—chapter i
“ a  d e c e m b e r  m a d n e s s . ”

It was a relatively normal day for those who spent their weekends with friends and family. A relatively normal moment for those who chose studying for the finals instead of a day in the arcade. It was relatively normal... almost. It was another day for him—another day of trying to live the same life. It was almost just another day. 

"C'mon, La Ni, we need to go to school!" He called, fixing the end of his shoe. A squeal and a bunch of crashing made its way to his ears, lifting a small smile to his face. He sighed happily and put his slippers inside the cubby hole. 

"Uh, um, I'll be there, oppa!" She squeaked, feeling a tad bit nervous and panicked. It was supposed to be her golden day, the day she will start at her new school as a pre-schooler! But things are not turning out so great. First, her hair got frizzy that took a long time fixing with the help of her brother. Second, her uniform wasn't ironed yet, but her brother took care of that. And now, this! She was looking for her favorite book and tripped in the process. 

"La Ni? Why is your room..." Jongin paused, seeing the tears bordering his sister's eyes. Smiling with a sigh, he knelt down and cupped her face in his hands. Her sister was just so damn adorable. 

"Oppa," she hiccuped, "Everything's so... everything's going awful!" Jongin chuckled and settled her hand on the top of her head.

"La Ni, don't cry," he coaxed gently, "Okaa-san is looking down at us and she will be very sad that her beautiful La Ni is crying." La Ni sniffed, looking up at her brother with a hopeful stare.

"Mama?" Jongin smiled widely. "You think Mama thinks I'm pretty?"

"Of course. After all, you're Mama's girl." La Ni smiled and clapped. La Ni didn't know her mother, but her brother made her sound like she's the most beautiful, most kind and most intelligent woman he's ever known. "Now, go get your bag. I think I saw your favorite book downstairs." La Ni squealed and dashed down, grabbing her bag. 

"Oi, Kai! I found your sister!" He twitched. He walked down with a grimace and scooped his sister up. He will never forget that voice... Even if he's in a large crowd, that voice will make him twitch and run. That one annoying voice that he grew up with is curs—

"Oi, Kai! We'll be late!" —ing him forever. That person, Sunohara Youhei. "C'mon, we got five minutes!" Why does he need to shout every single sentence? With an exasperated sigh and a growing migraine, he trudged down the stairs and slammed the door open.

"Ow!" Jongin paused, letting the door slide close. La Ni giggled, seeing the flat and bruised face of her brother's friend. Almost inhumanely, he jumped back up and smiled brightly, sending Jongin a look of pure brightness. Are those—Are those sparkles!? He leaned back with an odd look, clutching her sister away from Youhei. "Oh! What a beautiful morning~!"

"What the hell, Youhei?" I actually understood his English. He grimaced at the latter thought and started walking. "On second thought, please don't follow me." Youhei screamed in protest yet followed after him. Youhei was inwardly fuming about how he should be grateful that his lively presence can brighten up his very dull day. What a very ungrateful person!

Jongin dropped her sister off to school while tuning Youhei out. Sometimes, he was grateful that Youhei could fill the silence when he hates it and at times when he needed to stir away troubling girls. Still, under normal circumstances, he hates his very... obnoxious voice. He shoved his hands in his pocket and sighed, happy to arrive at school early.

"Hey, are you even listening to me?" Youhei called.

"Barely." Youhei pursed his lips and held his shaking fist. I swear, Kai, one day... Jongin slid in to the classroom coolly and made no response to whoever greeted him. He dropped off his bag on his desk and glanced at the window beside him. He glanced back when he heard a lot of shuffling, only to see a messy bunch of hair and a rather formless on his face.

"Houtaru," he drawled out. A boy with curly hair and emerald eyes came to face with Jongin. He wasn't particularly short nor was he tall, he had a lazy gaze and a very non-committal aura. His hand found his chin as he waited.

"Good morning Kai," he simply stated. Jongin nodded and went back to his leisure time with the backyard of the school.

"Ah! Good morning Kai-kun!" He sighed. "Kai-kun, how are you this morning." He shrugged. 

"Ah~ Ae-Chan! You look lovely today," Youhei greased, launching himself at her. Youhei cried out and fell back, a seemingly invisible force hitting him.

"You idiot! Don't touch Ae-Chan with your erted hands." Houtaru watched everything with mild interest, turning to Jongin to sigh. It was like this every single morning, they fight, they stay friends, they sit and then they argue again. It was weird to be involved with every single person there.

"Kai," he called, "Mavis is here." Jongin turned and grunted. A girl bounded over to him and smiled, eyes curving into a perfect half-moon.

"Kai-kun, would you like to go to my house? Grandpa is holding a celebration this Friday for Christmas." Jongin looked up and noticed a nice single dot in the side of her eye. Jongin nodded, turning his head back more to the window. It was peaceful—

"Kai-kun! O-ha-yo~"—so very peaceful. "How are you? Was the weekend good? I missed you. Did you get our one week anniversary gift? It was..." And she was gone. Everyone keeps on talking. He mentally sighed. The bell rung, that he was grateful of. The incessant talking of Mavis ceased as she bounced to her seat, her blonde hair flying behind her. Ae Cha glanced at him, only to see that he was patting his pockets. She smiled with amusement and offered him a hand. Jongin stared for a moment before nodding and taking her pen.

"Thanks," he muttered. Ae Cha smiled with satisfaction and turned towards the board. A pair of eyes regarded them with interest and caution, seemingly cold and out of their mind.

"Is this the place?" Himura murmured, pursing her lips. "God, I would like to burn this place down and leave my memories down with them." She glanced around.

"Well, beggars can't be choosers, so," she heaved a heavy breath," Let's rock this, es."