*

The walls of Chanyeol's mansion are definitely paper thin.

"Ah, shit... Hmhhnng... Please, please, more... Harder... Ah! There..."

And Sehun can clearly hear every single noise coming from the other room.

"Fuck it," he has the pillow covering his ears while he squishes his head under it, "Why are they so loud, goddamnit!"

Lying on his bed while trying his best to block the obscene moans and grunts, he can still hear Kyungsoo's lewd whimpers. It's Friday night and he knows he openly allowed the guys to fuck during Fridays, but isn't it a bit too much? They're bothering his sleep, for fuck's sake.

"Ahhh, Jongin, more!"

This is his fault anyway for staying at the house. What can he do? It's snowing like crazy outside so he chooses to just stay at the mansion instead of leaving the house.

"That's it! I've had enough!"

Sehun storms out of his own room, and just at that moment when he's about to knock on the door of Jongin's room, he finds it slightly open. Stopping on his tracks with his knuckles halted in the air, he stares at the narrow gap in between the door.

"Like this? Should I move slower?"

"Yeah... Just like that... Ahh, it feels so good."

There, he sees Kyungsoo's naked back on his view covering Jongin sitting on the bed, his arms around Kyungsoo's waist as the male rides him. They share a slow kiss in that position as the bed creeks in a steady rhythm.

They look beautiful like this.

Jongin and Kyungsoo.

The both of them, together.

"Hey."

Sehun jumps at the sudden voice behind him, feeling a mini-heart attack.

"Were you peeping?"

"No," Sehun looks away. Luhan comes forward and does the job to gently close the door in front of them. He puts a hand on his hip, lifting an eyebrow at Sehun.

"Were you watching my boyfriends having sex?" Luhan asks.

"What the hell?" Sehun forces out a laugh. "I couldn't sleep because of the noise so I got up and was about to tell them to keep it down, and then you saw me."

Luhan smiles coyly. "You expect me to believe that?"

Sehun turns around nonchalantly to go back to his room while the other male follows him.

"I don't care about what you think. I'll go back to sleep now," he pulls his blanket up, "Good night."

"I'm just kidding, you know." Luhan sits on Sehun's swivel chair, playing with it like a child.

"And what are you still doing here?" Sehun sneers, "Get back to your own room."

"Can't I just stay here, though?" Luhan snickers. "It's kind of lonely sleeping alone in a cold snowy night like this."

Sehun gets up and leans his back on the headboard, squinting his eyes at him. He hugs his knees. "Don't you even dare try getting into my pants."

"Hey! Aren't you so full of yourself? I just want some companion." Luhan eyes him, wiggling his eyebrows. "Though I also want that dick, if ever you changed your mind?"

"Get away from me," Sehun looks scandalized. "I'm telling Jongin! Jongin!!!"

"Hahahaha!" Luhan guffaws, slapping his own thighs, "Oh god, it's really fun to tease you."

Sehun glares, "I hate you so much."

Luhan smiles. "And I'm hungry."

It's one thirty in the morning and Sehun is at the kitchen mixing the spicy seasoning of the noodles soaked in boiling water. The steam blowing to his face is making him awake. Smiling, Luhan has his chopsticks ready when the hot ramen is served in his bowl.

"Shit, it's so delicious," Luhan says after he slurps a large cluster of noodles with an obscene sound. Sehun just watches with his hand under his chin, sitting on the chair in front of him.

"You should try it. Say ahh~"

Sehun blocks Luhan's hand. "No thanks, I'm not that hungry."

"When are we gonna eat ramen together, then?"

"Maybe next time," Sehun says, "Uh," He clears his throat. "I'm just curious."

"Yeah?"

"Why weren't you... You know, joining them?"

"Oh, that." Luhan twirls the noodles and puts them inside his mouth. "It's not my schedule tonight. Jongin and I are done fucking yesterday so it's Kyungsoo's turn now. Sometimes I pass it to Kyungsoo if I don't feel like doing it. Jongin will then make up to me the other night. Whenever we're on the mood, we do threesome. It works like that."

Sehun's face cringes, feeling disgusted, "Too much information."

"Well, you asked, didn't you?" Luhan says with a chuckle. He drinks the water Sehun puts beside him. "By the way, it's already Christmas Eve tonight. What are you planning to do?"

"I'll go home to my parents' house and spend Christmas together with them just like the past years," Sehun replies, "How about you?"

