a very merry christmas
Apartment Block 17
a/n; aka. chapter 4 out of 4 in the christmas saga
i don’t think it snowed in seoul this christmas(??) but let’s pretend it did lol
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PART SEVEN: SNOW MUCH FUN
[APARTMENT #118; Choi Hansol, Boo Seungkwan]
“Jisoo’s having a party,” Hansol said, poking his head into Seungkwan’s bedroom. The latter was scrolling through his phone with an intense expression set into his delicate features.
“Cool,” Seungkwan replied, barely looking up from the screen.
Hansol sighed. “Wanna go? I pretty much said we’ll show up at 6.”
“Yeah, sure. I’ll just change first,” Seungkwan said, hoisting himself up from his bed.
“Oh yeah. I have some presents for you,” Hansol grinned. “Merry Christmas.”
Seungkwan blinked a few times before speaking. “Seriously?”
Hansol clutched his chest in mock hurt. “I’m not that terrible. Why wouldn’t I get presents for my best friend?”
Seungkwan rolled his eyes. Grabbing clothes from his closet to change into, he also picked up a box wrapped in colourful Christmas paper. He threw it at Hansol without a word.
Hansol caught the box in surprise. Whatever was inside shifted a little.
“Merry Christmas,” Seungkwan said, not looking at Hansol.
Hansol ripped off the paper and saw that it was a shoe box.
“How did you know I wanted these?” Hansol took out a brand new pair of shoes - he had seen them at the mall a few weeks ago, but didn’t buy them because they were ridiculously expensive.
“You told me,” Seungkwan said bluntly. He shooed Hansol out while he changed.
Hansol stared at the box in disbelief. It would’ve certainly cost at least a month’s salary of an average part-time working teenager.
“Thanks, Seungkwan,” Hansol said in disbelief when his roommate finally came out of his room, sporting a single-coloured sweater and ripped jeans that somehow fitted him really well. Hansol didn’t hesitate to hug his roommate right then and there.
But Seungkwan didn’t respond. It was weird, especially for Seungkwan.
Seungkwan, who was normally the one who initiated contact.
Seungkwan, who was normally the one to wrestle with Hansol and randomly poke him whenever he felt like it.
Hansol hated how distant Seungkwan had been acting for the past few weeks. He didn’t know what he did wrong, or if it was even his fault. He didn’t know why Seungkwan had seemed so out of it. He didn’t know how to help.
Seungkwan hardly ever felt down, and even if he did, he never made it obvious. Between the two of them, he was always the moodmaker; always cheerful, kind and generous. He was so easy to talk to, and his smile was always a fresh of breath air no matter how many times Hansol saw it.
It really worried Hansol that Seungkwan was acting so withdrawn. Recently, Seungkwan hardly talked unless talked to first, and he was always in his bedroom; when previously, he would spend most of the day with Hansol in the living room.
Whether it was planning new videos, practising their vocals (Hansol was surprised they hadn’t gotten noise complaints as of yet) or just talking, Hansol enjoyed being with Seungkwan. There was never a boring moment when Seungkwan was present.
The past few weeks without a bubbly Seungkwan were mundane.
Hansol let go of Seungkwan awkwardly and went to get his presents. He wasn’t sure they’d be enough, but he hoped that they would cheer Seungkwan up a little.
He put the parcels in front of Seungkwan. He wasn’t the best at wrapping, but he tried his best.
Seungkwan tore through the smallest, blockiest one first. It was the scrapbook that Hansol had spent weeks making.
“I never realised how many polaroids we’d taken together until I collected them up,” Hansol said sheepishly. He had bought scrapbook materials from Love Letter (with Jisoo’s employee discount) and spent countless hours sticking in polaroids and decorating the pages with handwritten messages.
Seungkwan didn’t say anything. He flipped through the book, turning the pages carefully as if they would break at the slightest touch.
“Open the other presents!” Hansol urged Seungkwan. He felt embarrassed watching Seungkwan look through the scrapbook right in front of him.
Seungkwan took the roundest package next. It was the shirt Hansol had had custom made for the two of them. It was simple; a plain white Tee with their faces and ‘BOONON’ imprinted on it in a fancy modern font. Hansol ped his jacket and showed Seungkwan that he was wearing an identical shirt; similar to the one he bought for Seungkwan, except that it had ‘CHOI’ instead of ‘BOO’ written on the back like a sports jersey.
Seungkwan finally smiled. He went back into his room and came out wearing the shirt, as well as donning a fluffy white jumper that gave him the appearance of a polar bear.
“Still more presents?” Seungkwan laughed when Hansol held out the last parcel eagerly.
