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despite always professing to be, juyeon knew that he wasn’t the most romantic person alive. he tried to be, of course, every moment he spent with hyunjae he tried to say cheesy things just to get the other to smile but it really was hard for him.
at christmas though, his lack of romanticism had backed him into a corner. it was only on december 15th when he started wondering, what could he possibly get hyunjae for christmas?
this was never something that had bothered him before. back when they were simply best friends, he usually found that the older was quite easy to buy for. juyeon would always just pick up a video game from their closest store or some item of clothing that he knew hyunjae would love. however, this year, he knew it had to be more special.
what made it worse was that he knew hyunjae already had something spectacular in the works. despite not being the most observant person alive, juyeon had noticed hyunjae sneaking off to talk to chanhee way too often for it not to be suspicious. the younger knew what was happening and the thought that hyunjae had probably come up with some beautifully elaborate present idea left him feeling utterly helpless, what on earth was he going to do?
his first port of call was asking (begging) jacob for help. it had been easier than expected to convince the older to help, all it required was a few puppy dog eyes and some sad far-fetched story about what could happen if juyeon failed to deliver the perfect gift.
having jacob onside helped a lot and over the next few days, they brainstormed multiple ideas over text.
how about a locket? don’t you think hyunjae would love that? you could put a picture of you inside and write love from juyeon on the other side
juyeon had thought on that idea for a while before concluding.
no, that feels like i’ve put no thought into it
oddly, it was eric who had come up with juyeon’s final idea. they had been talking off-handedly about christmas, eric had been telling some story about something his parents bought for him the one year and juyeon just happened to mention that he still didn’t know what to get hyunjae despite the special day only being a few weeks away.
“why don’t you do something to do with the letters?” eric asked, “you know, it would be cute don’t you think? you could do like a treasure hunt and the first letter of each clue could spell out the final location.”
juyeon’s jaw had practically dropped to the floor upon hearing this.
“you-“ he breathed out as eric just smiled widely at him, “when did you get so good at this?”
“i don’t know,” the younger shrugged, “maybe from 5th wheeling you two and sunhak all of the time.”
-
juyeon had taken the idea and ran with it. he spent the next few days systematically mapping out every single place that was important to them as a couple. from the ice-skating rink to the dessert shop, to hyunjae’s house, juyeon wrote everything down as he planned the route that his boyfriend could take to end up at the final destination.
actually writing out the clues seemed to be more difficult, juyeon had purposely chosen a place with not many letters in the name so he wouldn’t send hyunjae aimlessly wondering across town for literal hours. yet still, trying to start his clues with ’s c h o o l’ was proving to be more challenging than he had originally thought.
it seemed as if he was sat at his desk for hours trying to somehow begin two consecutive letters with the letter ‘o’. thinking back on it, juyeon wasn’t even surprised that he had messed the message up in his original reply letters back to hyunjae.
after another almost 45 minutes of slamming his head against the desk repeatedly and groaning about how writing was ‘just too hard’. juyeon finally had some ideas. he’d planned the route so that when hyunjae had to go to each place, it would lead him in a circle so that as he finished up, he would be near the school anyway.
the worst part of the planning, however, was to come.
-
on december 17th, all 11 boys sat around their lunch table talking about their families christmas plans and the different traditions that they had. some went to church whilst others had never really grown out of leaving food and some milk out for santa when he came down the chimney.
“i just don’t have the heart to tell my parents that i don’t believe anymore,” kevin had complained when the group began laughing at the fact that he still left a carrot out for the reindeer every year.
“you’re going to have to tell them at some point,” jacob pointed out with an amused smile, “are you going to be 40 and still leaving a carrot out?”
the conversation moved on quickly after that as kevin jokingly said that he didn’t want to talk about it anymore and then followed hyunjae out of the cafeteria to get some things from their lockers. it was then that talk turned to juyeon’s elaborate christmas gift.
“so you’re taking him on a tour of all of the important locations to you?” chanhee grinned, “that’s actually such a good idea, well done juyeon.”
“well done eric,” the youngest of the group huffed then causing everyone to laugh.
