Chapter 14: How do you plan to spend this Christmas?

The seemingly endless final assignments were finally over. One such day, the streets were adorned with crude decorations made of LED lights and the familiar melodies of Christmas carols.

“Oppa, what’s wrong?”
“Huh?”

I was eating with two friends in the food court of a large supermarket’s basement level.

“No, you were just spacing out.”
“Yeah. What’s wrong, Dojin? Doesn’t it taste good?”

It wasn’t that I had lost my appetite. I was just momentarily distracted by the news playing on the television in the center of the food court.

“I was just thinking, this year is almost over.”
“That’s true. Time flies. We’ll be juniors next year.”

Garyeon said in a melancholic voice, lowering her head. Seolha, seeing this, made a dumbfounded expression and poked Garyeon’s back.

“Um… Garyeon, we’ll be seniors next year. We have to finish our portfolios and prepare for our graduation projects.”
“If you hate it that much, just repeat the year. You can stay with me for another year.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Seolha flicked Garyeon’s forehead.

<What are your plans for this Christmas…?>

A reporter on the street was asking citizens this question.

An elderly woman who wanted to spend it with her family, a child shouting that they would finally meet Santa Claus this year, a young man who wanted to relieve his work fatigue by sleeping.
Various people, with various expressions, spoke their wishes on television.

“Dojin, do you have any ideas? For your graduation project.”

Seolha asked, pulling Garyeon’s cheek.

“No, I have a few ideas, but no concrete plans yet. But well, there’s still plenty of time to think. It’ll work out somehow.”
“R-Right… It’ll work out. Let’s not think about such depressing things now and think about what movies to watch at the party tomor— Ouch!”
“You’re the one who brought it up, Garyeon…?”

Garyeon’s cheek stretched like a rice cake under Seolha’s hand.
I watched their antics for a moment, then turned my attention back to the television.

—How do you plan to spend this Christmas?
—Uh, w-with my b-boyfriend.

A woman, her head down, answered the reporter’s playful question in a barely audible voice.

—We’re having a party at my place. It’s okay, really.

A man, presumably her boyfriend, spoke up for her, and the reporter watched them with a warm smile.

“That’s so embarrassing to watch.”

Seolha, watching the television, blushed and fiddled with her hair.

“Y-Yeah… Um, w-what about you, oppa?”
“Huh?”

Garyeon, looking at my face, quickly turned away.

“N-Nothing. I was just wondering what movie we’ll be watching at the party. You know, the dinosaur movie you recommended last time was fun.”

Seeing Garyeon, who didn’t used to like movies, now completely immersed and looking forward to the next movie, made me happy, but also put pressure on me to choose a good one.
There were many movies I wanted to recommend, but what would be good for a Christmas party?

“What? No, it’s a fun movie, but not for a party.”

The Silence of the Lambs.
The movie Seolha mentioned playfully was a psychological thriller about a police officer who, to catch a gruesome serial killer, seeks advice from another imprisoned serial killer, a former psychiatrist skilled in psychology and mind-reading, who murdered nine patients to satisfy his cannibalistic urges.

It was a captivating movie, but with its gruesome and disturbing scenes, it was a bit much for a party, especially on Christmas, celebrating the birth of Jesus.

“Why?”

Seolha pouted, seeing my expression.

“You know, since you’ve seen it. There are some gruesome scenes, it’s not really suitable for a party.”
“So what?”
“What?”
“You can just turn your head and look at me when a scary scene comes on.”

Seolha shrugged with a smirk. She looked incredibly smug.

“What are you talking about?”
“You were so scared while watching that movie. Trembling and chattering your teeth. I thought it would be a shame for me to be the only one to see that.”

Heat rushed to my face. Why did she still remember that?

“…You were trembling beside me too. Don’t you remember spilling your cola?”
“D-Did I?”

Seolha, who had been poking my nose playfully, suddenly blushed. Garyeon, watching from the side, spoke.

“Did you watch it together?”
“Ah, it just happened…”
“It completely ruined my immersion, thanks to her.”

Seolha seemed to have forgotten what she had done that day. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be acting so smug.

“Really? Should I tell everyone?”
“H-Hey. Why are you being like this? It was a joke~. Are you seriously holding onto that?”
“Garyeon, so what happened that day was…”
“Whoa, whoa!”

Seolha’s hand clamped over my mouth, preventing me from revealing the truth.

…Her hand is on my lips…
Should I say it or not? How long is she going to keep it there?

“It must have been a really fun movie.”

