The days passed without big changes. Kyuhyun and Ryeowook went out from time to time, but they mostly spent their time together in their apartment since Ryeowook still wasn’t all that comfortable with going out to crowded places.

They also agreed to meet with Ara, Eunhyuk, and Donghae once a month after the latter’s birthday to give Ryeowook the chance to get to know them better. Slowly, he was becoming a little more comfortable with them, especially with Eunhyuk since the other had also lived in a shelter all his life until Ara had taken him and Donghae in. He learned that Eunhyuk and Donghae had first met at the last shelter Eunhyuk had been in—which had been Donghae’s first shelter—and that they had already become friends then. Having seen those two together, Ara had begged her parents to be allowed to take both of them in since she hadn’t wanted to separate them. The two had only become a couple after having moved in with Ara.

As Christmas was approaching, Kyuhyun once again was busy studying for exams—this time the finals. Ryeowook started to get a little bored, unsure what to do with all of the time he spent at the apartment on his own or with Kyuhyun studying in his room. He already missed the times when Kyuhyun only had to work and the two of them could spend a lot of time together! Even their sessions of studying together couldn’t compensate their usual talks and the times of sitting together comfortably even the slightest bit.

Then again, Ryeowook also got quite busy when he was at work. Apparently it was normal for companies to invite their employees out to lunch or dinner and for families to go out for dinner around Christmas, leaving him still with a little less work to do than the late shift, but things already got extremely busy during his early shift since they had to prepare for the next shift and also had people coming in for their Christmas meals. By the time he arrived at the apartment during those days, he always took some time to rest and even nap.

One evening, he got a call from Ara whose number he had saved in his phone during one of their visits.

“Yeoboseyo?”

“Hey, Ryeowook. How are you?”

“I’m fine, what about you?”

“Me, too. Eunhyuk, Donghae, and I have been thinking about getting Christmas presents sometime soon. Would you like to join us?”

Ryeowook gulped at the reminder that he needed to get Christmas presents for the others. “Yes, of course! I mean, if you don’t mind.”

Ara laughed softly. “Of course I don’t mind, Ryeowook! If I did, I wouldn’t have offered you to come along. But I can imagine it won’t be easy for you since it’s your first time getting presents.”

“That’s true,” the cat hybrid admitted and looked down at the book he had been reading. “When did you want to do it?”

“That’s why I was calling you. When will you be available?”

“I’m off on Wednesdays. On every other day, my shift ends at three-thirty.”

The young woman was quiet on the other end of the line for a couple of seconds, then she replied, “How about next Saturday then? We could meet up at the mall near you guys’ apartment that Kyuhyun said you’ve already been to. I think they also have a Christmas fair nearby that we could go to. Let’s say… at four? Will that leave you enough time to get there?”

“It should. Where will we meet?”

“We could meet at the subway station at the exit towards the mall. What do you think about that?”

Ryeowook hummed in agreement. “That sounds good to me.”

“Great! I can’t wait to see you then!”

“What about Kyuhyun?”

“Don’t worry about my brother, he’ll find a way to get Christmas presents as well. Plus, you wouldn’t want him to know what you’re getting for him, would you?”

“That’s true,” the cat hybrid mumbled and blushed softly, suddenly wondering how he was supposed to get something for the other three when they’d be around him all the time.

“Alright. I’ll see you next Saturday then.”

“Okay. Goodbye.”

“Bye.”

They ended the call and Ryeowook stared at his phone for a couple of seconds, then a smile appeared on his lips. He’d go present shopping for the first time! And the other three would help him! Excitement slowly sparked inside him until it left him too giddy to concentrate on his book while he tried to imagine what he could possibly get for everyone.

“Ryeowook-ah!”

The cat hybrid looked into the direction from which his name had been called and spotted Donghae, Eunhyuk, and Ara a moment later, the first one of the three waving towards him. Ryeowook waved back to them but walked closer first before he bowed lightly. “Hello.”

“How are you?” Ara asked with a warm smile after greeting him back.

“I’m good. What about you?” the youngest asked and looked back and forth between them.

“We’re good, too,” the only woman among them replied and the other two hybrids nodded in agreement.

“Do you have your wallet stored in a safe place?” Eunhyuk asked, making the youngest frown a little.

“I guess so. Why?”

“It may get quite full. It’s always full on the Christmas market, especially in the afternoon.”

“How full?”

“You don’t like crowds, do you?” Eunhyuk sounded not the slightest bit surprise, so Ryeowook simply shook his head. “Arrange a day off near Christmas next year, then we’ll go in the morning. When you get here early enough, it’s still rather empty.”

