“Dude, are you actually listening to A Pink?”  Chanyeol asks Minseok, just as he appears at the storeroom, guitar at hand.

“Yeah, why?”  Minseok asks in return before singing the chorus of ‘No No No’ as loud as he can.

“Nothing, I just never took you to be the kind who listens to them.”  Chanyeol replies.

“At least he isn’t dancing to it, too.”  Sehun says from where he’s sitting in the corner, writing in his notebook before whistling the chorus of the said song.

It’s the first day of vacation, and the three of them decided to really start working seriously on their project.  So far, they’ve only got three songs done: Chanyeol’s ’The Star’, Sehun’s ‘Baby’, and Minseok’s ‘Baby Don’t Cry’.  They still weren’t even halfway done with ‘Angel’, and they’re running out of ideas. 

“I thought you don’t like A Pink?” Chanyeol asks, facing the still writing Sehun.  “Anyway, what were you thinking when you wrote ‘Baby Don’t Cry’?  I mean, seriously, The moonbeam that brims up in your eyes, this night that silently overflows with pain.  I get sad just thinking about it.”  Chanyeol complains, arms flailing around.

“Probably Luhan.”  Sehun mutters but Minseok hears it.

“What the hell was that, Hun?”  Minseok asks, looking up from where he’s trying out some melodies for Angel on the piano.  Sehun just shrugs in return.  “Is it just me or is this piano getting rusty?  Something’s off with it today.”  Minseok says, referring to the baby grand.

“It’s probably just out of tune.  Lee Sungmin seonsaeng-nim went in here and messed around with it yesterday.”  Jinri replies, suddenly appearing at the door.

“Eh, Lee seonsaeng-nim was here?”  Chanyeol asks and Jinri nods.

“Yeah.  It’s a good thing that baby grand’s not for sale anymore.”  Jinri says before she disappears back to the front.

“Why did she go in here again?”  Chanyeol asks once Jinri’s out of earshot.

“She probably heard us talking about the baby grand.  So… who’s composing for Angel?” Sehun replies, looking at the other two expectantly.

“Well, I’m not writing any lyrics for the song so I guess I’ll do it.”  Chanyeol replies, shrugging.

“Thanks, Yeol!  You don’t know how much this means to us.”  Sehun replies, trying to hug the taller boy.

“Well, you named the song and stuff… so I guess it’s actually pretty important.”  Chanyeol replies, shrugging once again.  “How’re you doing with the lyrics, anyway?”

“Thanks to Minseok, we already have a stanza or whatever done.”  Sehun replies.

“Or whatever?”  Chanyeol inquires.

“We’re not really sure how it should go yet.  We’re just writing some random stuff down, and we’ll take care of coherency later.  Right now, that part is the only group of lines that makes perfect sense to us.”  Minseok replies.

Luhan sighs for the nth time as Joonmyeon, Baekhyun, and Zitao play pool behind him.  He’s staring out the window of the Byun residence, taking in the white scenery outside, and doing his best not to think of brown hair and brown eyes.

“Fine, that’s it.  What the hell is wrong, Luhan?”  Joonmyeon asks, stopping Baekhyun and Zitao as well.  Luhan turns around and takes a look at his friends, weighing down his options.  He can either tell them that he’s been thinking of Minseok rather than Yixing recently, or that something is wrong with Yixing.  He chooses the latter.

“Something’s wrong with Yixing, I can feel it.  I just dunno what I did wrong.”  Luhan says.

“What do you mean by something’s wrong with Yixing?  He seems perfectly fine to me the last time I saw him.”  Baekhyun says.

“It’s just that… he seems distant to me.  Like there’s suddenly a veil that appeared between the two of us, obscuring us from each other’s view.  It’s like I can’t see him even if he’s there, and all I can see is…”  And Luhan stops, a hand flying to cover his mouth. 

“All you can see is what…?”  Zitao asks.

“Minseok.”  Luhan mutters under his breath but Joonmyeon hears it.  It’s like a load was lifted off of Joonmyeon’s shoulders, like a fog suddenly cleared and, he can’t wait to tell Jongdae.

“I knew it.”  Joonmyeon says with a smile.  Baekhyun and Zitao just look at Luhan curiously; then suddenly, as if a light has suddenly made their vision clearer, they smiled just like Joonmyeon.  “So that’s how it really is, I get it now.”  Baekhyun says.

“How come you guys get it but I don’t?!”  Luhan exclaims, frustration building up inside him.  It’s always like this, the people around him know, but he doesn’t.  And it .

“You’re hopeless, Lulu.  Really, hopeless.”  Zitao says, shaking his head.

“Just because you finally scored a date with Oh does not mean you can make fun of me.”  Luhan replies, looking pointedly at Zitao,

“He’s not making fun of you, Han.  He’s telling the truth; you really are hopeless.”  Joonmyeon says and Luhan thinks, Not you too!

“Hopeless when it comes to what?” 

