Erika's POV
In the early hours of the morning, I could hear shuffling outside the bedroom door. The shuffling was accompanied by the hushed voices of my older siblings. I turned over and tried my best to ignore them.
The door flew open and my siblings rushed into my room. They piled on top of me, slightly cutting off my air supply. I groaned and tried my best to push them off to no avail.
"Erika get up it's Christmas" my brother Taeyang whisper shouted from on top of me. I tried again to push them off but this time they shifted their weight making it harder to move.
"How do you expect me to get up if you're all on top of me" I whined. They eventually got off me and stood around my bed watching me fall back asleep. Aideen ripped the covers off me and put them on the floor.
"Why do you do this to me" I groaned. Aideen sat down on the bed and rubbed my head gently.
"You need to shower and start getting ready" Aideen said softly. I groaned and wrapped my arms around Aideen's neck.
"Carry me" my voice was slightly raspy from sleep. Aideen scoffed and rolled her eyes. She rubbed my back gently.
"Erika the last time I was able to pick you up was when you were five" she stated. I whined and reluctantly released her before getting out of bed and shuffling to my bathroom, locking the door behind me.
I turned the shower to its hottest setting before stepping inside. My siblings said I was crazy to shower with water this hot but I could really care less. I decided to wash and condition my hair because it was Christmas and I didn't want to have greasy hair in all the photos my dad was going to take today.
Once I was finished in the shower I shut off the water and wrapped myself in a towel. I regarded my appearance in the mirror before getting started on my styling my hair. I finished fairly quickly and returned to my now empty bedroom. I found my bed already made for me probably courtesy of Aideen.
I got dressed in casual ripped jeans and a t-shirt before I lay back down on my bed. There was a soft knock on the door followed by Hyejin entering before I could answer. She placed a plate of chocolate cookies and a cup of milky coffee on my vanity.
"I brought breakfast" She smiled. My siblings started the tradition of waking up before our parents and having unconventional breakfast after our parents had a huge fight on Christmas morning when I was five. Their fight ruined my day and my siblings hated seeing me so upset.
"Thank you" I pulled her in for a tight hug. She rolled her eyes at my childish antics and attempted to push me off.
"Okay okay. You're gonna crease my dress" She chuckled. I released her and grabbed a cookie from the plate. Hyejin left to go finish getting ready. I took the time to enjoy the final fleeting moments of the early morning without my parents.
Kina's POV
"Kina wake your ass up it's Christmas" Zara said as she barged into my room. I groaned and threw a few pillows in her direction. Zara retreated back down the hall to her room. I checked the time on my phone.
06:30am
I got up out of bed and immediately called Amelia as always. She answered within the first few rings.
"Good morning my love" I heard Amelia's already wide awake voice say through the phone.
"Morning" I replied, my voice still raspy from sleep.
"Good lord Kina what have I told you about the morning voice. Holy fuck" Amelia groaned. I chuckled as I sat back down on my bed. Sometimes I called her early in the morning when I had just woken up because she always told me how my morning voice gave her butterflies.
"Stop it" she whined. I chuckled and watched as her cheeks flushed.
"You know what I'll talk to you later" Amelia gave up before ending the call. I stretched and made my way to the bathroom I shared with Zara. Unfortunately Zara had beat me to the shower yet again.
"Ugh Zara will you hurry up. You always take forever in there" I said against the bathroom door. I received no answer as always. I sighed and walked downstairs to the living room. My mom was sitting on the couch watching her daily dose of cheesy rom-coms on Netflix.
"Well good morning sunshine. Merry Christmas" my mom greeted cheerily, opening her arms for a hug. I crossed the living room into her open arms. She cuddled me close to her like she did when I was little.
"Merry Christmas Mom" I murmured. She placed a kiss on the top of my head and pointed to the Christmas tree.
"Look Santa came last night" she joked. I rolled my eyes at her childish joke. There was a ton of presents under the tree though I'm sure most of them belonged to Zara. I embraced my mother for a little while longer before getting up and making a beeline for the kitchen.
I poured myself a cup of coffee with a small amount of creamer and an even smaller amount of sugar. I drank my coffee in the kitchen while I scrolled through Instagram.
