It’s the day before Christmas Eve. The whole family was busy decorating the house since a week ago to celebrate Christmas. Christmas; the only time to see Jaehyung act like an obedient child as he wants to get the gifts that he wished for. But this Christmas was different – it had been almost a month since the last time Jaehwa ever get to meet Sehun.

Usually, the four of them will celebrate Christmas together; simultaneously take turn to host a small party. This year’s supposed to be Sehun’s turn, but Jaehwa heard nothing about the party. No invitation, no asking for help to decorate his house… Absolutely nothing.

After she finished decorating the Christmas tree, she excused herself and went to Jongin’s who’s living next door. She felt like she needs to have a heart-to-heart talk with her best friend as she failed to think optimistically. It was so cold; it reached -15°C that night.

Jongin was surprised to see Jaehwa standing in front of the door, looking worried instead of being hyperactive like always. He didn’t even get to ask her to enter as she stepped in first, and walked quickly towards to the sofa – leaving Jongin who was gradually felt worried. Jaehwa isn’t the type to let anything bothers her mind and if she did – it’s a serious talk.

“What happened?” Jongin started the conversation after he took his seat. He looked at Jaehwa worriedly, and slowly took her hand, caressed it gently. “What bothers you now?” He asked again.

Jaehwa who couldn’t hold the tears any longer, burst into tears. “I-I miss Sehun. What’s he doing? Why is he ignoring me? There’re too much unanswered questions in my heart, it hurts,” She said while crying out loud. She literally punched her chest, demonstrating how hurt it is right now.

“Why you can still spend your time with Eunkyung unnie, but he doesn’t even bother to ask about me?” She continued, hands grabbing Jongin’s hand. She d it hard, but Jongin didn’t care about it. He needs to know what makes Jaehwa became so sad – and partly, he felt guilty about it.

Jongin then hugged Jaehwa, patting her back slowly and gently as he’s trying to calm her down. She looked like she’s strong, but truth is, she had the most fragile heart among all of them. He remembered how Jaehwa cried so much seeing his bleeding knee back in kindergarten days.

After ensuring that she’s calmed down, Jongin apologized first, as he knew it’s his fault that made Sehun’s debuting as an ulzzang. “I’m sorry, Jaehwa. Because of me, you lose your time with Sehun. I’m sorry, if Sehun changes after he works for me. I’m sorry, if he hurts your heart. I’m sorry, because I fail to act as your best friend. I’m sorry,” he said it slowly to her ears, and still patting her back.

Jaehwa held on Jongin’s shirt, as tears were escaping her eyes even more. No, she didn’t want Jongin to apologize; she wanted to hear it from Sehun. Jongin hugged her tighter, assuring that everything’s going to be fine afterwards. Jaehwa stayed in Jongin’s arms for a moment before she broke the hug, wiping away her tears and was surprised to see how wet was Jongin’s shirt.

“Jongin, your shirt…”

“It’s okay, I’m fine with this,” he pointed at the wet area, and smiled to Jaehwa.

“Well if you say so… By the way, Jongin-ah…” Jaehwa paused, she’s arguing with her inner self about the party thingy. Part of her wanted to let it go, and another part of herself was being so curious and dying to know about it more.

“Yes, Jaehwa?” Jongin answered, he looked as confused as Jaehwa was.

“About our usual Christmas party…” Jaehwa was fiddling her fingers, feeling extremely nervous to know the answer. “It’s Sehun’s turn this year, right?”

Jongin was stunned before he nodded and laughed a bit. “Of course, it’s Sehun’s turn. Why are you feeling worried about it?” He asked as he felt weird to see Jaehwa being over concerned about the party. All he knew that Sehun will be holding a party like always, so why Jaehwa felt worried about it?

“No, I mean… He didn’t even tell me anything about the party. I thought there’s none, and he didn’t reply to neither my texts nor calls. That’s why I decided to ask you,” Jaehwa stopped a while to clear before continuing, “Does this mean he really is going to have the party?” She asked again, and her lips slowly curving into a smile.

