You stood on your tiptoes and grunted. Your arm was straining from the reach and you knew your face must be contorted in the most unattractive fashion. There was a shuffle beneath you and your best friend appeared in the doorway.

            “Need help?”

            Your arm relaxed and you let out a tiny sigh. “It’s about time you showed up,” you groused. “I thought we promised to decorate the house together?”

            Jongup placed the two mugs of hot chocolate he must have brought as a peace offering on the coffee table and flashed you a shy smile. “Sorry. I was delayed getting some more material.”

            You hopped off the chair. “Well now that you’re here, please put the star on the tree.” You handed the ornament over to him but wrinkled your nose. “But you’re not much taller than me. I don’t think you’d be much help.”

            Your best friend rolled his eyes, letting his pupils hang at your jab at his height. “Yeah, well that may be true but at least I had the foresight to think of bringing a step ladder.” He walked back to the doorway and brought back the said step ladder with him.

            “Was this what made you late?”

            “Among other things,” he replied vaguely. “Now excuse me. I’m going to show you that height is of little consequence when it comes to Christmas decorating.”

            A corner of your mouth lifted as you watched Jongup climb onto the ladder and easily place the star on the top of your eight foot pine tree. There was something about him that never failed to make you feel light and comfortable. “Is this okay, princess?” he turned to ask you.

            You scrutinized the tree. “The star looks a tad crooked.”

            “Must be the angle because it looks fine to me.”

            “Yeah but it’s the angle below that matters. Tilt it a little to the right.” He obliged and you gave him a thumbs up. “Perfect. Now get down so we can work on hanging the tinsel.”

            The two of you spent the next half hour silently decorating. He handed you the ornaments at your direction and the speakers played Christmas carols at a soft volume. It must have been late afternoon when Jongup finally spoke. He squinted out the window.

            “Hey, it’s snowing!”

            The two of you bounded over to the window, instantly attracted to the romantic idea of a white Christmas. Indeed, pale flurries were falling at quite a current and soon your windowsill was coated with an inch of soft whiteness.

            “Snowball fight?”

            “Maybe later. It’s too pretty to mess up.”

            Jongup nodded and followed you into the kitchen where you were currently waiting for the batch of cookies to finish baking. His entire concentration was on the golden yellow light inside the oven and you watched him quietly. It was Christmas Eve, and he had decided to spend it with you, rather than his family.

            The two of you had grown up together and it was always tradition to spend Christmas at one or the other’s houses. However, both of you moved to Seoul for college, and while his family decided to follow him to the city, yours had stayed in your hometown hours away.

            It was now your senior year of college and who knew what the future would hold. You stared at Jongup and felt all the unspoken words rise to your lips. As you were overwhelmed by your own musings, he turned around with an eager look on his face.

            “I can’t wait to make my Olaf cookies.” His face changed as you looked at your slightly dazed expression. “You alright?”

            You forced yourself to break out of your reverie. “Just thinking about how this could be our last Christmas together.”

            Jongup came to sit at the table. “Don’t say that. We’ve spent every Christmas together since I can remember. No matter where you are, I will be spending December 25^th with you.” Your eyes nearly filled up with tears at his words.

            “I think I left something in the living room. The cookies should be almost done. Take them out when the oven dings.” And you got up abruptly.

            You stared at the doorway and looked down the hallway into the kitchen where Jongup’s back was still to you. You took in a deep breath and took the plunge. You reached into your pocket and pulled out the key to the next step in your relationship.

            Jongup didn’t seem to think anything was wrong when you returned to the kitchen. He was just taking off the oven mitts as the waft of gingerbread and shortbread filled the tiny space. “Just in time,” he smiled at you.

            To say that you were distracted while watching him draw Olaf’s characteristic goofy, toothy smile was an understatement. You were completely focused on him and neglected your snowflake cookies altogether.

            “Hey, earth to ______.” Jongup waved a hand in your face. “These cookies aren’t going to decorate themselves. We’re a bit too old to believe in magic, you know.”

            “Right,” you grinned sheepishly and reached for the blue icing you had prepared beforehand.

            After the cookies were placed aside to cool, Jongup stretched his arms over his head. “Let’s go watch a movie. Tradition calls for “The Grinch.””

            Your heart was in your throat as you neared the doorway. Just as Jongup stepped under the archway, you grabbed his arm. “Look, mistletoe.”

            Jongup followed your finger to stare at the bunches of green that was most definitely not there before. You almost couldn’t look him in the eye. This was about as obvious a confession as you could possibly make. You saw the realization light in his eyes and nearly wanted to disappear into a hole. He looked uncomfortable and your heart fell straight to the bottom of your feet.

            “Forget it. It was just a lame joke. There aren’t any nargles there.” You tried to put in the reference in an attempt to lighten the mood.

            Instead, Jongup only opened his mouth and closed it, looking extremely embarrassed.

            “Hey, I didn’t mean anything by this. It was really just a prank. I’m sorry.” You most definitely were regretting this by now. It would have been better if you kept your feelings to yourself. Instead, you ruined Christmas.

            “No, don’t apologize. It’s just,” and his voice dropped to barely audibly above a whisper, “I’ve never kissed anyone before.”

            It was your turn to be shocked. Your mind ran through the memories of Jongup. He has had his share of admirers but never dated anyone. It never crossed your mind that that also meant he probably never had his first kiss. His ears were bright red as he avoided your eyes.

            “I,” you wetted your dry lips, “I can show you if you like.”

            Jongup didn’t refuse. You stepped closer to him and placed his hand on your waist. He didn’t look away from your eyes. On the contrary, he pulled you closer. This encouragement made you bolder.

            “Just follow me,” you whispered. You tiptoed slightly and pressed your lips against his. Jongup’s eyes were still wide open and you fluttered yours to a close to enjoy the sensation of his full bottom lip pressing against yours. You reached an arm around his waist to let yourself mold into him better.

            Almost naturally, Jongup’s palms spread across your back and you tilted your head slightly to the right. He followed your change in angle and you slowly parted your lips. It was amazing and you could feel the hard ridges of his muscles under your fingertips. At that moment, Jongup pulled away to take a deep breath.

            You were still slightly entranced. “Wow,” you whispered, forgetting to be embarrassed at how expressive you were about how he made you feel. He was grinning shyly down at you, giving you his signature crooked smile. “Not bad for a first timer,” you laughed.

            Jongup ducked his head, taking the initiative this time. His lips landed on yours and this time, he took advantage of your open mouth to slowly slide his tongue between your lips. When you pulled apart for the second time, you were breathless.

            “How was it?” Jongup asked and you swear you could hear the slightly cocky tone in his question.

            “Fast learner indeed.”

            His eyes crinkled as he shot you a mischievous look. “So what do you say about third time’s a charm?”

It's been a tough few days, and if anyone needs to talk, I'm here. I'm always here for each and every single one of you, I hope you remember that.

Merry Christmas Eve everyone!