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“Is your family visiting this year?”
Gyuvin looks up from his skis, taking in his boyfriend Hao that just came into the basement. He is dressed like he always is in winter; an oversized warm sweater—stolen from Gyuvin—and his slacks, probably paired with warm leggings. He’s so cute and cuddly in winter. It’s Gyuvin’s favourite side of Hao.
“Yes, they said they would fly in on the 20th and stay in one of the rentable cabins in the village.”
Ever since he moved to Austria 8 years ago, Gyuvin would see his family once a year, for Christmas. It is the perfect holiday for it, in Austria it is a big family fest and in Korea it is insignificant enough that his parents don’t feel like they should be with his grandparents.
And of course, the winter wonderland that is the alps. It was one of the biggest reasons for Gyuvin to move to Austria. His job was of course also an important factor but really, he could’ve chosen any country. The mountains, the culture, it all pulled him to Vienna and it truly was the best decision.
In Vienna, he met the love of his life, Zhang Hao. He was doing his doctorate in music at the time and then even joined the ‘Wiener Stadtorchester’. A genius in his field. And somehow he reciprocated Gyuvin’s feelings when they met not long after his move at the Christmas market.
Looking back, it was quite embarrassing for Gyuvin. He was trying to order something with his limited German and then this beautiful Chinese man swooped in and saved him by repeating his order in perfect German. And somehow that interaction convinced Hao to spend more time with him and made him want to get to know him.
Nearly 8 years later, they’re still going strong.
Hao keeps asking all his questions about Gyuvin’s family visiting and Gyuvin dutifully answers them while he waxes his skis.
“We still need to get our tree if we want to welcome them with a decorated one,” he notes, putting everything away neatly before he steps towards his boyfriend to engulf him in his arms. Perfect fit.
The other leans into his embrace and huffs, “Don’t tell me you are letting Eumppappa choose the tree again. Last year we had this tiny, ugly tree we had to somehow make look good.”
“Nope, she’s choosing, I don’t care. Our tree last year was gorgeous.”
While Hao had a point, their dog isn’t exactly known for her good taste in trees, Gyuvin thinks it’s part of the fun to try to make an ugly, crooked tree look magical.
❄️☃️❄️
With Eumppappa dressed in her little coat and boots, they leave their cabin and take the sled to walk to the christmas tree sale thankfully only 10 min away.
Winter time in the alps truly is the best time of the year. The snow makes everything look serene and peaceful, creating the most magical atmosphere. A few years into their relationship, the two of them bought a cabin in the mountains after Gyuvin complained about having to travel to snowboard every weekend and it was the best decision they have ever made. Their cabin is more of a home than their home in Vienna is, even if they spend three of the four seasons there.
But as soon as the first snow falls, they move into the mountains and Hao travels into the city for work instead of having to travel into the mountains each time. It’s a one and a half hour drive now but he accepts it for the comfort of their cabin. And if he doesn’t want to make the way back, he can always sleep at their home in Vienna instead. To them, it just works.
Gyuvin can luckily work from home—every higher-up does, just like Gyuvin they spend their entire time at their winter homes. Really it's not all that surprising, considering he works for a lift manufacturer and engineers love seeing the fruits of their labour so obviously they spend all their time in winter at the ski resorts.
At the farm, they are immediately greeted by Andreas, the owner of the nursery where they have been buying their christmas tree every year. “It’s good to see you two! Oh and you brought your little girl, hello Süße.” He crouches down to let Eumppappa sniff his hand and pet her.
The couple smiles at him. “It’s good to see you. How is the business coming along? Still have enough trees for us to choose from?”
With an enthusiastic nod, he waves them towards the back. “As if I wouldn’t save a tree for you guys. I’d march to your cabin personally on the 23rd if you hadn’t gotten one from me until then.” He grins back at them and then points to the various trees.
“Take a look and choose. If it doesn’t fit on your sleigh, I can always bring it to your cabin for you guys.”