“Anything for my best friend,” Hansol gave him a toothy grin. Seungkwan’s expression visibly softened.
“It’s probably the most normal one,” Hansol grinned sheepishly.
Seungkwan unwrapped it. It was a few packets of elbow and knee guards, as well as a headband.
“Are these for... exercise?” Seungkwan raised an eyebrow.
“You’ve been really into volleyball lately,” Hansol explained. “I got pairs for both of us. I figured we should try out the volleyball club at school,” he said excitedly.
“But what about drama club?” Seungkwan questioned.
“Surely we can be in more than one club,” Hansol chuckled.
“I don’t think so,” Seungkwan couldn’t help but smile at Hansol’s enthusiasm. “I’d like to play, though.”
“Right?” Hansol shook Seungkwan’s shoulders. “It looks so cool when they dive, and when they spike-- they jump so high and--”
Seungkwan’s expression suddenly turned bright and he no longer looked expressionless. It was almost as if he had become animated within the few seconds Hansol was talking.
“And when they block and the ball goes like--” Seungkwan indicated with his hands and made various sound effects to illustrate how cool it was. Hansol smiled; Seungkwan was back to his previous, bubbly self.
“Hey, it’s 6:10,” Hansol noticed as he glanced up at their wall clock. “We’re so late.”
“No one ever shows up early to parties,” Seungkwan rolled his eyes. He led the way out of the apartment with Hansol following behind.
Hansol hoped that Seungkwan wouldn’t revert to the indifferent, aloof self he had been for the past few weeks.
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[APARTMENT #104; Yoon Jeonghan, Hong Jisoo]
“Merry Christmas,” Seokmin grinned, holding out parcels for Jeonghan and Jisoo.
He and his brother, Chan, had shown up before everyone else to give presents before they both had to leave for a photoshoot at Pledis.
“You got us presents?” Jeonghan looked surprised, but happy all the same. Jisoo accepted the parcels graciously.
“New makeup brushes for Jeonghan,” Seokmin explained as the man himself tore through the wrapping excitedly. “And a pretty book we found for Jisoo. Oh, and a lot of food.”
“There’s a card somewhere,” Chan said. “Thanks for all the help, Jisoo. Seriously,” he smiled.
“It’s fun to teach you and Hansol,” Jisoo insisted. “Especially now that you guys come at the same time. You two are hilarious.”
Seokmin and Chan had found a really fancy astrology book at their local bookstore, 20. It was some limited edition encyclopaedia; both of them had no idea what it really was, but it had pictures and it was really pretty, so they bought it for Jisoo (even though it cost them at least 10 days worth of food).
“I’m glad,” Chan grinned. “I’ll need to come by more often, though. I’ve got huge exams coming up soon,” he sighed.
“No problem,” Jisoo said reassuringly.
“I’ll leave you in his care,” Seokmin said. “Anyway, hope you guys have a good party.”
“Wait, we have presents for you guys too. Kind of,” Jeonghan said sheepishly.
“Seriously?” Seokmin raised an eyebrow.
“It’s not theirs,” Jisoo hit Jeonghan’s chest. “But uh, it would’ve been a great present for you, Seokmin.”
Jisoo disappeared into the apartment and came back with two boxes; one larger than his head and one the size of a book.
“This is for Chan,” Jisoo gave Chan the smaller box. Upon opening it, he grinned widely when he saw that it was a book about Michael Jackson.
“You know me too well, Jisoo,” Chan said.
“Everyone knows you’re #1 Michael Jackson trash,” Jisoo smiled. “Anyway, we actually only got you some food, Seokmin...”
“Don’t tell him that,” Jeonghan hissed. He took the larger box from Jisoo and gave it to Seokmin. “What he meant, was that this is your Christmas present,” he grinned.
Jisoo rolled his eyes. “The truth is, we were delivered that parcel this afternoon. But it’s definitely not for us.”
Seokmin raised an eyebrow questioningly and proceeded to open the box. Inside was a horse head mask. He took it our gingerly and examined it; it would definitely fit over his head.
“For our favourite horse,” Jeonghan grinned.
“It does fit you, though,” Jisoo laughed. “But the writing’s really hard to read, so I guess the mailman just gave it to us since the address kind of looks like our apartment. It’s almost like Jeonghan wrote it.”
Jeonghan hit Jisoo’s shoulder. “My writing’s not that bad.”
Seokmin put the horse head mask down and squinted at the label on the box. It looked like it was water damaged, but he could make out some of the words.
“Jung... Hoseok...” Seokmin read out. “I think it might be Apartment #704, not #104.”
“Anyway,” Jeonghan picked up the horse head mask and put it on Seokmin’s head forcibly. “It fits you too well. It’s fate.”
