Lee Jong Suk was surprised when he saw Joo. She was wearing a dark blue dress and above the knee boots.

It was quite simple really, but she looked extremely pretty tonight. He couldn't help but stare at her for a few seconds. He drank more water to calm himself down. He was being silly. He didn't even know why he was nervous.

It was just a fake date.

He didn't know why he turned down going to Woo Bin's party either. He really must be going crazy.

They hadn't said anything to each other ever since they entered the restaurant other than their orders. He didn't know what else to say.

Joo was staring blankly at her wine glass. She jumped in surprise when she heard him clear his throat.

"Do you like shrimps?" He asked, and then mentally scolded himself for asking such a stupid question.

"Yes, I do. But I can't eat it." She replied.

"You're allergic?" 

"Yeah. Somi even let me try desensitization once. It didn't work." She must have noticed his puzzled face, because he didn't know what 'desensitization' meant, so Joo explained further, "It's when you try to eat a little portion of it everyday so your body gets accustomed to it and then eventually adapts to it. Somi used to be allergic to chicken, but she's now allergy-free. In my case, the symptoms didn't show up for the next few days, but then all of it simultaneously appeared, and I ended up in the ICU."

It was probably a good thing they rented out a private room at the restaurant, a lot of people were outside trying to take pictures. Thank God for security. They continued with their conversation, asking each other random questions, until their food arrived a few minutes later.

After their scrumptuous dinner, they decided to go to Woo Bin's party, mainly because 1. Woo Bin wouldn't stop calling him, and 2. Joo didn't have anywhere else to go. Her dad was still in Japan and Somi was out celebrating with her college friends. Although he didn't want to admit it, he was sort of relieved when she agreed to accompany him.

Not that he wanted her to go or anything.

They stopped over a gift shop before going to Woo Bin's suite and both picked a gift for the party host. Since it was Christmas Eve- well that's what he kept telling himself anyway- Jong Suk also brought a charm bracelet for Joo as well which he secretly hid inside his pocket when Joo was choosing gifts for her dad and bestfriend.

Inside the car, he still debated whether to give the gift to her or not. She might take it the wrong way. He only bought it because it was Christmas Eve and he felt that tonight they connected a little bit over dinner. He never talked to a woman like that in years.

Joo broke the awkward silence when she handed him a small bag. "It's not much, but I bought a little something for you. Merry Christmas."

It was a mini toy of him with an angry face. One of the collectibles from his previous dram. He sighed. "You could have bought the one with a happy face."

She looked surprised. "There's one with a happy face? Well, that one looks more like you."

"Yaaaaaa!~" He cleared his throat and glued the toy to his dashboard. "Here." He tossed his gift hurriedly. 

"You didn't have to."

"Give it back to me then. I'm gonna give it to my niece." He said and snatched the small box from her hands. She snatched it back.

"I didn't say I didn't like it." She puffed, "I was gonna say you didn't have to, but thank you."

He slumped in his seat, and didn't say a word.

-x-

They arrived at Woo Bin's place and were surprised to see it packed with people.

It was beautiful. Everything was made of glass, but it was done in such a way that the people inside can see everything on the outside, but the people outside cannot see what's going on inside. 

And it was decorated perfectly. She can sense the Christmas spirit in the air now.

A lot of famous people were also there. She couldn't believe it. 

A well known magazine editor greeted them as they entered and had asked them to do an exclusive interview with her. Jong Suk had agreed to it and told her to call his manager to set the date. A few minutes later, Jong Suk was then pulled away by several people leaving her sipping her wine alone on the couch.

"So you and Jong Suk are an item now, huh?" It was Woo Bin. He was smiling at her.

"Well, you know, it just happened that way." 

"He didn't force you or anything of that sort, right?"

"No!" She said hastily, but composed herself right away. " I mean, of course not."

"Relax." He giggled. "I was just joking."

She slapped his upper arm and heaved a sigh of relief. "I hate you."]

Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink.

"May I have everyone's attention please?"  The emcee announced. "As always, Kim Woo Bin has a little something for everyone in preparation for Christmas day. This year, we will be giving out presents to all of you." A few people started handing out little boxes to everybody. "For those of you who have been 'bombed', don't worry, it's just confetti, I would like you to grab your partner and kiss him or her under the mistletoe! For those who are still single, you have to get a paper from this box to pick out your mission. Are you excited?" Everybody was getting anxious. The emcee looked at the time. "Let's open our presents together in 10 seconds!"

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Joo closed her eyes as she opened her box, preparing for the worst. It was empty. A few people have been 'bombed' already. She looked at Kim Woo Bin. His box was empty too. He gave her a high five.

Lee Jong Suk was still staring at his box. He carefully pulled out the ribbon to open it.

Bang.

He looked at her, his face turned pale. Realization dawned on her.

Her heart was now pounding wildly in her chest.

Oh .