Blue. Cold. Crystalline. Motionless. Mobile.

This described the cave the best when the two pairs of worried eyes scanned the area all around.

"Let me try."

"Argh! Why isn't it opening?!" He pushed the snowy rocks from inside which were blocking the mouth of the cave. His shout was violence in the air, a way to take his frustration out and transfer the tension into the gloomy atmosphere.

"Can you not use your powers for this?"

"No Jimin. I can only freeze the water, I cannot do the reverse."

They continued their attempt to shove the huge rocks with their fragile hands, putting in all the strength left in their bodies.

"Ah! This won't do."

Their breaths came huffy as their knees dropped down in defeat.

The only thing that gave a little relief was that the ice creatures which horribly popped earlier were automatically disappeared into the thin air as soon as the entrance got crashed.

It was too dark to see the way out and nearly too cold and wet to keep moving, they tried and failed repeatedly to find an exit. By that time, their arms and legs were cramping, and their hands and feet felt numb. As they waited, they backtracked to try to find another way out, but could not see one.

Their soul and body together were now starting to lose hope.

The heavy cold air from outside cascaded into the cave, and warmer air inside rose up and escaped, lowering the cave temperature further than it already was.

It was one of those moments when usual clothes weren't enough, when they felt thinner than they were, when the multiple layers of clothing could not protect against the deathly cold.

A stream of water poured from a hole in the ceiling, collecting in a pool at their feet.

They had no alternative other than settling themselves on the damp rocks blanketed with ice, otherwise, their legs would freeze at any time. Sleep was out of the question— after dozing for a few minutes, they would jolt awake with stiffened teeth.

They knew that falling asleep would inch them closer to death, so they did their best to engage in small talk.

"Moon, do you remember when we first met?"

"Ah! That." She chuckled reminiscing the past.

It was the first day of their High School. Everyone was so excited about the new friends, new experiences. The corridor was occupied with chats and giggles. Jimin walked into the corridor, his eyes busy in spotting his classroom.

He stops right in front of the Art room when the notice board that hung beside it grabbed his attention. When he was engaged in skimming the notice, a girl moved out and crashed straight into him. All the paints that rested in the color palette in her hand got spilled, decorating him in various colorful shades.

"Yah! Can't you see?!" Jimin lashed as his new uniform which he just wore for the first time was now completely stained with colors.

"Excuse me! I was walking usually as everyone does. You were the one who was absentmindedly standing here like a dumb."

"Wah!" Jimin scoffed facing a loss of words.

They crossed their paths exchanging grimaces and glares, never hoping to encounter each other again.

Of course, he couldn't deny the fact that his heart didn't pound for a good moment when he saw how beautiful she looked but still he also couldn't contest that her first impression on him was inconsiderate and rude.

Unfortunately, as if it was a drama, their classes turned out to be the same. They avoided each other well until that incident happened.

When Jimin was putting back his P.T clothes, he suddenly received a strong jerk and was pinned harshly into the lockers by a bunch of bullies as they tried to snatch his belongings.

"Ow how come your face bloated like a puffed rice cake? " One of them remarked, followed by the disgusting laughs of his fellow members.

"Just shut the fuck up!" Jimin snapped, trying his best to remain cool.

"Give me the marker. How about we decorate it a little?!" The leader of the gang took the red bold permanent marker and inched closer to Jimin's face.

"Don't you dare!"

"I'm telling you, you will pay a high price for this!" Jimin warned, feeling helpless at the moment.

When the tip of the marker couldn't even dot his face, a punch landed on the drawer's face, throwing him hard on the floor.

"You?" Jimin's eyes grew wide upon seeing the most unexpected person.

Before the former jerk could even regain his balance, she grabbed a handful of his hair and punched his jaw a few times, fully knocking him down.

"Don't you dare mess up with him again! You are already well aware of the consequences." Her reprimand heard like death lessons in their ears as they escaped the place.

"At least shut your mouth unless you want to catch a bug to dance inside." She sounded unamused.

While Jimin was standing there totally baffled as his mind was still processing the scene that happened just before his eyes.

"But why did you help me?" He questioned.

"I'm not as bad as you think. You know I couldn't stand the unpleasant sight of you getting bullied by those bastards, that's why."

"T-thank you," Jimin said while scratching his temple.