“For today if you get lost, remember you can call us at any time. Even if I should not hear it, the other two probably will,” Ara suggested and her two hybrids nodded.

“I know you’re not comfortable with skinship, but holding hands or linking arms may come in handy from time to time nevertheless,” Donghae advised.

“And remember to tell us if you feel like it’s getting too much, then we’ll take a break,” Ara added with a warm smile.

Ryeowook looked back and forth between them, uncomfortable because he knew they would go out of their way just for him, but then he nodded nevertheless. “Thank you.”

The others nodded and they slowly started to walk towards the mall. “Does anyone at all already know what they’re looking for? Just so we know which store to definitely go to.”

Ryeowook looked up at Ara’s question and saw the other two shaking their heads, so he simply did the same. He had absolutely no idea what to get for any of the others. “For whom should I get presents?” he asked shyly, realizing he wasn’t even sure about that part.

“If it helps,” Eunhyuk spoke up, “we usually just get something small for each other, Ara-noona, and Kyuhyun as well as some friends from the studio. This year we’ll also include you, obviously.”

“Ara also gets something for her parents and Mihye-noona, of course, but we don’t,” Donghae added. “And when we say ‘something small’, we also mean something small. Since Hyuk and I don’t earn a lot of money and Kyuhyun doesn’t either, we settled on something small but sweet.”

“One time we got him a game extension that was on sale,” Eunhyuk replied.

“Sweets also always work for him.” The dog hybrid nodded solemnly.

“Sweets work for pretty much everyone except from you,” his boyfriend teased and poked the other hybrid’s arm, making him laugh.

“That’s true!” Donghae agreed, still laughing.

They entered the mall and were met with warm air. Ryeowook smiled softly to himself, happy to be inside again because of the cold outside.

They went into almost every store they found, no matter whether it offered toys, clothes, or simply nick-nack. Among those stores, Ryeowook recognized the ones where Kyuhyun had bought the key chain and Gwangmyeong for him.

As they walked through the stores, Ryeowook found a lot of things he knew Heechul would like and also some that he was certain Hangeng would be happy about and suddenly he felt like he didn’t know the others he was with and Kyuhyun at all. He listened to the others making jokes and fooling around while he himself became more and more quiet, somehow feeling left out or like he was just a bothersome extra that they had been forced to take along. Would he ever find anything? How could he spot absolutely nothing that seemed to work for any of them when especially Eunhyuk and Donghae seemed to be able to turn any object they came across into something fun and a potential present?

Still empty-handed, they eventually left the mall again to enter the Christmas fair instead. Ryeowook’s eyes widened and he felt his heartbeat quicken when he saw how many people and hybrids filled the narrow paths between various booths, their chatting adding up to seem almost deafening to him for a moment. A series of scents he couldn’t define hang in the air, leaving him momentarily disoriented while he just stared at the chaos in front of him.

“Ryeowook? Are you alright?”

Another second passed before the cat hybrid was able to tear his eyes away from the Christmas market and instead met three pairs of worried eyes that watched him. He hadn’t even realized he had come to a stand.

Looking down uncomfortably, he nodded softly. “Yes, I’m alright. Let’s go.”

“We can just skip the Christmas market if you’d like,” Ara offered and worry was clearly audible in her voice.

“Or we could come back on Wednesday morning. That’s your day off, after all, isn’t it?”

Ryeowook shook his head, then he nodded. In the end, he frowned before he spoke up, “Yes, that is my day off. But we don’t have to return. I’ll be fine, I promise.” He looked up again, trying his best to flash the others a brave smile, but from their reactions he could tell he did not exactly succeed.

The others looked at each other for a moment, silently communicating as it seemed, then Ara held out a hand for him. “Come on, let’s go then, alright? And tell us when things get too much for you, alright?”

“We should totally take a break at some point anyway and have crêpes. I suppose you’ve never had crêpes before, Ryeowook?”

The cat hybrid looked at Donghae cluelessly, never even having heard of the thing the other was talking about, so Eunhyuk took over, “They’re like pancakes, just thinner. They’re originally from France, but I think you too will like these.” The cat hybrid looked down with guilt when the monkey hybrid hinted at his last experience of the French cuisine. “They come with pretty much anything you’d like—cinnamon, sugar, chocolate, ham, bananas, apple sauce…”

“They’re really tasty,” Donghae agreed. “Let’s definitely get some! We can’t only leave this place with you being grateful to escape. You also have to experience the good parts of Christmas markets!”

