There aren’t words to describe the joy you have found in this new life working alongside Jaehee. Being able to build something new with her has proven to be incredibly fulfilling to both of you. You watch her mood and behaviours change over the months you work together, as she grows comfortable enough to show you her excitable easygoing side. It’s not a surprise to you how hardworking she is, and every day she impresses you with her dedication to this new project. You even found yourself looking forward to late night study sessions with her.
The café has been open for a few months now, and you’ve both been looking forward to the winter season. It’s going to be busier than usual, and it’s a chance to draw in more customers than any other time of year. You’ve spent a lot of time together in her kitchen, testing out (and mostly tasting) new seasonal recipes, flavouring new syrups for coffees and finalizing the winter menu.
Since she was so busy with preparing the baked goods, you took it upon yourself to decorate the café. You bought green leafy garlands to hang across the corners of the room and even repurposed some old decorations you had lying around at home. As a finishing touch, you brought out a surprise decoration. While out shopping, you came across some mistletoe, and it set off an idea in your head that made your heart race.
When the other members asked you, either directly (Seven) or through roundabout means, you were never sure how to answer the question about yours and Jaehee’s relationship. The easy answer, and the one that you mostly give, is that you’re friends and business partners. However, that never feels like enough. You definitely consider her one of your best and closest friends, someone who you trust and frequently rely upon. However, the way your heart races when you make her laugh or the way she makes you feel all fluttery when you see her doesn’t feel like friendship.
You hold hands when you’re walking somewhere by yourselves. She has lost some of her usual composure around you, sometimes even being caught off guard and losing her train of thought. She has started kissing your cheek in greeting. You snuggle during musical marathons.
Perhaps you started as friends, but now there’s no denying that it has grown into something more. The only problem is that you’re not sure how to move on from here.
You’re humming Christmas carols to yourself as you hang up the mistletoe. All these preparations have made you feel more festive than usual, and you’re a ball of anxious energy as you imagine all the scenarios in which you and Jaehee could end up under the mistletoe together.
You finish up the preparations just in time for the Christmas season to begin. Peppermint cappuccinos, thick and warm hot chocolate, special festive latte art, and of course, your decorations are a big hit with your customers. The warm and cosy atmosphere draws them in and your tables are full from opening till closing.
Even your mistletoe is a hit. You’ve spotted more than one couple sharing a kiss in the corner of the room, giggling to themselves. You’re happy that you could have a hand in helping others create romantic memories together, but you haven’t been as lucky.
Jaehee and you work from morning to night serving, cleaning, and baking. You return home exhausted only to do it again the next day. The cafe is never quiet enough for you to have a moment to yourselves, and every day you go home dejected and you fall asleep to flowery scenes where you somehow end up under the mistletoe together.
***
It was a late night at the cafe and you were both cleaning up, anxious to get home and go to bed. Tomorrow, the cafe would be closed and you’d get a chance to sleep in. You were on opposite ends of the room both working towards the middle, both singing along to the closing playlist you had curated.
You’re facing away from her as you wipe down the last table. You can hear her humming, but are so caught up in daydreams of finally reaching your bed that you don’t notice how close she is. Neither does she, apparently, because she sweeps herself right to you. You bump into each other, then turn around to face each other in surprise. You stifle giggles behind your hand, half-delirious with exhaustion, half thrilled to have her this close to you.
“Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to do that,” she says, bewildered by your reaction.
“It’s okay, you just surprised me,” you reply. “Anyway, I’m all done here. Shall I start closing up?” You make a move to go to the kitchen, but her hand shoots out to hold you in place, broom forgotten.
“Wait.”
She says it with a strange tone you have never heard from her, and it surprises you more than her bumping into you. You take a look at her face again, and she’s wearing an expression you’ve never seen before. She looks almost... shy? She’s blushing furiously, and she opens her mouth to say something, but she remains silent. Instead, she points up at something over your heads.
Oh. You’re standing underneath the mistletoe. You were so distracted that you didn’t even notice.
Your heart starts pounding so hard you’re sure she can hear it. She’s still holding you in place with one hand on your arm, and the warmth from the contact is spreading all across your body. This is your moment, the one you’ve been waiting for since you decorated a few weeks ago.
