“If happily ever after did exist,
I would still be holding you like this…”

…………………

“What do you mean my booking wasn’t confirmed?”

Yoongi tossed his traveler’s guide map on the counter in front of the receptionist. The pale faced boy, who stood at the other side of the counter, seemed to become whiter in the face as his eyes fell on the spot on the counter-top, where the pamphlet had landed. He gulped and looked up, meeting Yoongi’s eyes with a smile that almost met his ears and nostrils that flared out in a comic way. His utter failure at masking his fear this way seemed to be evident even to himself.  The boy gulped again and shook his head.

“S-S-Sir…y-y-you see…wh-wh-what happened here is a simple misunderstanding!...I’m incredibly sorry for your trouble-…” He said, looking hilarious, as he tried to maintain the wideness of his smile even through his words.

“And just what the flying do I do with your sorry, you clown?!...Do I set up camp in it?...Is your sorry a five star suite, you idiot?! Is your sorry what I paid for FOUR WEEKS IN ADVANCE?!”

Yoongi’s ears had gone red and he leaned forward over the counter, grasping the edge of it. The boy cowered back, still holding his smile but now with a sweat strewn forehead and quivering lips.

“S-s-sir, please c-c-calm down! The managers are not here….they’re all away for the holiday season…and the executive who is responsible for m-m-maintaining the booking records, he’s down with the flu. I wish I could just kill him and rid him of his pain, right now. But you see, Sir, I-I-I…I really don’t know what to do now, because we have just one five star suite. I can provide you the second best suite after that! Free of cost! We’ll refund the entire amount you’ve paid! Your stay here will be free!” The boy said,  holding up his hands and nodding vigorously to reinforce the importance of the concluding part of his statement.

“Second best? I don’t do second best. SECOND BEST will not give me my twenty third novel.” Yoongi said, breathing heavily. 
He backed away a step and sighed deeply. 

“Aaaaish…There’s no point shouting at you…you’re right…you have no fault in this. I will find your boss and I will get that jackass sacked, but for now…You will help me. That is, if you want to keep your job. And... If we are able to come to a proper solution, I might be able to get you a promotion.” Yoongi said, bringing up his hand to look at his nails casually.

The young receptionist froze. The smile finally vanished. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“So, do you like standing at the reception dealing with the tantrums of rich brats like me or do you want to make your way up in life? Decide. This is your chance, kid. Maybe your one biggest chance in life.”

Yoongi looked up at the boy and smiled, pleased. The boy was staring at him now, with a fire in his eyes. He had his shoulders squared and his nostrils were flared again, but this time, it was accompanied by a determined look on his face.
“Tell me what I have to do Sir.” He said.

 “Who is the person whom your head bosses gave my room to? You’ll go up, talk to the person. Ask them their price. Ask them to name any number. I will pay them whatever it takes for them to vacate my suite. And then,tell them they can have any other room at your hotel. As for the fees for that suite, the money you got from me pays for it.” Yoongi said, leaning against the reception counter and looking around casually.

"Sir, what if...what if he wants a very high amount? What if he asks for too much?"

"No amount is high." Yoongi said casually."Just go and ask."

“But Sir, what if he doesn’t agree?”

Yoongi let out a small laugh as his eyes focused on an oil painting up on one of the walls. “Didn’t you hear me? I said ask him his price. Everyone has a price.”
The boy smiled again from ear to ear. “Right you are, Sir! I’ll be back in a jiffy.”

 

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Yoongi was sitting on the small olive green sofa at the reception, hunched over his I-pad. His ears caught a sound and he raised his eyes, over his black framed glasses at the receptionist. The boy's face told him everything. Yoongi let out a tired sigh.

“Do not tell me you failed.” He said, raising his eyebrows.

“Sir…” The boy gulped, looking defeated.  “He refused.”

“Did you mention the money, you delightful idiot? “Yoongi said, his lips spreading in a stiff smile that was not conveyed by his eyes.

