Ara was in charge of handing out the permission slips to parents for their upcoming trip to the aquarium and getting the kids' bags ready before they leave. She hadn't announced to the children about the trip as all the teachers had come to a mutual agreement that it may be better to get the parents' approval before telling any of them. Eunji was playing with her friends when Jimin came in and so she took that time to quickly squeeze in a conversation.
"Hey Jimin," she smiled, catching him before he could walk to Eunji.
"Ara, hey," his lips curved up in that gorgeous smile she loved and she felt her legs start to melt.
"I just wanted to let you know that we have planned a trip for our kids next Monday," she passed him the paper and he read over it.
"At the Aquarium?"
"Yeah," she grinned, "We're gonna teach these little intellectuals about stingrays."
He nodded, "Eunji loves stingrays," he said before going to get his daughter.
"So the Christmas concert is also in two weeks right?" Jimin asked when he came back, Eunji sitting on his hip.
Ara nodded, pinching Eunji's nose, "You haven't told your dad anything about it right? Keeping it a surprise?"
Every child at the preschool had a role in the concert and Eunji's was one of the main singers. She had a beautiful voice for such a young age that when she sung Ara wondered who she got it from.
"She's been persistent in keeping me in the dark and it hurts you know?" he pretended to clutch his heart, making Eunji giggle. Ara's eyes glittered, seeing how happy she was when her father was being silly, and with a quick glance at Jimin she realised there was nothing the man wouldn't do to see his daughter laughing like she was.
"Well we better get going," Jimin said, pressing a kiss to Eunji's forehead, "We're starting Christmas movie marathon today."
"Oooooh yeah!" Eunji cheered, "We can't be late for that!"
She smiled, "See you tomorrow then Eunji, bye Jimin."
"Bye Ara!"
--
Ara didn't know why she always said 'see you tomorrow' when farewelling the pair at school because she normally ended up seeing them both around home later in the evening anyway, playing on their bikes, taking out the trash or just sweeping leaves away from the sidewalk. Today, it was just Jimin however, shovelling snow from his driveway and footpath onto his grass. She walked over, going to ask to borrow the shovel because hers had broken, however she knew it was just an excuse to be able to speak to him.
He saw her before she reached him, "Hey Ara," although she couldn't see, his smile was evident in the way his glistening eyes crinkled.
"Hey," she placed her gloved hands into the pockets of her coat, burying her mouth in her scarf, "Jimin I was wondering, can I borrow your shovel for a few minutes after you're done? My one broke a few months ago and I completely forgot to buy a new one."
He looked up from the ground, over at her house. "Sure, I can do it for you if you'd like."
"Oh no! I couldn't possibly-"
Before she could continue, he slapped his hands together and grabbed the shovel again, checking over his place once more before heading to hers.
"Jimin, I really can do i-" he stopped walking, turning to look at her.
"In weather like this, you need to make sure you keep your mouth and ears warm," he let go of the shovel, leaning it against himself and bent forward, adjusting her scarf to cover her chin fully, as well as the bottom of her face. Ara's eyes widened at his actions, because although she couldn't feel his touch under the millions of layers, his intentions made her freeze, much like the snowfall that morning.
That was until he got to the 'ears' part of keeping her warm and pulled her beanie down to cover her eyes as well.
"Hey!" she exclaimed, scrunching her nose and lifting one side of her hat up to glare at him, only to see him scurrying away like a little kid who got caught trying to steal candy.
"Doesn't Eunji love playing in the snow?" she asked, watching as Jimin started shovelling snow from her driveway.
"She does but the girl is also very prone to colds, she asked me to come out and play today but I'm afraid she'll get sick so I told her we'll play when it's warmer and when the sun's out."
She nodded, walking to her doorstep with her hands in her pockets, shuffling bits of ice from her footpath with her shoes.
"So is she inside? By herself?" she asked, looking over at his place.
"Oh no! She's over at Min Hee's place, she's been complaining about how she hasn't done any Christmas shopping with her 'daughter' so I dropped Eunji off for the night."
Daughter?
When she heard him say it her thoughts started to run wild. So they were more than just friends?
"Well, Min Hee thinks of Eunji as her own daughter," Jimin shrugged, and that was when she realised she had said her thoughts out loud.
"Oh!" giving out an awkward laugh, "Right."
"There," she turned to see him looking at her driveway and footpath, proud of himself, "Done."
"Thank you so much," she smiled, jogging down her steps, "you really didn't have to."
"It's the least I could do for Eunji's teacher and as a neighbour," he returned her smile, again she only knew he did because of the fact his eyes got ten times smaller.
He straightened his back and faced her, "Well I better get going-"
The small white fluff that fell just them, landing on Jimin's hand that was holding the shovel stopped him mid-sentence.
"Is it going to snow again?" his tone, exasperated, "Really now?"
She laughed, "Looks like all that hard work was useless," scanning around, she saw snow starting to fall heavily around her, "Damn was there a snowstorm forecasted for today?"
Jimin looked around, "Eunji's gonna love this."
She grabbed the shovel from him and in the moment he didn't react, letting her take it, but afterward he looked at her questioningly as she opened her door and took her boots off, bringing the shovel in with her.
"What are you-"
"If you think I'm gonna let you walk back in that weather-"
"I live across the road," he chuckled, holding his hand out for the shovel, "It's fine."
"Doesn't look like it's gonna stop anytime soon," she said, looking back outside.
Jimin followed her gaze and sighed, "You really don't have to go to all the trouble..."
Ara didn't move.
"I guess if you insist."
