“…Oppa?!?!?”

Everything was out of your expectations.

You had never been this shocked and terrified to see him. To see your own older brother. Months ago, to have him coming home on Christmas would be something you would seriously die for. But not today. And you wouldn’t lie that you secretly wished for Santa to magically appear and take him back to North Pole — or anywhere far from here. Because hell, this wasn’t the Christmas present you’d been asking for.

This can’t be happening…

You kept on chanting those words, hoping that it was actually a spell and could make your brother instantly disappear. But he was still there, standing still as he filled your field of view with his shocked expression.

Sensing danger coming, your mind was now full with loads of excuses. From the logical ones like ‘these are my schoolmates and we’re having a sleepover’ to the super absurd ones like ‘I asked Santa for a boyfriend this year and these people fell from the chimney’.

But it was all too late.

It was shocking enough for him to find his little sister still awake at midnight like this; he knew that you sleep the earliest in the family. And now he found you partying with six unknown boys in his very own living room.

With one of them hogging onto you like a lost baby koala.

None of you let out a sound. What was left from the once bustling living room was nothing but a speechless girl, a bewildered older brother and six gorgeous strangers — more like, six soon-to-be-dead strangers.

Another minute went by and; much to your surprise; your brother became the first to break the nerve-wrecking silence.

With the loudest yell you had ever heard.

“WHAT THE IS HAPPENING IN HERE!!!”

“Umm…”

N, with hair as crumpled as his face, nervously chewed his lip, eyes reluctantly set on the carpeted floor, “I-I think… that sums up everything… h-hyung.”

Just now N held a brief throwback about how the six of them ended up free-loading at your house. You swore your heart nearly jumped when N spilled everything about the curse to you brother. About how they were all literally a bunch of immortal dolls and you were their only key to freedom. Of course, you didn’t expect him to buy his stories. Because whatever N just said made him look like nothing but a stressed drunkard who still couldn’t get over from his eighth cup of soju. 

Still, you were somehow relieved that N counted the ‘trigger’ part out from the whole storytelling. You also took a good note that he skipped the ‘true love’ topic; all because he knew that doing the otherwise would definitely earn them a furious chop on the neck from an angry older brother. But other than that, you brother had all the rights to know. It was just that N didn’t feel like revealing everything now.

Please oppa… Please believe them…

You stared at him, watching in silence as your brother slightly dunked his head down, thinking. Everyone agreed that N did his best. He made sure to make the explanation as short and clear as it should be. The rest was up to the pondering figure on the couch. To your brother.

To think that the ‘talk’ could proceed this peacefully, you still couldn’t believe how chaotic the situation was minutes before. A vase nearly landed on Ravi’s face, close from being thrown by your outraged brother as he spat out curses to the blue-haired boy, all because he saw him hugging you. Good thing you were fast enough to stop him. And the tenseness soon subsided when the boys began to introduce themselves, though it was clear to them that your brother didn’t give a damn at all.

“So…”

Your brother started, eyes sharply darted to the six fidgeting bodies before him, “You’re telling me that you s— I mean, guys, are not human… but DOLLS……”

The six of them, who were now kneeling in line on the floor nodded obediently. After all these months, you had never seen them being this mortally scared.

“…And the six of you HAVE to LIVE TOGETHER with MY sister in this house since you can’t be separated from her…?”

Again, they nodded. Gripping on the hem of your shirt anxiously, you watched how the boys began to exchange glances with each other; scared ones, to be exact.

D-did he believe it…?

“And you said…”

Your brother folded his arms, “…MY sister is your one and only saviour so you asswipes— uh, so you guys WON’T leave her alone until she freed all of you from the curse…… No?”

“Y-yes, hyung…” N, feeling the invincible force from your brother’s stare, dug his head even deeper.

“WHAT KIND OF BULL IS THAT?!? I WILL NEVER BUY YOUR ING NONSENSE!!”

Your brother suddenly rose from his seat, roaring at those six below him.

“DO YOU THINK I WILL BUY YOUR ING CHEAP LIES?! GET. THE. . OUT. FROM. MY. HOUSE—”

His loud yell echoed inside the whole house. Panting, your brother’s eyes reflected nothing but anger.

“—NOW!!!”

You quickly stood up, linking your arm to your brother’s. “O-oppa! No! Don’t be like this! Jebal!”

“ARE YOU CRAZY?!! I WANT THEM OUT FROM MY SIGHT— NOW!” He shouted right on your face and you flinched.

