The moment Seunghyun walks through the front door, he’s greeted by a burst of laughter. There’s a frantic cacophony of piano and then more laughing. The jittery, atonal rhythms instantly transport him to the streets of Paris at night. He can almost imagine an accompaniment of trumpets, saxophones, and a raspy voice filled with soul. Out of curiosity he goes toward the piano room, peeking through the open door to see the housemates crowded together.

“Don’t be a creepy ahjussi, just standing there…” Hayi notices him first, scolding him as Chaerin looks up to see him next. The two girls stand with their arms around each other on the other side of the two men at the piano.

“Why don’t you play, hyung?” Wu Yifan offers from his perch in front of the piano, Lee Soohyuk leisurely standing behind him.

“Ah, no, that’s alright. I’d rather just listen.” Seunghyun refuses politely, still posed awkwardly in the middle of the doorway not yet in the actual room.

The younger man shrugs his shoulders and begins to play again, his hands wildly dancing over the keys with a playful flair. The taller pianist eventually joins him at the bench and Seunghyun watches as the two men play improvisations with laughter and wide grins. He can’t remember a time he saw someone enjoy playing to that extent, as if the piano didn’t even exist and the jumping harmonies were born out of the air from their toothy smiles.

“Hyung, really, why don’t you join in?” Yifan offers again, wiping sweat from his brow.

“We’ve yet to hear you play, hyung.” Soohyuk turns to where he stands in the doorway, insisting. “You don’t have to play any jazz, we’re just fooling around.”

“No, it’s quite alright.” Seunghyun holds his hands up nervously and the pressure of all attention causes him to turn around and leave.

“Choi Seunghyun!” He hears Chaerin call out as she follows after him. Her footfall pounds up the stairs and before he can close the door she’s standing in front of him. She looks up through thick eyelashes, hands on her hips trying to catch her breath. “What’s going on with you?”

“I just didn’t want to play.” He tells her through the opening in the door, his face resting against the jamb.

“Why not?” She asks in exasperation, her hands still firmly planted on her hips.

“I don’t understand why this is such a big deal.” He feels like a child getting scolded by his mother.

“We all like you. You know that, right? Youngbae oppa and Seungri like you, Hayi likes you. You help me around the house and you’ve been so kind.” Her tone of voice changes and he isn’t sure where she’s going with this. She takes a deep breath before looking him square in the eye. “Do you know what my father wrote in that letter he sent with you?”

“No,” He shakes his head. “I didn’t read it.”

“He said that I have to let you play the piano. I have to take care of you well because you’re his favorite student, that’s what he wrote.”

Seunghyun is quiet for a while, not sure how to respond.

“I never knew that.” He says finally, his voice low.

“Do you respect my father?”

“More than anyone in the world!” He responds vehemently. “More than God, more than Park Chunghee!”

“Then if you’re my father’s favorite student, why won’t you play?” Chaerin asks, her head tilted innocently but he can hear the authority in her voice. “We’ve only trusted you because of my father. Everyone in this house respects my father’s word. So I hope you can understand that we’re all a bit… confused.”

“Confused about what?” He asks in disbelief, opening the door to fully face her.

“You say you respect my father and yet you bring Kwon Jiyong into this house.”

“You told me he was alright when we met him at the market!” Seunghyun yells incredulously.

“The devil himself is alright compared to Kim Woobin!” She shouts back at him before composing herself, her cat-like eyes burning with a controlled anger. “Has Kwon Jiyong ever told you what he’s done? When he was a student here, he never went to his lessons and when he did he was always cocky and rude. My father eventually kicked him out and when he did, that bastard hit my father.”

She takes a deep breath, the anger making her voice quiver.

“That wasn’t the end of it, though.” She sighs and he can feel the pain reflecting in her eyes. “Jiyong’s father did everything he could to shut our school down. My dad ran away to his studio in Paris after losing all of his students except for two. He was so heartbroken he refused to come home and then… my mom died.”

“I’m sorry, I never knew any of this.” Seunghyun apologizes, helplessly standing in the doorway. “The Jiyong I know doesn’t seem capable of any of that.”

“This is why we can’t trust you.” The young woman hisses.

“Why, because I won’t play the piano?” He bellows angrily. “If you’re so desperate to hear me play then I will!”

He turns out of the room, brushing past her and down the stairs. She follows after him hurriedly, afraid of what he’ll do. He storms into the piano room, sitting down at the bench and playing a furious piece. His thin fingers fly across the keys in a maddening frenzy, his whole body possessed by the fervor of his playing.

The housemates watch in awe as he hammers out a rendition of Danse Macabre, entranced by his performance. As he finishes the piece he calmly rests his hands on his thighs without looking up from the black and white keys.

“Would you all let Lee Chaerin speak with me alone for a moment?” Seunghyun asks suddenly and the small crowd agrees, quietly dispersing.

He turns to look at her and now she can clearly see the hurt expression carved into his features.

