ARLECCHINO
Forse la più nota delle maschere, dal caratteristico costume variopinto. È il prototipo del servo furbo ed adulatore, abile in ogni scherzo e raggiro alle spalle del padrone.
ARLECCHINO
Perhaps the best known of the masks, with their characteristic colourful costume. He is the prototype of the sly and flattering servant, skilled in every joke and deception behind the master's back.
An excited dark tan little human woke up to their own inner clock and looks around. Mama or Dad must’ve brought them in here after they fell asleep on the couch. Either way, the young girl knew what day it was and excitedly climbed down the pipe like ladder.
She had wanted them painted like the candles in the Kwanzaa display on the special table, but Mama had never gotten to it. Mama was a busy woman and--
Wait, what’s this? There was a camera in the corner of the room. Ah, them again. It was Christmas Day, so of course the aunties and uncles came to visit and set up the cameras while they slept. Sparkling white teeth showed off to the camera and a small hand waved before the roundest face in the world turned to see its only match.
She quickly used her tiny feet to walk towards a face similar to her’s and kneel on the step before the doorway beneath the dark gray sign that read “SANTA’S WORKSHOP” in English and tapped a shirt covered in candy patterns.
“별자리, Byeol-iiiii. Wake up! Our grown up friends are here.” She notified her twin sister just like any good sibling would. “And it’s Christmas.”
Hazel eyes suddenly sprung open, “Is it really Christmas?”
A stern nod before adorable yawns left 초승달’s mouth and soon two 3 year old bodies were fully awake to make a heart for the cameras like they usually did when are red carpets with their parents. Then they changed the date on their “color by day” calendar and began to hop around in their pajamas.
“It’s Christmas! It’s Christmas! It’s Christmas!” they were just as excitable as their parents for the holidays.
The two girls then opened their sliding door before holding hands and walking to their parents’ room down the hallway, knowing they were asleep but also oh so ready to wake them up to spend the day together.
However, they got distracted by the white lights that had fallen from the hallway as RapMon trotted beside them. The dog sat next to the wall and let the children enact their little plan before they continued on their way.
The uncle in the green tent decorated like a Christmas tree tried not to laugh too loud as he was the only one at the right angle to see this.
Dark skin and hair in a green bonnet was held closely by tan skin with dimpled cheeks that were even more noticeable as husband opened brown eyes when wife got wiggly. A parental Spidey Sense of sorts went off in both adults as she turned to face him.
“What time is it?” I asked in a groggy voice as a farewell to all the sleep I would’ve gotten if it were not for being a mother as well.
“Not yet. Pretend they’re still asleep for a few minutes, ok?” Large and protective hands enveloped slightly smaller ones and rubbed the back of them, the gentle touch almost willing slumber into his spouse’s eyes.
I suppressed a yawn before ignoring the door being opened by two giggling little elves. The door was always unlocked in case of emergency such as an early morning boo boo or a nightmare in the late evening. This was neither, thankfully. Simply two of the cutest little girls on the planet launching themselves onto Mama’s and Papa’s soft embrace.
The usual morning tradition of a four person hug and kisses for everyone ensued. Mom to Byeol, Byeol to Choseungdal, Choseungdal to Dad, and then Dad to mom before it reversed. Cross over and then the kids were excited and bouncing up and down once more.
“Mama, Papa! Mama! Papa! Guess what? Guess what?!” The twins said, jumping on the bed and claiming the hug of a parent for themselves.
“What is it?” Idol and father Kim Namjoon asked.
Byeol spoke up, “It’s Christmas morning! We get to open presents now, right?”
Choseungdal looked from her sister’s face to her father’s, “I really wanna open the big red one!”
I gasped in an overexaggerated way, “A gift before breakfast, isn’t our hug enough?”
“No.” She said, honestly.
“Fair enough.” I replied with a giggle while my husband laughed.
