Tingling Drinks & Warm Embraces - First Chapter
Years after they had broken apart without any goodbyes, Hyukjae and Donghae reunites at a Christmas party together with their new lovers' family.
[Tingling drinks and warm embraces]
The sun was just setting down by the horizon and up on the hill there was the most perfect view over the lake where the pink-stained clouds reflected in the still rippling water. Hyukjae had felt contentment fill him up to the brim as he saw the sky but his thoughts were slightly changed the moment he stepped out of the car and had the freezing wind cooling his neck with an icing shiver. He purred and rubbed his hands together.
“I didn’t think it’d be this much colder in Hwacheon! You told me there wouldn’t be much difference at all.” Hyukjae looked over the car to where a girl appeared on the other side with a typical look he knew was ‘What-did-I-tell-you’-look.
“Honey,” the girl emphasized the word as she walked to stand next to him while wrapping her arms around his waist. “I told you, it depends on how you dress. As long as you’ve got proper clothes, you won’t feel much difference from the temperature in Busan.”
Hyukjae grimaced a little before whiningly shoving his girlfriend away. Cold simply wasn’t his thing and it always made him grumpy if he didn’t get to be in a warm place.
“Come on now; get your bags so we can get in already!”
“Hana! Hyukjae! So good to see you.”
The couple’s attention turned to the man’s voice coming from the direction of the villa 20 meters away and they both broke out into smiles as they saw Hana’s father walking though the snow towards them and quickly embraced his daughter in a big hug.
“How was the drive here? You must be exhausted.” He continued as he greeted Hyukjae warmly as well and took two bags and helped with carrying them back to the villa.
“It was rather calm,” Hyukjae answered. “Not too much traffic.”
Once the villa’s door was opened, Hyukjae could practically feel the warmth oozing out of the house and he gladly stepped inside after stomping off the lingering snow on his shoes. Just as soon they had got in there definitely was that particular Christmas atmosphere lingering in every corner and Hyukjae knew spending the holidays here was a very good decision. It was his first time visiting Hana’s family in Hwacheon, since it was her grandparents from her mother’s side who lived there in the big villa, and Hwacheon was pretty far away from where they lived in Busan, Hyukjae had never got to meet them before.
Mumbling voices came from all various rooms that surrounded the hallway and for a moment Hyukjae felt a bit unsure of where to go since he did not know the house or all of the relatives that were supposed to be there to celebrate with them. Hana noticed his slight confusion and tugged at his sleeve.
“Let’s just greet mother before we leave our packing. She’s in the kitchen.”
Hana’s mother squealed in delight as she saw her well missed daughter and even Hyukjae she brought in for a tight and loving hug. Hyukjae was very pleased to meet Hana’s parents as well since they didn’t have that chance very often. After a couple of minutes with small-talk and Hana’s mother’s repeated questions if they’d like something to eat, the couple got their time to settle down in the last guest room on the second floor.
The whole house’s interior was very old fashioned, but that was what made it so impressive and gave such a specific feeling walking around in it. Everything was already decorated with Christmas glitter and other fun stuff related to winter and it only added to the cozy feeling. He would definitely enjoy his time here.
“You could rest for a while Hyukjae, you’ve been driving for a whole day,” said Hana as she folded her clothes and put them into one of the drawers placed by the window. “The other’s has already had their dinner so it doesn’t matter when we eat.” Hyukjae smiled and shook his head, assuring that he was perfectly fine and wanted to greet the other family members first. He hid his yawn with the back of his hand and Hana chuckled. “I’ll unpack your clothes meanwhile.”
Hyukjae stretched and thanked the girl before sliding out in the corridor, walking extra slowly over the puffy rug decorating the wooden floor. It had such a warm and soft feeling stepping on and Hyukjae had to admit he loved it. It was already getting late, so all the young kids had been put to bed, putting the house into a calmer and quieter atmosphere.
He noticed that actually most of the family was already withdrawn to their rooms or some of them had gone out for a while to drink right after his and Hana’s arrival. Hyukjae first joined Hana’s mother once again in the kitchen and she was more than willing to make him a sandwich since he was feeling a bit hungry. Seeing there was no one left to spend time with - Hana seemed to have fallen asleep right away - Hyukjae helped out with drying the dishes.
