Fate and Destiny

THIRTY ONE

Early on Christmas morning, Youngjae knocked softly on Joy's bedroom.  Pushing the door when there was no response, he walked quietly to the bed.  Joy was lying on the bed with her back facing the door.  "Merry Christmas, eomma!" Youngjae whispered in Joy's ear but she didn't move.  Going to the other side of the bed, Youngjae peeked at Joy's face to check if she's awake, when she suddenly grabbed him.  "Merry Christmas, Jaejae!" Joy yelled then started tickling Youngjae.  They stopped frolicking when there was another knock.  "Can I come in?" they heard Sungjae ask from the other side of the door.  "Sure, oppa," Joy called out.  Sungjae strolled into the room wearing a bathrobe over his pajamas.  "Merry Christmas, appa!" Youngjae shouted, jumping down from the bed and running to Sungjae to give him a hug.  "Merry Christmas, buddy!" Sungjae said, lifting Youngjae and hugging him back tightly.  "Are you ready to open your gifts?" Sungjae asked.  "Yes!" Youngjae replied eagerly.  "Breakfast first," Joy announced, getting off the bed.  "Awww!" the two Jae's started to protest but stopped when Joy raised an eyebrow.  "Race you to the kitchen!" Sungjae suddenly said to Youngjae before quickly running out of the room.  "Appa! Not fair!" Youngjae yelled as he ran after Sungjae.  Joy laughed as she put on a bathrobe over her pajamas before following them to the kitchen where she prepared chocolate chip pancakes as requested by the two.  A few minutes later, Mr. and Mrs. Yook walked into the kitchen, officially starting their first Christmas Day celebration.

Moving to the living room after breakfast, the older Yooks started handing out their gifts to them.  Youngjae excitedly opened the presents given to him by his grandparents, gushing over every single one, expressing his sincere appreciation.  For Sungjae, they gave him a luxury brand watch, knowing his penchant for wrist watches while they gifted Joy with the ladies' version of the same watch.  Seeing how reluctant Joy was to receive an expensive gift, Sungjae took the watch out of its box and strapped it on to Joy's wrist before doing the same thing to himself.  "Wow! Eomma, you match with appa," Youngjae said ardently.  They also gave her a designer, but functional, bag that she can use every day.  Handing their gifts to his parents, Mr. Yook was ecstatic when he saw the bait-reel he's been planning to buy, while Mrs. Yook squealed happily when she saw the several paint-by-the-number kits that she has been hooked on lately.  Youngjae eagerly presented to his grandparents the small, framed flower painting which he personally made in his art class.  Mrs. Yook immediately placed it on the center of the fireplace's mantel beside the picture that Sungjae took after he, Joy and Youngjae finished decorating their Christmas tree, proudly displaying it for everyone to see.  For Sungjae, Youngjae gave him a picture frame he also made in his art class.  "I'm going to put this on my office table. I have the perfect picture for this," Sungaje said, thinking of their first picture together.  Joy, on the other hand, was having second thoughts whether to give her gifts to the Yooks or not.  After receiving expensive gifts, she felt shy giving them something pitiful, in her opinion.  Sungjae spotted the gift boxes behind her and noted the hesitation on her face so he made the decision for her.  "Sooyoung. What's that?" Sungjae asked her, pointing to the boxes.  "Oh! Uhm, it's for abeonim and eommoni," she said, handing the boxes to them reluctantly.  "It's just something I made myself. I hope you like it," she added nervously.  Mrs. Yook gasped when she opened the box.  "You made this?" she asked, turning to look at Joy who nodded timidly.  "It's beautiful," Mrs. Yook gushed as she took out the salmon pink knitted poncho from the box.  Seeing what Joy gave to his wife, Mr. Yook quickly opened his and smiled widely when he saw a blue knitted button-down vest inside.  "Thank you very much, Joy," Mr. Yook said, patting Joy's hands.  "I'm sorry I couldn't get you something better," Joy apologized.  "What are you talking about, dear? You made this yourself for us and that makes it more special. Nothing could be better than this," Mrs. Yook said, hugging Joy tightly.  "Yah! Where's mine?" Sungjae protested, preventing a potential emotional situation.  "It's here. But I was planning to give it to you later at home," Joy told him.  "Aish! I want it now. Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" Sungjae whined like a child, making the others laugh.  "Appa! You're like a big baby," Youngjae giggled.  Sungjae pouted, making Youngjae laugh harder.  Sungjae clapped eagerly when Joy handed the gift to him which he immediately opened.  "Woah!" Sungjae exclaimed, lifting the blue and green knitted muffler.  "Oh! It's the same color as mine, appa. We're matching again," Youngjae informed him eagerly.  "I'm going to use this later," he grinned, wrapping the scarf around his neck, high-fiving Youngjae.  "Anyway, have you three decided where we should go for the New Year?" Mr. Yook asked them.  "Go where?" Joy asked, looking questioningly at Sungjae.  "We always take a trip after Christmas then come home on New Year. It's the only time we can all go together since the office is closed for a week," Sungjae explained to her.  "Jaejae would probably enjoy the Universal Studio Park in Singapore. Or we can go to Dubai. They have Legoland and Ferrari World there," Sungjae suggested, turning back to his parents.  "Or Disneyland, maybe? Where would you like to go, Jaejae?" he asked Youngjae.  "Huh?" Youngjae said, totally clueless with the topic.  "What do you think, Joy? Are your passports ready?" Mrs. Yook asked her.  "Uhm... Well, mine is expired and Jaejae doesn't have a passport yet," Joy explained.  "Oh, so we can't go overseas," Sungjae said.  "No, no, no! You should go. It's your only chance to take a vacation. Besides, it has been your tradition," Joy protested.  "No! This is our first trip together. So it's either we all go or we don't go at all," Sungjae declared with finality.  "I agree," Mr. Yook said while Mrs. Yook nodded in agreement.  "Appa. Is it okay if we just go to Jeju?" Youngjae suddenly ask.  "Sure. But why do you want to go there?" Sungjae replied.  "We haven't visited appa and eomma since I started school. They might think we've forgotten them. And I also want to see our old house," Youngjae explained.  "Then Jeju it is," Mrs. Yook decided.  "And while we're there, we can finally process the transfer of their ashes here. We can also go fishing. I'll get to use my new bait-reel," Mr. Yook said happily, clapping his hands in excitement.  "So, it's settled then. I'll book the flight and hotel. We can leave on the 27th?" Sungjae said, looking at Joy for confirmation.  "27th is fine," Joy agreed.  Having finalized their travel plans, Mrs. Yook and Joy went to the kitchen to prepare lunch and eat before the trio leave for Changsub's place.