He had never raised his voice at you like this before. And for that, you nearly broke out in tears. Worse, your heart sank to the bottom the second you saw the boys’ shocked face.

“B-but, we’re not lying—! I swear!” N immediately stood, slightly stumbled because his knees began to feel numb from kneeling down for nearly an hour, “P-please! We don’t want to be separated from ___!”

“H-he’s right! Please, hyungnim! Let us stay—!” Ken joined in. His eyes looked even bigger with a mix of panic and fear growing inside him.

“I said—” You saw your brother said with teeth gritted.

“—GET YOUR ING ASSES OUT OF HERE!!”

“Oppa!! Let me out!!!”

You had been banging on the door for the longest time and now purplish marks began to appear on your hands. But you didn’t care. More like, you didn’t have the time to.

“Oppa…!!! P-please!!”

It was 4 in the morning and you were still wide awake, screaming and yelling from the top of your lungs madly. Screw the neighbors and their complaints, all you had in mind was how to get out from the forsaken bedroom and sprint to where the boys were at.

“Let me out!!! Don’t do this to me, oppa!!! Open the door now or I won’t talk to you again! Forever!!” You wailed, holding back the growing pain in your throat.

“It’s all my fault…”

Now slumped on the floor, your fists were tightly clenched with a pair of teary eyes fixed on the wooden floor, “It’s not their fault, oppa—!”

You finally cried. “—Please… listen to me……”

Roughly three hours ago, your brother mercilessly kicked your precious dolls out from the house. You did what you could to hold them back, but you ended up being locked up in your room. So here you were now, crying your heart out because, one; you didn’t get to say goodbye to the boys, and two, you had no idea where they were now.

Sitting on his bed, your brother stared at the bronze key in his palm, later squeezed it hard the second he caught his sister’s desperate wailing.

…Did I go overboard…?

He squinted his eyes, feeling his heart aching. He didn’t mean to be so rough on you. Because if there’s anyone he would die to protect, it’d be no one but you. His one and only little sister.

No… I did what a brother should do. There’s no way I could let my precious little sister live with those bastards…

Tossing the key to his night desk, your brother laid his back on the bed with gaze firmly locked to the ceiling.

Just what in the world is she thinking!? Letting strangers— six of them on top of that— stay in this house!? Has she gone insane!? And that er said they’ve been here for months— this is crazy! What if those pricks did something ‘strange’ to her…?! Oh my God—

He closed his eyes, slowly replaying his last meeting with you in his head. It was exactly a year ago, on the last Christmas. A smile crept to his face as he recalled how adorable your smile was when he gave you his present. And how red your nose was when you leaned in to hug him.

His smile disappeared when the house was once again engulfed in silence. The shouting stopped and your brother instantly sat up.

Oh…? So she finally gave up?

Slowly, he left the bed and took the perched key, stepping out from his room with heart thumping. Wait… She’s not doing anything stupid, right? Is she? —!

Wasting no time, your brother sprinted to your door and unlocked it. He nearly screamed when he couldn’t push the door open, as if something was blocking it. With worries pilling inside him, he shoved the door harder. Only to hear a faint thud in the next second.

“___!!”

He shrieked, bending down rapidly to grab the fallen body on the floor. His face went pale the second he learned that your eyes were tightly closed. Your brother was close from screaming your name when he caught a soft snore.

You were sleeping.

Sighing in relief, your brother later took you in his arms. With a warm smile plastered on his face, he tucked you into bed, putting his beloved sister under the warm pastel-colored blanket.

She must be exhausted…

Guilt struck him when he noticed the dried tears on your puffy cheeks. But it didn’t wash the disappointment in him.

Are they really important to you…? Way more important than your own safety…? I just can’t understand you, ___…

He took your hand, the ugly bruises lightly. I’ve promised myself not to hurt you or to make you cry again… yet look at what I did…

Caressing your disheveled locks, your brother leaned closer and landed a soft peck on your forehead.

“I’m sorry, ___… I shouldn’t have left you.”

December 25th.

You woke up in your bed. With the sun already shining bright outside the window and the shorter arrow on the wall clock pointing at 1. You didn’t remember climbing to your bed last night, and you didn’t even need a second to figure what had happened.

Oppa…

It was snowing again today, too bad it didn’t look as lovely as it supposed to be. Worse, you had been having this odd feeling that the house felt somehow colder than usual. Probably because it had less people inside than yesterday. Glancing at your cellphone, you were once again reminded of the boys.

