The Fool's

Christmas Tree

This is the second year Ara is in Korea, the same winter as before where Ara had a fever and flu that made it difficult to wake up. He almost blames himself for experiencing all this without his family without anyone willing to take care of him even though Ara's little heart realizes his parents were never really there for him but lucky Ara when Jae Hwan brings him who almost got hypothermia to move into the man's apartment, then asks ahjumma to make it a full priority. It was nice to see how worried the man was about her.

Ara did not even have time to feel the first snow that fell because again had to lie on the bed with a thick blanket that surrounded him even though so lucky this year he did not need an infusion hose like last year he ran out of fluids and was almost severely dehydrated because no food had entered his stomach.

He misses ginger wedang, or a warm bowl of meatballs when the cold weather Bandung feels excruciating. He misses his Bandung. His family. And the snow season was worse than that.

Yesterday he felt better when inviting some of his friends to enjoy the warmth of freshly roasted meat and pleasant light conversation, Ara was just longing. Surrounded by people.

Not sharing her feelings with Jae Hwan, Ara feels that it is enough to trouble the man by keeping him here.

Ahjumma delivers a bowl of samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup) with a chicken still intact in a black hotpot, disperse the brief daydream of Ara. The smell poured out into the entire room with smoke billowing. Accompanied by a bowl of warm rice that is actually unnatural for the sick and with a normal portion of it.

"ahjumma, didn't you make him porridge?"

Jae Hwan who was standing next to Ara noticed the tray that the middle-aged woman was carrying with a frown.

"Gwenchanha, I don't have a toothache so I can chew this chicken well."

Ara hurriedly interrupted and snatched the food before her ahjumma brought back the tray from before her, she smiled at Jae Hwan flaunting his neat row of teeth before picking up the spoon and starting to bribe. His nose was stuffed but he could still smell the ginseng and savory aroma of the broth from the chicken sauce. He's impatient.

"Daebbbaaakk"

jae Hwan's easy-to-guess expression from the girl who quickly accepted any food, Ara was too easy to praise everything that went into her mouth.

"You shouldn't have bothered yourself by bringing a lot of people here yesterday." Said Jae Hwan on the sidelines of Ara's dinner.

Ara took a breath she stopped her mouthful and was about to speak but when her feelings were not as good as they are now she was afraid that what she said would open up what she had covered in her heart.

"I don't forbid you from being friends with them even if I complain about it to be honest I feel more at ease knowing you have someone other than me here,"

"You also need a girlfriend to go shopping like you made yesterday, or someone who understands the color of the liptint that I don't understand." Jae Hwan jokingly made Ara involuntarily smile.

He was happy this winter did not make Ara in the hospital as before. Jae Hwan just doesn't want to imagine if every winter the girl experiences this painful thing. He still remembers the girl being unable to eat anything due to her fever that had not come down for two weeks, sprawled out in her apartment room without telling Jae Hwan how bad things were, she said, he keeps saying he's okay even though his room heater is broken and stupidly the girl doesn't fix it until Jae Hwan comes in without permission, finding the girl unconscious.

"The doctor will arrive in 10 minutes."

Jae Hwan glanced at the clock on his wrist, from the tail of his eyes he could see the expression of dislike that the girl was aiming for, Ara thinks this is all too much she just needs to sleep and eat and everything will improve, even though the reality is not so and Jae Hwan does not want to take risks.

"Follow what I said. eung!"

Ara pouted she had no choice, her face was already like a boiled crab with a red rash on the cheeks, even her lips felt dry and swollen due to her rising body temperature.

After the doctor came home Jae Hwan continued to accompany Ara beside him, confirming the position of the blanket that was revealed after the doctor examined him earlier.

The man wiped the sweat coming out of Ara's forehead with a handkerchief, his face unable to hide the feeling that he was afraid that the girl was getting worse even though the doctor had already said that her condition was better than yesterday.

"mianhae, I'm troubling you."

"Yes, then what kind of trouble would you have if it wasn't me?"

"you scolded me? I'm in pain!"

Ara grimaced with a voice made convincing

"Ahh mianhae, I'm just kidding."

Ara looked out the large, unsecured window that almost filled one part of the room leading directly to the bustling, crowded downtown view of Seoul, the white grains falling down endlessly made Ara involuntarily shudder at the coldness if the thing touched the skin.

Sometimes he is upset how he might always miss snow every year when not all places have the season but his body is not really ready with the weather as extreme as it is.

Ahjumma entered the room with a washcloth and a container of warm water to cleanse Ara's body, making the girl realize she hasn't had a bath since yesterday her nose sniffed to make sure that she didn't smell when Jae Hwan was next to her since. The middle-aged woman smiled at Ara's behavior then grabbed the girl's hand and started cleaning it.

**

Ara's condition began to improve when approaching Christmas, she wore a knee-length sweater with long pants when welcoming Jae Hwan who had just arrived with a few people behind him who carried a Christmas tree as tall as him, Ara gawked too with her ahjumma.

Jae Hwan approached the girl with the cardboard in his arms, Ara looked at the cardboard curiously

"you want to open it?"

"Oh come on, Christmas is still a week away and you're giving me a present?"

Ara's face was radiant, she could not hide her joyful expression of finding the gift.

"Dam,"

Jae Hwan then opened the box that contained Christmas tree trinkets, his smile immediately faded which replaced Jae Hwan's smile

"you can decorate it? I want this tree to look beautiful when we invite my parents."

"ne, ne, ne."

Ara answered lazily, still disappointed by the contents of the box.