As Jongin woke up, he thought it was just another normal Sunday - that is, until he heard his sister running towards his bedroom. That was when he remembered it was not any Sunday, but the second day of December and that meant another not-so-beautiful-breakfast coming up ahead of him.

The door was kicked open, and, “Jongin! Breakfast is ready,” Sun Hee said as she ran into Jongin’s room, still eager about the whole Christmas thing. She was about to jump onto his bed, but he stopped her.

“Sun Hee... Not so early in the morning,” he grunted as he sat up in his bed. He looked down at his little sister, who was smiling her sweetest smile, and he thought to himself that he didn’t want to disappoint neither his mother nor his sister.

“I’m coming soon,” he finally said and sighed in defeat, slumping down onto the mattress again. His mother had always been true to the Christmas tradition, and traditions were a big part of her life, and all Jongin wanted was for his family to be happy.

(Yeah he cared about them, don’t even think anything else.)

When he was sure that his sister was out of the room (and hopefully long gone to the living room or something), he finally got out of bed.

He shuffled tiredly to his dresser and picked out some random clothes and put them on as fast as only boys can. On his way toward the door he stopped and just stood in the middle of his room, saving up courage to go downstairs.

Then came the hardest part of the day; get the body to move down to eat the infamous family breakfast they had every day in December. Not exactly what Jongin loved the most in his life - rather the complete opposite.

After saving up courage for a while, he finally got his body to move and made his way downstairs. The sight that met him really made chills go down his spine; a Christmas decorated table with a lot of food. Yay.

He took a deep breath in order to calm himself down so that he maybe could survive this breakfast for once.

★

“Oh! Tomorrow I’m going to school, and we are going to sing Christmas songs again, and my best friend will be there too. Can’t it be Monday today?” Sun Hee asked, finally shutting up to stuff more food into her little mouth.

How could someone so small stuff so much food in ?

“I wanna meet her today, but she’s visiting her grandma like she always does the first Sunday in December.” Then the food was swallowed and she continued ranting on and on about her life and how happy she was because Christmas was soon here.

Realising he couldn’t stand listening to her endless blabbering any longer, Jongin shoved the last piece of food in his mouth and left the table, even before he started chewing. He was really not in the mood for that much talking this early in the morning - especially not if it was his sister’s ranting about Christmas.

He practically ran up the stairs, desperate to get out of the house and do something reasonable - like for example the homework he had to get done before tomorrow.

(Not that he usually did any of it until the day before they were supposed to be handed in. He had more, hm, important things to do instead of sitting on his for the whole week doing homework. Time is precious, man.)

Once he got upstairs to his room, he stuffed his books in a backpack, slung it over his shoulder and went down again. His mother shot him a questioning gaze, but he ignored it.

“Where are you going, Jonginnie?” she asked, still seated by the breakfast table.

“Library,” came the short answer. He didn’t even offer them a glance as he passed by. He put on his shoes, grabbed his coat and went outside before they could even think about asking any more questions.

As the cold winter breeze hit his face, he realised just how cold it was, and huddled further into his jacket. He started walking towards the library, hoping Joonmyun would be there to help him if he decided he wanted to do something productive.

When he finally reached the library some time later, he spotted Joonmyun right away - sitting in the same place as always: near the books written in English, by English writers.

Jongin walked over to him, slumping down in the chair opposite of Joonmyun’s.

He muttered a greeting as he picked up his math books and opened them on the page they were working on at the time. Joonmyun lifted his head and looked at his friend, a little surprised seeing him at the library so early in the morning.

“Hi Jongin,” he said and put down the book he was reading. “Are you awake at this time of the day too?” he asked, surprise evident in his voice.

Jongin just sighed, annoyed. “Sun Hee woke me up, forcing me to eat breakfast together with the rest of the family,” he answered, and wrinkled his nose in distaste.  Joonmyun chuckled at that. Same old Jongin.

“Ah, I see. Are you going to do any homework, or am I just seeing things?” Joonmyun then asked and nodded at Jongin’s open math books.

“Nah, not really, but I’m leaving them open in case inspiration hits me,” Jongin answered and looked up at Joonmyun.

At school Joonmyun would usually be the one answering all the questions the teachers asked and showed off that he was a smart kid, but when he wasn’t in class, or at school at all for that matter, he was a nice guy that helped Jongin a lot when he didn’t understand what the book meant.

It could get annoying sometimes, though; Joonmyun was very strict with anything that had to do with school or homework, and he always nagged  to Jongin about school is important, you have to study blah-blah-blah-I’m-not-actually-listening-so-shut-up-yeah?.

It was like having a second father. But, that being said - he was a good father.

Kind of. When he was being nice.

★

As the clock slowly ticked by, somehow (maybe it was magic?), Jongin managed to finish all of his homework for the next day, which was a huge accomplishment, considering he was Jongin, and Jongin didn’t like doing homework. He silently closed his books, and stood up from his chair to stretch his sore muscles.

