Jackson is the first person to enter as usual, and his bright energy is so contagious that all my anxieties vanish. "Oh my god, you're so cute!" He says shaking both closed fists in the air before asking me to turn around for him. I do a quick spin in my light blue baby doll dress and pink ballet flats. He squeals in delight then hugs me super tight, my cheeks brushing against his fuzzy sweater.

"Stop it, we're waiting here!" BamBam pushes Jackson away and spreads his arms wide for me. "Happy New Year, Noona!"

"Happy New Year, Bammie!" I say before going in for the hug. Behind him, Amber peeps with a wide smile and a box of cake in hand, making me gasp. "Amber! Hi, welcome!" I give her a hug too and lead her and BamBam inside, telling them to feel right at home. Jihoo's going to flip out if he finds out Amber's here. JB pokes a finger to my side and I turn to give him a hug, this time warmer and less awkward than before. The thing about JB is that it takes a lot of time for him to feel right at ease with someone, but in the months we've worked together and the moments we have shared in my house, I guess it's safe to say we're close enough for us to merit a holiday hug.

"I brought them with me, I hope you don't mind," JB says in Korean before showing me who else is hiding behind him. To my surprise Mina and Jenny are there along with Jinyoung, Yugyeom, and Youngjae. I guess Mina's been chatting with JB too, behind my back. I resolve to corner her about it later.

"Noona, we brought you hot chocolate for after dinner," Jinyoung says, holding a bag with a silver thermos inside, his warm smile melting my heart. "Or for tomorrow morning's hangover," I laugh at his sweet gesture and tell him how cute he is for even bothering to bring me something. He brushes it off with an adorable pout.

"Please come in. Let's all have dinner." The guests start milling around my penthouse apartment, looking at decors, photos, and paintings. Amber and Youngjae are looking at my vinyl collection and observing the turntable which I finally decided to display in the living room. Jinyoung stands quietly in front of the shelves installed under the stairs browsing through my English books. JB, BamBam, Yugyeom, and Jackson are congregating around the kitchen counter to start on the appetizers.

"Hey," I say, standing beside Jackson as he tries to make popcorn the same way I always do. "Where's Mark?" I ask quietly. Jackson just smiles at me.

"He's coming in later, he just went out for a few errands," JB answers in Korean, passing a look towards Jackson that somehow makes me feel more suspicious. I decide to shrug it off and help Jackson with the popcorn before moving to the dining table to add more dinnerware. I have no idea how the heck I'm supposed to fit nine people in my dining table for six.

Somehow, we manage to squeeze BamBam in between Amber and Jackson. Jenny and I take up the two ends of the table, sitting on ottomans. "Oh my god, this jjigae is so good where did you learn how to do this?" BamBam asks.

"My Nana Kyung taught me the recipe last Christmas" I say, my Australian accent slipping through. I tell them about my short holiday in Busan, my Nana Kyung, and all the funny reactions of my satoori-speaking relatives. There's laughter everywhere, and for a moment I forget that I'm so far away from home. I look at the faces around me and I don't see world-famous idols or the people working behind them. I see normal people, and I cannot get over the fact that we are all so much alike.

The doorbell rings as soon as we finish dinner. I get up, leaving the others to slice the cake Amber brought to the party. "Love, Baby, annyeong!" An intoxicated Henry stumbles into my arms as I open the door and behind him, Mark stands awkwardly with paperbags in both hands. His gray hoodie hangs loosely on his body and his blonde hair is dusted with flakes of snow, making him sparkle the way princes do in manhwas and dramas. Somehow, I manage to escape that dreamy, split-second eye-to-eye encounter with Mark.

I lead both of them to the living room where the guests are starting to gather with little plates of cake. Henry plops on the sofa beside Jackson and wrestles him into a hug. "Wang, holy shit, man, I've missed you!" He screams, shaking Jackson like a doll. Jackson rolls his eyes at the older idol, obviously used to Henry's drunken bouts. Everyone's instantly captivated by the ruckus the two boys are making.

"Hey," Mark whispers in my ear as he steps up behind me. I feel his warmth on my back, instantly knocking out the air from my windpipes.

