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A breakup carol: a Namjin Christmas story
Was it possible for a person to hate Christmas Eve?
Or the real question: was it possible for a person to hate another on Christmas Eve?
Apparently, yes.
It is when your girlfriend decides is the perfect date to break up with you, leaving you with no other plans for Christmas…
That… that… b… bit… Grinch.
Namjoon had no choice but spend the holidays by himself. After all, he naively had told his family to go on a vacation to the Maldives since he was going to stay back at home with… her. That was the plan in the first place.
Not that the relationship was that deep and meaningful yet but six months are one hundred and eighty days, four thousand three hundred twenty hours, two hundred fifty-nine thousand two hundred minutes, fifteen million five hundred fifty-two thousand seconds… approximately –not that he had made the math on his head or something-. That’s half-year invested in a person who wasn’t feeling the same way he was –or as she had said-.
It’s not that I don’t like you it’s just…that you’re really intense.
Intense??? What the hell that was supposed to mean?
And… no offense but when you broke my laptop I didn’t want to see your face for a month.
Well, excuse you. It was an accident, and it could’ve been avoided if she had helped with the groceries’ bags, thank you very much. Who leaves a brand new Mac on a counter next to a stove? That’s not very logical.
And I’m sorry it had to be during the holidays but I was thinking if we spent Christmas and New year’s eve together I’d have to upload pictures with you on Instagram and… to be honest I don’t want to.
Ouch.
But I hope you can understand since you’re very sensitive.
Yeah, but you’ve said intense.
And I also hope we can still be friends.
Oh no, no, no. She didn’t.
How could she use the word «friends» after just breaking up with him on Christmas Eve?? They had plans; they had a reservation for a very expensive dinner.
A formal dress code charity dinner where they would serve the tiniest appetizers that would look like elf’s food on his hands and expensive champagne he really couldn’t tell the difference between a $500 bottle and a $50 one and chats that were as ephemeral as snowflakes on a burning ember and as superficial as a gossip magazine.
But it was all worth it if that made her happy.
“Are you sure you’re going to be fine by your own there? Don’t you want me to send you a ticket to Busan, you could spend the holidays with me and my family!” Jimin had suggested.
“Or in here!” Taehyung had added.
He had to call his friends right away after returning from the restaurant, tell them about the news he had just received.
“Nah, Yoongi invited me too but all the tickets are already sold out.”
“I can drive there and pick you up!” Hoseok offered.
He just shook his head. “It’s fine, guys. I think I will be fine. I swear it’s not that bad.”
“I never liked her anyways. She was…”
“A Grinch! Why she’d break up with you right before Christmas?! And in a salad bar!”
“Guys. It’s fine, I’m an adult… theoretically. I’ll be fine. To be honest, it’s a relief, if it wasn’t for her I’d have to go to that charity dinner we signed for.”
“Wait… didn’t you paid the tickets already?”
“Yeah? I did, I had to pay for them in advance like two weeks ago.”
The three of them sighed collectively.
Namjoon sat in front of his computer, a hot mug filled with cappuccino on his left and the lights hanging on the window above his head twinkling like true stars if he half closed his eyes. The grey-haired boy tried to keep it quiet but his computer emitted an unpleasingly snitching welcoming sound.
“You’re not working today, are you?” Jimin inquired while lifting an eyebrow but it felt more like a threat than a question.
“No… I was just… checking the weather report… I read somewhere tonight it was going to snow.” Namjoon cleared his throat. He wasn’t very good at lying.
“Namjoon…” Hoseok recriminated.
“Look I don’t have anything better to do I thought I could advance some work, distract myself from this entire situation and…”
“You’re supposed to get distracted from work not being distracted by your work.”
He hated to admit it but Taehyung was right.
“Why don’t you go to the dinner anyway? It’s a charity event, right? That means there are a lot of people who are not that…that…”
“Grinch.” Taehyung completed. He had a serious commitment on holidays about good behavior. Including, no cursing.
“I don’t know. Isn’t it lame? A guy going by himself to a charity event where he was supposed to go with his girlfriend?” Namjoon massaged his forehead while closing the laptop before his friends across the country and drag him back into pieces.
“No, it would be lamer to stay and work on a post-grade slash master slash whatever paper you’re working on at the moment.”
“It’s an advanced study of the anthropology following Foucault’s studies and…”
“Kim Namjoon if you’re not going to that dinner I’ll walk back to Seoul and kick your ass.” Hoseok threatened and he could hear Taehyung protesting due to his word selection.
“Alright, I’ll go… by myself… and drink champagne until I pass out.”
“Merry Christmas!”
The moment he stepped inside that place, Namjoon regretted his life choices.
The garden where the dinner was being hosted had waiters walking everywhere on their neat white uniforms, trees painted in white with a ton of lights hanging from them, white immaculate tablecloths along with ivory cutlery and shinning crockery. Even the grass was covered in some sort of artificial snow that made it totally white. The guests wore turtleneck sweaters and furry coats, all their clothing was dyed of niveous fever of December.
