It was December 24th, seven years ago. It was Christmas Eve of the year Yeonjun took the CSAT.
The streets were filled with twinkling lights and Christmas carols. I hummed along to the carols coming from the shops as I walked toward the large Christmas tree in the square.
While I was waiting for Yeonjun in front of the tree, someone came up to me.
'' excuse me ''
I looked a little disappointed, not hearing Yeonjun's voice, but I forced a smile and looked up at the person who had called me.
'' yes? ''
The man handed me his phone with a sly grin. It was a category I'd seen often. I mean, the bullies I'd seen in my school days.
'' Ah, that's really my style, but please give me your number. ''
I couldn't help but laugh out loud at the sight of him making such a bold request.
''I'm sorry. I'm waiting for my boyfriend.''
Of course, Yeonjun isn't my boyfriend yet, but since there's no way for him to confirm that, it was the best rejection I could do.
''You said you were alone, so that's a lie, right?''
'' under... ''
I randomly dialed a random number. Before I knew it, I was dialing Yeonjun's number, then paused and dialed another random number.
''Ah, this should have happened a long time ago.''
I immediately pressed the call button and immediately heard a voice message saying that the number did not exist.
''Hey, are you kidding me?''
Then someone wrapped a warm arm around my shoulder. The man hesitated, then cursed and turned away. I raised my head and looked at the person who had wrapped his arm around me.
''...! Choi Yeonjun!!''
He was wearing a hat pulled down low and a mask, so his face couldn't be seen, but it was clearly Choi Yeonjun. Yeonjun lowered his mask slightly and placed his index finger gently on his lips.
''Shhh''
He had a slightly angry expression on his face, and when I waved at him, he waved back lightly.
''Have you been waiting long?''
''Yeah. Because of you, a strange person came and stuck to me.''
Yeonjun chuckled and hugged me warmly. As he hugged me, the large Christmas tree began to glow with lights and bells began to ring.
'' Merry Christmas ''
Yeonjun smiled at me. His hands, gently cupping my cheeks, were as cold as ice. I raised my hand and hugged his.
'' Merry Christmas ''
I chuckled and took Yeonjun's hand off my cheek and held it tightly.
''Shall we go?''
'' great, ''
I held his hand tightly and led him without letting go. I glanced at his face, and he was staring blankly at the hand I was holding.
''It's like a date~''
I poked his cheek, intending to tease him. I expected him to blush and scream, "That's bullshit," but that wasn't quite what I expected.
He was smiling. It was a truly beautiful smile, with the corners of his lips curved beautifully like a crescent moon, his smiling eyes, and even his aegyo-sal puffed out thanks to them.
''It's a date.''
Yeonjun slowly approached me. My heart pounded, as if it were going to burst, and I felt my face flush. I wanted to turn my head, but he held my face so tightly that I couldn't.
''Today is the last Friday. Did you know?''
''Because next week is January 1st, right?''
"Yeah, I tried to hold out until next week. I can't stand it. I don't like people nagging at my sister, and I waited a year, so I can't stand waiting another week. I don't know if it's just the Christmas spirit or if I can't stand it anymore, but I want to say it now."
Yeonjun quickly rapped, spitting out the words he'd been wanting to tell me. I stared at him, blinking, trying to grasp the situation.
"So... I'll say it again. You told me to say it again when my feelings for you didn't change even after the college entrance exam. You know... I was just your older sister from the beginning. Should I apologize for kissing you back then, or confess?"
'' ...my answer is set.''
Yeonjun's face, which had been filled with nervousness throughout my answer, suddenly turned bright and pretty.
''Sister, let's go out together,''
Yeonjun bent down and kissed me on the lips, just like he did on my graduation day a year ago.
'' good! ''
When Yeonjun let go of my mouth, I hugged him and smiled brightly. I knew I loved him, and he loved me, but it felt different from a confession.
How can he make someone's heart flutter so much every time? Yesterday, today, tomorrow, and every moment we spend together, I'm sure I'll fall in love with him again.
Because I love Yeonjun just like him, or even more than him.
''What is this ring?''
As I hugged Yeonjun, I suddenly glanced at the ring on my finger. It was a simple design that fit my hand perfectly.
''I just... learned magic from Taehyun and put it on. It's a Christmas present.''
