Work Text:
“Oh, is that Jungkook-ssi?”
"Jimin wouldn't be here with anyone else, would he?"
“Look at them!”
“Welcome, welcome!”
“Merry Christmas Eve!”
“Let him breathe, you idiots.”
“Let them come inside.”
“Jimin, you look nice!”
“They make such a good-looking couple!”
“They really do, hyung.”
“Can you fools let them come inside?”
“Oh, right, sorry,” Jung Hoseok said and moved aside, shoving his friends behind a bit and ignoring their synchronized grunts. “Come in, come in. Welcome to Chez Jung.” Jungkook recognized Hoseok with his slightly lavender-pink hair and smiled at him.
“Its my name on the property document but sure, welcome to Chez Jung,” Kim Seokjin said and put out a hand for Jungkook to take. “Welcome, Jungkook, we have heard so much about you.” Seokjin was taller than Jungkook had anticipated. And he was as beautiful as Jimin had told him.
Jungkook smiled nervously. “All good I hope. Thank you so much for inviting me,” he told Seokjin and Hoseok.
“Its our pleasure!” Hoseok said and Seokjin shook his head.
“I have some wine for you,” Jungkook said, giving him a bottle of the expensive wine that he had picked up from an artisanal store a couple of days ago. He had put it in a festive bag and covered it with streamers and paper and Kim Taehyung appeared in front of him suddenly and his lit up as he took the bottle from him. Taehyung was wearing a light beige shirt and his hair fell prettily around his face.
“You really shouldn’t have, Jungkook,” Taehyung said as he pulled the bottle out to examine it.
“Hey! That is for me,” Seokjin protested but Taehyung ignored him.
He let out an impressed whistle and turned to Yoongi who was standing in the corner. Yoongi brushed his blond hair away from his face and looked at Taehyung. “Hyung, look at this! I’ve heard so much about this wine, its amazing.”
Taehyung hopped over to Yoongi who took the bottle from his hand to inspect it and Namjoon replaced Taehyung’s presence in front of Jungkook. “Let me grab your coat, Jungkook-ah,” he said. Jungkook nodded and take his coat of to give to the man and turned to find his boyfriend looking at him with the most in-love smile that a man could ever have.
As soon as Namjoon took his coat and went to keep it in one of the bedrooms, Jimin came to Jungkook and hugged him. “I’m sorry that its going to be four hours of this chaos.”
Jungkook shook his head. “They’re your friends, hyung,” he said. “You love them and I here to love them too.”
Jimin raised his head and kissed him on the cheek. “How did I get so lucky?”
“I’m pretty sure some type of sacrifice would have been involved,” Jungkook smirked.
“Hey lovebirds!” Taehyung called out to them. “Come to the kitchen. We need to do formal introductions.”
“Ready?” Jimin asked him and untangled himself.
Jungkook took his hand and nodded. “Ready.”
They walked together to the large open space kitchen and sat on the dining table on two chairs close by, and the house stole Jungkook’s breath away. Seokjin’s house was a huge penthouse apartment in Gangnam and it looked and felt every bit like the expensive apartment that it was.
The apartment was decorated in everything silver, brown, beige and white and it felt like the snow that was falling on the city outside had sprinkled itself all over Seokjin’s house. The large couch in the living room was white and all over the room were similarly colored Christmas decorations. There was a large green tree in one corner, but it was decorated in the most tasteful white and silver baubles and had twinkling lights that made the whole room light up. Jungkook was stunned, it was beautiful. There were tons of presents wrapped in golden, brown and white wrapping paper under the tree and Jungkook spotted one with his name on it and smiled. Jimin had probably kept it there a couple of days ago. There was a fireplace in the apartment and Jungkook noticed six stockings on it.
They made their way to the large kitchen and dining area and Jimin told him the rooms had an amazing view of the city. Or so Jungkook had heard. The blinds were down in the large floor to window glass window that ran across the living and dining rooms and although Jungkook wanted to peek and have a look at the city below them, but he didn’t want to overstep.
The large dining table had a white runner and seven place settings. It had the same silver and beige themes and the table had a variety of appetizers - there were jalapeno poppers, nachos with veggies and cheese sauce, salsa, guacamole, devilled eggs, a charcuterie board with a variety of meats and cheeses. Jungkook began with the nachos. Hoseok was at the bar, preparing a concoction of Christmassy drinks for the group and he started off with a cinnamon whiskey drink which was slightly warm and he called it a Hot Toddy.
