“Can I just please disappear from this phase of the earth for the rest of the vacations?”

“KYUNGSOO STOP BEING MEAN!”

“I was expressing my wish. That is in no way being ‘mean’.”

“You see me complaining about YOUR cousin?”

“Well, yeah I do. Everyday actually.”

Baekhyun huffed staring at his cross armed friend. Lay had just entered their usual café with Hana, their necklaces dangling on their necks. Yesterday night they received a text from Baekhyun in the group stating that he had urgent news to share, and that they were lagging on winter musical preparations, it was just months away and they had loads to do. There was a whole new aura surrounding the two of them but the three friends that were already there didn’t notice since they already had a situation at hand. Kyungsoo didn’t even wait until the newcomers reached their table and expressed his wish out loud; luckily the café wasn’t crowded so Jongdae was able to save some face. Lay raised an eyebrow and Hana furrowed hers once they heard their friend’s uncalled for wish.

“Guys please….I don’t see how- What are you guys staring at?“ Jongdae asked as he noticed his two friends gaping at the approaching couple.

“What’s up? ” Lay curiously asked as he took a seat, Hana sat next to him, wearing dark blue denim Capri and a white v-neck tank top with a yellow hoodie. Kyungsoo looked surprised and Baekhyun gaped while Jongdae looked between the two still confused since he was technically new in their typical trio hangouts; he maybe an old buddy of the guys but he was a new friend to Hana and he didn’t know the stuff the other three did, not even the limited info.

“Lay I think these guys have lost it.” Jongdae said concerned. Just a second ago they were both bickering like three year olds and now they had fallen into a mutual silence while giving each other surprised looks. Lay chuckled but didn’t bother inquiring them because unlike Jongdae he knew what they were thinking. Hana caught on too, it was pretty obvious for everyone but the poor sharp cheek boned dude.  Well like it was said before, he’s new to the whole thing so you can’t blame him. He wasn’t aware of Hana’s ‘emo’ wardrobe (as Baekhyun calls it), therefore, his lack of interest in her clothing was understandable.

“Honestly bro I think they need to see your mom or-“

“Hana!” Jongdae narrowed his eyes at Kyungsoo for cutting him off but since the latter was always the one who spoke with a purpose, he let it go.

“You look good! I really like your hood. And jeans. And hair. And-“

“Kyungsoo she gets it.” the said boy glared at Baekhyun who ignored his friend professionally and sat down opposite Hana. Jongdae blinked several times before deciding to completely give up since he had no grasp over the situation. Hana smiled shyly and bowed her head a little at Kyungsoo as a sign of appreciation. Baekhyun gave her a wide smile as he sat down.

“You look nice. Pretty necklace.” Baekhyun complimented and Hana gave him a timid smile, Baekhyun noticed a tint of pink color her cheeks, something that wasn’t missed by Lay either. Hana’s necklace was visible while Lay’s wasn’t; it was hidden under his shirt so others didn’t notice the winged pendant.

“So what is it that has Kyungsoo dreading the remnants of his vacations?” Lay asked curious and Hana saw Kyungsoo’s expression change from a warm smile to a frown. Baekhyun’s smile however grew wider and a whole new spark of happiness and excitement was visible in his eyes. He abruptly stood up causing his chair to screech backwards and Kyungsoo to frown deeper.

“Guess who’s coming back!” Hana with furrowed eyebrows looked at Lay for answers. Kyungsoo already had his eyes closed and fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. Jongdae was smiling so seeing the mixed response Hana grew even more confused if the new arrival was a good or bad thing. Lay too looked lost for a second before a look of realization swept over his features and he smiled wide.

“Giant’s coming back?! When?!” By now Hana not only felt confused but also a little left out. However, she knew this was something out of her control, of course they had friends she didn’t know about, it was only logical she wouldn’t know most of them, but still it felt a little odd.

