mingyu  wasn't  sure  what  exactly  this  was  suppose  to  be.  he  wasn't  really  good  the  whole  dating  thing  and  never  had  something  sound.  after  a  few  dates  with  the  other,  he  was  pretty  sure  that  he  should  probably  ask  if  they  could  be  exclusive  or  have  some  sort  of  title  but  he  was  too  afraid  to  say  something.  after  picking  off  a  grape  off  the  bunch  and  popping  it  into  his  mouth,  their  question  caught  him  by  surprise.  "  what?"  he  questioned,  "  us  official?  "  he  never  had  someone  be  so  straightforward.  a  slight  smile  begins  to  appear  on  his  face  despite  being  caught  off  guard  where  he  forgets  to  even  answer.  "  do  you  want  that?  "

rolls  of  wrapping  paper  cluttered  the  coffee  table  as  areum  attempted  to  wrap  a  few  gifts  she  had  accumulated  over  the  last  few  weeks  for  her  friends.  she  liked  the  christmas  season  but  more  so  for  the  fact  that  it  was  a  few  weeks  of  just  lounging  around  doing  nothing  than  the  whole  holiday  tradition.  a  dramatic  sigh  passed  through  her  lips  as  frustration  began  to  build.  “  how  am  i  the  worst  at  wrapping  things?  ”  she  complained  out  loud,  head  lifting  up  to  search  for  the  other  then  beginning  to  pout.  “  would  you  be  able  to  help  me  ?  i  feel  you  would  be  better  at  this  than  me…  show  me  what  i’m  doing  wrong.  ”  truth  was  she  never  really  wrapped  a  gift  before.  areum  was  the  type  to  just  throw  it  into  a  bag  and  cover  it  in  fancy  tissue  paper.  this  time  she  felt  like  she  should  at  least  try.  

hearing him repeat the words back and out loud made the butterflies in her tummy turn. she was feeling nervous about all the factors, being alone with him, miles away, but in the mix of it all she was looking forward to it. she wasn’t sure how she was going to be alone with him without any sort of way to filter herself the way she would around their roommates. “ i hope so, ” she quietly chuckled quietly slowly finding herself leaning closer towards him. the smile on her face began to bloom when he mentioned the fact that they wanted to meet her. she had no idea that he had even spoken about her to them. of course they lived with each other but she’s sure the other roommates probably could care less. “ minjoon, i’m excited for christmas now. i never thought that i would ever say that out loud... oh my god. ” she admitted quietly then slowly breaking into a shy laugh. “ i’m going to be honest i don’t think i’m going to vlog or even stream... i just want to just have a full break and just feel like i don’t have to worry but you should! ”  aera reached over for a grape and ate it. " i feel like i could stay out here forever. ” she comments without a thought. “ this is a stupid idea but we should camp out here some day. ”

never did he think that he could relate to someone. although it may not be the same circumstances, there was something there that wanted to protect her and to ensure she safe. “oh, i mean i’m okay with anything really. we don’t have to specifically go to an expensive place.” he explained following the pathway that led them further away to her house where she had likely spent my time in. “i’ve grown to really like pasta - any sort of pasta. its just a simple meal that could honestly be so good. there’s a handful of sauces to suit a mood.” his parents used to make pasta when he was young and when he was away from home, he often thought about the meals she would cook. “i think i could like anything really. i’m open minded when it comes to food. though i do love dessert these days. its becoming an issue where i tend to want something sweet more often than before.” he nodded his head with a warm smile not quite realizing he had rambled on about it for some time.  

arms slowly cross against her chest, the firmness in his words made it easier for her to be convinced. over time she’s grown to take his words more seriously but only because he was blunt and never really hid behind a fake facade. in a way she liked that about him, she was used to people sugarcoating things. “ah, is that a challenge?” she joked looking over at him with a slight smile. she uncrossed her arms allowing it to fall onto her lap before tucking her hair behind her ear. “yeah-yeah...” she sighed hoping he wouldn’t have a big ego over it. “better now then later... i guess you’re right.”  

she wasn’t one to dig deep into her personal life - her family, past friends and so on yet with him it was easy for her to speak about it. she felt safe opening up with him. she knew she could be serious at times and he would be there to listen, even cheer her up when she needed it. “not really,” she hummed truthfully as she glanced away to adjust the blanket. aera learned to accept that her family wasn’t picture perfect. they weren’t really interested in what she did and often was compared to her more successful family members. it took her a moment to realize that his words were leading to an invitation. she wasn’t expecting an invitation and hoped he didn’t feel like he had to invite. “oh... us spending the holidays together?” her brow raised slightly before trying to not show that she was internally freaking out. “are you sure your family would be okay? i wouldn’t want to make things weird or anything but if its all okay, i mean i would love to go.” she stumbled on her words looking over at him. “it would just be such a nice memory... you know the two of us and what not.” a slight giggle escaped her lips before tries to mask it with a sigh. fingers slowly pulled the blanket to hide her smile, not wanting to show that she was obviously quite excited about the thought. “it’ll be fun, yeah-yeah. it wouldn’t be any different or anything than this.”