Chaeyoung wasn’t quite sure where she was headed, all she knew was that she had to get away from Jungkook. But that proved easier said than done when Jungkook promptly followed her outside, his footsteps crunching against the snow as he ran after her and called her name repeatedly. She ignored him and picked up her pace, running past the rows of colourfully decorated houses in the neighbourhood, and blinking back the tears that were threatening to flow down at any second.

In her haste to escape her overwhelming feelings, she’d completely forgotten how freezing it would be at that time of night. Jungkook’s blue hoodie, her sneakers, and her thin jeans were the only protection she had against the chilly weather. The biting wind hit her skin in powerful gusts as she continued running, sending shivers through her entire body. Her fingers were beginning to grow numb, and her toes were complaining in pain as snow seeped through the thin fabric of her sneakers and soaked them. She knew her body would hate her for this tomorrow, but she didn’t have the time to dwell on that.

Being with Jungkook brought her so much happiness because her heart belonged to him, only him. But at the same time, being with him brought her so much anguish because she couldn’t have him. Even though he was the only thing she’d ever wanted so genuinely, with her whole heart.

She didn’t get far before Jungkook caught up. He captured her wrist and turned her around sharply, causing her frozen body to clash into his. The streetlight above them served as a personal spotlight in the silent, somber night, and the sparkling snow their backdrop.

“What the hell, Chaeyoung?” he asked, his eyes furious and his breathing heavy from sprinting.

“Let go of me!” she exclaimed as she fought against his hold on her.

“Not until you tell me what the is going on,” he responded, his arms firmly holding her in place as she struggled further, unable to keep the tears locked up any longer.

“Jungkook,” she finally stilled and looked up at him with glassy eyes, “I can’t do this anymore.”

He immediately loosened his grip, his eyes widening as he watched the tears roll down her face in shock, “Chaeng, did I hurt you?”

She shook her head, “not physically.”

“Then, tell me what’s wrong,” he cupped her face and used his thumbs to wipe her tears, “do you want to talk about what just happened back there?”

She shrugged out of his hold and looked at him with the coldest expression she could manage, “there’s nothing to talk about. It didn’t mean anything.”

It was like she’d slapped him in the face with the hurt that flashed across his features at those words, “maybe not to you. But it meant everything to me.”

“How can you say that when you’re the one who moved on after our breakup like nothing ever happened?” Chaeyoung shouted, her bottled up feelings beginning to burst through the composed exterior she’d worked so hard to maintain all these months.

“Moved on?” Jungkook scoffed, “do you have any idea how difficult this year has been?”

“It’s a good thing you have Eunha to make you feel better, then. Apparently, she’s really good at that,” Chaeyoung retorted bitterly.

“Eunha?” Jungkook raised a brow at her in confusion.

“Yes, Eun-ha. You were all over each other at the Christmas party a couple days ago and now you think you can just kiss me-“

“I may have been sitting with her, but my eyes were glued to you the entire night!” Jungkook exclaimed, “how the could you not see that?”

Chaeyoung blinked at him as he walked her backwards towards one of the neighbour’s backyard fence, a fierce glint in his eyes. She felt her back press against the ice-cold fence and leaned against it for support as Jungkook pressed closer, towering over her.

“And don’t act so innocent when you spent the night in ‘tall, handsome, and dreamy’ Chanyeol’s arms and left the party with him!” his voice was now equally as loud as hers had been and his expression had gained a hard edge that revealed just how much pain he’d endured all this time. Guilt surged through her as she searched Jungkook’s eyes and finally saw heartbreak hidden within them. He had been just as affected by their breakup as she had, and it was cruel of her to disregard his emotions as insignificant.

“Well I wouldn’t have been in his arms if some hadn’t made me cry,” she muttered with a cute pout.

A ghost of a smile flickered across his face at that, “was I the ?”

She nodded, her lips twitching as she tried to suppress a smile, “you’re still an for kissing me when you’re dating Eunha.”

