One by one the snowflakes fell, covering the ground with a fluffy, white carpet. 

 

Kids were running around outside, playing in the first snow of the winter.

 

Birds had left the country, searching for warmer places. 

 

The leaves had fell from all trees leaving them .

 

One by one the tears fell. They covered the cheeks of a young man. He was sitting on a bench staring at the snow, the laughing kids and the trees.

 

Christmas was just around the corner. Kids were happy, parents were happy, animals were happy, even the damn bench he was sitting on was happy.

 

So why could he not be that too?

 

He grimaced as he remembered the reason for his tears. The reason why he was sitting on a bench in a park alone.

 

Of course he should have seen it coming. Of course he knew they would never be forever. Of course he knew Myungsoo deserved so much better than him.

 

But the pain was still there, nagging at him like an old lady, gnawing at his heart like a stubborn dog.

 

A sigh escaped his lips.

 

He never knew how big part Myungsoo was of his life. He never noticed how much time they had spent together.

 

So now, when Myungsoo was not by his side, Sunggyu felt utterly alone.

 

Who should he talk to? Who was he supposed to laugh with?

 

When Sunggyu and Myungsoo had been together, he had not noticed how he had pushed his friends away, but it seemed like they were nowhere to find.

 

Would they even want to talk to him again?

 

One thought was replaced by another, and, in the end, Sunggyu was not able to control his tears anymore. Again.

 

He had thought he could stop his tears by going outside. He thought he could think of something else; get distracted.

 

Instead it had reduced him to an even larger amount of tears.

 

"Hey! Kim Sunggyu! Is that you?" a voice said.

 

Shocked that someone knew his name, Sunggyu looked up.

 

Further away he could see a recognizable figure walking towards him, waving like an idiot with a big smile on the face.

 

Sunggyu knew he and Woohyun had known each other for a very long time, but, at that moment, Woohyun was like a blessing.

 

Sunggyu quickly dried away his tears, before he stood, walking towards him. Unknowingly a smile had found its way to his face.

 

How long had it been since he had seen Woohyun? How long time had it been since they had a decent talk?

 

No matter what, Sunggyu was happy Woohyun came at that moment.

 

"Hi, Nam Woohyun," Sunggyu said, when they were standing in front of each other.

 

Woohyun felt happy to finally see his friend again. It had been way too long time since they last had had a games-and-food-day.

 

But though they had not seen each other for a long time, Woohyun could still easily tell that something was wrong.

 

Sunggyu's eyes were puffy, his smile seemed duller than usual, and almost invisible trails left from tears were still slightly visible on his cheeks.

 

"It has been such a long time since I have seen you! How are you doing?" Sunggyu asked, feeling exposed beneath Woohyun's stare.

 

"I am fine, but I have missed you. What about you? Did anything happen?" Woohyun said, wanting to know what could have taken away some of Sunggyu's happiness.

 

Fidgeting with the hem of his jacket, Sunggyu avoided eye contact with Woohyun.

 

"Not really anything. Do you want to go grab a cup of coffee?" Sunggyu asked. He braced himself before he finally looked Woohyun in the eyes, placing a smile on his face.

 

Woohyun's heart broke at the sight of the fake, bitter smile unfolding on Sunggyu's lips.

 

But, instead of asking, Woohyun gave him his typical eye-smile.

 

"Sure, let's go."

 

...

 

The coffee shop was almost empty when they arrived. The lovely smell of coffee filled the air.

 

"You can go and find a place to sit, I will order," Woohyun said, still remembering how Sunggyu wanted his coffee.

 

Nodding, Sunggyu walked to the back of the coffee shop, and sat down by the window. The streets were almost empty, but he could still see footprints in the snow from people whom had walked there earlier.

 

They had all passed by. Maybe they had been shopping for Christmas presents, maybe they had just wanted to take a walk in the beautiful snow.

 

What would he had given Myungsoo at Christmas, which was just around the corner?

 

What would Myungsoo had given him?

 

The screeching of a chair brought Sunggyu back to the present. Woohyun had sat down in the chair before him, placing a big mug in front of him.