A grin spread across her face as he stepped in and slipped out of his boots, shrugging his coat off and hooking it on the rack. Under his heavy black jacket was a soft, tan brown woollen sweater, hanging off his shoulders so long that they had the sweater paws over his his hands. She couldn't help but notice how cozy and snug he looked in it, finding home amongst all the other Christmas memorabilia in her home.
As Ara walked to the kitchen, she heard a low chuckle from behind her and she turned, raising an eyebrow, the laugh obviously coming from Jimin, but not knowing why.
"What?" she asked, pointedly, anxiety starting to bubble up in her.
Did I have something on my back?
Was there anything on my face?
Did I leave a bra lying around somewhere?
"You really do like Christmas, don't you?"
Letting go of the deep breath she was holding in, she furrowed her eyebrows, "What do you mean?"
"I mean," he motioned to the Christmas tree in the living room, and then proceeded to gesture around the place where her had tinsel, wreaths and little Santas running around.
"What's wrong with getting in the spirit?" she beamed as she shrugged, "Yes, I love Christmas."
"So does Eunji," he joined her in the kitchen, "She wanted to decorate the whole house this year but we negotiated and settled for just the living room."
"Aww let the girl have her fun," she punched his shoulder, "You don't like the season?"
He sighed, sitting in the high chair in front of the kitchen bench, leaning over his arms which he rested on it.
"Christmas just means another Gallery event, more people coming, more people to impress with a 'new, original' idea when all the new original ideas have already been used," he threw his fingers in his hair, running them through it a few times, "I'm sorry I'm ranting where I shouldn't be-"
"You," her voice was low, afraid to say the next few words but she wanted to say them, "can rant if you want."
He raised his eyebrows, "I-"
"I mean, it's not like I can fully relate but, between taking care of a daughter and working, I doubt you have much time to just... reset."
She was done with the tea and she walked around to the table, setting one mug in front of him and holding the other with her two hands, bringing up the cuffs of her own sweater to balance the heat.
"Reset," he hummed, tracing the rim of the mug with his thumb, "That sounds nice."
She shrugged before bringing her tea to her lips, "Go ahead."
"It's just, it's hard trying to find an idea for the Christmas event that's original and hasn't been done before. Being the leading gallery in the country we can't just do what everyone else does, having a centrepiece of an artwork and leave it at that. We're going to have camera crews, news reporters, celebrities, and this year UNICEF's decided to sponsor the event, and with them being a major charity we are definitely going to get more press than any other year," his voice was growing tired and she physically heard the stress in it, "And honestly it's great! We will get more recognition than we already have because of this event... only if I can come up with a good enough concept to get people actually interested and thinking about it."
Ara bit her lip, not realising how burdensome his job must actually be for him.
"Do you have any ideas of what you'd like to do?"
"UNICEF had provided us with this opportunity to use this large digital touch screen with motion sensor and so I was thinking of utilising that but I don't know how to do something Christmassy with it."
"Because you're not Santa's biggest fan?" she joked and he lifted his gaze from the table to her, a small smile playing at his lips. "Wrong time?"
"If only Santa could grant me this one wish," he heaved a deep sigh, finishing up the rest of his tea and when he put the mug back on the table, her hand instinctively went to his, resting it on top.
This action surprised him, and she couldn't lie it was taking her completely out of her comfort zone to do it.
"I guess things like this need inspiration, and I promise you, you will find that inspiration when you need to."
Jimin's phone dinged, and she looked over at his illuminated screen, seeing his wallpaper, of Eunji squeezing her arms around Jimin's neck as he tried to take a selfie.
"Looks like I have to pick up my three-year-old monster," he grinned, looking at his phone. "Has the storm calmed yet?" his tone was amused as he pulled back a curtain and looked through the window to check.
"Looks like it is safe to go outside," Ara feigned a serious voice and he smiled at her.
"Thank you for the tea, it was lovely."
"It's alright," she slipped her fingers into her pockets and started to walk with him through the door of the kitchen and into the living room, but Jimin stopped, patting his jean pockets.
"I left my phone..." looking around, he saw it sitting on the kitchen bench, "there."
Jogging over, he picked it up and started walking back, his eyes immediately looking to the door frame above her, a puzzling look on his face.
"Why do you have a mistletoe in here when you live alone?"
She looked up with him and felt embarrassment wash over her in an instant. Ara didn't remember putting it up there, but knowing her, it probably was collecting dust in an old box and she couldn't stand hiding away the beautiful ornament. Even if she did live alone.
She tried her best to keep her cool when she replied.
"I told you, I love Christmas."
He bit his lip, waiting for her to say more, but she didn't want to say anything. She didn't want to take the risk of letting this moment go to waste, because heck yeah she'd been thinking about kissing him ever since the day they met. His devilish good looks and sweet personality pulled her in like a magnet. But she knew he was out of her reach, he only had love for his daughter.
So in this moment, she had both her hands balled into fists, knowing that 'obeying the laws of Christmas' would risk way too much.
Jimin examined her more carefully, eyes tracing her own, and then went to her hair, taking a stray hair and brushing it behind her ear, taking a step forward.
"I guess we got caught under the mistletoe," he whispered against her lips, before he kissed her.
And honestly, this kiss was literally everything she could ask for. It was the kind that swept her off her feet, making her forget all her insecurities, all the reasons she deemed herself unworthy for him, or for any man in that matter. Lifting her arms, she draped them around his neck, angling him closer, and she felt his grin against her lips, making her smile as well. It only took a second for all her worries to be wiped away from her mind because right now she was just overcome with pure happiness, the type she never wanted to let go of.
She didn't want to let go of him.