Sinju’s mouth parted as soon as he saw Akira walking towards him, holding a large, messily wrapped gift. He slowly looked down at the small box in his hand and bit down on his lower lip.

“Heya,” Team W’s singer grinned widely and sat down the gift in front of Sinju, “Why the long face?”

He shook his head in response, earning a laugh from Akira. “Then what are you waiting for? Open your gift!”

Sinju sat the yellow wrapped gift box on the bar counter before unwrapping his present. “A…toy?”

The blue-haired enthusiastically nodded his head and flashed a toothy smile, “Didja say you wanted a big dog someday? Well, this Great Dane toy is here for ya until you can get the dog of your dreams.”

Sinju returned an equally wide smile and hugged the toy, thanking the singer for the best gift ever. While he was busy examining his present, Sinju didn’t notice Akira opening his gift box.

“Woah, these socks have capes on them,” Akira beamed as he examined the Superman socks.

“Y-Yeah…”

“You know the size of the gift doesn’t matter, right?”

Taken aback by Akira’s words, Sinju stared at him with wide eyes. Team W’s singer ruffled the younger man’s hair, “I am just happy you got me a gift. Besides, who does like socks with capes on them? Maybe I’ll wear these, put on a red cape and run around my apartment, pretending to be Superman.”

Sinju’s heart felt lighter as his lips curled upwards, “I want to see Super Akira, so send me a picture!”

Ginsei handed a plain green gift bag to Rindou and smiled, “I hope you like this…it’s not perfect, but I did my best.”

Rindou graciously accepted the gift while handing his teammate a box covered in light-blue wrapping paper. Team P’s leader opened a white jewelry box to find a handmade silver necklace. On the chain-links hung a pendant engraved with the phrase “Stay Strong”.

“I hope whenever you feel down or stressed, this necklace can help you remember how strong you are.”

His team member’s words touched Rindou, and the corners of his lips tugged up, “Thank you for your thoughtful gift. The necklace is beautiful, and I will cherish it.”

Ginsei nodded and carefully unwrapped his present, “A screwdriver set…how did you know?”

A chuckle escaped Rindou’s lips, “I overheard you talking to Sinju a few weeks back about needing new screwdrivers to make accessories. I hope these are the correct ones…”

Before the silver-haired man could say a word, Rindou quickly added, “You are a very hardworking man, Ginsei. Performing on two teams and managing your floor duties is a lot to handle, yet you still give it your all. I cannot thank you enough for helping out Team P.”  

For a while, Ginsei stared at the team leader in shock. His work was appreciated? His work…was appreciated! A gentle smile formed on his lips as he bowed, “Thank you for having me on your team. I will continue to work hard.” 

Taiga examined the neatly wrapped giftbox in his hand and sighed, “You didn’t have to put so much effort into wrapping this. I am just going to rip it off…”

Qu chuckled as he sat down on a nearby chair and placed Taiga’s purple giftbag on the table in front of him. “Would you like to do the honors, or should I go first?”

“Go ahead,” the gamer replied, taking a seat across from his coworker.

“A…book about technology?” Qu glanced at him, not expecting such a present. Not that he was upset about it – he was curious to know why Taiga would give him a book about technology of all things.

“This book has the basics about how to use technology. I am tired of fixing the tablets each and every day…please at least skim over it.”

Much to Taiga’s surprise, Qu started laughing, “I will be sure to read the book. Thank you.”

Satisfied with the reaction, Team W’s member opened his present to find a custom designed case for his portable gaming device. “How did you know she is my favorite video game character?”

“I asked Kokuyou. He once looked through the photos on your phone and saw a lot of pictures of this character, so he assumed she was your favorite.”

“I see. Thanks, I really like it. I was first thinking about getting you makeup, but I know nothing abou-,” Taiga stopped midway as Qu’s words finally sank in. “Wait…Kokuyou did what!?”

Kongou gratefully accepted Unei’s gift with one hand while handing the intern his gift with the other. “Unei, please don’t look so nervous. Would you like to open your gift first?”

The young boy shook his head and fixed his glasses, “Please, go first.”