Seokmin couldn’t breathe very well in the mask. “OK. Thanks. I guess,” his voice was muffled by the mask.
Chan couldn’t stop laughing. He got out his phone and started taking pictures of his brother.
“We should go, but thanks for the awesome gifts,” he managed to say between laughs. Seokmin grunted and made some horse noises; making the rest of them crack up even more.
Seokmin felt around for the door and tried to exit, but felt himself crash into another body.
“Is that you, Seokmin?” came Wonwoo’s confused voice.
“Wonwoo?” Seokmin replied in a muffled voice. He could hear Mingyu laughing next to him.
“You finally reveal your true form,” sarcastic Minghao piped up.
“Where are you?” Seokmin couldn’t see very well through the eye holes of the mask. He made contact with someone’s chest.
“Someone call animal control,” Junhui said jokingly.
Chan grabbed Seokmin’s hand and dragged him out. “Sorry guys. Gotta go before my brother embarrasses himself even more.”
“Have fun at the photoshoot,” Wonwoo said good-naturedly.
Seokmin managed to get the horse head mask off with Chan’s help in the elevator. He breathed heavily for a while.
“Shouldn’t we give this to Jung Hoseok?” Seokmin said.
“He probably wouldn’t want it now that you’ve sweat in it,” Chan laughed.
They ended up going to #704 anyway, where Hoseok’s roommate, Taehyung, accepted it since Hoseok was currently at some dance rehearsal. It was lucky that Seokmin knew Taehyung vaguely as Wonwoo and Junhui’s coworker at Jam Jam; otherwise the situation would’ve been a bit weird to explain.
“I’m pretty sure Yoongi-hyung sent this to him,” Taehyung laughed as he took the horse head mask from Seokmin. “He’s gonna love it.”
“Tell him not too put it on too tightly,” Seokmin advised. Chan laughed at Taehyung’s confused expression.
The two brothers soon left and boarded the bus to Pledis Entertainment; with luck, they would make it just on time for their Christmas Day photoshoot.
Seokmin was undeniably upset that he and his brother couldn’t go to Jisoo’s party. They always missed out on things because of their harsh training schedules.
Sometimes he wondered why he even wanted to be an idol in the first place.
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[APARTMENT #104; Yoon Jeonghan, Hong Jisoo]
“What do you mean you have no more nachos?” Soonyoung asked sadly.
“Too late, mate,” Jisoo said in English.
“I am very sad,” Soonyoung replied in English. But his pronunciation of ‘very’ was more like ‘berry’ and it made Jisoo laugh.
Upon arriving, Wonwoo, Junhui and Minghao had made themselves comfortable in the living room and began talking amongst themselves in a heated discussion. Mingyu had gone to the kitchen and helped Jeonghan prepare the food.
By the time Soonyoung and Jihoon had arrived, most of the food was already eaten. Including the nachos Soonyoung loved so much (Soonyoung had sulked about it for half an hour until Mingyu made him more).
Jeonghan wouldn’t stop laughing when he saw what Jihoon was wearing. “What’s that hideous yellow thing on you?”
“Christmas present,” Jihoon said, with an even tone. Jisoo knew immediately that it was from Soonyoung; he was pretty sure Jihoon wouldn’t wear it if it was from anyone else.
Seungcheol showed up some time in between, wearing his santa suit and donning a large pillow belly. Jeonghan was beside himself in laughter at the sight and took photos from every angle.
“I can’t believe you didn’t let me see this in the morning,” Jeonghan laughed, punching Seungcheol’s pillow belly.
“You’ve been a naughty child,” Seungcheol said haughtily. His voice was muffled by the fake beard he was wearing.
“Have I been good?” Jisoo asked jokingly. Seungcheol patted his head and produced a stray candy cane from his sleeve.
“Sometimes, I wonder why Jeonghan calls himself the angel,” Seungcheol smirked and gave the candy cane to Jisoo. Jeonghan looked offended.
Hansol and Seungkwan were the last to arrive, entering the apartment with their typical attention-drawing entrance. They were wearing matching shirts; which made Jisoo crack up.
“Where do I get one of these?” Jisoo said in wonder. “It’d be perfect for your merch shop.”
“Sorry, hyung,” Hansol grinned, “These are one of a kind.”
Jeonghan whispered to Jisoo that he knows a guy who could get them a copy.
Now that everyone was present (of course, with the exception of Seokmin and Chan), Jisoo and Jeonghan weren’t exactly sure what to do.
“Like I said, let’s play monopoly!” Soonyoung insisted eagerly.
“With 11 people? No way that would work,” Seungcheol said.