She finally finds her voice, and asks, “Do you....?”
“Well, it’s tradition after all,” you reply softly, and you can’t help the smile that forms on your face.
You lean towards each other, and your lips meet in the middle. The first kiss is soft, soft lips exploring. Even so, it takes your breath away. She smells like coffee and vanilla, and her mouth on yours feels so unbelievably right. You only pull away for a second to catch your breath before going in for a second, deeper kiss. All the feelings that have been building up inside of you for the past few months all bubble to the surface and you feel electric. You slip your arm around her waist to pull her closer to you, and she wraps her arms around your neck.
You’re not sure how long you spend under the mistletoe, it could be minutes or hours, but when you finally break apart, you feel like the ground under your feet has shifted. You and Jaehee both stare at each other, taking in the look of your blushing faces and wide smiles. You don’t want to let go of each other, so you stay wrapped up in each other.
Everything changes after that night, but really nothing changes at all. This is the way it was always meant to be, you think. You hold hands on the way to work, and she kisses you in greeting (and in passing, and when you’re busy, and when you find a quiet moment). You snuggle together at night and she smiles a special smile just for you when your eyes meet at work.
You thought the joy you felt when starting this project with her was overwhelming, but this new step together has only made everything better. You feel fulfilled in a way you didn’t realise you had been aching for since you met her.
In their Christmas Eve lunch, Chaeyoung debates if she should kiss Jaehee under the msitletoe.
for @jaeheeweek22 day 1 - mistletoe.
title: you know, mroe confidently
pairing: jaehee/main character (CMC: Min Chaeyoung)
rating: general
word count: 2965
tags: christmas fluff, a little bit of internalized homophobia, the mcjaehee matching jewerly agenda
CHRISTMAS EVE WAS IN FULL SWING, and Chaeyoung had to admit, she was feeling more festive this season than she’d had in a while.
Perhaps the ongoing Holiday promos at the café had something to do with it. She had spent her entire week huddled in the kitchen with Lily, baking order after order of cakes and cookies. At this point, she was dreaming of gingerbread and elf hats and Santa and reindeers. The movie sessions with Jaehee, she thought, were another addition.
Perhaps Jaehee was the biggest change from last year’s Christmas to this one, she thought. Back then, it would’ve been hard for her to imagine she’d be spending her holiday season sleeping over at Jaehee’s house more than once a week, cuddling and watching their favorite Christmas movies, baking their favorite things in the morning, stealing kisses between it all.
They had started dating recently– it’d be a month soon– and every single romantic Christmas song had acquired a new meaning. She dedicated every single one she heard to Jaehee, as well as every Christmas movie, every little moment. This was their season, their month: they had confessed to each other on a cold night the first of December, and all of their kisses tasted of peppermint and cocoa.
Work had wrapped up for the day– only a half day before their Christmas break for people to wrap up orders– and now they were headed for lunch at one of their favorite restaurants. This would be one of their first ever actual dates, not counting the many nights they’d already spent at each other’s houses. It made Chaeyoung giddy. With enthusiasm, she closed everything on the café, even taking Jaehee’s hand as she closed the door like she was picking her up from her house, an instance that made them both giggle.
They drove, gossiping about the chatroom and the people of the café and whatever would happen tonight when Jaehee went to dinner with Chaeyoung’s family, an instance they were both nervous for but looked forward to. Jaehee’s fingers found Chaeyoung’s in stoplights, and they laced their fingers together, and Chaeyoung would look up and smile until Jaehee dis that shy little laugh that always gave Chaeyoung butterflies.
This was really quite the feeling. They felt like a real couple now that they were doing couple stuff, going to lunch dates after work for quality time like the grown women in their mid-twenties that they were. Chaeyoung found it hard to describe, but she quite liked it.
The place was not too crowded– an elegant Italian restaurant in a culinary district of Seoul, and a decently popular date night spot, though Chaeyoung figured, to their luck, that most couples would choose to go out at night. This was good, they’d get their food faster.
“I think we should try the pizzas this time around…” Jaehee mused as they approached the place. “I have heard great things about them.”
“I wanted to do that, as well,” Chaeyoung said. “How about a margarita?”
