By Zephyria It was the first time he had ever seen so many presents. Large and small boxes surrounded the tree, and the very tall tree was barely visible, with only the star on top barely peeking out.
“…What is all this?”
Yu-jin finally spoke after a long while. Winston replied, “Who knows?” to Yu-jin, who was still dazed and unable to take his eyes off the scene.
“Maybe Santa visited last night?”
At those words, Yu-jin immediately looked up at Winston. He barely swallowed the words that almost came out, “What nonsense,” but Angie’s reaction was completely different.
“I saw him, I told you I saw Santa!”
Angela was very excited and jumped up and down in Winston’s arms. Winston put Angie down, seeing her impatient and restless. As soon as her feet touched the ground, Angela busily ran over and picked up a gift box. She turned around and shouted to Yu-jin.
“Look, Daddy! My name is written on it!”
Angela’s name was definitely written on the large card attached between the ribbons. Seeing Angie’s cheeks flushed and her breathing rapid, Yu-jin managed a smile and said.
“Oh, really? Go ahead and open it.”
It was obvious who had prepared these gifts, but it was important to make his daughter happy first. With Yu-jin’s permission, Angela hurriedly untied the ribbon and opened the biggest box.
“Wow!”
Inside was an 18th-century style dress. It was made of blue satin with many ribbons, and the sleeves and hem were decorated with handmade lace, making it dazzling to look at. Angela also couldn’t hide her joy and screamed loudly.
“Daddy, look! It’s the dress Marie wore! Is this mine? Is it really my dress?”
Seeing Angie, who was beside herself with excitement, mentioning the name of the princess from her favorite drama, Yu-jin finally stammered.
“Ah, yeah. That’s right.”
“Because Santa gave it to you.”
Winston chimed in with good timing. Angie’s dress was several times more luxurious than the one in the drama. It was enough to capture the heart of his daughter, who had always admired beautiful clothes.
It didn’t end there. The next box contained shoes that matched the dress, the next box contained a diamond bracelet, and the next box contained a beautiful fan. Before long, Angie had become an even more perfect princess than the protagonist in the drama.
“Oh my gosh, Daddy, Daddy, look at this, look at me!”
Angela, wearing the dress, twirled on her toes and cheered. The tiara that Yu-jin had given her was placed on top of her voluminous hair.
“You look so cute, Angie.”
Yu-jin was moved and kept taking pictures with his phone. Angela, who lifted the hem of her dress and put her hand on her cheek, striking pose after pose, shouted excitedly.
“Can I open more?”
“Of course, Angie.”
As soon as she got permission from Yu-jin, Angela rushed to the next gift. Yu-jin paused when he saw Angie pick up a doll that the princesses of the same era used to play with. The doll looked somewhat old. Could it be.
“Could that be…”
Is it real?
As he trailed off, unable to finish his sentence, Winston looked down at Yu-jin and chuckled. Yu-jin swallowed hard. What era and which princess did that doll belong to?
It must be incredibly expensive.
Yu-jin couldn’t imagine any further, so he stopped thinking. It must just be a rich man’s hobby. He thought it was too much for a four-year-old, but it was none of his business. As long as his daughter was happy, that was all that mattered. But there was one thing he wanted to confirm.
“Was Santa Cain yesterday?”
Leaning in slightly and lowering his voice, Yu-jin asked, and Winston also leaned his head towards him and replied quietly.
“If it was, he would have been caught right away. Yu-jin, our daughter is much smarter than you think.”
Our daughter.
Yu-jin stared intently at Winston, unable to ignore the words. But he was still just looking at Angie, and didn’t seem to know anything.
Of course, he wouldn’t, knowing exactly what kind of person I am in this man’s eyes, what am I expecting?
Before he could feel bitter, Yu-jin composed himself. He turned his gaze back to Angie, who happened to turn around and shout with a bright smile.
“Daddy, I’m so happy!”