Then he spoke up, “Alright, let’s open a present then, shall we? One before breakfast and then we get all~ cleaned up to eat Mama’s yummy food, ok?”
“Ok!” They replied
“Wait, Choseungdal.” Byeol said, “We have to show Mama and Papa how we decorated RapMon this time.”
The parents blinked and shared a look. This time? They decorated him again? They literally pulled us into the living room to see the white fluffy dog sparkle with glittering Christmas lights. So that was what you heard in the middle of the night. You had decided to ignore it since you had believed it to be a sound from whatever dream you had been having.
And he was just there smiling like a goofball. Namjoon said that they shouldn’t do stuff like that because it could hurt the dog, and he was too nice to do anything about it. It was a light scolding and more of a teaching moment because no one wanted any sad faces on Christmas. As my husband and I unwrapped RapMon,, Byeol-ie decided to go around and greet all of the aunties and uncles.
They were in Christmas themed tents to help make the young kids more comfortable. The crew of The Return of Superman always came around every once in a while, and it was usually the same ones unless someone was sick or quit or got fired, y’know. Choseungdal had taken a liking to one unnie in particular.
She kissed Camera Unnie on the cheek to greet her while shyly waving to the others. The twins had gained personalities rather quickly according to the family counselor we went to see. Byeoljali...had a more outgoing personality and would often speak up for Choseungdal who was rather non verbal. I had a suspicion that she was like me, and so we were always extra clear in instruction and repeated stuff a lot to make it easier for her to understand.
Byeol was Byeoljali’s nickname. We named her as such since she had light hazel almost amber eyes. Choseungdal was often shortened to Cho-ie.
They were both cheeky sweethearts, though. Both girls enjoyed creative things, so the crafts room sometimes took over the living room. Currently, the girls were not allowed to use rhinestones because it had taken nearly a whole day to get all of them out of RapMon’s fur. The older dog understood that they were only little and they had apologized in the form of treats, so he wasn’t mad.
My two girls sat down after picking out which gift they wanted and I was there with my own camera to take pictures of them opening up their gifts. Luckily, they had similar hobbies, so gifts were easy.
“On three, start ripping them open.” I said. “Ask Dad for help if you need it.”
“Appa!” Cho-ie said. “Help me, please.”
He chuckled and went to sit in between them just in case. I counted to three, and the box opening began. Byeoljali began to open up the gift with raptor like swiftness while Cheoseungdal made sure it was unfolded properly with hardly any rips. Yep, we literally had a moon child. How could we not?
Our love for space and the unknown was mutual, and celestial names were so beautiful.
Cho-ie had gotten a collection of new canvases with a custom easel since the other one was missing a few pieces now. That’s why it was so big: the easel had been set up top of the canvases and already put together.
She hugged her dad and thanked us. Byeol had revealed a new set of paints that included glitter glue too. Maybe it wouldn’t get everywhere if they were in some sort of adhesive already...or it would be harder to get off of furniture. Only time would tell. She sprinted to hug my legs and then did grabby hands for the phone so she could record us.
She didn’t have the best hand-eye coordination or grasp, so I said that our darlings didn’t need to take pictures of us since we already had other adults to do it for us. I just didn’t want another broken phone. Namjoon had gotten us matching chokers that we would surely be wearing out today.
I hugged him and kissed him on his lips, excited to see his expression when he got his gift from me. He opened the bag and gasped, almost in tears as he lifted out the headphones he had been yearning over for the past four months. My husband has said he wouldn’t get them since he didn’t need them and they were too expensive anyways.
He hugged me tightly. Then it was time for coloring the picture of the day while I made breakfast. Namjoon had prepared some stuff last night while I helped get the kids to bed which made cooking much easier. In fact, he had finished making the entire fruit salad and it was wrapped in the fridge.
“Thank you, yeobo! That saves so much time!” I called over to him.
Namjoon just smiled, “It’s my pleasure. I was extra careful too, so no hurt fingers this time.”