He groaned in exasperation, “Chaeyoung, I’m not ing dating Eunha!”

“What?” her eyes widened in surprise as he moved closer to place his warm hands on her hips, his eyes softening as he peered down at her through his thick, dark lashes.

“I was with her that night because she has a crush on Hoseok but he’s too dumb to realize it, so she begged me to attend the party with her to give him a ‘wake-up call’. And it apparently worked because they’re dating now,” Jungkook explained as Chaeyoung listened in stunned silence, “plus, how could I possibly settle for dating anyone else when I’m still in love with you?”

Chaeyoung in a sharp breath upon hearing the words she’d waited a whole year to hear, feeling like she was dreaming. This just seemed too good to be true.

“And I know you feel the same way,” he murmured, pulling her close to his chest and confidently gazing into her eyes, “you wouldn’t have kissed me back if you didn’t.”

She tore her gaze away from his distracting eyes, still trying to process everything, “but, what about our careers, Jungkook? That’s the whole reason we broke up in the first place.”

“I don’t care, baby,” he shook his head adamantly, “the awards, the recognition, the fame, the money – none of it matters if you’re not there to celebrate with me. I’ve realized in these past couple months that there are two distinct categories in life: things we want and things we need. And yet, you’re somehow both. Because I don’t just want you, Chaeyoung, I need you.”

“Jungkook,” she exhaled, feeling like a heavy burden had been lifted off her shoulders.

“Please, don’t leave again, Chaeng,” he closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against hers, a mixture of pain and helplessness flashing across his features, “I barely survived the first time.”

She wiped her watery eyes and pulled away from him far enough to rest her hands on his firm chest, her fingers digging into the cushiony fabric of his favourite Puma jacket.

“I’m still in love with you too,” she whispered, causing him to open his eyes wide in shock. Smiling at his stunned reaction, she tiptoed up to press a long kiss on his cold cheek.

It was almost like the touch of her lips had awoken him and he finally began to comprehend what she’d just said. Without another moment of hesitation, he enveloped her slim figure into his strong arms tightly. Chaeyoung laughed as he pretty much crushed her body against his, lifting her a couple inches off the ground and spinning her with the characteristically-Jungkook enthusiasm she’d missed so much. Suddenly, both the external and internal coldness within Chaeyoung began to thaw, his embrace bringing her more warmth than any fire ever could.

Eventually, Jungkook realized how cold she was and shrugged his jacket off for her, zipping it up all the way and pulling the hood over her head completely. Then, they walked home.

When they arrived at the Jeon residence, Jungkook’s family met them at the door eagerly.

“Did you two kiss and makeup yet?” Junghyun smirked at them as they entered the house just as the Jeon family was getting ready to leave to go caroling.

Chaeyoung could feel her cold cheeks fill with heat as she looked away shyly, her reaction hiding nothing.

“Oh my,” Chanmi grinned at them, “so I guess, Jungkook won’t need to sleep on the couch anymore?”

Jungkook cleared his throat, but didn’t hide his grin as he met Chaeyoung’s eyes. Chaeyoung on the other hand, was mortified, her cheeks burning a deep shade of red and her jaw dropped open at the Jeon family’s bluntness.

“What is this I’m hearing?” Mr. Jeon inquired as he walked towards them, handing out music sheets and boxes of cookies to each of them, “did Jungkook and Chaeyoung tell you about their make-out session in Jungkook’s room earlier?”

“Dad!” Jungkook exclaimed in surprise as Chaeyoung pressed her hands against her cheeks, hoping to cool them down and wishing she could disappear from this endless mortification.

“Oh, come on. How stupid do you think I am?” Mr. Jeon asked with a sly smile, “you sprang off your bed so fast that you forgot to wipe the lipstick marks away.”

Junghyun and Chanmi looked at them with semi-impressed and semi-shocked expressions as Chaeyoung bent her head and avoided eye contact. She wanted to scream from embarrassment, and even Jungkook began to laugh in astonishment at his family’s