Minjoo woke up to a white Christmas morning. Everything was eerily silent, confirming that she was indeed the early bird of the family. Seolhyun was the type to wake up much after noon if she had no plans, and her parents were probably going to wake within an hours time. She rolled around on her bed for a bit, unable to stop thinking about him. Min Yoongi. It was a miracle she could even fallen asleep: she felt tortured in her mind to not be able to be with him and make sure he was doing well. Where was he now? Was he safely at home? Why did he never pick up her calls or reply to her messages?

    “Was I too clingy?” She mumbled, before reaching for her phone. She stared at the notifications; there were messages from classmates and Juhyun, all wishing her a Merry Christmas. There was a missing name among these. Yoongi. She replied to a few, before tossing her phone to the side of her bed, trying to ignore the throbbing pain that was entering her head. She felt almost suffocated at the thought of him not being safe and in some sort of predicament. He had to have been back at home, especially for the holiday, right?

    She finally pulled herself away from the warmth of her blankets and decided to check the fridge. There were a few presents under the Christmas tree, although she knew better than to open them without Seolhyun. There was nothing to eat to her disappointment, and Minjoo felt herself wince at the thought of a grumpy start to Christmas. She left a note, saying she would be back with breakfast, and got ready quickly. No point in wasting time staring at nothing in her room, nor was there a point in letting herself get too caught up in Yoongi. If he truly needed someone there, wouldn't he have said anything? She was not sure of the strength of their bond, but she had faith in him.

    The elevator ride felt too long. It felt too small for her to breath, and she practically ran out. Despite it being early morning, there was still life on the streets; a collection of families seemed to be going to other relatives. Small children were shrieking and running about, while parents were on their phones, trying their best to herd their kids. It was a heartwarming sight, and for a moment Minjoo forgot about how much her head hurt. Sometimes, she wished she too could remember her childhood memories. Seolhyun said it was normal to not quite remember, and she said her own memories were fuzzy, but seeing small children made Minjoo feel quite warm.

    She entered the closest bakery, admiring the pastries and such displayed. She had worked there once for a part time job, and she was quite familiar with how high the quality of the goods were. She greeted the familiar faces behind the register, before requesting for her various baked goods, including an adorable box of cookies for herself as a treat for finishing the first part of school. She paid and bid the workers farewell, making her way back towards the apartment complex. The fresh and cold air was doing her mind some good; it felt less cluttered and more at ease. There was no way Yoongi could be in the streets all night, she thought to herself. It’s impossible for him to be that disobedient on a holiday.

    “Jeon Jungkook! You come back here right now! We have to get going to your cousin’s place. There’s no time for you to be delaying the schedule! I heard Yoongi is sick too- don't keep your hyung waiting.” A middle aged woman was shouting at her son. He looked somewhere around Minjoo's age, give or take a few years. He was playing with one of the smaller children, passing a soccer ball back with a smile lighting up his face. Minjoo smiled at the thought of Yoongi’s cousin being so likeable with others, just as Yoongi may have been. She approached him, cautiously. She could not let this chance slip, not when she was desperate to get in touch with Yoongi.

    “Excuse me, are you Min Yoongi’s cousin?” He looked up, startled at the question, before nodding suspiciously. Minjoo stuck out her free hand from the bag of baked goods, and he accepted it, albeit a little awkwardly.

“I’m a friend of his. Can you give this to him? I’m sorry, I overheard your mother speaking.” Jungkook agreed, taking the box of cookies. She was grateful she had somehow lucked out with this opportunity. If Yoongi was truly sick, or perhaps too tired to deal with others, then he would need something comforting like this more than she would.

    “Who should I say this is from?” Jungkook asked, throwing a glance over his shoulder to where his mother was trying to situate a younger sibling into the car seat. Minjoo stuck her hands back into her coat pocket.

    “Kim Minjoo. Thanks so much, and have a Merry Christmas! Tell him I said that too.” She beamed at him, absolutely pleased with herself. She was correct; he was at home, probably locked in his own room. And now she could pass on a present as well. Jungkook bid her farewell, a curious look still in his eyes. Perhaps Yoongi was not so vocal about his social life, or what type of friends he had. Hopefully Yoongi would not mind the type of cookies, especially because she hadn’t a clue what type of food he did like.