“I’m pretty sure I only went bankrupt last time because Jeonghan-hyung kept taking my money when I wasn’t looking,” Soonyoung narrowed his eyes.
Jeonghan immediately reacted. “No. I wouldn’t do something like that.”
Jisoo rolled his eyes.
“Truth or dare,” Junhui piped up from the couch.
“No,” Wonwoo immediately hit his shoulder, giving him a disgusted look.
“Truth or dare would be fun!” Mingyu grinned.
Wonwoo looked at him with an expression of betrayal.
“If no one knows what to do, let’s pour some drinks to celebrate!” Jeonghan said, brandishing a bottle of wine from the cupboard.
Jisoo looked at him in horror. “Drink water, not alcohol,” he chided, grabbing the bottle and putting it back in the cupboard.
“Very no fun,” Soonyoung shook his head.
“We have minors here,” Jisoo hissed, glancing at Hansol and Seungkwan who were absorbed in different conversations with their other friends.
They ended up not playing anything suggested earlier, but instead played Twister, which Jeonghan had found in another cupboard.
It wasn’t the most Christmassy thing they could do, but it ended up being hilarious anyway.
“I bet you Minghao will win,” Wonwoo said. “He can b-boy.”
“But Junhui knows martial arts,” Seungcheol shot back. “I bet Junhui.”
“Minghao knows martial arts too,” Mingyu added.
“I thought you guys were my friends,” Junhui said sadly.
They ended up continuing on for so long that everyone forced them to stop and call it a tie. Neither of them really accepted it though, but that was a story for another time.
“So. Merry Christmas everyone,” Soonyoung said cheerfully after the boys collapsed in various positions around the living room.
“Cheers,” Seungcheol said weakly. He looked absolutely wrecked underneath his fake beard and pillow belly.
“What did you guys get for presents?” Jisoo asked.
He saw Mingyu look at Wonwoo nervously.
“Yeah, Mingyu. What did you get for Wonwoo?” Seungcheol grinned mischievously.
“I-I haven’t given it to him yet,” Mingyu said shyly.
“Oh, that’s a bummer. What about you, Wonwoo?” Seungcheol prodded.
“I haven’t given it yet,” Wonwoo said quietly.
Soonyoung made a sound of disapproval. “It’s nearly the end of Christmas.”
“We were busy,” Wonwoo said defensively.
“We’ll do it after this,” Mingyu said hurriedly.
Soonyoung didn’t look too impressed, but he moved on anyway. “Do you guys like what I got for Jihoon?” he said, gesturing at Jihoon’s shirt.
Seungcheol started laughing. “It’s perfect for our Jihoonie.”
Jihoon glared at him and Soonyoung. “I’m never wearing this again.”
“Speaking of shirts, what about Hansol and Seungkwan’s?” Junhui spoke up. “Cute couple shirts, you guys,” he grinned.
Seungkwan looked away in embarrassment. Hansol just grinned at Junhui. “They’re so good, right?”
“Junhui got me a trash can,” Minghao suddenly piped up from the kitchen counter, where he had gone to get some water.
“Wait what?” Mingyu choked on his drink (which was also water).
“It was a joke,” Junhui said defensively.
“He came up to me this morning and held a trash can in front of me, all like ‘I found this on the way here and thought of you’,” Minghao rolled his eyes.
“To be fair, it was a really nice bin,” Junhui insisted.
“But inside was actual clothes and stuff so I guess it’s okay,” Minghao continued.
“You guys are another level,” Seungcheol shook his head.
Their discussion about present-giving soon turned into a heated discussion on who gave the best present (mostly initiated by Seungcheol and Junhui). Jisoo interrupted, saying he and Jeonghan hadn’t given each other any presents yet.
“Oh, then show us how it’s done,” Jihoon smirked. “You won’t beat the SHINee album I got for Soonyoung, though.”
Jisoo disappeared into his room, insisting he’d go first. He came out moments later with an A3 canvas.
“This is what you locked yourself in your room for?” Jeonghan smiled knowingly.
“Uh, yeah,” Jisoo stammered, “Merry Christmas, Jeonghan.”
It was a painting of a selfie. Jisoo was smiling cutely, his hands in a sideways ‘peace’ sign, while Jeonghan, who was behind slightly, was staring at Jisoo’s ear with a smile. While it wasn’t entirely lifelike, the painting had a certain flair and realism to it.
“Why’d you pick this picture of us?” Jeonghan started laughing, unsurprised as he expected Jisoo to give him a painting.
“It’s cute,” Jisoo said defensively. “I found the polaroid of this when I was packing my room.”
“Wow. I don’t understand why you said ‘art is hard’,” Jeonghan raised an eyebrow, indicating to the clearly unamateur piece of art.