 

"Here you go, grandpa," Woohyun said, smiling mischievously at Sunggyu.

 

"Hey, you watch it, Namu," Sunggyu said, taking a sip of his coffee. The warmth melted away all the ice in his body, leaving a satisfied smile on his face.

 

It felt like the old times when they would go to the exact same coffee shop at least once a week; all of them together.

 

Woohyun would be sitting where he sat at the moment, joking with everybody.

 

Sungjong would be sitting on Woohyun's right side, sassing about his hair, the weather or some clothes he could not afford.

 

Howon would sit on the left side of Woohyun, throwing in sarcastic remarks whenever it seemed fit, Dongwoo sitting right beside Howon laughing idiotically at everything.

 

Sungyeol would be sitting on Sunggyu's left, with at least 3 cups of coffee in front of him.

 

And on Sunggyu's right, Myungsoo would sit. They would be holding hands, smiling sweetly at each other every once in a while.

 

The others would make faces and fake puking noises. They would all laugh, hit each other, talk again, and resume it all over again.

 

Though Sunggyu and Woohyun were sitting across each other, just like before, Sunggyu had no idea where the others were.

 

Were they alright? Had they gotten any boyfriends or girlfriends? Were they still living where they always had?

 

Sunggyu almost sighed, but kept it inside, when he remembered he was not alone.

 

"So, do you know anything about the others? Are they alright?" Sunggyu asked Woohyun, whom was looking outside the window.

 

Woohyun blinked, zoning back to reality. Sunggyu almost laughed at the look of stupidity painted all over his face, but he held it in, enjoying the sight just a little while longer.

 

"The others? Yeah, they are doing fine. If I remember correctly Sungyeol got his own coffee shop, Sungjong started working with some fashion thing, and Dongwoo and Howon started their own dance team, and Myungsoo is, well, you should know that yourself, right?" Woohyun said, smirking.

 

Woohyun had expected a reaction, sure, but the reaction he got scared him.

 

The tears which found their way to Sunggyu's eyes, the trembling of his lips and the look of despair in the aura around him.

 

"What-" Woohyun started, but got interrupted.

 

"Sunggyu and Woohyun? Is that really you? I did not know you still came here," Dongwoo said loudly, followed by an embarrassed Howon.

 

Woohyun was quick to see the change in Sunggyu's face. He lightened up, but he could not tell whether it was real or not.

 

"Dongwoo and Howon! Wow, it sure has been a long time since we last saw each other," Sunggyu said, standing up.

 

"Hey, did you lose weight? Where is all the chubbiness in your cheeks?" Dongwoo said, as soon as he was standing in front of Sunggyu.

 

Sunggyu pouted, making Dongwoo laugh, before they hugged each other. Howon and Sunggyu simply looked each other in the eyes, before they hugged.

 

Sitting down again, they all smiled at each other. Silence fell upon them like a warm, cozy blanket.

 

"So, how are you guys doing? Did anything new happen?" Sunggyu asked, not only curious about his friends, but also happy that he could change the topic.

 

"Well, uhm, we live together now. You do remember how you always wanted us to be together? Well, uhm, uhhh, we are now," Howon said, awkwardly.

 

A big smile broke out on Sunggyu's face.

 

"I knew it! You two were destined to be together! Oh my god, how long have you been together? Are you able to cook healthy food? Is your house clean?" Sunggyu asked, honestly happy for his friends.

 

They had been through so much and deserved to be together. Sunggyu only wished he could have been there to see their love blossom until they finally got together.

 

He would have loved to talk to Dongwoo overnight about how sweet Howon was, or talk with Howon about how dorky Dongwoo could be.

 

"Hey, grandpa, we are not kids anymore! Do not worry; everything is fine. And we have been together for 4 months already," Howon said, looking at Dongwoo with that lovey dovey look only lovers can give each other.

 

Sunggyu aww'ed, while Woohyun made fake puking noises, earning a slap in the back of his head from Sunggyu.

 

"Stop it, tree, you should not get started with that. You are the worst among us, when it comes to being puking-sweet," Sunggyu said,  narrowing his eyes.

