A Couple's Christmas Morning
Even though I still had three whole hours until I met up with Chae-yeon, I had already finished every last bit of preparation.
We were just going to meet like always and have a normal date. The only thing different this time was the couple ring I kept clutching in my hand.
My heart was pounding so hard because of that one little ring that it felt like it might explode.
Anyone watching would probably think I was about to propose. It was just a couple ring, for crying out loud.
“Son?”
“Yeah, Mom.”
“Are you seeing Chae-yeon today?”
“Yeah, I’ll head out in a bit.”
“This is the first Christmas I’m not spending with my son.”
Mom’s voice carried a clear note of disappointment. I could completely understand how she felt.
We had always spent Christmas together until now, after all.
If Chae-yeon had ended up busy and we couldn’t meet on Christmas, I would have happily spent the day with my family without a second thought.
I rose from my chair and gave Mom a gentle hug.
“I’m sorry I can’t spend it with you this year.”
“It’s fine. It’s a little disappointing, but it can’t be helped.”
“I’ll stay home tomorrow instead. Let’s spend the day together then.”
“Tomorrow? Son, are you coming home tonight?”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I come home…”
I was responding to Mom’s question with a question of my own when I slowly realized why she was asking.
“Uh, Mom. I’m… not staying out overnight.”
“Really? I thought for sure you would be.”
“If I want to stay out, I’d have to hold a serious summit with her uncle and somehow persuade him. It’s barely possible even then.”
“Aigoo, don’t worry so much about Chae-yeon’s uncle. You two are dating—what’s there to be so nervous about?”
I wanted to date Chae-yeon however I liked, without worrying about anything, and do all sorts of things with her.
But I simply couldn’t.
If I acted without reading the atmosphere, there was a very real chance that the pressure and those murderous eyes would turn into actual violence.
I had no desire to die at my girlfriend’s father’s hands.
“When’s Hyung getting here?”
“He’s on the morning bus from Daejeon right now. If I’m lucky, I might get to see him before I leave.”
Hyung was doing his graduate studies in Daejeon. Since it was quite far away, the days we actually got to see each other were pretty rare.
“You talk to Hyung a lot. Did you tell him you’re dating Chae-yeon?”
“Yeah, I told him. He was really shocked.”
“I haven’t seen his face once this semester because he’s had so many academic conferences.”
Even during break, seeing Hyung was never easy.
Unlike regular college students, graduate students were basically slaves with no real vacation. Unless their professor gave them time off, getting consecutive days of rest was impossible.
And that was going to be my future. It was the path I had chosen, but damn, it sounded awful.
Before heading out on my date with Chae-yeon, I wanted to spend some time with my family, so I told them stories about the memories I’d made with her. Both Mom and Dad seemed genuinely curious; every time I said something, they let out impressed exclamations.
“I’m home.”
“Welcome back, son.”
“Hyung, hey.”
“You haven’t left yet? Aren’t you meeting Chae-yeon today?”
“I’m heading out soon. I wanted to see your face first.”
“Alright. Have a good date and enjoy yourself. It’s cold out there, so make sure you dress warmly.”
Since my body had always been weak, my family’s constant worrying whenever I went outside was completely natural.
After a short chat with Hyung, I left for our meeting spot.
As always, Chae-yeon was already waiting for me. Because it was the middle of winter, she was bundled up in something as fluffy as an alpaca.
“Yeoni!!”
“You’re here? At least you dressed warmly today.”
“My family kept worrying, so I wore all this. Honestly, it’s a little hard to move.”
“Today’s supposed to be the coldest day yet. If you dressed for comfort, you’d definitely catch a cold.”
I took Chae-yeon’s hand and slipped it into the pocket of my puffer jacket—the one without the ring, of course.
The thought that no one could see us holding hands made me keep fiddling with her fingers.
“That tickles.”
“There’s no one watching anyway.”
“If there’s really no one watching, what exactly are you planning to do that you keep saying that?”
“I only said it with the purest intentions.”
“Sure you did. Anyway, there are so many people out.”
“They’re all couples. Must be because it’s Christmas—everywhere I look, it’s just couples.”
“Do you think it’ll snow today? The forecast didn’t mention anything about snow.”
“You’re not supposed to trust the forecast anyway. Even if they say it won’t snow, it still might.”
“I hope it does!!”
The street where Chae-yeon and I always met up and spent time together felt strangely unfamiliar today, like I was seeing it for the first time.
Was it the Christmas decorations? Or maybe the streets packed full of couples?
