Turkey’s served on the table, there’s other side dishes like potatoes and salads—a rare sight for the house that has seen days of nothing but pizza boxes and ramen cups.

 

Today is different. It’s Christmas Eve and the six girls have come together for this special occasion.

 

The television is playing the live countdown broadcast happening downtown, the stereo speakers are blasting with Hayoung’s Spotify playlist and there’s the green, shimmering tree making its presence at the corner.

 

Chorong sits at the head of the table, Eunji is right beside her which isn’t strange at all. Normally, Naeun sits next to Bomi but today, she’s on the other end with Hayoung and Namjoo. The girls notice the difference but as always, they never say anything on that.

 

Hayoung takes the honour of cutting the turkey. Everyone laughs as they watch the youngest struggle with the knife. Chorong shakes her head with a sigh while Eunji rolls her sleeves up, offering to be her white knight. Bomi and Namjoo cheer jokingly as they spectate their gym enthusiast easily stabbing the blade in. Naeun watches quietly with a smile.

 

“You still got years ahead till you get strong like me, kid.” Eunji giggles, showing off her bicep muscles.

 

Hayoung scoffs and backfires with, “And you still got years ahead till you get a high CGPA like me.”

 

Bomi and Namjoo go “ohh!!!” in response while Naeun laughs at Hayoung’s comeback. Chorong shakes her head and grabs the knife from Eunji’s hand before she starts attacking her sister.

 

“Hah. Who needs a good CGPA when you have someone rich with experience?”

 

“What-“

 

“You two, sit down.” Chorong orders and like obedient children, they do.

 

Eventually, their attention shifts to the steaming turkey wafting the dining area with its delicious scent. Namjoo is the first to grab her plate and take a piece. Everyone else begins to follow suit, taking scoops of the potatoes and salad on their own.

 

At last, there’s peace and quiet when all six are busy eating. But that continues for only three minutes till someone starts talking again.

 

“Champagne is weak.” Eunji comments as she lifts the empty glass, clearly not satisfied with whatever kick it gave her.

 

Bomi nods. “Are there any beers in the fridge?”

 

“Guys, Hayoung planned this party so let’s follow her rules.” Namjoo says whom she finds the said girl smiling at her in thanks.

 

“She’s right. Control yourself for tonight. It’s not even Christmas yet.” Naeun adds as she stands up to pick another piece of turkey.

 

“We can drink all we want tomorrow.” Chorong whispers to her roommate and the latter suddenly apologies with a smile.

 

“It’s okay. I know you guys would want some alcohol. So, I prepared something!” Hayoung says as she gets up from her seat and runs to the store room.

 

Everyone is giving glances at each other, asking if they know what’s happening but they all shake their head. Hayoung returns with a large box filled with six individually wrapped presents, each labelled with their names on the yellow sticky notes.

 

“Merry Christmas!” The youngest brims in with the widest smile ever. It makes her happy seeing the surprise on her housemates’ faces because they had no idea at all.

 

In fact, Hayoung had been planning this with Chungha, Sooyoung and Yerin. They often acted as a distraction so that no one would be suspect the work being done over the past weeks, meeting up elsewhere to buy and wrap presents.

 

“This is for you. And this one for you. Oh, be careful, this one is heavy! Unnie, unnie, this one is yours!” Hayoung says with excitement, handing out the presents one by one.

 

“Aww…Hayoung…” Bomi cooes, hugging onto her present.

 

“Thank you…you really didn’t have too…” Naeun says as she’s opening hers.

 

“Since when did you have the time to do all this?” Chorong gasps as she takes the present from Hayoung’s hands.

 

“The kid’s all grown up! You’re so sweet!” Eunji smiles and ruffles her hair.

 

“Wow. Hayoung…” Namjoo tries to collect her words as it suddenly made sense now—the fact that her roommate been staying up later than usual, always busy texting someone and taking phone calls. She was dumb to assume it was related to college work, especially since mid-terms is already over.

 

Chorong gets a pack of ginseng health medicine because Hayoung knows her sister likes to overwork herself especially since she’s been stressing about her thesis.

