"Hey."

He exhales softly, easing his shoulders as he pulls out a rose.

With his last sigh, he pushes the rose towards me.

"...Hey."

"Listen, I- I know we're going to leave soon because it's like... ten! Ten minutes to uh... Eleven! However-" 

"Jae Iseul."

"What? Why are you always interrupting me at a time like this?"

However, he doesn't respond—instead, he takes my hand and places the rose in my clasp. Closing my fingers and covering my hand with his, he eases into a soft smile that has my heart racing.

"Merry Christmas, Jae Iseul."

I grin softly, looking up at him as I ease in his touch. 

"Merry Christmas—" Taking a good glimpse at him, I sigh in a fit of happiness.

"—Lee Heeseung."

"There you guys are!" Jungwon yells from afar, all of us meeting by the closed Lotte World. I check the time— It's half past eleven already, took them long enough. Jungwon smirks, leaning forward. Next to my ear, I hear a soft sigh.

"It seems you chose the right one, hm?" He giggles, covering his mouth. "I've always been team Heeseung hyung anyways."

"Hey!" 

"Don't get into a fight with her Jungwon, it's Christmas," Heeseung warns, putting his arm around me. I try to hold back my smile, but after the cute little scene we decided to have in front of those poor little kids, I think it's best to just grin.

"You're only defending her because she chose you, huh?" Jungwon chuckles, shaking his head. "Don't forget you're getting kicked out of your own bedroom tonight."

"Gah, don't remind me..." Heeseung sighs, shaking his head. "Just know once you're done, you're getting kicked out. I like my pillow pet."

"Die," I hiss back, removing his hands off of me. "Now, let's go get drinks. There's a bar not too far from here—we might as well enjoy this year before it ends."

"It's not new Year, just Christmas!"

"Let's just go order room service—don't we all have presents to give each other?"

"No." We all synchronize as Sunoo rolls his eyes, crossing his arms.

 "Well... I had some for you," He scoffs, making us chuckle. We make our way back to our hotel on the last shuttle, Heeseung finally deciding to sit with me after his (horrible, but great) attempts to usher a tired Sunghoon away. Finally making it back to the hotel, I lost in a great game of rock, paper, scissors with Jay and we had to go get drinks.

At first, the lady believed I was of age—but when she looked at Jay, she thought I was giving beer to a minor.

As. If.

Anyways, we prove our "legal-ness" by showing her our IDs, getting back on the elevator, and heading into their shared room. Everyone celebrates as we have bottles and bottles of beer, talking to each other and reminiscing on how bad this year was.

"There was a time when..."

"Hey, did you know..."

"Oh gosh, shut up! That was in the past..."

All their sentences cause my heart to feel light—knowing well that this was a family that would never break.

"The clocks about to hit twelve!" I squeak, looking at my watch. We countdown, watching from the balcony as it hits midnight.

"Merry~ Christmas!" We resonate, clapping to ourselves from the third floor of the hotel. Everyone continues to chat as if Christmas was just a normal holiday—until Jungwon beckons me to fall him into my room. So, I quickly excuse myself, grabbing my keycard from the nightstand before leaving Jay's room. "Are you happy it's Christmas?" I ask.

"Not at all," He shrugs, following after me as I shut the down behind him. "In fact, I wish it wasn't Christmas—I wish it was a day where I was back at university, studying for another exam to escape the calls and texts of my control-obsessed parents."

"Speaking of which... where will you be living?" I question, sighing. "Do you... have a friend that can let you stay?"

"Not really—cutting off both my house rent and my money supply, I don't have many choices," He sighs, rubbing his temples. "Most of us lived in the dorms—so that means I won't be living there for a while. I'll figure it out though, I've done it before."

Walking to the bed, he takes a seat. I follow him like a lost puppy, taking a seat next to him.

"Jungwon... just live at my place for the time being," I smile, patting his shoulder. "Soo-Ri doesn't mind the extra company—and if you're that desperate to pay rent, you can just pay me half of it. I have a part-time job—we'll both be okay."

"Are you sure?" He asks me, making me nod. "I won't be a nuisance, right? I-"

"Jungwon..." I fade out, worry evident in my eyes. "Why... don't they approve of you being in a band?" He sighs, leaning back before falling back on the bed.

"They never have," He responds, blowing back his strands of hair. "They want me to be a lame lawyer or whatever. Maybe it's because my older sister is more successful than I am—or it's just because they want the money—but they've never approved of my potential. I don't want to be someone who reads papers all day. I want to sing, knowing people enjoy my voice. I want to enjoy my life as an adult who gets to choose what the hell he wants to do—but never in my life have I ever gotten to."

"It will never happen anyways—at least until I get a good-paying job or exit their grasp," He smiles sadly, closing his eyes. "But I still love them as my parents. I wish that one day... they'd see me as a legal adult and not a six-year-old anymore."

Before I know it, he's crying, full-on tears as I lean back. "C'mere, you big baby," I whisper before engulfing the younger in a hug. Patting his back, it's as if this boy is my little brother. I love him and appreciate all his hard work—and one day, his parents will too. "Stay as long as you need to, Jungwon. Soo-Ri and I appreciate your company—and hopefully, this year will be better."

