Holiday Season

Holidays. Some are recognized throughout the entire world while others are specific to just certain countries. Thanksgiving was a time for family and being grateful for what you have but you honestly didn’t have anything.

The death of your mother and father was sudden but it affected you deeply. They were the only source of comfort you had in life. Once they were gone, you honestly didn’t feel like you belonged anywhere. A few months went by as you made a giant change in your life. You decided to move to your parent’s home country of South Korea to get back in touch with your heritage.

One of the few things left for you was the old home your father grew up in. With a little bit of work, it soon became the place of your dreams, the place to start all over again. That brings you back to today, thanksgiving day.

South Korea didn’t celebrate thanksgiving but they had their version called Chuseok. Sure it wasn’t the same but people understood that they could be seen as a bit similar. With the company you worked at knowing you’re American, they decided to let you have the day off to celebrate the day.

Taking advantage of the day off, you decided to catch up on some sleep. You weren’t sure what time it was but the sudden sound of a lawnmower woke you up from your deep slumber. Stretching your limbs, you reached out for your phone and picked it up.

Looking at the time, you saw it was already 2 in the afternoon. Getting up from bed, your legs brought you over to the bathroom. In a matter of seconds, your clothes are off and you are in the shower. Turning the nozzle, the water begins to shoot out from the shower head. The sudden rush of cold water quickly woke you up as you began your shower.

A few minutes passed as your daily routine came to an end. Walking out of your bathroom you made your way over to your dresser and pulled out some clothes for the day. Once your shirt and sweatpants were on, you threw yourself back on top of your bed and turned on the tv.

The latest drama trending in the country happened to be doing a rerun. Guess it’s your chance to catch up on what you have been missing. Hours seem to go by as you begin to feel a growl come from your stomach. Knowing it was time to eat, you jumped off your bed and began to walk to your kitchen.

The walk to your fridge was quick but you were hit with a sense of disappointment looking at the empty refrigerator. The sadness you felt was gone as you heard a sudden squeak from your backyard. Recognizing it as your backdoor gate, you went to your sliding door and looked into your backyard.

Just like your empty fridge, you were met with a surprise except this was a big one. In your backyard stood some of the members of Billie, dressed in hanbok taking pictures. That’s right, the rookie K-pop group Billie is in your backyard. You never did specify what your job was. Every day you woke up early to be one of the managers of the group.

As you open your sliding door, your eyes couldn’t pry away from a certain girl twirling around in her hanbok. Despite it being one of her few times wearing one, Tsuki just amazed you with how beautiful she was in the hanbok. As the girls continued to spin around, one of them finally saw you and waved at you.

“ Oppa. Happy Thanksgiving.”

“Well thank you Suhyeon. Not that it’s bad to see you guys but what are you doing at my house? Better yet, how did you even know where I live?”

“ You pointed at the house once before Oppa. And we may have asked a few people to just look it up on the company computers.”

“Well, that’s a bit of a security concern. Either way, I’m still wondering what you are doing here?”

“ Well, it’s Thanksgiving! We figured you probably were just gonna stay home all day so we came to celebrate with you.”

“Don’t you girls have schedules?” I could have sworn you guys had things to do.”

All the girls then giggled a bit as they got closer, Sua stood in front of you and began to speak.

“ Yeah, we actually didn’t have anything to do today. We just made it look like we had things scheduled today to surprise you.”

Hearing that made your whole body fill with joy. You honestly didn’t expect them to be here but your friends were here. Before you could get another word out you felt a pair of arms wrap around your body. Your nostrils were filled with the smell of flowers suddenly, letting you know who just hugged you.

“Happy thanksgiving Oppa. I hope today is a great day for you.”

“Thank you, Tsuki. Should we head inside guys? It’s a little cold out here right now.”

“So where is the maknae line?”

“ They are at school. It’s not a holiday in this country so they couldn’t get the day off sadly. They send their best.”

“Well, I’m glad they are at school. This really shouldn’t be a big thing.”

Saying those words seemed to anger the girls a bit as Sheon spoke up.

“ Well too bad. All you need to do is shit here while we prepare everything.”

“Prepare what?”

You didn’t get a response as all the girls stood up from their seats and went to the front door. Following behind, you saw the girls getting handed containers from a delivery driver. As their hands got full, you ran over to take a few of the remaining things and said thank you to the driver. With a kick, the door closed as you ran to the kitchen with the hot aluminum containers.

Once in your basic kitchen, you set down the full containers on your table and looked around. The familiar sight of your girls joking around blessed your eyes. As they opened the containers massive amounts of steam poured out of them. All around, you could see platters of typical thanksgiving food sitting in your kitchen.

The aroma of the Mac and cheese, the stuffing, and the green bean casserole hit your nose. Despite all those great foods, the strongest smell came from the remaining container that was covered. Once the aluminum lid was removed, your entire kitchen was filled with the scent of oven-roasted Turkey. Your mouth began to water as your eyes sparkled at the golden brown skin of the bird.

“ We honestly weren’t sure what classified as thanksgiving food so we checked on Naver. Once we saw what types of food were needed, we managed to find a local company in Seoul that prepares dinners for Americans here in South Korea.”

Hearing from Haram the efforts they went to get you this food made you tear up. As a few small tears fell down your cheek, the sudden warm feeling of an embrace caught your attention. Looking down, you saw all of the girls hugging you. The small tears in their own eyes were apparent as the sound of sniffling filled the room.

You aren’t quite sure how much time passed as the giant group hug finally ends. Cleansing the tears from your eyes you smile at the girls and finally speak up.

“Ok Suhyeon, you can grab the plates. Sheon, grab the ladles for the mashed potatoes and such. Sua, make sure to get plenty of utensils for everyone. Tsuki and I will cut up some of the turkey.”

Once the Game plan was told, everyone went to do what they were told to do. Pulling out the biggest knife at your disposal, you made your way over to the turkey. As the rest of the girls began to put small portions of the various sides on their plates, Tsuki took hold of a pair of Tongs and held the piece of turkey you needed to cut.

One by one, each of the ladies came up to take a piece of the bird and sat down at the dining room table. All that was left was Tsuki as well as your plate.

“ What do you want on your plate, Oppa?”

“Well, I’m a big guy so I want a little of everything. But you have already done enough. Let me serve both you and myself.”

Before Tsuki could argue, your hands went towards each of the spoons and ladles. First, the mashed potatoes were put on each plate and topped off with some gravy. Many of the dishes you mentioned earlier begin to fill up your plate. The sight was similar to an avalanche as the food moved all around your plate.

Finally arriving at the turkey, you stretched out your hand to grab the knife but felt a sudden slap on it, stopping you.

“ I will serve you this at least. You are the guest at this dinner.”

“But it’s my house?”

“ Sush Oppa. Now what piece of the turkey do you want?”

The glare that came from the girl’s eyes let you know she was serious.

“I’ll take a turkey leg then.”

With a nod, Tsuki took the knife and cut the turkey leg off the bird. As Tsuki put it at the top of your plate, you found yourself playing a balancing game with all the things on your plate. Once Tsuki cut a small piece of the turkey Breast off, you both ran to the dining room table.

Laugher could be heard from the rest of the girls as they saw Tsuki as well as you juggling the mountain of food. Placing down your plate, the two of you took your seats and looked around the table. Seeing a few glasses of soda on the table, you knew everything was all set to start eating.

“Well. I am starving so let’s all dig in!”