Jihyun opened the door to her best friend smiling at her with his infectious gummy smile on Christmas morning, standing next to Jimin and Hoseok who were holding up bags of pastries excitedly - along with Yoongi and his usual unbothered expression. 

“Merry Christmas you guys.” She hugged each one of them before they entered the house which had been warmed by Mr. Kim in the morning with a burning fireplace. 

Mrs. Kim rushed out of the kitchen to welcome the guests - or more affectionately she liked to call them her half-sons, which her children merely chuckle whenever she mentions it. 

“Lunch is ready for all you kiddos!” Mrs. Kim called as she placed the last bowl of seafood soup on the table while everybody joined Mr. Kim who was already sipping his coffee. 

“I can’t wait to open our presents!” Hoseok said excitedly as he looked at the Christmas tree in the living room with the row of presents underneath while Mrs. Kim chuckled, “I had to stop these four from opening them yesterday.” She knocked their heads playfully while they gave an embarrassed laugh. 

“Jungkook, you came yesterday?” Taehyung asked through mouthfuls of his soups, and Jungkook merely nodded with a tight smile. Taehyung sensed the hesitancy in his eyes and knew better than to ask more as he continued eating his lunch instead.

But what everyone missed was the look of knowing that Jungkook and Jimin exchanged across the dining table - they needed to talk. 

Half of the group were busy building snowmen, while the other half were building snow angels - but Jungkook and Jimin chose to sit out instead, as they stayed indoors, sipping tea which Mrs. Kim had brewed before she had left the house with Mr. Kim to do some last minute grocery shopping. 

It was just the both of them, and the silence was deafening. 

“I assume you’ve heard?” Jimin asked, and Jungkook knew exactly what he meant. 

“How long have you known?” Jungkook merely said while Jimin shook his head, “Not long. My dad announced it yesterday during our Christmas Eve dinner. Jieun’s going to transfer to Hogwarts after the semester ends.” 

Jungkook’s heart sank when he heard the news. “In our final year? That’s so quick, it’s in a couple of months! How is that possible?” 

“Well, my dad pulled some strings and managed to get Jieun in early. It’s all part of the “plan” for you two to get to know each other better. She’s one year younger than us, so she’ll be in sixth grade while we’re in seventh.” 

“ing hell, this is the most screwed up that has ever happened.” Jungkook said in frustration as he clenched his fists in anger. Jimin couldn’t help but feel upset for the boy. 

When his father had first announced it at the table, it had come as a shock to him, but his stepmother seemed elated at the thought of Jieun being paired with Jungkook. After all, the Jeons being one of the richests and most influential families was no secret to anyone in the wizarding world. 

He could also see a small smile forming on Jieun’s face, and he wanted badly to wipe off those grins off their faces. 

He retorted immediately, saying how it was a bad idea because Jungkook was already attached with someone else, but his father merely brushed off the idea and said that it was just young love - Jieun was going to spend more time with Jungkook by transferring to Hogwarts and they could nurture their relationship.

Jimin felt as if he was about to throw up. It was no secret that he didn’t like his stepmother and stepsister - he made it obvious and even though they tried to get him to warm up to them, he never budged. Over time, they learnt to stay away.

But how could they talk about Jungkook and Jihyun’s love like it was nothing? 

He had seen how the two had changed for the better since they had begun their relationship. 

Jihyun had always been independent and strong, but he could see her slowly lowering her guard as Jungkook softened her rough edges. And Jungkook - everyone could tell that the boy had become so much happier ever since their relationship started. He was no longer as rash and introverted like before, and Jimin liked the new Jungkook. He had slowly begun to express his feelings better, and didn’t seem as miserable as before. 

Jihyun and Jungkook fit like the missing puzzle pieces in each other’s lives - something that neither of them knew they needed till they got together. 

And he wanted to blame the fate that was set out for their relationship, but then he realised it didn’t have anything to do with fate - it had more to do with power and politics that things had turned out this way. 

There wasn’t a solution to this, because Jungkook is a Jeon, and being a Jeon comes with responsibilities to bear. 

But right now, Jungkook is his friend, and he feels utterly apologetic to him even though it was nowhere near his fault. 

“Ji’s going to flip when she hears about this.” Jungkook sighed in resentment after a couple of minutes. 

“You haven’t told her?” Jimin widened his eyes in surprise as Jungkook shook his head, “How could I, Jimin? It’s ing Christmas and if I dropped this bomb on her, it’s going to ruin everything.” 

“What if she decides to leave me because of this? I can’t lose her, Chim. I really can’t.” Jungkook cried out as tears brimmed down his cheeks, and Jimin scooted closer as he placed an arm on his hunched shoulders.

“She’s not going to leave you, Jungkook. Ji would never do that to you.” Jimin consoled, but Jungkook continued shaking his head, “She’s going to leave me! I just know that will happen. Everyone always leaves at the end.” 

