You said, you'll stay til the end.

You dirty little liar.

Seoul in December.

It was as if November 27th was a very normal uneventful day, if not for the fact that the snow did not snow so hard in a decade. The latest hot issue on the newspaper is the youngest CEO of one of the largest MNCs in Seoul - Park Chanyeol, smiling for the cameras in a stiff black blazer along with the board of directors behind him.

A day in December, Luhan and Sojin left the country as quietly as possible without anyone knowing. Nobody knew where they went and left only a letter of apologies and that 'we will meet someday soon'. Kris and Tao left a few days after with the boys and Jiyoon sending them off at the airport. It was a bittersweet goodbye with tear-jerking moments when Tao hugged everyone, bursting into tears and kicked up a fuss not wanting to get his into immigration only to be dragged away by an annoyed Kris. Xiumin laughed for almost an hour when Kris sent an angry Kakao message to him 2 hours later asking why the hell was his luggage shipped to Africa and he pondered for a while before punching  in the letters 'I thought you should go live with animals'.

It was a day in December, and Kai hasn't forgotten that night in November.
 

"Jongin, do you know that today's the happiest day of my life? Do you want to know why?" Kyungsoo stood at the edge of the pavement and he was shouting no, desperate for him to get back on the pavement, on the safe side but it was as if Kyungsoo couldn't hear him.

"I no longer have to fight for my sanity."

There was blood everywhere, on his shirt stained a bright hue of red that he was unable to forget. The smell of iron was repulsive but the thought of throwing something out of his system scared him to death.

"You okay?" Sehun stirred from his sleep, woken up by Kai's soft groans and whimpers. He switched on the bedside lamp and found Kai breaking out in cold sweat.

"Bad dreams." Kai wiped the sweat with his sleeves and turned to his side. "Switch off the lamp."

"Right." Sehun rolled his eyes, disgruntled but abid to his demands anyway.

"When are we leaving?" After a few minutes of silence, Sehun was drifting back to sleep again but a voice abruptly interrupted. It woke him up fully from his dream-like state and he turned to his side. Kai was facing his back towards him but he guessed it was much more comfortable that way.

"I don't know. Maybe tomorrow, or the day after. We haven't told Suho hyung yet and Jiyoon-"

"You're not bringing her along?" Kai's voice had a hint of shock. "She doesn't know?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Maybe." Sehun's voice wavered, his answer uncertain.

"We leave, as soon as possible."
 

It was rare for Sehun to poke his head into Jiyoon's dorm, prying into her business. She was a tidy girl and her dorm was neat without a speck of dust to be seen when he ran his fingers across the counter. He tilted his head, remaning unseen as he watched her from the door, sprawled over the desk in textbooks and assignment papers.

"It's Saturday, what are you doing?"

"You scared me!" His voice made her jump and she spun around angrily. "What else can I be doing? There's tons of assignments to complete and I don't have time."

"I suggest you put that down right now. It's already past 1 and I'm sure you have not eaten."

Jiyoon put her pen down realising what Sehun said was true. She hasn't eaten a thing since morning except for a packet of milk she stole from the opposite dorm. "Did Kyungsoo oppa cook-"

"No." it wasn't the first time Jiyoon blurted out something like that. In the beginning it was more frequent, breakfast, lunch and dinner but no one cooked anymore and it was hard getting used to it. Suho tried once, but failed terribly with burnt dinner that looked like black charcoal bits instead and they ordered delivery in the end. No one dared entered the kitchen if it wasn't necessary, as if it was forbidden grounds that would break the peace treaty they signed involuntarily.

"Sorry, I forgot." her voice sounded disappointed as she rubbed her neck sheepishly. "Old habits."

"It's the same for the boys." Sehun only smiled understandingly and placed his hands on her shoulders giving them a short massage. "We'll go out for lunch."

"Just the two of us?" 

"Just the two of us."

It felt nice to be away from school. For the past month, she had been to and fro the school and dorm although it was getting a little boring. But the thing she needed most right now was routine and having a hectic schedule was good and it busied her to the point where she did not have to deal with the pain of losing a loved one. 

"What do you want to eat?" Sehun asked, slipping his hand into hers automatically. It warmed her cold fingertips and Jiyoon smiled in delight. The white snow crunched under their boots and Jiyoon huddled closer to him for warmth.

"I'm in for anything as long as it's edible." Jiyoon made a long teasing 'ooooooooh'. "Mister Oh Sehun isn't the type to ask me what I want~"v

"Since when haven't I been that way?" Sehun scoffed, walking into a random restaurant his sight landed on. Jiyoon ordered the food as usual, a comfortable habit between the duo.

"What's going on in the dorms today?" Jiyoon slurped on her hot ramen noodles, sighing in delight as she sipped on the warm broth. "Aren't you playing LoL or something?"

"I was but Kai had something to do."

"Kai seems pretty out of it recently, is he- really okay? Don't you think he should see a doctor or something after witnessing something like that..." Jiyoon mulled over his weird behaviour lately and he seemed to have returned to how he was in the beginning when she first met him, but much worse because he refused to talk to anyone except Sehun whom he roomed with or Xiumin he depended on heavily.

