Winter holidays had commenced at KNUA but by no means did that mean that Sehun and Hayoon were any less busy. In fact, with the Christmas special Music Bank episode and end of year ceremonies coming up, their schedule  at KBS became even more hectic.

Hayoon stood behind the stage, watching fans streaming into the recording studio, holding banners and cheering excitedly for their idols. From the corner of her eyes, she caught sight of Sehun sneaking Baekhyun and Wendy in, handing them backstage passes that Hayoon did not dare ask where he got them from.

“Oh god this is amazing,” Wendy squealed, shaking Baekhyun’s arm with excitement. “I can’t believe I’m here. I’ll get to see so many idols up close!”

“None of them are half as talented as me at singing,” Baekhyung huffed, a tone of childish jealousy lacing his voice.

“Please behave yourselves,” Sehun chided. “If you’re caught, I’m dead.”

“Then you shouldn’t have let them in,” Hayoon signed, giving the tall male a long blank stare.

“Don't worry Sunshine,” Baekhyun reassured the girl. “We’ll be on our best behaviour.”

Hooking his arm with Wendy’s, Baekhyun bounced off, ready to explore every hidden nook of the place and claim a prime seat to watch the Christmas special performances. Hayoon simply shook her head, praying to god that the overexcited male would not accidentally enter a female idol’s waiting room and make a ruckus.

“Should we warn Soojung that Baek’s slithering around?” Sehun mused, cracking his neck to release some tension.

Hearing someone call her, the girl just shrugged her shoulders and shuffled her way into the section where the MC interviewed idols before their performance. As the MC, Soojung was in there, already set with the mic while her stylist did finishing touches on her make up. Standing next to her was a male idol that Hayoon recognised from the music video Soojung had starred in. They were talking rather animatedly, an air of affection and playfulness buzzing between them. Hayoon bit back a smile, only hoping that no distasteful paparazzi would get wind of the intimacy between the two celebrities.

“5 minutes until we start recording!”

Snapping back to her assigned task, Hayoon hurried away from the cameras, returning to her usual seat in the production control room, readying herself for another long day of staring endlessly at screens and the blur of flashy and colourful outfits dancing across the stage.

・・・

“Byun Baekhyun, what on earth are you doing in here?” Soojung’s shocked voice echoed along the halls as she caught the said male waltzing down the empty corridors.

“I had to use the toilet…?” Showing an awkward toothy smile, Baekhyun scratched the back of his neck, unprepared for the sudden encounter.

“You know what I mean—” Squinting her eyes in realisation, Soojung rolled her eyes. “Must have been Sehun.”

“It could have been Sunshine,” Baekhyun mumbled as he kicked an invisible pebble on the ground.

“Don’t even try. No way could it have been Hayoon. I know her.”

At the last comment, Baekhyun’s eyes drifted towards the girl, a strain of conflict and hesitation visibly reflecting in his pupils. Chewing on the inside of his cheeks, he stepped closer towards Soojung, closing the distance between them until Soojung was within arm’s reach.

“How can you be so certain of that?”

There was no edge in his tone; on the contrary it was simply flat. Coming from Baekhyun however, it was enough to shock Soojung. After all, Hayoon was the one that always kept to herself, contained her emotions, flattened her tone until one had to dig through heaven and he