December 25, 2005, the old man with the three years old child beside him, walked with the intention of distancing themselves as far as possible from the NKVD, other than that, where to walk to was unbeknown. Where on this world behind the curtain can they be spared?

Cutting their skins through the thin fabric of prisoner uniforms, the coldest weather on earth the child had ever experienced. Frost caked Arina's white hair. Her suffered ears ached painfully as fluid from her nose blocked the eustachian tube. If the cold never goes away, she will have to suffer from hearing loss. Her porcelain skin cracked, and bleed. The cold sucked all the moisture out of her lips, leaving them to pair with the skin's problem, bleeding. With each heavy step she took forward into the tunnel without an end, a thousand needles punctured her bare feet, and that temperature from the needles had mainly transmitted to her entire body.

"Grandpa," gasped the child weakly, "my feet."

Grandpa, who was also barefoot, stopped, reached out to the fragile daughter of the dictator. His shaking, numbing, bony, veiny hands enfolded the child and lifted her up from the painful ground of this part of the earth. Her teeth chattered, burying her shaking body in his arms. The blood from her cheeks stained his prisoner uniform.

The old man managed to carry the child and walked to the void for a while until he finally collapsed on the snowbank. Day after day, having nothing but snow to feed and keep them hydrated. The child opened her mouth to speak:

"Happy uncover is too painful, grandpa, white is too painful, I miss our black chamber."

"Well now, child, too much of one color is never good for you."

"I miss the food there."

She balled snow in her palm and shoved it into her mouth, there, she imagined how it taste like the soup she threw up days ago.

"So do I."

"Where are we going?"

"Beyond the Iron Curtains."

"How far is that?"

"It will take us years of walking to get there."

"Years? How far?"

"Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow, and tomorrow of seemingly no ending."

The child paled, seizing his forearm.

"Well now, it's a joke. It will not be that far."

"Will we get there by JUST tomorrow?"

"Probably."

Her face lit up in delight.

"What's beyond the curtains you said?"

"Many colors, every season. Every month. Even now. You will be visited by a loving old man in red with thick, white bread. He has a warm laugh that will draw children like you in and shower you with gifts. He's very fat though but you shall not bully him for it."

"What are gifts?"

"What do you wish for the most, child?"

"For grandpa to be with me forever!"

Quiet. The old man hid his tears away.

"Well now, then Santa Claus will grant you your wished gift."

Arina lied back, letting her imagination run. The old man coughed. One, two, three, four coughs. He imagined alongside the child:

It is Christmas in his country, and he would take the starved child to restaurants and let her eat as much as she likes. Sushi, Tempura, Sukiyaki, Kobe Beef, all freshly made and laid out on the table. Itadakimasu. Little Arina would exclaim over how delicious the food is, and he would order more. And because it's Christmas, one shall not forget Honey Glazed Ham with a crispy, crackling crust, Roasted Turkey, and Scalloped Potatoes. He would let the child plunge forkful of them until 'hunger' never occurs again.

Aside from food, he would surprise her with Christmas gifts just like how a normal child her age deserves. Closing his eyes, the memory of being a young child himself flashed before him. How time flies...he's now an old man who's regretting his entire life decision. But the least he could do is to save this poor child.

'We are mice,' thought the old man, 'and the sky swirls with hawks.'

"Merry Christmas, Arina Avenira."

Before the cold white of winter hunted them down and killed them off, the trembling old man wrapped the already asleep little girl around his arms and was determined to escape the world of hawks. Though, with each step, was equivalent to the rhythm of his itching cough.

***

"Merry Christmas everyone!" delivered Teppei happily whilst entering the class on a nice, cold yet cozy snowy day. He and Seo pulled the party poppers to which a shower of confetti and streams exploded in the air.

Just right when Asano Gakushuu reentered the class from running his student council work that he witnessed the mess they have created and criticized them.

The janitor man was summoned to clean up the confetti before their class started. And at that moment when he accidentally made eye contact with the demon 'Okamoto Akeboshi', his body shuddered in horror as his PTSD triggered, and ran to fetch a bucket just in case.