That was the night he had chosen wear all black.
It was like a piece of charcoal in the middle of pure snow.
Of course, he had to forget where his tickets were and it was written on them the dress code included a monochromatic palette of colors that only include shell, cream, pearl, Coconut Milk, Sugar Swizzle, Cloud Dancer and Whisper White –as if they could tell the difference-.
And there was Namjoon, with his bright grey hair and black shirt tucked on his black pants held by his leather belt along with a jacket formal enough to be part of a suit. Although he was out of tone, he was looking at his finest.
After he awkwardly informed the person in charge he was alone that night, he took a seat on the bar waiting for the waiter to guide him to his table. He didn’t drink very often but he needed a break after the whole break-up-situation and his inexhaustible creative genius that told him a bunch of new ideas for his current projects. The intoxicating taste of the alcohol made him travel away for a few instants.
He was dragged back to reality too soon.
Because right in front of him it was her.
Well, she was in all her rights to be there as well and he’d be lying he didn’t consider the possibility but for real, she had to go with someone else?
Namjoon’s spirit fell down the floor.
When she walked towards the bar with her brand new escort, his now ex-girlfriend made eye contact with him, he could see her mouth opened in surprise. Perhaps she did not expect him to come afterward. But hey, there he was and also her… and her new companion.
“Namjoon… I- I didn’t expect…” She tried to excuse herself, at least she had the decency of looking partially ashamed.
The grey-haired boy’s temple was somber as his outfit.
“Hi… how are you?” He faked a half smile and nodded slightly before his lips turned into a thin line.
He couldn’t face her, wearing a white dress with high heels next to her perfect date.
Everything made so much sense now.
“Oh… this is… this is a friend of mine from my hometown and he came with me c-cause…” The man next to her rushed to take a sip of the first thing a waiter passing had on his tray.
“Babe, I’m so sorry I’m late. I hope I didn’t make you wait.”
A voice came from behind and took the empty spot next to him on the bar. Apparently, that sentence was directed at him. Namjoon couldn’t help but drop his jaw when a handsome stranger appeared like a radiant comet.
Holly Wreath.
He was speechless and so his ex because that stranger that just came to save his life was probably the most beautiful human being he had ever laid his eyes on. The grey-haired boy was a bit blind after staring for too long to his dashing smile, his cherry shaped lips and chocolate brown eyes with huge dark pupils. He was inside the dress code for the night with his large turtleneck cream sweater and round glasses, his wide shoulders were barely contained by the cashmere fabric, on top of that, he had a long jacket that reached his knees, not to say he looked like a model.
“H-hi.” Namjoon needed to verify if the stranger was truly referring to him.
“You don’t have an idea how hard was to find a place to park the car.” He kept speaking to Namjoon with complete naturalness.
“I’m glad you made it…?”
“I wouldn’t miss it for anything in the world.” He winked.
He winked and Namjoon felt perplexed and a bit flustered at the same time.
The handsome stranger turned towards his ex-girlfriend and her date and extended a hand to be shaken. “Kim Seokjin, a friend.” He used a very suggestive tone with the same word that was on the girl’s lips before.
Just in time, one of the waitresses approached and announced a table was ready.
“You won’t mind we take this one, right? I don’t want to make him wait more than he already did.” The man identified now as Seokjin pronounced every letter like a compliment but there was much of a threat behind.
The couple just nodded. They were as shocked as Namjoon.
“And honey, close your mouth or flies will enter.” He patted the girl’s shoulder who suddenly realized she was still holding a perfect “O” shape.
Namjoon followed the other guy almost in trance, one waiter removed the chair in front of him and then he remembered he was supposed to seat. The whole situation seemed to be taken of one rom-com he never knew he needed on his life.
Once the waiter left the wine menu and returned to his duties, Seokjin spoke again.
“I’m sorry for being this obtrusive but I saw the whole situation from across the bar and… to be honest it seemed you were really uncomfortable and needed a friendly hand...”
Namjoon had never felt so relieved. “Namjoon. And yes… indeed. That girl over there uh… was my girlfriend.”
“I knew it.” The brunette rolled his eyes.
“Until this morning...”
Seokjin was the one who would have to worry about flies now.
“She did not. How?”
Namjoon bitterly smirked. “Apparently, to come with that other guy.”
“I can’t believe it… what a…. what a…”
“Grinch.”
“Yeah… that’s the word but the Grinch it’s actually nice. I don’t know if you could say the same about someone who breaks up with you on Christmas Eve.” He sighed. “Listen as I said I didn’t mean to be nosy if you want me to leave I can go and you’ll have dinner with the person you were truly waiting for…”
Namjoon pulled a face. “In fact… I came here alone.” He shrugged.
“You came alone? Looking like that?” Namjoon blushed. Straightforward.
“Long short story, I was supposed to come with her and I had bought the tickets in advance.”