 

Bomi gets an oversized sweater as Hayoung is tired of seeing her wearing the same clothes all the time—proof seen in the laundry room, its either yellow, blue or white.

 

Eunji gets a bottle of Sangria wine—she has been talking non-stop about wanting to drink it. Sure, it was a bit expensive to get but Hayoung managed somehow through legal means of course.

 

Naeun gets a new pair of Adidas training pants as Hayoung notices that her current one is fading. She hopes that the girl doesn’t realise it’s actually a counterfeit item because the original ones will make her broke.

 

Namjoo gets a new set of sewing tools as Hayoung notes in her letter that she observed her roommate often getting frustrated whenever she’s working on her design projects. While she’s not a fashion design major herself, Hayoung gets an idea that tools like these are very important in her life and assignments—she wanted to help her in the smallest way possible.

 

The surprise was enough to warm the hearts of everyone in the house.

 

Hayoung was indeed, their precious youngest whom they will swear to protect forever. It’s just so sweet how she took note of the smallest observations during her four months of living here, and already, she is family.

 

Everyone gathers to take a group picture together and shows off the presents. In the frame, Hayoung takes the centre spot with Chorong and Eunji pretending to kiss her. Bomi grins brightly while lifting up her present box. Namjoo and Naeun are at the side, giving a peace sign.

 

The time after dinner is spent quietly in the living room. Everyone is occupied on their phones, busy posting updates on their social media and wishing their contacts a Merry Christmas.

 

“Hayoung, look over here!” Eunji smiles and captures a short 6-second video of Hayoung waving at the camera. She uploads it onto her story with a thank you message.

 

“One more minute till Christmas, guys!” Bomi says as everyone looks up from their phone and look at the television now starting the fireworks display.

 

“3…2…1!” Everyone counts down together as Hayoung jumps from the couch and shouts, “Merry Christmasss!!!!”  

 

Namjoo turns up the volume as music blasts into the room. Hayoung cheers. Eunji and Bomi join in the fun as they start dancing crazily. Chorong and Naeun laugh as they watch the four of them sway their hips and imitate some K-pop moves.

 

Laughter fills into the house on the first hour of Christmas.

 

A time and a memory they will all remember forever.

 

 

 

xxx

 

 

 

Everyone finally starts going to their rooms at around four in the morning.  

 

Naeun closes the door behind as Bomi sits on the bed nervously. They’ve done well, acting as if nothing happened when they were out buying snacks at the convenience store. But now that they are alone in this room, it was finally time to talk.

 

“I can’t just suddenly break up with him.” Naeun says, her face turning dark as she doesn’t know what to do. No—of course, she’s very happy that Bomi finally conveyed her feelings. But it was done a step too late.

 

She’s already formed a relationship with Taemin and honestly, he’s a really nice guy. Naeun could really picture a future with him. But she knows that her heart does not lie there. It lies to this woman in front of her.

 

Even so, it won’t be easy.

 

It won’t easy to suddenly cut ties with Taemin when he’s done absolutely nothing wrong. He’s just a kind gentleman with a pure heart, wanting to do his best.

 

“I know. I’m dumb. I’m stupid. I should’ve realised it sooner. And I should’ve acted faster.” Bomi approaches Naeun. “I’m sorry for the things that I’ve done to you. Because of my idiocy, I hurt you without even knowing. It wasn’t even for a short while. It was four years! God, I’m so stupid” She sighs, smacking her own forehead against the wall.

 

Naeun stops her and smiles sadly. “Don’t do that. You’ll hurt yourself.”

 

Bomi pouts. Naeun really is the sweetest girl she has ever met.

 

“Honestly, I thought that you were just too good for me. That’s why it’s never occurred to me that, I could be in love with you…because you were so perfect.”

 

“Bomi…”

 

“I was happy you know? When you gave me the first taste of . And I was also happy when I finally kissed you, to finally hold you in my arms.” Bomi hugs the air. “But then, I realised that when I let you go, it left a hollow place right here.” She placed her palms onto her chest. “It wasn’t a good feeling. And as much as I know Taemin is a really good guy to you, I…”

 

Naeun hushes her roommate with a peck on her lips. “It’s okay.” She proceeds to kiss her, softly and gently, this time with their true emotions intact. None of that friends bull.