“It’s so nice to gather the family like this, it makes me so happy.”
Hyukjae smiled at Heejin’s happy chanting; he had lost count of how many times she had said it was fun to see them. Hana’s mother was a short and rather plump woman, but full of energy even though she was getting closer to her sixties. He was quite surprised the first time they met since she is pretty much the opposite of Hana, who is calm and a quite a bit shy.
They chatted away the time, Mrs. Kim didn’t really run out of things to talk about, but he had a great time still. It would have been nice if he could chat like that with his mother too.
Hyukjae was drying one of the glasses when someone entered the kitchen, though he didn’t hear it until the person spoke with such a familiar voice that caused a prickling sensation run over his skin. He froze and stared into the wall with the glass still in his hands.
“Omonim, I’m done with the bath now, you should go and rest already.”
It can’t be.
“Oh, I’m almost done here. Thank you Donghae-ah.”
A shattering crash filled the kitchen as fragile glass collided with the floor, breaking the glass in several pieces. The old lady gasped and immediately asked if Hyukjae was okay. He just nodded, not turning around as he still sensed the third person lingering. There was no need to turn around for confirmation; he already knew who it was.
“I’ll get a broom for you,” Donghae exclaimed and hurriedly left for the cleaning cabinet.
“I’m really sorry, Heejin,” Hyukjae apologized and picked up the big pieces of the broken glass and collected them in his palm.
“Don’t worry about it, Hyukjae-ah! You must be very tired after all; please don’t bother picking the glass, it’s sharp. Just wait until Donghae gets back with the broom.”
“I should go to bed already, if you’ll excuse me. I’m really sorry.”
“My dear, don’t worry!” She ensured. “Go use the bathroom ahead of me and quickly go to bed.” Hyukjae jumped over the worst area of glass shatter and exited the kitchen. As he hurried for the stairs he saw Donghae arriving with the broom stick in the corner of his eyes. For a second he unintentionally froze and locked eyes with the other man. This was the first time Donghae finally saw his face that night and wore a shocked expression on his face. If he had been about to say something, he didn’t get the chance since Hyukjae darted up the stairs already and locked himself into the bathroom.
Why him?
Lee Donghae.
Years - he couldn’t immediately count how many - had already passed since he last talked to Donghae. Flashes of their separation were the first memory coming back to him - the bitter end he hadn’t expected to come for them. An unexpected prickle pressed his chest when thinking about it. He took in deep breaths and suppressed everything.
He had never expected to actually get to meet Donghae again, and less under this kind of circumstance. How was Donghae related to Hana’s family? They were both going to spend their whole Christmas in the same house and Hyukjae felt both nervous and uncomfortable with the thought of it. Now he regretted reacting so panicked when first seeing Donghae, he was just beyond shocked to meet him again.
He didn’t know what he hoped for the most - Donghae ignoring him for the whole holiday, pretending as if they never knew each other - or they could act normal, become friends anew and enjoy their visit without looking back with regret.
Hyukjae hurried washing himself and returned to his shared room where Hana was fast asleep. Warily, he crept down under the duvet, crawled closer to the nearest source of warmth and comfort and entered a restless sleep.
--
“You don’t need to do it Donghae-ah, Minyu must be waiting for you so you should go to sleep already.”
“It’s okay; Omonim has worked a lot today, let me help.” Donghae smiled sweetly at the lady who didn’t have any chance to argue back any more. She thanked him and put away the final dried plates then retiring, bidding Donghae good night.
“Omonim,” Donghae hasted before Heejin had exited the kitchen fully. She gave him a questioning sweet smile. “That man just now…”
“Oh, you mean Hyukjae?” Heejin hinted the question in his voice. “He is Hana’s boyfriend. I guess you haven’t got the chance to meet him before; it’s such a pity we don’t have family gatherings more often.” She shook her head with a small smile. “Hurry up now and go to bed dear. “
Donghae nodded and brushed up the final shatters and poured them down the trash bin. He lingered for a moment leaning by the sink.