Seokjin was even more stunned than two minutes ago. The first bottle of wine –white of course- was opened in front of their eyes.
“Don’t worry; I understand if you have to reunite with whoever you came with.” Namjoon drew imaginary circles on the tablecloth like a child.
“I came here with my brother and his friends but I don’t think they will miss me.” He said before waving towards a group of people that were already sitting around an empty table. A dark-haired boy waved back, his brother, he assumed.
His ex –on the other hand- was still standing up but Namjoon didn’t care anymore.
“Really?” Namjoon’s face lightened up like an ornament.
Seokjin nodded and displayed another perfect smile. Less than fifteen minutes together but Namjoon already adored how the corners of his mouth disappeared every time he smiled.
“May I ask why did you decide to come to save me?”
“Being completely honest…” Seokjin rested his chin on his palm. “I couldn’t stop staring at you dressed up all in black. It’s a sort of defiant.”
Namjoon furiously blushed. “Is that so?” That wasn’t his true intention but hey, he’d take it.
The boy across the table nodded again.
The waiter returned with a different couple of glasses and the selected wine for the appetizers. All of the food on the dishes was so small it could fit on their fingertips.
Seokjin frowned his nose. His eyes were twitching when he looked at Namjoon.
“I know this is a bit impulsive but since none of us needs to be here for the commitment, I know a place down the street that serves the best fried chicken of the city and its owners don’t believe in Christmas so it would be open even tonight.”
Namjoon saw the opportunity in front of his eyes. The rush of adrenaline he needed. He stared at the plate in front of him and still could taste the bitter grapes of the expensive wine on his tongue.
“Then what are we still doing here?”
The corners of Seokjin’s mouth disappeared as his lips curled.
“You know, this is not the idea of the «ideal Christmas Eve» I used to have.” Namjoon announced still chewing a piece of spicy chicken.
“I hope you consider this the best rebound of the history because I do.” Seokjin picked another piece of the almost empty box.
They had sat on an empty bench on a lonely park, their breaths combined above their heads in form of mist with the contrast of the cold breeze. The sky looked like a fragment of blue velvet, usually, it was hard to contemplate the magnificence of a clear sky from the city sights but that night in particular, it reminiscence to a perfect canvas furrowed by a blue trail.
“Wait, let me finish. This is better. Who needs a tree or glass ornaments, ginger cookies or that cheesy stuff when you have fried chicken and beer from the convenience store.”
“Let me remind you we also have two candy canes for the season spirit.”
Namjoon burst into laughter. “Sure, how could I possibly forget about that?”
Two hours later, they were still laughing about the silliest things. Seokjin proved to be even more shameless than Namjoon thought when he talked about his work on the university as psychology professor “What kind of crazy man do I have to be to have a consultation?” Making the grey-haired boy choke with his cheap beer wrapped in carton bags.
After that, Seokjin had told him about his recent works designing buildings.
“You’re an architect?”
“Well, yes. Did you think I live off the air?”
“What kind of homeless I have to be for a date?” Namjoon shook his head full of embarrassment. “Wait, that sounded better in my head.”
But it was too late; Seokjin let an uncontrollable windshield wiper laughter that was too contagious.
“I can give you the date, you don’t have to be homeless.” He winked at Namjoon and his face turned red like a reindeer’s nose. Seokjin exploded into laughter again.
Why was it so easy for him?
While chatting and laughing, the clock marked twelve o’clock. Fact that went unnoticed until the first snowflakes of the frost detached from those invisible clouds and painted the treetops one by one with petite caresses.
“It’s snowing.” The brunette announced, totally mesmerized by the sighting and not long after that the boy next to him was lost in the scenery as well.
Ten minutes had passed until one of them reached for his vibrating phone and announced with a surprise on his voice.
“Oh, it’s Christmas already.” Namjoon looked at Seokjin whose hair was slowly being invaded by little ice crystal. “Merry Christmas.”
A few snowflakes landed on his heated cheeks. Whether it was for the alcohol or the blushing, he wasn’t sure.
“Merry Christmas.”
Seokjin reached for his hand. Both of them were cold as stalactites but as they melted in the grip, the thaw began. Unspoken words stated they had to leave soon if they didn’t want to be in the first page of the newspapers on Christmas morning as the couple that was turned into snowmen. Nevertheless, none of them was ready to say goodbye.
“Will you…” Namjoon cleared his throat. “Would you like to drink some hot chocolate tomorrow?”
Seokjin beamed fondly.
“Yes. I’d like that very much. Although… before we go, can we take a picture together?”
Namjoon was puzzled.
“I need to presume this to my brother and all my Instagram followers.”
He shook his head with a grin printed on his face.
“Presume you say?”
“I’m having a hard time believing all of this really happened so… yes? Just a selfie.”
“Can I choose the filter?”
“Only if I choose the café tomorrow.”
“It’s a deal.”
Multiple snaps and a phone exchanging later, Namjoon had plans for Christmas day.