It was the last day of final exams. The ringing of the timer at the end of the last exam signified the end of the finals period.

"Time's up. Everyone, please put down your pens." Mr. Kim announced and proceeded to collect the students' exam papers.

"Good work, everyone. Now, enjoy your well-deserved winter break. You are dismissed."

"The exam was so difficult." Hao whined once Mr. Kim stepped out of the classroom. "What did you guys put for the second last question?"

"I think it was A." Hanbin noted.

Eunbyeol nodded in agreement.

"Phew, I guessed A too." Hao heaved a sigh of relief.

"It wasn't C?" Ricky almost screamed. "Aish, let's not talk about exams. Let's put everything about exams behind. It's time to play now!"

Gyuvin, Taerae, and Matthew were already waiting in the corridor when the four of them walked out of the classroom.

"Good job, guys. We all worked hard." Hanbin uplifted everyone with his warm words.

"It's finally over and done with!" Taerae yelled with relief.

"Don't want to look at my textbooks for a good while. I can't wait to go out and play, weehee!" Gyuvin shouted.

In the background, Chaeyeon was running towards them, behind her were Yuna and Bora. Taerae opened his arms towards Chaeyeon.

"I screwed up the exam."

"I'm sure you did fine, baby." Taerae consoled the pouting Chaeyeon. "Let's not think about it and go eat something nice."

"I'm craving fried chicken." Gyuvin could hear his stomach growling already.

"Oh oh me too!" The mention of food made Chaeyeon feel alive again.

"Is everyone fine with that?" Hanbin looked at everyone else. No one had any objection. "Great, fried chicken it is."

"Have fun, you guys. I have a date with Bora." Matthew excused himself and Bora. "I'll see you guys sometime soon."

.

"Don't you guys think we should do something for Matthew before he leaves?" Hanbin suggested, after they settled down at the restaurant without Matthew.

"How about a surprise farewell party?" Chaeyeon proposed.

"Oooh that is a great idea." Yuna seconded the proposal. "We should invite Bora as well."

"I'm getting excited already." Chaeyeon squealed.

Later that night, in their group chat, Hanbin put forward the idea of doing Secret Santa so that they had an excuse to gather and surprise Matthew.

The Iconic Squad😎💖

Me

Guys, we should do Secret Santa again this year!

Gyuvin🐶

It's becoming our annual tradition haha

Taerae🐣

I'm up for it!

My Star 💫

I'll help organise it.

Yuna 👑

Let's do it on boxing day.

Matthew ☀️

Sure, I think I'm free.

Hao 🎻

Works for me too.

Chaeyeon 🧸

Where should we go?

Ricky🐱
Do you guys wanna come to my place?

Gyuvin🐶

Was waiting for you to say that. And you probably meant PALACE.

Chaeyeon 🧸

Young and rich, tall and handsome FLEX

Me

Great, thanks Ricky.

.

The group agreed to meet on Boxing Day. Two hours before the agreed meeting time with Matthew, everyone else arrived at Ricky's to get the place ready with decorations. In the entertainment room, Eunbyeol and Hanbin were putting up photos, while Gyuvin, Taerae, Hao, and Yuna were blowing up balloons and putting up banners. Chaeyeon had brought cupcakes she baked and was decorating them with Bora and Ricky in the kitchen.

As Eunbyeol was putting up the photos on the wall, she scanned them one by one and reminisced about the memories they made together. Eunbyeol was never good at expressing her feelings through words, but she was very tender-hearted and had her own way of caring for those around her. Hanbin saw that she was getting a bit emotional, so he reached out his hand and gave her a pat on her head.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Eunbyeol nodded slowly. "Do you think things will change a lot between the nine of us?"

"Byeol-ah, I can't be certain of anything because things are going to be different. We will be going to different schools, and we will all be meeting new people. But I also believe that the friendship we have built over the past three years is strong enough to overcome the physical distance between us. At least for me, I know all of you will always have a special place in my heart. And I promise that I will always be right here for you when you need me. I will reach out to you, like I did in year one, if I ever feel like we are drifting apart."