Luhan thinks for a while. "Hmm. Jongin's gonna spend Christmas at his workplace. I heard they're gonna open the store 24/7. Meanwhile Kyungsoo's gonna go home to his family. He does it every year."

"I'm not asking about them. I'm asking about you."

"Me? Maybe I'll just stay here." Luhan shrugs. "I don't have someone to go home to anyway."

"Don't you have parents?"

"They're in China. I just don't know where in there, exactly."

Silence envelopes the air as Luhan stares down at his empty bowl of ramen. Sehun can hear the droplets of water quietly dripping on the sink from the loose faucet.

It's kind of melancholic.

"I thought you guys are celebrating Christmas together," Sehun says after a while, "So you three still separate from each other after all."

"It's fine, we were with each other for the whole year anyway. A day wouldn't hurt."

Sehun gets the bowl and utensils Luhan used, washing them on the sink himself as the other male watches him this time.

"Sehun, you should give me a Christmas present," Luhan lands a playful punch on his arm. "So it'll be less lonelier for me."

"And why would I give you one?" Sehun scoffs. "Just ask your two boyfriends to give you a present. That's their job anyway."

Luhan just smiles. "Oh. Should I?"

"Yeah, you should." Sehun removes the pink rubber gloves once he is done, shoving them at Luhan's chest. "So you'd stop bothering me around like this." Then he proceeds to go upstairs to his room, leaving the pretty male alone.

Luhan laughs and follows him anyway.

"Hey."

Sehun stops turning the doorknob to his room, looking at Jongin outside the next room. The male looks like his sleep was disturbed, his hair is disheveled while his pajamas are crumpled.

"Hey," Sehun responds.

"What's wrong?" Jongin asks. "Can't sleep?"

"No. I just went down to drink water."

"I heard you calling my name earlier," Jongin says furrowing his eyebrows, "Did something happen?"

"Oh, that." Sehun rubs his nape before he averts his eyes. "It's nothing. Get back to sleep."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

Luhan comes upstairs running and still laughing. He pauses, seeing Sehun and his boyfriend at the hallway.

Jongin looks at Luhan, then slowly back at Sehun.

"Why are you still awake?" Luhan asks him.

Sehun opens the door of his room, quietly entering inside not to get involved with the two anymore.

"I should be asking you that question," Jongin says, lifting an eyebrow at him, "What were you doing with him?"

Luhan laughs teasingly, "Are you jealous?"

"What?"

"Are you jealous that we're closer now?" Luhan says. "To the point that he cooks ramen for me?"

"He did that?"

"Hey. I love you more anyway," Luhan says, then he is walking towards Jongin until he is shoved against the wall with Jongin's lips against his own, and his fingers through Jongin's hair.

*

"Aww, Kyungsoo!" Luhan cries, jumping into his boyfriend's smaller body and hugging him tight. He kisses Kyungsoo's lips three seconds long before he hugs him again. "I'm gonna miss you so bad!"

"Don't be a dramatic bitch. It'll only be three days," Kyungsoo embraces Luhan back inside his arms. He releases a few seconds later, throwing him a stare, "Guard the house for the meantime while I'm gone."

Sehun brings Kyungsoo's luggage so Kyungsoo takes it. Kyungsoo holds Luhan's hand and squeezes it afterwards.

"Take care of yourself, okay? Stay warm."

"Thanks, I will."

"Babe, are you sure you're gonna be fine here?" Jongin asks Luhan worriedly. Fixing the scarf on his neck, he zips up his bag and looks at his watch. "You know I could still ditch part-time so you won't be alone?"

"No, you don't have to do that! They need you there, remember?" Laughing, Luhan slings his arms around both of Jongin and Kyungsoo's neck, pushing them out of the gates. "Just go to work and cook chicken, Jongin! And you Kyungsoo, leave now. The taxi is waiting! We don't want you two to be late, do we?"

"Fine, fine. We're going!" Jongin turns his head one last time towards Sehun standing by the door.

Sehun looks at him.

"Hey, Sehun! Look after Luhan before you leave!" Jongin yells, grinning at him.

Sehun flashes him a thumbs up.

"Bye, Luhan. See you tomorrow morning," Jongin tells Luhan, pressing a kiss on his lips before they part ways. He also waves at Sehun goodbye who just nods at him.