'Christmas party, Christmas party, Christmas party!' was a hot topic among the students recently after Arina's womanly flowering scandal. The pupils of Kunugigaoka will throw a big party in the gymnasium on Christmas. They have been decorating the gigantic Christmas tree in the middle of the gymnasium ever since the announcement and some have been practicing for live performances.

While the janitor was cleaning up the mess and everyone else was chattering in excitement over the upcoming party, Arina Avenira was standing by the window into the beautiful white world. Chin relaxed on her palm, she watched the flakes of snow drop down in a rush of nostalgia with those same old dreamy gazes drifting afar from the concrete reality.

Asano had since understood and let her enjoy the scenery outside of the class's window as much as she likes. However, he had not talked to her for the past few days. When his minions discovered the reason why, they couldn't hide their unfathomableness. Asano couldn't understand either, what had he done wrong?

*Flashback to three days earlier*

"My lovely tree friends have been stripped naked. Though I daresay they now look exquisite with these new white and shimmering outfits, what are your thoughts? I used to think they are boring, but it has been my experience that you'd cherish anything's beauty better if you are stripped from seeing them often."

'She has a point,' thought Asano. He sauntered behind the girl who seized every opportunity to marvel at the Christmas-decorated town and secretly adored her white-colored hair. Under the sun it glowed slightly blonde, yet in winter season when there was less exposure to the sun, it remained pure white. Asano thought it was simply exquisite.

Arina suddenly halted her steps. She took a glance around as if to survey her surrounding, and said, "Say, Asano-kun, what do people usually do at Christmas?"

"If you mean the Japanese way then since very few of us are Christians, it isn't traditionally a big festival. However, like much of the rest of the world, Christmas is considered a special time for children who have parties with their friends and receive gifts and treats. And somehow it's treated somewhat like Valentine's Day, with couples hanging out and giving each other's gifts and such," he answered.

"Oh, I was so hoping that it will be just like what the internet told me. Turns out those aren't included in this culture," sighed Arina disappointingly. "Gingerbread cookies, roasted gooses...but oh well, universally speaking it's still considered a special time for children, ain't it? Oooh, Asano-kun! How about-- Oh, you mustn't say no!"

Asano was startled when she suddenly reached out and grabbed his hands.

"How about we dress up as Santa Claus and give gifts away to children at orphanages? And bake them gingerbread cookies too! You have the right to say no but I won't let you say it. Call me a bad person you may. Come on, Asano-kun, let's break away from your restrictive sphere and try out new things!"

Arina's green eyes gleamed in hope and excitement over this new idea she came up with, making it hard for Asano to reject her request. He paused for a moment to contemplate his schedule and realized he might have some free time to make it possible.

"Let's see it until then," he smirked.

"Oh, GREAT, Asano-kun! I'm heart glad," giggled Arina delightfully, knowing his smirk might be a good sign. "But first, Asano-kun, I will have to get you acquainted with those beloved kids beforehand. You are going to love them as though they are your own flesh and blood and I'm a hundred percent sure of it."

A hundred percent she declared, but she surely have forgotten that not everyone was like her in the way of having an unlimited amount of love and empathy spared for everything around.

Asano's first response to Arina introducing the orphan kids to him and mourning about how they don't deserve to be there but in loving households, especially during Christmas was:

"For the sake of the economy, Arina, it's logical to leave orphaned children in institutions."

Arina's face went purple. He must be a heartless devil in order to say such things. And right in front of the poor kids! What a monster! He had committed an unforgivable sin and never in her life had she imagined being bosom friends with this guy. How was that even possible?

"You may go home, Asano Gakushuu. I do not want to see or talk to you ever again. Never mind the solemn vow, you can forget about it," huffed Arina in anger. She turned to walk the kids away.

Asano stood there speechless. What had he done?

"And I will NOT attend your pointless Christmas party!" informed Arina one last time, calling out to him from afar.

*End of Flashback*

"She's so easy to get triggered," facepalmed Teppei.

"So Arina won't participate in the party, what a loss," said Ren whilst combing his hair.

