Namjoon simply covered his mouth, hoping the woman had no idea who he was.

That was his biggest fear. Apart from having probably just insulted her.

The head of the snowman sat heavily against his shoulders, the woman in front of him looking like everything but a woman.

Her face was rough, the fake beard and scraggly white hair making her seem aged, and the way she appeared to be leaning back to let her large stomach poke out made her look closer to Saint Nick than anyone he had ever met.

However, she seemed to not realize how she looked, her eyes angrily piercing into Namjoon's skull behind the heavy costume.

Glancing around, he grabbed the woman in front of him, who looked like an old man, and pushed her in front of the first mirror he could find.

Nia paused momentarily, examining herself and seeing what he saw coming into the employee's room.

She appeared old.

Very old.

At first, she didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but after a few moments, she simply chuckled, turning around and bowing at the stranger in the snowman suit.

"Sorry, Mr. I was just too oblivious to even realize what I look like to you. No wonder you'd think I was a man and not a beautiful woman," she laughed.

Namjoon nodded, the girl finally calming down and extending her arm out to him.

With a large smile, she simply introduced herself again, asking him to call her Nia.

"And your name?" she asked, Namjoon turned away, the head from the snowman suit making it hard to tell what he had done.

"Jun. My name is Kim um... Jungi!"

Nia looked confused momentarily, shrugging off his obvious stuttering and turning to look down at a large red bag, different red from the one she took her costume out of.

"So, you'll be joining me out with the kids, hu?" She question.

Namjoon nodded, his hands going up to keep the head of the snowman on.

"Good. Now keep a big smile behind the mask and get ready for a good time," she laughed.

Namjoon wasn't too sure about what to do. Following behind her, Nia began to cough and make weird noises, Namjoon assuming she was getting sick or had something in her throat.

As they passed the store's cashier Namjoon began to panic.

He had only been given vague instructions on what to do or say, having to go out straight away made him feel nervous.

Nia walked out first, her friend May still sitting outside, her nose pink from waiting in the cold.

"Damn it took you long- oh my god you actually look like a 'noini'," her friend laughed, using the Korean term for old man while saying the rest in English.

"I am not that old looking. For that matter, May, meet Jun-"

"Joon?!" Her friend began to exclaim.

Namjoon's ears began to perk up. Finally giving the woman in front of "Santa" a good look, his heart nearly dropped out of fear when his eyes caught his stage name plastered on her shirt, RM, in big white letters.

She had a headband with two small and identical blue koala heads, ones that represented Namjoon's mascot of sorts, Koya the Koala, and a face mask with his name written on it.

"Jungi, Jungi," Nia corrected her, her friend giggling like crazy.

"Oh, almost sounds like Yoongi," she said bashfully.

"Mr. Jun, this is my friend May. As you can tell, she's a big BTS fan," Nia introduced.

Namjoon wasn't sure what to say or do. She appeared innocent enough, but that's how most started. Innocent until driven mad by the sole mention of his group or group members.

"Fake ignorance," Namjoon told himself.

"BTS? I don't know of them," he said.

"How is it that you don't know of the biggest- wait maybe you're the old man here-"

Nia cut her friend off, closing her mouth with the palm of her hand before glancing over at the snowman.

"Ignore, she's a bit of a... A crazy person when it comes to the group," Nia giggled nervously.

"You're one to talk Ms. "Jin's going to marry me someday"," her friend managed to yell out.

"As I said, she's crazy," Nia smirked, the old man's makeup making it hard to take her allegations seriously

"Well, take good care of her Jun. Have fun guys, I have to go now," her friend smiled.

"Yeah yeah, have fun," Nia called out, Nia grabbing Namjoon's arm before pulling her with him.

~

Namjoon now stood behind her, Nia coughing and humming a bit before the first kid came up the stairs of a center stage where they stood, Namjoon sweating heavily from the heat of his suit, the mall's heating system helping little.

"Ho ho ho!! Hello Michael!! It's been a year now hasn't it?" She spoke out.

Her voice was easily fake when it came to depth, Namjoon looking at her oddly.

But children knew no different right?

Before any kid came, Namjoon was to whisper the name of the kid by reading it from a list he was to make from what the awaiting parents gave him. Other than that, he was to make sure each kid was in the right order as they went up the stairs to meet Santa.

Nia seemed to be good with the kids, each one leaving with a big smile on their face.

Namjoon continued to go up and down next to Nia, some of the kids hugging him and asking for him to bring lots of snow to the city, while others asked him not to bring any snow for the sake of their parents who worked outside.