"Kina come open your gifts before I steal them" Zara yelled from the living room. She said the exact same thing every single year. When I was younger I would sprint to the living room in fear of my presents being stolen but now I knew better than to believe and empty threat.
I walked into the living room and sat down by the tree next to Zara. Zara wasted no time opening her gifts. I grabbed the closest gift with my name on it. My gifts were all wrapped in black wrapping paper.
"Do you still have some of this paper?" I asked my mom. She nodded.
"You can have the rest if you would like" she offered. I opened the present. It was a new set of paint brushes.
"How did you know?" I asked my mom jokingly. I looked at Zara, who was almost finished opening her presents. I grabbed the next set of presents.
The next one was a brand new set of paints. I read the label on the paints and I looked at my mom in shock.
"Mom these paints are only available overseas and they cost a fortune if they're not sold out. You shouldn't have" I gasped. My mother laughed. I put paint on my Christmas list but I didn't mean an expensive set. The paints were made from white sea shells and you could only get them in Thailand. That's what made them so expensive.
I hesitantly reached for the next gift. I felt guilty for allowing my mother to by such an expensive gift.
"Kina it's okay you deserve those paints. Now open the other gifts." My mother said cheerily.
I reached for the much bigger gift that had my name on it. I ripped off the wrapping paper to find 5 new canvases.
So far my mother had gotten me every gift on my list.
I grabbed the last smaller gift from under the tree. I ripped off the wrapping paper to find a small velvet box inside. I opened the box.
Inside there was a silver ring with my birthstone in it as well as something engraved on the inside.
Kina Song 16.03.03.
"Mom you shouldn't have. I was saving up for it" I said.
My mother only smiled and opened her arms up for a hug. I hugged her willingly and she again cuddled me close to her. I liked the bond I shared with my mom. She always told me how much I reminded her of herself at my age. My mom was one of the only people that truly accepted me.
We spent the rest of the morning together before we got ready to go to my aunt's house.
Erika POV
Once my parents were awake we all sat on cushions around the Christmas tree. The golden lights twinkled as my dad snapped many pictures of us around the tree.
"Look at you all sitting together. My beautiful children" my dad gushed. We thanked him. We began to open gifts. I grabbed the first one I saw with my name on it. The wrapping paper was a beautiful rose gold colour with white decals decorating the paper.
I delicately peeled the wrapping paper of the rectangular box. I saw the unmistakable Converse logo on the black box. I looked at my dad in awe. I hurriedly opened the box to find the black Converse GR82s that I have been begging my dad to get for months.
"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you appa" I said giving my dad the biggest hug. He chuckled at my excitement.
"Go on and open the rest of the gifts Erika" He chuckled. I sat back down on my cushion and grabbed another box with the same wrapping paper on it. Again I delicately peeled off the wrapping paper to reveal a set of crystals with cherry blossoms preserved inside.
"These are beautiful" I breathed running my fingers over the crystals. My dad's smile grew larger and I knew he was responsible for the gift. The next wasn't wrapped but instead there was rose gold fabric covering it. I lifted the fabric to find a pink themed candy basket.
"Remember to go easy on that Eri." My mother said taking a sip from her tea cup. I smiled gratefully but didn't speak. I picked up my last gift, gently peeling off the wrapping paper.
This was a small rectangular shaped gift. When I had removed the wrapping paper I discovered a midnight blue velvet box. I looked up at my dad and he motioned for me to open the box. I opened it to find a gorgeous jewellery set.
The set had a beautiful silver charm bracelet. Each charm featured small diamonds in them. I ran my fingers over the delicate charms. There was a pair of silver drop chain earrings with diamonds on the end. The last item in the box was a silver necklace. The pendant had a beautiful aquamarine stone in the middle.
"I think its time you received your first set of diamonds" my father spoke. I placed the jewellery down carefully before pulling my father into a hug once more. He chuckled and pat my back gently before releasing me. My older siblings applauded. It was a family tradition that Aideen had started for us kids to receive diamonds as a gift when we were old enough to not lose them.
I sat back down and picked up the velvet box once more, gently running my fingers over the delicate jewellery. I looked over at my siblings who had also finished opening their gifts.