I giggled and Christmas music played while I cooked and The Return of Superman got footage for their Holiday Special. My voice sang along as I filled pie crusts with a mix of rice, spinach, and cheese before sticking the first batch into the oven for ~18 minutes. Although he tried very hard, Namjoon-yeobo was still a bit of a hazard in the kitchen. He mixed things very well, though.
Like the vegetables that would become part of our omelettes. I still wasn’t a big fan of omelettes, so I would just be making three for my husband and kids. Also, I knew two of the crew didn’t eat eggs. So a total of five. I glanced over into the living room and saw him handing the girls whatever color they asked for.
Every time he got it wrong, he would say, “I’m sorry, my princess.” and then give them the right one eventually. He soon came over to show me a pictue of our girls in front of their finished mini Christmas tree in their playroom. He took it yesterday and forgot to show me.
It was so cute. All of the eggs were done, so you cut two of them in half as soon as the timer went off for the breakfast pockets. I gave them a quick call to ask if they washed their hands after coloring. The three looked at each other and ran to the bathroom as I set up the plates and washed my own hands.
I looked at the camera people who were in tents, “What are you waiting for? I didn’t make this much food just for the four of us. Use the one in the guest bedroom.”
They were so surprised and decided to take turns to make sure at least two were recording while the others ate. However, they were family at this point and this was a family breakfast. All of them were to sit at the table and enjoy the homemade meal.
I told them that if their boss had a problem, they could bring it up to me directly. I was a child of four, so I knew how to make a lot of food in a short amount of time and still have it taste good. I had even made a few pockets without cheese because a few were lactose intolerant.
Then everyone was ready to dig in. Namjoon made sure that the two elven twinsies thanked me for the meal before eating. It was a very warm breakfast. It was lots of chatter but still quiet and kind. Choseungdal made sure to feed Camera Unnie a few times, getting a thank you in return. Then it was time for me to clean up while my love got the girls cleaned up, getting them to brush their teeth and all that jazz.
The camera people went back into their tents while one stood in the bathroom doorway to record.
Since Joon was an idol, he was usually very busy doing TV shows and making music and all that stuff. So, he got to spend most of the time directly helping the kids on his days off.
Once the dishes were in the dishwasher (the first Christmas gift we bought together) and Cho-ie was in her little Christmas dress, I started on making the cookie dough with the mini sous chef. Both Byeoljali and Cheoseungdal were adamant about bringing cookies to Taehyung’s holiday party. He and his huge family held one every single year, and we always attended.
My apple cake was always a hit, so I was bringing that. However, the kids wanted to do something too. I was glad to have the extra help in making cookies. It was a good distraction while Namjoon got ready first. He’d do their hair and pack up the cookies when it was my turn. The apple cake was a family recipe from this cookbook we’ve had since forever. I was stumped five years ago as to what to make since I had been bringing boozy eggnog the last couple of years before everyone started having kids.
Ever since then, I’d make two cakes just so we would have enough. Namjoon always bought eggnog or vanilla ice cream to go along with it. Every year had a theme, and this time it was pearls. I had found the perfect skirt for it and was able to get two of them. The second one were made into child versions for the young ones if they wanted.
“I’m gonna decorate this one all by myself.” Choseungdal said, grabbing the white makeshift piping bag and adding “snow” to the already frosted Christmas tree.
Byeol was decorating a snowman with edible glitter before Namjoon came in to swap places in the kid duty.
“Why don’t we let Mama finish up the rest of these so she can take a shower?” He said and the kids agreed, getting tired of decorating but not eating as the kitchen smelled of butterscotch and chocolate with a hint of gingerbread.
So, I finished up the rest of the cookies and was able to decorate them after they cooled and surprised them with an extra cookie for them each before heading into the shower to get all dolled up. I loved matching with my family so much! It was something we did often.
