Archive of Our Own

Christmas season in a massive city such as Seoul meant two things: endless traffic jams and congested airports. People were constantly on the move, last minute shopping trips, overpriced airfares to head home for the holidays, Christmas tunes being blasted in every single department store. The holiday season also meant one more thing: spending time with your loved ones. That’s why Jungkook decided to pay for an overpriced ticket at the last minute, gritting his teeth as he input his credit card details.

His boss was kind enough to grant them an extended vacation for those who were heading home for the holidays, all his friends were returning to their hometowns, and he didn’t really have anyone else to spend Christmas with, hence the last minute decision to head home as well.

The airport terminal was filled with passengers, each one in a hurry to either catch their flight or flocking to the stores to purchase items to bring home with them. There seemed to be no secluded spots left in the chaotic area, everywhere Jungkook looked was crowded. The sound of flight numbers being called out blasted from the speakers, immediately followed by Christmas jingles, even the airport couldn’t escape Christmas it seemed. The lines were ridiculously long, from the check in counter, all the way to the entrance of the lounge. It was a good thing that Jungkook decided to head to the airport way earlier than he initially planned to, his flight wasn’t for another five hours, giving him plenty of time to spare. One thing Jungkook couldn’t stand was rushing, he absolutely detested being rushed to do something, opting to come earlier ahead of schedule to avoid just that.

After checking in his luggage, which wasn’t much, he never understood people who preferred to pack their entire wardrobes and lug around a huge suitcase, he made his way towards the waiting lounge. Taking out his headphones from his backpack, he scouted for a vacant seat by the window, away from the crowd, he placed his playlist on shuffle and slowly drifted off to sleep.

By the time he woke up, the area was almost deserted, slightly panicked by the sight, he frantically checked the time on his phone, he’s only been asleep for an hour, but his surroundings drastically changed since then. When he glanced out the window on his left, he discovered that the entire runway was covered in snow, and it was still continuing to heavily snow. He decided to ask the nearest person he could find, a young man who was most probably close to his age, was seated nearby, brows furrowed while he stared at his phone.

“Excuse me, would you happen to know if there have been any announcements made for flight PR613 bound for Busan? Sorry, I dozed off for a bit.” Peering at the young man who looked up at him from his phone.

“Yeah, it’s been cancelled.” He replied in a stoic voice.

Looking around the area, Jungkook noticed that there were still quite a few people loitering, assuming that all the flights have been cancelled due to the heavy snowfall. “Oh. Hope you don’t mind me asking, why are you still here then? I mean, why haven’t you gone home after the announcement?”

Deep lines were starting to form on the young man’s forehead as it remained scrunched. “How could I? We’re stranded. Just my luck that on the day of my flight home, we suddenly get, let me quote, the worst snowfall in Seoul since 1993.”

Jungkook suddenly realized why this man looked so worried, they were stranded in an airport, on Christmas eve. That would explain the amount of people loitering around, some even laying down on vacant benches, bringing out blankets in order to get comfortable for the night.

The man before him was starting to tear up, causing Jungkook to panic. “Hey, hey, it’s okay. Don’t cry. Is it just our flight?” He was never initially good at handling emotional situations, his friends usually took care of that aspect, Jungkook was more of the easygoing type, that one friend you went to whenever you wanted to have a good time.

Wiping the meager tears that started to fall, sniffling as he spoke. “Yes, since ours was the last flight out for the day. Ugh, I hate this. Can you believe our luck? Now we have to spend Christmas eve in a dingy terminal. I’ve never spent Christmas away from my family, sorry for getting emotional. You’re probably weirded out.”

Placing his backpack in front of him, Jungkook opened it and brought a lot of random items out before stumbling upon his pack of tissues, opening it and handing one to the young man. “Here. Sorry, I’m not good with things like this. I’m sorry to hear that you have to spend Christmas eve without your family, I’m sort of used to it by now, it’s actually my first time coming home to spend the holidays with them since I moved to Seoul.”

He gratefully accepted the tissue, tapping it against his ducts, mouthing out a small thank you. “Oh. That’s kind of sad, they must miss you a lot. Where are my manners? My name’s Jimin, Park Jimin. Nice to meet you although I wish the circumstances were better.” Forcing a smile on his face.