 

Right here, right now, Naeun loves Bomi and Bomi loves Naeun.

 

That’s all that matters.

 

Whatever that’s happening as a result of their relationship, Taemin, Naeun’s family, their housemates—they will think about all that later.

 

“Why are you crying?” Naeun asks, suddenly seeing Bomi’s eyes well up. She rubs those tears away and circles her thumb around her cheek.

 

“You’re forgiving me so easily. This…I don’t deserve this. You should punish me. I’ve caused you nothing but pain and suffering in these four years. How can you just-“

 

Naeun kisses her again and pulls back slowly. “Because I love you.”

 

And Bomi finally bursts into tears.

 

She realises now, just how much Naeun has been holding on. Just how Naeun is so willing to accept her after everything she’s done. It’s something that clicks in her brain that she doesn’t want to be that idiot anymore who is unknowingly hurting someone.

 

Christmas becomes a game-changer for Bomi who was known as a fool. She’s made a new year resolution to become more than just a fool—A smart fool.

 

When morning arrives, the two wake up to the sound of Naeun’s phone ringing. They are cuddled up in bed, clothes on and thankfully, sober.

 

“…Hello?” Naeun yawns as she rubs her eyes. But when she hears the voice over the call, she suddenly jolts away.

 

“Why? What’s wrong?” Bomi mumbles as she watches Naeun rush to the cupboard and starts changing her clothes.

 

“Taemin’s here.”

 

The roommates scurry and get ready, instantly reminded of the plans they have today. Naeun has the whole day of Christmas planned with Taemin so it’s no surprise that he’s here, waiting downstairs at the living room with his Porsche parked at the porch. No one questions who let him in the first place, because there will always be one early-riser in the house, who is none other than Chorong.

 

Bomi has to prepare for the Christmas party happening at the house with all of Hayoung’s guests coming in, and she probably has to make a good impression.

 

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” Bomi asks, hesitant to follow Naeun downstairs. She thinks it’s better not to meet Taemin face-to-face with the complexity of their relationship.

 

Naeun nods as she opens the door. “I’ll…try to talk to him about it. See you Bomi.” She stands there, looking at her roommate hesitantly. But after a second, she leans forward and gives her a kiss on the cheek. With that, she leaves and Bomi stands there, stunned.

 

Taemin is all smiles when he sees Naeun walking down the stairs, all dressed up and wearing the necklace that he bought for her. Chorong tells the two of them to have fun and sees them off at the front door.

 

Bomi watches from the window at how Taemin opens the car door for Naeun. She stays there until the Porsche is out of sight. Then, she finally drops the curtains and sighs. The girl plops back to bed and decides to sleep in for the rest of the day, until Hayoung’s Christmas party starts later in the evening.

 

 

 

xxx

 

 

 

“Isn’t it a bit too late to head out for the gym?”

 

Chorong eyes on Eunji coming down the stairs all suited up in her training outfit. She hates how tight on her roommate and how it easily fleshes out her well-built shape. Her eyes are staring hard at the television and trying its best not to steal a glance at that .

 

“Hey, it’s never too late for a workout.” Eunji whines with a smile. She notices that Chorong is avoiding eye-contact with her and knows the reason why.

 

It’s not like she wore this outfit on purpose anyway. But she has taken a note to be more hardworking on building up her body because Eunji knows Chorong loves her body—even though she will never admit it.

 

She heads to the fridge and opens up a Red Bull.

 

“I see those two still aren’t up yet.” She looks at Hayoung and Namjoo’s room down the far corner.  

 

Chorong shrugs. “I hope they remember that they have a party happening today.” Eunji smirks and counters with, “And I hope you remember that we have a date today.”

 

Her roommate gives her a smile and nods, “At the bar by seven. Don’t be late.” Eunji scoffs and waves her hand. “I’m never late. You’re the one who’s always early. Bye.” She says and leaves.

