You stood outside by the streetlight, bundled in at least three thick layers to fight against the dark chilly air. The lamp nearby would have probably given off more warmth if it wasn’t 12 feet in the air, but you stood as close to it as you could, as if it would anyway. You idly watched people walk by, primarily couples, some of them trotting faster than others, as it seemed everyone around you was beginning to head toward their New Year’s Eve plans.

And as you spotted Park Jimin making his way out from the apartment building, audibly reacting to the cold and shoving his hands deep into his pockets, you smiled to yourself, knowing that was where you were about to be heading toward, as well.

Jimin came scampering up, a strained grin appearing on his face. “I’m sorry I’m a little late, I was exchanging New Year’s tidings with everyone else,” he said as he got closer to you, unwittingly standing right up against your arm, perhaps in hopes of absorbing any body warmth. You knew the ‘everyone else’ he was referring to was his group, the rest of Bangtan, and its staff— this would be one New Year’s Eve that he wouldn’t be there with them during the midnight festivities. He gave a short head bow and added, “They all give you their well wishes, of course, and also wish us luck in not freezing to death tonight.”

“Oh, are we going to be outside?” you asked, raising your eyebrows, reminding him that you didn’t actually know what he had planned.

“About that …,” he trailed off, sheepishly grinning again, realising he’d said a little too much. He removed a hand out of his pocket and reached up under his chin, pulling his facemask up over his mouth and squinting against the breeze. “Okay, fine, yes. But it’s alright, I have some preparations.” He motioned over his shoulder at the black backpack he wearing, something you hadn’t even noticed before. “Ready?”

“I’m as ready as I’ll ever be,” you stated with a laugh, a little nervous without knowing what he had in mind.

“Don’t worry, it’s really close by, so if I’m an idiot and we can’t stand it for too long, we’ll head back inside with the others and just spend the evening ignoring them.” Jimin winked, amused by his own commentary, then reached out with the hand that wasn’t in a pocket. “Let’s go.”

You gladly took his hand, although you were a little bummed that you couldn’t feel his warmth through the amount of fabric between you two. Regardless, it was about -8 °C, so there was no way you would be sacrificing any of those layers just yet. You could really sense that temperature as you two walked down the street side-by-side, hand-in-hand, hearing the breeze whip past your ears despite having a beanie covering them.

Despite the chilly weather, though, your heart was pounding and your chest felt warm on the inside, looking very much forward to the evening’s antics.

Jimin led you a couple of blocks away, and turned the corner once. You walked past other couples, or people walking home from work, and everyone looked just as frigid and bundled up as you two did. For such a glowing, pleasant holiday, it sure was cold, but it didn’t seem to stop anybody from travelling to or with loved ones.

Not more than 10 minutes of walking later, you ended up at the entrance of a hotel. You glanced up to read the name, but its bright signage was faced out to the other side. “Wait, we’re going to a hotel tonight?” As soon as the words were out of your mouth, a bit of a blush creeped up the side of your neck, threatening to pour into your cheeks. You were crazy about Park Jimin, definitely, but had you really been dating that long already and was your relationsh—

“Yes and no, not exactly,” came Jimin’s voice to interrupt your thoughts, his slightly timid smile still obvious beneath his plain facemask. “Come on, trust me.” He pulled along on your hand and you both entered the building.

It was a pretty hotel, not top notch but would be out of your price range at any rate. You both greeted the sweet-looking woman standing at the front desk, who greeted you in return, but took her attention back to a man standing nearby. The two of you walked by casually; when you noticed Jimin didn’t say anything extra, you went along with it, wondering if you were supposed to be just walking in without checking in, but deciding you weren’t there to ask too many questions anyway.

As you made your way down a hallway, Jimin lowered his facemask and smiled cheekily at you. He glanced up and down the hall for a second to make sure no one else was around before murmuring, “They say when you act like you know what you’re doing, no one questions you. I’ve learned this is true.” He flashed a quick wink then stopped at a door indicating the stairwell. “Four flights up and we’ll have made it.”

