Wooyoung resisted for a few moments. “It’s for my girlfriend! I want to make it special!” he protested indignantly. “And you know she loves pandas! Bears. Same thing.”

“Grab one and go.”

“It has to be special. Ooh, this one looks cute. And so does this one. And so does that one!” He looked tortured, sweeping his crazed gaze over the toys.

Taecyeon chuckled, scanning the army of pandas. A particular one enticed his interest and plucked it off the shelf with a flourish. “Here you go!”

“Thank you, Taec!” Wooyoung cried. “You always see things I can’t!”

Ok Taecyeon sweat-dropped. “It was right in front of you.” All of a sudden, the idea of purchasing a stuffed bear appealed to him. “I’ll get one for myself then.” He flagged down the manager, waving his bear wildly in the air. “Ma’am! Can you get these gift-wrapped for us?”

Sungrin had a sour expression on her face as she replied, “Hey, I’m not that old!” but complied anyway. First it was the group of flirts, now Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee? She extracted the rolls of snowmen-printed wrapping paper from her handy dandy cabinet before getting to work, all the while muttering “Ma’am? Do I look like a ‘Ma’am’ to him? He’s older than me, for God’s sake!” crossly under her breath. Finally finished and satisfied with her work, she stuffed the gifts into the boy’s awaiting hands, collected his money, and waved him off.

Wooyoung was now occupied with fangirling ( “Fanboying!” he corrects sternly ) over the miniature reindeer-shaped lollipops by the window. “Come on, let’s go.” Taecyeon observed the two bears in his hands, a frown forming on his face as he tried to recall which one was his. They were both appropriately bear-shaped; he couldn’t distinguish one from the other. He decided to stick with his gut and tossed one of them at Wooyoung’s head.

-Few Hours Later-

There’s one major thing Ok Taecyeon learned today: NEVER LISTEN TO YOUR GUT.

Because the second he tore off the wrapping paper, he knew he had made a mistake; the big round eyes of a panda stared back at him.

______

→Heo Youngsaeng.

He left his house with earbuds stuffed in his ears, bopping his head to the beat of the current song he was listening to. Heo Youngsaeng liked to take these occasional morning strolls around the neighborhood. When his neighbor’s dog wasn’t chasing him and when that creepy little girl next door wasn’t bothering him, morning strolls were actually pretty relaxing.

Speaking of that creepy little girl – where was she?

Don’t get him wrong – he liked little kids as much as the next guy. Youngsaeng’s neighbor, however, got on his nerves. Each morning, as he arose from the private sanctuary of his bed, he would stumble over to the curtains to welcome the sunshine.

And each morning, instead of sunlight, he would be greeted by a face grinning ear to ear pressed against the glass. It became a part of his schedule: wake up, open curtains, scream, close curtains, run into bathroom.

This morning, however, the little girl hadn’t been there. He had a premonition; something was up. Youngsaeng, amidst his humming, pinpointed her, nearly obscured due to stacks of items. A large sign constructed from construction paper displayed a hastily written “YARD SALE.”

The little girl waved wildly, beckoning to him. “Mister!” Why she always addressed him as “Mister,” he’d never know. “Come buy something!” Before poor Youngsaeng could run away and hide – preferably in a bush – she came over and dragged him toward her collection. “Mommy said that if I sell my old stuff and earn money, I can get new stuff! So buy something,” she concluded bluntly.

His eyes wearily raked the table before landing on a stuffed polar bear. “How much is this?”

“For you, it’s free!”

Youngsaeng grabbed the toy, trekking his house with a shiver. Creepy kids.

______

→Park Jaebeom.

The rain had finally ceased by the time Jaebeom left Chansung’s. He stepped past the large puddles that had accumulated due to the weather, raising an eyebrow at the suspicious-looking puddle surrounding the fire hydrant that did NOT look like rain before sidestepping around it. The party at Chansung’s house had been fun; complete with a spazzing Wooyoung and Taecyeon.

He spotted his own house in the distance, but paused in his tracks when a pile of cardboard boxes, distorted and wet, caught his eye. Stepping closer to the dump, he noticed a big lump protruding from the bottom of the mass. Prodding it with his shoe first, Park Jaebeom crouched down to rescue the object – which seemed to be a bear of some kind.

All of a sudden, he felt a surge of sympathy for the inanimate creature and began to lug it home.

His parents acknowledged his presence with nods and small smiles as he marched up the stairs, directly to the bathroom. Wringing as much water out of the bear as he could in the bathtub, he then proceeded abate the excess water with a paper towel. Upon further examination, Jaebeom realized that this was a grizzly bear in his hands – a rather large one at that. “Guess you’ll be staying with me for a while. I’ll name you Aragog, since you’re OBVIOUSLY a male.” He rolled his eyes at his own comment before hanging up the plushie to dry.

Maybe his parents wouldn’t mind when they pulled back the shower curtains to reveal a ferocious-looking grizzly staring at them.

______

→Lee Kikwang.

“What are you talking about?” A thin layer of anger masked his voice. “What the heck are you going on about this time?”

[She froze in awe, gaping at the prize on display. “Oppa! I want that one!” He chuckled, ruffled her hair, and stepped up to the booth, slapping down a ticket.]

She sniffed, refusing to face him. “You know what I’m talking about. That girl.”

[They were at a carnival; the lighthearted melody buzzing in the background mingling with the laughter of visitors proved it. The two were at a ring-tossing booth; Kikwang had stepped up to the plate. His girlfriend cheered from the sidelines.]

“You don’t understand; she’s—”

“Don’t take that cliché line from dramas! It’s not going to work with me. And you’re right; I don’t understand. What have I done to deserve this?”

They were fuming, eye to eye. Nose to nose.

[“Stop showing off and just toss it already!” she urged, playfully shoving him.

Kikwang rolled his eyes before shushing her. “Prepare to be exposed to pure awesomeness!”]

“You know, I never thought you would be guilty of cheating on me.” Her voice cracked, and she cleared .

[Kikwang claimed his prize, beaming at the latter. “Here you go, my love.” In response, she squealed and pounced on him, stuffed toy tucked under her arm.

“YAY!”

“Now, what do you say?”

She grinned, pecking him on the cheek. “Thanks oppa. I love you.”]

“I hate you.”

-Several Days Later-

Kikwang leaned against the doorframe, trying to maintain his blank demeanor. “So, this is it?” He had immediately zoomed over when he was notified of an upcoming event. When he had entered her house, her mom had greeted him with a bittersweet smile, welcoming him in with a gesture. The next scene before him was this: she was kneeling on the carpeted floor, head buried in a cardboard box, piles of her belongings surrounding her. “You’re moving?”

She held his gaze, eyes sparkling with unshed tears. “I’m sorry for accusing you of something you didn’t do.”

A heavy silence coated the air for a few moments, in time with Kikwang’s heartbeats. He sank to his knees, head low in a vain attempt to conceal his tears. “I’m sorry for not trying to mend our relationship.” He forced his head up as a delicate arm wrapped around him, temporarily relieving him of his burdens.

“I’m sorry for everything.”

Then Kikwang saw it: the symbol of their relationship he had won long ago, precariously perched on a shelf. “You still have it?” She nodded, flashing him a wavering smile. “L-Let me keep it. So you won’t be in as much pain.”

“You were always a thoughtful guy.” And she handed him the tiger.