Namjoon had put on his black pants with pearls scattered about the legs and green oxfords with pearls in the heels. Pearls also lined his black velvet jacket that went over his green sweater. He put on the more simple looking choker out of the set he had just watched me unwrap meaning I got the bowtie one. He was also wearing his red beanie because he knew how much I loved him in it with a simple pair of gold and pearl drop earrings.
I was in my black skirt that reached just above my ankles with my red sweater tucked into it but outside of the green stockings I slipped on to make walking in my pearl adorned red ankle boots easier. With the pearl and bowtie choker, I put on pearl and chain dangle earrings. I decided to wear a green beret as well.
“Don’t forget this, Mama!” It’s the gift me and Choseungdal got you.
“Oh, really? Thank you~” I said and opened the box, smiling when I saw it was a classic Pandora bracelet.
My hazel eyed girl said, “We helped Dad pick out the charms to go on it.”
Then we turned to our kids and asked them what we did most every day, “Who do you want to dress like, Mommy or Daddy?” which basically was asking if they wanted to dress more masculinely or femininely. I was a girly girl most of the time and Joon-ie was more laid back but still well dressed as most Korean men seemed to be.
Choseungdal pointed to her father while Byeol pointed to me. That was that then. Namjoon helped our little girl into matching pearl pants and jacket with a green knitted sweater underneath while I helped our other little girl into her skirt and stockings with a red sweater that was covered in pom poms that were used to make hearts all about the top. Then we helped put them each into pearl studs that they had worn before.
Namjoon did their hair while I finished up my makeup and we double checked to make sure RapMon was ready to come with. He was by the door waiting for his leash like a good doggo.
“Good boy.” I said and rubbed his head.
The five of us hopped into the car, singing Christmas carols and watching Papa Joon get shy every time a song he sang with the other BTS uncles came on. Sometimes he’ll say which ones he helped to right and we’d talk about that while he two Christmas fairies played make believe in the back seat.
“Hiiii!” I said with two apple cakes in my arms while The two youngest ones held boxes of cookies.
Hugs upon hugs and bows galore occurred while talking overlapped in the forms of greetings and barking. J-Hope’s husband helped me take the cakes to the kitchen while Jin called for the host and his wife.
The children played with their friends while I was handed some sparkling cider by Yoongi, whose facial hair scratched my cheek a little as he hugged me.
“Long time no see.” He said.
“Oh my god! You’re back from America? Since when?” I gasped.
“Two days ago. I wanted to surprise you guys.”
Namjoon chuckled, “Well, it worked. I’m surprised.” and hugged his dear friend tightly.
He had been working on a bunch of stuff in America for the past couple of years and usually sent gifts for the holidays. A young man with raven black hair and pale skin approached both me and Namjoon and bowed.
“It is nice to see you in person, uncle Namjoon and auntie Y/N. Father has told me a lot about you two.” He had to be about 13 and…
I gasped and looked at Yoongi and back to the kid, “You can’t be 시우. The 시우 I know is this tall, and you’re a whole tree.” I put my hand near my hip.
He giggled nearly at eye level with me, “I am 시우.”
“Oh my gosh~” I beamed. “Well, it’s nice to see you again. What have you been up to? How’s school and your hobbies?”
“I got in a bit of trouble recently, but school is going well. I kept skipping one of my classes since the teacher is super ignorant. He is my history teacher and tried to incorrectly explain the Joseon area to me. I always show up for test days, though.”
Namjoon chuckled, “It seems that righteous rebellion doesn’t fall far from the tree.” and took a sip of his own cider.
Siu chuckled, “I have to choose an extra elective to do outside of school if I don’t want to be suspended, but I’m not really a creative guy.” he pulled at his ear like Yoongi did when nervous.
His father spoke up, “Your auntie here is a pretty famous actress.”
“Ah, I wouldn’t say famous.” I replied, my cheeks getting warm.