Seeing that, Yu-jin also smiled. Yes, as long as Angela is happy, that’s all that matters. This must be the most satisfying Christmas she’s ever had. Thinking that, Yu-jin’s heart swelled. Just as he felt a tingling in his nose, Angela found an envelope held by a large cat doll dressed as Santa.
“Daddy! There’s another card!”
“Oh, really? Let’s open it.”
Yu-jin naturally moved away from Winston and approached Angie. Excited, Angela took the card out of the envelope and read the message aloud.
“To good Angela, you have given up your presents to other children, so this year is your turn. I have granted your wish, so I hope you have a happy Christmas. Merry Christmas! From Santa.”
After reading it, Angie tilted her head. Surprised by the unexpected reaction, Yu-jin asked, puzzled.
“What’s wrong, Angie? Is something wrong?”
Feeling nervous, he cautiously watched her, and Angela hesitated and looked up at Yu-jin.
“I don’t know if my wish came true.”
“Why? What did you wish for?”
At Yu-jin’s bewildered question, Angie hesitated for a moment and carefully opened her mouth.
“To make Daddy happy.”
At that moment, Yu-jin was speechless. Angela, with wide eyes, stared blankly at him, and then continued hesitantly.
“Daddy kept getting sick… and he kept having a hard time, because of me. So I wished for Daddy to be happy…”
Angie paused with a short sigh and glanced at Yu-jin.
“I’m the only one who got so many presents. I even wrote a letter to Santa… Daddy, I think Santa can’t understand English.”
Seeing Angie’s serious face, drooping shoulders, and dejected expression, Yu-jin couldn’t hold back the emotions that welled up inside him and took a deep breath.
“No, Angie. Your wish came true.”
At the words that barely came out, Angela looked at Yu-jin, puzzled. As if asking what he meant. Yu-jin took a few breaths and opened his mouth as calmly as possible.
“Daddy is so happy right now. Really.”
Yu-jin felt his eyes getting hot and smiled brightly.
“Because Angela being happy is Daddy’s happiness.”
Angela’s face gradually contorted as she blinked and looked at him. Her eyes filled with tears, and she sniffled and asked.
“Really? Did Daddy make the same wish as me?”
“Of course, Angie.”
Yu-jin hugged Angie tightly and stroked her back.“I’m the happiest person in the world right now. Thank you, Angie. Thank you for making Daddy happy.”
“Heeing……”
Angela, who hugged Yu-jin’s neck along with him, began to sob in a small voice. Yu-jin hugged the small body in his arms tightly and barely held back his tears. Could there be another child as lovely as this?
“I’m so grateful that Angie is Daddy’s daughter.”
“I’m grateful too, that Daddy is my Daddy.”
Angela, who imitated Yu-jin’s words, grinned. Yu-jin also smiled and hugged the child tightly once more. At that moment, they felt a strong bond as if they were the only two left in the world. So much so that they thought they didn’t need anything else.
* * *
The enjoyable day passed in an instant. After finishing dinner and putting the child to sleep, Winston and Yu-jin returned to their room together.
Hoo.
He entered the bedroom, but his heart was still fluttering. Yu-jin took a short, deep breath and looked back at Winston. The event he had put on for Angela had melted away all of Yu-jin’s animosity and then some.
“Thank you, for today.”
Yu-jin opened his mouth. This time, it was sincere without any sarcastic intent. Winston, who was taking off his sweater, looked at him. The moment he felt an unnecessary tension, Winston replied with a blank face.
“Thank you for finally noticing I exist.”
In an instant, Yu-jin’s face flushed. Come to think of it, he had been ignoring his existence all day. Of course, it wasn’t intentional, but it must have been very unpleasant from Winston’s point of view.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…….”
As soon as he said it, it was as if he had admitted it, making the situation even more ridiculous. Winston chuckled at him, who didn’t know what to do. Huh? Surprised by the unexpected reaction, Yu-jin watched as he replied nonchalantly.
“I know very well that you two aren’t interested in me at all.”