EASILY

22

The Perfect Christmas Day

Christmas Day

5 am

I feel like the 6-year-old Yongsun waiting anxiously in bed for 6 am to hit and that was the time set in our house to open presents as a child. As soon as my alarm would go off I would jump out of bed and run as fast as humanly possible down the steps to see what Santa left for me. I smile to myself at the memory as I glance over at Byul who is sound asleep and a small smile on her face while her hair sprawled across the pillow. She has one hand resting on my shoulder with the other arm tucked under her pillow. I lean forward and ghost my lips on hers and smile when her nose twitches from the action.

After the catering gig upstate and the write-up in the newspaper, Aunty Solxy reached new heights, heights that I wasn't exactly prepared for, a height that terrified me a little. I got tons of e-mails and phone calls with people ordering cakes, cupcakes, cookies, and brownies for Christmas, Birthdays, New Year, and yes even advance orders for next year. I booked 6 different catering gigs for January alone with another 5 set up for February. I felt slightly overwhelmed by everything that's happening so quickly. So, Byul helped me get further organized since she was sort of used to running a business. She came home from work with a huge wall calendar and we sat down together and pinpointed the days I had to cater and set up times to shop and plan out menus. Every menu that I've planned out Moonbyul typed up and we kept a laminated copy in a binder, as my portfolio and she posted on my website so people could get an idea of what I was capable of cooking. Byul is so involved with Aunty Solxy it's adorable. I honestly don't know what I would do without all her help.

We had a meeting with Hwasa and Wheein and they agreed to work as my staff which I was excited about because we have so much fun cooking together. They both said they didn't need me to pay them since they both had really good-paying jobs but I refused to let them work for free. So, in addition to me cooking and baking whatever they want upon request, Byul is drawing up a contract for them which explains the arrangement, confidentially of certain recipes, and their pay rate. I convinced Moonbyul to draw up a contract for herself as well even though Byul is a multimillionaire, she deserves to get paid for her services as well.

Moonbyul provided reason number 7374848 as to why I love her yesterday when she asked me to take the day off. We woke up early and went shopping for as many toys as would fit in the trunk of my car before we headed to Children's Hospital. We spent the morning volunteering to play and read to the kids and it was a wonderful experience that I will never forget. It must be something that Moonbyul sneaks and does often because the staff seemed to know her and so did a lot of the kids. Their faces lit up when she came in with a Santa hat on and passed out Santa hats of all colors. Seeing the smiles on those kids' faces made my heart swell in a way I never knew possible. After we left the hospital Byul took me to the most amazing Italian restaurant for lunch before we went back shopping where Byul bought bags and bags of clothes, shoes, and pajamas before we headed to a soup kitchen and helped serve the homeless. We put together gift bags that included toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, and different things of that nature. Byul passed out the gift bags and more toys there and again something she must do often because the staff there knew her as well. Byul is one of those people you read about in the paper or you watch on TV but never imagine them to be real. Her heart is so big and full of love for everything and everyone that it's humbling just to be around her sometimes.

We ended the night with a stroll through the park before we came home and started the tradition of wearing Christmas footed pajamas and drinking peppermint hot chocolate. I made steak sandwiches and waffles fries for dinner, with a homemade spicy honey mustard dipping sauce and we watched It's A Wonderful Life. After the movie, Byul and I exchanged one gift each, a tradition my parents always did with one another and I suggested it to Byul and she loved the idea. The first gift she gave me was Chopped on DVD which I probably got way too excited about and I gave her the matching cashmere hat and scarf set we saw in the mall a few weeks ago that she loved. I know we agreed that have a $150 limit but I went over that with Byul. I snuck and did more shopping for her during the day while she worked and I get the feeling that she snuck too and did more shopping for me at night while I bartended. One night when I came home from work early, I caught Moonbyul stuffing something under the couch. I was so tired that I simply hugged and kissed her before collapsing in bed but I did hear her rustling with wrapping paper as Chef seemed to keep biting it as she tried to wrap. They had the cutest argument which resulted in Chef winning and Moonbyul bringing him to cuddle in bed with me until she was done.