"He's a strong person, he'll get over it soon." 

They made small talks, about their new homeroom teacher who was an old haggard man who pointed his at everyone using his walking cane and it was scary because you wouldn't know when he'd come up from behind and knock you in the head with it because you weren't paying attention in class. It was a good change because they needed a strict teacher like that when they are going to be in Year 3 soon, going for their entrance examinations for university though for a school like theirs, it was completely unnecessary. 

"What course of study do you want to pursue in university?" Sehun probed while they sat at a sheltered part of the park. It was cold but there were children playing, building snowmans on the large empty grounds and having snow fights with their friends. It looked fun, but too cold for them to be out playing so Sehun and Jiyoon found warm heated seats, looking at the children play. 

"I was thinking of English Literature, something to do with language. Or psychology maybe, it's a fun subject."

"It's useless." Sehun blurted out, earning a cold hard stare from Jiyoon for insulting her interest.

"It is not." Jiyoon rolled her eyes. "Not when someone is suffering from a disorder and refuses to see a psychologist."

"I'm fine now," Sehun scoffed. "See this dyed black hair? I made the decision myself."

"You did not." Jiyoon refuted, incredulous at Sehun's childish behavior. "Chanyeol brought the hairstylist and dyed everyone's hair black that night but yours did not come off like the boys."

Sehun groaned in defeat, "Do you really have to remind me of that?"

"Yes unfortunately." Jiyoon laughed and leaned her head on Sehun's shoulder. She always loved how warm of a person he was despite his ice-cold personality which contrasted heavily. That's one of the point that made him so loveable-

Jiyoon blushed at her thoughts and ducked her head lower in fear that Sehun see her in that state.

"Hey, what do you think our life will be in 10 years time?" she asked.

"I'll be 27..." he hummed, tapping his boots on the granite tiles. I'll have a big company with thousands of employees under me. I wouldn't have to work because I'll have a capable manager under me who does everything, preferably someone like Suho hyung."

Sehun paused, looking at Jiyoon who was smiling at the kids running about the park, playing catch and a wild, unthinkable thought bubbled in his head.

"We'll get married, have a few kids though I really don't like them because they are very annoying and attention-seeking. But I guess I can deal with it by having soundproof walls at home. We'll have a house that will be a little bigger than the one I have now,"

"With bright rainbow colors." Jiyoon added.

"Bright rainbow colors, if that's what you like. And a tiny garden where you can grow flowers and the children can play. Then, mhmmmm..." he was deep in thoughts as images of them having a blissful life together engulfed him and a tiny smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

"We'll have a happy and contented life."

"That's some imagination you have there." Jiyoon chuckled heartily but she didn't deny that she loved the idea of building a family with him although they were still very young, seventeen in fact and all these were mere talk and no action in present. Still, people are allowed to dream right?

"How long will you stay by me?" she asked.

"A very, very long time." he paused. "So please. wait for me."

"Wait for you to?" she laughed. "Become richer?"

"Yeah, so I'll be able to protect you." his blunt words sent shivers down her spine and she could do nothing but smile in pure bliss. It was nice, just the two of them together and she felt like the world was painted in pink this cold december. She was slowly forgetting the hurtful past prior to meeting Sehun and the boys. It was pure luck, she always believed that she must have saved a nation of people in her previous life.

"I l-"

The words "I love you" lingered on her lips, never leaving them because she was afraid of the unknown, of what is to come if those words escaped . Will things be different then? It scared her, feeling completely exposed to someone without a safety net to catch her. She didn't like that feeling a single bit.

Sehun turned to her, puzzled. "Hmm?"

"I like you," she said. "A lot."

"I like you too."

Maybe it was the same for Sehun, she noticed. His eyes grew darker, brown pupils constricting. There was something more to this boy but she was afraid     to reach out further in fear of what she might find. But she knew for sure the feelings they shared were mutual and that was more than enough.

"We haven't taken a selfie right?" Sehun asked all of a sudden, whipping out his phone. "Say cheese."

Jiyoon whined about looking horrible with a bad hair day but tidied her bangs and prepared for the camera. She found Sehun strange these days, doing things he wouldn't usually do, asking her out for lunch or dinner or just spending time with her more. Not that she didn't like it, but it was not in his character to do so. Maybe Kyungsoo's death changed him.

"You look ugly." he commented, scrutinizing the picture they took a moment ago and she scoffed because some things never change.

"I'll put it as my wallpaper." he muttered under his breath, silently doing so while Jiyoon watched him. He was a contradicting kid and she has never met someone like him before.

"We should go right, it's late." Jiyoon said. The sun set faster in winter and the sky turned into beautiful hues of red and orange. 

"Just a while more." Sehun scooted closer to Jiyoon although they were practically stuck together. His arm slide across her waist, bringing her into his embrace. It was never enough for him and he would pay any amount in the world to stay like that with her for a second longer. Jiyoon's head laid resting on his chest while they watch the sun set in the far west.

"Oh Sehun you seem different these days."

"Hyung." Sehun and Kai entered his room that he used by himself after Kyungsoo's death. It was empty at the side where Kyungsoo's stuff used to be, all packed up and s