#cafeficexchange21

[lavienjin]

brightside | knj

synopsis: you're giving your husband one more chance to set things right, before the snow covers not just the ground but whatever remainder of love you have left in your heart.

pairing: namjoon x reader

wc: 8k

genre/rating/au: pg-15 | est. rel., christmas/holiday, breakup/divorce au | angst, fluff

warnings: husband!namjoon, swearing, allusions to divorce/breaking up, heaps of feelings, supernatural elements, angst with a happy ending

a/n: written for @mochajoon as part of the @btswritingcafe secret santa programme! surprise! it's your bestie snickerdoodle ♥ thank you to @kithtaehyung and @jjksblackgf for betareading this 🥺

m.list | ao3

Once upon a time, your memories of winter were filled with laughter – of family members coming from out of town with presents as you sat around and played games with your cousins. Dinner would be a whole affair; with boisterous aunts and uncles reminiscing their younger years while the kids played in the snow. You can still hear your mother calling you downstairs to open the present she snuck under the tree, or your favourite cousin coming over to ask you about boys in the pretense of play. Those were the days.

You let the glitz and sparkle of the golden-tinted memories wash over you as you watched the first snowfall out of your bedroom window with a sad smile.

Yes, once upon a time, the holidays meant something to you.

“When did it all change?” you mused to no one in your empty bedroom.

You know the answer. After marrying your husband, you moved a thousand miles away from your family, and the laughter eventually died with each season that's colder than the last, though the wind is not the sole reason as to why you're unable to enjoy the holidays.

Turning to your left, you find only rumpled sheets, an indication that your husband did come home that night, though he has since disappeared to do God-knows-what. You wondered if he’ll remember his promise this time, or if you’ll spend Christmas Eve staring into the fireplace again, wine in hand, only to be dejected, though not surprised, when he’d only return home in the morning smelling of cheap booze.

Oh, but he’d always make it up to you, right?

The first time he kept you waiting into the night was for your anniversary dinner. After returning home haggard in the early hours of the morning, he had gifted you a beautiful Love Cartier bracelet, with two intertwined rings in the chain, as an apology. You had forgiven him so easily, welcoming him back into your arms as you kissed him in thanks. But, with every passing day where he stopped being your husband, and instead became married to his work, the presents, along with the simple ‘sorry’ scrawled into the cards, weren’t enough to keep the growing resentment at bay.

You tried your best to talk to him about what you’ve been feeling, but Namjoon seems just too busy to care, or maybe, he’s stopped caring at all, relying heavily on the materialistic objects to appease you.

You leave your room with a bitter cackle, making a wager against yourself as to what present you’ll receive this time.

Perhaps it’ll be a necklace or a ring with a diamond the size of your eye. Surely, your husband had a stack of presents for you in his office, ready to whip it out should he smell the first hint of trouble or displeasure from you.

There was a time when he swore that he loved you, but you’ve come to learn that the seasons were cruel to all manners of love. As the wind picked up and the cold settled in, it must have also robbed your husband of his warmth.

He wasn’t mean to you or anything, in fact, you could spy a glimpse – a sliver of humanity left in him during the parties they held for the investors. Though you were nothing more than arm-candy, it’s during these functions where your husband seemingly returned, and perhaps you’re pathetic, but the familiar warmth of his hand finding a home on the small of your back again makes your traitorous heart beat faster, and you couldn’t help but hold out hope that your beloved is still in there somewhere.

You made your coffee this morning, like all mornings that came before it, with a heavy sigh. The large, opulent house was quiet save for the shuffling of your feet, and you made your way through the hallway lined with smiling pictures of yourself from the past. Before entering the living room, you stopped at the largest of them all, a gold-framed portrait of you and your husband on your wedding day. The brilliant photographer had captured a quiet moment between the two of you, with your foreheads pressed against one another. And though both your eyes were rimmed with tears, the grins on both your faces were more than enough evidence of the happiness you felt on that day. You contemplated the painting in silence. A stray tear rolled down your cheek and then another, and another, until a continuous downpour wets your face as you searched for an answer in the vision of the past, one that was once full of serenity and love.

You touched the portrait with shaky fingers, wishing that you’re able to return to that day. Your wedding was chaotic, not only with the normal hustle and bustle of a grand party, but also because the cake had fallen when the two of you tried to cut into it. There were a lot of gasps amongst your family and friends as they watched in horror; white fluffy frosting flying everywhere, covering your dress and his shoes, but you could only laugh, filled with too much joy to worry over the dry cleaning (that ended up costing a few hundred dollars).

“Do you linger in front of this picture like I do?” you choked.

The coffee in your hands was cold by the time you made your way into the living room.

One more chance, you plead to the Gods above as you sipped the bitter liquid. The snow was falling faster now; the cold, a perfect match for your sombre mood. One more chance for him to fulfill his promises.

And if he breaks your heart again? A cynical voice responds in the back of your mind. What then?

Your tears were your answer as you gazed longingly at the now empty house you’ve built with him. With a heavy sigh, you pulled your nightgown tighter to your shivering figure, and glanced at the neat stack of documents that you left on the coffee table. Undisturbed; the papers still in their rightful places. You’re unsurprised. He hadn’t bothered to look through it. Maybe the bolded print on the first page wasn’t large enough to catch his attention.

The documents felt heavy as you gathered them into your arms. It wasn’t so much the paper, but the weight of the words that laid across the pages.

Then I suppose there’s nothing else for me to do but leave, you concluded before disappearing into your bedroom.

---

Busy.

It’s a word that could sum up the holiday season perfectly for Namjoon and his current state. He had loosened his tie and undid the first two buttons of his dress-shirt sometime in the night. Though he let his team off early to spend time with family and friends during the holiday season, he was unfortunately tied to his desk – like most days in the year.

There’s a deal that was proposed last week for the upcoming fiscal year, a chance to increase business by working with talents from the entertainment industry to sell more products, and what better way to get people to buy things than during the holiday season?

Papers rustle as he signs off document after document, until the letters begin to jump out of the page and dance in front of him. He shut his bleary eyes for a moment, counting to three before continuing on with his work.

There’s a knock on the door of Namjoon’s office that interrupts his thoughts. “Sir?” Jimin, his secretary, pops his head in. Namjoon hums absentmindedly, going back to reading through reports as though he wasn’t just interrupted. Taking a quick glance at the younger man, Namjoon finds that Jimin’s already bundled up in warmth, the scarf gifted to him by his lover wounding itself tightly around his neck. “I’m going to head out,” he informs. “Shouldn’t you leave soon too? I thought you were having dinner with the missus?”

Namjoon’s pen pauses in midair. He doesn't need to be reminded of his familial obligations, least of all, from an unmarried man. Exhaustion seeps into the lines of his face, and though he didn’t mean to snap at the good-natured secretary, he couldn’t help but feel irritated all the same. “That’s my business, Mr. Park,” he mutters coldly, just like the wind outside. His secretary bows and offers his apologies, though Namjoon raises his hand to silence the bumbling man. “Enough, leave me to my work, please. Have a great night.”

“Happy holidays,” Jimin replies quickly before closing the door.

Namjoon ought to apologize, but the stack of papers refused to let him go. He could make his amends to Jimin by giving him an extra day off or something. Presents seem to weaken the anger in everyone’s hearts. With a sigh, he glances at the clock on the other wall, noting how late it’s gotten. He had a feeling you’re going to be upset with him if he comes home. Oh well, perhaps he could stay at a hotel again to avoid your wrath. Setting his pen down, he opened his desk drawer to rummage through a series of trinkets in hopes to find a suitable gift for you.

Smiling to himself, he found a sapphire necklace amongst the stack of presents that could pass for this exact reason. All he has to do is get down on his knees and apologise, and just like that he’s in your good graces again. As he wrapped the necklace up in a light blue box and redid the white ribbon, he couldn’t help but hum. Truly, you’re so lucky to have such a thoughtful husband, and he’s so lucky to have an understanding wife.

As the wind wages war outside, Namjoon sits content in his quiet office, going through his mountain of work without much thought for his lover at home.

Just as the clock chimes for the twelfth time that night, the lights flicker once and shut off all at once.

“Huh,” he whispers under his breath as he waits for his eyes to adjust to the darkness.

It’s not uncommon for the electricity to shut off in the middle of a raging storm, but his office is eerie with the absence of light. He sits for a few moments, staring into the inky blackness before fumbling for his phone to shine the little beam of light around the office. His tiny flashlight can’t seem to penetrate the dark, but it’s better than nothing, so with a gulp, Namjoon prepares his nerves as he ventures outside.

His Oxford shoes slap against the linoleum floor loudly as he makes his way to the other end of the hallway for the fusebox. Though he’s used to being in the office alone at night, the howling wind makes for an uncomfortable companion as it follows him to his destination. While he walks, the wind whispers secrets into his ears, though Namjoon isn’t able to catch the words. He almost sighs in relief when he spies the fusebox at the end of the hallway.

Creaaak.

The hinges on the metal slate of the fusebox must have rusted. Namjoon winces as he pries it open, the sharp creaking noise unpleasant to his ears. He forgets his fears for a moment as he squints at the faint writing on each switch. He holds his breath as he tries the first one, and waits… nothing. The second and third switches also yield the same result.

“Come on… Give me something,” he grunts, flipping through each switch. Namjoon’s senses are on high alert, and despite his desperate pleas, the lights remain stubborn in their refusal to turn on. Perhaps this is a sign from the universe to head on home, yet he can't just leave, not when the company is on the line for another major sale! No, he has to stay.

Click after click; his breath begins to puff into wispy clouds as he waits, the heater having shut off long ago, causing the cold to sneak in and settle in his bones. Yet the lights are stubborn in their efforts to remain turned off.

His paranoia also increases with every failed attempt. More than a few times, he calls out into the darkness because he thinks he hears his name, only for silence to reply to his answer. He curses, begs, and mutters under his breath, but the universe refuses to let him walk away with victory.

There’s only the last row left.

The first two switches yield nothing, unsurprisingly.

Four left. Click. Nothing.

His hands begin to shake as he goes down the row, waiting a little longer before going through the buttons this time. Maybe the electricity is just taking its sweet time to travel through the old wires of the building. That's how it works, right?

Three left. Nothing, nothing, nothing.

“Come on, come on.”

He jumps when the wind picks up, slamming a door from the other end of the hallway, as though it’s protesting against Namjoon’s actions. He must've forgotten to close the windows. Yeah. That's it.

Sweat collects along his forehead, and he swallows thickly at the fear that clings on his shoulders. When he reaches over the second to last switch, the windows rattle loudly against the force of the storm outside, and Namjoon yelps in surprise. In his attempts to calm himself down, it happens again. More howling. More rattling. Heart picking up pace, his shaky hand manages to pull the lever, only for nothing to happen. He’s engulfed in a sea of sound; his blood roaring in his ears and the loud crashes of the wind against the windows.

One to go. The last switch.

Namjoon doesn’t wait, gripping the black plastic tight between his fingers. “Please!” he yells with his eyes squeezed shut, flipping the switch with a great force that he’s surprised the plastic didn’t break.

Nothing.

His heart begins its slow descent to the floor.

But, after a few more seconds, he hears the familiar hum of electricity before the room floods with light. Namjoon’s shoulders sag with relief as he crouches on the floor to gather himself. The wind itself seems to quiet down, as though sulking at his success.

Namjoon doesn't care about all that though. His pride had been hurt. Thank goodness he’s alone. He couldn’t imagine having to explain his panic to his coworkers, because who would believe that their shrewd boss is afraid of the dark?

The anxiety left his body in a sad state of shock however, so when he tries to stand, he finds that his energy has been sapped clean, rendering his legs useless. White-hot frustration fills his eyes with tears. This wouldn’t have happened if he just left the office.

Breathe, Joon.

Namjoon's eyes widen and flit around the room hurriedly to find the source of your voice, before he stops when he realizes where he was. How ironic, even with him focusing all his thoughts on work, you still manage to wiggle your way inside.

“Oh my god, I’ve gone crazy,” he chuckles, sliding his palm over his face. Yet, he listens, and breathes. Purposeful slow breaths that fill his lungs with oxygen, and soon enough, his heart returns to its former pace.

When he tests his legs, he’s able to stand.

Exhaling a sigh of relief, Namjoon walks towards the direction of the office, only to pause when he spies his reflection on the window. There, a mirror image of him stands, looking just as exhausted as he feels. The bags under his eyes tells a story of late nights in the office; of a person that hasn’t relaxed in some time now. How could he? There’s a whole company resting on his shoulders. Perhaps once things settle down after the dawn breaks in the upcoming year, Namjoon could go on holiday. Somewhere tropical… Lombok, maybe? The thought of plunging his toes to warm sand as he soaks the sun’s rays sounds delightful, but he’s forced to rid himself of fantasies when he nears his office, as he’s unable to resist the siren’s call of work.

When he opens the door, however, he’s startled to find you standing by his desk with your back turned towards him. You’re in an off-white dress with a tiara neatly placed on your hair. The image looks familiar yet foreign at the same time, and it’s only when you turn to face him does he realize that something is wrong.

It’s no wonder that he finds the view familiar. You are wearing your wedding dress, complete with the sash that cinches your waist and the veil cascading around your face like a halo.

Yet instead of joy, your beautiful face is painted in sadness, with tears collecting in the rim of your eyes; a torrent of emotions ready to be released.

“D-Dear?” Namjoon calls out in disbelief, refusing to enter the room. “What are you doing here?”

You smile sadly in response, before crossing the threshold until you stand a foot in front of him, extending your hand towards his still figure. “Joon,” you beckon. “Come here.”

Namjoon remains rooted to the spot, warning bells ringing in his mind. There’s a strange blurriness to your form, like the universe isn’t too happy with your existence. That being said, the wrinkles he’s gotten to know doesn’t exist in this version of you… as though you’ve transformed yourself like your younger self. Could makeup do something like this? Then again, when did you have the time to come over in the middle of a blackout without letting him know?

He steals a glance at his phone, trying to find the notification that indicates that he’s missed your call, but his inbox remains empty of your trace – save for the dozens of messages from his employees wishing him well for the holidays.

There’s no way the person in front of him is his wife, no matter what his eyes are suggesting otherwise. He must be exhausted, and the fear from earlier is making him see things. Yeah. That's what's happening. Yet, mind intrigued, and mouth running faster than he could catch it, he voices his confusion. “Who… are you?”

Upon his reluctance, you close your hand into a fist and let it fall to your side, though the smile never leaves your face. “I’m your wife, of course,” you answer, but then your brows knot in confusion. “Wait… we did get married, right?”

Namjoon looks around. Was this some sort of prank?

Why are you entertaining this woman, Namjoon? He scolds himself. Get back to work.

“I am married, but not to you,” Namjoon snaps with a shake of his head. “Whoever you are, please leave before I call the cops.” He holds his cellphone like a weapon, tightening his grip on the device, as he stalks towards you.

He means to haul the stranger away, but as soon as he steps foot in his office, the world melts. Gone is his desk and subsequently, your present and the stacks of papers. Gone is his shelf, filled with photographs and awards from his lifetime. Gone is his world.

When he blinks, Namjoon is suddenly standing in the midst of a sea of people. From their outfits, there seems to be a party of some sort. Just as he deduces that his environment isn't threatening — he's surrounded by bodies, all exclaiming 'Congratulations' to his face. But in his panic, his eyes are unable to make sense of the details, causing the crowd to look nothing more than faceless mannequins. And then, just before he sinks to the floor to curl up into a tight ball of anxiety, he spots you, or at least, the version of you that was in his office mere moments ago, laughing with a few people as you sip on champagne.

Time seems to slow as Namjoon makes his way to reach you; the crowd parting seamlessly to let him through. When was the last time he’s seen you smile, let alone laugh, like that?

In that moment, whatever panic he feels doesn’t matter, because you’ve returned to be the centre of his world.

Oh.

There's a surge of emotions as Namjoon continues to study your smiling face, and finally, he remembers. This... feeling. Familiar and foreign at the same time.

Helplessly, he stares, transfixed and awestruck at your beauty. His foot melds into one with the floor. His mouth that was once formed into an 'o' closes by itself before a corner lifts, up and up, to transform into a lopsided smile. And when his heart picks up its pace once more, it’s not out of fear or terror, but a strong affection whose name once escapes him, but has now returned home.

Love.

At that moment, you turn around and spot him. Your initial surprise at seeing him just standing there dissolves into a bright smile. “Namjoon! Over here!"

Wait. Could you see him too? And… you're not… upset? Namjoon points to himself in disbelief as he looks around to see if there's any other versions of him in the vicinity.

“Yes, you,” you giggle with a shake of your head. Namjoon watches you excuse yourself from your conversation partners before coming towards him. He can smell the perfume you're wearing - a subtle hint of floral that melts beautifully with your skin. You lift your hand and touch his cheekbones, wearing a half-worried and half-amused expression. “Are you drunk already? The party’s just starting!”

Namjoon is unable to tear his eyes away from you. From up close, you’re so beautiful, your eyes catching the light to sparkle like the most brilliant of diamonds. “What’s going on?” he asks, unsure if the scene in front of him is real.

You return his question with a quirk of your brow. “Umm… we just got married like 4 hours ago?” Then, standing on your tiptoes, you cup a hand by his ear to whisper conspiratorially, “Should we cut the reception short and get the hell out of here? We can start our own ‘party’. You know… with just the two of us.”

The teasing, almost salacious, voice is one he's not used to, not anymore. But, Namjoon remembers it well, because it's the very same one you once used when you’re scheming with him, during a time when you were both his best friend and lover. The memories of cutting class during college to spend just a few moments alone together come rushing in as he continues to stare at your face - ones filled with stolen kisses behind the bleachers and sneaking around the dorm hallways to avoid the strict RAs.

If the dress you wear wasn't enough of a clue, he finally remembers this day; this exact moment. Though the memory is slightly altered, the words you utter are the exact same. Namjoon's sure of it now; in just a few moments, you'll be introduced to the world as Mr. and Mrs. Kim.

What he doesn't quite remember is your expression. Forget witnessing you laugh vivaciously in front of nameless figures, this was something else. The bright, almost bewildered look, like you couldn't believe that today was real; that soft curve of your lips of a serene smile; and the joy that you radiate just from standing next to him. You're looking at him like...

Like you're in love... With him.

Just as he contemplates this revelation, the master of ceremonies’ voice booms through the speakers. “Ladies and gentleman,” she announces enthusiastically, waving an arm towards your general direction. “It is time for the couple’s first dance. Let me re-introduce you to Mr. and Mrs. Kim!”

Beside him, you cheer loudly along with the guests, laughing and high-fiving the people closest to you.

“Ready, husband?” You waggle your brows. “That’s our cue to dance!”

The crowd clears a path for the two of you, a spotlight shining on the centre of the room. You’re already walking a few steps ahead of him, before stopping when you realize that Namjoon is still stuck where he stands. Turning around, you extend a hand towards him.

“What are you waiting for? Don’t tell me you’re getting cold feet,” you chuckle, waving your outstretched hand impatiently. “It’s too late now, mister. We’re married. And you and I both know that we're both too lazy to go through the divorce proceedings.”

In a daze, Namjoon reaches out and grabs your hand, the warmth instantly spreading all over his body. He ignores the fleets of chuckles amongst the crowd, having heard your words; no, he focuses solely on you.

With a knowing smirk, you tug him towards you until the two of you stand in the middle of the dance floor. A hush falls over the room, the silence of anticipation rippling among the guests as the first few notes of soft piano music begins to play. What was his wedding song again? He can hardly hear the notes, his brain too filled with committing your lovely face to memory.

He moves instinctively, circling your waist with his arm to pull you close to him. You let out a soft ‘oh’ of surprise at the touch. Your bravado seems to drop, your movements robotic as Namjoon guides you through the dance.

“Now who’s getting cold feet?” he teases low before pressing his cheek on your head. He's unable to stop the smile from crawling up his face at the quiet sound of indignation from you.

“Shut up,” you complain. Namjoon's dismayed when you shrug him off from you, but he's quickly relieved to learn that you're not angry when you stick your tongue childishly at him. “You’re lucky I love you or else I’ll divorce you right now.”

Namjoon gasps scandalously, despite having a difficult time trying to keep his smile at bay. “You wouldn’t dare!”

The two of you burst into laughter while still swaying along to the music, lost in the world of each other's arms. In the comforting silence, Namjoon prays that this dance doesn't end, and if this happens to be some sort of dream, he hopes he never wakes up.

You're holding onto each other tightly, not even an inch apart between your bodies. And when the music reaches its peak, Namjoon stops dancing to lift your chin upwards before lowering his lips to meet yours. He hears the gasps from the crowd, and he smirks into the kiss, feeling a sort of pride from being the only person who's able to do this to you.

Alas, you are in public, so Namjoon reluctantly pulls away, but not before ensuring that your breaths come out staggered as though oxygen isn't the only thing he's taken.

“Oh, you'll rue the day you break my heart, Mr. Kim, because I swear that you’ll know pain,” you pout with a poke on his ribs.

Namjoon knows you're not the biggest fan of public displays of affection, but how can he stop touching you when you're just so lovely?

“You wound me, Mrs. Kim,” he counters with a snicker gracing you with a serene smile. He cradles your cheek, staring deep into your eyes as he promises, “You know that I would never break your heart, my love.”

But as soon as he utters those words, the music stops, and the room’s occupants freeze in place, the once boisterous laughter cut short, like when you turn off the TV in the middle of a laugh track. The sudden silence is so eerie that it causes Namjoon to falter, dropping his hands to his sides as he surveys the room with terror. What’s happening this time?

“’Never’, you say?”

It’s nothing more than a whisper, but in the deafening silence of the room, your words carry themselves to his ears, and Namjoon has to suppress a chill that runs down his spine. He doesn’t dare to turn around and face you, afraid of what he might find.

Why does your voice sound so… cold?

“You swore,” clack. “That you’d ‘never’,” clack. “Break my heart,” clack.

Namjoon’s shivering now, and if the clicks of your high-heels, coupled with your clipped words, are indications of a warning, he should probably start running for the hills by now. He takes a small step forward, and another, but his attempts are futile at best because the crowd is an unmoving wall, refusing to part for his trembling figure.

With a deep breath, he turns around, eyes expanding in fear. Namjoon must be brought here, to the past or whatever this world may be, for a reason… but that fear, the very same one that spikes his heart rate to a million miles an hour, only melts away at the sight of your face.

Grief swims in your once sparkling eyes, but what surprises him most is how exhausted you looked – like you’ve been holding yourself back from breaking numerous times, only to be disappointed by something repeatedly.

Or someone.

“Did I... do this to you?” he whispers, taking a step forward to meet you toe-to-toe. He moves to touch your cheek, but his hand freezes in the air when a single tear escapes.

However, you lean into the touch, closing your eyes before heaving a sigh. Instead of an answer, you wave your hand into the air. A mirror appears in front of Namjoon, decorated with ornate gold trimming. He could only gape as he stares into his reflection, but truthfully all the panic and anxiety over the past few hours has rendered him incapable of surprise. Nothing in this world, and probably the next, could ever phase him anymore.

“What’s this?” he asks, though he has a feeling he’s about to find out.

Sure enough, the sad smile reemerges. “Just watch and you’ll see.”

Namjoon only nods. Before him, the surface of the mirror swirls until a scene begins to play out like a grand TV.

There you sit in your living room, wearing a deep-plum gown, anxiously checking your phone for the time before fiddling with the gold band that adorns your finger. Namjoon smiles warmly at your little habit, the intricacies that make you all the more lovely even after years of living together.

You looked beautiful, that's no surprise, matching the floor-length gown with the dangly earrings he got you for your birthday the year before. He remembers the garment vividly; having seen it hang on the door of your shared wardrobe because you were planning on wearing it… to your fifth anniversary dinner. The very same event that he cancelled last minute because he chose to work.

His smile drops.

It’s the first of many promises that he’ll fail to keep.

Namjoon could only stare helplessly as you continue to wait. The scene skips forward a few times until the mirror shows you pacing around your living room with your phone pressed into your ear. You've bunched up the plum-coloured gown by your knees to make it easier for you to move.

His heart sinks. How many times had you called him that night?

You keep trying his phone, and with every call that he ignored that night, the panic inside you continued to build. He can’t hear what you’re saying – your words overpowered by the sound of guilt and regret – but at this point, you’re probably calling everyone you know to see if anyone could get a hold of him.

“Jimin?" You carded your fingers in your hair as you sighed in relief to hear Namjoon's secretary's voice. "Is he okay? Where's Namjoon? I’ve called him again and again and—What? He’s… where?” Your voice in the mirror is slightly distorted, but Namjoon can hear the tightness in your words before the tone switches to disbelief. He doesn’t have to hear the rest of the conversation to remember where he was that night.

“No, don’t bother him. Yeah, I’m fine," you lie. "Good night.”

When your call with Jimin ends, you sink to the floor and weep.

The mirror swirls again, showing more scenes of you waiting around for him in various shades of refinery – an emerald gown, a scarlet cocktail dress… the list goes on. With each passing scene, Namjoon could see the hope in your eyes diminishing, and with It, regret piling high on his shoulders. He's not sure how much more of this he can take.

In one scene, only after waiting for what seemed to be an hour, in a blush-coloured top that he hadn't seen before, you left and returned with an open bottle of wine. After cursing Namjoon under your breath, you brought the neck to your lips and drank, and drank, and drank. Never once taking a breath for air, until a fourth of the bottle is gone.

Yet even through your grief, he could see the sliver of hope you held onto, because you kept on agreeing to his promises, giving him chance after chance that he doesn't take. His heart breaks continuously, the already shattered pieces crumbling further into dust as he could do nothing else, but watch.

Then the mirror shifts once more to a scene from this morning, focusing on how you lingered at the large portrait of the two of you on your wedding day. He watches you shuffle into the living room and stare at something on the coffee table, but it’s not before the angle shifts again that he could see what it was. He could do nothing else but stare at the bolded words on the stacks of paper with his heart lodged in his throat.

It’s only when his vision begins to swim that Namjoon realizes that he’s crying.

After the last scene, the vision shuts off, returning the looking glass into a normal, albeit unsually ornate, mirror.

The after-images of you dance in Namjoon’s mind: of you drinking, of you worried, of you waiting for him. All of a sudden, it doesn’t matter that he’s the president of his company, everything ceases to have meaning when there’s a chance that he could lose you forever. And he's sure that nothing, no amount of expensive gifts in the world or pretty words, will bring you back once you leave him.

“How do I fix this?” he cries, wiping the tears away with his sleeve. “I wanna go back to my world.”

Your expression remains doubtful, but Namjoon presses on. "Please, I want to make this right," he begs, falling to his knees while pressing his forehead on the back of your hand. The gold band you wear glints in the light, and he cements his final promise with a light kiss on your finger. "Please."

"Okay," you relent quietly. “I’ll return you to your world, but Joon… can you promise me that you won’t break her heart—our hearts again?”

It’s his turn to offer a smile, though it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. It’ll take a miracle to convince you that he’s changed, but he’s willing to risk it all. Namjoon is more proud of his title as your husband than the president of his company, and he hopes that the ambition in his eyes convinces you of that.

“I swear it.”

And the world fades to black.

---

Namjoon gasps awake.

The ballroom is gone – replaced by the familiar surroundings of his office, but he has no time to rejoice in his return because he has to leave. Now.

Just as he puts his coat on, he spots your gift sitting prettily on his desk. He almost took it with him, but he remembers what the present symbolized – empty promises and apologies – and decided to leave it and run. His footsteps pounding against the pavement is indistinguishable from the sound of his heart hammering against his ribcage; his breath coming up in puffs as he yanks door after door open, taking the stairs two–sometimes three at a time, in his quest to get to his car.

The snow that pelts against his windshield makes it hard for him to see the road. Even his fog lights are of little use with the storm raging outside. The tires slide against the sleek pavement, unable to find purchase on the unpaved ground.

“Come on!” Namjoon snarls, white-knuckles gripping on the steering wheel as he squints to find a path through the glittering snow.

This trial, however, is nothing. No mere element will stop him from coming home to you.

Wait for me for one last time, he prays, powering through the sleet and flurry dancing outside. Please. Just this once.

---

It’s your last night sleeping in this giant bed.

When the morning comes, you’ll head to Namjoon’s office and hand him the papers yourself, ones that contain your signatures to dissolve your current arrangement. Will he cry? Beg you to stay? Maybe once upon a time he would have, but you’re not sure if the current Namjoon’s the same person you married all those years ago.

The clock had chimed twelve times before you decided that Namjoon wasn’t going to make it home for Christmas again this year, and you had to peel your weeping self back to the bedroom to get ready for bed.

Now, in the darkness, little else matters. Come morning, you’ll be gone, leaving only the photographs lining the halls of this empty house as evidence of your presence.

Still, you hope he’ll think of you fondly from time to time.

---

Just a little bit more.

With the roads devoid of its usual traffic, Namjoon’s able to make it inside his neighbourhood in a quarter of the time it would normally take. Turning the corner into his street, his heart sinks when he sees that the house is dark. You’ve turned all the lights off, save for the one that shines above the front porch.

She’s just asleep, he thinks as he takes the front steps two at a time. Please, god, let her be asleep.

The only time he stops is to discard his wet shoes and coat into a pile by the front door. He doesn't bother with the lights, not when he's too much in a hurry to be by your side. He walks briskly past the couch where you sat, and the beautiful portraits of the two of you, hammering home the promise that he hopes to make things right.

Yet when he reaches his destination, he stutters to a stop, his hand hovering in the air. The door to your shared bedroom has never been this imposing. It towers over him like a giant, mocking his small figure despite Namjoon being close to six feet tall. This was far more nerve wracking than when he proposed to you all those years ago. With a final plea that you haven’t left him for good, his clammy hand wraps around the door handle, and Namjoon walks inside.

“Baby?”

He would have otherwise been terrified of the silence, but in this case, Namjoon’s relieved. He spies your curled up frame in the covers, with half your face buried into the pillow. Even though there’s a storm raging outside, there you lay, a vision of peace.

Namjoon could feel his throat close up again, the tears threatening to spill out from inside of him. He could watch you all night, counting the breaths while watching the rise and fall of your chest. In the shadow of the night, he stands, debating on if he should wake you. It’s no doubt an urgent conversation, but could it wait until tomorrow?

With shaky fingers, Namjoon sweeps his fingers across your cheek. A tear escapes, falling into the sheets. How long did you wait this time? How many hours did you spend checking your phone and looking outside before you realized he wasn’t coming home? Guilt and regret stabs at his chest. All this pain, this sorrow that lines your beautiful face, it could have all been avoided if he just listened.

“Baby… I’m sorry,” he whispers.

At the sound of Namjoon’s voice, your eyes flutter open. “Joon?” you croak, your own voice thick with sleep as you sit up. “Is that really you?” Your eyes expand at the sight of your husband’s eyes, ringed with red and full of anguish. What's going on?

“Yes,” he cries. Namjoon's fingers graze your cheek, before his palm cradles your face. “It’s me. I’m here. I’m late, I’m sorry, but I swear that it’s the last time I’ll make you wait for me.”

Your own eyes well with tears at the raw emotion in his voice. Your hand moves to touch his face. Though his cheekbones are cold, there's an undeniable realness to this. It isn't a dream. Namjoon's really here.

You have spent countless nights wishing for him to return home and into your arms, but now that it's happening, you can't find yourself to forgive him so easily. Willing your tears at bay, you move away from his touch. You try not to wince at the crestfallen look on Namjoon's face.

"Why are you here?"

He doesn't reply, though his mouth opens and shuts a few times. "I came… to make it right," he finally utters in a small voice.

Heat rises to your cheeks. How dare he say that without knowing anything; not how long you've waited or how much you've cried? And how convenient, just as you're about to leave, he somehow miraculously comes to his senses?

"I can't believe you!" The weather outside can't eclipse your fury. "You have no right coming back here to seek forgiveness." You can't stop the hot tears from falling, causing the edge of your words to sharpen more than any knife you could wield. He's going to feel it all; your grief from having to wait, and the results of your patience wearing thin.

"Namjoon… I waited for you for months. I tried talking to you about it too, but you didn't listen," you accuse, trying not to be swayed when he winces at the truth. "The first time it happened, do you have any fucking idea how scared I was? Every time I call, no one seems to know where you are! I was worried that something bad had happened."

He sits in front of you solemnly, with his chin tucked into his chest.

"But everything was fine, wasn't it?" you chuckle bitterly. "It wasn't until I called Jimin that I realised… you've changed. You stopped caring about me, and about our relationship.

"And now, you want to come here and apologise? All I ever wanted,” you hiccup, but you don't let the sob stop you from talking, “All I ever needed was you, Joon. I couldn’t have cared less about the expensive presents.”

“I’m sorry," he cries, tears flowing steadily from his eyes. “I’m an idiot for taking you for granted, and I can't believe how long it took me to figure out just how badly I've fucked up. Please," Namjoon offers you a hand. "Just give me one more chance."

Funny. How long have you extended your own hand only to be met with refusal?

You shake your head, clenching the blanket tightly under your grip to avoid the temptation. “Why couldn’t you have prioritized us sooner, Joon?” Your words come out broken, exhaustion seeping into every word. “You kept pushing me away, and I don’t get it. I just wanted it to be you, only you."

The silence takes over as you let the words sink in. But from the lack of response from Namjoon, you continue after a heavy sigh, "God. I'm stupid," you laugh ruefully with a shake of your head. "I should’ve left you a long time ago, back when I first realized that our relationship was no longer a priority—but a convenience.”

Your husband in front of you only repeats his apologies, hanging his head so his hair covers his face. The 'sorry's… they ring hollow now, having been repeated so frequently without change that it ceases to have all meaning.

And for you. After spending so much time wishing, there is truly nothing more to be said; no more tears to shed.

The fury has died.

All that's left of you is an empty shell, a person completely devoid of emotion, aside from this heavy weariness.

You don't spare him a glance, staring straight at the storm outside instead.

"You’re right. I took you... I took us for granted," Namjoon whispers, his voice just as seemingly exhausted as yours. Even if you wanted to be angry at his audacity, you couldn't. There's truly no more you can give him. What good is a relationship without trust?

Yet when his shaky fingers clasp around yours, you can't stop the seed of hope from planting itself in your heart, and finally, you bring your eyes to meet his.

"I’ll spend the rest of my life making sure that this doesn’t happen again," he vows, marking the promise with a squeeze of his hand. "Please. Is there any way that you can give me a second chance?”

Your heart shatters as though it hasn’t been broken before. You want to give in; to believe that things have changed, but you can’t hold out hope that this sudden revelation of his would last, because there's no way you'll survive if this all turns out to be a farce.

“I can’t forgive you yet, Namjoon.” You could feel him stiffen, but you can't care about that. You're just tired, so tired. “I just… I just need some time away to gather my thoughts.”

He lets go of your hand then, but his eyes continue to bore holes into you. It’s funny how, after all this time, you finally understand one another, just at the possible end of your relationship.

You expect his pride to pull out all the stops; to oppose - not above begging for you to stay, and you know you'd give in if he had, but to your surprise, Namjoon only nods.

“Take all the time you need,” he sighs, trying to smile, though gravity keeps pulling the corners of his lips downward. “But I want you to know that I won’t stop trying to make it up to you.”

And maybe, just maybe, that little seed of hope can grow into something beautiful; something that marks a new beginning.

But only time will tell. And you're willing to wait only until spring.

---

The next few years were hard.

Though you decided against moving away, you and Namjoon spent most of it in counseling as you learned to communicate with each other again. The progress was slow, and it’s often frustrating when you don’t see eye-to-eye, but when you started feeling distrustful, you held on to the promise that Namjoon made that night.

Even when the seasons changed and his work got busier, and you worried that he’d return to his old habits, Namjoon stayed true to his word, shifting his priorities so that your relationship came ahead of his job.

You're proud to report that the two of you have let the grief be a turning point to forge for a better future.

The holidays came early this year, it seems, because by the middle of November, your house was all decked in streamers and lights. Namjoon had purchased a real Christmas tree last week, claiming that it was more festive than the fake one you normally used. Much to your dismay, he also purchased some red and green sweaters for the two of you to wear while posing for the camera.

“Ugh, it’s a scam!” Namjoon complained as you descended down the stairs. “How could you make an ugly sweater look good?”

“Remember that this was all your idea, okay? Sorry that I have a super model body,” you laughed as you came to greet him with a kiss.

Namjoon joined you in your laughter before throwing you a wink. “Ah, you finally acknowledged your good looks! God I'm the luckiest man in the world.” He smiled before pulling you in for another kiss, and you couldn’t help but smile as his lips glided over yours. “Should we just forget about the presents? I don't think I can stop kissing you."

You giggled before pushing him away. "No! You bought these wonderful and definite not itchy sweaters. It would be a shame to take it off," you wink.

"Actually, I can't think of a better idea," he grins before pulling you into his arms.

The heat from his kisses have returned - just like the old times when you first fell in love, but along with it, comes a quiet reassurance built from years of hardship, something neither of you take for granted. When you part ways, you sigh, already longing for the moment when your lips could reacquaint with his.

Oh, how you used to recoil away from his touch, and look at you now, unable to spend five seconds apart from each other.

And Christmas, once as dreary as the season that it belongs to, has returned with laughter. And even though the wind had kicked up a storm again, your body’s warm against Namjoon, and your heart is finally safe as it remains nestled in his hands.

moon's notes: were you surprised!!! i hope you loved it ash!! your prompt choices were so interesting, so i hope you liked the way i tied it all together. cheers, my dear. i hope you have the BEST holiday 🎄

to ash: i decided to write something a bit extra because i really wanted to sneak this in, but couldn't figure out where to place it in the story. but i hope you enjoy this! consider it a bonus present ;)

ash's stocking stuffer:

The first thing you did when you woke up this morning was laugh. In front of you, Namjoon holds a tray of burnt toast and what looks to be coffee. "Joon... how many times have I told you not to set the toaster to the highest setting," you chuckle in disbelief. "I'm sorry! I just... I wanted the food to get done quick for you, my love," Namjoon smiles sheepishly. "Will you accept this offering anyway?" You nod, propping the pillows behind you so you can rest comfortably as he set the tray on your lap. "Eat up." "Thanks, babe." You pull him down to plant a quick kiss before looking at the spread. Rather than having burnt toast, you opt for the drink in the white porcelain mug. At first, you thought it was hot chocolate, but upon further inspection, you realize it's something else... something you haven't tasted in some time now. "Oh my god... is this your famous mocha, Joon?" You stare at your husband with excitement before drinking more of the bittersweet taste. Namjoon's all smiles, dimples on full display. "Only the best for my wife."

#cafeficexchange21 #bangtanbathhouse #namjoon fics #rm fics #namjoon ff #rm ff #bts fics #bts ff #namjoon fluff #namjoon x reader #rm x reader #rm fluff #namjoon angst #rm angst #purplearmynet #btscreatorscorner #silverspoon #bangtaninn #btshoneyhive #bts x reader

[minisugakoobies]

All I Don't Want for Christmas Is You! | KSJ

Pairing: Seokjin x Reader

Genre: smut, fluff, crack, holiday, enemies to lovers, Coworkers!AU

Rating: M (18+)

Warnings: swearing, drinking, kissing, fingering, oral sex (f receiving), spanking, choking, biting, dirty talking, orgasm delay, Jin has an enormous... ego, vaginal sex, a lot of terrible holiday puns

Word Count: 23.7K (I'M SO SORRY)

Disclaimers: NSFW, I don't own BTS - they just inspire me

Summary: The holidays are here! But instead of celebrating, you're trapped in a town called Christmas with your office nemesis, Seokjin Motherfucking Kim, and an unruly band of clients. Can you survive the trip and secure the promotion your boss has promised? Or will Jin take you down?