“Yes sir!” The boy said, shaking his head with a harassed face. “Sir…I said you would pay any amount he wanted. Any amount!  I told him about you…who you are and what you can do if you are mad. But he seemed not to care at all.”

“Oh, did he?” Yoongi said, the stiff fake smile still on his face. “Are all the people in this ridiculously small weird town of yours...are all of you this amusing? Are you all just different varieties of cartoons?

The boy chuckled. “Oh no sir! This boy is from your city!”

“IS he?” Yoongi raised his eyes, giving a fake delighted expression. “Oh WOW. Hey, since you mention this…introduce us, won’t you?” 
Yoongi flipped the grey cover shut over the screen of his I-pad and sat up, taking off his glasses. “Take me up to suite number 401.”! 

The boy almost jumped. “What?! Sir! No! That’s totally against our policy! I couldn’t do that! I might lose my job if I do that!”

“I’ll make sure you lose your job if you DON’T do that. Yoongi said. He stood up from the sofa, slipped on his loafers and picked up his cross body bag and slinging it over his head. He motioned with his head for the receptionist to walk.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….....

“Coming!! Just a minute!!”

Yoongi rolled his eyes and looked away at the walls.

 

Didn’t this idiot just say “HE” refused?
What kind of a shrill feminine voice is that for a “he””?

 

“Sir, he said he’s coming! In just a minute!” The receptionist nodded furiously, turning to Yoongi.

“Are these ears at the sides of my head invisible to your eyes?” Yoongi asked, not turning to the boy.

“Sorry sir!”

There was a shuffling sound from the other side of the white door of number 401. After a few seconds, they heard the sound of the lock being flicked open and the door slowly it’s hinges.

 

There’s slow. There’s really slow. There’s snails. 
And then there’s this guy, whoever he is. Must be some old frail uncle.
 

 

He sighed, not turning his head until the last moment when the bright light that fell on his face from the inside of the suite made him aware that the door was fully open now. He mentally steeled himself for a boring encounter and breathed out, fixing his face with a fake sugary sweet smile. He turned his head to the door and started to speak, but stopped.

The small face that appeared over a fuzzy white turtleneck, its forehead completely covered by a mop of brown hair, had eyes that travelled to Yoongi’s smile and then up to his eyes. A pair of brilliant twinkling eyes. Eyes that reminded him of fairy lights. A pair of full pink lips moved into a smile, revealing pearly white teeth.

“Hey.” The boy said. 

Yoongi blinked, his mouth slightly open.

The boy narrowed his eyes. He shrugged at Yoongi once and then once at the receptionist beside him.

“Is something wrong, Junghwa?” The boy asked, smiling at the receptionist.

 

He knows the receptionist?
 

“Jimin shi…This is Min Yoongi. The famous author. The one I told you about earlier.” The boy said, his eyes wide with excitement as he looked back and forth between Yoongi and Jimin.

Jimin’s eyes widened and his eyebrows shot up as he smiled again. Yoongi noticed the same twinkle in his eyes again…

 

…Fairy lights.

 

“Ooooh…So that’s him.” Jimin said, nodding very slowly, his face glowing as if a light had been switched on and he turned to Yoongi. “I’m so glad to meet you! Come in!” He said and threw the door open.
Jimin shifted to his side and motioned with his hand for Yoongi to come inside.

“Uh…I’m-…I’m not here to come in.” Yoongi said, his eyebrows furrowing slightly.

“But I thought you liked this suite.” Jimin said, leaning against the white door.

“That’s not what I-…I don’t like….That’s not the reason-…Aish!” Yoongi rolled his eyes and walked past Jimin to the inside of the room.
Jimin smiled and turned his eyes to Junghwa. “Hey, come in. Have a cup of coffee.”

“Oh no, Jimin shi, I need to stand at the reception. I can’t leave my spot vacant for so long.” Junghwa said. He seemed glad that the two boys had met without any damage to each other, to the hotel or to his job.

