Our Winter

grateful

Mei sat up, immediately clutching her head. She groaned. Her head throbbed like never before, and she didn't think she could move. Groaning again, she felt around for her phone and checked the time. Mei's eyes widened as she bolted out the door of her room. Almost slipping on her purse that lay on the floor, she was flabbergasted to find Jia peacefully cooking while Jun scrolled on his phone, sprawled out on the couch. What shocked her even more was that they were both in pyjamas.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU BOTH DOING?!" She yelled, causing herself to wince from the sudden pain and the other two to flinch.

"Look who's up!" Jun answered sarcastically. Mei simply let her jaw drop, making no effort to hide her confusion.

"Why didn't you guys wake me up? And why aren't either of you at work?" Mei asked, shifting her gaze to Jia. The girl simply put her hand on her hip.

"It's a public holiday you idiot. It's national day." Jia explained. Mei checked the date on her phone again before pushing Jun's foot off the couch and sitting down. He sat up, almost falling and flicked her forehead. Mei let out a "ouch" before slouching.

"What the hell happened last night?" She asked, gripping her temples. "What do you remember?" Jun asked from next to her.

"I- uh. I remember going to this company dinner and... oh yeah, I ate a great crab! It was so delicious and like so tender; You won't believe-"

"Enough with the crab Mei, what happened next?" Jia interrupted. She handed over a bowl of hangover soup, which Mei readily accepted.

"Ahhhh." Mei groaned, but feeling better. "I drank a ton of champagne because of this dude who I had a bet with. I think I got really drunk and..."Mei massaged her temples in an attempt to jog her memory.

"Want us to fill you in?" Jun offered. Mei nodded.
"Minghao saved your ass from some random man who wanted to take you 'home'" he began, making air quotes when he mentioned home. "And brought you here. You know, he got really emotional too. I guess leaving didn't only affect us." He summarised.

"Right." Mei scoffed. "He left us all and then he feels bad? Did he have a mental breakdown too? Bet he did, didn't he?" Mei protested, making a bitter gesture at her friend. Jun sighed. He understood why Mei felt so bitter, but after seeing both sides of the story, he thought Mei deserved to as well.

"Okay, enough about him, but seriously Mei. How many times do I need to tell you not to drink so much? You know you cant handle it yet you REFUSE to control yourself. Just think if Minghao wasn't there, or better yet, if he didn't care. How do you know the other man isn't going to take advantage of your state? Please Mei, it's a horrible world out there, and you need to take care of yourself before anything else." Jia lectured. As much as Mei wanted to roll her eyes, she knew Jia was right.

"Sorry Jia." Mei said, not being able to look her friend in the eyes.

"Wow." Jun added. "You would make a really good mom Jia — sometimes I forget you're younger than us." He stated, genuinely impressed. Mei couldn't help but chuckle. It wasn't a lie.

The rest of the day passed by in a blur — which wasn't surprising considering most of the day off was spent asleep. Mei walked into work the next day feeling dreadful at the thought of her boss. "Even so, he brought you home. He deserves a thank you for that." She thought to herself. Mei knocked on the door, hearing the familiar 'come in' the second she did. She walked in, ready to offer thanks for his help that night. Her thoughts however, were interrupted by his rambling.

"I'm so sorry Mei, I know I shouldn't have brought you home like that, especially since we're not exactly close anymore, and I should've just called Jun or someone to pick you up, you know? Anyway, you should make sure you don't over drink but I'm really sorry if I overstepped my boundaries and I swear-"