“Let’s get roasted almonds as well!” Eunhyuk added excitedly.

“Do you like almonds?” Ara asked. When Ryeowook nodded hesitantly, she smiled. “That’s good. We could share some later then.”

“Noona, can we get many sweets today?” Eunhyuk asked further, looking at Ara who was laughing at that question.

“I guess we can. But not too many! I don’t want you to feel sick in the end or not eat proper meals because you’ve eaten too many sweets.”

“At least we wouldn’t have to worry about you getting fat,” Donghae added with an amused sparkle in his eyes that left Eunhyuk gasping for air.

“You did not just say that!”

“You ert, what do you think I was talking about!? You’re a dance tutor, how can you get fat when you dance all the time?”

“Yes, of course that’s what you were talking about!” Eunhyuk’s voice was dripping with sarcasm. “Ow!” he exclaimed when his boyfriend hit him in return. “You stupid little dog! What was that for?”

“I am not a dog!”

“Yes you are!”

“You—“

“Kids, kids, calm down,” Ara interrupted them and eventually simply grabbed Ryeowook’s hand. The cat hybrid jumped a little, staring at their hands for a moment before he figured this would indeed be the best option if he didn’t want to get lost in the masses they were about to face. “If you don’t calm down, Ryeowook and I will explore the Christmas market without you guys.”

In an instant, the two older hybrids stopped bickering and indeed looked down guiltily. “Sorry, noona,” both of them replied in unison.

Ara nodded in contempt. “Now let’s go, alright?” Her voice was kind yet somehow strict, a mix that clearly showed who was in control of the situation but also that she would have probably let the other two do as they pleased if they hadn’t been in public. When she turned to Ryeowook, her voice was nothing but warm as she added, “And you don’t forget to tell me when you’re uncomfortable, alright? It doesn’t matter whether you tell me after two or twenty minutes. Promise me?”

The cat hybrid looked into her eyes for a couple of seconds, searching for any sign that she might not mean her words even though he knew he should know better by then. When he could only see warmth and honesty in the young woman’s eyes, he nodded softly. “Okay, I will. Thank you.”

Ara nodded softly in response. “You’re welcome.”

They walked slowly to join the masses and soon enough they were a part of them. Ryeowook held on to Ara’s hand a little tighter, uncomfortable with the many people walking so close to him, crossing right in front of him or coming to a sudden stand, even bumping into him from behind occasionally. He felt like he was stuck with no way to ever get out of the crowd, but he tried to fight those feelings down and instead concentrate on Eunhyuk and Donghae who were once again fooling around ahead of them, pointing out all kinds of items they came across.

There were candles and various objects made of wood and glass, there were toys and stuffed animals, food booths and those serving beverages. Clothes of all kinds were offered next to jewelry and different types of decorations that Ryeowook realized had been designed mainly for Christmas trees. There were objects made of wool right next to a stand that offered chocolates in all kinds of forms for all kinds of prices. One tiny house said it offered antiques while the one right behind it praised its sausages and hot beverages. The smell of alcohol hung in the air around it, so Ryeowook knew he wouldn’t want to try any of that. So far, Donghae’s birthday party had been his only exception.

One of the things that surprised Ryeowook the most, though, was how almost everyone was friendly to each other. Hybrids were standing next to humans. Mainly humans were working inside the booths, but Ryeowook also spotted a few hybrids here and there. Slowly, his wonder about the Christmas market and the joy around him as well as the mostly relaxed nature of the other Christmas market goers overshadowed his uncomfortable feelings for the most part, yet the thought of letting go of Ara’s hand never crossed his mind.

He was reminded again of one of the reasons why he didn’t like these kinds of places, though, when something suddenly tugged on his sleeve, making him jump and instantly take a step closer to Ara. Looking down, he spotted a young girl who beamed when their eyes met, then she pointed upwards. “Can I touch your ears?”

Ryeowook simply shook his head lightly, squeezing Ara’s hand tightly. Despite the fact that this girl was so small, he didn’t know how to tell her off without hurting her feelings. Even after all these years of telling people not to touch him before he had met Heechul and the older had taken over that role for him, he still hadn’t found a way to tell others that he wasn’t comfortable with touching without hurting their feelings.

Apparently sensing he wouldn’t say anything else, Ara stepped past him and crouched down so she was on eye level with the girl. “I’m sorry, but you can’t touch him. He belongs to my brother.”

