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There he stood. The love of his life. The man of his dreams. The person that Ong Seongwoo was one day going to marry.
He just didn’t know it yet.
The man stood about six foot tall, give or take. He wore a white turtleneck and a gorgeous tan trench coat - like some sort of a supermodel. His bright red hair practically blended in with the tall ass Christmas trees he stood between. The twinkling gold ornaments and glistening garland bounced off of his dark eyes, making it look like someone had painstakingly hand-picked stars out of the sky to put in his irises.
Christmas music echoed across the fairly dead mall. Winter had been particularly unkind on that day, practically turning all that stepped out of their homes into icicles. Only the brazen (or stupid) dared brave the outdoor mall at such a time. Ong’s sister had dragged him out, insisting he can wear layers and that “this is the best the mall’s gonna be all season”. Best to who, exactly? Polar bears? Penguins? Yetis?
At the very least, he had been compensated. His sister kept him supplied with a steady flow of hot beverages, and she even took glamor shots of him next to pretty decorations for his social media. Though the lack of people bode well for Seongwoo’s selfies, it made the entire mall feel sort of grim. Not very festive at all.
At least, not until Hottie McRedhair showed up, anyways. When the man had caught Seongwoo’s eye, he immediately felt very, very festive. He felt inclined to shimmy down his chimney, so to speak. He imagined singing Santa Baby while sinking into the man’s gorgeous lap - or maybe his mystery man would insist he stay for another drink because, baby, it’s cold outside.
“Ong!” Seongwoo’s older sister roused him from his daydreaming.
“What?!” He jumped up, clasping his heart from the startle.
“I said: what do you want for Christmas?” His older sister huffed, crossing her arms. “Mom’s been texting me nonstop. And don’t say socks again! She says you have to ask for real presents.”
Ong frowned, shaking his head, “I don’t need anything. Literally, I am fine-”
“Ong,” She lowered her voice and gritted her teeth, “She is driving me insane.”
“I’m sorry, but-”
“She and every other Christmas crazy person on this planet is driving me up the wall, okay? Telling mom what you want is one less thing that will be pinging notifications on my phone. Get it?”
“Uh-”
“Do you know what I want for Christmas?”
“Is that a rhetorical-”
“I want some goddamn peace and quiet, Ong Seongwoo! That’s what I want!” She smacked him on the shoulder, her brows knit together in fury. Big sisters were scary.
“Okay, okay- Ow, ow- I’ll- I’ll think of something- stop it!”
“What do you want for Christmas, then?!”
Seongwoo heaved a sigh. He glanced over at the gorgeous man standing between the Christmas trees, and his lips curved upward mischievously. Quirking an eyebrow and nodding in the hottie’s direction, he told his sister:
“I want him.”
His sister’s gaze followed the direction of his nod, “What are you- Oh my god. Is that Kang Daniel?”
“Kang who?” Seongwoo asked.
His sister gave him a murderous glare, wide-eyed and mad, “You. Don’t. Know. Who. That. Is?”
“Uh…” Ong glanced over at the man. He looked beautiful. Was he Instagram famous or something? “Should I?”
“He’s, like the hottest up and coming idol rapper right now. Like- Wh- Hello?! Have you lived in a cave!?” For some reason, she seemed very angry. Seongwoo wasn’t sure why his ignorance offended her so much, but it didn’t really matter. Her anger scared him. That mattered.
“I work and go to school, plus I’m in a school production I- Ow! Stop it! Stop with the smacking I’m-”
“I-” She smacked him, “Can’t,” She smacked him again, “Believe-” (“Ow!” Ong wailed as she punctuated her words with smacks on the shoulders), “You. Don’t. Know. Who. Kang. Daniel. Is!”
“Your disbelief has been established! God- You have- you have unresolved temper issues, you know that!?” Seongwoo huffed, throwing his hands up in self defense.
“You have vision issues! How- how do you- How have you not-”
“Well, that explains why he’s so handsome,” Ong shrugs.
“He is plastered on, like, every billboard- he’s got standees in all the stores. Old people know about him- Grandma knows him, Seongwoo. Grandma!”
“Oh my god- I get it! God, woman,” Seongwoo scoffed. Sisters could be so judgmental. “So I guess he’s not into, uh-”
“He would’ve been way out of your league even if he wasn’t famous,” Noona said frankly.
“Wow, okay, first of all: rude. Secondly: I’m really not feeling the sisterly support-”
“I’m kidding!” She laughed it off, linking her arm around Ong’s.
Suddenly, an ill feeling seeped into his bloodstream, “Where… Are we going?”
“I’m getting a picture,” She said firmly.
“Wh- Are you serious? Aren’t you a bit old to be, like, idol chasing?” Seongwoo asked as his sister dragged him past a row of flamboyant reindeer statues covered in lights.