"Nishishishi, poor Asano-kun," laughed Koyama. Asano shot his glowered eyes at him, making the frightened minion frantically retreat into submission.

"Hmpf! I don't care! I will drag her along with me whether she likes it or not. We have spent so much time preparing this and she shall participate too," proclaimed Seo.

"Oh, how about we let the orphan kids join us at the party too? That way it wouldn't upset Arina that much," suggested Teppei.

"Unfortunately, we can't," said Asano, crossing his arms. "It will be overcrowded as space is limited, and thus unmanageable. In addition, there will be fees for outsiders who wish to attend, so no. 'Let' isn't the right word to use."

"But Asano-kun, can't you just make an exception?" asked Ren, placing a hand on his shoulder. "And we can just find a way to manage the space problem."

Asano placed a hand on his chin like usual when he was contemplating something. But this time he hadn't changed his mind, "No. There must be a benefit to whatever we're doing."

The guys sighed. Well, if that was what their leader said, then they had no choice but to listen to him.

Fast forward to the day when the Christmas party was being held. Asano constantly checked his Line message to see if there was any response from Arina, whether she had changed her mind about attending or not. But still, no response.

He sighed, putting on the fancy vest he hung up a day ago, and didn't bother to check himself in the mirror, he marched out of his room and downstairs to the front door. He had to be present early in order to prepare for the party before it starts. Although right now in his mind there was nothing but Arina and Arina--

"Gakushuu, are you going on a date with that Arina girl?" his mom asked from the kitchen countertop, appearing to be enlivened.

"No. I'm currently in a hurry to go prepare for the school's Christmas party. And how many times have I told you I'm not interested in dating? Such a waste of time," he said bluntly while putting on his shoes.

"But you do like her, don't you?" his mom's voice shrunk, as she pouted, and thought to herself, 'If our Gakushuu marries that beautiful foreign girl, then that means my grandchild is going to be a mixed baby! Oh, a mixture of Asian and Caucasian is superb...nevertheless, please, Gakushuu, it has to be with that girl Arina. She has as many shades as a rainbow and every shade is the prettiest while it lasts. I don't know if she will be as amusing as she was when she was not yet an adult, but she makes me love her and I like people who make me love them. It saves me so much trouble in making myself love them. I wonder if you feel the same way about Arina girl, Gakushuu.'

After reorganizing and checking on everything listed, it was also time for admitting guests' entrances. Asano was immediately greeted by dozens of his fangirls. And like usual, he pulled up his charming facade. Ren was as confident as he usually was until his exes namely numbers 1,2,3,4 walked all over him and approached Koyama instead. Seo was begging his girlfriend Kaho to hang out with him and Teppei was preparing backstage to serve his role as an MC.

"Hi everyone! I'm very grateful for all of your presence here tonight! Thanks to all of your help that--" began Teppei on the stage, dressing up as Santa Claus. People gathered up and whispered among each other about how weird he looked in that outfit. Perhaps it was only Ami in the crowd that thought he looked rather cute.

"Alright, are you ready?" said Teppei, holding out a party popper, "MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!" as he pulled it, confetti and streams exploded in the air. The students all cheered enthusiastically and began partying. Real party this time, not a fancy soiree.

"Are-are you sure about this, Juria?" sweatdropped Sae backstage, failing to recognize who was staring back at her in the mirror.

"You should be more confident. I daresay you are better looking than those two b*tches, it's just that your thick glasses had prevented others to sneak a peak into your beauty. It's a pity, Sae. But tonight you're going to prove to them how much of a natural beauty you are, alright?"

Sae sighed. Nagasawa Juria had removed her glasses, plucked her bushy eyebrows, given her a hair extension, dressed her up, and everything of a massive makeover. No wonder when Morikawa and Tanaka were passing by and saw her, their jaws dropped, and accused her of plastic surgery. But everything was natural from the start, she wondered how everyone else will react to this.