“Yes, of course! It’s our tradition, remember?” Jongin chuckled, but stopped immediately as he remembered something. “Wait, Sehun didn’t give you any invitation card?” He asked seriously.

Jaehwa shook her head.

“He didn’t send you a text about the party?”

Jaehwa rolled her eyes and nodded.

“This is weird but…” Jongin stood up and walked to his room, and walked back to the living room, bringing an invitation card along with him.

“But he’s going to hold it in a club instead of his home like always. That’s weird, why he didn’t invite you…” Jongin paused. Jaehwa looked different - he couldn’t tell if she’s feeling okay or became even more frustrated about it.

“Okay here’s the thing, I’ll bring you along to the party tomorrow with noona. Don’t be sad, okay? You’ll go and meet Sehun later. Cheer up, my friend!” Jongin said while smiling brightly, hoping it could make Jaehwa felt better. Jaehwa replied with a nod and went back to her home afterwards.

She didn’t exactly know why, but she felt like something’s bad going to happen.

////

Jaehwa dressed warmly and prettily as she wanted to stand out more. This party’s going to be different because Sehun decided to invite more people (excluding her, which she didn’t know why) and though people didn’t know about their relationship, she at least want to be the centre of the attraction later. She wanted to wow people with her beauty. Truth is, she wanted to steal Sehun’s attention back to her.

After Eunkyung arrived, Jongin went to call for Jaehwa and three of them left to go to the club. Jaehwa felt so anxious, and kept holding on Eunkyung’s hand. She let out sigh few times, and she’s not being cheerful as always. She kept asking Eunkyung if she looked pretty, and she kept playing with her fingers. It’s not like her first time to meet Sehun, but why did she feel so anxious?

When they arrived, Jaehwa was actually shocked to see the interior of the club. It’s big, and it’s been beautifully decorated. She’s actually surprised to see that Sehun spent so much money to hold a Christmas party – she thinks it’s a waste.

“How much Sehun got paid in a day, again?” Jaehwa whispered to Jongin, wanting a confirmation.

“I don’t even know,” he replied, while coolly entered the club, interlocking his fingers with Eunkyung’s. Jaehwa walked alone, still feeling amazed at how Sehun wasted his money just like that. She looked around, searching for him but later learned that the host was still on his way to the club.

People who’re invited began to come, and Jaehwa was even more surprised as she thought it’s going to be around 20 people or so but roughly, she saw almost 100 persons in the club now. She tried to look around, hoping she could see any familiar faces but no, she only knew Jongin and Eunkyung among the crowd. Not even a single member from his basketball team was invited as well.

The rest wore flashy clothes and some wore too little clothes – showing most parts of their bodies. Jaehwa didn’t like it, so she sat at the table which in the darker side of the club and waited for Sehun to arrive. The music started to play, and Jaehwa felt even more uncomfortable as this is not the party that she would like to attend.

The crowd were dancing crazily, and it’s only Jaehwa who’s sitting at the table, drinking soda while patiently waited for the guy she loves. “What kind of Christmas party is this?” She thought, while sipping the soda. “This is way different from what I have in my mind…” She sighed, as she could see how Sehun has changed from time to time.

“The host is coming! Yo thanks for the party!”

A voice from the crowd shouted, and everybody screamed in unison after that, welcoming the host. Jaehwa stood up, feeling happy as she could see her boyfriend after such a long time but later froze at her standing point.

She saw Sehun, who looked so handsome tonight, was walking hand-in-hand with an unknown beautiful stranger. They smiled happily, and Sehun wrapped his hand around her waist afterwards. Jaehwa was shocked, she was surprised, and she was dumbstruck. She rubbed her eyes for a few times, and opened her eyes widely. Yes, the guy who’s walking happily with the other girl is her own boyfriend, and she felt like her heart was broken to pieces.