The frown Jaehee gave her was sudden and comical. “I believe it’s a little… early for such a drink, Chaeyoung.”
Chaeyoung snorted. “I mean the pizza. It is way too early to have margaritas… I was thinking something like wine would be better for now…”
Jaehee scoffed, the ghost of a smile on her lips. “I still believe it is a bit too early for any drinks at all… I’d rather not be drunk at midday.”
“Well, it’s not my fault you get drunk with half a bottle…” Chaeyoung cocked an eyebrow.
Jaehee’s eyebrows were on her hairline. “Alright, rude.” When Chaeyoung laughed, more irritated, she said, “Okay, first of all, I am not that lightweight. Don’t exaggerate.”
“Baby,” Chaeyoung looked down at her, softening her approach. “Are you going to forget Wednesday’s events?”
“Oh, please, Chaeyoung, that was Pinot Blanc…” she scoffed, an indignant frown on her face. “I was bound to get at least tipsy.”
“You were much more than tipsy, let me tell you…”
“Alright…” she said. “I suppose I could use some wine… it’s Christmas, after all. But I will go light.”
Chaeyoung nodded. “Sounds good to me.” She wondered, silently, if tonight would be any similar to Wednesday… She figured not. Jaehee would’ve learned her lesson after that quite… revealing and eventful evening in the chatroom. She would not want to repeat it again, though Chaeyoung would be amused.
They had finally arrived at the entrance, having parked a few blocks away. “There’s a mistletoe…” Jaehee said.
Chaeyoung looked at the door. There was one indeed, hanging right above it. “Would you look at that, there is one…” she said, thinking of how many kisses had been shared under it this season. The waiters would surely be amused by them, just as she was with every kiss at the door of their café.
Jaehee didn’t move, so Chaeyoung decided to, going ahead and opening the door for her girlfriend, who regarded her with a somewhat dumbfounded look.
“Go ahead, my darling,” she said with a playful tone, and Jaehee gave her a little smile and stepped inside, without meeting her eyes.
It was only when Chaeyoung had closed the door and they were walking to their table that Chaetoung realized her grave, grave mistake.
Oh. Her face was suddenly as red as her hair.
She did not talk at all once they sat down, to embarrassed with herself to even get a good look at Jaehee. Sometimes, Chaeyoung could be very stupid. She knew this. She was keenly aware of this character flaw, evidenced by the many times Jaehee had, though also without knowing it, flirted with her, and that she had not caught. “Women have to be much more careful when approaching other women…” She had attributed that quote to anything but a romantic intent– misplaced misogyny, the emotional carefulness women were known for that men usually lacked, literally whatever except attraction, until she thought about it months ago, when she was starting to realize her feelings for Jaehee.
Well, at least now she was slightly faster at picking up the clues. A couple seconds later in comparison to a couple months was quite the development, wasn’t it…?
“We’ll be having the medium margarita with a chardonnay, please,” Jaehee said once the waitress had come to take their order. Chaeyoung ordered water for herself, and the waitress was off.
“I didn’t know what to get your mother for Christmas…” Jaehee said after a while, and Chaeyoung understood that they were dropping the matter of earlier. “I got her a perfume… I hope she enjoys floral scents.”
“I don’t think they allow that at the hospital, but her perfumes are usually… light and sweet.” Chaeyoung said. It was funny, actually, how well Jaehee seemed to get along with her mother. She had met her when the café opened, and ever since Chuseok, they seemed to have hit it off quite well. Sometimes Jaehee and her would casually talk on the phone about matters that had nothing to do with her.
Chaeyoung was, all in all, happy to see it, although she did find it confusing, as anyone probably would. She treated Jaehee like a friend and sometimes like her own daughter… which was probably why Jaehee leaned onto her. Chaeyoung knew of her turbulent history with older female figures after her own mother’s death and, with that in mind, was happy to see her have this. And perhaps it might make the revelation of her relationship– and of her own self– easier, when the time came to do it.
The wine arrived, the waitress pouring it on their glasses. Although they were very much in a casual setting, neither of them bothering to dress up for the occasion, Jaehee still looked very elegant with the browns and golds of the restaurant behind them, her cream turtleneck, the red wine, her slightly pinkened cheeks.