He had an extremely pretty smile, Jungkook thought to himself, returning his smile as he responded. “Jeon Jungkook. I guess they do, my mom nags me all the time but work has been.. well, work. Busy. I gave up my vacation leaves to get paid more.” He stated with a chuckle. “By the way, do you work in Seoul as well? Or were you just visiting?”

“I am, or I was. Or I don’t know actually. I’m in a weird place right now. I work as a model, but lately I’ve been feeling lonely, and my head’s in a strange place so I was thinking of heading home to Busan for good. Not sure if it’s a good idea though.” The phone on Jimin’s lap kept lighting up, an influx of notifications were coming in.

It was probably too personal to discuss, and Jungkook didn’t want to invade his privacy, choosing not to pry further. “Oh. I totally get that, Seoul can be such a lonely place, especially at night. But hey, I hope that whatever decision you decide on, is the right one and I really hope it’ll bring you happiness.”

A twinkle in his smile expressed how touched Jimin was. “Thank you. I appreciate it, that’s really sweet of you to say.” His phone started to go off, he had an incoming call, he briefly glanced at the phone on his lap. “Sorry, I think I have to get that. It was nice meeting you, Jungkook. Merry Christmas.” He said before rushing off to find an isolated spot to answer his call.

Jungkook watched Jimin disappear from his line of sight, he was beginning to get hungry, he decided to walk around and look for a restaurant or café that was still open.

After pacing around for almost an hour and spotting zero establishments which remained open, he was starting to get both worried and frustrated, this was clearly not the holiday he envisioned for himself. On his way back to where he first came from, he spotted a few passengers violently shaking a vending machine, he stopped for a moment to watch them in amusement. One passenger noticed him watching from the sidelines, and called him over.

“Hey kid. Were you also supposed to be on the flight to Busan?”

Jungkook nodded his head.

“Well, me and the other passengers from the same flight decided to throw a little makeshift party since we’re not going anywhere anytime soon, and it’s Christmas eve, better make the most out of it. So what do you say, you wanna join us?”

Seeing that he didn’t have much of an option, it was either he joined them and have fun tonight, or he could sit around drowning in his misery while being bored on top of it, the second option wasn’t appealing at all, he agreed to participate in the makeshift party. Wherever fun was, Jungkook followed.

An old man chimed in. “We’re going to check the rest of the vending machines around this area, why don’t you walk around and see if you can find any snacks? This isn’t stealing, we’re merely borrowing, and trying to not die of hunger.”

Jungkook had to admit, the old man had a point, the airport wasn’t going to provide them any food, so they had to raid areas which contained food. They were probably going to get rescued in the morning, which indicated that they had to search for food to get them through the night.

He suddenly remembered Jimin and how dejected he felt upon learning that he would have to spend Christmas eve without his family, he decided to return to the spot he came from to inform Jimin about their little party in hopes of making him feel better about the entire situation they were in.

Jimin was still in the same seat, donning the same irritated look on his face as he was staring at his phone. Jungkook hesitantly approached him. “Um, hey. Bad time?”

His menacing look instantly disappeared, replacing it with a small grin instead. “No, it’s fine, really. Hi again.”

“Hey. So I know that you’re bummed about being stranded and all, and I just ran into some of the other passengers that were supposed to be on the same flight. Let me just cut to the chase, they’re throwing a small party to celebrate Christmas eve and I thought I’d invite you to join, since, let’s face it, we’ll be here until morning.”

Stuffing his phone in his bag, Jimin seemed to be deep in thought. “Oh, I don’t know. I’m not sure how I feel about spending the evening with strangers.”

Jungkook understood the predicament Jimin was in, but it seemed like a better idea than simply moping around until they got rescued, deciding to push the idea further. “Come on. It’ll be fun. And look at it this way, you won’t be lonely. You’ll be ringing in Christmas with me, although I’m still a stranger, you’ve got nothing to lose.”

What Jungkook was implying was true, but Jimin was still reluctant. “I really don’t know. Wouldn’t it be weird?”

“Not at all. It would be a lot more depressing spending it alone cooped up in this terminal. Plus, we’re going to look for snacks, I don’t know about you but I would prefer to not starve to death tonight.” Chuckling as he extended his hand, hoping that Jimin would give in and grab on to it. After a few seconds which felt like hours, Jungkook was beginning to second guess his invitation, when he felt a warm hand encompassing his own.