"Yeah?" I turn to him while everyone's busy laughing at Jackson and Henry. I find myself at eye level with his lips and chin and Adam's apple. I watch it bob up and down before looking up to meet his chocolate brown eyes.

"You look really..." He gazes at me, and I distract myself by staring at the white shirt peeping out from under his hoodie. "You look pretty." He says quietly, almost whispering in my ear.

"You're the one who's looking really pretty," I say with a light laugh, trying to mask my adoration. How can someone look like a prince in a pair of faded jeans and a hoodie? He laughs shyly, obviously surprised by my response. "Where have you been? JB said you had errands."

"I bought you a gift," He produces a huge bottle of red wine from one of the paperbags and hands it to me, making me gasp. "Actually, that's from all of us. But this one's from me," he takes a pink box out of the other paperbag and holds it up for me to see.

"Oh my god!" I say, laughing in disbelief while inspecting the outside of the box. There's only one place that produces that specific shade of pink-on-pink stripes and just the thought of him shopping in a place like that is enough to make me blush. He laughs at my reddening cheeks, a naughty smile spreading across his face.

"It's lace, so I'm sure you'll like it..."

"Mark, you really didn't have to get me anything," I say, shaking my head and brushing all the disturbing thoughts away. He suddenly looks concerned. "I mean, now I feel bad because I don't have anything to give you!"

"I'm fine with a hug," He says, smiling wide and spreading his arms wide. I laugh as I step closer with two full hands and burning cheeks. We settle into a comfortable hug, my arms wrapped around his waist and him holding me tightly against his body. He smells like fresh laundry and lavender cologne, just like a baby. His scent reminds me of a world of comfort and softness and I just want to melt in his arms if I could. I haven't actually gotten the chance to really smell Mark until now, even if we often greet each other with a hug. With BamBam and Jackson, and even JB, it's different. Their strong, manly perfumes often hit me the moment I get close.

"Thanks Mark," I say moving away from the hug for what feels like an eternity. "I'll just take this upstairs. You and Henry should go and grab some food in the kitchen." I leave the guests downstairs to hide in my closet for a minute.

Holy crap, what is this feeling? I will my blood flow and heart rate to normalize, fanning my hot face and breathing deeply. It's been a while since I have felt this way. I was too busy building the life I've always imagined in Seoul in the past three years that I didn't have time to meet people or date around. My last relationship was a good four years ago so I'm pretty much numb from singlehood until now. I check the bottle of wine from GOT7. There's a tiny note hanging from the lid with a gold twine, and on it a neat scribble:

Thank you for a LOVE-ly year, Noona!

Happy Holidays!

From, GOT7

I tear the note off the lid and place it on my dresser before opening the bottle with the Swiss knife I always keep in my bag. If I'm going back in there, I'm going to need some pre-game. I take three swigs, chugging the wine unceremoniously and staining my nude-colored lips blood red.

When I reach the living room, BamBam is already pouring champagne for everyone and Jackson is busy placing bowls of popcorn on side tables and on the floor where most of the guests are settled on pastel-colored bean bags. Yugyeom is initiating a game of truth or dare using JB's empty beer bottle. I go to the kitchen, which is already surprisingly clean apart from the counter full of food. With the amount time they spend in my apartment, it's not surprising that the boys already know all the ins and outs of my kitchen, along with the fact that I hate a messy house. We've also gotten so close that they treat my house like their own dorm, leaving pieces of garments and items around for me to find on cleaning weekends.

I take a glass flute from the cupboard and a box of cupcakes from the fridge before making my way back to the living room. I then find Henry sprawled on the sofa with his head on Amber's shoulder. She's slapping his face lightly to make him sober while Jackson continues to make fun of his drunk sunbae. I plop beside Henry and offer him a cupcake. "Oppa, you have to try these, they're really good."

"Eww, don't call him Oppa!" BamBam says as he fills my empty flute with champagne.

"Why not? He's older than me," I answer, laughing as I watch Henry stuff his mouth with a moist chocolate cupcake.