“yeah, it was his idea but he can’t take all the credit, i spent like 6 hours trying to plan this all yesterday,” juyeon groaned.
“6 hours?” sangyeon asked in surprise, “so you have all the clues and stuff written now?”
“absolutely not,” juyeon replied, “i have some of it and i’ve planned the route but as for the logistics and the actual letter writing, that’s gonna be another six hours.”
the group only laughed at this as if juyeon had been joking and honestly, he was content to let them think that as hyunjae walked back in and took his seat next to him again.
juyeon took his hand in his own and smiled down at the sight. there was just something about the fact that he could just hold hyunjae’s hand or hug him or kiss him whenever he wanted that made juyeon’s heart burst. maybe it was the years of pining or the desperation that he had felt for far too long but everything was just perfect.
it seemed as though hyunjae felt the same as he looked over and saw the fond look in juyeon’s eyes before he nudged the younger’s shoulder lightly to get his attention.
“hey, do you want to get desserts after school? my treat?”
juyeon had never nodded faster in his life.
-
the last few classes dragged. science always did, juyeon found, yet with hyunjae being called out of the class to help the student council with some unknown task, juyeon had begun to feel even worse.
“he’s not even in the student council,” the boy pouted as he turned his seat around so that he could work with haknyeon now that his boyfriend was no longer present.
“they’re decorating the school for christmas though,” haknyeon replied, “they probably need as much help as they can get.”
“why didn’t they ask me too then?” juyeon only pouted more.
“you’re disgusting,” haknyeon rolled his eyes in amusement, “can you really not handle not being around him for even 20 minutes?”
juyeon was about to shake his head yet he decided against it in favour of just telling haknyeon to get on with his work. after focusing his energy less on missing his boyfriend and more on his schoolwork, juyeon found that time moved a little faster and before he knew it, he was reunited with the boy he had missed.
“oh my god,” juyeon smiled gleefully as he finally escaped the classroom and hugged hyunjae tightly, “that was hell without you.”
“i was only gone for an hour and a half,” hyunjae chuckled back.
“well that’s an hour and a half too long,” the younger spoke as they linked hands again and walked through the gates starting their journey towards the dessert shop.
despite how many times they had done this walk before, now that they were doing it as boyfriends everything felt that little bit sweeter. juyeon was so far gone, he knew it, but he didn’t care, hyunjae was simply his everything. their story was a complicated one yet juyeon wouldn’t change it for anything.
when they reached the shop, they sat in their usual table and the waitress hardly had to ask them what they wanted as she greeted them kindly before heading to prepare the desserts.
“how many times do you think we’ve been here?” hyunjae asked with a smile.
honestly, juyeon had no idea, “it must be more than 100,” he laughed.
“and yet you always order the same thing,” the older pointed out.
“it’s tried and tested why wouldn’t i?” juyeon asked, “like you ever order anything different anyway.”
once the desserts came and they had finished eating, the two boys began discussing their own christmas plans. despite how much they had both wanted to, seeing each other on christmas day or even christmas eve just wasn’t possible. hyunjae had long had a family tradition that on december 23rd he would travel to his grandma’s so that he could celebrate with her and his cousins.
“why don’t we exchange gifts on the 22nd?” hyunjae asked, “is that okay for you?”
“yeah that’s okay,” juyeon confirmed, “are you free all day that day?”
hyunjae raised an eyebrow at this as he took in what his boyfriend had just said, “why? is your present an all-day event?”
juyeon flushed red at this as he desperately tried to formulate something in his head that might throw his boyfriend off his tracks. “um…” he trailed off, “maybe?”
“you don’t sound so sure,” the older only laughed, “don’t worry, i won’t try too hard to find out.”
the younger relaxed at this causing hyunjae to laugh even more, “but yes i am free all day if you were still wondering, we have to spend the whole day together right? i won’t see you until the 28th then.”
this was one thing that juyeon hadn’t considered, even spending a day without hyunjae had seemed like far too much for him recently. perhaps it wasn’t healthy that they saw each other as much as they did yet they had always been like that even as best friends even as young children, hyunjae’s mom had always joked that they were joined at the hip.
after realising that he had been in his thoughts for a little too long, juyeon raised his head to see his boyfriend staring at him a little worriedly. “i’ll call you every day you know,” hyunjae smiled as he took juyeon’s hand over the table, “i miss you even when i’m not with you for like an hour so you’ll be hearing from me very often.”