“Fine. Make sure that you get the best snacks available.” Jimin replied with a giggle, standing up and grabbing his bag with one hand, his other was still holding on to Jungkook’s. A huge grin appeared on Jungkook’s face as they walked hand in hand to the area which housed majority of the restaurants located inside the terminal.

They were greeted with disappointment after disappointment when each one they visited was locked. Luckily for them, they stumbled upon a bakery, the staff was probably not in their proper state of mind and forgot to completely lock the entrance. Jimin gleefully took the lead and entered the bakery without any hesitations, eyes scanning the wide selection of freshly baked breads on display. Thinking ahead of time, Jungkook opened up his backpack and started stuffing various items inside, trying to fit whatever he could inside his cluttered backpack, Jimin watched him and decided to join in, after all, there were a lot of hungry mouths that needed to be fed. They ended up leaving with bags filled with food. Bagels, buns, rolls, cookies, pizza, cinnamon rolls, everything you could possibly think of, Jungkook even managed to insert 3 jars of different fruit jams in his backpack.

“That was fun. But wasn’t that, like, shoplifting?” Jimin asked, suddenly worried about stealing food.

Recalling the words he heard earlier, Jungkook simply reiterated what he was told. “We’re just borrowing, don’t worry. It’s either that or we’ll starve to death, and I don’t feel like dying on Christmas eve.”

Jimin found his response amusing, unable to control himself from giggling, they continued to leisurely walk around the place, checking if there were any restaurants that could be raided.

They came across a middle-aged lady who was clutching a Duty Free bag in her hands. “Hi, you boys joining the party?”

They nodded in unison.

“Well luckily for you, I went on an impulse shopping spree before our flight was cancelled, I’m bringing booze for the party.” Opening the bag to show them the contents, it contained a couple of bottles of whiskey and a bottle of expensive champagne, Jimin was impressed by the selection of alcohol.

“You’re an angel in disguise, out to save us. I’m fairly certain of it.” Jimin uttered, making the woman break out in a fit of giggles.

“I like you already. We’ll have the party in terminal 1, head over there as soon as you can.” She stated before making her way to the other terminal to join the party.

Jimin had to admit, although he was reluctant to join them at first, he was now looking forward to it, and judging by the way Jungkook was bouncing on his feet, so was he.

As they were heading back to terminal 1, loud upbeat music could be heard from the distance, apparently one of the passengers brought his giant boom box with him, providing music for their party.

There were red, gold and green balloons strung around the place, and Jimin was slightly terrified of finding out where they came from. An ample number of people could be seen huddled around, enjoying the music while they carried around plastic cups in their hands, some were really getting into it, dancing like it was their last day on earth, either they were really feeling the Christmas spirit, or they were drunk, it had to be one or the other.

Jungkook hastily approached them, opening his backpack and unloading the assorted bread he previously picked up and arranging them on a nearby counter, Jimin followed suit and unloaded his bag as well.

The man Jungkook ran into earlier gave him and Jimin a pat on the back. “Hey, thanks guys! Glad you were able to unearth something edible, I was beginning to lose hope since we only managed to find granola bars and a couple of chocolate bars.” He stated with a guffaw.

“Enjoy the party and merry christmas!” He added before grabbing a cinnamon roll and heading back to the makeshift dance floor they created.

Jimin’s phone started ringing, he grabbed it from his backpack and turned it off, Jungkook witnessed the entire thing, unsure if he should ask about it or if it was something Jimin didn’t feel comfortable discussing. Jimin caught Jungkook staring at him, he sighed before addressing the elephant in the room.

“So, that was my manager, I mentioned that I model, anyway, long story short, he’s a greedy asshole and got me these strange jobs which I never agreed to, and some of them were shady and downright uncomfortable. The last job he offered to me was the final straw, that’s why I was thinking of returning home to Busan, and maybe start over.” He was starting to get emotional just by talking about it.

“I’m sorry, Jimin. I’m not even going to ask what kind of jobs he gave you but..”

“It was a stones throw to becoming porn.” Jimin interrupted him by answering the question Jungkook never dared to ask.

“Oh. Wow. Okay, asshole indeed. I’m glad you made a decision for yourself, it probably wasn’t an easy decision to make, but you made it anyway. Proud of you.” Jungkook said with a comforting smile. Although Jimin may or may not admit it, it felt good to confide in a stranger, a stranger who wouldn’t judge him. He was slowly adjusting to Jungkook’s presence, since he seemed to possess such a placid yet jovial aura around him. It was a good change of pace, for Jimin was used to being around snotty models who had zero socialization skills, thinking that they were above everyone else.