Jongin, who was also surprised to see Sehun walked in with another girl, quickly moved around to search for Jaehwa. They’re separated before, and since the club was lightly lit, it’s harder for him to find his best friend. He later figured out that Jaehwa will always isolate herself at the darkest side, so he made his way to Jaehwa’s direction.

“Jaehwa, are you okay?” Jongin panicked, seeing Jaehwa’s tears rolling down her cheek. She couldn’t even say a thing. Her hand was holding on her chest, pointing it endlessly and punched it afterwards.

“Don’t hurt yourself, Jaehwa,” Jongin tried to stop her, but she pushed him away.

“I feel like something is suffocating my heart. I can’t breathe. Let me go,” Jaehwa ran off the club, forgetting her wool jacket.

Jongin then made his way to Eunkyung and asked her to catch Jaehwa before she went further. Jongin sighed. He couldn’t believe that Sehun was going to cheat on Jaehwa, not in this cheap way. Couldn’t think straight, Jongin unknowingly made his way towards Sehun, his right hand formed a fist.

“Yo, Kkamjong! You came!” Sehun welcomed him excitedly, but was returned with a punch on his face.

“I can’t believe I have a friend as stupid as you are,” Jongin said furiously, and looked at the girl who’s standing beside Sehun. He shook his head in disbelief as the girl turned out to be his model as well.

“Why are you punching me in front of everyone else?” Sehun raised his voice while rubbing his face. He couldn’t get hurt now – his face is so valuable to him for the moment.

“I will kill you if Jaehwa couldn’t be found tonight. I swear, if something bad happened to her, you’re the first one I’m going to kill,” Jongin warned, and left the club afterwards.

“Jaehwa? I didn’t invite Jaehwa,” Sehun monologue, not even feeling guilty about it. He later then smiled, and said, “Ignore the commotion, now let’s enjoy!”

////

Jaehwa kept running and running and running. She didn’t know where’s she heading to, she didn’t even feel cold. Her tears keep flowing; her heart felt like it’s going to burst any time soon. All the images of Sehun smiling widely while facing the other girl, images of him slowly dragging the girl closer to him and wrapped his hand around the girl’s waist… She couldn’t take it anymore.

Jaehwa ran till she found a frozen lake. She stopped and slowly stepped on the ice, bare feet. It was cold but she didn’t care. Her heart was burning hot; she thought the ice could stop the burn. She walked slowly and carefully to the centre of the frozen lake, till she couldn’t move anymore. It’s so cold, her feet were numb. She couldn’t feel a thing, she couldn’t see a thing. She felt dizzy, she barely could see things. She later turned her head as she heard someone’s voice calling for her name. All she could see was a fading image of a girl who’s coming nearer to her, before she blanked out.

////

Jaehwa woke up, to see she’s in an unknown place. She lifted her head and looked around, later learned that she’s in a hospital. She looked at her left, Eunkyung who fell asleep was holding her hand tightly and on her right, there’s Jongin who looked worried.

“J-Jongin-ah…” Jaehwa tried to speak, but her voice was so soft, it hardly could be heard by Jongin. Jongin looked up, his eyes were wet. He wiped his tears immediately and walked to Jaehwa.

“You’re awake, thank God. I thought you’re not going to survive,” Jongin said, and a bead of tears escaped his eyes again. To be honest, this is the first time ever he cried for Jaehwa, because Jaehwa is so special to him.

“Now rest, don’t move around too much,” Jongin smiled, and pushed her slowly so Jaehwa will lie on bed perfectly.

“Where’s Oh Sehun?” Jaehwa asked, because she’s weird why Sehun’s not there to see her.

“Stop talking and go back to sleep. I’ll call the doctor,” Jongin said, and went out of the ward. Deep inside his heart, he’s cursing at how Sehun being so selfish and didn’t even care about Jaehwa. He felt sorry to her as well, because he turned her boyfriend a.k.a his best friend into a monster.