“Today! Aunt called mom last night and told her that they’d be coming back today! I called him later and told him to come over to this café the instant he they unloaded their stuff.” Baekhyun said excitedly and Lay let out a small laugh. He seemed pretty excited so Hana thought the person they talked about was a really close friend of theirs.

“But when’ll he arrive? I have soccer practice later. I wanna meet him before I go!” Baekhyun scratched his temple as he tried to recall the time their friend would arrive. Lay’s practice would start at 5 and it was almost 12. They had five hours to wait for him, more importantly; they had five hours for their winter festival preparations. Lay sat down contently smiling. Kyungsoo saw Hana’s questioning gaze towards them but before he could initiate a clearance, Jongdae beat him to it. 

“Baekhyun’s cousin Chanyeol is coming back. His family had to move to Busan for a year ‘cuz of his dad’s work. But now he’s back and Baekhyun here is fangirling about it.” Jongdae finished with an eye smile and Hana nodded in understanding. Kyungsoo still looked sullen and Hana wondered why, so she pointed at him with a questioning look. The boy gave her a lopsided smile and Lay chuckled.

“Baekhyun and Chanyeol annoy the heck out of Kyungsoo. You’ve seen him and Baek right? Now imagine two Baekhyuns and try to take a look inside Kyungsoo’s head and visualize his delight over the situation.” Kyungsoo glared at Lay for his sarcasm. He suggested it was better to change the topic and get to work. Coffees, Lattés and teas were ordered while the group worked. Jongdae wasn’t a part of their little musical group but he was a huge help. He helped Lay arrange the lyrics while Hana, Kyungsoo and Baekhyun were busy with the tune. Suddenly Baekhyun snapped pushed away the papers earning a ‘Hey!’ from Kyungsoo and surprised looks from the others.

“Why isn’t it 5 already?” Baekhyun whined and Kyungsoo smacked his head. Luckily none of the sheets hit the cups there would’ve created a mess. Baekhyun rubbed the area that had been victimized by Kyungsoo and sat up straight.

“Remind me again why we aren’t doing anything remotely exciting with our theme? Like come on guys! This song sounds so….happy and lovey dovey I can almost puke! If you guys are so against a grotesque concept then how about a y one?!”

“Ha ha ha ha no. It’s winter Baek not Halloween.” Kyungsoo interjected.

“Alright. Lets go with the concept of “LOVE” but at least lets change the song. This one is off for me. It sounds so overly cheesy and we’ve been stuck at the same point for two hours now. Can’t we just change it? A y song about “love” would be awesome you know.”

“You know what he’s actually right.” All eyes widened and stared at Jongdae who looked at the sheets with random scribbles in concentration.

“THANK YOU! Someone who agrees-“

“Not the y part, but the part where you said we should change the song.” Jongdae supplied and Baekhyun deflated with an ‘oh’ but not entirely crestfallen since half of his idea was being taken into consideration.

“The tune you guys made so far is good but….how do I explain….it doesn’t have that feel you know? and even the lyrics. I know you worked hard on ‘em Lay but honestly, don’t you think that they sound a bit….forced?” he asked with careful words. He knew the hard work that went into their song but he could also see that none of them were content with it. Lay nodded because he found every word from Jongdae’s mouth to be true. He did work hard but was he satisfied? Not even close. The song so far was a guy singing about the love he has for his girlfriend and although it’s one of those winter songs that everybody loves, they didn’t feel like it was settling with them. Hana nodded, she agreed with him and so did Kyungsoo when he said that he had been thinking about the same thing.

“So….are we changing the song or what?” Baekhyun asked while eyeing the others. They discussed everything for a while, the consequences, the outcome, the possible regret that would be the outcome of their sudden change but then Jongdae spoke.

“I know it’s hard and difficult but you guys have to trust yourselves. If you’re not satisfied with what you currently have then even if the public likes it you all won’t feel that certain sense of accomplishment. So I suggest you guys rethink the theme and start fresh. Besides I’m willing to help out too. Since you guys are in the zone already it shouldn’t be a problem to come with a new idea I hope.”

