A/N: Thank you to lefa_San for the awesome idea! Hope I did your vision justice :)

 

---

 

Secret Santa has never been an “easy” event to pull off, so imagine the kind of scene that’s born when 12 ridiculous high school boys are shoved into one department store with a $20 limit.

 

Oh, and half of them act as if they’ve never been inside a department store before.

 

“There are so many stores,” Chanyeol said with a gaping mouth as he examined the store directory. “So many floors!”

 

“Where do we start?” Baekhyun wondered aloud.

 

“Let’s check out the video game store, Baek!” Chanyeol said giddily and tugged the other member’s sleeve. Baekhyun rolled his eyes and nonchalantly agreed to follow the giant, but on the inside he was prancing with joy. Baekhyun let his lips curve upwards into a smile and soon the two members started running towards the escalator.

 

A couple of the members decided to split up into different groups, while others decided to go solo.

 

Not a good idea.

 

Suho looked around the department store frantically, ruffling through his hair. With a look of panic on his face, he dug through his pockets in search for his phone. When he didn’t find his phone there, he started clearing through his bag. Eunji and Ahri had yet to leave the scene, and when they saw the upper year in such a panic, Eunji approached him and asked, “Are you okay?”

 

Suho jumped on the spot, then when he realized who had spoken to him, he calmed down. He gave her a nervous grin and said, “I just feel so lost.”

 

“Why? What’s the matter, sunbae?” Ahri asked with concern.

 

“I-I, it’s just I’ve never been to one of these places before,” he said sheepishly. Eunji and Ahri started laughing because they thought he had been joking, but when Suho didn’t say anything, the two stopped immediately. “It’s okay, you can laugh at me,” he said with a hint of red in his cheeks.

 

“But sunbae, you’re rich!” Ahri exclaimed. “I’m sure you’ve been shopping lots of times before!”

 

“I don’t do my own shopping. Usually the maids and butlers do that for me, but today I vowed to myself that I would come here and pick out a present for Kai!” Suho said with determination. Then, when he realized he had let the name of his Secret Santa slip, he covered his mouth and laughed nervously. “I wasn’t supposed to reveal that, was I?”

 

Eunji giggled and reassured the leader that it was fine for others to know, so long as the person he’s getting the gift for doesn’t know.

 

“Do you know what you want to get for Kai?” Ahri asked.

 

Suho shook his head and said, “I don’t know what he’d like for $20. If there was no budget, it’d be so much easier. I might go look for a dog collar or something because I know Kai loves his dogs.”

 

Suho bid the two girls farewell and started walking deeper into the mall. Not even five minutes had passed before he ran back to the girls, asking them where the pet store was. Eunji pointed him towards the store directory, and Suho examined the map. After he determined where the pet store was located, he smiled at the girls and said, “Enjoy your shopping, ladies! If you can, try and text me every hour so I know where you guys are. I don’t want to lose anybody.”

 

After Suho left, Eunji and Ahri set off to do their Secret Santa shopping.

 

“Ok, so let’s establish something first,” Ahri started.

 

The two girls took a deep breath of air and said in unison, “You’re not my Secret Santa, right? No? Ok, good!”

 

They smiled at each other and laughed. “Who are you buying a gift for?” Ahri asked.

 

“Kyungsoo,” Eunji replied. “I already know what I want to get him. I get the vibe that Kyungsoo-sunbae really likes reading and cooking, so I was planning on buying him a cook book. How about you?”

 

“Baekhyun,” Ahri sighed as her shoulders slumped. “I have no idea what to get him.”

 

“You got Baekhyun?” Eunji asked with surprise. Suho had entered their names into a random pair generator, and that was how the Secret Santa pairs had been decided. “Are the heavens testing you or something?”

 

“I don’t know! What if he doesn’t like the gift I get him?” she pouted.

 

“Do you know what he likes?”

 

“Well, he really likes video games,” Ahri started. She stared off into the distance and smiled softly. “Pokemon is his favourite. He also really like card-trading games. Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh are his favourite. Despite his childish personality, he actually really likes reading too. Oh, and chocolate! He really likes chocolate.”

 

“You know a lot about him,” Eunji smiled warmly at her friend, which caused the other to blush. “I’m sure you won’t have an issue finding something for him.”

 

“I think I might get him a pack of Pokemon cards and a small box of chocolate. Not much I can do with $20,” Ahri said with a shy smile on her face. “Do you think he’ll like it?”

 

“He’ll love it,” Eunji replied with absolute glee.

 

.::.           .::.           .::.

 

Baekhyun and Chanyeol were standing in the video games store, admiring the new releases. Before they knew it, an hour had passed and the boys hadn’t bought anything. It wasn’t until Baekhyun pulled out his phone to send Suho a text message (to let him know they were still alive) that he saw how much time had passed.

