choi yeonjun. 002

You hadn’t meant to sit outside his house that long on Christmas night.

But going home to an empty apartment felt worse somehow.

The holidays used to be loud. Warm. Shared.

Now they felt borrowed.

A soft knock on your window pulled you from your thoughts.

You smiled the second you opened the door, immediately pulled into hugs and overlapping excitement.

“Did you miss me?”

“Obviously!”

You laughed softly as they climbed into the car, already talking over each other.

One proudly showed you a huge dollhouse.

“Dad built it with me.”

Your chest tightened slightly, but you smiled anyway.

“I love that.”

Then came another gift. A plushie.

“Soojin gave me this.”

There it was again. Soojin.

Not just his fiancée anymore. Someone slowly becoming part of their traditions too.

“It’s really cute,” you said gently.

Then you looked up, and saw Yeonjun standing there holding the rest of the bags.

For a second, neither of you spoke.

The warm lights from inside spilled around him. Familiar. Domestic.

Like he belonged to a life that no longer included you.

“Hey,” he said quietly.

“Hey.”

“You didn’t have to wait out here.”

You shrugged lightly. “Couldn’t really sleep.”

A small silence settled between you.

Inside the house, you caught movement again, Soojin passing through the kitchen laughing at something.

It shouldn’t have hurt anymore.

But it did.

“They had a good Christmas,” you said softly.

Yeonjun nodded. “They kept talking about seeing you tonight.”

You swallowed carefully.

“I spent Christmas alone,” you admitted before you could stop yourself.

His expression shifted instantly.

Not pity.

Something heavier.

You looked away first.

“It’s fine,” you murmured. “That’s just how things are now.”

The girls were laughing in the backseat already, showing each other their gifts again.

Yeonjun glanced toward them before looking back at you.

“You’re still family.”

The words almost made your chest ache.

Because once upon a time, he had been too.