"Thank you, Iseul," He sniffles, hugging me tightly. "While I don't call you noona, you certainly act like one."

"Call me that and you're getting beat," I threaten softly, chuckling. "Don't worry—while they may not approve of you, I do."

"You're always on my side, and I am on yours in mutual agreement," He replies, looking up at me. "At the end of this, hopefully, you'll choose the right one at hand."

"You sound serious, are we switching onto my problems now?"

"Well, you may certainly need advice on it."

"Listen, I'm grown enough to know my love interests."

"Do you? Do you really~" He hums in a mocking tone, rolling his eyes. "Because it definitely seems like you needed my opinion to go off and chase Heeseung."

"Shut your mouth, you loser!" I laugh before hitting him, causing him to turn over and laugh. "Listen, it was needed— however, I don't think anything would've changed."

"Honey, his whole demeanor changed! I mean, look at him—" Jungwon shakes his head in disappointment, chuckling. "He doesn't even drink until he drowns. He's less social and revolves himself around you. He barely talks to strangers on the street like he used to as his normal socialite behavior—don't you see how you've changed him?"

Oh, Yang Jungwon.

Oh, poor, poor, Jungwon.

If only you knew the drinking part was the bet, while the rest is um... well, we don't talk about it. I'm not ready to face it yet.

"Whatever you say, Yang Jungwon~"

"Believe it or not, Jae Iseul, hyung is into you~"

"Just hush and go back to your room~" I harmonize, pushing him off the bed. He stumbles around until he falls to the floor with an 'oof!', getting back up as he glares. "Go back to your room!"

"You sound like my mom too!" He huffs, hands on his hips. "Whatever, I know you just want to cuddle with Heeseung hyung~ Oo~"

"Stop it!" I yell, throwing my pillow at him. The boy dashes at the door before he suddenly opens it, making me aim for the door. "Yang Jungwon, I'll kill-!"

"Hey guys, are you do-" Heeseung immediately gets his head hit, both Jungwon and I freezing in place. We're stiff as the pillow falls straight to the ground, Heeseung stunned. 

"...You." I finish my sentence, laughing awkwardly as Jungwon immediately takes a dash for the door. I don't even chase Jungwon as he's already left, my body immediately sheltering inside our bed. I hear the door close, his footsteps edging near the foot of the bed. I gulp, hiding my face in the pillow.

"Jae Iseul."

"Mmm yes?!" I mumble, stifled by the pillow.

"You're going to get it!" I feel him jump on the bed, panic rising in my eyes.

"No, no, no!" I yell, feeling his fingers tickle me as I laugh aloud. "No— Lee Heeseung! Stop—Stop it this instant!" I giggle, him actually stopping as he giggles too. I open my eyes, seeing his sparkly, dark eyes looking back at me. 

"I hate you."

"It's only right if I hate you back, huh?" My eyes turn into half-moon crescents, a grin plastered on my face.

"Oh, wait, I forgot something," He adds, getting up and rushing to his luggage, taking out a brown plastic bag. I blink, tilting my head. "Here's your Christmas gift! It took me a while to find, but you may like it."

"Thank you," I whisper, opening the bag- only to reveal another bag.

And another.

And another.

We get to the core of it, a black box. I smile slightly before another thin, transparent bag that starts to make me mad. I look at Heeseung who whistles, pretending like he hasn't seen anything. "Heeseung, this isn't very funny."

"Just open the last bag, alright?" He says softly, shrugging. I roll my eyes as I open the last bag—revealing a gemstone bracelet of an ivory gem that I can't recognize. I try not to awe at it but at least give it some reaction— but before I know it, my eyes are welling up. It's so pretty. 

"I didn't know what to get you so um... I hope this works!" He exclaims awkwardly, scratching his nape. "Let me help you put it on..." He takes out the bracelet carefully, grabbing my wrist with a soft tug before he connects the two ends. "There! Do you like it?"

"I— I do, I really do," I sniffle, admiring it. "Thank you Heeseung, I didn't get anyone anything though..."

"Ah, it's okay, I didn't expect anything back!" He smiles, laying on the bed. "Besides, as long as you're happy, even without me, I'll be okay with it."

It's exactly as if he quoted Jungwon's judgment.

"Both Sunghoon hyung and Heeseung hyung want you to be happy—and if it's not them, then they're okay with it."

I guess their leader really does know everything.

"Now, take it off, I don't want you to break it while you're asleep—knowing how you always turn when you're asleep—it's best if you take it off." He says, taking it off for me. "Now, shall we sleep?"

I agree without the words because I'm dead speechless, leaning my head against the pillow. He turns off the lights and I'm left with the dim balcony lights outside, both of us with our wide eyes open.

"Goodnight, Iseul."

"...Goodnight, Heeseung."

"Sleep well," He smiles softly, caressing my hair with his hand. "...And Merry Christmas."

I was already asleep by the time he tells me his last words—and something else I couldn't make out. Oh well.

At least Christmas has gone right this year—and hopefully, next year's will be the same.