You Are Home [Hwang2Shin]

CH. 18

By the time the three of you sit around the tree to open the rest of your presents on Christmas Eve it feels like you're floating on air. You've shed more happy tears in the last 24 hours than you ever have in your life, and when you feel how puffy your eyes are it makes you smile.

Yeji and Ryujin's eyes are swollen too. You first noticed this morning, when you woke up with Yeji's arm slung over your waist and your face smushed against Ryujin's collarbone. You were hot and a little sweaty, but you didn't want to move because that would mean jostling the little nest your moms had formed around you.

So, you stayed still, replaying everything that happened last night in your mind until you started to doze off again. It felt like a fairytale. A dream. Your eyes flew open. What if it was a dream? Breathing shallow, you rolled onto your back and shoved the covers down as far as you could. To your right Yeji shifted, and to your left Ryujin made a sleepy sound, burrowing into her pillow.

You focused your gaze on Ryujin, mentally imploring her to wake up, to tell you that it really happened. That's when you notice the dried streaks of mascara under her eyes. You turned to Yeji to look for similar evidence of last night and sucked in a breath when you saw her eyes were red-rimmed and open.

She rubbed your back and watched you with a sleepy smile until your breathing evened out. "Having second thoughts?" she asked, arching an eyebrow. "No." You grinned. Yeji always says the thing you least expect. "Good, because we have a very strict no-refund policy. Afraid you're stuck with us, kiddo." You laughed, eyes starting to feel heavy. Swallowing down a yawn, you wrestled your hand free from the blankets and extended your pinky finger out toward Yeji. She smiled and after she freed her own hand from under the covers, she linked her pinky with yours. You don't remember falling back asleep, but your fingers were still joined when you woke up.

Now, looking at all the sparkling presents under the tree, you can't imagine that any of them will hold a candle to your gift last night or pinky promises at dawn. In fact, you feel a little bad accepting them. It's too much. Gluttonous. Then you remember the bundles under your bed and your smile grows. "Wait, wait, I forgot yours," you call over your shoulder as you run upstairs.

Once you jog back down and place their presents under the tree Ryujin fixes you with a bemused smile. "Ready?" You take turns opening gifts from friends and relatives first. John gave Yeji and Ryujin a gift certificate to a fancy-sound restaurant, and you a load of books and some new dresses.

Chaeryeong and Jisu gave you a jelly ball -- a kickball -- and when your moms ask you why you're smirking you just shrug. Chaeryeong and Beomgyu gave your moms a framed photo of the three of you from their wedding, and Jisu gave them a gift certificate to something called "paint nite" so "Yeji can show off and Ryujin can fawn over her in public. Bonus points if Yeji helps Ryujin paint, Ghost-style."

The first gift you open from your moms is actually several gifts grouped together. After you open a pair of custom-made clip-on Twinkies earrings and a cartoon waffle and syrup BFF t-shirt, you catch on to the theme. You let out a joyful yelp when you unwrap the big box to find a shiny waffle maker, with a voucher to a family baking class taped on top. "We'll never need to buy waffles ever again," you tell your moms after you hug them. Ryujin raises her eyebrows. "You sure about that?" "Well... maybe for special occasions," you say, and they burst out laughing.

Yeji opens her present from Ryujin next and you cover your mouth with your hands as Ryujin heaves it over from where she had propped the tall, thin gift against the wall. "Hmm, why do I get a sneaking suspicion that Princess had something to do with this?" Yeji says as she tears off the paper. She yelps when she realizes what it is and launches herself into Ryujin's arms, nearly making her topple over.