So it was Christmas.
And Gikwang wondered why he was doing this. No, that wasn’t quite correct. He knew why, but he didn’t expect it to be so overwhelming and nerve-racking, even though he’d been preparing for this moment for a few long weeks… or even months. He was nervous to the extent that he had a hard time swallowing past a lump that would form in his throat every time he thought of what was yet to happen later on that festive night.
He returned to Hyorin’s apartment earlier than they’d originally planned - though his present for her was shocking itself, he still needed some extra time to prepare the whole scenery. Sporting a pair of antlers and a light-up nose in an obnoxiously bright shade of a red to resemble Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer happened to be one of a few key points, but as his preparations progressed, he started doubting every choice he made.
Once he was done, he surveyed the area and found himself amid a flood of colorful lights and glitter, reflecting off the sparkly ornaments hanging all over the living room, the christmas music drifting softly out of the speakers and setting the right mood. Perhaps he’d been too enthusiastic about all those decorations, and he sincerely hoped that Hyorin would have nothing against his odd taste. It wasn’t the most sickeningly romantic thing to do but he decided to tackle baking once again, as if he didn’t prove himself enough that it was an exceptionally difficult task for him to get through. Mixing bowls, cake mix, icing, cupcake pans… it was all foreign to him but the result, even with his poor culinary skills, was somewhat satisfying. Try as hard as he might, it wasn’t the most beautiful masterpiece but it was his. Once set on the tray, each cupcake was decorated with a single letter to form a very important question, that he was willing to ask, as a whole - “Will you be my girlfriend?”.
After leaving the tray in the most visible spot so Hyorin wouldn’t miss out on it while walking in, he settled down beside the christmas tree, fidgeting with a neatly wrapped, small box in his hands that contained a silver necklace { x }, the other one already hanging loosely around his neck. With acute discomfort of his heart trying to hammer its way out of his chest, he waited for her arrival.
After a long day Hyorin began driving home from the Starship building. She had gone around shopping all day, or attempted to shop, but to no avail was unable to find a good Christmas gift for Gikwang. It had been easier to find gifts for him before, but now she didn’t know why nothing seemed to stand out to her. After failing she had gone to the Starship building to see if she could get some ideas from anyone still there but there were no ideas there either. Now there she was, driving home empty handed.
When she parked her car in the parking lot, it was three till midnight. Hyorin got out of her car and took the elevator up to her floor. When the elevator doors opened it was one minute to midnight, nearly Christmas. Now standing before her door, she pushed in her access code and when it flashed green, she opened the door. “Adeul~” her tired voice rang out over the soft Christmas music that was playing. “Mommy’s home!” After taking her shoes off, she walks around the entrance into the living room and she stopped in her tracks, finding the tray of cupcakes on the small table. Walking a bit closer, her heart stopped upon reading the message on the cupcakes. She felt like she had been hit and her breath was taken away by the shock. Her eyes then turned to the bright red light by her tree and she found Gikwang sitting under her tree dressed as rudolph. “Lee Ki?”
Hyojung rubbed her eyes, thinking she was dreaming, before she finally took in the decorated living room. Her eyes finally landed on him once more and she opened her mouth to speak, but nothing left her as she was speechless.