venus & moon || chaelisa

The Christmas Stall

"I got a job at this small Christmas stall in the city where we sell some wreaths," Chaeyoung told Jisoo, while wrapping her scarf around her neck to prepare for the icy wind outside. "It's good, because then I'll get to earn some more money for Christmas."

Jisoo nodded her head absentmindedly while she doodled on a piece of paper. She was supposed to think of a new dance routine for her class, but she couldn't find a song to inspire her – and her class wanted something Christmas-y. Not that Jisoo wasn't a fan of Christmas but it wasn't the most, how to say, exciting holiday per se. It was one of those were you wanted to lie down in front of the fire place and snuggle the person you loved and drink hot chocolate. It was hard to find a song that expressed Christmas and was rocky at the same time.

"Are you even listening?" Chaeyoung asked her after a while, watching her friend's pen move across the white sheet. "Jisoo?"

"Hm? Sorry." She shook her head and straightened her posture, looking at her taller friend. "Job. Selling wreaths. Great for money because Christmas," she summarised quickly, wanting to prove she had paid attention to a certain extent. "It's just... I can't find a good song for my class."

Chaeyoung smiled and kissed her on the cheek before slipping her arms through her green parka. "I'm sure you'll find something. You always do."

"If you happen to meet a singer slash songwriter at the stall, let me know," Jisoo murmured and turned her attention back to her doodle – it was a mix of lines and flowers and stars.

Chaeyoung nodded and laughed before opening the door and stepping outside into the cold. A cool wheeze passed her and she shivered a bit, hugging herself. The stall would be in the Leadenhall Market in the City of London, and Chaeyoung lived together with Jisoo in a rather small flat – but bearable – right next to a library in Southwark, so it took her about ten minutes to get to the mall. The streets were icy and she had to be careful not to slip on the ice but somehow she managed. She even smiled at all the people passing her, the Christmas spirit filling her with life. She'd always been a big fan of the season, and now that there was snow in London (when did that last happen!?) she was even more in the mood. There hung lights from the windows, now turned off because it was bright enough without them, and a metallic Santa was standing in front of every supermarket she passed. People wore gloves and scarves and warm boots, their noses and cheeks red and glowing.

How could someone not love this season?

When she walked inside Leadenhall Market, she breathed out in relief, the warmth of the building bringing back life to her toes and fingers – although she had worn gloves and boots. The stall was already put up, a man, middle-aged, wearing a Norwegian Christmas jumper and brown cord pants along with dark brown shoes. He was smiling and waving at Chaeyoung, as he knew her already. "Hello, there, Miss Park," he said to her and shook her hand with both of his enthusiastically. His black hair was greying a bit behind his ears, but still covering his entire round head. His cheeks were red too, but a little less than Chaeyoung's, and he seemed genuinely excited about this whole thing. "It's good to see you. I hope you weren't too cold out there in the snow?" His accent was American, and Jade guessed something southern like Alabama, Louisana or how they were all called (she knew her surroundings and most of England's geography, but she had never really bothered learning the names of the US American States).

Chaeyoung shook her head with a grateful smile and unzipped her parka, revealing that she too wore a Christmas jumper. It was red with green and white horizontal stripes and a couple of yellow stars all over it. The man clapped his hands excitedly at the sight and nodded, "well, the mall has opened half an hour ago and since it's a Tuesday, I don't expect too many people here just yet, so you don't have to worry about being stressed. I know, Christmas may be a stressful season for both shoppers and sellers, but believe me, it's going to be amazing."