Eternally Bounded by Blood

Christmas Special

 

WARNING: Major spoilers for future chapters

All of Exo appear in this chapter.

A/N: I know that this story is far from being in December, but I wanted to write a Christmas special for you guys since I wasn't sure when exactly I would be able to update again. 

So unless you don't want to read this and would rather wait, I hope you enjoy this chapter! *Since I spent most of my time trying to get it up before Christmas*

 

.

.

.

 

It was finally that time of year, where the air would be filled with excitement for what was to come. Bright shades of the traditional colours decorating the interior of the streets of houses as flashing lights were wrapped around the trees making it glow and shine. But aside from it being a fun occasion, there was also the stressful task of finding the right gift for each of their friends as they practically flew into all different kinds of stores with the same crazed look in their eyes. Well, at least for the woman for the most part.

 

Christmas was considered to be a time where families and close friends spend the day with one another to have a hearty meal and to exchange wrapped gifts and to just simply enjoy each other’s company. A time where you were allowed to drink, be merry and make a complete and utter fool out of yourself with your family (specfically, your dad) carrying a camcorder on hand to use as a reference in the following years to come.

 

The pure feeling of anticipation running through the children’s veins as they could not calm themselves enough to sleep the night before as they took the first opportunity they got to jump into their parents bed to wake the grouchy sleepy mums and dads who were staying up most of the night wrapping last minute presents from ‘Santa’.

 

But for Jieun, although she did look forward to the event like everyone else, she celebrated it much differently. Instead, she would spend the night in her grandma’s house so she could sleep in and not have to change out of her warm pyjamas to face the icy early morning air to tread through the snow towards her grandmother’s humble abode.

 

Then, after having a large cooked breakfast courtesy of her delicious grandmother’s cooking, the pair would proceed to open their presents and each individual would relish in the feeling of seeing the pure look of happiness radiating from the other’s face. For the rest of the day, they would prepare enough food worthy of a banquet and eat as much food as they could possibly fit into their stomachs.

 

Just thinking of it caused a fond smile to spread over the brunette’s face. Out of all the days in the year, Christmas has to be one of my top favourite days ever.

 

However a few seconds passed before the smile dropped from her face as she turned her gaze towards the pale, gaunt sleeping form of her grandmother as she reached out for the older woman’s hand, her forehead ridded with discomfort while every now and again she would release shallow breathing.

 

I still cannot believe that grandma had kept her ill health for so long…that she could not even bring herself to confide in me, her only granddaughter. She swallowed carefully as she fought back the tears which threatened to overflow out of her already red eyes which were evident of the many times she had cried.

 

It was fortunate that after a seemingly endless week had passed, the doctors who were placed in charge of overlooking her grandmother’s condition gave their approval of discharging the older woman—who when she was awake had demanded on several occasions that she wanted to go home or that she wanted no other person other than Jieun by her side.

 

The girl in question leaned her chin on the edge of the bed as she released a tired sigh. Since her grandmother was discharged, she had remained vigil at her bedside whenever she had free time to spare from her lectures from university and her demanding job. So it was fair to say that she was constantly feeling drained and exhausted 24/7 as she hardly could even sleep a wink knowing the current condition of her grandmother’s weakened state.

 

Just outside of the bedroom stood the apprehensive figures of the twelve with saddened and distraught looks etched on their handsome faces. Even though each individual could easily defeat any opponent with a simple lift of their finger, it seemed that their powers had rendered them useless as they stared on at the near-beaten Jieun.

 

“Hyungs, what do we do? I can’t take seeing Jieun-ah like this. She’s practically killing herself!” Sehun cried out once they all made sure they were out of earshot from the brunette, nearly ripping his hair out in frustration. Luhan placed a comforting hand on his shoulder with an equally upset look plastered on his youthful face.

 

Suho rubbed his forehead, already feeling the impending headache beginning to form in the temples of his head.

“I’m afraid there’s not much we can do for the time being, we all have to make sure that we are all here for her.”

 

“Lay-hyung, you’re a healer! Do something so that Jieun can smile again like she used to!” Chanyeol wildly turned his head towards the silent brown haired male with a desperate pleading look evident in his widened eyes.

 

The male in question averted his gaze towards the ground in shame. 

“I-I’ve done all I can for her, all we can do is hope for the best and like Suho said we just need to be there for Jieun.”

 

Kris who had remained silent for the whole duration seemed to ponder something before he spoke.

“I believe that there is some sort of human celebration this month which is supposed to be important, perhaps we should do something to help ease Jieun’s burden.”

 

“Yes, it’s called ‘Christmas’ which was originally a pagan holiday, where humans spend time with their loved ones by decorating their houses with festive colours, eating a banquet-like feast and the exchange of gifts is also a very important aspect.” Suho nodded solemnly.

