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Gwanghwamun Market was always the most enjoyable during the Christmas season. The bustling little town square sported a variety of different restaurants, photo opportunities, and fun couple activities for families such as ice skating and Korean street food stalls. During Christmastime, the small market would usually open its gates to visitors and tourists, allowing couples and families to enjoy cozy Christmases around the market’s infamous Christmas tree that casted a warm glow over all the stalls and visitors wandering around the market.
And to Mingyu, this seemed like the perfect place to bring his boyfriend to during the holidays.
Wonwoo and Mingyu’s sturdy snow boots trekked through the thick layer of Seoul’s first snow, the sub-zero temperature leading Wonwoo to cling onto Mingyu’s arm, which the former obviously didn’t mind.
“Mingyu-yah, what if someone sees us here?” Wonwoo asked worriedly, looking up at the taller man.
“The market is small enough that nobody will know us, so don’t worry hyung.” Mingyu reassured him, seeing Wonwoo’s shoulders subtly deflate like a weight was lifted off him.
The two continued to travel through the streets of Seoul, chatting about their future plans for when they made it to Gwanghwamun Square. Mingyu decided he wanted to visit all of the food stalls, while Wonwoo wanted to go shopping, buying handcrafted Christmas gifts while also supporting small businesses.
By the time they made it to the center of the market, tourists were already gathered around the huge Christmas tree. People stopped to take pictures under the glowing tree—layers of soft light reflecting off of the fresh snow.
Wonwoo sucked in a breath, stopping without realizing it.
“Like what you see?” Mingyu asked, shoulder brushing against Wonwoo’s when he moved to stand next to him.
Wonwoo giggled, “Don’t say it like that!” he whispered, playfully hitting Mingyu’s arm.
They both walked over to the first food stall they saw, Mingyu stopping every three seconds to say, “Wait hyung this smells good!” and Wonwoo having to drag him away. Mingyu suddenly grabbed Wonwoo’s hand, pulling him towards a hotteok stand. Wonwoo sighed, but still let himself be dragged around by Mingyu, tasting different street foods and looking at different crafts.
“Oooooh hyung. Look at this!” Mingyu grinned, holding up a piece of eomuk that was bigger than his own face. Wonwoo chuckled, wordlessly holding up his camera he had brought to capture a picture of Mingyu trying to fit one of the fish cake pieces into his mouth without dropping the skewer.
Before they knew it, they made their way back to the gigantic tree lighting up the entire market. Wonwoo was no longer pointing out small details or complaining when Mingyu walked too quickly—and Mingyu noticed. He intertwined his hand with Wonwoo’s, “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
Wonwoo nodded, his grip on Mingyu’s hand tightening. “You know I never really celebrated Christmas as a kid… It’s nice to be able to celebrate it here with you.” he explained slowly. Mingyu knew that the holidays were a touchy subject for Wonwoo, so he didn’t want to push him, just let him explain himself instead, one step at a time.
“When we celebrated Christmas it was quiet. Like we were forced to buy presents for each other. Like we were forced become a family.” Wonwoo’s voice trailed off, his eyes still fixed onto the glowing Christmas tree.
“Then we’ll make this the best Christmas ever,” Wonwoo turned to look at Mingyu, “together.” Mingyu promised, pecking Wonwoo on the cheek.
“Yeah,” Wonwoo agreed, leaning in closer, “together.” He hovered for a second, but then finally closed the distance between them. It was just a little kiss—a soft press of their lips—but it still had Mingyu giggling like he was a teenager all over again.
Maybe Christmas together was a good idea after all.
𓏲𑁘 𓏲੭
“Mingyu-yah, remember that one stall we went to?”
Wonwoo asked, leading Mingyu to a bench not far from the tree in the middle of Gwanghwamun Market.
“I dunno, hyung. You dragged me to a lot of stalls.” Mingyu teased, leaning into Wonwoo’s side.
Wonwoo scoffed, “Great. Well when you were exploring the food stalls, I wanted to buy you something.” He reached behind them, pulling out a simple brown bag. Mingyu carefully took it from Wonwoo’s hands, peeking into the bag. “You’re always so close to me, so I assumed you were cold.” Mingyu reached in and pulled out a beautiful, handmade scarf from one of the vendors in the market.
“It’s perfect, Wonwoo hyung.” Mingyu gasped, already moving to wrap the fabric around his neck. He played with the ends of the scarf for a moment, eyes fixed on the fabric like it might disappear if he looked away for too long.
“You didn’t have to do this,” he said quietly.
Wonwoo shrugged, pretending not to notice how he heard Mingyu’s breath hitched. “I wanted to though.”
Mingyu laughed under his breath, then leaned forward, pressing his forehead briefly against Wonwoo’s shoulder. “You always do this,” he murmured, voice slightly muffled against Wonwoo’s jacket. “You act like it’s nothing, but you think about everything.”
He straightened suddenly, eyes lighting up. “Wait. Close your eyes.”
Wonwoo frowned but did as he was told, feeling Mingyu shuffle around in front of him. A moment later, something cool and solid was pressed into his palm.
“Okay. Open.”
It was small—simple, even. A tiny wooden fox ornament, carved carefully with a red ribbon looped through the top.
“I saw it when you were taking pictures,” Mingyu said. “The guy said it was for protection. And… well. It reminded me of you.”
Wonwoo stared at it for a long second before his fingers curled around it. “Gyu,” he whispered, blinking hard.
“You really got this for me? Because it reminded you of me?” he asked, almost sheepishly. “And- and you saw that I was taking pictures of you?”
Mingyu laughed, cold puffs of winter air drifting away into the sky around them. “I always know when there’s a camera on me.”
Mingyu smiled, stepping closer and tugging the scarf a little tighter around his own neck before reaching out to cup Wonwoo’s cold hands between his. Snow had started falling again, slow and quiet, dusting their shoulders and hair.
“Next year,” Mingyu said softly, “let’s come back here. And the year after that. We can make this our thing.”
Wonwoo nodded, leaning into Mingyu’s chest, the sounds of the market fading into the background. The Christmas lights reflected in the snow, warm and steady—nothing forced, nothing lonely.
Just them.
Maybe Christmas under Gwanghwamun’s sparkling tree wasn’t as bad as Wonwoo originally thought it would be. They would be together, after all.