Chaeyoung had an idea, and raised her glass. “A toast,” she said. Jaehee, with a cute, eye-smile grin, did the same. “To us.”
“To this… blissful and beautiful new beginning,” she said, “And to many more Christmases together.”
They clinked their glasses and Chaeyoung found herself reveling in this moment, the normalcy of it, the cliché of being a couple lunching together on Christmas, toasting their relationship over a glass of Chardonnay. She wanted to have many more of these moments: couple trips, dinner dates, strolls along the bay, shopping for an apartment and furniture for it.
It brought her this calm, peaceful happiness to think about it. She was never the sort for clichés, never desired a romance that looked like everyone else’s. Never was the black tie date night, white dress bride sort. With Minhyuk, they had wanted to do love their own way, craft their own version of romance and see what that looked like. But with Jaehee, she was eager to do love the way everyone else had done it, because it would still be irrevocably theirs.
Shuffling on Jaehee’s purse took her out of her thoughts. Carefully, she pulled out a small box. “I wanted to give you your present…” she said, honey eyes regarding her earnestly, and holding out the small blue box.
“Oh my goodness…” Chaeyoung was grinning widely when she took the box. She recognized the store, and knew it was not a cheap one. “This is…”
“Open it,” she said, playfully in a way where Chaeyoung couldn’t help but indulge her.
With as much care as Jaehee pulled the box out, she opened it to reveal a rather dainty rose gold necklace, with a pink stone etched in a frame that looked kind of like a sun. Chaeyoung couldn’t help but gasp lightly, drawing her fingers through the stone. “Jaehee, this is gorgeous…”
She couldn’t say it fit her jewelry style, as she preferred thicker chains and bracelets, but she could not deny its beauty. Aesthetics be damned, she wanted to wear it forever, simply because Jaehee had gotten it for her.
“It’s a rose quartz,” Jaehee explained. Her cheeks were a similar shade of pink. “Associated with tenderness, comfort, and joy. I figured it was the appropriate stone to represent who you are to me.”
Chaeyoung had a giddy, lovestruck grin on her face, and if they weren’t in the middle of a restaurant, she would pull Jaehee in to kiss her right now. This woman and her attention to detail always touched a very special part of her: the way she made sure everything had a place, a meaning, an intention. She left no stone unturned, and it marveled Chaetoung, making her heart smile every time.
“And.. lift it up,” Jaehee said, so Chaeyoung lifted the little foam piece. There was another necklace identical to it. “It’s a set of two…” Jaehee said. “I don’t know if I should have consulted you about this, but I wanted to–” She huffed, the way she always did when she was flustered. “I wanted us to have something… that– bonded us, if you will, and I’ve always liked the idea of matching pieces.”
Chaeoung’s smile wasn’t going away anytime soon, and now she was closer and closer every second to damning the restaurant and just going over to Jaehee and kissing her. “No, I love it,” she said. “That way, I’ll always carry you with me… it’s adorable.”
Jaehee was now smiling like a fool as well, turning away just slightly, as if she didn’t want Chaeyoung to see. This woman was too cute in every single way a person could be cute. She was going to make Chaeyoung melt one day.
“Will you help me put it on?” she asked, having taken out the necklace. “I’ll help you with yours.” It only felt right.
Jaehee nodded and got up, and Chaeyoung did as well. She turned, pulled up her hair, and Jaehee very carefully placed the necklace around her neck and clasped it. “There you go,” was her cue for her to turn around, as well as Jaehee’s hands ghosting over her hair. Only then did she realize how heavily her heart was drumming.
She parted Jaehee’s hair softly away from the nape of her neck, although her layered haircut made the task a bit more challenging. But, with all the tenderness the stone symbolized, she managed to do it after one failed attempt that resulted in giggles, and when Jaehee turned around, the necklace fitting her like a glove, the pink stone shining bright and that same brightness reflected in her eyes, Chaeyoung felt her breath stop.