 

All of them turned to glance around the house which was completely deprived of any sort of festive hues that were presented all over the neighbouring houses, leaving it look bare and out of place in comparison to the other houses in which proudly showed off their various Christmas lights and other ornaments littering their front gardens. 

 

The devil twins shared a knowing look as they threw up their arms in silent cheer, aware that they would only get scolded for disturbing Jieun otherwise.

 

“Then let’s help her by decorating the house, cooking the whatever-food-humans-eat-during-this-odd-holiday and then give her presents!”

 

Chanyeol brightened up considerably at the notion.

“Yes! I am sure that this alone will help Jieun to cope with what’s been happening to her, especially if she knew that we all chipped in to help her out.”

 

The dark haired panda of the group quietly clapped his hands with a grin plastered over his face.

“Does that mean we need to go shopping?”

 

Suho nodded fervently. “We will need to divide into different teams to buy the decorations, food and the presents for both Jieun-ah and her grandmother.”

 

“I’ll volunteer to buy her presents, since I’m confident about what to buy her.” Kai folded his arms over his chest with a defiant look.

 

Kyungsoo shot him an exasperated look in response.

“You better not be thinking about buying her lingerie, Jongin-ah.”

 

The tanned male in question did not look shameful in the slightest as he shrugged his shoulders casually.

“Got a problem with that?”

 

Chanyeol looked ready to explode in rage.

“Are you trying to taint our precious angel Jieun-ah, you womanizing fiend?!’”

 

The typically friendly leader of Exo-k was devoid of his trademark smile as he inwardly sighed as he stepped forward to intercede before a fight broke out between the pair, sensing that both parties would not hesitate to back down with the suffocating level of anger radiating from their bodies.

 

“Calm yourselves, otherwise neither of you will join us if you both keep insisting on causing a ruckus. We’re doing this for Jieun’s happiness, so it’s your decision whether you want to help out or not.” Although his tone was soft and gentle, his face held a deep frown as his steel gaze stared straight at the shame faced pair who both inclined their heads in understanding with sober looks etched on their handsome faces.

 

Kris cleared his throat as he shot a meaningful look over the rest of them. “Suho and I will tell each of you which items you need to collect and the money to pay for them. Just a clear warning to all of you, we have divided all the money up for the exact amount, so we will know whether you have spent otherwise.” He subtly glanced in Xiumin’s direction, who puffed his cheeks in annoyance at the accusation.

 

“Why are you only looking at me? I’m the oldest among you all, so you should have some faith in me to be able to follow simple instructions!” He rumbled, his eyes darkening slightly.

 

Luhan snorted in disbelief, a mischievous twinkle present in his eyes.

“Right, so you weren’t thinking about buying food for yourself, baozi?”

 

There was a brief moment of silence before the male in question cried out in indignation.

“Of course not, what kind of a person do you take me for?”

 

Rolling his eyes, the blond leader made his decision. 

“That settles it, Xiumin you’re going to be in the decorations group with Luhan, Kai, Chanyeol and myself.”

 

“Looks like we’re going to be stuck together for a while, baozi~” Luhan cooed, his tone sugar coated as he wrapped an arm around the other demon’s shoulder who in response gave him a deadpan look as he shrugged off his arm.

 

“Suho, Kyungsoo and Baekhyun are in charge of food shopping.” He earned an affirmative nod from the Exo-k leader in response before continuing.

 

“That leaves Sehun and Tao for the present shopping—“ Earning a small fist pump from the latter in question. “However, I found that we wouldn’t have as much money for the presents so we need to think of different ideas to get Jieun.” The smile instantly dropped from the panda eyed male’s face.

 

Long before Jieun’s grandmother had been severely sick, she had entrusted a considerable sum of money to them which was meant solely for Christmas shopping to ensure that her granddaughter would have a reason to celebrate the festive season. However, due to the recent dire circumstances, they had to make due with what they had—which meant that they had to improvise with the presents department since they would probably have just enough to get her chocolate.

 

“We could always sing or dance for her, I’m sure she would much prefer that over us spending too much money on her.” Kyungsoo offered, inwardly aware that the girl did not particularly enjoy being spoiled rotten, often arguing that the money could be spent on better things than her.

 

“That’s a good idea, Kyungsoo-ah.” Suho beamed like a proud father as he clasped a hand onto the flushed boy’s shoulder.

 

“What about them? Aren’t they going to come along too?” Sehun pointed over to the two main quiet demons of the group, Chen and Lay.

 

“We’re staying here to watch over Jieun.” The latter of the two responded.

 

Chanyeol sputtered in outrage, merely seconds after hearing this news as he turned towards Suho and Kris.

 

“Why can’t I stay behind to look after my Jieun-ah? I should stay and look after her. I can practically hear her calling out my name—“ He reached out towards the direction where Jieun was in, a dazed look present on his face.

