Christmas
The midterm exams took four full days in total.
When everything was finally finished for our class, the atmosphere was pure chaos.
"Yee-haw! We're free!!"
"Dobi is free too! Freedom at Seix Academy, you say!"
"Winter break special lectures?"
"Shut it! Anyway, we're free!!"
The whole class dissolved into pandemonium.
Amid all that noise, Sia and I quietly chatted just the two of us, and the topic of our conversation was simple.
"Hehe, I won our little bet."
"Yeah... you're really something."
"Hehe!"
It was all about the bet we had made.
During the midterm exams, whoever scored higher than their midterms would win the prize from me.
Sia had scored higher in every single subject, while I had missed by exactly one, so I had lost.
Of course, the shock from getting a math question wrong when I thought I knew it well was real, but... well, I had lost, so I couldn't complain.
I accepted the outcome without any fuss.
Even though it wasn't like I had thrown the match on purpose.
After all, it was a bet, and I had poured my heart into solving every problem.
And I had lost because of that.
I wouldn't say I didn't feel bitter, because that would be a lie... but when I saw Sia so happy about her victory, all that bitterness just melted away.
So I said to her.
"So what's the prize?"
"Um... up to what exactly?"
"...As long as it's something I can physically and materially make possible?"
"Oh? How long?"
"Um... until I graduate high school?"
"Perfect! Then it's one prize right there!"
"Yeah... so in second year I'll..."
"Ehehe~ What kind of wish should I make so everyone starts spreading rumors that I made it?"
"...I see you don't really want to."
I had wanted to suggest we keep playing the bet even in second year, but Sia had pretended not to hear a word.
There were plenty of things I wanted to say... but I didn't push it.
By the end of December we had vacation, and we still had a little over two weeks left.
And... right in the middle of all that, the big event arrived: Christmas.
Christmas was followed five days later by the winter break ceremony.
Which meant... no matter what happened, I had to settle the matter of Sia's confession to me.
That was why I had deliberately made plans with Sia for Christmas.
I'm sure Sia was expecting something too.
That I would hear her confession during Christmas and give her an answer.
Was that why...?
"Hehe, I hope Christmas comes quick."
—*tight squeeze*.
Ever since exams ended, Sia's squishiness had gone down a notch.
At first it was because she had sensed something when I asked her to spend time together on Christmas.
I had told her before that I would give her an answer about the confession on Christmas.
I wanted to tell her my feelings right away... but the timing wasn't right yet.
It was only one chance, and I wanted to give Sia a good memory.
My selfish little wish to wait just a little longer burned even bigger.
Of course, I had done everything I possibly could.
Because I had received every bit of Sia's skinship.
Now that all preparations were complete in just three more days, my only wish was that Sia would wait just a little longer.
◇◇◇◇◇◇
Two weeks passed faster than the two weeks of exam preparation.
Really, I had blinked a few times... and now it was Christmas Day itself.
I woke up early, showered, and got ready to meet Sia.
I dressed in the clothes I had set out the night before... double-checked that I had the most important thing, and headed toward the door.
Just as I was about to slip on my shoes and step outside.
"Siwoo."
"Mom?"
Mom called me.
When I turned around, Mom was silently pressing a card into my hand, then patted my back.
"What's this?"
Surprised that she was giving me money out of nowhere, I asked.
"I put some money in there so you can go on a date with Sia. Go have fun."
Mom was telling me to go on a date with Sia and have a great time.
I had already planned to use the allowance I had received... but now that she was handing me the card, I had nothing to say.
"Thank you. I'll go!"
"Go well."
With Mom's encouragement, I headed straight to the clock tower in front of the meeting spot with Sia.
The promised time was nine o'clock, which was early for a holiday... but because today was Christmas, the station was packed with people.
On top of that, merchants hunting for Christmas crowds were there too, so it was lively.
But finding Sia wasn't hard at all.
I just had to look for the person who stood out most in the crowd.
When I scanned the area around the clock tower, my eyes landed on Sia right away.
Even though twenty minutes or so until nine remained... for some reason, Sia always seemed to show up before me.
I stepped toward her with a light skip.
Sia was first staring at her phone as if she didn't care, then suddenly lifted her head and looked my way.
Then.
"Ah! Siwoo!"
This time she jumped up from her seat to greet me.
"Did I keep you waiting?"
"Nope! Let's go!"
"But we still have twenty minutes left..."
"Hehe, twenty extra minutes means I get more bonus points, don't you think?"
"...Yeah, I think so too."
So Sia and I boarded the subway.
There was a seat, so we fought over who got it, then gave up and stood side by side.
We chatted a bit, and then a question popped into my head.
"I've been wondering something."
"What?"
"You always stare at your phone, and the moment I get close you notice right away. How do you know?"
"Oh that?"
I had been curious about it for a while.
Not just at meeting spots, but even when I casually appeared in a corner at school.
"It's just that I hear your footsteps, that's all."
"...Really?"
"Of course it's real. My... ears are good. I hear everything."
"...Is that really the level of 'good hearing'?"
I was stunned by Sia's ability, but her next words left me speechless.
"Even so, it's not like everything is possible, right? It's only special for you. Only you."
"......"
"Hehe, that must be the power of love."
I wanted to say more to Sia, but... I thought it wasn't the right time in public, so I simply stroked her hair.
—*swish swish*.
Of course Sia felt even my touch as nice.
So we took the subway toward our destination, which was Myeongdong.
When we got off at Myeongdong, we saw...
"Um..."
"Wow..."
An overwhelming number of people.
I hadn't expected such a huge crowd, but the problem was that there were even more people than I had imagined.
On top of that, I had heard that the biggest attraction in Myeongdong was after dark when the lights came on, but even though the sun was still shining brightly, the streets were already packed.
Imagine how crowded it would get later.
That meant my plan might need a small adjustment, so I was walking along while thinking about it with Sia.
While we walked side by side, Sia suddenly grabbed my hand and pulled me forward.
"Eek...!"
"Siwoo! Don't just stand there looking all serious. Come on, let's have fun."
"......!"
Even though we had come to play, I had somehow turned into someone who only watched the sights.
Now I realized what I should have been thinking about: Sia.
Realizing my mistake gave my head a bit of a shake.
Now I had to think not about visiting many places, but about enjoying them together with Sia.
"Yeah, I was thinking too much. Let's go."
"Yes!"
So Sia and I started wandering the Myeongdong streets.
It seemed like I had underestimated how well the streets were decorated with Christmas.
Everywhere there were various decorations to celebrate the holiday.
But it wasn't just the streets; every shop had also dressed up for Christmas in its own way.
Just walking down the street holding Sia's hand was more than enough to feel like there was plenty to see.
Whenever Sia and I walked and our hands got cold, we would stop at a cafe, buy warm drinks, and hold them while strolling, and the cold would mostly disappear.
While walking together with Sia, the place we finally reached was a park decorated for Christmas.
In the center there was a big tree hung with all kinds of decorations, and a wish-throwing event was already in progress.
Sia saw it and said.
"Should we try?"
"The wish fee?"
"Yes!"
"Let's do it."
So holding Sia's hand, we approached the staff.
"It's better if you two write it together, right?"
"Yes."
"Then I'll give you a set of paper. You can write on each one and hang them on the tree."
So Sia and I started writing our wishes on the paper.
We didn't look at each other's wishes, and we hung them on the tree... but
I felt like Sia and I must be wishing for the exact same thing.