02
Saving ChristmasFreedom didn’t even describe the feeling that Haera felt when she could walk around without the heavy suit again. Clean air could fill her lungs again without any obstructing inanimate furry objects in front of , surrounded by humid air that had built in the hollow head. The student stretched her aching limbs and let out a content sigh when she felt all the knots loosen in her body. Even though she hadn’t spent a lot of time in the hot suit, it still seemed like a full body workout because it felt like you were carrying a second body with you. It wasn’t the greatest thing that had ever happened to her but it paid the college bills so there wasn’t much she could do about it.
There was one positive thing about it all though, and that was the meeting with the dark haired stranger, even though after seeing in what situation he was Haera had figured out that he wasn’t just any stranger. The cold air her lungs when she took a deep breath outside and even with the snow and cold surrounding her, Haera felt good. Her love for Christmas wasn’t as great as the general population’s – or even present – but she wasn’t the heartless type of person to wish the worst upon people who did enjoy the holiday.
It was just a fact that Haera despised everything that was connected to the holiday; be it an icy breeze on a late winter night or a decorated Christmas tree at the mall. Nothing positive came with the winter holiday - she was sure of that.
“I see they freed you of the antlers,” a soft familiar voice broke Haera’s concentration. A hint of a smile brightened Haera’s face at the sight of the dark haired man approaching her with a goofy smile adorning his lips. Okay, maybe one positive thing was brought to her. It surprised her that he knew that she was under the mask but didn’t look much into it and looked down at the snow in front of her instead, her smile growing exponentially because of the comment.
A comfortable silence took over after that.
The student kept her eyes on the ground and watched how fresh small snowflakes mixed with the layer of white that was already there - blending in without a care in the world. “So, is it that you don’t talk at all, even without that huge mask?”
Haera switched her attention to the male and watched how his eyes seemed to twinkle in the reflecting light from the snow. His smile was still there and it warmed her just by looking at it. “Maybe,” she answered with a small smile and saw his lips turn into an ‘O’ with mock surprise written on his face. “Oh, so she does speak,” he continued as he walked to stand next to her. Haera scoffed laughing and shook her head, gently kicking the snow beneath her feet. “So what’s up with the melancholic mood and you standing outside in the cold while it’s snowing.”
The college student inhaled deeply before letting the air escape again, watching how the warmth mixed with the cold and resulted in white smoke rising up. “Maybe I like it like this, what’s wrong with that?” Haera asked with a hint of playfulness peeking through her words. The male pursed his lips as if thinking for a reasonable explanation before he turned to the oblivious student that was still blowing out air. “Last time - and the first by the way - I checked, winter wasn’t particularly your season ‘to be jolly.’”
This caught Haera’s attention and made her snap her head towards the grinning male. “How’d you know that?” she asked suspiciously squinting her eyes at the man. “Maybe you shouldn’t state your do’s and don’ts in a hallway where people might pass,” the male stated with a knowing smile. The student was confused for a second before she realized what he was talking about. When she was talking to her boss - or rather, the other way around - this man had passed and helped her, most possibly picking up their conversation before. That was probably also the moment when he saw her without the mask in the first place, therefore recognizing her now.
Haera thinned her lips and turned to look in front of her again, watching a single car pass by and shooting up muddy snow from the road. “So what if it isn’t? It’s not much to you now, is it.” Haera couldn’t help but bite at the male because the whole thought of it sat sour in and it annoyed her where she stood only by thinking about it. The male wasn’t really surprised by her answer and kept on a small smile.
He bit his lower lip and looked up at the sky, snowflakes of all sizes filling up the space in the air. “It’s not,” he simply stated before continuing, “I’m just curious, that’s all.”
“Well don’t, because it’s frustrating,” Haera unintentionally snapped again. The male watched Haera annoyed tighten the grey woolen scarf around her neck with traces of anger on her face, and chuckled. The student’s heart fluttered at the sound of it but nonetheless slanted her jaw in irritation whipping her head into his direction. “What’s so funny now?”
“Based on your earlier reactions, it must’ve been something pretty serious for you to hate a holiday that much,” the man laughed, crinkles forming at the corners of his eyes. He leaned down a little so he was Haera’s height, making the latter back up a bit because of the sudden intimate closeness. “Only makes me all the more curious though.”