“Would you suggest I take acting? It is the only one I have seriously been thinking of doing.” Siu looked up at me with his deep blue eyes that he got from his nameless mother.
I had to nod, of course, “Stage acting is a very good skill to have. Although you’re not lacking any confidence, it can help you feel a bit more comfortable in public spaces. Keeps you accountable too. You have to learn your lines or you let the cast down. More importantly, it is a lot of fun.”
He nodded. Namjoon kissed my cheek and said he was going to check on the kids while I continued my conversation with the young teen. I enjoyed telling my theatre stories, but I am sure Joon was tired of hearing them over and over again.
Namjoon walked into a curious scene of nearly 10 children sacrificing his moonchild who was tied up with a jumprope to the side of a bookcase like contraption. He could just stare at the kids in various wigs and holiday clothing reenacting something.
Hoseok entered asking, “Why did it suddenly get so qui--”
Taehyung’s second youngest child came in with a bucket of water which Namjoon scooped out of their hands rather quickly, too in shock to say anything.
“What’s going on?” Hobi asked instead.
“Daaaaddd, we’re reenacting Uncle TaeTae’s TV show.” A darling little kid with blonde pigtails reached for the bucket of water. “We need the water to splash on Choseungdal’s faaaceeee. It’s her punishment for fighting on sacred ground.”
The brown haired father shook his head and Namjoon silently walked back to the bathroom to pour the water out while his hyung told the children to use fake water and their imagination instead of real water and to make sure the jump rope wasn’t too tight.
Not exactly the type of parenting the dirty blonde man was hoping for, but as long as they were safe, it was ok. He then recorded the children’s antics for a while to show Taehyung.
Although, it was another Hwarang member that he saw kissing his wife on the cheek.. Do Jihan and her had won favorite TV Couple nearly every year for the past 10, even that time he played a stalker. So the three knew each other well.
“Jihan-hyung, it is nice to see you again.” Joon slapped his friend’s back, making his wife giggle at the facial reaction.
“Ah, yes. Ouch. I’m doing well.”
Y/N giggled, her teeth like marshmallows on top of hot chocolate and Namjoon wanting to sip every last drop of her. Taehyung lifted her up and spun her around all of a sudden.
“You guys are here! I’m so sorry it took me so long to come see you. I was finishing up something for my daughter.” and then set his friend’s wife down.
She kissed him and his wife on the cheek before they hugged Namjoon. The older man had hopped things wouldn’t be as awkward this year since Tae was married to Joon’s ex girlfriend, but she was an awkward girl. She wasn’t sure if it was ok to hug him or if it was better to bow or just shake hands.
“지현,” I begged, “Please, just hug him or bow. It’s not that deep, fam.”
The three men laughed at how straightforward I was. It was like this every year since Tae got together with Jihyeon, and I was sick of it. I could not care less that she was an ex to my husband.
Jihan put his arm on one of my shoulders, “That is why you are my favorite co-worker.”
I laughed and asked how the kids were doing, not expecting my husband to show me and the others our kids playing “Hwarang” since the youngest ones were now learning how to read and Tae’s children were natural thespians.
“I need to sit down.” I said as soon as it was time to open presents.
The cookies and the cake were hits, and I had my fill of the food that was there. Gifts and friends were amazing. Whatever troubles we had been having throughout the year and were still probably were going on could wait until next year a week from now. Right now, it was time for an outing to the park for the boys’ performance.
It was a medley of all the title tracks they had done throughout the years with the last one being done by the kids that weren’t too grumpy. The boys were idols after all, not even fully disbanding or retiring, just not performing as often as a group.
Jungkook and Jimin with their spouses revealed that they were going to have their first children soon. Jin’s 10 year old asked if she could name the baby, making everyone laugh before it was time to pack everyone up into cars and head to the park.
Namjoon squeezed my hand, “Our kids will be fine. You will do a great job, and I will be there to help you as soon as possible.”
