You grabbed Yongguk’s hand and attempted to lead him into the brightly lit temple. He strayed outside, still resisting your pulls. “Come in!”

            He smiled shyly and shook his head. “I don’t think I can.”

            You placed your hands on your hips and looked at him. “Why not?”

            “I don’t know what to do.”

            Your boyfriend’s insecurity was endearing and you couldn’t help hiding your smile. “Just follow me. It’s not like I’m asking you to know the words to the prayer. And besides, you already know my family, and they’re the most protective bullies there are. If anyone even glances at you the wrong way, my brother will be all up on them.”

            At this, Yongguk forced a chuckle. “I suppose. So what’s the purpose of this holiday?”

            “I’m not quite sure but I know it probably used to be to celebrate the summer harvest. It’s like thanking light and the sun for granting a good crop season. And so lighting all the lights is symbolic.”

            Yongguk shifted the bags in his arm. “When do I hand out the presents?”

            You pointed at the car. “You leave them in the car until we go home, silly. Come on! We’re going to miss the festivities.”

            You waited for him to come back empty-handed and the two of you walked into the temple. Your mom looked up from her prayers and beckoned the two of you over, hissing at you for being late. But she smiled when she saw Yongguk and you knew all would be forgiven.

            The two of you bowed your heads and you chanted the words that you’ve known since childhood. You peeked at Yongguk and saw his lips moving to his own words and you smiled before focusing again. After the prayers were over, you got up and held Yongguk’s hand.

            “Let’s go see the performances!”     

            The two of you stood side by side among the crowd of people as you gathered in the courtyard to watch the dancers do their ritual performances. For little children, there was a circle where they explained all the legends of the deities who were honored. You plopped down in the circle, dragging Yongguk down with you.

            “Because you’re as clueless as these kids,” you whispered to him and watched his ears turn a pinkish red. He coughed and the volunteer telling the legends looked over at you. You waved to her, knowing her from a long time and she wiggled her eyebrows at Yongguk.

            “As you know Diwali also celebrates the birthday of Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth. For the first day, we light lamps in honor of these deities. Can anyone tell me how many days Diwali actually is?”

            You forced Yongguk’s hand up and he looked at you. “I don’t have a clue,” he hissed.

            You smiled. “You’re holding up the answer.”

            He looked at his outstretched hand and a grin spread over his face. When the volunteer called on him, he confidently said five and was awarded with a candy. As the two of you were moving along, heading to the outside to see the fireworks, Yongguk unwrapped the candy.

            “Say ah.”

            “It’s your prize. You have it.”

            He smiled and popped it into your mouth. “You’re the one who told me the answer.”

            You smiled at him, trying to keep the candy in your mouth and he squeezed your hand. In front of you, amidst the oohs and ahhs of the crowd, you saw the burst of fireworks. All along the temple’s halls you saw the warm glow of lanterns and candles and in the sky multicolored fireworks burst into brilliant showers.       

            One exploded particularly close to you and Yongguk protectively covered your ears. You looked at him shyly and shook your head. Despite being the world’s biggest dork, he really knew how to look out for you.

            You leaned your head on his shoulder. “Gukkie I hope you’re hungry.”

            “A little, why?”

            “Because you’re about to be stuffed by my mom. We have to celebrate a harvest festival with a lot of food, right?”

            You saw him smile nervously. Last time he ate dinner with your family, your mom had thrown a fit when he stopped after his second plate. You tiptoed and kissed him quickly so that nobody can disapprove. “It’s okay. You can just give the food to my brother. He’ll eat anything.”

this is for hhoonneeyy as well as bapkpoploverrandomz

You wanted a Diwali celebration and I may be a few days off but here it is haha

It's been a lot of fun exploring different cultures, and I feel fortunate that these oneshots can help me do that