Never did Haera imagine that she would ever be in this situation, especially not with a man as handsome and unknown as this. It did do her some good though because her - as the man stated earlier - melancholic mood dissipated the moment he had started interacting with her. Haera averted her eyes and buried herself mouthdeep into her scarf. “Why do you even want to know it so badly?” her voice came out slightly muffled when she mumbled at the man. The latter, however, just shrugged and looked to the front.
“As I said earlier, I’m curious,” he blew some air out just like Haera did earlier, stuffing his clothed hands into his pockets. “And no one should be mad at, or on, a holiday –”
“I’m not mad!”
“ – or feel any form of negativity on such a joyous event that happens only once year. You have the rest of the year for that,” the male smiled cheekily and watched how Haera sneered and switched her attention to the empty road in front of them. The male could talk easily because he didn’t even know what had happened to her and it annoyed Haera a little. That small part was soon surprisingly replaced by relief, because talking about the heavy situation with a complete stranger - who wasn’t able to judge or have any prejudices - felt refreshing and like she actually had a chance to explain herself.
“Tell you what,” the male turned to Haera and lifted a hand, pointing a finger at the student. “You don’t need to tell me what happened to make you feel like this but in exchange for my humble acceptance of your privacy,” the male smiled softly with a hint of mischief, “allow me to try and change your Christmas spirit.”
The student watched the man’s calm expression, sincerity evident in his words and on his face. How this man could act like that towards a complete stranger was beyond Haera’s comprehension. She scoffed and shook her head. “Humble my . You’re crazy.”
The man laughed and shook his head. “No I’m not, I’m just trying to spread positivity as much as I can.”
“And most definitely high.”
The male laughed heartily again, his eyes disappearing because of his wide smile. To her surprise, Haera felt her worried feeling slowly washing away and a sense of endearment take over. The man was so sure of himself, so goddamn persistent too, that Haera felt her walls slowly crumbling down and leaning to accepting his offer. “You don’t even know me,” she said softly, looking down at snow. “Most friends don’t know each other before they actually become friends, it’s common knowledge, really,” the male answered playfully while nudging Haera’s side softly. The student scoffed but didn’t move away. “Who says I want to become friends with you anyways!”
The male thought for a second with a feign serious face, amusing Haera. He tapped his chin before swiftly turning to you, smiling happily. “Well, you haven’t left yet so that must mean something, right?”
Haera smiled. He was right. If she really felt that suspicious and didn’t want to have anything to do with the stranger, Haera sure would have found a way to get out of there. It was something about him that pulled her in though; something in his whole demeanor that felt comfortable and trusted and made her want to get out there again, starting ‘somethings’ again. “Fine.”
The male fist-pumped with a bright smile, almost dancing in his place and obviously happy with her choice. “But you do know this will only end up in disappointment and I won’t take responsibility for any pain or discomfort inflicted onto your body, right?”
The male continued laughing. “I’ll take my chances.” he eased and let out a deep sigh while stuffing his hands in his pockets again. “And besides, even if it wouldn’t work – which I highly doubt – in the end I would still have earned myself a new friend, right?”
Haera smiled at this, a warm feeling coursing through her body because of the cheesy words but chose to visibly shudder because of them. “Aigoo so cheesy~ how do you even know I’m not a crazy person or something!” Haera chuckled when she saw the male next to her think for a second.
“Well first off, you didn’t and still don’t recognize me so that’s a thing, I guess.”
Haera’s smile faded and turned into one of confusion. While she was talking to him, she had totally forgotten that the man was probably somewhat famous, and actually still didn’t know what he was doing here almost an hour after the event. “Should I?”
When these words flowed from her lips, Luhan visibly relaxed with an easy smile on but still hesitated for a second before answering. “Let’s leave that for another time then, ay?”
Haera squinted her eyes at him, showing her suspiciousness because of his evasive answer. “I don’t think I should be friends with someone so secretive and apparently famous.”
As soon as Haera countered his answer, his face fell. “Why not!”
“For one, judging from your handsome looks, you’re probably an idol of some sort, or at least popular enough to attend a movie conference as big as this one.”
The male’s lips curled into a sly smile after hearing this and nudged Haera again. “You think I’m handsome?”
Her heart was already racing the whole time he was next to her for some unknown reason and his cute and frank attitude definitely weren’t helping in calming her thoughts. Yes of course she thought he was handsome, but did he really need to point it out like that! Haera gaped at the male with her cheeks reddening but she could easily blame the cold for it, and shook her head in disbelief. “Not the point here.”
