Jungkook’s bed was way too comfortable for anyone’s good. Last night, Chaeyoung had curled up between the silk sheets (which was infused with Jungkook’s scent), and slept like a baby. When she did finally wake up, it was due to the irritating sunlight that peaked through the pale curtains and shone directly on her face.

Carefully opening one eye at a time, she opened her arms wide and stretched her stiff body.  Unsure of how long she’d slept – and not really caring – she spent a couple minutes rolling around and trying to fall asleep again. However, the clattering of dishes and loud laughter downstairs reminded her of the current situation she was trapped in and forced her to grumpily arise.

After a quick shower, she rummaged through her suitcase in search of something semi-warm. But, the more clothes she picked through, the more evident it was that she had nothing appropriate to wear. Since she was expecting to be in Australia by now, and since it was summer there, she’d only packed light dresses, shorts, and crop tops – all of which would leave her freezing and much too uncomfortable under Jungkook’s scrutinizing eyes. A frustrated grunt escaped as she sat on the floor in defeat, with only a towel covering her freshly-showered body.

She remained in that position for quite a while, contemplating between pretending to be sick all Christmas to avoid meeting Jungkook’s family, or escaping through the window and running away. Both options seemed like a much better idea than facing whatever was awaiting her downstairs.

In the end, she made the painful decision of borrowing one of Jungkook’s hoodies and wearing it with the pair of jeans she’d worn yesterday. As soon as she pulled the soft fabric on, a fresh wave of nostalgia washed over her. Not only did the hoodie smell exactly like Jungkook, with notes of chamomile and mint, but it was also a hoodie she’d borrowed before, when they were still dating.

Her long hair was still damp from the shower, the ends of it leaving wet blotches all over the royal blue cloth. She scrunched the sleeves up to make room for her hands and took a deep breath before finally walking downstairs.

When she reached the foot of the staircase, dropped open in surprise. The only word that could be used to describe the sight before her was: chaotic.

First of all, Christmas tree ornaments were scattered all over the floor among rows of gold and red tinsel. The presents that were neatly wrapped last night were torn into pieces, no doubt a crime perpetrated by the tiny, cream-coloured dog who was currently being chased around the house by a tall, handsome, middle-aged man who looked exactly like an older version of Jungkook. Mrs. Jeon, was hiding the now clearly exposed presents with her body as she tried to hastily rewrap some of them. Meanwhile, another man (who Chaeyoung recognized as Jungkook’s older brother), was peacefully seated on the sofa, completely oblivious to the chaos around him as he focused on drawing a portrait of his pregnant wife who was playing completely off-key, random notes on the piano. Jungkook, on the other hand, was standing behind the kitchen counter, a white apron pulled over the fitted burgundy sweater he was wearing underneath. He was using one hand to hold up a recipe and clutched a wooden spoon with his other hand.

Chaeyoung couldn’t help but notice that Eunha was missing from this picture. Thank God.

No one seemed to notice her entrance into the room until the criminal puppy ran towards her excitedly and began yelping for help. She smiled widely and picked the puppy up, giggling when he tried to her face. Jungkook had shown her a billion pictures and talked about his dog non-stop, so she wondered when she’d finally meet him.

“You must be Gureum,” she cooed, “it’s nice to finally meet you.”

At that, Jungkook finally lifted his head, and froze when he saw her. His eyebrows shot up in surprise, probably in part due to the sweater she was wearing and also the fact that she was cuddling with his beloved puppy.

Chaeyoung avoided his stare and continued to innocently pet Gureum until Mr. Jeon approached her.

“You must be Chaeyoung,” he smiled warmly and held out his hand, his breathing slightly laboured from chasing the puppy, “I’m Jungkook’s father.”

Chaeyoung carefully shifted Gureum to one arm and used her other hand to shake Mr. Jeon’s hand, “nice to meet you!”

“Did you get some rest, sweetie?” Mrs. Jeon walked over to where they were standing with a warm smile, “we left you some breakfast on the kitchen counter.”

“Thank you, you didn’t have to do that,” Chaeyoung replied politely, following Mrs. Jeon to the kitchen counter with Gureum still in her arms.  

She took a seat at the island, directly in front of where Jungkook was working, while Mrs. Jeon heated her breakfast. Glancing at the clock on the microwave, her eyes widened in surprise. It was past noon, meaning she’d slept for almost 12 hours. The fact that it was Christmas Eve was still hard for her to register, especially since this wasn’t how she’d planned on spending her holidays. She’d quickly called her family last night to notify them of her whereabouts and they seemed just as disappointed as she was. A twinge of pain rushed through her as she recalled the emotional conversation.

“He likes you,” Jungkook observed, mixing what looked like sugar cookie dough.

“Hmm?” Chaeyoung tore her eyes off the clock to look up at him, her hands distractedly playing with Gureum’s fur.

He pointed his jaw in the puppy’s direction, “Gureum.”

Just then, Mrs. Jeon returned with a fresh bowl of stew and set out an array of side dishes in front of Chaeyoung.

“Who wouldn’t?” Mrs. Jeon asked, “she’s practically an angel.”

Jungkook chuckled softly at that, returning his focus to the dough while Chaeyoung shook her head, and tried to hide her flushed face with her hair.

She ate her stew in tense silence as Jungkook continued to focus on baking and she tried her hardest not to stare at him. Although she did cave in a couple times and glanced up to secretly observe him, she spent the majority of the time playing with Gureum.

Eventually, Jungkook’s brother, Junghyun, and his wife, Chanmi, approached her to introduce themselves.

“Chaeyoung, I’ve heard so much about you!” Jungkook’s brother exclaimed, shaking