The more he thought about it, the more he convinced himself that he was making the right decision by leaving the modelling industry, sure, he made good money, but he just didn’t resonate with what he was doing. It never sparked joy, and Jimin was someone who yearned for joy, for contentment.

“Thank you, Jungkook, I appreciate it. So, tell me more about you. Why were you going home for Christmas?” He grabbed a cup which contained alcohol, handing one to Jungkook, maybe it would ease both of their nerves and help them mellow down.

“Well, honestly, I had nothing better to do. And no one to spend Christmas with, my friends all went home for the holidays and my mom has been nagging me since forever, seeing as I was free for the holidays, I impulsively bought a ticket home. But as you can see, it didn’t work out too well. For any of us.” He grimly chuckled.

“Not going home to visit your girlfriend? Or boyfriend? Sorry, I didn’t mean to assume your preference.” Jimin couldn’t help but ask, he was curious.

“I like men, if that answers your question. And no, no lover waiting home for me, to answer your another question. How about you?” Jungkook flung the question back, also curious whether or not someone as attractive as Jimin was already seeing somebody.

“Nope. Still single. Sometimes I think that maybe if I dated somebody, it would ease the loneliness.” He said with a chuckle in contrast to how serious his confession was, downplaying it.

“You see, sometimes I think I didn’t fully transition well in Seoul. Like, I have difficulty connecting with others, it’s not that I’m picky or stuck up, it’s the opposite, really, I’m insecure and constantly feel like I’m not worth anybody’s time. Like my words don’t deserve to be heard, so I just don’t bother anymore.” The sadness in his eyes was evident, taking a sip from his plastic cup as he poured his thoughts unto a stranger.

Jungkook felt saddened by his confession, at the same time, extremely agitated that Jimin probably had to deal with something that led him to believe that he was unworthy. “Well, I think you’re worth my time, and my attention. You’re a fascinating person to be around and you’re probably even more enchanting once you let your guard down. Don’t let loneliness take over your life, Jimin. Somebody out there is meant to take those lonely nights away from you.”

Jimin gently shut his eyes, feeling the prickling of tears gathering behind his lids. It felt reassuring to be consoled with words that could probably rekindle his lost hope. It felt comforting to have his words heard, especially since nobody really ever took the time to ask him if he was fine. He was about to lose his composure in front of a stranger but somehow it felt relieving to know that it would be fine. That maybe things were going to turn out fine.

The Jimin people were accustomed to, would persistently shy away from social events, from situations that would take him away from his comfort zone, so what he did next surprised even himself. He asked Jungkook to dance. In an airport terminal, with strangers surrounding them, they all had some place they needed to be, and somehow they all ended up in this cramped area, spending the evening of Christmas together.

Thanks to Jungkook’s words of encouragement, he decided that before the year ended, he needed to discard of the old, insecure Jimin to make way for the Jimin which he thought he lost a long time ago.

He grabbed Jungkook’s hand, leading him to the provisional dance floor that was created by the other passengers, they had a mini led light and candles surrounding the area to illuminate the dimmer section where the dance floor was placed. An upbeat song called Perfect Strangers started playing in the background, how befitting, Jimin giddily thought to himself. Jungkook wasn’t too keen on dancing whenever he visited a club with his friends, preferring to have a couple of drinks in an insolated area instead, but he knew that Jimin could use some cheering up, and honestly, who would turn down a guy like Jimin?

He eventually brushed his hesitancy away, watching Jimin let loose, lifting both hands in the air as he swayed his body along to the music, he looked exuberant, Jungkook found his breath hitching for a split second, admiring how happiness fit Jimin the best. They were in the middle of a desolated area, dancing as if they weren’t stranded for the night, forgetting all their worries, as they simply let go of their inhibitions.

Jimin loosely placed one arm on top of Jungkook’s shoulder, closing the distance between them as the beat began to slow down, uncertain if it was inappropriate, throwing caution to the wind, he decided to live in the moment, carefully placing one hand on Jimin’s waist. Jimin took the lead, dancing alongside the beat, soon enough, any signs of awkwardness between them dissipated, Jungkook found himself thoroughly enjoying dancing with Jimin, realizing that he probably wasn’t into dancing before because of the random strangers he would end up dancing with, but dancing with Jimin was different, it was comfortable.