Andreas really has trees of all sizes. Gyuvin takes Eumppappa to let her sniff out all of them, leading her through all rows before walking back to Hao.
“Did you pick something?” his boyfriend asks, amused by how serious he was taking in all the trees.
Rolling his eyes, he replies, “I told you, Eumppappa will pick.” He crouches down and unclips her leash. “Go pick one, Süße.”
With their arms around each other, they watch their dog carefully step through the rows of trees sniffing and checking out every single one.
“She’ll pick the ugliest again, I just know it.”
“You are such a pessimist, Liebling.” Despite his words, Gyuvin kisses Hao’s temple and smiles softly. “You should have more trust in her and us. You loved our tree last year, we both know it.”
Relenting, the other smiles up at him, “I guess it was beautiful at the end. And-”
Eumppappa’s bark interrupts what Hao was about to say. Together they approach her and gasp as they realise what kind of tree she is looking at. It is a huge fir, way taller than Gyuvin and so wide, he thinks he can’t even hug half of the tree.
“Regretting the decision to let her choose?” Hao asks with a mocking tone.
Gyuvin quickly wipes the surprise off his face and instead grins at his boyfriend. “I think we need more decoration to accommodate our new tree.”
❄️☃️❄️
They need to get the tree delivered and they have to put in the work to get it into their home but now that it stands, it truly is the most beautiful tree they have ever had.
But true to his words, they need to buy more tree decorations. Not even their fairy lights are long enough to light up half of the tree. But despite their initial shock, they are both incredibly happy with it.
The decoration shopping is mostly done at the christmas market, leading to them reminiscing about meeting each other all those years ago.
“You were adorable,” Hao lovingly states as they walk through the rows of stalls.
Shaking his head, Gyuvin refutes, “No, you were adorable. And my hero. She really did not understand what I wanted.”
Chuckling, Hao smiles lovingly at him. It warms Gyuvin’s heart, just how clearly he can see the love in Hao’s eyes.
“I moved here without much knowledge about the culture or the language, just to get away, to find… peace. And I did with you. I really want to spend my life with you, Schatz.”
Gyuvin’s life before was the definition of stressful. He completed his Masters in Business Engineering in record time, despite working part time, and immediately started working at a bigger company. Work-life-balance doesn’t exactly exist in Korea, his life was just work and measures against burnout, there was no time for family, friends or a partner.
All he had were the company weekend trips, the Christmas one always to a ski resort. While most made it a spa trip with some posing with the gear, Gyuvin found the act of snowboarding relaxing in all the right ways. It cleared his overactive brain and exerted his energy but in a comforting way. You don’t really feel out of breath or exhausted like you do after running, it’s more of an ache of good work at the end of the day.
At some point, when he saw the first of his classmates get married, he decided his life had to change and started applying to foreign countries all over the world. And the Austrian company luckily gave him a chance and it has more than paid off.
He got all the happiness he was searching for. A perfect boyfriend, a handful of close friends, a job that allows for vacation and a social life. Together, they built an amazing life there, as two foreigners finding a home in Austria and with each other.
To Gyuvin, Hao is perfect. Not only is he beautiful, intelligent and talented, he also matches Gyuvin’s silliness and indulges his crazy ideas. No matter what Gyuvin suggests they try, Hao thinks through the logistics and starts planning it out. No matter how often Gyuvin scares him on purpose or teases him, Hao only retorts with a tease or an annoyed but fond smile.
It’s like he was made for him.
“Ach Hasi, I want to spend my life with you, too. Now stop being sappy, we need to buy the prettiest star for our tree.”
❄️☃️❄️
Buying everything was the easy part. Getting it onto the tree is the hard part.
“You have to put it higher!”
“But it’s uneven!”
“The whole tree is uneven!”
“Hey! You’re uneven!”
Then bickering came not long into decorating and it isn’t about to stop either. Gyuvin keeps defending their tree while Hao is getting more and more frustrated with decorating.
Gyuvin’s perfectionist tendencies seem to clash with Hao’s vision of perfection and really, they should be used to it by now but somehow they bicker every year and still they insist on doing it together each year, too.