Eunbyeol nodded again, feeling more reassured.

"Okay, let's get back to work." Hanbin motioned towards the photos he was holding in his hands. "We have to finish decorating before Matthew comes."

.

It was then ten minutes to 12. Matthew texted, saying that he would be there in five minutes. Everyone hid their shoes away so that Matthew would arrive thinking he was the first to arrive, when in fact everyone was hiding in the room.

Approximately five minutes later, the doorbell rang, and Ricky went to open the door for Matthew, while the rest of the group waited to surprise Matthew the moment he stepped into the room.

"Why do I feel so nervous?" Chaeyeon put her palm on her heart, which was racing due to an adrenaline rush.

"I can't wait to see Matthew's reaction. Should we film him coming in?" Gyuvin wanted to record this special moment so that they could look back at it in the future.

"Good idea." Yuna pulled out her phone and set it at an angle that could capture Matthew's reaction clearly.

As they heard Ricky and Matthew's voices getting closer and closer, everyone held their breaths, waiting for the doorknob to turn.

"SURPRISE!" Everyone yelled the instant the door opened.

"Oh my God, guys. You scared the hell out of me." Matthew looked around and realised it was a farewell party just for him. There was a "We will miss you" banner hung up on the wall, accompanied by an ocean of photos the group took together over the past three years, and tons of balloons were floating around the room.

"This is all for me?" Matthew asked in disbelief.

"Of course, we can't just send our best friend off without a farewell party, right?" Hanbin smiled at Matthew affectionately.

"Thank you, guys. I'm really touched. And Bora, you're here too." Matthew reached out to Bora to give her a hug.

"Of course I have to be here."

.

"Guys, let's play the whisper game." Yuna suggested as they were eating.

"Oh oh, that would be fun!" Gyuvin hyped up his girl's idea.

"Let me explain the game." Yuna went on to introduce the game since not everyone in the room was familar with it. "So basically, we will go around the room and whisper a question to the person next to you. The answer to that question has to be someone in the room, so for example, 'who in the room do you think is the most annoying?'. Let's say someone asked me that question, then I will tell them "Gyuvin"."

"Ya!!"

Everyone laughed at the two's habitual bickering.

"So only the person who asked and the person who answered will know the question.' Yuna continued. "If others wanted to know the question, they would have to take a shot. Since we're not old enough to drink yet, do you have sophora root tea at home, Ricky?"

"Yes, I think so, but ew, that thing is horrible." Ricky shivered at the thought of the taste of the bitter tea.

"Well, you are more than welcome to suppress your curiosity."

Everyone agreed to give the seemingly exciting game a go.

"We should change some of our seats to make it more interesting." Ricky made a suggestion. "Firstly, the couples shouldn't be sitting next to each other."

"The girls shouldn't sit next to each other too." Gyuvin added.

"Hanbin-ah, please move to somewhere that is not next to Eunbyeol." Yuna made a special remark towards Hanbin.

"Why me?"

"Because it won't be fun if you two sit together."

So they sat in a circle in the following sequence: Yuna > Hanbin > Bora > Gyuvin > Ricky > Chaeyeon > Matthew > Eunbyeol > Hao > Taerae

"Okay, whoever wants to start can start, and we'll go around from there." Yuna instructed.

"I'll start first." Gyuvin, who knew the game well, volunteered to start it off. "I'll just ask something simple to begin with." He then went on to whisper a question in Ricky's ear.

"Eunbyeol." Ricky answered almost immediately.

"Wow, you didn't even have to think." Gyuvin was surprised by how Ricky seemed like he had always had an answer in mind.

"Does anyone want to know the question?" Yuna continued to lead the flow of the game.

"Eunbyeol, don't you wanna know?" Gyuvin smirked.