"Love can call me Oppa all she wants," Henry answers too, grinning slyly with cupcake icing on his face. I take a tissue from the box on the nearest side table to wipe the icing off Henry's face. "Aigoooo," He says, blinking hard. He holds my hand and gives me his best male gaze. "Thank you, you're such a sweetheart!" He kisses my knuckles and I laugh at the unexpected physical contact. In my head I'm wishing that Olivia is here to see my interaction with her favorite Super Junior member.

"Hey, hey, no kissing!" Jackson says, waving his finger at Henry. "She's ours, you can't flirt with her,"

"Yeah, off limits Henry! Off limits." Mark comments before drinking his beer. Jenny and Mina chides in to ask why I'm getting the special treatment when they're part of the JYP staff too. Jackson jokingly responds that I have basically become their special Noona by letting them into my home whenever they're bored at the dorm.

"She feeds us all the time, she's like a mother bird when we're here," Mark continues in Korean.

"Ani, [No,] I thought I was the eomma [mom]?" Jinyoung interjects and we all laugh.

Yugyeom, being the adorable maknae he is, starts a mini-tantrum then, telling us he really wants to play. We give in, forming a perfect circle around the empty beer bottle that I'm pretty sure Mina's been itching to get her hands on. Yugyeom's first spin points to BamBam and he chooses to start the game with a truth question. "Okay, answer this: Who would you kiss, marry, and kill in this circle?" Yugyeom asks in Korean.

BamBam looks around, obviously conflicted. He then points to Jinyoung and says, "I'd kill Jinyoung hyung first because he always makes me do the laundry," Jinyoung's eyes widen threateningly despite his laughter. "I'd marry Jackson, because he's rich and he takes care of me even now."

"Yeah, we're like a married couple anyway," Jackson interferes, his smile all-knowing. "We sleep together, we eat together, and when we're out I always pay for him!" We all laugh. It's amazing how well this group is jiving together and it's only the beginning of the game.

"Who would you kiss then?" JB asks BamBam. The youngster looks at me with mischievous eyes.

"Ahhh, I'm not going to say it because I think she knows already," He says, making me retreat behind Henry's broad shoulder. Amber notices my reaction and laughs, stealing everyone's attention and subsequently taking the bait as BamBam's kiss choice despite her refusal.

"No, ewww! He's like my baby brother!" She says in protest.

It's BamBam's turn to spin the bottle and as luck would have it, the empty Heineken points to my direction. Amber laughs again, as if leering at me, and gives BamBam a high five. "Noona, is it Truth or Dare?" he asks, obviously amused.

"Dare," I say, not giving anyone the opportunity to question me further.

"For 5 minutes can we pretend that I'm your Oppa?" Bambam replies with a sly smile. Everyone reacts in defiance. I feel like JB and Jinyoung are about to beat up Bammie's ass. Amber is laughing nonstop and Henry seems pretty adamant to be the only guy in the group that gets to be older than me.

"Araso," [Fine,] I say, raising my hands up to silence them. "It's fine, I'm doing it, but only for one minute." I drink the rest of my champagne straight up. If it is true that he's smitten by me, then I'm excited to see his reaction. "Oppa..." I say, switching to my sweet girl personality and looking at him from behind my dramatically long eyelashes. He responds with a wide smile. "Joaheyo." [I like you.]

BamBam spasms on the floor animatedly and everyone explodes in a fit of laughter, especially Youngjae and Yugyeom who are hitting BamBam playfully as he lay helpless on the floor. Jackson picks him up and sits him on a bean bag like a doll. "Times up!" I say returning to the game.

The bottle stops in between Mark and Jinyoung who are busy laughing together until they realize that the bottle is in between them. "Oh oettoke?" [Oh, what to I do?] Jinyoung says, eyes wide but still smiling, his champagne flute already empty in one hand while the other rests on top of Mark's knee.

"I'll take it," Mark answers, a coy smile plastered on his face. My insides are starting to feel like the beer he keeps swirling in his bottle.

"Truth or Dare?" I ask, staring back at him. I seriously wish he'd say Truth because I've been dying to ask him if the rumors of him having a tattoo is true—and yes I've been dying to see it for myself too.

"Dare."

Fucking hell.