And Gyuvin wouldn’t want it any other way either. There is Christmas decoration all over their living room floor, Eumppappa is running between their legs and the classical music Hao put on has passed the threshold of being relaxing, now Gyuvin feels like he is being ragebaited by it. And yet… there is something so domestic about it.
To him, it feels like they have created their own family here. Bickering and teasing while their youngest members are set on creating disturbance? Sounds exactly like the way Gyuvin has spent Christmas time with his family as a child.
Hao, as an only child, probably doesn’t see it like him but he, too, insists they do it together, despite the chaos surrounding them.
“Can we listen to Christmas jingles?” He feels a bit like a little kid asking his boyfriend that but he had to at least try.
Hao only sighs. “As much as I love you, I cannot take another rendition of you completely butchering Frosty the Snowman.”
With a pout, he steps towards Hao, gripping his sleeve. “Please! I promise I won’t sing along if I don’t know the lyrics,” he pleads.
Amused, Hao grins at him lovingly. “That is the issue, Hasi. You are convinced you know them but they’re all wrong.”
“Please!” Perhaps it is childish of him but he does not care. He can’t take any more classical music.
Sighing, Hao hands him his phone. “Change the music but I will make you learn the lyrics at some point! I can’t have you butcher my Christmas mood for much longer!”
Gyuvin tried. He really tried listening to the lyrics first but… at some point the jolly mood got to his head and now he’s happily singing and humming along, probably singing the wrong lyrics continuously but he only receives fond looks from Hao so why should he care.
Somehow they manage to decorate the entire tree. It took a few hours and lots of nerve but now it is sparkling in red and silver, with a few splashes of pink and green.
Standing on the tip of his toes, Hao is trying to put the star on the top of the tree but he can’t really reach it. It’s an adorable sight but Gyuvin can see him getting more and more frustrated at not quite reaching the top.
“Instead of just standing there, just help me.”
Dutifully, Gyuvin goes to him and hugs his midriff to simply lift him up. His boyfriend yelps at the sudden action but manages to put the star at the top.
He steps back, still with Hao lifted against his chest and marvels. “It's magical.”
His boyfriend nods. “The best one yet.”
After a few seconds of taking in the tree, he adds, “You can put me back on my feet now.”
“Fine.”
❄️☃️❄️
The next day, Hao has to drive into town for the last time before the holidays so Gyuvin uses his free time to go skiing.
“Ricky, my favourite Austrian!”
The blonde simply rolls his eyes and waves at him. “You are lucky I didn’t have a lesson today so I’m free to ski with you all day.”
Ricky—or Richard really—gives private skiing lessons and that is exactly how they met. Guyvin used to be a big snowboarder but living in Austria means to ski—at least that’s what his colleagues said. Ricky not only gave Guyvin lessons but also befriended him over time and now they’re best friends and slope buddies.
They meet at lift opening time at 8:30 and up the mountain they go.
After a few warm-up runs, they do what they do best. Be crazy skiers. First a few fast red slopes and then they're at the top of the fun park, watching someone do some jumps.
“Are you going to do it?”
Previously, during the lift and while waiting, they talked about their Christmas plans, so Gyuvin only confusedly asks, “What? The proposal or the new trick?”
“The proposal. I know you idiot will do the jump, you're a risk taker like that.”
With a gasp, Gyuvin looks at him offended. Frankly, it is kinda hard to do so because of the ski goggles perched on his face.
“Excuse me? I only take previously calculated risks and with jumps, I have first gone through the physics before I attempt them. I know it's going to work.”
Ricky, being a little shit, flicks snow at him with his ski. “I know, I know. Now tell me more about the proposal. It's a big step.”
“First, I’ll prove to you that my trick will work and then I’ll tell you my plans in the lift. Deal?”
“Deal.”
Luckily, Gyuvin does land his side flip. If he hadn’t, Ricky would have laughed at him—after making sure he was okay.
“Better than expected, even if your landing was a bit wobbly.”