That was when Jimin knew there was a deep-rooted reason when it came to abandonment issues with Jungkook - and he suspected it had to do with Mr. and Mrs. Jeon. 

“You need to tell her, Jungkook. It’s going to be worse if she finds out from someone else.” 

He knew there was nothing else he could say that could make him feel better, because what Jungkook needed now was a solution to get out of this damned arranged marriage, and he didn’t have one. So he chose to stay by him in the next hour instead, giving him soft, comforting pats on his back - hoping that would help soothe the boy’s soft sobs. 

--
“Hey, I was looking for you.” Jihyun said as Jungkook hugged her from behind. She turned to look at him and saw that he had a red nose and streaks of tear stains on his face. 

“What happened to you?” Jihyun asked in alarm, but Jungkook gave a convincing smile, “It was so cold that I started tearing.” Jihyun seemed to have believed it as she snickered and they headed to join the rest of the group.

The rest of the afternoon was spent on making more snow angels, snowmen, and a huge snowball fight. The two teams were split - Team A consisted of Jungkook, Jihyun, Yoongi and Namjoon, while Team B had Taehyung, Jimin, Jin and Hoseok.

“That’s not fair, you have Jungkook on your team!” Taehyung shouted from afar as Jungkook had yet again thrown another snowball towards their base, sending it crumbling into the snow. 

“But we have Namjoon, and he’s ruining everything!” Yoongi complained as Namjoon had once again ruined another snowball while the elder laughed. Jungkook could hear Hoseok’s loud laughter from afar. 

As the snowball fight intensified and Team B finally calling it quits with the speed at which Jungkook, Jihyun, Yoongi and Namjoon were coming up with the snowballs - although they were mostly contributed by Jungkook due to his amazing strength and speed, the group decided to head inside the home to finally wash up for the long awaited Christmas dinner. 

They weren’t sure when Mr. and Mrs. Kim had come home from grocery shopping, but Jungkook prayed they hadn’t witnessed his breakdown when he was with Jimin earlier. 

When they finished showering, the Christmas dinner which boasted not only Korean yet English food was spread across the entire table as the crowd wowed in amazement. Mrs. Kim had yet again outdone herself again as they rushed into their chairs, grabbing their cutlery in excitement before they drooled all over the food. 

Jungkook looked around the table as he saw his favourite people smiling and chatting happily. This right here, was the true meaning of Christmas, and his favourite part of it. 

“What’s on your mind?” Jihyun asked curiously as she took a spoonful of soup while Jungkook merely shook his head with a grin, “Thinking about how good your mum’s cooking is.” 

The bad news could wait. 

Everyone gathered around the Christmas tree after dinner, and as per their usual tradition, it was Secret Santa time. 

It was chaotic.

“Oohs” and “I KNEW IT!” filled the room as the crowd continued guessing who their Secret Santa was, and Jihyun couldn’t help but laugh when she saw Hoseok bursting into happiness when she handed him a set of his favourite streetwear clothes that he had been eyeing on since forever. 

“Merry Christmas Hobi!” Jihyun hugged the boy and was smiling endlessly as he squeezed her with a tight hug and cheered, “How did you know I loved this brand?!”

“Hobi, it’s not that hard to realise it since that’s the only brand you ever wear.” Yoongi said in passing while the girl laughed. Yoongi always knew the right things to say. While she waited for Hoseok to try on the clothes as the boy ran to the restroom - excited to put on his new clothes, a pair of hands covered her eyes. 

She laughed airily as she held onto his soft hands, instantly recognizing who it was without even turning behind. 

“Merry Christmas love.” Jungkook said as he handed her the gift before settling on the empty seat beside her. 

“You’re my secret santa?!” She asked in disbelief while he nodded his head with a chuckle, “It was pure luck.”

He recalled the many times that Jihyun had been asking him about his secret santa and how he had refused to tell her no matter how she begged. She had tried all the tactics she knew, but Jungkook insisted that she had to wait till Christmas. 

And she finally knew why. 

Carefully unwrapping the gift box, she pulled out a necklace with a heart pendant - engraved with the words “J x J”. Turning to him with a wide smile and handing the necklace to him, he looked confused before she continued, “Put it on for me.” 

Pulling her hair to the side and inching closer to her, he stood with his chest against her back. She tried her best to ignore the fact that he was standing so close, but his warm breath that tickled the back of her neck gave her goosebumps. 

He could easily tell that she was nervous, but he merely gave a chuckle as he casually placed the necklace on her neck - fingers lingering a bit longer on her neck, sending another round of goosebumps. 

And even if she wanted nothing more than to feel every inch of his breath on her skin - she did not say anything as she gulped and regained her usual self. 

“It’s really pretty.” She touched the necklace absent-mindedly while he turned her around to him and scanned the girl. “Not as pretty as you, though.” He said casually before flicking her nose playfully, sending the girl into a blush. 

“Stop flirting, you two.” Taehyung teased before pushing Jihyun and Jungkook towards the group. “The celebration continues!”