Where are they now? Have they eaten their lunch yet? Please tell me they’re staying somewhere warm…

“___…”

You suddenly caught a screech from the door, followed with a tall figure walking inside the room. And you didn’t even need to turn away to find out who it was.

“I didn’t wake you up for breakfast because you looked so tired… But I haven’t eaten my share too. Well… I was waiting for you.”

It was funny how you badly missed his voice. Yet you didn’t feel like smiling when you heard him called your name.

“___?”

His gentle voice re-entered your ears, but pride prevented yourself from giving in. Although deep down, you knew that this would happen. There’s no way that he’d just laugh and pretend like nothing happened when he found out that his sister is keeping six strangers with her. But you hated him for being so rude to the boys, for not giving them a chance.

You hated him for taking your most treasured boys from you.

“Hey…” He strode even closer, “I miss you, you know…”

I miss you too, oppa… I always do…

Those words nearly slipped out from your tongue, but you managed to stay silent. Watching your expressionless front, your brother could only sigh as he claimed a space on your bed.

“I know that I’ve pissed you… and you might don’t want to see my face right now. But won’t you at least eat together with me…? It’s been forever since we ate together…”

He took your hand, caressing it gently, “…And I don’t want you to skip your lunch and get sick just because of this…”

That second, you felt like breaking down. No matter how much you ‘hated’ him, he was still your dearest brother. The only family you had got left in this world. He was used to be the one who brought you up whenever you feel down. The one who’ve had treasured and loved you long before the boys did.

Just like that, you followed your brother to the door, still not saying anything. Putting his hand on your shoulder, your brother’s expression brightened as he took you to the stairs.

“I made your favorite cheese kimbap! Oh! I also cooked kimchi stew!” He yapped excitedly.

You were about to make a turn to the dining area when your eyes caught something on the porch.

The second you figured what it was, you gasped.

“—Oh my God!”

Your brother gasped as well, watching you running towards the front door. “Y-ya!”

“G-guys!!”

Opening the front door roughly, your eyes beamed wide as you took in the scene before you. Stepping down from the porch, you didn’t even realize that you were walking without your slippers on, explaining the sudden sting on your feet.

“Hey… You’re awake…?”

“P-princess…”

“___…”

Right before your eyes were six boys with faces as pale as sheet. Their blue lips formed nothing like a smile but a flat line. While their stiff bodies were shaking madly in a desperate attempt of fighting off the freezing air. Tears were threatening to fall down when you spotted piles snow on their shoulders, some even stuck on their now frozen solid bangs.

“Y-you guys… Please don’t tell me you’ve been like this since last night…”

Your voice was shaking as you eyed the six dolls, kneeling down on the cold white ground with pallid hands wrapped around their trembling chests. You were expecting for an answer, or at least, a nod. But nothing came from your precious voodoo dolls. Still, you took their silence as a ‘yes’.

“…W-why…?”

The six kept their mouths shut, and instead, lowered their heads, avoiding your teary eyes. Your gaze abruptly sharpened before you turned back to your brother, who had been standing behind you while putting an indifferent expression on his fair front.

“…It was you… wasn’t it?”

“What?” He answered calmly, further pissing you off.

Wiping the tears off, your gaze soon turned into a glare, “You told them to kneel down for the whole damn night… didn’t you?”

He ruffled his hair, briefly sighing with shoulder casually leaned on the doorframe, “I didn’t. Well, I did tell them to reflect on what they did to—“

“—DON’T LIE TO ME!!”

“W-wha… I’m not lying, okay!? Why would I want these dickheads on my own front yard anyway!? All I told them was to scram, yet they kept on apologizing to me like some stubborn imbeciles!”

“CAN’T YOU SEE THAT THEY’RE DYING RIGHT NOW!? CAN’T YOU AT LEAST LET THEM IN!?” You roared, “WHY CAN’T YOU STOP BEING SO MEAN TO THEM!?”

“Are you crazy!? They’re strangers!!”

“No!! You are the one who’s crazy! THEY AREN’T STRANGERS TO ME!!”

With throat aching from all the frantic shouts, you walked to the boys and grabbed the nearest one by the hand, forcing him to stand up, “Get up!”

“N-no!”

“Lee Hongbin!! I’m telling you to get up right now!!” You cried even louder, yet the boys just eyed you with an unreadable expression.

“___, I-I’m sorry… But we have to do this…!” Hongbin easily yanked your hand away and soon went back to his spot.

“Are you out of your mind!?!”

“___—”

A tug on your shirt soon brought your eyes to N’s. He stared deeply at you and you knew what the stare mea