~*~

  “Suzy, I’m so glad you could come.” Sungmin let her in and told her to make herself comfortable. “How are you? Where’s Kyuhyun? How’s our plan coming along? Was I right? Did they take away the scholarship?”

  Suzy chuckled, putting her coat on the coat rack as she answered every question. “I’m fine, thank you. Kyuhyun was roped into having dinner with my parents to discuss his ‘intentions’. Our plan is doing fine; nobody suspects a thing. But so far, they haven’t budged. The scholarship is still intact and Kyuhyun’s parents seem…happier now actually.”

  Sungmin flopped down on the couch, “They’re happy and meanwhile, I’m drifting apart from my boyfriend. I can’t believe I’m saying this but I think I actually might have been…wrong.”

  “Well, Sungmin, you seemed pretty confident when you thought up the plan.” Suzy reminded him while patting his back in comfort. “And it’s still a little too early to decide anything for sure. Give it a little more time.”

  “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” he asked. “You like dating my boyfriend, don’t you?”

  “I want to get this over with as much as you do.” She claimed, smiling. “You should see Kyuhyun when we’re together. All he ever does is talk about you, and how much he loves the little things about you, and how he wonders what you’re doing, and if you’re missing him as he much as he’s missing you.”

  Sungmin couldn’t stop his mouth from curving upward into a very big grin. “I do, you know. I miss him. Last night we were talking on the phone and he said he has to spend New Year’s with his family and with…you, again.”

  “I’m sorry, Sungmin,” Suzy frowned. “If there’s anything I could do, I would do it.”

  “No thanks,” he said. “You’re already doing enough for us. I’m just depressed…you see, New Year’s isn’t just New Year’s for me. It’s also my birthday.”

  “Oh. I didn’t know; I’m sorry—”

  “Sungmin, do you have any extra lube lying around?” Eunhyuk asked, coming in from the kitchen. “I already used up all of mine.”

  “Doing what? I thought Donghae isn’t having with you any—ugh, never mind, don’t answer the question.” Sungmin grimaced. “Use mine; it’s in my room. Kyuhyun and I probably aren’t gonna need it for a while anyway.”

  “This is kind of sad, isn’t it? None of us are having any .” Eunhyuk finally noticed there was another person in the room, a girl, more specifically, and instead of being embarrassed, he extended his hand out, a big, gummy grin across his face. “Well, hello there. You’re a pretty little thing, aren’t you? I’m Eunhyuk; I used to be a football player, wanna see my six-pack?”

  Before Suzy could even shake his hand, Eunhyuk was literally pushed aside by his fuming boyfriend who was ready to bite his head off. “Hi, I’m Donghae, your six-month boyfriend who happens to know for a fact that your six-pack has disappeared into oblivion.”

  “How would you even know? It’s not like you see me anymore.” Eunhyuk griped.

  Donghae smirked, “You think I don’t peek at you when you’re sleeping? I do, and let me tell you, Hyukkie, you’re getting a beer belly.”

  Offended, Eunhyuk’s mouth fell open, “I am not! If anyone’s getting fat, it’s Heechul!”

  “Are these your friends?” Suzy asked Sungmin. “I like them.”

  “You’re going to regret saying that.” Sungmin quipped. “Sorry about the two of them. They’re not really great company right now, and frankly neither am I; we’re all a little…ally charged right now.”

  “ally charged?” asked Donghae.

  “It’s smart talk for ‘’.” Eunhyuk explained, making Donghae’s mouth shape into a small ‘o’.

  “If we’re talking about , you should see Heechul. Yesterday he was practically humping the couch.” Donghae said, and for once Sungmin is almost embarrassed to call them his friends. “He’s doing better than Hyukkie though. Last night, I woke up at 3AM and Hyukkie’s hand was down my pants.”

  “You guys should carry around a sign that says ‘Parental Advisory: Explicit Content’ or something.” Suzy remarked, chuckling. “Sungmin, introduce me.”

  “You’re going to regret that too.” Sungmin stood up, flailing his arms back and forth from Suzy to the couple, giving the usual introductory lines. “This is the Suzy I’ve been telling you about. The Suzy who’s dating my Kyuhyun.”

  “No need to sound so resentful, Min,” Suzy smiles as she makes a small, awkward curtsy towards Eunhyuk and Donghae. “After all, Kyuhyun and I are doing this for you.”