The next song selection was a slower one, a more intimate one, probably meant for slow dancing. Jungkook pulled Jimin closer, feeling his breath fan across his face, both hands now snaked around Jungkook’s neck, he looked into Jimin’s eyes, seeing the entire galaxy in it, getting lost the longer he gazed into it. The night was young, but so were they, in the heat of the moment, Jungkook followed what his instincts told him to do, he placed a chaste kiss on Jimin’s forehead, ignoring the hammering that was occurring in his chest. He was lost in the moment, living in it, tomorrow would be another day, and he wanted to make the most of what he could get out tonight, that’s how Jungkook chose to live his life, living in the moment, no matter what life threw at him, he chose to make the most out of every precious moment.

Jimin buried his head on top of Jungkook’s steady shoulders, inhaling the scent of wood sage, intoxicating yet inviting. He could feel his face heating up and wasn’t sure how he should react to what just happened between them, but being with Jungkook felt nice, there was no pressure to sit down and discuss what just happened, no dire need to step out of his comfort zone, slowly swaying with the music was enough. At the back of his head he knew, he knew that whatever it was that just transpired between them, was a magical moment meant for the two of them, something that only they would be able to recognize and remember. He didn’t want to ruin the moment by initiating a conversation to clarify things, things didn’t even need to be clarified, he had the option to leave it as it is, and that’s what he chose to do.

The song switched back to an upbeat one, Jimin could feel his feet aching from all the dancing he was engaging in, suggesting that they grab a few more drinks and just talk.

A steel bench was located nearby, Jungkook headed towards the vacant bench, holding two plastic cups of his own, making himself comfortable.

“So, tell me more about yourself.” He gazed at Jimin, watching him take the seat right next to him.

“Well, what do you want to know?” Jimin replied, taking a sip out of his cup.

“Anything. Whatever you want to talk about. It can be about something really random or something personal, I won’t mind either way.” Shrugging as Jungkook took a sip out of his cup as well, wincing a bit as the whiskey left a burning sensation down his throat.

Giggling as he suddenly recalled a random memory. “Okay, let me tell you about the first time I agreed to go out with some fellow models. They brought me to this really upscale and fancy restaurant, the menu was so intimidating because I couldn’t understand half of what was written on it. I ordered a random beverage since it contained tea leaves, when it arrived I was thirsty so I ended up chugging it down, bad idea, really.”

Listening intently, he was fully invested in Jimin’s story. “What happened next?”

“Well, I ended up spitting it out on another model’s face. I swear, if he wasn’t going to get charged for murder, he probably would have killed me on the spot. The look on his face was priceless.” His hand was covering his mouth, trying to suppress a loud laugh from escaping, but ultimately failing to do so.

“No. You didn’t! Was the drink that bad?” Jimin’s laugh was contagious and Jungkook found himself chuckling along.

“Oh Jungkook, you have no idea. It was like drinking bitter salt water. If I wanted to drink salt water then I would’ve headed back home to Busan instead, we have so many gorgeous beaches out there. Needless to say, they never invited me out again!” He almost fell out of his seat because of how hard he was laughing, eyes disappearing into crescent-like shapes.

“Your turn. Tell me something about yourself or any random stories.” Jimin stated as he put his legs up, sitting cross legged on the cold metal bench.

“Hmm. What do you want to know?”

“Anything at all!” Jimin gleefully responded.

Deep in thought, Jungkook decided to talk about his friends, a smile forming on his face at the mere thought of them. “My friends, they’re chaotic and honestly a little insane, but without them, my life in the city would suck ass bigtime. There was this one time, Seokjin hyung thought that sitting on top of the copy machine was a good idea, until it started making strange noises, he ended up making 100 copies of his butt.” Slapping his knee as he recalled the incident, Jimin was also giggling along.

“Then there’s Taehyung hyung, his boyfriend, they were out buying a new necktie for Seokjin hyung, as they were about to exit the store, the alarms started blaring and they panicked. Taehyung hyung was so close to crying. Turns out, he accidentally shoplifted a cuff, well, not really shoplifted, but it fell into his shopping bag without him knowing.” Snickering as he scrunched up his nose, Jimin was intently hanging on to every word out of Jungkook’s mouth, it was as if he was having these different experiences based on his stories, he was living through him in a way.