 

Chorong hears the door shut and she exhales in relief, shaking her head as she can’t believe she’s having dirty thoughts (, , ) at this time of the day. Its all Eunji’s fault! She thinks to herself and crosses her arms with frustration, deciding to let these hours pass by watching a drama series. 

 

Eventually, Bomi begins to come out of her room. She settles down next to Chorong, munching on a quick sandwich she made with leftovers from last night. She offers Chorong a bite but the latter refuses. It takes hours later for Namjoo to get out of her room, also heading to the counters and preparing a quick meal.

 

“Is she still…?” Chorong hangs her question to which Namjoo nods in reply, “A baby needs all the sleep she can get. Hayoung slept at seven in the morning.”

 

“Seven in the morning. Wow. I’ve gotten old.” Bomi comments with a laugh. “Must be nice being young, staying up all night.”

 

“Please don’t start with the age jokes.” Chorong cuts in.

 

“I didn’t say anything. She did.” Namjoo raises her hands up in surrender.

 

“Anyways, the date with Eunji tonight? What are you going to wear?” Bomi asks with intrigue. If anything, she’s happy that the two are finally making progress and wonders what took them so long. Namjoo is the only one who knows the truth but she keeps secrets well.

 

“N-None of your business.”

 

“Lame.” Bomi pouts.

 

“You could either wear something really plain and boring like the stuff Hayoung wears all the time,” Namjoo jokes, “Or you could wear something that will make Eunji drool…”

 

“Shut up!” Chorong groans and tosses a pillow over the counter.

 

“Hey! I’m making noodles!” Namjoo shouts.

 

“You guys are going to wake the baby up!” Bomi says.

 

But speak of the devil.

 

Hayoung’s door opens with a loud creak as the said baby is peeking through with a scowl on her face. Her hair is in a mess but honestly, with those cute pink pyjamas that she’s wearing? Not scary at all.

 

“Oh. Hi! Good morning! Had a good sleep?” Bomi smiles as she waves over.

 

Namjoo rolls her eyes while Chorong invites her sister for breakfast. But Hayoung simply mumbles a “No thank you” and shuts the door.

 

She’s probably going back to sleep for another hour until she needs to start preparing for the Christmas party later.

 

In the car, Taemin boosts about how his basketball club won first place in the tournament. Naeun is happy for him and listens to her boyfriend talk about their achievements. Boyfriend. It’s still an odd thing to say for her. She hasn’t really gotten the click that she is indeed, dating Lee Taemin.

 

It all happened so quickly. Naeun’s father managed to score a contact with one of his friends, eventually setting the two up for a date. Taemin was happy to meet Naeun. And the girl too, could see that he was a kind gentleman, none of those jerk s.

 

“…My father is insistent that we should marry soon.” Taemin says as the car pulls to a stop in front of the red light.

 

Naeun tenses up but feels the warmth of his hand rubbing against her knuckles. “It’s okay. I disagree with him.” He gives her a smile. “It’s only been a month since we started to know each other and my father is just pushing it because he only cares about his business. But we should take all the time we want.”

 

“I don’t want to rush into this…”

 

Taemin nods with agreement. “Me too. It might take us years, but I’ll be ready whenever you are, Naeun.”

 

As the light turns green, Taemin steps onto the accelerator slowly. The car moves forward and something hits them from the side. It happens in a second. The window crashes. The vehicle begins to tumble into the air.

 

The last thing Naeun sees, is darkness.

 

 

 

xxx

 

 

Hayoung’s long awaited party starts with two guests coming in early than the scheduled time. It’s Sooyoung and Yerin. Being her best friends, they crash at the couch and are making themselves at home.

 

Chorong’s already left to meet Eunji at the bar. Naeun’s with Taemin. That leaves Bomi and Namjoo as Hayoung’s slave helpers for today—they call it charity work.

 

One by one, more guests start coming in.

 

It’s all of Hayoung’s 96-liner batch which isn’t a surprise but the problem is, Bomi and Namjoo have no idea who they are and suddenly become awkward around them. They are somewhat getting a taste of what Hayoung feels whenever they hold parties with strangers she doesn’t know.

