The walk around the mall for the past few hours with hands full of heavy bags wasn't the most pleasant experience for Lisa. They stopped by every store the Kim women saw, not missing to buying something that caught their eye. The bags just kept multiplying until forever. The only chance for a quick rest they got their hands onto was the lunch they had in one of the inside restaurants before having to carry it all back through the long way towards the car.
Once they reached the house, Lisa immediately slumped on the couch to regain her strength while Jennie and Seun started working on the Christmas dinner in the kitchen immediately after getting home. If she thought about it more throughoutly, Lisa didn't notice them complaining about being tired from the long walk. Looked like prolonged shopping sprees were something usual for the mother and daughter.
Jihwan asked Lisa for some help with putting on the belated Christmas decorations they bought for the house, so she quickly obligated without protesting. She needed to make sure she left a good impression on Jennie's parents in order to earn their trust faster.
"So, you and Jennie are still not dating?" Jihwan asked all of the sudden as he reached up to the edge of the roof and attatched the lights carefully, the ladder he had stepped on slightly shaking under his feet from the struggle he was faced with.
"Yes" Lisa hesitantly answered. She had no idea where this conversation was headed towards.
"And why is that? Did she or you do something wrong? I thought you two love each other"
"That's the problem, Jihwan. That neither of us did anything to take the next step. I guess we haven't really found the perfect time yet"
"But do you plan on doing so, or you two will just stay in this friends-with-benefits kind of relationship?" Jihwan asked as he descended the stairs of the ladder before moving it a couple meters to the left and climbing up again.
"I'm planning on doing it, tonight actually. I just need to find the right moment" Lisa followed behind him and watched as he worked, handing him the next set on lights that needed to be attached.
"Well, good luck. I know she'll definitely say yes, so let me ask you that notorious question once again. What are your plans for my daughter, Lisa? Will you take your relationship with her seriously?"
"Of course I will, Jihwan. I'm not a person who usually gets involved with other people in any way and the fact that I want an actual relationship with Jennie alone should show I'm being completely serious with my intentions. For my plans, I don't have anything specific, I guess. I just want to give her the best I can, to make her as happy as possible until I'm able to. I want to give her good memories of a relationship that would erase the old bad ones she had made before"
"Would you eventually marry her and start a family together?"
"Well, I think that's a little too far fetched for now given that we are not even in an official relationship yet. Though, if life decides that we are good for each other and if the spark stays always the same, I would gladly make her my wife one day. But there is a lot of time until then and many things can happen so I don't want to make any plans and hopes that could get crushed later"
"Why are you saying that?"
"Because I'm realistic, Jihwan. We are still nineteen, still too young. How many early relationships like this one have actually reached a happy long-lasting marriage? Very little. We have so much more to experience and so many more people to meet, so who knows what can happen.
We could be okay now, but after some time something could come up that would brake us apart. I may screw something between us or she may fall out of love with me and leave me for someone better. I never exclude those kinds of scenarios because they are more real than most people stuck into their little fairytales think. Real life is a bitch and it's hard to win against it"
Jihwan descended the ladder once again and walked up to Lisa. He lifted his big masculine hands and clasped her tiny looking next to him shoulders in between, squeezing softly. The look on his face held approval and a hint of pride.
"I like the way you think, even if it's a little more pessimistic that what I expected. If it was for someone else, they would have surely heavily sugar-coated their actual intentions just to make me like them. But you, you spoke your real thoughts and that's what makes me think you are actually genuine with my daughter" he nodded. "I trust you with her, kiddo. Always take a good care of her, keep her safe from the bad sides of life and love her immensely. She deserves only good things to happen to her and I believe you are one of them, Lisa. Please, don't break my little girl's heart. And If you ever do, remember," he lifted a finger and pointed at her. "you better run"
"I have no intentions on purposefully doing that, Jihwan. Though I can't promise anything for the times I'm not at my best. We are bound to hurt each other. It's like the challenge that would put our relationship through a test, but I believe we can get through it. If not, I will willingly come to you to receive the sentence for her broken heart"
Lisa stood with her hands clasped behind her, shifting her weight from one leg to another, as she observed Jihwan's stoic face.
