Sunlight seeps in through the gap between the curtains. The house is still, like it has always been. In Baekhyun's room, on his bed, there are two people still in deep sleep, having been tired out from the Christmas countdown last night. Baekhyun's phone vibrates on the table; new messages on Kakaotalk from Joohyuk, reminding him that he still has an extra pass to the buffet, and from his other friends, including Jung Yunho, wishing him happy holidays.

Baekhyun is awoken to something nuzzling into his stomach. Soon after, Mongryong is on his face and the ticklish feeling makes him break in to a smile. His closed eyes flutter open as he tries to contain it. He is expecting to see Mongryong in front of him, but it isn't. Memories of last night come flooding back to him. The snow, crying, reluctance which turned in to pity that have led them up to this moment.

They are facing each other, warm cheeks resting on their flat palms. Baekhyun shouldn't be staring at her like this, but he can't find the need to get up now when he can stay a few more minutes in bed, taking in the characteristics of a person he has never really paid attention to.

The prominent eyebags are a sign of her pulling countless all nighters, designing graphics in front of a computer screen. Her eyes are slightly puffy from the crying last night. The more he stares at her, the more he thinks that perhaps her life isn't as easygoing as he thought it was. There must definitely more to this girl than what meets the eye. She's not always positive and bubbly, from how Baekhyun saw her yesterday.

He nears his fingers to her face, brushing away the strands of hair covering her face. Raon's nose scrunches as she sniffs. Baekhyun's lips quirk up into a small smile. She looks like a rabbit. What happened to her? She looked like a psychopath when I first met her. 

Baekhyun draws his hand back, turning away from her to lie on his back. He sits up and Mongryong jumps on the bed, settling in his lap. "You wanna follow me out today?" Mongryong looks over at Raon who is still sleeping. "Oh right, we have to wake her up first."

Baekhyun pushes his middle finger against the pad of his thumb as he nears it to Raon's forehead. He doesn't spare another second and flicks her.

"Yah, get up. Don't you have somewhere to be? It's already ten."

Raon groans in pain, her hands reaching up to cover her forehead which has already started to redden. "Ow... Give me five more minutes..."

Has she forgotten that she's sleeping in my bed? Baekhyun coughs. "Five minutes on this bed?  With me?"

Raon's eyes are wide open and she sits up immediately. She stares at Baekhyun, hanging so wide that it could be possible for her jaw to touch the ground. Her cheeks start flush, the pinkness spreading to her whole face. The girl realises this and cups her face.

"I-I thought there was a wall of pillows between us last night..." She eyes their closeness. "How did we end up so close?"

"Mongryong probably dragged them off the bed." He lies. "Anyways, since you're awake, you can go back to your room now. The snow should have stopped."

"Oh... maybe you're right." Raon nods her head, getting out of the bed. "Thanks for last night, but let's not bring up the fact that we slept together."

Baekhyun rolls his eyes. "It's not like we did anything. Now get out."

"Geez, fine. Are you always this grumpy in the morning?"

"Yes, because a weird woman is living with me. What's there not to get grumpy about?"

"Hey  "

Baekhyun doesn't want to spend the whole morning fighting with her. He forces himself out of bed, going over to Raon and circling his fingers around her wrist. She reasons about how she can exit by herself, but he isn't having any of it. He drags her out of his room, slams the door in her face. A perfect solution indeed.

Raon shows up to Garosugil thirty minutes earlier than planned. There is no sign of her friends around the place and it doesn't look like they're going to be arriving soon. She texted them just now in their group chat. One of her friends was on the train and it would take her twenty minutes while two others were still at home getting ready.

Baekhyun had insisted earlier that they go out at the same time. He said that he was going to take Mongryong out for a walk, so he could drop her off on his way to the Han River. She clearly told him that she needed time to get ready, but he kept rushing her and soon she was in the passenger seat of one of his expensive cars with only a layer of BB cream on her face. She did her lipstick in the car.

Garosugil is filled with many cafes and fashionable boutiques. The decorated roads are closed off today for people to walk around freely. Raon guesses that she can order a drink at a cafe as she waits for her friends. She orders a cup of iced coffee at a cafe called Basilur Tea and Coffee. It occupies the second and third floor of a building and the cafe contains shelves displaying tins of tea leaves, exported from different countries. The cafe is an open space, tucked away from the bustling main street.

Raon scrolls through her phone and eventually stops at a new name in her contacts list. Baekhyun. She grins, thumb hovering over the message option. They exchanged numbers when he dropped her off. It is normal for housemates/friends to have each other's numbers, after all. Surprisingly, he was the one who suggested it.

Snap out of it, girl. Where the heck are they? It's already been fifteen minutes. 

Daebak Soft Squad (4)

 To: Hyojoo, Jjangdae, Bbo Bbo young

damn you guys are really slow 11:10

do you know that? 11:10

 From: Bbo Bbo young

I just reached the station... 11:11

Jeon Raon, where are you? Don't make me check Snapchat maps 11:11

Reply me!! 11:12

 From: Jjang dae

LOL 11:12

A stalker at its finest 11:12

 From: Bbo Bbo young

jongdae what did you just call me? 11:13

 11:13

 From: Jjang dae

boyoung noona spare me 11:14

 11:14

 To: Hyojoo, Jjangdae, Bbo Bbo young

I'm at Basilur Tea and Coffee 11:14

kim jongdae are you even out of your house yet? -_- 11:14

 From: Hyojoo

im not Jongdae but I'm out! Just reached the station 11:14

 To: Hyojoo, Jjangdae, Bbo Bbo young

hurry im lonely 11:15

 From: Jjang dae

I'm already here! 11:15

"Raon!"

"Jongdae!" Raon grins at the man walking over to where she is sitting. "I honestly didn't expect for you to arrive first. Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas to you too. What can I say," Jongdae shrugs, a proud smirk on his face, "I'm amazing." When she shakes her head at him, he laughs. "Just kidding. I'm trying to start being punctual from now on, it's my New Years Resolution. It's a major turnoff if you're a guy who's late, girls don't dig that. Say, will you date me if I'm a guy who's always on time?"

"That's not what worries me, I'm just scared you'll spend your hours working on graphics and forget your girlfriend exists."

Jongdae is a resident joker in the design department, in charge of coffee pickup and messing up the orders half of the time. A trained pun master, even when people don't want him to be. If he's not fooling around, then he's actually at his desk doing his job as a level editor. He is one of the best in the department and because he's so skilled at what he does and is good-natured at the same time, he's earned the reputation as a charmer.

"I won't be like that. I'll be the greatest boyfriend!" The look on Jongdae's face is too certain for her liking.

Raon gives him a mere shake of her head, before staring at her phone. "Where are Boyoung and Hyojoo unnie?"

"Hmm, maybe they lost their way. Oh

   wait, they're here," Jongdae raises a hand in the air. "You girls are so late!"

"Merry Christmas~" The two girls chime in unison from a distance. 

Hyojoo and Boyoung work in Raon's department too. Boyoung is a short but adorable person, in charge of character design with her. People often assume that she is the childish type. Meanwhile, Hyojoo is in charge of creating artwork for seasonal and promotional designs with whatever Daebak Soft game there is. She is more of the mature looking type on the outside, you'd think that she'd be chic and professional. In reality, her personality is switched with Boyoung's.

"Are my eyes playing tricks on me?" Hyojoo says once they are in front of each other. "Kim Jongdae, for the first time ever, is earlier than us?"

"Hey," Jongdae laughs, "it's cause you ladies always want to meet up so early. I'm a night owl, so it's hard for me to wake up and meet somewhere in the morn