“Shut up. Don’t care. I’m getting a picture with the famous hot guy - who is, by the way, super kind - and you’re gonna suck it up and take it.”
“Ugh, fine,” Seongwoo conceded defeat. Admittedly, he didn’t really put up a fight regardless. After going away to university while his sister worked overseas, he made an oath to cherish their time together. Even if that meant being dragged toward a very, very attractive man in six below weather while his jingle bells freeze off.
“Oh my god,” Suddenly, Noona’s voice lowered to a whisper, “Oh my god, oh my god. It’s happening, it’s really happening. He’s there- He is right there!” She clapped giddily, like she hadn’t aged since high school. Ong rolled his eyes but indulged her.
“Yes. He is there. Two legs, two arms. A face-”
“You are ruining this for me,” She huffed, shoving her phone into Ong’s hands. “Here, take this, I shall approach. You snap. It’s important we don’t waste his time.”
Seongwoo glanced up at the man between the Christmas trees; he looked very preoccupied, tapping away at his phone, “Yeah. He looks real busy.”
“Shut up!” Noona said one more time before prancing up to the man shyly.
“E-excuse me,” She mumbled meekly. Seongwoo rolled his eyes. How come he got slaps, but this guy got sweet, timid politeness?!
“Hm- Oh!” The handsome man - Daniel - glanced up from his phone in surprise. He raised his brows, looking first at Seongwoo’s sister, then him. Daniel looked confused for a moment, and his eyes lingered on Seongwoo. Seongwoo wanted to somehow assure the guy that he was just tagging along and did not abide by his sister’s weird, celebrity-chasing behavior. Alternatively, that he was very single and very open to any sort of relationship the man had to offer. Neither assurance made it to spoken word, though, as he finally wrenched his eyes from Ong to glance at his sister.
“I’m- I’m sorry, I, um-” Daniel started muttering.
Oh boy, he’s awkward , Ong thought, snickering to himself. It made him more attractive which, in turn, frustrated Seongwoo even more. At least when he was a mystery man, Ong could pretend he had a chance with him. Sure, he would never have spoken to him, but he could pretend. Now that fantasy is dead. He probably had a girlfriend. Or a boyfriend. Or one of each. Maybe two.
“M-may I have a picture?” Seongwoo thanked his sister for saving the day.
“Of- Of course, but I ask that you not post it until tomorrow. Is- Is that okay?” Daniel asked sheepishly. He gave a lopsided grin, and had it not been for the below freezing weather, Ong would have melted.
“Right- Yeah, totally. I- I definitely don’t want, like a- a crowd to form. Right- Um, thank you, can I just-”
“Yeah, here,” Daniel held his arm up. Beaming ear to ear, Seongwoo’s sister skipped happily into her place, ecstatic as the other slung his arm around her shoulder. She looked happier than she had in her graduation photo.
“Okay,” Ong said, “One, two, three… Smile!” He took a shot. Then another and another - because he’s thorough if nothing else.
“Thank you!” His sister tittered happily. She bowed politely to Daniel, repeating herself like a metronome, “Thank you, thank you, thank you so much! Thank you-”
“Thank you,” Ong cut her off with a sense of finality, handing his sister back the phone. She scrolled through the pictures he’d taken enthusiastically, giggling like a mad woman.
“Can- Can I have one, too?” Ong asked out of nowhere. He surprised himself with the words. His sister shot him a wide-eyed look of shock. Daniel merely raised his eyebrows in apparent interest.
“Yeah. Same deal. Just, um, don’t post it tonight in public, please-”
“Yeah, no I would never I,” Seongwoo shook his head, “Yeah, no. That’s not really. I’m not really-” He was about to say ‘into the whole celebrity thing’, but he bit back the response. Sure, he could not in a million years get with the hot idol rapper model who had essentially descended upon the mall looking more beautiful than any present wrapped by Santa could ever be. He could dream, though. He could have a half hug and awkward selfie. Plus, he could lord it over his peers at the theater department. Surely one of them will know of him and, consequently, be super jealous.
“Cool. C’mere,” Daniel gestured similarly with his hand. Ong took out his phone, opening his favorite app and readying his finger over the shutter button.
“Wait,” Daniel said all of a sudden. He glanced at Ong, and Ong swore their eyes locked. Or maybe he was delusional. He liked to go with the first story. Their eyes totally locked. Probably. What Seongwoo could not deny was the gorgeous, dimpled smile that blossomed beautifully across the idol’s face. WHat people said about idols rang true: they played in a completely different league. They played a different game. On a different planet.
“Hm?” Ong asked.