"Merry Christmas, Sehun!" Kyungsoo greets, giving him a small wave before he gets inside the cab. The couple leave together aboard the taxi waiting for them after Jongin puts Kyungsoo's stuff inside the trunk.

Sehun watches in silence as the cab drives off, waiting for it to disappear from his sight.

*

"Well, it's just the two of us alone now," Luhan, who is occupying the spacious couch in front of the television he doesn't even bother looking at, says. He has a bowl of popcorn on top of his lap to make him look like he's really into watching the movie. "Do you wanna watch this with me?"

Sehun clears his throat, then he slowly shows the bag he's already wearing on his back.

Seeing that, Luhan's eyes flash a bit of sadness, and Sehun pretends he doesn't notice that.

"Right." Luhan chuckles. "Of course, you told me about it. You're going home."

"The bus is gonna arrive in five minutes," Sehun says, trying not to have a look at the older's face. He feels somewhat guilty for being the last one leaving, and for some reason it makes his heart kind of heavy. "So... Yeah. Merry Christmas."

Luhan nods, then he increases the volume of the TV, "Same to you. Merry Christmas."

The moment Sehun finds a seat at the very back of the bus, he immediately fishes out his vibrating phone. Swiping it, Baekhyun's smiling face welcomes his whole screen.

[Sehun! Merry Christmas!]

A tiny smile makes its way into Sehun's lips, seeing Baekhyun wearing a red santa hat, a pair of earmuffs, and a thick fur coat in the video chat. There's a huge pine tree covered with snow behind him--- looks like he's outside playing snow. Baekhyun laughs when a snowball is thrown at his face, and there's fog coming out of his mouth.

[Sehun! Is it snowing there?!]

"It has stopped this morning," Sehun answers. The call is kind of shaky since Baekhyun is running around and laughing. "You're like a kid, seriously."

[I'm playing snowball fight with Chanyeol sun--- ouch! I wasn't looking!!!]

The camera pans out, and the next moment, it is being lifted up with Chanyeol's scrunched face joining in the screen. Baekhyun grins and waves beside Chanyeol. The both of them are wearing couple fur coats, earmuffs and santa hats.

Sehun rolls his eyes. "Hey. Give the phone back to Baekhyun."

[Merry Christmas, Sehun.]

Then Chanyeol is gone playing with the snow again in the background.

Sehun just stares. "The fuck did he just?"

[He's wishing you a merry Christmas! You just heard that, right? I'm sorry for--- Chanyeol sunbae! Stop throwing snowballs at me! I'm sorry, Sehun. He's like this when the bipolar thingy attacked and I just---ouch! What the hell, I said, stop!!!]

Baekhyun heartily laughs with that adorable eyesmile of his, and Sehun's heart just did a backflip.

"It must be really cold there," Sehun says, sticking the earphones inside his ear properly to hear Baekhyun's voice better. "I wish I had stayed longer with you."

[This is gonna be our first Christmas without each other so I hope you won't get sad too much, alright?]

"I'll try," Sehun chuckles. "Merry Christmas, Baekhyun. I'm gonna wait for you here. I miss you."

[I miss you, too! Say hello to your Mom for me!]

"Okay, I have to go now," Sehun says, "I'm at the bus right now heading home and my stop is near, so."

[Alright, Sehun. Byeee!---Hey you, Come back here!]

The call with Baekhyun ends with Sehun smiling at the window of the bus, and he wishes again for the umpteenth time, that next year would quickly come.

*

"Here's your order! Enjoy!"

Jongin puts the tray of chicken on the costumer's table. He quickly runs to the other table to clean it up, hearing the door chimes cling. "Welcome, please sit here!"

The crew is busy tonight, people are coming in and out of the store to eat this Christmas season and Jongin barely have time to breathe. Orders are piling up for him to deliver to the tables. It's fine, though, as long as the owner gives him free chicken to take home and pays him double.

"Jongin! Man the kitchen for a while! My shift's over!"

"Okay!"

He prefers working at the kitchen, it is less tiring compared to waiting orders. Although the kitchen feels suffocated and hot due to frying chicken all day, it's tolerable as long as he's got to eat chicken secretly when the owner isn't around.

"Ah, it's snowing again," he mutters to himself while washing the dishes and looking at the small window above the sink. Good thing the other part-timer already arrived, he doesn't have to go back waiting orders. "I hope he's wearing warm clothes at least."