“So Hyuk is here too…”
He sighed deeply and decided to walk back to his room.
Hyukjae pretended to still be asleep when Hana whispered out his name the next morning, and so he knew she would leave him alone until he got up on his own. It was already 8 a.m., he had woken up nearly two hours ago after a restless sleep, and Hyukjae decided to lay there for another hour and he might be able to avoid a possible joint breakfast. But after a while, he realized what he was doing and sat up in the bed.
“Why am I trying to avoid him?” he whined and pressed his face down the pillow again. It would just be too obvious that something was wrong if he’d try to ignore Donghae the rest of the holiday.
So long had passed since then, so many years. He was over it already, but the thought of seeing him, and in this kind of situation where they obviously somehow was connected to the same family, made him uncomfortable.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and a second one.
“Hae, you can never catch me!” Hyukjae shouted and started running faster past the trees to escape his chaser. He squealed louder as he heard the steps catching up behind, urging his feet to move on faster over the soft green moss. Once he reached down to the lake he stopped while panting hard and looked behind, but couldn’t spot Donghae coming after.
“Donghae?” He called, still being out of breath. With a hand on his chest, he started looking around the area nervously, thinking if Donghae might have tripped over somewhere on the way. A rustle in a nearby bush made Hyukjae pause in his moves and he smiled because he knew Donghae still was present. Although that, he screamed once the younger boy jumped out behind the bushes and came darting in his direction. Without any worries, Donghae jumped Hyukjae so that they both fell backwards into the warm water.
“You got us soaked!” Hyukjae whined and looked down at his clothes pouting and then back up at Donghae. The other boy only smiled mischievously and leaned down to press his lips against the pouting ones.
“Caught ya’,” he whispered after pulling his lips away.
“Yeah yeah,” Hyukjae chuckled and grabbed Donghae by his collar. “Now, kiss me more.”
“Isn’t Hyukjae up yet?”
“No, should I go and wake him up?”
“Oh no, let the boy sleep! He drove the whole day yesterday.”
“No, no! Jiyoung, stop playing with your food, you’re making a mess.”
“I’ll go out and chop some more wood.”
“Mom, can we go out in the snow with uncle?”
“Not until you’ve finished your breakfast.”
Donghae stared into empty space, lost in his thoughts while people were vividly talking in the dining area. It was a nice atmosphere inside the villa, filled with love and Christmas spirit among everyone. This was how his every Christmas in the future would look like, and it was a magical feeling.
“Donghae ah, are you feeling alright?”
“What?” Donghae snapped and blinked up to face his soon-to-be father-in-law, standing right next to him. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
“Hyuk you’re awake!” Hana beamed and rose from her seat to get by his side and kissed him briefly. Donghae turned to look at him thoroughly as Hyukjae walked into the room, but the elder didn’t seem to notice his presence.
“You’re going to eat some breakfast?” Mrs. Kim asked after have greeted the young man good morning.
“No, I’ll just have some coffee.” He smiled wearily and Heejin happily made it into the kitchen to brew some more coffee.
“That’s right Hyukjae,” Hana started smiling and pulled his hand to enter the living room. “You haven’t met my sister yet.”
He was introduced to Kim Minyu, a pretty girl with long dark locks and had a smile that was similar to Hana’s.
“Oh, and this -“ Minyu held out her left arm as a man came up and took the spot by her side, a thin smile stretching on his lips and eyes were slightly wrinkled by the corners of his eyes. “- is my fiancé, Donghae.” She spoke with a genuine smile and looked lovingly at Donghae as he held her slim waist closely. “This is Hana’s boyfriend, Lee Hyukjae.” Minyu explained to Donghae.
Hana had to shove him loosely in the ribs with her elbow so he would wake up from his sudden petrified state and take the offered hand Donghae was holding out to him. It felt odd and awkward, Hyukjae thought, once he let go of the hand and quickly pulled Hana closer to his side.
“Actually,” Donghae then spoke up. Hyukjae noticed that the look in the younger man’s eyes was quite odd, the way he looked at him. “Hyukjae and I know each other from before.”
