"Why do I always have to get sent for this.." I sighed, raking my fingers across my shoulder-lengthed dark hair. It was Christmas eve, and mum just stuffed a wad of cash in my hands to get Christmas decorations for the house today.. Isn't it too late to get them since it's already the eve of the holiday itself? My mum wouldn't even be done decorating the house in time, she seems so busy even at the moment-

Ah, I don't know anymore.

I got dressed in a few layers since it was getting colder by the day, and I headed out, pulling the strings of my hoodie to tighten the hood around my face. The temperature had dropped a few degrees since dawn, and it was evidently freezing to this point. Snow fell gracefully from the skies and coated the sidewalks with white, and I had to be careful of my every step on the pavement. Fortunately it was only a short walk to the shop that my mum had mentioned, and I let out a sigh of relief when I pushed the door open with a friendly ring of a bell above me.

The shop had a cabin cozy feeling to it, with candles lit and giving the room a warm atmosphere, enough to warm myself up. Decorations littered the walls in time for the winter season, and it has been a while since I've actually spent time by myself in such a comfortable place. I rubbed at my sleeves repeatedly to get my body to heat up slowly and I used a hand to retrieve my phone from my pocket. I had taken note of what my mum wanted me to get, and it was quite a handful so I could be in the shop for some time without my parents questioning. I went further into the shop, eyes shifting occasionally to spot for the items I needed to get, and I was thankful that there weren't as much customers than I had expected on a weekday.

It might be due to the cold, I thought.

"Wrapping paper, check.. Santa hats, check.. Baubles, reindeer hats, check as well.." I was standing in the middle of the aisle, looking at my phone screen to cross off the items I had already placed in the basket I was holding. I didn't expect to find the items this fast; they just happened to be in the same aisle. There were a number of items left to get, and I proceeded on leisuring around the store to enjoy the warmth and comfort.

In 20 minutes I had managed to complete all the items on my checklist except one: Christmas banners. In the rounds of walking no Christmas banners have been distinguished, and I thought I would have to leave to find another shop nearby that sells them, but I decided to ask the shop clerk for assistance.

I'm a shy and introverted person, making it hard for me to approach people, so I just stood behind a shelf for a good 5 minutes thinking of how to ask where a specific product is without making them think I was awkward. I took a deep breath, and shuffled my feet towards the counter hesitantly.

"Hi, uh.. Do you know where the Christmas banners are..?"

I swore I heard myself stammer at least three words in that sentence, but if the clerk noticed, then she didn't comment on it.

"It's at the last aisle, usually at the top," the clerk directed, using her hand gesture to motion me towards the alley furthest from me then. I bowed to her and muttered a soft "thank you," before making my way towards the aisle.

Once I reached there I immediately lifted my head up to the top shelves to search for the banners, and it wasn't long until I found them. There were a few different designs, but I knew my mom, so I was able to choose which one she would probably like the most.

Then it hit me.

The store clerk had said that the banners were "at the top".

Which means, I am too short to possibly reach for it...

I didn't want to ask the assistants for help as I might have already weirded them out by staying in their shop for too long... I tried reaching my arm out while tiptoe-ing to reach the highest shelf, but to no avail. I sighed for the third time that day, standing rooted to the ground with no idea of what to do next. Perhaps plan B, which is indeed having to go to another to store to get the banners...

I lifted my head to get ready to exit the aisle, but I paused when someone caught my sight. His back was facing me and I could make out his blond locks, body accompanied by a cream sweater to match the winter style, with long dark-colored pants. The blond's left hand was clenched around the handles of a basket while his right hand was supposedly..? holding a shopping list that he was probably scrutinizing then. He was a few inches taller than me, and he had the perfect height to reach those Christmas banners I needed for sure. Amongst the other customers I have seen today he seemed like the only one who could obtain products from the highest shelf, and I in a breath.

I didn't want to do the burden of leaving the shop just to make it easy for myself to retrieve Christmas banners, so it's just me asking the reallyattractiveperson, or just head home without getting the banners.

Banners seemed to be essential for decorations, though. So I decided to go with the latter.

I treaded towards the male, my anxiety engulfing me dreadfully slowly. I drew in a shaky breath; This was a really bad idea.

"E-Excuse me..?"

The blond spun around almost immediately, his fringe covering his eyes. He did a small hair flip to get it out of the way.

Now that I could see his face, I noticed the things that stood out first: His eyes were big and had a slight mischievous glint to them, and I thought they were really pretty. His nose and (kissable)lips defined his visage well, and his jaw was just... Perfect. He looked like someone who just popped out of one of my favorite manga; it was so ethereal.

And I thought he was already attractive enough, I deadpanned in my mind.

"Yes?" The male's lips curled into a small smile, and I was glad his voice lived up to his charm.

"Uh.." I was so engrossed in his features that I almost forgot I needed. "Ah, the Christmas banners.." My shyness got the better of me and my mind suddenly went blank, unable to say anything else as my voice trailed off.

I think he was a regular visitor of the shop, as he raised his eyes to spot the banners behind me. "What about them?"

I didn't even notice I was looking at my shoes. Damn it, self. You embarrassed yourself in front of a really cute guy. Way to go, congratulations. Time to write this on your list of achievements.

"Could you.. Possibly.." I swore I was losing my voice then.

"–Get them for you?" His smile widened and he was showing his almost perfect set of teeth, and I was almost blinded. "Sure."

He walked past me to that specific shelf, and he didn't have to use up all his efforts to reach for them. My eyes were still hung low when he passed them to me. "Which of the designs do you need? I took all of them.."

I didn't want to burden him any further, so I just took what he had obtained from the shelf. "That's fine, thanks–" I bowed quickly and dashed past him to the cashier, and he was left standing there, laughing to himself in which I didn't see.

That was so much work, I breathed to myself. The queue was pretty moderate, long enough to get me to calm down from that conversation. Once I reached the front, I passed my basket to the cashier and proceeded to fish out money from my wallet as she scanned each item one by one.

"Your total is seventy-seven dollars and thirty cents," the cashier read out, and alarming thoughts started racing through my mind. I only had seventy-five dollars, how was the money that my mum gave not enough? I continuously fumbled with my wallet in an attempt to find more money, but it was no use. I was completely bankrupt after.

I looked up with fear in my eyes as I admitted, "Ah, I only have seventy-five dollars.."

The customer right behind me, and the cashier just raised an eyebrow, gaze burning holes in me. "Would you like to remove some items, then?"

"That'd be nice-"

"No, no, don't." A familiar voice suddenly sounded out of nowhere, and the blond from earlier stood behind me, passing the cashier a few dollars. "Chip this in for me. Also, keep the change." I turned to face him with eyebrows raised and my mouth hanging open; eyelids fluttering in disbelief.

"No, don't do that!" I panicked right there and then, trying to wave my hands to stop the cashier from taking the money from him, but it was too late; she had already registered the cash in. The blond had already started taking the plastic bags from the counter, and waited for me as I took the receipt, still frozen in shock.

"Have a nice day!" The male bid the cashier farewell with a fond grin, before looking and starting to walk beside me.

"I'll walk you home; it's a cold day today. My name's Jo Kwangmin, what's yours?"