“okay,” juyeon smiled at this, “i’ll call you too.”
-
when the two boys finally parted ways for the night, juyeon instantly threw himself back into planning for hyunjae’s gift. the letters were all going to be handwritten and juyeon was currently going through the painstaking process of trying to make sure that his handwriting looked nice.
“it’s just not working,” he groaned to eric who had been watching him on facetime and finding the entire situation almost a little too funny.
“why don’t you just print it?” the younger questioned, “then you know it will look nice and it won’t take you even half as long.”
“but don’t you think that’s impersonal?” juyeon asked back and eric only shrugged.
“i don’t think hyunjae will care, you’re sending him on a huge treasure hunt around the city i think that whether you wrote or printed the letters will be the last of his worries,” eric reasoned and juyeon couldn’t help but agree.
“great,” the older spoke with a smile on his face as he threw every bit of paper he had been writing on for the last hour straight into the bin.
“oh, and juyeon?” eric spoke out as soon as the older was done disposing of his mess.
“yeah?”
“have you figured out how you’re actually gonna give him the clues? you can’t be there at every location.”
juyeon’s world flipped upside down.
how was he going to give hyunjae the clues?
“i didn’t even think about that,” he breathed out as he quickly opened his laptop and added a section to the document that he had been using to plan the entire present out.
“i don’t mind giving him the first one if you want?” eric said before stopping to think again, “i could go to his house and pass him the first clue and then you could ask the workers at the other places to help you out.”
“there’s not gonna be any workers at school on december 22nd eric,” juyeon whined causing the youngest to roll his eyes.
“that doesn’t matter, school is the last location, isn’t it? you’ll be there.”
juyeon’s mouth hung open at the realisation, “you’re right, anyway i have to go i need to ring up all of the places and ask if they can keep the clue for me.”
“okay,” eric smiled, “good luck.”
-
it turns out that juyeon had needed the good luck. of course, talking to the workers at the dessert shop had been easy. juyeon and hyunjae were their most regular customers after all so they are more than happy to keep the clue for hyunjae until he came around to collect it.
to juyeon’s surprise they even offered to make a special christmas cupcake that hyunjae could take away with the clue all for three, the boy had thanked them nearly 10 times before finally hanging up the call.
hyunjae’s favourite restaurant had been easy too, as was the arcade that they went to a lot recently and the park cafe they had often visited in the summer and autumn. this just left the ice rink and admittedly, they didn’t visit there often but juyeon had expected that, just like the other places, they might at least agree.
“i’m sorry sir,” the workers voice came through the phone, “i just don’t think i’m allowed to do that kind of thing.”
juyeon tried not to sigh too loudly as he felt nerves and annoyance creep up on him, “could you possibly ask your manager for me, or like beg them maybe?”
the worker sighed down the phone at this as realisation dawned on juyeon that he had literally just asked to speak to the manager, “i’ll see what i can do.”
he was left on hold for a while then and he nervously drummed his fingers as he waited for the answer. the boy didn’t know what he would do if they said no, his entire present was riding on it and he didn’t even know if he could think of another place that was important to them that he could use.
when he finally heard noise come from the other side of the phone again, juyeon quickly sat up in his chair, “hello?” the workers voice came through.
“hello,” juyeon replied almost too fast.
“sir, i’m really sorry but she said no, you didn’t hear it from me but she’s miserable i wish there was something more i could do.” juyeon’s heart sank.
“no that’s okay, thank you so much for trying your best, have a great christmas,” juyeon replied as he tried to conceal the disappointment in his voice.
“you too,” the worker replied before hanging up.
over the next few minutes, juyeon desperately tried to search for other places he could send hyunjae to or other ways that he could get the clue to his boyfriend. it just all seemed so impossible though, the places he chose were either too far away or not significant enough and any other ways of getting the clue to him were too far-fetched and stupid.
the boy rested his head on his desk after nearly ten minutes of thinking. there just seemed like no other way, he couldn’t believe that he had been stupid enough to plan the entire thing without considering how hyunjae would actually get the clues. it felt like the most important part and he had just missed it completely.
after a few more moments of sulking, juyeon decided to call eric again. oddly, the boy had been extremely helpful with all matters concerning the present so the older prayed to any god that was listening that eric would be able to think of a solution again.