The details you’d been given were adding up. “Outside, four flights … are we going up to the roof?”

“Shh, don’t spoil it,” he stage-whispered, putting his facemask back on. “After you.”

You cutely scrunched your nose at him and started up the stairs, making sure to grip the railing tight since your hands were a bit slippery through your gloves. He trailed behind you, one hand up near the small of your back in case you tripped; he idly watched you climb ahead of him, thinking to himself how much he loved the way that coat looked on you, and smiling shyly to himself while you couldn’t see him.

“Yah! I think the cold shrank my lungs!” Jimin called as you neared the top. He then joked, “I think I’m too tired to go on, let’s turn back and just go home.”

“No way, Park Jimin!” you shouted over your shoulder.

“I could never!” he replied, laughing loudly. “Keep going, we’re almost there!”

You found your way to the fourth floor’s doorway, and arrived at a hallway identical to the one you’d left downstairs. Upon taking your hand again, Jimin led the way this time, heading toward the right end of the hall past a couple dozen hotel rooms. You only passed one person, who paid you very little mind as they walked by, and ended up at a door indicating the roof exit.

After he opened the door and waved you through in front of him— after which you were expecting some kind of alarm, but of course there was none— you braced yourself against the weather again and stepped outside, a very grey, monotonous design greeting you, the very basic sight of a hotel roof. You weren’t sure what you would have honestly expected, but this seemed about right.

“Welcome to our spot for the night!” Jimin called out proudly, his voice raised back up now that you were outside. He opened up his arms with a little, “Ta-da!”

You couldn’t help but laugh aloud at his flair, and walked forward to explore a little bit. While the roof itself was mundane, the view was actually very nice; it wasn’t terribly high up, but you could still see other rooftops around, remaining holiday decorations on some of the more prestigious buildings, and a beautiful view of the nearby lower part of the city. When you turned back to Jimin to comment on it, your voice caught when you noticed a little empty grey shed in one corner, the entrance to which covered in white Christmas lights.

His facemask pulled back down to his neck again, he bashfully smiled, looking down to the ground quickly when your eyes met. He looked back up and said, “Really, this is our spot for the night.” He gestured inside— there was no actual door on the front, but there was a covering to protect from the wind— and indicated to a little space heater that he’d carried in his backpack, now assembled and getting warmed up. He’d even laid down a blanket.

“Oh,” you breathed, your gloved hands coming up to your mouth as you slowly made your way over to the display. “Did you do all of this … just now?”

Jimin glanced back, his cheeks rosy from the cold and the nervousness. “Oh, well, the lights I put up a couple of days ago. I got really lucky that no one took them down. The blanket and heater and … oh, these little hand-warming packs, in case we need them, I brought those all with us.” He pursed his lips a bit as he tried to suppress the smile, but it was futile. “So … what do you think?” He held out his hand to you, his grin widening enough that it was reaching his eyes.

“I just— wow, this is awesome!” you cried out, very impressed. So much so, finding the words was difficult. You reached out and took his hand, and he pulled you in a little closer, motioning for you to go inside.

You stepped in, and found it significantly warmer within the walls, despite the front of the shed having no real doors. It was actually warm enough to pull off your beanie, shrug off your overcoat, and remove your gloves, dropping them all off into the corner. You looked out from inside the shed, and noticed there was a space between buildings, a perfectly framed patch of air that faced the horizon.

Jimin stepped inside with you, also removing most of his outerwear and adding it to your already-existing clothing pile. He stood there in a plaid hoodie and jeans, flattening his hair back down on his head and shyly half-smiling at you. He lost his nerve, though, and then looked down toward the blankets, pretending to arrange them by toeing at them with his feet. “It should stay nice in here with the heater on, want to … sit down?”