  “I know, I know, I’m sorry, I’m just—”

  “Depressed, we know.” Donghae nodded. “Honey, I think your mom left you some fruitcake in the fridge. I bet that will make you feel better.”

  “No thanks,” Sungmin put his turtleneck up to his chin as he headed for the stairs. “I’m just going to take a nap. Show yourselves out.”

  “This is not good,” Eunhyuk expressed his worry once heard Sungmin’s bedroom door close. “I’ve never seen him this miserable before.”

  “It’s not really that bad, is it?” Suzy asked, her eyebrows knitting together in concern.

  “It is,” Eunhyuk said. “Once he starts being nice and stops being y, that’s when you should be really worried.”

  “It’s the first sign,” Donghae agreed. “I can’t stand seeing him like this. Yesterday I offered to take him shopping and he said he wasn’t in the mood.”

  “Oh no,” Eunhyuk gasped. “There’s definitely something wrong if he doesn’t want to go shopping.”

  “I think he just really misses Kyuhyun.” Suzy leaned back and folded her arms, and Eunhyuk happened to notice how her movement pushed her s up and he couldn’t help but stare. Donghae slapped him on the back of his head when he started to drool. “There must be some way to get them together on New Year’s. What do you guys think?”

  “I think…that if it was a little bit colder in here, I could see your s sticking out of your sweater.” Eunhyuk said, making Suzy look down at her chest and Donghae to chuck a cushion at his boyfriend’s face. “I mean…ever thought of wearing a French maid’s costume?”

  “Hey, I thought I was the only one you wanted to see in a French maid’s costume!” When Donghae started to attack his helpless boyfriend with another cushion, Suzy managed to slip away without either of them noticing.

  “Donghae—ow!—if you would just—stop it!—have with me—put the pillow down!—then I wouldn’t be this —OUCH NOT IN THE BALLS!”

~*~

  Heechul pulled himself out of bed, grimaced at his bloated reflection in the mirror and stifled a yawn as he put his panda slippers on and came out of his bedroom.

  “Hey,” he greeted the dancing figure by the stove. “What are you doing?”

  “Making dinner,” Hongki smiled and kissed his cheek. “Kimchi and mashed potatoes.”

  “I didn’t know you can cook.” Heechul flicked his bangs out of his eyes as he looked at the familiar fluffy garment Hongki was sporting. My God, Heechul mentally gasped, is that Siwon’s robe? “Hongki, where did you get that robe?”

  He shrugged, “Found it lying around. I figured you wouldn’t mind. Do you?”

  “Uh, no, it’s fine.” Heechul decided to forget the matter, reminding himself that the whole reason he invited Hongki over this morning was so he could start getting over Siwon and get some no-strings-attached while he was at it. “Did you drink all the eggnog?”

  “Saved you some in the fridge.” He said, tilting his head towards the refrigerator.

  Heechul nodded and took out the pitcher to pour himself off when his eyes wandered to the living room, more specifically the gift-wrapped package sitting on the coffee table.

  “Hongki, what’s that?” he asked, taking a closer look at it.

  Happy Holidays, read the note that was attached to it. The handwriting looked familiar.

  “I don’t know,” Hongki answered. “The delivery guy dropped it off a little while ago. Any idea who it’s from?”

  Heechul didn’t reply and instead pondered on the possibility of Siwon sending him this. He took a deep breath, tried to shake off the thought and ripped open the packaging. His eyes widened at the Forever 21 logo on the lid of the box, and soon after, he was staring at the same pair of heels that he pointed out to Siwon once when they were out shopping in Hongdae. It also happened to be the same pair that Sungmin bought him a knock-off of.

  “Those look expensive,” Hongki remarked as he set the table. “Who are they from?”

  “It—it doesn’t say.” Heechul put the shoes down and put the cover back on. “Probably just something from one of my many admirers,” he teased as he joined the younger teacher at the table.

  “Should I feel threatened?” he quirked an eyebrow.

  “Very,” he smirked, which was soon wiped off his face when Hongki fed him a spoonful of mashed potatoes. Unfortunately, Heechul had to find out the hard way that the potatoes were still steaming hot and he had to down a whole carton of milk to get the burn off his tongue.

  The nice thing about Hongki was that he wasn’t the type of guy you settle down with or get into a serious relationship with; he was the type of guy who you could have with a couple of times and then throw away once you get bored. It was alright, because he didn’t mind. He liked being somebody’s plaything, at least to Heechul’s knowledge.