The K-squad members redid their Mean Girl cover dance on stage tonight and turned out to be successful. Guys like Yano Takaaki were drooling at the girls' outfits, while some very loyal guys like Toda Sejiro and Mori Iori only had eyes for a certain girl, waiting for her to get on stage. The number one lucky guy Koyama Natsuhiko got four chicks to himself, despite them only asking for his study notes most of the time. And the guy he stole the chicks from, Sakakibara Ren, was getting bored of all the easy games.

For Ren, getting any girls he wanted was way too easy, except for this one girl Nagasawa Juria (Sae, Arina, Ami too but he saw them differently, not worthy to be a love interest) and as a result, caused him to be rather obsessed with her. There was a mistletoe standing at their Christmas Party, and Ren had an idea for himself.

"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" the naughty boys chanted underneath the mistletoe as they held the wiggling Fujii Hiroyuki who was desperate to break free from them and as well as the poor Torii Hidetoshi.

"NOOO!!" cried Torii, realizing in situations like this his helmet didn't help much. "I WOULD RATHER DIE THAN KISS THAT DOUCHEBAG!!"

"I'M THE ONE TO SAY THAT!!" retorted Fujii. While Torii required four guys to hold him still, Fujii required only two, as noted as the weakest male in the class, even surpassed the femboy Iori himself.

The boys had no mercy whatsoever and nearly pushed their lips slammed together when Ren appeared on the scene like a savior.

"Hi boys~ It seems like you are having fun, ain't it? But wouldn't it be nicer to kiss a lady under the mistletoe? She wouldn't be able to refuse for it will be bad luck~"

"Sakakibara! Help me! These guys are going insane!" cried Torii desperately. Ren heard and suddenly, an idea popped into his head.

"Hey! How about we do a challenge? The person who is accepted by most girls is going to win! What do you say?"

"What are you saying, Sakakibara? It's not even a competition anymore as long as you're here," one denied.

"No, this rule only applies to you guys," said Ren, flipping his newly combed hair. "For me, it will be for Juria-chan to accept my kiss."

The guys dropped their jaws.

"Are you being serious?"

"I don't think someone like Nagasawa-san would even believe in such a myth."

"You would definitely get slapped, Sakakibara-kun."

"And because it's difficult, then with only one acceptance from Juria-chan then I will ultimately win the game," smiled Ren confidently, playing with his hair, "and whoever loses will have to come up to Asano-kun and kiss him quickly before he ends your life."

With that said, the boys released Torii and Fujii and were determined to become the most desirable boy ever. "Nice! Let's see which loser will be massacred."

And thus began the challenge. It was a surprise to see that Torii Hidetoshi wasn't as unpopular as he believed himself to be, as whenever he kissed a girl under the mistletoe, that girl kissed him back. Meanwhile, Fujii Hiroyuki learned something new today. He learned that girls found him too unattractive to the point they were willing to spit on his face. The other boys laughed at him whenever it occurred.

But they couldn't yet end the game when Ren still hadn't found his Juria-chan. Just then when Morikawa and Tanaka finished their performance and it was the turn for the Queen Bee of the school, Nagasawa Juria to step onto the stage. For a moment the crowd broke into loud applause and chanted her name until...the most unexpected spotlight came into their sights.

Alongside the mesmerizing Juria was someone they'd never seen before in this school. Like who was this insanely beautiful girl!?! That visual could've easily rivaled Juria herself. Why hadn't they seen her up until this point?

"H-hey, Sakakibara-kun, you have any idea who is that?" a guy nudged Ren, assuming he must be an expert in knowing every girl in school already, but no. Ren's expression said something otherwise.

A/n: ahh, here's a very quick sketch of the makeover Sae since I don't like describing how things look like in details🤧

He felt like falling in love all over again. Why does that grey-colored hair familiar though? It wasn't until the girls introduced their names on stage that...Ren including every other boy presented there spat out saliva due to utter shock and felt like life was the biggest lie ever.

Why hadn't anyone observed Shirayuki Sae CLOSER!?!

Tonight she and Juria performed a duo sings of a song called 'Meri Kuri' by BoA and were garbed in red-colored dresses which both were too mesmerizing that the boys immediately voted this performance as the best so far.