Yoongi walked in and looked around. The first thing that caught his attention was the king size bed with spotless white covers -  the kind that gave him a mental push to plop down onto it and go off to a long nap. God knew he needed it after the tiresome 45 km drive from the airport to this tiny scenic town hotel. The only luxury hotel in the town. 

And then his eyes were grabbed by the mauve blanket that had been left at the head of the bed near the white covered pillows, five of the pillows being stacked for obvious use as a backrest. The blanket did not match with the themed décor of the suite and had clearly not been provided by the hotel and belonged to this little sized pretty boy. 

The bed was facing a huge Television screen mounted on the wall and it was playing an American sitcom that his best friend Namjoon was a big fan of. The volume had been set at a medium level and a riot of laughter sounded from the TV as a comic scene had apparently taken place.  

 

“Don’t you just love f.r.i.e.n.d.s?” The boy named Jimin had come in and was standing, leaning against a high backed cushioned chair. 

“Uh,what?... Yeah… uh, no, I mean I’ve never watched it.” Yoongi said absent mindedly removing his eyes from the screen and looking at a number of books, all of which seemed to be romantic novels, scattered over the white marble table top placed beside the glass doors which led to a ridiculously huge balcony visible outside, covered with small potted plants and a porch swing. 

“Seriously?! Then you must watch it!... It’s an amazing show. See, that blonde beautiful girl is Phoebe… that pretty brunette is Monica, that’s her brother Ross… Ross has a crush on Rachel… that one’s Rachel, isn't she gorgeous?…You’re not listening!”

“No no, not at all. Please go on.” Yoongi said, his eyes roaming away from the balcony, grazing over Jimin  without taking him in and returning to the other end of the room. There were a number of small twinkling lights up on the walls, strung over a number of pictures which had been put up on the wall on a huge white coloured board. 

The twinkling lights reminded him of something. He turned his head to look at it. Jimin had his arms crossed in front of his chest and head titled to a side and a heavily judgemental smile. 

“What?” Yoongi shrugged. 

“You heard nothing I was saying, did you?”

“No no I heard. Rachel is Beebee’s brother. Then?”

Jimin’s eyes went wide. His mouth opened into a small “O” and he stared at Yoongi for a few seconds before he burst out laughing.

 Yoongi flared his nostrils and narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms and tapping his feet, looking down at Jimin with an accusatory face. 
“I-I’m sorry… wow, your attention to detail is remarkable….anyway…do you want some tea?” Jimin asked, sitting down on the chair. 

He just sat down without even asking me to sit...rude boy.

“No… I didn’t come up here for that. I came coz… look, I’m not going to talk in circles. I don’t wanna waste the time for either of us. You see… I booked this room. I paid for it. So, would you please leave this room?  I’ll pay for any other room you want.”

Jimin narrowed his eyes, studying Yoongi with what looked like an interested expression. 

“I paid for it too.” Jimin said in very calm voice, tilting his head to a side again. 

“Yes, these people mixed things up… the thing is… you MUST give me this room. I really need it.”

“You...need it? Why?”

“See…” Yoongi sighed. “I’m a writer, as Jongma said-“

“Junghwa.”

“Yes, that’s what I said. So I’m a writer and I’m here to get my 23rd novel moving. I dunno how to explain this to you…but I need an environment for it. I need a… a perfect environment. Where nothing can disturb me. Where I find everything in my room, without much effort so that I can concentrate completely on my writing. You get what I’m saying?”

Jimin turned up his lips and shook his head. “No.”

Yoongi gave him a tired look. “I’m ready to pay for any room u want here. And… and anything else you want!”

“I don’t want anything. And I can’t give you this room.”

Yoongi made a frustrated gesture, throwing his arms wide by his sides and screwing up his face. 
“What?!... Why?! You can have the second best room. Pleease…please let me stay here. Why do you need this room?”

“I have a reason.”

"What - what reason?!....I'm telling you I will give you whatever amount of money you want!" 

Jimin blinked without any words, smile unchanged. "I have no use for your money."

Yoongi hung his head, closing his eyes. 

He raised his eyes and looked around. There must be something that this guy would want. 

