my yellow | yungi

2

Mingi's eyes flutter open to the sound of kids laughing along the streets. His window curtains are open slightly, just enough for some sunlight to shine through, and he notices the shadows of what had to be snow, falling onto the wooden floors of his bedroom. He pulls the covers all the way to his chin, feeling safe and warm.

Then the door creaks open and mingi's grandmother pokes her head into the room to check on her grandson. Mingi pretends to still be asleep, but his grandma knows him better. She shuffles over and looks out mingi's bedroom window, observing the children running about throwing snowballs at each other. She always claimed that mingi's room had the best view of the neighborhood.

"Halmoni?" Mingi can't resist the urge to talk to his grandma. "You're up early."

She gently sits at the edge of mingi's bed, hitting her thighs like she always did when they were sore, saying: "it's Christmas Day, minki-ya! Gotta open presents right?"

Mingi props himself up, stretching his arms with a yawn and dangling his feet off the bed. "Yeah, I can't wait for you to open mine." He says lightheartedly, then with a more concerned tone: "is your leg still hurting?"

"It's getting better, sweetheart, don't worry. Now come on, the living room seems extra crowded this year."

At 17 years old, mingi really shouldn't be feeling so excited to open Christmas presents, but he can't help it, especially since his family knows exactly what he wants each year. He brushes his teeth, tidies his hair and saunters into the living room with a hooded reindeer blanket wrapped around him. Everyone, except for mingi's mom, is already sitting the Christmas tree. Mingi and his brother had set it up a few weeks before, letting each member of the family decorate it with whatever 'ornament' they wanted. Mingi hung up pictures he took of the moon and stars over the years.

His mom joins them moments later with two plates of homemade gingerbread cookies. They nibble on the treat as they take turns opening present after present, erupting non stop "thank you's" from one another. Like every other year, mingi was beyond grateful for what he'd received; a fancy starlight projector, a hot pot equipment set (he'd recently gotten into cooking), and a new backpack for school, just to name a few.

"Eomma, can hyung and I go outside to play in the snow?" Mingi questions after his morning cup of tea. Of course, mingi's mom agrees and the two boys tumble out of the house with their multiple layers of clothing, diving straight for the piles of snow that had accumulated during the night. They challenge each other for a snowball fight, rolling the snow into a ball with their thick gloves before tossing it in the other's direction, just like when they were little. One snowball hit mingi in the butt and the boys couldn't contain their laughter.

"I dare you to throw one at a stranger!" Mingi's hyung suggests from across the yard.

"What? No way, what if I piss them off?" Mingi yells back.

"It's Christmas! Tell them that if they're naughty, Santa won't get them a present next year."

I mean, sounds pretty convincing to me, mingi thinks to himself. He picks up a firm ball of snow, shaping it with his hands, in search of a target. He spots a tall figure walking alone right across the street and aims. The snowball leaves his grip and smacks the stranger in the arm, snow instantly crumbling to the ground. Mingi's brother immediately breaks into laughter, but the stranger's stiff reaction makes mingi sweat down his back. He quickly runs across the street to apologise.

"I'm so sorry, sir! Did it hurt? I'm so sorry, you can throw one back at me!" Mingi apologises frantically, picking up a lousy snowball from the ground and handing it to the stranger.

That's when he got a good look at who he was talking to. It was a young man with big round eyes, thin lips, and rosy cheeks, his brown hair peeking from beneath the beanie he was wearing, covering his forehead. He was around mingi's height, dressed in a furry beige jacket, black pants and hiking boots.