A/N: This was written for the @btswritingcafe's Holiday Fic Exchange. Happy holidays, Mai @jinpanman!! 🐧🎄🎅I've had SO much fun being your Secret Santa, and I hope you've had fun as well. In addition to writing you this little story (I'M SO SORRY AGAIN IT'S SO LONG), I also created a Spotify playlist to go along with it! I really hope you enjoy the goofy holiday movie I basically wrote here. It's like Hallmark After Dark. 😂

This is unbeta'd as usual. I'd love to know what you think, my inbox is always open! 💕

Kinkmas sequel

Masterlist 💜 Find me on AO3 💜 Join my permanent taglist

“Please, take a seat,” your boss invited as you entered the cavernous space that was his office. Someone was already sitting in the other chair in front of his sleek black desk. You glared at the back of their head, recognizing them immediately.

Seokjin Kim. Why was he here?

If you compared your company, Beyond the Sound, to a rose, then Jin would definitely be the thorn. A big ol’ prick. As the other junior talent manager at your company, he drove you insane. Whereas you chose to use skill and knowledge and your relentless drive to achieve your goals, he preferred to coast along on his charm. And his considerable good looks.

As much as it physically hurt you to think nice thoughts about him, you couldn’t deny that he was one gorgeous man. Tall, with broad shoulders that tapered down to a small waist. Long, thick black hair that kissed the nape of his neck and fell into his eyes when he didn’t wear it swept off his face.

And that face. Dark, expressive eyes that crinkled merrily when he laughed, which happened a lot when he was schmoozing clients. Plush lips that puckered when he was displeased, which happened a lot when you were around. Cheekbones and a jawline to die for.

It was a fucking perfect face and you hated it.

You took a seat, crossing your legs demurely as your boss, Sejin, cleared his throat.

“I’m sure by now you’ve both heard the news. Irene is leaving us.”

Since it had been the only topic of conversation around the office for the last two days, you had in fact heard the news. Irene, the company’s hotshot manager, was leaving for greener pastures (aka more money from a larger management firm).

“She’s leaving us in a bit of a lurch, too. But the company’s loss is your gain,” he continued, leaning forward and folding his hands on his desk. “I think it’s time for a promotion.”

You sat up slightly, as did Jin.

“I’ve been more than pleased with the two of you and how you’ve served the company over the last year. You’re both in line to be promoted. But, there’s only one spot available - the one being vacated by Irene.” Sejin paused, letting his words sink in.

One spot. Two candidates. You glanced at Jin, only to realize he was already looking at you. Assessing. Narrowing your eyes, you turned back to your boss.

Sejin stood and looked out the floor length windows that made up the back wall of his office, clasping his hands behind his back as he surveyed the city below the high-rise. “I mentioned earlier that Irene is leaving us in a bit of a tight spot. The two of you are familiar with Euphoria, correct?”

Of course you knew Euphoria. They were one of the company’s biggest clients, an incredibly popular band from South Korea who had helped make Beyond the Sound into the powerhouse it was. Volatile didn’t begin to describe the band - they were the most chaotic group of artists you’d ever come into contact with since you’d started working in the music industry.

Well, okay, you personally hadn’t had much face-to-face interaction with them, beyond a quick hello at a party or industry event here and there, but you’d heard plenty of horror stories during your time working at Beyond the Sound.

The three members each had their own distinct idiosyncrasies that made them difficult to manage. Lead singer Park Jimin was an incredibly gifted vocalist and guitarist who hypnotized fans with his sexy shenanigans on stage. Unfortunately, this also led to a lot of offstage sexy shenanigans, and your company was usually scrambling to cover up any potential scandals caused by his various romantic entanglements.

The bassist/saxophonist/keyboardist Taehyung (just the one name, like he was Adele) was a renaissance man and a true artiste. Unfortunately, he took that second label extremely seriously, and was prone to flaking on public appearances or locking himself in his studio for days on end if he felt something or someone was interfering with his “vision.”

And then there was the drummer, Jeon Jungkook. Essentially the human version of Animal from the Muppets, he was loud, unruly, and prone to literally running amuck while the other two members were usually arguing.

They were exclusively Irene’s responsibility.

Sejin appeared to be waiting for an answer, so you and Jin both chirped, “Yes, sir.”

“Good. The band is releasing a holiday album this year - titled “Sleigh, What?!” - and in order to drum up publicity for it, they’re putting on an exclusive one-night-only concert, to be streamed around the world.”

Ah, so the rumors were true.

Euphoria reinvented themselves with every new album. Their first album was r&b-influenced boy band pop; the second, a punk rock fantasia; and their last, an ear-shattering mashup of screamo metal and EDM that left fans confused and led to a short-lived breakup followed by an immediate reunion. From what Sejin was saying, apparently they’d decided the best way to score a big comeback was with a collection of festive tunes. You’d heard whispers about the album through the office grapevine, but had chalked it up to a joke, assuming someone was mocking the band’s tendency to swing wildly from one genre to another.

Clearly, you’d been wrong.

“When and where is the concert?” Jin asked as you pulled out your phone to take notes. He arched a thick eyebrow, glancing at your phone, then tapped his temple, implying that he didn’t need to write anything down. Rolling your eyes, you waited for your boss to answer the question.

“Next month, the week before Christmas. And it’s being held in Christmas.”

“It’s… what?” Jin tipped his head as you paused in your typing.

“They’re putting on a concert in Christmas. As in the town about 1500 miles from here, in the Northeast. We struck a deal with the mayor - he’s letting us put on a show there to promote the album and his little middle-of-nowhere village gets major press for hosting one of the world’s hottest bands.”

You frowned as your thumbs tapped across your screen. “Wait a minute… I think I’ve heard of this town,” you stated, looking up from your notes. “It’s a real tourist trap, isn’t it? They have a Christmas-themed store that’s open year round, and all the mail stamped in the Post Office says “North Pole” on it, that kind of thing, right?”

Jin laughed. You winced, annoyed at his mirth. “Sounds like the setting for a Hallmark movie.”

Sejin nodded, returning to his desk. “Yes, and that’s exactly why we chose it. We really want to lean into the homespun holidays character of the place. The goal is for people to associate Euphoria with Christmas - both the town and the holiday - so that when the album drops, they’ll all buy it. Spread that magical cheer in their own houses with it.” He paused. “Or whatever. You get the idea.”

It was a cynical cash-grab, in other words. Just another day at the office.

“Everything has already been arranged - travel details, lodging, venue, an interview with that dreadful morning show Rise and Shine!, and so on. Irene has done her usual job of making sure everything is squared away down to the final letter.”

“So, what do you need me to do?” Jin asked.

You scowled before correcting him. “What do you need us to do, sir?”

Sejin smiled, but it seemed less comforting and more apologetic. “We need you to go to Christmas with the band. Both of you, together.”

If you’d had a piece of coal in your mouth, you would’ve produced a diamond from grinding your teeth so hard.

You didn’t want to go to this cheesy little town called Christmas, especially this close to the holidays, when the place would be swarming with crowds of sightseers. You didn’t want to have to babysit Euphoria and try to keep them from imploding yet again. But most of all, you absolutely did not want to be stuck in that tiny village supervising the band with Seokjin Motherfucking Kim.

What the hell did you do in a past life to deserve this?

“You’ll be responsible for ensuring that Euphoria makes it to all of their scheduled events. Especially the concert. Look, I’ll be frank.” He removed his glasses, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “If they miss the interview or the meet and greet we’ve arranged, it will be unfortunate, but not the end of the world. But they cannot miss this concert! We need this performance to revive their fanbase and boost their album onto the charts. If “Sleigh, What?!” tanks….” he trailed off, looking at you and Jin in turn. “Then Irene won’t be the only one leaving Beyond the Sound.’

Well, fuck. Basically, if you and Jin didn’t pull this off, one or both of you would be fired? Fantastic. Just the cherry on top of this crap sundae.

“No problem, boss,” Jin cooed, shooting Sejin a set of finger guns. You grimaced. How had this guy’s schtick not worn thin by now?

If your boss found Jin as corny as you did, he didn’t let on. Instead, he simply nodded. “I have the utmost faith in both of you to handle this situation. I know everything will run smoothly and according to plan under your supervision.” He glanced at the shiny, undoubtedly expensive watch that adorned his wrist. “Please reach out to Irene for your travel details and itineraries. She’ll have everything you need.”

You rose to your feet. “Thank you, sir.” Spinning, you swiftly stalked towards the door, Jin close on your heels.

“Looks like we’ll be spending Christmas together, Princess,” he drawled as his long legs quickly caught him up until he was walking by your side.

“No, we’ll be working together before Christmas, and how many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?” you retorted, firing him a dirty look. He just grinned, holding the door open for you to exit your boss’s office. You didn’t bother to thank him, but that didn’t deter him from continuing to walk with you.

Jin had gifted you with that nickname during your very first week at work. One of the managers you were shadowing offered to buy the two of you lunch as a reward for a stressful day of training, handling a temperamental solo act. Fresh out of grad school, you were broke and more than appreciated a free meal. But you were a bit particular about your order and took a long time, and for some reason Jin decided that made you a princess.

So you were a woman who knew what you wanted and weren’t afraid to ask for it. Was that really such a bad thing?

The nickname drove you crazy. You weren’t a princess, some fairytale creature who would only have value in relation to the men in her life - the prince or the king. Fuck that noise. You stood on your own two feet and claimed your own victories.

Yet no matter how many times you asked him to stop, Jin refused to listen. Now, a year later, the pet name persisted, a constant reminder of how aggravating he was.

After a few minutes of walking briskly, trying but failing to shake Jin, you arrived at Irene’s office. Knocking on the door, a quiet voice called for you to enter.

If there were a pecking order at Beyond the Sound, Irene would stand at the top of the pack. She was everything you aspired to be - glamorous, perfectly put together, and fierce as hell. No one fucked with Irene. Not even Jin. He knew she’d rip him to shreds with her signature blood-red stiletto fingernails and not break a sweat. Or a perfectly manicured nail.

You really wished you knew her secrets.

“So, Sejin saddled you two with Euphoria duty, huh?” she inquired, gesturing for you both to take a seat.

“I’d say unfortunately yes, but you’ve been stuck with them for years, so it doesn’t feel right to complain,” you responded.

Irene smiled. “They’re not so bad if you keep them in hand. I advise you to set a firm line with them from the start.” She eyed the two of you carefully. “The guys can be very charming when they want to be. Don’t fall for it.”

She looked directly at you when she said that last statement, and you frowned. Was she suggesting…?

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure she keeps it professional,” Jin smirked. “No client/manager relations on my watch.”

“Excuse me, are you questioning my ethics?” you snapped, rounding on your coworker. “I certainly do not need you telling me how to do my job or - or monitoring my interactions with my clients!”

“Of course you don’t, Princess. Forgive me,” he apologized, but his grin belied his words. “But maybe I’ll just keep a sharp watch just in case.”

“I will email you all the info for the trip - flights, lodging, itineraries,” Irene ignored your sniping, as everyone in the office was long accustomed to the two of you squabbling. “Every day has been planned down to the last minute. All you have to do is make sure the band sticks to the schedule.”

“Easy peasy lemon squeezy,” Jin trilled, and you fought the urge to gag.

“Thank you, Irene,” you replied graciously. “Your hard work won’t go to waste, I assure you.”

Irene just smiled, a vicious grin that actually sent a shiver down your spine. “Oh, truly, I don’t care! By the end of the week, Euphoria will simply be an unpleasant memory for me. They’re your problem now!”

As you left her office, Jin snickered. “I don’t know about you, but I’m really looking forward to this trip even more now.”

You spun to look at him. “You know what I’m looking forward to? Getting the promotion.”

“Oh, you think it’s yours already?”

Stepping closer, you glowered up at him. “I know it is.”

“We’ll just see about that, Princess.” He winked, walking backwards as he headed towards his workspace. “Can’t wait to see you all bundled up for the chilly weather. Bet you look real cute in earmuffs.”

You clenched your fists so hard, your nails nearly drew blood. You couldn’t wait to kick that jerk’s ass. That promotion was yours.

**********

As irritating as the nickname was, it wasn’t Jin calling you Princess that made you hate him.

It was the Nevamind incident.

A few months into your time with Beyond the Sound, the company tapped you to work with a recently signed artist, an up-and-coming rapper who went by the stage name Nevamind. He’d been building buzz online with a series of mix tapes featuring brilliant lyrics and ridiculous beats, and it would be your job to get him ready for his debut album release.

For several days and a few long nights, you threw your every waking moment into creating an action plan for the rapper. You wanted to show your boss that you were ready to handle managing on your own, so you worked your ass off to prepare.

Excited, you showed up to the first meeting with the artist feeling nervous, but ready to share your ideas.

Only to find Jin waiting to meet with Nevamind as well.

“What are you doing here?” you blurted out, staring at your coworker who had risen from his seat at the conference table, expecting the rapper to be the one walking through the door instead of you.

“I’m presenting to Nevamind, obviously. What are you doing here, Princess?” he responded with wide eyes.

“Uh, no, I’m the one doing the pitching! And don’t call me that!”

“Actually, you’re both pitching,” Sejin declared, entering the room behind you.

Apparently, there had been a misunderstanding. You weren’t assigned to help Nevamind, you were being asked to present your ideas to him. Along with Jin. Whomever the artist picked (with your boss’s input, of course) would become his manager.

This mix-up didn’t rattle you. No, if anything, this simply fueled you even more, now that it was literally a contest. Forget your anxiety - you were fired up, determined to win.

Jin sold his idea first. It was hardly a proposal - no slideshow, no binders showing statistics, just a measly single page handout. And him mostly talking off the cuff, flashing that killer smile, even throwing in a wink or two as he promised the moon to the rapper.

You were aghast at your coworker’s breezy attitude. Was that how he worked? Did he really care so little? He wasn’t just unprofessional, he was a total buffoon. It was all you could do not to laugh during the entire meeting, since your boss was also present.

Then it was your turn. Nevamind seemed to agree with the plan you painstakingly laid out with your multimedia presentation - interviews with some huge media outlets, a series of streaming episodes giving a behind-the-scenes look at the album’s completion, and then a major party to celebrate the release. You even got a bit of a flirty vibe from the rapper, but you quickly shut that down, wanting to maintain a firm boundary between work and pleasure. By the time you left, you were more than confident that Nevamind would be your first client.

Instead, a week later, that asshole was announced as the rapper’s manager. All your hard work went down the drain.

How on earth had that guy won? Flabbergasted, you turned to your coworkers for an explanation. Everyone had their theories - Nevamind preferred a male manager, or Jin blackmailed your boss for the job, and so on. The rumor mill churned, but you never got a satisfactory answer, and you stewed in your anger, knowing that your plan was the better choice.

Within a month, Nevamind had terminated his contract with Beyond the Sound. Jin managed to fuck it up somehow, and that just stoked the flames of your wrath.

At a happy hour gathering a week after Nevamind dumped your company, you found Jin sitting alone at the bar, looking slightly rumpled in his designer suit. Sliding onto a stool next to him, you ordered a drink before swiveling to face him.

“So. How’d you fuck it up, Jin?”

He didn’t reply, just shot you a glare.

“I still don’t understand how you even got the assignment in the first place. That proposal of yours was a joke.” Several whiskeys into your night, all the nasty things you’d been thinking about your coworker started to slip from your lips.

He set his gin and tonic on the bar and regarded you carefully. “I got the job because I’m good at what I do. Maybe managing isn’t all about statistics and powerpoint slides. Did you ever consider that?”

“Maybe not, but this job requires a hell of a lot more effort than what you give, Jin. I mean, that’s pretty evident considering your first client fired you within a month. Perhaps next time, you might try actually working?” You swirled your drink with the little stir stick, tapping it against the rim of the glass to emphasize your point.

Again, he leveled a long glance at you, taking his time before answering. “You know what? Believe what you want to. I’m sure you will no matter what I say. That seems to be how you operate.”

“Whatever,” you shot back. Not the most eloquent comeback, but you were too tipsy to care. “Just don’t expect it to happen again. You winning, I mean. That was a fluke. Next time, I’ll show you how it’s done.”

“Is that so?” He tossed back the rest of his drink, rising from his seat. “Then bring it on, Princess. Show me what you’ve got.”

“You can’t handle what I’ve got, Jin.” Wait, was that what you’d meant to say? Maybe not, but you were flustered by how close he stood to you, and whatever you’d intended to say had gotten lost in the ether.

You’d be lying to yourself if you said you didn’t find Jin attractive. Even though he vexed you with everything he said and, well, everything he did, too, you still found yourself distracted by his stunning looks.

Your pulse began to race as he examined you with those dark eyes, wandering slowly over your frame. He towered over you as you peered up at him, and your breath hitched as he bent towards you.

“But I bet you wish I’d try, right?” he whispered, hot breath tickling your ear as he exhaled. You shuddered, and with a smirk he walked away, leaving you sitting alone, head spinning.

From that moment on, he shot to the top of your hit list. Seokjin Kim, enemy number one.

**********

Three days, four nights. That was how long you’d be in Christmas. That was how long you’d have to suffer through this nightmarish work assignment with your nemesis. You could do this.

You chanted those words to yourself as the days flew by after your meeting with Sejin. Over and over again, repeating them until they became your mantra.

But now, sitting on the private jet, on your way to Christmas, you were starting to doubt. Just a little.

Introducing yourself to the band went better than you expected, given all the awful testimonies about the members that your coworkers had told. Each had politely greeted you and bowed.

Good to know they had some manners after all.

In the meantime, Jin strutted onto the plane looking like he’d just walked off the runway in Paris, wearing a gorgeous three-piece navy suit underneath a stunning long red and black plaid coat. The entire ensemble was Louis Vuitton, which you knew only because he wouldn’t stop yapping about how he’d had to show the boutique’s sales person his company ID because she didn’t believe him when he said he wasn’t a model.

Was it possible for a person’s eyes to roll right out of their head? You feared you might find out on this trip.

But seriously, who flew in a suit?

Not that Jin was the only one taking advantage of your travels to purchase a new wardrobe. Flying to the wintry northern half of the country meant you’d bought a few essentials - some cozy sweaters, wool skirts, thick tights and several pairs of boots (both dress and snow). You’d also splurged on a Burberry puffer coat and a pair of Gucci leather gloves, in matching black, to help keep you warm.

The perks of having a company card.

Once the plane took off, you’d intended on using the time to review the week’s itinerary as well as to set some ground rules with the band. But you might as well have tried to fly across the country by flapping your arms. You’d have had a better chance of accomplishing that.

“Guys, can we please focus?” you implored the group for the fifth time. No one responded. Jimin flirted with the flight attendant while Taehyung read an intimidatingly thick book on the history of jazz rock. Jungkook had completely tuned out, a giant pair of VR goggles on his handsome face as he played some game.

Meanwhile, Jin was sitting across from you, doing nothing to disguise his laughter at your struggle to get the band’s attention.

You scowled. “You know, this is important for you, too. Do I need to remind you what is at stake here?”

Jin sighed. “Oh, take a breath, Princess. Let them settle in a bit, then we’ll run through the schedule. They’re literally a captive audience.” He cocked his head, considering. “Although Jungkook is an experienced skydiver, so I wouldn’t put it past him to jump out the door at any moment. Though I hope the lack of parachutes would at least give him pause.”

“Fine.” Leaning back in your seat, you pulled out your phone to scroll through your notes. Jin leaned over to gawk at your screen. “Excuse me! Do you mind?”

“Just curious if you were actually going to relax. Doesn’t appear so,” he replied, flagging down the flight attendant. “Can I get a whiskey, neat? Thank you.” “Really? Drinking at this time of day?” It was only just past noon when you’d finally taken off. Jin shrugged. “I fly better when I’m a little tipsy. Plus, if you’re going to be this tightly wound, I’m going to need to be even looser. You’re giving me second-hand anxiety.”

“God forbid you be serious about your job for once,” you muttered under your breath.

The flight attendant brought Jin his drink and he smiled politely before giving you a scrutinizing look. “I’m perfectly serious about this job. I just have my own methods for getting results.” He winked, and you clicked your tongue in disgust. “What I want to know is, do you ever relax? Let your hair down, allow yourself to have a little fun while you’re working?”

“I have plenty of fun,” you sniffed, grabbing the pashmina shawl you’d stuffed into your carry-on and wrapping it around your shoulders. You always froze on flights. “But I don’t let it interfere with my responsibilities. The job comes first.”

“That’s where you and I differ, then. Fun comes first.”

“You mean, you come first,” you rejoined.

Jin smirked, and you realized you’d walked into a trap. “Oh no, it’s only fun for me if others come first. I always make sure of that.” He lowered his voice conspiratorially. “Every time.”

Cursing yourself for setting him up, you closed your eyes, letting your head fall back against the headrest of your plush leather seat, hoping he’d take the hint and stop talking. He did, but not before you heard him snickering to himself.

Three days, four nights. The clock was ticking.

**********

The closest airport to your final destination was two hours away, so a chartered bus had been set up to transport you and the band. Most of their equipment and belongings had already been sent ahead of them, so a whole bus wasn’t technically necessary, but you appreciated having a little space.

Because the guys were driving you insane.

Halfway through the five hour flight, you’d awoken to the dulcet tones of Jimin and Taehyung arguing. As usual, Jin was useless, somehow sleeping through the loud curse words pinging around the cabin of the plane. You wondered how many glasses of whiskey it had taken to knock him out like that. Jungkook still had his headset on, but he was now pacing around playing some sort of dueling game that had him pretending to slice everyone in half with a joystick sword.

It turned out to be a fight about nothing - an argument over which movie to watch - but it was enough to give you a slight headache. Which did not bode well considering you were only slightly over two hours into your whole trip. But you stepped in and calmed them down, promising they could both watch whatever they wanted since they weren’t even sharing a screen, and then collapsed into your seat, hoping to rest. Discussing the week’s plans would have to wait until later, when your coworker would be more helpful. Or at least conscious.

On the bus, you took a seat near the front, frowning as Jin slid in beside you.

“Really?” you asked, gesturing wildly. “All these empty seats?”

“Yah, calm down, I just wanted to see if you wanted to go over the schedule now, while everyone’s still awake and quiet.”

That was actually a useful suggestion. Color you shocked.

“I suppose this would be the most opportune time,” you conceded, standing up to gaze at the members who had strewn themselves across seats scattered throughout the bus. Jin followed as you staggered down the aisle towards the band, the swaying of the bus making it difficult to walk a straight line.

“Uh-oh, here come Mom and Dad,” Jimin sniggered, legs dangling over the armrest of his seat. His pink hair hung in his face as yawned widely. “Are we in trouble again?”

Nope. You didn’t care for that one bit.

“I’ll thank you for addressing us both by name, Park,” you declared, and he quirked an eyebrow at your commanding tone, lips twisting into a smirk. His eyes ran up and down your figure as you stared him down.

“Yes, noona,” he purred, arching an eyebrow. Irene’s warning echoed in your ears.

You were going to have to tread carefully with this one.

Jin said nothing, seemingly content to let you run things, surprise surprise. You continued.

“I know you’ve all been given copies of this week’s schedule, one printed and included in your carry-ons and one emailed, but I thought we should run through it just to confirm that we’re all on the same page.”

No one answered. You plowed on.

“Tonight, we just need to settle in. The bed & breakfast we’re staying at has been completely booked by us, so we have the whole house to ourselves. It’s the,” you consulted your notes, “Blitzen Inn. The proprietors have assured us that we will have total privacy there, since it’s fairly out of the way.”

“Wait, we’re staying at a bed & breakfast, noona? Not a hotel?” Taehyung piped up, removing his gigantic headphones, shaking out his silvery-white locks.

“That is correct. Despite the tourist trap nature of this place, it’s a pretty small town, so they don’t have a lot of lodging options.” And most of the hotel rooms had been booked by the fans who would be attending the concert.

“So no room service? No on-call masseuses?” Taehyung pouted. “No free mini bottles of shampoo?”

“You’re a millionaire, Tae, you can buy all the shampoo you want,” Jin commented.

“But I like the little bottles.”

“Anyway. Tomorrow there is an early morning interview with Rise and Shine! You’ll be joined by the mayor for that as well, and the local newspaper will be there, taking photos. We’ll be at the venue for the taping, and then in the afternoon you’ll have time to rehearse. Thursday morning is more rehearsal time and then a fan signing event at Santa’s Workshop, a holiday-themed store that will be the first place to stock your album. And then of course Friday is the concert. Saturday morning, we’re back on the jet and heading home.” You glanced up. “Any questions?”

“Will they have little bottles of shampoo at the bed & breakfast?”

“Does anyone else have any other questions?”

Jungkook raised his hand.

“You don’t have to raise your hand, Jungkook. What’s your question?”

“Noona, how does it work, exactly? Do they serve us breakfast in bed?”

You turned to your coworker, who had stretched his long frame across two seats, cackling as he listened. “Do you want to help me out here?”

Jin sighed, sitting up. “Do you guys have any questions about the schedule? It’s not too packed, but it’s important that we stick to it very carefully.”

Three heads shook no.

“Great! Then just relax for a bit. We should be at the Blitzen Inn in about another ninety minutes or so.” Jin laid back, his tiny bit of effort completed for the day. He’d probably exhausted himself.

Sighing, you trekked back to the front of the bus, taking a window seat and slinging your legs onto the space next to you so as to prevent anyone (Jin) from sitting there.

“I think that went well.”

Apparently, he’d decided to sit right behind you. His face appeared over your shoulder, in the space between the back of your seat and the window.

You snorted. “Of course you do. You didn’t do anything.”

“I beg to differ.”

“Well, you did stay conscious for the whole discussion, so I suppose that’s something.”

His laughter made you grimace. You reminded yourself that you just had to put up with him for a few days. Once that promotion kicked in, hopefully you wouldn’t have to deal with his bullshit again.

You leaned against the window, staring at the scenery as the bus trundled along. It was certainly a different view than what you were used to, living on the west coast. Verdant mountains rolled across the horizon as the sun began to sink from view. Exhausted after a stressful flight, your eyes began to droop as the bus’s rhythmic bouncing lulled you to sleep.

**********

The Blitzen Inn stood at the edge of town. Two rows of tall pine trees lined the winding road leading to the inn. The bus barely fit, but thankfully no other vehicles were approaching from the opposite direction.

Stretching, you took a moment to admire the house as the bus approached. A white two-story colonial with black shutters and a wraparound porch, decorated with hanging garlands and a large green wreath with a big red bow on the front door, it very much looked like something straight out of a holiday movie.

A garden took up one entire side of the house, though it had been turned over for winter. Around the other side of the house stood a large white gazebo, adorned with strands of white Christmas lights. Behind the house was nothing but trees, as the house was nestled against the border of a forest.

Green trees, green grass, green everywhere. How disappointing. The temperatures had been unusually warm in this region for this time of year, according to the weather reports you’d watched religiously in the week prior to leaving home. Having grown up in the land of sand and sun, you were hoping to see some snow on this trip. Just a little would do - enough to turn the land into a sea of white.

Ah, well. This was a business trip, and there was more than enough to focus on besides pining for snow.

The bus gradually rolled to a stop and you disembarked, boots crunching on gravel as you strolled towards the house. Your breath hung in the chilly night air, tiny puffs that dissipated as you walked, and you pulled your coat a little tighter around you. Once again, Jin nipped at your heels.

Two men waited by the door, a platinum blond who wore a blindingly bright smile and a smaller, slighter man with hair black as night who merely blinked languorously as you neared.

“Good evening,” the blond man greeted you, bowing slightly. “You must be Ms. _. Welcome to our home!”

You bowed in return. “Thank you.” You instructed him to call you by your first name. “This is my colleague, Seokjin Kim.”

“Call me Jin,” he said, bowing.

“I’m Hoseok, but you can call me Hobi, and this is my husband Yoongi,” the blond man introduced himself and the dark-haired man, who simply nodded.

You turned to introduce the band, but none of them had reached the porch yet. Jimin and Taehyung were standing in front of the bus, bickering about who would get to stay in the presidential suite (neither aware that the bed and breakfast did not have suites), and Jungkook was sitting in the gazebo, silently gazing up at the lights hanging above.

Huffing out a sigh, you gestured. “That’s Jimin, Taehyung, and Jungkook. They’ll be along in a minute.”

“No rush, they’re welcome to explore the grounds,” Hobi replied with another grin. “Why don’t we help you bring in your bags and then we’ll show you to your rooms? I’m sure after all that traveling, you’re about ready to crash.”

Luggage in hand, Hobi took you on a quick tour. Despite its large size, the interior of the house was incredibly cozy. There were six guest rooms upstairs, each with its own bath. Downstairs, there was a kitchen, dining room, another bathroom, sitting room, and library. The owners had a master suite down a hallway in the back.

You tried not to gawk, but it honestly felt like you were walking through an issue of Architectural Digest. Hardwood floors, wooden ceiling beams, and dark wood accents flowed throughout. All of the rooms downstairs had fireplaces, and the sitting room also included a baby grand piano tucked into the corner. The decor was an intriguing mix of antique and modern, from an exquisitely carved dining room table and chairs to a comfy couch straight out of a Swedish furniture catalog. And Christmas decorations had been stuffed into every available nook and cranny, with more poinsettias, wreaths, and Christmas trees than you’d ever seen in one house.

Walking through the house felt like touring Martha Stewart’s wet dream.

“How do we want to divide up the rooms?” Jin asked as you climbed the stairs.

“I don’t think it really matters, unless someone has a preference,” you responded. You followed Hobi to the end of the hall. “I'll take the first room down here.” Hobi nodded, carrying your bags inside for you.

“Then I’ll take the next,” Jin said. “Unless you’d prefer to share?”

What a stupid question. You stopped to gawk at him. “Why the fuck would I want to do that??”

Hobi returned to the other end of the hallway, where the band members were attempting to determine which room was the largest, despite multiple assurances that they were all the same size.

Jin leaned against the doorway of his room.

“Have you ever vacationed in this part of the country before during the winter?”

“No.”

“Well,” his voice dropped low, “it gets awfully cold out here at night. You might want something to snuggle up to. Keep you warm.”

“And what, you’re offering yourself as an option?”

“If you’d like.”

You’d spent a lot of time working with this man, and most of it glaring at his handsome face in exasperation or disgust. He often gazed back at you with a cheeky twinkle in his eye. And there it was again.

But there was a tiny glimmer of something else, too. Something that made a slow heat crawl along your neck, despite the loathing that flowed through your veins.

Before you could even begin to envision his suggestion, you shut it down.

“That’s what blankets are for, Jin,” you sneered, opening the door to your room and slipping inside before he could reply.

Needing a few moments to yourself, you surveyed your room. A king-sized bed lay in the center of the room, covered in a fluffy stack of pillows and a plush down comforter. In the bathroom, you found a claw-footed tub, shower stall, and pedestal sink, and a soft white robe hung on the back of the door. Fresh white roses arranged in a slim vase greeted you on your nightstand.

The room would’ve been perfect for a relaxing vacation or romantic getaway. Too bad you were stuck on the work assignment from hell.

**********

After freshening up a little, you rejoined the group downstairs. Everyone had gathered at the dining room table, which Yoongi had piled high with snacks - charcuterie boards overflowing with meats and cheeses, plates of crackers and toasted breads, and multiple platters of every Christmas cookie you could think of and even a few you didn’t recognize. You were more exhausted than hungry, so you nibbled on a gingerbread cookie while rehydrating.

“We received your itinerary,” Hobi informed you as he placed another platter of assorted cookies on the table. “Since you’re our only guests this week, we’ve adjusted our meal times to meet your needs.”

“Thank you, that’s wonderful,” you replied. “We appreciate your flexibility.”

“Of course. If there’s anything else we can do for you while you’re here, just let us know. Our home is your home.” He smiled and excused himself to join Yoongi in the kitchen.

The band chattered happily amongst themselves as they gorged on the delicious treats. You scrolled idly through your phone as Jin leaned across the table towards you.

“Care to join me for a nightcap? Hobi gave me a tour of the sitting room while you were upstairs and there’s a decanter of whiskey in there with my name on it.”

You glanced up. “A nightcap? Don’t you think you should get to bed so we can get a good start tomorrow? We have to be at the venue early for the interview.”

“Oh, come on, just one drink. It’s been a long day. Let go a little.” He waved his hand. “You know everything’s all set for tomorrow. But if it’ll ease your mind, we can still discuss the itinerary while we drink.”

Seokjin Kim, focusing on work for once? This you had to see.

“Fine. Just one.”

A pair of gorgeous red velvet couches sat on either side of the ornamental rug in front of the fireplace in the sitting room. Curling up on the corner of one, you tucked your legs underneath you as Jin played bartender with the decanter.

Handing you a tumbler, he lifted his in a toast. “To a successful trip.”

“To my promotion,” you countered with a grin.

“Okay, Princess, let’s just enjoy the drink, shall we?”

You dutifully clinked your glass against his, then brought it to your lips.

The delicious aroma washed over you as you swirled the brown liquor in your glass before taking your first sip. As the liquid coated your tongue, you held it there, savoring for a moment before swallowing.

“Mmm,” Jin hummed, inspecting his glass. “I think I need a bottle of this.” He smacked his lips obnoxiously.

Turning the glass around in your hands, you stared at the gentle sloshing of the liquor. “It’s sweeter than I typically prefer, but still has a bit of bite to it.”

Jin cocked an eyebrow. “You some kind of whiskey connoisseur?”

“Maybe,” you retorted, chin jutting out. “I’ve tasted enough to know what I like.”

Whatever dumb rejoinder was forming on Jin’s lips was interrupted by Mariah Carey.

🎵 All I want for Christmas is yoooooou 🎶

You cocked an eyebrow at his choice of ringtone.

“Tis the season,” he grinned, answering. “Go for Seokjin.”

Fuck, he even answered his phone like a tool.

“Hello, sir,” he suddenly sat bolt upright, glancing at you. “Yes, she’s here. Of course, one moment.” He set the phone between you on the couch.

“Okay, sir.”

“Good evening,” your boss’s voice boomed. “I assume there weren’t any problems with your flight?”

“No, sir,” you replied, frowning. Your boss wasn’t the type to micromanage, and he definitely wasn’t the type to phone just to exchange pleasantries. If he was calling, it meant he was extremely stressed about this album release.

“Good. The band isn’t giving you any trouble?”

“No, sir.”

“No issues with your travel or lodging arrangements?”

“No, sir.” You felt like a broken record, repeating yourself.

“Good, good. And everything is all set for tomorrow’s interview?”

Jin finally jumped in. “Everything is completely taken care of, sir. Trust me, you have nothing to worry about. I give you my word that by the time you’re awake tomorrow, Euphoria’s Rise and Shine! Interview will be the top trending item on every social media platform.”

Stabbing the mute button on his phone, you turned to your coworker as your boss expressed how pleased he was to hear Jin’s response. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep!”

He clucked his tongue. “Have some faith, Princess. I know what I’m doing.” He unmuted the phone as Sejin began to wind down. “Thank you for checking in, sir. I really appreciate it. We’ll have Euphoria back in the number one spot by the time we touch down back home on Saturday!”

“Let’s hope so. That promotion is riding on it. For one of you, anyway.” As if you could forget. “Have a good evening.”

“You too, sir!” Jin pocketed his phone as he finished his whiskey.

“Holy shit, Jin, do you always have to kiss so much ass? How the fuck hasn’t Sejin gotten tired of your bullshit yet?”

“Are you jealous? I can kiss your ass too, if you want. Or anywhere else you’d like.” He puckered cartoonishly.

A gagging noise was your response, making him laugh. His stuttering windshield wiper giggle hit you like nails on a chalkboard.

You drained the last drop of your whiskey and stood. “Okay, I’m calling it. Good night, Jin.”

“Good night, Princess. Don’t forget - I’m just a wall away if you need me.”

You just rolled your eyes, dodging as he blew you a kiss. That ridiculous squawk of a giggle followed you up the stairs to your bedroom, where you closed the door with an exhausted sigh.

Saturday couldn’t arrive fast enough.

**********

At five am on the dot, you tossed back the plush blankets on your ridiculously comfy bed and climbed out. Pausing by the window, you glanced out at the forest behind the house. Dawn was still several hours away, so the world outside was cloaked in darkness. Not an early riser by nature, you sighed, shuffling off to shower yourself awake.

To your complete lack of surprise, you were the first to arrive downstairs. Hobi sat at the dining room table, sipping on a mug of coffee, while Yoongi bustled back and forth from the kitchen, arms laden with plates of food - sausages, bacon, home fries, pancakes, basically any breakfast food you could think of, he brought out.

“Good morning,” Hobi beamed.

“Good morning.” Taking a seat, you smiled gratefully at Yoongi as he set a steaming mug of coffee in front of you. “Yoongi, you’ve outdone yourself. This is a veritable feast!”

“That’s my Yoongi,” Hobi cooed, pinching Yoongi’s cheek. “Always spoiling everyone.” Yoongi dipped his head in embarrassment, but not before you caught a little gummy smile lighting up his handsome face.

Feet pounded down the stairs, and Jungkook stuck his head into the dining room, purple hair bouncing. “Oh shit, that looks good!” he crowed, grabbing a plate and loading it with food. Jin arrived not long after, and followed suit. Jimin and Taehyung drifted down last, immediately digging into Yoongi’s banquet.

Jin was once again dressed to kill in another crisply tailored suit, this time in charcoal grey, a white tie expertly knotted at his throat. Meanwhile, you had dressed in a chunky oversized sweater and thick wool skirt with your knee-high boots, wanting to look stylish while staying warm at the concert venue.

And then there was the band.

Of the three, Jimin was the most casually dressed, if one could consider wearing a two thousand dollar red satin Saint Laurent jacket to be “casual.” Underneath, he wore a simple white t-shirt, with several long necklaces dangling on his chest, and black jeans. Taehyung appeared to be headed on a dreamy date, dressed in a blousy white top, slightly unbuttoned, with a black boutonniere and a black and white scarf tied loosely around his neck. And Jungkook’s tall frame was adorned in a sheer black top under a leopard print button up, completely unbuttoned, and obscenely tight leather pants.

Not exactly the best outfits for an interview about a holiday-themed album. You made a mental note to look into purchasing some ugly Christmas sweaters for the fan-meeting tomorrow - surely you could find those at Santa’s Workshop, right?

As everyone ate in comfortable silence, you cleared your throat.

“Morning, guys. We need to leave here no later than seven for the meet and greet with the mayor and the Rise and Shine! taping. Remember, this is live tv, and the local paper will be there to take photos as well. So please, no swearing and no rude gestures.” You stared directly at Jungkook, who nodded.

“Got it, Mom,” Jimin chirped as he reached for another stack of pancakes.

“Park.”

“Sorry, noona.”