“I might have had some help,” Jisoo said sheepishly. “Oh, I have more presents,” he added, handing Jeonghan a book.
Jeonghan studied the book in confusion. “But this is a book teaching kids how to write Korean.”
“You need to improve you writing,” Jisoo said with a poker face.
Seungcheol started laughing loudly and high-fived Jisoo, clearly agreeing with his point.
“And there’s also this,” Jisoo grabbed a box from under the couch. Jeonghan opened it; it was a giraffe onesie.
“You always do the best giraffe impressions when I’m sad, and it really cheers me up,” Jisoo smiled. “This one is technically from me and Seungcheol since we split the cost, but I hope you like it.”
Jeonghan took the onesie out slowly. It was unbelievably soft. He wouldn’t stop saying ‘woah’ in admiration.
“Jisoo,” Jeonghan said slowly, “I love you.”
“I know,” Jisoo smirked in English.
“I got you a onesie too,” Jeonghan grinned and fetched a similar sized box.
Jisoo opened it eagerly. “Isn’t this Gudetama*?”
“You’re my egg roll,” Jeonghan sat next to him and looked him in the eye. “Literally. Your egg roll impressions are great.”
Both of them went to their rooms and changed into the onesies. The boys wouldn’t stop laughing and taking pictures of them when they came out.
Jeonghan grabbed the Korean writing book from the couch. “I’m just gonna give this to our China Line,” he said, handing it to Junhui and Minghao.
They looked at him as if he’d insulted their family.
“Merry Christmas,” Jeonghan gave them a grin. Junhui kicked his leg, but started laughing along with Minghao.
“I promise that my Korean will be better next year,” Minghao made a ‘fighting’ gesture.
“New Year’s resolution?” Mingyu smirked.
“At least it’s not a stupid one,” Minghao retorted.
The night came to a close with a surprise dinner that was prepared by Jeonghan (even though Jisoo thought all the food had been finished).
“I hardly ever cook, so this is a Christmas present for all of you,” Jeonghan smiled.
“I’m not sure I’d eat anything you cooked,” Seungcheols aid suspiciously.
“Mingyu helped, so don’t worry~” Jeonghan assured.
The food turned out to be way better than decent; Jisoo suspected it was a preprepared meal, like the ones he normally bought and just heated up in the microwave.
They fell into comfortable chatter as they ate.
“Oh yeah, Cheol,” Jeonghan said as he helped himself to another piece of chicken, “What’s the situation in the mailroom? The kids messed up a lot.”
“Yeah, but there’s nothing I can do to fix it,” Seungcheol sighed. “I’m just going to send out a mass text explaining the situation.”
“Oh speaking of texts, do you think we could all swap numbers?” Soonyoung piped up, mouth full of food. “The group chats are really confusing when all I see is ‘unknown number’.”
Exchanging numbers between 11 boys was quite a task.
“But I swear to God, if any of you spam that group chat--” Jihoon started.
“We won’t!” Soonyoung mumbled through the food.
Jihoon didn’t look too convinced.
The doorbell suddenly rang. Jeonghan stood up and answered it, returning shortly with an envelope in his hands.
“It’s a letter for you, Jisoo,” Jeonghan approached to his boyfriend, who was concentrating intently on his pudding.
It was a pink envelope, with the name ‘Jisoo’ written in elegant cursive. It had a rather romantic vibe to it.
“Who’s it from?” Jeonghan asked innocently. But Jisoo could tell that he looked rather suspicious.
“Don’t know,” Jisoo admitted. He wasn’t expecting letters or cards from anyone; he’d received one from his parents a few days ago. “There’s no address on it.”
“The kid told me you were the only Jisoo in the building,” Jeonghan said. “According to their... records.”
“Did they look through my records?” Seungcheol said angrily. “Well. I’m not surprised.”
Jisoo tore open the envelope and scanned through. He was really confused.
“It’s a love letter,” Jisoo said. All the boys stopped eating and leant forward in curiosity. Jeonghan snatched the letter from Jisoo.
“Kim Seokjin? Isn’t he an actor from the Pledis production?” Jeonghan asked.
“What?” Jihoon looked up from his food. “Give me that.”
Jihoon read through the letter with an intense expression. Even Soonyoung was looking at him in confusion.
“Oh. I get it,” Jihoon said at long last.
“Get what?” Jeonghan and Jisoo said at the same time.
“This isn’t for you, Hong Jisoo. It’s for another person; a girl named Jisoo. Seokjin must’ve forgotten to put the address on the envelope when he brought it down to the mailroom, and the kids just assumed it was addressed to a Jisoo in the building.”
“How do you know?” Junhui asked curiously.