“Oh, and Yoongi hyung, so he’s been in love with Hoseok hyung since forever, and also a little bit in love with Namjoon hyung as well.”

“He’s in love with two people? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not judging or anything, but how is he still not with either one of them yet?” Jimin curiously asked.

Shrugging his shoulders in response, Jungkook replied. “Beats me. They’re all oblivious for some reason. Anyway, Namjoon hyung almost burnt down his apartment one time, he left a plate of leftovers in the microwave for too long and suddenly the apartment was filled with smoke, I remember Hoseok hyung telling me about his near death experience.” Fondness filled him as he talked about his friends, Jimin was slightly envious that Jungkook had a closely knitted group of friends surrounding him.

“They all sound like a fun bunch. I’m a little jealous, I’ve never managed to get along with anyone that well, people seem to just come and go, never really staying.” He said with a sad smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

“For the record, if we ever get a chance in the future, I’d love to introduce you to them. I feel like they’ll fall in love with your personality, especially Seokjin hyung, you both have compassion deeply rooted in your bones.” Somehow Jungkook’s statement made Jimin feel better, uncertain if that day would ever come, it didn’t hurt to hope.

In a massive city like Seoul where it was crowded with residents and tourists alike, sometimes Jimin had a hard time finding his place in it, feeling like a mere speck of dust amidst millions of people. Jungkook could sense that Jimin was spacing out.

“You okay? You’re free to talk about whatever, okay? I’m here to listen.” He offered words of solace, giving Jimin room to adjust and decide whether or not he wanted to give Jungkook a piece of his mind.

Seeing as he has been freely speaking his mind, Jimin concluded that it was okay for him to continue doing so, just to get it out of his system.

“I’m lonely. There’s no other way around it. Sometimes I allow the loneliness to consume me and it drives me crazy, I feel like I’m on a journey to find myself but I’m not really headed anywhere, do you know what I mean? I want to surround myself with good people, like what you’re doing, because I feel like it would make things so much easier for me, but at the same time, I have difficulty putting myself out there, I keep on hesitating and I end up missing out on everything. Sorry for pouring this out, I ramble a lot since I rarely get the chance to speak up and be brutally honest.” He was starting to chew on his nails, an awful habit which he never let go of.

Jungkook took this opportunity to look at him, really look at him, going past the brave front Jimin was trying so hard to maintain, and seeing Jimin, Jimin who was lost and needed a little guidance, Jimin who deserved to be seen and heard.

“Listen, this is not my forte, so I’ll just speak as frankly as I can, Jimin, I hope you see what I see when I look at you. I hope that the world can see you for who you really are, I hope you find a place in this world, a place that would make you genuinely happy. Because this world is missing out on a spectacular person, and that’s you, Jimin.”

Unable to prevent his tears from spilling out, Jimin chugged down the remainders in his cup, trying to clear his throat. He’s been wanting to be seen for the person that he really was for so long, and now that it was actually happening, with a complete stranger no less, Jimin was suddenly feeling vulnerable, unsure of how he should react. His foremost emotion was gratitude, he was grateful for stumbling across a soul as kind as Jungkook. He managed to mutter out a silent thank you, Jungkook simply nodded and gave him room to let his emotions out, looking at the other direction and staring out the window instead, watching how the snow gracefully fell from the sky, adding layers upon layers of pure white, the snow kind of reminded Jungkook of Jimin, how pure and tiny it was, falling into a pile of snow that seemed endless, just like Seoul. Jimin needed to learn how to blend in like snow, perfectly becoming one with the rest of the fallen snow, he secretly sent a silent prayer that somehow Jimin would learn to find himself again and land gracefully, similar to how snow did.

As soon as Jimin paced himself and felt better, they resumed where they left off, chatting about whatever topic drifted into their minds, they went from serious discussions such as how they grew up, to trivial topics such as the worst meal they’ve experienced and why they would never attempt it again. It was refreshing, Jimin doesn’t think he’s ever felt this at ease with someone he practically just met, didn’t think it was possible. The hours went by, as the party died down, and before they knew it, the sun was starting to rise, it stopped snowing too, concluding their night that didn’t seem to end, or maybe they secretly didn’t want it to end. A member from the airport staff finally opened the main entrance, it was then Jungkook realized that good things were always meant to come to an end, feeling disheartened that he probably wouldn’t see Jimin again, wondering if whatever magic brought them together last night faded along with the falling snow.