They took his words into consideration and nodded. He was right, if they went with something they weren’t personally happy with then even if the audience response turned out to be good, they wouldn’t be satisfied. It’ll be hard, since they lost so much time already, but they have vacations now anyways so it shouldn’t be much of a problem. Kyungsoo nodded in approval to the change and so did the others.

“Great! ‘cuz I was thinking maybe we could-“

“The words y, murder, super powers or any that aren’t even remotely logical and related to winter shouldn't come out from your mouth.” Kyungsoo warned and Baekhyun instantly shut up. He grumbled but didn’t utter another word and the latter smiled triumphant. Once again they were busy wrecking their brains and Lay suddenly had an idea. He was sure it would be successful; he had an accompanying tune and a vague idea of lyrics in his mind already since he had played it for Hana before in the deserted music room. But even if he was sure this song would be a hit, he couldn’t suggest it, not yet at least. He needed Hana’s approval first. It was her song, a song she said meant a lot to her. He’ll ask her once they were alone or maybe via messages, but definitely not in front of their friends.

‘Looks like we’ll have to go for another ‘outing’ pretty soon…”

“Lay why are you smiling?”

“You got an idea?”

Lay woke up in reality when he heard his friends and looked at them absently. Kyungsoo raised an eyebrow.

“Huh?”

“You’re smiling. Did you come up with an idea?” Jongdae reasoned and Kyungsoo narrowed his eyes.

“Or were you day dreaming about something else?” Lay suddenly became defensive as he nervously chuckled and waved his hands going ‘No no no’.

“No no no…isn’t that Apink…?”

“Baekhyun what?”

Jongdae chuckled and shook his head while Lay leaned back into his seat, this time actually thinking of an alternative option incase Hana disagrees, a possibility which was quiet high in his eyes.

“A….sad song? How about a sad song?” Jongdae suggested while others pondered. Baekhyun shook his head after a while.

“Nah, it’ll be too depressing. I think the music would be better if it was- CHANYEOL!”

“The music would be better if it was Chanyeol?” Lay repeated as he stared incredulously at Baekhyun who instantly got out of his chair and ran out the café in excitement. The remaining four were left confused but their unspoken questions were soon answered when they saw Baekhyun pulling a tall person with orange hair along with him. Hana saw the others- even Kyungsoo, smile widely spotting the male.

‘That must be Chanyeol…’’

“Guys! He’s here! He’s here!” Baekhyun beamed, excitedly pulling Chanyeol along. The orange haired boy had huge smile gracing his face due to the happiness he was feeling after meeting his friends after a long year. As the other three immediately got up to attack their friend with a welcome hug, Hana sat in her place observing the scene and contemplating whether it would be appropriate to approach the boy or not. Despite her dilemma she was smiling, they looked so excited, especially the drastic contrast between Kyungsoo’s reaction to the arrival news and his reaction to Chanyeol’s actual arrival. The waitresses didn’t even bother to ask them to quiet down; they had been coming here often enough for the staffs to know what their warnings would only have an effect for possibly four minutes before they became rowdy again.

“And who’s that?” Hana heard a thick voice say and her eyed slightly widened. Chanyeol’s voice did not match his face, and Hana was sure she looked uber dumb when she pointed towards herself for confirmation with a lost expression. Lay chuckled at her confused state before he jogged back and grabbed Hana’s hand pulling her out of her seat. Baekhyun maybe too excited to think but he didn’t miss the little skinship. He internally shouted in joy, he knew Lay realized, the look in his eyes and the way he acted had given him away, and now in Baekhyun’s eyes, Lay was a little less of an idiot.

“This here is Kim Hana, our friend.” Lay introduced and Hana bowed towards the messy haired boy.