''How do you know your ring size?''
At my question, Yeonjun hesitated for a while and then smiled awkwardly.
''Actually... I just roughly guessed while holding your hand. I didn't know if it would fit or not. But I'm glad it fit perfectly. Right?''
How can something like this be so cute? I covered Yeonjun's lips with mine and pecked him with a smack.
"Yeah! That's great! Thank you, Yeonjun."
That year's Christmas was an unusually warm white Christmas.
''But who was that guy earlier?''
''Don't you know? They're asking for your number?''
''So you gave me your number?''
''I told you I had a boyfriend, but he kept doing that, so I got scared and gave him a random number. Oh! But I dialed your number completely naturally, right?''
''Just dial my number and call me, then I would have run faster.''
I answered, pinching Yeonjun's cheek as he looked jealous.
"No. What if your number gets leaked?"
''Just change it''
"No. Then I'd have to memorize your number again, of course... because memorizing your number is one of the things I'm best at! And you weren't really my boyfriend back then."
Yeonjun took my hand and intertwined them tightly. Then he brought the back of my hand to his lips and kissed it gently.
''Now that you're my boyfriend, let's do that from now on. Okay?''
I answered, leaning my head on Yeonjun's shoulder.
''You should have confessed sooner.''
'' I said it a year ago, who was it that rejected you then? ''
''No!! That's not a rejection...''
''And how can you confess right away? My sister would have said, 'You're a virgin and I'm an adult!''
''It's still the same now...''
In response to my answer, Yeonjun turned on his phone and shook it.
''No, I'm a college student now too.''
I held Yeonjun's hand and stared intently at the phone he was holding. On the page with Yeonjun's test number, it said "Passed" in large letters.
'' Crazy!! Hey!!!! Whoa.... ''
'' ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Are we CC now? What... Noo, noona! Why are you crying? ''
Tears welled up in my eyes. Knowing how much he'd struggled, I was proud of Yeonjun for getting into the same university as me, but at the same time, my anxiety about him vanished.
'' Hehe... I'm going to sneeze.... Hwaaaaang ''
''Hey, don't cry, don't cry''
Yeonjun hugged me tightly and comforted me, and I held him close and cried. In the end, we didn't watch the movie, so we bought some things at the convenience store and stayed up all night watching Home Alone together under the covers in my studio.
We barely managed to fall asleep, but woke up late the next afternoon and spent all our time making cake together, spending it with each other.
It was the happiest Christmas of my life.
∞
''Sister? Sister!''
'' Huh? ''
Yeonjun held my hand tightly and looked at me with a worried expression.
"Are you okay? I kept calling but there was no answer."
''I was just... thinking about the day you confessed to me''
'' Hahahaha it's really snowing today ''
At Yeonjun's words, I turned my head and looked out the window. Unlike the previous time when I'd thought the snowflakes blown by the wind were actually snow, it was really snowing heavily.
''Are you nervous?''
'' of course... ''
''Is it because I married such a handsome man?''
I chuckled and kissed Yeonjun on the cheek and intertwined our hands.
''It's snowing so much that I'm worried about whether the plane will be able to take off or not.''
'' lie ''
'' ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ I'm a bit nervous about getting such a handsome husband, ''
I wrapped my arms around Yeonjun's neck and pulled him towards me. Then I gently nibbled on Yeonjun's earlobe and whispered in his ear.
"Do you know how many people saw you on your way here? Are you jealous, Choi Yeonjun?"
''You know I only have one sister''
Yeonjun kissed me hard on the lips.
'' love you ''
'' Yeah, me too ''
Yeonjun turned on his phone and looked at the clock. It was exactly 12 o'clock.
''It's a white Christmas''
''Merry Christmas, honey''
''Yeah, Merry Christmas to you too, honey.''
-
The first scene is 7 years ago when the two started dating, and the second scene is 3 years later, on the plane on the day they got married and left for their honeymoon!
Actually, I saw Tubatou around Christmas in 2019.
⬆️I was there at the scene!I remember the 943 stage being so pretty back then! Her face...? Yes, my seat was too far away and her face was so small, so I couldn't see it ((sadness)
Christmas is just around the corner... but Merry Christmas to everyone🎄