"Alright I want all the wrapping paper off my floor then everyone is going to eat something before we go to your aunt's house" My mother instructed. We all nodded and collected our respective wrapping paper. I took mine to my room and folded it neatly into little squares before placing them into my scrapbooking box.
Then I went to go collect my presents and put them in my room. I picked up my phone to send my friends a message. Seconds after I sent the message Maya was video calling me.
"MERRY CHRISTMAS BITCH" she screamed when I answered. I shushed her and closed my door. She giggled and flipped the camera to face the rest of the group.
"Everyone say hi to Erika" she instructed. Tabitha, Nancy and Airi said hi at the same time. I smiled but my heart was tinged with a bit of sadness. I couldn't attend the sleepover at Maya's house because I needed to go see my family today.
"Hold up let us see your outfit" Tabitha said. I stood in front of my mirror and flipped the camera so that they could see.
"Beautiful beautiful" Airi said.
"Look at you. Kina better watch out because somebody is gonna wife you up tonight" Tabitha said.
"First of all I'm going to a family gathering. Second of all I already told you Kina probably has a girlfriend" I said.
"Erika it's time to go" I heard Aideen say from the other side of the house. My friends bid me farewell and I hung up the phone putting it in my small black purse. I ran from my room to the living room where Aideen was waiting for me. I pulled a funny face at her. She rolled her eyes at me.
"Just go to the car" she chuckled. I giggled and ran to the entry room to get a pair of shoes before walking outside to the cars.
"Appa which car are we taking?" I asked looking at the two cars in front of me.
"The Kia" my appa said opening the drivers door. I got in to the very back and put my purse next to me.
Everyone piled into the car and we pulled out the drive, and headed to my aunt's house.
"Remember what I said about talking to your grandparents?" My mother asked upon our arrival. We all groaned.
"We are actually Korean unlike you" Aideen muttered under her breath. Unfortunately our mother heard what she said.
"What was that Aideen? Seo-Jun can you hear the disrespect from your daughter?" My mother asked. My appa sighed and ran hand through his hair.
"Aideen" My appa warned. Aideen groaned.
"I'm sorry mother" Aideen muttered. We all got out of the car and went to the front door. My dad rang the doorbell and my aunt came to the door. My siblings and I bowed and greeted our aunt.
"Annyeonghaseyo sungmo" we all said in unison to avoid getting an ass whopping from our mother. Our aunt, Minhyo laughed and ushered us inside.
"Why are you being so formal I'm only 28" Aunt Minhyo chuckled.
We played it off with awkward laughter and sent daggers in the direction of our mother. Before we went to eat all the children had to greet all the elders.
"You've grown so much Erika you look so beautiful" my halmeoni said when I greeted her.
"Gamsahabnida halmeoni" I said politely. My harabeoji smiled at me and patted my shoulder.
"Such a beautiful young lady" he said.
"Gamsahabnida harabeoji" I said. He nodded and patted my shoulder again.
I moved on to my Aunt Minhyo and her husband next. I bowed and my hair fell into my face. My aunt giggled and pushed the hair out of my face for me. I moved to my uncle who was last on the line because he was the youngest and he was single.
"You're so big now Eri" my uncle, Seok-Jun said. I laughed and bowed in front of him. I went to sit with my siblings and cousins on the outside deck when I was finished greeting everyone. They were talking with my cousins about some concert they wanted to go to in Korea. I decided to go on my phone to pass time.
"Everyone it's time to eat" Aunt Minhyo called from inside. We all filed to the kitchen to get a plate. Aunt Minhyo gave me extra radish and kimchi because I'm the youngest.
I went back to sit outside with the other people closer to my age. Aunt Minhyo brought us bulgogi and honey short ribs and right behind her, Uncle Seok-Jun was bringing shot glasses and soju for the older kids.
My dad put a champagne flute of sparkling apple juice in front of me. He leaned down to whisper in my ear.
"Have a few shots of soju with your siblings and your cousins if you want to but not too much alright" he said softly. I nodded. Everyone passed around the shot glasses. A shot glass was filled for me. I clinked my glass against the glasses of the others at the table and raised the alcoholic liquid to my lips.