Chuckles echoed through the empty streets again. Haera felt like she could get used to the sound and really hoped this man wasn’t messing with her. She rubbed her hands together to warm herself and squinted her eyes at the dark-haired male that seemed to feel so comfortable around her, it looked like they had known each other for a longer period than they actually had. “Just tell me who you are so we can get past the stage of mystery please, I’m freezing here.”
For effect, Haera rubbed her arms roughly and hugged herself. The male smiled softly at her little show and looked down at his feet when he decided to answer. “Luhan.”
Luhan. The name Haera seemed so plain and unfit for her after hearing the word slip from his rosy lips. His name, it had a certain softness to it, like you would call a porcelain doll. His face did look like it was sculpted and handmade because he was so beautiful and handsome, almost unreal so his name fitted him perfectly. The student had been caught staring by the male, taking her intense stare as confusion. “My name. It’s Luhan.”
He smiled.
He really needed to stop doing that because how on earth could a person’s body contain all those warm fuzzy feelings that were a result of his smile! “You smile too much, Luhan.”
To Haera’s surprise, the male reached out and softly pulled on her cheeks. “And you should smile more~”
Heart racing, palms sweaty, a shortness of breath, the whole shebang. It had been a long time since she had felt like this and it felt great but with these feelings came not so happy memories so she tried to subtly move out of his touch, as much as she wanted to stay there.
“Let’s make that a pre-mission to the Christmas one, just to get into the holiday spirit,” Luhan grinned at Haera and lowered his hands to his sides again. Haera furrowed her eyebrows, squinting slightly and shaking her head, muttering, “So weird.”
She saw his smile slowly fade and was scared that it was because of her words so she quickly changed the subject, hoping to see his precious smile again. “So what’s your occupation, mister Luhan. I’m pretty sure it’s something super flashy or important.”
Luhan suddenly didn’t seem as confident as before and visibly hesitated for a moment. “You really don’t recognize me?” he asked softly, seemingly scared of stirring some sleeping thoughts. Haera thought deep for a moment, taking a good look at his face and analyzing his whole being, searching her mental files for any resemblance. Those all came back as a negative but yet again, her cheeks started to redden because of his handsome features and it really made her question his motives.
She wasn’t that interesting and yet this man seemed like he really wanted to begin something here - anything. Haera coughed awkwardly and averted her eyes swiftly before looking back again. “You do look faintly familiar but I’m not sure.”
Luhan’s lips curled to side in thought before he lifted his hands to the sides of his head, functioning as some sort of canine ears. “If I do this,” he grinned and wiggled his fingers, “anything?”
Haera’s eyes widened at the sight, squealing inwardly because of the cuteness and snapped her fingers with bright smile. “I got it!”
Luhan instantly brightened too and watched her in anticipation when she continued. “A dog!”
Luhan’s happy face fell into a frown when he heard her words. “You remind me of a puppy,” Haera chuckled, lifting a hand to cover . The male’s face fell into one of disbelief as he gaped at her. “I am not a puppy! But even if I did, a pitbull or something, right?!”
Haera continued laughing, her body starting to shake. “Look at your cute face, no way you’re a pitbull. More like a beagle puppy or something!” her chuckles grew into louder laughter with Luhan’s face falling more and more, folding his arms like a little kid. Haera continued laughing at his childish expression until the corners of his lips slowly curled up into a small smile. Haera stopped laughing, some chuckles still escaping throat. “What?”
“Seems like the pre-mission is already accomplished, and I don’t even know your name yet.”
Haera’s smile gradually faded and coughed awkwardly when she realized that he had made her laugh - quite hard at that too - and she had indeed not introduced herself to him yet. “Haera,” she said softly, avoiding his eyes at all cost. Luhan’s smile widened and didn’t hesitate when he moved his hands in front of him and started to take off his glove from his right hand, catching the student’s attention. Luhan successfully removed the leather clothing and reached out his hand for Haera to take.
The female hesitated for a second, looking at his hand as if it were some foreign object from outer space. Even his hand looked precious, like his face and she almost didn’t dare touch it, fearing of breaking it when she would lay a finger on it. Luhan noticed her uncertainty, amused by her visible inner battle and shook his hand lightly, encouraging her. After another moment of silence, Haera slowly lifted her hand and slipped her cold one into his, letting it be enveloped by warmth. Luhan’s fingers willingly tightened around her small hand and shook both of their hands, flashing her a content and relieved smile.
“Nice to meet you, Haera.”
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