Chapter 1
Looking at the sheets in front of him, Namjoon couldn’t help but sigh out of relief.
“No one has been able to find your little hiding place. Ain’t that something nice,” his cousin smirked from the small sofa he was sitting at.
“Oh shut it, Mark. Aren’t you supposed to be home?”
“I’m just lingering, making sure you’re doing okay. Auntie did say to keep an eye on you,” his cousin giggled, walking over to Namjoon’s refrigerator and grabbing a carton of milk out of it.
“Well, fine. But I’m still unsure of what to do this week. We have a full month of rest, the first in years, yet I have not a single clue of what I’m to do.”
“Ever thought about going out to find a girl?” His cousin asked, taking a seat next to Namjoon who had slumped over on the couch of his large living-room.
“I think sleep is the only thing on my mind at the moment. Plus, dates would only end up in scandals or me getting to meet a fangirl. Nothing genuine,” Namjoon huffed out.
“By fangirl you mean-”
“Yes... The extreme “fans”,” Namjoon answered, his hands going into the air to make the sign of quotation marks, highlighting the fact that fans were meant to be sarcastic.
“Do you even consider them fans anymore?” his cousin asked, his hand placing the cup on the coffee table across from them, Namjoon picking up the control for the TV before turning it on.
“Them? No. They’re what Jungkook likes to call “parasites”.”
They went silent, letting the TV play over their light snores as they drifted in and out of sleep. Though Namjoon could have gone to any of his seven bedrooms, he liked being at his cousin’s side, simply because he hated being completely alone. After so much sleep deprivation, being alone becomes a paranoid person’s worst nightmare.
Especially considering he spent most of his time with the other guys.
It was a comfort to have someone there at his side, even if he was sort of a lunatic.
“You know, charity is always a good way to get your mind off of things. Why don’t you look for a place to volunteer at. I know a lot of artists do that whenever they have some spare time. Plus it makes you look good to the ladies,” his cousin laughed, shifting himself as he woke up from his light slumber.
Namjoon shrugged it off, his face laying on the side of the couch as he thought through the idea of going into charity. It wasn’t something that he hated or disliked, but the idea of having some privacy while doing it made him lean towards it a bit.
“Well yeah, but that’s not why I’d like to help. Looking good is an afterthought. It’s just, where could I sign up that I’d be accepted immediately but also that wouldn’t have me grounded when I have to go on tour or when my schedule is full? Plus the added bonus of privacy and maybe not showing my face?” He mumbles, finally sitting up.
“Well, the mall nearby is needing a couple of hands. Heard they have this Christmas charity event that usually needs people there for the holidays. Might be worth the shot if you try looking into it.”
Namjoon smirked.
“I’ll go check it out tomorrow.”
They went silent again.
This was something he hardly got to enjoy. Yeah, his band members could be quiet, but it usually lasted about ten minutes on a good night, and three minutes on struggling concert nights.
“Why can’t it always be this silent?”
“I hate this silence!!” Nia yelled into the cold air.
The first snowfall of the month had dropped by the streets of Seoul, Nia walking happily as she looked through the windows of decorated halls.
It was almost Christmas, her favorite time of the year. Unlike the usual days leading up to Christmas, the street was somewhat quiet, the only thing heard was footsteps and vehicles going left and right.
Although she was known for her bad memory, there was something she never forgot. The special discounts she got whenever Christmas rolled around for her favorite group’s merchandise.
“Wow, I still can’t believe I spoke to Kim Namjoon!! He looked like such a daddy! Nia. Nia? Nia, are you even listening!!” her friend May yelled.
“Namjoon a daddy? Did you even take a look at Jin? His soft features and plump lips. No one gets more daddy than the actual parent of the group,” Nia responded, walking slowly as they approached the mall building.
Her friend May had tagged along since her class didn’t start until the end of the day, wanting to see Nia in action at her new “job”.
Nia had been offered a job to work the acting part of Santa’s elf at the new mall that had opened near her dorms.
It was a menial job with many child visitors and very well underpaid. However, Nia didn’t mind. It was mostly a charity based campaign in which the people involved either looked good or like her, got her credit for a class.
Her pay was just an extra.
I mean, she didn’t even think she’d get any sort of pay in the first place.
Walking into the entranceway of the mall, she made her way to a small wooden shop, smack down the middle of the mall. The shop was decorated in greens and reds, the sound of children making May smile as she looked around for a place to sit.
“Go on in and change into your costume. I’ll be waiting out here to see you wear it,” her friend smirked.
“Fine, but promise not to laugh too hard okay?” Nia asked bashfully.
“Just go,” her friend rushed.
Nia ran in, waving at her coworker who was at the front desk.
The shop was known to be one of the original makers of children’s toys. It was famous around the city for being the only place with handcrafted wooden toys that had survived over thirty years. Besides that, the mall’s CEO was a big fan of the figures and at the end of the week of Christmas, there would always be auctions, which the store owner used to keep the business running for a couple more years as well as donating the money to charity, the same one Nia would be serving in.
Grabbing a small box at the corner of the store, Nia dragged a large red bag towards a white door adjacent to the window which gave a full view of the street.
Once inside, she placed the box on a vanity that sat against the wall in the back, turning around to inspect the bag before taking her own purse off. She’d done it plenty of times, to the point where it had become second nature. Shedding her clothes off, she began putting on the red suit, stuffing the inside front part with a large bag full of cotton, which she had crafted on her own.
Finally tying up the suit and zipping up all the zippers, she sat down on the vanity, grabbing a hairnet from the box she had brought and proceeding to take out a bald cap. After about fifteen minutes of makeup and some fake hair here and there, she was done.
Her face looked as if it had aged significantly, the rosy-colored cheeks and soft skin she had masked with wrinkles and a gentle old man’s smile. She was almost unrecognizable as she started to pull up some black boots, placing her Santa hat on while then grabbing her own clothes off the ground and placing them on the bag which had formerly been filled with the Santa costume.
“Wow, such a good job Nia, now, to work on your voice,” she said cheerfully, turning around to place the bag and box in one of the lockers that lined the tiny room.
Just as was about to unlock the door, the motioning of the room door opening nearly made her fall back, a large gentleman entering in a snowman costume. She recognized the costume immediately, usually worn by a friend of hers in college.
Both of them liked working for charity and she was surprised to see him since he hadn’t shown up earlier that week when the charity began.
“Hey, kid!! What took you so long to come??” Nia asked, looking away from the man at the door until she heard familiar footsteps coming from behind him.
“Ms. Nia. This is a new member of our team. Mr. Kim, this is Ms. Nia. She’s been working in the charity for two years now. She’s an expert on most if not all the charity events we work on. I hope you find this a good experience. If you have any questions feel free to ask me or any of the ladies up front. Nia here can show you the ropes,” her boss said.
It was the owner of the store, and this person must have been someone special to have the owner of the store come down from his small workshop where he spent his days coming up with new wooden toys and other merchandise to sell, like cookies and fruit cakes, all the way down to the employees dressing room.
“Ah, Daniel must have gone back to Canada to visit his family. I forgot he was from there,” Nia mumbled to herself, walking slowly over to the man in front of her.
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Kim. I hope we get along well,” she smiled widely, extending her arm at the man in the snowman costume, whose face was covered with a large head of frosty the snowman.
“Wait. You’re a woman?”
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A/N: 🐨 First Chapter with very little hype, love, or votes but never the less enjoy this!!!
Marili Cruz
~♔~