 

"And you, grandpa, is the one among us with the smallest eyes. Are your eyes even open right now, or did you use this as a chance to close them without anybody knowing it?" Woohyun replied sneakily.

 

"Really; are you still this childish? I had expected more from both of you; do you never grow up?" a sassy voice said.

 

"Ya! Lee Sungjong!" the four Hyungs choired.

 

"Yes, that is me, there is no need to use my name up. By the way, you spit when you yell, Dongwoo," Sungjong said, correcting his black, styled hair.

 

"Aish, you are only getting cheekier and cheekier. Now sit down and tell me how you are doing," Sunggyu said. Sungjong sat down elegantly and crossed his legs.

 

"Right now I am studying fashion, and I have helped creating different photo shoots here and there," Sungjong said, smiling.

 

"Of course, fashion... what else could be expected from our very own diva?" Woohyun mumbled.

 

"What did you say?" Sungjong said, giving Woohyun a killer look, the perfectly set eyeliner framing them.

 

"Nothing; what should I have said?" Woohyun said, innocently.

 

"This is exactly why you are still single," Sungjong said, making Woohyun make a fake gasp, clutching his chest like he was in pain.

 

"Oh no, single, what an awful adjective to use on me, it hurts so much," Woohyun said.

 

"Remind me again why I sat down at this table," Sungjong said, making a disgusted face, like Woohyun's childishness was a disease.

 

"Because you missed us!" Dongwoo said, smiling widely. Sungjong simply sighed, but smiled nonetheless, before he looked at Sunggyu.

 

"So, how about you? How are you doing? It seems like you lost some weight since I last saw you," Sungjong said, making everybody focus on Sunggyu.

 

"I am fine, and it was only a good thing for me to lose some weight; my cheeks could have been used as dumbbells," Sunggyu joked, trying to lighten up the mood.

 

"Idiot, those cheeks were so cute. I bet Myungsoo loves them too. And not only the cheeks on your fac- oh, speaking about the sun; there he is! And Sungyeol is with him," Sungjong said, standing up.

 

"Sungyeol, Myungsoo, come here," he said, waving them over. Sunggyu fixated his glance onto the table. He did not want to raise it, only to see them holding hands.

 

He did not want to look up and see how happy Myungsoo was without him, not when he was still suffering.

 

He knew, however, that he had to. Therefore he tore his eyes off the table's surface, and looked up. Woohyun, Howon and Dongwoo looked at him worriedly, while Sungjong still had not seen how the atmosphere had changed.

 

They all turned their heads, though, when Myungsoo was standing in front of their table, holding hands with an awkward Sungyeol.

 

The sight of their entwined hands was enough to leave Sunggyu breathless. It felt like somebody ripped his lungs out, tore his heart apart and cleaned his insides with disinfectants.

 

It felt like he got hit by a truck, like every bone in his body got broken, and somebody ripped his eyes out.

 

But then he looked at Myungsoo and saw the smile on his face. He saw how Myungsoo looked at Sungyeol before he looked at him. The difference was heartbreaking, yet it made his heart flutter. He knew how Sungyeol must feel beneath that stare. 

 

"Hi Sunggyu, it has been a while, huh?" Myungsoo said, squeezing Sungyeol's hand.

 

It was in that moment the others understood the situation. Silence fell upon them, as they all looked at Sunggyu.

 

And that was all it took for Sunggyu to forgive him. That short moment of silence, where he saw the happiness written all over Myungsoo's face, the love beaming around him like a second layer of skin.

 

It all brought a smile to his face.

 

Myungsoo could tell, though no words were spoken, the forgiveness was overflowing from Sunggyu's smile. Forgiveness, forgiveness was what Sunggyu had given Myungsoo.

 

And therefore Myungsoo gave him back a present too.

 

His heart and the will to move on.

 

And, perhaps, Woohyun a chance at love.

---

StarlightSpirit: There I was expecting a cutesy Myunggyu and then this happened! I actually really like what you did with this though and I love the hints of OT7, Yadong, Woogyu and Myungyeol here! Great work! :3