“Let’s go, hm…” Daniel glanced over Ong’s shoulder, scanning the borderline obnoxiously decorarted mall. “Let’s go over there. Change it up a bit. Is that cool?”
“Everything’s cool. It’s below zero,” Ong remarked. He knew the joke had been low brow, and honestly it came out without thought. Apparently, Daniel found it funny, because he snorted, and his face scrunched up adorably with laughter. That both puffed up Ong’s ego and drew his sister’s attention.
“We’ll be right there!” Seongwoo told his sister as he followed Daniel to another spot, “We’re gonna take our selfie over there.” He wiggled his eyebrows just to tease her more. With Daniel around, she couldn’t do anything. No smacking, no yelling.
“Here is good,” Daniel said, looking satisfied with himself. Seongwoo wasn’t sure why he’d thought it necessary to change location, but he appreciated the extra care and time. Lots of people wouldn’t give random fans at the mall the time of day. He’d already gone above and beyond.
“O-Okay,” Seongwoo replied. Suddenly, Daniel’s hand wrapped around Ong’s waist. He froze for a second, his brain not quite computing what had just happened. Even though the air bit his exposed skin, he felt a feverish surge of heat rise up from his toes to his cheeks. Swallowing nervously, he positioned his phone out.
“Here,” Daniel reached for it, “I can take it. I think my arms are a bit longer.” The two were scarcely two centimeters different in height. While Ong doubted the other’s arms were that much longer, he didn’t care enough to protest. Hopefully he hadn’t just handed his phone over to a crazy, sexy con man. As if telepathically reading his hesitance, Daniel reassured him, “I promise, I’m not gonna steal it.”
“Yeah- Yeah, no I wouldn’t have assumed that.”
“Okay, I’m gonna take a few, so… Smile,” Daniel said.
Seongwoo followed, smiling pleasantly and angling his face slightly toward Daniel. It had absolutely nothing to do with how attractive he was - that just happened to be his good angle! The shutter noise went off, and Daniel announced:
“Okay, another one.”
Seongwoo posed again, throwing up a peace sign for fun. Daniel did the same before snapping another pic. The two took a third, this one with tiny finger hearts, and another normal one.
“Okay, I think those turned out good,” Seongwoo said. He already felt higher than Santa’s sleigh on Christmas night; he didn’t need to take any more of the very, very extremely handsome man’s time.
“Wait,” Daniel insisted, “Just one more.”
“Sure. One more,” Seongwoo nodded in agreement, flashing the man a grin. Daniel looked him in the eyes - this time, without a doubt - and he grinned widely. Seongwoo felt his heart flutter and dance inside his chest, and his cheeks stung anew. His eyes wandered down to Daniel’s lips. They looked so plush, so inviting so-
So unattainable. Seongwoo quickly put his feet back on the ground and turned to glance at his camera.
“I’m ready when you are,” He muttered, giving another grin to the camera lense.
Daniel nodded, counting down, “Three… Two… One-”
“Click!!” The shutter noise sounded out, immortalizing the moment that followed forever.
Seongwoo’s eyes went wide, and he froze completely.
Daniel had kissed him. Daniel was kissing him. Daniel’s lips were on his. His soft, plush, supple lips were currently on Seongwoo’s. Not one to turn away a good opportunity, Seongwoo rapidly picked up the pieces of his composure to return the kiss. His eyes fluttered shut, and he pressed his lips gingerly against the others. He’d been freezing all night, and for the first time he felt warm.
Not warm.
Hot.
Boiling and bubbling from the inside out.
But, all good things had to end, and just as quickly as it had happened, Daniel drew away. He left a very dazed, starry-eyed Seongwoo in his wake. Ong’s consolation was that, for some reason, Daniel looked almost as shocked as he.
Whether due to his idol training or time in front of a camera, Daniel managed to at least pretend he’d collected himself. He blinked away the funky stars in his eyes, leaving only the regular ones that lived there. Slapping a lopsided smile on his face, he pointed upward.
“Mistletoe,” He said cheekily.
Seongwoo’s eyes followed Daniel’s fingers. The man spoke truth: a mistletoe did, in fact, hang above them.
“Oh,” Seongwoo said, letting out a laugh. At least, a laugh had been intended. More of a choking noise came out, but if Daniel noticed how peculiar it sounded, he neglected to comment. Thank god. “I- I didn’t even notice.”
Daniel let go of Ong’s waist, much to the student’s dismay. He cooled down ten degrees from the lack of contact.
“I’m- Um,” The idol scratched the back of his head sheepishly, “I’m sorry I know that was, uh- I didn’t think I would do that I just- um-”
“I promise I won’t post that one,” Seongwoo said. “You can even delete it if you want to,” He started extending his phone toward the other, but Daniel waved it away.
