He walked into the living room to see everyone gathered around, sitting at different spots. There was only half an hour left till the new year. “Drinks!” D.O. announced as he brought in multiple wine bottles as well as soju, bought by Suho in the morning. The Super Junior members immediately gathered around the drinks, led by no other than Heechul. Xiumin gulped nervously as he quickly made his way over to Luhan who was sitting at the end, chatting animatedly with Minho.

“Hello.” Xiumin said to both of them as he sat down next to Luhan. Luhan turned and smiled at him, Minho grinned. “Sup?” Minho said. “Why were you gone for so long? I missed you~” Luhan cooed, nuzzling Xiumin’s shoulder. Minho laughed loudly. “You two! Your skinship is seriously no joke. There’s not even any cameras around.” The boy said. Luhan seemed to stiffen slightly at the words, as if not realizing his actions may seem slightly strange. Xiumin was also slightly panicked. Chen, who was sitting near them, managed to hear the words and quickly came to the rescue. “They’re always like this, best friends and all.” He explained in a casual tone, laughing at the end. Minho grinned and laughed along, thankfully not suspecting anything. Xiumin smiled at Chen gratefully and the boy gave a slight nod before turning to speak to Kangin.

They had just begun to discuss football (again!) when Heechul appeared (again!). “Hey Sohee-lookalike!” He greeted to Xiumin. Xiumin winced slightly. “Hello, Heechul hyung.” He spoke. Minho and Luhan repeated similar greetings. “So, would you wear a wig for me?” Heechul asked abruptly. Minho burst into laughter as Xiumin facepalmed. Luhan seemed confused. “Why do you want him to dress like a girl?” He asked. Heechul smirked. “He’s a very pretty boy. Don’t you think he would make a beautiful girl?” Heechul asked. Xiumin turned to see Luhan’s facial expression darken slightly as the boy pressed his lips into a straight line. “You’re very strange, hyung.” Luhan said. It was rude of him to say that, especially to a sunbaenim. Minho’s laughter died quickly and Xiumin’s eyes widened. He stared at Luhan, trying desperately to communicate to the boy, to tell him to take it back, take it back quickly!

To his surprise, Heechul began to laugh (cackle) very loudly before patting Luhan on the back. “Hyung?” Xiumin asked helplessly, not sure what was going on. Heechul simply smiled before turning to Minho. “Ya, Minho, can you get me some beer?” He asked the boy. “Huh?” Minho snapped quickly out of his daze, surprised by the sudden question. “Uh, y-yeah, sure hyung.” The boy said before quickly escaping.

Heechul leaned back on his feet and smirked at them in a way that unsettled Xiumin. “So, you two are together?” Heechul asked casually. Luhan spluttered as Xiumin shook his head frantically. “N-no! Of course not!” Luhan denied awkwardly. Heechul laughed again. “It’s totally obvious.” Their sunbaenim teased. Xiumin flushed as Luhan stammered, trying to form a reply. Heechul patted both of their shoulders. “Oh, don’t worry! I won’t tell anyone.” Heechul reassured with an evil glint. Xiumin was about to speak out, to deny everything, when Minho came with a beer. “Oh, Minho. You are a saviour. Thank you.” Heechul said, quickly taking the beer and drinking it. He then turned back to Xiumin. “Looks like you won’t be dressing up as a girl anytime soon.” Heechul said. Xiumin wanted to die.

“It’s almost time.” Kai said from next to Xiumin. Xiumin turned to the boy and smiled. “It is. This year sure went by quickly.” Xiumin commented. Kai nodded. “I don’t feel excitement for the next year though.” Kai admitted softly. “Why not?” Xiumin asked curiously. Kai seemed to hesitate. “It’s just, don’t you think the atmosphere’s kind of weird lately? I mean, we’ve been having more problems with managers and the schedules lately, Wufan hyung and Tao hyung are getting injured a lot but there not getting time to rest, my waist is killing me, I don’t know how this is going to continue.” Kai observed. Xiumin looked at the younger boy. “You sure are observant.” Xiumin replied dumbly. Kai flushed. “I’m not dumb, hyung! Besides, everyone can feel the tension.” Kai added. Xiumin sighed. First it was Chanyeol and now Kai. Everyone seemed to know that something bad was about to happen.

Kai seemed to sense the tension and smiled. “Don’’t worry hyung! We are one, right? Everything will be fine.” The younger boy reassured. Xiumin smiled at him, reaching up to ruffle the boy’s hair. “Aigoo, when did our young Jongin become so thoughtful?” He teased, his expression and face relaxed and casual. Inside, however, he was full of tension and worry.