The girls looked at each other and then to their respective lovers. Hyukjae’s heart flipped nervously and memories of when they actually knew each other came back, and he would have liked to just push Donghae away for reminding him.
“Really? How?” Hana asked, blinking with genuine curiosity up at Hyukjae. But he was lost in Donghae’s eyes to even think about anything else at the moment, his intense gaze giving him shivers. Then Donghae smiled his usual sweet smile and turned to the girl next to Hyukjae.
“We went to the same High School, didn’t we Hyukjae?”
He shook out his thoughts once he heard his name and forced on a smile to his lips, agreeing with Donghae. “We knew each other quite well,” he added but it didn’t appear as if anyone heard him.
“Then you guys might have some things to catch up? Minyu, have you seen the new dress aunt made? It’s really beautiful!” Hana had grabbed the other girl’s arm and walked away to another room, leaving Hyukjae and Donghae alone in a very awkward atmosphere.
“It’s been a long time since we talked.” Donghae looked way too comfortable and unbothered by the situation, but it also bothered Hyukjae that he wasn’t like that as well. Instead, he felt as if his anger rose for each second he sensed the present of the brunette. Were they just going to pretend like this? Wasn’t Donghae even going to show the smallest, tiniest little bit of remorse he actually owned him?
No reply came from Hyukjae’s part, he had nothing to say. All his dug down grudges were bubbling up to the surface, but he tried his best to remain calm and not cause any fight. Simply, he didn’t want anything to do with Donghae.
“I know you feel uncomfortable,” Donghae started and stuffed his hand down his pocket, a nervous habit of his. “But let’s just not think back and get to know each other from start again. As friends.”
Hyukjae looked away. Friends?
Every day would Hyukjae and Donghae spend time with each other after school, usually taking turns on whose house to go to. Most people thought they were just studying homework together except for their closest friends. Even their parents were oblivious of what happened behind the closed door to their son’s room. It had started with them both doing a project together and with sleepy minds they had somehow got carried away, thoughts about work gone and instead a fluttering feeling had a hold of them while losing themselves in each other.
Hyukjae fell in love with Donghae, though it took a while before they became official due to Donghae’s doubts. Still, for nearly four years they continued dating in silence. Never did they show too much affection in school to make anyone suspicious of their relation to each other.
As graduation came closer, both had timidly been asking themselves if they should tell everyone about being a couple, but they never settled the matter because of their doubts of being accepted by their parents. “Let’s just wait for a little longer,” they had decided.
Though on the day of graduation Hyukjae and Donghae shared glinting glances through the whole ceremony and once they were out both of them were so excited and filled with joy, and that precise moment there was no worries for them what-so-ever and therefore the moment he came pouncing to Donghae and crashed their lips together Donghae did not hesitate to kiss him back immediately.
That had been the last day Hyukjae saw Donghae.
Donghae noticed the other’s skepticism to what he just said by the elder’s look.
“You haven’t forgiven me,” Donghae stated instead of making it a question. It was still very obvious.
“How can you be this cold?” Hyukjae’s voice was low and calm, but his eyes were speaking all the curses and anger for him and he could practically see through Donghae’s eyes how low the other fell for the accuse. “Do you really think I’d like to become friends with you? Honestly Donghae, what do you expect?”
And there it was. One unique thing with Donghae that always amazed Hyukjae was his speaking eyes. As he focused his eyes straight into the younger’s he felt a prickle in his chest, trying to understand the silent response. But then he felt how his heart squeezed and immediately looked away.
“You know what I want to say.” Donghae was right, but Hyukjae wouldn’t admit that. He sighed harshly, ruffled his fringe in frustration and turned to face Donghae properly, only making sure not to lock eyes with him.
“Ok, look; I don’t want us to be on each other’s bad sides while we’re here, I don’t think either Hana or Minyu would appreciate us fighting. So why don’t we just stick to ourselves and don’t give a damn about each other’s asses, does that sound good to you?”
He was given a disapproving and slightly insulted look, nonetheless did Donghae nod.