It felt like I had stepped into a ballroom hosting some grand party.
“I always used to spend Christmas with my friends.”
“I always spent it with my family.”
“Coming out together like this with you feels really weird.”
“Same here. That’s why I like it!!”
“When I told Dad I was going on a date with you, he looked totally shocked.”
“S-shocked?”
“Yeah!! He straight-up asked if you were staying out overnight.”
“You told him I wasn’t, right?”
“What do you think I said?”
She was staring at me with a smile full of mischief.
She seemed to think it was funny to tease me like this, but I was definitely not amused.
If I had said I was staying out, I would have ended up folded in half regardless of what actually happened.
“I’m kidding. I didn’t tell him you were staying out.”
“Whew… I survived today, too.”
For couples, Christmas was a day that grew hotter than any other, making the freezing weather irrelevant.
Most of the couples around here were probably planning to stay out overnight and spend some passionate time together.
To be honest…
I wanted that too. But I still thought it was too soon. I also really didn’t want to have a formal meeting with her uncle.
Still, as we kept dating, that day would come eventually, right?
“I’m hungry.”
“Want to grab something light before lunch?”
“Yeah!! Let’s see… Should we get donuts? That place over there says they have a couple discount.”
At this rate, singles really had nowhere to go on Christmas. Every single store had some kind of couple discount posted.
We stepped into the donut shop, ordered one for each of us, and sat down at a table.
The donuts came out quicker than expected. Just as I was about to eat mine, Chae-yeon cut hers into a bite-sized piece and held it out to me.
“Ah.”
“Am I dreaming right now? With this many people around, Yeoni is feeding me.”
“I-it’s Christmas, okay?”
“Christmas really is the best… mmph!!”
“Just eat it already!!”
“It’s delicious. Especially because Yeoni’s feeding me.”
This time I fed her, and we started taking countless photos.
Pictures of our intertwined hands, shots of us sitting together holding donuts, photos with light skinship.
If my single friends saw how sweet these pictures were, they would probably storm over right away armed with bamboo spears.
“Ugh… It’s so cold once you step outside.”
“Tell me about it. Being inside really is best… Ah, your hands are freezing!”
“Hmm, Jung-woo’s cheeks aren’t warm at all.”
“You scared me. Why are your hands so cold? Weren’t you keeping them in your pockets?”
“I wanted to try this at least once, so I kept them out on purpose.”
Who on earth walks around with their hands out in this weather just because they want to press them against their boyfriend’s cheeks? Even a few minutes outside and your hands could freeze solid.
To warm up her other hand, I pulled it into my jacket pocket and hugged her close.
“My Yeoni can’t catch a cold.”
“It’s still not warm even though it’s inside.”
“Sorry I don’t have any fat on me…”
“The wind keeps blowing through.”
“Stop stating facts… It hurts my heart.”
Now that our stomachs were full, we headed to a karaoke room to help with digestion.
Since both of us took karaoke seriously, we paid for an hour and launched into a wild singing frenzy.
“Now that I think about it, this is our first time at karaoke since we started dating.”
“You’re right. Since we’re a couple now…”
I was sitting in the chair picking out songs when Chae-yeon plopped down on my lap and leaned fully against me.
I wrapped my arms around her waist and hugged her from behind.
“Am I heavy?”
“Not at all. The problem is you’re too light.”
“Coming from someone with legs like yours, that doesn’t sound convincing at all.”
We sang nonstop duet songs and all our favorite tracks, losing track of time.
Afterward, we filled our now-empty stomachs with lunch and took countless more photos, just like we had at the donut shop.
“Still doesn’t look like it’s going to snow.”
“It might come in the evening, so let’s wait and see.”
“It’s already the afternoon. What did we even do that time flew by so fast?”
“It’s still only afternoon and we have the whole evening left, so there’s plenty of time.”
Even after I said that, Chae-yeon pouted her lips like she was disappointed.
I quietly leaned in and kissed those pouting lips.
Chu!
Was it because she had wanted it, or because she was startled?
The lips that had been sticking out disappeared in an instant.
“Is my Yeoni disappointed?”
“…It would be a lie if I said I wasn’t.”
“Just think of it as the beginning. We still have so much time left!!”
Wanting to do something nice for her, my eyes landed on a shooting game that gave out dolls as prizes.
Since Chae-yeon didn’t dislike dolls, spending some time there and winning one for her seemed like a good idea.
“Yeoni, want to go shoot for a doll over there?”
“Jung-woo.”
“Yeah, Yeoni?”
“Should I not go home today?”
“…What?!”