“Thump thump. Thump thump.”
Her heart was pounding wildly. There was a scene like this in a drama she had watched with deep impression. A villain sneaking in to kidnap a peacefully sleeping princess. The princess bravely swung a sword at the villain and escaped danger, but now what Angela held was only the teddy bear she had hugged before falling asleep.
W-what should I do?
Frozen with fear, no thoughts came to her mind. Angela, who could only blink her eyes while stiff as a board, saw a large shadow quietly moving and tightly shut her eyes. Then a brilliant idea popped into her head.
Let’s play dead.
Quickly lying back down after having half raised herself, Angela pressed her face into the teddy bear with her eyes firmly closed. When you meet a bear in the mountains, you have to play dead.
But bears eat dead meat too, so it doesn’t help.
Why did that useless knowledge from the TV just now pop into her head? Just as Daddy said, watching too much TV is bad. Angela drew an odd lesson.
She was trembling in fear when suddenly she heard a strange sound.
Huh?
Listening carefully, it sounded like something moving. Probably the villain trying to take all of Angela’s toys.
I-it’s okay. Those are all Mr. Campbell’s. I don’t have any of my own.
Trying to calm herself, Angela squeezed her eyes shut again. But no matter how long she waited, the villain didn’t plan to leave and kept wandering around the room.
...What is he doing?
The rustling and busy coming and going piqued Angela’s curiosity. Eventually unable to hold back, she opened one eye slightly and peeked. She saw the villain opening the door and leaving. And in the soft light in the hallway, his figure was faintly revealed. Holding her breath silently, Angela frowned and blinked. Red clothes, red hat, bushy beard, big belly.
Santa...?
Angela pulled the sheet up to her chin as she thought this, but the moment was very brief. The man soon closed the door and left, leaving the child all alone.
Uh...?
Angela blinked blankly in the dark. She couldn’t believe what had just happened. The child suddenly jumped up and looked around. She got off the bed and ran across the room. She opened the door in a hurry, but there was no one in the hallway. Looking around wide-eyed, Angela finally dropped her shoulders and closed the door.
I guess I dreamed it.
The child trudged back up onto the bed. Closing her eyes and hugging the teddy bear, Angela thought,
There’s no way Santa would come to me.
Repeating this countless times, the child soon fell asleep again.
“Angie, Angie.”
Hearing the call, the child, who had been sound asleep, blinked her sleepy eyes. Yujin smiled down at her.
“You have to get up now. Merry Christmas.”
The child reached out and hugged Daddy’s neck, mumbling “Merry Christmas” in a still sleepy voice. Yujin held her and continued speaking.
“Looks like Santa came last night. There’s a present here.”
Of course, this was prepared by Yujin. He wanted to pick the gifts himself, but Winston stole this rare chance. Ignoring Yujin’s wish to go out, Winston gave him a catalog and said,
“If you see something you like, bring it. And if you think of anything else, just say.”
Naturally, Yujin was not pleased with this situation. What use did a four-year-old have for diamonds or sapphires? Frowning in dissatisfaction, Yujin flipped through the catalog until he found a small tiara that Angela might like.
It was too fancy to use in pretend play...
If it had been before, he wouldn’t have dared, «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» but now it was different. Gathering courage, Yujin chose the item and obtained the gift the day before Christmas. He placed it where it was clearly visible among the toys while Angela slept, but in the morning she was still deeply asleep.
If that’s the case, I have no choice but to give it to her myself.
With that thought, Yujin woke Angela and imagined the happy face she would make as he held up the box. Angela tilted her head at the sight but soon opened her eyes wide. At the same time, Yujin’s heart swelled with emotion. This was truly a proper gift—not meaningless sweets like candy or chocolate. As he imagined Angela’s happy expression, he handed her the gift. Angela suddenly blushed and shouted excitedly,
“Santa, Santa came!”
“What? Ah, yes, that’s right.”
Yujin asked again unconsciously at her unexpectedly strong reaction, then quickly nodded. He thought it was lucky she believed him, but what she said next caught him off guard.
“Last night Santa really came. I saw him! I saw Santa!”
That can’t be. It must have been a dream.
Yujin thought to himself. Where in the world was Santa? He once believed in Santa, but that was long ago. After spending many lonely Christmases alone, reality naturally set in. He desperately wanted his child to have a different experience. Feeling relieved he could preserve his daughter’s belief a little longer, he smiled.
“Oh, I see. Maybe he left it then.”
“Maybe?”
The child tilted her head but soon smiled, quickly opened the box, and then—
Huh?
Unexpectedly, there was a card. Yujin was startled at the unfamiliar card, but before he could read it, Angela shouted after seeing the gift inside.
“Wow!”
Both burst out exclaiming at the sight of the tiara, and Yujin couldn’t help but laugh. Setting the card down, he took the tiara from the box and put it on the child’s head.
“Let’s use this for pretend play from now on. Then you’ll really be a princess, how’s that?”
“Good! Really good!”
The child jumped up and hugged Yujin tightly. Up to that moment, Yujin’s satisfaction was at its peak. Until he heard what she said next.
“Thank you, Daddy!”
Yujin froze for a moment. Luckily, holding the child kept his expression hidden, but his heart pounded fiercely. What was that? Did she know? That I had been pretending to be Santa?
Of course she did. You must have guessed it.
Every time the child wished for a worthless present, he secretly felt relieved. Vaguely, Angela had thought Daddy might soon be known as Santa. But they had been pretending all this time, and now he thought he had finally given a real Christmas gift—was it not so?
As all kinds of thoughts rushed through his mind for a brief moment, the child suddenly took the card. Her eyes opened wide, making Yujin’s heart drop, then Angela shouted excitedly,
“Santa left a card!”
“What?”
Startled, Yujin quickly took the card from her and checked the contents. He reread it several times, but the message did not change.
To a good child, Merry Christmas! From Santa.
Blinking in shock, Yujin was surprised when Angela shouted happily,
“That’s right. Yesterday Santa was going back and forth there all the time. He was writing the card. He left it for me!”
That was a dream. Yujin swallowed the words that almost slipped out. He thought it was impossible, but the child’s next words were very detailed. Seeing her excitedly tell how she woke and saw Santa, Yujin was confused. What on earth had happened?
Before he could speak, a sudden knock startled Yujin. Turning around quickly, he saw the door open and Winston standing there.
“You’re awake. Good morning, Angie.”
Yujin still couldn’t get used to that gentle voice directed at the child. While Yujin hesitated, Angela answered,
“Good morning, Mr. Campbell.”
Winston smiled and strode into the room. Naturally taking the child from Yujin, he looked into Angela’s eyes and asked,
“Did you have a good dream? Want to go see what Santa brought?”
“A present?”
“A present?”
Angela and Yujin shouted at the same time. Winston just smiled and walked on. Carrying Angela in one arm and holding Yujin’s hand with the other, Yujin followed, still bewildered. They walked down the long corridor toward the elevator.
Finally, when they reached the first floor and the elevator doors opened, the magnificent scene of the hall unfolded before them. Angela and even Yujin stood with mouths agape, unable to say a word.