“Oh shut up, it was great.”
Chuckling, Ricky makes his way to the lift with Gyuvin following close by.
“Now keep your end of the deal. Tell me about your plans,” the other asks as soon as they’re seated.
Gyuvin turns his head to look at him, pulling up his goggles. “What do you want to know?”
With a shrug, he replies, “I don’t know. Why did you decide to propose?”
“Oh… Well, I just love him so much, you know? I cannot imagine my life without him. Call me a hopeless romantic, but tying myself to him this way, promising him to love him forever in front of all our family and friends? It’s just so symbolic and romantic. And getting to introduce him to everyone as mein Ehemann? A dream come true, I swear.”
Giggling, Ricky replies, “You do sound like a hopeless romantic but… I guess I understand. I can’t wait to attend your wedding.”
With a happy grin, Gyuvin reaches over and lightly shoves his best friend. “Who said you were invited?”
“I better be or I’m gonna push you off the next hill.” Ricky’s glare is a tad scary.
“Richard Shen, will you do me the honours and be my best man? Assuming Hao says yes, of course.”
He suddenly feels nervous, asking that question. He doesn’t really doubt that Ricky would say yes and he also doesn’t doubt that Hao would agree to getting married but asking Ricky and making plans for the wedding makes it a lot more real. It is exciting but scary at the same time.
It’s a big step in his relationship and comes with a lot of responsibility. Planning a wedding is going to be time consuming and stressful but Gyuvin would do anything to make it the dream day for both of them. And he knows he can count on Ricky to help him bring their ideas to life.
“What a dumb question, of course I want to be your best man. Who else is going to stop you from fucking up?”
❄️☃️❄️
The day of his family visiting has arrived, Gyuvin and Hao are both nervously running through their cabin, making sure everything is tidy.
“Did you dust the book shelves in the living room?” Hao is trying to go through his mental lists of cleaning tasks.
“I did. Did you shovel the snow on our terrace?”
“I did. But it’s snowing again so we might have to sweep again before they arrive.”
They’re not usually the type to keep things squeaky clean but when they expect visitors like their families, they both turn into cleaning obsessed homeowners.
After another examining look around the room, Gyuvin declares, “Then we’re all set. The house is clean, we have our dinner reservations in order and my mom messaged me that their flight departed on time and that they have a taxi booked.”
Instead of replying, Hao walks up to him and hugs him. “Hasi, stop stressing about it. Your family loves our cabin and they love visiting us. You have made them so so proud. Something going wrong or our cabin not looking perfect isn’t going to change that.”
He places a small peck on Gyuvin’s lips before resting his head on his shoulder.
“No matter what, they love you. And the same goes for me; I love you, with all your faults and quirks.”
As always when they hug, Gyuvin puts his arms around Hao, doing his best to make him feel tiny in his arms. “I love you, Schatzi… Thank you.”
They stand there for a while, Gyuvin can't tell for how long. It is simply so relaxing to have the person you love in your arms. It makes him feel so loved, so trusted.
Whenever life gets stressful, Hao is there to make him relax and feel good about himself. He always knows exactly what Gyuvin needs, better than he himself does.
And in return, Gyuvin is there when Hao wants to stop being perceived, letting him hide away from the world in his arms.
Together, they create a perfect balance.
“We still have some time, right?”
Gyuvin hums as a reply.
“Then let’s go outside, make a snowman,” Hao says while grinning up at him.
This is a once in a lifetime chance, Hao hates the cold.
As to not give him the chance to change his mind, Gyuvin pulls his boyfriend to the door, practically shoving his jacket and shoes at him.
He himself gets ready in record time and excitedly bounces on his heels. “Come onnnn, I want to go outside.”
In the end, he all but drags the other outside while humming ‘Frosty the snowman’.
“If you sing one wrong word, I’m going inside”, Hao threatens but the fond smile gives away that he isn't one hundred percent serious.
They put on their gloves and get to work, Gyuvin starts rolling the base while Hao collects pebbles for eyes and mouth.
