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SITTING down on the bench in the middle of the mall, bags set down beside her as she scrolled through her phone, trying to decide on which shop to visit next.

Jungwon sat down beside her, messing around with her free hand as he lay his head on her shoulder.

He had decided to tag along with her -- much to her liking as she was shopping for all of the other boys, and needed help deciding what to get them all.

Whilst Jungwon had told her multiple times that she, in fact, did not need to get them anything as they wouldn't mind at all, she insisted as she'd feel guilty if she didn't get them anything.

Afterall, they were kind enough to accept her into their friend group. The least she felt like she could do to thank them would be getting them all a Christmas gift.

All day, Christmas music had been playing over the mall speakers, being drowned out quite a lot due to the chattering of people. But, it was still hearable.

Jungwon hummed quietly along to the song that was playing, playing with the rings that decorated Eunhee's fingers.

"Hey, Eun?" He perked up, lifting his head from her shoulder. The girl let out a small hum, averting her attention from her phone to focus on him.

"I think I took Mariah Carey too seriously.." he muttered, earning a puzzled look from the girl.

"Huh?" She tilted her head, brows furrowed slightly.

"Because, all i want for christmas is you." He added on, giggling proudly to himself. Eunhee shook her head, a smile on her face.

"I-- Yang Jungwon, that was the cheesiest pickup line I've ever heard." She huffed out, looking back down at her phone.

"But, I thought hard about it! And, I'm sure there's pickup lines way cheesier than that." Jungwon pointed out, crossing his arms over his chest dramatically.

"You're so lucky I like you.." she mumbled out, pursing her lips together. Jungwon raised his brows in surprise, smile growing bigger at her words as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling her to his side.

"Excuse me, what was that?" The boy teased, "I couldn't hear you very well, say it again please."

Eunhee snickered, shaking her head repeatedly. "You wish.. anyways, come on, we've-- or, I've got shopping to do." She said, wiggling out of his grip and standing up.

Jungwon nodded, standing up and grabbing onto her hand, intertwining their fingers together. "Okay! Where are we going next?" He questioned.

"Gamestop." She replied.

"Huh? Eunhee, everything in there is literally so expensive."

"I know." She hummed, looking forward as she was focused on not running into people and making a fool of herself.

"Yet you made a big deal when I paid seven dollars for you." He frowned.

"Yeah, because that's still pretty expensive. And also, I don't like people spending money on me when I can pay for it myself." She shrugged, earning a quiet string of complaints from the boy.

"Again, you could honestly just make cookies and give it to them. They'd be happy with anything or nothing at all." Jungwon stated.

"I could, but that doesn't mean I will. Plus, I already bought gifts for Heeseung and Jay, it'd be mean of me to not get the others anything as well."

Jungwon pressed his lips together in a thin line, deciding to give up as she was very set on buying gifts.

"Jungwon?" Eunhee spoke after almost a minute of silence.

"Yeah?"

"Do you.. uh, want to come over tomorrow and bake cookies with me? You know.. the normal Christmas Eve activities and stuff." The girl asked, avoiding eye contact.

Why was she so nervous?

"Is this your way of asking me if I want to spend Christmas Eve with you?" He questioned, a teasing smile on his lips.

"No.." she blurted out quickly. Jungwon quirked a brow, unconvinced.

"Okay, fine. Yes." She admitted, letting out a small breath she wasn't even aware she was holding.

"Of course. I'm glad you asked, actually, because I wouldn't want to do anything else." He smiled sweetly, giving her hand a small squeeze.

"I swear, you just can't go five minutes without feeling the need to be flirty." Eunhee deadpanned.

"Mm.. I guess not. But, only when it comes to you." He let out, a winsome smile spreading across his face.

"There it is again." Eunhee rolled her eyes playfully, shaking her head.

Eventually, the pair reached GameStop, as her eyes moved aimlessly around the shop, looking for something that she thought they'd like.

She wandered over to the Nintendo switch games area, remembering Ni-Ki talking about how badly he wanted the latest Fifa game at prom, when they had gone back to the table after taking tons of pictures at the photo booth.

"Eunhee, I'll be right back." Jungwon tapped her shoulder lightly.

"Where are you going?" She questioned, quirking a brow as she turned to look at him.

"..the bathroom. Text me if you go somewhere else while I'm away, I'll meet you there." He retorted, flashing a small smile as she nodded her head in response.

Fifteen minutes later, Eunhee was confused as Jungwon was still not back. She had already bought two different things -- a Lego set for Jake, as Jungwon mentioned he really liked that type of stuff, as well as fifa for Ni-Ki.

She stood outside of the shop, looking down at her phone as she scrolled through her contacts in the messages app.

______

imessage
jungwon 🐑

today, 3:46pm.

eunhee
where are you?

it's been awhile

______

As she was typing out her next message to the boy, a pair of arms snaked around her waist from behind, startling her. It wasn't until she turned her head, seeing the familiar face, did she relax back into his hold.

"My god, don't do that! I nearly had a heart attack..!" She complained, turning around in his arms and lightly smacking his chest.

"Sorry, sorry. It was funny, though." He laughed. Eunhee snickered, pulling away from his hold.

"What took you so long?" The girl questioned.

"I, uh.. I got lost." He spoke, smiling nervously.

Eunhee nodded suspiciously, unconvinced, but she let it go. "Mm.. okay, sure.."

"I'm serious, I really did get lost!" Jungwon defended himself, sensing her suspicions.

Eunhee hummed, "alright, alright, I believe you." She chuckled.

"What did you buy?" Jungwon questioned, looking at the bag she held in her left hand.

"Legos for Jake, and fifa for Ni-Ki. I didn't find something for Sunghoon or Sunoo tho." Eunhee frowned.

"It's okay, Eun.. you'll find something, don't stress too much." Jungwon spoke reassuringly, patting the top of her head gently.

Eunhee nodded her head, puffing up her cheeks before releasing her breath and looking around the busy shopping center.

"Should we try hot topic? I mean, surely they have something." She mumbled.

"Sure, come on. I'm pretty sure I passed by hot topic on the way back here." The boy announced, grabbing onto her hand once again, as well as taking the bags out of her grip.

"What are you doing, Jungwon?" She furrowed her brows.

"Carrying your bags for you, obviously. I wouldn't be a true gentleman if I didn't. My mom told me that when I was younger." Jungwon chuckled, recalling the old memory.

Eunhee nodded her head, smiling softly as she found his actions cute. "Thanks, Jungwon."

The boy only let out a short hum in response, squeezing her hand softly before pulling her closer to his side as they walked through the mall.

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AUTHOR'S CORNER
why are you guys asking for my hand in marriage help 😭 i'm flattered tho

i'd gladly marry any of you tho
february 23rd, 2023 -- 6:10pm.

not proofread.