Despite the fact that he hadn’t actually felt very inspired, Joonmyun had somehow persuaded him into doing a few calculations, which turned into a few more, which turned into all of them. It hadn’t been that bad, actually. It felt rather nice, finally being able to understand something, but he was never going to admit that, because then he would never hear the end of it. Maybe he would be force-fed with math.

Jongin shuddered at the thought, but quickly shook it away.

“Thanks for helping me, Joonmyun. I really appreciate it,” he said as he packed his things and got ready to leave for the cafe, where he preferred to spend his Sundays.

Joonmyun only smiled gently, and shook his head. “It was nothing,” he answered as he patted Jongin’s head. “See you at school tomorrow, yeah?” And with that he returned to his book about coral reefs that was written in English. (Uh, yeah, Jongin didn’t know either. Coral reefs?)

Jongin only shook his head at his friend as he slung the backpack over his shoulder. He adjusted the strap, before he nodded, “Yeah, see you,” and walked off.

Exiting the library, he noted that more snow had fallen during the time he had spent inside, and he smiled at himself. He might not like winter and everything that came with it, but snow was bearable enough. It made the world pretty.

As he reached the familiar streets that led to the cafe, he relaxed even more. Finally he could have some free time to himself without a crazy family, and without homework to think about.

Walking down the streets, he noticed all different kinds of people. Some lovebirds here, a little family there, and a few teenage gangs around all the different shops. Inspiration for the column he’s writing (also known as the infamous Thought, Life and Other), was washing over him. The world was such a wonderful place - but that thought didn’t last for too long. Soon, he reached the Christmas-part of town and the urge to get to the cafe grew stronger.

Not long after, Jongin started jogging, and as he reached the cafe, everything in him felt more at ease. His tense body calmed down, his mind was set to other things (like coffee) and he felt free from pressure and stress.

He shook off invisible snow from his shoulder, and walked over to the counter. He knew that at that time of the day, Sehun was on duty and he breathed out a sigh of relief when he saw that it was he who was standing behind the counter, serving people.

Upon noticing Jongin, Sehun only smiled and started making his coffee right away, even if he hadn’t ordered anything.

(Jongin didn’t really have to order, though; the only coffee he liked was cappuccino, and since the two of them are best friends, it was obvious Sehun knew that. It was a basic fact about Jongin; even his neighbours knew this.)

“Running away from home again I see,” Sehun commented as he made Jongin’s coffee.

He sniffed, and nodded. “Yeah,” he answered. The answer was short and didn’t give any explanation to anything, but since it was Sehun he was talking to, he really couldn’t care less. It was his best friend and he knew him better than anyone, including having the ability to see right through him.

Sehun smiled gently at him, understanding exactly what he was dealing with at the moment. He nodded at him, not saying anything else before he finished making the drink.

“Here, take this and relax. You need it.”

He handed the warm cup over to Jongin, and Jongin gladly accepted it. He handed the money over to Sehun, before he went to sit down by the table he liked to call his table.

Getting comfortable in his seat, he looked out the window. The view that met him was wonderful; the sun was shining as brightly as ever and made the snow light up almost as much as the sun itself, and it glittered like diamonds in the sky. It covered every surface; every rooftop and every tiny bit of the ground, making everything seem pure and innocent. Jongin smiled. If only he had had a camera, it would have been a perfect shot.

The atmosphere outside matched the atmosphere inside of the cafe; comfortable and quiet. It helped him relax, so that he could think about other things.

Like his column that was to be finished before Wednesday. Wohoo.

Just as Jongin was about to scribble down his thoughts in his notebook, his phone started ringing. He took it out of his pocket and checked the caller-ID.

“Park Chanyeol, of all people,” he muttered, a bit surprised, to himself before answering the call.

“Hello Jongin!” Chanyeol said in a cheerful voice as soon as Jongin picked up, and he had to smile at that. Chanyeol was always in a good mood; always smiling and being happy. Even if the world was about to go under, he was sure that Chanyeol would be all happy and laughing at all the people running around in panic. It was good to have a friend like that. One who could tell him that everything was ok and make him smile when he was having a hard time.

“Hello Chanyeol,” Jongin finally answered, now in a much better mood than he had been this very morning. It was the kind of effect Chanyeol had on people; he made them relax without even trying.

“Soooooo, when are you going to the gym?” Chanyeol asked. The two of them were on the volleyball team together and as athletes, they had to be fit. That resulted in them going to the gym together every Sunday to exercise on everything that they didn’t train on at the volleyball practices.

Jongin shrugged, before he remembered that Chanyeol couldn’t actually see him through the phone. “I’m not sure yet. Not too late though,” he replied instead and leaned back in the chair, letting out a sigh.

Chanyeol made a humming sound, before he sniffed. “Just text me when you're leaving your house and I’ll meet you there, kayy,” he then said.

They continued talking about everything and nothing for a while. Both boys felt like talking (but when I say both boys, I mean Chanyeol), but after around thirty minutes, Jongin’s phone was getting hot from all the talking

(“Sorry, but I’m so hot that I have to hang up.”

