Chapter 4 | 12-26

Jiyong bended down and lifted the toddler into his arms. The girl squealed in delight and dropped her tiny fluffy toy, wrapping her slender arms around Jiyong' neck instead. Seungri smiled upon seeing this and picked up the favorite toy, ruffling YunSu's hear gently.

"You dropped something, princess." The girl pouted and tightened the grip around Jiyong, laughing loudly when Seungri tickled her – offended by her cold attitude towards him.

The younger man reached for the door knob when another impatient rang of bell could be heard, echoing through the whole condo. YunSu giggled when Jiyong blew hot breath onto her ear playfully to keep her entertained and she slapped his head childishly for bothering her right now.

"Oh, it took yto open the doors. I thought we would freeze to death." A whiny voice and a non-corresponding face appeared in the doors when the grumpy man pulled his lover into the house. Daesung cracked an apologetic smile, but quickly beamed with happiness when he saw the small girl. Jiyong handed her to Daesung gratefully and huffed in annoyance when he ended in a bear hug instead. He hit the man's chest and yelped when the grip around his waist tightened.

"Let me go you idiot. You look like a bear, but there is no reason for you to behave like one."

Seunghyun burst into laughter and ruffled Jiyong' hair like he was a little kid. The tall man shook his head tauntingly and went to greet YunSu who was on her thumb, leaning on Daesung' chest.

"They are cute together. What do you think?" Seungri approached Jiyong and cuddled him to his chest. The toddler yawned and Jiyong sighed. "That she is sleepy."

He moved to get the little baby, but Seungri stopped him with a peck on his cheek. "Let her be. She didn't see them for a long time. She wouldn't fall asleep anyway, being this excited about their arrival."

To Seungri's surprise and not being the one listening to the younger and obeying his commands, Jiyong nodded and followed others to the living room. Sitting there on the sofa reminded Jiyong of their first shared Christmas night and how Jiyong woke up the other day in his bed and Seungri was still downstairs, currently preparing breakfast. It reminded him of every single day when they started dating and decided to live together for a while. What made him even happier was that old habits never die and they still used to watch movies together and fall asleep on the sofa like on the first day of their relationship.

Seunghyun's mind was busy with entertaining the little girl, ignoring the conversation the adults were having, but he quickly gave up his attempts of playing silly games when she curled into a ball in his arms and closed her eyes. She had her small mouth opened and a string of drool was escaping as she snored silently. She reminded him of Jiyong so much. Seunghyun wiped YunSu's mouth and placed a peck on the top of her head, smiling smugly when she squirmed from sleep. Despite Ji, she was way smaller and actually a child – he was allowed to drool all over him.

Daesung looked around the room and smiled faintly when he spotted the frames with photos. There were some new and also old photos on the shelf. He could remember each of them being taken. There was one from the celebration of Jiyong' birthday in the office, another one from beach they all went to and many others. Daesung could see the old photo of Seunghyun and Jiyong and smiled brightly. He loved seeing two old friends together once again. He was happy for Jiyong.

"Well, since the little one fell asleep, would you like to have a drink?" Jiyong was impatient to actually chill and forget about everything what was bothering him for some time now. After a week of being at home he was mentally exhausted. He wanted something new. He needed some excitement in his life to keep up with it.

Few years ago Jiyong would be scared of going out and experiencing something exciting, even dancing with some stranger at a club would be forbidden. Now, he was seeking situations like this. He loved organizing spontaneous meetings and surprising Seungri at work.

Jiyong was now mainly working from home, even though it was only temporarily. He enjoyed spending time with YunSu since she was a lively child, but in the evening his whole body was hurting and his soul, too. He craved something he could never have. Seungri was trying to fulfill the hole in his heart, but he couldn't do the same as he did with the wound left by Seunghyun. In this case he was helpless as everyone else.

Jiyong went to the kitchen for some glasses and a bottle of alcohol. He wanted to spend a beautiful Christmas night, no matter what. He was not decorating the whole house for two days with YunSu for nothing. Jiyong chuckled when he recalled the day they both run around the house – well, mainly Jiyong run while YunSu was sitting and playing with some fluffy decorations. She was so cute, her big dolly eyes watching the sparkling lights near to her as she was holding the chain in her hands, trying to straighten it, but failing for her short arms.

"Okay guys, here we go..."

Alcohol is a great thing if a person can control it. Seunghyun was sitting with the napping princess on his lap, rubbing her back gently. He could remember the day after the meaningful Christmas night when Seungri came running to him with a wide smile plastered on his face. He was waiting Seungri’s apartment, also with Daesung and YoungBae who joined him later, wait impatiently for the younger to break the news to them. Seeing them now together, lying in each other's arms as they were enjoying the silence was a pleasant sight to witness. Seunghyun himself pulled D