**********

Despite your months of experience working with the media, and despite the fact that you yourself were not going to be on tv, you were nervous as fuck as the band prepared for their interview. Tiny pinpricks of sweat began to bead on your forehead as you and Jin watched from the wings of the stage.

The venue for the big comeback concert was the town’s small community theatre space, a boxy room with a simple stage and approximately 200 seats in the audience. Beyond the Sound was clearly hoping for an intimate experience for the lucky ticket holders, all of whom were longtime Euphoria fan club members who had been randomly selected in a raffle.

Rise and Shine! had sent a single camera operator and one producer to oversee the remote interview, and they were hustling about, preparing for the live feed. The photographer from the local paper was sitting in the audience, waiting for the mayor to arrive so she could snap a few photos of him with the band. Meanwhile, the band members themselves were helping each other touch up their makeup. So you were left with only Jin to calm your nerves.

Naturally, he wasn't helping.

Instead of focusing on the scene in front of him, or helping you take your mind off of your anxiousness, Jin scrolled through his phone, giving off the appearance of a man who would rather be anywhere else in the world.

Well, honestly, so would you, but you had a fucking job to do, so you were going to make sure it went off without a hitch.

"Shouldn't the mayor be here by now?" you asked, glancing at your watch. In less than fifteen minutes, the irritatingly chipper hosts of the morning program would be streaming through the monitor in front of you as they asked Euphoria some blandly inane questions about their album. The mayor was supposed to participate in the conversation and really help sell the whole folksy angle your company was hoping to achieve.

“I’m sure he’s on his way. Just breathe, Princess.” Scroll, scroll, scroll.

“Stop. Calling. Me. That,” you spat through gritted teeth, as the door at the back of the theater suddenly slammed open.

“I’m here!” a voice yelled. As everyone watched, a tall, beefy man in a beanie and black peacoat dashed down the aisle towards the stage. He tripped over his own feet and you gasped, expecting him to faceplant, but he recovered and kept running.

Hand outstretched, he made a beeline for you and Jin. “I’m so sorry I’m late!” he huffed. “Hi, I’m Namjoon Kim, nice to meet you.”

“Mr. Mayor, it’s lovely to meet you,” You shook his hand. “Thank you for allowing us to hold our concert in your beautiful town!”

Jin snickered softly. If that ass kisser thought you were laying it on too thickly, then you definitely were overdoing it. Fighting the urge to stomp on his big clown feet, you smiled at the mayor as if you hadn’t heard anything.

“Oh, it’s our honor to host you! And please, call me Namjoon,” he smiled, shaking Jin’s hand in turn. “I was sad to hear that I wouldn’t get to meet Irene after all our correspondence. She seemed very… thorough.”

“Yeah, Irene never left anything to chance,” Jin laughed. “I can only imagine the novel-length emails she sent you.”

Another glance at your watch. Ten minutes. The band members had finished their touch-ups and were now… uh…

Where the hell had they gone?!

“Would you please excuse me?” you smiled at Namjoon, shot Jin a look, and left the two men standing there, discussing Irene’s Type A tendencies.

Wandering the backstage area of the theater, you hissed names like a balloon slowly leaking air. “Jimin? Taehyung? Jungkook! Where the hell are you??”

“Relax, noona.”

Stifling a scream, you whirled and found Jimin snickering behind you. “Fuck! Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to sneak up on a person?”

“I wasn’t sneaking, you just couldn’t hear me over the sound of your panicking,” he replied drolly. “Come on, they’re back here.”

You followed him into a small dressing room, where Taehyung and Jungkook were digging through racks of costumes.

“What are you -”

“Found one!” Jungkook interrupted you, proudly brandishing a Santa hat. “And look, here’s a pair of reindeer antlers, Jimin.” He tossed a headband at his bandmate.

“Perfect! What about Tae?”

Taehyung turned away from a mirror on the wall, where he had been inspecting his handsome visage. He tucked his long hair back, revealing a pair of elf ears.

You couldn’t help but laugh. “You guys look fantastic - very holiday appropriate! Now, why don’t you go get your mics and get ready for the countdown?”

Santa Jungkook and Elf Taehyung strolled out of the room. But Reindeer Jimin merely shook his head. “You really don’t have to worry about us, noona. We know what to do. How to hit our marks and spout the company lines.”

“I wasn’t worried!” you lied.

“Right. Of course not.” He trailed you back to the stage. “Why would you worry? It’s not like you haven’t heard a million nasty stories about us, right? About how difficult we are, how unprofessional, always needing tons of close handling. Nothing like that?”

You blinked, but didn’t reply, unsure what to say. The last thing you wanted to do was rile him up when they were mere seconds away from a live broadcast.

Jimin laughed derisively. “That’s what I thought.” He waved the producer over, patiently letting her mic him up. “I know what everyone at Beyond the Sound thinks of us, even though most of you never even met us.”

“I’m not sure what you’re referring to,” you fudged, trying to untangle yourself from this situation. “Beyond the Sound has always championed Euphoria. We’re doing everything we can to make sure you guys are taken care of, and to see that your comeback is a success.” You gave him a shaky smile. “We have your best interests at heart.”

“Ha!” he huffed, shaking his head. “Our best interests. If you say so, noona.”

He left you gawking as he joined his bandmates, introducing himself to the mayor. Four stools had been placed on the stage, in front of a simple snowy backdrop and a large fake Christmas tree. As they settled in, the producer waved her arm, indicating the countdown to being live had begun.

“You okay, Princess?” Jin whispered as you clenched and unclenched your fists, silently counting along with the producer.

“Of course,” you sniffed. “Everything’s fine.”

Jimin’s words had rattled you a little, but you weren’t about to tell Jin that.

“They’ve got this. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.”

The lights were off in the wings, and in the darkness, you could barely make out Jin’s profile. He looked completely relaxed, as usual.

“Will you stop saying that stupid phrase? It’s completely inane!”

Jin just honk laughed.

The interview went off without a hitch. Jimin was right - Euphoria were seasoned pros, and knew how to handle the press. The only slight hiccup came courtesy of the mayor. As he gestured to the venue space behind him, he nearly smacked Taehyung in the face. Taehyung spun to avoid his arm, which made Jimin guffaw, which led to him falling off his stool.

Could’ve been worse.

**********

After lunch, the road crew showed up to set up for rehearsal. You sat in the audience and flipped through notes on your phone as the band practiced their setlist for the concert. Jin had folded himself into a seat in the row behind you, legs propped up, humming along to the music floating through the theater.

Euphoria’s new album was a mix of holiday standards like “Have a Holly Jolly Christmas” and several original songs, including the one they were currently playing, nonsensically named “Claus I Said So!”

“Oh god,” Jin murmured, leaning forward to rest his arms on the back of the seat next to you. “This might be the worst Christmas song in the history of the world. How do they expect this to sell albums?”

You scowled at the sudden nearness of him. “They don’t. They expect us to sell them, remember?” He did have a point, though. The song was truly atrocious, the lyrics some vapid nonsense about how everyone had to do Santa’s bidding or there would be no Christmas this year. But all Santa kept telling everyone to do was to “rock!”

Mentally, you added earplugs to your list of items to bring to the concert.

“I’m honestly surprised they agreed to this album in the first place,” Jin admitted.

You stopped scrolling long enough to turn and look at him. “What do you mean?”

He shrugged. “I understand why they went along with the punk album. They do have legitimate musical talent and it was an opportunity to flex their skills. The screamo album took a lot of persuading from Irene, and I heard even Sejin had to cajole them a bit. But a holiday album?” He shook his head in disbelief. “Never thought they’d agree to it. Especially now that I’m hearing the songs they were given - could you imagine having to sing this crap with a straight face?”

“Jin?”

“Yeah?”

“Literally what the fuck are you talking about?”

Euphoria were chameleons, constantly changing their look and their sound. But that was all them. Always their idea, always their music.

Wasn’t it?

Jin stared at you. “Oh, Princess, tell me you know.”

“I know what?” Your eyes narrowed.

“That Beyond the Sound is responsible for all of Euphoria’s crazy reinventions? The company plans out every album, from concept to songs?” His eyebrows shot up at your silence. “Oh no, you really thought they came up with all that crap?” He gestured at the stage. “Do they look like they want to be performing this tripe?”

The song ended, shifting into another original tune, “Don’t Be Elfish,” as you carefully examined the members on stage. Jimin’s eyes were as lifeless as a doll’s as he crooned into the microphone. Taehyung strummed his bass mindlessly, staring into space. Jungkook looked like an automaton, drumming mechanically.

They all seemed absolutely miserable.

Holy shit, how could you have missed this? All this time, thinking the band was full of chaotic wildlings who jumped from genre to genre on a whim, with no rhyme or reason. Assuming they were monsters that couldn’t be tamed.

And why had you thought these things? Because that’s what your company told you.

“Why?”

“Why what?”

You twisted in your seat to face him. “Why would they agree to this? To any of this?”

“Their contract. Beyond the Sound basically locked them into a terrible deal. Their original manager was… not a good guy.” He pursed his lips. “He made a hell of a lot of money off of them when they signed with Beyond the Sound, then split. Our company uses them as guinea pigs, trying to tap into new markets. The punk rock album got them a bunch of deals, but that last album didn’t net any new clients. Or fans.”

Well, shit. Maybe you needed to stop assuming so much based on what you heard around the office. That place seemed to be overflowing with lies.

Then again, how did you know that Jin wasn’t lying to you right now? Why should you trust him? He’d probably heard all this stuff through the rumor mill, too.

“That is… unfortunate. But at the end of the day, they signed on the dotted line. They agreed to this.” Even as the words left your lips, you doubted them slightly. But if you had to pick between listening to your employer or listening to your maddening coworker, you were choosing Beyond the Sound. “If they want those albums to sell, they’ll suck it up and sing those terrible songs.”

Were you imagining things or did Jin look disappointed with your response?

“Right. It’s all about the bottom line. Good thing you’re here to keep everything under control, Princess.” He leaned back again, out of sight.

But not out of mind, as his words kept tumbling through your head.

“This one’s for you, noona,” Jimin’s voice boomed over the sound system, interrupting your thoughts. You looked up to see him pointing at you, and the band launched into a slinky cover of “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).” Jimin’s smooth voice poured out of the speakers, but it wasn’t loud enough to cover Jin’s laughter behind you.

“Shut it, Jin!”

**********

The band seemed beat by the time rehearsal ended. The ride back to the Blitzen Inn was quiet. You didn’t mind, because you were still trying to make sense of your conversations with Jimin and Jin.

But everyone perked up once they saw what a feast Yoongi had whipped up for dinner. Large slabs of meat, various types of potatoes and grilled vegetables, and freshly baked breads covered the dining room table. As everyone tucked in, Hobi played the gracious host, a role he was well suited to, asking questions and keeping the conversation rolling.

“So, this is your first time visiting the east coast in winter?” he inquired, pouring you some more wine.

“Mmmhmm. Any time I’ve been here before was during the summer.” You swirled your wine, letting it breathe. “I’m a little disappointed, honestly, that there’s no snow. I’ve never seen any.”

“Never?” Jin interjected, looking surprised. “None at all?”

You shook your head sadly.

“Not even at a ski resort or anything?”

“What exactly aren’t you grasping about never, Jin?”

“Well, I have some good news for you, then,” Hobi cut in with a smile. “They’re predicting we’ll get a little dusting tonight. Not much, but enough to cover the ground, at least.”

“It’s gonna snow?” Jungkook looked up from wolfing down his food. “When?”

“Later tonight. Again, it’s probably not going to amount to much, but at least you’ll get to finally see some,” Hobi said to you.

What a pleasant surprise. None of the weather channels you’d monitored prior to the trip had mentioned anything about snow. You didn’t care if it wasn’t going to amount to much - all you wanted to was to see those precious little snowflakes drifting down, just once. That would be more than enough.

“You know, snowy nights are perfect for cuddling by the fire,” Jimin informed you, sliding his chair closer. “Just picture it - you, me, a bottle of wine. Curled up on the couch, keeping each other warm. Doesn’t that sound nice?”

“What is this weird obsession with keeping me ‘warm’? Am I giving off hypothermic vibes?” you scoffed, taking a swig of wine.

Jin cackled as you held out your glass for more wine.

Dessert was yet another delicious extravaganza, this time a grand selection of little cakes. Yoongi truly did spoil his guests. Afterward, Jin retired to his room to “network,” which you assumed meant he was probably going to nap. The band took up residence in the library, crowding around the piano as they discussed some tweaks to the concert setlist. Hobi and Yoongi were in the kitchen cleaning, so you had the sitting room to yourself. You turned on a fluffy holiday movie, a guilty pleasure of yours, letting it play in the background as you answered some work emails.

It wasn’t until halfway through the movie - just as the confused protagonist was about to realize she might have feelings for the antagonizing male lead - that you caught something flickering in the fading evening light outside the window.

Snowflakes.

Quickly setting your work aside, you dashed out into the hallway, grabbing your puffer coat from the rack by the door. Others must’ve noticed the snow as well, judging by the excited shouts you heard behind you as you pulled the front door open.

The world outside was awash in white. Snowflakes tumbled through the air, gently coming to rest on the lawn. You walked through the yard, tempted to spin in circles like the lead of one of those silly holiday movies you loved to hate.

Aw, fuck it.

Arms outstretched, you twirled, giggling to yourself as you tilted your face towards the sky. Opening your mouth, you caught a few flakes, letting them melt away on your tongue.

Eventually, your wandering led you to the gazebo, where you sat on a bench under the Christmas lights, feeling a strange sense of peace. The world was hushed, a serene silence falling over everything. You weren’t sure how long you’d been sitting there when you heard Jin’s voice.

“Oh, I missed it.”

You shifted and saw Jin walking towards the gazebo. He shuffled forward to join you, wrapped in his red plaid coat again, with a navy scarf tied around his neck, a rosy glow on his cheeks as the night air nipped at his face.

“You haven’t missed anything. It’s been snowing for a while.”

“Yeah, but I wanted to see it start. There’s something really magical about those first flakes.”

“Is that so?” Standing, you propped yourself against one of the pillars holding the roof up, and turned your face to the sky to watch the snow, sighing happily. Not even his irksome presence could bother you right now.

He nodded, stepping a little closer. “I grew up in the north, you know. There’s this moment when the cold air gets so crisp, you can almost feel time slowing, like it’s starting to freeze, too. The world stills. And then the clouds themselves begin to fall, bit by bit, fluttering to the ground as tiny snowflakes.”

“Fuck, maybe you should be in PR instead of management. You’re really selling it,” you commented drily.

Jin smiled, huffing a soft laugh. “I’m just trying to explain how beautiful that moment is. I really wanted to experience it again. And I…” He trailed off, shaking his head.

“You what?” you prompted him.

He cleared his throat. “I wanted to see the first snow with you. To share it with you, since I know you’ve never experienced it before.”

“Oh.”

You hadn’t realized how close he was standing until you caught his gaze, his eyes shimmering like the delicate flakes that danced around you. His tongue licked nervously at his plump lips as his face angled down towards yours.

He looked so handsome in the soft glow of the Christmas lights, you could almost forget how annoying he was.

Almost.

“Well, that’s just too bad,” you murmured, stepping down from the gazebo onto the path back to the house.

“Did you enjoy it, at least?” he called out as you retreated.

“It was lovely,” you replied over your shoulder, not looking back.

Nearly everyone had drifted outside to admire the snowfall. Hobi and Yoongi cuddled on the porch swing as Jungkook perched on the edge of the steps, attempting to pack what little snow was on the ground into a snowball. You briefly considered bribing him to aim for Jin.

Meanwhile, Jimin leaned in the doorway. “Come watch the snow with me, noona,” he wheedled, batting his eyelashes. “Look.” He pointed to where a little green sprig dangled over the porch swing. “Want to take a turn after our hosts get up?”

You rolled your eyes. “Give it up, Park.”

“Aw, come on, you don’t want to sit under the mistletoe with me?” He pouted. Despite your best efforts, your gaze flitted to his luscious mouth briefly. You knew millions of his fans would die to be in your shoes at that moment.

If only you could switch with any one of them.

“Believe it or not, I don’t.” you remarked, sweeping past him into the house. Over your shoulder, you called out, “Besides, mistletoe is not romantic. It’s a parasite!”

**********

“Don’t worry. He knows you’re not interested,” a deep voice rang out from the library as you passed by.

You wandered into the room to find Taehyung sitting at the baby grand, fingers gently coaxing a soft melody from the keys.

“What did you say?”

“Jimin.” His dark eyes assessed you as you took a seat in a plump armchair near the wall of books. “He knows. He’s just flirting for show.”

“Jimin? The world renowned player?” You frowned. “Flirting is his first language. What do you mean, it’s for ‘show’?”

“He’s acting. Playing the part written for him, to prevent the truth from getting out.”

You were lost. “And that is…?”

“He’s celibate.”

“Shut up!” You popped upright, stunned. “But… all those scandals! What about the flings, the one night stands?

“They never existed.” The key changed, shifting to minor. “All lies, dreamt up by Beyond the Sound, to deflect from the reality of the situation.”

“Why?” Once again, you found yourself struggling to understand. “Why would they fabricate such wild stories? Why hide the fact he’s celibate?”

Taehyung laughed mirthlessly. “To mold him into their desired image. Who wants a lead singer who’s abstinate? Euphoria needs a sexy star for fans to ooh and ahh over.”

Mulling his words, you fell silent, allowing Taehyung’s song to wash over you as you reflected. He was such a gifted pianist, and you mourned all the music he’d never been given the chance to play, being forced to perform Beyond the Sound’s dreck instead.

“Taehyung… when you were working on the punk album… why did you lock yourself in the studio for six days?”

If the sudden change in topic threw him, you wouldn’t know it. He continued to play as he answered. “I never did that. That’s when I flew back to Korea, to be with my family when my father was ill.” He dipped his head, striking the keys hard as the music swelled. “But we couldn’t have that getting out, could we? Wouldn’t exactly look like a tempermental artiste if it turned out that not only did I not write the album, but I spent the time I was supposed to be doing so at my ailing father’s bedside.”

Fuck, was anything you’d ever heard at work even remotely true?

“And what about Jungkook? I remember Irene comparing him to a wild animal, running untamed.”

He gave you a look. “You’ve seen him. He’s not some feral beast. He's… he’s a puppy. Too much energy, sure, but also full of boundless enthusiasm. And sweetness. He’d do anything for any of us, even our hosts if they asked.”

You ruminated for a moment. “Okay, so, basically, everything I know about Euphoria is a lie. But… why are you telling me all of this?” you asked.

He shrugged, fingers gently coaxing out quiet notes as the song began to diminuendo. “If I can be blunt?”

Waving your hand, you granted him permission.

“You don’t strike me as the next Irene. Or Sejin. You still have a soul.” He grinned sadly. “Don’t let Beyond the Sound take that from you.”

You blinked. Well, shit, you had told him he could be blunt.

The grandfather clock in the hallway struck ten.

“Don’t stay up too late, Taehyung,” you advised as you stood to leave. “Even if we don’t have an early start tomorrow, you should still get some rest.”

“Noted, noona.”

As you crossed the room, he called out your name, and you paused in the doorway.

“Maybe we’re not the only ones who deserve a second look.” His song ended, the last note sustaining as he turned to face you.

Okay, he was getting a little too personal now. But damn if he didn’t have perfect timing. Like a true artist.

With a curt nod, you walked away, heading for the quiet respite of your bed, and the blissful promise of sleep.

**********

Snow. Everywhere you looked, as you stared out the window the next morning. The world was covered in white, shimmering in the cloud-filtered glow of the morning sun.

Bundling up in your robe, still dressed in your silky pajama set, you trudged downstairs and found Jin, Yoongi, and Hobi already gathered in the sitting room, watching the news. All were still in their pajamas as well. Jin was of course wearing a set of Louis Vuitton sleepwear. At this point, you assumed he’d just bought out the entire boutique.

“That’s right, Bob, as you can see here, we’re up to 13 inches and snow is still coming down! Looks like we might get that white Christmas after all!” the orange-hued weatherman yapped as he pointed to the screen behind him.

“Someone needs to lay off the self-tanner,” Jin snarked as Yoongi greeted you with a steaming mug of coffee. You were really going to miss the incredible service here when you returned home.

“Did he say 13 inches?” you inquired, blowing into your beverage.

Hobi nodded. “So far!”

Walking over to the windows, you peered outside. The road leading to the house was nowhere in sight. Yoongi joined you, munching on a biscuit held in one hand, the other clutching his coffee.

“At what time do they plow the road?”

Hobi and Yoongi laughed before they caught your expression.

“Oh, you’re serious?” Hobi blinked.

You frowned. “Sorry, lifelong beachtown resident here. I don’t know how it works when it snows. The city plows the roads, don’t they?” Leaving Yoongi at the window, you plopped down on the couch, grabbing a biscuit from a tray on the coffee table and slathering on some butter.

“Sure, they plow public roads. But we’re on a private road out here. So we’d have to plow it ourselves. And we don’t own anything that could do the job.” Yoongi explained. Almost 24 hours in their house and this was the first time you’d heard Yoongi actually speak.

“Plus, anyone who could do it for us is going to be busy today. And even if we could get the road plowed, the snow hasn’t actually stopped. So if you leave, you might end up snowed in somewhere else.” Hobi continued. “Or worse, you could get into a horrible accident on the slick roads.”

Jin sipped his coffee. “That all sounds terrible. Essentially, you’re saying we’re stuck here.” “For now, at least,” Hobi stated.

You and Jin exchanged a look. But before you could speak, a loud whoop sounded from upstairs. The two of you rushed to the doorway to see what was happening. “WOOOOOO! LOOK AT ALL THAT SNOW!”

Jungkook stampeded down the stairs, clad in only a towel. His dark purple hair dripped puddles on the hardwood as he dashed barefoot to the front door, wrenching it open. “I’m gonna make snow angels!” he shouted as he sprinted outside.

“What just happened?” you asked, stunned.

“Am I seeing things or is he only wearing a towel?” Jin asked.

From his post at the window, Yoongi smirked. “Well, he was wearing a towel.”

The speed with which you snapped out of your trance and ran outside was nothing short of superhuman. “Jungkook, naked snow angels aren’t a thing!!”

**********

By midday, the snowfall total was up to 18 inches. And there seemed to be no end in sight.

“I don’t understand,” you groused, still in your robe, still on the couch. “Aren’t these people supposed to be professionals? Don’t they make an entire career out of predicting this stuff? How did they not see this coming??”

Irene had done an incredible amount of legwork for the trip, including compiling initial weather reports and consulting almanacs to determine how close to the holiday the concert could occur without the threat of inclement weather. Once you’d taken over, you’d done the same, making sure to keep updated on any changes that could potentially derail the concert.

Not a single report had said anything about a freaking blizzard.

You mentally added meteorologists to your ever-growing list of enemies. It was practically a novel at this point.

Everyone was now gathered in the sitting room, all staring at the tv in surprise and dismay. Well, you were dismayed. Jungkook was thrilled, Taehyung and Jimin were a strange mix of concerned and excited, and Hobi and Yoongi were indifferent.

And Jin? He was relaxed as always.

“It is what it is,” Jin proclaimed sagely. You stopped glaring at the weatherman long enough to glare at him instead. “What? I’m just saying, we can’t do anything or go anywhere right now. Might as well make the best of it.”

“That’s the idea!” Hobi chirped, nudging his husband. “Yoongs, maybe we can whip up a special snow day dinner for everyone? Something to warm them and lift their spirits at the same time.”

Yoongi tipped his head, contemplating. “Let me see what I have to work with. Maybe some sort of stew? Of course, if we’re having stew, I’ll need to bake some sort of crusty bread to go with it…” He trailed off as he strolled into the kitchen.

“Perfect.” Hobi clapped his hands, rubbing them excitedly. “Until then, we have plenty to keep you entertained! In addition to books, there are puzzles and games in the library. And we have lots of extra winter gear on hand, in case anyone wants to go outside.”

“If anyone needs me, I’ll be napping.” Taehyung announced as he disappeared upstairs.

“You said there are puzzles in the library?” Jimin inquired, drawing a curious look from you. “Some people meditate. I do jigsaws, okay? They’re very calming.” He wandered off in search of his zen.

“Jungkook, have you ever made a snowman?”

Jungkook just looked at Hobi with wide eyes, who giggled and gestured for the drummer to follow him.

“Hey, do you hear that?” Jin cupped his hand behind his ear.

“I don’t hear anything.”

“Exactly! Isn’t it wonderful?” Jin grinned. “If this snow gets us out of babysitting for a few hours, then it can’t be that bad, can it?” He stretched and leaned back on the couch, flipping idly through the channels. “I think I’m just going to watch a movie. What about you?”

“Are you serious?” you sputtered incredulously. “What am I going to do? I’m going to do my job! Which is what you should be doing!”

Confusion twisted Jin’s pretty features. “What exactly am I supposed to do? Did you not just have the same conversation as the rest of us? We’re stuck here!”

“Just because our hosts don’t want to hire a plow doesn’t mean we should just give up! I refuse to believe we’re just housebound for the day. There has to be a way to get someone out here to dig us out!”

“The band will be fine if they can’t rehearse today. They’re pros.”

All you could think about was your boss’s threat about Irene not being the only one leaving Beyond the Sound. “Sure, that’s fine, but what about the fan signing event tonight? We need that support!”

Jin frowned, eyebrows drawing in tight. “Come on, you heard what Hobi and Yoongi said. The plows are going to be busy with public roads. And we shouldn’t go out there until the snow stops. Do you really want to spend the night at that Christmas shop if we end up snowed in?”

You threw up your hands. “No, of course not! But I can’t just sit here and do nothing. I’m not built that way.”

“Built what way?”

“Built like you!”

“Yah, what does that mean?” He blinked, sitting up.

“It means that I can’t just take it easy and smile and wink and expect everything to magically fall into place for me!” All the frustration that had been building as the snow fell was starting to bubble to the surface as your voice rose slightly. “If you can’t use your charms to get it done, then it’s not getting done! Meanwhile I work my ass off, because I actually give a damn about my job!”

“Again with the snide comments about me not taking things seriously! Is that really what you think of me?” Jin asked, jumping to his feet. “That I’m some lazy asshole who doesn’t give a shit?” “Well, if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck and shoots finger guns like a fucking lameass duck... ” Springing to your feet, you took a step forward as he stepped back. “Yes, that’s exactly what I think!”

At that moment, Yoongi walked into the room carrying a tray of cookies. Spotting the two of you circling the coffee table in an intense standoff, he smoothly executed a swift one-eighty degree turn, and walked back out of the room.

“Are you kidding me? I’m the only one here who cares!”

Laughing dismissively, you doubled over. “You? YOU? Come the fuck on!”

“Yes, me! Because I am the only one concerned about our clients!”

Red. Your vision literally turned red for a second as your blood boiled. “Excuse me?? How dare you insinuate that I don’t care about them!”

“It’s true!” he nearly shouted, gesturing wildly with his hands as he spoke. “You care about the job, sure - just the numbers! Ratings, views, sales. That’s it! That’s all you give a damn about! Meanwhile, I’m trying to ensure that our clients - the actual living breathing musicians we’re meant to serve, the people - are safe and sound and happy! Look at right now, for example - you really want to send them out there in this?” He waved his hand towards the window. “Why? Just so they can sell a few albums?”

“It’s not just a few albums, it’s also our jobs on the line,” you hissed.

Jin just shook his head. “Not to mention, they’ve told us how miserable they are with Beyond the Sound - don’t look so shocked, I know what they’ve said to you, because they’ve said it to me, too! But all you do is recite the company line to get them to shut up and do whatever is best for the numbers - not what is best for them!”

“Hey!”

A loud voice hollered from upstairs. You and Jin drifted into the hallway to peer up the stairs at Taehyung, who leaned over the railing, looking pissed off in his plaid pajamas.

“Some people are trying to sleep! Either take this outside, or buy me some better ear plugs!”

Neither of you responded, locked in a fierce staring contest.

“Well?” You gestured in Taehyung’s direction. “Your client is not happy, Jin! Shouldn’t you do something about it?”

Jin glared at you. “Just tell me - are you planning on doing your oh-so-important work out of this room today?”

You blinked, confused at the abrupt shift. “Maybe? I haven’t decided yet, why?”

“Because,” he yelled over his shoulder as he stomped up the stairs, “I want to be wherever you are not!” He punctuated his sentence by slamming his bedroom door shut.

Jimin’s head poked out of the library doorway. He clicked his tongue disapprovingly. “Uh-oh, Mom and Dad are fighting. Looks like we’re getting two Christmases this year!”

“Shut it, Park!” you snapped, whirling and stalking back into the sitting room. Sinking onto the couch, you stared at the ceiling, wondering exactly when things had gone from potential nightmare to outright catastrophic disaster.

**********

Despite you doing your best all afternoon to find one, there were no plows anywhere even remotely nearby who could dig you out. Which meant the fan-signing event at Santa’s Workshop had to be cancelled.

By the time dinner ended, you were starting to worry that the concert tomorrow might also suffer the same fate.

And that no matter how hard you tried, you weren’t going to pull off this assignment after all.

A long dram of your hot cocoa did little to settle your nerves, despite the large kick of peppermint schnapps Yoongi had generously added for you. This was your second mug, and you were still too keyed up to feel the effects of the liquor.

“At some point, it will stop snowing, right?” You asked the question half in jest, gazing out the window of the sitting room at the flakes that just kept falling and falling, but the tone of your voice betrayed your anxiety.

For once, you’d gotten your wish. The world outside was indeed a sea of white. Unfortunately, it seemed to be just as boundless as the ocean itself.

“Don’t worry,” Hobi said comfortingly, “it can’t snow forever.” He was lying on one of the velvet couches, still keeping an eye on the weather channel.

Jimin and Yoongi sat on the floor around the coffee table, assembling a jigsaw of a covered bridge together. Jungkook was draped across the other couch, lost in his VR headset again. You could hear Taehyung in the library, tickling the ivories and providing you with rather soothing background music.

Or it would have been soothing were you not wound so tightly that you were about to pop.

Jin had returned to his room as soon as the dishes were cleared from the dinner table. You were fine with that. Let the baby pout. After what he’d said to you, accusing you of only caring about numbers, you hoped you didn’t see his stupid face again for as long as possible.

Yoongi glanced up at his husband, idly flipping a puzzle piece over in his long fingers. “Remember that snowstorm two years ago? Snowed for almost 48 hours straight. I think that’s the longest I’ve ever seen.” You must’ve looked frightened at the prospect of the snow continuing for another day, because he hastily added, “But I’m sure that won’t be the case today. That was a freak storm, a fluke.”

“You mean, a fluke like an unexpected blizzard?” you squeaked.

Yoongi’s mouth set in a firm line. “This is why I usually don’t talk to our guests.”

Hobi rubbed his husband’s shoulder reassuringly. “It’s okay, dear.”

“If the concert’s cancelled, is it really the end of the world?” Jimin mused. “The album will drop no matter what. Our fans know it’s coming.”

You bit your lip, remembering Sejin’s words. “There’s a lot more riding on this than you know, Park,” you muttered under your breath, turning away from the others in the room to stare forlornly out the window.

As you watched the swirling eddies of snow drift past the window, something gnawed at you.

You’d always known Beyond the Sound was a greedy corporation, bent on dominating the charts and keeping the cash flowing in. You weren’t naive. Or at least, you hadn’t thought you were. But how had you missed the way your company was treating its clients? You truly thought they were being taken care of while Beyond the Sound rode their success all the way to the bank.

All the conversations you’d had in the past 24 hours left you unsettled, and had you wondering if you even wanted your promotion anymore. Yet you couldn’t stop thinking of it as already yours. Maybe if the concert got cancelled, it wouldn’t be the end of the world, as Jimin had said… even if you lost your job?

Damn, the schnapps must’ve been kicking in, if you were contemplating unemployment without batting an eye.

With a sigh, you wandered away from the window. It was funny how quickly you’d tired of that unending whiteness outside.

Hobi patted the space on the couch next to him and you took a seat.

“So now what?” you asked. “We just… sit here and keep waiting?”

“Yep.” Hobi ran his fingers through Yoongi’s hair as he leaned against his legs. You averted your gaze, trying to ignore the way your heart panged at the soft sight. It had been so long since someone had stroked your hair like that. “We hunker down and wait for it to pass. Eventually, we’ll have to dig ourselves out, and figure out the plow situation. But until the snow stops, there’s nothing for us to do, but eat, drink, and be merry!” He grinned, his sunny personality not dimmed in the slightest by the stressful situation unfolding around him.

What it must be like to be an optimist. Couldn’t be you.

“We’ll be fine, noona,” Jimin concurred, smiling reassuringly. “As long as the - “

The room was suddenly plunged into darkness. Total, complete blackness, almost smothering you. Your heart leapt into your throat.

“ - power doesn’t go out.”

Yoongi’s voice piped up. “You just had to say something about the power, didn’t you?”

**********

An hour later, the electricity was still out. Candles placed around the sitting room provided weak illumination, shadows flickering as everyone settled in around the fireplace.

Well, everyone minus Jin, who remained in his room. Maybe he was sleeping through the blackout. Maybe he was still being a jerk. Those things weren’t mutually exclusive.

You’d finally shed your bathrobe, replacing it with the down comforter from your bed. Everyone else was similarly bundled in their bedding as you waited to find out what was going on outside.

A hand-cranked radio brought you bad news - the power was out for more than half the state, with no estimates of when it would return. Your hosts had some minor good news, in that they had a gas-powered generator, but it could only run for 12 hours max before it would need refilling. And that would be difficult to do if it kept snowing.

“We should reserve the generator to power the fridge and to keep the water from the well running,” Yoongi explained. “For now, I think it’s best we all hang out downstairs, where the fireplaces can help us stay warm.”

“What about Jin-hyung?” a pile of blankets on the floor asked. A purple-haired head poked out. “Should someone go get him?”

Everyone looked at you.

“Why me?” you bristled. “You all heard that asshole earlier. Fuck, I think the surrounding states heard him announce he doesn’t want to be anywhere near me!”

“Maybe this is a good chance to apologize,” Taehyung intoned, leveling a look in your direction. You shot back a glare, and he suddenly seemed to find the dancing flames in the fireplace very interesting.

Jimin wouldn’t meet your eye, and Jungkook dove back into his blankets. With a frustrated sigh, you arranged your comforter around yourself like a cape, and angrily stalked upstairs.

**********

Armed with a flashlight, courtesy of Hobi, you exhaled loudly before knocking on Jin’s door.

“Jin? Are you awake?”

Silence. He was probably sleeping after all. Well, you tried, so maybe everyone could get off your back.

A muffled voice called out as you turned to leave. “What do you want?”

Just the sound of his voice made your teeth clench. “Everyone’s downstairs waiting for the power to come back. It’s warmer down there, with the fireplaces. You should come down too.”

No response.

“Jin, did you hear me? You shouldn’t stay upstairs right now.” You frowned. “Don’t freeze your ass off because you’re a stubborn - “

The door flew open, and your rant died on your lips as you were met by a very rumpled Jin, who’d clearly just woken up. His normally polished facade was missing. Instead, he looked very soft, eyes blinking sleepily, mouth yawning gently. He still wore his pajama pants, but he’d removed his top.

Your eyes swept over his broad chest and the curve of his biceps as he leaned his arm on the doorframe. He was more well-built than you’d ever imagined, a slight ripple of abs greeting you as you jerked your gaze away before it drifted too far south.

Not that you’d ever imagined him shirtless. Of course not.

Well, maybe when you’d first met, before he’d opened his mouth.

Suddenly incredibly conscious of where you were looking, you stared at his hair. Such majestic fluff, the shiny strands bouncing as he dragged a hand over his face, peering at you questioningly. You longed to run your fingers through it. It probably felt like silk.

Okay, no more schnapps for you.

“Stubborn what?”

You shook your head. “Nevermind. Look, just come down, okay? There’s no estimate on when the power will return, so we’re keeping warm by the fire.”

The gaze that swept over you was cold, appraising. “Nah. I’m fine here.”

Jin tried to close the door, but you stuck your foot in, blocking it. He kept pushing, and you shoved against the door, stumbling through the gap into his room.

“Hey! I’m trying to keep you from dying of hypothermia, you prick!” you snapped, yanking your blanket through the door as it swung shut. You set the flashlight on the floor, aiming it upward so that the room was dimly lit by the beam.

He just huffed out a noisy breath, flopping onto his bed. “Don’t be so dramatic. It’s not that cold.”

“Not yet, but it will be, the longer we go without the heating on.”

“Oh, now you’re an expert on how exposure works? Great. Let me just settle in for this lecture,” he grumbled, burying his face into his pillow.

You were cursed. That was the only explanation for why you were stuck with this giant manbaby, in an unexpected blizzard, during the most important week of your career.

And you were over it.

Tossing your blanket cape to the floor, you stalked across the room and jumped onto his bed, jostling him violently.

“What the fuck are you doing?” he yelped, rolling onto his back. You drew yourself up onto your knees, straddling his calves as you glared down at him.

“Clearly, you and I are never going to see eye-to-eye on how we work. That’s fine. We don’t have to be friends. I just need you to stop being a baby and come downstairs because I’m pretty sure I’m not getting that promotion if I return to work without you because you froze to death!”

Jin sat up quickly, knocking you off balance as his face suddenly came within inches of yours. “Yah, that promotion is mine, first of all! And secondly, I’m not going to freeze!”

“Why can’t you just do what I’m asking you to?” you snarled, poking him in the chest.

“Why can’t you just realize that maybe your way isn’t the only way!” he retorted, grabbing your hand.

“You drive me insane!”

His eyes flashed as he tugged on your hand, pulling you closer. “The feeling’s mutual, Princess!”

Before you could shout once again about that irritating nickname, his lips smashed against yours.

Despite the quickly chilling room around you, you were burning up, flames licking at your skin as Jin ran his hands down your back, holding you flush against him as your mouths fought for dominance. Biting, tongues colliding, grunting and sighing into one another.

Fuck, he was an incredible kisser. His plump lips felt like heaven as they tangoed viciously with yours. Why the fuck were you always fighting, when you could be doing this instead?

“I bet you’ve been dreaming about this, Princess,” he murmured, mouth gliding down your neck.

Oh, right, because he was a complete asshat.

“Hardly.” Your teeth found his earlobe and you nibbled sharply, making him gasp. “I’m only doing this so you’ll shut the fuck up for a moment and listen to me.”

He laughed, lips vibrating against your throat, and then it was your turn to gasp as he threw you onto your back, covering your body with his own.

The solid warmth of him did nothing to cool you down as he kissed you urgently. Hands roamed everywhere. Your fingers combed through his messy hair, and you belatedly noted that the strands were in fact as smooth as satin.

Jin’s lips trailed down your chest, over your shirt, and stopped at your waist. “I don’t suppose you’d want to take this off,” he said, jerking on the hem of your top, “considering we might turn into icicles at any second.”

Scowling, you shoved him away. “Shut the fuck up and undress me.” Less talking, more action. You didn’t want to think anymore.

You just wanted to feel.

Jin complied, ridding you of your pajamas in seconds. He let out an appreciative hum when he noticed that you wore nothing underneath, hands immediately flying to your breasts, caressing them. Urging you to lie back down, his mouth closed in until he captured a nipple between his teeth.

