𝙗𝙖𝙗𝙮 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚! ; 𝙝𝙨𝙬 ✔️

𝙊𝙣𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝘼 𝙈𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙤𝙣

"Seungwoo, get down here!" Hana called from the basement of his parents' house. I had Haneul in my arms while Seungwoo was putting the finishing touches on Santa's cookies and milk. He and Haneul had baked them in the afternoon, before the Christmas Eve party. We'd gotten back about a half an hour earlier, having left with a cranky, sleepy Haneul and a tipsy Seungwoo. Tipsy Seungwoo was one of my favourite Seungwoos, and he'd infinitely cheered up Haneul by singing loud Christmas carols and kissing her nose on the way home.

Hana was here for the annual Christmas Eve sleepover, which had been far from annual for the past couple of years.

"Baby, can you take Chika out?" Seungwoo pleaded as he bent over the plate of cookies. He had a tube of icing in his hand and it had smeared on his cheeks and nose.

"Yeah, sure." I set Haneul down on the ground. "Haneul, baby, go downstairs and play with Aunt Sunhwa, okay?"

She nodded and toddled off.

"Chika!" I called, clapping my hands. The fluffy white little cat immediately came bounding over. I grabbed her harness and leash and clipped them on over her Christmas sweater. I hated to put her in clothes because it was way too cutesy for me, but Seungwoo insisted that she would catch cold if she didn't wear one. "You ready to go for a walk, baby?"

Chika placed her front paws on my legs and purred excitedly. I cooed and patted her head before grabbing my coat and heading out.

We were halfway down the stairs when I spotted a vaguely familiar figure come loping up the driveway. I squinted to see if I could make out who it was in the dark.

"Hey, gorgeous." A deep male voice called out to me.

I blinked in surprise as I recognized the adorable dimples on the man's face. "Jaehyun?"

"In the flesh." He grinned and spread his arms as if for a hug. "Miss me, baby?"

"Don't kid yourself." I laughed. "What are you doing here? Aren't you and Seungwoo mortal enemies?"

Jaehyun shrugged. "Yeah, but his parents invited me over. It's a tradition, they say."

"Hana's here." I said casually, wondering what their recent relationship was.

He nodded wisely. "Oh, I know. She told me she'd be home when I saw her in France."

"You saw her in France?" I felt a little shocked by this news.

"Yup. Went to check out her boutique and get some tips for my store. I've been trying to scout her to work in my company."

"Oh? You think she will?"

"Not a chance." Jaehyun said easily, stuffing his hands in his pockets. He looked up at me from underneath his eyelashes, almost shyly. "You've gotten prettier, you know."

"I've gotten older." I corrected him. "You should hurry inside, they're probably all waiting for you."

He came closer, stepping further into the light. He had aged a bit in the past three years. I had seen him briefly over the summer, the last time when he had come to Haneul's birthday party, but I hadn't been able to get a good look at him.

"Would you believe if I told you I came to see you?" He cracked a smile as I tugged on Chika's leash, getting her ready to go back inside.

I grinned back. "It's nice to know you haven't changed, Jaehyun."

He pressed a hand to his heart. "Oh, baby girl, it's so nice to hear you say my name again."

"Get inside before my husband thinks I'm cheating on him." I rolled my eyes. "You're always taking things one step too far."