Joonmyeon points to the windowsill behind Luhan and Luhan decides to look back.  On the windowsill, he sees two flowers: a striped carnation and a daffodil.  Luhan picks the flowers up, looking at them intently, willing them to tell him everything that he needs to know.  He finally looks up to see his friends smiling at him softly.  He suddenly sees a vision of brown hair, chocolate brown eyes, and pink plump lips.  He vaguely registers Joonmyeon’s voice in the background as the boy finally replies:

“So, I heard you sent him flowers.”  Yunho says, nudging Minseok as he did so.  Minseok’s currently watching the counter—well, more like watching the snow outside as he sits on the counter, humming the chorus of ‘Baby Don’t Cry’—and Yunho decided to check up on him to make sure that he’s still alive.

“Business is slow today.”  Minseok replies.

“Don’t change the topic, Kim.  And yeah, business is slow today.  I guess it’s because of the thick snow.”  Yunho replies, looking at Minseok.

“So what if I sent him flowers?”  Minseok asks.

“Jongin said they were pretty dramatic flowers.”  Yunho replies.  He had just gone to XOXO a couple of hours ago to check out some flowers that he can use for decorations in his house.

“Dramatic, huh?”  Minseok replies, making a mental note to ask if there’s a florist-customer confidentiality thing the next time he goes to XOXO.

“Yeah.  Apparently, they mean something in the leagues of ‘wish I could be with you’ and ‘unrequited love’.”  Yunho starts, raising an eyebrow at Minseok.  “And because I know you so well, I also know that you have this book about flowers and their meanings, which was given to you by Yeol, so it’s safe to assume that you know exactly what those flowers mean.”

But before Minseok can reply, Zitao comes in and smiles at the two of them.  “Hey, Min, Jung gyoh-soo-nim.”

“Wow, Huang, this is kind of a surprise!”  Yunho exclaims.  “So, what can we do for you today?”

“Uhm… actually, I’m looking for Sehun.  He’s here, isn’t he?”  Zitao asks, and it startles Yunho.

“Yeah, lemme call him from the back.”  Yunho says before he gives Minseok a questioning look, the younger boy just replying with a shrug.

“So… I guess I’m sorry, then.”  Zitao tells Minseok.

“You don’t have anything to apologize for.”  Minseok replies.

“Yes, actually, I do.  I hated you, Minseok, when you sacrificed so much for the sake of Luhan’s happiness.  I loathed you, I despised you because I thought that you just used Luhan, but when Joonmyeon explained the situation to Baekhyun and me, we finally understood your real intention for leaving.  It’s very heroic, Minseok.  I wouldn’t be able to do that, for all I know.”  Zitao replies, his look completely apologetic.  Minseok almost accepts it before he remembers the other boy’s last sentence.

“Even for Sehun?”  Minseok replies.  The three of them have promised each other that no matter what, no one gets left behind.  They promised each other that they’d take care and protect each other, and that includes screening of potential suitors.  Yifan’s an exception, though, because Minseok and Sehun already know how serious he is about Chanyeol.  Come on, a year?!  And also, of course, because he’s awesome just like Kim Jongdae.

“Well, Sehun is a different thing.”  Zitao replies, his face suddenly becoming red.  Minseok relaxes, knowing that this boy won’t hurt his friend at all.

“Well, that’s settled then.  Just don’t hurt him, okay?  Because if you do, it’s not just me and Yeol, but there’s also Yifan and Jongdae and Yunho and Jongin and Taemin and Jinri and whoever that you’ll have to face.  Oh, and apology accepted, too.”  Minseok says, smiling, and Zitao just smiles back at him.

“Zitao?  What are you doing in here?”  Sehun says as he enters the area, seeing Minseok and Zitao smiling at each other like idiots.

“I’m here to pick you up.  There’s this really awesome restaurant that just opened, and it’s just close.  I just thought that I’d take you out for dinner tonight.”  Zitao replies, sounding nervous.

“Oh, okay.  If that’s okay with Yunho.”  Sehun replies, looking at Yunho hopefully.

“Yeah, sure.  Just be careful, boys.”  Yunho says as he takes his place back beside Minseok.

“Okay, I’ll just go get my stuff.”  Sehun replies and leaves, before coming back a few minutes later.  The two boys bid them goodbye, and they leave, heading straight for Zitao’s car.  Yunho gives Minseok a sideways look and Minseok just smiles at him.

“Since when have they been calling each other by their first names?”  Yunho asks.

“Okay, so Sehun is out with Zitao and Minseok decided to go to the thrift shop to look for some extra winter coats.  I’m all alone and I desperately need something to warm me.”  Chanyeol announces as he enters Starbucks.

“Well, what do you want, then?”  Yifan, who’s currently manning the counter, asks.

“Just some hot choco, please.  Is Jongdae with Joonmyeon again?”  Chanyeol asks after seeing no signs of Jongdae.