The bitter-sweet liquid went down my throat. We continued to eat and drink and just enjoyed our time together.
"I think it's time for a toast" my cousin, Jessica said going in to fetch some champagne flutes for everyone else. It was now dark outside and all the food was gone. Jessica came back with another bottle of soju, a bottle of sparkling apple juice and some champagne flutes. I got up to help her carry everything to the table.
"Look at how Erika helps me more than you pabos" Jessica said. We all laughed. Jessica poured the sparkling apple juice for everyone.
"I would like to make a toast to everyone for being here to celebrate Christmas as a family. It's always great to spend time with all of you even though you're sometimes annoying as hell" Jessica said.
"To the Kim-Park family" Jessica said as she raised her glass. We all raised our glasses.
"To the Kim-Park family" we all said. We clinked our glasses together and once that was finished I excused myself to the bathroom.
I looked in the bathroom mirror to check my makeup. My makeup was fine but my skin was flushed from all the alcohol. I fluffed my hair and sighed before leaving the bathroom.
When I got back outside everyone was just talking and Aunt Minhyo had brought out a chocolate cake. I sat down and took a sip of my apple juice.
Aideen cut everyone slices of cake and we enjoyed the chocolaty goodness while steady conversation and laughter flowed.
"We brought presents" Aunt Minhyo and Uncle Seok-Jun said as they brought out gift bags for everyone. I took a peek into mine. There was some candy, a selfie light and some new jewellery from my favourite Korean jewellery store. I thanked my aunt and uncle again. They retreated inside once everyone had received their gifts.
We continued to talk and drink soju well into the night before our appa came to tell Aideen to get everyone ready to leave. We said our goodbyes to everyone we left to go home.
Kina's POV
"Kina are you ready?" I heard Zara say from across the hall. I buttoned my black shirt up and tucked it in to my dress pants.
"Just about" I said. I put on my shoes and grabbed my suit jacket. I walked downstairs to find Amelia, my mother and my sister waiting for me downstairs.
"Look at you. You look so sexy babe" Amelia said. I pulled her into my arms and kissed her gently.
"Alright love birds let's get going or we're going to be late" My mom said. I released Amelia and we walked out of the house to the car. We all piled into the car.
"Remember to tell Amelia about the family members that aren't very friendly" Zara said. I turned to Amelia.
"So my grandmother is really homophobic and she still thinks I'm straight even though we've been telling her I'm gay for years. My uncle is also homophobic and I think he's disowned me" I explained. Amelia nodded and sighed.
"Well they haven't met me yet" she said cheerily. Everyone smiled at her optimism.
"Just don't get too easily offended okay?" I said softly to her. She nodded and rested her head on my shoulder. We pulled up the driveway of my aunt's mansion.
"Welcome to the house of horrors everyone" my mother said. I dreaded going in there with Amelia. My whole extended family was going to be here and I know a lot of them are not too fond of the idea of me being lesbian. We all got out of the car and walked up to the front door. Zara rang the doorbell. My uncle, Timothee came to open the door.
"Helena. Zara its so nice to see you again" he said cheerily. I rolled my eyes at his petty nature. He ushered all of us in.
"Good to see you again Kina" he said coldly as I walked into the house.
"Likewise" I said sarcastically. He was taken aback by the attitude I had developed in the past year. As we walked through the halls to the grand dining room, I snaked my arm around Amelia's waist.
"Oh my god. Helena it's been so long" my Aunt Mirage said as we entered the dining room. She gave her sister a hug. When her eyes set on me, her smile grew.
"My goodness Kina have you grown? Come on and give me a hug" she said. I let go of Amelia and gave Aunt Mirage a hug. She looked at Amelia.
"And who's this beautiful girl?" She asked me. I couldn't help but smile at her.
"This" I paused and motioned for Amelia to come over to us.
"Is Amelia" I said as Amelia joined the conversation.
"I'm Mirage Kina's aunt or rather her second mother." Aunt Mirage said.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Mirage" Amelia said politely. Aunt Mirage pulled her in for a hug and Amelia was stunned for a second before she returned the hug. Once we had chatted for a little bit with Aunt Mirage we went to greet other family members before sitting down at the dinner table. The dinner was going without any drama.