“No, don’t worry about it. I… I trust you,” Daniel said. His last words appeared to surprise even himself.
“You sure about that?” Seongwoo asked frankly.
“I… Yeah. I- I know I shouldn’t. I’d never, ever do that with someone random, but you… I-” Daniel chuckled awkwardly, “I just feel like I can trust you.” His words sounded more sure that time. A weird feeling swelled in Ong’s chest because of it. He wondered if Daniel acted genuinely or if he’d been trained in acting, too. He didn’t seem to be acting, and Ong prided himself on having a decent bullshit meter.
“Well… You can,” Seongwoo reassured the other, “But- but don’t take my word for it.”
“Okay,” Daniel said with another chuckle. “Yeah, right, um, well… I- Thank you for- for being so cool, and-”
“Nah, I should thank you. You’re all famous and stuff. Most celebrities wouldn’t bother with us,” Seongwoo looked toward his sister who seemed to have missed the kiss (thank the high heavens).
“To be honest… I usually wouldn’t either,” Daniel admitted. “But there’s no commotion here. That’s why I went out on the coldest day possible.”
Seongwoo laughed, “That’s what my sister said, too. It’s the best day for shopping because the mall isn’t hell.”
“Smart girl,” Daniel said. The two started to stride back toward the Christmas trees were Ong’s sister waited.
“You know what? She is,” Ong agreed for once. “She, um, she said you were kind, and she was actually right.”
“Well good,” Daniel replied with a cute smile. “I’m glad you think so.”
“A bit opportunistic, though,” Seongwoo couldn’t help the jab. Sarcasm came to him like air, and he prayed that the man would take the joke.
Thankfully, he did, laughing in response. Seongwoo watched the other again, drinking in every little thing he could memorize. Dimples, perfect, straight teeth, crescent eyes… He truly was otherworldly. The type of man Seongwoo could never hope to actually have. He got one kiss, and in that moment, it dawned on him what a privilege it had been.
“Am I?”
“Just a little,” Seongwoo continued teasing. The two chuckled until reaching Ong’s sister, who smiled at them brightly.
“Did you get some good pics?” She asked enthusiastically; her age truly seemed to turn back a decade. Daniel and Seongwoo exchanged mischievous glances before Ong answered her.
“Yeah, we, uh, got some real good ones,” He said, a massive smirk on his face.
“Oh- Can I see? Can I see?”
“Later,” Seongwoo insisted. “I believe you owe me a hot chocolate.”
“I’ve bought you two already,” She pouted.
“And I finished my second one awhile ago. Come on, let’s go. Daniel has holiday shopping to do, and it’s not often he can go out without people swarming him.”
“Stop talking like the older brother,” All of her youthful wonder shrivelled up, and once again his dry, determined sister had returned in the place of the joyful little fangirl.
“May I have hot cocoa please?” Ong asked. He turned to Daniel, flashing him a grin before bidding him a bittersweet farewell, “Um, thank you again.” He said a bit more timidly than he had wanted to.
“No problem,” Daniel replied. Seongwoo couldn’t quite read what the smile on his face meant. Was he happy? It looked mischievous - had something humored him? Or was it just a PR smile?
“Yes, thank you again, so much!” Ong’s sister butted in to thank Daniel. Again.
“Have a Merry Christmas, you two,” Daniel gave the Ongs a wave before turning on his heel and striding off in the opposite direction.
They both watched him leave, not moving until his silhoutte disappeared around a corner. After a brief pause, they exchanged glances and heaved a collective sigh.
“You were right about him,” Ong admitted.
“He’s even hotter in person. How is that possible?” His sister lamented. They took one another arm in arm, walking off in the opposite direction slowly.
“His shoulders are- are so broad.”
“Strong,” Noona nodded affirmatively, “Strong shoulders.”
“Yes, and- and his smile? Like- what?!”
“Like- like sunshine and angels had a baby! And that baby was- was like a puppy!”
“A sexy puppy.”
“Ew, that’s weird.”
“You’re right, I regretted it just as I said it. But, like, you can’t deny he’s like…”
“He’s more than ‘like’, brother. He’s… He’s just-”
The two resorted to crude gestures to describe the man they’d had the fortune of meeting. However, they concluded that nothing could quite adequately describe Kang Daniel. Soon, the two moved on from the topic. They continued shopping, and Ong got his third hot chocolate. The two shopped until they dropped, hands numb and noses dripping.
Of course, Seongwoo could never quite get Kang Daniel out of his mind. Needless to say, after the event he knew who Kang Daniel was. If he said that he didn’t follow the man on social media and in the news, he’d be lying.
Though they had been nothing but strangers back then, looking back Ong likes to think of that encounter as their first Christmas together.