 

There’s Sejun, Kun, Doyoung and Jaehwan who are hogging the old Playstation console. Chanmi Soobin, Yeonwoo, Handong and Jennie are scattered around the living area, chatting away with beer in their hands.

 

Namjoo teaches the girls how to play poker. Bomi beats all the boys in Mario Kart. Hayoung laughs as she’s sitting at the counters with Sooyoung and Yerin, watching everything unfold.

 

Two hours in and everyone gathers to play a roulette game, they each get a present from someone in the circle. Some of the presents are lame, some are pretty expensive. The fun dies down as Hayoung suggests they watch a movie.

 

Midway through, the boys are falling asleep. Some of their attention has shifted to their phones. The girls are pulled into the film. Bomi is chilling at the table with Namjoo as they play a random game of cards. Sooyoung and Yerin start whispering to each other.

 

“Where are you guys going?” Hayoung asks as her friends start heading to the door. They simply give her a smug look as they bring in someone. Someone whom the party planner herself did not invite.

 

Hayoung gasps as she stands at the doorway stunned. She stays still as Chungha walks into the house, bringing in a bouquet of flowers.

 

“Surprise~” She smiles in as Sooyoung and Yerin give each other a high-five behind Chungha’s back.

 

“I…You said you couldn’t make it…” Hayoung tries to string her words together, eventually finding herself in Chungha’s arms. She can still smell the strong perfume on her girlfriend. “You…you left the party early?”

 

Chungha nods, “It was boring anyway. More worth spending my time at this party, with you.” She looks at Hayoung softly and the latter doesn’t hesitate to peck her cheek.

 

“You’re the best.”

 

Namjoo sees everything from the table. If anything, this is none of her business.  They are cute, for sure. But, there’s just something about that sight which makes her heart sting.

 

“Hey, it’s your turn. Pull a card.” Bomi says, looking at her but noticing that something’s wrong. “Are you…okay?”

 

Namjoo sighs and drops her cards on the table. “Sorry. Let’s play this game another time.” She gets up from her seat, walks past Chungha, Hayoung, and into her room. She closes the door and her roommate never notices it, because she’s so occupied with her girlfriend.

 

Bomi stares at the door with worry, hoping that Namjoo’s alright. She gives a glance back at the living area, everyone’s happy with Chungha’s presence. In fact, it’s gotten a lot noisier now. Sooyoung and Yerin are teasing Hayoung. Jennie starts talking to Chungha. The boys are awake.

 

“Namjoo, don’t tell me you…” Bomi stops herself and decides to keep all the cards.

 

She doesn’t want to think. Thinking makes her assume a lot of things and its bad. She decides to stand up but her elbow accidentally knocks over a glass. It shatters loudly.

 

“Crap.” Everyone looks up. “Don’t worry. It’s nothing. Just a broken glass. Keep doing whatever you were doing~!” Bomi smiles awkwardly and waves her hand about.

 

She bends down to pick up the pieces. Strangely, she doesn’t know why she has a bad feeling about this.

 

Inside her room, Namjoo doesn’t do anything. She’s just sitting there, curled up into a ball on her bed, head buried between her knees. She doesn’t know why.

 

Christmas is supposed to be a fun day. But today, Christmas just seems like a day that she wishes it would disappear.

 

“What’s wrong with me?” Namjoo sighs as a tear rolls down her cheek. “There’s nothing wrong with Hayoung kissing Chungha. So, why am I feeling this way?”

 

 

 

xxx

 

 

 

Chorong shows up at the bar a little early, as expected.

 

She knows Eunji has a habit of spending longer hours at the gym and sometimes, chatting with her instructor. The girl orders a gin and tonic, fiddles with her phone while waiting for her arrival. There’s a crowd of adult men at the other side, pretty loud and clearly drunk at this hour. One of them bumps into Chorong’s shoulder. She tenses up but quickly forgives them, not wanting to cause any trouble.

 

She watches quietly as two of them stumble out the entrance, another three starts asking the bartender for another refill. A quick glance at the clock and it touches seven. Chorong shifts nervously in her seat as she texts Eunji, “Where are you?”