“I know Seokjin’s roommate,” Jihoon said flatly. “This for Namjoon, though,” he muttered under his breath.
“Oh!” Soonyoung exclaimed. “Namjoon, right? Doesn’t he like Seokjin?”
Jihoon glared at him. “Yeah, but don’t tell everyone that.”
“But then Seokjin likes Jisoo. Oh, that’s sad,” Soonyoung continued, unfazed by Jihoon’s glare.
The rest of the night went by with more embarrassing stories and casual banter, until Jisoo and Jeonghan eventually kicked everyone out of the apartment after dinner, saying they wanted time alone to themselves. The 9 boys thanked them heartily for the dinner and left with a ruckus.
“So, what do now?” Jeonghan turned to Jisoo with a mischievous smile.
Jisoo took his hand and looked outside through the window. “Hey, it’s snowing.”
Jeonghan followed his gaze. He hadn't realised earlier that it was snowing. The outdoors was covered in a sheet of white, glittering flakes catching the moonlight as they fell slowly, accumulating across the landscape.
“Let’s go for a walk,” Jisoo smiled.
It started off as a romantic walk through the dark streets, illuminated only by colourful Christmas lights hung on the lampposts and buildings. Jisoo could feel Jeonghan’s warmth next to him, and intertwined their arms tighter so he could leech off it. The night was relatively quiet, with most families indoors, albeit the faint sounds of laughter coming from inside the buildings they walked past. Jisoo could hear Jeonghan faintly humming ‘Silent Night’, and he felt at bliss listening to Jeonghan’s silky, low voice. All was good.
But the moment Jeonghan flicked some snow off a postbox and into Jisoo’s face, the peace was interrupted and Jisoo retaliated automatically with a swift snowball to Jeonghan’s chest.
They caught the stares of some elderly passerbyers; but neither could care less.
At first, Jisoo was pushed to the ground while Jeonghan stood above him holding a large handful of snow over his face. But in a matter of seconds, the situation was quickly reversed, and Jeonghan soon became the one begging for mercy.
Both of them ended up covered in snow anyway.
They reached Adore U Park. The vast expanse of green was entirely covered in a thin layer of ice.
Jeonghan slumped to the ground and lay on his back. He moved his arms and legs in a starfish motion, disturbing the layer of snow.
“Look, Jisoo,” Jeonghan said happily, his face displaying a childish smile. “I’m an angel.”
Jisoo laughed and knelt down next to Jeonghan and drew a circle above his head. “And here’s your halo.” He slowly lied down next to Jeonghan and intertwined their hands.
They just lay there, side by side and hands intertwined. They didn’t need to say anything; just being in each other’s company was enough.
Jisoo could feel Jeonghan’s heartbeat through his hand. He noticed Jeonghan’s deep breaths in his peripheral vision. He was so peaceful.
It was quiet moments like this that made them both appreciate each other that much more.
After a while, Jeonghan asked Jisoo to tell him what constellations they were looking at. Seoul was a busy city; there weren’t many stars to look at in the dark, night sky. But the few that were visible gave Jisoo enough to ramble on for a long time.
Jeonghan closed his eyes as he listened to Jisoo ramble on about the history of the constellations they saw.
It was nice.
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PART EIGHT: ALL WRAPPED UP
[APARTMENT #417; Jeon Wonwoo, Kim Mingyu]
Jeon Wonwoo loved Kim Mingyu. That was a fact. It had been that way since the moment Wonwoo saw Mingyu’s face on Seokmin’s phone screen, whether he wanted to admit it or not.
Wonwoo didn’t know why he was still so confused. While Mingyu had reached the great realisation that he loved Jeon Wonwoo, the man in question was still three laps behind.
If two people have mutual feelings for each other, they date. Then they marry and grow old together. That’s what all the romance novels and dramas said. That’s how Wonwoo’s parents got together. That’s how all the couples Wonwoo knew got together.
So he didn’t know why it was so difficult when it came to Kim Mingyu. Wonwoo’s inner self kept insisting that Mingyu was pulling a prank on him. Any excuse to not accept Mingyu’s feelings.
Wonwoo knew deep down that he was scared. He’d never been in a committed relationship before, and he still felt insecure about ‘publicising’ his uality. The group of boys that constantly harassed him at the university had gotten worse recently and Wonwoo didn’t want to get Mingyu involved.
It was so much easier when Mingyu only saw Wonwoo as a close friend and roommate.
Wonwoo cursed himself for giving Mingyu such a lame answer that night. What kind of person says ‘okay’ when someone confesses to them? He wished he could’ve just given a straight ‘I love you too’. But the commitment that came with that answer scared Wonwoo a little bit too much.