 

“Chan!” he exclaimed. “An hour’s already passed!”

 

“What?!” Chanyeol shouted. Then he whined, “We gotta find the gifts soon.”

 

“Speaking of gifts, who’s your Secret Santa?” Baekhyun asked as he finished texting Suho.

 

“Ahri,” Chanyeol replied. “But Baek, I have no idea what to get her! I mean, what kind of things do girls like anyway?”

 

“Oh cool, I got Minseok-hyung,” Baekhyun replied, not having answered the second part of Chanyeol’s question.

 

“What are you gonna get hyung?”

 

“Well, you know how we met his girlfriend at Suho-hyung’s party? I was thinking about getting them matching scarves or something. I want to get him something that he can share with her, since it seems like he cares a lot about her.”

 

“You’re going to get two scarves for $20? Baek, it may be the holidays but it ain’t raining miracles,” Chanyeol scoffed.

 

“True,” Baekhyun said with a pout. “Matching phone straps?”

 

“Don’t you think they already have that?”

 

“Starbucks giftcard? Minseok-hyung loves coffee,” Baekhyun suggested.

 

Chanyeol crossed his arms and stared at his best friend. “Dude, he works at Starbucks. He probably gets all the coffee he wants there, for free!”

 

“Ok well, Mr. Gift Genius, if you’re so good at choosing gifts then how come you can’t think of one for your own Secret Santa?” Baekhyun asked.

 

“Because I don’t know what girls like!”

 

Baekhyun made a buzzer sound and crossed his arms together to form an ‘X’ shape. “Wrong, you just don’t know what Ahri likes.”

 

Chanyeol huffed a breath of air and started making his way out of the video games store. “Girls like jewellery, right? I could get her earrings or something.”

 

Baekhyun followed after his friend and thought hard about Chanyeol’s suggestion. He furrowed his eyebrows and started shaking his head slowly. “No, don’t get her earrings.”

 

“Why not?” asked a confused Chanyeol. He had an older sister, and he knew she loved wearing earrings. In fact, it seemed like his older sister liked anything that was shiny.

 

“She doesn’t have her ears pierced,” Baekhyun replied confidently as he pointed towards his ears.

 

Chanyeol furrowed his brows and squinted his eyes as if he were looking for something. In reality, he hadn’t been looking for anything in particular. He was trying to figure out how in the world Baekhyun noticed something like that because he sat next to Ahri in Math class and he hadn’t ever noticed that about her before.

 

“How do you know that?” Chanyeol asked suspiciously.

 

Baekhyun shrugged his shoulders and replied nonchalantly, “You just have to look.”

 

“Ok…,” Chanyeol said slowly. What else did his sister like (that he could buy for $20)? Chanyeol thought about the various options: Chocolate, bracelets, and gift cards. He was about to suggest getting her a box of chocolates when Baekhyun spoke out first.

 

“I think she likes to paint her nails,” he said. “Her nails change like every week or so! If she went to a salon that’d be a lot of money. She’d probably appreciate a nice bottle of nail polish or two.”

 

When Chanyeol didn’t say anything, Baekhyun looked at him. “What?”

 

“How do you notice these kind of things?” Chanyeol asked, surprised that his friend knew so much about their female classmate.

 

“I told you, you just gotta look,” Baekhyun rolled his eyes. He took his fingers and used them to widen his eyes. “You already have such big eyes, Chan. Why don’t you use them to look at things better?”

Baekhyun laughed and walked in front of Chanyeol. He found a store directory and searched the map for the closest streetwear store. He knew Minseok liked collecting sneakers, and although he couldn’t afford to buy him a new pair of sneakers, he was considering getting his hyung a beanie. Hats and sneakers went together like peanut butter and jelly, and he was eager to pick out a nice beanie for Minseok.

 

Meanwhile, Chanyeol stood staring at Baekhyun, completely dumbfounded. Chanyeol definitely had eyes, so why couldn’t he see the things that Baekhyun had seen?

 

“Baek, am I semi-blind?!” Chanyeol asked hysterically. He ran up to his friend and started shaking his shoulders.

 

“What are you going on about?!” Baekhyun asked as he slapped Chanyeol’s arms off of him. “You’re not blind! You can see me just fine, can’t you?”

 

“Yeah, you’re right,” Chanyeol said in a much calmer tone. He let out a breath of relief, earning another eye-rolling from Baekhyun. Chanyeol looked upwards, and wondered to himself, ‘I guess Baekhyun just has better eyes than normal people.’

 

.::.           .::.           .::.

 

It had just been ten minutes past an hour.

 

But that was far too long for Suho.

 

He checked his phone over and over again, but he still hadn’t received a text message from Sehun and Kai. Suho tried calling them, but neither of them picked up. An incredible sense of panic washed over him, and the leader started to pace around the mall in circles. People stared at him, and children pointed their fingers at him.