You felt your eyes crease when you smiled genially at him, nodding enthusiastically. You claimed the right side of the shed and sat down on top of the laid-out fabric, extending your feet out so they were off the blanket and crossing your legs. You leaned back against the back of the shed and looked up, watching Jimin fidget about then finally flop himself down next to you, mimicking your position.

“How long do we have left until midnight, anyway?” you leisurely asked.

Jimin leaned over to reach into his discarded coat’s pocket and pull out his phone. “Oh, wow, about … thirteen minutes left! We made it just in time.” He tossed the mobile back in and repositioned himself, coming in to sit closer to you. He glanced over to you for a moment, then managed to find his composure and impulsively lay his arm across your shoulders. You could barely hold back a grin, and took the opportunity to cuddle in closer to him, scooting yourself down on his body a bit so you could lean against his chest. Instantly, you could hear his rapid heartbeat.

You remained like this for a few minutes.

“What did you want to do at midnight?” You kept your head where it was, but brought a hand up to lay it against his sternum, watching it rise and fall as he breathed.

“You’ll see.” You could feel the beaming in his words. “I still have one surprise left.”

“Did you bring, like, champagne or something?”

Jimin crinkled his nose and let out a halfhearted giggle. “No, no. I might have half of a pack of Homerunballs left in my bag, though.” You both laughed out loud at that. “I don’t know, if you’re really craving something to eat, there you go. If you want something to drink, though, I’m afraid we’re out of luck.”

You shook your head lightly. “I’m okay. I cooked a little dinner for myself before coming over.”

He leaned his jaw against your head, nuzzling against your hair and smiling against your forehead. “Oh, yeah? Did you bring me any? I don’t recall the last time I had something you made.”

You giggled into your hand for a moment before replacing it back on his chest. “No, your manager won’t let you, remember? I don’t think it’s up to your guys’ health standards.”

“What manager hyung doesn’t know won’t hurt him,” Jimin insisted with a pout. “Okay, okay, that’s not true. He’d magically find out anyway. It’s worth it for your food, though. Next time.”

“Next time,” you promised, nuzzling your forehead back against his jawline. The arm around your shoulders tightened a bit, and he ran his fingertips up and down the top of your arm, a sensation that felt good even through your sweater’s long blue sleeves.

“I hope there’s a lot of ‘next times,’” you heard him abruptly say quietly.

Your heart skipped a beat in your chest, and you felt warmth in your cheeks. Anytime he said anything like that, it just made your world soar. You exhaled in an attempt to keep your cool, and was happy to say you couldn’t see your breath anymore. Snuggling tighter against him, scooting your legs closer to him, you agreed, “There will be. I’ll make you dinner. Then you can make me dinner, I’ll even have whatever you guys need to it if it helps.”

Jimin snickered out loud. “I wouldn’t do that to you. Unless Jin hyung has made it. Then it’s okay. He manages to even make chicken and veggies seem good night after night.” He paused for a moment. “Most of the time. We still get sick of it.”

His hand moved from your shoulder to the side of your head, where he intertwined his fingers through your hair. He pressed a kiss to the top of your head. “Promise me lots of ‘next times.’ Even though we’re going to get really, really busy this year—probably busier than last year—I want to make sure I have those to look forward to.”

Again, you could feel a skip in your heartbeat. You closed your eyes and felt the warmth through his hoodie, snaking one arm around him as your other helped you stay propped up against him. “I promise.”

“Good!” Jimin suddenly proclaimed, stealing one more kiss into your hair. “We shouldn’t have long to go now.” He disentangled himself from you so he could lean toward his bag again and pull out the phone he’d put back. “I was right! Just four minutes left!” He kept it by his side this time, and recuddled up with you, wrapping both his arms around your shoulders.

“I’m looking forward to this year,” you softly said out loud after a moment. “It’s going to be really good.”

“Yeah it is!” Jimin pumped a fist in the air. “Year of Bangtan, baby!”

You laughed into his chest. “As it should be!”