The little girl pouted and looked up at Ryeowook once again. The cat hybrid sensed someone come to a stand behind him and when he quickly glanced over his shoulders, he realized Eunhyuk and Donghae were right there as well, shielding him from the people who would have otherwise bumped into him sooner or later. Looking back to the front, the girl’s eyes had gone wide in amazement. “Do they all belong to your brother?” she asked, directing that question towards Ara even though she was staring at the three hybrids.

The young woman looked over her shoulder as well, then she laughed softly and shook her head, turning back to the little girl. “No, the other two belong to me.”

“Can I touch their ears?”

Ara shook her head, this time without seeking confirmation. “No, you can’t. They only want people who are close to them to touch their ears.”

The girl pouted again, but this time she didn’t really seem to get into it because her eyes still revealed her awe. “I wish I was close to them…” After a couple of seconds, she turned to Ara again. “Are their ears soft?” When the young woman nodded, the girl added, “Then you and your brother must touch them a lot! If we all can’t touch them, you have to do it for us!” With that, she waved towards them. “Bye, bye,” she said in a cute voice and glanced at their ears longingly once again, then she skipped off to her parents who were standing just a few feet away. Ryeowook could still hear her tell her parents about their conversation and how she was sad she couldn’t have touched their ears but still happy because someone else would do it for her.

Ara straightened, catching Ryeowook’s eyes again, then she smiled comfortingly at him. “Are you alright?”

The cat hybrid nodded softly. “I’m sorry. I just hadn’t expected that to happen. It’s been a while since I’ve gone to crowded places like this, I should have expected that.” As a child, he had been met with that question regularly and the few times he had gone to the mall with Kyuhyun, there hadn’t been as many people around as there were on this Christmas fair.

“Thank you, noona. You always know how to handle these situations,” Donghae replied and Ryeowook could hear the bright smile in his voice.

“You’re welcome,” Ara replied with a warm smile. “Should we take a break now? We’ve seen almost everything the Christmas market has to offer, so we could eat something now and then split up into either small groups or continue on our own as we look for presents.”

“I will go with Ryeowook then,” Eunhyuk instantly volunteered.

“Yah, why can’t I? Or noona?”

“Because you are too touchy and if the two of us were to explore together, that wouldn’t make much sense because we still have to get something for each other, right?”

“But you and Ryeowook also have to get something for each other,” Donghae pointed out with a pout.

“We’ll find a way,” Eunhyuk replied with a wink and turned to Ryeowook. “What do you think about this?”

The cat hybrid hesitated, then he nodded softly. He had learned enough about Eunhyuk to mostly trust him as well, so he figured going with him would turn out to be fun. “I’m okay with that.”

The monkey hybrid nodded in confirmation. “Then let’s do it like that,” he agreed and grinned at Ryeowook before he looked around. “Is there a crêpe booth nearby?”

“I think I’ve seen one at the beginning of this line,” Donghae replied.

“Then there must be one around here, too. They wouldn’t only have one at the beginning and none in between,” Eunhyuk concluded.

They indeed didn’t have to look around for long until Donghae called them together again, having proudly found a crêpe booth. They had to wait in line, a time Ryeowook used to study the list offered and to realize he had absolutely no idea what to choose.

“They offer so much…” he mumbled, but it was still loud enough for the other two hybrids to understand him.

“If it helps, I’m sure you can try some of ours as well to see which ones you might like more,” Donghae offered and the others nodded, then he added, “I’ll take mine with ham and cheese. You may think that crêpes with ham and cheese are a strange combination, but I actually like it a lot!”

“I’ll take mine with chocolate and bananas. Too bad it’s not strawberry season right now… We should have some crêpes next summer as well! Crêpes with strawberries and chocolate taste like heaven!” Eunhyuk replied with a dreamy look on his face.

“I’ll take mine with sugar and cinnamon. That’s one of the most common choices for crêpes along with choosing chocolate. You like sweet things, don’t you?” When Ryeowook nodded, Ara replied, “Then I’d suggest you to take yours with chocolate for now unless something else caught your eye.”

The cat hybrid nodded once again. “I think I’ll take mine with chocolate then,” he replied with a shy smile towards the young woman.

Soon it was their turn and once they had their crêpes, they left the busy part of the Christmas market to stand around a table a little outside the market. Ryeowook enjoyed the fact that it was a lot quieter and emptier there and he relaxed a little more as he tried small bits of the others’ crêpes as well as his own, finding out that unlike Donghae he liked the sweet versions better.

Afterwards, he and Eunhyuk went over the Christmas market again. They had arranged to meet at the mall’s entrance facing the market an hour later, leaving all of them enough time to go to any store or booth they had discovered to be interesting.

