Hakyeon was busy getting their apartment ready for a Christmas party he was throwing the next day, while Taekwoon sat on the sofa and did his best to ignore his incessant nattering.

He was fiddling with the Christmas decorations, preparing a few sprigs of mistletoe with red ribbon, and making sure they had everything they needed.

"Why won't you just talk to him?"

Taekwoon rolled his eyes to the heavens. He didn't need to ask who Hakyeon was referring to. "Why should I? He's the one with the problem."

Hakyeon huffed and muttered something under his breath that Taekwoon didn't quite catch. Something about "so difficult". He didn't want to know what he'd said, wishing he'd just drop it already.

A knock at the door came a moment later and Taekwoon caught a glimpse of Wonshik over Hakyeon's shoulder when he answered it.

"Here are the cups you wanted," Wonshik said, handing over a packet of plastic pint-sized cups that were left over from a party he and Hongbin had thrown a few months back.

"Thanks."

Wonshik turned away without even looking at Taekwoon but Hakyeon stopped him.

"Oh, Wonshik. I need you and Taekwoon to go and buy some alcohol."

"Why can't Hongbin go?"

"Because I'm asking you," was Hakyeon's stern response, sounding all too much like a mother scolding her child.

Wonshik scowled but accepted the list Hakyeon handed him. "I'll put on my shoes," he grumbled.

"Money," Taekwoon demanded, holding out his hand. He did not want to be out of pocket on top of suffering a shopping trip with Wonshik.

Hakyeon handed it over without complaint, but Taekwoon could see it was just because he was happy to be getting his own way.

Wonshik was already waiting for him when he stepped outside his door and didn't hesitate to speed off down the hallway.

The tension in the air could have been cut with a knife when they were in the lift and Wonshik walked a few steps ahead of him once they got outside. They walked in silence but it wasn't the comfortable silence that had always surrounded them before.

"Don't wander off," Wonshik ordered when they reached the off-licence.

Taekwoon glowered at him and stalked past, leaving the younger to get the basket. He could hear him huffing behind.

At the alcohol aisle, Taekwoon took the list from Wonshik's hand, glad to see that there really wasn't that much to get as people were going to be bringing their own drinks. It wasn't going to be difficult to carry the bottles home between them.

He'd thought that they might stoop to petty squabbling over brands or size but Wonshik stayed silent, his expression getting more and more pained as Taekwoon added bottles to the basket, shifting it between his hands.

At the till, Taekwoon felt an ache in his chest when he saw the candy cane stand, unable to believe that had only been five days ago. He caught Wonshik looking too but the younger turned up his nose when he noticed he'd been spotted and busied himself with packing the bags.

They ended up with two each and when they got outside, he couldn't help throwing Wonshik a wary sideways glance when he decided to walk alongside him. The tension in the air had changed, as if Wonshik was gearing himself up to speak. He didn't open his mouth until they were over halfway home.

"How's Jaehwan?" he asked after a nonchalant sniff.

Taekwoon was baffled at his topic of conversation. "I don't know. I haven't spoken to him since the other night."

"Why not?"

"Why should I? He isn't my boyfriend."

"Well, it seems like you want him to be," Wonshik muttered.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Taekwoon asked, drawing to a halt.

"Exactly what it sounds like," Wonshik replied, stopping half a step ahead and turning back to look at him.

Taekwoon paused for a very long moment as they stared at each other, a glimmer of understanding causing him to squint suspiciously. "Are you jealous?"

Wonshik looked like he'd been slapped and he blinked stupidly before scoffing, "Of what?"

But he didn't hang about to let Taekwoon answer, wheeling around and storming off up the road instead. Taekwoon watched until he made a right and disappeared from view. When he followed and turned the corner, the younger man was nowhere in sight.

So that was it. That was the cause of the hostility of the past three days. It had started when Jaehwan came to visit and, playing it over in his head, he realised that Wonshik must have somehow deduced that he had a thing for him. He must have felt crushed after having mustered the courage to hold Taekwoon's hand the night before.

A tendril of guilt began to worm its way into his mind, though it was soon overshadowed with irritation. Why was Wonshik such an idiot? Had he not made his affection clear enough? He'd thought going out of his way to visit Wonshik's particular coffee shop, waiting outside their apartment block for him to get home, using any excuse to touch him and even holding his hand in return would have made it more than obvious that he was absolutely head over heels. When did he do any of that for Hakyeon? Or Hongbin? Or Jaehwan? If he was so smitten with Jaehwan as Wonshik believed, then why was almost every free moment spent with him instead?

Taekwoon huffed. Wonshik gave off the impression of being quite confident and perceptive but, when it came down to it, he was even worse than Taekwoon himself!

What a hopeless pair they made. Hakyeon's despair was entirely warranted.