I nodded and he kissed me before going off to perform for his fans. Some older than me and some younger. I was there with the other spouses talking and momentarily checking on the kids who were being watched by the older children. Siu was the second oldest to Jin’s triplets, two girls and one guy who made 14 this year.
When the boys were on stage, it felt like I was 20 again, staying up late nights to watch them on award shows and festivals in the states due to the 15 hour time difference. Sometimes it was like that even when Namjoon and I were dating.
Now I was much older with two of his kids, Cho-ie sleeping on my shoulder and Byeol-ie in my lap. They would wake up soon because this song was their song.
“To my children” Suga and Namjoon said.
“Yeah.”
“To my stars and my moon. To my children.” Namjoon continued.
“Yeah.”
“I hope that I’ll see you soon. Your dad loves you no matter how far away and every time I look up at the sky I know you’re looking at the same one, same sun, same moon, same star, same love. Love you. Be home soon, ya don’t give mom too much trouble.”
He wrote a song years ago that was a B-side that got more popular than the title tracks. By that time, Jin already had his kids. Hobi and his husband had adopted their first child. Yoongi was back in the states for this comeback while 11 year old Siu was being raised by his nanny for a bit since the mom left after stealing several things and dumping the child on him.
서준, 민서, and 윤서 said that the children were ready for the stage and got the point choreo down as good as possible. My little elves woke up and yawned, ready to show off their skills. Both of them had gone after the microphone and the paintbrush on their first birthday, and it was no surprise that fate had decided they would be in the arts.
Choseungdal said in her small voice, “I don’t wanna dance today.”
“It’s ok. Do you still wanna go on stage, though?”
She nodded and held onto me as we brought 13 kids on stage to help close out the holiday concert in the park. Everyone went wild as several of them had on noise cancelling headphones since they couldn’t keep their eyes open so long.
The others danced and sang along with their dads having a grand old time. Byeol-ie ended up being carried by Namjoon while I had Cho-ie in my arms. Looking out at all the faces that loved my husband and their father, I recognized a few who had been with them since the beginning. They had kids too now.
In the car ride back home, our little elves had tinkered themselves out and were fast asleep with RapMon by their feet. I was exhausted as well, knowing the crew of The Return to Superman crew would be back tomorrow for Kwanzaa and the cameras would still be there.
Namjoon took one hand off of the wheel to hold my hand, causing my attention to turn from the hypnotizing city lights that passed by to the comforting fingers rubbing the back of my hand.
“Thank you so much for being the mother to my children. I couldn’t have asked for anyone better.”
I smiled and kissed his hand, making him smile and scrunch his nose, “Merry Christmas, yeobo.”
“Ryan, this is Stan Yeger.” I caught myself doing a double take when I saw him standing there. You’d have to live under a rock to not know who Stan Yeger was, at least if you lived in Bridgeport. What I didn’t know, was how he and Trev knew each other and how I’d missed the fact that they were good friends.
He was the last person I would’ve expected at dinner that night, but there he was, and I half paid attention as Trev told me things I already knew, “His family runs Yeger Enterprises. . .,” taking more of an interest in the bits of information that he left out.
Like how Yeger Enterprises was the most successful and wealthiest company in the city, partially credited to Stan’s reputation for being a nice guy and a savvy businessman.
Or the more personal facts that weren’t usually included when first being introduced to someone: his past struggles with alcohol abuse that the local news never failed to mention when reporting on him or the Yeger family, or in my opinion, the biggest omission; the fact that Stan was gay.
My first thought was that maybe it was just a coincidence that the only two, single friends that Trev invited that night were gay, but I had a growing suspicion that it wasn’t. He’d commented more than once about me “putting myself out there,” and I’d completely believed the words when I replied that I wasn’t ready.
But as Trev pressed on with our introduction and I continued to stand face-to-face with Stan Yeger, I couldn’t help but admit that photos hadn’t done him justice, causing my certainty to slightly waver.