Chanyeol snorted.

“Yeah, yeah, talk to you later, okay? Text me!!”)

they hung up. Their phone calls didn’t usually last that long, but Chanyeol had really much to talk about, and Jongin didn’t want to interrupt him.

★

After sitting in the incredibly comfortable chair at the cafe for a little longer (more like a lot longer), Jongin decided to retreat to his home, seeing as he had to grab his bag with his training gear and whatever before he went to the gym.

He slowly got up from the chair and made his way out the door. The temperature outside had dropped and he shivered, pulling his jacket closer to his body. Even then he was still a bit cold.
Better be fast, he thought to himself.

He picked up his pace and in precisely eleven minutes and twelve seconds (not that he counted??), he reached the front door of his house.

The warmth that hit Jongin when he stepped inside the house was very a welcome change from outside - not to mention the even warmer feeling that hit him as he closed the door behind him.

He kicked off his shoes and went up to his room, not caring about taking the jacket off, just so that he could get warmed up quicker.

Once inside the room, he slumped down on the bed with his backpack still hanging on his shoulders. He stayed there for a few minutes, just listening to the traffic outside with his face buried in the pillow and hands placed alongside the sides of his body.

After some time he started feeling hot (I am hot), before he remembered that he was still wearing his jacket. Slow in his movements, he stood up and put his backpack aside. While walking downstairs, he took off the jacket and put it in its rightful place.

This isn’t working anymore. I need to get out some energy. Time to meet up with Chanyeol at the gym, he thought and went up again to fetch his gym bag.

Entering the kitchen, he saw that his mother was about to start making dinner, but before she could even say hi to her son, Jongin had snatched an apple from the bowl and was long gone.

On his way to the gym, he texted Chanyeol to let him know that he was on his way. He walked slowly (not on purpose, d’uh) while he studied everything around him. He really needed inspiration for the column (and he needed it now, or more like, yesterday), but, he soon realised, there was no point in trying to hard. Instead, he just gave up and continued walking in the direction of the gym.

When he arrived at his destination, Chanyeol was already there, waiting for him.

“I thought you said you had started walking when you texted? Did you get stuck” he said playfully as he walked towards the wardrobe with Jongin, who only huffed, and hit his shoulder lightly.

“Maybe I wanted to be slow today,” he shot back, before he put his bag down on the bench and changed his clothes.

“Slow? More like a turtle! Or snail. Whichever you prefer.”

★

Jongin walked from the training device he was working with, and over to the heavy balls.

“I don’t know if it’s my family or the Christmas celebration itself, but I’m just sick and tired of the whole thing,” he said as he took up one of the balls that wasn’t too heavy, but still not too light either. He then laid down on the ground and lifted himself up so that only his was touching the floor.

“I think it has to be your family, because the holiday is beautiful and fun,” Chanyeol said in return and caught the ball Jongin had thrown at him. Chanyeol had always been one to like happy holidays, and Christmas was not an exception. But, he had always accepted that Jongin didn’t like Christmas, or anything Christmas related, and never bothered to ask about it either.

“I don’t see how Christmas can be so joyful? It’s just a lot of stress and everyone seem to be too nice to each other. Like they are forced to do it for money,” Jongin said as the boys threw the ball between each other.

Jongin sat up with his legs crossed, taking a five minute break. Chanyeol joined him on the floor, sitting right across him.

“Some people have obsessions about Christmas I guess,” Chanyeol said with a chuckle. Jongin went silent at that. It wasn’t impossible though, but it somehow seemed weird - everyone having the same obsessions on that same specific time of the year.

★

Wrapping up for the day, Jongin sighed contently. This day’s training had been harder than the usual, and the only reason for it was because it was December. He had to get out some locked up feelings of frustration, and used every bit of energy that was in his body to get the feelings out. It helped, though, so it was totally worth the ache he now felt in his sore muscles. It was a good kind of ache.

He let the water run down his back, not bothering to move. The hot water helped relieving some of the ache and it left him feeling calm, as if he hadn’t just spent a good two (or was it three?) hours of rough training, but instead spent the day at home watching movies.

After standing there for a while and using up all the warm water, he reluctantly turned off the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist, before he walked out on the benches again. Chanyeol was already there, drying his hair in only his boxers.

Jongin breathed out a puff of air, before he slid down on the bench, closing his eyes. Exhaustion washed over him again, and he felt himself getting droopy. He didn’t want to sleep, though, so instead he occupied himself with drying off himself.

“Did you remember to bring your wallet?” Chanyeol suddenly asked, waking Jongin from his train of thoughts.

He looked up at him and shrugged. “Of course. If I hadn't I wouldn’t have got any food,” he said while drying his hair. “Since you wouldn’t have paid for me anyway,” he added after a few moments of silence.

Chanyeol only laughed at that.

After they were finished at the gym, everything went so fast that he couldn’t make sense of anything that happened the rest of the day. The only thing he could do when he came home was eating something and go straight to bed. Even if the clock on his bedside table only showed 8.30 pm.

★