The Ri family is back in this holiday special inspired by the classic Christmas movie "Love Actually"! This series of loosely-connected chapters will see our favorite family learn that the basic ingredients to a merry Christmas are the gifts of time...
The smells of Christmas spice, mulled wine and gingerbread layering on Yoon Se-ri's floral scent were coming together as a foreign yet familiar comfort which Ri Jeong Hyeok was starting to commit to memory.
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Lingering in the toasty warmth of their apartment were remnants of festive joy, as seen from random bits of Christmas present wrappings, forgotten party hats, and a sizable mountain of used dishes, pots and pans waiting in the kitchen sink.
It would typically make sense to hold family gatherings at the Yoon family's manor, but as their newborn son Jeong Hwan was too little to go out into the cold at a month and fourteen days old, the party was hosted by Se-ri at their apartment instead.
It was the pianist's first Christmas as a citizen of the Republic of Korea, and also, his first one as a father.
Everything felt surreal, dream-like; he was physically present at the Christmas gathering, yet it felt like his heart had stepped outside.
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The joyous echoes of 'Merry Christmas' reverberating in the apartment.
The smiling faces of the Yoon family members, recognizable but nonetheless unfamiliar, filing through their door.
The warm hugs he was receiving and politely giving, from this small group of people who was suddenly his closest kin in this foreign land.
The doting smiles and gentle coos at the tiny bundle in his arms.
The seemingly endless group photos.
The cheerful toasts, and the homely conversations in which he struggled to participate.
The South Korean accent, and his subsequent personal dilemma— should he be mimicking it as he had learnt in Hanawon with other defectors, or should he just speak in his native tongue?
It was supposed to be a season of joy, a time for love and cheer, and a time to make memories to last throughout the year.
North Koreans do not typically celebrate Christmas; the majority does not even know of its existence. Even when he was studying in Switzerland, he had always experienced the festive holidays as an outsider.