~*~

  “We don’t have much time. Eventually our parents are going to realize we’re gone.” Kyuhyun said (more like yelled), holding on to the seat for dear life as Suzy drove like crazy to Sungmin’s place. Neither of them had licenses or their own cars, so they had to steal the keys to Kyuhyun’s dad’s BMW—what frightened Kyuhyun the most was how much Suzy was enjoying all of this. Obviously the girl needed some more thrill in her life.

  “Suzy, slow down!” His screeches were drowned out by the blast of the stereo music and Suzy’s ecstatic yelling. “We don’t even have a plan!”

  “Yes, we do!” Suzy could barely even hear herself with all the excess noise in the background, but she didn’t really care. She’s been prim and proper all her life and letting loose and having fun is actually quite enjoyable. “Once we get there, you climb up to Sungmin’s window, kiss him and then spend the first few minutes of the New Year together before we have to go back to your house.”

  “You’ve been watching way too many chick flicks—wait, I have to climb a what?”

~*~

  “Oh, we thought we heard noises,” Donghae said as he and Eunhyuk opened the door and saw Suzy looking up at the sky and yelling words of encouragement. “What are you doing?”

  “Kyuhyun is going up to see Sungmin.” Suzy explained, cooing dreamily.

  Eunhyuk exchanged a confused look with his boyfriend before clearing his throat to ask, “Um…why don’t you guys just use the front door?”

  “Because Suzy is crazy!” Kyuhyun yelled from above, barely managing to keep his grip on the vine Suzy had forced him to climb. He had been going at it for about ten minutes now, and he wasn’t even halfway close to Sungmin’s bedroom window. He was sweaty, exhausted and starting to feel a little lightheaded.

  “You can do it, Kyu! Remember, this is how the prince gets his princess!” Suzy egged on, while beside her Eunhyuk and Donghae hugged each other and shared a touched ‘aww’ at the sweet gesture on Kyuhyun’s part.

  Kyuhyun groaned, “Can’t Sungmin just let his hair down or something…”

  “Faster, Kyu! It’s only ten more minutes until midnight! Until Sungmin’s birthday!” Suzy continued, pumping her fist in the air.

  “Ooh, that reminds me, we still have to put the icing on Sungmin’s cake. Come on, Hyukkie.” Donghae took Eunhyuk’s hand and pulled him back inside the house after wishing Kyuhyun a well-meant ‘good luck’.

  It took Kyuhyun five more minutes to finally reach the window sill, which he barely managed to hold on to since his palms had become so sweaty. With a loud grunt, he hoisted one wobbly leg inside the room (making him stretch in a way that Kyuhyun didn’t even know he could) and after a moment of cursing at the pain in his thighs, he put in the other leg and fell face-first on Sungmin’s thankfully carpeted floor.

  “I’m in!” he poked his head out of the window to inform Suzy, who gave him a proud thumbs-up. Feeling rather proud of himself as well, he straightened his clothes out and ran a hand through his hair, readying himself for the big grin on Sungmin’s face when he sees him.

  But once he finally got the sweat out of his eyes, he realized the room was empty.

  “You’ve got to be ing kidding me.” It took Kyuhyun everything and a little more not to pass out right there and then.

~*~

  “Nice bubbles.” Heechul smirked in amusement, his slender legs crossed and a freshly-lit cigarette resting in between his fingers as he stared at the boy in the bathtub.

  “Scoff all you want; this relaxes me.” Sungmin exhaled slowly as he settled into the warm, pink bubbles of the bath he just drew.

  “And this relaxes me.” He said, blowing smoke from his mouth as he sat on the closed toilet seat right beside the bathtub. “It’s also an effective appetite suppressant. I’d offer you a drag, but I don’t want to suppress your appetite any further.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Sungmin said, closing his eyes as he let the special scents he used for his bath effervesce.

  “Eunhyuk told me you haven’t eaten anything all day.” He said, flicking some ash into the paper cup he used as a substitute for an ashtray. “Sungmin, don’t make me go into therapist mode again. I can barely even pull myself together, let alone you.”

  Sungmin found it hard to enjoy the strawberry and vanilla bath scents with the cigarette smoke filling the air. “Do you really have to do that here?”