“eric,” juyeon spoke out as soon as the call connected and the younger’s eyes widened.
“woah, what happened in the ten minutes i was gone?” eric laughed at juyeon’s state, “you look like you just fell down a hill and rolled for like 3 miles.”
“very funny,” the older groaned, “the ice rink happened, they said they can’t keep the clue for me, i don’t understand all they have to do is put it behind the counter and then give it to hyunjae when he arrives.”
“that’s weird of them, how cruel,” eric spoke out after juyeon’s explanation, “so i’m taking it that you called me back to beg for my help?”
“exactly,” juyeon nodded.
the next fifteen minutes was spent with nothing but eric suggesting ridiculous ideas and juyeon systematically explaining why none of them would work.
“hey!” eric called out suddenly after a few minutes of silence causing juyeon to nearly fall from his chair because of the shock, “i’ve got it!”
“you better have a good idea because i did not just nearly fall over for no reason,” juyeon muttered under his breath and eric rolled his eyes upon hearing this.
“how about you ask someone to wait outside the ice rink and give hyunjae the clue?” the younger asked.
honestly, juyeon had already considered this yet he had dismissed the idea on the grounds that no one would be willing to do it yet as they had thought of nothing better, it couldn’t hurt trying right?
“could you do it?” juyeon asked then and eric pouted a little.
“as much as i’d like to stand outside in the freezing cold and wait for hyunjae, i’m going to lunch with my sister in the afternoon, you should try asking jacob though,” eric suggested.
“good idea,” juyeon grinned, “i’ll text him now.”
jacob
jacob
jacob
jacob
jacob
what?
could you possibly do me a h u g e favour?
that depends on what the huge favour is
are you free on the 22nd?
…yes
could you stand outside of the ice rink and give hyunjae his clue for me? please please please please i have no other way my entire gift is counting on you
sometimes i regret getting you two together
i’ll do it
but you owe me
YES THANK YOU YOU’RE THE BEST!!
“eric he said yes!” juyeon screamed causing eric to nearly fall from his chair this time.
“you sound like you just proposed to hyunjae,” the younger replied but with a smile on his face, “now you just need to make the clues, deliver them to all the places and to me and jacob and buy the rings and wrap the rings an-“
“okay i get it, i have a lot left to do but i think it’ll be great eric, i really do,” juyeon smiled fondly then as he thought of hyunjae’s reaction, the older was a hopeless romantic at heart, of course.
“i think he’ll like it too, you’ve put so much effort into it i think his heart will explode,” eric laughed, “anyway, i’ve got to go and study and you have some clues to make, haven’t you?”
“yes,” juyeon sighed, “oh and eric?”
“yeah?”
“could you ask chanhee what hyunjae’s ring size is? he went to buy one with him a week ago didn’t he?”
“are you incapable of doing anything yourself?”
“yes bye.”
-
the next day, when juyeon finally received the text from eric detailing hyunjae’s ring size, the boy felt as if he was a bit more on top of what he was supposed to be doing.
he and kevin were going ring shopping that day, juyeon had been glad when the younger boy had offered to go with him. it wasn’t that he didn’t trust his own taste it was just that the rings were the final gift and juyeon would hate himself if it was anything less than perfect. that was what hyunjae deserved after all, perfection.
the shop itself was not too busy and juyeon was glad of that as he was rather nervous and felt as if he would need lots of time to look around before he made his final decision. after he’d been looking for around 15 minutes and had rejected a couple of things that kevin had pointed out, a worker came over to ask them if they needed help.
“yeah i think so,” juyeon laughed nervously and the worker only smiled kindly.
“what exactly is it you’re looking for?” she asked.
“it’s a christmas present for my boyfriend, i’m buying couple rings,” juyeon spoke out, “but i’m awful with jewellery and i have no idea.”