The truth was, Wonwoo loved listening to Mingyu’s morning voice every time they ate breakfast together. He wanted to be the only person to see Mingyu’s smile as he said ‘goodnight’. He wanted to spend as much time as he possibly could with Mingyu.
But he didn’t feel worthy enough to have the title of ‘Kim Mingyu’s boyfriend’. He didn’t want to drag Mingyu down when he deserved so much better. He didn’t believe that someone as perfect as Kim Mingyu could love someone like him.
Despite his mess of feelings, things around their apartment quickly returned to normal the day after Mingyu confessed to Wonwoo. Wonwoo was thankful that the awkward tension between them was gone for the moment.
They made it back to their apartment after Jisoo’s party. Mingyu immediately ran to his room as soon as they closed the door.
“Wait, I’ll get your present!” Mingyu had shouted before running off. Wonwoo waited around in the living room.
Mingyu returned as minute later, holding an A4 package wrapped in hideously colourful wrapping paper.
“Merry Christmas, Wonwoo!” Mingyu said with a toothy smile. Wonwoo’s heart skipped a beat as he took the package carefully.
He carefully undid the tape holding the paper together. Mingyu looked rather impatient for his roommate to open up the gift.
It was a portrait. A monochrome painting created with watercolours and what looked like charcoal. It resembled Wonwoo; but it was far too beautiful to actually be Wonwoo.
The Wonwoo in the painting was smiling. Wonwoo was pretty sure his smile wasn’t as beautiful as that.
“So, uh--” Mingyu began in embarrassment, “I took a picture of you the other day so I could paint a portrait.”
“You did the laundry for a week just so you could make me a Christmas present?” was all Wonwoo could say.
“Well, I love you after all,” Mingyu grinned. Wonwoo couldn’t help but think that he was saying it way too easily.
“Oh.”
“Jeonghan helped me though,” Mingyu said hurriedly. “He did the outline... I just painted over it--”
“It’s beautiful,” Wonwoo smiled. He went into his room and leant it against the wall, supported by his desk.
His dim desk light reflected off the painting, giving it such a realistic look that it made Wonwoo shudder.
“It’s beautiful,” Wonwoo repeated. Mingyu came up behind him and smiled.
Wonwoo couldn’t help but think that a hug from Mingyu in that moment would feel really good.
“Anyway,” Wonwoo spun around. “I have a present as well. Kind of.”
“You do?” Mingyu’s eyes lit up in excitement.
“It’s a performance,” Wonwoo said quietly. He had gotten the idea from Jihoon, who also had prepared a performance for his roommate, Soonyoung.
Wonwoo shooed Mingyu back outside and sat him down on the couch. He brought out a guitar; which Jisoo had kindly allowed him to borrow for the night.
“I know you’ve wanted to see me play the guitar ever since I mentioned it,” Wonwoo willed himself not to blush, “as well as sing and rap.”
Mingyu nodded enthusiastically.
“I’m thankful that you never push me to do anything I don’t want to. But I figured, since it’s Christmas, I might as well try it this one time.”
Mingyu looked so happy in that moment that Wonwoo wanted to hide.
“Uh-- this is a song Jihoon wrote,” Wonwoo said, trying to postpone performing as much as he could. “Jisoo helped me with the chords, as it’s been a while since I’ve played the guitar. So all the credit goes to them.”
Mingyu wouldn’t stop smiling.
“It’s called ‘Lean on Me’.”
Wonwoo figured it was now or never. He started singing, then transitioned into rapping.
It was a chill song. The beat flowed well, and it was easy for Wonwoo to perform. He was thankful that Jihoon allowed him to sing it for his roommate.
He didn’t realise he finished the song until Mingyu started clapping.
“Thank you, Wonwoo,” Mingyu said, his voice breaking slightly.
Wonwoo couldn’t look at Mingyu’s face out of sheer embarrassment. He looked at his phone instead; Junhui had texted him in the group chat that included Minghao and Mingyu.
the fantastic four >
Today 9:30 PM
your one and only junhui<3
> um, guys
> as in mingu and wonu
me
> yes?
your one and only junhui<3
> hope u guys r having a good evening lolol
> bc its about to get better!!! :)
> well.... better or possibly worse
> idk how you’ll take this.
me
> ... what did you do this time?
your one and only junhui<3
> can u guys come up to our apartment?
> it’ll be easier to tell you irl
me
> alright...??
> u better not have killed someone jun i s2g
“Looks like Jun wants us up at his apartment now,” Wonwoo stammered, looking up slightly but still steered clear of Mingyu’s face.
“Oh. What for?” Mingyu asked.