    “I’m home.” Minjoo announced as she reentered the apartment. Seolhyun poked her head out of her room, awake surprisingly early. Her hair was knotted back into a bun, and there was still sleepiness in her eyes. Her mother bustled out from the kitchen, relief lighting her face as she embraced Minjoo.

    “I’m so blessed for a little angel like you! Even taking care to buy us breakfast on your own!” She laughed a bit at her mother’s adulatory words. She gave the bag to her mother, who rushed back to put it down on the table. Seolhyun jumped onto Minjoo, hugging her little sister fiercely.

    “My little JooJoo is so grown up now! Let’s go open presents.” She was dragged to the tree, and sat down beside the overly excited Seolhyun, who was tearing through the pile to figure out which packages were for her. She had a total of three presents; one from Juhyun, another from her parents and one from Seolhyun. Seolhyun had more; her various friends, admirers, as well as their parents and Minjoo.

    “I always wanted this! Thank you so much JooJoo.” She cooed as she unwrapped a small bottle of perfume. It was something that Seolhyun had basically admired every sister mall trip they made, and Minjoo had unadmittedly saved up for it, knowing it was her last Christmas with Seolhyun before she was off to university. Seolhyun ripped through all the other presents, her eyes lighting up every time and admiring her strew of gifts. Minjoo waited, before checking her own presents. There was a new sketchpad and pencils from her mother and father, which she let out an appreciative coo for. She smiled in delight at the two photo album’s Juhyun bought; one for the two of them, already filled with their silly photos with a few blank spaces for the future, and the other completely blank for her usage. The last was Seolhyun, who bought her a polaroid camera with boxes of film. She hugged her sister, who was laughing .

    “I hope you don’t mind that Juhyun and I teamed up on this one. We thought it would be cute to let your inner photographer come out, you little artist.” Minjoo felt gratified at the presents, but she felt her mind drift off. Did Yoongi get as much love as this on Christmas, or was this just another problem in his life? What was his family life even like- was there an abundance of happiness or a mountain of stress?

    “I need to change. I’ll be back.” Minjoo promised, before quickly go back to her room. She had left her phone during her run to the bakery, and she reached for it tentatively, unsure of if there would be any new notifications. She lit up the screen, biting her lower lip unconsciously. She looked up at the white ceiling, trying to calm herself, before she checked. There were multiple new messages from other classmates, an email from a teacher at school who seemed to mass forward holiday wishes. And then her eyes found a new one.

    Hand shaking slightly, she tapped on it, almost a little too eagerly to hear the news. Her eyes scanned over the name of the sender, confirming and reconfirming that it was really true.

    ‘Thanks for the cookies. I like these. Have a Merry Christmas. And yes, I’m good -MYG’

    She let out a small laugh at the message, the relief making her dizzy. He was fine. He didn’t do something stupid. She quickly changed, trying to hide the smile on her face from being too obvious. Her parents were seated at the table, about to start eating breakfast, while Seolhyun was waiting at the side for Minjoo.    

    “Did something good happen?” Seolhyun asked curiously at the smile on Minjoo’s face. It was too obvious that she was happy. Minjoo tried to search for an excuse.

    “I loved the thought of filling that photo album too much, I guess.” She said as she seated herself. The day seemed much better, like Christmas was supposed to be. Her father was still blunt and quiet, her mother still cheerful and bursting with laughter. Seolhyun, her mother and she were making gingerbread houses for the majority of the day, a tradition started when Minjoo had seen a picture of an especially pretty one as a child and had begged to attempt it. They never came out quite as professional as the ones bakeries made, and Seolhyun ended up eating too much before construction started for anything bigger than a little hut, but it filled their day with joy. She almost forgot about Yoongi, but he was still floating around in the back of her mind. Was he hanging out with his cousin, Jungkook? Or was he keeping himself away from everyone. The realization that she could picture him staying isolated more so than spending time with Jungkook bothered her.

    By the time the fun was over, the three were tired. Seolhyun and Minjoo cleaned up the mess, while their parents had a rare dinner date to go to with a few other family friends. Seolhyun went off to who knows where, and Minjoo was left on her own accords. It was almost depressing how busy her family was, even on holidays, despite she herself not doing anything. It was quite a downer to see the difference in their lives as well; sometimes she felt like she truly didn’t do anything.