 

“Where are they?!” Suho shouted in frustration. He stopped pacing for a second and took in his current surroundings.

 

Where was he?

 

He looked around and didn’t recognize any of the stores. He clutched the bag in his hand that carried the dog collar he had purchased for Kai’s dog. Suho looked for the pet store he had just exited from, but it wasn’t in sight.

 

People were passing him by like cars during rush hour, and Suho suddenly started to feel extremely overwhelmed. There were way too many people and too much noise for his liking. He covered his ears and closed his eyes in an attempt to make all the noise stop. When Suho felt someone tapping his shoulder, the leader jumped on the spot and turned around to face whoever had touched him.

 

A security man dressed in his uniform and hat gave Suho a concerned look and said calmly, “Do you need any help, Sir?”

 

Suho started waving his arms around and he was honestly on the brink of tears. “I don’t know where I am, and I lost my kids and the other kids aren’t texting me and I just spent $21 on this dog collar but I was only supposed to spend $20 so do you think they’ll forgive me and I just don’t want to be here right now but I promised myself that I would overcome my fear and come here today and I did it so I should be happy but I just feel so lost right now and I-“

 

The security man placed a hand on Suho’s shoulder, which caused the leader to stop talking. “You’re rambling, Sir. I don’t know exactly what happened, but let’s go find your kids. I’ll make an announcement on the PA.”

 

Suho wiped his eye with his sleeve and sniffled. “Thank you,” Suho said as he scanned the security man’s uniform for a nametag, “Frank.”

 

“It’s just my duty, Sir,” Frank replied.

 

The security man led Suho to the lost children’s centre and borrowed the microphone. He asked Suho for the information, then spoke into the microphone, “Would Oh Sehun and Kim Jongin please report to the lost children’s centre on the 5^th floor? Oh Sehun is a male, 180 cm, with brown hair and wearing black ripped skinny jeans, red backpack, and white t-shirt. Kim Jongin is a male, 180 cm, with blond hair and wearing blue jeans, black backpack, and white t-shirt. I repeat, would Oh Sehun and Kim Jongin please come to the lost children’s centre on the 5^th floor? Your guardian is here to pick you up.”

 

No more than 5 minutes had passed before two very pissed teenagers presented themselves to the lost children’s centre. Suho stood up and flung themselves at Kai and Sehun, who were using all their energy to not scream at Suho.

 

“Are you Oh Sehun and Kim Jongin?” Frank asked.

 

“Yes, they are!” Suho chimed.

 

“Hyung what is the meaning of this?” Kai asked through gritted teeth.

 

“We’re not lost,” Sehun added angrily.

 

“Well now you’re not! But you weren’t texting me so I got worried! And you didn’t pick up when I called either!” Suho exclaimed.

 

“Oh my god, you weren’t serious about that, were you?” Kai slapped his forehead. “And this is a mall, hyung! Neither of us heard our phones ringing with all this noise!”

 

“But everyone else was texting me,” Suho said with a pout, which caused Sehun to roll his eyes.

 

Suddenly, Jongdae, Minseok and Luhan ran into the lost children’s centre. When they spotted Kai and Sehun, the three burst into laughter.

 

“Glad to see that the big babies are all safe and sound,” Luhan said in a mocking tone. Sehun was ready to smack the older member, but when Luhan offered him a sip of his bubble tea, the maknae calmed down. He happily shared Luhan’s drink, but when they finished it, Sehun let out a pout.

 

“I’ll buy you some bubble tea after we’re done shopping,” Luhan said with a wide smile that reached his eyes. Sehun’s face lit up in appreciation, but immediately turned sour when Luhan added, “Just don’t get lost, ok?”

 

One by one, the members of the After School Club gathered at the lost children’s centre. Frank asked Suho to fill out some paperwork, and while the leader was busy filling out the forms, he stared at the high school students.

 

“Are all of them your ‘kids’?” Frank asked skeptically.

 

Suho signed the documents and handed them back to Frank with a grin. “Yes they are, all 13 of them,” he beamed at the security man.

 

.::.           .::.           .::.

 

After they finished shopping, the After School club gathered at a nearby Starbucks to present one another with their gifts. While they sipped on hot chocolate and coffee, they exchanged gifts.

 

Baekhyun approached Minseok and handed the older student a red beanie that matched the colour of shoes he was currently wearing. Minseok’s eyes lit up with joy and he happily received the gift from him. He slipped the beanie on immediately and asked Baekhyun whether it suited him or not. Baekhyun gave him two thumbs up and exclaimed, “Hyung is the coolest!”

 

Ahri slowly made her way to Baekhyun and called out to him. He twirled around to meet her eyes, and she quickly handed him a bag covered in red and green tissue paper. “Merry Christmas,” she said softly.