He replaced the hand he’d lifted and squeezed you into a hug. “It’s going to be our year, too. I’m going to work really hard for you. Make sure I’m someone you can be proud of.”

You curled your body a bit as you tried to stave off the hitch in your chest, and you could feel your heartbeat in your throat. “You are already,” you pointed out, returning the squeeze he gave you. “Work hard for you, and I’ll be there along for the ride.” You lifted your head up off his chest, and glanced back toward him to look into his eyes. You both smiled at each other, feeling the heat rising in your cheeks. He seemed to hesitate for a second before he leaned in and kissed your forehead. “Let’s get ready for midnight.”

“Get ready? We have to prepare?”

“No, we just have to stand.” Jimin let out a laugh and you both pulled away from one another. He stood up, stretched, then extended a hand out to you. You took his offer and stood up, straightening out your sweater and absentmindedly fixing your hair. You then walked over to where he stood right at the entrance of the shed, staring at the phone in his hand.

“We’re getting there!” he exclaimed, grinning over at you.

You nodded excitedly and looked around. “What are we waiting for?”

“Midnight, of course.”

You chuckled and realised it was a silly question. You’ll get your answers in due time. Since you were now standing on the cusp between the crisp winter air and your heated shed, the breeze toyed with your hair and you could feel more of the chill. It felt kind of good to be standing between the two temperatures, where you could rock back on your heels and get more heat or stand on your tip-toes and feel more cold.

Jimin glanced over at you, where you were dreamily bobbing back and forth, and smiled big. He couldn’t contain a small cackle. “You’re so cute.”

You stopped and looked at him, scrunching up your face in reaction. “Mmmmng,” was all you managed, stepping closer and leaning into him shyly, burying your face into his chest.

He grinned and hugged you close around the shoulders. “About thirty seconds left.”

You pulled your head away from his chest and glimpsed up toward his face, where he was looking out toward the horizon. You could hear people down in the streets— a couple of kids playing loudly, despite the time of night, and some folks shouting to one another. It really was getting close to midnight, and you squeezed Jimin around the middle, so thankful to have him there with you.

He held his phone out so you could both see a little countdown he pulled up. “Fifteen seconds!” you announced.

“Quick,” Jimin said, “think about the wish you’re going to make at midnight.”

“I already have it prepared,” you replied proudly.

He grinned big, and leaned his cheek against your forehead. “Me too, jagiya.”

Your heart thundered as he called you the pet name, and you could feel your face almost hurting from smiling so hard. You didn’t even notice the cold anymore, not with him pressed up against you like he was. You were just smitten with him, and anytime you could feel how much he cared for you in return, it all felt more and more like a dream.

“Oh! Ten seconds!” you shouted, seeing the number on the phone.

“Here we go!” Jimin called giddily. You could hear a few of the people below join you two in the countdown.

Gu!

Pal!

Chil!

Jimin held the phone up high, and pulled the arm he had around you tighter. You held onto him with all your might, like he would disappear with a gust of wind, but the contentedness in your heart told you he wouldn’t be going anywhere anytime soon.

Yuk!

O!

Sa!

With the phone in the corner of your eye, you looked up and into Jimin’s face. He glanced to you at the same time, both of your eyes creasing with happiness as you grinned. You noticed his eyes look down toward your lips then back up, and a pink hue suddenly appeared in his cheeks. The phone disappeared from your view as he faced you and wrapped his other arm around you.

Sam!

You smiled at him affectionately, wondering if it was the warmth between you or the cold outside giving you goosebumps.

I!

Il!

As you heard the New Year greetings called below you, the sound began to fade away as your lips met with Jimin’s. You could feel the vibrations in his body as he hugged you into him, both of you nervously shaking, and the trembling against your mouth just made the kiss that much sweeter. You felt the electricity between you, and you so badly wanted to melt into him as he ran his hands along your back tenderly. His hair tickled against your forehead as your lips matched each other’s movements, and you were just overall completely overwhelmed by the embrace. It was wonderful.