“How big are we making it?”
Shrugging, Hao simply states, “I like big things.”
With a dirty grin, Gyuvin turns toward his boyfriend and wiggles his eyebrows. “I know that, Schatzi, but how big should we make the snowman?”
Hao strides over to him and joins him in rolling the base. “I’ll tell you when to stop,” he says, winking at him.
Together, they roll all three balls and add them on top of each other to a life-sized snowman.
“We still need a nose, Hasi,” Hao states as he places the pebbles to form a mouth.
“Why can’t we make it a stone too?”
Peeved, Hao turns to him. “Is this a snow bear? No! It's a snowman, now get your ass moving and get a nose,” he exclaims.
Better me than him, he might just stay inside if he reaches the warmth of our home.
Gyuvin hurries inside, only hearing a yelled "Don't you dare enter our house with shoes on! I just sweeped the floors!”
Uncaring, he takes big steps towards the kitchen and grabs a carrot from the fridge before stepping into the exact same places on his way outside.
“We’ll just turn on our cleaning robot and it'll all be fine.” Gyuvin shrugs, not seeing the issue.
Hao sighs. “Eumppappa is scared of our Krümelmonster, you know that.”
“She’ll manage.”
Gyuvin hands his boyfriend the carrot and starts unraveling his scarf to put it around the snowman.
“Voilà.”
He is in the middle of proudly presenting their snowman when he is hit in the head with a snowball.
With that, Hao starts a full blown snowball fight that lasts until they are interrupted by a yelled “Gyuvin!”
He turns around, probably looking like a deer in headlights. “Hey eomma…”
Hao, always better than him in social interactions, walks up to his parents and hugs them as a greeting. “Is it this late already? It's so good to see you! Did you have a good trip?”
With a gentle smile, she greets Hao and immediately starts chatting with him. Gyuvin can barely get a hug from her before she continues talking with his boyfriend, walking into the cabin together.
Gyuvin has always had a hunch that she likes his boyfriend better but it's not like he minds, he's happy that his parents accept Hao so easily into their family.
He hasn't told them that he is planning on marrying him but he is convinced that at least his mother knows. She has always commented on his never ending yapping about him and how fond he sounds when he mentions him.
Straight from the beginning, she has been calling Hao ‘a keeper’, that he should do everything so he stays in his life.
And Gyuvin agrees with her. Hao is his perfect puzzle piece. He has never been as happy as he is with him. So seeing him smiling and laughing with his parents makes Gyuvin’s heart feel so full. It's like everything in his life is perfect.
❄️☃️❄️
Christmas day arrives and the Kim-Zhang household stays in bed together until 10 in their matching PJs. They all have christmas dogs printed on them, Hao’s pyjama is soft pink, Gyuvin’s green and Eumppappa’s is lilac.
“Hasi, do we really have to go up?”
Gyuvin, who has been buzzing with excitement for Christmas, nods fervently.
“But you're so warm!”
Chuckling, he kisses the other’s temple. “I can give you my Christmas sweater and some fluffy socks and you'll be just as warm. I can also first prepare the fire and then you get up.”
Hao agrees begrudgingly and Gyuvin knows he'll have to wake him up again in a few minutes.
Still he gets up and leads Eumppappa into the kitchen to feed her. There, he prepares two hot chocolates and puts them on the living room table, starting a fire in the fireplace so the cool room warms up and gives the comfortable Christmas vibe.
He has already put his presents below the tree, safe for one—the ring. Gyuvin has yet to decide how he wants to propose but he knows he is going to do it today.
Wanting to have everything ready for presents opening and the proposal, Gyuvin turns on the fairy lights of the tree and neatly arranges their presents. Luckily his family only insists on having dinner together so they get to spend their Christmas morning with only the two—well three when counting Eumppappa—of them.
Gyuvin knows that Hao isn’t one for public gestures and neither of them need the extravagance of a fancy restaurant proposal or anything. He knows a comfortable, private proposal is exactly what his boyfriend wants.
