Christmas Party
Christmas party.
I came down with a cold on the 23rd and got a shot at the hospital.
On the morning of the 24th, Grandma came to visit.
We had planned to take her out to a nice dinner that evening, but since my cold hadn't cleared up, we decided to cut a Christmas cake at home instead.
Mom, who had gone out in the afternoon, was supposed to meet Dad on her way back and come home with him.
She'd promised to buy the strawberry cake I loved.
But when evening came, Mom and Dad never returned.
After waiting and waiting, a single phone call arrived — and Grandma collapsed to the floor.
A truck had crossed the center line and smashed head-on into my parents' car coming from the opposite direction.
…And that was how I became an orphan.
"What's this?"
I held out the invitation to Mom and Dad.
"A Christmas party. Yu-jin invited me."
"The 24th? I was going to have dinner with your grandma that day."
Sorry, Grandma — but the plans will have to move.
"It's my first Christmas party, and I really want to go. I'll visit Grandma on the 25th instead."
Mom and Dad couldn't turn away from the pleading look in my eyes.
"All right, fine. I'll drive you there."
"I'm not the only one going. You two are invited too."
"Us?"
Mom especially looked a little flustered.
Her celebrity-phobia was alive and well.
"Yu-jin's mom wanted to see you. She's very fond of me."
"Yu-jin's mother — that's the actress Na Hye-ri, right?"
"Yes."
For a man Dad's age, the actress Na Hye-ri ranked right up there with a goddess.
"Hmm… why did your face just change the moment I said her name?"
"Ahem. I was just, you know, checking. She invited us out of consideration for us, after all."
"You're prettier, Mom."
Mom pulled me into a hug.
"For me, there's only our son in this world. Now, give me a kiss."
After laying on the charm all evening, I finally got their blessing.
"Going to bed already?"
"I ran around so much at the shoot today that I'm worn out. Good night."
I slipped into my room, cocooned myself in a thick blanket, and lay down.
I was preparing for the cold I was supposed to catch on the 23rd.
A shot at the hospital would fix it easily enough — but Mom would never let me go to the party on the 24th.
She'd say, what if you pass your cold to another child?
So I had to be as careful as possible until the 24th, and even if I did catch it, I couldn't let her find out.
"Your cheeks look a little red. Are you coming down with something?"
Mom's instincts were as terrifying as ever.
When the 23rd arrived, my body did feel off.
After all that caution, I'd caught the cold anyway.
"I feel a bit warm. I'll draw in my room."
Dodging Mom's eyes, I hurried into my room.
Peeking through the crack in the door, I saw with relief that she didn't seem too concerned.
I shook the fever reducers and cold medicine I'd hidden in my desk drawer into my mouth.
Mom, meticulous as she was, always kept children's fever reducers and cold medicine stocked in the medicine cabinet.
While she was out at the market, I'd slipped into the master bedroom and set a few aside.
On my way back through the living room, I kept pressing away at the Gongchoe acupoint, midway between my wrist and elbow.
It's a point connected to the lungs, and it helps temporarily suppress coughing.
Back in my past life, I'd often used it on set when I had to hold back a cough.
Thanks to all this effort, I managed to keep my cold a secret until it was time to head to Yu-jin's house.
My body ached — but if it meant saving Mom and Dad, I could do far more than this.
"Welcome, Ha-jin's mom and dad! And Ha-jin, come on in!"
"Thank you for having us."
Mom was frozen solid at meeting a celebrity; Dad, at meeting the goddess of his youth.
Her beauty was unmistakably a class apart from ordinary people's.
Though to my eyes, Mom was still prettier.
"Ha-jin, hurry up and come in."
Yu-jin, dressed up to the nines, greeted me at the door.
A short dress, white stockings — a kids' model through and through.
She made a point of twirling around me to show off, so I tossed her a little service.
"You look beautiful today. Like an angel."
"Heehee."
"And… me?"
Sora had appeared at my side before I noticed.
She wore a green dress and the hairpin I'd given her as a birthday present.
Ever since she found out green was my favorite color, she'd been wearing green clothes all the time.
"Of course you're pretty. Today you're a forest fairy."
"Hmph. Fairies are lower than angels."
You're both pretty, so quit competing over something pointless.
Besides us, Yu-jin's mom had a few other guests over — actors I'd seen often in dramas and films.
"My husband has an event, so he'll be a little late. Let's start without him."
The food the chefs in crisp uniforms brought out was genuinely delicious.
I'd expected the cold to ruin my appetite, but the aromas were so intoxicating that my hand kept reaching out before I knew it.
As I chewed a sausage with an expression of pure awe, Sora dropped one of hers onto my plate.
"I don't really like sausage."
Then she watched me eat it with the happiest look on her face.
Aside from Director Han across the table, who wore an expression like he'd bitten into something foul, it was a delightful dinner.
Dad, with decades of sales work behind him, exercised his people skills to full effect here too.
Even his flattery was so cheerfully delivered that everyone was laughing up a storm.