Jungkook thanked him and cradled the glass in his hand as Hoseok served the drinks to the others around the table. “Seokjin-ssi, the décor is beautiful,” he told Seokjin who was sitting at the head of the table.
“Thank you, Jungkook-ah,” Seokjin said as he sipped on the Hot Toddy. “Its all Hoseok’s doing. The idea, the color scheme, the fact that he made me buy a new couch just so that he could match everything else with it.” Jungkook knew Hoseok was an interior decorator but he wasn’t aware that he did decoration of this kind as well. Maybe it was a Seokjin special.
Jungkook smiled and sipped on his drink. There was a question on his mind about some of the relationships in the room, but he kept them to himself. Jimin had told him that Taehyung and Namjoon were dating each other, but there was something going on between Seokjin, Hoseok and Yoongi that they all were confused about. There were feelings involved between them, but they hadn’t fully acted upon them yet.
The whiskey was smooth as it went down Jungkook’s throat and warmed him up in the cold Korean winter. “This is so good,” he said, relishing the drink and saw Hoseok grin.
“Yoongi hyung taught me how to make it,” he said. “I drink it all the time but especially when I have a cough. It clears everything up.”
Jungkook smiled and looked back at his drink. Jimin’s hand snaked on to his thigh and stroked it, a simple reminder that he was right there. He was talking to Taehyung about a drink that he had tried last evening while on a date with Jungkook.
Jimin and Jungkook started dating three months ago, just before Jungkook’s birthday in September. They had met at an art exhibition where Jimin was invited to and Jungkook’s art was the one that was on display. Jimin was not at all into art and artwork. The most he knew about art was that Starry Night was painted by Vincent Van Gogh and that he had cried in the Doctor Who episode about it.
So it was really serendipitous that he ended up at the exhibition. He was supposed to have dinner with Taehyung and Namjoon but Namjoon had eaten some bad noodles and had gotten sick, so Taehyung stayed back to take care of his boyfriend. He called Jimin when he was at work at the Kindergarten where he was a teacher and told him that he couldn’t make. Jimin was bummed out, but he smiled and told his friend to take care and that he would drop by later that night.
It just so happened that one of his co-teachers had overheard the conversation and had an extra ticket for the art show she was going to, and offered it to Jimin. Jimin was skeptical, but he did have a free evening, so he decided to go.
Safe to say that he didn’t end up going to Taehyung and Namjoon’s and spent the whole night talking to Jungkook about everything. And after three happy months, they still hadn’t run out of things to talk about. Jimin was happier than he had ever been and he had asked Jungkook to come over to his friends’ house if he didn’t have any Christmas Plans.
Jungkook’s parents were on a trip to Australia so he was either going to spend Christmas on his own, or at his sister-in-law’s family’s house. But a quick few calls and a lot of teasing from his sister-in-law and Jungkook was happy to be spending Christmas with Jimin and his friends.
Jungkook had heard a lot about Jimin’s friends and had even spoken to a few of them on calls. But this was the first time that he was meeting them in person, and he was a little bit nervous. He wanted to make a good impression on everyone, but most importantly he wanted to impress Min Yoongi.
Yoongi was a music producer with a big company, and although Jimin had told Jungkook that he was the softest person in the group, Jungkook was intimidated by him. Yoongi was the only person that Jungkook had met in person and had found him to be so intimidating that he was actually a bit scared of the man. His sharp eyes, deep voice and the way he would look at someone as if peering into their soul made Jungkook just a little nervous.
That and the fact that Jimin had confessed to Jungkook that he had a little bit of a baby crush of Yoongi when they were younger had made Jungkook lose his mind just a little bit. It was a fleeting crush, one that Yoongi had shot down but it was still something that Jimin acknowledged and teased Yoongi about.
“And we spoke about it a lot, but he didn't agree,” he heard Jimin say when he came back to the conversation.
“Your principal is a dick,” Taehyung said and shook his head. “These are literal kids. Children. They need to go to the zoo for mental simulation and such. He cant just cancel it.”
“Yeah, and it was something the kids were looking forward to the entire year,” Jimin said. “Its fine, though, we’ll figure something out.”
“Jungkook,” Namjoon interrupted. “Jimin was telling me that you have an art exhibit coming up.”
He nodded. “Its at the Leeum Samsung museum. A bunch of artists have their exhibits being showcased. Its on the 6th of January. You all should come, if you’re free. I can easily arrange the tickets.”