 

She sighs, staring at the tick not turning blue. Then, Chorong looks up and she hopes that she saw it wrongly. But across the bar, there’s a man looking at her. No—this can’t be real. She wonders if the gin and tonic hit her hard. The thing is, she’s wrong. He’s right there, smiling with that same creepy grin. It makes her stomach drop.

 

Chorong makes a run for it, grabbing onto the door. But she can feel the way how he’s sliding up behind her, his very smell making her remember all of those nightmares. She knows she should push him off and shout for help, but its as if he casted a spell on her. She can’t move.

 

“Just get the car, Rong.” Changsub’s voice looms as he easily herds Chorong into the car. She shakes her head and pulls back, “Leave me alone!”

 

“Stop being difficult.” He says and grabs her elbow, moves a bit closer to sniff her neck. Chorong grimaces, hating that she cannot do anything in power. Its as if all of her strength has sapped away.  

 

She manages to stop and stand by the passenger door, refusing to budge. But Changsub forces her and the two stumble out. Chorong lands back at the sidewalk and her eyes catch onto Eunji.

 

Chorong knows that there’s a sudden change in Eunji’s face, an expression of anger, a face of threat. But Changsub grabs onto her wrist tighter, enough to give her a red mark for the whole night.

 

“Let go.” Eunji approaches the two, eyes fleeting between Chorong and this man, whom she knows is the reason for giving this fear in her roommate’s eyes.

 

Chorong realises that Eunji doesn’t know who he is and she hates seeing this look on her. She doesn’t want this to turn ugly. But knowing Eunji, this won’t end well.

 

“Then, get her.” Changsub smirks and pushes Chorong towards Eunji. The latter catches her firmly and watches as the man escapes into car, driving off.

 

“Are you okay?”

 

“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just…”

 

Eunji notices Chorong is shaking—shivering in fear. Her face has gone pale. It’d be best to head home, rather than continuing their date. “No. You’re not fine.”

 

“No. We can still go on our date.” Chorong insists. Eunji sighs but turns her frown into a smile. “Alright. Let’s pretend none of that happened, okay?”

 

“Yeah…” Chorong nods as Eunji decides to walk back to her car parked at the other end of the sidewalk. She says she’s got something that will make her feel better.

 

Eunji opens up the door and takes out a bouquet of flowers. She whistles over to get Chorong’s attention and waves it over. It makes Chorong smile and Eunji blows a kiss.

 

And that’s when the car comes out of nowhere. Everything happens so quickly. Eunji gets knocked over, her body tosses across the air and lands on the road. The car window rolls down and it’s Changsub, giving Chorong a smug look.

 

“This is what you get for leaving me, .”

 

The car drives off and Chorong screams. She runs to Eunji, rests her head on her lap as she’s sobbing. The sight of Eunji’s blood-stained shirt. The fresh wounds on her body. Her voice shakes when she calls for 911.

 

When the ambulance arrives, the driver asks if Chorong would want to come along. But Chorong still feels the looks of Changsub peeling her down, the pain of his grip along his wrist and the horrific sight of Eunji tumbling over the car. She folds her shoulders and shakes her head.

 

She waits until she no longer sees the vehicle in sight, and stays there frozen. It takes her awhile to process everything. And then she decides. She’s going to run away. Far.

 

On the day of Christmas, the first snow fell.

 

As white painted the streets, as children cheered at the sight, Christmas spoke differently to other people, especially to those at the house.

 

On the day of Christmas, Namjoo cried.

 

On the day of Christmas, Bomi recieves a phone call from an unknown number.

 

On the day of Christmas, Eunji sees Chorong for the last time.

 

 

--

 

---

A/N: tbh i was planning to release this on Christmas but that's just too cruel hhh some of you noticed the signs in the earlier chapters, about how it was a LOT of "fluff"...well, you guys were right. :D

Changsub is revealed to be Chorong's abusive ex - Eunji has no idea but she gets knocked over by his car... this as*hole, Naeun and Taemin too, get into a car accident.... well and Namjoo...this poor girl is literally suffering from a broken heart T_T *sobs*

 

hope y'all won't kill me heh :P