It was a message that seemed almost delinquent in its casualness. Kang Sihyun couldn't help but let out an incredulous laugh as he read it again, wondering if he had misunderstood the text on his first read-through. No matter how many times he looked over it, the message remained the same:
"Having a party at our place, you in?"
The way the invitation to the Christmas party was worded struck him as innovative yet bizarre. As he was about to reply affirmatively, Pia made a puffing noise beside him, signaling her boredom. Sihyun gently soothed the furrowed brow of the creature, seemingly in tears.
"Can I bring Pia along?"
Considering Pia's past escapades, leaving her alone seemed like it would only invite trouble. It felt safer to bring her along, especially since the school had been breached; there was no reason to think their home wouldn't be next.
With that thought, Sihyun agreed to bring her, only to belatedly realize the oddity of the situation.
It dawned on him that the party was at his own house. There was no need to ask for permission.
"Huh."
By now, Daun was probably laughing her head off after reading his message. A sense of foreboding led him to check his phone, and sure enough, there was a new photo in the Class A group chat.
Jeong Daun [Kang Sihyun's so dumb LOLLLLL]
Daun had captured their entire text exchange, sending dozens of 'LOL's in a row. Her laughter seemed to trigger a wave of notifications, as other students began to join in and laugh at the photo.
Class A Lee Hamin [What's he even doing LOL]
Class A Lee Jihye [Sihyun, isn't Pia supposed to be at school?]
Class A Yoo Seowoo [Cute]
Lovable Haewoon♥ [LOLLLLL]
Ban Haru [??]
Sihyun frowned upon noticing that only Baek Geonu had not responded, which was typical of him, probably asleep. As he scrolled through the teasing messages, Sihyun was irked to see Haewoon's name sneakily changed among the consistent nicknames.
Despite changing the password, he had no idea how they found out. The nickname, adorned with both 'lovable' and a heart, was a bit much. That nobody had noticed was bizarre enough, so Sihyun updated Haewoon's contact to 'Class A Kang Haewoon' and informed everyone about Pia's school escape. The group reacted with surprise, with Geonu suddenly chiming in about how clever it was before going back to sleep.
Class A Lee Hamin [Take good care of her.]
While Hamin had been among those laughing at the earlier photo, his tone became much more serious when Pia was mentioned. Annoyed, Sihyun simply replied with an 'ok' and hugged Pia. It had been a while since he'd properly celebrated Christmas.
Given the strong personalities of Class A, a quiet and demure party was unlikely. Sihyun decided to ask his parents for permission before heading out of his room.
Upon bringing up Christmas in the living room, his parents naturally mentioned Daun.
"Spending this Christmas with Daun again?"
"Huh?"
"You've always spent it with her. Isn't it the same this year?"
Faced with their confident tones, Sihyun reluctantly nodded. It seemed he had indeed spent each Christmas with Daun. When he inquired if hosting the party with his classmates, including Daun, was alright, they immediately agreed.
"As long as they're friends with you and Daun, they must be good kids."
Sihyun blinked and nodded vaguely, feeling as though he was somewhat deceiving them.
***
On Christmas Day, December 25th.
Expecting the Class A students to arrive in the evening, Sihyun was surprised when they showed up at exactly 12 PM. He stiffened his expression upon seeing them, each carrying cakes and decorations, having arrived five hours earlier than the time he had been given.
Ignoring them, Sihyun attempted to close the door, only for Daun to catch it.
"Hey, wait a minute!"
"How can you just close the door on us?"
Despite Sihyun's efforts to pull the door closed, Daun's strength prevailed.
"...Weren't you supposed to come at 5?"
"Surprise!"
Unable to scold the beaming Haewoon, who made a flower with his hands, Sihyun wished his parents or even Daun's would say it was too early. However, they had already left on a trip with Daun's parents, leaving the house empty. Daun seemed unfazed by this revelation, suggesting such occurrences were common for next-door childhood friends.
Realizing no one was there to send them back, Sihyun reluctantly let go
of the door handle, and the eager group of kids swarmed into the house. The once-peaceful home now buzzed with the addition of seven more children.
"Why did you all come so early?"
"It's Christmas, it's nice to be together. And there's a lot to prepare."
Jihye playfully laughed and showed off the party supplies she had brought, her words teasingly sharp. Sihyun, unable to voice his displeasure since the bearer was Jihye, checked the items she brought.
From fireworks to various decorations, his view was filled with all manner of adornments. He had assumed that their so-called Christmas party would be nothing more than a gathering, but the preparations turned out to be surprisingly elaborate. Sihyun looked at the items with a troubled gaze.