“Yes, please, I would love that,” Namjoon said. “I was there last week for Lee Bae’s exhibit. He’s phenomenal.”
“He’s my inspiration!” Jungkook said excitedly. “I worked with him very briefly in 2021 on a installation. Actually, he’s coming to Seoul next month. Would you want to maybe meet him?”
Namjoon stared at Jungkook. He turned to look at Taehyung who was smiling next to him, then at Jimin and then back to Jungkook. “Are you serious?”
Jungkook nodded. “He’s coming to Perrotin Dosan Park. Not for an exhibit, but he’s meeting artists and collectors because he’s the type of guy to do those things.”
“And he would be okay to meet me?”
“I’ll pull some strings and it can happen,” Jungkook smiled.
Namjoon turned to Jimin. “Where did you find him?” he said incredolously.
“Literally in an art gallery, hyung,” Jimin grinned and the table giggled.
Namjoon turned back to Jungkook. “Yes, yes, please! This is amazing. It would be the greatest day of my life,” he said and smiled widely. Taehyung cleared his throat near him and Namjoon immediately added, “The second greatest day in my life. The first is when I met Taehyungie, of course.”
“Of course,” Taehyung said and Namjoon turned to kiss him on the cheek.
“I’ll talk to my manager, Namjoon-ssi, dont worry,” Jungkook said and made a mental note to email his manager about this.
“Please, its hyung,” Namjoon said and he felt Jimin’s hand tighten on his thigh.
Jungkook smiled and he saw Jimin’s chest puff out in pride right next to him. He knew he had won Namjoon over.
He picked up a jalapeno popper and bit into the crunchy cheese stick. The cheese pull itself made him lose his mind. He moaned into the bite as the others spoke about Namjoon’s ability to fanboy over people they hadn't even heard about and Seokjin looked at Jungkook, amused.
“Like it?” he asked.
“Its so good,” Jungkook replied. “Did you get all this catered? Its amazing.”
“No, actually,” Seokjin smiled. “I cooked it all by myself.”
“No way,” Jungkook said, shocked.
“Yes way. All this, the turkey thats heating up in the oven, the rice, some noodles and the dessert.”
“What? But how did you manage, Seokjin-ssi? That’s so much food. I hope you had help.”
“Jiminie’s told you I like cooking, right?” Seokjin asked and Jungkook nodded. “Its really calming for me. I like cooking in big batches. It makes me feel young. Takes me back in time.”
“Did you ever work in a kitchen?”
“Oh, yes,” Seokjin said. “Literally all my life. I go into the kitchen now as well, but my head chefs handle most of it.”
“Head chefs? Do you own a restaurant?” Jungkook asked confused.
Seokjin looked a little taken aback but nodded slowly. “Yes. And you’ve been there tons of times.”
Jungkook’s eyes bulged and he turned to Jimin, who was sitting closer to Seokjin but was engrossed in a conversation with Yoongi about wine. “Hyung, sorry, but have we been to Seokjin-ssi’s restaurant before?”
“Oh yeah,” Jimin said, looking at him. “We went there last week too.”
“What? Which one?”
“Otsu Seiromushi,” he said and smiled and went back to talking to Yoongi.
“You own that place?” Jungkook asked Seokjin, shocked.
“I do.”
“But.. But Jimin hyung never told me.”
“Was it not obvious by the large discounts you got every time you were there?”
Jungkook shook his head, “No, I thought that was because I’m a regular.”
“Oh, hey, thanks for being a loyal customer,” Seokjin grinned.
“Seokjin-ssi, thanks for owning my most favorite restaurant in Seoul!”
“Hyung, please,” Seokjin smiled and offered him some cheese from the charcuterie board.
Jungkook smiled proudly and ate some well deserved cheese. He was pleased with himself so far and really happy to be amongst some of the nicest people he had met.
Conversation flowed freely, as did the alcohol. And before they knew it, Seokjin brought out the large turkey and some roast beef. Hoseok and Namjoon also helped him bring out some rice, noodles, mashed potatoes and several types of bread that Seokjin said he didn't bake, but from a local bakery.
Jungkook was happily serving himself some beef when Taehyung pulled Jimin away to get him a fresh glass of wine and Jungkook suddenly noticed that it was only him and Yoongi at the table. Yoongi was looking intently at Jungkook and suddenly he got conscious of himself.
He was a little bit buzzed so he placed the piece of beef back on its serving plate and picked up a bit of sourdough bread and chewed on it while he waited for the others to come back to the table. And he made sure to look everywhere, except at Yoongi.