 

“…Yeah, that feeling is called being delusional, you idiot.”

 

Suho clapped his hands, preventing the fire breather to add his own input as he plastered on a determined smile. “Right, we all know our assisted duties, so let’s get going!”

 

Most donned bright, cheery smiles as they exited the house full of high spirits while others were slightly more reluctant to leave Jieun behind. But before they all split up into their individual groups, they all lifted a fist in the air as they let out a “Hwaiting!”

 

.

.

.

 

~Christmas Day~

 

Jieun let out a muffled incoherent flurry of sounds escape her lips as she snuggled her face further into the comfort of her warm, fluffy pillow. Though she was not completely aware of the fact that she had been moved from her uncomfortable position where she was slouched awkwardly by her grandmother’s bed to her own. It had been at least a week since she had a proper good night’s rest since she had watching over her grandmother’s condition religiously which had caused her to not take her own health into account, therefore neglecting her wellbeing altogether entirely.

 

“—There’s too much decorations on one side, you’ve made it look lopsided pabo!” A voice hissed out in evident annoyance as the other person made clear his own views before he was silenced with the first boy’s knuckle connecting harshly to his head.

 

“Well, maybe you should fix it if you think you can do a better job!” The owner of the voice snorted for a moment before continuing. “Oh wait, you’re too short to reach the top of the tree.”

 

“Why you dumb- bastard—“

 

“Girls, girls please stop squabbling. I think we’ve got more important things to worry about. Now finish whatever it is you’re supposed to be doing before you wake up the sleeping beauty.”

 

“Speaking of which, is breakfast done yet? I’m starving.”

 

“You’ve been scoffing those chocolates like no tomorrow you pig, why are you still hungry?”

 

“…I’m a growing boy, what can I say?”

 

“Hyung, you’ve been at the same height for goodness knows how long? I don’t think eating more food will make you grow; in fact I think you’ve gotten a lot chubbier lately.” The sound of deep chuckling from all around lifted the former tense atmosphere, the feelings of nervousness was shared amongst all them, at the thought of how Jieun would react to waking up to all of this.

 

“Yah! I’m older than you lot so you should respect me!”

 

“If you keep insisting on wearing such a costume, perhaps we would give your request more consideration?”

 

“It’s called being festive you scrooges. At least I’m making an effort to make Jieun smile!”

 

“So dressing up like a fat old man with a beard is meant to be festive? Aish, I can never understand these human traditions.”

 

“Guys, you’re being too loud. Kyungsoo is nearly finished with breakfast so someone should probably wake up Jieun-ah soon.”

 

Instantly all of the arguing and shouting ceased for a few peaceful seconds as Jieun released a weary sigh as she began to inwardly count backwards in her mind, already expecting what was going to happen next.

 

3…2…1

 

“Out of my way, fatty!”

 

“What are you trying to say, you freakishly tall pabo?!”

 

“Isn’t it obvious what I’m trying to say? Or is your brain too small to be able to comprehend the implications of my words?”

 

“…Da ? Are you saying my brain’s small?”

 

“Nice to see you actually using your brain for once, dear baozi~”

 

She could vaguely hear the sound of her door opening before it swiftly closed, but she merely brushed it off as her own imagination playing tricks on her as she snuggled into the comforting heat of her bed.

 

Aigo, I could really do with a few more hours sleep.

 

“Come on sleeping beauty, I know you’re awake~”

 

Aish, spoke too soon.

 

The girl in question simply rolled over to her other side, wrapping her cosy duvet over her head in response.

 

“You do realise what day is it right?”

 

At the moment, I couldn’t care less even if it was my birthday, just let me sleep. She dryly thought with a roll of her eyes.

 

She could feel her bed dip under the weight of the sudden presence as the male in question poked her duvet covered side gently. “Come on, you must know what today is right? I thought that humans loved this holiday?”

 

Lifting her arm out to swat the offending hand away, she mustered enough energy just to shot death glares at whoever dared to disturb her sleep. They better have a good reason for waking me up.

 

The surprisingly sight of Chen smiling at her was the first thing that greeted her that morning, she could already feel her cheeks heating up by feeling caught off guard. She ran a hand through her hair before realization struck her as she felt tangles in her—most likely—bird’s nest-like hair.

 

Aish, I must look like such a mess right now. Jieun thought wryly to herself as she hid her pink tinted face behind the curtain of her hair in embarrassment.

 

“What day did you say it was, Chen-ssi?” She inquired sleepily through a small stream of yawns, stretching her arms over her head until she heard the crack.

 

The male looked amused as he folded his arms over his chest with an expectant look, as he allowed time for her to absorb in the information. “It’s Christmas day, Jieun.”