“My parents passed away while I was in Paris studying. I felt so guilty for living my dreams while my family suffered back home. To even touch a piano, to ever be happy - I couldn’t dare do it.” He looks at her from the corner of his eyes and she feels her cheeks flush. “This house makes me happy, these people make me happy. You make me happy, Lee Chaerin.”

The young woman looks away, her head turned down in shame. She hates herself for not knowing, for not being able to understand when his story was so painfully similar to her own.

Seunghyun begins to play slowly, clearing away the silence in the room. He plays Je Te Veux for her, hitting every nuance perfectly. His playing brings Chaerin to tears as she moves to sit next to him. She knows that he had heard her playing that one day. He completes the piece with a flourish and she looks at his hands in wonder.

“If there’s anything I’ve learned here, it’s to never apologize for your happiness.” The young pianist tells her, wiping away her tears and smiling warmly.

The morning sky is a thick grey disturbed only by the great black silhouettes of the mountains on the horizon. A wooden sled moves smoothly through the fresh powder on the ground after a snowfall the night before.

“Minho, Seungyoon-ah, I think I’m too heavy to be pulled.” Chaerin whines as she sits on a blanket in the sled, huddled in her coat with her cheeks rosy from the cold. The two boys pretend to struggle as they pull the sled while Seunghyun follows behind them walking.

“Noona, you should just get out and walk and I’ll take a ride in the sled.” Mino jokes as he turns around to grin at her.

“Are you tired?” She asks suddenly. “Do you need to take a rest? I know it’s a long way to walk to harvest the tree.”

The boys burst out into laughter at her overreaction, amazing at the young woman’s maternal instinct.

“No, I’m fine, noona. I’m sorry.” Minho apologizes with a laugh. “You’re perfect, you’re not heavy at all.”

Choi Seunghyun feels old spending time with the younger guys. It hasn’t been long since they left the house but they’ve been joking around and teasing Chaerin the entire time. He’s surprised he’s managed to avoid the crossfire in their random snowball fights. He volunteered to go on this adventure mostly to spend time with the girl curled up in the sled but also to get out of the house. With the stove on it’s often stuffy inside of the house and he’s been in desperate need for some fresh air.

The sled stops in a wooded area and Seunghyun helps Chaerin step out of the sled. She inspects the different trees in the area, carefully running her gloved hands over the branches and measuring the trunks.

“I wonder if I should just settle for a lighter tree.” She wonders aloud without looking back at the entourage she’s brought with her.

“Why would you settle?” Seunghyun asks curiously after listening to her earlier that morning excitedly plan for a grand Christmas tree to be meticulously decorated.

“I brought the weak men with me today.” Chaerin says with a deadpan expression. “If I had brought Youngbae oppa or Seungri I could have gotten a much bigger tree.”

“Noona, that’s not fair!” Seungyoon whines as Mino scoffs indignantly. She grins in satisfaction and Seunghyun can’t help but smile back at her as her eyes turn into pretty little crescent moons.

Mino grabs the axe from the sled and chops down the tree Chaerin had specially chosen. Chaerin and Seunghyun clap in admiration as they watch him easily bring down the tree and  with Seungyoon’s help, hoist it onto the sled. Seunghyun helps the younger men tie the tree and its large branches down before walking with Chaerin as they all head back home.

“So now you’re going to put on lights and decorations on the tree?” Seunghyun asks, his voice giddy with a childish anticipation.

“My family has been celebrating Christmas for a while.” She responds with a nod, carefully not to bump into the man as they walk closely together in the narrow trail. “We’re Catholic and my parents lived mostly in Europe so Christmas has always been important to us.”

“I have a lot of memories drinking alone in Parisian bars on Christmas Eve.” Seunghyun says wistfully, causing the girl next to him to laugh.

“You seem like you’d have a lot of memories of drinking alone.”

Brilliant rays of light filter through the windows, reflecting a rainbow of colors off of the ornaments arranged on the tree.

The housemates sit in a circle by the stove, joined by the pianists with their long legs curled underneath them.

“How come you didn’t get me anything like that?” Seungri asks as Chaerin unwraps a small red and gold box, shocked by the simple yet no doubt expensive earrings inside.

“You haven’t done anything to earn it.” Soohyuk chuckles, watching Chaerin delicately run her fingertips over the diamond and gold earrings. He half-expects her to return them to him later when no one’s watching. “It’s just a small gift to show my appreciation for all that Chaerin-ah does. Wu Yifan helped picked them out while we were in Paris visiting Lee Seonsang so it wasn’t all my idea.”

“They’re beautiful, oppa. Thank you.” She smiles before laughing at her own presents. “I got everyone sweaters, just like every year.”

Seunghyun looks down at the sweater in his hands, feeling the soft knit against his skin. His family had never celebrated so it’s his first time having a Christmas all together like this. He looks at the reactions of everyone else in the room and they seem less amazed than he does. Of course, they’ve been receiving these sweaters from Chaerin for many years. He feels like he belongs now, holding this sweater that’s only thoughtfully gifted to family members and loved ones.

“Did you hand knit these?” Seungri asks, tying his sweater sleeves around his shoulders.