And that was the end of the conversation. Hyukjae just shifted on his seat to face the other way and look at something else while Donghae sighed and reluctantly walked off without any more words.
“Hyukjae,” Hana’s voice whispered in his ear after a few minutes of his aloneness and two arms wrapped around his neck from behind in a loose hug. Her hair tickled his chin as she leaned forward and he could smell the sweet scent of her shampoo, making him sniff a little extra just to smell more of it. “Grandma and grandpa won’t come over until tonight, so I thought that we could maybe go drive down to town and see if there is some nice Christmas sale.” All along she tried to speak as sweet as possible to convince Hyukjae, since he really didn’t like shopping. Hana continued to nuzzle his cheek and if Hyukjae wasn’t mistaken, Donghae had a strained back grin on his face while glancing at them quickly.
What did that grin mean?
Hyukjae felt a bit annoyed with Donghae who acted so odd. The brunette leaned closer to Minyu’s side and kissed her cheek spontaneously.
“Alright, we’ll go,” he sighed and Hana showed her gratitude by giving him a kiss.
“Thanks, I haven’t spent time with Minyu for such a long time!”
“Oh, she’s coming with us?”
“Yeah, she and Donghae didn’t have much else to do so they said they’ll join us.”
Hyukjae felt like sinking through the chair. There really was no way he could avoid Donghae. It felt even worse to see him now that he had scolded him.
The car drive was tense, at least in Hyukjae’s world. He and Hana sat in the back seat while Donghae was behind the steering wheel with his fiancé by his side. The girls were chatting vividly about things that Hyukjae never really paid attention to. And Donghae seemed to be in his own little bubble, his fingers tapping on the steering wheel along with the beat of the subtly playing radio. One time in the middle of the ride Hyukjae was positive his eyes had met Donghae’s in the rear-view mirror, but after that he didn’t look anywhere else than out the window.
Approximately 40 minutes had passed since they got out of the car and Hyukjae and Donghae still didn’t speak a word to each other even though they mostly were left alone since they had no interest in checking out girl’s clothes and just be content with carrying their respective girlfriend’s shopping bags.
“Donghae, if you two want to do anything else rather than wait for us you can just go ahead. I’ll just call you when we’re done.” Donghae leered Hyukjae’s way but the man just looked another way, leaving the choice to him. “There’s a coffee shop across the street, you could go and sit there if there’s nothing else you want to do.”
Even if they evidently did not want to be with each other they still ended up sitting by a small table opposite to each other in the café’s inner part next to a window. Hyukjae had already decided from the menu what he wanted and sat twisting a napkin with his fingers, tearing off small pieces every now and then while looking outside at the streets. It had begun to snow calmly.
Donghae glanced over the tip of the menu at Hyukjae and his fiddling fingers, finding the process familiar.
“You don’t have to be so edgy,” he muttered loud enough for Hyukjae to hear. The latter turned his attention to the other.
“What makes you think I’m nervous?”
“You start fiddling when you’re nervous,” Donghae answered, nicking at the torn napkin pieces on the table. Hyukjae followed his gesture and frowned. The brunette was quite sure he saw some color sprout in Hyukjae’s cheeks as he brushed the paper pieces off the table.
“Can I take your orders sirs?” A woman came asking with a sweet smile and looked at them back and forth.
“Yes,” Hyukjae quickly answered and turned to the waitress. “I take a Little Red Riding Hood, please.”
She turned to Donghae with a smile.
“Forest Magic,” Donghae read from the menu, resisting frowning at the odd names of all the desserts.
The waitress came back with a tray, after a long painful silence between the two men, and placed down a cup in front of Hyukjae and a plate with a piece of chocolate pie for Donghae.
Hyukjae took a long spoon and scooped up some whipped cream into his mouth and then dug for the warm beverage beneath and Donghae was pretty sure it was pink.
“Strawberry?”
“Yes.”
Donghae grinned, earning a stern look from the elder. “You’re still into strawberry flavored food aren’t you?”
“Will you stop that?! So what if I still like it? It has nothing to do with you.” Hyukjae felt his cheeks redden, not quite sure what he was feeling. Donghae still seemed to remember a lot about him but it felt as if he taunted Hyukjae by reminding him about it. He got a quick view of Donghae and the man looked back at him with weary eyes.
