I have been getting pretty suspicious of my boyfriend. No, wait – that’s not exactly how I wanted to start off this chapter…

So, I’ve just finished my exams and am now free for my Christmas break. I was pretty confident with my exams and have been trying to look for a certain golden brown haired boy for the past 30 minutes.

“He better be here.” I grumbled under my breath, considering that this must’ve been my 3rd time checking out his room. I glared at his door for a second before lifting up my hand and rapping it against his door.

There was no response.

I frowned. Where did he go? Why isn’t he running towards me with wide eyes and flushed cheeks? I sure thought of that right after I finished my last exams.

I turned around and lo and behold, Chanyeol was by the stairs and immediately hid something behind his back, grinning from ear to ear the moment our eyes met.

Suspicious.

“Chanyeol!” I called out, smiling brightly at him and extending out my hands – as if to trick him to run towards me and give me a hug.

He looked confused before he shook his head for a second and walked towards me, hands still behind his back. Huh, he wasn’t falling for it.

“Hi, hyung!” He greeted, “Congratulations on finishing your exams! You’re finally free!”

“Thanks,” I shrugged, dropping my ignored arms when he was close enough. “Where have you been? I’ve been looking all over for you.”

“S-Sorry.” He mumbled, eyes darting to his door.

“What’s that behind your back?” I nodded my head towards it and he flinched. “What are you hiding, Chanyeol?”

“N-Nothing!” He squeaked.

“Oh?” I raised an eyebrow with a smirk, “Then, come and give me a hug.”

“E-Er…” He bit his bottom lip before he grinned. “Look at the time, hyung! I have to go and feed Peanut and Butter! S’cuse me!” He said, sliding to the side to head for his door, facing me.

“…” I narrowed my eyes at him and before he got a chance to head for his door, I blocked his way with an arm and cornered him.

He tensed and squeaked in shock. “Hyung!”

“…” I smirked, looking straight at his eyes and taking note of his sweating, “What’s wrong, Chanyeol?”

“Nothing, h-hyung…” He shook his head in a second and nervously pursed his lips. His eyes glanced to the side at the direction of my arm and laughed nervously, “Wh-What makes you think I-I’m hiding something…?”

“Are you seriously asking me that?” I chuckled, “Well, shall I enumerate the suspicious things you’ve been doing the whole exam week?”

“H-Huh?” His doe-like eyes looked back at me with curiosity and nervousness mixed in one.

“For starters, you have been skipping some classes lately, you pop up in the most unusual places and your room is starting to smell like…” I looked aside, eyes gleaming with wonder at how to describe it. “…an arts and crafts store.”

He laughed nervously, “W-Well, you see that’s just--”

“Also, you’ve been hiding plenty of things from me every time we happen to see each other, which is by the way your excuse every time we do see each other.”

“Er…” He gulped and looked down at his feet.

“Chanyeol,” I glowered at him. “You’re not doing something dangerous are you?”

He shot his head up, eyes wide. “Wh-Why are you thinking of something like that?!”

“Well, it’s bad enough that your room smells like my grandma’s room but lately… you’ve been acting… suspiciously.” I suggested, leaning towards him and pressing my forehead against his. “Isn’t it normal for a boyfriend to think of something like that?”

“No!” He said exasperatingly.

“Well, I guess I’m not normal to begin with.” I chuckled, pressing a kiss on his nose. “So, tell me Chanyeol. What are you doing?”

“…” He blushed, pursing his lips and eyes shining excitedly at me. He was this close into telling me what was going on but he regained his senses in an instant and shook his head. “N-No, hyung! You’ve got nothing to worry about, okay? I’m not doing anything dangerous! S-So…!” He nudged my arm and made his way out, sliding his back against the wall to hide whatever he was hiding until he reached his door and sneaked himself in before I could stop him.

I sighed in defeat when the door was shut closed and frowned when I couldn’t get him to spill the beans. I hate it when he’s always throwing something that catches me off-guard… I hate it that he’s always surprising me… which is one of the reasons why I love him in the first place.

Because he’s… different?

Well, he’s a guy for starters, that’s already different in a whole insane level. But not being able to figure out what he’s thinking (or doing) can be pretty scary. Because Chanyeol is like a walking mass of clumsy disasters waiting to happen.

I stared at his door worriedly. I hope he’s all right. He called his pets by their real names which is something that screams alarm bells for me already.

How can I get him to tell me what he’s doing? Should I threaten him with his pictures? Nah, that’s just mean… Well… when have I never been mean?

Just then, I remembered that I have to get Chanyeol something for Christmas. What would a giraffe want for Christmas? More lettuce?

I chuckled at the idea of giving him a bowl of lettuce on that snowy day but I had to trash it. That’s just downright weird and being weird is Chanyeol not me.

I turned around, taking one last glance at the shut door before making my way out the dormitories to head on to the mall for some Christmas shopping. I have to plan this right because it’ll be our first Christmas together. Well, we’ve spent plenty of Christmas days when we were younger and with our respective families barging into the others’ house, but this’ll be the first Christmas for us as a couple. The word sent tingles down my neck that I thought would never happen.

“And we’ll be spending it together with our parents… right?” I hummed, remembering my dad’s invitation a few days back. I wonder how they’ll see us. Would they notice the closeness that has grown between us? The thought made me smile awkwardly and it sure didn’t go unnoticed by some store clerks who worriedly looked over at me smiling by myself while holding cashmere socks.

I hurriedly threw the pair down and pretended that I hadn’t done anything out of the ordinary. Besides, socks for Chanyeol? That’s a pretty lame gift. I exited the nth store of the mall and groaned. I hate shopping. Shopping for your beloved is probably the hardest because it’s got to be perfect.

I pursed my lips. Could that be what Chanyeol is doing right now? Figuring out a way on what to give me for Christmas? Nah, Chanyeol is Chanyeol and that guy rarely gets flustered over things like this. Besides, I’d be happy if he’d just strip, wrap himself with a ribbon and throw himself to my arms.

I covered my mouth as I hid a mischievous smile. That could totally work.

It was then that I spotted a store that screamed of expensive and wallet-burning prices and products. I shrugged, not really bothering to ignore it since I had already gone into almost all the stores of this mall just to find the giraffe a present.

I was greeted with platinum and gold jewellery when I st