 

The girl in question blinked slowly, the frown playing on her lips dropped for a moment before her eyes widened comically to a size which could have easily rivalled Kyungsoo’s as she began to sputter.

 

“Wait seriously? But I haven’t bought any food or anything this year!” She half-shouted as she ripped her warm quilt covers off her form as she skid across her floor, catching the demon by surprise as he stumbled to stand up reaching a hand out towards her.

 

Why did this have to happen?! I always remember Christmas, now grandma or the rest of Exo won’t be able to enjoy today because of my forgetfulness! Inwardly she face palmed her forehead as she strode purposefully towards the door.

 

“Slow down, Jieun! You’ll only make yourself dizzy.” Using his natural demonic speed, he appeared in front of her with a deeply concerned look etched on his face.

 

“B-But nothing is prepared! I have to go out and—“

 

“You should know that the shops are all closed and it’s far too cold for you to go outside wearing only that, Jieun.”  

 

At the mention of her attire, she glanced down in confusion, only to find that her choice of clothing consisted of a hello kitty long shirt that ran down to her mid-thighs, mostly covering her matching pink shorts. Immediately she felt her face heat up, feeling completely mortified as she wrapped her arms around her figure protectively, wanting so much just to inch back to her bed to hide from the shame.   

 

“Oh…” She said, nibbling on her bottom lip not really knowing what else to say in fear of what she would do next to embarrass herself even further than she already has. Chen smiled softly at the cute notion before he cleared his throat to change the subject to shift the awkward atmosphere.

 

“Your grandmother is also there at the table,” He held up a hand, knowing that Jieun would go straight into panic at the mention of her elderly relative being out of bed when she should be resting.

 

“She was completely adamant on being there,” He stated with a casual shrug to answer her sceptical inquiring look.

 

Then he looked thoughtful for a moment. “If I remember correctly she said something along the lines of ‘If I managed to look after myself all these years, I can continue to do so now’.”

 

Jieun shook her head in disbelief as she let out a chuckle. Same old grandma, even if she had spent the last week in hospital she would still insist on doing everything else but rest like she was meant to be doing.

 

But she wouldn’t be my grandma if she wasn’t like that. She mused with a small, fond smile.

 

“Well, let’s not keep the others waiting. Especially Xiumin, he gets seriously grumpy when we don’t feed him.” He feigned a sigh which earned a small stream of amused giggles from her in response.

 

After opening the door he gestured a hand towards the door with his ever charming smile. “After you, my lady~”

 

Rolling her eyes yet a gentle smile appeared, breaking her blank poker face. “And people say chivalry is dead.”

 

“Those unfortunate people haven’t had the pleasure of meeting me, that’s why.” He winked teasingly.

 

.

.

.

 

~Presents~ 

(Snippets)

 

Suho and Lay  

Suho and Lay were the first to hand her the first present, since they all agreed that it should be ordered in the way they appeared from the book. Both were displaying beaming smiles as they bestowed upon her a nicely wrapped box-sized gift.

 

“You guys really didn’t have to go through so much effort, you know.” At first, she tried to feign a stern look however they remained adamant as they gently pushed the gift into her hands.

 

“For what you’ve given to us, this is just our small way of saying thank you for going out of your own way to look after us, Jieun-ah.”

 

The pure look of tender love that was plastered over their faces was undeniable, it made the brunette speechless as she nodded her head shyly because carefully unwrapping the present.

 

Inside the box was a sliver coated necklace with the Exo insignia engraved into the pendant. She tilted her head to the side before slowly lifting her head up, a questioning look etched on her face, only to double-back in shock as seeing the angelic leader and healer bowing to her as they leaned their arm over their knee.

 

“We vow to stay by your side to protect you always, but if circumstances may arise which prevent us from doing so, please take this offering from us as a token of protection.”

 

.

.

.

 

Baekhyun and Chanyeol

Baekhyun smiled softly at her as he sung the last few notes of the Christmas song, his melodious voice surprisingly blended in nicely with the baritone sound of Chanyeol’s rapping. The fire breather had not once broken his character during the performance, as he remained oddly cool and collected unlike his usual derpy, happy-virus self.

 

Jieun merely stared wide-eyed at the pair, who immediately became self-conscious as they fidgeted under her scrutinizing stare.

 

“How could you guys hide such an extraordinary talent like that? That was amazing!” Once overcoming the shock, she stood up instantly and began to clap as a big grin cracked on her face.

 

Baekhyun tried to be nonchalant but after a few seconds, his attempts were futile as he could not contain the surge of happiness which ran through his veins as he smiled back brightly, his powers threatening to burst out by the intensity of joy.     

 

“You looked so cool rapping Chanyeol-ssi!”

 

The tall male flushed at the compliment before a sly grin stretched across his face.  “You mean Chanyeol-oppa?”