He sighed harshly and drank from his beverage, avoiding meeting Donghae’s eyes again, they looked too delicate and it made Hyukjae nervous. He took in another big gulp from the cup.
“I’m sorry Hyukjae; I know I can’t force you to accept me as your friend again. But don’t you think partly you’re at blame too?” Hyukjae’s head snapped up, his gaze connecting immediately with Donghae’s who looked unnaturally serious. “Do you feel like it is entirely my fault that we never go a proper goodbye?”
Was Donghae blaming him now?
“I’m leaving.” The elder pushed back his chair and pulled up the zipper on his jacket.
“Don’t run away from it, Hyukjae!” Donghae warned with a sharp look.
“Once, you ran off. Don’t make me sound like the guilty one.” And with those last words, Hyukjae stormed out of the cafeteria.
Donghae sat immobile, staring out the window at Hyukjae’s shrinking figure as he disappeared in the crowded streets. He rubbed his face, sighing, not noticing when the girls came to meet him and noticed he was alone. Donghae continued looking at the people walking past by.
“Do you remember Hyukjae, when I introduced you to strawberries for the first time? You told me you always ate it whenever you missed me. Did you miss me?”
It was a relief that he caught a bus right on time that passed by not far away from the house. Only he had to walk up the hill road which was both exhausting and with the snow freezing cold. Heejin had fuzzed a lot as he saw him coming back alone with soaked shoes but Hyukjae tried to calm her down with the excuse that he was too tired to walk around the city. It made her more upset that he had been forced to walk up the hill.
“It was my own choice, don’t worry about it. I will take a shower and rest for a while.”
He had just crashed down on the bed with damp hair and dressed in a knitted dark sweater when the front door opened and he heard the familiar voiced bursting out downstairs. Someone walked up the creaking stairs and entered one of the rooms, closing the door behind. He could still hear the girl’s voices chatting with their mother so he assumed it might have been Donghae entering his and Minyu’s room.
For ten minutes he entertained himself with his phone until Hana came inside and found him lying spread across the covers.
“Hyuk, how are you?”
“Hm? I’m sorry, I’m just worn out.”
“What happened back there? Why did you just leave like that?”
Hyukjae shrugged lightly and stopped playing with his phone. Hana sat down by his side and started to draw figures on his back, making him sleepy.
“Donghae looked so sad afterwards, even though he tried to smile it away. Will you please talk to him so you don’t have to be angry with each other? I don’t want to have a bad atmosphere in the house.”
“Sure baby,” Hyukjae said but he hadn’t listened to what she had said at all.
An hour had passed and Hyukjae woke up alone in the room, unaware of that he even had fallen asleep. It had gotten darker outside and he yawned while sitting up on the bed, ruffling his soft newly washed hair. The first thing he remembered was Hana telling him to make amends with Donghae. Unfortunately, he didn’t have much of a choice. They were still going to spend the whole Christmas together so it was better to not be on each other’s bad sides. It was hard knowing how they would do it though without digging up their whole past, he was in no mood of doing that.
After stretching slowly, he jumped up and began to descend the stairs and was welcome by a several conversation that all turned into mumbles as they joined together. Hyukjae peeked into the grand living room and saw Hana’s aunt talking to an elder couple he assumed must be her grandparents. He made a mental note to remember introducing himself later.
In front of the television sat a group of four young kids intensely watching cartoon with their mouths hanging open in anticipation. The fireplace was lit and crackled calmingly.
He also saw Minyu with another woman he didn’t know, along with her father, talking vividly. And Mrs. Kim was walking around cleaning what really wasn’t needed to be cleaned, but he guessed it was her comforting chore to do. He looked around again, but no sight of Donghae. He was about to approach Heejin when a familiar voice spoke and stopped him.
“You look like a wreck. You’ll age faster if you don’t smile more.”
Hyukjae got a surprise the moment he turned and saw Donghae’s sister was leaning against the doorpost with arms crossed over her chest, smiling at him.