For several heavenly minutes, no words were spoken. The only sounds in the room were the wet noises of his mouth as he suckled at your tits, lavishing both with attention, and the sighs of satisfaction that spilled from your lips.

Eventually, you broke the spell. “Jin.”

“Mmm?” he hummed around your nipple. Dark eyes gazed at you, and you clenched at the heat you recognized in them.

It was the same blaze that burned in you.

“As nice as this is, can we move things along?” Your pussy ached terribly, dying for his touch.

He snorted, pulling off your tit with a pop. “You really can’t stop and enjoy yourself for very long, can you? Always down to business.”

You would’ve argued, but as he spoke, his hand sank between your legs, finding and stroking your clit. So instead, all that came out was, “Hnnnnnghhh,” as you bucked against him.

“Maybe I need to help you, huh? Show you how to relax.” He licked a line between your breasts, down your navel, towards where his slender fingers were now sliding through your folds. “Ah, so wet. Good. You’re gonna need to be soaking for me.”

“What does that - ohhhhh.”

One long finger slipped inside, crooking, dragging against your inner wall. Your eyes slipped shut in bliss.

Only to reopen in surprise as his mouth closed around your clit.

If you’d thought his lips felt amazing against your mouth, the sensation of him kissing that tiny bud was out of this world. His finger continued to slide inside you as he licked at your slit.

“More,” you demanded breathily, hands digging into the soft sheets of his bed. He was moving too slowly for your liking - wasn’t he burning up, too?

“Patience, Princess. I have to get you ready,” he insisted, slipping a second finger inside. You tossed your head back at the intrusion.

“What the… oh… the fuck do you mean, get me ready? I’m not a fucking virgin, dumbass.”

In response, Jin removed his hand, making you whimper at the loss. He jumped off of the bed and untied the drawstring on his pajama bottoms, letting them drop to the floor.

Holy fucking shit.

“Holy fucking shit,” you gasped, staring at the biggest cock you’d ever seen. Outside of porn, at least. No wonder he was always so confident, so sure of himself. It was easy to know you could always stand on your own two feet when you a third fucking leg to back you up.

He merely grinned, lazily stroking himself as he watched your reaction. “Like I said. I have to get you ready.”

That was going inside you? Fuck. “Well, then get back here and fucking get to work!”

“As you wish, Princess.” He climbed back onto the bed, once again settling between your legs.

“Jin, enough with the damn nicknaooohhhhh.” Your snipe turned into a moan as his fingers scissored you open. A third finger joined the fray and you were lost in rapture for a moment. Even though the stretch felt unusual, the way Jin pumped his hand made your toes curl.

His other hand splayed on your stomach, holding you in place no matter how much you squirmed. He lowered his head to nibble on your thighs, making you squeak, before his tongue plunged into your core.

“I could do this all night,” he professed, grinning mischievously. His chin was slick with your wetness. The sight was incredibly obscene and incredibly arousing. “Just lie here, tasting you, making you come undone on my fingers. Would you like that?”

“Nnnnnoooo,” you groaned, knowing that the way your body reacted to his touches told a different story.

He laughed, eyes crinkling with delight, fingers never ceasing. “I don’t believe you. As a matter of fact, I think I should do just that. Make you cum again and again. Show you how to enjoy yourself.” He licked his lips. “I know I’m enjoying you, that’s for damn sure.”

Part of you wanted to lie there and make him fulfill his threatened promises. But you could see his massive dick as it slapped against his stomach, and all you wanted was to go for a ride.

“Jin.” Somehow you managed to bite back a moan long enough to speak. “Either get me off right now or fuck me.”

“Again with the orders!” He sighed dramatically, rolling his eyes to the ceiling. “Fine. Have it your way, Princess.”

This time, when he pulled his hand away, you didn’t whimper. You full-on wailed.

His shoulders shook with laughter as he rummaged through his suitcase, searching for a condom. “I’m just doing what you told me! See, I’m listening! Isn’t that what you wanted?”

What you wanted was to kiss that stupid smirk right off his handsome face.

He knelt on the bed, making eye contact as he rolled the condom down his impressive length. You shuddered with anticipation, and a little apprehension. Sure, you weren’t a virgin, but none of the men you’d ever been with had been anywhere near as big as Jin.

As if he read your mind, Jin rubbed your thigh soothingly. “We’ll go slow, okay?”

You nodded.

Hovering over you, propped up on one elbow while lining himself up with the other hand, Jin dipped his head to kiss your neck. You tipped your head back, exposing more of your throat, and he took advantage of the slight distraction to slide in.

“Ohhhh.” He didn’t plunge all the way, just enough for you to feel a stretch. He wasn’t just long, he was also girthy, and the combination was intense.

“Okay?” he asked, lips tracing your ear.

“Okay.”

He kept slowly sliding in, checking in with you, until he finally bottomed out. The feeling was unbelievable.

“Still doing all right?”

“I think I can feel you in the back of my throat.”

“And yet somehow, you keep talking.”

“Hey! I - “

He silenced you with a kiss. But it was different than before. Unhurried. As if he had all the time in the world and he intended to use every second.

And then he began to move.

You felt every inch of every stroke with your entire body, nerves alight with overwhelming pleasure. He slowly fucked you, hooking one arm under your thigh and bending it back until your knee pressed into your chest, opening you up even more to him.

He hit you so deep, you saw stars. Literal bursts of light with every thrust. Your nails scraped down his back as you clung to him, nearly out of your mind as you drowned in him. Nuzzling his face in your neck, he murmured how amazing you felt, how fucking tight you were, that you were doing so well, praising you as you writhed beneath him.

“Jin, fuck,” you cried out, fingers digging into his shoulders.

At first, you thought he was huffing for breath, but you quickly realized he was laughing.

“What do you think I’m doing, Princess?”

“Are you seriously cracking stupid jokes right now? Making yourself laugh?!” you grunted as his hips stopped moving while he cackled. “I thought you said it’s only fun for you if others cum first? I’m not fucking cumming yet!”

“Ah, you’re right, you’re not. I guess I should do something about that.”

“No, forget it, I’ll do it myself.” Frustrated, you pushed him away. He retreated to a sitting position, back against the headboard, and you crawled into his lap.

“You wanna ride this big cock?” he cooed.

“Shut the fuck up, Jin.” Obviously, yes, that is what you wanted to do.

“Whatever you want, Princess.” He smirked wickedly, tousled hair falling into his glimmering eyes.

That. Fucking. Name.

Positioning yourself above his large cock, you stared him dead in the eye as you impaled yourself, punctuating your words with every bounce of your hips.

“I fucking told you to stop!” bounce “Calling!” bounce “Me!” bounce “PRINCESS!”

You rode him like a woman possessed, hellbent on chasing your end. He hissed as your hips rolled, and tightened his arms around you.

“What should I call you, then? Hmm?” His lips brushed against your collarbone as he traced his way back to your breasts, tongue swirling circles in your skin as you arched into his hot mouth. “My queen? Sweetheart? Baby?”

A whine escaped your lips, high and needy, at that last word. You clapped a hand over your mouth, as if you could shove it back in, but it was too late. He’d heard.

“Oh, you like that? You want me to call you baby?” He suddenly lurched forward, and you found yourself on your back again. You mewled, and his tongue ran along your neck as he pumped away.

“Okay, baby, you got it.” Over and over, he buried himself deep inside you. His hands knotted in your hair, cradling your head. He kissed you breathless, tongue diving into your mouth and tangling with your own.

He felt so good, but you didn’t want to make love, you wanted him to fuck you and make you cum so hard you forgot your own name, so once again you shoved him away, and then swiftly flipped over, rising onto your hands and knees.

“Enough sweet talk,” you spat, glancing over your shoulder. “Are you going to make me cum or what?” You wiggled your ass.

Jin growled - audibly growled - and wrapped his large hands around your hips as he sank inside you again. You groaned at the change in angle, feeling his dick kiss your cervix, and began to pant as he pounded into you.

“Is this what my baby wants? Just a good, rough fuck?” Teeth sank into your shoulder, and you muffled a scream by pressing your face into a pillow. “Huh?”

You nodded, only to jump in shock as a hand swiftly smacked your ass. “Ah!”

“Use your words, baby,” he commanded. “I know you’re not shy. Tell me what you want.”

“Fuck, yes, give it to me hard,” you moaned.

He grunted, palm slapping your ass again, and you rolled your face to the side, swearing as the tempo of his rutting increased.

“Ah! Ah! Fuck!”

“You look so fucking good, all bent over for me.” Another smack landed on your cheek. “Always knew you would take this cock so well.”

“Stop talking!” you sneered, rubbing your clit furiously. “Just get me off!”

His fingers pinched your nipples and you yelped. “Still giving orders? Do I need to fuck you harder? Hold on, baby.”

There was no way he could possibly pound you any more furiously. And yet. He had you practically bouncing off the bed as he began to grunt harshly. Beyond words, all you could do was choke out strangled sobs as his hips slammed into you mercilessly.

“Is that what you need?”

“Ah! Yes!”

His strong hands flattened against your stomach, pulling you so your back was flush against his chest. He stilled for a moment, and you fought to catch your breath. You were a fucking mess, tongue lolling out of your mouth as you reclined against him, wanting more more more.

“Fuck, baby, you feel so good,” his husky voice rumbled in your ear. “I wanna feel this sweet cunt to cum all over me. Are you ready?”

All you could do was moan.

“All right. Help me out.” He slid two fingers into your mouth. “Suck.”

You swirled your tongue over his long digits, keening as he slowly pulled his dick out and plunged back in again, thrusting into you so deeply, your eyes rolled back into your head. He hissed as your teeth grazed the rough skin of his fingers.

His other hand slid towards your throat.

“Want me to?” he whispered into your ear.

You nodded, then remembered how to speak. “Please!”

“If it’s too much, tap three times. Show me,” he rasped.

You tapped his arm once, twice, then a third time. Then you whined as his soaking fingers found your clit, rubbing the sensitive bead frantically.

Jin began to squeeze the sides of your throat, not enough to hurt, but enough to make you dizzy. His grip held you in place as he continued to snap his hips into you, all the while never stopping the way he strummed your clit.

Your head began to spin, from the lack of oxygen combined with the intense pleasure radiating from your core, where Jin’s thick cock and stroking fingers were too much, it was all too much, and you couldn’t take it, you couldn’t -

“Let go,” he ordered you, and his hand fell away from your neck.

You inhaled, blood rushing, eyes closing, legs collapsing as you shattered into a million pieces in Jin’s arms.

White-hot pulses of sheer ecstasy rolled through you as you climaxed with a loud cry. Jin held you up with one arm as he felt your walls tighten around him, and then he was cumming, face buried in your hair as he cursed a filthy string of obscenities.

Jin released his grip on your stomach, and you dropped onto the bed, exhausted, smothering your face into the pillow. He laid on his back next to you, his arm over his eyes as his chest heaved.

“You okay, baby?” A hand reached out, gently stroking your back as you tried to steady your breathing.

Oh fuck, he wasn’t going to want to cuddle now, was he? Your mind began to clear as your high abated, and the reality of what you’d just done hit you hard.

“I hope that was good for you, Jin, because it’s never happening again.” Throwing one leg over the edge of the bed, you tried to slip out, but a pair of arms wrapped around your waist, and you found yourself locked in his embrace instead.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Where are you running off to, baby?”

You wriggled, trying to break free. How was he so strong? “I’m not running, we’re just done. And stop calling me baby. You don’t have to keep saying that, the moment’s passed.”

Jin spoke, voice a little more subdued than usual. “Right, the moment’s over. Back to business, then?”

He let go, and you rolled away. In no time, you were dressed, wrapping your comforter around yourself again. You grabbed the flashlight, and as the beam shifted, you caught sight of Jin’s face. Something you couldn’t identify shifted across it.

You blinked, and it was gone. The smooth facade was back in place as he looked at you.

“I’ll be down later. The cool air feels good right now.”

It did, but you still wanted to leave.

“Okay. We’ll save you a spot by the fire.”

A vague hum answered you as the door swung shut.

**********

You awake feeling stiff the next morning, curled in a little ball. Stretching, you extended your legs over the edge of your bed, kicking your feet.

“Ouch!”

Oh shit, right, you didn’t sleep in your bed last night.

From your makeshift bed on the couch in the sitting room, you glanced down at where Jimin was sitting, rubbing his head.

“Sorry, Park,” you apologized. Wincing slightly, you sat up. You were very sore, but there was no way to stretch that out.

Jungkook was sprawled on the other couch, with Taehyung splayed on the floor below. Both were snoring lightly. You assumed Yoongi and Hobi were in their bedroom, since it had a fireplace of its own.

And there was Jin, curled up on the floor behind the couch.

You watched him sleep, contemplating. What if you hadn’t run away last night? Would it really have been so bad to wake up in those arms?

“Good morning,” Hobi called out as he entered the room. You put a finger to your mouth, pointing to the men still sleeping. He ducked his head slightly, and beckoned for you to follow him, pantomiming drinking to let you know there was coffee.

Wrapping yourself in your comforter like a human burrito, you wandered into the dining room, Jimin trailing close behind. There were already cinnamon rolls on the table, steaming hot, and mugs waiting for coffee.

“I don’t know if you noticed, but the electricity came back during the night,” Yoongi said, carrying a pot of coffee out of the kitchen.

That explained why you felt so warm in your blanket. The heat was on.

“And in other good news…” Hobi pointed at the window.

“It stopped snowing!” you cheered. You grabbed your mug to peek out the window. The snow was piled so high. There was probably no point in even bothering to ask about a plow coming, but you felt compelled to anyway. “We’re still not going anywhere today, are we?”

Hobi shook his head. “I’m sorry. I hate to say it, but I think you’re going to be stuck here a while longer.”

“So the concert is probably off,” Jimin said, pouring some sugar into his coffee.

You nodded. “I’m afraid so.”

“The concert’s off?” Jungkook asked as he stumbled into the room, yawning.

“Yeah. Concert’s off, power’s on, snow’s stopped. Have some coffee,” Jimin replied.

Before long, Taehyung wandered in, hair impressively fluffy from his slumber, and then Jin, once again clad in his full pajama set, taking the seat next to you. Word about the concert rippled around the table as Yoongi set out another ridiculous breakfast.

You tore into a second cinnamon roll, again lamenting that eventually you’d have to leave this place and Yoongi’s amazing meals behind, and were about to ask Hobi how he and Yoongi met when Jin cleared his throat.

“Hey.” He bent towards you, voice hushed. “Can we talk about last night?”

You stared at him, horrified. He wanted to talk about what you’d done, here? At the breakfast table? In front of everyone and your cinnamon roll?

“There’s nothing to talk about,” you whispered, sipping your coffee.

“Really?” Jin shot you a look. “You have no comment about what we did? Not even the way I choked you until you came on my big dick?”

Coffee shot into your nose as you inhaled sharply at his words. Hobi reached over and patted you on the back, trying to help you clear your lungs. You glared at Jin as you recovered.

“Watch what you say!” you hissed. “This isn’t the place or time!” You also wanted to ask if he was incapable of referring to his own dick without commenting on the size, but really didn’t want to be overheard.

“So where and when, then?”

“Nowhere and never!” Tossing your napkin on the table, you abruptly stood. “I’m going to go shower,” you announced to the table, and quickly strode away before Jin could respond, dragging your blanket behind you like a fuzzy tail.

**********

Minutes after you’d retreated to the safety of your room, you lay on your bed, wrapped once again in your comforter. You knew you should shower, but you didn’t want to move. What you wanted, actually, was to become one with the bed. Just transform into a non-sentient pile of fluff and live out the rest of your days without having to think at all.

A knock came at the door. Jin called out your name. “Come on. Let me in.”

“Go away!” you shouted, fuming. “Can’t you take a hint? I don’t want to talk!”

“Fine. Then we won’t talk. Just open up.”

What the fuck did that mean? You opened the door to find him reclining against the doorframe on the other side.

Why was he always leaning over you? Staring down at you with those big brown eyes, those long lashes, that pretty pink mouth.

Fuck.

Yanking him by the collar of his shirt, you pulled him inside your room, slamming the door shut. He reacted lightning fast, spinning you around and pinning you against the door.

You glowered up at him, angry that he wouldn’t leave you alone. Angry at yourself for not wanting him to. Daring him silently to make the first move, because you’d be damned if you would.

He did.

Lips. On your mouth, your cheek, your ear. Like he was marking territory, claiming every inch of skin available. Sliding the neck of your pajama top over so he could kiss your collarbone, your shoulder.

“You don’t want to talk?” he huffed in the crook of your neck. “Fine. I can be quiet.” He lifted his head, lust blazing in his eyes. “But can you?”

His hand suddenly cupped between your legs, grinding his palm against your core. You keened at the friction. “Fuuuuck, Jin!”

“Shhhh,” he murmured, dropping to his knees. “No talking.”

He tugged your pajama bottoms to the ground. His hands roamed over your thighs, gently spreading your legs apart, goosebumps spreading over your skin at his touch.

“Jin,” you moaned, letting him move you as he wished. “I haven’t even showered since… since…”

“Since what?” he inquired, looking up at you. “Since we fucked? Do you want to talk about it?”

No, you didn’t want to. You shook your head.

“All right, then we’re not talking, period. So try to keep it quiet from now on.”

Your first instinct was to snap back, inform him that he of all people was in no position to tell you what to do.

Except, he was actually in the perfect position, kneeling below, gazing up at you with a dark look full of wicked promise.

Fuck, you’d do anything he wanted if he kept looking at you like that.

“Can you do that for me, baby?” One finger slid through your slick folds, grazing your clit. You whimpered, then immediately covered your mouth with your hand. “That’s better. Keep that hand there. Now, no more words,” Jin husked, and then suddenly his mouth was on your cunt.

The sounds his tongue made as he lapped at your wet heat were sinful, especially coupled with the tiny moans that escaped his hot mouth as he worked you over. You bit into your palm, trying your damnedest not to say a word.

But all you wanted to do was sing his praises as he worshipped you with his tongue.

You threaded your fingers through his glossy hair, tugging slightly, and he responded by groaning into your slit. The vibrations sent chills through you, and you repeated the action, pleased at how he moaned again.

One of his large hands wrapped around your ankle and pulled your leg up, letting it rest on his shoulder. You teetered slightly, a small gasp spilling out, but you managed to keep from yelping his name in surprise. His hands slid around to grab your ass, kneading the flesh as he made sure you were secured against him.

You released your palm, rubbing it with your other hand, trying to soothe the teeth marks you’d left in your own skin. His tongue danced over your clit, making your hips buck into his face.

You were doing just fine until he slipped two fingers inside and began to stroke.

“Jinnnnn,” you whined, hips jerking again.

He drew away, mouth and fingers abandoning you, and you looked down at him in horror.

“That sounded like a word,” he tutted, shaking his head. “I thought I told you not to speak?” He sat back on his heels, crossing his arms, as your leg dropped from his shoulder.

“I - I’m sorry,” you stammered, pussy absolutely throbbing. He wasn’t just going to leave you like this, was he? A half naked mess, literally quivering with need?

Did he want you to beg? You bristled at the thought... but fuck, you wanted to cum on his face more than anything. Who needs dignity when you have a man with a tongue like that?

He sighed. “Maybe I need to keep that mouth busy, huh?”

You nodded vigorously. Whatever it took to get those lips back on you.

He chuckled. “Okay, baby, let me help.” Standing, he slipped his hands down your thighs and lifted you into the air. You wrapped your legs around his waist, again fighting the urge to shout. He pressed you into the door, and covered your mouth with his own.

You felt delirious, humming into his kiss, bucking your hips against his hard cock as it rubbed against your core. How did he feel this good? This was Seokjin Motherfucking Kim! The most annoying man on the face of the planet!

He spun, carrying you to the bed, and set you gently on the edge. Then he stripped off his clothes, slowly, top first, then his pants, giving you an eyeful of his taut muscles and that giant cock again. Fuck, your mouth was practically watering as he stepped up to the bed, and…

...wait…

“Uh, you don’t expect me to fit that whole thing in my mouth, do you?” you yelped, wide-eyed.

“Yah, come on!” Jin stopped his seductive approach and put his hands on his hips. “I’m trying to set a mood here!” He sulkily pulled his pajama pants back on, then flopped onto the bed, sighing dramatically.

Just like that, the moment was over.

“Well, sorry I ruined it,” you muttered, curling your legs under you. “It’s probably for the best, anyway. We don’t need to make any more mistakes.” A tiny feather lay on the bed, having escaped from the comforter, and you fiddled with it as you spoke.

“Is that what last night was to you? A mistake?”

You met his gaze. Fuck, did he have to look at you so earnestly? Where was that cocky expression of his that you loathed so much when you needed it?

“It was… a release. I think we just needed a good hate fuck to get it out of our systems so we can move on and finish the job.” You spun the feather in your hand, snorting. “If there’s even a job left for us at this point.”

“A hate fuck. I see.” Jin muttered softly. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure. I may or may not answer, but you can definitely ask.”

He frowned. “When did you start hating me?”

You tilted your head. “Jin, I - “

“Is it because I call you Princess?”

Snorting, you made a face. “No, but that certainly doesn’t help.”

“Then it must be Nevamind. Right?”

Just hearing the name made you grit your teeth. You could deny it, but why bother? The truth wouldn’t be any more revealing than all the things you’d done last night. “Yeah, I was pissed when you got that job. But I’m over it now,” you lied.

“Do you want to know what really happened?”

“I know what happened. You charmed your way into the job.”

“Nevamind choose you.”

Your head snapped up. “What? Then why… how…?”

“Sejin came to see me after their meeting. He said Nevamind had picked you. But he also made some rather specific comments about how exactly he wanted your partnership to happen.”

Your eyes narrowed. “Comments like…”

“Like the exact positions he wanted you to, uh, work in. The jobs he wanted you to give. Do you understand what - “

“Yes, Jin, he wanted to fuck me, I get it!”

“Sejin said he was overruling the guy’s decision and assigning him to me. That’s why I got the job. Because there was no danger of him hitting on me.”

You leaned back against the headboard, contemplating his words. Obviously you’d always known that the job should have been yours, so finding out that it actually had been yours, for a whole five minutes, wasn’t as much of a shock as it could’ve been. But your anger flared at having been treated like you couldn’t handle the situation yourself.

Jin fluffed up your pile of pillows, lying on his side as he watched you digest everything.

“Was Sejin worried that Nevamind would attack me? Or did he think that I would sleep with a client?”

Jin laughed, a tired sound devoid of any joy. Or honking. “Neither. He was afraid of a lawsuit.”

“What?!”

“Yeah. He thought that if either scenario went down, one or both of you would end up suing the company, and he wanted to avoid that completely. He wasn’t worried about you - he just didn’t want you to get litigious.” He bitterly spat out the last sentence, as if it left a nasty taste in his mouth. “He said that me being Nevamind’s manager was less of a “statistical risk” to Beyond the Sound than you.”

What. The. Fuck.

You’d given your everything to Beyond the Sound in the last year, sacrificing your time, energy, and even personal relationships, all to make yourself the ideal employee and show your devotion to the company. Meanwhile, Sejin considered you a “statistical risk”? Holy shit, you were literally just a number to them.

Just like Euphoria.

Jin went on. “When Sejin told me all this, I realized nothing we do really matters to the company as long as we don’t hurt their bottom line. There was no reason to do anything other than bide my time, make some money, and build up my contacts, so that one day I can walk out of there and start my own management firm.”

“You want to open your own firm?” That was surprising. He’d never struck you as the type to have such big dreams.

“Yeah. Someday.” He pursed his lips, looking angry. “I should’ve done more. Should’ve told Sejin to shove it, that he had no right to treat his employees this way. To treat you like you were a liability instead of a person. That’s why I try so hard to make sure our clients are treated well, at least. That’s the one area where I do give a fuck.”

You believed him.

And you weren’t sure you could blame him for taking the job with Nevamind. Wouldn’t you have done the same in his shoes?

Of course you would’ve. Because you would’ve done anything to win. Even if the trophy turned out to be made of fool’s gold in the end.

Your head spun, mind reeling from everything he said. Absorbing all this info left you feeling drained. Completely defeated. You slid down the pillows, rolling onto your side to face Jin, but closed your eyes as you sighed despondently.

Gentle fingers glided lightly over your hair. You peeked through your lashes at Jin, who was watching you with concern.

“Sorry,” he muttered, lowering his hand, but you quickly grabbed it.

“Please don’t stop,” you quietly pleaded.

Instead, he pulled you into his arms.

Vulnerability wasn’t really your thing. A lifetime of fighting for what you wanted taught you to keep your guard up at all times. But lying there, your head on his broad chest, feeling so safe and warm, you felt your defenses start to slip. Jin began to stroke your hair again, and you closed your eyes, overwhelmed at the tenderness, begrudgingly acknowledging that it was… nice.

Really nice. You could get used to it.

“Still hate me?”

His pecs muffled the sound of your laughter. “Not as much as before.”

He snorted. “I appreciate your honesty.”

Lifting your head, you frowned. “Why didn’t you ever tell me about any of this?”

“Would you have listened?”

He had you there. “I mean, maybe not at first, but eventually. Probably. I think.”

“What was I supposed to say? ‘Hey, the reason they picked me over you is because they knew Nevamind wouldn’t try to sleep with me’?”

“Yes. Maybe. I don’t know.” You paused. “But also, if he didn’t want to fuck you, that was definitely his loss.”

Jin stared at you. “Are you cracking jokes? In the middle of my serious confession?”

“I guess you’re rubbing off on me,” you quipped, grinning as he suddenly lunged at you, capturing your mouth with his. Too soon, he drew back, and you actually whimpered, making him smirk and kiss you again. But eventually, you needed air, and parted. “Do you still hate me?”

“Never did.” He traced a finger along your cheek. “I’ve always had a thing for you.”

“Oh yeah?” You propped your chin on his chest.

“Uh-huh. What’s not to like? You’re sexy, smart, confident, and a killer manager even if you get a little too focused on your work sometimes…” he trailed off, squeaky laughter filling the room as you shot him a nasty look. “I thought you knew, honestly.”

“How was I supposed to know?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe because I’ve been flirting with you for a whole year?”

“Wait, that was flirting?!”

It was his turn to glare as you giggled. He nipped at your bottom lip in retaliation, and you yelped. More making out ensued, to your utter delight, before he rolled you onto your side with a sigh.

“I bet they’ll have our desks packed up and cleared out by the time we return to the office, since we’ll no longer be employed by the time we get there.”

Ah, fuck, right. Since the concert wasn’t happening, Sejin was likely to follow through on his threat of termination. More than likely. He’d basically told the both of you that you’d be out on your asses if the album tanked, and with all the canceled events this week, you didn’t have high hopes that it’d do well.

“Fuck, this sucks,” you swore. “We’ll be unemployed and the poor band will have another flop on their hands. Beyond the Sound will probably punish them for that with another terrible genre mash-up for the next album, like polka rap or something.” You shuddered at the thought. “It’s too bad we couldn’t have pulled it off. Even though you would’ve lost that promotion to me.”

Jin’s eyes bugged out. “How many times do I have to tell you, that promotion w- “

You cut him off with a kiss, laughing against his mouth as he wrapped his arms around your waist and drew you close again. A few minutes later, you pushed him away as he blinked in surprise.

“Why are you pushing - “

“Shhhh!” You flapped your hand, shushing him, lost in thought. “I have an idea.”

**********

“Is everything all set up?” you asked Jungkook as he dashed past you.

He halted, nodding. “Yeah, we’re almost ready.” He tugged at the collar of his sweater, an eyesore of a Christmas tree with shimmering LED lights and the words “Let’s Get Lit” embroidered across his chest.

“Fantastic. Is there anything you guys need from me?”

“Not at the moment, noona, thanks.” With a nod, he continued on his path, as Hobi exited the library.

“How’s it going in there?” you asked.

“Great! It’s coming along. Yoongi is going to bring us some snacks while we enjoy the show.” As Hobi spoke, Yoongi hustled by, carrying a tray loaded with cookies. You snagged a sugar cookie as he passed.

“Hobi, I’m really going to miss it here. The service is top notch. And these ugly sweaters are incredible! You have quite the collection,” you raved.

If you were a weaker woman, you would’ve wilted under the look Hobi shot you. “You think these atrocities are mine? Oh no no no. They all belong to Yoongi.”

Your eyes widened in glee. “Oh, that’s even better.”

Jin came bouncing down the stairs, a happy smile on his face. You couldn’t help but grin back, for a second, before you composed yourself. He stopped short at the bottom of the staircase, staring at you as your host wandered off.

“What the hell?” Jin pouted. “I’m offended, you look great in this ugly Christmas sweater. This is a scam.”

“Oh, because only you’re allowed to look great in one?” He was, indeed, pulling off the ridiculous “Resting Grinch Face” sweater he wore, despite the blindingly bright green and red colors - but he was Seokjin Motherfucking Kim, after all. It was a little snug on him, given that he was taller and broader than Yoongi, but if anything that just made him even hotter.

Neither of you had to wear the ugly sweaters you’d borrowed from your hosts, but you’d decided to do so out of solidarity for the band members. And also maybe you were kinda getting into the spirit of things. Just a little.

“No one is supposed to look good in these! That’s the whole point, they’re ugly!” He paused. “But you think I look good?”

“Fuck off, you know you’re handsome and look amazing even in the dumbest of sweaters.”

He grinned. “Okay, you’ve got me there. It’s impressive how sexy you make that hideous thing look.” He reached out and honked the fuzzy moose nose that jutted out of your sweater, which bore the words ‘Merry Christmoose!’

How were you supposed to act like a professional when Jin was making you giggle like a fool? All you wanted to do was pull him into a darkened corner and kiss him senseless.

But you had work to do. So you settled for gifting him a tiny peck on the cheek.

He held his hand to where your lips had landed. “Careful!” he gasped, sounding scandalized. “Someone might have seen that.”

You rolled your eyes. “ Okay, I’m already regretting this.”

“This what?” He followed you down the hall. “This, like you and me? Are we a thing?”

“The more you talk, the less we are,” you sang, unable to hide the laughter in your voice.

Before you crossed into the library, Jin grabbed your arm, spinning you around and into his embrace, stealing your breath away with his lips. You let yourself melt for a second, two, ten, before breaking away.

“Ahem.”

To your surprise, Yoongi was standing in the hallway, a wide grin on his face. “I just wanted to know if you’d like some peppermint schnapps in your hot cocoa again?”

So much for keeping things secret. Not that it really mattered, considering Yoongi wasn’t much of a talker. But you didn’t want to answer questions or have to put labels on whatever you and Jin were. Right now, all you wanted to do was see your idea through. Anything else could wait.

And yet it made you happy to think that maybe there could be something. Ugh, you were getting so soft, so fast. Better keep an eye on that.

“That’d be great, thanks,” Jin replied smoothly, hands still on your hips.

“Sure,” you croaked out. You didn’t normally drink while working, but fuck it. Tis the season, after all.

In the library, Taehyung sat at the piano while Jimin perched on a stool in front of the baby grand, tuning an acoustic guitar. Thankfully, Yoongi had a guitar on hand that Jimin could borrow.

Meanwhile, Jungkook played around with an electronic drum kit that he’d brought with him, fine tuning the settings. Jin and Hobi were futzing with the tripod, searching for the perfect spot to set up the camera.

Because damn it, the show must go on.

Sure, the in-person concert had to be cancelled. But that didn’t mean Euphoria couldn’t perform. All they needed were a few instruments and a camera to livestream it all.

Unfortunately, the tech crew who were supposed to stream the concert at the venue were also snowed in at their hotel, but a simple phone would do for the stripped-down concert you were imagining.

(As long as the Blitzen Inn’s internet didn’t conk out in the middle of streaming.)

This wasn’t about your job anymore. Fuck Beyond the Sound. This was about Euphoria, and letting the band show that they didn’t need weird gimmicks or wild concepts to sell albums - all they needed was the chance to shine. Just the three of them and a (mostly) acoustic set of holiday classics. The band was thrilled with your idea, and it made you happy to see them so happy.

Ugh. You were turning into a marshmallow.

The ugly Christmas sweaters had been Hobi’s suggestion, after you’d offhandedly mentioned that you hadn’t had the chance to buy them a proper holiday concert wardrobe. Jimin’s gingerbread man sweater read “I’m Baked” above the cookie’s visage, while Taehyung’s “Prosecc-ho-ho-ho” with a tipsy Santa Claus looked surprisingly chic - something you ascribed to the wearer and not the sweater itself.

The other furniture in the room had been pushed back so only the band and the fireplace would be in the shot. You stood behind the couch, watching Hobi adjust the phone being used for the recording. “Hobi, you don’t mind manning the camera for this?”

“You mean, do I mind turning the video on and clicking “record”? No, I don’t mind at all,” he grinned, running a hand through his hair. “I’m just happy to help! This is such a wonderful idea - a cozy little concert experience.”

“Yeah, we came up with a great plan, huh?” Jin piped up, sneaking up on your side. You felt the ghost of a hand brush down your back and fought to keep your face straight.

“What is this ‘we’? This was my idea!” you retorted, but failed to keep from smiling as you said it. Yoongi brought you both a mug of cocoa, then sank onto the couch for a front row seat.

“It’s about time,” Jin glanced at his watch. “You guys ready?”

“Let’s get it!” Jungkook chirped.

The fireplace crackled in the background as Hobi cued Jimin. The lead singer smiled at the camera, greeting the audience. “Good evening and happy holidays! Euphoria had to cancel our concert, thanks to a little snow. But we didn’t want to let all our fans down. We hope you don’t mind that it’s just the three of us tonight, and some of our favorite songs. Grab your cocoa, settle around the fireplace, and celebrate with us, as we bring you a little holiday cheer.”

He strummed his guitar, launching into a gorgeous rendition of “Winter Wonderland.” As the music swelled, Hobi and Yoongi relaxed on the couch, hand in hand. Humming along quietly, careful not to end up on the recording, you felt Jin’s hand gently wrap around your waist. Leaning against his side, feeling content, you decided to let go of your worries and enjoy the moment - the beautiful music, the cheerful atmosphere, and the gorgeous man by your side.

Jin dipped his head, mouth brushing your ear as he murmured, “You pulled it off, baby. Congrats.”

“I did, didn’t I?” you whispered, peering up at him, smirking. “I guess you deserve some credit, too. Why don’t you claim… 25%?”

“So generous,” he smiled, bending to sweep his lips against yours. “I’ll be sure to thank you when I get that promotion.”

His kiss silenced your protests as the band played on.

**********

ONE YEAR LATER

“Your eleven am appointment is here, ma’am,” your assistant’s voice filtered through the speaker as she buzzed you.

“Thank you, Seulgi. Go ahead and get them settled in the conference room and I’ll be right in.”

You stood and began gathering everything you would need for your meeting, just as Jin entered your office without knocking.

“Ready?” he asked.

“Yes, but how many times do I have to tell you to knock?” You frowned.

He grinned, crossing the room to tower over you. “Why, what might I see? You in a compromising situation with the boss?” His hand stroked your hip as he stepped closer. “Oh wait, that’s me.” “We’re partners. Stop trying to get me to call you my boss.”

After the success of the livestream, Euphoria’s holiday album shot straight to the top of the charts. You’d ended up having to stay an extra day in Christmas, until everything was plowed and it was safe to travel again. When you finally returned to your office, Sejin welcomed you and Jin with open arms, thrilled at how you’d helped shepherd Euphoria back to the number one spot. He’d then offered the promotion to you, stating he’d heard that the livestream had been your brilliant idea.

And you had promptly turned him down, putting in your two week notice.

Jin also quit, and together you established your own management firm, Worldwide Sound. Normally, making such a big leap would’ve taken a lot more time and effort, but you had an ace up your sleeves, signing a major band on your first day of business - Euphoria. Thanks to a savvy lawyer contact of Jin’s, the band got out of their horrific contract with Beyond the Sound and happily joined your firm as your first clients.

As much as the old you would’ve hated to admit it, you and Jin made a pretty great team. With your business expertise and his interpersonal skills, you were making a name for yourselves in the industry, all while making sure your clients knew that they were your number one priority.

Jin delicately removed all your belongings from your grasp, setting them back on your desk as he slid his arms around you. “You didn’t have any problems calling me ‘boss’ last night,” he purred as he tilted his mouth to slot against yours.

You allowed him to kiss you for exactly five seconds before you pushed him away lightly. “Okay, first of all, role playing does not count, and secondly, what happened to us not discussing our private life at work?” But there was no anger behind your words, just an unceasing fondness for your boyfriend as he gazed at you with a soft smile.

“You’re right, you’re right. Oh, but I did finalize our travel plans for Christmas, so we’re all set for this weekend.”

“Oh, good! I can’t wait to see Hobi and Yoongi again.” What better place to celebrate nearly a year of bliss with your boyfriend than at the little bed and breakfast that brought you together?

“Me too. Now come on, back to business, baby.”

You gave him a look.

“Sorry. Partner.” He held the door open for you, but you paused in the doorway to press a gentle kiss to his cheek.

“That’s better. But if you play your cards right and help me sign this deal,” you murmured, “tonight you can call me boss.”

“Yes, ma'am!”

© 2021-22-23 by sunshinerainbowsbts/minisugakoobies. Crossposted to AO3. Please do not copy or repost.

#cafeficexchange21 #bangtanarmynet #ficscafe #ksmutclub #jin smut #seokjin smut #bts smut #seokjin x reader #jin x reader #kim seokjin smut #kim seokjin x reader #seokjin x you #jin x you #kim seokjin x you #kim seokjin #jin fanfic #kim seokjin fanfic #fic: aidwfcis #my writing #possumswrite

[fluffyydumplings]

Cold Heart - Jung Hoseok

Summary: Hoseok’s the prince of every human being’s dreams. Both literally and metaphorically. Behind closed doors, he is yours. In front of the crowd, he is a man who is yet to be claimed.

Pairings: prince!hoseok x reader

Word Count: 3.85k

Genre: angst / fluff / fantasy!au / christmas!au

Prompts: 4, 6, 7 of fluff and 8, 11, 14 of angst - “Holiday Fic Exchange” by btswritingcafe

Warnings: mentions of blood (non-descriptive) / major character injury (no death) / profanity

A/N: I finished writing this a month before the posting date. @aglassofpinkchampagne excuse me as I pretend I haven’t written anything yet. Meow ha ha ha! I tried including all the things you like in here. I hope you enjoy it, just as much as I enjoyed writing it. :].. I know you had to pick between number one and two - which you hated. But, I’ll let you in on a secret. You would have gotten hurt either way. Meow ha ha ha ha! My Secret Santa is probably going to hurt me as well. ㅠㅠ

Trailer

Moodboard

The pretty white snow, the translucent flakes of winter, and the spiky icicles dripping from the ceiling. Looking from afar, as a spectator, one might find beauty in it all.

Danger comes in the form of beauty. That same ice-covered ground now scattered with snowmen, is the same one someone died on while driving home. The gingerbread men on the seat opposite to that of theirs, left untouched, warm and bleeding frosting all over the covers. Red to follow soon.

What comes in mind when winter is mentioned? Christmas? Presents? Family? Friends? No..

When you think of winter, “The land of the loyals” always comes to mind. Where people are ruled by monarchs, where they stay loyal to tradition, and loyal to whoever they have or whatever they have.