“i thought that was why you brought me along,” kevin laughed and juyeon hit him lightly while the worker only smiled.
“i’m sure we can find you something,” she spoke before thinking for a second, “follow me.”
over the next few minutes, the worker proceeded to show the two boys some of the rings that were most popularly picked out by boys their age. juyeon let his eyes glance over the selection for a while but still he didn’t find anything he particularly liked, the worker seemed to notice this, however, and she knelt to pull a small box out from under the desk.
“there is this one,” she started to open the box, “it’s a little more expensive but it’s my personal favourite.”
as soon as she lay the box on the table and juyeon saw it, he knew immediately that they were the rings he had to have, that was it.
“i love it,” he breathed out and the worker grinned at him.
“i think hyunjae will really like them too,” kevin told him and juyeon was certain then.
“i’ll take those ones.”
—
when december 22nd finally rolled around, juyeon was nothing if not more nervous than he had ever felt in his life. they had agreed to meet up at 4 and when hyunjae had asked where he wanted to meet up, juyeon had only offered back a rather cryptic answer, “you’ll know.”
this had confused hyunjae to no end, of course, yet because he trusted his boyfriend endlessly, he let it go and decided that he’s just text juyeon later if he still didn’t understand.
it wasn’t long though, until hyunjae became even more confused. a knock came on his door not long after he had received juyeon’s text and when the boy opened it up to be greeted with eric, he was instantly thrown off.
“eric? why are you here?” hyunjae asked curiously.
“nice to see you too,” the younger laughed before handing over a small envelope to hyunjae, “merry christmas!” eric exclaimed before leaving a now even more confused hyunjae behind him.
the envelope itself was nothing special, just a small sticker of a christmas tree in the corner and hyunjae’s name written on the front of it. he assumed that it must just be a christmas card from eric, so he opened it up but was instantly shocked at what he found inside.
somewhere we go very often is where your next clue is awaiting you. it’s filled with some of our greatest memories and our deepest conversations. did you know that i’ve never been there with anyone with but you? perhaps you’re just so infinitely special to me that i know that it would never be as good or meaningful if it wasn’t you that i was with.
love,
juyeon.
hyunjae beamed down at the letter as he finished reading it. the entire thing filled him with nothing but excitement and glee. it wasn’t as if he hadn’t expected something exquisite from juyeon. of course, he knew that his boyfriend would have worried and panicked until he found the perfect gift that he knew that hyunjae would have loved.
yet this, this was infinitely more than hyunjae could have ever expected. although he didn’t know the full extent of it yet, even from this first clue, hyunjae could tell that juyeon had put infinite amounts of thought and pure love into the gift.
-
knowing where to find the clue was easy, hyunjae didn’t even have to read past the second line to be able to know where to go. the dessert shop
he got changed quickly but still managed to be happy with the way that he looked before grabbing his keys, the clue and his own present before rushing out of the door. honestly, hyunjae knew that he should probably be taking his time so that he could savour the entire journey yet seeing juyeon was now his main priority.
hyunjae was just filled with so much immeasurable love that he didn’t even know how he could handle it anymore, the feeling in his chest whenever he so much as thought about the other boy was just unlike anything he had ever known. juyeon’s impact on him was wild and hyunjae felt so impossibly lucky to have the younger in his life.
it didn’t take long to reach the dessert shop and hyunjae quickly walked up to the desk to greet the workers. they recognised him immediately and with a huge smile on his face, the manager walked up to hyunjae with the second clue and a christmas cupcake.
“merry christmas hyunjae,” the manager smiled as he handed the items over, “make sure you hold on to juyeon, this is the sweetest thing i’ve ever seen.”
