Idyllic
Pairing: Son Hyunwoo x Reader Inspired by Snowglobe (2007) Genre: Angst; Fluff Words: 990
Masterlist | 12 Days of Ficmas Masterpost
Taglist: @soobin-chois
Y/N always loved Christmas. Ever since she was young, she always found the holiday to be the most enchanted and romantic. She adored the decorations and festivities; she reveled in the warmth of the lit fireplaces and fluffy blankets; she was filled with joy that people had always seemed more giving and friendly. It probably didn’t help that her childhood was spent in an idyllic, snowy town.
But that was when she was younger—a free-spirit with not a care in the world other than waiting for the first snowfall to make snowmen and angels. In her late teens, Y/N’s family had moved away, and ever since then, Y/N has longed for that picture-perfect Christmas once again.
She wanted to go back to the days of the fresh, fluffy snow and the perfect cookies her grandmother made and the beautifully decorated neighborhood houses with twinkling trees and a wreath on every window. She didn’t want to spend another second worrying so much about work and bills or having so many responsibilities that she didn’t even have time to hang up a stocking.
Her aunt, the woman who understood Y/N’s love for Christmas best, was the one to get her out of her cheer-less slump with an early present on the first day of December. She had gotten Y/N a one-of-a-kind snow globe. It was large with a polished wooden base; the inside depicted that perfect Christmas town Y/N had been longing for since her childhood.
It’s magic. That’s what her aunt had told her. The snow globe was full of the whimsy and Christmas cheer that Y/N was missing this year. She had told her niece if she shook it and believed hard enough, she would be taken away to a winter wonderland with everything she was looking for.
Later that night Y/N had smiled sadly as she shook the snow globe and placed it on her bedside table. She so badly wanted what her aunt had said to be true, but it just wasn’t possible. Magic didn’t exist, and the perfect Christmas was a memory lost to time from Y/N’s past.
However, as Y/N slept that night, swirls of snowflakes and a white glow drifted from the snow globe, enveloping Y/N. As a bitter wind brushed over her, Y/N awoke to find herself laying in a snowpile in the Christmas town from her decoration.
“Are you alright?”
Y/N startled at the voice, whipping to the side to find a tall, broad-chested man looking down at her. He smiled softly, highlighting his handsome features, and reached out to help her up. She nodded, taking his hand, and stood to dust off the snow covering her.
“I’m Shownu. Are you new to town?”
Y/N simply nodded again, still too stunned by her surroundings to do much else.
She took in the little town that she could see from their spot on the hillside. Behind them was what seemed to be an endless forest of pine trees, the scent of evergreen sharp in her nose. Softer, drifting on the breeze, was the smell of cinnamon and gingerbread baking with chestnuts roasting and the sweetness of cloves and oranges being brewed for mulled wine. Snowflakes continued to dance on the icy breeze, floating down from a somehow cloudless night sky—every star shining brightly—and the town in the valley glowed with a warmth she hadn’t experienced in years.
Y/N could hardly believe it. Her aunt was right, and she had found her perfect Christmas town.
Shownu, who worked in the woodshop and lumberyard, was immediately friendly and welcoming, if not a bit shy. He offered to show her around the town, introducing Y/N to the residents and business owners—who were all just as welcoming and kind as Shownu had been to her. They all just seemed to radiate the spirit of Christmas that she so craved in her daily life.
Everything in the town was perfect, and it was easy for Y/N to fall into a routine with the townsfolk. Hours turned to days turned to weeks, and Y/N lost herself to the wonderland of the snow globe world.
Each day Y/N would awaken at the town inn and help serve the patrons breakfast as thanks for allowing her to stay. Then she would wander the town and participate in whatever activities the town was hosting—there was sledding and decorating and a town-wide bake-off and even snow castle building.
In the evenings, after Christmas festivities and daily chores were completed, Shownu would pick Y/N up at the inn and take her to dinner. He would go caroling with her and shopping for sweaters and gifts. They went to a Christmas party and were caught under the mistletoe. He asked her on a date, which involved a horse-drawn carriage and fireside hot cocoa.
Quickly, Shownu and Y/N found themselves wrapped in a bubble of not only holiday cheer, but romance and passion and love. One date turned into two. A giggly mistletoe peck turned into heated stolen kisses with breathy voices and whispered promises. Innocent hand-holding and quick hugs goodbye turned to cuddling in front of the fireplace and desperate embraces underneath the stars beneath a woolen blanket.
However, just like in any enchanting fairytale, it eventually came to an end.
On Christmas Eve, both soul and body bare, Y/N and Shownu exchanged presents and promises of a lifetime of love. But as they drifted off just before midnight in front of the dwindling fire, Y/N felt a shiver of bitter, icy air, and when she fluttered her eyes open, she found herself back in her bedroom, alone.
Y/N sat up, glancing around her small, lonely bedroom, as memories of the idyllic little Christmas town began to drift away. Until the only face she could remember was that of her Christmas love.