“Ah…Hello my name is Park Chanyeol! Very nice to meet you Hana-sshi!” he bowed when Hana stood up. She smiled at him as he gave her his toothy grin. There was a friendly aura around him, Hana could feel that, and he gave off a vibe that made one’s mood instantly better. Baekhyun was relieved that his cousin was finally here, not only because he missed him like hell, but also because he knew that a personality like Chanyeol was bound to make Hana feel better. Baekhyun and Hana hadn’t been friends for long but still, after Baekhyun found out about her depression and her suicidal history, he felt the urge to help her not only because she’s his friend, but because he was human and knowing that someone he knew was secretly suffering, it made him restless. Therefore, when Chanyeol announced his permanent appearance to him, his excitement wasn’t only for himself and for his friends, but also for the gradual improvement he was sure Hana would make in happy virus’s company. They settled down again, Lay still had two hours left before he departed so they took their time to catch up. Chanyeol said he snuck out his house because he was too eager and unpacking was the last thing on his agenda, he knew he was going to hear it from his mom but he didn’t really care, for now at least.

Hana wished that Chanyeol wouldn't find her rude. The boy asked her general questions every now and then and almost every time they were answered by Baekhyun. Hana gave him a grateful smile and he playfully winked at her but Chanyeol found it unnecessary for Baekhyun to answer all of Hana’s questions when he considered the girl capable of doing it herself. Baekhyun was about to answer another one when Chanyeol stopped him.

“She can talk too you know? Don’t you think you should let her answer instead?” Chanyeol stated before playfully adding, “Or did you miss me so much that you want me to pay attention only to you?” Chanyeol had a big greasy smile on his face and Baekhyun’s face contorted into what seemed to be an expression of disgust and he shoved his cousin away.

“Eww dude no what the hell!” The other laughed and Jongdae imitated Baekhyun while the latter just glared at him. Chanyeol refocused on Hana and the girl gulped, this will be difficult to get around.

“So Hana-sshi. Do you play something? Like drums or maybe violin or something like that?”

She nodded reluctantly. Another question followed the precious and she mentally cursed.

“Really?! What do you play?”

 Chanyeol curiously leaned forward with his big eyes and Hana’s throat went dry. When he asked Baekhyun to cork it, it didn’t mean just him; it meant everyone at the table. Lay stared intently at Hana in hopes to see how she reacts. Maybe now that there was a no out situation she might speak? Kyungsoo continuously exchanged glances with a nervous Baekhyun. Although he didn’t know the exact problem, the fact that she had suffered from extreme depression and her inability to speak were the facts that were as clear as day to him. He internally prayed that by now Hana had developed enough confidence to at least form a one word answer. Chanyeol waited for a reply and Hana looked around the faces of her table mates. Kyungsoo and Lay were expectant while Baekhyun looked apologetic, Jongdae was still wondering what the big deal was.

“She plays the piano!”

“YA! Byun Baekhyun I thought I told you to let the girl speak for herself!” Chanyeol shouted as he punched his friend in the shoulder. Baekhyun winced and rubbed his shoulder before shouting back that it wasn’t him. Hana was already aware of the two presences at the entrance. Of course she’d recognize her cousin’s voice and right now, she felt more than thankful towards Sehun for saving her behind.

“BRO YOU’RE BACK?!” Kai screamed at the top of his lungs when he saw Chanyeol and Sehun covered his ears to avoid any damage.  The last thing Sehun expected was to see Kai run towards a freakishly tall man like a high school girl and be scooped up by him like he weighed nothing. But well, it did happen and slowly Sehun’s expectations in life took a slightly new turn. Amidst all the cheering and laughing Sehun caught Hana’s gaze and smiled. She had avoided the brothers since morning and they had no idea why. She herself was confused over her behavior but she couldn’t bring herself to face them. They see each other after two years, she hasn’t spoken to them in so long, and the first thing she voices towards them is ‘shut up’?

Yeah, not cool.