Garyeon’s expression seemed somewhat gloomy.

“Garyeon, what’s wrong? Did I say something wrong again?”
“What?”
“No, your expression…”
“What about my expression? I’m not thinking anything.”

Garyeon blinked, her expression puzzled.

“Really? I must have been mistaken. Anyway, Chae Seolha, I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that story.”
“Oh, okay. It was a joke. I wouldn’t actually play that at the party.”

It was already night when we finished chatting and went outside. The signs plastered on the buildings were lighting up one by one.

“Ugh, it’s cold.”
“It wasn’t this cold earlier. Brrr…”

They shivered and pulled their necks into their padding jackets like turtles.

There it is again. No matter how quickly I try to finish and move on to something else, I end up like this after chatting with my friends.

“What about going to karaoke?”
“It’s too late. And I’m tired.”

My eyelids felt heavy. It would be difficult to sing in this state.

“Yeah, Garyeon. Let’s go to karaoke next time. We’ll be seeing each other again in two days anyway.”
“Okay. Are you taking the subway?”
“Yeah. Don’t we share the same line for a while? We can go together.”

The streets were still crowded with people, even though it was night.
Boys entering a building with a PC room sign, their conversation laced with curses; a child crossing the street, hand in hand with their parents; a woman in a suit, struggling to support a seemingly drunk man.
Just like in the news earlier, countless people were walking through the brightly lit city, each in a different direction.

“Dojin.”
“Yeah?”

Seolha, walking beside me, spoke softly.

“Will it be okay?”
“What will?”
“The budae jjigae.”

Seolha muttered, looking at the plastic bag in her hand. It was also the reason the three of us had met today.

“It’s fine, I said. Our cooking will be the best.”
“Still…”

In two days, on Christmas Day, the three of us, along with two other friends who weren’t here today, were having a small party with the film club members.
The venue was Minseo’s apartment, where we planned to eat the food everyone brought and have a small gift exchange.

However, unlike the other club members, Seolha and I, with our tight budgets, decided to cook ourselves.
We searched through flyers and the internet for discount deals and finally bought the humble ingredients to make our dish. We even planned to use leftover seasonings and kimchi from home.

“Shouldn’t we at least buy some wine? What if our dish stands out too much? No, should we change it to a cake? Ugh, that’s too expensive…”
“I bought that, so don’t worry. And like oppa said, it’ll be fine. The budae jjigae you made was so delicious.”
“I hope so.”

Seolha sighed at Garyeon’s words.

“If you’re that worried, I’ll chip in, so let’s buy something else—”

I interrupted Garyeon.

“No, it’s okay. Thanks for helping me find the deals. Chae Seolha, it’s really okay. It’s not a crime to be poor… And they’re not the type to care about that.”
“I-I guess so. You’re right, once we get there, everyone will only eat our budae jjigae.”

Seolha said, patting her cheeks.

“Of course.”
“That’s right. Ah, I’m so excited. I can’t wait for two days. Really.”

Garyeon, her eyes shimmering like lapis lazuli, looked at me.
But perhaps because she wasn’t looking ahead in her excitement, Garyeon bumped into a couple walking by.

“Oh, I-I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s okay. Are you alright?”

Fortunately, it was just a light bump and didn’t lead to a big accident, but Garyeon kept bowing her head apologetically.

“They seemed to be having a good time, I feel like I ruined it. Ah, really. I should have been watching where I was going. I’m so sorry.”
“It happens. They’re not upset. Look at how kind our Garyeon is. What am I going to do with her?”
“U-Unni. Okay, okay, stop teasing me. Ah, seriously! Everyone’s staring! I don’t know…”

Seolha grinned mischievously and playfully pretended to hug Garyeon. Her earlier gloomy mood was long gone.
Garyeon, her face flushed, pushed Seolha away.

“…”

A couple.
Seeing the couple walking arm in arm, the scene from the news came to mind again. The woman who said she would spend time with her boyfriend.

Until I entered college, Christmas was always spent alone or quietly with my family.
That’s why this time, preparing for a party with my friends, felt even more precious and special. Last year, something unfortunate happened, but I wished upon a star for this year to be filled with only happy and joyful moments.

Ah, it would definitely be like that.
…Even someone like me would be able to be happy now.

But happiness is fleeting.

One year. That was all the time we had left. After Christmas, after graduation, after military service, after getting jobs, how would our relationships change?

Would we still be friends? Or would we become just passing acquaintances, like the people on this street?
As I thought about that, a memory from the bar I visited last week surfaced.