"Good" he let out a breath and moved the ladder further to the left before climbing back up, putting an end to their conversation. But Lisa wasn't done yet. There was something that really irked her and she needed to know more about it.
"I want to talk to you about something else"
"What about?"
"Um, last night me and Jennie talked and she mentioned how you and Seun have become more cautious of the people surrounding her after everything that happened with Jackson. I guess i just wanted to assure you that, even if I don't come from the best family, I'm nothing like this guy. Jennie's happiness and well-being are the most important things for me and I have a very high level of respect for her. I wouldn't do something that could jeopardize all that. I don't know if me telling you this will help you gain more trust in me - if you don't, that's completely okay, I now understand - but I just want you to know that Jennie is save with me and I will protect her from everything"
Jihwan sighed and looked down at her from the edge of the ladder. "As I already said, I trust you a lot with her, even if it's not fully yet. I can see everything you said in you eyes and I know you are sincere. Your relationship has our blessings. But the fear and need to protect her is just a parental instinct, don't take it the wrong way, I hope you understand. We have the right to doubt. One day when you became a mother you will know what I'm talking about"
Lisa smiled and nodded at him. "I get it. Thank you for trusting me with her. I'll do my best to make her happy"
They ended the conversation and went back to work. For the next hour the house was engulfed with bright Christmas lights, the front was filled with different plastic animals and fake snow was spread over the grass. The Christmas spirit was alive at the Kims' house.
They joined Jennie and Seun in the kitchen after a minute to finally take a break and warm up from the coldness of December. The two women were now dressed in matching red sweaters with Rudolph ilustrated at the front. Lisa found Jennie so cute in hers that the need to go and kiss her slowly bubbled up again. But she promised herself that she would initiate no kiss until they were officially dating. Though, she really enjoyed the few ones Jennie kept giving her in the past days.
Seun pulled another two pairs of the same sweater and made Lisa and Jihwan wear them. They kept on protesting against it, but one soft 'please' from Jennie quickly got them looking like Santa's Christmas elfs.
Those holidays were so different than anything Lisa had ever celebrated in her life. She didn't think that people actually had family dinners, gave each other gifts, decorated their houses together and wore matching clothing. With her before, everything was consisted of a gradually dying Christmas spirit every year and slowly falling apart family.
Lisa's dad took care of them alone. He was at work most of the time, even during the holidays, but he still tried to make those days special and give them gifts, even if they were small and nothing much. Though for Lisa, they meant everything. But the biggest gift was that she still had him by her side.
She didn't know what having a warm and happy family was like, but with the Kims, she felt like she was finally a part of one.
After Lisa rested well, Jennie held her hand and pulled her into the living room to decorate the inside of the house also. She kept wondering why they hadn't done that before Christmas started. They pulled out the bags and thew them on the couch before diving in. Little by little, the house became a magical place, shining with Christmas lights, colorful garlands and a wreath on the front door.
The time for the empty Christmas tree finally came. The moment Lisa saw it, she was left stunned by its size. She had seen one that touched the ceiling only on movies, but here she was standing in front of such giant.
"How did you even get that huge thing inside the house? Can it even go through the front door?" Lisa said before hanging the toys on the twigs.
"It surprisingly can, actually. Haven't you seen a Christmas tree this big before?" Jennie laughed as she joined her.
"No. We had only a small one back at home. It didn't even reach a meter. We pulled it out on Christmas day, put the couple of toys we had on it and placed it into one of the undecorated rooms so it's not completely empty spirited"
"That's sad. How did you spend Christmas back there?"
"Definitely not like that. We didn't even spend time together. It was mostly just an ordinary day for us. One day, when I have my own family, I want to change that. I want us to be like yours, warm and welcoming, full of love. Not just blood-related strangers"
They continued quietly until they finally ran out of toys and the blood drained from their arms from being lifted up for so long. Jennie plugged the end of the lights that covered the three in the outlet, lighting it up beautifully.