“So how are things going on with Jimin?” Yoongi asked, perfectly kindly but Jungkook was internally freaking out.
“Its good, everything’s great,” he smiled.
“Jungkook, you know, I’m not going to give you that ‘if you hurt Jimin’ talk. We’re all either in or are reaching our 30s, and it just seems a little childish to do so,” Yoongi said. “But, if you do have any problems or anything, I would recommend you talk to him. Or if he’s not in the mood to talk, you can talk to one of us.”
Jungkook finally looked up and Yoongi and noticed the man had a soft smile on his face. He couldn't help but mirror it.
“Jimin’s the baby amongst all of us. Taehyung is his baby, but you know what i mean. And he seems really happy with you, Jungkook-ah. You both seem really happy,” Yoongi said.
“I am, Yoongi-ssi. Jimin hyung makes me so happy. I haven't been this happy in a long time, I think,” Jungkook said. “Like its literally Christmas and Seoul is cold all the time but he makes me feel all warm and tingly inside all the time.”
Yoongi smiled and looked down, sipping on some whiskey on the rocks. “Yeah, he does that, doesn't he?”
Jungkook noticed a slight blush covering Yoongi’s cheeks and he wondered if the feelings that Jimin shared once upon a time were a two way street. There were two men sitting on the table in Seokjin’s house and they were both blushing while talking about one Park Jimin. Jungkook wanted to ask Yoongi about it, but before he could get a word in, he heard Hoseok walk in with more drinks.
“I am ready to get wasted,” the man sang.
“I am ready to accompany you on that,” Seokjin met his tone and walked in right behind him. Jungkook stole a look at Yoongi and he smiled.
If Yoongi had a slight pink tinge on his face while talking about Jimin, then he was light up like the red light of the traffic signal when he saw Hoseok and Seokjin walk in. His eyes darted from one man to the other, and his grin was wide. His shoulders shook as he laughed in amazement and adoration and Jungkook had his answer clear for him.
And it honestly felt like both Seokjin and Hoseok were putting up a show for Yoongi because they only seemed to be hovering near him and mirrored his smile.
“Yoongi-ssi?” Jungkook called out to him, breaking him out of his reverie. Yoongi looked at him so he continued, “If you want to act upon your feelings for the only two single men on your table, tonight would be the best time to do it.”
Yoongi’s eyes widened slightly and he raised his whiskey glass towards Jungkook. “Giving me advice?” he asked.
“Just a friendly one. I have a feeling that I’m going to be seeing a lot more of all of you so I wanted to just let my feelings be known,” Jungkook said and put his glass towards Yoongi’s, clinking them together.
Yoongi smiled at him and saw Jimin walk over to sit by Jungkook, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “You have a good one here, Jimin-ah,” he said. “Welcome to the family, Jungkook-ah.”
“Thank you, Yoongi hyung,” Jungkook said without Yoongi prompting him. He had a feeling that Yoongi would absolutely not mind it.
He turned to Jimin, “Your friends are some of the coolest people I’ve ever met.”
Jimin grinned and wrapped his hands around Jungkook’s waist. “Really? Because they think that you hung the stars in the sky.”
They ate and drank and Seokjin put on Christmas music for them all to dance on as he brought out some gingerbread cookies, a chocolate cake and plum cake. He had also strung mistletoe all over his house so every time they could, Jimin and Jungkook sneaked in small kisses and secretly thanked Seokjin for doing so.
When it was almost 12 AM, Seokjin raised the blinds in the living room and Jungkook’s breath was taken away. It was snowing and Seoul was covered in a thin line of snow - white and beautiful.
“This house is way beyond my means, but for this view, I’d buy it all over again,” Seokjin told Jungkook and the younger had to agree.
This city was the most beautiful city that Jungkook had ever seen. It was dark, but still bright thanks to the city lights. He was standing with the most beautiful man he had ever met and had happily given his heart to him. He was standing with five men, who at the start of the evening were strangers to him, but now he knew that they would be closer than family.
"Hey, did you notice the fireplace?" Jimin asked him.
Jungkook turned to the fireplace and saw there were seven stockings there instead of the six he had seen earlier.
"Looks like you're not getting rid of anyone in this room for a long time," Jimin smiled and snuggled closer to Jungkook.
Jungkook smiled and nodded. He had a feeling that he wouldn't want to either.
It really was a Merry Christmas after all.