Once Donghae and Ara had waved goodbye, Eunhyuk turned to Ryeowook with a curious expression on his face. “Do you already have any ideas where you’d like to go?”

The cat hybrid shook his head at first, but then he hesitated. Apparently sensing there was something the younger was thinking about, Eunhyuk remained silent until Ryeowook eventually spoke up, “Actually… in the mall, in that one book store… I think I saw a book with funny quotes in it. I didn’t have the time to take a closer look at it… but do you think Kyuhyun would like it?”

“Do you know how much it costs?” Eunhyuk asked back, but Ryeowook shook his head, looking up at the other insecurely. “Then let’s go and check it out, alright? I’m sure I can give you a better response once I’ve seen the book you’re talking about. Though I think the idea is a really good one.”

“Really?” Ryeowook smiled happily at that news, beaming even when Eunhyuk nodded in response.

“C’mon.” The monkey hybrid held out a hand and Ryeowook grabbed it, then they walked back into the mall together.

Ryeowook was quick to guide them back to the store where he had seen the book and once he saw it, Eunhyuk agreed that it would probably be a really good fit, so the cat hybrid bought it. Afterwards, they went to an electronics store where Eunhyuk got a dance movie for Donghae and another movie he said Ara had been talking about for a while already, then he texted Donghae to tell him about Ara’s present. Only when he had gotten a text back from Donghae who agreed to pay a part of it and announced he’d also get some sweets for Ara did Eunhyuk and Ryeowook check out.

Outside the store, they looked at each other cluelessly. “What could I get for Ara-sshi?” Ryeowook wondered out loud, trying to think of anything that he had noticed on their walk that had caught the young woman’s attention.

For a while, the two hybrids just stood together in a comparably calm corner, trying to come up with ideas, but none of them seemed to fit in Ryeowook’s opinion.

“I think I have an idea,” Eunhyuk said eventually and continued speaking once Ryeowook focused on him again. “Kyuhyun’s been talking about this Beijing Fried Rice you make and a few other Chinese dishes. You could make a small recipe notebook for noona, I know she’d love to try some of the things Kyu’s been talking about.”

Ryeowook frowned a little. “Are you sure? It took me quite a while to learn some of them.”

“That’s probably because you had Hangeng-sshi and Heechul-sshi right there by your side and obviously they noticed if anything was a little off. I mean, noona could ask you anytime if she needs help. But there have been a few occasions when she was telling me about a dish Kyu had told her about and that she would love to try it or even make it on her own for all of us to taste.”

The cat hybrid still wasn’t entirely convinced, but he knew that idea was at least something none of the others could come up with and from what Eunhyuk said it was something that would make Ara happy. He could also meet up with her to help her with the meals if she ever needed some assistance with them.

Eventually, he nodded. “Alright. What will I need for that? A notebook, proper pens to make everything look really good… I should also ask hyung to send pictures so Ara will know exactly what everything’s supposed to look like.”

Eunhyuk grinned. “Let’s go to a stationary store. I think there are two or so downstairs, we should be able to find at least almost everything there.”

Ryeowook flashed the older a shy smile as he nodded. “Alright.”

They went to the ground floor and visited both stationary stores Eunhyuk had mentioned to get everything they figured Ryeowook would need to make the best out of the present idea. Once they were back outside, they looked at each other once more.

“You still need something for Donghae and me now, don’t you?”

Ryeowook nodded. “And you need something for Kyuhyun and me…”

They continued to watch each other for a couple of seconds, then an idea seemed to pop into Eunhyuk’s mind once again, “We could go back upstairs to the store we were just in and check out their music section. If anything’s cheap or on sale, we might find something good for both Kyuhyun and Donghae.”

“Could you help me with Donghae’s taste of music?”

The monkey hybrid nodded. “Yes, of course. That’s what I’m here for, after all, isn’t it?”

Ryeowook’s lips formed a soft smile. “Thank you. I’m really glad that we're doing this together right now.”

“I couldn’t have let you go on your own, after all, I’m not sure if I would’ve seen you again! Plus, Kyuhyun would’ve been mad at me for leaving you alone.” Eunhyuk grinned and winked at him, then he nodded towards the escalators. As they rode upstairs, Eunhyuk told Ryeowook about the kind of music Donghae generally liked to listen to and also which artists would be difficult to target because Donghae might already have collected everything from them as well as the artists where they still stood a chance to find albums Donghae didn’t own yet. In the end, they were only successful for Kyuhyun, though, leaving them standing outside the store cluelessly once again.

