PEARLS, SKETCHES & HEARTBURNS. taennie

six.

JINGLE BELL ROCKS

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The Christmas in Jennie's neighborhood is different. Instead of each family celebrating individually, the event here is more collective. The morning of the festival is the loudest Taehyung has heard after coming here.

As he's walking down the stairs he can hear various footsteps shuffle around. There's this duty every house gets in this block, to prepare one particular dish for the Christmas party. For Jennie's house, it's the chocolate chip cookies this year.

When Taehyung had asked Jennie about Christmas gifts, she had flat out said no. It's also a peculiar way they celebrate this day; they never exchange gifts. They just get together early in the morning, play card games, eat baked goods, and watch movies.

"How is my house's Christmas treating you so far?" Jennie asks plopping next to him on the couch. They had just finished watching The Christmas Carol which contained a lot of painful high notes from Hyunjin which were quieted down after Jennie stuffed bread in his mouth. And everyone is taking a mini break before they start Home Alone next.

"I think it goes down into the list of my favorite Christmases ever," Taehyung replies. He is sketching the lamp in front of him because these holidays have successfully implanted junk in his mind and he's incapable of thinking new ideas anymore. It's going to come back and bite him in the ass later in the finals but for now—it's Christmas!

Taehyung adds, "It's very different from how we celebrated in Daegu."

"How did you celebrate it there?" Jennie asks.

Taehyung hums thoughtfully and shuffles a little bit so he's facing her. "On Christmas, our whole family gathers in our ancestral house in Daegu, all my uncles, aunts, and cousins. Most of the kids go there for food and gifts." Taehyung continues, "But I liked my Grandma's sweet rice cakes the most. She used to sweeten them with jaggery and fill them with nuts."

Jennie smiles, "That sounds amazing."

Taehyung nods, "It was." Until his grandma passed away when he was in high school and then decided to opt for Arts at University, making his relationship with his parents even more elusive.

"Jennie, why don't you show Taehyung the Christmas tree?" Mrs. Kim says as she walks past them with some stuff in her hands.

"Right! It must be fully decorated by now" Jennie perks up and looks outside the window, "and it's dark too. The party must be about to start, let's go!"

A pair of dainty hands grab his arm and haul him up in a matter of seconds. When Jennie stumbles with his sudden weight over her, he places his hand on her back to help and receives her grateful smile in return.

Taehyung swears that gummy smile will be the death of him someday.

But seems like Jennie is a woman on a mission as he immediately throws him his overcoat, drapes her muffler, and drags him towards the entrance. She truly wasn't joking when she said she liked winters.

Once they have both worn their shoes, they step outside into the biting chill of 25th December. Taehyung could feel the tip of his nose go numb in a matter of seconds, but the warmth of Jennie's hand remains in his. They walk side by side in a comfortable silence, something both of them have developed over time. Now they don't need to bring up random topics to keep the conversation going, just being by each other's side is enough.

Or so Taehyung's delusional mind thinks. It's concerning, the amount of overly affectionate thoughts that have started to cross his mind in the last few days. Maybe something is in the air of this neighborhood that has him going crazy.