Chapter Text
Christmas lights on every house, snow covering sidewalks, and carols being played on every radio. It was the stereotypical Christmas season, joyful and carefree.
Yeonjun and Soobin were two best friends who always celebrated the chilly season together. Whenever their family wasn’t there for the holidays, they seeked comfort in each other. Every year, they would hang out in the snow while eating popsicles. Sometimes it’d be late at night, when the wind hits hardest, other times they’d be there at sunrise, when the sun makes the snow glimmer. Whatever time it was, the two would be giggling and eating popsicles side by side.
This year, it was nothing out of the ordinary. The same neighborhood, putting on the same lights, the same carols being sung, and the same two friends in the snow. Everything stayed the same, and everyone was fine with it, there was no need for change.
Just like a tradition, Soobin stood outside the convenience store, waiting for Yeonjun to buy the popsicles. Yeonjun finally appears from the exit, and hands over the stuff he bought to Soobin. “You know, you should really pay me back by now.” he says alongside a chuckle. “Oh shut up, my friendship can’t be compared to $6 can it?” Soobin says while ripping open the wrapper. “I mean — that is true, but you could’ve just said you’re broke.” Soobin lightly shoves Yeonjun as a reaction to what he said. “We should start walking before our feet get stuck in the snow." Yeonjun says while fixing his boots.
They both take a short walk to reach the playground, but the so-called “short” walk felt like 40 minutes because of the two friends almost slipping every three seconds. If it weren’t for them traveling as a duo, one of them would’ve probably had a concussion right now. But they made it to their destination unharmed and with finished popsicles. In their sight, they see a playground covered in the slippery snow. A swing, monkey bars, a slide, a seesaw, and a small playhouse, the cliché town playground, one that looks similar to every other one, yet holding the most unique memories.
Looking at the scene, Soobin couldn’t help but stand still and savor the beauty. Yeonjun was staring too, but at Soobin instead.
…
“Last one to sit on the swings smells like rotten eggs!” Soobin says while running at full speed towards the swing set. Yeonjun almost falls over after being caught off guard. He tried to catch up but Soobin was already on the swings. “Not fair! You caught me off guard!” Soobin just laughs and says “That’s what you get for being so old.” Thinking swiftly, Yeonjun grabs a fistful of snow and throws it directly at Soobin’s face. The snow hitting him, he falls from the swing, landing on his back. Soobin fights back by using two handfuls of snow, and a snowball fight begins.
The two friends threw snowballs left and right, some hitting but most missed the target. Running around, using the playground structures as hiding areas, and their hands becoming snowball machine guns, the two act like it was a fight for survival. It was all going great until Yeonjun throws a snowball at Soobin, when he falls down to the ground and covers his face using his cold hands. Yeonjun panics and runs to his friend, stammering before asking him questions. “A-are you okay?! Did I hit you too hard... Oh god are you bleeding!?” Hands on his face, Soobin stands up and shouts “I got you!” and throws a big ball of snow at Yeonjun. Before he gets to stand up, Soobin takes out his polaroid camera and snaps a picture of his friend laid down on the snow, looking betrayed.
The fight continues until the duo get tired, and they lay down on the snow covered grass. With a sigh, Yeonjun says “I can’t believe we’re turning a year older! Aren’t you excited for high school?” — High school, those words scared Soobin to the bone, but he couldn’t show. Instead, he just chuckles to hide his fear, and changes the topic by showing the polaroid that came out from his camera. “Yeonjuneah high school... it seems fun — look at this though!” Yeonjun grabs the polaroid and says “Oh c’mon, you should be thankful that I asked if you were okay.”
The two laugh for a few minutes, but Soobin cuts it off. “Well, I should get going now. I need to go home early because of some stuff, do you wanna meet again tomorrow?” Yeonjun nods and bumps Soobin’s fist before he walks away. Looking at the sky, he thinks to himself, “God, he's adorable.” but after getting lost in thought, he notices the polaroid he took from Soobin. “Ah, I should really return this tomorrow.” he shoves it in his pocket, and starts to walk home.
On Soobin’s trail home, he starts worrying about high school. He's moving to the US for his father's work. Meaning he’ll have to leave Korea, and sadly leave Yeonjun. He couldn't bear the thought of leaving his friend behind. Though phones and texting exist, they don’t feel as good as casually chatting with each other physically. That’s why he takes pictures of his shenanigans with Yeonjun whenever he can, to take to the US and to remember his best memories. About to reach into his pocket, he realizes that the polaroid was left with Yeonjun, but he didn’t mind.
Once he reaches home, he sees the almost empty house. Instead of being filled with Christmas decorations, it was filled with boxes. Labeled with names like “Kitchen” or “Living Room”. It made the mood a lot more gloomy if he were to be honest, but it was all to make another big step in his family’s life. “Soobin, make sure you have your things prepared. We’re leaving in 2 weeks.” his dad says while taping up another box. Hearing those words, he just nods and says a quiet “Mhm.”
Going to his room, he brings out the thick photo book filled with all the polaroid photos he has. Whenever he does this, it’s usually to put a new one in, or to just skim through and look at the pages. However this time he brings out a newer photo book, to transfer some of the old photos onto a new one so both friends can have a small snippet of their memories. He’s a very observant person, which means he knows what photos Yeonjun has taken a certain liking to. After picking out the ones he knows Yeonjun likes, he flips through to the last page. With a black marker, he writes down “Created by the most handsome, talented, awesome, extraordinary Soobin” with a small smiley face next to it.
After preparing a small gift and now tucked into bed, he starts worrying about how he’ll break the news. Twisting and turning both his thoughts and body, he settles on saying his goodbyes the day before he’s going.