  “Yes,” he answered simply. “It’s too cold to smoke outside and Eunhyuk won’t let me smoke around Donghae since he doesn’t want me to pollute his lungs. God, you’d think he was his mother instead of his boyfriend.”

  “Is that a hickey?” Sungmin asked, eyes squinting at the purple mark on Heechul’s neck.

  “Dammit, I knew I should’ve worn a turtleneck.” Heechul muttered, taking another puff before responding. “No, that’s an insect bite.”

  “Oh really?” Sungmin flicked some water at him. “So I guess that’s an insect bite on your collarbone too? Who have you been ing, Kim Heechul? Oh, I’m sorry—I mean, who has been ing you?”

  “Don’t you judge me,” Heechul kicked his heel in Sungmin’s direction, too busy to do anything really threatening.

  “I’m not. It’s good that you’re moving on from Siwon. Or at least on the rebound.” Sungmin shrugged, waving off the cigarette smoke in his face. “By the way, I’m flattered that you’re wearing the heels I got you. Feels just like the real thing, doesn’t it?”

  “Yeah, because it is the real thing.” Heechul lifted his legs, showing off the leopard-print pumps on his feet. “A package came for me earlier and these were inside.”

  “Huh,” Sungmin leaned back, submerging himself until the water was at level with his chin. “Looks like Siwon is a man of his word. Did you at least send a thank-you note back?”

  Heechul guffawed, a large gust of smoke coming out of his mouth as he did. “Hell no…I still kinda miss him though.”

  “Sungmin!” Kyuhyun burst into the room, gasping for breath and sweating out all the water in his body. “I”—a wheeze—“can’t breathe”—another wheeze—“I’m dying”—a thud on the tiled floor.

  “Kyuhyun, what are you doing here?” Sungmin asked, wanting to get up and help him but at the same time not wanting to leave the comfort of his bath. “And what the hell happened to you?”

  Once Kyuhyun finally managed to get up and spit out coherent words, he kicked Heechul out, insisting on privacy with Sungmin so he could wish him a happy birthday. Heechul blew smoke at his face before strutting out of the bathroom, having the courtesy to close the door as he left.

  “What happened to you?” Sungmin asked again, taking Kyuhyun’s face (which was still sweaty, but whatever) in his hands. “You look like that’s been regurgitated twice.”

  “I missed you too,” Kyuhyun panted a sloppy kiss on the other’s mouth. “I just literally climbed up to your bedroom window, only to find that you weren’t there, so I ran around the house looking for you until Donghae told me you were in here—”

  “Wait, why didn’t you just use the front door?” he interrupted.

  “Because Suzy is a freak,” he sighed. “A very persuasive one.”

  “Well, looks like she’s finally learning from yours truly.” Sungmin smirked, purposely striking a seductive pose by putting his legs up and planting his feet on the wall he was facing. “Did you go to all that trouble just for me? What happened to spending New Year’s with your family?”

  “Oh, who cares about them?” Kyuhyun still hadn’t quite caught his breath as he leaned against the tub. “I just want to be with you on your birthday. And in case you haven’t noticed, it’s 12:01.”

  “Well then,” another smirk danced on Sungmin’s lips. “Lose the clothes and come give me my birthday gift.”

~*~

  “Sungmin,” Donghae knocked on the door before going inside. “Come out here so we can celebrate your—AHHHH HYUKJAE!”

  “What now?” Eunhyuk asked exasperatedly as he moved to check out what his boyfriend saw that was so horrifying.

  “Sungmin and Kyuhyun are doing it in the bathtub!” Donghae tattled, covering his eyes with his hands as if he was watching a gory scene in a horror movie.

  “Ooh, can I watch?” This comment earned Eunhyuk a shampoo bottle being flung at his nose, followed by a bar of soap nearly hitting him in the groin (why is it that everyone always targets Eunhyuk’s balls?).

  “Does this happen often?” Suzy asked, swiping some icing with her pinky and it off.

  “Yep,” Heechul replied mindlessly as he lit another cigarette.

  While Eunhyuk tried to keep Donghae from washing his eyes out with the bar of soap that was meant to render Eunhyuk impotent (more or less), Heechul carved himself a slice of Sungmin’s birthday cake, deciding that this was a pretty damn good way to celebrate New Year’s.

~*~

I am so happy right now because of the mini Siwon and Han Geng reunion. *cries*