“Yoona!” Hyukjae exclaimed with widened eyes at the tall woman, quickly walking up to the woman and embraced her in a tight hug. It was already admitted that he was a lot happier seeing his noona there rather than Donghae. Back then, Yoona had been like a real sister to him.
“Hey babe, you’ve become so handsome!” Yoona laughed and caressed his cheek motherly.
“When did you get here?”
“I just arrived a while ago. Hey, let’s sit and talk, I’ve missed you! We have a lot to talk about.” Yoona pulled them to sit down on the couch, luckily having space since the kids sat on the floor. Yoona was looking just as bright and cheerful as always, maybe a little worn out, but still beautiful. “I heard you came here with Hana. You guys seem to be such a lovely couple.”
Hyukjae chuckled shyly.
“How long have you two been together?”
“Oh… it’s a little more than a year now.”
“Aah, still a fresh couple huh?” She winked and nudged him playfully with her elbow.
“I didn’t know you’d be here.”
“Yeah, auntie invited me along since our parents went to Europe for Christmas and my husband is working, but he will come here on Christmas Eve. They are a really sweet family, I felt very welcome.”
“Wah-wait! You’re married?!”
“Hyuk, I’m thirty already, of course I am! I have a daughter already too.”
Hyukjae felt so left out. All those years ago it wasn’t only Donghae who left him; he could never contact Yoona as well. Still, it was only Donghae he had put at guilt. Maybe he was overreacting? Maybe there was some reason why Donghae left him like that and didn’t fight for their love. Yoona’s voice made him shake off his thoughts and she excitedly began to inquire him of how he was doing. Not even once did she mention anything about him and Donghae and he must admit he was grateful for that. She acted just the same as she used to, so full of energy and very talkative.
“Oh, look who comes here!” Yoona’s high pitched voice broke out in the middle of her sentence when talking about her trip abroad. The woman crouched down to the floor when a toddler came crawling towards her, giggling at the recognition of her mother’s voice. She carried up the child and sat next to Hyukjae again. “Look Jiwon ah, it’s uncle Hyukkie.” Yoona held one of Jiwon’s small hands and waved it at Hyukjae, who couldn’t stop grinning at the baby girl staring back at him. “She’ll turn one a few months,” Yoona explained and kissed the girl’s head.
“She’s very pretty, just like her mother,” Hyukjae cooed and played with Jiwon’s fingers. The toddler held both her arms out, so Yoona let Hyukjae carry her.
“Hi there little princess,” Hyukjae greeted with a great smile and hugged her tightly to his chest while Jiwon were making sounds that could be interpreted as a laughter. His smile widened more if even possible; enjoying the feeling of the baby’s soft and warm body pressed against his own and wagged it comfortably.
The toddler began to move in his arms and soon her hands grasping on to anything she could get, as in Hyukjae’s hair and his bottom lip. Hyukjae laughed soundly at the little’s antics and kissed her cheek affectionately. For a long time he had wanted to have a child himself, so he felt extremely happy just holding one.
“Wow, you really get along well with Jiwon don’t you? She must like you a lot!” Yoona chanted with surprised glee seeing her daughter acting so comfortable with Hyukjae.
“Hae, look!” Yoona called all of a sudden and startling Hyukjae by the fact that Donghae was around. “Jiwon is even more comfortable with Hyuk than she was with you the first ten times you tried to hold her.” She laughed and turned her attention back to the baby and cooed at her. Though Hyukjae had turned up to see Donghae standing together with Minyu, but his attention was fully drawn to Hyukjae by now. His gaze went from the soft baby in his arms to Hyukjae’s eyes, and then he smiled the softest smile he had ever seen in years. Hyukjae panicked as he felt an unwelcome flutter in his chest and looked away. After all the times Hyukjae had already scolded Donghae, the man still genuinely smiled at him.
It hurt.
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A/N: This, I guess, isn’t how you spend Christmas in Korea, but after all it’s fiction so whatever.
Sorry if things are confusing, it will clear up further into the story.
PS. Little Red Riding Hood was a beverage I had when I was in a café in Poland and it was freaking glorious ;w;