Wonwoo continued to avoid eye contact. “Knowing Jun, it’s probably not good.”
“Well, let’s go find out.” Wonwoo could hear the grin in Mingyu’s voice.
Yeah. This boy is a serious threat to my wellbeing.
------------
[APARTMENT #607; Wen Junhui, Xu Minghao]
Junhui opened the door with a slightly creepy grin on his face. Minghao’s expression mirrored Junhui’s.
As Wonwoo entered the apartment, he couldn’t help but laugh when he saw the haphazard Christmas tree taking up a large portion of their living room. It looked like a three-year old had put it together.
“So,” Junhui began as Wonwoo and Mingyu took a seat on their couch, “What do you want to hear first? The good news, or the even better news?”
Wonwoo looked at Mingyu uncertainly. “Either.”
“Okay. I’ll tell you the good news first,” Junhui sat down opposite them. Wonwoo grew more nervous by the second - whenever Junhui was excited about something, it usually meant trouble.
“I just got a call. I’ve been casted in a TV drama,” Junhui grinned.
“Seriously?” Mingyu jumped up in excitement.
“Yep. It’s only a minor role, but it’s something. There’s so many high-profile actors on the cast list that I’m amazed I made it in as a minor character.”
“He’s been auditioning for many random roles for the past few months,” Minghao said proudly. “Looks like he finally landed one.”
“Took awfully long for you to appear on TV for someone who said he’d be winning Oscars within three years of being in the industry,” Wonwoo smirked, earning a punch from Junhui.
“But if that’s the good news, what’s the better news?” Mingyu asked. Wonwoo’s smirk was wiped off his face when his brain caught up and figured out what Junhui was getting at.
“The better news isn’t really for me. It’s for you two,” Junhui smiled slyly at Wonwoo, who had taken a sudden interest in the cuckoo clock on the wall.
“Filming for the drama starts on January 3rd in Tokyo,” Minghao explained. “He’s expected to be there for a week.”
“The 3rd? But that’s a few days before the play is--”
Mingyu stopped when he realised what this meant.
“No , Sherlock,” Junhui said. “I can’t perform the play. I’ll be in Tokyo.”
“But--”
“But you know what?” Junhui continued on with an excited voice. “The play isn’t doomed! Not when we have a top notch backup who knows 90% of the lines by heart,” he shook jazz hands at Wonwoo.
“Wait, so--”
“Wonwoo can play Chanyeol instead!” Junhui shook Wonwoo by the shoulders. Wonwoo looked like his soul had left his body.
Mingyu didn’t know what to say. Inside, he was overjoyed at the chance to act with Wonwoo on a big stage. But he suddenly remembered that Wonwoo had severe stage fright.
“Um, are you sure that’s a good idea?” Mingyu said uncertainly. Wonwoo still wasn’t saying anything.
“It’s not an idea. It’s the only solution,” Junhui said with a tone of finality. “They’re definitely not going to postpone something as important as the annual Pledis production.”
“We’re in Seoul,” Wonwoo finally spoke. His voice was low and shaky. “We study at the infamous Pledis University.”
Junhui slowly let go of Wonwoo’s shoulders and sat back down. He seemed to have realised that he went a little too far.
“And you’re telling me you can’t find another replacement?” Wonwoo gritted his teeth.
“You have a point, Wonwoo. But the play’s in two weeks,” Junhui said in a calmer voice. “And no one’s going to have the same chemistry with Mingyu as you do. You’ve practised with Mingyu, you’ve attended rehearsals regularly, and I’m sure you’ve read through the play multiple times.”
Wonwoo couldn’t really argue with Junhui’s logic. Laying out the possibilities, he was definitely the best person to fill in Junhui’s position.
“You don’t have to do it, Wonwoo,” Mingyu said gently. “There has to be other alternatives.”
Wonwoo had expected Mingyu to beg him to fill Junhui’s position. Mingyu always whined and begged Wonwoo for useless things.
But the Mingyu looking at him in that moment showed genuine concern and worry. Mingyu understood that Wonwoo wasn’t comfortable with performing in front of large crowds or going to large-scale social events. He had always respected Wonwoo’s boundaries when it came to it.
Which was why, that one time, Wonwoo wanted to step out of his comfort zone. He knew that if Mingyu was there, it’d be alright.
He sighed and hoped he wouldn’t regret everything the next day.
“I’ll do it.”
a/n;
*if you guys don’t know, Gudetama is this Japanese character(?) that’s basically this really lazy egg. (aka a representation of my life)
idk just google it lol
i hope the party thing wasn’t too ... fillery and weird? i had a really hard time writing it because i literally had no ideas for that part lol
talk to me on snapchat-- @wingyis :D
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