summary: how iseul spends 2018 christmas with a few friends, nabiya cat shelter and an ex.
iseul spends this christmas with friends who have become his family, since his own is celebrating it in jeju without him; he spends it with jingyi first, waking up and cooking french toast for them. he feeds kirby, gaeul and salem under the table and promises them a bowl of lukewarm milk as a holiday treat. dropping by hyuk’s place real quick, iseul leaves him a poem rolled into a bottle, and it’s hyuk’s problem how to get it out. next, he meets with taekyoon and some baked cookies. they recite their love for one another as brothers from other mothers do before he sprints to sophia, his actual family. he has a bag of gifts (a four piece bedsheet set of fluffy unicorns and fluffier clouds, a totoro mug and plushie that doubles as a handwarmer) under his arms for both her and her new dog (a dog bed and chew toy), so subsequently, he gets noah something as well (liquor). jua has his present for ellie, a wool scarf to keep her warm since he isn't there anymore. by mistake, iseul almost calls jae up, but then he remembers they aren't exactly on speaking terms and leaves his present at home for a rainy day.
by now, it's past noon, and he's headed straight for nabiya cat shelter. it's his idea first and foremost, not 99, but the company takes credit. a manager tells iseul it'll look great on his record, which is near permanently damaged thanks to what happened earlier in the year. so press like this, of him spending his christmas with cute, little kittens, is good for him. people eat that up. or so they say. iseul doesn't really listen because he's doing this for the animals without a home and not to fix his image. killing two birds with one stone, though. yay.
the rest of his day involves pointing lasers and watching the cats go crazy. he laughs too loud to mask the emptiness within, and it's obvious. but no one says anything. they let iseul do what he likes, playing with felines that think his legs are trees and try to climb up them. with every sharp dig of their claws, he flinches but does nothing. it's christmas, so they should behave like children, overjoyed. some cats are less than playful and sociable, but he pets them, anyway. he has a magic touch with animals, knows where to scratch and brush until their eyes shut, content and purring. a few look like they're smiling, leaning into the strokes of his palm and fingers. if he can take all of them home, he will in a heartbeat, but there are better homes, better owners, better people.
he stays until it's time to go because iseul doesn't really want to go home: he's fighting with his best friend, being with sophia reminds him that halmeoni is gone (and that's awful but he doesn't want to cry again or make her cry), he and ellie can't celebrate together under mistletoe like he planned during their last christmas, his family forgot to invite him to jeju island because they assumed he's too busy earning them money... the works. so, iseul chooses to meet with the friends he had before he became an idol, see what they’re up to, ask about their lives because he's tired of talking about his. what's there to say, anyway. over barbecue and soju, they catch up. some are engaged while others are thinking of popping the question. despite his own sense of loneliness, he cheers them on. if not him, at least them.
then she shows up, and his friends warn him not to confront her; she's bad news, his ex-girlfriend, that very person who single-handedly ruined him.. but at this point, he's drunk a little too much and is too tipsy to think straight. then again, when she's involved, he never does. an omen.
“why'd you release the pictures?” and it's almost too loud. friends try to pull him away, but iseul pries their hands from him. “please, tell me why. did i do something wrong?” he probably did; he always does.
“i just couldn't stand to see you happy.”
