A/N: The Ri family is back in this holiday special!
Thank you for all the love shown for At Long Last, we've had a great run. This Christmas, we will be joining the Ri family again on their holiday adventures.
A big, big thank you to yejinhandlands for allowing me to borrow your fictional baby girl Hyun Ae-rin from one of my favorite works of yours, "Remember My Name", and for fact-checking this chapter before it got published.
As always, thank you to fellow authornims sawyerdavenport starupabove_ BinJinSaudade
ReginaDesolatio for your friendship and support 💕
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"Jeong Hwan! You are here!"
Unsurprisingly, the Hyuns, who had impeccable taste in their home's interior design on top of being outstanding medical professionals, had decorated their home so festively that it brought strains of Winter Wonderland to Se-ri's mind.
The two-storey house in Yeonhui-dong was done up with elaborate festive decorations, complete with lighted reindeer family and a sleigh beside a towering Christmas tree decked in baubles of various elegant shades of blue, silvery tinsel and fairy lights in the driveway.
The Hyuns were throwing a Christmas party at their home prior to the actual Christmas Day, and Jeong Hwan had been invited to the party by their little girl.
Standing at the door was the smiling eight year-old, dressed in a frosty white long-sleeved top, layered under a poofy, vibrant red dress with a huge bow in front.
Her long hair was tied up in a high ponytail, adorned with a red glittery bow. Cream knit leggings completed her party outfit, and it wasn't hard to see why Jeong Hwan stood rooted to the ground.
"Ae-rin is so pretty, isn't she, Jeong Hwan?" Se-ri asked, gently placing a hand on her son's shoulder.
Jeong Hwan has always thought Mommy and Jin-ah are the prettiest girls in the world, until Hyun Ae-rin came into his life like a gift in his first year at Spackman Primary School.
Mommy and Jin-ah are still definitely the prettiest; they are on a pedestal so very high in his eyes.
But Ae-rin is special.
Ae-rin is, for the lack of a better word, the prettiest of the prettiest.
Always shining like the angel on top of the Christmas tree, Ae-rin reminds him of princesses and fairies, his eight year-old mind decided.
Jeong Hwan was the introverted sort of boy who usually preferred to lurk in the background, just that he was often unsuccessful because of those good looks which command too much attention.
But still, too much of a good thing could come across as a curse, for it resulted in classmates being somewhat intimated to initiate conversation with this immensely good-looking and tall little boy who has a natural flair for sports and music.
So while Jeong Hwan has his fair share of friends and acquaintances, and generally got along well with most schoolmates, there wasn't anyone with whom he was particularly close...
...until one day in December a year ago, when he had stayed back in school for an extra hour to wait for his mom to pick him up.
Her meeting had ended later than expected, so the young boy decided to go to the school hall where there was a piano.
Back then, Jeong Hwan and Jin-ah had gone with their parents to watch The Nutcracker, especially since Jin-ah had started taking ballet lessons.
It had been extremely enjoyable for the entire family; Jeong Hyeok was a huge fan of the score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Se-ri couldn't stop gushing about the elaborate outfits on the dancers and Jin-ah...well, she loved every aspect of the production.
To Jeong Hwan, what had struck him the most were the climactic pas de deux for the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier, and of course, the iconic Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.
It was, to simply put it, the pinnacle.
Their nobility and dignity shone through the passion of Tchaikovsky's music, and memories of the ballet constantly flickered in Jeong Hwan's mind throughout the winter season.
So that was how the little boy started playing Tchaikovsky's Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy on the school hall piano, reliving the moments he had enjoyed from The Nutcracker.
Then he noticed someone had come up to him, and was standing quietly by the side of the piano.
The music slowly died and Jeong Hwan turned.
His heart skipped a beat, along with the first clap he heard, as the Sugar Plum Fairy herself applauded in appreciation with a radiant smile on her girlish features.
"Hello! I hope I did not interrupt you." She started in a voice that sounded like Christmas bells.
Dumbly, the seven year-old shook his head.
"I don't know if you know me, but I am Hyun Ae-rin from Class 1A. You are Ri Jeong Hwan from Class 1C, aren't you?" The little girl continued.
"Yes. Nice to meet you, Ae-rin." He stiffly replied, not sure of what else to say in the face of her warmth that resembled a sunflower.
Bashfully, the little girl continued. "I heard you playing, and realized that what everyone says about you is true."
"What about me?"
"That you play the piano very, very well. They said you could play Für Elise without even looking at the sheet." Ae-rin continued.
It was Jeong Hwan's turn to blush and smile bashfully, scratching the back of his ear as he muttered, "I don't think being able to play Für Elise counts as being very good at the piano. My father said that."