 

“Don’t push your luck, pabo.” She rolled her eyes, nevertheless a fond smile graced her features.

 

.

.

.

 

Sehun and Luhan

It was definitely an understatement to say she was slightly apprehensive about opening up the devil twin’s present.

 

Who knows what kinds of prank they could pull? For all I know they could be spiders underneath all this wrapping paper!

                            

Instantly, involuntary shivers ran down her back at the mere thought of the creepy crawly.

 

However, the genuine, hopeful smiles that adored their faces almost caused her doubt to float away. Note, keyword: almost.

 

After tearing open the present’s paper, she took a sweeping glance at it for a moment before she shot the pair of suddenly grinning demons a confused look.

 

“Well, you’re our kitty, so it made perfect sense for us to buy you a kitty toy so you would instantly think of us~” They bounded over to where she was sitting as they tackled her with hugs.

 

“…Uh okay, but could you explain to me why exactly does this cat plushie have a collar round its neck?” The cat plushie donned a black leather collar with a bell attached to it with red silk.

 

“It is a sign that you belong to us, kitten.” Sehun propped his head on her shoulder with crimson irises.

 

“I belong to no-one, pabo.” She scoffed, feeling suffocated by the unbearable amount of testerone in the room. 

 

“It works both ways, kitty. You belong to us, and we belong to you.” Luhan her hair tenderly, a predator glint present in his youthful features.

 

.

.

.

 

Jongin and Kyungsoo

“If you would do me the honour of dancing with me, jagiya?” The tanned male extended a hand out to her, as he half-bowed with his smirk.

 

Kyungsoo lightly swatted him over the head. “Don’t be a ert now, Jongin-ah. Keep your hands where they’re meant to be.”

 

Jongin feigned an innocent look as his plump lips were pulled into a scowl. “I would never violate her like that. Why do you take me for?”

 

Jieun shot him a surprised look, having half-expected him to bit back an arrogant reply like he always did. Huh, maybe Jongin’s changing for the better this Christmas?

 

Then he turned towards her, the enduring look made her flush uncomfortably as she lowered her gaze to her polka dotted socks.

 

She felt him gently push up her chin as she shyly met his obsidian irises. He smiled at her.

“Only on special occasions where it is consensual.” He purred out, his smirk making an unwanted appearance.

 

Aish, spoke too soon. The brunette directed a flat, unimpressed look at him in response.

“Which by my calculations, is going to have to be never.”

 

“I’ve always liked your feisty side.”

 

“Can’t say I share the same views about you, you ert.”

 

“You’ll warm up to be someday, jagiya~” With that, he pulled her form close to his as the music started playing with Kyungsoo beginning to sing in his sweet, smooth way in the background. 

 

Jieun smiled secretively as she leaned against his shoulder. Maybe someday, you pabo.

 

.

.

.

 

Chen and Xiumin  

 

 

Jieun had to physically retrain herself from bursting out from laughing as Xiumin leapt into the living room, clad in a bright red Santa costume complete with the white beard.

 

“Ho, ho, ho, Merry Christmas my dear Jieun-ah~” He tried to deepen his voice as he literally waddled over, like a penguin with a grin plastered across his face.

 

“Merry Christmas to you too, Xiumin-ssi.” She returned the warm gesture naturally.

 

“Aish, Chen! Don’t let us all down now; get out here like a man!” He boomed.

 

“What self-respecting guy would wear something like that?” Was the dry response from the bathroom.

 

Jieun nearly rolled her eyes as she moved to help out Xiumin out, as she gestured for him to come closer. “Well, I have to say I find it quite cute Xiumin-ssi.”

 

The male in question blushed beetroot red as he let out a stream of incoherent sentences. She took this opportunity while he was flustered and distracted to plant a quick kiss on his cheek as she inwardly counted backwards with a knowing look.

 

Then, the bathroom burst open, revealing an elf-costume clad Chen as he sped towards her. “Since I’m being forced to wear this, can I get a kiss too?”

 

Xiumin snorted as he shot a smug look in Chanyeol’s direction. “Bet you’re jealous now that you don’t look like a fat old man.”

 

.

.

.

 

Kris and Tao

 

 

“Okay, on the count of three, we’ll do it together. Is that okay, Duizhang~” The ebony haired male chirped with a cute smile playing on the corners of his mouth as he swung his arms back and forth with the excitement equalling that of a caffeine fuelled squirrel.

 

Note to self: do not feed Tao too much sugar again. Jieun rolled her eyes as she leaned against her fist with an expectant look.

 

Having arrived last, Kris and Tao were the only ones left. The latter seeming to pat the older male’s back encouragingly, while the blond leader simply remained stone faced as he kept shaking his head.

 

“I don’t see why I have to do this when you’re perfectly capable of doing it yourself.” Was his muttered reply as he shot death-glares in the devil twin’s direction, who were sniggering relentlessly at him. 

