Chapter Text
The holidays were approaching for Hyosan High School and the school was abuzz for the winter break. Everyone had to worry about the need to study for their exams as well as the urge to just relax for winter break. In the depths of the school library, one particular student was trying to decide between the two and needless to say, it wasn’t really going well.
Cheong San was bent over his books, trying to study for his world history exam and to be honest, he was just drawing a blank. Groaning, he fought the urge to slam his head down and he began to complain, “It should be a crime for exams to be held two weeks before Christmas…”
Onjo looked over at Cheong San and she eyed his textbook with an amused expression, “Oh come on, it’s not that hard. We only need to study the Americas and Europe.”
“I don’t want to hear that from the person who thought that the French and Italians were the same people.” Cheong San eyed her with an accusatory look and Onjo sputtered at his direct remark, trying to save face.
“Yah! I told you that was an honest mistake! I thought they were synonyms!” Onjo moved to kick Cheong San in the shin and he immediately turned his legs away to avoid her kick. She only managed to get the back of his heel before he countered back.
“How the fuck are they synonyms? Explain that to me.” Cheong San asked blatantly and the two of them continued to fight over whether the honest mistake made Onjo racist or not and it wasn’t until a certain campus crush intervened to stop them.
A book was held between them, obscuring their vision of each other and Cheong San stalled in his argument and blinked for a moment before feeling an arm make itself at home around his shoulder. Knowing who it was immediately, Cheong San looked up to find one of his best friends, Suhyeok, grinning at the two of them (moreso him, but he didn’t pay it any mind. He was kind of used to it by now).
“What are you two arguing about this time?” Suhyeok asked before he raised his book and lightly smacked Cheong San on the head, earning a little yelp from him. Onjo flushed a little bit at Suhyeok’s presence and Cheong San just happened to miss her reaction since he was busy giving his best friend a playful glare, “You guys are in a library.”
“We were talking about the French and Italians incident.” Cheong San grumbled, passively noticing Suhyeok put his book down on the table to wrap his other arm around his shoulders.
“Really?” A flash of recognition crossed Suhyeok’s features as he thought back to that incident with a snicker of laughter, “You’re never gonna let Onjo live that down, are you? It was an honest lapse of judgment.”
“See?! Exactly! You’re just petty Cheong San-ah! Just let it go!” Onjo exclaimed, thankful that Suhyeok cut her some slack and Cheong San decided to play into that pettiness a little bit more.
“Nah, it’s precious ammunition. I think I’m gonna hold it over you forever …” Cheong San sneered at Onjo and she proceeded to try to kick him again. Suhyeok laughed, attempting to shield Cheong San from her attacks and when they finally calmed down, he slipped into the seat next to him.
“So how’s studying going for you guys?” Suhyeok asked and Cheong San groaned emphatically again, letting his head rest on his propped hand.
“Not great. I still can’t believe we have to learn half of the world’s history by Thursday.” Cheong San griped and Onjo corrected him again.
“It’s not half of the world’s history. We just need to study the specific periods where our country was involved in the politics of the world.” Onjo explained to Cheong San one more time and he let out a little whine at the idea that he had to put more information into his brain. He just wanted to move onto the other subjects.
Suhyeok nodded and he decided to switch the topic of the conversation to something else, hoping to get a specific person’s attention, “Hey, are you guys gonna go to the Mistletoe Envoy confessional today?”
Perking up at the mention of the name, Cheong San waited for Onjo’s response first before giving his two cents, “Oh yeah! Of course I’m gonna go!”
Cheong San rolled his eyes and he sent a disapproving look towards Onjo, “You’re seriously going to fall for that scam again?”
Onjo huffed and she crossed her arms, arguing back, “Yah, it’s not a scam! They actually manage to make Christmas miracles come true. Even the people who seem to be the least compatible with each other magically become a match made in heaven!”
For context, the Mistletoe Envoy was an event set up by several students seeking to help make the wishes of other students come true, within reason of course. Most of it consisted of romantic wishes, vying for a specific person, and amazingly enough, they had a good track record. Whether it be serenading with romantic ballads, extremely convenient mistletoe placements, or coincidentally generating events where the targeted two people have to work together on something, they never failed. Not even once. Of course, there were other types of holiday requests as well such as getting gifts for those who can’t afford them and other Christmas miracles. The list was kinda endless… and excessive.
Most people praised the ideas of the Mistletoe Envoy, rumored to be the mastermind behind the operations of the confessional. The whole process is anonymous though; no one knows who the Mistletoe Envoy is and anyone who’s worked for them are also rumored to be under an NDA. Of course, these are all rumors Cheong San’s heard, but he’s not sure if they’re true.
His mouth hanging open in disapproval, Cheong San looked over to Suhyeok to ask him the same question, “Are you going to the confessional?”