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

"Wh-Who are these two beauties?" gasped Minami Mei's boyfriend. Mei upon hearing that was fumed with anger and jealousy that she broke into tears and stormed outside of the party. The boyfriend had to chase after her for an apology.

"Tell me, Seo, between that gloomy girl Sae and me, who is prettier?" Kaho delivered a question to which Seo was too scared every time she brought it up.

"Haven't I told you you are always the prettiest!?" exclaimed Seo exasperatedly.

Kaho paused, clicked her tongue, and pulled out her most powerful weapon -- tear, "You surely don't mean what you said, Seo. What a jerk are you, lying to your girlfriend like that. I won't hang out with you for the rest of the night and in the meantime you should be reflecting on your honesty."

Thereupon she skipped away, secretly smirking to herself that she got to not just hang out with one, same boring guy over and over, leaving poor Seo to be traumatized and alone once again.

After Juria and Sae's performance was over and they have gone down the stage, almost every guy in school immediately huddled up to them, treating them as celebrities. Shirayuki Sae, whose life had always been invisible, getting this kind of treatment was too much for her to breathe and thus she nearly passed out. 'Human species is overwhelmingly superficial. Why made us evolve to this?' she thought. At the same time, Ren had another suggestion.

"I-I think I changed my mind," he uttered. The guys gave him a confused look. "Let's make the challenge more interesting~ I will shift my target to Sae-chan."

Meanwhile, on the other side of the party...

"Ayoo, Teppei!"

Teppei was surprised to see who was calling him, it was Mizuno Ami Peterson.

"Wh-What's up, Ami?" he stammered. Ami approached him and pointed at the food he was serving.

"These look like Turkey! They must be! You guys aren't shy away from investing in this party, aren't ya? So does your Santa Claus outfit, Teppei! I like it! But I think bottomless would do better for you. It costs half the price and you'd be the center of attention most of the time!"

How should he tell her that these were in fact normal chickens? But nevertheless hearing his crush compliment his outfit was too much to ask for as he froze in place for the overwhelming happiness.

"Do-Do you want some Turkey, Ami?" he asked nervously. Ami laughed and said:

"Sure!"

Teppei served Ami three of the 'Turkey' legs onto her plate and lowkey blushed afterward. It was such a brilliant decision to serve food, and if he were to serve Ami for eternity, he will.

"Are you dumb, Araki? This doesn't taste like Turke-- blechhhhhh!"

Teppei snapped out of his fantasy. Both he, Ami, including everyone nearby was speechless by Akeboshi's habit. His stomach wasn't well at the start yet he still insisted on trying the chicken just to end up vomiting again. His personal janitor reappeared for the nth time on the scene and surprisingly, no tears came out of his eyes this time, as he was drained of it. It was all Okamoto Akeboshi's fault and he swore to himself he will be the one to bury this demon one day.

Back to the overconfident Ren. He and the boys waited for Sae to come and try the shaved ice positioned right underneath the mistletoe to seize the chance and kiss her.

If it wasn't for Juria to drag Sae alongside her, she wouldn't mind trying out the food or even attending the party in the first place. The guys' faces lit up in excitement over seeing Sae approach the mistletoe for a cup of shaved ice. They immediately nudged Ren, who was flirting with every girl around.

"Here's your chance, Sakakibara! Do it!" said Torii.

"Remember, if you get rejected once then it's over and you will have to keep your word and try Asano-kun!"

"Go on!"

They pushed Ren ahead toward Sae's spot, keeping their laughter to themselves. Ren lightly combed his hair one last time and chest puffed, he confidently proceeded toward his newly found potential love interest.

"Hi ladies~"

Sae and Juria shuddered. Not again...

"You ladies look fine in those dresses, especially you, Sae-chan ("F*ck off," she said) Mind if I tell you a real story about a girl who rejected my kiss under this mistletoe last year? That night she went home and coincidentally, her goldfish also died the same night. The next morning while walking to school, there was a random brick fell from the nearby construction--"

"So? I'm not here to listen to some nonsense myth," interrupted Sae. Juria suggested they walk away, but Ren quickly stopped them from doing so.