"I kinda do, but I don't wanna drink the tea yet."

Meanwhile, Hanbin, who was slightly bothered by Gyuvin's smirk, picked up his cup and took a sip of the tea.

"Oh Hanbin ~" Gyuvin went over to Hanbin and whispered to him. "The question was, 'Who, among the girls in the room, do you think is the most attractive?'"

Hanbin felt a bit complicated after learning about the question. He never really thought about how other people would find Eunbyeol attractive. Not that she wasn't, because he thought she was beautiful the moment he met her. Eunbyeol had this innocent aura that made her stand out from the crowd. She had a pretty side profile as well, which Hanbin had noticed from being her long-term seatmate. Her serious and focused side made her even more captivating, and she had one of the most gorgeous smiles Hanbin had ever seen. He just forgot how other people would have also noticed the beauty that he had seen in her.

"Now, Hanbin's reaction is making me curious about the question." Hanbin's inability to maintain a straight face made Chaeyeon curious about the question.

"It's not a question worth drinking for." But Ricky advised her against it.

"I agree." Hanbin concurred.

The game carried on, and it was soon Matthew's turn to ask Eunbyeol a question. He whispered a question in her ear.

"That is a hard one." She looked around the room before giving her answer. "I'd say maybe Gyuvin?"

Gyuvin immediately took a sip from his cup, and Matthew went over to tell him the question.

"Aww, thank you, Eunbyeol. But sorry, I already have Yuna."

"Ya, I didn't mean it that way."

"You're making me slightly curious." Hao couldn't suppress his curiosity for this one, so he took a sip from his cup. And after he heard the question from Matthew, he looked at Eunbyeol in disbelief.

"Eunbyeol-ah, are you serious?"

"Hahahahaha." Eunbyeol laughed at Hao's reaction.

"Ya Hao, why are you surprised? She is just telling the truth." Gyuvin protested at Hao's disapproval of Eunbyeol's answer.

"Now I want to know too." Gyuvin and Hao's bickering made everyone curious. One by one, everyone else took a sip from their cup.

"Guys, it was honestly nothing." Eunbyeol didn't expect everyone to show this much interest in her answer.

"Well, since everyone drank, I just asked Eunbyeol, who in the room does she think is or would make the best boyfriend."

"Heol. Honestly, Eunbyeol?" Yuna was the first to show dissent, even though deep inside she agreed.

"Ya Son Yuna, what do you mean? I'm such a good boyfriend to you."

"Well, I have never seen Hao, Ricky, or Hanbin in a relationship, so I can't really judge if they'd be a good boyfriend or not." Eunbyeol started explaining her answer. "And from what I've observed, I honestly think Taerae, Matthew, and Gyuvin are all really good boyfriends. But I chose Gyuvin because Yuna is always his first priority. They bicker when they're together, but when Yuna is not around, all he talks about is Yuna. He has been like a guardian angel to Yuna since day one."

Yuna tried hard not to smile, but everyone could see that she was pleased with what she just heard.

"Ya Son Yuna, did you hear that?"

"Yea, whatever. Let's move on."

They continued the game until it was Yuna's turn to ask Hanbin a question.

"Assume that none of the girls in the room were occupied. If you were to kiss someone in the room, who would it be?" Yuna leaned in to whisper with a smirk on her face.

Hanbin was completely flustered by her question, to the point where his ears and face were turning red.

"Um..." He pretended to think when the answer was apparent. "Eunbyeol."

Upon hearing Hanbin's answer, Chaeyeon and Gyuvin immediately drank from their cups. Both of them looked at Hanbin with a smirk after they heard the question.

"Eunbyeol-ah, do you not wanna know?" Yuna tried to stir up Eunbyeol's curiosity.

"Nope, I'm okay."

Hanbin was relieved but also a bit disappointed. A part of him wanted Eunbyeol to get the hint that he thought of her as more than a friend, but a greater part of him was scared that knowing that would scare her away.