She wanted to kiss her– do something, her lips were aching for a part of her body. Her lips, her hands, her forehead that was so easily accessible. But Chaeyoung stayed frozen in place. She didn’t know how Jaehee felt about public displays of affection, she got nervous even when Chaeyoung stole cheek kisses from her at the bakery. But there was this burning fire of expectancy, and oh, she wanted to…
She eyed the mistletoe, where a couple had just shared a quick, chaste kiss. Perhaps she would kiss her there once they left. Perhaps then she’d be brave enough.
“Let’s sit back down,” Jaehee said, and with that, the moment was gone. Chaeyoung meekly went back to her seat and took a sip of her wine.
The pizza came not long after that, and it was delicious. Thin and with pools of mozzarella that made a delightful combination with the green leaves characteristic of this flavor. She would admit, though, that it would’ve been better with a rosé or sparkling white, the Chardonnay a bit too… punchy for the meal.
For dessert, they had tiramisu, one of Jaehee’s favorites, with espresso. The one this place made in particular was creamy and sweet, which made Jaehee, between pink cheeks and laughter, wipe cream from Chaeyoung’s tinted lips. Yes… Chaeyoung was going to kiss her later.
The wine was left half-drunk, the bill was split, and they both left the place, breath tasting like coffee and cream and grapes, spirits high for the rest of the holiday– the fact it was their first as a couple just added to the giddy mood– and new matching pendants on their necks.
Chaeyoung found herself freezing when she got to the door, movements suddenly jittery and heart suddenly racing. She remembered everything that had happened in the past hour and a half: the indirect, her obliviousness, Jaehee’s disappointment, the necklace, her hands, her eyes, her breath as she was close to her. She craved her, the brutal softness of her ministrations, and the mistletoe was right there and so was Jaehee, she could literally just pull her by the lapel of her coat and kiss her, but…
Still, something stopped her in place. The great monster that was insecurity, that sometimes precaution could be. As much as she wanted to wrap Jaehee in her arms and take her as hers in this very place, at this very moment… it would be selfish. She didn’t know if Jaehee wanted this, if she was or was not going to be made uncomfortable by her moves, by a display of them where anyone could see.
For now, until they were sure, until they were comfortable… it would be better if these moments remained only between them, in the corners of their spaces where few people could see. This thing with Jaehee was something precious and sacred, something that could not, by any measure of the imagination, be ruined, and if she had to swallow her desires at times, she would.
So, with heavy regret that was exposed in her steps, she began to move away from the door, leaving this moment and its many doubts behind, there would be another one, it just wasn’t meant to happen now, it was fine.
But then, “Wait…” she heard Jaehee say, brightly.
Chaeyoung turned to see her, still under the door, a wide, closed-lip smile on her face.
“What…” she said, frozen, expectant.
“...Come here for a second.” Jaehee’s words were an open-armed invitation, exuding a sort of calm confidence that pulled Chaeyoung in like a magnet.
Slowly and very nervously, with her heart drumming in her chest, she approached the door, never breaking Jaehee’s gaze. She had always loved her eyes. Big and honey-colored, they sparkled from within with wonder and glee, like there were sparks dancing behind them.
She was now standing face-to-face with Jaehee, close enough to feel her coffee-and-cream breath, aware of the plant right above them.
And then, very carefully but without a smidget of hesitance, she brought her hand to cup her cheek, got on her tiptoes, and kissed her on the lips. It was perfect, sweet, as tender as the stone that had come to now symbolize their love prescribed.
And Chaeyoung was beaming.
Rushing with an adrenaline that to her was not very well-known, euphoric, powerful, she could swallow the world entire. She cupped Jaehee’s face with one hand and wrapped the other around her waist, pulling her closer, and kissed her back. Really kissed her, making sure to taste the tangy sweetness of her mouth that by now she knew so well. And she did not care at all about the holiday or the restaurant or who was looking. Whoever looked would look.
“Merry Christmas,” she said after she pulled away, a few seconds later, still holding Jaehee close to her.
With her thumb, Jaehee caressed Chaeyoung’s cheek, and she closed her eyes, leaning into her touch completely, pressing her forehead to hers. She wondered, for the millionth time perhaps, how she had gotten so lucky to trip upon this woman.
Jaehee whispered against her lips, voice made of marshmallow fluff: “Merry Christmas, my dear.”
