“Oh, the weather outside is frightful,” Chaeyoung sang at the top of her lungs as snowflakes melted against her windshield, “but the fire is so delightful. And since we have no place to go, let snow, let it snow, let it snow!”

It was December 23rd, the day before Christmas Eve – or as she liked to call it: Christmas Eve Eve. She had travelled all the way to Busan to pick up a special birthday gift for her mother and was currently headed to the airport to catch a flight to Australia. Since this was the first Christmas she was spending at home after debut, she was in the merriest mood she’d been in all year, practicing Christmas songs in her car as a prelude to all the songs she was planning on singing with her family.

“Man, it doesn’t show signs of stopping,” she continued singing, looking ahead at the icy road with concern. Ironically, it was snowing outside with a vengeance, not appearing to stop anytime soon, and the roads were becoming increasingly hazy as the wind picked up, “let it snooow, let it snow.”

A couple minutes later, a full-on blizzard had formed and Chaeyoung mentally cursed herself for practically asking for it. The world had become a cluster of pale, crystalized snowflakes mixed with furious gusts of wind. She could barely see 3 feet in front of her and her tires were starting to slip against the glassy roads.

A sinking feeling began to form in the pit of her stomach as she sensed impending doom. As more seconds ticked by, the storm grew progressively worse. Her windshield wipers couldn’t keep up with the copious amounts of snow that assaulted it, and her headlights began to malfunction at just the wrong time. She was only able to control the car for a couple minutes longer before it slipped uncontrollably, leading her straight into a ditch. With a loud, terrified scream, she pumped the brakes but to no avail.

Eventually, the car collided with a tree, the momentum causing her neck to whip forward and the airbag to spring out. Shock overtook her for a couple seconds, causing her to remain frozen in place and pray that she hadn’t broken anything. A faint buzzing sound invaded her ears and her neck was sore, but other than that, she felt intact enough to remove herself from the car.

Staggering outside, she disconcertedly assessed the situation. The front bumper of her car was completely wrecked, and a thick cloud of smoke arose from it. Chaeyoung groaned in frustration as she checked her phone and saw that she had no service. Looking around, it was evident that she was far away from civilization. The last house she passed was a couple kilometers away and there were no signs of any other cars on the road. Of course there weren’t. It was late night and it was Christmas Eve Eve.

Basically, Chaeyoung had two choices. She could either sit in her car and wait for someone to drive by and pick her up along the way, or she could start walking back towards the city to find shelter. If she went with option A, she was probably going to freeze to death, and if she went with option B, she was probably also going to freeze to death. Either way, she was doomed.

But, Chaeyoung wasn’t the type to sit by and do nothing. So, she pulled the hood of her jacket on her head, grabbed her two suitcases and headed back towards the city she was leaving: Busan.

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By the time she reached civilization, she could barely feel any part of her body. Her eyelashes were frozen, and her legs were beginning to grow numb. Her nose was runny and her cheeks so cold that they were starting to give off heat. She could barely maintain her balance as heavy gusts of wind whipped her body relentlessly, causing continuous shivers to course through her. Fear of death overwhelmed all her other thoughts for the duration of the exhausting trip.

Eventually, a small sigh of relief escaped her cracked, blue lips, forming a puff of cold air that dissipated into the atmosphere instantaneously. She’d finally reached the city and approached the first house she saw – a medium-sized, 2-story family home that was decked out with an endless supply of golden Christmas lights. With stiff, pale hands, she rang the doorbell and hoped desperately for someone to be home.

A moment later, the porch light , surrounding her in a soft, yellow glow before the door swung open to reveal a face she had not expected to see in the slightest. Complete shock coloured her features as Jungkook stared back at her with just as much confusion.

She knew his family lived in Busan, but seriously? Out of the billions of people in the world, it had to be Jungkook? Just her ing luck.

“Chaeyoung?” he asked, his expression tinged with …. concern? as his eyes studied her from head-to-toe, “are you okay?”

Chaeyoung exhaled shakily, trying to control the chattering of her teeth as she replied, “sorry, my car crashed on the highway and I…. I had no idea this was your house, I’ll just… go.”

She quickly her heels and was about to walk away when he suddenly grabbed her arm to stop her. Immediately, knots formed in her stomach and she tensed at the brief touch, the feeling of his hand all too familiar. 

“Come in,” he said softly, stepping aside to give her room to pass through, “you look like you’re going to pass out.”

She hesitated for a second, refusing to meet his eyes as she contemplated forgoing her pride to save her life. Was it really worth it? Three days had passed since the Christmas party and although it was now only a distant memory in her mind (or so, she liked to tell herself), she still hated him for the way he’d made her feel – the way he’d moved on when she hadn’t even begun to forget him. Spending any amount of time with him was not something she either wanted or was ready for. But then again, she was freezing and would probably lose all her limbs if she didn’t warm up soon.

After a deep breath, she walked past him, inside his cozy house. Even through the thick padding of her jacket, she could feel the warmth of his body as her cold arm brushed against his. It was so annoying how her body reacted to him before her mind could order it not to.

“Honey, who was at the door?” A middle-aged woman with pretty features that resembled Jungkook’s walked down the staircase wearing a fluffy robe. She stifled a yawn, signalling that she’d just woken up.

. Chaeyoung was about to meet Jungkook’s mother and she looked like a complete train-wreck. When they were dating, she’d imagined meeting his family multiple times as he excitedly described them to her in full detail. Family had always been such a huge part of Jungkook’s life, so he’d never introduced anyone to them. Chaeyoung was sure that if their relationship had survived a full year, she would’ve formally met his family. But, unfortunately that didn’t happen and Chaeyoung was in no state – whether physical or mental – to meet them in that moment.

Her eyes widened in panic as she finally looked over her shoulder at Jungkook for help.

He flashed her a small, amused smile before shifting his focus to his mother, “Mom, this is Chaeyoung. Chaeyoung, this is my mom.”

Maybe Chaeyoung really would pass out tonight. Especially if Eunha showed up to sprinkle more awkwardness into this already unpleasant situation.

She gulped nervously and bowed deeply to Mrs. Jeon, “Annyeonghaseyo.”

Mrs. Jeon promptly returned her bow, her eyes widening with concern when she noticed how cold Chaeyoung appeared, “sweetie, you look like you’re freezing to death! Jungkook, sit her down by the fire and I’ll make some hot cocoa.”

“Oh no, you don’t have to do that,” Chaeyoung replied politely, “My car crashed on the highway, so I just came to warm up a little before catching my flight. I’m actually heading to Australia to spend Christmas with my family. I won’t inconvenience you for long.”

Mrs. Jeon’s eyes gazed at her empathetically, “oh you haven’t heard, sweetheart, have you?”

Chaeyoung’s brows furrowed in confusion, “heard what?”

“All external flights have been cancelled tonight due to the storm and will only resume after Christmas,” Jungkook answered carefully.

At that, Chaeyoung’s head whipped around so fast that it aggravated her car accident injury, forcing her to release a tiny gasp of pain.

“Are you okay?” Mrs. Jeon rushed towards her, “were you injured in the car accident?”

“No, no, I’m okay,” Chaeyoung replied weakly.

She really wasn’t okay. She was devastated. Her family were waiting for her in Australia and she couldn