Setting up was one thing, but cleaning up afterward was going to be twice as hard.
Thus, whenever he saw party supplies while walking, he often thought of them as pretty garbage. Now, these items were being brought into his home by the children, armfuls by each of the seven of them.
"...You'll help clean up afterward, right?"
He had been on the verge of throwing them out if they had answered that it was his responsibility as the homeowner to clean up. He thought it would be a good excuse to kick them out, but Jihye nodded. Her voice was strong and declarative, assuring him they would clean up together. He was about to feel relieved, trusting in Jihye, when she added:
"We couldn't clean it all up by ourselves anyway."
"......"
A shiver ran down his spine. He couldn't even begin to guess how much they intended to mess up the place.
"...Fine, do whatever you want."
Feeling as if there was no stopping them, he resignedly muttered to himself, which prompted Daun to assign him a task. She handed him curtains among various other things she pulled out of her baggage. Sihyun was taken aback when he heard a knocking at the door and found a large tree set up upon checking.
"...What's this now."
The house was cluttered and chaotic, leaving him feeling disoriented.
When Seowoo mentioned it was a Christmas tree, Sihyun gave him a look, as it was clear from his question that he wasn't asking out of ignorance. Suddenly, Hamin approached and draped an arm over the tree, clearing his throat to seem nonchalant before touching the tree and nodding in satisfaction.
"It's the right size."
"This is the right size?"
The tree was taller than Hamin. It would've been fine as an outdoor decoration, but it was excessive for indoors. Hamin nodded as if it was obvious.
"Yeah. Now we have to decorate it."
He explained why the Christmas tree was devoid of any decorations. Sihyun, caught off guard by Hamin's revelation, stared at the tree in horror.
They had to decorate it.
This huge tree.
By themselves.
He was already dreading the leaves and dust that would scatter across the floor as they decorated the tree. Barely ten minutes after letting the kids in, he felt an urge to send them away.
Regardless of Sihyun's shock, the children started to unpack and decorate the living room and other areas. It was hard to tell if they had come for a party or for labor. The house looked as if it had been turned into a commercial venue, making Sihyun shake his head in disbelief before he joined the labor, holding the curtains. It was easy to forget that these Class A students were only 17, but today's activities were a stark reminder of their age.
Young and energetic, yet naively childish.
The problem was that he was among them.
Trying to keep up with their pace was overwhelming for his tired spirit. Climbing on a chair to hang the curtains, Sihyun took deep breaths. It seemed it would be challenging to match their energy levels today.
"Finally."
"It's finally done!"
Hamin initiated the cheer, and Haewoon followed, signaling the end of their labor. Too exhausted to even feel joy, Sihyun surveyed the now brightly decorated home. Despite the efforts of eight people, it took three hours to decorate the house. The Christmas party felt more like an invitation to catch a cold.
Still, there was a sense of accomplishment for the time and effort put into decorating. The brightly shining decorations on the walls and floor didn't seem like a hassle to clean up later, allowing him to view them more sentimentally.
Perhaps exhausted from three continuous hours of work, Haewoon's shout marked the end of their labor, and the kids sprawled out on the sofa to rest. Sihyun found himself lying on the floor.
While he lay there thoughtlessly, Geonu played with his hair from above, twirling and stroking it. Conversations about each other's well-being continued among the kids.
"Kang Sihyun, how come you never come over, living right next door?"
Sihyun was the only one who hadn't gone outside since the vacation started. He apathetically apologized to Daun, who complained about not seeing his face, then turned to lie on his side. The physical exertion made him sleepy, but
Haewoon noticed and woke him up, insisting he shouldn't sleep.
After being disturbed several times, Sihyun finally sat up, only to face Hamin directly.
As their eyes met, Sihyun pressed his lips together, and Hamin's eyes fluttered, suggesting he had something to say but eventually turned away. The discomfort was palpable. Having understood Hamin's temperament over time, Sihyun easily sensed the change in his mood.
Was it because he hadn't responded to the confession?
That seemed the most plausible reason for Hamin's upset. But Hamin had told him to take his time to think about it. In other words, even if Sihyun responded next year, it shouldn't be a problem.
"What's the problem now...?"
At the beginning of the semester, the brat known as Hamin had transformed into a teenage boy experiencing his first love by the end of it. Sihyun, having concluded that Hamin was indeed going through puberty, muttered about his headache. Keeping up with them was proving to be quite the challenge.
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