Chapter 63
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 63
The next day, Christmas Eve.
When Dokyun woke up and went out to the living room, Eun-ah was already awake, laying out the things they had bought the day before on the dining table.
“You’re up early.”
“Y-Yes…!”
Dokyun greeted her, taking in the sight.
Her eyes sparkled as she smiled brightly. Her lips were stretched into a wide grin. Sitting in the chair, her legs swung back and forth.
Seeing how obviously thrilled she was, Dokyun felt a smile form on his own lips and asked, “Are you getting ready already?”
“Yeah…! B-Because it’s a party…!”
She nodded emphatically, then seemed to realize the implication of his words. She blinked and followed up with a question of her own.
“Oh, you’re not getting ready yet…?”
Her voice was tinged with disappointment.
Dokyun smiled again, walked over to her, and gently stroked her hair. “It’s still morning. Let’s eat first, get washed up, and then we can take our time.”
“Ah, okay…!”
Having given her answer, she finally got up from the table and headed for the kitchen, calling back to Dokyun.
“Th-Then just a small breakfast…!”
“Yes, just a little.”
“Hehe…”
Another smile bloomed on her face.
With that, she began to cook, her expression brimming with excitement.
\*
After they had eaten and showered, they began the party preparations in earnest. Dokyun asked her, “What should we do first?”
They had already assembled the tree the day before. All that was left was to cook and decorate the living room.
At Dokyun’s question, Eun-ah hummed thoughtfully for a moment before speaking. “I-I’ll do the cooking… so, Honeybee, you can do the decorations…!”
“Will you be okay on your own?”
He asked, thinking, There’s a lot to do. But she nodded briskly in response.
“Yeah…! I-It’s easier for me to do it alone.”
Does she mean I should just stick to the decorating and not do anything useless? A hint of sadness rose in him, but he had to admit that she was right; he wouldn’t be much help with the cooking. Dokyun put on another smile and nodded.
“Alright. I’ll go get started on the decorations, then. Call me if you need anything.”
“Okay…!”
With their roles assigned, Dokyun watched her head to the kitchen before turning his gaze to the party supplies scattered across the living room table.
What should I do first?
He pondered for a moment, but no clear answer came to him.
It would be nice to have his smartphone at a time like this, but Eun-seol, judging it too risky for him to use it while Eun-ah was out, had hidden it somewhere else. For now, it was inaccessible.
“Hmm…”
Dokyun stroked his chin and continued to think.
The first thing that came to mind was balloons. He remembered seeing a photo online once where someone had stuck balloons shaped like the numbers of the year on a wall.
Recalling this, Dokyun rummaged through the balloons, pulling out two shaped like the number ‘2’ and one each of ‘0’ and ‘1’. He inflated them and taped them to the wall.
When he was finished, he stepped back to admire his work. It looked pretty decent.
Could I have a talent for this?
Maybe he had a knack for interior design. A quiet sense of pride welled up inside him, and filled with a surge of confidence, Dokyun rode that momentum and began adding more decorations one by one.
He had never done anything like this before, but he found that thoughtfully adding decorations was more fun than he’d expected.
It was like when he had cooked before; the joy that came from creating something with his own hands was just as rewarding as any other accomplishment.
He blew up more balloons and arranged glitter, artificial flowers, and candles to set the mood.
Before he knew it, the decorating was done. Dokyun let out a deep breath and smiled as he looked at his handiwork.
The space he was in every day now had a completely different atmosphere, and the sight was deeply satisfying.
Nodding to himself, he decided this was enough and turned his head toward the kitchen.
Had she also finished her preparations? The kitchen, which had been filled with bustling sounds for a while, had fallen silent. Finished dishes were now sitting on the dining table.
Seeing this, Dokyun went to the kitchen, picked up a plate of food, and asked Eun-ah, “Should we move these to the living room?”
“Ah, yes…!”
At his question, she quickly turned her head. Seeing the plate in his hands, she uttered a word of agreement.
“Alright. Let me know if you need help with anything.”
“Okay…!”
After her reply, Dokyun spent some time carrying the plates, one by one, into the living room.
Soon, with all the party preparations complete, the two of them sat down at the living room table.
“Wow…”
Looking at the dishes spread across the table, Dokyun let out an involuntary gasp of admiration.
There was the chicken and pizza she had mentioned when she first suggested the party, but also salmon steak and salad.
She must have been looking forward to a proper party, because the dishes laid out on the table were anything but ordinary.
Dokyun stared at the food in awe for a moment before lifting his head to speak to her.
“You worked so hard. It must have been difficult to make all this…”
“Hehe… N-No, it wasn’t…”
Her cheeks flushed red as she ducked her head.
Even so, the sound of her giggles showed how shy she was feeling.
Dokyun smiled back at her. After a moment, he reached out, picked up the bottle, and poured drinks into two glasses.
“Should we have a toast now?” he asked, handing one of the glasses to her.
She, who had kept her head down until then, took it and replied, “Yeah…!”
A moment later, the glasses in their hands were extended forward, making a clear, bright sound.
Clink!
Their first Christmas together, the first page of the memories they would make, was beginning to be filled.
Nothing incredibly grand or spectacular happened.
It was simply a time of sipping drinks, tasting the food they had prepared, sharing their thoughts, laughing, and talking.
During funny moments, or moments that made their stomachs flutter, he would raise the camera and capture each one. When they started to feel a little tipsy, they would lean on each other’s shoulders for a moment to catch their breath.