"Wow, pretty" Lisa commented.
"Yeah, we are a great team." Jennie added, giving her a high five for the great job.
Seun's voice called them from the kitchen and they quickly skipped to her.
"What it is, mom?"
"Are you two ready with the decorations?" she asked with a big smile that left both of them slightly confused.
"Yes, we are"
"Great. I'll ask you for one last thing and then you are free to go. There is one box at the corner over there. Inside are the Christmas socks we always put over the chimney every year. Can you put them up also, please?"
"Yeah, of course" Jennie observed her mother's weird behavior. The smile never left her face and she looked unusually excited. For what, they had no idea.
Lisa walked up to the box and picked it up before heading back toward the living room, Jennie trailing close behind. She dropped it in front of the chimney and they started arranging the last pieces of decoration left innocently, not expecting what was awaiting for them next.
Lisa accidentally lifted her gaze a little up and halted her movements as she noticed something weird. Jennie's curiosity got the best of her a second later the moment she noticed Lisa's furrowed eyebrows. She slid next to her and followed her gaze up the wall.
"Is that a mistletoe?" Jennie asked confusedly.
"How did this thing got up there?" Lisa whispered to her.
"I have absolutely no idea. We were literally standing right here two minutes ago" Jennie was sure they would have noticed it since they spent a long time by the Christmas tree which was located right on the chimney's left side.
"Wait!" It suddenly hit Lisa. "Where was your father when we were in the kitchen?"
They looked at each other and suddenly realized what had happened. A muffled cough sounded from the kitchen door that caught their attention.
"For the record, it's considered a bad luck if you don't kiss under a mistletoe. Enjoy!" Seun said excitedly through the small crack in the open door from where she watched the happenings.
Lisa and Jennie looked at each other and bursted out in laughter. "Your parents are already plotting behind our backs. Should I be scared?" Lisa asked playfully.
"I can't believe them. How did they even come up with all this?" Jennie shook her head.
Lisa observed Jennie carefully, watched as her soft skin glowed blightly from the countless colorful lights that surrounded them, her eyes twinkled as the stars in the night sky, the scent of freshly baked cookies that had seeped into her clothes spread around the room. The lit up chimney engulfed them into its warmth, but it was still not enough to melt Lisa's heart the way Jennie's adorable smile and look of adoration in her eyes did.
They were alone, on a Christmas night, under a mistletoe, more in love than they had ever been before. That was when Lisa realized this was the moment she had been waiting for. It was the moment to make one of her dreams come true.
"Do you want to have bad luck?" Lisa whispered playfully.
"Definitely not" Jennie smiled even wider and Lisa was barely able to hold her legs from turning into mush.
She reached out and held both her hands, pulling her so close that their chests almost touched. They breathed against each other, breaths hitting their lips and testing their patience to the absolute maximum. Lisa noticed Jennie slowly leaning in for a kiss so she pulled at her hand softly.
"I told myself I won't kiss you until you are officially mine, and since we both don't want bad luck, I think it's time to do something already prolonged for too much time"
Lisa snaked a hand around her thin waist, slowly pulling her closer until they glued to each other, and cupped her left cheek with her free hand. Jennie's arms locked around her neck as she watched her with an expectant look in her eyes. She already knew where this was going. Their hearts beat wildly against each other as the words carefully slipped from between Lisa's lips.
"Jennie Kim, will you give me the honor to call you mine? Will you be my girlfriend?"
The brunette didn't answer immediately. Instead, she stared at Lisa lovingly, her eyes getting more watery with every passing second, her smile slowly widening until she nodded wordlessly and crashed their lips impatiently for their first kiss as an official couple.
With Jennie's fingers buried into her hair, Lisa's digging into the material of her knitted sweater, their loved overflowing the room, they kissed on their first Christmas together as the happiest girlfriends ever.
Now that's what Lisa would call a great Christmas...