When you think of winter? You think of Hoseok.. You think of his bright smile that warms you up better than any polar bear fur can. You think of his arms that keep you safe no matter what the situation you are in.

‘Mistletoe up ahead, baby.'

‘Mistletoes are only allowed for the holiday season.’

Oh, Hoseok.. By his panda eyes and disassembled mind you could tell things haven’t been going well lately. The paperwork must have pinned him down constantly, for even with a brain as clever as his, it must have been too much to handle.

You don't want to scold him. Even if every part of your body is advising you to pester him, in terms, of not taking proper care of himself. Nevertheless, he didn't need to be reminded of the shithole he called home and how he was going to be stuck there forever. No escape, no one to stay by his side and nowhere to go.

‘It is the holiday season,’ you stood there stunned by how badly lost in time he was.

Hoseok was on board a train filled with passengers. He sat at the very back of the train’s last compartment, while everyone else was up front. He wore a nightgown, and they were dressed in suits. It was a party everyone was invited to - yet Hoseok didn't remember that. They were ahead of him, and he was lost in his own world. Even when they left, he remained seated by the window. Only to get off once the train stops again.

He opens the door and finds himself in the same place he started. And that was when he realised.. He fucked up.

‘Oh... Then Kiss away.’

Soft lips merged together like cinnamon buns sealed with glaze. Cherry lipgloss lingering on each other's tongue, not as sweet as the feeling of being kissed by the fondness of another person. Fervent licks, so warm and tender that it touches the heart. Bitten lips, bleeding of love.

‘How long are you going to be here for?’

The same question crashes at every loving moment you are to spend together. Because.. that's the reality of your love. As cruel as it maybe, he could never be yours. No matter how many times he assures you that he has always been yours, as the calendar changes and as you both grow older, the fear within you only grows more than it does deplete.

And a part of you knows that it has consumed you long ago. Fuck.. Of course you do.. How could you not? Sometimes, you consider running away just to avoid the day he’ll come crying at your door and tell you of the heart-wrenching news you are not ready for but always knew.

‘Two hours,’ your face lights up at that.

Two hours might not be enough to finish your favourite Christmas film. Two hours might not be enough to love someone. But.. two hours was more than enough.

Even if when it comes to Hoseok, two hours can become a year and two hours can become two minutes.

‘It’s cold. Come over here, my little ice cube.’

‘You suck at being cute, Kiddo.’

‘I am indeed very cute!! Look at me! Look at me!’

‘Laaaaaaast Christmas ~ I gaaaave you my heart~ The very next day, you gave it away!!!’ he pokes his cheeks playfully.

‘My ears, kid-’

*Mwah*

‘Don’t call me Kiddo,’ he huffs, hands folded and placed underneath his chest.

‘You’re my baby. What else do I call you?’

‘No.. You’re my baby,’ he tried keeping up a stern expression, but ends up erupting into a smile. His dimples poking out, his heart-shaped lips beautiful as your hearts beating erratically as the orange flames sizzle away.

The smell of tree bark and oak, mixed with that of his flowery fragrance seducing you into falling asleep and cascading to a world in which your happily ever after is guaranteed.

For in that world, you are a princess. More than privileged enough to be his bride. Regardless of what, dreams are dreams. The realisation of such leaves a blizzard of animosity in one’s heart and mind. It sure does yours.

In the real world, you are of fairy blood. Not just any kind.. Dark Fey Blood.. Your mother was human, and your father was a fairy. As much as fairies of your kind have been regarded as evil creatures that must be warded off, that was far from the truth. And that was far from what your father was.

He was the kind of father that would always allow you to latch onto his feet, even if that meant he were to trip.

‘The world is a cruel place, my child. Especially for people like us. Because of how dark our wings are and because of the way we look, we are evil to them. The fairies they deem as kind and charitable are the true monsters. Their colourful wings are just a mere illusion - to lure humans in just as flowers do bees.’

‘Just because they assume we are terrible, it doesn't make us terrible. Always be kind and helpful to those around you. That’s what makes a good fairy. Remember that, my child.’

Those words you have always stuck with. Therefore, the day sixteen-year-old Hoseok ran away into the woods and knocked on your cottage’s door, you were more than willing to assist him with food and shelter.

You were always warm-hearted and benevolent, but when treated unfairly, you distanced yourself. There was no advantage in acting the same way. Drawing a line was peaceful and brought no harm to anyone.

If Hoseok hadn’t been the good-natured and cultured man he was, as mean as it sounds, you would have kicked him out. Yet here you are today, in the arms of a temporary guest that keeps coming back. You don't mind it.. In fact, you love it.

‘Why did you come back after that day?’ your fingers stroking through his hair, you inquire while your eyes are shut tight.

‘You weren’t just ethereal my love, you were everything I needed and wanted. I never had friends.. Everyone was afraid of me.. I was above them. Way above them. A sword too sharp and great, it blinds them and frightens them away. They all looked at me as though, I’d have their heads chopped up if they even so laid eyes on me.’

‘You.. You weren't afraid of me. Even after I told you who I was. You were never afraid me.’

You were never afraid of him. That's true.. However, you were and are afraid of what he can do.

‘You came back because I was different from everybody else?’

You didn't want to drift to sleep again.

‘No, love.. Because I wanted to see you again. Even if there was anyone else who treated me the same way you did, they aren't you. I just- I liked you.’

‘Now? Well-’

‘I- Love you.. So, get your cute little ass up and go outside for a walk with me. Will you?’

‘Oh, Hoseok.. I’m always up for a walk with you. But-’

‘I wanted to see the first snow with you,’ his arms wrap around your form, sweeping you outside.

The cottage was small.. Really small. It was the length of a dining table for four and the width of three king-sized beds. It wasn’t hard for a man as tall as Hoseok was to bring you outside.

It was hard to live in that little cottage all by yourself.

It was stuffy, damp and dull. Then Hoseok came. He saturated the place up with his everlasting magic and energy.

Despite that.. a little cottage is a little cottage - it will always be cramped up and dingy, no matter the day or night.

You question how a prince like him would rather spend his time here than at a manor house of some sort. His answer to you would always be: ‘Because you are here, my love.’

You’re a person of childish curiosity and admiration - Hoseok loves that about you.

‘See.. It’s snowing, Y/Nnnn..’

‘I love you.. sooo- sooo- much!’

It wasn't rare of him to declare his love for you in such a way. After all, Hoseok is an intensely passionate and openly-affectionate person.

‘I love you too.’

So were you.. If you felt sad, happy, loved, or disgusted - you never bothered to hide it. You could never suppress your feelings for the purpose of satisfying someone else. It was in your nature to express emotions. Your parents were like that.. Your friends were like that..

Tales of fiction.. If only you were like that.

In the non-fiction side of the story: you're a doormat that every passerby tramples on; you're a submissive servant that will do everything to please people, whether superior or inferior to you; you're a happy-go-lucky child with a dark secret.. Wait a minute! What secret? You don't have secrets.. Well, except for the fact that you wear a cheerful exterior to escape from your true self. Oh, that's the secret.

*mwah*

‘I was going to kiss you first,’ his eyebrows frown just as he did, giving you a sour/I’m secretly so happy face.

‘You can always do that now,’ you challenge him.

*mwah*

And he accepts, beating whatever initiative you put up.

‘You hung that mistletoe up on purpose. Didn’t you?’

‘So, what if I did?’

‘Then.. I get to kiss you one million more times.’

*mwah*

‘This one is for tricking me.’

*mwah*

‘This one is because I love you.’

*mwah*

‘My lips are dry. They needed moisturising.’

*mwah*

‘This one is your Christmas present.’

You felt something go around your neck, falling down to your chest. A cold metal chain, contrasting to that of the heat your body emitted.

‘It has our initials on it. It's a promise to be together forever and ever.’

His gifts are out of this world; made with love and care.

One of the things you’ve learned about him that shocked you the most, was that he had a passion for crafting jewellery. He didn't just like it, he was incredibly talented when it came to beading or moulding.

And mind you, him having seen a cat before didn't shock you. Those rare felines that turn invisible whenever they please. He saw one!! Okay.. Maybe he did shock you! The craftsman one shocked you more though. So.. That's what matters.

‘The only gift I ever wanted was you.’

‘Now you have me and this,’ he traces his fingers along the necklace, your name and his smeared against his pointer.

It was as though he was making a wish as he did so. A wish for forever to be true. A wish for Hoseok and Y/N to be forever.

‘It’s snowing,’ you stare up to the sky.

‘Don’t worry, baby.. Fairies have eyes that function differently. You can drip boiling water into our eyes and we wouldn’t be able to feel pain.’

Fairies function differently. You don't have as much of a stable balance as humans do, as your body was designed to be able to fly for hours across the southern hemisphere. Your legs weren't supposed to be of much use.

The things is: you were never fond of the fairy lifestyle.. That's why you opt to walk instead.

‘Can you look down for me, love? Having snow fall into your eyes doesn't sound fun.’

Worrywart! -_-

'If you insist, Hoseok-ah.'

Staring at the ground, you feel his fingers lift your chin up. Your eyes matching with that of his.

‘Look at me.. love. The ground is boring.'

Says the one that is now staring away into the sky.

'If you witness the first snow fall with the person you are infatuated with, your love will never cease to exist,' his hands slid its way to where it belongs - you.

Your hands.. to be precise.

With snow all over his hair, he looked majestic - like an angel sent from heaven to look after the earthlings rather than corrupt them.

Among the trees and bodies of water, he was a diamond among a pile of coal. Beauty was how his brain functioned.. You were convinced. If it weren't like that. How is he so much like a sunflower swaying in a field of grass?

'I didn't know that my Hoseok believed in such superstitions.'

If it gave him hope, he'll believe it.

'I do..'

'Ahh, fuck.'

It was rare to see him cuss. Hoseok loved his flowerly and poetic phrases.

'What is it, Hoseok-ah?'

'I'm turning twenty seven this Febuary.'

In a snow storm, you are kneeling on the ground. Your knees a mixture of red and purple, your hands tied behind your back by a bundle of thick nautical rope.. The same one that tightens around your waist and neck. A blindfold disabling you from using your eyes to see. And then suddenly you sink into a pool of freezing cold water. Your organs failing one by one, as they aren't able to function in such conditions.

'Let's run away together.'

Whether Hoseok was in his right mind or not, you just wanted the rest of your life to be filled with him.

'Are you sure?'

He nods vigorously, so sure of his decision.

'Yes, love..I am more than definite.'

He spoke as though he had prepared for centuries. Like a hotteok (Korean sweet pancakes that are usually filled with red bean paste or brown sugar) recipe he has mastered ever since he was ten. Like a morning routine that he has repeated over countless of times. So much, that he can do it with his eyes closed.

'When?'

'Saturday, my love.'

'This Saturday?'

His birthday is two months away.

'The choosing ceremony starts next week.'

'Are you truly ready to abandon your people like this?'

'They will do fine without me.'

'Your life?'

'My life is nothing without you.'

He was willing to sacrifice so much for you.

'Are you with me?'

'I always am, Hoseok. I have nothing to lose if I were to run away.'

'Saturday.. 2am. Don't forget that, my love.'

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Saturday ↴

In the crack of dawn, the time in which wolfs didn't howl and birds didn't sing. Hoseok was wide awake, just as he was the hour before and the one before that. He was afraid of not being on time. So afraid, that he couldn’t bring himself to close his eyes.

'I've got everything we could possibly need. We'll move to the North and start afresh there. Get jobs, have fun, and maybe.. maybe.. even start a family of our own.'

The life and world you have always strived for was a millimetre away from you. A fantasy you never knew you could call reality.

It seems so surreal. The night might have been uneventful and immobile for now, but all you saw in it was constellations of the future that could be yours. You were filled with hope. And anytime worry or doubt wanted to clutch onto you, a look into his eyes was enough to make them disappear.

'Are you ready, my love?'

Like that summer you almost fell over, his hands find its way to yours. It always does.

'Of course I am.'

At that, he turns around - his last encounter with the place he was forced to call home. They say evil is fated to lose, yet that very same castle that trapped his dreams, childhood and entire life from being able to go beyond its walls still stands tall and proud.

Hoseok doesn't dislike anyone, but he despises that place more than he does his title. He had no one to hate..

He was fed food by the servants, schooled by the tutors, and taken cared off by the butlers. He was raised to be king. That was his main purpose of being alive.

You would think... Wouldn’t he hate his father? He never knew the man. He can’t hate a person he has never met.

‘I’m free now.. Aren't I?’ his grip tightens.

Buried six feet deep underground, the carriage was a shovel withdrawing snow to the side. One scoop... Two scoops.. Three scoops.. Four scoops.. Five scoops... Five scoops... Six scoops... Seven scoop-

As you confronted the carriage meant to carry you to a new life, you glowed. You glistened with contentment, your heart shifting to a vivid shade of yellow.

Before it could fully transform to the sunshine gold your state of utter bliss wanted it to, the trees rustled.

Positioned high up was a fully cloaked figure possessed with an arrow in their hands. The arrow? It was aimed at you.

The creators looking over your story has it, that if you had moved at a quicker pace, this wouldn’t have been the ending of your story. No.. This would have happened even if things went differently. Whether you were to wake up at twelve or whether Hoseok didn't turn around - the cloaked figure would have always been there.

‘Watch out!’

Of course he would have chosen to save you... At how he collapsed into your arms, you wish he didn't.

Red everywhere! All you see is red!

When red is mentioned, what comes in mind? That hideous but ever so iconic suit that santa wears? The icing on sugar cookies? The red that intertwines with white on candy canes? It used to be that way.

Now.. when you think of red, you see blood. Blood, so cherry it seeps through snow.. So cherry, it seeps through the coat you wore to keep yourself warm. The same one you took off to keep him warm.

'Hoseok-ah.. Why do you feel so cold?'

You shook and cried through the light graze of your fingers over his face. You were afraid that anything more than that would bring harm to him - hysteria..

'You can't be like this!'

There was nothing to hide from. You were angry.. So what? So what if you induced someone's heart attack? So what if you turned someone deaf? Your fingers that clenched were soaked in fury, your eyes that tightened were drenched in rage, your grimace that increased in volume with your growing wrath was unstoppable.

'You Know?'

He couldn't hear you.. HE COULDN'T FUCKING HEAR YOU!

'You can't be like this...'

Your outrage and resentment was replaced by grief and denial. The empty plate placed in front of you, one that you refused to believe was empty.

'No!'

'No..'

'No-...'

Your voice broke, just as the rest of you did.

Have you ever been punched before? Because this felt like that.. Invisible punches that hit randomly and anywhere it pleases. As though it has a mind of its own.

Obliterating all the butterflies you have ever felt, and taking away all the love your heart has ever had.

Is this how it ends? Thankfully or perhaps, sadly.. It isn't the end..

'We'll save him!' the cloaked figure reaches his hands out for Hoseok.

'Don't touch him! You- You! Get the fuck away!' you jump in front of him, so courageous despite how easily he could shoot a hole through you right here and right now.

'Are you going to let his highness bleed to death then, fey?'

'No.. But, how can I trust you?'

'The kingdom would collapse without his highness. He is needed urgently.'

'He is to be wedded to the princess of the Western Kingdom next Tuesday. The kingdom is falling greatly in terms of finance, and is not going to survive another day without this arrangement. And to think things would have turned out that way, all because of you?'

He was judging you.. He turned you into an ice cube ready to slide away.. You couldn't see whatever irritation was possibly displayed in eyes, but his words and presence was good enough to melt you into a puddle of nothing.

'How do I know he'll live? And.. that- You are not fucking with me?'

He approached closer, your instincts levitating you slightly up into the air and a few centimetres back.

'Since you are so desperate,' he handed over a glass ornament.

The peculiar object you now held baffled you. Tears never stopped falling and your bewilderment too never stopped emerging from whatever curiosity your mind was able to solidify.

'You can keep an eye on him until the day he stops breathing,' a whispered voice that mocked you and prodded at your pain.

So... Is this how it ends?

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

A few days later ↴

‘Kitty.. Come here... You aren’t going to leave me too. Aren't you?’

You lost him. The light of your life. The shining light that shone onto your dull and meaningless sky.

That day you walked helplessly back home, a puppy wandering back to the home its owner died in. Owner.. You hate that word. Companion.. Yeah.. Companion.. That's better.

Hoseok was your friend, your lover, your happiness... Your everything.

You talk as though he died, when he was walking perfectly fine seconds ago through that magic orb of yours. Well... In your world he did.

What was this house without him?

‘Meow..’

The little kitty.. It gave you hope.

As you whimpered while watching him exchange his vows, it rested on your lap. Allowing you to stroke it, purring occasionally here and there.

‘I want to be wherever you are not,’ tossing a necklace you once held so dear into the trash pile, you give up on him.

If you say it enough times.. Maybe you’ll feel that way.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Two Years Later ↴

Christmas used to be special.. Christmas used to be fun..

But..

‘I’ve outgrown waiting for you to come around as my Christmas miracle,’ once looking out and into the window, you turned around.

‘Oh.. Yoons, I’m sad.’

‘M-eow.’

It was almost like it could read your emotions.

‘Mm-iiiiii-eoaaaawww!’ it hissed with ever sob that escaped your throat, and every tear that dripped onto its fur.

‘Meow..’

Who the fuck does this Hoseok think he is? How dare he make my owner cry!

It caressed its nose onto your shirt.

‘That tickles, kitty.. that tickles.’

There’s nothing happy about this holiday when you refuse to meet me halfway.

But, you know what..

Fuck, love!

‘Meowww..’

‘Kitty.. He.. Hee.. Stop that.’

#cafeficexchange21 #houseofincantations #btswritingcafe #bts #bts fluff #bts angst #hoseok x reader #hoseok fanfic #hoseok fluff #hoseok angst #bts fanfic #bts fanfiction #hoseok x y/n #bangtan fic #fluff #angst #fanfiction #kpop #bts fanfics #bts x reader #bts fic #christmas #reader x hoseok #y/n x hoseok #hobi #jung hoseok #jung hoseok x reader #bangtan #hoseok x you

[aredheadedmess]

Cookie Confessions || MYG

Summary: It’s the holidays once again, and you want nothing more than to spend it with him.

Pairings: Min Yoongi x Reader

Word Count: 4.1k

Warnings: Slightly suggestive? There’s really nothing in this one. Not really much of a strong plot line, just a lot of fluff.

Genre: Fluff to the max! Slice of Life, F2L, Domestic life

Rating: PG

Prompts: (will be bolded for easier finding)

“Mistletoe is allowed only for the holiday season.” “It is the holiday season.” “Oh…then kiss away.”

"I’m offended, you look great in this ugly christmas sweater. This is a scam.”

A/N: A gift for @btsarmy9593​. Suprise surprise E! It’s me, your secret santa, snowflake! I hope you enjoy your gift 😊 I had so much fun making this and sending you asks. Maybe a little too much cause I fell asleep last night before I could finish and post it lol.

This is for @btswritingcafe​​‘s Secret Santa event! I’m so happy I joined this as it was super fun to do.

Masterlist

“It’s the most wonderful time of the-”

A hand reaches towards the volume dial. You quickly glance over to Yoongi as he presses it, turning off the radio completely.

“You know, as much as I like Christmas music, do they have to play the same five songs over and over again?”

You roll your eyes, a small smirk growing on your face.

“Oh come on," you laugh. "Says the one who listens to Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want For Christmas is You’ any chance he gets.”

“Can you blame me? It’s catchy!”

Your fingers fumble slightly with the turn signal. The car in front of you is not going fast enough for your liking. Though, neither is the one that you move behind, but you decide to suck it up, sigh quietly to yourself, and stay where you’re at.

“Yeah, but there’s other songs that are just as good, if not better," you jest.

Another glance at Yoongi makes you chuckle. His body is turned away from you—at least as much as he could in your small car—head facing the window. His cheeks are puffed up slightly with the small pout present on his face. You hum, turning back to the road.

“You’re just sour that you can’t hit those high notes.”

“Neither can you,” he scoffs.

Your hand flies to smack at his thigh. Yoongi gasps, and turns toward you. From the corner of your eye, you can make out the shocked look that flashes across his face as he yelps out.

“Hey!”

You flick your blinker on one more time, check your blind spot, and move over to the turn lane. Behind the already long line of cars waiting to turn into the full parking lot. Your groan shakes Yoongi from his focus on his faintly stinging thigh to greet the same sight you have.

“We’re never going to find a parking spot,” you mutter.

With the holiday season riding your tail, you and Yoongi decided to start your Christmas shopping. It's a tradition you've started, ever since either of you could drive, to go shopping the week after Black Friday. Though, it seemed like everyone else had the same idea. The mall welcomes a sea of people every minute, swallowing up a crowd before it spits out a smaller crowd, several bags in hand, looking stressed at all the shopping they have to do.

“You knew what we were getting into,” Yoongi mentioned.

Of course you knew. It's the first week of December, the start of the holiday rush. It may be the so-called ‘most wonderful time of the year’, but with all the people running in to get the best deals—on things that will more than likely be thrown out by next Christmas—it’s slowly turning from wonderful to dreadful.

“Yeah, but it’s a Tuesday!” you wine. “You would think with how many people are here today that it’s a normal Saturday!”

Yoongi chuckles at your misery.

As you turn down each of the aisles, you watch as the cars in front of you take the obscure open spots one by one. Yoongi helps keep another pair of eyes out for any spot that you might miss. It isn’t until you’ve made your way through almost every aisle, now at the farthest place you could park without leaving the main lot, that you see Yoongi’s hand shoot up in front of you.

“There!”

Store after store, the two of you traipse through the mall. Though most places have good deals on things, you have to turn a blind eye to some of the prices. Why does your family have to want expensive things?

You manage to make it towards the last couple of stores before you can really start to feel the pain in your feet. Walking into the clothing shop, your eyes scan the first few racks. Towards the front corner of the shop, a rack filled with bright red and green sweaters catches your attention. You rush towards it. Yoongi trips after you, calling out for you to slow down. You pay him no mind as you reach the rack.

Stifling a giggle, you stare at the first few sweaters in the front. The first two, a green sweater with striped sleeves and a cute little gingerbread scene on the front, and a bright red sweater with a plump Santa stuck upside down in a chimney. But the one that has you letting out a laugh is one that has an elf looking eerily similar to the man standing beside you.

“Oh look! I didn’t know you modeled.”

You point at the sweater, turning to face Yoongi with a wide grin. He rolls his eyes as he lets out a quiet scoff.

“Very funny.”

“What do you think, should we get ones for the party?” you ask, turning back towards the rack and sifting through the different designs.

“I don’t mind.”

Yoongi joins you, pulling out a few to show you as he goes. Your arms begin to become heavy with the amount of sweaters you’ve gathered—a few from the ones that Yoongi showed you; because if he found them funny, then you were sure to pull some sort of reaction from him, and hope to see if his feelings reflect your own towards him. Taking one last one from the man, you shift all of the bags you are carrying to your hands.

“Will you hold these? I’m gonna go try these on.”

You don’t leave any time for Yoongi to respond before you dump your bags into his arms. All that follows you is the light huff of laughter that he lets out as he watches you briskly walk to the dressing rooms.

Piece after piece, you come out of the dressing rooms to show Yoongi. Though, he isn’t much help when he continues to give you the same slightly uninterested look for every sweater. It isn’t until the fourth sweater that you give up on trying to show off for him.

“While I decide which one to buy, why don’t you try some of them on,” you grumble.

“Alright, alright. Wait here.”

You’re not sure what to expect. You know Yoongi had walked into the dressing rooms with a couple of sweaters, but you didn’t pay much attention to what he had grabbed. So when he walked out wearing one of the most ridiculous looking sweaters, you can’t help but gawk in both amusement and offence. The sweater itself is a simple Christmas-y green. If it was left at that, you wouldn’t have bat an eye towards it. Draped around the entire item is a thick strand of garland-like material with small baubles adorning the greenery. You appreciate the look of the sweater on him, the way the garland hugs his torso just enough to show off his figure, sending your mind running. Though, just looking at it makes your skin feel itchy.

“So?” He tilts his head, one brow raised slightly as he waits for you to say something. “Thoughts? Look, it even lights up.”

Yoongi presses a button near the neckline and the sweater shines brightly and colorfully. You scoff, looking him up and down once more before you answer.

“I’m offended. You look great in this ugly Christmas sweater. This is a scam.”

Mockingly angrily, you cross your arms in front of your chest. You turn your head away and jut out your lips in a small pout. But because of your faux jealousy, you miss the starry-eyed gaze he gives you.

“I’ll buy it then,” he chuckles lightly.

Yoongi begins to turn towards the dressing rooms, but decides against it, making his way closer to where you are sitting instead. He leans in, putting himself on the same level as you. You can feel the heat begin to crawl up your neck at the proximity. Trying to keep your composure, you force yourself to keep your gaze on the oddly posed mannequin in the next section. Though, once you feel the tip of his finger pressing into your cheek, your pout melts away into a look of surprise.

“Don’t be pouty,” he giggles. “How about we hit up one last shop. We still got two weeks to shop for gifts. We’ll grab takeout on the way to your place, and have a movie marathon. Neither of us work tomorrow, so we don’t have to worry about that.”

Eyes shining brightly, you turn to face him better. Yoongi lets out another laugh at the sight of your excitement.

“Oh! Can we get that one place that sells our favorite spicy chicken?”

“Of course,” he nods.

With one last smile, Yoongi gets up and walks to the dressing rooms, leaving your heart beating much faster than you would have liked it to in the moment. You only hope that he couldn’t hear it from where he was.

The moment you pull up to the party house, your eyes catch the multitude of decorations covering the lawn. You don’t expect less from your friends, knowing that they love to put their all into this holiday. And even as you walk up to the front door you can see a glimpse of the madness inside the house, too.

“Wow. They really outdid the place, didn’t they?” Yoongi chuckles beside you as he rings the doorbell.

As you wait for someone to answer the door, you admire the dedication it would require to put all of the decorations up. Not to mention having the power to be able to keep the display lights on for the entire month. You would simply pass away after seeing the electricity bill after the season is over.

The door clicks quietly before it opens, a familiar face popping into view. Jimin’s bright smile quickly warms up the freezing air around you.

“Hey! You made it!”

“Of course, why wouldn’t we?” You muse.

Jimin ushers the both of you into his house, stripping you of your heavy winter coat the moment the door closes. Yoongi takes a hold of the gift bags in your hands to make it easier for Jimin to help you slip out of your gear.

“You both are always all over each other,” he says. “I wouldn’t have been surprised if you skipped out on the party.”

You ignore the teasing tone he speaks to you as you begin to walk further into the house, opting to reach for the gift bags again. Yoongi moves them away from your grasp and turns to Jimin.

“Ah. Where do you want these?” He asks.

“There’s a table downstairs with all the others. Everyone else is down there too.”

Just as you are about to turn towards the stairway to the basement, another familiar face pops his head into the kitchen doorway.

“Y/N! Yoongi! Man, you two are rocking the sweaters. Come have some food!”

In his hands, Jin holds a small plate with what looks to be a slice of chocolate cake. He waves you into the kitchen. Before either of you can reach the doorway, Jin is already piling up a stack of treats for the both of you to take. Thanking him, you join the rest of your friends down stairs where they pause the Christmas movie they had started only a couple of minutes before to greet you and Yoongi properly.

At first, the company is welcoming. With how busy your lives have gotten after graduating from high school several years back, it’s hard to find a time where your friend group can gather. It’s moments like this that you’re grateful for the holiday season. Despite the craziness of holiday, the rush to find the perfect presents for friends and family, the time it takes to travel to relatives homes in the poor weather, you and your friends always find a moment to spend some time together before the end of the year. Though, there comes a point when it’s all a little too much for you to handle.

It’s been two hours since the movie ended. Your friend, Tiffany, decided it was a good idea to start a competition between her and Jungkook on who could win the most rounds of foosball. The others joined along, adding new challenges to the mix, cheering them on as the harder it became for them to win each round. You were excited in the beginning, seeing the glint of mischief in Tiffany’s eye as she spoke out her plans. You had even joined her in a two-on-two round with Yoongi as Jungkook’s partner—you and her proudly won that round. But the longer it went on, the more you could feel yourself grow exhausted from the party.

You find yourself on the balcony in Jimin’s guest room. Since arriving at the party, the snow had fallen gently onto the night scene around you, blanketing the already snow covered ground in a fresh layer of powder. You watch as the snowflakes fall onto the sleeves of your sweater. If you look close enough, you can see the details in the snow, the crystallized patterns of each individual flake. You’re not sure how long you stand out there in the cold, too mesmerized by the snow to bother checking the time.

“There you are. I thought you left.”

The sudden break of silence startles you. Eyes wide, you turn to face Yoongi, who has slipped out of the balcony doors to join you. Even when you know you’re safe, your heart continues to beat out of your chest. Did Yoongi always look this good in the snow?

“Nah,” you whisper. You return to your previous position, leaning against the railing to focus back on the quiet snowstorm. “It was just a little too much for me. My social battery is practically dead now.”

Yoongi hums. The snow crunches under his shoes as he steps up next to you.

“I get it. But why are you out here? It’s snowing and you don’t have your coat.”

“It’s a lot quieter out here. Plus I just forgot to grab it.”

You know he knows that it’s not the complete truth. You had contemplated grabbing your coat, but you assured yourself that you wouldn’t be out here long enough for you to begin to need it. Yoongi doesn’t respond. Before you can look to see what he is doing, something warm and soft is draped over your shoulders. You turn to see Yoongi, standing beside you with a concerned look on his face, and only in his own ugly Christmas sweater.

“But-” you begin to protest. Yoongi cuts you off, throwing a smile in your direction.

“I’ll be fine.”

You know he won’t hear you out once he settles into the same position you have been in. He watches the snow fall for a moment, looking back at you when you don’t join him. He pulls at your arm gently. With a small sigh, you step towards the railing again, leaning against it with him. You can feel his body heat as you settle close enough for your arms to press against each other.

This is nice, you think. For a while, you forget that you are at a party. Being beside your best friend—and first love—while the fluffy puffs of snow fall around you is comforting. It’s the little moments like this that make your heart grow fonder for the boy you grew up with. Even during your movie nights, the two of you are cuddled up, a blanket thrown over the top of you.

Life with Yoongi is easy. Neither of you hold expectations for the other when it comes to your friendship. Like two pieces of a puzzle, you complete each other, stronger in the areas that the other is not. It’s how it has been since you got to know Yoongi. Sure, there have been times where you’ve questioned your friendship, and times that you wish you had never met, but those moments only made your relationship stronger. And you thank all of your lucky stars that he has been the one steady thing in your life.

Breaking you from your thoughts, Yoongi nudges your arm with his. Your eyes shift from the yard to his dark friendly eyes.

“I think they’re doing the white elephant soon,” he mutters. “Come join me?”

You hum, nodding your head. Yoongi pushes himself from the railing and dusts his sleeves off before holding out his hand for you to grab. He guides you back inside and back downstairs to become social again.

When you join your friends, none of them fail to notice your intertwined hands when Hoseok points out that you have returned. No one says anything about it, turning back to whatever game they were playing before you arrived. You’re grateful for that. But when you are pulled into a quick game of charades, you partially wish that you could go back to the moment—albeit short—on the balcony. No worries about how to keep the conversation alive, no people to entertain, just you, Yoongi, and the quiet storm.

It isn’t much longer that you play the white elephant game. It takes twice as long as it normally would when Taehyung and Jimin try to wrestle in the middle of the room for the mini waffle maker someone had brought, only for Jungkook to take it from right under their noses, forcing him to join in on the impromptu fight. After the game is over, you stay to chat for a little while longer to catch up with everyone. But when Yoongi is squeezing your hand, offering a questioning look and glimpsing towards the stairs, you know it’s time for you to go.

Yoongi stands and pulls you along with him. A few of your friends ask where you’re going once they notice him collecting your things.

“We’re gonna head out,” he responds.

“Oh, come on. Stay a little longer?” Tiffany whines. She’s been wanting to get you alone to ask you about your disappearance to the balcony for the past hour.

“Nah,” Namjoon whispers. Though, it’s loud enough for you to hear clearly. “Let the lovebirds go. They’ve probably got plans, if you know what I mean.”

Ignoring the comment, you follow Yoongi as he heads up the stairs, throwing goodbyes to everyone and thanking Jimin for hosting the party this year.

“Where’s the sugar?”

You open up every cabinet you can think of. Does he move it every time he uses it? Weren’t we just using it to make the cookies?

“Where it always is?” Yoongi calls out from his seat at the dining table.

Another one of your traditions is to make and design cookies a few days before Christmas. At first, it started as something you’d do because you wanted to make cookies for Santa. But as you grew older, it became something you’d do for fun. You and Yoongi always made it a goal to see who could come up with the best designs—you may be biased, but you’re sure you’ve won every year.

“And where is that?”

“I thought you knew your way around my kitchen already,” Yoongi laughs. He turns his head towards you, watching as you continuously open and close each cabinet door. “Seeing how I always catch you in here in the middle of the night.”

You pause. He knows about your late night snack adventures in his kitchen?

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you insist.

Yoongi only laughs more at your tone.

“Try the cabinet over the stove.”

True to his word, the moment you open the cabinet, your eyes spot the bag of sugar. You’re sure you looked in this one several times. Pulling down the sugar, you smile.

“You’re a genius,” you call out over your shoulder.

“Just get over here.”

Yoongi takes the sugar from your hands. He digs the measuring cup into the bag, scooping up the right amount of sugar for the icing, plopping it into the mixing bowl with every other ingredient and continues to mix it all together. Before he can separate the icing into containers for the different colors you are making, you take your finger and dip it into the icing. Thankfully Yoongi doesn’t notice your sneaky swipe. You raise your finger towards his cheek, a sly smile on your face. His face morphs into a look of surprise when the icing meets his skin as he turns towards you. You let out a loud laugh. You try to clean it off his face, but Yoongi only retaliates, taking a small bit of the icing and wiping it on the tip of your nose. For a moment, you stand in shock, staring at Yoongi as he laughs instead. But the surprise melts into happiness when you see the fond look he gives you as he takes the dollop of icing off his cheek and your nose.

“Let’s save the decorating for the cookies, shall we?”

You leave each other to decorate your set of cookies. It’s hard not to look at what Yoongi is doing when he is sitting beside you. Every once in a while he purposefully reaches over your hands as you work on placing candies in the icing, trying to mess you up. You do the same to him, successfully messing him up twice.

“What are you making?” You ask, peaking over his arm to see his cookies.

Yoongi shifts slightly, blocking your view.

“You’ll see.”

He reaches for a couple red sixlets, leaning in close to the table to place them on the cookie. With a smile, he leans back, turning to you and holding up the finished cookie for you to see.

“Mistletoe?”

“Uh huh,” he hums. Your brows furrow slightly as he begins to raise it above your head. “Oh and would you look at that. We seem to have been caught underneath it.”

Warmth creeps up the back of your neck, as you realise what he means. You scoff, trying to evade the sudden rush of feelings. You hope that he can’t hear your heart pounding against your chest. Yoongi carefully leans in closer, and you blurt out the first thing you can think of.

“Mistletoe is only allowed for the holiday season.”

“It is the holiday season,” he chuckles.

Your eyes drift away from his gaze. Why did I say that?

“Oh…then kiss away.”

Yoongi pushes closer, and your eyes flutter closed. You can feel the brush of his lips against yours, making you smile. There are no fireworks or explosions of color and feelings as the movies show. Instead, his kiss is comforting. It’s something you hope you can experience for the rest of your life. Neither one of you makes an effort to move. Even the gentle press of his lips against yours is enough to satisfy you.

As you pull away, feeling the need to take a deep breath, you look into Yoongi’s eyes. They shine bright, sparkling slightly under the kitchen light. He gives you a warm smile.

“I’ve liked you ever since you spilled your juice on me when we were eight.”

You let out a quiet giggle. What an odd way to start a conversation after kissing the person you’ve known for most of your life. You remember that day though. It was the first day of third grade, and you were a little too excited for lunch. You had tripped over another kid’s foot, landing on the bench beside eight-year-old Yoongi, squeezing the juice box in your hand and spilling it all over his favorite shirt. It was safe to say you didn’t get your recess time because of him once he yelled at you.

“You took my crayons cause you were mad about that though,” you bite back. “Which I never got back by the way.”

Yoongi chuckles. His hand reaches up to cup your cheek, running his thumb over your skin.

“That's besides the point. The point is, I've liked you for a long time.”

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” you wonder.

“I was waiting to see if you were going to do something about it.”

His other hand searches for yours, grasping onto it.

“What do you mean?”

Yoongi laughs slightly at your confused stare. He squeezes your hand and tilts his head in amusement.

“You’re not exactly subtle.”

“Oh,” you breathe out.

“But that doesn’t matter now,” he continues. “Because now, I can show you how much you really mean to me and catch up on all of the time we’ve missed.”

Yoongi leans in close again, his lips ghosting over yours. Your free hand finds its place on his chest, grasping slightly at the dark shirt he’s wearing. You glance over at the messy table, icing and rogue candies scattered about the tabletop. A smirk grows on your lips at the thoughts running through your mind and your eyes meet Yoongi’s again. You press your lips against his in a chaste kiss.

“I think the cookies can wait to be decorated,” you mutter.

#cafeficexchange21 #bangtaninn #btshoneyhive #bangtanscenery #btswritingcafe #armywriterssupport #purplearmynet #bts x reader #bts fanfic #bts fluff #yoongi x reader #min yoongi x reader #suga x reader #bts yoongi #bts min yoongi #BTS suga #bts #fanfic #oneshot #one shot #bts one shot #bts oneshot #yoongi one shot #suga oneshot #yoongi fluff #secret santa

[daemour]

A Gift for You and Me

Pairing: Yoongi x Reader

Genre: Exes to maybe lovers

Word Count: 1407

Summary: When your ex shows up at your door on Christmas Eve, how will you react?

Warnings: None

Genre: Fluff, light Angst

Rating: E for everyone

This was for the Secret Santa fic exchange that @btswritingcafe hosted! This fic is for @aredheadedmess and i hope you enjoyed my asks Siah!! I tried to be sneaky but honestly if u peeked into the discord at any moment ud have realised it was me LMAOOOOO i am as subtle as a brick train

banner done by the lovely Mo, beta’d by amazing @casuallyimagining​

Here were the prompts for me to use:

-The only gift I ever wanted was you

-I wanted to see the first snow with you

-And you think this would be the best time to bring that up?

-

You’ve always loved Christmas. The festivities, the food, the spirit of it in general. (And you don’t hate the idea of gift-giving to be honest.) Except this Christmas will be the first one you spend alone.

You had moved halfway across the country for a job a few years ago, your boyfriend coming as well. So you always had someone with you. But almost a year ago, the two of you ended your relationship due to two different reasons. Reasons neither of you were super clear on, but it was a heated argument and then your first love, Min Yoongi, walked out of your life.

But you couldn’t blame him. He was just as stubborn as you were petty. Arguments between the two of you were horrid, and to be stuck in between one was death. Many of your friends had warned the two of you that with a bad enough argument, the relationship would go into flames. And they were right.