“i will,” hyunjae grinned and he had never meant anything more in his life.
as he sat down, hyunjae carefully opened the small envelope and began reading the next clue.
christmas would be nothing without a trip here right? we’ve been going for weeks and don’t think i haven’t noticed the small collection of reindeer plushies that you’ve managed to collect. it’s just another thing for me to add to the stupidly long list of things that i love about you.
i think the list is infinite.
love,
juyeon.
hyunjae’s eyes crinkled into another smile as he read the small clue and he folded it neatly before tucking it into his pocket. he stopped for a few seconds to take a picture of the cupcake and then eat it before he began heading to the next destination.
as soon as juyeon had mentioned the reindeer plushies, hyunjae had known where he needed to go. they had begun visiting an arcade a lot recently and the older noticed how every time they would go there, he and juyeon would both end up winning some form of reindeer plushie that was on offer. of course, hyunjae always managed to beg juyeon to let him take them home so now, the boy had accumulated a small army of them in the corner of his room.
the walk actually wasn’t that long, hyunjae arrived at the arcade in a little under five minutes. he headed straight over to the counter and suddenly felt nervous when he realised that the workers wouldn’t instantly know why he was here.
as he neared the front, hyunjae mentally prepared exactly what he was going to say and when he finally made it, every thought seemed to have left his mind.
“uh… hi,” he began and the worker just stared at him blankly waiting for him to say anything else before a flash of recognition came into her eyes.
“oh, are you hyunjae?” she asked him and the boy nodded before she ducked under the counter to grab the next clue.
what surprised hyunjae was that alongside the clue, she gave him probably the cutest reindeer plushie that he had ever seen in his life, “someone left this here for you, have a good christmas,” she smiled before hyunjae grabbed the things.
“you too,” he breathed out almost unable to speed due to the wild speed that his heart was beating at.
as he moved away from the counter and walked back outside, hyunjae tucked the reindeer comfortably in his bag and then proceeded to carefully rip open the envelope and read the next clue.
how many times have we been to this place? i’m sure it’s far more than i would ever care to admit. even in the colder weather when there’s no one really around we still visit here, there’s something so sublime about the privacy it offers in the late autumn even if i always have to take spare gloves and scarves because you always forget.
i don’t mind though, i would give you all my possessions if you asked me, i would give you the world if i could.
you deserve everything good in the world and i will be damned if i don’t try my best to give it to you.
love,
juyeon
hyunjae grinned at the clue once more. it was obvious that juyeon had grown into writing the letters just as he had when he had first started replying to hyunjae’s own on the blogging sight.
the boy chuckled as he thought of how he hoped that juyeon didn’t mess anything up this time as he had last time. there was something so adorably juyeon about the fact that he had messed up though and hyunjae just couldn’t deny that.
he set off not long afterwards as soon as he had grabbed a quick drink from a nearby convenience store and took a picture of his reindeer. again, the walk wasn’t long and hyunjae mentally thanked juyeon for planning the journey so well.
it was obvious that the next location was the cafe that they went to all the time in their local park. hyunjae wouldn’t have even been able to count on eight hands how many times that he had forgotten warm clothes and juyeon had had to lend him the spares that he now carried for his boyfriend’s sake.
as hyunjae arrived, just as he expected, there was hardly anyone in the cafe spare for one old man sat in the corner reading. just as juyeon had said in his letter, it was always freezing there in the winter. the cafe was half indoors and half outdoors, in the summer it was the perfect place to go and it was always full of people yet in the winter it couldn’t be more different.
he approached the counter a little more confidently this time as he had properly rehearsed what he was going to say in his head during the walk to the cafe. as he approached the worker he smiled brightly, “hi, i’m hyunjae, i was just wondering if anyone has left something here for me,” he smiled politely and any nerves that he did have dissipated when the worker nodded before heading into the back.
she emerged quickly with just a clue this time and hyunjae took it from her before ordering himself a coffee and sitting down to read the next clue as he drank it.
only on special occasions do we visit here but i guess every second that i spend with you is like a special occasion for me. i love taking you here so much because i know how much you love it. your happiness is my happiness but i’m sure you knew that already.
i don’t know how many times i’ve told you this or how many times i will continue to tell you in the future but you are the greatest person i have ever met. no matter what i will continue to love you endlessly and eternally. you’re stuck with me.
love,
juyeon.
hyunjae couldn’t help but tear up a little at the clue. the thought of juyeon sat at his desk just pouring his heart out on to the paper was enough to make the older boy have to desperately fight back the tears.