"Sae-chan, I'm very sorry for overlooking your beauty the entire time. I think I couldn't help but have fallen for you. If only you knew how beautiful you are to me, you'd know I see an angel every time I look at you."

"Ew," uttered Juria.

"And that's just why I prefer to be ugly," Sae rolled her eyes. "You only know humans' true nature if you're ugly and have nothing to bring to the ta--"

Without finishing her sentence, Ren took the bold move and pulled the confused girl into a kiss, directly on the lips.

The boys behind squealed whilst Juria and everybody else within the scene had their jaws dropped to the floor. What in the world!?

But Ren's fate ended there when Sae raised a hand and slapped him brutally. The students who were watching quickly beckoned their friends over to not miss this comedy of a scene.

Regardless of the boys laughing their asses out, Ren just sort of held onto the side of his cheek which Sae just slapped, and smiled softly.

"At least I found a pretext to kiss you. I will forever remember the taste of your lips even if you rejected me."

"Ugh, I'm not feeling well," said Juria, who was already too grossed out by this creep. "Let's go, Sae."

But to her surprise, Sae stayed and proceeded to converse with him, "You really intrigued me, Ren. I wonder why some people like you undergo raging hormones like that compared to others. Or perhaps, this is just my theory, but do you have a father figure or not, Ren? And why are you deprived of love too much to the point you developed such a strong desire to feel wanted?"

Ren froze in place, speechless.

Just then, Asano Gakushuu, after noticing the order at the party had become lax, barged into the curious crowd to witness it was his most trusted minion causing the scene this time. As a result, he shouted fumingly:

"What's going on, Ren!?"

Ren didn't answer, but some boys behind him kept telling him to 'go on'? Like go on with what?

"Maybe tomorrow, guys," Ren mumbled.

"Ren, don't tell me you invaded the girls' boundary again! How many times have I lectured you to keep your honor? What a low-valued behavior!" criticized Asano, furrowing his eyebrows. "That's it, you're kicked out of the party. Go! I do not tolerate this kind of behavior and only come at me when you have learned your lesson."

Whatever his leader said, he had to listen to him. Ren calmly regained his composure and smiled at the ladies, in specific, Sae before exiting the party.

"Isn't this too harsh, Asano-kun?" Teppei, who had rushed from the other side of the gymnasium just to see what was going on, said.

"Nishishishi, he deserves it," Koyama chimed in, lifting his glasses. Number 1,2,3, and 4 wholeheartedly agreed with him.

"Whatever our leader says, goes," said Seo, sneering, a prime example of a minion who followed his leader blindly.

Henceforth the party carried on without the philanderer Sakakibara Ren. While Asano felt nothing for missing Ren at his party, all that ever made his stomach plummet was that Arina was missing. He checked his Line message again but apparently, still no reply whatsoever. Strange, she never held a grudge this long before.

Asano sighed, as he chose a spot to sit down. He had even prepared a special Christmas gift for her...

While scrolling through their message, a notification popped up on his phone's screen. Without thinking, he tapped on it to update more news, which caused his eyes to shoot open wide. Shockingly!? It was about Arina and her gang! The news featured them as a generous gang of students dressing up as Santa Claus to bring joy to all the orphan kids in the city with the rising star of ONE, 'Arina Avenira' as the main spotlight of the night.

Asano's heart skipped a beat. Oh no, this meant that his reputation in the eyes of the public compared to Arina's will be demeaned even more for being ignorant! No! He can not lose to her!!

With that, he flew up and ran to find Teppei and gave him the authority to manage the party. 'Wh-where are you going, Asano-kun?' was Teppei's question but was left unanswered as Asano already exited the gymnasium, leaving him to sweatdrop out of confusion.

'I'm coming to see you, Arina!' Asano thought to himself whilst catching a cab. Despite denying it to himself, somewhere in his heart, the warm sensation of seeing her again after a boring night was beyond delightful.

According to the Japanese, Christmas is considered a special time for children, and a romantic ceremony.