To each one, Namjoon nodded, saying word for word what Nia has asked him to respond.

"I will do my best. You just keep smiling!"

It felt refreshing to him. To come and be someone else and not be surrounded by fans who would more often than not, make him feel awkward and as if he had no personal space. It was as if he could finally be Kim Namjoon the person and not Kim Namjoon the leader of BTS. 

The kids were none the wiser to who he was, all of them hugging him and squealing for a far different reason than the fans that sometimes threw themselves at him and his bandmates.

He felt a sort of wave of relief wash over him.

This was nice.

It was different.

It was something he felt relaxed doing.

He didn't feel forced when it came to smiling or even giving kids a high-five. 

The small event came to an end faster than Namjoon realized, Nia standing up from her seat as the last kid left the stage. Time had gone by quickly, Namjoon checking his phone from inside the large snowman costume.

Just then, while Namjoon turned his back to pick up the seat in which Nia had been on, a teenage boy that looked to be at least a freshman in high school, walked up to them.

The boy's hands were shaking, the boy grabbing Nia's sleeve and tugging at it lightly.

"Mr. Santa, sir," he said in a weak voice.

Nia turned to look at him, at first confused, before grinning with a large smile.

"Hold on Yoojin. I got you," she winked, walking past Namjoon and towards the parents' waiting area where the previous kids' parents had sat waiting for their kids to go ask Santa for presents.

It took her five minutes to come back, Nia holding a large platter of food that had been given out for free to the parents.

Namjoon was stunned, Nia grabbing a box that had previously been filled with candies and other goodies for the kids, and placed the food there with some metal tongs.

"Tell the kids I'll see them on Friday okay?" She smiled, the boy nodding before turning around and walking away from her.

Nia turned back to help clear up the stage, Namjoon going quiet and helping out while continuing to wonder who the boy was.

Before finally making their way back to the shop, Nia stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and looked over at Namjoon, his steps slowing down before stopping to wait on her.

"His name is Yoojin," she mumbled, Namjoon nodding his big suit head before adding, " I heard."

"He's one of the kids in the nearby orphanage. Comes here every year. The first time he came I caught him stealing some food from the waiting area. Apparently, the Santa before me often gave him the leftover food from the event," she explained, beginning to walk next to Namjoon.

"Why does he take the food?"

"That specific orphanage is in the midst of a lawsuit. Apparently, someone wants to take it down and build a new shopping mall to replace it. I'm not too sure about the details. With all the money that's going to keep the orphanage open, they are surviving on volunteers and donations only, to keep them afloat through the holidays. They like giving the kids gifts and a holiday feast to keep them happy and cheerful. It's hard being an orphan, and the place wants to make sure these kids are having a good and happy childhood, which can be hard in some places. Recently, support for the orphanage has gone down, especially since it's in the middle of such a busy place surrounded by shopping areas and businesses. People have been wanting that place to go down for years, but the people running it won't back down," Nia said, walking up to the shop and opening the door with a key.

"Is there anything that can be done for those kids? Can't they go into other orphanages?"

"Well, look who decided to say more than a sentence today? Yeah, I guess they could, but most of the orphanages around the area are pretty full. This orphanage is the largest in the city and has been able to reduce the stress on others simply by taking in the "extras" from smaller orphanages. It would be a big stress on the smaller ones, and most of the kids might have to be separated from each other. Keep in mind a large majority of these kids consider each other family, like siblings. It would be a bad call to separate them," Nia added, finally opening the door to the employees' room.

"Ah. I get it," Namjoon mumbled.

Nia sighed, her hands grabbing her own cheeks.

"If I was the real Santa, I would have given that orphanage all the money they need. All I can do for now is set up a funding account...hopefully, people will donate to it...hopefully."

Nia went silent, placing a bag she had gotten from the event and placing it in the corner of the room before turning to look at Namjoon.

"Well, since we are done, we can change and go home," Nia added, Namjoon giving one final nod before turning away from her and towards the door.

Going back out, he left Nia inside to change while he went out the back door of the shop.

"Time to go home..."

◈◈◈◈◈

🐨*For those unfamiliar with Christmas, or who Santa Clause is, here's what you need to know: Santa gives kids gifts. Santa Claus is also known as Old Saint Nick. People are often hired as Santa Clause to go to malls and let kids ask them for gifts. 

I hope you enjoy this update!!

Mama KoalaBeaw

~♔~