he knew how weird he must have looked, sat alone inside a cafe trying not to cry, yet nothing could ruin his mood after reading the clues that he had received. juyeon had never been the most poetic person and something about that just made hyunjae feel so much more special because he knew that his boyfriend must have tried so so hard to make it all perfect just for him.
as soon as he finished the drink, hyunjae decided to leave straight away. with every single clue that he read, the boy just became more and more impatient. he wanted to see juyeon as quickly as possible and give his boyfriend the biggest hug that he could possibly manage.
even though hyunjae knew that he had put all his love into his gift, he felt a little guilty after seeing how above and beyond juyeon had gone for him. regardless, he reached the next location around ten minutes later.
it was his favourite restaurant. juyeon took him there as often as possible yet still it was only really special occasions that they managed to go because of how expensive it was. hyunjae always felt so special and grateful whenever they would go, juyeon would always act like a gentleman and hold the door open for him, pull his seat out and do everything he could to make his boyfriend feel happy.
hyunjae did feel really nervous this time as he stepped through the doors. the restaurant was nothing if not posh and this alone was enough to make the boy have to take a deep breath before he took the plunge and walked up to the counter. “hello, my name is hyunjae, i was wondering if someone might have left something here for me?” he asked as politely as he possibly could.
“ah yes sir, just give me a moment.”
the worker disappeared for a quick moment and left hyunjae standing awkwardly alone by the counter before he returned with a small envelope in his hand. hyunjae took it before thanking the worker and wishing him a merry christmas before he left.
as soon as he got outside, the boy sat down on a little bench before opening the envelope for the next clue.
okay, you know why we don’t come here that often and it’s entirely my fault. you said once that i was like bambi when we went here and unfortunately i am inclined to agree. i remember i asked you if i was cute as well and you never responded properly, i would be interested to hear if your opinion has changed now.
i’m so glad we went there that day though. even if i had to hurt myself and fall over just to see you laugh i’d do it a thousand times over.
love,
juyeon
hyunjae remembered that day vividly and he smiled before taking off towards the ice rink. juyeon had definitely been like bambi when he had first stepped on the ice and although he was awful, his lack of ability was nothing if not cute.
thankfully, again the walk wasn’t that long and hyunjae arrived within a couple of minutes to see a very bored and very cold jacob stood outside.
“jacob?” hyunjae asked, “what are you doing here?”
“hyunjae finally,” jacob shivered as he spoke out the words, “what do you think i’m doing here?”
“oh, you have the next clue?” hyunjae questioned and jacob nodded before pulling a small envelope, identical to the others that hyunjae had received, from his pocket.
“yes, you should have seen how much juyeon begged me to be here, the manager of the rink refused to keep the letter for him, i think he was 5 seconds from a full breakdown,” jacob explained and hyunjae chuckled lightly at this. he could only imagine how stressed his boyfriend must have been when he found a slight flaw in his plan.
“well thank you for being here,” hyunjae chuckled, “i’m glad he didn’t have a breakdown.”
“me too,” jacob smiled fondly, “i was happy to help him out, he planned this whole thing for like 5 hours a day for the last week, he loves you almost too much.”
hyunjae beamed at his words, “i love him almost too much too.”
jacob rolled his eyes at this but grinned nonetheless, “whatever, just read the next clue.”
lately, this has been the place that we spend most of our time together. it’s tragic really when you think about it but if it means that i get to spend my everyday with you then i would go there every day for the rest of my life in a heartbeat.
i think you’ll already know where it is but if not, you can always find out in the way we always found things out through our letters before.
love,
juyeon.
hyunjae quickly got the rest of the clues from his pocket where he had put them and looked at the first letter of each.
s c h o o l
juyeon was at the school!
“i’m taking it you figured it out?” jacob asked and hyunjae nodded quickly.
“thank you jacob, have a good christmas,” the younger spoke as he rushed off before jacob even had chance to reply.
the walk from the ice rink to the school wasn’t that far but with the knowledge that juyeon was there waiting for him, hyunjae’s impatience had hit an all-time high. he raced down the streets walking as fast as he possibly could without running and as he turned down the final street, he saw juyeon’s figure in the distance stood waiting.