 

He took the present from her hands and looked inside the bag. He saw the box of chocolates and flashed her an appreciative smile. When he spotted a pack of Pokemon cards underneath the chocolates, he fished them out. He tore the top of the packaging off, and eagerly looked through the 10 cards that he received in the pack.

 

When his eyes landed on a shiny Ho-Oh card, Baekhyun nearly screamed. His hands started to shake, then his entire body followed. He couldn’t believe it – he had been searching for this card for ages. He had been tempted to buy the card online, but he wasn’t about to spend $100 on a shiny card.

 

In the spur of the moment, Baekhyun hugged Ahri and squealed, “Thank you!”

 

Ahri tensed at the action because she honestly hadn’t expected him to ever hug her. She raised an arm and patted his back.

 

The action did not go unnoticed by Chanyeol, who had been watching the entire scene with his arms crossed. He raised a brow at the two, then grabbed a pen and piece of paper that had been laying nearby. He quickly scribbled something on the paper and shoved it into Ahri’s gift. Then, he made his way over to his classmates.

 

Chanyeol cleared his throat, causing Baekhyun to release his grip on Ahri. Chanyeol smiled at Ahri and presented her with a small bag. “Merry Christmas,” he said. Ahri dug through the bag and pulled out two bottles of nail polish. One was a deep crimson shade while the other was a bright white. Ahri looked at Chanyeol with a twinkle in her eyes, and she thanked her classmate for the gift.

 

He gave her another smile, then told Baekhyun to follow him because he was having difficulty choosing between whether he wanted a cup of hot chocolate or coffee. “Just get half hot chocolate – half coffee,” Baekhyun suggested.

 

After the two walked away, Ahri set the two bottles of nail polish back into the bag. It was then that she realized she had missed a small piece of paper. She pulled it out, unfolded it and read the message:

 

Don’t thank me, thank Baekhyun.

 

Ahri looked around for Baekhyun and Chanyeol, and spotted the two placing an order at the front counter. Chanyeol had handed her the gift, so why was he telling her to thank Baekhyun? ‘Did Baekhyun help him find my gift?’ she asked herself. Ahri quickly shook the thought out of her mind because what were the chances that Baekhyun knew exactly what she wanted as a gift?

 

On the other side of the coffee shop, Eunji presented Kyungsoo with his gift. She handed him a hardcover book containing the easiest and most popular dishes of 2016. The older student flashed her a tender smile, and thanked her for the gift. Jongdae, who had just received his caramel mocha frappe, spotted Eunji and ran towards her.

 

“Eunji! Merry Christmas!” he cheered as he presented her with a bag.

 

Eunji thanked Jongdae and opened the bag to reveal its contents. She pulled out a beautiful red scarf with black chevron print. “I love it!” she squealed in delight. Eunji immediately threw the scarf on, and ran to find Ahri to show her what she had received.

 

“Speaking of gifts,” Kyungsoo said as he reached underneath his chair. He brought up a bag and pushed it towards Jongdae.

 

Jongdae gulped. ‘Oh no Kyungsoo was my Secret Santa? What did he get me? Do I even want to know?’

 

“Go on,” Kyungsoo cocked his chin towards the bag. He took a sip of his hot chocolate and waited for Jongdae to open the gift.

 

Jongdae nervously accepted the bag and peeked inside. When he saw the gift, he opened the bag fully and gingerly removed the Stegosaurus stuffed toy. He held the dinosaur plush in his hands and looked at Kyungsoo with wide eyes.

 

“Thank you! I love it!” Jongdae said with a bright smile. He hugged the Stegosaurus lovingly and couldn’t wait to bring it home. “You got me a friend for Rex!”

 

“Friend?”

 

Jongdae stopped his actions and looked at Kyungsoo, who was wearing a devilish grin behind the cup he held in his hands.

 

“It’s a replacement.”

 

“Ah waeeeeee?!” Jongdae screeched and ran away while clutching the Stegosaurus in his arms. In his haste, Jongdae tripped over his feet and fell onto the floor. The contents of his drink were now all over the ground, but Jongdae was glad that none had gotten on his shirt nor on Steg (the name of his new plush).

 

Kyungsoo had purchased Steg with no ill intentions. He truly wanted to gift Jongdae with a friend for his beloved T-rex plush toy, but he would never let his classmate know that. He enjoyed teasing Jongdae too much, and he wasn’t about to let the fun end any time soon.

 

---

 

A/N: Honestly I have the best readers <3 You guys inspire me greatly, and I want to thank you. I'm sorry if I won't be able to get through all your brilliant ideas right now, but just know that the offer won't expire any time soon. Even if it's 20 chapters from now, I'll still gladly accept any ideas :) I got a couple of my own I wanna get through first, so with that being said, I'll see ya'll in the next chapter.

\\ xoxo