Christmas Eve didn't announce its arrival. It came quietly, which already made it strange.

You found Seong-je sitting on the steps outside the closed gym, elbows on his knees, staring at a crushed---still fuming---cigarette like it had personally wronged him. The air smelled like snow and cheap fried food from somewhere down the street.

“You're late,” He said, not really complaining, just stating.

"You didn't give me an actual time to meetup at," You pointed out. "So, that's on you."

He didn’t look up. Just raised a hand to hold out a convenience store paper cup. The lid was cracked, the logo peeling.

You took it. Sweet instant cocoa, you noticed, after he grumbled---something about you always feeling colder than necessary.

Too much sugar, but you didn't say anything.

The city was slower that night. Fewer fights, fewer sirens. Strings of lights hung from buildings like afterthoughts, blinking softly. Seong-je finally stood, falling into step beside you without a word.

You walked until your fingers went numb.

A small church sat between apartment blocks, its doors open, warm light spilling onto the sidewalk. Someone inside was practicing a carol, missing half the notes. Seong-je stopped again.

“You wanna go in?” You asked, half-joking.

He scoffed. “You think I’d survive that?”

But he didn’t move away.

After a moment, he sighed and pushed the door open. Heat wrapped around you instantly. The place was almost empty---just a few folding chairs, a crooked tree, and a woman fixing ornaments with tape. No one looked at you twice.

Seong-je stood stiff, hands shoved deep in his pockets.

“This is weird,” He muttered.

“You’re doing great,” You said.

He shot you a look but sat down anyway. The song ended badly. The woman apologized to no one in particular and laughed. Seong-je watched her like he was trying to understand something complicated.

“My mom used to drag me to places like this,” He said suddenly. “Back when she still pretended things were normal.”

You didn’t answer. You didn’t have to.

When you left, snow had started falling for real. Thick, heavy flakes. Seong-je tilted his head back and took a deep breath, as if letting the cold air wash his lungs from years of smoke.

“It’s annoying,” He said.

“You’re smiling,” You pointed out.

He froze. Then he clicked his tongue. “You imagined it.”

You handed him a small box. He frowned.

“If this is a joke---”

“It’s not,” You said. "Open it."

Inside was a lighter. Plain metal. Nothing flashy. He stared at it longer than necessary.

“Fuckass gift,” He fumbled, voice low---like he was afraid of you actually hearing it.

"You've been complaining about yours for weeks, 'Too flashy, too colorful, never working'." You answered.

He closed the box and slipped it into his pocket like it belonged there. After a pause, he shrugged off his jacket and draped it over your shoulders like a thanking, without a word, refusing to spare you a glance for longer than a minute after.

The snow kept falling. The city stayed quiet.

And for once, Christmas didn’t feel like something to survive.

You started walking again, his hand purposefully untucked from his pocket, just to occasionally brush against yours and pretend it was an accident so it could happen again.

"You want to see the tree light's being turned on, right?" He sighed, like it wasn't a random thing you said...What, months ago while you were too excited for Christmas?

"Let's go." He murmured without waiting for an answer.