“juyeon!” hyunjae called as he finally ran up towards his boyfriend. juyeon didn’t even get chance to respond before hyunjae flung himself at him and engulfed him in the hugest hug.
“hyunjae,” juyeon smiled brightly as they pulled back and stood face to face, “did you like it?”
“i loved it,” hyunjae grinned, “you nearly made me cry,” he chuckled.
“happy tears?”
“of course.”
juyeon beamed at this before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small wrapped up box. “this is my real gift,” he spoke out, “i hope you like it.”
hyunjae took the gift in his hand before reaching into his bag and pulling his own out, “would you mind looking at this first? my present is at the very back.”
juyeon nodded before he took the present and they sat down on a little bench outside the school gates. the younger then pulled the wrapping paper back carefully before he lay eyes on hyunjae’s present.
it was a scrapbook with a picture of the two of them stuck to the front of it. juyeon opened the first page and quickly sucked in a deep breath when he saw it.
the first picture was the two of them as young children, both boys remembered the day clearly. it hadn’t been long since they had met and juyeon had visited hyunjae’s house for the first time to play with the older boy’s legos.
the second picture was the two of them together on their first day of high school, the third was when juyeon joined the dance club for the first time and hyunjae came to watch his first performance. it just continued on and on and on. there were so many precious memories in that book that had been eternalised in the photographs that juyeon didn’t even know that hyunjae still had.
as the younger let his eyes glance over all of the pictures on the pages, he felt tears start to spring up, hyunjae noticed quickly and softly brushed one away as it started to fall down juyeon’s cheek.
“do you like it?” the older whispered gently when his boyfriend was nearly at the end.
juyeon looked over some pictures from their first few dates that were beautifully collaged on the page in front of him, “it’s amazing, i love it.” he mirrored his boyfriend’s words from just moments ago.
“you can turn the last page over now,” hyunjae breathed out and juyeon did so to reveal two beautiful promise rings.
“no way,” juyeon began to giggle, “open yours quick.”
hyunjae, now confused again, quickly tore back the wrapping and opened the small box in his hands to reveal two promise rings identical to the ones that were sat at the back of the scrapbook.
“isn’t this just proof that we’re made for each other?” juyeon asked with amusement laced through his tone.
“it must be,” hyunjae agreed before taking one of juyeon’s rings and placing it on his left hand and then placing his own ring on his right, “i think it’s fine though, it just means that no matter which of your hands i hold, we’re still connected.”
juyeon’s face blushed a fierce red as he too placed one of either ring on each hand and then, once he was done, he leaned towards his boyfriend so that their faces were mere centimetres apart before whispering, “i love you more than i knew it was possible to love someone, merry christmas.”
they kissed then. all full of love and nothing else under the starry winter’s sky. hyunjae confessed his love hundreds of times that night and juyeon did the same as they wandered the streets aimlessly not caring that it was freezing because the warmth of their love was more than enough to protect from the cold.
“i love you so much,” hyunjae spoke when juyeon left him at his doorstep as they finally made it home.
“and i love you too.”
—
when juyeon’s phone pinged on christmas day, he glanced over quickly to see what it was. as soon as he saw hyunjae’s name on the screen, he quickly disregarded the fact that he was sat up the table for christmas dinner with 10 other people before opening the message.
it was hyunjae proudly holding his hands up to the camera adorned with both of the rings.
juyeon, it’s so hard for me to express in writing how much you really mean to me. a life without you, for me, would be the darkest life a man could ever lead. ever since i started to know you, you’ve been the greatest person i have ever met and when we fell in love, i knew that i was the luckiest man in the world to have you by my side.
maybe i’ll never be able to explain it but that’s okay because i know you understand it too. i’ve never felt so loved by anyone as i do by you and i don’t know what i did in my past life to deserve you but i will spend the rest of my life thanking my past self.
i love you juyeon and i don’t care how many times i’ve said it, i will say it to you multiple times every day for the rest of our lives. you told me in one of the clues that i was stuck with you and well, i simply couldn’t be happier about anything than i am about that.
your love always,
hyunjae.
juyeon’s eyes clouded up. hyunjae’s love was the best gift that he could ever have wished for.