“there you are.” she says with a sigh, a little tired but she’s relieved more than anything – after what felt like hours of looking for kyungsoo, she finally finds him sitting on a scaffolding a few meters off the ground, with his legs hanging over the edge. she is looking up at him with this huge, silly grin – she never would have thought she would find him, especially when she had no idea where he’d be. but there he was, and she couldn’t be any happier despite the cold. soeun has always hated the cold, but it was christmas eve… and she wouldn’t allow this already lonely man to be alone on christmas, too.
the wind chime dangling from his fingers titters quietly, swaying in the wind and creating the illusion of a dancing santa claus. the poorly painted grin stares back at him blankly, all clumsy curves and far more indicative of christmas-time capitalism than perhaps meant to do, and he begins to wonder why he even bought the thing in the first place. from across the store aisle, the wind chime seemed much more interesting than when he had finally held it in his hands, but he shelled out the last of his cash anyway to make the purchase. now, it just seems silly--childish, even--that he’d been hoping with all his heart and quivering soul that maybe, just maybe, if he wished hard enough, the man in the red suit would visit him once.
he’s near to tears when a voice climbs up to his ears and prompts him to sit up straight, cheek red from where it’s been pressed against the safety rail of the freezing scaffolding, and he can’t tell if he’s delighted or disappointed to find a familiar face staring up at him. rather than decide on the answer, he blinks away the moisture from his eyes and reaches towards the control panel, lowering the platform until their eyes are level. “i’m, um, just sitting.” the truth, technically. “did you.. did you want your jacket back? i washed it, but it didn’t shrink, so it’s.. it’s still the same size.”