"I give up." I collapsed onto the floor of Juno's house that evening, after we had spent about five hours searching for where the cut thread's other end might be—figuratively speaking.
"Now of course this damn record player won't play. It could at least give us a couple of instructions," Kook said as he flopped down onto the floor as well.
"I want to go home. I'm homesick," my voice trembled.
"Me too—very much," he sighed deeply.
"Juno ruined everything. Because of him we don't know what the next task is," I snapped.
"Doesn't matter, Jimin. Let's look on the bright side. We're here. I'm happy, because I made a new friend—one who's actually very decent. How about a snowball fight? I haven't even seen snow this year in New York. Usually people get their best ideas when they're doing something completely different." Kook got up from the floor and pulled me up as well.
"Alright. Let's go," I agreed, and we stepped out in our boots into the warm evening air, about 18–20°C.
"Why is the night so beautiful here?" he asked, gazing up at the starry sky beside me.
"As beautiful as it is, it's just as dangerous."
"Unfortunately." He crouched down and began to pack a snowball. "Still, this is pretty cold."
"Strange weather," I nodded in agreement, making a snowball myself and throwing it far away.
Jungkook threw his as well, but his went farther than mine.
"That's not fair—you're a muscle beast," I pouted.
"And you're just a little short guy," he teased, nudging me playfully.
"What did you just say?" I exclaimed.
"That you're a short guy," he stuck his tongue out—so I promptly managed to toss a bit of snow into his mouth, and in his surprise he fell back onto his butt. That was my cue to launch an attack.
Kneeling beside him, I started to bury him in snow.
"That's right, I'll bury you good. Now, after this, go ahead and call me short again, you big musclehead." I laughed as I swept snow into his face.
"No, Jimin… The water droplets tickle. I promise I won't call you short. You're taller than me anyway." He laughed uncontrollably.
"Sure?" I held out my pinky.
"Nope." He laughed, and in an instant flipped our positions so he was now burying me in snow.
Even snow slipped under my clothes, icy cold against my skin—not the nicest feeling—but since I was already soaked through, it didn't really matter. At least there was no danger of a freezing wind hitting us, because it was everything but cold.
"Alright, Kook, that's enough," I said, wiping my wet face.
"You deserved it," he sat down beside me.
"So did you," I sat up too.
"Phew… I'm tired now," he panted next to me.
"Me too, a little. I can't even remember the last time I saw so much snow. Winters aren't really proper anymore in Seoul," I mused.
"Not in New York either. Maybe when I was in elementary school—those were real winters. But that was… what… about 20 years ago. Wow, it feels strange to say that—20 years. That's a long time. Guess I'm old now," he sighed.
"You're 30. That's not old at all. I'll be that age soon too," I reassured him. "By the way… can I ask you something?"
"Of course, go ahead."
"What's your son's name?" I looked into his eyes, and he smiled.
"Jimmy. Jeon Jimmy," he chuckled.
"Almost Jimin," I laughed. "By the way, it's a nice name."
"To be honest, the reason he's Jimmy is because I wanted to name him Jimin, but Loren insisted on an American name—so this is what we came up with."
"Are you serious?" I was surprised.
"Yeah. Jimin is such a beautiful name. Sure, a lot of women have it, but I think it's more of a boy's name. I want to raise my son to be as pure and kind-hearted as you are. Maybe the name carries that kindness—after all, you're Jimin, and you're kind-hearted too," he explained.
"That's really sweet of you. Thank you," I said, lowering my head slightly, blushing.
"I'm only telling the truth."
"Actually… while we're on the topic… I'd like to have someone by my side one day who's like you. So I guess I'll have to look for people named Jungkook," I joked.
"Why someone like me?" he asked curiously.
"Because you're attentive, you don't judge anyone beforehand, you have great ideas, and I can have amazing conversations with you. Plus, you're good-looking, and you have everything it takes for a healthy relationship," I explained, a bit uncertainly.
"That really sounds like you're into me," he smiled.
"I'm not. I just think it'd be nice to meet someone like you," I defended myself.
"No~! You like me, don't you?" he teased, wiggling his eyebrows.
"No way." My face turned red.
"That's not a problem for me. You can tell me," he said softly.
"I… I'm not into you like that…"
"Alright, I believe you. I was just teasing. But if it ever does happen, you better tell me," he said, raising a finger.
"If it happens," I emphasized the "if."
After that, we fell silent. I gazed at the starry sky, thinking about something, until I finally spoke.
"We have so much in common."
"Right? I think so too. And that's a great thing."
"At least I'm not the only one who thinks in such an unusual way."
"Why? You think unusually?"
"Well… I can't explain exactly why. I just feel like the people around me think very differently from me—so much so that I often can't get them to understand my point of view. They think my views are wrong, and I feel the same about theirs. But with you, our conversations just take off and flow."
"Oh, I see. So that means I have a special way of thinking too."
"Feel honored," I chuckled.
"Of course. I feel very honorable now," he laughed, shaking his head.
"Jungkook…"
"Hm?"
"I… really enjoyed our dance yesterday," I suddenly changed the topic.
"What's that got to do with anything?" he looked at me.
"It just came to mind. It was really special."
"Yeah. I think so too."
"Like we were in a romantic movie," I mused.
"What is that, if not love?" Kook whispered.
"Excuse me?" I asked, startled.
"Are you sure you're not attracted to me? Otherwise, why would you imagine being in a romantic movie with me?" he gently brushed my arm.
"I… I just had that feeling. Nothing special," I shrugged, trying to downplay it.
"If it helps, I think that evening was special too. I just don't know why," he admitted.
"See? So it wasn't just me."
"Jimin… look at that," he suddenly pointed toward one of the illuminated Christmas benches.
"What is it?"
"Look how bright it is," he stared, and soon I saw it too.
Something was shining on the table, but we couldn't make out what it was, so we stood up from the snow and, holding hands, walked toward the glowing object.
When we reached it, we simply couldn't believe our eyes. We stared for minutes at the object lying on the table.
"This can't be real…" I muttered.
"So Juno wasn't trying to sabotage us—he was actually trying to help."
"He knew where the book was and got it out of the river for us. That's why we didn't find anything there," I realized.
"Look at this… He left us a note." Jungkook picked up a slip of paper and began to read:
Dear Jimin and Jungkook,
By the time you read this, I'll probably be dead. Yes, I went out into the forest by my own will.
I knew this book very well. That's why I didn't want to tell you what it was really about. What you need to know is that, according to the book, someone will die. I thought about this a lot and decided that it had to be me—because Jimin is still young, with his whole life ahead of him. Jungkook has a proper family. But me… I only have a broken family. My daughter was the most important person in my life, but after my wife's death, I didn't have the strength to raise her.
So I made this decision. I hope you understand.
I took the book out of the river for you, and if you follow the instructions inside, you might be able to get out of here.
I didn't want to tell you what the book is about, because I don't think you'll be happy about it—especially Jungkook. But you must see it through.
I believe in you. You can do it!
Juno
Jungkook, pale as a sheet after reading Juno's note, took the book in his hands and looked into my eyes.
"This book… it's a BL novel. About two men who meet in the secret Christmas village and end up together. Jimin… I…"
"Don't say it… I know what you're thinking."