So, here you were, reading on the couch as the sickeningly repetitive We Wish You A Merry Christmas plays. Not how you really wanted to spend Christmas Eve, but here you sit. The radio insists on playing that hellish song, but you’re far too lazy to get up and change it or even turn it off. But as the last refrain repeats you finally flick it off, standing up and stretching, hearing the satisfying pop of your bones. Now what?

You don’t really know how to spend a Christmas by yourself. You narrow your eyes, sitting back on the couch and glaring daggers into your coffee table. This is stupid.

You stand back up, going into your kitchen to make some hot cocoa and give yourself a task to do. At least alone, the house is nice and quiet. You can play as much Christmas music as you want.

Oh, who are you kidding yourself? You’re just trying to fill the emptiness with dumb reasons.

And so, you can’t blame yourself when the doorbell rings and you trip over yourself to open the door. Maybe one of your friends had taken pity on you and came to visit you.

Except, when you swing open the door, Yoongi is staring back at you, hand raised to ring the doorbell again. “Yoongi? What are you doing here?” You keep your voice steady, and you don’t really let him in, although you lean on the door, waiting for him to give you an answer.

“I was in town, and I heard from Jungkook that you weren’t able to get home for Christmas.” A pity visit. But, you aren’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth and send him away, so you open the door wider and silently let him in.

The two of you stand in your foyer awkwardly. Neither of you know what to do, and when one opens their mouth to speak, so does the other, so you both snap your mouths shut and stand around some more. Before the break-up, the two of you used to be able to hold amazing conversations about anything in the world, but now…it’s just sad.

“Um. Do you want hot cocoa?” You finally break the suffocating silence, jerking your head towards the kitchen.

“I’m sorry about our break-up.” The response is quick and both of you flinch at the volume of it. Your lip curls.

“I accept your apology, but you think this would be the best time to bring that up? It’s Christmas Eve, Yoongi.” Yoongi flicks his eyes away for a moment before returning them to your face. He seems almost sorry, so you tramp down your rising weariness and offer a small smile. “Okay, come on, I’ll make you a cup of hot cocoa. Then we can talk.”

He follows you into the kitchen and you feel slightly uncomfortable as he stands there silently while you make the hot chocolate. He doesn’t know what to say, but you don’t want to carry the entire conversation, so you just wait.

You have to wait until you’re microwaving the drink and about to throw away the empty packet when Yoongi finally speaks. “I wanted to see the first snow with you–” he blurts out and you almost drop the hot chocolate packet at the unexpected words.

“What?” Your words come out small, unsure, and Yoongi’s lips twist into a crooked smile.

“I know I was late, but I missed you, you know.” You don’t know how to process this information. Yoongi steps closer. “And I figured Christmas time would be the best time to ask if you wanted to try again.”

You snort, looking away. You don’t think you can look at him in the eye right now. “It’s not midnight yet. Ask me again at midnight.” It’s a cheap excuse to buy some time but Yoongi understands, he always did.

The microwave beeps, slicing through the tension and you gladly take the opportunity to turn away from him. It’s weird having him stand in the kitchen again, having him talk to you again. It’s definitely different from a year ago, but in a way, it’s nice. Maybe it’s your Christmas spirit talking, or maybe you’re just lonely, but it’s good to see him again.

He looks a lot differently than when you last saw him. He stands taller, his eyes are kinder, and most notably, his once black hair is now a brilliant silver. And he’s wearing a suit. You don’t think you’ve ever seen him in a suit. He’s changed, and you think it is probably for the better. Change is good.

Before you know it, you’re sitting on the couch with Yoongi, at separate ends, and the cups of cocoa grow cold as you two talk about anything and anyone. How things have changed, what had happened in the time between the breakup and visit, but never once touching on the last time you two saw each other.

“Dude, how is Jungkook? He’s been too busy to see me lately,” you ask, laughter dying in your throat from Yoongi’s story about his childhood friend Jaebeom accidentally shaving off his eyebrow.

Yoongi raises an eyebrow, cocking his head at you. “You mean he didn’t tell you? He’s dating Namjoon. He was in your college batch, wasn’t he?” Ah. You nod carefully.

“Yeah, I didn’t hear of that. Probably because he’s still unsure if I’m still…um…salty about last year.” You try to word it as carefully as you can, but Yoongi’s face still twists into an emotion you can’t place.

“Yeah, about that. Um, I actually need to tell you something.” Yoongi pulls at the sleeves of his jacket, an old habit he had retained. “I didn’t happen to be in town. I came specifically to visit you, and Jungkook told me it wasn’t the best idea because you were still hurting.”

You laugh, facing away from him. “Yeah, that last bit might have been my bad. I was complaining to him about having to spend Christmas alone.” Yoongi flashes a crooked grin.

“Well, I’m here now, aren’t I?”

You smile back at him carefully. “Yeah, yeah you are.” You can’t manage to get the apprehension out of your voice and Yoongi tilts his head.

“Look, I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. If you want me to go, I can.” He makes to stand up, but you lean forward and latch onto the sleeve of his suit.

“Wait, Yoongs.” The nickname slips out of your mouth and Yoongi looks at you in surprise, but sits back down. “You can stay. It’s not uncomfortable. It’s just…I’m unused to it,” you admit, your hand retreating back into your lap. Yoongi sighs, scooching a little closer to you and putting his hand on your shoulder.

“I know we left on the wrong footing, but honestly, I can’t even remember what we were arguing about. Can you?” You laugh a little and shake your head. “So, why don’t we just…try again? And if we come to the same conflict, we know how not to respond.”

You smile, glancing at the clock. “It’s still not midnight,” you begin, and Yoongi deflates, but you continue on, “but I’ll let it slide. Because the only gift I ever wanted was you.”

Yoongi’s head snaps back up, and he offers you a bright smile, just like from before. “Well, that’s perfect then, because then this is a gift for you and me.”

#cafeficexchange21 #btswritingcafe #thebtswritersclub #castlebangtan #bts #bts fanfiction #bts fanfic #bts fic #bts fluff #bts angst #bts x reader #bts au #suga #suga fanfiction #suga fanfic #suga fic #suga fluff #suga angst #suga x reader #suga au #yoongi #yoongi fanfiction #yoongi fanfic #yoongi fic #yoongi fluff #yoongi angst #yoongi x reader #yoongi au #min yoongi #exes to lovers

[jiminie-and-his-pinky-finger]

- come back to me when winter's here || jungkook

[synopsis] Going off for the last semester of her college, Ellen plans on enjoying it without any trouble. She was going to graduate and leave town, pursuing herself somewhere else. But her plans come to a freezing halt when she spots him. Jungkook, the new center of attention and, more importantly, her ex.

[pairing] idol-to-student!jungkook x student!oc

[genre/warnings] exes to lovers, angst, fluff, mentions of hospitalized relative, jungkook in that black my time outfit- (i said nothing) *[this is just a work of fiction]*

[word count] 7.4k (what the HECK •-•)

[a/n] Early Merry Christmas, Ellen aka @joontella! I am Nani, your Secret Santa for @btswritingcafe fic exchange! This has been such a project to work with because the addition of prompts made my brain run 345 miles per hour to make this work XD I really really appreciate you working with me these past few months. I hope this fulfills the prompts you sent in! Here is your fic! 😘

༶･･❄･･༶

“Be careful and study hard.”

Ellen gave her mom one last hug before letting go.

She was heading to her final semester of college, and she couldn’t be any happier.

She could feel it. Her classes wouldn’t be too hard to breeze through. She had a job lined up starting next summer. Ellen even started a search for an affordable place her friends and her could stay at after college became a thing of their pasts.

“I will, mom. Call me tonight, and take care of yourselves. I love you two.”

With that she set off, piling her handbag and backpack onto the shuttle waiting for her. Ellen tucked them beside her once she found a seat and waved at her parents from the window. There were many students that were dozing off next to her and she hoped the semester would be just as peaceful as they looked.

Nothing could come between her and the sweet relief of school ending now.

•••

“I’m glad you made it safely.”

Milo reached out to grab two of the suitcases that were stowed away in the bottom compartments of the shuttle. He had called her when she was about half an hour away to tell her he’d come to help.

Apparently, her room had been switched to one of the rooms at the top of the building so that was 4 flights of stairs she’d have to climb every day. At least there was an elevator they were allowed to use no matter what. Ellen sighed in relief thinking about that. She was in no means about to do that much exercise after a long day of classes.

“Thank you, for helping me.”

Ellen grunted while picking the rest of her bags out of the vehicle. She backed up and gave a thumbs up to the driver to signal that he was good to go. Giving her a smile, the driver pulled away from the sidewalk, leaving Milo, Ellen, and her 5 bags to fend for themselves.

“Oh. Did you bring everything you owned? You do know we have to go back after school ends…”

“Very funny. Half of this is stuffed with snacks that my mom bought for me. She said they’ll last a while so I shouldn’t go hungry.”

Milo shook his head and chuckled. He’d just moved in a few hours ago and couldn’t wait for his friends to show up to cure his boredom. And seeing Ellen definitely made all of that go away.

“Let’s head up and put these big boys away.”

•••

Ellen took a few hours to set up all of the decorations that she brought with her. She’d had a theme picked out and everything this time, something she’d wanted to try since the first semester.

Her room was divided in 2 parts, one for her and one for the roommate that was assigned to her. Her side was completely decked out in greenery. Fake greenery, but who was asking? Leafy vines were strewn across the walls and potted plants were lined up on the windowsill. She even put together a small table - whose parts took the entirety of one of the bags she’d brought – and placed a few books on it.

Maybe half the stuff wasn’t her mother’s doing after all.

Ellen fell backwards onto her bed, a set of white sheets and a white comforter with leaf prints towards the bottom beneath her. She let out a sigh and stared up at the ceiling. She was seriously regretting skipping out on going to the gym with her friends that summer. Hopefully the flights of stairs would motivate her and help her become a little more fit by the end of the semester.

Ellen closed her eyes, wondering if she’ll get to know her teachers well enough to make things easier for the next few months. The job she’d managed to earn just a few weeks before summer break ended would be one as an assistant. Having a few good recommendations would greatly help her progress from there.

A smile grew on her lips as she shifted to her side. She was excited for classes.

•••

Ellen was not, in fact, excited for the early morning ones, though. She did have a few spread out throughout the day so she wouldn’t be drowsy and miss meals, but the 8:00 am math class was not going to be a favorite.

She threw on the outfit she picked out the night before and trudged down the stairs. She did set her timer a while earlier to find her class and claim a good seat. None of her friends were in this class with her so she could only hope to find a student to study with later on.

Ellen managed to find her class 10 minutes before it started and found two seats: one at the front and one in the back.

She did the most sensible thing and chose the back seat. Math wasn’t always her forte, but she knew she could focus just fine seated in a corner.

A few minutes later, she spotted her teacher walk in with a coffee mug in one hand and a folder in the other. A classic math teacher.

“Hello, students. I am Tom Fort, and welcome to my class. Without any further interruptions, let’s begin.”

Ellen put a hand into the front pocket of her backpack and felt around. The teacher started to write down a couple of introductory topics onto the whiteboard so she thought getting her calculator to set things up would be a good idea. But she felt nothing. She forgot her calculator.

A sigh escaped her lips as she spread her arms out on her desk. This was going to be a slow day.

•••

Ellen somehow found the time to come back to her room for a nap. It wouldn’t be too long, she convinced herself, she would be back to attend her last class in no time.

Except for when the alarm she had set before dozing off started going off, and she had two minutes to run to class.

Thankfully it was one of the classes that was close to her dorm building, so it only took her those two minutes to get there. She nearly walked straight into the teacher as she came into the room, spotting her friends towards the middle.

“I was just about to call you!”

A head of bouncy curls stared back at Ellen as she sat in the spot they’d saved. Hye looked ready for a night out rather than a late afternoon class.

“Sorry, I fell asleep and sprinted here.”

“Ladies. If the conversations could come to a stop, I have something important to address before my class begins.”

The teacher, Mr. Linn McRoe, was someone that Ellen knew for a couple of years now. He’d taught several of her journalism classes, time long enough to form a special kind of academic bond.

This class was going to be her last as a college student, and she was glad it was him that would still be teaching her. She believed he would also make a wonderful source of recommendation as he himself had been in the industry 10 years before he began teaching.

The class went quiet within a few seconds, staring at the man with silvering black hair. Mr. McRoe cleared his throat and put on a smile.

“I know most of you, and as final semester students, you should know that knowledge will not stop coming your way even if your traditional schooling ends.”

He took a step back and gestured towards the door, as if it were a signal for someone to come in.

“Which is why I’m going to be introducing this young man, a new transfer that has decided to come back to finish his degree after years of being in a job many would find rather challenging.”

Ellen turned to look at the door, curious as to who he was referencing to. What kind of job would take this guy out of school before he could finish?

Just then a tall, dark haired boy entered the room, his boots echoing as they clacked against the tiles. He stood beside the professor and brought a hand up to fix his bangs.

Ellen’s heart seemed to freeze, bringing the rest of her senses to a sudden halt. It couldn’t be…

“Class, this is Jeon Jungkook, or some of you particular music lovers might recognize him as Jungkook of BTS.”

It was… him.

Jungkook gave Mr. McRoe a small smile before lightly bowing his head.

“Would you like to introduce yourself a little more? Although, some people,” the professor looked at a group of giggling girls towards the other and of the room and continued, “already seem to know quite a bit.”

Jungkook looked a little nervous as he began speaking.

“H-hello… nice to meet you all. I am Jungkook, and I hope you guys welcome me for the next few months.”

“Thank you, young man. Please go ahead and take a seat, we will begin class.”

Ellen felt a hand press against her shoulder, shocking her out of her daze. It was just Lena, one of her friends. She gave Ellen a concerned look, as if she was asking her if she was okay. Calming her nerves after the sudden coming to, Ellen realized two things. One, a few people around her were looking at her. Maybe she shouldn’t have gasped so loudly. And two, the boy at the front of the room seemed to have caught on. He was staring with wide eyes, right into her own. He knew it was her.

She was seriously regretting jinxing herself earlier by repeating that this semester would go by without a hitch. And now here she was, face to face, with her ex.

•••

The next few days flew by, the rush of their first set of weekly quizzes making everyone lose track of time.

Ellen was sitting in her journalism class, listening to Mr. McRoe talk about the steps to conducting a good interview in a professional manner. He had introduced the class to a project where they had to ask a few personal questions that centralize on a particular adversity they might have faced in their lifetime.

Thinking they’d get to choose, she and her friends had decided to work together. But Mr. McRoe had something else on his mind.

“I have already chosen the groups you’ll be working in, but this one will be in pairs.”

The room filled up with collective groans while the professor waved his hand in front of him.

“I’ll start calling your names, and one person from each pair can come up here to collect a voice recorder. Pick which one will be the interviewer and who will be the participant, and whoever chooses to be the interviewer, start building your questions whenever you get home. These will have to be fresh for when you start recording so that the other person can answer as honestly as possible.”

Ellen sighed and waited for her name to be called. She was hoping to be the interviewer, but she didn’t care if she had to be at the answering end either. Hopefully whoever she got would be a good partner.

“Jungkook and Ellen, one of you please come up here.”

The world once again seemed to stop revolving as she took in the teacher’s voice. Why did this keep happening to her?

She watched as her partner slowly walked to the front of the room, grabbing one of the small, black devices and turning to look at her. Well, he wasn’t looking directly at her. He had his head down as he made his way towards her.

“H-hi.”

Ellen couldn’t answer. What would she say? After all these years, and the first thing she has to hear him say is “hi”.

“I.. do you have any preference for what role you want to do for this project?”

Alright. If he is so clearly past everything that happened, then she can be, too.

“No. Whatever you like.”

Jungkook ran his thumb over the buttons on the recorder, trying to work on his nerves to calm down. Being in front of her again... he didn’t think that would happen. Not like this.

“I would like to be the interviewer, I already have a few questions in mind. I’ll keep working on them, and I was also thinking if we co-”

“That sounds good. Just tell me whenever you want to record.”

Ellen heard the sound of a ruler tapping against the board. Mr. McRoe had been talking again.

“I will dismiss class early, so go ahead and work on this. The deadline is this coming Friday. Good luck.”

Picking up her backpack, Ellen stood in front of Jungkook.

“Thanks. See you later.”

•••

Jungkook apparently wanted to meet the day before to start working together. He appeared before her after class ended and talked about recording in one of the unused classrooms at the other end of the building.

How he managed to learn about them in the few days of being here, Ellen didn’t know, but all she could say was she wouldn’t be too far from help if he tried anything funny. There were a few study rooms in the hallway they were headed to, so she had nothing to worry about.

“I was thinking we could get this faster by making the introduction introducing your adversity, and then I’ll start with the questions.”

“Alright.”

They arrived at one of the classrooms and opened the door, pushing it aside to see a few chairs stacked on top of the desks. Jungkook went straight ahead and picked two of them up, bringing a chair for her and one for himself.

Ellen sat down and took out the recorder she kept in her pocket as soon as he handed it to her earlier.

“You can start recording then.”

Jungkook nodded, taking out a pen from his jacket and opening up his notebook to a page. Maybe where he wrote down his questions. He took the recorder from her hand and pressed the top button.

“This is interviewer, Jeon Jungkook, and today’s topic will be over a certain adversity and its consequences. How someone got through a tough time in their life and is doing today. Our subject revolves around our participant, who is here with us today. Please introduce yourself.”

Ellen took the recorder back from him and decided to keep it between them to stop the swapping, already annoyed with having to touch his hands. She kept feeling jolts of warmth over her palms, her face expressing the confusion as to why her body was reacting that way.

“I’m Ellen Winters, a student at the Greene Academy of Sciences and Fine Arts.”

“I would like to start by asking what your story is.”

Ellen exhaled as she spoke into the device again.

“I, uh, am studying in my final semester as a journalism major. I come from a small town close to Colorado Springs, and I’ve been there, or here, my whole life.”

Jungkook’s eyebrows knit together as he continued.

“Now I would like to continue with maybe the hardest question. What is the hardest thing that’s happened to you, and what followed?”

Ellen’s stomach felt as if it was burning up. She had to think about this question. She had been thinking about it ever since she knew she was going to be the participant, but she hadn’t come up with anything. What should she talk about? The one time her grandmother scolded her about not being messy and it taught her to have an organized lifestyle? Or when her dog died and how it was one of her first experiences with such severity? Or…

“About 5 years ago,” she started, unsure how the words just started forming on her tongue.

“My grandfather was hospitalized for an accident. He is one of the closest people to me. It was my first ever experience with having a family member go to the hospital, besides my dog.

“It was a lot to take in, everyone seemed occupied with how they were dealing with the situation. Thankfully he recovered very well, but a few other things occurred at the same time. So it’s a memory that will stay with me.

”I would say the things that year taught me include my consistent will to be there for my family and more importantly, the strength I’ve had when an important person chose to leave. I am proud of myself for picking myself back up after that.”

Jungkook’s eyes were double their size by the time Ellen finished talking.

“Uh. Can you elaborate on what you meant by “someone important leaving?”

•~•

5 years ago.

Ellen sat next to her grandfather’s hospital bed as tears spilled down her cheeks. She couldn’t believe this happened; she couldn’t lose him.

“Papa...”

Between school, being home, and visiting the hospital often, she felt as if time was just speeding past her. And she realized that not once had her boyfriend, Jungkook, come to console her.

Ellen called him one day, and he made up an excuse that he had been training and he would make it sometime soon. She understood that he was on his way to achieving his dream as a singer. But she didn’t think of asking him how much he dreamed of being together with her.

She didn’t have the time. All she could do till the day that her grandfather recovered and was allowed to be sent home, was have her asking dismissed. He would come over for a bit and leave just as quickly, sometimes suddenly hanging up on her, too.

And then the day came where he just stopped altogether. He’d left a note that said he was leaving, and he did just that.

He said they would be happy. She didn’t know why she believed him.

•~•

Back to the present.

“Oh. How was it... after that?”

“It had taken everything within me to divert myself from it. I did realize that the experience taught me things, but I still needed to get away. So I dedicated my time to studying. To getting out of here and pursue my own dreams.”

She glanced at Jungkook, noticing the way he was fidgeting with his pen.

“I wasn’t leaving anyone behind without an explanation. They supported me, and I wanted to show them I can do it. I will reach my dreams and still have them by my side. Good relationships are like that.”

“Elle...”

Her head turned away from him. She couldn’t hear his voice, the same angelic one that she used to hear whispering ‘i love you’ into her ear, call her by her nickname again.

“That should be enough for this project.” She held up the small recorder and tossed it into his hands. “You can edit that and turn it in.”

“Elle... please.”

Ellen turned to leave the classroom, keeping the door open enough to make sure he heard the rest.

“Happy birthday, Jungkook.”

She stared at his hands, unable to meet his eyes. She could see them shaking lightly, her own breathing picking up. She wanted to get out of there.

“I know it’s your birthday, but please give me the gift of leaving me alone from now on.”

•••

Ellen made sure to ignore him after that.

It had been a few months since then, but no matter what she tried, she couldn’t keep him out of her mind. Her mother had called asking why she couldn’t make it home for Thanksgiving break, and she decided to talk to her about him.

“Mom... there’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you for a while. I just.. didn’t know how to bring it up.”

“What is it, sweetheart?”

Ellen paused, once again unsure if she should even be making this a big deal.

“He’s here, mom.” She continued, feeling the rise and fall of her heart picking up its pace. “Jungkook’s here.”

“What?

“He’s a transfer student. And he’s in my journalism class.”

“Have you two talked?”

“I...”

Ellen could hear her mother’s silence urging her to answer. She wasn’t sure what she would say considering how she reacted the last time she heard of him.

•~•

5 years ago.

“Mom.. he’s gone. He wasn’t at his apartment. His roommate said that... he left a note and just left.”

Ellen saw her mother’s hands clenched into fists as she walked towards her, crouched down next to her spot by the kitchen floor.

“I’m so sorry, baby... He is such an idiot for putting you through this.”

Ellen threw herself into her mother’s arms and sobbed. She didn’t understand what could’ve possibly happened between them for him to leave even without a goodbye.

Idiot.

•~•

Back to the present.

“We did... but I couldn’t bring it up again, Mom.”

“Ellen. Do you still have feelings for that boy?”

She didn’t know. Did she?

How could she ignore the fact that every time she saw him and physically had to ignore him, it was hard on her heart. How could she ignore the sweet memories that flooded her mind from before he left. When he was good to her.

“I have to go, baby. I’ll call you again.”

Ellen hung up the phone and stood by her bed. What was she doing?

•••

“No, not that one!”

Ellen and her friends had decided to go shopping for the upcoming Winter dance, the one night that the academy held a proper party. They were given the week off of homework, too, to study and catch up on sleep. Finals were just around the corner.

Her friend, Lena, was pointing out different styles and helping Ellen with her dress since she’d finished her own shopping. Her occasional ‘mhm’ and ‘oh no’ echoed throughout the empty chamber they sat in at the dress store.

“I’ve changed at least 6 times by now, do we need to go to another store?”

Ellen raised an eyebrow at her two other friends. They seemed to be whispering about something.

“What’s keeping you two busy?”

One of the girls, Hye, smiled and turned her attention onto Ellen.

“Well… I was doing some digging. It turns out that they added your name to the possible Winter Royals contest they’ll be holding at the dance.”

“Wait what? When did you guys submit my name?”

Hye stood up and placed her hands on her hips. It gave Ellen the image of her mom ready to scold her.

“That’s not the important part. What’s important is that we are good to go for your winning moment because we held a meeting earlier to collect voters.”

Ellen shook her head lightly.

“Is that not coercing the people to do whatever we want?”

“I did use a bit of my charm to come to a conclusion – one that benefits us. But think of it as a successful campaign, one where we will finally end a semester after a fun night.”

“Why didn’t one of you enter?”

Ellen scratched at her arms. The dress she sported had silver tulle for the sleeves and glittery pins around her waist. It itched way too much to be the one. She was going to have to change again.

“I didn’t want to enter cause... of this.”

Roy, the girl that was still seated on the couch next to where Hye was, looked down. She had a white cast wrapped around her left ankle, the result of a stupid night of partying at a frat house when she slipped on an orange peel. On the counter. Ellen wondered how all of them even sticked when they were like the four sides of a square. Maybe four sides of the same square. But still.

“I just didn’t want to.”

Lena had been scrolling through her phone, clearly impatient to get back to the dress selection.

“Well, I suppose I could have joined. It is right up my alley.” Hye continued. “But I remember you telling me a few years ago that you’ve wanted to win something like this, Elle.”

Ellen gave her a smile and reached out to hold her hand.

“So of course, we’re going to make sure you’ll get it!”

Lena got up from her seat and gave the two a pressed smile before turning serious.

“Sentimental! Now time to get Ellen a good dress.”

•••

Ellen sat at her desk and tapped a pen against her chin.

She had been stuck on a certain math problem for the past hour, and she couldn’t ask a friend because of their own hefty study sessions. She was on the verge of calling her dad for help when she remembered something her grandfather taught her.

He was someone that Ellen admired a lot. He wasn’t a college graduate, but he seemed to have this colossal amount of information passing in and out of his mind at all times. She got to work and got an answer close to one of the multiple choice questions, so she decided to go with that.

Did she just get her answer correct through slight guess work? Yes. Did it matter now that everything was finished? No.

She closed her laptop and stacked her book on top of it, leaning back to stretch her body. Glad that the review she’d been doing for her math class ended, Ellen walked over to her bed. She just had to go over a few more important topics and she’d be good to go.

She wondered how she was going to do. She had been working hard the past few months and these exams were the only things separating her from graduating and leaving.

Leaving... him behind this time.

Ellen didn’t think her past would come back to remind her of all she tried to forget. This was the most she’d had to think about Jungkook since she first came to college, the constant schoolwork helping coax his leaving and eventually the pain out of her.

She let out of sigh and turned back to her notebooks.

Maybe that’s just what she needed to get him off his mind again.

•••

They’d reached the Winter party just minutes before realizing that they had missed half of the games.

“Do I have to stress that we are ‘fashionably late’ right now?”

Hye was decked out in a red dress with a flowy skirt that rippled around her like waves. Lena and Roy followed close behind. One was in a short, dark blue dress that reached her thighs, the rest covered up by her long matching boots; the other in a black maxi skirt with daisies spread across it.

As they pushed through the crowd, wanting to be closer to the punch table, Ellen’s eyes glazed her surroundings. She’d been to parties before, but this one seemed extra special. She could see the faces of classmates she knew since she’d set foot into college, enjoying themselves. She smiled.

And that’s when she saw him.

Jungkook was by some of those girls. The kind to rub themselves all over the boy they wanted. She could see Miri, a girl in a very tight dress dancing with her arms around his neck, doing just that. But, Jungkook looked off. He looked displeased and quite disgusted by their behavior.

Why did she care? But Ellen couldn’t take her eyes off of them. She saw the way Jungkook’s hands picked at Miri’s arms, carefully moving them away. She couldn’t hear what they were saying, but she saw him turn away from the girl, hanging his head low.

Ellen caught what could only be described as a sigh leave Jungkook’s mouth, his eyes travelling back up, this time locking with hers. She felt as if she was stuck, as cheesy as that sounded. But the way he didn’t want to leave her gaze made her feel mesmerized. It made her want to go back to the times when he kissed the back of her hands and looked at her softly. He was staring with his wide eyes. How was she supposed to resist?

She glanced away from her thoughts and diverted her gaze towards her own dress. That’s when it clicked. The leather of her dress matched that of Jungkook’s jacket, the color of the buttons that lined his clothes seemingly coordinated with her silver dress strings. That’s why he was staring at her; she looked as if she had planned this out. If placed next to each other, they could’ve won the best dressed couple award.

But this was a school party and neither were they a couple.

As if on cue, the sound of someone tapping a mic echoed through the speakers, the music coming to a whispering halt. A man with a classic suit with a funky red tie emerged towards the front of the stage: the head of the academy. Ellen had met him personally once before, when he came to judge a baking contest in one of the previous years.

He smiled and spoke into the mic.

“Students and staff, welcome to the Winter dance for this year. You all have a busy week of finals coming up causing this party to be the last of your college experience.”

Ellen clapped along with some of the others as the headmaster continued.

“I hope you all enjoy yourselves tonight. Good luck for the finals!”

A teacher tapped his shoulder, causing the man to turn around. He reached for the envelope the teacher handed him and looked back at the crowd of students, smiling sheepishly.

“I forgot to announce that we tallied up the votes for the Winter Royals contest that we also planned for today. Will…” The headmaster fumbled with the envelope, “…Jeon Jungkook and Ellen Winters come onto the stage?”

Shivers ran up her spine as Ellen’s friends cheered for her to move forward. How did she forget the contest? Her eyes were planted on the headmaster’s grin and the feeling of someone else moving through the crowd with her. Him.  Maybe… school parties did have exceptions.

She entered onto the stage from the left stairs, spotting Jungkook walking towards her from the opposite side. The headmaster moved towards him first, his hands carrying a large, silver crown that looked fit for an king. He placed it on Jungkook’s slick, raven hair and left a pat on his shoulder.

Jungkook smiled, a faint blush appearing across his cheeks. He thanked the old man and swept his eyes past him to look at Ellen. She looked away in time to feel the weight of a light tiara against her curls.

“Well, they did certainly dress to match each other’s titles. I present you Winter King and Queen for this year’s dance! Enjoy the rest of tonight. Thank you.”

Ellen didn’t want to be on stage any longer. She didn’t understand the overwhelming feeling of unease bubbling inside her stomach. She gave one last smile to the crowd – who already parted to dance again - before walking off the stage.

•••

“How did I not expect him to be a candidate? That was so…”

Ellen couldn’t find the words to describe how she felt when the headmaster said their names together. It wasn’t that she didn’t like winning; but him with his gorgeous self, standing next her. Her as his queen. Him as her king. She shuddered at those thoughts. Why was she still thinking about him that way? He left a long time ago.

“I was… going to tell you that.”

“Tell me what?”

Hye, scratched at her braided hair and looked down.

“The voters from that meeting also started talking about the possible King for the dance and they all mentioned Jungkook. So, it was already decided he’d be up there. With you.”

Ellen shook her head. She couldn’t blame anyone. She felt as if she was acting childish for all of this, why did it matter if he won? It was just some stupid party contest.

“That’s alright, Hye. Did you guys want to head back?”

“Um, heck yeah! You know I’m dying to take these clothes off and put on those pajamas I got. Maybe get warm under some blankets to watch some movies and fall asleep.”

“Roy…”

Lena placed a hand against Roy’s shoulder and smiled. She couldn’t help but agree to those things, too.

“Let’s go then!”

•••

The next day, Ellen decided to head downstairs.

She had been informed that she had mail to be picked up. Apparently, it was sent to her last night by the front desk, but they couldn’t contact her after hours. She assumed it was from her parents since they were allowed to send letters and packages to her dorm address.

But the sending name had another name on it. From Jungkook, it read.

Ellen felt anger building up as she stared at it. Her hands gripping at the envelope that was covered in a dark red hue, a fancy wax stamp closing the flap. Why... won’t he just leave her alone?

She walked over to the sitting area in the corner and proceeded to open the cover, her eyes scanning over its contents.

-=-=-

Hey, Elle...

I’m not even sure if I’m allowed to call you that anymore, but I wanted to send this to you. You told me not to bother you, and I don’t want to show up in front of you when you don’t want to see me.

I can’t make up whatever happened between us, but... I just

Every day I see you, I can’t stop thinking about you. And I want to apologize. For being such an idiot back then. I regret it. And now wishing I could have done things differently won’t change anything.

The reason for this is...

You wished me happy birthday. It’s only nice I wish you, too. Even if it’s not your birthday today.

Happy birthday, Ellen. I... hope that you are doing alright.

Your

From, Jungkook.

-=-=-

Ellen looked up, her hands dropping to her lap.

She could feel a million thoughts skittering across her brain and chest, making it hard for her to breathe. How should she even be feeling after this?

She thought of her mother’s words again. Did she hate him still? Or is something else going on?

•••

That next week seemed to fly by, although leaving enough time to stress for the finals. Everyone seemed to pack whatever they could as they couldn’t wait to get back home. Being a small academy, it was easy to vacate the limited number of students, some living as close as a neighborhood over.

With everyone out of the building, everything Ellen experienced up till that point seemed to vanish. It felt strangely calm. She didn’t mind though; she was finally done with school. Freedom was nice and quiet.

Then Christmas finally arrived.

Ellen bent down to pick up a few of the smaller ornaments. The tree they’d kept in their common area had long been needing a good makeover. But the flurry of commotion that the exams set off left it bare, shivering with the lack of attention in the corner. She had experience with setting up the tree on Christmas day multiple times as her family had a tendency to put it off for weeks, so this wasn’t anything she wanted to rush.

She’d decided not to go back home till the next week as her parents needed to go travelling to visit family. After all of the sleepless nights she pulled, she said a definite “no, thank you” and they agreed to pick her up the next Friday. Her mother had already reprimanded her for not making it home for Thanksgiving break and now this. She’ll surely be scolded for not going home with them, but she didn’t care for now.

Ellen examined the tree across from her. She was by no means an expert, but she loved doing this. Presents, stress, exams… everything seemed far away when she had people she loved by her, doing something as a whole. It was something that made her feel less lonely.

Then he had to leave, breaking a chain of good holidays. Ellen sighed. This Christmas would be one she would be spending alone. She stared at the glittery red ornament in her hands, thinking of her family.

“I’ll be with you guys next Christmas. I hope all of your wishes come true and you’re happy.”

The door to the room opened, causing her to turn her head. She stayed firm on her feet as she spotted a mess of curls peek through the opening.

“I’m sorry, I’ll come back if you’re busy-”

“Jungkook?” Ellen’s eyes widened as she took him in. “What are you doing here?”

She watched as he walked towards her. He looked… so good. His baggy jeans swayed with every step he took and a flannel shirt hung off of one arm, covering his Balenciaga tee. Of course, he could afford such things. He was an idol.

But why was this boy always bumping into her?

Before she could open her mouth to say something, he held out a cup and smiled.

“It’s hot chocolate. I was going to make coffee, but this seemed more appropriate for the occasion.”

Elen stared at his outstretched hand, her thoughts causing quiet chaos in her head. Why were things so difficult with him? Why couldn’t she just forget about it all and just pretend he was nothing more than a classmate? Nothing more than someone that came into her life suddenly and was going to leave the same way one day? Again...

She took the cup from him and nodded, offering a silent thank you. She knew if she opened her mouth, one of those questions were bound to come out, voicing themselves without her knowing.

“Was I interrupting you? I heard talking, and I wasn’t sure, so I just came in.”

Jungkook looked behind him and bent down to take a seat on one of the couches closest to the tree. He stared up at her as he sipped from his little mug.

“No, just talking to myself. What are you... doing here?”

Ellen sat down next to him, although at the other end of the couch, nowhere near him to be exact.

“I wanted to stay behind. I heard you were staying, so I thought I would, too.”

Jungkook took another sip, privately swallowing the anxiety slipping up his throat.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I don’t know. Elle... Ellen, do you... still think about me?”

Ellen felt something bubbling in her gut.

“I’m doing this all wrong... I meant to word this differently.”

Jungkook set his mug aside and fit his head into his hands instead. He felt so frustrated. Why couldn’t he just talk to her normally? Was it her piercing eyes that stopped him in his tracks? Or the memories of what he’d done?

“I do, Jungkook. And it hurts.”

She wasn’t sure why she was answering him. He deserved no explanation, not after offering her nothing when he made that decision years ago. But the words tumbled out, her heart telling her how much it wanted her to let him know her constant state of confusion and hurt lately.

“Oh. If it makes you feel better... I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you ever since I left. It sounds so cruel to say after what I must have made you feel, but I just... can’t take the thoughts to a place farther from you.”

Ellen bit the inside of her lip, the block helping her from bursting out about how much he was right. How much it did hurt when he left. How much she cried for him. How a piece of her felt lost for so long.

“I really... can’t say anything to make it up to you, but I want you to know. That I’ve thought about you in ways that I was stupid not to realize when I left hastily. Whatever I did, I thought of the fun we had. The love you endlessly gave me no matter what. Looking back... I’ve had the best memories coming from you, and to think I threw all of that away, afraid that I wasn’t ready for love while beginning my career... It was the biggest mistake of my life.”

Jungkook gazed into her eyes, not even trying to hide the tears wetting his own.

“I don’t know if this is too early, but I really want to ask you this, Elle... will you give me another chance? I understand if you have moved on, and you don’t want to see me anymore. But... I want to start over. I want a chance to prove to you that... I’m not the me that left you all those years ago”

Ellen felt tears prick her eyes as she took in his words and soft expression. She had a million thoughts running in her mind, each one of them waiting for her to answer.

DId she want to give him another chance? Or did she just want to get away like she’d planned all those months ago? There was one answer that stood at the heart of everything confusing. She still cared for Jungkook.

Then what was she waiting for? What was stopping her from doing it again with him? They could take it slow, to get to know each other and learn to adjust to each other’s lives. She wouldn’t want more than for him to be gentle with her, to have him understand that what she felt was from a long time of convincing herself that she would be loved unconditionally and truthfully again, but failing to achieve it.

“Just let me love you... again. Please.”

He just wanted one more chance. One more chance to prove that he won’t ever need another again. That he’d do it again, and he’d do it right this time. With her.

“Jungkook...”

Ellen didn’t want to make this more than it had to be. She was tired of having to overthink things; to just be able to take things into her own hands and deal with them as they come would be such a relief. That relief was what she wanted. What she knew was what Jungkook was wanting to give her this time. And she was going to take it.

“OK.”

Raising his head, Jungkook’s quiet cries broke off. He wasn’t sure if this moment he had been dreaming or if he was hearing correctly. She said...

“I will give you another chance. I want to... do this with you, again.”

Jungkook found himself bringing her into his embrace in an instant. There was not a single doubt that came to mind with it. He had made decisions on a whim before, for better and for worse. But this was definitely for the better.

She brought her hands up to rest on the back of his shoulders, pressing herself closer to his body. It felt so warm and safe, to be back in the arms that hadn’t been wrapped around her in so long. But this time, they had a promise within them. That they would be there for her to cry on this time; to hold onto when joy was all around them; to guide her when things got too hard for herself. To remind her that now, she wasn’t lonely anymore.

“You... do?”

She smiled, letting herself feel the love he was wanting to give.

“Yes. But... too bad. I don’t have a present to give you for Christmas, and it’s also now the day we are together again.”

Jungkook chuckled, loving the way she fit perfectly in his arms.

“Don’t worry about that. The only gift I ever wanted was you.”

He had heard the words that she said before he walked into the room, something about her family’s wishes coming true. He also had been wishing a wish for the past few winters. He would look out of his bedroom window and admire the star-filled sky, spotting an especially brighter and bigger one every year. And he would wish upon it, that one day, he would get to meet her again. To make it right.

“All those wishes on stars finally led me to you.” Jungkook whispered to himself.

“What is it?”

Ellen pulled back from the hug to glance at him. Their faces where just centimeters apart, just enough for the tips of their noses to touch.

Shaking his head, Jungkook leaned forward, closing the gap. He pressed his lips against hers, smiling into the soft curves.

“I love you, Elle.”

“Merry Christmas, Jungkook. I love you, too.”