    Her phone buzzed once more, and she felt a smile on her face. Perhaps Juhyun wanted to video chat, like they often did when she was away on family trips. An even greater smile rose onto her face as she read the contents of the message, and she ran off to get her outerwear and shoes on. She felt elated enough to ignore the uncomfortable feeling in the elevator, and dashed through the streets, a small backpack strapped on and her hair flying behind her. She skidded to a halt at the basketball court, where she had previously sat with Yoongi.

    He was seated there, wearing slightly more preppy attire. Regardless, he looked distressed, and Minjoo prepared herself, before skipping up behind him.

    “Boo!” She said softly, before taking a seat beside him. He remained unmoved, but she could see him visibly release the tension in his shoulders. She nudged him with her elbow, trying to loosen him up a bit more.

    “Did you miss me? Merry Christmas Yoongi!” She chimed aloud, and he let out a small snort, obviously amused by her words. He rolled his eyes, not saying an actual word, but it was obvious. He was much more at peace now.

    “You too.” He muttered, before sitting up straight. Minjoo grinned at his words, enjoying the fact that he had even contacted her first. He wanted to talk, and Minjoo already knew it was because he must have been upset. The very thought of him trusting her enough for this warmed her. Christmas was indeed a special day.

    “Now what’s wrong?” She asked gently, and the two fell into a habitual silence as he seemed to gather his thoughts thoroughly, and she waited patiently for his reply. His eyes would wander the empty courts, every once in awhile landing on one thing and then moving to another.

    “You came.” He said finally. He gave her a curious look. “I’m sorry for the other day. I was just surprised how you caught on.” She nodded slowly, recalled how he had left her there. To say she was fine with it was too gracious, but she knew that she had to accept it. It was part of Yoongi as a person, and he was someone she was trying to get to know.

    “Let’s go.” He stood up abruptly, surprising her at his swift movements. “It’s almost night, and I don’t want you to be going home too late. I just wanted to thank you.” He moved away, towards the direction of the cafe. She smiled, running to catch up and accidentally bumping into him.

    “Wait a bit for me.” She complained, and they strolled together to their destination. They took a seat at their regular booth, before Minjoo took out her polaroid camera. A grin was on her face as she loaded it with film, and showed it to Yoongi.

    “No.” He deadpanned, and she wrinkled her nose at him. He stared at her, his eyes unreadable like when they had met outside of the bubble tea shop. It was amazing how far their relationship had gone; they were able to casually meet up like this, despite his lack of interest in everything they do.

    “Please?” She begged, and he continued to stare. She waited a bit, looking at him earnestly until he finally sighed and nodded. She beamed, before calling over their waiter. “I’m sorry to bother, but can you please take a picture of us?” The waiter agreed, and she leaned over the counter, closer to Yoongi, while he stayed put in his seat, slouching slightly. She glared at his lack of effort. “Smile.”

    His lips tightened for a moment, but he managed to tweak the edges upward. It was an awkward sort of smile, and as the waiter took two pictures, she almost giggled at how miserable he looked. She handed him on, before staring at the forming photo in her possession.

    “It wasn’t too bad.” She chided, and their outlines began to form. Soon the colors of the wall and decorations behind them formed as well, and she felt herself soften at how awkward it was. They were both refusing to look at each other. Her eyes were a little wide, and his smile was a little forced. There was a gaping hole between the two. But it was perfect; no they were not close. This was a correct depiction of what she hoped to be would become a close friendship.    

    “Whatever you say.” He muttered. “I’m going to the restroom.” He stood up, leaving. She ordered two lemon teas for the two, and fiddled with her phone for a bit. Their drinks arrived, and she decided to make a quick run to the bathroom- Yoongi would most likely return soon. She got up, making her way to the hall with the restroom as Yoongi appeared too, walking towards her. She smiled shyly as he saw her, before his gaze seemed to drift upwards. He looked slightly taken aback, and she too looked up. It was a mistletoe.

Hello my lovelies!! Thank you so much for all the love on this story. I admit it's not the best, and I apologize for my awkward wording- I'm obviously not the greatest author, and this was mainly formed from my adoration for Suga. Please continue to support the story, because it really makes me want to update a lot when I see that people actually care :) I hope you liked the chapter, even though it's really scattered. Leave a comment and upvote, and have a great day!