Carefully removing the tape pieces, the chef opened the box to reveal a ceramic spoon rest with Team B’s symbol painted on it. The longer he examined the gift, the more nervous Unei got. “I wasn’t sure what to get you, but then I saw a store where I could paint pre-made items and…”

Thinking he was rambling on, management grew quiet and averted his eyes. “I am sorry if the symbol is not perfect…”

“Thank you, Unei. You spent your valuable time making a gift for me, and that means a lot.”

The intern exhaled quietly, relieved that his effort didn’t go in vain. With a smile, he reached into the holiday-themed gift bag and carefully took out a large box. Inside was an assortment of colorful ties, including the colors of the Starless teams.

“T-This is the first time someone gave me a gift. Thank you very much,” management bowed while trying to hold back his tears.

Kongou’s expressions softened as he rested a hand on the intern’s shoulder, “Thank you for always standing up for the cast members. We don’t thank you for your efforts, and I apologize for that, but please know we appreciate everything you do.”  

Yakou was surprised by thesize of the gift bag, but he patiently waited as Heath opened his present first.

“So this is why you asked for my favorite photo of Team B,” the rapper’s lips tugged up upon seeing his team’s picture on the notebook.

“Yes, I couldn’t decide what to get you, but then I saw an ad about personalized merchandise. Since you write your own songs, I thought a music notebook would help you stay organized,” Yakou said, rubbing the back of his neck.

“It’s perfect. Thank you.”

Team K’s newest member examined the rapper’s face for a moment before asking, “Heath, are you okay? You sound exhausted.”

“Yeah, I am fine. Please open your gift.”

Taking the hint that Heath didn’t want to talk about this any further, Yakou complied and looked into the gift bag to find a black canvas laptop bag.

“I see office workers using these bags, so I thought you might need one. I hope working at both an office and Starless is not stressing you out. Take care of yourself.”

Yakou thanked Heath for his thoughtful gift and reassured him that he was not stressed. “But Heath, take care of yourself…and if you ever need any help, let me know.”

Maica noticed Yoshino staring at the large gift box on the table from his peripheral vision as if he was trying to use x-ray vision to see into the present.

“Why don’t you go first?” Team P’s singer smiled and watched Yoshino cut open the pink wrapping paper. His smile only widened when he saw a glow on the shorter man’s face. “I was talking to Sin and learned you like board games. Since I didn’t know which games you have, I thought a 15-in-1 board game set be would best. Hopefully, you don’t have all these games.”

Shaking his head, Yoshino pressed the flat of his palm against his chest, “I don’t have most of these games. Thank you, Maica.”

Team P’s singer shifted his attention to the gift bag in hand and carefully removed a black-white plaid beret and an ebony beret with a single white flower from inside.

“I see you wearing berets a lot, so I thought you might like these.”

“You pay attention to details, though I should expect that from a chess player,” Maica flashed a genuine smile. “Thank you, Yoshino.”  

As Hari handed Sin a large gift box, he cautioned the tall man to be careful with it. And he was not joking – even Sin was stunned by the weight of the present.

Giving into Hari’s request, the silver-haired man methodically untied the bow on top of the gift. He slowly raised the box’s lid and peered inside, stunned to see a chess set. The chessboard was made of black and white marble, and the chess pieces were crystal. Half of the crystal pieces had a yellow gold base, while the other half had a white gold base.

“Hari, this gift-”

“Sin, I apologize for interrupting you, but please accept it. You are a man of fine taste, and I cannot think of a finer gift to fit your taste.”

“Very well. Thank you for your thoughtful and beautiful gift,” the tall man flashed a rare soft smile. As Sin continued to examine the chess set, Hari took the liberty to open his present. Inside the decorative tissue-stuffed gift bag was a designer racing armor jacket.

“Kokuyou has a habit of riding his motorcycle at dangerously high speeds. In case you develop that habit, this jacket will protect your body.”

“I…don’t plan on crossing a certain speed limit…”

“You sound uncertain,” Sin chuckled. “Then let me remind you that if you do get injured, Mokuren will not take pity on you. Hence, I suggest you think twice before racing.”