But Sehun’s smile showed he was proud. The words may not be the politest but they were words nonetheless, they were happy with what they got. Since she had broken the silence chain Luhan was ecstatic to report the occurrence to Fei, he said it was important to create similar settings to encourage her to speak again. He doubted that shouting in her ears from both sides would be as effective as last time so seeking professional guidance was mandatory.

“And who’s this dude?” Chanyeol asked pointing towards Sehun. Kai was about to introduce him but the latter beat him to it.

“I’m Sehun. Kai’s friend and Hana’s cousin.” He proudly stated as he took a seat next to Jongdae, becoming the closest one to Lay. Sehun looked at him with a knowing smile and the latter smiled timidly and awkwardly looked away.

“Hana-sshi you have a cousin? How come no one told me?”

“You met her less than twenty minutes ago Yeol.”

“Your point Dae?”

“Don’t worry we found out about his existence recently too.” Kyungsoo interjected and Chanyeol felt a little less left out. Sehun had his arms crossed and was smiling at everyone in a manner that would probably get him kicked soon. Since Sehun was new to everyone else as well, they began their basic introduction and Chanyeol’s query was fortunately mostly directed towards Sehun. Time went by and Jongdae exclaimed how they were still running short on theme ideas. Chanyeol was briefed about their task and their current predicament.

“The festival sounds cool! Can I join?” he asked excitedly.

“Uh…sure but that all depends on what we come up with and the lyrics and the proportions-“

“So all there is to finalize me joining you guys is a theme?” he cut Lay off due to his excitement and while the latter slowly nodded, not really capable of doing anything else.

“Yeah, pretty much..”

“Well that’s easy! Heartbreak goes best with winter!” Jongdae suddenly seemed interested and Lay leaned in. Baekhyun stared at his cousin while Kai and Sehun made faces to entertain each other since this discussion was above them. Hana stayed still in her seat, she was basically afraid that even a simple movement would have a question shot at her.

“Keep going….” Jongdae encouraged and Chanyeol smiled more widely.

“Since winter is all cold, a soft mellow song with deep meaning would be best to warm the hearts of the audience. Sure love and friendship are great but there’s a distinct reaction towards a sad love story that people have. A song that would melt their insides would be best.” Chanyeol ended and nodded content with himself. The idea was no doubt great, but there were still some things that needed to be settled.

“Heartbreak….but isn’t it sort of typical? I mean guy leaves girl, girl leaves guy, the other is left crying about what they had...pretty common don’t you think?” Baekhyun reasoned and Kyungsoo nodded.

“Ok then how about we do a song where we have a heartbroken girl….who just got badly dumped by her douche boyfriend and….” Chanyeol snapped his fingers and looked into space, as if answers and concepts would pop out of thin air for him. If that was the case, they would’ve had their theme ready days ago. He suddenly snapped one last time catching everybody’s attention and his eyes showed sparks of excitement. “AND! Rather than the song being sung through the girl’s point of view, how about we have a third party, like the friend-zoned guy sing it! it can be about he sees her suffering and how it pains him, stuff like that. He asks her to stop crying and tells her how important she is to him, that sounds cool and not typical…..i think.”

They all stared at him wide eyed, even Kai who knew how long they had been struggling to find a decent concept. The task that took them months was completed by him in a matter of minutes.

“That’s a brilliant idea to be honest…” Lay said slightly in awe and the others agreed. Baekhyun beamed and bro fist his cousin.

“So am I in now?” Chanyeol asked excitedly and they contemplated.

“Same school right?” Lay asked and Chanyeol nodded.

“Then it’s done! you’re in. I’ll talk to the principal tomorrow and let her know about it.”

“Or we can just have Hana tell her. She's her niece anyways.” Baekhyun said nonchalantly and Chanyeol’s eeys widened.

“She’s the principal’s niece?! Why didn’t I know that?!”

“Bro it hasn’t even been an hour since we’ve known you. How do you expect to know my mom’s the principal?” Sehun added and Chanyeol looked baffled.