“Didn’t he say that he likes stuffed animals?” Ryeowook asked eventually when he remembered the first conversation he’d ever had with Eunhyuk, Donghae, and Ara.

Eunhyuk nodded, but he looked unhappy. “He does. He adores them! He’ll love you to death if you get him one, I guess.”

“But you don’t like the idea…”

“I guess I’m just still a little traumatized from the time when he put them all in his bed and insisted that we sleep in his room and complained if even one of all his stuffed animals fell down… Luckily we sleep in my room now, though new stuffed animals of course always have to sleep with us at first… Someday we’ll both be buried underneath them…” the monkey hybrid sighed. “But I guess we’ll find space for a small one.”

“No, no, if it’s really that difficult, then I won’t get one,” Ryeowook instantly denied, uncomfortable with the idea that Eunhyuk wouldn’t like it in the end, but the older shook his head.

“A small one more or less won’t make a difference for me now with the horde he’s already collected. But it will make a difference for Donghae and I can assure you that he’ll remember which one is yours. Somehow he manages to remember every single one of them and where he got it from.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I am. Where should we go to get one?”

Ryeowook thought about that for a moment, considering going to the store where he and Kyuhyun had also bought Gwangmyeong, but then he discarded that idea. “I think I saw a booth on the Christmas market that sells stuffed animals. It was somewhere in the middle, I believe.”

Eunhyuk nodded. “Alright, then let’s look there,” he agreed. They went back to the market, yet Ryeowook hadn’t been able to recall the exact location as good as he had thought he did, so it took them a while until they managed to find the stand Ryeowook had wanted to get to. After some consulting with Eunhyuk to figure out which stuffed animal he should choose because Donghae didn’t own it yet, he got a rainbow fish. Eunhyuk texted Donghae afterwards to meet them at their meet-up point so Ryeowook and Eunhyuk could still get a present for each other, then he put his phone away again. While they walked back to the entrance of the Christmas market, Eunhyuk told the younger hybrid the story of the rainbow fish. It was a children’s story, yet Ryeowook listened closely and with a lot of interest and sympathy towards the small fish’s destiny. He hadn’t heard the story before at any of the shelters.

By the time Eunhyuk was done telling the story, they were at the market’s exit, but there was no sign yet of Donghae, so they continued to chat about childhood stories they remembered until the dog hybrid arrived.

“Hey guys~ Sorry for being late. I hope you didn’t have to wait for long?” Donghae was holding a bag in his hand when he arrived, beaming at them. “I just had to get one more present since I’m not sure yet where the two of us will go, Ryeowook, and I’m afraid we’ll end up running out of time.”

Eunhyuk grinned. “That is probably gonna happen, yes. I’ll leave first, alright?” he replied and shared a look with his boyfriend that lasted longer than it would have with any other person, as Ryeowook figured, then Eunhyuk headed off towards the mall, the same direction Donghae had just come from.

The latter turned to the young cat hybrid in return. “Alright, where should we go? Did you manage to get everything else so far?”

Ryeowook nodded. “Yes, I think I did,” he replied and then shyly held out his hand. Donghae beamed when he saw it and happily took his hand.

“I’ll have to annoy Kyu later with this! Now all of us got to hold your hand, only he didn’t when he’s the one you’re living with! What a shame that he couldn’t attend…” Ryeowook slowly led the way back onto the Christmas market and towards one of the stands Eunhyuk and he had passed earlier. “By the way, since you’ve never been to a Christmas market before, you’ve never taken pictures with Santa until now, have you?”

“Pictures with Santa?” All he knew so far was that people dressed up as Santa around Christmas for human children and that Santa was the mysterious man who brought Christmas presents—at least if you believed the legend. Then again, since that legend only ever involved human children from what he knew, he figured it was only natural that he had also never received anything.

“Yes, of course! We have to have some taken later before we leave. There’s a Santa on the ground floor of the mall, you must have seen him earlier as well.” Of course Ryeowook had seen him. Many families had been standing around that ‘Santa’ to take pictures of that man with their children, yet he had more or less ignored them while trying to make his way through them.

“If you say so?”

“Next year we have to drag Kyu to come with us so we’ll have a picture with Santa with the five of us! It’s such a shame that your first picture with Santa will be without Kyu…” Donghae puffed out his cheeks and then glanced at Ryeowook again. “That is, you won’t mind taking a picture with Santa, will you?”

The cat hybrid was quick to shake his head. “No, no, that’ll be fine by me. Do you all do that every year?”