༶･･❄･･༶

[a/n pt.2] THIS WAS ALL OVER THE PLACE AHHHH 😂 i hope you enjoyed it! This is an addition to both the fic exchange and the christmas event that @softbobamilktae and I have been collabing for on her blog - please check out her posted and upcoming stories, too ^~^

[a/n pt.3] also i did want to apologize for delaying the posting of this story. My finals did take away a few days and tumblr was so mean T-T that it wouldn't post even after trying so many times. Thank you so so much to everyone that had to wait and also hear me complain about this problem! I hope this posts soon :(

[tagging] @taehoneycheeks + @jinnie-forthe-winnie + @galaxtea-writes

a note that i would really appreciate it if you could like/reblog the story if you enjoyed it. take a peek at my masterlist to see if anything piques your interest, too. if you would like to be added to the taglist, please send me an ask or comment under any one of my stories! 🥰

༶･･❄･･༶

#cafeficexchange21 #jungkook fanfiction #jungkook fanfic #jungkook fluff #jungkook angst #jungkook scenarios #jungkook imagines #jungkook oneshot #bts fanfiction #bts fanfic #bts fluff #bts angst #bts scenarios #bts imagines #bts one shot #jeon jungkook fanfic #jeon jungkook fluff #jeon jungkook angst #jeon jungkook one shot #jungkook x oc #mystories

[btswritingcafe]

SECRET SANTA MASTERLIST

Welcome to Btswritingcafe! Here you can find a complete masterlist of all the fics that were written for this event!

We are thankful for every single writer that wanted to participate in our first Secret Santa. Please check out all of these amazing stories!

K E Y

fluff [❀] | angst [♛] | smut [❦]

brightside | ❀ ♛ [ @lavienjin ]

— kim namjoon, 8k

you're giving your husband one more chance to set things right, before the snow covers not just the ground but whatever remainder of love you have left in your heart.

maybe i love you, maybe you love me | ❀ [ @jinpanman ]

— min yoongi, 2.9k

It’s something you’ve known since you were five and it’s only grown stronger as the decades passed.

snow is falling outside, but i’m falling for you | ❀ [ @softbobamilktae ]

— kim seokjin, 6.3k

Ashley goes home with Tae for Christmas as his fake date for the holidays. Little does she know, love (in the form of Tae's older brother) is closer than she thinks.

cold heart | ❀ ♛ [ @fluffyydumplings ]

— jung hoseok, 3.8k

Hoseok’s the prince of every human being’s dream. Both literally and metaphorically. Behind close doors, he is yours. In front of the crowd, he is man who is yet to be claimed.

all i don’t want for christmas is you | ❀ ❦ [ @sunshinerainbowsbts ]

— kim seokjin, 23.7k

The holidays are here! But instead of celebrating, you're trapped in a town called Christmas with your office nemesis, Kim Motherfucking Seokjin, and an unruly band of clients. Can you survive the trip and secure the promotion your boss has promised? Or will Jin take you down?

it’s the most wonderful time of the year | ❀ ❦ ♛ [ @playmetheclassics ]

— kim namjoon, 16.8k

Namjoon is a slight grinch, and Christmas is just a day that reminds him of a crappy time, but you love this holiday, and you’re determined to not let him ruin it for you.

la vien jin | ❀ [ @jooncycle ]

— kim seokjin, 9.2k

You’re a grinch when it comes to the seemingly overhyped Christmas season. So when a jolly Kim Seokjin quite literally snowballs himself in your life, you are not prepared.

when it snows | ❀ ♛ [ @augustbutwinter ]

— jung hoseok, 4.4k

you think about jung hoseok a lot. especially when it snows.

the howl-o-days | ❀ ❦ [ @btsarmy9593 ]

— kim namjoon, 8.7k

a gift for you and me | ❀ ♛ [ @aglassofpinkchampagne ]

— min yoongi, 1.4K

When your ex shows up at your door on Christmas Eve, how will you react?

five fridays in december | ❀ ♛ [ @reliablemitten ]

— kim namjoon, 10k

[ Sequel ]

cookie confessions | ❀ [ @aredheadedmess ]

— min yoongi, 4.1k

It’s the holidays once again, and you want nothing more than to spend it with him.

under the christmas tree | ❀ ♛ [ @diorkoo ]

— kim taehyung, 3.8k

caught in a blizzard | ❀ [ @namjin-fangirling-again ]

— jeon jungkook, 2k

first christmas together | ❀ [ @jinnie-forthe-winnie ]

— park jimin, 7.4k

come back to me when winter’s here | ❀ ♛ [ @jiminie-and-his-pinky-finger ]

— jeon jeongguk, 7.4k

Going off for the last semester of her college, Ellen plans on enjoying it without any trouble. She was going to graduate and leave town, pursuing herself somewhere else. But her plans come to a freezing halt when she spots him. Jungkook, the new center of attention and, more importantly, her ex.

kiss me if you can | ❀ ♛ [ @minvrse ]

— min yoongi, 6k

a kiss under the mistletoe can change a lot of things, some for worse and others for the better.

my true love gave to me | ♛ ❀ [ @sunshinejunghoseokie ]

— min yoongi, 2.6k

눈(물) nun(mul) | ❀ ❦ ♛ [ @joontella ]

— min yoongi, 4.8k

Thank you to all of the amazing writers who participated! This event was wonderful to host!

#network;post #network;event #event;masterlist #secret;santa #cafeficexchange21 #thank you everyone!

[nanamismoonchild]

Caught in a Blizzard 

pairing: husband!jungkook x wife!reader ft Seokjin

genre: fluff :D

warnings: none

wc: ~2k

A/N: This is for Jords @balenciaguks​ for btswritingcafe’s Secret Santa event. It was so nice being your candy cane even though it got cut short by the evil blog that shall not be named anymore. This is a short fic but I do hope you love it. I had a few moments where I couldn’t stop cheesing lol. And I thought I saw you say that you came out of the concert being a Jin stan so ofc I had to add him in some way.  I used all three of your prompts and i hope you like how i used them ehehe. without further ado, here is the fic!

“I just wanted to be with you! Only you!” 

You were screaming as you stormed out of the cabin your husband had rented for your honeymoon.  

He had the most despicable thing he had ever done in your six-year relationship with each other—invite another couple to your honeymoon.  What the hell had he been thinking?

He had tried to say that he had done it because it was way cheaper to rent it out for four people instead of two and that they wouldn’t be with the two of you all the time. It was just a convenient set-up and he didn’t understand what was wrong.  You were being unreasonable. 

Unreasonable, my ass. 

You had no idea where you were going, but it was definitely going to be away for a couple of hours. The local news station had talked about an upcoming blizzard and warned that everyone needed to be indoors by a fire. However, there was no way you could sit idle without trying to murder your new husband.

A quick walk through the forest next to your cabin would do the trick.  The town you had picked for your honeymoon, Winterfield,  had the prettiest forests and it had been on your to-do list anyway. Why not let the woodlands calm you?

There was a trail already formed in the thick snow that covered all inches of the ground. If you squinted through the blindness of the bright white snow, you could see little footprints from some of the animals.  

Even though there was a couple of hours of sunlight left, and the snow was brighter than you’ve ever seen. Christmas lights were hung through the giant trees and left off a small purple glow.  It did the pretty scenery only a little justice. It reminded you of how your wedding decorator had wanted to hang Christmas lights everywhere instead of letting the background do it’s work. 

She had persisted, but neither you or your husband relented. He knew how special a winter wedding was to you. It had been your dream as a little girl to have a wedding on a snowy day and kiss your husband during the first snow of the year.  It had taken so much planning—and a lot of news watching—to make that dream a reality and pesky little red, blue, and green lights around would not ruin the beauty of it.  

It was worthwhile. Everything worked out perfectly and your kiss had been magical. There was absolutely nothing that could ruin your wedding. But there was something that could ruin your honeymoon: your husband’s need to help everyone out.  

Sighing, you continued to stroll through the forest. Surprisingly, you had walked farther than you realized. The cold was starting to seep through your winter coat. Yet, you didn’t want to turn back.  You weren’t done thinking through your anger to see your husband at the moment. Besides, the cold never bothered you anyway. 

Jungkook was worried. You  hadn’t come back in an hour  and the storm was becoming stronger by the second.  He had wanted to chase after you when you stormed out, but he knew it was for his sake that he didn’t. He made a mistake, a really dumb mistake, and knew the only way the two of you could talk through it was if you both had a moment to think for yourselves. 

He had thought hard and long and came to the conclusion that he would rent another space that was, astonishingly, still available at this time. He booked it quickly and planned on telling you about it. That was an hour ago and you were still out when the storm began.  

At first, it had been a trickle of snow before the wind created an angry whistle and the snow began to race down.  He could hardly see outside of the window of the living room. 

“I’m going out to find ___”. He announced it to the other couple, Jin and his wife.  He put on his snow boots and two extra coats. He found a flashlight in the kitchen and checked to make sure it worked. 

“You sure you want to go out there now? Why don’t we call the police first?”

“I’m sure. And the police may not even be able to get here quickly enough. My wife could very well be on the ground freezing to death by the time they make it to her.”

“Be safe then, Kook.”

Jungkook’s hyung locked the door after him, watching him until he couldn’t see his dongsaeng anymore through the thick snow. 

The flashlight barely shone through the darkness as the snow pelted him. He couldn’t rely on footprints to show him where you might have gone, but he knew you. Your appreciation for the winter and forests were the main reason why Jungkook had picked Winterfield. It was supposed to be a grand gesture, yet he ruined it. It would be his fault if he couldn’t find…No,no. He would find you. 

The lights could barely be seen but the purple glow of Christmas lights was unmistakable.  Jungkook let out a small chuckle as he remembered how much you fussed about those lights. 

“It will take away the focus on the snow fall and  I want to see the first snow with you." 

To Jungkook, that was the sweetest thing you could ever tell him. 

The wedding had been the best, no, the most amazing moment of his life. You had been in a traditional white dress with sheer lace down your arms.  He had gone with a sleeveless tuxedo himself, garnering a lot of stares from the attendees of the wedding. But neither of you cared about the judgemental eyes.  

His doe eyes were on you and yours on his.  

At the moment, his eyes were scanning the surroundings he could see. He had no idea where you might have gone for safety and he briefly pondered how dumb you might’ve been to continue walking through the snow instead of turning back. Then he remembered the reason why you had been out here in the first place and quickly erased that thought from his mind. 

“__!” He yelled into the snow void.  He had read that snow is so dense that screams couldn’t be heard. Not to mention, he had watched Frozen with you on the plane ride here so the evidence was clear.  

But, by a miracle, a Christmas miracle, he had heard a very distinct voice calling him.

“Jungkook! Kook! I’m over here!” 

“Where’s over here?” 

He looked around frantically searching for you. 

“In the cave!”

Cave? 

He couldn’t see a cave, yet your voice was close.  It couldn’t be far.  

“Hold on, baby! I’m coming!”

He ran-walked, a clumsy version of speed walking through snow.  He thought your voice had come from the right, so he ran in that direction.  His heart was pacing and his breath was puffing into white smoke as he pushed through the storm. He was close to you. 

“Jungkook!” 

A body barreled into him, knocking him down. 

“Oh my gosh! I’m so happy to see you! I shouldn’t have left. I got lost and-” 

Your rant was smothered by a hot kiss from your husband.  It warmed your body from head to toe after being poked by Jack Frost for so long. 

“I’m just really happy to see you,” he sat the both of you up and wrapped his arms around you.  

“I know it all too well. Let’s get out of the storm,” you giggled and stood up, holding your hands out for him. 

He took it and picked up the flashlight that had flown from his grasp. The blizzard was getting powerful by the second. Thankfully, Jungkook knew they were only a mile or two away from the cabin. 

“Jungkook,” you began as the two of you trekked through the thick snow. 

“Save it for now. You’re gonna need your breath for now baby.”

You nodded and focused on the path in front of you.  You could barely see anything with the way the air had thickened. Even the purple-ish glow from the Christmas lights could barely be seen, but you knew that fire and a huge mug of hot chocolate were little ways in front of you. 

The silence between you and Jungkook was comfortable—an understanding that you both were safe. 

Seokjin had been watching the window since Jungkook had left. His wife had started a fire and was keeping two extra mugs of hot chocolate heated for Jungkook and you. He had been about to call the emergency line when he spotted two figures appear. 

“They’re here!” 

He ran out to meet them, cursing at the lick of cold that swiped his face, but he pushed forward.  He reached Jungkook and you and helped pull the two of you into the cabin.  His wife already had blankets ready and was wrapping them around your shivering bodies.

You and Jungkook breathed sighs of relief as the heat of the fire and blankets spread through your bodies. Your teeth were slowly losing their chattering and the color was coming back into your faces.  Both of you shed your wet, heavy coats and kicked them away. 

“The two of you are grounded! Had us worried sick! If you were so upset at us being here, then you could’ve talked to us face to face, not stomp out before a snowstorm like a child!” His wife fussed as she handed you a hot chocolate. 

The steam wasn’t the cause of the flush of your cheeks.  

“I’m sorry. I was really angry and didn’t think,” you lowered your head. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. I really don’t mind you both being here; it was honestly just a shock.”

Seokjin and his wife nodded in understanding. Neither of their feelings had been hurt–they were more upset at the fact that you had been so careless. 

“I’m sorry I didn’t talk to you beforehand. That was wrong of me.” He frowned and pouted. 

You smiled at your husband and kissed him on his cheek.

“All is forgiven. Besides,” you grin and hold up the mug. “She makes a mean hot cocoa.”

“I make it with dark chocolate cocoa powder instead of milk chocolate,” his wife informed you, a bit of proudness in her voice. 

Seokjin laughs and kisses his wife before settling down on the couch with each other. Jungkook and you mimic their actions on the other side of them.  

Now that you were out of the danger of the storm, you could see through the window how beautiful the blizzard was. It was like a painting of white snow against a background of forlorn trees in the darkness. 

“This weather makes me cold but being with you makes me feel warm inside.”

“You’re so cheesy…but…They say to watch the snow falling with someone is a sign of love….and I couldn’t agree more.”

Seokjin and his wife laughed, her head falling into his shoulder as she tried to hide her giggles.

“What’s so funny, old man?” “Yah! You have no reason to be calling me old! I’m not the one saying things like that!”

“Saying those kinds of things turns a woman on. I don’t recall hearing you getting it on when we first got here!” “Jeon Jungkook!”

Warmth crept up your face as you remember the dicking in the hall Jungkook was giving you before Seokjin and his wife showed up, starting the process of stomping off.  

The banter between the two men continued even when the mugs of hot chocolate had been downed and the fire had to be poked and refilled. Even when the storm was starting to calm down and you could see the gorgeous aftermath of it all.  

You realized how silly you had been to think that you could enjoy this cabin and view only to yourselves.  Okay, maybe you hadn’t been too silly. Who really plans a honeymoon with another married couple? Only your husband.  

Of course, you would have to come up with ways to have sex without the older couple hearing your loud moans.  But, there were definitely other activities that you had wanted to partake in that with only two people would have been vastly boring.  Snow fights, building snowmen, drinking hot cocoa, and watching movies by the fire….

“Hey, since we’re all still awake, you guys want to watch a movie?”

Jungkook and Seokjin halted their neverending teasing to say yes. Seokjin’s wife helped you find a movie, The Santa Claus, and made more hot cocoa and put some marshmallows into a bowl for a snack. 

You scooted closer to Jungkook under the blanket and laid your head on his shoulder.  He kissed your forehead before settling into the couch more. 

“I love you.”

“I love you more.”

#hyunglinenetwork #kwritersworldnet #btswritingcafe #networkbangtan #jeon jungkook #jungkook fluff #jungkook x reader #marriage au #bts #bts jungkook #jungkook #kookie #seokjin #established relationship #snowstorm #cafeficexchange21 #balenciaguks

[joontella]

눈(물) nun(mul)

Min Yoongi x Reader

Word Count: 4.8K

Genre(s): Heavy Angst, Mentions of Fluff, Mentions of Smut, Lovers to Exes

Trigger Warning(s): Infidelity, Depressive Episodes, Low Self-Esteem, Body Image Issues (if you squint), Self Deprecating Thoughts

Miscellaneous Tags: this is just really sad. yeah... this is depressing. happy holidays??? :))

Happy holidays, @sunshinerainbowsbts! It's Snickerdoodle! Sorry I didn't send a bunch of asks, but I managed to put this bad boy out. I hope that this makes up for it~. This fic is a bit of a mess, but I hope you'll enjoy it anyway. Thanks to everyone in the server who laughed at my jokes and liked my artwork lol. It gave me major serotonin boosts when I needed them. Special thanks to Nam (@namjin-fangirling-again), Indigo (@playmetheclassics), and @untaemedqueen for reading over this and giving me advice. Just know that this isn't the end for these two!

눈 (noun) Snow 눈물 (noun) Tears

Soft moonlight filtered through Yoongi’s bedroom curtains. If he tried hard enough, he could still see your silhouette sitting on his bed watching as the celestial body bathed Seoul’s streets in its pale glow.

“Come lay down. You’re getting too old to stay up so late, gramps.” He could have sworn he heard your voice say.

He knew that it wasn’t real. You’d made it very clear all those years ago that something like this would never happen again. He didn’t deserve you, you’d told him in a fit of anger. Nights like these really hammered that point home. Min Yoongi didn’t deserve you, especially after everything that he put you through. How selfish he was. How he threw you away after he promised you in between locked lips and white bedsheets that he would do no such thing. That he’d die before considering it.

Even with the heating system shielding Yoongi from the bitter cold developing outside, he couldn’t help but feel frozen. Guilt and regret chilled him deeply down to the bone. Sadness cooled his muscles, coaxing them into stasis. Yoongi didn’t want to move. There was no point. He was just so tired. Working on music and running away from your problems does that to a guy.

“I’m so fucking tired…” He breathed to no one in particular.

“Because you’re old. You’re pushing thirty, geezer. Take it easy.” Your silhouette chided him.

“Leave me alone, Y/N. Why are you here? Just to mock me?”

“Yeah, actually.” With that, your shadowy figure disappeared.

Nights like this were common for the rapper. Something would remind him of those peaceful times with you, you’d “appear” and express concern or exchange witty banter, and then disappear leaving him feeling emptier than before. This was the first time his illusion of you would openly express her disdain for him. It was a bitter pill to swallow, to say the least. But he deserved it.

A soft and cautious knock on his bedroom door took him out of his thoughts. The sound seemed meek and timid, as if the person on the other side could sense the storm brewing in Yoongi’s room.

“Hey, hyung. It’s Jungkook. You good in there?”

Hell no, he wasn’t. But he couldn’t worry his youngest brother any more than he already was. “Tired. Is something up?”

“I heard you talking to someone in there. Jin hyung is still out on his date and everyone else is asleep. You alright?”

Yoongi slouched into his pillows. His t-shirt suddenly felt like a sheet of lead on his torso. Of course the youngest had to mention Jin’s hot date. He briefly wondered if “you” sent Jungkook to put salt in the wound. The real you wasn’t a vindictive person, but the shadowy version certainly was. “I’m okay. Just thinking.” Yoongi sighed. Jungkook tilted his head. His brown doe eyes narrowed as if he were reading the words that fell from Yoongi’s lips and searching for a lie in between them. There was. Yoongi was obviously not okay, but he didn’t know how to approach him delicately. So he attacked the issue head on. “Are you thinking about Y/N?” Had he been a wild animal, Yoongi would have literally snarled at Jungkook’s mention of your name. Maybe it wasn’t your name that made his heart tighten for the briefest moment but how easily the youngest was able to read him. How obviously vulnerable he was in front of someone he was meant to keep safe from the deepest, darkest parts of him. Yoongi tossed the idea of lying to Jungkook in his head for a split second but he couldn’t… He just couldn’t bring himself to do so.

“Yeah. I’m thinking about Y/N.” Jungkook carefully approached Yoongi and took a seat where your silhouette once was. Almost instantly, Yoongi felt like a weight was lifted off of him. It wasn’t much, but it felt nice.

“Wanna talk about it?” Jungkook asked meekly, “I may not be the best at giving advice or anything like that, but I can hear you out.”

“Don’t worry about it. You wouldn’t get it.” A dry, humorless chuckle bubbled from Yoongi’s chest.

“You sure? I don’t want to pressure you, but I don’t like seeing you upset, hyung.” There it was. That almost childlike sincerity that Jungkook possessed. How much he cared for his brothers. That heartfelt, innocent warmth that melted Yoongi’s icy barriers without fail. Besides, how could he say no to those chestnut eyes boring into his very soul? Almost like yours did. Yoongi couldn’t live with himself if he tainted that. But Jungkook was an adult with his own experiences. He wasn’t that starry-eyed kid who clutched onto his hyungs for any and all semblances of support anymore. As long as he was offering to listen, why shouldn’t he take this chance to talk? “I miss her. I hurt Y/N so badly.” Yoongi’s voice began to waver, filled with tears begging to be shed.

“How did you hurt her, hyung?”

A great question. Yoongi spent so much time wallowing in the fact that he did something that hurt you that he almost forgot what he did. He looked at Jungkook once more and did just that -- looked at him. Not that he figured he would find any, but there was no indication that Jungkook wanted to use this information to hurt him. All he found were those round bunny eyes teeming with concern and curiosity. Should Yoongi really tell him? The only ones who had an idea of what went down were Namjoon, Seokjin, and Hoseok for the express purpose of keeping it hidden from the younger ones. Hell, the only one who knew the whole story was Hobi. Why should he let the dam burst and leave Jungkook drowning in his sadness along with him?

Then Yoongi realized that it would break Jungkook even more if he was subjected to watching his hyung struggle without being able to help. So, Yoongi relented. “I threw her away. Made her feel like she was worth less than dirt. Even after all those times I promised her I wouldn’t, I still did.”

Silence filled the bedroom for a brief moment as Yoongi decided where to begin his story.

“You remember that one winter when we all went back to our hometowns, Jungkook?”

“Yoongi… Staying up late? You’re getting too old for that, gramps!” You giggled while plopping on your boyfriend’s lap.

He quickly looked up from his computer and gazed at you. His brown eyes were suddenly cleared of the fog overwork placed over them and replaced with all the love and admiration he had for you. He briefly gave you his signature gummy smile before dropping a kiss on your shoulder.

Nights like these were the best for Yoongi. It could be terribly cold outside, but your sweet voice and hugs that you were eager to give made him feel safe and warm. As if you could sense the exact moment when Yoongi was going to throw in the towel, you swooped in like a guardian angel armed with hot chocolate and some homemade hotteok. Yoongi loved your hotteok.

“I gotta get this done, baby. I’m afraid that if I stop now, I’ll lose any inspiration that I have,” Yoongi whined.

He pointed to his music software filled with tracks of his vocals, beats that he made, and other things that you’re sure Yoongi explained to you but you couldn’t quite wrap your head around.

You hummed softly and placed the plate of freshly baked hotteok near him. Almost instantly, your boyfriend snatched one of the pancakes from the dish and stuffed it into his mouth. “Is it inspiration or stubbornness?” Yoongi quite literally bit back a scowl. “Inspiration. If you’re going to feed me and then be an ass about it, you can leave.”

“Is that any way to treat the woman who so graciously took the time out of her night to bake you hotteok? I swear. Men these days are so ungrateful!” you huffed as you got up from his lap and began to take the dish from him.

“Wait a minute, baby. We can talk things out. No need to take such drastic measures…” Yoongi purred. He gently pulled you back down onto his lap and reclaimed his precious pancakes. “You’re horrible, you know that? Teasing me like that… That’s playing dirty and you know it.”

You giggled once more and placed a kiss on Yoongi’s forehead before trailing more down his cheek and jaw. “Aw… I thought you liked it when I teased you. What’s changed?”

“Careful, kitten,” Yoongi purred in your ear. He emphasized his warning with a squeeze to your thigh, “Finishing this song’s got me more than a bit frustrated. Don’t start something that you can’t finish.”

Yoongi’s words flooded your veins with spice. Warmth filled your cheeks and an electrical jolt laced with anticipation made its way through your entire body and straight to your core. You pushed down the shiver that so deliciously crawled up your spine in an effort to regain your wits. You had a mission to complete. Sex would, unfortunately, have to wait until your goal was accomplished.

“Don’t worry. I’m more than willing to finish things, but you have to do something for me first.”

Before Yoongi could properly leave the haze of sexual tension the two of you had skillfully crafted, you grabbed him by the hand and pulled him towards the window of your shared bedroom. The coolness from the chilled glass raised goosebumps across your flesh as the two of you got closer to your destination.

“Y/N, baby, I don’t see what-”

“Shh!” You quickly shushed Yoongi with a finger to his lips. “Just look outside.” Yoongi huffed and served you his signature pout before doing as you asked. The man squinted, trying to see through the frost collecting on the windowpane before turning to you with a brief shake of his head. “There’s nothing special outside, Y/N. Am I missing something?” “Are you kidding? Don’t tell me you’re going blind, too, gramps!” you laughed as you made your way past Yoongi and closer to the window. Yoongi was quick to grab you by the waist and pull you against him.

“What’s with the grandpa jokes, huh? I’m only two years older than you!” Yoongi asked, while he placed a teasing nip on your earlobe. You gently pushed him off with a giggle. “What other twenty-something is out there complaining about how the younger generation doesn’t know about floppy disks and cassette tapes while also complaining about how his joints ache? You’re an old man trapped in a young body. Admit it.”

Yoongi could do nothing but snort in response and approach you. “It’s true! Kids these days have it easy! They know nothing about having to burn CDs or create tapes like we used to. Back in my day, kids walked two miles backwards to get to school in the pouring rain-” “Would you quit it already and just look outside? You’re missing it!” “I still don’t see what you’re talking about-” At that very moment, he saw it. Rather, Yoongi saw them. Delicate snowflakes fell from the sky onto the buildings and streets of Daegu. Once they hit their target, they quite literally iced whatever they touched in a white blanket. Under the streetlights, the snow shined like someone had ground diamonds and sprinkled the city in its glitter. It was beautiful.

“I wanted to see the first snow with you.” You hummed sweetly from beside Yoongi.

If he thought that the fresh blanket of snow was beautiful, Yoongi was in for a sweet surprise. That was before Yoongi turned to face you once again. The pale blue of the moonlight reflected against the snow and cast you in its heavenly glow. It was as if a magical aura formed around you. It was fitting, he thought. It was only natural for an angel like yourself to look so ethereal.

At that moment, Yoongi felt nothing but bliss. Sheer happiness and peace filled him. Seeing the pure wonder in your eyes lifted the bags from his. Wordlessly, he wrapped his arms around you and placed his head on your shoulder. No words were needed. The kiss he gently laid on your hair was more than enough to express his gratitude. Once again, his angel saved him from the clutches of overwork and reminded him that the world was bigger than his computer screen. His world was you.

Yoongi took a breath before chancing a glance at Jungkook. The man held that inquisitive expression from before. He was still engaged and willing to hear his hyung out until the very end. Truthfully, Yoongi half expected the youngest to lose interest and excuse himself from the conversation. Instead, he still remained. He was hanging on to every word that left Yoongi’s lips.

“Times were good for a while. Whenever I buried myself in my work, Y/N was there to dig me out and dust me off. She helped me remember that the world was bigger than the small box I was constantly putting on it.”

Jungkook nodded in response, urging Yoongi to continue before he began to shut down. Noticing this, the older man licked his lips and continued to speak. “Like I said, everything was fine for a while. I was happy, Y/N was happy… But cracks started showing. Suddenly, I wasn’t as happy as I had originally thought. Now that I think about it, I don't think she was either.” This piqued Jungkook’s interest. If the man had ears like the bunny he was constantly compared to, they would be quirked towards Yoongi in a show of intrigue. Instead, a quick raise of his eyebrows was forced to suffice. If he weren’t so upset, the adorable sight would cause a laugh to bubble from him. There was no room for laughter this time, unfortunately.

“Looking back, I still don’t get it. We had the perfect set up. Y/N got a promotion that had her move to Seoul. Sure, she had longer hours and more work to do, but we could see each other more often. After work, I’d crash at her place or she’d stop by the dorms. To top it all off, Dispatch was none the wiser.” Yoongi chuckled humorlessly.

The man then fell back onto his mattress. While it was nice to get these things off of his chest, it was an ordeal that was beginning to suck the life out of him. Exhaustion began to creep into his bones, but he persisted.

As if the answer to the question he was about to ask was scrawled on the walls in ink that only he could see, Yoongi’s eyes scanned the room anxiously before speaking once more. “So why did things start to fall apart when it was getting good?”

“S-stop it… You’re supposed to be paying attention to the movie!” You playfully scolded Yoongi as he cheekily peppered kisses against your skin.

“But the movie’s not on right now. It’s a commercial break.” Yoongi responded whilst giving a slight nibble to your earlobe.

“Fair enough,” You huffed while gently pushing him away. The effort was futile. “So how, pray tell, are you going to justify your kissing spree during the movie, hmm?”

Yoongi lifted his head in order to catch his breath and lay back against the sofa. “Whatever was going on wasn’t interesting.” Yoongi stated simply. “It was the climax of the movie, Yoongi.”

Yoongi paused for a moment before a salacious smile graced his features. “Climax? I can show that movie a thing or two about a climax…”

With that, Yoongi resumed his assault on your skin. No inch was left untouched by his kisses. He was more touchy than usual. The holidays tended to bring that out in him. “Would you quit it? You’re so corny!” You laughed.

The commercials droned on and with them, stillness grew. A hush settled over you both as you lay wrapped in a blanket and each other's arms. It was a peaceful silence, one that you were afraid of breaking. However, at that moment, your insecurities decided to take root in the peace that you and Yoongi shared. The commercials that came on next made them all the worse.

There Yoongi was with the rest of the BTS members plastered on your television screen. They smiled brightly as they advertised some new product in front of a green screen. Next, Yoongi was filmed drinking sparkling cider. Fresh fruit surrounded him with each refreshing sip. “The commercial looks pretty good. I was worried about how it’d look on TV.”

It was an innocent comment. It was just a passing thought. Why was insecurity digging its wretched claws into your psyche?

“The group’s been getting more popular lately. Two commercials featuring BTS playing back to back? That’s insane! I’m proud!” you cheered. Hidden behind your jovial exclamation was a hint of trepidation and doubt.

You genuinely were proud of Yoongi and the band’s success. You wished so desperately that pride and admiration for your boyfriend was all that you felt. While you were growing and changing for the better, Yoongi was doing the same. Theoretically, everything was perfect. Why did it feel like you were losing him?

The two of you were growing, but you weren’t sure if you were growing together. By no means did you wish to stifle your boyfriend. It’s just that things were moving too fast for your liking. BTS as a group has experienced several spikes of popularity before, but you were able to ride those waves with Yoongi. This time, you had a sneaking suspicion that this specific wave would spell a total wipe out for you both.

Now that insecurity tore its way into you, guilt slithered its way through the cracks. How could you possibly think that? It was wrong and selfish amongst other things. Your boyfriend earned his keep. He worked harder than anyone to cement his spot as one of the world’s top artists. You were there to witness Yoongi push himself past his limit to write one more verse and record one last note. No matter what, you could never say that he didn’t deserve the success that was coming to him in droves.

Even though he deserved the success, did you deserve him?

You were suddenly thrust back to your bedroom, remembering how you agonized over every detail about yourself in the floor length mirror. You’d decided that you were much too plain looking for him. Yoongi was now a shining idol, receiving praise and admiration from millions around the world. He deserved someone that could match his radiance, not some commoner that was as drab as the colors she wore to work every day.

You remembered the tears that were threatening to spill, the burning sensation as the salt from them irritated your eyes, and the sheer emptiness that plagued you. You looked at your reflection – genuinely looked. You were disappointed in what you saw.

It didn’t help that idols tended to date other idols. While it wasn’t a hard fast rule, it happened often enough that it was expected. It was damn near an unspoken rule that idols dated each other eventually. Commoners weren’t an option. You understood why. Two idols had more going for each other than an idol and a regular person. They had more in common, and they could support each other in ways that your average Joe on the street couldn’t. Theoretically speaking, they were just more compatible.

Over time, you slowly began to realize that Yoongi was starting to become out of your league.

Selfishly, you decided that you were going to hold on to him until you couldn’t anymore. Because even if he was destined to become the untouchable Suga of BTS in the near future, he was still your Min Yoongi now.

“Baby? Earth to kitten…”

Suddenly, you were back on the sofa in your living room. Ending credits rolled on screen before shrinking in the corner to make way for the next cheesy Christmas movie on the channel lineup. You were no longer in your bedroom lamenting over your appearance and how much you were weighing your precious Yoongi down. You were under a soft red blanket with the man you love. A plate of warm Christmas cookies and mugs of hot chocolate sat on the coffee table in front you. It was perfect.

So why did you grab Yoongi’s arm and tighten your grip as if he was going to disappear? Why did tears blur your vision as you gazed into his concerned eyes? Why was your normally stable voice suddenly shaky when you begged him,

“Please be mine just until the day ends.”

Yoongi was at a loss for words. What was running through your pretty little head and wreaking havoc? What suddenly broke you and caused you to plead with him to stay with you? Your broken whimpers and hiccups shattered his heart. Yoongi pulled you close to his chest, shaking his arm out of your grip only to wrap both around you in an embrace.

It wasn’t often that you broke down like this. Whatever suddenly brought you into a swamp of despair and desperation must have been truly horrible.

“Please… J-just stay here, Yoongi. Don’t go. Promise me you'll stay.” you squeaked.

Yoongi’s hug suddenly grew tighter, grew warmer. Almost as if he was shielding you from the negativity that ate away at you.

“I promise, baby. I won’t go. I’ll be right here.”

He didn’t realize it at the time, but Min Yoongi just told the worst lie he possibly could have.

“After that movie night, things just spiralled out of control.” Yoongi muttered.

His eyes were fixed on the ceiling above him. He couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment when he averted his gaze from Jungkook, but he was sort of glad he did. He couldn’t bear to see his expression after he finally revealed what he did to break your pretty little heart.

Frankly, Yoongi was afraid to tell Jungkook. He didn’t want to disappoint him. Selfishly, he still wanted the man to continue to look up to him with those brown eyes filled with wonder. He still wanted the man to look at him just like that fifteen year old boy used to whenever he rapped or did anything that he deemed cool. He simply didn’t want Jungkook to hate him.

But he was an adult. And it’s not like he was going to justify his actions. Yoongi was wrong, through and through. Jungkook could determine whether or not Yoongi was a good person after he told him.

“Y/N didn’t have to tell me right away. I knew that she felt insecure and guilty. She later said she felt like she was weighing me down or some shit like that.” Yoongi scoffed at the very notion that you were weighing him down. If the real you or that horrid hallucination of you were here, he’d tell you how stupid that thought was.

You never weighed him down. You always lifted him up.

“Anyway, I slowly started to become afraid. We were all so busy so suddenly. Don’t get me wrong, I love you guys, but something about not being able to see Y/N as often, especially when she was struggling with so much, got to me.”

Yoongi swallowed thickly. His mind began to swim through various thoughts.

“I was afraid because Y/N’s fears were coming to fruition. I was becoming too busy for her. I was pushing her aside. I pushed away my biggest support in an effort to pursue all these lofty goals I had.” Yoongi breathed. “The big house, big cars, and big rings I rap about all the time were finally within my grasp, and I realized too late that the one person I wanted to share all of those things with was slipping away.”

This was it. This was quite literally the moment of truth. Yoongi was finally going to admit what he did.

“I was so alone and afraid. I felt guilty. I was lonely, Jungkook.”

He didn’t have to sit up to see Jungkook’s expression as he put two and two together.

“Hyung… Don’t tell me you…”

“I cheated on Y/N, Kook. And she found out.”

The scent of her designer perfume still hung in the air. The bedsheets Yoongi frantically scrambled from were still wrinkled in the shape of her naked body. That same naked body was pressed against Yoongi not even moments ago.

“Y/N… K-kitten…” Yoongi stammered.

The basket filled with your freshly baked hotteok lay pitifully on the carpet. The basket slipped from your hand once you saw Yoongi with another woman holding her close and covering her in bites and kisses. You saw him lazily trailing his hands across her ass, gripping the flesh before exploring further. You saw that spark of lust in his catlike eyes that ignited whenever he did those exact same things to you.

Then you took a look at the woman. Even while it was fixed in shock, her face was beautiful. She looked like royalty wrapped in nothing else but the covers that you bought from Yoongi’s favorite home store. She screamed elegance, beauty, and grace. She was notably everything that you thought you weren’t.

“Maybe I should go…” She squeaked meekly.

“Maybe you should.” you growled.

Like the beautiful serpent she was, Yoongi’s mistress quietly slithered away from the scene before it could properly unfold. Once you heard the front door close behind her, everything fell apart. You could quite literally feel your heart breaking. Your chest felt like it was going to rip into shreds under the immense sadness you were going through.

It didn’t help that you were looking directly into Yoongi’s eyes. They were filled with nothing but regret and shame at what he’d done. He carefully reached out to you and you quickly moved out of his reach, not wanting to be touched by the same hands that caressed another. His outstretched hand plopped back to his side defeatedly.

“Y/N. Look, I’m sorry.” Yoongi croaked. His voice was either hoarse from emotion or disuse altogether. Speaking wasn’t a requirement when your mouth was busy with other things.

“I know you’re sorry. You’re pathetic, you know that?”

“Excuse me?!”

“I said you’re pathetic! How could you?!” you nearly screeched.

“Wait a second, Y/N. Just calm down, alright? J-just let me explain.”

Calm down? Calm down? You just walked in on your boyfriend in bed with another woman, and he has the audacity to ask you to calm down?

“You’ve got one minute.”

“Thank you… So, I-”

“59 seconds.”

“Things were just-”

“57 seconds.”

“I just-”

“55 seconds.”

Annoyance simmered in Yoongi’s veins at your blatant display of childishness. “I can’t fucking explain or talk to you if you’re going to keep doing this!”

“Maybe because there’s nothing to explain! It’s obvious! I wasn’t good enough! I knew it! You replaced me with someone better! You’ve outgrown me, and you’re too much of a coward to say it to my face!”

Yoongi’s heart completely shattered when he heard that. Once he registered how genuinely broken you were, the shards of his heart began to bleed.

“You’re too good for me now! Is that it?!” you screeched.

The more you spoke, the more a metaphorical knife twisted in his chest. The true gravity of the situation threatened to crush him.

“No… That’s not it. Please, kitten. Listen to me.” Yoongi pleaded.

As he slowly looked into your eyes, he couldn’t help but notice how glassy they were. Bags dug dark tunnels underneath your eyes. Your tear ducts were flooded with salty tears that left trails of your despair as they raced down your cheeks. They were red with irritation or rage. Either was fitting in this instance.

Then he noticed that you were still in your work clothes. You’d obviously started making his hotteok as soon as you got home from an exhausting day of work, excited to deliver and enjoy the pancakes with him, only to find him under the covers that you picked out together with someone else.

“All I wanted was for you to stay by my side, Yoongi. I didn’t want you to get tired of me…” you whimpered.

You gripped the hem of your shirt. You felt like you could just sink into the floor. The fabric of your shirt was the only thing keeping you above ground.

“I just wanted it to be you. Only you.” you barely managed to utter but Yoongi heard you loud and clear.

