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Calista shivered, pulling the blankets closer to her form as chills racked her body. Somehow, the winter cold always got to her no matter how many layers she had on. The window in her room was drafty but she hadn't told anyone, not wanting to bother them with it.
Hak and Jae-ha had already repaired the roof in several places as instructed by Yoon and it was the holidays. She didn't want to give them more work to do. It wasn't fair.
After her date with Shin-ah, they started to date seriously off the bat, neither one of them playing around when it came to the other. Their friendship had ensured things between them not to be taken lightly.
They had kept things on the down low but it wasn't very effective for long. Zeno figured it out about as fast as Kija remained oblivious. Jae-ha had always been more in tune with the group's dynamic than she gave him credit for and Hak knew her too well to know that when her blushing and stuttering increased when Shin-ah was around, something had happened.
He actually had the audacity to corner her one day, demanding an answer out of her and once she caved, he stomped off to find the blue-haired, sweet and soft man.
According to Shin-ah, he didn't threaten him. Which she was very glad for since the last time she introduced him to someone, Hak nearly broke his neck for sitting too close to her. And that guy wasn't even anyone special to her, he had been over at her and Yona's apartment for a school project.
Thank goodness that he didn't overreact when it came to the guy she actually cared for and had deep feelings for.
Yona already knew of the crush developing on her best friend and Yoon wasn't called a genius for nothing.
After that all happened, they made a show of embarrassing the two of them together before their friends reassured them that they were happy for them and would support them.
She no longer shared a room with Yona, both the girls choosing to spend more time in their respective boyfriend's room more than their own, so much so that no one knew exactly where they chose to sleep since it could change every night.
Calista had chosen the loft as her sanctuary and stayed there most nights, her previous bedroom more of a space for her and Yona when they needed it.
Closing her eyes briefly, she rubbed her hands together but it wasn't just to warm up the frozen fingers as they shook uncontrollably. She jumped as the double doors burst open and two rascals sprinted in.
"It's Christmas morning, it's Christmas morning!!!!" Hani screamed excitedly, emerald eyes brimming with eagerness.
A bunch of their family and friends had come over yesterday to celebrate Christmas Eve and by the end of the day filled with games, movies, stories and a whole lot of food, the adults and the gang decided it would be easier to let them stay the night instead of having them drive all the way back home only to come again the very next day.
Finding bedding was a hassle but it didn't take too long once Yoon found them. The kids borrowed her and Yona's old room while the triplets bunked with Jae-ha in the attic.
Another set of footsteps pounded against the carpeted floors as the little girl jumped up into her small, foldable bed and bounced up and down.
She beamed enthusiastically down at the exhausted raven-haired girl. "Can we open our presents now?!?!"
"But Hani, I'm hungry!!"
Tae-yeon's small head lifted over the side of her bed, huffing and puffing as he pulled himself up beside his sister, pouting as he encountered more obstacles than he was expecting due to his height.
Hani shook her head at her friend. "Food can't be more important than presents, Yeonie!!"
"Is food and gifts all you two think about?" Calista yawned, resting an arm behind her head so that she could look up at the two of them, a fond twinkle in her eyes to let them know that she was just joking.
"No, we also think about Sootie." Hani stated matter-of-factly, calling to mind her black kitten that her guardian had let her keep after Halloween.
"And Ikki." Tae-yeon reminded her of her beloved pet ladybug.
"And Hak."
"And Yona."
"Ooooo and pizza!!"
Her brother remained adorably serious as the other little girl flew off the rails. "And Gramps and all of our friends. How many blessings we are fortunate to have."
"DOMINOSSS!!!!!!"
Calista chuckled, ruffling his hair while Hani was still hung up on pizza. "Alright, alright I get it. You two are ready to start the day."
"Yeah!!!" They chorused together, nearly sending her into the air with how hard they were jumping.
"PRESENTS!!!" Hani cheered, racing out the door with such vigor that Tae-yeon lost his balance on the bed and landed on top of his sister.
The older girl let out an 'oof', but didn't hesitate to push her little brother out of the way as a ball of black and grey fur tunneled into her, knocking the wind out of her lungs.
"Ivaylo..." Calista chastised with a playful wag of her finger in warning as the large canine's ears drooped in shame.
Shin-ah had rescued him from the pound. Due to his unnaturally large size and huge appetite, the people were going to put him down since no one seemed to want such a giant dog that resembled a wolf more than anything else. He had stopped them before they could and took him home that day.
Originally, he had planned on adopting a stray from a shelter, one that needed love but it just so happened that this one needed him more.
The animal hadn't responded to anything that he said until he said, "Vulo", meaning wolf in Bulgarian. Figuring out that he wasn't native to the area, he had taken to calling him Ivaylo until he had time to choose a proper name. Fortunately, he didn't have to change it.
After he had told her the story once the wolf mix bounded out of the box when she opened it after their date at the Shedd, Calista had scratched him behind his ears and called him Iva.
She first thought that it sounded too feminine but he responded well to it so it was pretty clear what his name was going to be. Although, they had made a pact with Yoon to keep it out of his kitchen if they wanted to keep him.
"Careful, Iva." She spoke to the wolf without hesitation as if he could understand her. "You almost knocked over Tae-yeon."
The little boy poked his head up from the foot of the bed, squealing and rushing forward to throw his hands around the now calmed down dog.
Swinging her feet over the side, Calista braced her hand against the adjacent wall as a wave of dizziness washed over her. She gripped her forehead in pain as a pounding headache made its way to the forefront of her mind.
Tae-yeon paused before exiting the loft, bounding back towards her with concern shining in his innocent eyes.
"Callie?" He asked timidly.
She sighed, mustering up a lopsided smile for his sake. "I'm alright, don't worry, Tae-yeon."
His expression didn't change, going so far as to scrunch up his nose in distaste at the obvious lie. She wanted to laugh at how much he resembled Hak in that moment but erupted into a fit of coughs before she had the chance to do anything.
By then, her youngest brother had made up his mind.
"I'll go get Hak!!"
"No!! Tae-yeon, wait— Ack!!"
Violent coughs cut her off and caused her to collapse against the wall as she tried to stand, only to have her legs give out from underneath her. By the time her blurry vision focused, he was long gone.
"Ah..." She smiled weakly as Ivaylo padded over to her. "I guess I've done it now, haven't I?"