 

“B-But I can’t do it without you! It would not be the same,” He whined in a child-like manner, completely destroying the whole bad-boy image he portrayed through his overall appearance.

 

“Do it for Jieun, you know you want to~”

 

Kris pinched the bridge of his nose as if trying desperately to push away an impending headache as he released a tired sigh.

 

“Alright, alright.” He rolled his eyes, yet a small smile threatened to curl on the corners of his lips.

 

“So on the count of three, Duizhang~” Tao clapped eagerly.

 

“Three…” He began, lifting up his hands near his face.

 

“Two…” The blond leader counted with little-to-none enthusiasm.

 

“—ONE~” The devil twins threw their arms up in the air.   

 

“BUING BUING~~” Tao smiled brightly as he rubbed his fists against his cheeks, tilting his head to the side as he did so, adding more to his overall cuteness. It was unquestionable to deny the fact that this demon could easily pull of an act of aegyo.

 

Jieun could already the urge to squeal uncontrollably like a fan girl but quickly returned her hawk-like gaze back onto the silent leader.

 

Now realising all eyes and attention were on him, he knew he had no other options but to comply. 

 

Reluctantly, he raised up his curled hands to his fists, his usually composed features were beginning to show signs of cracking as he swallowed carefully, knowing that if he were to make even one mistake, he would be ridiculed for.

 

“…Buing buing~” He mumbled almost shyly as he met Jieun’s eyes.

 

That had to be one of the worst aegyo she had ever seen. However, there was something about the timid way he had done it, which made her feel like smiling.

 

Kris, the infamously formidable cold leader of Exo-M had just done aegyo for her. That in itself must have severely bruised his ego.

 

She walked over to them, schooling her features into a calm mask until she was standing before their towering heights before she lifted her hand to pat the blond male’s shoulder since she was not tall enough to do so to his head.

 

“Good job there, Kris-ssi! That was a lovely Christmas present~” With that, she pecked his cheek before moving over to do the same to Tao as she stepped back to glance at them all.

 

“Thank you for making this Christmas a memorable one, guys! I know that I wasn’t particularly fond of you appearing from that book, but I feel extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to meet you all!” She smiled softly, averting her eyes away for a moment as she felt her cheeks warm up at the intense stares. “I want you to know that I hold you all in a special place in my heart, even when you’ll go away.”

 

Immediately, she felt presences appear all around her but before she could even comprehend what was happening, she met the stern face of Xiumin. “Aish, what are you talking about us leaving you, silly girl?”

 

“As long as you wish for us to stay, we will always be by your side~” The devil twins smiled warmly at her.

 

“But for the most part, as you have already learnt when we first met, even if you push us away, we will always return back to you.” Suho ruffled her head affectionately.

 

“We all too have a special place for you in our hearts. I’ll be damned if I ever lost you, Jieun-ah.” Chanyeol held onto her hand with a determined look.

 

“So you better start getting used to us sticking around, jagiya.” Again, she was assaulted by Jongin’s smothering eyes as he planted a kiss on the crown of her head.  

 

Jieun felt tears spout out of her ears as she felt a warm feeling growing at the pit of her stomach as she stared into the fond, tender looks of all the twelve before she glanced behind her shoulder to see the grey haired woman sitting in the background, who was smiling at the sweet scene.

 

Grandma, I’ve finally found those special people in my life that you kept saying I would eventually meet when I grew up.

 

.

.

.

 

Christmas day was coming to an end as the sleeping form of the brunette was still and soundless, dead to the world as she slept on soundly her face was no longer contorted into the seemingly fixed worried mask she had wearing for days. It was almost as if she was problem-free, just like the good old days where it was just her and grandma living blissfully oblivious of the presence of demons.

 

“Jieun-ah, it’s time to wake up dear.” The welcoming musical voice that could only be owned by her grandma rang through her ears as she sluggishly wormed her way out of her bed, rubbing her eyes as she did so.

 

“Why’s that grandma? Is something special happening today?”

 

The sounds of shuffling of feet in the room ceased for a moment, before a muffled laugh was heard. Jieun frowned in confusion. Was she missing something here?

 

“Well, if you consider Christmas special, then yes dear.” The grey haired woman shook her head with a good-naturedly smile playing on the corners of her lips making her eyes crinkle at the sides.

 

In an instant, the brunette shot up out of bed with an excited twinkle in her eyes as she practically bounced up and down like a caffeine fuelled squirrel. It was quite an amusing sight for the older woman to say the least, to see the usually composed girl act so child-like for once.

 

“Seriously?” Comically, her eyes rounded in surprised. “Oh how could I forget such an important day? Let me go wash up and you do what you need to do first before we open up the presents, okay grandma?” But she did not wait to hear the grey haired woman’s reply as she sprinted towards the bathroom with a resounding slam of the bedroom door.