It felt like minutes had passed when you pulled apart, but it had in reality only been seconds. You both breathlessly smiled, although you both were trying to hide how flustered it had made you, and failing at it.

All of a sudden, a loud boom rang out in the distance, and you turned and looked out in the direction of the horizon, where Jimin had been focusing on before. Out over distant buildings, fireworks soared— not terribly large or extravagant, but colourful and absolutely beautiful nonetheless.

“There they are!” Jimin expressed with a nervous laugh, absently fidgetting with his earring. “A couple of seconds late, but who’s counting?”

“Is this what you brought me up here for?” A bit of wonder was in your eyes as you watched the blossoms of fireworks explode and subside, then more rise to take their places.

“It is,” he breathed, watching them with equal awe. He blinked and gave you a sideways glance, winking. “I certainly didn’t bring you here to enjoy the weather.”

Each of you laughed nervously, and you just gave up and buried your face into his chest again, him pulling you in a tight hug. “Thank you,” he said delicately, his breath cascading across your ear. He smiled into your hair and continued, “Especially thank you for not punching me.”

You lifted yourself up and gave him a strange expression. “Wait, why would I punch you?”

He cheekily grinned. “I wasn’t sure you wanted me to kiss you at midnight or not.”

That blush returned to your face, which you’d hoped had been subsiding, and you scoffed. “Well, I think you have your answer now regardless.” You could still hear the bursting of the fireworks off in the distance.

He nodded, unable to help the bit of smugness that crept into his features. “Thankfully. I’d actually say you really wanted it.”

“It’s not too late for me to punch you,” you warned, raising a small fist threateningly.

Jimin laughed aloud and took your fist in his hand, lowering it again. He leaned into you and kissed your forehead warmly, then raised his other hand up to your face to gently your cheek. “Look, I know it wasn’t much, but I’m just happy we got to spend it together.” He shook his head suddenly, as if trying to shake a thought out of his mind. “Aiiiish, I’m feeling so lovey-dovey right now, sorry.” He sighed once and continued, “I know we should get back soon, so I thought I’d at least ask … do you want to meet with me here in the morning and watch the first sunrise of the year together?”

You were touched by his idea, and nodded slowly. “I’m going to be really sleepy, but I wouldn’t miss that.”

He wiggled his nose at you and smiled. “You know how I feel about your sleepy face, it’s cute and it makes me want to cuddle you until we can both go back to bed.”

“Then we’ll have to plan on just that.”

“Yes!” he shouted, pumping a fist into the air. “Asked my girl out on a date within the first ten minutes of 2015 and it was successful! This year’s going to be awesome!”

You near-doubled over laughing at him, then shook your head in amusement and turned back into the shed. “I’ll help you get everything back together. Thank you for all of this, I wish we could just close this all up and sleep here so we could just wake up to the sunrise instead.”

“Me too,” Jimin agreed, leaning down to fold up the blanket. “Manager hyung would have my head, though.”

“I know. And I’m looking forward to pillows.”

“Oh! Before we move, take a cute selca with me.” He pulled his phone back up, swiped over away from the countdown and into his camera, and held it up to frame you both in the photo. You couldn’t deny how good you both looked right then, semi-bundled for winter, a bit of blush in your cheeks, and shining happy eyes. Jimin took a quick moment to fix his hair, then pulled you in as the app went click! He pulled the photo up, pleased, and claimed, “I’m not going to be able to resist taking a ton of these with you.”

“We take so many already, there will be more?” you teased lightly.

“Way more!”

The two of you began to gather everything back into his backpack and pull your winter clothes back on. He fit the beanie back onto your head and grinned big, taking your gloved hand in his and asking, “Ready to go back to the real world?”

“Only if it’s for sleeping,” you said, smiling back at him.

“Don’t worry, we’ll get to come back to our world in just a few hours.”

It may have been a few hours to go until the sunrise date, but you knew, just as you’d promised him earlier, that there would always be a next time to look forward to.