“Nah, he’s out at the back, taking care of the inventory.  Hot choco it is, then.”  Yifan says as he starts to make Chanyeol’s order as the other boy takes a seat, taking out a notebook and starts to write.  Yifan arrives a couple of minutes later, Chanyeol’s cup of steaming hot choco in his hands.  He settles it down on the table and takes the seat across Chanyeol.

“Hope you don’t mind.”  Yifan says and Chanyeol replies with a nod, not even looking up from his notebook.

“So… whatcha doin’?”  Yifan asks when Chanyeol doesn’t even look up at him.  Chanyeol does, this time, and sees Yifan looking at him curiously.  He also sees Jongdae by the counter, fooling around with his guitar once again.

“We have this project for this music class where we have to write out own songs for a compilation that’ll be submitted at the end of the year.  I’m grouped with Min and Sehun, we’re all writing and composing and stuff.”  Chanyeol replies.

“Wow, that’s nice.  Are you guys going to do an acoustic set or what?”  Yifan asks in return.

“I’m not really sure.  I mean, we’re not even done with the writing part yet.  And Min and Sehun are still in the middle of finishing this song that they’re trying to put together and I volunteered to compose for it and I have no idea what to do with an unfinished song!”  Chanyeol replies and sighs.

“You know, I used to be in a band when I was still in Canada.  From what I remember, you just have to let it flow into you, you know.  You can’t rush making a song; you have to get everything right first before you do it.  Some songs take from minutes to months to make, and the road to finishing one is never that easy, but it’s fun.”  Yifan replies, winking at Chanyeol.

“You used to be in a band?”  Chanyeol asks, eyes wide.  “And you’re from Canada?”

“Yes and yes.”  Yifan replies, nodding.  “I was the drummer.  It was called Style, but we had to go our separate ways when I decided to go to college here in Seoul.”

“This might be too much to ask, but do you think you can help me?  I mean, I’m not really as talented as Minseok or as crazy as Sehun, and I also don’t like to leave everything to chance so…”  Chanyeol replies, hoping that Yifan will agree.

“Yeah, sure.  But I do think that you’re just as talented as your two friends, Chanyeol.”  Yifan replies with a sweet smile, causing Chanyeol to blush.  Suddenly, the doors open and a couple enter.  “Oops, I gotta go.  I can’t leave Jongdae to take care of everything, ya know.”  Chanyeol smiles in return and Yifan gets back to work.

“So, there’s this party at Kibum’s place.  I’ll just go check it out.”  Yixing tells Luhan as he emerges from their bedroom, clad in a white button down and jeans.  He’s heading for the shoe rack, probably to get his sneakers.

“Okay, what time will you be back?”  Luhan asks, turning on the TV.

“Probably morning so you don’t really have to wait up for me.  I’ll go now, take care.”  Yixing says, kissing Luhan before he heads for the exit.

“Okay, bye.  Take care and have fun!”  Luhan says, but Yixing was already gone by the time he finishes.  He sighs, turning back to the TV, not really caring about the program he’s watching anymore.  He switches channels, and lands on Master Chef.  He suddenly remembers those nights with Minseok that were spent watching Master Chef and laughing at the failures of the contestants.  He remembers the popcorn, or the chocolates, or whatever it is that they can find in the fridge that they would eat during their Master Chef nights.  He remembers how they would end up falling asleep on the couch—more like Luhan falls asleep on the couch while Minseok sleeps on the floor—blankets wrapped tight around them.  He then remembers waking up early next morning and discussing about last night’s episode over coffee and bread rolls.

Luhan suddenly feels very sad and nostalgic, and suddenly finds himself in front of Minseok’s bedroom door.  He hasn’t touched a single thing since the other boy left, hoping to preserve as much Minseok in the room as possible.  He’s also hoping that Minseok will eventually come back, so he doesn’t touch the things inside at all so that Minseok won’t have a hard time if he does chose to do so. 

Luhan enters the room and the first thing he notices is the smell.  It’s just like Minseok; his naturally sweet scent, coupled with baby powder, engulfs the room, and Luhan just misses going in here and playing his guitar, board games, studying, or just being with Minseok in this room.  He sees Minseok’s bed, untouched, and decides to run his hand over the sheets.  He doesn’t really know what made him do it, but he suddenly finds himself lying down on the bed, burying his face on the pillow and surrounding himself with the blanket that smells just like Minseok.

He remembers all those moments when he’s surrounded by the same fragrance: when Minseok would hug him and try to calm him down after his parents’ death; when he would hug Minseok when the younger boy would remember his past; when Minseok was just there, around Luhan, doing whatever it is that they’re doing, completely at home.  He remembers going home late whenever there were parties and how he would always find Minseok asleep on the couch, the TV , waiting for him and how he would get this very blanket that he’s surrounded with and tuck it around Minseok before he kisses the boy goodnight.  He remembers Minseok’s laugh, his smile, his jokes, his voice, his eyes, and he thinks how he might not be able to do those things anymore.

Luhan cries himself to sleep that night, willing for his best friend to sing him to sleep.

A/N: Belated happy birthday, Lu-ge!!