 

In less than a few minutes, she had exited the bathroom with a hint of toothpaste coating her bottom lip as she raced towards the living room where she knew the presents would be all wrapped nicely under the Christmas tree. She grinned in anticipation at the thought of what her grandma had gotten this year and whether she would like the presents she had gotten her. She could practically smell the meat cooking in the oven, nearly ready for the mid-afternoon dinner.

 

“Grandma, I’m all done now. Are you ready now—?” She began as she stepped into the room, though she glanced around in confusion of the empty room which was strangely void of any sort of Christmas decorations. Slowly, she walked into the kitchen, expecting to see freshly made breakfast ready on the table, only to find that the room was also empty. Even when she checked the oven, there was no meat being cooked in there.

 

“W-What’s going on? Are you playing tricks with me grandma?” She cried out until it eventually turned into a inaudible whisper as she searched all over the house from top to bottom, running around like a lunatic trying to locate where her grandmother was.

 

“GRANDMA, IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, SAY SOMETHING!!” By this point, she felt like curling up in a corner and crying. This had to be some sick joke since she knew that her grandma would never hide away from her, on Christmas day no less.

 

But that did not answer her question—where was her grandmother?

 

Then a knock on the door broke her chain of thought, as she brightened up slightly at the prospect of her grandmother simply popping out to exchange Christmas greetings to her neighbours, a very logical and sensible assumption to make, knowing the kind character of the older woman.

 

“There you are grandma; I was starting to wonder if you were pulling my leg or something!” Jieun stated in a scolding manner as she opened the door, only to see the completely bewildered look on Kwon Yuri’s face—her neighbour from her apartment.

 

“…Jieun-ah, are you okay? Why are you talking about your grandmother?” She spoke slowly, as if talking to a child with a concerned look.

 

The girl in question was starting to lose her patience. ”What do you mean ‘why am I talking about my grandmother’? I was just talking to her this morning and now she’s gone AWOL because I can’t find her anywhere and—“

 

Yuri placed both hands over her shoulders as she locked onto Jieun’s panicked hazel irises. “Don’t you remember Jieun-ah? We had buried your grandmother weeks ago; she passed away because of her long-term illness.” She spoke as delicately as she possibly could in the circumstances.

 

In an instant, the brunette froze as hundreds of thoughts surged through her mind as she was unable to comprehend what exactly was going on.

 

“What do you mean my grandmother passed away? I swear I was just talking to her and she was absolutely fine! I think I would be able to remember something like that Yuri-ssi.” She tried to wave off the woman’s concerns with a dismissive flourish of her hand, however there was something behind the worried look in her face that made her doubt her own words.

 

The ebony haired woman shook her head with widened eyes. “Jieun-ah, I’m really sorry that you’ve had to be put through so much especially because it is Christmas but you need to open you eyes to see that your grandmother is gone and she is not coming back.”

 

Your grandmother is gone.

 

And she is not coming back.

 

Time seemed to stop around her as the words began to sink in, the feeling of numbness entered into her body as she could not even register the presence of Yuri disappearing before her very eyes as her figure faded into the blackness which hungrily consumed her surroundings.

 

How could this be? She mentally thought, on the brink of losing her mind as she gripped her head in frustration. Why did her grandmother leave her so suddenly without her even realising it?

 

“Jieun-ah,” She distantly heard a familiar voice call out her.

 

She whirled around, trying to gauge out the owner of the voice amongst the blackness that engulfed her line of vision.

 

“Who’s there?”

 

“Why, it’s us of course.”

 

Then, she could finally see all of Exo just a few feet away from her right before her very own eyes. She felt relief course through her veins at the thought that she was not totally alone, that they were still around.

 

“You guys…I thought that you had left me too.” She sniffed back tears as she began to advance towards them, lifting her arms up as a gesture of a hug as she raced towards them.

 

Suho smiled angelically at her, like he always did. “We would never leave you, Jieun-ah.” He wrapped his arms around her in a warm, comforting embrace.

 

“You’re far too precious for us to let go.” Baekhyun stated seriously with Chanyeol bobbing his head in agreement, well most of them did actually.

 

“Where would you be without us looking after you, silly girl?” Xiumin cheekily stuck his tongue out at her.

 

“Aish, that’s not something you’re supposed to say to comfort her, baozi.” Luhan knuckled him with a good-natured smile.

 

“We love you, Jieun-ah!” They all chimed together, with smiles adoring their faces.

 

The girl in question smiled for a moment, relishing in the fact that she was around people she cared about as they all enjoyed each other’s company, making her forget momentarily about what had recently happened.

 

Until eventually, each and every one of their faces had contorted into evident dislike and disgust as they all simultaneously stepped away from her.