Grabbing the sweater that is still draped over the couch from the previous evening, he walks back into their bedroom and watches Hao sleep for a bit, leaning against the doorframe. He is so incredibly beautiful, so peaceful when he sleeps. It’s Gyuvin’s favourite view, other than Hao smiling.
With quick strides, he approaches the bed and leans down to gently place kisses on his lover’s face. “Wake up, Schatzi. It’s time for you to get your presents.”
Those words are what make Hao open in his eyes.
Grinning, Gyuvin simply lifts his boyfriend up and carries him downstairs into the living room.
“My knight in shining armour. How else should I have escaped my warm, comfortable bed?” Hao’s tone is full of amusement, too used to his antics.
“I had to take matters into my own hands, quite literally.”
He sets Hao onto the couch and hands him his hot chocolate with shaky hands.
Gyuvin is sure that marrying Hao is what he wants and he is positive that it's what Hao wants, too. But still, he is now a nervous wreck. He is so close to proposing to the love of his life.
Taking a seat next to him, he grabs the small present he has stashed on the window sill and reaches out to hold Hao’s free hand.
“Merry Christmas, mein Liebling.”
He receives a beautiful smile in return. “Merry Christmas, Hasi.”
He takes a deep breath, “I have a gift I want to give you first.”
With shaky hands, he gently places the small box in his boyfriend's lap.
“I… I want to start out by thanking you. When I first got here, I was burnt out, directionless and lonely. I wasn't sure if it was possible for me to find someone that simply gets me. My colleagues were all white Austrian men in their fifties and I’m not exactly the type to go to big social gatherings.”
He takes in the view of his—still sleepy—boyfriend that looks at him with such earnestness. It's when he realises that he is still holding Hao’s hand. He lets go of it and instead clutches his hands together after motioning the other to open the present.
“But then I met you. Beautiful, kind, talented, intelligent, all things I connect with Zhang Hao. But you're more than just the perfect persona other people get to see. You are my silly Schatzi that builds snowmen with me despite hating the cold and that lets Eumppappa pick our Christmas tree. I mean fuck, you let me name her Eumppappa and naming our stupid robot Krümelmonster was your idea! When people see you, they see a sophisticated musician and you are, but at heart you are my cuddly, silly, adorable boyfriend that wears pink fluffy socks and does a baking spree as soon as the temperature drop below 5°C. You watch dumb dating shows and attend yodeling classes out of genuine interest.”
Gyuvin chuckles but his field of view is blurry from the tears welling in his eyes. He watches Hao fiddle with the box. He's already unwrapped it and he surely knows what the content is. Instead of immediately opening it, Hao lets Gyuvin say what's on his mind.
“I love you so much. You were my Christmas miracle. Meeting you was fate and I thank the universe every single day for giving you to me. I cannot imagine a life without you anymore, having you in my life is the greatest pleasure I have ever known. Ich liebe dich so sehr, mein Liebling. I don't need any Christmas presents, I don't need anything. It’s cheesy but all I want for Christmas is you. Will you do me the honours of marrying me?”
He dares to look up at Hao’s face, searching for the answer he already knows deep in his heart. His boyfriend is also crying, his eyes full of love and affection. There is a hint of amusement ghosting on his lips.
Hao opens the ring box and gasps at the simple but elegant silver diamond ring. “It’s- It’s beautiful, Hasi.” Instead of saying more—like agreeing to his proposal—Gyuvin is tackled by a hug.
It makes them both giggle out of happiness.
“Is that a yes?” He still asks.
“Of course it's a yes! I literally planned on proposing to you too! Your ring is under the tree!”
“You WHAT?!”
His mouth falls open in shock.
Hao wanted to propose too?? What coincidence. Soulmates, for real.
After a few seconds, Hao’s face morphs into a sad expression. His voice is small when he asks, “Hasi? Are you mad? Did I ruin your proposal?”
“What? Nein, Schatz, niemals. I’m just- I can't wrap my head around how in tune we are that we wanted to propose at the same time. You really are my soulmate.”