Donghae grinned and nodded. “Yes! It’s become a tradition ever since Eunhyuk and I spotted Santa and convinced Ara-noona and Kyu to take pictures with us. Last year, Ara-noona hasn’t been able to come with us, but at least Eunhyuk, Kyu, and I still managed to get a picture taken. This year will be even more special because you are joining us!”

“Okay. Then I’ll be looking forward to it.”

“Great!”

Ryeowook crossed the path with some difficulties, especially since he was not willing at all to let go of Donghae’s hand as he did so, thus getting in the way for even more people, then they were standing in front of a store that sold chocolates in all kinds of forms. Next to him, Donghae’s eyes widened a little at the sight, then their eyes met. “This is what you thought of? Hyukkie is going to love you to death!”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes! This is great! We’ll have to take a picture of it, knowing Hyukkie, he’ll probably still eat it on the same day when you give it to him!”

Ryeowook smiled happily at those words and turned back to the chocolates presented in front of him. “But which one should I get?” The bigger ones were really expensive, so he mainly focused on the small ones, wondering if they wouldn’t be too small. “And do you think one of these will be enough? They’re so tiny and yet so expensive.”

“Ryeowook, this will definitely be enough. Hyukkie knows these aren’t exactly cheap, so he’ll appreciate it even more that you got him one of these.”

“Okay,” the cat hybrid agreed and continued to look through all the chocolates offered, troubled because he had to decide for one and against the rest of them. In the end, he decided to get a small reindeer one with a cute scarf around its neck that Donghae also agreed that Eunhyuk would like a lot.

When they got back to the entrance of the Christmas market, Ara was already waiting for them, but Eunhyuk hadn’t returned yet. “Noona!” Donghae called out once they were in earshot. Ara turned around and smiled once she had spotted them, waving softly.

“Hey you two. Did you get everything?”

Both young men nodded. Once they stood by Ara’s side, Ryeowook let go of the older’s hand again while Donghae replied, “We did, what about you?”

“Me, too.”

“That’s great! I’m so ready for another wonderful Christmas! Ah, by the way noona, we have to go back into the mall to get pictures with Santa taken! And we have to buy roasted almonds before we can leave.”

Ara laughed at the dog hybrid’s enthusiasm and even Ryeowook couldn’t help but smile, the other’s happiness was too contagious. “Alright, alright. I just hope Kyuhyun-ah won’t report Ryeowook missing in the meantime!”

“Nah, he might not even notice with all the studying he has to do,” Donghae replied, but then he seemed to change his mind because he added, “Then again, that might be the exact reason why he will notice Ryeowook will return later than expected…”

“I think it’s rather the latter option,” Ara agreed and looked around once more. “By the way, where did your boyfriend go? Shouldn’t he be here soon, too?”

“He went to get Ryeowook’s present not too long ago. Maybe he couldn’t decide, or he spent some time finding the store, or there was a long line at the checkout… I don’t know.” Donghae shrugged lightly, not seeming worried at all unlike Ara who did look a bit worried.

“So he went to the mall again?”

“Do you want me to text him? Maybe we could already get in line for Santa and meet him there,” Donghae opted.

“Texting him would be good, I guess, but let’s stay here anyway. Just in case.”

“Alright,” the dog hybrid replied and took out his phone to text Eunhyuk. The answer came back mere seconds later. “He says he’s on his way.”

“That’s good to hear.” Ara smiled at them and looked into the direction of the mall. They didn’t have to wait for long until Eunhyuk emerged from the shopping mall. The other three approached him until they met about halfway between the two places.

“Hyukkie, let’s go and take pictures with Santa now, shall we?”

Eunhyuk gasped. “How could I forget about those? Yes, let’s do that!” The two hybrids were instantly hyped up about that idea and started chasing each other to the waiting line to see who’d get there first. Ryeowook and Ara followed after them more slowly.

“I got some strange hybrids, didn’t I?” When Ryeowook glanced up, he saw a fond smile had formed on the young woman’s lips. “When I first got them, I had no idea they’d end up being all this outgoing. Eunhyuk was a lot more like you when I met him at the shelter, dragged down and forced into shape by the system.” She looked at Ryeowook and their eyes met for a moment, but while the cat hybrid’s were filled with concern, Ara’s were full of love. “I’m so glad Kyuhyun and I had the chance to take you guys out of the system.” Both of them looked ahead again and Ryeowook felt a bit embarrassed, his cheeks heating up. “Finally you all can figure out who you are without the system pressuring you into the subordinate creatures it wants.”

“Hangeng-hyung’s shelter wasn’t that bad.”

