Year Six

“Christmas shopping is such a pain,” Jongdae grumbled, perusing his shopping list.

Baekhyun chortled, eying some of the ear muffs that were on sale in one of the stores.

Chanyeol chewed on the end of his pen, eyeing his own shopping list.

He’d already bought presents for his parents and his sister. He’d picked up something for Jongdae, Baekhyun, Minseok and some of his friends from university too.

‘Who else?’ he wondered, feeling like he was forgetting someone.

“Should I buy Yixing hyung a guitar strap?” Baekhyun piped up.

“Oh, I know a place that customizes them, you can get his name printed on it,” Jongdae answered.

Chanyeol stopped chewing on his pen with wide eyes.

‘Oh crap,’ he realized. ‘I forgot to buy Wei Lin’s present!’

He recalled the customized guitar pick she had given him last year and the childish whale plush toy he’d given to her, and decided this year would be different.

He would put real effort and thought into her present this year. He’d make sure he came off as thoughtful, and not the immature brat she seemed convinced he was.

It was half past six and Chanyeol felt like he’d walked into every store in the mall at least once in the past three hours, but he had yet to find a perfect gift for Li Wei Lin.

After the first hour of going around the mall, Jongdae and Baekhyun had called it quits and decided to head home.

Chanyeol had wandered around aimlessly for the next two hours, hoping for inspiration to strike.

With every store that Chanyeol walked past, he believed more strongly that he knew absolutely nothing about Li Wei Lin.

He didn’t know her interests, her likes, dislikes. He didn’t even know her favorite color.

Chanyeol wished he’d spent a little less time bullying her and a little more just talking to her. As it were, the task of getting her a present she would actually like was starting to look hopeless.

‘Should I just call Yoora noona and ask her for recommendations?’ Chanyeol wondered. ‘No,’ he decided very quickly. ‘She might tell Wei Lin.’

Another half hour of looking around random stores and Chanyeol was ready to give up.

He spotted a small antique’s store and looked at the various items on display in the window. His gaze landed on one particular item and his face lit up.

He might just have found the perfect present for his Wei Lin.

Chanyeol could hardly stay still through the dinner.

He bounced his knee anxiously as he watched his family eat.

He jumped when someone placed a hand over his knee and jerked his head towards Li Wei Lin who was seated beside him at the dining table this year.

She gave him an exasperated look. “Can you stop doing that? It’s incredibly distracting,” she muttered.

Chanyeol could feel the warmth of her hand through the thin material of his track pants. With a visible swallow, he nodded. He only dared breathe again once Wei Lin had raised her hand and returned to her grilled chicken.

Chanyeol remained jittery all through dinner and only calmed down when the much awaited time for presents arrived.

He quickly passed out his gifts to his family and then, with clammy hands, held out a green box to Wei Lin.

The girl gave him a small smile, but her eyes expressed her lack of interest. She was sure Chanyeol’s present would be yet another stupid trinket to mock her.

Chanyeol couldn’t wait to change that look in her eyes.

He accepted her small box with a wide grin that he hoped looked genuine.

“Yah, Park Chanyeol, how dare you get me the same perfume set as last year?!” Yoora shrieked, glaring at her younger brother.

Chanyeol blinked. “What?”

“You gave me the same perfume last year, and why do you only buy perfumes for me anyway? Are you trying to say I smell bad?” Yoora narrowed her eyes at him, only partially joking.

“Noona,” Chanyeol groaned at his sister’s dramatics. “You said you liked the perfume!”

“That doesn’t mean I want you to buy that every Christmas,” she argued.

Chanyeol bit down on his tongue to stop himself from groaning again.

Wei Lin giggled into her hand behind him and Chanyeol turned to her with wide eyes. She stopped and straightened her face and gave him a defiant look, as if to say, ‘Yeah, I’m laughing. What’re you going to do about it?’

Mr. and Mrs. Park had left the three teens in the house and instead gone over to their neighbor’s who were having a small Christmas party.

Yoora had insisted that they all watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas! but halfway through the film she had passed out on the couch.

Chanyeol watched silently as Wei Lin tucked a blanket around Yoora’s form and then straightened up. She glanced at the TV screen and then back at Chanyeol.

“I’m going to head to bed,” she informed him, speaking in soft tones to not wake Yoora.

“Did you,” Chanyeol winced, realizing how loud his deep voice sounded in the silence. The TV continued to drone in the background. “Did you like the gift?” he spoke quietly this time.

Wei Lin paused. “I didn’t open it yet,” she admitted, giving him a half-hearted glare. “What is it this time? A whale table piece?”

