[ ✓ ] 𝐏𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐎𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐁𝐈𝐀 , seho .

thirteen

thirteen

Sehun seemed to be more happy than normal this year. Normally, Christmas would consist of him continuing to worry about if he'd still be in that foster home the next year. Whether it be wishing he could be placed in another house, or wanting to stay—he could almost never enjoy the holidays.

Eunmi and Dongchul were welcoming to Yeseul, even despite the horrible things she had done in past homes. They understood how hard it must have been for Sehun—losing his brother to prison, then being separated from his sister. And they loved Yixing. Who didn't love Yixing?

Junmyeon was something special, though. Sehun had kept his social life a secret—his foster parents weren't aware of the fact that Sehun had still been surrounding himself with bad people. They just knew he went to rehab for a year, but now, he was clean. Sehun didn't want to be around them. Every minute spent with them was just another minute of anxiousness. But Junmyeon—he made all those issues fade away.

As Yixing helped Eunmi clean dishes, Junmyeon and Sehun decided to decorate the tree. They had to dig through the storage room to find the bin with all the tinsel and ornaments and what-not, and dusting them off was a whole other job. Junmyeon seemed to enjoy it, however. As he cleaned the different ornaments, Sehun watched with admiration. Then he realized Junmyeon had never spent a Christmas like this. In fact, he probably never even celebrated the holiday itself.

As Sehun recalled that fact, he walked over to where Junmyeon stood and put an arm around him. He wanted to kiss his forehead. He didn't.

"You're good at this," Sehun commented as he overlooked the tree. The combination of gold and silver ornaments, along with its fairy lights, seemed to complete the entire living area. Junmyeon looked up at Sehun and smiled. Sehun felt butterflies in his stomach.

"Thanks, but you're probably better."

Junmyeon lightly brushed his fingers against Sehun's hand. He felt the urge to hold it completely, but after what Yeseul pulled the other day, he couldn't.

"Yixing is really cool with it all. I promise," Sehun reassured as Junmyeon straightened up a faux branch. The older just smiled small and nodded. "But I won't tell Eunmi and Dongchul. If you don't want me to."

Junmyeon reached down into the bin for the silver strand of tinsel. "I don't care. Tell the whole world," he answered quietly. Sehun stared at the ground. He felt guilty all of a sudden.

He walked away.

In the kitchen, Sehun joined Yeseul in setting the table. A deep-red fabric covered the table. Sehun grabbed a handful of silverware from Yeseul's hand, then placing them next to the polished, white plates. She gave him a dirty glare. Sehun just smiled.

Once they had finished completing the counter, everyone made their way to the living space to relax while dinner finished cooking. Junmyeon had already been sitting on the sofa. Sehun sat next to him.

"Lovely job on the tree, boys," Eunmi grinned. Junmyeon and Sehun exchanged looks—a look that had gone on too long.

Yeseul crawled towards the tree where several presents surrounded it. She gave a begging glance towards the rest of the group, obviously wanting to open them. Dongchul waved his hand, allowing her to search through the gifts.

"My parents will be here soon, are you sure you want to open them now?" Eunmi asked as she took a seat in the recliner. By then, Yeseul had already been passing gifts out.

"I got something for everybody," she commented.

"Yixing...Yixing...Sehun...Eunmi...Sehun...Dongchul..."