"Well, no matter what, I think you're very good." The little girl added encouragingly. "Actually, I have started taking lessons in piano. Is it okay if I were to come to you for pointers every now and then?"
"Sure." He readily agreed.
"By the way, that was the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, wasn't it?" Ae-rin asked, her eyes shining. "From The Nutcracker."
"You know it too?" The little boy's eyes widened.
"Of course! My Appa took time off work to bring me to watch it. I loved it so much, especially the Sugar Plum Fairy, and her Cavalier." She answered, much to the little boy's delight.
So days went by, and a strong bond gradually grew between Jeong Hwan and Ae-rin.
Before he knew it, seeing Hyun Ae-rin around in school became something he looked forward to.
He learnt that her favorite flowers were roses, and the perfect opportunity came by when Seri's Choice held a new Damask Rose aroma candle launch.
That was how Jeong Hwan managed to get his hands on six stalks of pink Damask roses from one of the congratulatory flower stands at his mother's work event, quietly holding them in his hand throughout the entire journey home with Jeong Hyeok.
His father had asked who those roses were for, but the little boy had kept it a secret from everyone.
He didn't know what else to do, so Jeong Hwan drew a picture of a little boy and girl holding hands, and wrote Ae-rin's name on it.
Alas, one of the roses didn't even make it in one piece to school because Jin-ah had accidentally sat on it, but still, he had managed to create something that resembled a bouquet with some makeshift wrapper and the five remaining stalks he had.
It was well worth the effort; Ae-rin absolutely loved the bouquet.
Years down the road, Ri Jeong Hwan would eventually discover that Hyun Ae-rin's father did not quite appreciate that his seven year-old princess had an admirer, but that would be a tale for another time.
"She looks so pretty indeed," The awestruck little boy eventually replied, much to the amusement of his parents. "Do you think she will like the present I chose?"
"Of course she will. Go have fun, buddy. We will come get you at 8.30pm." Jeong Hyeok said, giving his little boy a fist bump.
"See? I win again, Yeobo." Se-ri whispered as they watched Jeong Hwan run towards his classmate Ae-rin, clutching the present he had chosen for her behind his back. "You think he hopped on the right train there?"
Ae-rin's mother, who was holding something that looked like a large salad bowl, came to the door and smiled apologetically from behind her daughter.
Understandably, they must be swamped with party preparations on top of caring for Ae-rin and her toddler brother, so Jeong Hyeok and Se-ri settled for friendly waves and smiles from the sidewalk.
"Well, it doesn't matter as long as he gets to the right destination. More importantly, I think we've solved the mystery of the roses." Jeong Hyeok agreed, before turning to regard his wife with a small smile. "My wife is always the most astute."
Chuckling as she shook her head in mirth, the heiress gazed up at her husband with eyes sparkling with tenderness in the harsh winter chill.
"That's only because I recognize those eyes in our little boy," She reached up to cradle the pianist's cheek, gently tracing his cheekbone with her thumb. "...the very same ones with which you are now looking at me."
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That night, when the party was over and Hyun Ae-rin was getting ready for bed, she couldn't quite understand why her father looked absolutely devastated whereas her mother was hugging him and stroking his head like he was a little boy.
"...he's the rose boy, I'm sure! And you said it was just a childhood crush..." She could hear her father's defeated voice from the kitchen.
"Of course it is a crush! It was only a friendly festive gesture under the mistletoe. Let's be logical and not overreact. it might make Ae-rin think she was doing something wrong. Here, have more cake. Drench it in rum if you must." That was her mother.
The seven year old ran her comb through her drying hair with a helpless shrug, before heading back to her room.
Earlier when their adult guests were either busy drinking or having cake, Jeong Hwan had officially presented his Christmas gift to her under the mistletoe.
Attached to it, was a handmade card that read,
"Merry Christmas, Sugar Plum Fairy.
I hope you enjoy reading this book.
With love,
The Cavalier"
The delighted little girl tore the packaging off the gift after removing the card, before squealing at the sight of book titled 'The Nutcracker, Story Book Set', in her hands.
"Jeong Hwan, this is wonderful! I love this present best of all!"
"I am glad you like it." He beamed with a bashful smile. "Ae-rin, do you know what people do under the mistletoe?"
Shaking her head, the little girl gazed at her favorite person in school. "I don't. What do they do?"
Jeong Hwan gulped. Well, his parents did say, Christmas is not as much about opening presents as it is about opening hearts.
"I...I am going to do something right now. You just look at me, and don't do anything else..."
"What?" She frowned, only to gasp lightly, when Ri Jeong Hwan kissed her once on the cheek.
"Merry Christmas, Hyun Ae-rin."