Luhan and Xiumin sat with cups of coffee. There was only 5 minutes to go. They were in the kitchen. Xiumin wanted to talk to Luhan about Kris. He wanted to talk about Kai and Chanyeol. He wanted reassurance. It was selfish and stupid. But he wanted to be comforted. He wanted Luhan to hug him and kiss him and tell him everything would be alright.

There were only 2 minutes left, however, and they didn’t have time to talk about it. So, Xiumin decided, reluctantly, that they could talk later. “Minseok hyung! Luhan hyung! Ditch the coffee and come outside for the celebration!” Chanyeol appeared at the doorway and waved towards them, swaying slightly. “Are you drunk, Chanyeol-ah?” Xiumin asked, glancing at the tall boy’s flushed cheeks and dazed smile. “Only a little bit.” Chanyeol giggled like a school girl, holding two fingers up to represent the amount of alcohol he had drunk. p>

Luhan laughed as the boy staggered towards them and sloppily tried to pull them towards the door. “You’re so drunk.” Luhan teased slightly. Chanyeol grinned. “Okay, maybe I am! Now, come on, come on, come on! It’s almost time!” Chanyeol said eagerly. Xiumin smiled as he followed them out of the door and back into the living room, holding their cups of coffee, one in each hand. The living room was completely crowded and laughter filled the air as everyone chatted freely, around 60% of them drunk.

“Only two more minutes- wait, one more minute to go before 2014!” Leeteuk announced. “How come you sound like an MC even now?” Kyuhyun attacked immediately, making everyone laugh again. As there was no more space to sit, Luhan and Xiumin stood at the corner, watching the scene. “Man, I should have gotten drunk.” Luhan said wistfully as he watched Chanyeol and Shindong do a strange looking dance. “You’re such a lightweight, you wouldn’t be able to handle it.” Xiumin teased. Luhan flushed. “No I wouldn’t! I bet I can handle more alcohol than-” He was cut off by Ryeowook who was near them. “Only 20 seconds to go.” He said. D.O. was next to him. “Hyung, is the kitchen a mess?” D.O. asked. “That’s not important right now.” Luhan said for him.

At that moment, the countdown began. “10.” Xiumin smiled and joined in. “9!” D.O. refused to join in the count but nodded along. “8!” Tao and Sehun were sat together on the sofa, taking a new year’s selca, no doubt. “7!” Suho and Lay sat at the floor, staring up at the clock. “6.” Chanyeol and Baekhyun were collapsed on the floor, but still joined in the count. “5.” Chen was smiling with a peaceful expression on his face, counting enthusiastically along. “4.” Kai came and quietly stood next to D.O., just standing there with a smile on his face. D.O. pretended not to notice. “3.” Kris stood silently, coming over to Xiumin and Luhan. Xiumin turned to him and they exchanged a look of understanding, Xiumin silently asking whether the boy was okay. Kris gave a genuine smile and a calm nod. “2.” The SHINee members were spread out. Onew was sitting with Minho, counting along eagerly. Taemin was sat between Jonghyun and Key at the corner. The Super Junior members (who had actually come) were all spread out. Heechul was passed out, an empty beer bottle in his hand. Sungmin and Kangin were standing next to each other with anticipating smiles, focused on the clock. Yesung was sitting at the corner, near Chen. He was smiling as he counted along, a serene expression on his face. A bored and sleepy Kyuhyun was sitting next to Eunhyuk and Donghae, who were acting like kids, excitedly cheering at every number. Shindong had collapsed on a couch near Heechul, still drinking from the bottle. “1.” As the cheers filled the room, Xiumin turned to look at Luhan and saw the boy looking back at him. “Happy new year.” He said and despite the overwhelming laughter and chatter that was all around them, Luhan heard and smiled back. “Happy new year.” He replied. They squeezed each other’s hands briefly, their public kiss.

Xiumin then turned and they both spent the next few minutes, greeting everyone, wishing everyone a happy new year. Later on, they helped get some of the members back to their dorms. They thanked their sunbaes and bowed until their backs ached. When they come back, an irritated D.O. told them to clean the living room while he tackled the kitchen. Chanyeol and Baekhyun, much to D.O.’s anger and frustration had passed out from drinking and weren’t helping. They were going to get beaten up tomorrow, Xiumin predicted. All the members tidied up, tired and slow but an expression of content remained on their faces. Suho didn’t give a passionate speech, much to everyone’s shock. In the end, it was 3am when the dorm was completely clean again and everyone was exhausted. They had to wake up in 4 hours, the week was over and they would be going back to training. As soon as they reached the bed, Luhan and Xiumin collapsed on the bed, holding each other. p>

OMG FINALLY THIS WEEK IS OVER UGH Thank you for commenting and subscribing if you did- it means a lot! BYE!