There was something that Cheong San couldn’t place in Suhyeok’s eyes as the latter didn’t answer him for a moment. It made something click within Cheong San because Suhyeok’s never gone to the confessional before. If Cheong San had to describe the feeling, it would be anxiety, but why in the world was he anxious about Suhyeok’s answer or even the fact he brought it up?
“Yeah, I’m going to the confessional.” Suhyeok said so easily with that gosh darn smile as if he didn’t know the implications behind what he just said and Cheong San let out an exclamation before he could stop himself.
“What?!” Cheong San exclaimed and he heard Onjo say the same behind him simultaneously. He whipped his head around to look at the girl incredulously, wondering why she was so surprised Suhyeok was actually going. A little something was nagging at him from within, something that told him that he already knew the answer, but whether or not they said it for the same reasons or not, only time will tell.
Some time later, Cheong San headed back to class, trying his best to keep up the normal conversations and he figured he did a good job at hiding his shock and dismay. Hell, he even went as far as to tease Suhyeok for finally going to the confessional.
“So who’s the lucky lady you’re gonna woo this Christmas? Do I know her? Are you sure you need the Mistletoe Envoy’s help in getting a girlfriend this Christmas? Look at yourself man! You could get anyone without even trying.” Cheong San asked, tilting his head to the side teasingly and probing Suhyeok for more details. He kinda cringed at himself for asking so many questions as he wasn’t sure if he even wanted to know any of the details, but he’s gotta be supportive right? Why wouldn’t he be supportive?
“You know, for someone who doesn’t care about the Mistletoe Envoy, you sure seem to be very interested in my request.” Suhyeok pointed out with an easy smile and Cheong San bit his lip and looked away for a moment before trying to think of a counterpoint, “I mean, what makes you so sure that it’s romance-related?”
Suhyeok got him there and Cheong San, like clockwork, knew a rebuttal to that.
“That’s what everyone goes to the Mistletoe Envoy for. It’s right in the name! Mistletoe? The tradition associated with it? Coincidence? I think not!” Cheong San retorted, absolutely confident in his reasoning and he prayed that Suhyeok wouldn’t push any further into it because that meant asking questions about himself that he wasn’t ready for.
“Fair enough. I need the envoy’s help because this person’s particularly dense.” Suhyeok relented and he let it slip that there was indeed a person involved and Cheong San’s first reaction was to do a victory pump with his fist because he guessed it right.
“So it is a person! Oh my god! Bare-su! The campus crush is about to be taken off the market!” Cheong San forced himself to squeal and he slapped Suhyeok’s shoulder repeatedly in excitement. The taller boy tried to lean away from him to no avail and then he managed to grab Cheong San’s wrists.
Drawing the smaller boy closer, Suhyeok set Cheong San’s hands down gently and he looked into his eyes as if he were searching for something, “Maybe… but I’m not gonna tell you who it is.”
Cheong San pouted and he whined back, employing his signature puppy dog eyes that he knew would always work on Suhyeok. Or at least, he thought they always worked, “But whyyyyy? Oh! It’s someone who’s dense right? It has to be Namra! I don’t think she talks to anyone other than you.”
Suhyeok fought a grin from coming its way onto his face and he held himself back from ruining their friendship in one go. Cheong San was really too cute, even when he was guessing and trying his hardest to be supportive. Even if Cheong San himself hasn’t realized it yet, Suhyeok could already tell there was a slight shift in his behavior due to his feelings about the whole thing. That’s how close they are to each other.
“First of all, she’s getting better at talking to people. And secondly, even though you are my best friend and I love you to bits, I think I’m going to selfishly enjoy this.” Suhyeok said softly and Cheong San blinked, letting the words sink in. They were oddly close, which wasn’t weird for them but Cheong San wasn’t sure whether to read into the close proximity or not.
Wait, why the hell would he even need to read into it? What did he mean that he was going to selfishly enjoy this? Why did it seem directly aimed at him? Wait, this isn’t about him!
“Enjoy what?” Cheong San asked innocently, unaware of the fact that Suhyeok was already enjoying what was going to come in this holiday season.
“How it’s going to play out with the Mistletoe Envoy.” Suhyeok simply said before he clapped Cheong San affectionately on the shoulder and headed to class.
Cheong San looked after Suhyeok as he walked away and he stared for a moment to ponder what the hell he meant by that. Looking over his shoulder at Cheong San, the two of them shared one of those looks that conveyed so many unsaid things: what they want to say to each other, things they refuse to admit to each other, and yet there was a hope that they would understand each other in the end.
Sighing, Cheong San jogged after Suhyeok, calling after him as he thought about what he said, “Hyeokie! You’re not making any sense as usual!”
