in Busan, Hyukjae had never got to meet them before.

Mumbling voices came from all various rooms that surrounded the hallway and for a moment Hyukjae felt a bit unsure of where to go since he did not know the house or all of the relatives that were supposed to be there to celebrate with them. Hana noticed his slight confusion and tugged at his sleeve.

“Let’s just greet mother before we leave our packing. She’s in the kitchen.”

Hana’s mother squealed in delight as she saw her well missed daughter and even Hyukjae she brought in for a tight and loving hug. Hyukjae was very pleased to meet Hana’s parents as well since they didn’t have that chance very often. After a couple of minutes with small-talk and Hana’s mother’s repeated questions if they’d like something to eat, the couple got their time to settle down in the last guest room on the second floor.

The whole house’s interior was very old fashioned, but that was what made it so impressive and gave such a specific feeling walking around in it. Everything was already decorated with Christmas glitter and other fun stuff related to winter and it only added to the cozy feeling. He would definitely enjoy his time here.

“You could rest for a while Hyukjae, you’ve been driving for a whole day,” said Hana as she folded her clothes and put them into one of the drawers placed by the window. “The other’s has already had their dinner so it doesn’t matter when we eat.” Hyukjae smiled and shook his head, assuring that he was perfectly fine and wanted to greet the other family members first. He hid his yawn with the back of his hand and Hana chuckled. “I’ll unpack your clothes meanwhile.”

Hyukjae stretched and thanked the girl before sliding out in the corridor, walking extra slowly over the puffy rug decorating the wooden floor. It had such a warm and soft feeling stepping on and Hyukjae had to admit he loved it. It was already getting late, so all the young kids had been put to bed, putting the house into a calmer and quieter atmosphere.

He noticed that actually most of the family was already withdrawn to their rooms or some of them had gone out for a while to drink right after his and Hana’s arrival. Hyukjae first joined Hana’s mother once again in the kitchen and she was more than willing to make him a sandwich since he was feeling a bit hungry. Seeing there was no one left to spend time with – Hana seemed to have fallen asleep right away – Hyukjae helped out with drying the dishes.

“It’s so nice to gather the family like this, it makes me so happy.”

Hyukjae smiled at Heejin’s happy chanting; he had lost count of how many times she had said it was fun to see them. Hana’s mother was a short and rather plump woman, but full of energy even though she was getting closer to her sixties. He was quite surprised the first time they met since she is pretty much the opposite of Hana, who is calm and a quite a bit shy.

They chatted away the time, Mrs. Kim didn’t really run out of things to talk about, but he had a great time still. It would have been nice if he could chat like that with his mother too.

Hyukjae was drying one of the glasses when someone entered the kitchen, though he didn’t hear it until the person spoke with such a familiar voice that caused a prickling sensation run over his skin. He froze and stared into the wall with the glass still in his hands.

“Omonim, I’m done with the bath now, you should go and rest already.”

It can’t be.

“Oh, I’m almost done here. Thank you Donghae-ah.”

A shattering crash filled the kitchen as fragile glass collided with the floor, breaking the glass in several pieces. The old lady gasped and immediately asked if Hyukjae was okay. He just nodded, not turning around as he still sensed the third person lingering. There was no need to turn around for confirmation; he already knew who it was.

“I’ll get a broom for you,” Donghae exclaimed and hurriedly left for the cleaning cabinet.

“I’m really sorry, Heejin,” Hyukjae apologized and picked up the big pieces of the broken glass and collected them in his palm.

“Don’t worry about it, Hyukjae-ah! You must be very tired after all; please don’t bother picking the glass, it’s sharp. Just wait until Donghae gets back with the broom.”

“I should go to bed already, if you’ll excuse me. I’m really sorry.”

“My dear, don’t worry!” She ensured. “Go use the bathroom ahead of me and quickly go to bed.” Hyukjae jumped over the worst area of glass shatter and exited the kitchen. As he hurried for the stairs he saw Donghae arriving with the broom stick in the corner of his eyes. For a second he unintentionally froze and locked eyes with the other man. This was the first time Donghae finally saw his face that night and wore a shocked expression on his face. If he had been about to say something, he didn’t get the chance since Hyukjae darted up the stairs already and locked himself into the bathroom.

Why him?

Lee Donghae.

Years – he couldn’t immediately count how many – had already passed since he last talked to Donghae. Flashes of their separation were the first memory coming back to him – the bitter end he hadn’t expected to come for them. An unexpected prickle pressed his chest when thinking about it. He took in deep breaths and suppressed everything. 