Until...
"Firstly I wanna thank everyone for coming tonight even though we would have been fine without some of you" Timothee said looking directly at me and Amelia. I rolled my eyes. It was the exact same toast every single year.
"Let's take a moment to congratulate everyone on their year's achievements starting with Mirage. Mirage still owns a multi-billion dollar publishing company called KM Publications" Timothee paused for everyone to applaud. I was the only one who knew that the KM really does stand for Kina and Mirage but I was told to keep it a secret to avoid causing more drama.
"Next I want to congratulate my brother Max and his girlfriend on their pregnancy. I can't wait to be an uncle again" Timothee continued. Instead of clapping everyone gasped.
"Maximus you got this girl pregnant out of wedlock?" My grandmother spoke for the first time tonight.
"Here we go" I said under my breath and sat back to watch the drama unfold. Max was silent for a few moments before he tried to speak but was silenced by a slap from my grandmother. The room was so quiet that I swore I could hear my heart beating.
"How dare you Maximus? How dare you bring this thing into my house?" My grandmother asked angrily. She was about to speak again when Aunt Mirage cut her off.
"First of all this is MY house mother." Aunt Mirage began putting much emphasis on the 'my' part.
"Second of all I am your youngest daughter and I was conceived after you cheated on Helena, Timothee and Max's dad with my dad." Aunt Mirage said bluntly and took a sip from her glass of wine. Again everyone gasped. It wasn't long before an argument broke out between my grandmother and her children. I was trying not to get involved before Timothee brought Zara and I into it.
"At least both my kids are straight Helena. My wife didn't birth any defects" He said venomously. My blood boiled. I could see Zara's facial expression change from intrigued to angry.
"SHUT THE FUCK UP BEFORE I MAKE YOU REGRET THE DAY YOU WERE BORN" Zara yelled slamming her hands on the table. Everyone shut up and stepped away from Timothee. Nobody wanted to deal with Zara when she was angry. Zara moved quickly towards him.
"What did you say about Kina?" She asked. The room was tense and everyone silently waited for Timothee's next words.
"I said she/him was a defect" he said bluntly. Zara slapped him so hard that he stumbled backwards. I could see the situation getting progressively worse so I stood up and walked to stand behind Zara just in case she needed help.
When Timothee's confusion finally faded he lunged towards Zara and I. Instinctively our mother ran in front of us.
"Don't. You. Dare" My mother said. Then the fight resumed and more insults were thrown mainly in the direction of Timothee, my mother and Aunt Mirage. I was sick of this shit. Every single year it escalated to this.
"ENOUGH" I yelled. Everyone was taken aback, including Amelia, Zara and my mother.
"You guys are so petty and Timothee you're so immature. You wanted a fight to break out so you decided to expose Max's secret and to add fuel to the fire you decided to make petty comments about my sexuality and how my mother 'birthed a defect' but guess what. I. Don't. Fucking. Care. Say what you want about me with your mother but I'm still gonna like girls and maybe if you're not careful I'll fuck your sons' girlfriends then I'll fuck your new girl since the three of you don't know how to do a girl right. I doubt you even know where the clit is if you even know what it is" I said.
Everyone's jaw dropped and the room was silent aside from a few sniggers here and there.
"Oh and Timothee I know why your wife left you" I said.
"Why did she leave me?" He asked cockily.
"It's because of your baby dick" I said. Everyone applauded and I looked to Amelia who was standing with Aunt Mirage. They were laughing about what just happened. I went over to them and put my arm around Amelia's waist.
"You just destroyed him he will never recover" Amelia said. I placed a kiss on her cheek. Aunt Mirage applauded me.
"I have never seen Timothee that stunned in my entire life" she said.
Once everyone had gotten over the fight we all sat down for dessert. Once we had finished dessert my mother came to tell Amelia and I that we needed to go.
"Kina has something at her new studio tomorrow so she needs to sleep" my mother explained to Aunt Mirage. Aunt Mirage gave me a hug and handed me a gift bag.
"Enjoy your gift sweetheart" she said.
She gave Zara her gift and said the same thing. We said our goodbyes and we went home. We dropped Amelia off at her house before going to our own house.