Kyungsoo, Chanyeol and Sehun exited the lift and mumbled a tired goodbye to each other as they each entered their respective flats. Before any of them could even take off their shoes however, Chanyeol’s loud voice resonated through the entire building, scaring the living daylight out of anyone residing on their floor.

“What on earth is that?!?”

The two neighbours rushed towards flat 31, fearing that something may have happened. In their hurry, Kyungsoo and Sehun failed to see each other and both ended up bumping into each other before tripping on their own feet, crashing into Chanyeol who was frozen by the entry of his flat. Ultimately the three males fell onto the ground, their limbs all tangled together.

Chanyeol still had a finger pointing towards the living room, thus Sehun’s eyes followed the direction in which he was holding and gaped at the sight. In the middle of the living room was Jiwoo, rolled up under a blanket attached to a coffee table. A wire could be seen trailing from under the table and plugged into a socket on the wall.

“It’s the love of my life,” Jiwoo cooed, rubbing her face into the fluffy blanket.

“It’s a kotatsu,” Kyungsoo noted. “A low wooden table covered with futon and has heating under it.”

“A kotatsu,” Sehun echoed. “And the love of her life.”

“This is not the time to worry about your competition!” Chanyeol hissed at Sehun under his breath, leaving him very flustered.

Kyungsoo sniggered loudly while pushing himself out of the human pile and offered Sehun a helping hand. Once Chanyeol untangled himself and was standing straight again, he turned his attention back towards Jiwoo, fume rising from his ears.

“That thing occupies too much space, get rid of it!”

The target of the frustration however was too immersed in the warmth offered by her new treasure and refused to let her older brother’s ruin her good mood. Chanyeol sought help from Kyungsoo, however when he turned around look at the male, he saw empty space instead. Snapping his head towards the living room again, he was horrified to find Kyungsoo literally melting into the kotatsu.

“This is genius,” Kyungsoo sighed in content, earning a nod of agreement from Jiwoo.

Chanyeol locked his gaze onto Sehun, his eyes pleading for the younger male to not betray him as well. Sehun looked back and forth between Jiwoo and Chanyeol before shrugging his shoulders helplessly at the older Park sibling and wordlessly slipped under the kotatsu, joining the other two in the newfound heaven.

“Damn this is just what I needed,” Sehun hummed in delight. “Perfect for the cold winter weather.”

With her face planted onto the table top, Jiwoo turned to face Sehun and gave him a toothy smile. Sehun instinctively returned the smile, his eyes crinkling into the shape of crescent moons. Sitting across from them, Kyungsoo witnessed their exchanged with a flat stare, suddenly feeling like a third wheel.

“Seriously guys?” Chanyeol whined.

“Shoo! We don’t need your negative energy!” Jiwoo hollered at her older brother. “The kotatsu is a sacred space. You’re bringing bad vibes.”

Letting out a low gnarl, Chanyeol dragged his feet towards his bedroom, slamming the door behind him. The kotatsu trio exchanged a glance, but did nothing to call after the older Park.

・・・

Once Chanyeol came out hours later because he was feeling hungry, he raised an eyebrow at the sight greeting him. Kyungsoo was lying on the ground while reading a book, his lower body covered by the blanket of the kotatsu. Jiwoo and Sehun meanwhile were engaged in an intense thumb war game, though it was clear who was winning from the frown etched on Jiwoo’s face and the contrasting expression of nonchalance on Sehun.

Chanyeol shuffled wordlessly towards the kitchen, opening the cabinet in search for ramyun.

“Make enough for all of us,” Kyungsoo ordered from his position on the ground.

“Why should I?” Chanyeol frowned, though he was taking out fours packs of ramyun nonetheless.

“Because you love us,” Sehun and Jiwoo answered in unison before the latter let out a groan of frustration for losing the thumb war yet again.

Soon the smell of ramyun fil