As these moments continued, Dokyun looked at her smiling face and thought that he was experiencing a moment of happiness that was far more than he deserved.
The feeling of their hands clasped together, fingers intertwined, and the rapid beat of her heart that he could feel against him, gave him a truly joyful sensation.
He would lift his glass and take a drink, and when their eyes met again, a small smile would turn into a fit of laughter until their sides hurt.
She kept offering him food, and when he tried to offer her some in return, she would open her mouth and pout, asking to be fed. The sight was so unbearably lovely that it left him feeling dazed for a moment.
He wondered if she was feeling the same happiness that he was. When he asked her how she felt, she gave him a bashful smile and then pressed a short kiss to his lips.
His heart pounded, making his head feel fuzzy, and then he felt awkward again and let out a laugh.
After a while, his fingertips brushed against something. He looked down and saw the big-nose gag glasses they had bought at the party supply store the day before.
He couldn’t quite remember why he had bought them, but since he had, he figured he might as well try them on. He put them on and looked at her. The moment she saw him, she burst out laughing.
“Pffft-heehee!”
Seeing her shoulders shake with laughter, he felt a sense of pride, thinking that buying them had been a good idea after all. But that feeling was short-lived.
“Ah, you look like an old man…!”
Her words reached him, and his mood sank slightly.
His shoulders slumped. He raised a hand to take off the glasses, trying to soothe his bitter feelings.
Was he at that age now, where being called an “old man” actually hurt? A wave of sadness washed over him.
Come to think of it, the new year was only a week away. When it came, he would be thirty-two.
Dokyun looked at Eun-ah, who still hadn’t stopped laughing.
Eun-ah is twenty-two now…
Next year, she would be twenty-three.
A nine-year age difference.
Uh…
Suddenly, a thought shot through Dokyun’s mind. Doesn’t this make me a total cradle robber?
“Hnng…?”
As this realization caused his shoulders to slump again, Eun-ah, who had been watching him, tilted her head in confusion.
Dokyun forced a small smile onto his face and said, “Ah, it’s nothing. I was just thinking about how I’m getting another year older.”
“Ah…!”
At his words, the smile on her face deepened, and she spoke in a cheerful tone.
“Th-That’s right…! Now you’ll be even more of an adult…!”
She seemed happy about getting older.
Dokyun gently stroked her hair and continued, “You like that?”
“D-Don’t you like it, Honeybee…?”
“It just feels like I’m getting old, so not really.”
At his answer, she looked puzzled for a moment before snuggling into his embrace.
“B-But I like it when you get older, Honeybee…”
“Hm?”
“B-Because you become an adult Honeybee…!”
Her added explanation comforted him again.
He let out a small chuckle. Wrapping his arms around her, Dokyun patted her back and said, “I’m glad. I’m glad you like me, Eun-ah.”
“Mhm…! I-I like you the most, Honeybee…!”
Right. If she said she liked older men, what was there to feel bad about?
His conscience pricked him a little, but he couldn’t help the good mood that followed. Dokyun smiled, savoring the warmth of their embrace for a moment before his eyes fell on the table.
“Should we start cleaning up now?”
The bottle of alcohol was now empty, and the food was almost gone.
He looked at it for a moment before asking the question. Her reply came back.
“Okay…!”
\*
They cleared the table and finished cleaning up.
They decided to leave the decorations up until tomorrow, so they left them as they were. After washing up, they lay down in bed. She immediately clung to his chest and spoke.
“T-Today was fun…!”
“Yes, I had a lot of fun too, thanks to you, Eun-ah.”
“Hehe…”
At his praise, she let out a small, shy smile. Dokyun watched her for a moment, then stroked her back and continued.
“You worked so hard preparing everything today.”
“Yeah… Y-You’re right…!”
Her head nodded.
A moment later, she lifted her head from his chest and stared at him intently.
“I-I worked really hard… so I-I deserve some praise…!”
“Hm?”
“B-Because I worked so hard… p-praise…!”
She let out a little huff, her eyes filled with expectation. Watching her, Dokyun felt another smile spread across his face. He stroked her hair and offered his praise.
“You’re right. You worked hard today, so you deserve to be praised.”
With that, Dokyun leaned down and pressed his lips to her forehead.
Peck.
A brief touch, and then he pulled away.
He glanced down to look at her.
“Ugh…”
He saw her brow furrow slightly.
Did I do something wrong? A flicker of doubt crossed his mind. As he watched her, she glared at him with a frown for a moment.
“H-Here needs praise, too…!”
As she said this, she began to lift the hem of her dress, showing him what was underneath.
His gaze drifted down below the dress.
The corners of his mouth twitched upwards.
Dokyun tried to recall the last time he and she had been intimate.
It had been almost two weeks now.
He had held back for quite a long time.
Well, it is Christmas Eve.
A day like this should be fine, right? As he had that thought…
The Six Hours of Sex.
The time of year when men and women were said to be most intimate with each other. That came to mind.
Jesus was a man of great love, so wouldn't it be right to share some love today for His sake? Having completed this line of reasoning, a deep smile formed on Dokyun’s lips as he spoke again.
“You’re right. That place needs praise, too.”
When he said that and looked up at her face, he could see her cheeks were flushed bright red, even in the darkness.
“My mistake. I forgot.”
After speaking, Dokyun thought, It’s Christmas Eve, after all, and reached out, sliding his hand all the way under her dress.