Resuming on his work and shaking his head, Jongin brushes of the memory in his mind. He has been feeling a bit distracted ever since this morning. He maybe busying himself moving around the store, but half of his brain is left wondering and worrying for a certain reason.

It seems like he is missing something.

Or someone.

"You should take a break," the owner tells Jongin, handing him his salary and a plastic bag with boxes of chicken nuggets inside, "Here. Take this and leave."

"But Sir, I told you I'm working until morning. You need more part-timers tonight," Jongin says, "And it's only eleven o'clock."

"Nah, don't think about it too much and just go!" The owner says, pushing Jongin out of the kitchen. "It's obvious that you badly want to go home." He smiles. "Spend Christmas with your loved ones."

"Th-thank you, Sir!" Jongin bows at him, hurrying to take off his apron. "Merry Christmas!" He runs to the locker room and gets his stuff, wearing his coat and scarf. "Oh, right. The presents!" Then he shoves the gifts he bought inside his bag before he forgot.

With a huge grin on his face as he exits the chicken store, he then takes a cab.

"Is there something wrong?"

Sehun breaks out from his trance and looks at his mother going downstairs.

"Huh?"

"You've been staring at a distance," she says. Sehun looks at the clock striking to eleven. "You okay?"

"Mom, I need to go to somewhere," Sehun mutters, then he's grabbing his backpack and heads to the door.

"This late!?"

"Don't wait for me, okay!" Sehun says, wearing his coat and beanie.

By the time Sehun reaches the bus stop, he rapidly gets off the cab and barges straight inside the busy chicken store while catching for his breath. He looks around, searching for a familiar face.

"Hey, did you see Jongin?" he asks a classmate from his department also working part-time with Jongin. He shakes his head and proceeds giving orders so Sehun just sighs, "Where could he be..."

"If you're looking for Jongin, he already went home," the owner says, smiling at him. "About ten minutes ago."

Sehun scurries outside the store and hails another cab, heading to Chanyeol's mansion.

"Sehun's not here," Sehun's mother tells the young man outside their house, "He told me he's going somewhere this late. Are you his friend?"

"Yes, I am. Is he coming back fast?" Jongin asks. "I'll just wait for him here."

"I'm afraid he had a change of plan this Christmas," Sehun's mother says, laughing. "Don't wait for him and just go home. It's cold outside."

Sehun enters the mansion, finding the lights turned off in the living room save for the christmas lights on their big tree Kyungsoo decorated. Looking around, he deems that no one is here. Luhan might've gone to his room to sleep, meanwhile Jongin, he might've gone to somewhere.

"Hey."

Sehun turns around and holds his chest, feeling a mini-heart attack because of the finger poking his back. "What the fuck?"

"Why are you here?" Luhan asks. His whole self is cocooned inside a thick blanket which reaches past the floor. He looks practically like a ghost nun. "Did you forget something?"

"Oh, uh." Sehun coughs, stepping back, "Are you alone?"

"Of course, I am. What are you talking about," Luhan chuckles, removing the blanket and throwing it to the couch. "Unless a ghost is staying with me."

Sehun glances around the empty and dark living room one last time, before finally looking back at Luhan staring curiously at him.

He's not really here.

"So," Luhan waits. "Now what?"

"For you," Sehun hands him the box of strawberry cake he managed to buy at the pastry shop nearby. "Let's just eat this."

A little smile spreads on Luhan's mouth.

The knife gets in between, slicing the round cake into two equal parts. Luhan gets two wine glasses from the cupboard and pours the red wine he got from Chanyeol's cellar.

"I don't drink wine," Sehun says when Luhan hands him the other glass. They're lounging beside the pool, just watching the water glimmer under the moonlight.

"Just hold it for me, then," Luhan replies. He sits on the balcony beside Sehun, taking a bite on the cake he sliced. "Cheers."

Sehun bumps the glass with his glass, "Cheers."

Seeing the other male beside him taking a sip of the red liquid, Sehun smells the wine experimentally and shakes it gently.

"Don't force yourself to drink it," Luhan says, laughing at the memory, "Let's not make that last time happen again."

Sehun remembers that moment in the second book when Luhan accidentally made him drink a whole bottle of alcohol. He passed out drunk on the floor and woke up with a horrible headache the next morning.

He cringes at the thought, leaning the glass away. "You're right."

"What made you come back?" Luhan asks, finishing his cake. "You're not supposed to be here, right?"