Passengers were making their way towards the exit, casually saying their goodbyes to one another.

“Looks like we’re finally free. What are your plans for Christmas? Are you still going to fly back to Busan?” Jungkook asked, a hallow feeling surging from his chest.

“I don’t know. I think. I mean, it’s not like I have other options.” Jimin replied, feeling the same dismal emotions.

“I guess this is goodbye then. Hope I’ll still see you around, I know Seoul’s a big city, and so is Busan, but who knows. Fate might bring us together again.” Jungkook stated with a warm smile. He picked up his heavy backpack, throwing it over his shoulder, once he was settled , he turned back to give Jimin one final glance. “Merry Christmas, Jimin. I hope happiness finds you.”

He turned around and headed towards the exit.

Was that it?

Was this how it all ends after spending an entire night together, divulging in conversations that even Jimin’s family had no idea about?

Was this what it meant to watch your possible happiness walk away?

Maybe Jimin had it wrong all along, he wasn’t searching for a particular cure for his loneliness, but rather, a person to fill the empty spaces for him.

Jimin has never been the impulsive kind, constantly giving each calculated movement a lot of thought before pursuing something, but at that moment, he decided to let go of the old Jimin who was unreasonably terrified of any form of change, maybe change was what he needed all along.

Grabbing his bag with one hand, he swiftly ran towards the exit, muttering apologies to the people he unintentionally shoved along the way, he was frantically running like his life depended on it.

Clutching his knees as the warm sunshine greeted him, he squinted his eyes searching for a familiar figure, his heartbeat rapidly going crazy, dread filled him as he realized for a split second that he might have been too late.

“Hey. You okay?” The familiar voice called out to him, and there he was, Jungkook, arms leaning on the metal rail as he was patiently waiting for the bus to arrive. Jimin couldn’t describe the sense of relief it brought him once he spotted Jungkook, taking deep breaths as sprinting across the airport exhausted him.

Jungkook leisurely walked towards him in confusion, while Jimin lightly jogged towards him, meeting him halfway.

“Jimin? What’s wrong? You look like you just ran a full marathon.” He teased, it felt reassuring to know that he could hear the familiar chuckle once again, a few minutes ago, he wasn’t too sure if he would still be able to and the thought terrified him more than he would like to admit.

“Jungkook! Thank goodness you’re still here. H-hold on. Let me just catch my breath.” Jimin huffed, waiting for his breathing to return to normal before calmly speaking up again. “I changed my mind.”

“About what?”

“Spend Christmas with me. I mean, if you’re not heading back or if you have no other plans, I mean.. I don’t know what I mean, I’m just hoping that you’ll spend Christmas with me. I want to give Seoul one last try, preferably, with you.” That was it. Jimin laid his heart out for Jungkook to see, his statement came with huge implications, implications that could change his life for the better, but that was if, and only if, he didn’t get his heart broken right this instant.

With bated breath, he waited for Jungkook’s response, he was simply staring back at Jimin with wide eyes, almost as if he lost the ability to function properly, which was not helping Jimin’s anxiety as he waited for him to answer.

“You.. want to spend Christmas.. with me?”

“Umm.. Yes, I was hoping to, if you didn’t have any other plans.” Jimin meekly replied.

“I don’t. And even if I did, I would cancel them for you. I’d like nothing else than to spend the rest of Christmas with you, Jimin.” He said with a wide smile, and finally, Jimin felt like he could breathe again.

“Really? You don’t mind?”

“Jimin, I want to spend Christmas with you. And every other holiday that comes after. I want to introduce you to my friends. I want to make sure that your nights will be filled with love instead of loneliness. So yes, Jimin, let’s spend the rest of Christmas together.” He held out his hand, waiting for Jimin to grab it just like when they first met.

It perplexed Jimin how easy it was for him to put himself out there, or it was probably because Jungkook was involved, that he managed to overlook the other scary possibilities.

With a smile and a lighter heart, Jimin grabbed on to Jungkook’s hand, looking forward to the rest of the day, and for the first time since moving to Seoul, he was looking forward to the rest of his future as well, with Jungkook by his side. Suddenly, the loneliness didn’t feel so overwhelming anymore.

End.