I woke up the next morning with a smile. 

It was Christmas Eve. 

Sure, I was a little upset that I wouldn't be able to spend Christmas with my mother, sister and brother but I was content with having them visit on New Year's. 

Tae Ji wasn't up yet so I grabbed my bathrobe, slipped into my slippers quietly and avoided all the floorboards that creaked. Tae Ji had to be one of the lightest sleepers I had ever met. 

I snuck past the rest of the rooms to the kitchen and out to the balcony. 

There were some flurries in the dark sky. I quietly closed the doors so that I wouldn't annoy our neighbors. 

And so, I got to work. I was going to make the best hot chocolate they ever had. 

By seven, Rara and Hana were up and I knew Tae Ji would be soon to follow and then wake Eun Mi. 

Hana took a deep breath and said in English, "Ahh, smells like home."

I picked up her mug and handed it to her. "One hot chocolate with two jumbo marshmallow and whipped cream for you and another with whipped cream and a candy cane for our Rara."

Hana and Rara's faces lit up as they took their steaming mugs. 

Soon, all of 12hour was sitting at the kitchen table, sipping their hot chocolate. 

"We're going to film the music video on the twenty seventh," Hana informed us. "And then our first live performance will be on New Year's Eve."

We nodded. We knew that after Christmas, we'd have a non stop schedule. But we knew that we could do it. 

"Well at least our schedule's not that bad today," Tae Ji said. "Just a radio show and practice. Then we have the rest of the day off."

"We should bake Christmas cookies for our families," Rara suggested. 

"Yes!" Eun Mi squealed. "And for our oppas and unnies at JYPE."

"Eun Mi, when did you get so nice?" I teased. 

"She has one day to get on Santa's nice list, so cut her some slack," Hana said with a smirk. 

Eun Mi stuck out her tongue. 

"That's a lot of cookies," Rara said. 

"We have plenty of time though," Tae Ji said. 

oOo

Jin Sung went easy on us since it was Christmas Eve and everything but also because he wanted to go home to celebrate a bit earlier. 

Then we had a quick run through of our songs and finally, Sung Gyu drove us to the supermarket to buy our cookie ingredients. 

We wreaked havoc upon the supermarket. We split up into two teams to find the right ingredients in twenty minutes. There were several cereal box casualties. 

We probably freaked the cashier out with our crazy race to the cashier to beat the other team. 

Then in the parking lot, we nearly hit a Mercedes. 

Sung Gyu was very amused until that part. 

At home, we made the cookies at a calmer pace. We calculated that one hundred cookies were needed and we could bake fifty in two hours so it took us altogether four hours. By then, it was around six.  

  As we sat in our living room, watching reruns of 'Happy Together', packaging the cookies so we could send them out the next day, I began to feel anxious. 

What if 'Love Games' wasn't successful? What was going to happen to us?

Unfortunately, I already knew. 

We would be jokes. 

I felt a shiver run through my spine and my legs stiffened. 

I got up slowly. 

"Where are you going?" Hana asked. 

"I just want to go for a run," I said. "To clear my mind."

"Oh, okay. Be back before eight okay?" She told me. 

I nodded and went to change into my sweats. 

I didn't want to be recognized so I put on my dingy old gray sweats that I wore on competitions. They reminded me of home and had a comforting effect. And they were kind of hideous. A perfect disguise really. 

I pulled on a beanie that covered all my hair, a scarf to cover my nose and mouth and gloves. 

I put on my once-white-now-grayish-brown sneakers and jogged out to the bridge. 

It was a twenty minute jog but I hardly noticed the length of it. I kept thinking of what would happen if we failed. 

I finally reached the bridge and looked out. The skyline was beautiful. I suddenly realized why my dad loved to play here as a kid. 

I took a few deep breathes. 

"Appa, I'm scared," I said into the wind. 

"I know I shouldn't be. I know it will only make it worse but...easier said than done, right?"

I sighed. I decided to make a trip to the end of the bridge and then back to the dorm. 

I passed a few bicyclists, couples, people carrying groceries and no one recognized me. I was grateful. 

A man in a puffy jacket, old jeans and sneakers, a beanie and a mask was walking towards me on the sidewalk, with his shoulders hunched over. 

I felt my body stiffen. My instincts told me to turn around. I didn't want to pass by that man. But I couldn't just turn around, what if he chased after me? He was probably faster too. 

It hadn't occurred to me how ridiculous my thoughts were at that time. 

I continued to run towards him. 

Just as I passed him, he stopped.

Crap. I sped up my pace. 

"Hyun Ae?"

The voice was so familiar. 

I stopped and turned around. 

The man pulled the mask off. 

Junsu. 

"Junsu!" I whispered. I'm sure he didn't want anyone to recognize him either since he wasn't wearing any of his flashy clothes or accessories. 

We walked up to each other. 

"How did you know it was me?" I asked. 