 “How long were you planning on staying here anyway?... You’ve almost made up a home here.” Yoongi said, motioning to the photographs up on the whiteboard covered with fairy lights. 

 

“Well, I plan on staying a month. But, it might be less. Depends…”

Yoongi turned to Jimin with raised eyebrows. 

“A month in a five star hotel suite?... Are you like an heir to a millionaire or a prince?”
Jimin merely smiled at him. “How does it matter who I am?”

Yoongi blinked, looking at the boy with a confused blank face. He shook his head after a few seconds and took a few steps closer to Jimin. He pulled up a small stool from the side and sat down on it. 

“Look… whatever it is that… whatever is the reason for your wanting to stay here. My reason is bigger.” Yoongi sighed. “See, I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of me but-…”

Jimin giggled. “How could a fan of romantic novels not have heard your name?” He flicked his head towards the table strewn with romance novels and smiled. “You are Min Yoongi, eighteen times best selling author. Author of titles like Serenade, Heartbeat, If only, Always remember…”

“Woah…” Yoongi smiled, impressed. “So… have you read any of these?”

“Yes, Serenade.”

Yoongi gave a smile that was a devastatingly failed attempt at showing humility. 

“Oh yeah, that one. It grossed a little more than 45 million worldwide. I wrote it when I was still in college. That story was just-…”

“Formulaic and predictable.” Jimin said. 

“Yeah, exactly, and…WHAT?!” Yoongi narrowed his eyes to slits as he looked at Jimin. 

Jimin’s nostrils flared and he pressed his lips tightly together, fighting a laugh. 

Yoongi raised an eyebrow at him.

“45 million. That was higher than any author of our nationality ever grossed writing for the same genre  in English.” Yoongi said, scoffing. “You obviously aren’t as big a fan of books as you want people to believe.”

“Is that why it’s good? Coz you earned a lot of money?” Jimin asked.  

Yoongi stopped at the last moment when he was just about to reply. The glittering fairy eyes again… but strangely different… they reminded him of something vastly different this time… the sparkling waters of an ocean reflecting the moon. 

 

“Umm…uh..No…I made a lot of money coz the book was good. Or do you want to claim that you are one of those rare intellectuals who appreciate real literature, and my books which are loved by millions are simply not good enough for your refined tastes?”

Jimin smiled and looked down. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to insult you or hurt your sentiments. I’m not saying it wasn’t a good read. But just…I had expected more from you.”

Yoongi stood still, unable to react to this. 
“Wh-what do you mean?”

Jimin raised his eyes and met Yoongi’s. “Writers are avid readers themselves. I haven’t ever heard of an exception to this rule…So tell me, Yoongi…Have you ever picked up a book, started reading the author’s words…his expressions…the way he refers to situations, the way he has created his characters…Do you ever feel like there’s a connection that you suddenly have with that person who penned down those pages?”

 

Yoongi stayed silent.
Was this an attempt to appease him so that he would stop bugging the boy and leave him alone, being a bit pleased with his praise and emotional dialogues?

“Yes…I have.”

“See, that’s what I’m talking about. Your style of writing…it had me falling in love with your writing instantly. The expression you use. The way you describe your characters…the kind of magic that you create when you talk of-…” Jimin stopped and smiled. “I’m getting carried away here.”

“But I thought you found my work formulaic and predictable.”

“Yes…Serenade's plot was predictable. That’s why I said that I had expected a lot when I started reading it but it disappointed me. You had such amazing characters…the perfect chance to create the perfect story…But you chose the formulaic route. There are no formulas in art.”

“It was a story about a rich boy and a poor girl. I’m sorry but those kinda are the most stereotypic characters in the first place. You say you liked them but you didn’t like the way the story went?”

“You can have the most stereotypic characters and make a perfect story. A love story is not what happens at the start and what happens in the middle and then how it ends. It’s a journey of two characters. It’s….intensely personal. And you completely forgot about that, trying to tick all the little check-boxes that make a popular best seller.” 

Yoongi huffed and fell silent. 
He looked down at the floor.