Chanyeol fidgeted under her accusatory stare.

“Open it now,” he said instead.

Wei Lin gave him a mildly irritated look before sighing and gesturing that he follow her.

Chanyeol followed her all the way into the guest bedroom, looking around curiously.

Since Wei Lin only ever stayed for two days, she hadn’t bothered to unpack or decorate the room, so there really wasn’t much to see.

His eyes landed on her suitcase that was lying open on the ground with some articles of clothing spilling out.

His ears burned with embarrassment when he noticed a pair of lacy underwear on top of the pile.

Wei Lin quickly kicked the suitcase shut, cheeks the same shade of flaming red as Chanyeol’s.

Seeing her embarrassment made Chanyeol crack a smile. He hadn’t expected Wei Lin to be messy but apparently she was.

The Chinese girl cleared and Chanyeol’s eyes darted to her. She was holding his gift box in her hand and nodded her head towards the bed.

Chanyeol took a seat at the foot of it and watched with a mix of nerves and excitement as Wei Lin slowly tore into the wrapping.

Wei Lin’s emotions had never been hard to decipher. She often wore her heart on her sleeve, and her facial expressions always gave away what she was feeling on the inside.

However, the expression that lit up her eyes then was very foreign to Chanyeol. He couldn’t place his finger on what she was feeling and that made him fidget anxiously in his seat.

“Chanyeol,” she spoke after a brief pause, voice soft in the silence of the room. “This is, wow, this is really pretty.”

Chanyeol puffed up with pride, nerves forgotten.

Wei Lin looked up then, eyes earnest and surprised. “I really like it, thank you.”

She gently picked up the charm bracelet that rested upon the velvet cushion inside the box.

It was a faded silver with five charms hanging off of it. Chanyeol had had it customized so that each charm represented something important or meaningful to her.

Wei Lin each of the charms delicately. A camera to represent her interest in videography, the Chinese flag, the letter ‘W’ in stylish font, a Christmas tree to symbolize all her memories in the Park household, and — Wei Lin didn’t attempt to hide the scoff that slipped out of her lips at the last charm, though the action was hardly bitter but almost fond — a cartoon whale.

“Couldn’t give up the whale after all, huh?” Wei Lin joked.

Chanyeol sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s an important memory,” he insisted.

Wei Lin glared at him.

“It’s an important memory to me,” he repeated. “It reminds me of the day I made you cry. I realized what a jerk I was being to you.”

Wei Lin didn’t meet his eyes and instead focused her gaze on the charm bracelet.

“I was an to you for no good reason. I teased you and bullied you,” Chanyeol blurted, feeling guiltier with every word that slipped past his lips. “I was immature, and I’m really sorry.”

Wei Lin looked up then, her eyes suspicious.

“I mean it. I know it doesn’t fix anything but I feel awful for the way I treated you,” Chanyeol spoke earnestly.

Wei Lin didn’t say anything but took a seat on the bed, a good distance away from him.

“Why did you do it?” she finally asked. “I didn’t do anything to you but you were so mean from the very first time I met you.”

Chanyeol remembered the first time he saw her. How she looked so cute and fragile. How he had been incredibly jealous whenever someone in his family fawned over her. How he had wanted to break her. How he felt happy whenever she reacted to his merciless teasing.

He swallowed thickly. “I don’t know,” he admitted.

Wei Lin sighed heavily.

“I know you probably hate me, but I really want to fix things. I made you suffer for years and I really don’t deserve your forgiveness but could we put the past behind us?” Chanyeol tried to catch her gaze but Wei Lin was looking at her hands, folded on her lap.

“I don’t hate you,” she piped up. “Yeah, you were a complete jerk to me. Yeah, you made me cry. You made me hate my body.”

Chanyeol winced, feeling like he was drowning in shame and guilt.

“At the same time, it was probably because of you that I learnt to become stronger. Bold. Confident. I can deal with s like you without batting an eyelid now,” Wei Lin smirked.

“But I want to fix things between us too,” she admitted.

Chanyeol perked up.

“I’ll give you one chance.” Wei Lin gave him a warning stare.

Chanyeol grinned. He knew he didn’t deserve it but he was glad Wei Lin was still so kind and forgiving.

He took a deep breath and then uttered hopefully, “Li Wei Lin, can we be friends?”

For a heart stopping moment, all was silent.

And then, Wei Lin looked at Chanyeol with her big, sparkling eyes.

“I’d like that, Park Chanyeol,” she smiled.