"I recognized your scarf," he said. "The one your grandma made for you."

"Oh." My hand the scarf. "Why are you out here by yourself?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing," he said with a grin then he shrugged. "I just wanted some time alone. Our dorm's been crazy since everyone's wrapping presents, sending them, calling family. I just needed some quiet. How about you?"

I shrugged. "The same I guess. I was actually really worried about how 'Love Games' is going to be received. I mean, if it doesn't do well, we're screwed."

"I'm sure you guys will do great," Junsu said. 

"I keep telling myself that but...I'm still doubtful," I said quietly. 

Some people passed by us and we edged to the railing to get out of their way. 

I leaned on it and looked out at the skyline again. 

"My dad would know exactly what to say," I said. 

"I'm sorry I can't," Junsu said with a sympathetic smile. 

"It's okay. You really don't need to," I said. 

"That doesn't make me a very good oppa, does it?"

I chuckled. "You're a good oppa to us, Junsu. Really, we should stop causing so much trouble for you guys. I mean, you helped us out so much. Especially, with 'Love Games'."

"We're glad to help you guys," he said. "You can ask for anything. We're your company family."

I smiled. "Thank you."

There was a comfortable silence between us as we stared out to the skyline. 

Junsu was the first to speak.

"Hyun Ae, aren't you cold?"

"Just a bit of my face," I said. I puffed out my chest like Pop Eye the sailor. "I'm very well insulated, thank you."

"Really? I'm kind of cold," he said. "Maybe we should go back to our dorms."

"No!" I suddenly cried out, to my surprise. 

Junsu raised an eyebrow. 

"When-when I'm here, I feel closest to my dad," I explained. "Just a few more minutes."

"Well you wouldn't want to get frostbite on your nose," he said jokingly. 

"I doubt it," I said with a smile. 

I leaned on the railing and stood on the little bars at the bottom. 

I stretched out as far as I could and closed my eyes. 

There was a sudden gist of wind and I lost my balance a bit. 

I began to fall back but Junsu caught me. 

He helped me to my feet and I avoided his eyes. 

"Thanks," I said, pulling my beanie down on my head some more to hide my reddening ears. 

"You sure, you're not cold?" He looked at me with concern. 

"I'm fine, really," I insisted. "I think-I think I'm better now, maybe we should go-"

Junsu caught my wrist gently. 

My eyes widened and he looked quite surprised himself. 

"'Love Games' will do great," he stammered out. "I promise."

I was going to make a snarky comeback but I held it back, mostly because I was still in a bit of a shock. 

"Thanks," I whispered. 

We stood still for a few moments. No one passed by us. 

I was too shy to look into his eyes for a few moments but when I did, my breath caught. 

He looked troubled. 

And for some reason, I found that attractive. 

But there was no way I was going to admit it myself. 

He leaned forward so our foreheads touched and closed his eyes. 

"I promise," he said very quietly. 

My heart was probably bruised from hitting my ribcage so fast and hard. 

For some odd reason, I noticed how warm his nose felt against mine. And I didn't bother pulling away. 

"Are you still cold?" He asked quietly again. 

Well, now, every nerve in my body was ten times as sensitive and the wind was picking up, so, yes, I was a bit cold. 

I nodded slightly. 

I felt him take a little breath and then, his lips pressed against mine. 

My eyes popped open from the surprise but I didn't dare pull away. My body was getting warmer and warmer. 

He tilted his head to the right a bit more and gently moved his lips against mine. 

He suddenly stopped and I felt him sigh. 

I felt the pressure on my lips get lighter. 

My hand reached to his jacket and I pulled him closer and crashed my lips against his and I kissed him back. 

I felt the flurry of his eyelashes as his eyes popped open this time. And then the closed again. 

Honestly, I had no idea what I was doing. This was my first kiss. Ever. 

I did what girls usually did in movies during a kiss. Or at least I hoped I did. 

I heard someone whistle as they drove by on their bike. 

His hand caressed the small of my back while the other interlocked his fingers with mine. 

I felt his heartbeat grow faster even through the jacket. 

I was running out of breath and I'm pretty sure Junsu realized so he pulled his lips away and then took me into a tight hug. 

"Everything will be fine," he whispered into my hair, which had escaped from under my beanie due to the wind. 

I nodded against his chest. 

"That was your first kiss, wasn't it?" I heard the slight teasing in his voice. 

I blushed immensely and hesitantly nodded. 

"At least you're warm now," he said. He hesitated before continuing. "Did you...like it?"

I probably turned purple then. I didn't dare look up at him so i murmured into his jacket, "Yes."

"I'm glad," he said, probably smiling. "I'm very glad."

And I was too. 

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Merry Christmas everyone!!! Sheesh, I was blushing when I wrote this! I mean, I can write about anime characters kissing but real, existent people? Oh, God. I feel wrong. Anywayz, hope you enjoyed this chapter (which was kind of crappy)!