“I’m sorry that I wasn’t enough for you. Enjoy the hotteok before it gets cold.”

With that, you turned to leave the bedroom and Yoongi behind.

“Y/N! Wait! Stop!”

His desperate cries hit deaf ears. Yoongi leapt from his bed to grab you before you could leave, but it was too late. The door was shut behind you. You’d left.

And right along with you, any fight Yoongi had remaining had left him.

#cafeficexchange21

[jinnie-forthe-winnie]

First Christmas Together

Word Count: 7450 :) tada 🥳

Genre: fluff

Snickerdoodle here :)

Merry Christmas Nani (@jiminie-and-his-pinky-finger)! I hope you enjoy the fic, I tried to make is personalized for you so I hope you like it. I had so much fun writing it! I went through many planning stages and rewrittings just to make this the best fic I could make. If you could see my first plan compared to what I have now it is completly different, minus like one idea 😂

Friday evening had finally come, Nani's last class of the day had finally finished and it was finally time for her to eat. Once again she found herself at the oh so wonderful Chick-fil-A nearby, her usual after class spot. Though today seemed much busier than usual, she had been lucky enough that she made it before the mad rush. She found herself seated in the back corner of the restaurant at a 2 person booth table.

Nani is sitting and waiting for her chicken nuggets while scrolling through Tumblr, mindlessly liking the vast array of gifs on her page. She sees someone walk up to her table, she assumes it is a waiter and turns her phone off ready to accept her food. But when she looks up she sees a guy with an orange and white striped t-shirt, as well black slightly ripped jeans. She smiles nicely up at him, he gives her a smile back and leans down a bit so she could hear him well.

"Would it be okay with you if I sit here?" he asks, pointing to the seat across from her.

Nani nods immediately, "yeah of course, go ahead!"

Nani watches as he sits down, he throws his bag across the seat and up against the wall. When he finally gets himself situated Nani can't help but blush, he was a very attractive guy in front of her and she couldn't believe she was this close to a... a specimen.

The guy sits there for a moment, watching her twiddle her thumbs and look everywhere around the restaurant but at him. He understands that she must be shy and decides to take the lead in conversing.

"Hello, my name is Jimin." he says, bowing forward.

"Uhh, hi my name is Nani." she says timidly, after a moment she realizes she should bow back, she mimics the movement he did rather fast. Jimin lets out a quiet chuckle at her nervous movements, he quickly thinks of something else to say so she doesn't sit there nervously again.

"You in university?" he asks.

"Oh yeah, third year psychology," she says.

"Oh nice, I'm in the dance program, I'm in my third year too." he says with a proud smile on his face.

"Oh wow I didn't even know our school had that program!" she says surprised.

Jimin nods at her, "That's most people's reaction to me saying that, you'd be surprised though, it's ranked 3rd in the state for the program."

"Wow I had no idea!" She says, "What campus is your class on?"

"West building, your's is in the East right?"

"Yeah, though a couple of my classes are randomly in the Central campus, I think those ones are there just to mess with me." she says, making a face.

He laughs slightly seeing the obviously annoyed face, he assumes that she had a previous experience of going to the wrong campus that still haunts her. "Bad experience?"

"Oh my goodness don't even ask" she says waving her hands in front of her frantically, "It was the worst day I've had in years!"

"Oh wow that bad?!" he says looking confused at her.

Before Nani could say anything a waiter arrives with a tray of nuggets and the beloved waffle fries. She lets the waiter place it infront of her, she smiles brightly at her food and goes to dig in but then she looks up at Jimin.

She instantly puts her hands down and sits there contemplating, they hadn't intended to eat together in the first place so she can very well eat now. But that's rude, you always wait for your friends to get their food before you eat. But they're not friends, but they are talking? So does it count?

Nani sits there awkwardly as she thinks, across the table Jimin looks at her with a confused look as she stares down her nuggets.

"Nani?" he says to her, her head snaps up to him. "Go ahead and eat, no need to wait."

"No no! It's okay, I'll wait!" she rushes to say feeling guilty.

"No Nani, go ahead!" he says chuckling, a big smile on his face showing off his teeth.

Nani blushes as she continues to refuse eating, she could feel the heat rushing to her head and neck making her hunch back onto herself. She covers her face with the back of her hand, she lets her hand touch her very warm cheek. She worries that he will be freaked out by her heavy blushing and will never talk to her after the meal.

Luckily another waiter comes by with a tray of his food, this allows Nani to dive into her food and avoid all eye contact. Jimin chuckles as he eats his Cobb Salad, his eyes staying on her hunched frame.

It takes about 5 minutes for Nani to fully finish her food, she was obviously more hungry than she previously thought (maybe a sandwich would have been a better idea). At this point Jimin had eaten about half of his salad, and Nani being Nani couldn't just run, he knew her name! He knew where to find her too!

Nani sighs as she sits there, she couldn't dare to bring her eyes up higher than his hands. She couldn't help but be nervous around him, his smile was enough to make her swoon, and then add the way his eyes scrunch, my goodness she couldn't look at him again.

"Nani?" he voice calls out making her slowly look up at him.

"Yeah?" she asks quietly as her eyes meet his.

"How was your dinner?" he asks as he looks down at his salad as he stabs it with his fork.

"Oh um, it was really good!" she says, on instinct her thumbs begin to twiddle together once his eyes come back to hers.

"Well that's good, I hope it was worth all the waiting." he says, letting out a laugh. Nani can't help but laugh at his comment.

"My parents taught me my manners, okay!" she says holding her hands up like she was caught.

"It's actually quite refreshing, most people wouldn't even bow back, they'd go straight for a hand shake." he says. "You could say they're quite shaken that I don't do handshakes."

Nani lets out a loud laugh at his pun, "oh my goodness! You just sounded like my friend!"

"Is that a complement?" he asks laughing.

"Oh yes! Like the best compliment you can get!" she says laughing while thinking of her Tumblr friend. "She is the funniest person I know, and would totally be proud of your pun."

"Well I'm glad I could pass her vibe check." he says, one side of his mouth lifts in a smirk. "And if I pass this check, you don't think she'd mind if I took you out on a date, do you?"

Nani chokes on the air at his comment, she turns away and starts coughing into her elbow. It takes her a few seconds to stop coughing, and quite a few more to compose herself. When she turns back she meets the gaze of an unconfident looking Jimin, his eyes seemed to have sunk, his lips were parted and lowered, and his whole body language had lowered.

Nani gets worried that her coughing made him think she was creeped out or didn't want to. "Oh Jimin, I'm sorry! It's just um... I'm not used to boldness. Or being asked out." She says while nervously laughing.

"Oh! So is that a yes?" he asks with a newfound excitement. Nani couldn't trust her voice so she just nodded to him. Jimin does a fist pump, the lettuce on his fork flings around the table making Nani burst out in laughter. Jimin can't help but burst as well, partly from embaresment and the other part from how heavily she was laughing.

It takes a few minutes for both of them to fully compose themselves and be able to look at each other without breaking again. "Well can I get your number then?" he asks her.

"Yes, yes you can," she says with a happy smile. Nani takes his phone into her hands and types her name into his phone. She debates on putting an emoji on it for a few seconds, but then she remembers the memos she's been told: "You gotta risk it for a biscuit". Nani decides to be bold and add a double pink heart beside her name. She saves it and then slides his phone back to him.

The two talk for a while as Jimin (very) slowly eats the rest of his salad. Once he finishes the two pack up and clear off their table, then together they make for the parking lot.

Before Nani can reach the door to push it open, Jimin runs in front of her and pushes it open for her.

"Oh thank you!" she says giggling at his actions.

"No problem, my lady." he says taking her hand into his hold, he brings it up to his lips and gives her a kiss on her knuckles.

Nani wanted to squeal at that very moment but she withholds the urge and instead just scrunches her face. Jimin smirks at her once again, he pecks her knuckles once again before letting it back down.

"I should be going back to my dorm now, I'll see you again soon?" he asks as he walks towards what he assumes is her car.

"Ah yeah, text me when you're free. I'm not good at finding free time so it's best if you tell me a time and I show up" she tells him.

Jimin nods, "Well I will text you soon, until then!" He bows slightly and then gives her an eye smile. "Bye Nani," he says as he walks off.

"Bye Jimin!" she yells as he walks away, he turns his shoulder and gives her a wave before turning away again.

Nani watches him for a moment but quickly decides she needs to get in her car. When she gets inside and slams her door shut she lets out a loud squeal. She pulls her phone out and puts her data on, she opens Tumblr and starts messaging Zee.

"ZEEEEEEEE!!!!!

I TALKED TO A GUY

jhhjlgfkjndvjineq

A HOT ONE TOO!!!

🍪❄🍪❄🍪

For the next two weeks Nani waited for a text from Jimin, every couple minutes she would check her screen to see if she got a message. But every time she checked she got the same disapointing answer.

Nani spent the two weeks being a bit upset, well more than a bit, quite a lot actually. Nani had gone out that very evening to find a new outfit to go on a date, she spent way more than she alloted but the thrill was worth the extra money.

But for now it is just hanging in her closest waiting for the day someone will ask her out again, and hopefully for real.

🍪❄🍪❄🍪

A few days before Christmas Nani found herself inside Walmart, she was shopping for food and drinks to fill up her dorm supply. As Nani skims through the carbonated drinks she hears a voice she recognizes. At first when she looks she doesn't recognize they guys walking but after a moment she sees that the pink haired guy is Jimin.

Nani eyes widen as she looks at the bright colour on his head, it was a colour she thought was off limits for hair, but man Jimin was proving her wrong. Nani couldn't help but follow them with her eyes as they walk down the aisle towards her, she only looks away when Jimin's friend punches his arm and points at her.

Nani goes back to looking at the drinks and pretending like she did not just get caught staring.

"Hey Nani!" Jimin calls out when he gets closer to her, Nani turns her head towards him and lets out a forced smile. Jimin tenses up seeing the smile, "What's wrong?"

"Oh nothing, just stressed from school." she says trying to pretend like she isn't upset to see him.

"No really, what's wrong?" he asks again, his arm comes up and grabs onto her upper arm.

Nani gulps at this, nerves kicking in. "I'm fine, really." she says as she tries to brush his arm off. His hand stays planted on her arm as he gives her a look mixed of hurt and worry.

"You seemed really excited after we met but you still haven't texted me back," he says.

"What do you mean! You haven't texted me!" Nani says, her jaw dropped. Jimin shakes his head and pulls out his phone to prove his truth.

"Look," sure enough Jimin had sent numerous texts to the name: Nani 💕

"Did I put it in wrong?" Nani says covering her open mouth. Jimin opens the contact and of course the last two numbers had been flipped. "Oh my goodness I'm so so so sorry, I thought I had it right. I feel awful that I did that to you" she takes a breath as she tries to stop the tears forming in her eyes. "Oh my goodness I'm awful, I just accused you. I'm really sor-"

Her words are stopped as Jimin pulls her into a hug, he lets out an adoring laugh when he feels the wet patch on his shoulder. "Please don't cry lovely, it was an honest mistake and I'm not bothered." He says, his hand rubs up and down her back trying to comfort her.

From across the aisle Jungkook has his phone out taking pictures of the two hugging (in Walmart), he has no idea what is going on but he senses that these pictures will be handy at a wedding. When Jimin notices him he give him a glare and the finger, which only makes Jk laugh and snap more photos. After a long enough glare Jungkook finally takes the hint and leaves the two alone in their aisle.

"I'm really sorry Jimin," she says sniffing into his shoulder.

"It's okay lovely," he says. Without thinking Jimin places his lips on her hair for a sweet kiss, Nani squeaks and cuddles further into him and his fluffy red cardigan. Jimin blushes at her cute reaction and debates about kissing her head again. His descion is made once Nani backs away from him, wipping the tears off her cheeks.

"How about we change the number in my phone and then forget it even happened." Jimin propses, Nani nods happily and reaches out for his phone. She swaps the number and reads it over multiple time ensuring it was correct, she then passes it back over to him. He immediatly starts tapping away on his phone. Nani turns her back on him to look back on the shelf and finally grab the Kimura Ramune drink she was looking at before he arrived. Once she puts it in the cart she hears a ding from her phone. Nani reaches her hand into her purse and pulls out her phone, when the screen brightens up she finally sees the message she has been waiting for.

"Hey beautiful, want to go on a date?"

"Yeah!" Nani says loudly, she turns to him and smiles. "I would love to!"

🍪❄🍪❄🍪

By the end of December the two had become a couple and couldn't wait to share the new year together.

The year had felt something like a fever dream. They looked, acted, sounded, and were the perfect the couple.

11 months later they were sharing their first Christmas as a couple together. They had decided they were both going to go to Jimin's hometown for Christmas and would visit Nani's after for the New Year.

🍪❄🍪❄🍪

After a three hour road trip Jimin pulled the car up into the laneway of the his parents home. The house was decked out in decorations, from lights, to wreaths, to the large candy canes lining the walk way up. The whole house looked like a wonderland, the only thing missing was snow.

Nani hopped out of the car excitedly, she wasn't too nervous to meet the family since she had to do zoom calls with his family many times over the summer. His whole family was so shocked that he decided not to come home and spend it with her, so after pestering him about her he finally gave in and let them all meet the girl he was ditching them for. They of course all loved her and loved them together.

From the other side of the car Jimin stands up and cracks his back loudly. He then pops the trunk open for them to get their bags. Nani and Jimin grab the two shared bags and set them on the ground. Jimin smiles at Nani, "You ready?"

"Yeah, little nervous but mostly excited." she replies.

"They love you so don't feel nervous, okay?"

Nani nods her head at him, she then grabs the smaller bag and pulls the handle out. "I know, I just hope I won't shut off and be my shy self."

"It'll be hard to be shy around my family, nearly every single one of us is an extrovert. So even if you want to be shy and quiet they won't let it happen, they'll make sure you're talking and having a great time." he says.

"So I take it the only quiet time is when everyone is sleeping." she comments making Jimin nod aggressivley. He grabs the other suitcase and starts pulling it towards the house.

"We have a loft if you ever need peace," he says over his shoulder as they walk up to the porch. Before they even reach the stairs the door is pulled in and five people come running out to them.

"Ah Jimin honey I've missed you!" "Oh look at you handsome!" "Oh Jimin darling so wonderful to see you!" "Jimin darling auntie missed you!" The voices all call out as they surround him. Nani eyes grow wide at them, she stands a few feet away watching them obsess over him.

The one lady who didn't crowd around him apporaches Nani, she recognizes her to be his mother. Nani gives her a polite bow, something she had picked up over the (almost) year of dating Jimin.

"Oh hun you are so beautiful!" she gushes to her, his mothers arms open up for a hug. Nani lets his mom hug her laughing as she squeezes her tight.

"Thank you Mrs Park." she says as they seperate.

She scoffs at the name, "That will not do, call me mom." she says shaking her arms in the air in front of her body.

"Okay mom," Nani says smiling at her.

"Is this your girlfriend!" one of the ladies surrounding Jimin yells out.

"Ah yeah, her name is Nani." Jimin says turning to her. "And Nani these are my aunts, Dal, Soo-yun, Ji-Hye, and Mari." he pointing at each one. Nani bows to the ladies which makes each of them coo and become excited over his girlfriend.

"She is just so gorgeus Jimin! How did you manage her?" The aunt Nani believes is Dal says, Jimin laughs.

"I don't know aunt Dal, I've been wondering the same thing." he says. Nani smiles at his words, her eyes unconciously look down to her feet.

"Lets head inside, I'm sure these two would love to unpack a bit." Jimin's mother says. All of the aunts head inside with his mother, leaving Nani and Jimin standing outsid by themselves.

"Nani?" Jimin says as he approaches her, her eyes still trained on the ground. She wips her head up, Jimin sees the big smile on her face and can't help to join her in smiling.

"I'm glad we're here." she says looking at him. Jimin reaches out and pulls her into a hug, one of their favourite activites, only behind cuddling. Nani puts her head into his neck, she basks in his warmth for a few moments before pulling her head back enough to look him in the eyes. "I love you." she says sweetly before giving him a peck on the lips.

"Mmm, I love you too!" he says returning a kiss onto her lips.

🍪❄🍪❄🍪

After spending half an hour unpacking and laughing about the stuff in his room they finally head back up to the main floor where everyone else is. There had to have been at least 30 people crowding in the three rooms, though the kitchen was only filled of a couple people who were running about and cooking. The rather large dinning room had many older people sitting about drinking wine and chatting at the table. Then the rest, (which had to be around 15 people) were crammed into the living room watching Elf. Nani smiles as she watches Buddy make a Christmas tree out of the elevator buttons.

A bunch of the little kids in the living room laugh out with their adorable and loud laughs. Nani can't help but laugh at their infectious laughs. She grabs Jimin's arm and pulls him to the ground in front of the couches, they sit an lean against the couch where kids feet dangle near the edge.

"Uncle Jimin!" a little girl screams out, she comes barreling off the couch and runs into his outstretched arms.

"Jasmine!" he says back enthusiastically to her as he squeezes her into a tight hug. "How are you cutie?"

"I very happy!" she says with a very big grin.

"Because of me?!" He asks. Jasmine nods and falls forward into another hug.

"I missed you, when you was gone." she says cuddling into his chest. Nani coos at the little girl, she was so adorable and cute. She had a red and white Santa esc dress on, she had her hair in two adorable little pigtails popping out the sides. She even had the same eyes as Jimin, so when she smilied her eyes shut closed just like his.

Jasmine turns her head on Jimin's head and looks at Nani with curious eyes. "Uncle, who is she?" She whispers loudly to Jimin, this makes both of them giggle at her cuteness.

"This is Nani, she's my girlfriend" he tells her.

"Like mommy and daddy?" she asks confused.

"Kind of like mommy and daddy but we are like them before mommy got the ring on her finger."

"But mommy always have the ring!" she says confused.

"Not always, mommy and daddy dated before they got married and before they had you." Jimin tries explaining to her. Jasmine expression doesn't change as she sits on his lap.

"Hey Jasmine, do you know any Disney princesses?" Nani asks the little girl.

"Yeah! My favourite is Jasmine because we have the same name!" she says with lots of excitement.

"That's so cool!" Nani says to her. Jasmine hops of Jimin's lap and sits herself on Nani instead. "Okay, so you know Aladdin?"

Jasmine nods at the question, "He has a monkey!" she says.

Nani nods while scrunching her face. "Yeah, and he is also dating Jasmine. This means the love each other and are going to get married like mommy and daddy one day."

Jasmine seems to understand what Nani had told her, "So you're going to be marry uncle Jimin?"

"Hopefully," Nani says quietly to the girl. Jimin smirks at the answer, he moves his arm and places it behind her and pulls her in so she's leaning against his chest. Jasmine cuddles into Jimin and Nani making them smile and think of their future.

"Uncle Jimin?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you for bringing auntie Nani home, I am really happy now because I asked Santa for one." She says as she watches the movie.

Nani's heart melts at her words, and then her heart races at Jimin's. "Don't worry Jas, one day we'll bring you home a cousin."

🍪❄🍪❄🍪

The rest of the night was spent watching Christmas movies and introducing Nani to all the family members. Jimin was right when he said most of them were extroverts, only 3 of them seemed to be shy like Nani.

By the time they had gotten to their room it was midnight but neither of them were tired enough to lay down yet. Nani stands by Jimin's shelves as he changes, all the shelves had multiple trophies, awards, and medals sitting on them.

"Are these all from dance competitions?" she asks.

"Uh yeah most of them, some are from school though." He responds, he walks towards Nani and comes behind and wraps his arms around her waist. He places his chin on her shoulder. Nani places her arms on his and rubs his arms.

"Today was nice," she says, Jimin hums in agreeance. "Jasmine was so adorable!"

"She really seems to like you."

"I'm glad" Nani says moving her head to lean against his.

"Me too, she's been wanting a real aunt like the other kids."

"So you're saying were going to be getting married?" she says giggling.

"Not yet, give it a year or two the we will." he says. He pulls her closer to him and holds her tight. "I love you so much." he whispers.

"I love you more."

"I love you most."

"Not possible! I love you most!" Nani exclaims before giggling.

🍪❄🍪❄🍪

The next few days were spent the same, movies, food, talking, board games, and lots and lots of lazing about the house. Nani was feeling stuffed and bored of sitting in the same few rooms all day, her head was pounding from all the voices. She needed to go lay down but of course the basement was being used by the kids for their play area.

Nani sits on the couch cuddled into a ball holding her head in her hands. All she needed at this point was peace and quiet, and a nice place to sleep.

From in the kitchen Jimin notices Nani unmoving on the couch. She had been laying there for the past hour and Jimin was becomming convinced she was sleeping or pretending to be. He walks over to her curled up form and places a hand on her side. Nani rolls over to see who it is, she pouts and makes a grabby hand for him.

"What's wrong lovely? he asks, his hand moves from her side to the side of her face. He strokes up and down her jaw with the back of his fingers. Nani's head relaxes into the touch, eyes closing at the feeling.

"Headache, and people tolerance is at zero." she says sighing.

"Wanna go up to the loft?" he asks, she nods at him but makes no effort to move. Jimin sighs but crawls over the back of the couch, he comes and places his arms under her body. He scoops her up in his arms starts heading towards the loft. He walks catiuoslly up the stairs not wanting to fall with her in his arms.

Once they get all the way up the flights of stairs they reach a small a roof shaped room. It had a small bookshelf filled with books, movies and games, as well as a television. There was bean bags and fluffy chairs around the room making for fun and comfy seating.

Jimin places her on her feet letting her choose a place to curl up again. She moves towards the giant bean bag but doesn't move to sit down.

"Jimin?"

"Yeah?"

"Will you lay with me?"

"Of course dove."

Jimin grabs a random book off the shelf before jumping onto the bean bag. Nani laughs silently as he struggles and squirms around in the bean bag while trying to find a nice position. Eventually he just gives up and lays there staring up at her. Nani crouches down and crawls onto the bean bag, she lays so she is half on his chest. She lays face up so she can read the book Jimin picked.

Jimin moves his arms to hug around her while holding the book, he shows her the cover of the book. It has a sad title: "Love Leaves Just Like Autumn."

"Sounds like a sappy romance that has a couple breaking up and getting back together multiple times." Nani states after looking the cover up and down.

"Oh great, do we want to read this one?" he asks.

"Yeah sure."

About fourty minutes later Nani's prediction of a couple a breaking up and then getting back together came true. After a week the girl was getting on her knees and begging for him to take her back because 'she can't survive without him'. Nani couldn't help but scoff at this part, especially now that the girl was complaining to him about how he loves her.

"Seasons come and go... so why does it feel like your love does too?" Jimin says out loud. "That's so sad and deep."

"Mmmm I'm not moved, neither of them are truly in love. They're in love with the idea of being in love together, not in love with each other." Nani says for a matter of fact.

"Well out of context the sentence is." Jimin says trying to save his words.

"I guess, though in context she is lying to herself."

"Okay well hopefully they fully break up at the end." Jimin says hopefully looking down at Nani.

"Yes they both deserve someone else!"

An hour later they are both groaning at the ending. "All those wishing on stars finally lead me to you." Nani shivers at the thought of this 'great' relationship and all the horrible things they said about and to each other. The girl was totally not in love with him and was definatly not wishing on any stars for him.

"If you ignore your feelings about the book, are you feeling better?" Jimin asks Nani.

"Yeah, annoyed but yeah I do."

"Okay, well that's the book so yeah you do."

"Can we just stay here a bit longer?" she asks him. Jimin nods at her throws the book on another bean bag, he then wraps his arms all the way around her and cuddles into her as she does the same.

They lay together and bask into each other for a while, at one point they both fell asleep for some time before stirring awake from random loud calls from the main floor.

After a while they hear pitter patter running up the steps towards the loft. They look at the opening and see little Jasmine running (waddeling with speed) up the stairs with a giant smile on her face.

"IT SNOWED!!" she yells out very loudly running to them and jumping on top of them.

"How much?!" she asks Jas.

"A lot, like higher than my head!" she exclaims cuddling into their chests.

"Wow that's a lot!" Jimin says to his neice.

"Can we go play?" she asks them.

"Of course Jas, we'll go put on snow stuff and get ready with you." Jimin says poking her cheek. Jas hops of the two of them and heads towards the stairs.

"I will tell Daddy you're coming outside with me!!" she says before grabbing the railling and slowly stepping down each step.

🍪❄🍪❄🍪

10 minutes later they were lacing up their boots to head outside. All five of the youngsters were all geared up in their snowsuits, Jasmine was sporting a bright pink snowsuit that was brighter than a highlighter.

Once Nani finished lacing them up she grabbed a pair of mittens from the large bin of snow gear that Jimin's mom had pulled from the closet. Nani walks over to Jimin who is crouched beside Jas as he helps her put her hat and mitts on. She watches with a smile as he goofs around and puts the mittens on the wrong hands, Jasmine laughs in pure joy at her uncle's antics.

"Uncle Jimin! Other hands!" She yells out making Jimin facepalm dramatically.

"Oh no how did I mess them up!"

"Auntie Nani can you put them on instead?" Jasmine asks as she pats the top of Nani's boot. Nani crouches down beside Jimin and nods to the little one.

"Of course Jas, and don't worry I know what hands they go on, unlike silly uncle Jimin." She tells her making Jas giggle and then stick her hands out almost as a challenge to see if Nani could. Nani pulls them off her hands and dramatically thinks about what hand to put them on for a moment. "Hmmm I think it's this way." Nani hums before putting the mittens on the right hands.

Jasmine cheers and claps her hands when she sees that Nani did it correctly. "Yay! We can go play now!" She yells before rolling over and crawling to stand up. As she stands she looks like a marshmallow with the way she is all stuffed into the snowsuit. As she runs to the opened door all you can hear is her happy giggles and her swishing and swooshing of the pants.

Jimin and Nani walk out the door together and run out into the backyard. Almost instantly a snowball is thrown at the couple, from behind the shed Jimin's brother and cousin stand at the ready with numerous snowballs. Luckily Nani was able to doge the ball of snow hurdling at her, it drops down just a foot in front of her. Jimin instantly is on the ground patting snow together into balls, Nani follows suit and starts helping him make the balls.

Another snow ball hits the deck just a few inches from Nani, this makes Jimin grab a snowball and whip it in the shed's direction. It smashes against the wall no where close to hitting the guys. Nani laughs at his attempt, she grabs her own ball and chucks it as best she can towards the shed. It falls a few feet away from the corner, much better than Jimin's throw, but it does nothing to help them as two balls come hurling at them.

Nani ducks out of the way but Jimin gets hit on his back since all he did was turn. Nani laughs at him and grabs another snowball ready to defend her boyfriend. She throws it and manages to hit the tip of Jimin's cousin's boot, "Haha! Got you!" she says laughing and pointing at him.

His cousin laughs and tries throwing another ball at her which she dodges easily. She taunts him a little by calling out "Hehe you can't get me!"

A light slap of snow hits Nani's leg making her look at the guys confused. "Got you Auntie Nani!" Jasmine says pointing at where she hit her.

"Jasmine! How could you!" she says with her mouth open wide.

"Daddy told me to." she says pointing over at her father who is throwing snow at Jimin. Nani frowns at the little girl which only makes her laugh out loud happily. "I tell Daddy I got you!" she yells before running off to her dad.

Nani sighs before grabbing another ball and throwing it toward Jimin's cousin which misses him by a few feet. The next few minutes is spent full of Jimin and Nani horribly attempting to hit them, while also dodging the horrible attempts of being hit.

"I'm going in on a death run, I distract and you hit, ok!" Jimin says giving her a thumbs up before making a run for it. He runs towards them and starts throwing them with poor aim and power. Nani grabs the ball at aims at the men at a standstill throwing at Jimin, she hits the his brother easily. As she throws the ball at his cousin she regrets throwing it, the ball hits Jimin in the back.

"Oh no I'm so sorry!" she yells out regretfully.

Jimin turns back and looks at her with a hand over his heart. "My own Nani just hit me!" Before Nani can apologize again Jimin is already running at her with a handful of snow. She screams and runs away further into the backyard, Jimin chases her with the snow and quickly catches up on her.

Jimin swings on arm around her waist and stuffs the other in her face. He smothers her face for a few seconds before dropping his hand down, the rest of the snow falling with it. Well except for the snow that is stuck on her face in clumps. She spits out a bunch of snow from her mouth which makes Jimin laugh at her.

She whines as she wips her frozen face of the snow clumps. Jimin goes to help brush it off her face and hat but she turns away grumpily.

"No." She says shortly as she turns away from him again.

Jimin can't tell if she is serious or not so he reaches out for a third time.

"Stop, I don't want your help. I want to be wherever you're not." She says.

Jimin luckily hears the playful tone in her poutiness and finally reaches out and holds onto her. "I'm sorry Nani, I won't do it again." He says as he flicks the snow from ontop of her hat to the ground.

"Good." she says pouting up at him. "Close your eyes." she tells him. Jimin immediatly obliges and closes his eyes shut for her. A moment goes by and Jimin groans at his guliableness. A handful of snow had been smushed into his own face and the culprit was giggling loudy as she ran towards the house.

🍪❄🍪❄🍪

Finally after a week of being at the Park family home Chirstmas eve had arrived, the whole nigth was spent playing games, caroling, and watching all the Home Alones. The night was so wonderful and Nani was so glad she came with Jimin to his family Christmas.

Nani and Jimin had offered to do the dishes tonight so that everyone's parents could wrap their kids presesnts and place them under the giant tree in the foyer.

Nani had her hands in the warm soapy water as she rinsed the untensils from dinner and desert. Jimin stood just to her side with a tea towel at the ready so he could dry the dishes and put them away.

"Are you excited for tommorow Lovey Dovey?" Jimin asks as he grabs the fork from her outstreched hand.

"Mmmhmm" she hums to him as she dives her hands back into the water. Jimin kisses her temple at her answer, she seemed tired and couldn't wait to be done with the dishes so she could sleep before they were inevitably woken up at an early morning hour.

"How much more?" Jimin asks trying to look into the water through the piles of bubbles.

“A couple more plates and that’s it” she replies handing him another fork. He takes it from her hand and dries it as he walks to put it in the drawer. Nani rinses the plate and puts it on the dish rack (as per Mrs Park's request since she believes that the streak when you hand dry them), seeing that his job is done Jimin places his towel on the counter. He then comes up behind Nani and back hugs her, his head hiding into the crook of her neck.

Nani leans her head on his while she cleans, "last one," she says. Jimin kisses her neck softly before moving his head back, his eyes watch as she rinses the plate and then moves it over to the dish rack. Once she places the plate down Jimin steps back and then spins her hips around so she is facing him. He moves his head forward and places a long kiss onto her forehead, his lips lingering for a few moments before he dives his head into her neck again.

Nani smiles and wraps her arms around his torso, pulling his body closer to his. "Thank you." She says to him. He hums in confusion in her neck. "For bringing me here, my family isn't as big on Christmas as yours. I've had lots of fun celebrating it with you and your family."

"Of course lovely, I'm glad you're here. And I'm glad you get along with my family!" He says into her neck, Nani's cheeks heating up as she feels his lips moving on her skin as he talks.

"Well I'm stoaked they actually like me!" she says smiling. Jimin pulls his head out of her neck and looks her in the eyes.

"Of course they'd love you dove, you're gorgeous, beautiful, humble, kind, beautiful, generous, and did I mention beautiful." He says, his hands come up and cup her cheeks making her lean her head into his hands.

"Thank you Jiminie, I love you!" She says happily, her arms moving to come around his neck. Jimin places his forehead against hers and closes his eyes.

"I love you too Nani." he whispers.

🍪❄🍪❄🍪

"Auntie Nani! Wake up!" Jasmine's voice yells out from on top of her. Nani rolls her upper body over to see an enthusiastic Jasmine sitting on her, she also sees Jimin smirking in the doorway.

"I'm up." Nani says in her groggy morning voice.

"All the way up!" Jasmine says hoping off of her to instead jump on the bed. She jumps all around the bed giggling and cheering about it being Christmas morning and that Santa had come in the night. "Come on Auntie Nani! We need to open presents!" she yells as she continues jumping around the bed.

"Oh goodness Jas! Merry Christmas to you! Love you lots! Now please stop jumping on the bed." Nani says to her.

"Are you going to get up?" Jasmine asks continuing to jump.

"If you stop jumping I will!" Nani exclaims making Jas instantly stop jumping and hop off the bed completly. Nani throws the covers off of her and picks up Jas from the ground, Jasmine happily sits in her arms and cuddles up against her shoudler.

"Merry Christmas Lovely," Jimin says as she goes to pass him in the doorway. Nani narrows his eyes at him for a moment and then looks to Jasmine.

"Did he tell you to jump on the bed?"

"Yeah! Uncle Jimin told me to wake you up too!" she says ratting him out.

Jimin gasps at the information being leaked, "That was our secret Jas!" Jasmine giggles at her uncle and his face.

"Bad secret so I tell." she says to him.

"Mmmm looks like Jas is giving relasonship advice, you should listen." Nani tease making him shove her shoulder lightly.

🍪❄🍪❄🍪

Christmas morning was wonderful, all the kids opened their presents and freaked out when they got the things they really wanted. Jasmine had screamed and ran around the living room when she opened Jimin and Nani's gift, it was an album that apparently she had been begging her parents for all year. It was Tommorow By Together's album called The Chaos Chapter: Freeze.

Jasmine sat down beside the two of them and with the help of Jimin she opened it to see the posters and photocards she got. She jumped for joy when she sees her favourite member, Beomgyu, face on the card. She gives both of them a big hug and runs over to show her parents her gift.

🍪❄🍪❄🍪

Later that morning Jimin and Nani were one of the few left in the living room. All the kids were playing with their gifts, and most of the parents were out in the garage watching Mr Park trying to set up a little play place that the family bought for the kids.

Jimin gets up from the couch and picks up a little gift box from under the tree and brings it over to her. She takes it from his hand and waits until he sits down before unwrapping it.

Under the paper was a long black box, seemingly for a necklace or braclet. Nani opens the box to see a charm braclet laying in the box. She gushes at the silver braclet sitting in the box, it had a couple charms on it already. There was a flower charm, a dance shoe, a duckling, and a chicken head.

Nani laughs when she sees the chicken head, it was obviously a nod to how they met. "I love it so much! Thank you so much Jimin!" she says reaching out and falling on top of him to give him a hug.

"I'm glad you like it!" he says. "By the way, do you know how hard it is to find a chicken head charm!"

🍪❄🍪❄🍪

One Christmas as a couple down, many many many more to go.

🍪❄🍪❄🍪

Merry Christmas Again Nani!!! I hope you loved it!!!

I had so much fun being snickerdoodle/mcdoodle/doodle :)

Taglist: @softbobamilktae @galaxtea-writes

#cafeficexchange21 #bts imagines #jimin #bts #bts jimin #bts jimin imagine #jimin imagine #jimin fic #fic jimin #bts jimin fanfic #jimin bts #jimin bts imagine #imagines bts #jimin imagines

[btswritingcafe]

WELCOME TO BTSWRITINGCAFE

In time for the magical season, our network is hosting its first Holiday Fic Exchange! Much like you see with Secret Santa, the same rules shall apply. We want to create a great experience for everyone involved where you feel the love that you deserve. With seeking to involve our own members, we have created prompts that you are able to choose from!

Interested in our holiday event? Please read on for more details!

BASIC GUIDELINES

you do not have to be a member to apply.

must follow the network if you are not a member.

read the entire post for rules and timeline.

read our network rules.

reblog this post.

fill out application.

must have a discord to be included in our event server. if you do not have one we can make it work.

be willing to send anonymous asks to your assigned partner at least twice a week.

do not reveal your identity until the posting week in december.

tag your secret santa fic with #cafeficexchange21

FIC EXCHANGE RULES

every person will have an opportunity to choose a few prompts from the lists below that must be incorporated into the story.

every person will have an opportunity to choose a few prompts that the Santa will incorporate (as stated above).

an admin/mod will help to communicate about the important details of your partner.

while working on the fic, you must send anonymous asks to your partner twice a week (it can be more frequent if you would like). in this time you can get to know them more.

you must choose an anonymous cute nickname to sign off your asks with. we will have a selection to choose from in the application.

your fic word count can be any length as long as it is more than 500.

do not write fics that are a continuation of a previous project. this fic exchange should be something new and specific to your person. do not use this time to add onto your other stories.

keep in mind there will be adults and minors involved in this event. you will have an option in the application to let us know if you are comfortable to have a partner that may be an adult or minor. our rules apply for these events. minors cannot write smut and adults cannot write smut for minors.

you may apply to have more than one person assigned as a partner. which means you will write fics for more than one individual.

make sure to do your best to write something that captures what your person requested. do not hesitate to ask for help from the admins.

there will be a discord made for event, specially for communication purposes. make sure to be cautious and not to reveal who your partner is in here.

read below for timeline and prompt options!

PROMPTS

Here you will have the opportunity to choose at least two dialogue prompts that you would like to see in your fic!

FLUFF

"Please be mine just until the day ends."

“For every chocolate kiss you take, a real kiss must be given in return.”

“I was going to confess first! Take your confession back!”

“Mistletoe is allowed only for the holiday season.” “It is the holiday season.” “Oh…then kiss away.”

“Love in the form of handholding is ideal…so allow me to never let go.”

"I wanted to see the first snow with you."

“The only gift I ever wanted was you.”

“Wrap me up like a present because I’m all yours.”

“All those wishes on stars finally led me to you.”

“They say to watch snow falling with someone is a sign of love….and I couldn’t agree more.”

"I’m offended, you look great in this ugly christmas sweater. This is a scam.”

“I love you, and I love christmas, but if you shove one more handful of snow down my back i'll be getting in contact with my lawyer.”

"Yes merry christmas to you too love you lots now please stop jumping on the bed.”

“This weather makes me cold but being with you makes me feel warm inside.”

“Mistletoe at every door? A lot of kisses are in order.”

ANGST

"Mistletoe is not romantic. It’s a parasite!"

“Christmas is supposed to bring people together but I have never felt so torn apart.”

“I just wanted it to be you. Only you.”

“Seasons come and go…so why does it feel like your love does too?”

"I didn't think my Christmas would end up with me crying.”

"And you think this would be the best time to bring that up?”

"The only Christmas present I want is to get out of here.”

“I've out grown waiting for you to come around as my christmas miracle.”

“I lost myself in the process of clinging to our happy memories….I’m not the same.”

“On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me….a broken heart.”

“There’s nothing happy about this holiday when you refuse to meet me halfway.”

"Christmas has only ever brough me stress...and you contribute to it.”

“You said we would be happy…why did I believe you?”

“I want to be wherever you are not.”

“It’s the holidays that reminds me of what I never had….that’s why I hate it.”

TIMELINE

September 26th - October 2nd | sign ups

October 3rd - October 7th | drop out period, if you can no longer participate in the event

October 8th - October 9th | partners are assigned by a message from the admins/mods

October 10th - December 2nd | sending anonymous asks and working on fics

December 3rd - December 9th | posting week where you reveal your identity to your partner

December 11th | masterlist created

— Thank you for being interested in this event! Please do not hesitate to send a message to the network for further clarification.

#cafeficexchange21 #network;post #network;event #specials #holiday;event