“I’m sorry I deterred far away from the topic. I’m really sorry but I can’t give you this room. I can however come to a settlement. If you can settle with it.” Jimin said. He sniffed once and wiped the pink tip of his nose with the cuffs of his sweater.

“What’s that?”  Yoongi asked.

“You can share with me. I won’t get in your way. You can have the bed if you want, I’m comfy on the couch, it’s really no less than the bed. And you get your room, you write your novel.”  Jimin said, sniffing again and shrugged casually.

“WHAT?!” 

“Yeah.” 

“SHARE?! What…Uh…well…Umm…”  Yoongi rubbed the back of his neck.

He couldn’t help his sly thoughts. 

 

The presence of such a pretty young thing beside him wouldn’t hurt. There was no point of being completely alone during his stay. And if something did stir up…it would be a small encounter of a small town. It would be left just at that, it wouldn’t be carried over into his life. So, this might just have come as an added bonus in his fate. 

Yoongi shrugged, trying to keep his best to keep any hint of the thoughts that he had just had, out of his voice.
“Well, I guess it wouldn’t be that bad. But…you don’t get to blare the television like that.” 

Jimin grinned. “I can easily connect it to my headphones.” He said.

Yoongi rolled his eyes and grinned back. “I was only joking.” 

Jimin got up from his chair slowly, using his arm to steady himself.

“I’ll give Junghwa a call to send up your luggage. Meanwhile you can freshen up.” 

"Wait wait wait....are you really serious?!" Yoongi asked. "I mean...really?"

Jimin turned and grinned. "As long as I'm the first one to get a free copy of your twenty third novel."

 

 

 

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

 

 

 

 

Yoongi breathed in the fresh evening air. He leaned against the railing of the balcony and admired the small beach, only a small piece of which was visible from between the thick blend of various  shades of green surrounding the hotel.

There was a small knock at the door and Yoongi turned to see Jimin leaning against the glass door. 

“I’ve put your luggage in the closet. You can unpack if you want.” 

“Thank you so much.”  Yoongi said, turning around. He walked up to Jimin and reached over his shoulder, putting his arm on the glass door. He smiled down at Jimin and said, “Excuse me…” 

Jimin’s lips moved up at one corner. His smile was not flirtatious. It was a knowing smile. Nevertheless, he did not shy away. He kept his back against the door and looked up at Yoongi, directly into his eyes. He looked this way for some time before speaking.

“You know you need to be careful while you’re here…you don’t want to leave something behind at this small town.” 

Yoongi jerked his head, surprised. “I’m not even unpacked.”

Jimin laughed without a sound. He slid sideways on the door, exposing the portion that opened inwards into the room.

Yoongi shook his head and entered the room, laughing to himself.
“Weird boy...” 
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
 
Yoongi sat down on the floor, massaging his own back. It had been hurting for a long time, from the drive. 
He opened his luggage bag and took out one item of clothing after the other and threw them all down on the floor. He groaned and lay down flat on his back now. Even the cold wooden floor seemed  to give him some comfort, he was so dog tired.

“Do you need help?”

Yoongi opened his eyes and saw the brown haired head, now upside down. He sat up and turned to see Jimin, his back now against one of the many cream colored cupboards.

“Actually, yes!”  Yoongi said, laughing with an embarrassed face. “I at this. My little brother usually helps me with this stuff.”

Jimin sat down on the floor slowly and grabbed hold of one of Yoongi’s jackets. “Oh, you have a little bro? That’s nice…I have a little brother too, his name is Jungkook.”

“My little punk is named Taehyung. He’s damn weird just like you. You both would get along. And he's soft and polite just like you. Not to mention, frustratingly intellectual like you.” 

Jimin chuckled. He raised his eyebrows and widened his eyes as he spoke. "And Kookie! He's....I mean Jungkook...He's sorta like you. Headstrong and bossy. No offense. Bullying and muscling everyone into having his way. Even though that's only superficially, he's real soft at heart once you get to know him. He's the one who acts