He had never expected to actually get to meet Donghae again, and less under this kind of circumstance. How was Donghae related to Hana’s family? They were both going to spend their whole Christmas in the same house and Hyukjae felt both nervous and uncomfortable with the thought of it. Now he regretted reacting so panicked when first seeing Donghae, he was just beyond shocked to meet him again.

He didn’t know what he hoped for the most – Donghae ignoring him for the whole holiday, pretending as if they never knew each other – or they could act normal, become friends anew and enjoy their visit without looking back with regret.

Hyukjae hurried washing himself and returned to his shared room where Hana was fast asleep. Warily, he crept down under the duvet, crawled closer to the nearest source of warmth and comfort and entered a restless sleep.

--

“You don’t need to do it Donghae-ah, Minyu must be waiting for you so you should go to sleep already.”

“It’s okay; Omonim has worked a lot today, let me help.” Donghae smiled sweetly at the lady who didn’t have any chance to argue back any more. She thanked him and put away the final dried plates then retiring, bidding Donghae good night.

“Omonim,” Donghae hasted before Heejin had exited the kitchen fully. She gave him a questioning sweet smile. “That man just now…”

“Oh, you mean Hyukjae?” Heejin hinted the question in his voice. “He is Hana’s boyfriend. I guess you haven’t got the chance to meet him before; it’s such a pity we don’t have family gatherings more often.” She shook her head with a small smile. “Hurry up now and go to bed dear. “

Donghae nodded and brushed up the final shatters and poured them down the trash bin. He lingered for a moment leaning by the sink.

“So Hyuk is here too…”

He sighed deeply and decided to walk back to his room.

Hyukjae pretended to still be asleep when Hana whispered out his name the next morning, and so he knew she would leave him alone until he got up on his own. It was already 8 a.m., he had woken up nearly two hours ago after a restless sleep, and Hyukjae decided to lay there for another hour and he might be able to avoid a possible joint breakfast. But after a while, he realized what he was doing and sat up in the bed.

“Why am I trying to avoid him?” he whined and pressed his face down the pillow again. It would just be too obvious that something was wrong if he’d try to ignore Donghae the rest of the holiday.

So long had passed since then, so many years. He was over it already, but the thought of seeing him, and in this kind of situation where they obviously somehow was connected to the same family, made him uncomfortable.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and a second one.

“Hae, you can never catch me!” Hyukjae shouted and started running faster past the trees to escape his chaser. He squealed louder as he heard the steps catching up behind, urging his feet to move on faster over the soft green moss. Once he reached down to the lake he stopped while panting hard and looked behind, but couldn’t spot Donghae coming after.

“Donghae?” He called, still being out of breath. With a hand on his chest, he started looking around the area nervously, thinking if Donghae might have tripped over somewhere on the way. A rustle in a nearby bush made Hyukjae pause in his moves and he smiled because he knew Donghae still was present. Although that, he screamed once the younger boy jumped out behind the bushes and came darting in his direction. Without any worries, Donghae jumped Hyukjae so that they both fell backwards into the warm water.

“You got us soaked!” Hyukjae whined and looked down at his clothes pouting and then back up at Donghae. The other boy only smiled mischievously and leaned down to press his lips against the pouting ones.

“Caught ya’,” he whispered after pulling his lips away.

“Yeah yeah,” Hyukjae chuckled and grabbed Donghae by his collar. “Now, kiss me more.”

“Isn’t Hyukjae up yet?”

“No, should I go and wake him up?”

“Oh no, let the boy sleep! He drove the whole day yesterday.”
 

“No, no! Jiyoung, stop playing with your food, you’re making a mess.”
 

“I’ll go out and chop some more wood.”

“Mom, can we go out in the snow with uncle?”

“Not until you’ve finished your breakfast.”

Donghae stared into empty space, lost in his thoughts while people were vividly talking in the dining area. It was a nice atmosphere inside the villa, filled with love and Christmas spirit among everyone. This was how his every Christmas in the future would look like, and it was a magical feeling.

“Donghae ah, are you feeling alright?”

“What?” Donghae snapped and blinked up to face his soon-to-be father-in-law, standing right next to him. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Hyuk you’re awake!” Hana beamed and rose from her seat to get by his side and kissed him briefly. Donghae turned to look at him thoroughly as Hyukjae walked into the room, but the elder didn’t seem to notice his presence.

“You’re going to eat some breakfast?” Mrs. Kim asked after have greeted the young man good morning.

“No, I’ll just have some coffee.” He smiled wearily and Heejin happily made it into the kitchen to brew some more coffee.

“That’s right