"I'm not supposed to be with you either," Sehun whispers he only could hear. He sighs deeply, massaging his temples. "Ah... What the hell was I just thinking..."

"What do you mean by that?"

Sehun looks at Luhan, "I don't know either." He shakes his head. "I also don't know."

"This is delicious," Luhan mumbles as he eats the strawberry topping, "It tastes just like the cake Jongin buys for me. Where did you buy this?"

Beside the store Jongin is working at, Sehun is about to say, but he chooses just not to instead.

"Oh, it's now twelve o'clock!" Luhan exclaims, showing the time on his phone. He grins at Sehun. "Merry Christmas, Sehun!"

"Merry Christmas," Sehun says back, and when he looks up, he sees the neighbor's fireworks with colors bursting on the sky.

"Wow, it's so pretty! I should post this on Instagram!"

It has been only Baekhyun and his family whom he spends Christmas together all throughout the past years, so it feels different now that he's with someone new by his side at this hour.

Someone he doesn't even have something to do with, up until this moment, at least.

"Luhan."

Luhan turns to look at him as he holds his phone, "What is it?"

"Is it still up?"

"Huh?"

"The friendship you were offering," Sehun says, "I think I should give you a chance."

It takes several seconds before Luhan finds a reaction. The fireworks are still exploding in the sky, and it sounds beautiful like this.

"Let's be friends," Sehun says, looking at his wide doe-eyes, "Hyung."

Hearing that, Luhan laughs nonstop until he is catching for his breath and crouching on the floor. There are practically tears on the corners of his eyes while Sehun only stares dumbly at him.

"There's nothing funny to laugh about," Sehun says, feeling slightly annoyed, "Stop laughing."

"You're so cute, oh my god," Luhan says after he recovers. He sits closer to Sehun and blatantly rests his head on top of his lap, making Sehun's eyes widen in horror. "This is how I treat my friends so stay still."

"Shit! Get off my lap!" Sehun says, shoving Luhan away as he turns his head around in a panicking manner. "Someone might see us like this!"

Luhan grins. "There's no one going home, remember? It's just the two of us here."

Sehun knows Luhan is completely wrong the moment he locks eyes with Jongin standing by the door who is staring directly at them beside the pool. Like his butt is on fire, Sehun gets up and pushes Luhan off his lap, making the male also look at the direction he is ogling at.

"Oh my god, Jongin! You're here!" Luhan happily greets his boyfriend like nothing happened. He goes to the male and welcomes him with a bear hug. "You're home early! Merry Christmas!"

Jongin never takes his eyes of Sehun, he's just staring at him on that spot with a expressionless look on his face. Sehun has no idea if this heavy feeling inside his chest is caused by guilt, regret, hurt, or even something else.

He just knows that he's not supposed to be here.

"Sehun brought a cake. Come on, let's eat it together!"

Maybe he shouldn't have gone back in the first place.

"Kyungsoo, you're here, too!?" Luhan exclaims when he opens the door, seeing his boyfriend outside covered with a scarf. Kyungsoo shoves his chest with a gift.

"I just felt that you might be lonely so I came back," Kyungsoo says, heading straight to the kitchen. Luhan follows him and watches as Kyungsoo places down the food he bought. "Is Jongin still at part-time?"

"No, he also came back," Luhan smiles. He puts Kyungsoo's gift for him under the Christmas tree, together with Jongin's present and Sehun's. "As well as Sehun."

"I guess we're gonna celebrate Christmas together then," Kyungsoo shrugs, chuckling under his breath, "The four of us."

"Aren't you gonna say something?" Sehun asks Jongin as he helps washing the dishes after they ate the chicken nuggets and the food Kyungsoo prepared. "About what you saw earlier."

Jongin just shrugs, "It's fine. I know it doesn't mean anything anyway."

"Okay," Sehun replies shorty. He lathers the plate with dishwashing soap before passing it to Jongin. "Uh. By the way, I went to the chicken store you were working part-time at."

"You did?"

"Yeah. But I didn't see you there. The owner said you already went home so I just went back to the mansion and I saw Luhan instead," Sehun further rambles, although he doesn't know why the hell he's explaining it to him, "I went to the store first before I came back here. I thought I just... wanted to let you know."

Jongin laughs. "Sure." He throws bubbles at his face. "Thank you for telling me."

"Where did you go to anyway?"

Jongin sticks his tongue out. "It's a secret."

*

To be continued.