 

“I don’t understand what we ever saw in Jieun. She could never be an equal replacement to her.”

 

There was a hum of agreement. “Yeah, she’s definitely not as beautiful enough or even as kind enough as her.”

 

“We must have gone crazy or something! I mean, just look at her for goodness sake!”

 

Suddenly there was uproar of boisterous laughter escaping from their lips.

 

Jieun gasped as each of their eyes melted from their former kind, love-filled ones into the cold crimson stained irises that could never belong to her boys.

 

She tried to search through them to find a kind soul amongst their evidently possessed ones. However, much to her dismay there were none to be found as all of them smirked arrogantly as they began to leave into the darkness until Chanyeol stopped for a moment to glance back, giving her some hope that he might not be like the others.

 

“I just wanted to let you know that I had never truly loved you, Jieun-ah. You’re a fool if you thought you meant anything to us.” He spat out with so much venom and hatred, it caused her to take a step back in fear.

 

“You’re all alone now, because everyone else knew that you weren’t worth being around. Merry Christmas darling, try not to have too much fun by yourself.” He called out in a mocking tone as he finally turned around and disappeared into the blanket of darkness, the only other sound in her subconscious mind was the deafening sound of the silence surrounding her.

 

“…I thought we were supposed to stick together until the end?” She whispered almost inaudibly, feeling her heart breaking as she slid down to the floor with tears steaming down her face.

 

“I have no one left, because I’m not worth being around…” She muttered to herself, her eyes devoid of any emotion as she allowed the tears to flow down freely.

 

All of the happy memories she had shared with Exo fabricated into the darkness, engulfing the darkness as they appeared all over. Smiles and laughter were exchanged until they began to shatter and crack into small pieces.

 

“I’m all alone.” She wrapped her arms around herself, as if to shield away from the feelings of betrayal and heartbreak as sobs escaped her lips. No longer did she have her grandmother, but now all of Exo had also left her.

  

In her pent up frustration, she let out an anguished cry as she lowered her head, her teardrops falling into the deep depths of the darkness.

 

“—Jieun-ah! What’s wrong?!”

 

Somewhere, in the back of her mind she could hear someone shaking her shoulders, but she tore herself away from the unknown being as she pushed herself away.

 

“Stop toying with me! I just saw you leave me…you no longer wish to stay with me!”

 

“What on earth is she babbling on about?” Another voice muttered under their breath.

 

“Don’t say such things! Of course we want to stay with you, we love you!”
 

“You’re lying!” She snarled out, her eyes red and puffy from crying.

 

“She’s having a nightmare, Lay do something!”

 

Suddenly she felt a soothing aura surround her, as a soft voice coaxed her to stop struggling.

 

“You’re safe Jieun-ah, nothing will harm you now.” Knowing that her attempts would only be futile, she allowed herself to stop as the tears began to stream down faster as she felt painful pangs from her heart.

 

Why does my heart hurt so much?

 

Hands were running through her hair in a rhythmic manner, causing her to calm down as she closed her eyes and allowed herself to slip into a peaceful oblivion.

 

“—If you can hear me Jieun, don’t die on us now!“

 

“I’ll go to the underworld and drag you back if I have too!”

 

Those were the last words she heard before her senses were completely blocked as she lost consciousness, welcoming the darkness.   

 

.

.

.

 

A woman watched through the glass mirror the tear-stricken face that belonged to Jieun as she was being consoled by the various members of Exo. She smirked knowingly as she had planted the seed of doubt into the younger girl’s head which would no doubtingly sprout nicely until it reached the point where she would push the boys away enough for her to have the opportunity to pounce.

 

The wait for revenge could not have come soon enough as the smirk melted into a smug smile.  

 

She leaned her head against the back of her hand, idly twirling her pencil in her hand. “I had told you before, if I can’t have you, then no one else can have you, my dear boys.” Narrowing her eyes into crimson slits, she let out a banshee-like shriek of deranged laughter.

 

.

.

.

Author's Corner                                                                                                                                                 

 

 

Consider this my Christmas present to you all~

MERRY CHRISTMAS GUYS~~

I'm sure most of you were probably like WTF did I just read? I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT IS HAPPENING!? Don't worry, the following chapters will explain what happens between chapter 13 to this chapter.

If you didn't see the WARNING on the top of the page, this is not chapter 14. This is just a Christmas special/future-chapter.

I'm so glad I managed to get this finished on time, since I've been meaning to finish this off during last week but school's been so hectic lately >.<

I did have fun writing this ^^ *or at least the fluff parts anyway lol* I'm not really a fan of angst but I gave it a go anyway!

So...yeah, that's pretty much it. I hope you guys liked your Christmas present, since I've been working on getting it all done by today~ A big thank you to all my readers, new subscribers~~ :D