Mom, awkwardly laughing along, almost looked pitiable.
I sat quietly, pressing hard on the Gongchoe acupoint to keep my coughing in check.
Director Han Jae-ryong came over and sat down a short distance away.
Why is this ajusshi sitting next to me?
"I heard it from Si-woon. That acting's been hard on you lately."
"……"
"Making films is my job, so I've seen plenty of actors like that. Some pulled through, but others quit acting altogether."
His tone carried a quiet undertone of worry.
"But I've never seen a child actor or teen actor overcome it. Emotional control needs age and experience — there's no way around that."
Teacher Jeong Dong-ho had said something similar.
"If you want to keep acting, it's okay to take a break along the way. With your talent, you could catch up easily in high school — no, even in college. Squeezing out emotions from sheer willpower is too much for you right now."
"Thank you for worrying about me."
"I'm telling you this because my daughter takes after you a lot. Pushing yourself too hard young is never a good choice. Think it over."
With that, he wandered back to the adults.
A tsundere middle-ager?
The front door swung open and someone rushed in, out of breath.
"My apologies! I got held up by an event I absolutely couldn't miss."
It was Yu-jin's father — Oh Dongseok, CEO of YJ Entertainment.
Tall and strikingly handsome, he could give most actors a run for their money.
"Whoa, so you're Ha-jin! A face even better than mine at that age. Yu-jin certainly has an eye."
"Hello, sir."
"What's with the stiff 'sir' stuff? Call me Uncle— no, that might be a bit fast. Just call me Yu-jin's dad."
"Why are you hanging around the grown-ups' table? Come on!"
Yu-jin's mom dragged him off, and he waved at me as he went.
A friendliness so overwhelming it was like an upgraded version of my own dad's.
But CEO Oh hadn't come alone.
"Sir, may we come in t—oooooh!"
Someone pointed a finger at me, then sprinted over at a terrifying speed.
She scooped me up into her arms and fussed over me, beside herself with delight.
"C-can't… breathe…"
"Ahhh, you're just too cute! Unnie missed you so much."
"Oh right, I forgot to mention. Yu-ri said she wanted to see you, so she tagged along."
Three members of NewRunG — the girl group single-handedly feeding YJ Entertainment — had followed CEO Oh in.
Dubbed the miracle of a small agency, they'd been riding a wave of success for two years straight.
The one hugging me and cooing over me was their leader, So Yu-ri.
"What do I do, you're way more handsome in person than in the ad."
"Unnie, what do you think? Wanna be my girlfriend someday?"
"Unnie~ No matter how you slice it, a fifteen-year age gap is pushing it, don't you think?"
The three of them collapsed into giggles among themselves.
Naturally, Yu-jin and Sora were not the type to let that slide.
"Don't be ridiculous!"
"Not allowed!"
Behind the unlikely alliance, flames flickered.
This absurd love-triangle brawl made excellent drinking material for the adults.
As the grown-ups' chatter stretched on, the children drifted off to sleep on the sofa one by one.
Glancing at the clock, I saw there were still about two hours left before the 24th ended.
Dad had been drinking, so Mom would be the one driving home.
She must not drive before midnight.
The trauma of the 24th clung to my mind and wouldn't let go.
I wouldn't be able to breathe easy until I saw Mom and Dad smiling at me on the 25th.
Rubbing my sleepy eyes, I was fighting to stay awake when I felt a weight settle on my shoulder.
Sora, pressed close beside me, had rested her head there and drifted off.
A pleasant scent tickled the tip of my nose.
Her soft, snuffling breaths washed gently over my ears.
Then a similar weight pressed down on my thigh — I looked down to find Yu-jin's head.
Apparently my lap made a fine pillow, because she wore the most contented expression in the world as she slept.
Across the room, Dad and CEO Oh clinked their glasses, laughing.
It was a lovely sight, their easy camaraderie… but I was so, so sleepy.
No, I can't. I really can't fall asleep…
And even as I thought it, I slipped under.
The last thing I saw, the minute hand of the clock was near the thirty.
When I opened my eyes, I saw a familiar ceiling.
My own room.
I bolted upright in a cold sweat — the house was utterly silent.
I opened my door and checked the living room. No one was there.
Not in the master bedroom, not in the kitchen, not in the bathroom — Mom and Dad were nowhere to be found.
Logically, if they'd been in an accident on the way home, I wouldn't be here. And yet I was terrified.
Not being able to see Mom and Dad filled me with unbearable dread.
I sank to the floor and began to sob.
After all that effort — I'd been so close — why couldn't I have just held out and stayed awake?
Just then, the front door opened.
Mom and Dad, carrying brooms, hurried over in alarm.
"H-Ha-jin! Are you sick? What's wrong?"
I threw my arms around Mom and wailed.
The regret and bitterness of moments ago turned to joy in an instant.
Mom and Dad said nothing, just patted my back.
"What day is it… today?"
"Today?"
"Yes."
"It's the 25th, of course. Christmas Day."
It was the first day of my present life, spent with Mom and Dad.