“I know. I’ve seen you all there, remember? I never knew a shelter could be that welcoming. When I saw it, I understood why my brother said he had trouble convincing you to come with him. You, Heechul-sshi, and Hangeng-sshi looked like a family together. I’m glad you had the chance to develop such a precious bond with those two and that no one will come between you all now.”

“Thank you.”

“There’s no need to thank me. Anyone can see how close the three of you have become.”

Ryeowook bowed his head lightly in response, but he was smiling. The thought that his relationship with Heechul and Hangeng was viewed as something special even by other people made him incredibly happy. He nevertheless also understood Ara’s point that it was good that he as well as Eunhyuk and Donghae were out of the system now and that no matter how loose Hangeng had held the leash, living with Ara and Kyuhyun now was still entirely different and gave them new opportunities they would not have had in any kind of shelter, no matter how good or kind. He had learned that over the past five months.

They arrived on the ground floor and went to stand in line where Eunhyuk and Donghae were already waiting for them, joking around. Ryeowook took his time to watch the children ahead of them go up to Santa one by one. Usually they would sit on his lap because it was generally only one or two of them, but he also noticed one who preferred to sit on the arm rest of Santa’s chair. When it was almost their turn, Ryeowook pulled on Ara’s sleeve ever so gently to shift her attention from her talk with Eunhyuk and Donghae to himself with the result that all three of them looked at him curiously. He looked down in embarrassment, shifting his weight from one foot to the other uncomfortably for a moment before he glanced towards Santa again. “Do you also do it like that?”

The others followed his glance, then Donghae burst out laughing and even Eunhyuk seemed to have difficulties holding back. Ara was the one who shook her head, but she was also smiling in amusement. “No, of course not. Kyu and I used to do it that way when we were little until we stopped taking pictures with Santa for a while entirely. We started again when those two joined us.” She nodded towards her two hybrids. “But we usually only group around Santa. Don’t worry about coming in contact with him, it’s absolutely no problem if you don’t want to do that.”

Ryeowook flashed her a half relieved, half even more embarrassed smile as he nodded. They moved forward when the child in front of them moved over to Santa and Ara leaned in to the young woman standing in front of them, asking her if she could also take their picture. When the mother agreed to do so, Ara unlocked her screen and waited until the other woman had taken the pictures of her son, then she briefly explained how to handle her phone. When the mother nodded in understanding, Ara, Eunhyuk, Donghae, and Ryeowook went to the armchair. Eunhyuk and Donghae automatically went to sit in front of the armchair, shifting a little until they were comfortable, while Ara gently directed Ryeowook to stand beside her behind the armchair. In the meantime, the other two hybrids freely talked to Santa as if they were close friends.

Noticing everyone was set, Eunhyuk and Donghae turned to the front again.

Looking ahead as well, Ryeowook realized the line of children waiting to take a picture with Santa had not gotten smaller and there were even people just standing around, watching. In an instant, the feeling of not belonging and just being in the way was back. Everyone was just waiting for them to get done so they could move ahead and also take pictures.

Before slight panic could wash over him, a hand was placed on top of his own gently, the touch light enough that he could pull his hand away at any time. Ryeowook glanced at Ara who simply looked towards her phone with a warm smile, so he also looked ahead again, trying to also smile confidently towards the camera.

The woman checked the phone and then nodded, holding it out. Ara went over to her and took a look at the device as well, then she bowed again. “Thank you very much.”

Eunhyuk and Donghae got up again and bowed towards the man dressed as Santa, so Ryeowook hurried to walk around the armchair and do the same, then the three hybrids exited the photo area, meeting Ara off towards the side where she excitedly showed them the pictures.

“Hae, are your eyes closed on that one?”

“No way!”

“Yes, they are!” Eunhyuk zoomed in and indeed, Donghae’s eyes were closed, making them laugh. “I told you so!”

“Aish! But we have other pictures too!”

The child’s mother had taken about five pictures and Ryeowook realized he liked all of them, no matter what Eunhyuk and Donghae had to criticize about them. His smile deepened when he realized those were the first pictures he had ever taken with anyone else but Heechul or Hangeng. His eyes met Ara’s for a moment and she smiled at him knowingly. “I’ll send all of these to you later, alright?”

Ryeowook nodded. “Yes, please.”

They leaned away from the phone a little and Ara turned to all of them, “Is everyone ready to get roasted almonds and afterwards go home?” The other three nodded and when the thought of showing Kyuhyun the pictures crossed Ryeowook’s mind, the cat hybrid smiled excitedly. What would the other think about it? Would he like the pictures, too?

He smiled during the entire ride back home.