“Do I look like I have the time to knit eight sweaters by hand?” Chaerin scoffs, rolling her eyes at the young man seated across from her.

“Aish, I was wondering.” Seungri replies defensively. “It would have been a sweet gesture.”

“Oppa, ours match!” Hayi exclaims with a frown, holding up her navy and white sweater.

“Ah, you’re right.” Seunghyun observes, noticing the similarities in colors, though the patterns are slightly different. He grins, looking at the young girl. “You’re calling me oppa now?”

Hayi turns away blushing and he laughs.

“Our joke didn’t last very long,” Chaerin sighs and Seunghyun looks over at her.

“But Chaerin-ssi, you’re still calling me ahjussi.” Seunghyun mentions, neatly folding the sweater in his lap. She rolls her eyes as she busies herself picking up trash from the floor.

“And you still call me Chaerin-ssi.” She replies and he laughs again.

Later that evening the house is filled with laughter as the pianists and older housemates sit around drinking wine after dinner. Seunghyun gets up to go to the kitchen where Chaerin busily cleans dishes and puts away leftovers.

“The tree looks beautiful all decorated. You chose well.” He tells her and she turns to smile at him.

His body feels warm with cider and wine. There’s a glow in her cheeks and something about the way the lights hit her skin. He leans over and kisses her, their lips meeting for just a brief moment before she looks up in surprise.

“Why?” She asks in shock and he draws back, farther away from her.

“Just forget it.” He says quickly, wiping his mouth as he walks away.

He leaves her blushing, holding onto the countertop for support. She feels woozy and crazy, like her heart will jump out of her chest. Chaerin runs after him, finding him outside the front door. He’s leaning against the house, smoking a cigarette and staring off into space. She’s amazed by the shadows the moon casts across his bone structure. And she’s never noticed quite how long his eyelashes really are.

He looks up to see her watching him and quickly looks away, crushing his cigarette with the heel of his boot.  

“I said to just forget it.”

“I can’t just ignore it.” She replies casually and he still refuses to look at her.

“Why are you making this harder?” He asks with a huff, his fingers nervously brushing back his neatly styled hair.

“I don’t want to forget.” Chaerin says simply, walking closer to him without even thinking about it. “I’m not very good at things like this.”

“What do you think about me?” He asks her trying to keep his voice casual when on the inside he feels like a little boy confronted with his first crush.

“I think you’re weird.”

“Do you see me as a man?” He loses the battle with himself and turns his head to look at her.

“I don’t see you as a woman.” She replies with a small and he laughs at her stubborn answers.

He wants to kiss her but he can’t move, she’s got him paralyzed by her cat like eyes glinting mischieviously in the moonlight.

He wants to kiss her so badly.

“Are you two crazy? It’s freezing outside, you’re going to lose a toe.” Seungri’s voice suddenly chimes in as the front door swings opens. Chaerin runs in without looking back, leaving him standing there feeling the emptiness in the space she once occupied.

He wonders what he would have done if Seungri hadn’t interrupted.

The younger man looks Seunghyun up and down before clicking his tongue. “Hyung, don’t just leave your cigarettes out in the grass. That’s nasty.”

Later that night when everyone else has stumbled drunkenly into bed, Seunghyun lays awake thinking about her glowing cheeks and the way her lips parted slightly in anticipation. He thinks about her soft skin and the gentle scent that is uniquely her own.

He’s intoxicated by thoughts of her, unable to sleep.

Throwing off of his blanket, he gets up and goes downstairs for a glass of water in hopes of clearing his mind. He stops when he sees a familiar figure in the kitchen, all curves and curls in her oversized sweater. She sets down the pitcher of water and is about to say something when he closes the distance between them.

Grabbing other sides of her face with his hands, he kisses her deeply. He can still taste hints of spice and wine among the mintiness of her toothpaste. She feels so soft in his arms, her s pressing against his hard chest just trying to be closer. Her nails scratch his scalp as she melts into him, her other hand desperately clinging onto the back of his shirt. She shifts her hips against his and he growls into her lips, moving to leave kisses at her nape. He nips along her exposed collarbone as he adjusts one of her legs up over his hip, leveraging her body between him and the countertop.

She moves against him, her hips bucking upward as she captures his lips again. The sudden movement causes a pan to slide off the counter and down onto the floor, clanging loudly in the still night. They look at one another in panic and Chaerin quickly stands up with both legs on the ground, correcting her sweater and smoothing back her wildly tangled hair.

“Go, go!” He whispers to her after a moment of pained waiting, ushering her back up the stairs. She quickly but quietly steps across the room to the stairway, turning to look back at him before tiptoeing back up to her room.

- - -

Author's Note: Oh my gosh I'm so sorry this took so long to update :( I wrote you some SkyTempo boogie time so please don't be mad at me I love you all so much. Thank you to everyone who has subscribed, upvoted, and commented. I love you all I don't deserve you lol.

(also, I hoped this chapter cleared up some questions I saw pretty often in the comments about a certain someone.)