"No need. Well...you don't seem that bad either like I thought." She chuckled.

"Hi! I'm Park Jimin." Jimin extended his hand.

"I'm Moon, Bae Moon." She accepted his hand of friendship without hesitation.

And it was the bitter yet sweet start of their life-longed friendship.

They couldn't help themselves from laughing, having the clear flashback.

In this world of snow, you're the only shining glow.

This was all could repeat in Jimin's head as he watched her smiling adorably, how her two barely noticeable dimples appear and then disappears within a second, allowing just a glimpse.

They were chatting like that to cut the tension and somehow keep their spirits up. However, they had a new reason for worry, the hole in the ice glacier slowly deepened, it filled with slushy meltwater, which began to splash them, almost reaching their knee level.

Moon's eyes turned ice-blue as she quickly deep-froze the flowing water on the spot and this time she didn't have to lower her internal body temperature like always as it was already way below by itself.

Now the only question was that-

Could they escape before frigid temperatures claim their lives?

Breaths rose in puffs, arms hugged the bodies tightly, teeth chattered faster than an ice-breaking machine and there was a briskness to movements that would melt with the snow.

"Are you alright, Jimin?" Moon placed her hand on the latter's shoulder whose arms and legs were now trembling.

She herself wasn't affected that much because she was now nearly used to this cold in fact, it was her biggest strength.

In that cold, they were each other's flames, the furnace, and the fuel - that is what the phoenix was.

No matter how much Jimin made efforts to keep himself warm, putting his hands under his armpits, or pulling his arms into the inside of his jacket for more direct contact with the body, the cold was never disappointing.

While Moon squeezed and stroked his friend's hand and urged him to stay awake.

By that time Jimin's whole body was shivering like crazy.

As the temperature continued to drop or as the exposure time increased, the feeling of cold and pain started to diminish because of increasing numbness.

Beep. Beep. Beep...one life lost!

The alert echoed through the cold air.

Moon quickly took off her own jacket and covers Jimin who was now battling for his life.

As the lengthy exposure eventually increased, it was using up his body's stored energy, leading to lower his body temperature beyond every leap and bound.

She hugged him close. A lot of people would have prayed at this point, and they were now two of them.

In the world of zero, he found warmth that's her.

Jimin's teeth chattered violently as he almost felt the paralysis creeping up in his bones and muscles.

"You're gonna be okay, Jimin. Just hold on for some time. I'm sure the others will find and save us soon." Moon rubbed circles on his back, holding him tightly as much as possible. She then massaged his feet and palms to provide some warmth.

But Jimin seemed like his senses didn't know how to stay calm. The corneas of his eyes were about to freeze. His lips along with his face were turning blue. He was experiencing hypothermia.

(a/n: Hypothermia is caused by prolonged exposures to very cold temperatures. When exposed to cold temperatures, your body begins to lose heat faster than it's produced.)

Beep. Beep. Beep...two lives lost!

Moon's eyes widened as saucers when Jimin's arms which rested on her back dropped limp.

"Jimin!" She shook him, in order to wake him up. But to no avail. 

She then checked his pulse and sadly obtained the same result that she was hoping to avoid. His pulses and breaths were...slow in fact, they were much slower.

"Oh, God! Wake up Jimin! You have only single life left!" She quaked him for the one last time before laying him flat on the ground carefully.

She had no other option. She couldn't even light a single match. Jimin was dying and it will surely be too late if she didn't do it now.

She lifted Jimin's jaw a little and then opened his mouth, slowly parting his lips. After inhaling a deep breath and then closing her eyes, she blew into his mouth a few times, trying to fulfill the immediate and urgent need for oxygen. The air was forced down his respiratory tract, gradually reaching to his lungs.

Indirectly, it was her 'Kiss of life'.

Moon's eyeballs wide-opened when a rhythm of the rising and falling of Jimin's chest heard.

Right at the moment, when they were in each other's embrace, their lips mending together.

The giant slabs of ice blocking the entrance of the cave collapsed as the rest of their friends entered.

And it was the moment when Taehyung's heart sank to the bottom of an endless pit at the sight.

Author's Note:

It was a longgg chapter *phew*. Hope you didn't get bored and enjoyed it? Tell me, tell me.

Have a butterful day ahead! Take care and stay safe~

I purple you all 💜💜💜