During class, Cheong San passed a note over to Gyeong Su, wanting to talk after class and the other boy took one look at the note before giving him a nod. The Mistletoe Envoy confessional event was taking place after school, so Cheong San had to talk to Gyeong Su quickly before it started. Once class was over, Cheong San bid goodbye to his friends, including Suhyeok, and he dragged Gyeong Su out of class before he could say anything.
“Dude dude dude! What’s this all about? Did you need something? I have to get going soon.” Gyeong Su asked once Cheong San got them to a safe place and the latter came right out and said it.
“I know you’re the Mistletoe Envoy, Su.” Cheong San said bluntly and Gyeong Su immediately shushed him, looking around the hallways to see if anyone heard him and once the close was clear, he responded.
“So, you’ve found out my secret identity, huh? How’d you find out?” Gyeong Su asked smoothly, not afraid in the slightest that Cheong San knew who he was, and there was a reason for that.
“Yeah, we don’t need to do this again. You literally told me this last year.” Cheong San deadpanned at Gyeong Su and the two of them looked at each other before they let out a good-natured laugh.
“Ok, ok! But did you need something, Sannie? Cause I need to get to the auditorium for the holiday event.” Gyeong Su gave Cheong San the floor to speak and it took a tense moment before the latter decided to come right out and say it.
“Bare-su and Onjo are both going to the confessional today.” Cheong San told Gyeong Su and the other boy’s eyes widened like saucer plates, immediately understanding the gravity of the situation and why Cheong San seemed so on-edge.
“Oh shit, they’re both going? You do realize what this means, right?” Gyeong Su asked and Cheong San slapped his best friend’s arm, sending a glare at him, “Ow!”
“Of course I know what it means! Why do you think I came to you?” Cheong San said quickly, shaking his hands to drive out the nerves at the thought of it and Gyeong Su observed his best friend’s nervous behavior for a moment before trying to piece it all together.
“Ok ok! Whose request are you more worried about? Suhyeok’s? Or Onjo’s?” Gyeong Su asked the first important question because within their friend group, they’ve always teased Cheong San about either Suhyeok or Onjo because he’s close to both of them. Gyeong Su knew about Cheong San’s feelings for Onjo and how they’ve persisted for the longest time, but Cheong San wouldn’t have brought up Suhyeok’s decision to try the Mistletoe Envoy if he wasn’t worried about who it was.
Cheong San stalled in his train of thought for a moment before trying to answer Gyeong Su’s question, “W-What do you mean? Onjo’s, of course. W-Why would I be worried about Bare-su’s request?”
Gyeong Su sported this accusatory expression that probed straight into Cheong San’s soul and the latter wished that he wouldn’t call him out on his bullshit, which he usually does. Unfortunately, this time was no different.
“San-ah, you know that she’s gonna make her request about Suhyeok, right?” Gyeong Su stated honestly and Cheong San felt himself deflate from the truth. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, he already got the sense that Onjo was going to find a way to confess to Suhyeok. He wasn’t dumb. He could tell that Onjo has harbored feelings for Suhyeok for quite some time now and he tried to avoid her questions about what Suhyeok likes or whether he talked about her or not.
“I know…” Cheong San said meekly and he tried to come up with an excuse for Suhyeok because there really should be no reason why he can’t be supportive for his other best friend, “And Suhyeok’s gonna make his Christmas wish about Namra and they’re gonna get together and they’re gonna be so great… and why wouldn’t I be happy for him?”
His best friend looked like he was on the verge of falling apart and Gyeong Su couldn’t bear to watch anymore. His friend surprisingly kept his feelings for both Suhyeok and Onjo well hidden, Suhyeok even more so, but this holiday season might be his breaking point. If Gyeong Su had to guess when it started, it would probably be last Christmas when Cheong San got Suhyeok an autographed baseball by his favorite team, the Seum Wolves.
Gyeong Su wasn’t going to make Cheong San come right out and say it because he had faith that his friend was going to somehow figure it out himself, so he relented and finally asked the question, “Ok, what do you need me to do?”
Cheong San felt incredibly guilty and it was showing across his features. He was hesitant to ask, but he wanted Gyeong Su’s approval first, “Gyeong Su-ah, if I ask for your help… your perfect matchmaking streak’s gonna be broken.”
Gyeong Su nodded, fully aware of that and he already knew what his answer was going to be, “Dude, your happiness is more important to me than some holiday gig. Besides, it’s not gonna be necessarily broken if you put in a request right now.”
Knowing exactly what Gyeong Su meant by that, Cheong San grinned and he rushed forward to wrap his best friend in a bear hug. He didn’t know what was going to happen with this request, but what he did know was that he had to stop Onjo from confessing to Suhyeok at all costs.
“What do you want for Christmas, Cheong San-ah?”
A pause. A moment. A chance.
“.... Suhyeok.”