“The principal is your mother?!”

“Oh God…” Kyungsoo mumbled and pinched his nose bridge. Lay chuckled and stood up glancing at his watch.

“Well its almost about time I head out. Soccer practice starts in forty minutes and coach would make us do ten pushups for every minute we’re late as penalty. Gotta run. Anybody wanna join me?”

“And watch you run around in your tracks and sweat? I think I’ll pass.” Jongdae supplied and Lay rolled his eyes.

“You headed towards the school right?” Sehun asked and Lay nodded. Hana heard her name being called by Sehun.

“Mom’s there. She has something I need so could you please go and pick it up for me?” Sehun asked politely and Hana gave him a weird look.

“Shouldn’t you get it yourself?” Kai rose an eyebrow and Sehun shook his head.

“No she won’t give it to me. She said she would ONLY give it to Hana so cousin dear please accompany Lay-sshi to school and retrieve that valuable item for me?” Hana still didn’t budge and Baekhyun’s eyes turned to slits. He was onto the fact that Sehun had something up his sleeve and when he pushed Hana towards his friend and gave her a not so discreet wink, Baekhyun smirked. Kyungsoo saw the interaction and shared a knowing look with Baekhyun before the two of them met stares with the mastermind maknae. Kai pretended not to notice and Jongdae and Chanyeol busied themselves with the menu as Lay and Hana walked away.

Hana was a little annoyed with Sehun but she had nothing to complain about so she let it slide. Lay had realized that he liked Sehun a lot more now. The walk wasn’t long but the trip wasn’t short either so there was still some time before they reached the school grounds. Lay contemplated on how to word his thought. Should he ask her about the song? Was it just better if he came up with one on his own? He was stuck, he believed the song should be heard, such a beautiful melody shouldn’t be kept hidden but at the same time he was skeptical. Finally, with a momentary burst of confidence he called Hana out. He regretted it shortly after but what’s done was done, no going back now.

“I was wondering..if you don’t mind then, could we uh…use the-“ his tongue twisted forming even the most basic words. He wasn’t afraid that she’d say no. Rather, he was worried how she’d react. Would she feel offended? Hurt? Or consider him insensitive to even recommend such an idea even though he knew how precious that song was to her? She even made it clear that he was the only one outside her immediate family who had ever heard the melody. Would she consider him inconsiderate?

“use that….song which you played that day in the auditorium? The song you made me play for you? The one you said your dad wrote?”

They were outside the school building; this is where they were supposed to part. Hana’s expression changed a little, she didn’t look so bubbly anymore, instead she looked sad. Her eyes were a mixture of emotions and Lay doubted his decision and damned his guts. She didn’t provide him with an answer, instead looked at her feet and Lay began blabbing in attempts to fix the mess he potentially created.

“Only if you want to! No one else knows of it so if you say no its totally fine. I mean this was entirely my idea since I think such a great song should be heard by everyone. You said you and your father worked hard on it so I thought it’d be good if people were able to hear such an outstanding piece and provide recognition.” Lay fell silent when he didn’t see her move; he thought he made a huge mistake. He confirmed himself of that fact when he saw Hana walk away without even sparing him a glance. That day the practice felt extra hard. Even when he got home all messy and tired his mind still felt buzzed. Baekhyun and Kyungsoo were going at each other again in the group but there were no messages from her, not even on private chat. He threw his phone on the bed dejectedly went for a shower. His parents weren’t home, Kris was with their mother and Lay was left home alone eating the left over donuts his brother brought home. He finished one and went for another, chocolate coated with sprinkled hazelnuts. He was about to put his phone on silent and try to get some sleep when he saw Hana’s name flash on his phone screen. It amazed him how a message from her can lift him spirits. Especially the current message, it made him feel more than happy, it made him feel giddy too.

‘Hana: you’re right. We should use it. I hope you will treat our song well lyricist-nim! Im trusting you~ ^_^’