Forgotten

Woojin walked through the decorated house with a proud smile. He had spent the time to line the hallways with golden tinsel and shiny silver baubles  and decorate the table and chairs with Christmas table cloths and ribbons, as well as many additional decorations to make his house look like a Christmas wonderland.

He wanted his younger cousins to be amazed as they walked into his house. He wanted his entire family to be amazed, to love how pretty the house looked all decked out in Christmas decor. A happy smile gently picked up the corners of his lips as Woojin thought about how happy the children would be to see his house. Everyone was coming over for lunch and staying until after dinner and Woojin had ensured that everything, down to the last sprinkle of seasoning and shiny bauble was perfect. He wanted his family to have the best Christmas.

Woojin waltzed casually into the kitchen, an excited pep to his step. This would be the first Christmas he would be hosting. He began checking the food, ensuring that the meal he was preparing was still on the right track.

Another smile graced his features as he stepped out of the kitchen and glanced at the clock on the wall separating the kitchen from the lounge room. A frown tugged his lips away from a smile. It was half an hour past the time his mother had said she and the rest of his family would begin to showing up.

He forced away the frown, replacing it with an uncertain smile. They were probably just running late because of traffic. With hope fluttering happily in his chest, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed his mother's number.

The second she picked up, he heard the familiar loud chattering and laughter of the family eating lunch and catching up. The hope fluttering in his chest floundered at thr sounds of joy and fun emanating from the speaker of the phone.

"Hello?" His mother sounded distracted as she answered the call.

"Mum, where are you all?" Woojin asked, the strain in his voice already evident as the harsh reality began to set in.

"Oh, Woojin! We are at your grandmother's. Where are you? Can you not make it?" His mother's words were joyful and bright despite the pain and despair they wrought.

"At grandmother's?" His words stuttered in his throat as a raging fire sparked and burned the hope that had been fluttering happily only moments before. "Why are you there? You were all supposed to come to my place today."

"Oh, Woojin," she dragged out his name sadly, apologetically and he heard the laughter die down from the other side of the phone. Everyone had noticed that something was wrong. "I'm so sorry. We-"

"You forgot," he stated harshly, his voice hoarse, tone curt. "It's fine, mum. I hope you and everyone else have a merry Christmas," he hung up before she had a chance to respond.

He blinked back tears as he glanced around the decorated house. The scent of the cooked food wafted into his nostrils as they flared in response to his distress. Woojin dropped his phone unceremoniously onto the table before walking down the hall towards his room - the only undecorated space in the house. A reprieve from the overly cheerful holiday decor was a necessity.

As he entered his room, his resolve dissolved and the dam stopping his tears from falling broke. He collapsed heavily against his closed bedroom door as he sobbed into his hands, weeping out his despair into his tears while pressing his palms tighter against his eyes as if they could reclose the floodgates.

The problem was, this wasn't even the first time his family had forgotten about him. Nor was it the second. Woojin's tears ravaged his cheeks in endless torrential streams as he curled his legs into his chest and hugged them tightly to his body with his arms. He had put in so much effort, and no one would ever see it... because they had forgotten about him.