It is fascinating just how fast the time passes by. It's already winter, the month of December. It's snowing all around, making the surroundings pale white. This winter was really special for Soojin. After a long time, she had celebrated her B-Day joyfully with the Jeons, which falls on 11th of December. And more than that, she is visiting Daegu— what she considers her home town— after 6 years.

Soojin is jumping in excitement. After 6 whole years she is going to meet her beloved cousin—Taehyung. Haru realised it's been a while since he took her there so, he thought of paying them a visit during the winter break. He thought of celebrating Christmas and New Year there too. Jungkook was on the verge of tears, when he got to know that he won't be able to spend time with Soojin for almost two weeks! It felt like hell to him.

"Oh c'mon!! Just two weeks! I ain't going there forever! Don't be a crybaby, Kookie!" she assured him, seeing him sulking.

"That's what I'm saying! Two weeks?! How am I supposed to live two weeks without you?! What will I do in the evenings?!" he exclaimed.

Soojin couldn't help but chuckle, "Fine, I'll call you everyday, yeah?" Jungkook sulked and nodded. He pulled her close to him and sniffled, "I'll miss you, really... "

She just chuckled and patted his back, "If you do like this, I won't be able to go, Kookie!"

"Suju...?"

She jolts up at her name. She turns around to face her cousin, who frowns and stares at her, "Where were you lost?"

She looks down and bites her lower lip. She is missing Jungkook. And the music on her radio—one of Rap Monster's songs— reminded her of him more. How he would jump and squeal, singing out the lyrics.

"My best friend... I was thinking of him... " she mumbles while looking down.

"Oww... What's her name?" Taehyung asks, curious to know his sister's best friend.

"Jungkook"

Taehyung frowns in confusion, "Jungkook? I never knew girls had such names too..."

"Oh, don't be dumb, Oppa!! He's a guy!!" Soojin exclaims at her brother's silly remark. Taehyung widens his eyes and gets up from the grass, "What...?!! Guy?! You've a guy best friend?!" he stutters in utter shock, "He didn't do anything to you, right?!!!"

"Oh please!! He's really good! You'll like him if you meet him once." Soojin giggles seeing his reaction.

Taehyung narrows his eyes and gives her a side eye, "You better tell me if he does anything...! I'll go to Busan and break all this bones!!"

Soojin giggles, "Fine fine!" She takes a strawberry from the small box her aunt, Taehyung's mom, had sent them with. She bites into it and closes her eyes in pleasure. It feels so nostalgic. After 6 damn years she was having such fresh strawberries.

She recalls those joyful memories she had made here. Running around this same field, giggling and squealing in the golden sunlight, while she was being chased by Taehyung and Yoongi. Sometimes, her other cousins— Sungjae and Sunghyo — would join them too on their visit. With that, she realised— Yoongi. Where is he? It's been a week already and she had seen no trace of him.

"Oppa... Where is Yoongi Oppa? I haven't seen him this time...," she asks, being curious and sad at the same time.

Yoongi, a poor boy from the neighborhood, would often visit them. He is the coolest person ever for Soojin. She always looked at him with admiration and wanted to be like him. He wasn't related to her but Soojin thought of him as her own too. On her trip to Daegu, she had planned so many things to do with Taehyung and Yoongi and share all the stories with Jungkook back home. But Yoongi's absence made her dissapointed.

"Yoongi hyung? Oh, you might not know, he ran away from his home two months ago... To Seoul... " Taehyung says, while chewing his strawberry.

"What?!!" Soojin exclaims in utter shock, "But... Why?!" She just hopes that her silly cousin is kidding. How could Yoongi just run away?

"You probably don't know cause you were young... Hyung always dreamt of becoming a producer but his dad was against his dreams. So.... He decided to run away to pursue his dreams.... No one knows where he's living in Seoul... " Taehyung says while pouting.

That makes Soojin devastated. Perhaps she'll never met her coolest Oppa ever again! She sniffles and feels her eyes glistening. And that emotional song of Rap Monster in the backdrop makes it worse. I guess... Destiny always has different plans for me. She looks up at the sky and huffs.

"You okay, Suju?" Taehyung asks, noticing the deafening silence. Soojin just hums. They get up and make their way to their home.

:::

The day of returning home comes soon. Soojin, though she felt the absence of Yoongi, still enjoyed Christmas, Taehyung's B-Day and New year there. It was a memorable experience. After all, they are like her own family too. They were the ones who raised her before she moved in with Haru.

Taehyung was acting childishly and crying, not letting go of his beloved baby sister, "No!!! You can't go!! I know you'll not come back if you go!! I won't see you in ages again!!!" he croaks out, clutching onto her arm.

Soojin couldn't help but chuckle. She rubbed his tears and mumbled, "Oppa, stop being a child! I came here, didn't I? I'll come again! I promise!"

"When? When will that time come?!" Taehyung yells.

"Soon, very soon! I promise!" They both cross their pinkies, making a sweet promise of meeting again.

:::

"Sujuuuu!!!!!!" Jungkook yells in joy as he lifts Soojin up and hugs are tightly, as if she were a pillow, not a human.

"Oww Kookie--" she slaps his back, "Hey let go of me!! You've a plan of murdering me, don't you?!!" she scolds him in fun and they both giggle.

"Oh c'mon!! You've no idea how much I've missed you!!! Two weeks, you know... Is a long time!!" Jungkook pouts.

"I know right, I missed you too--"

"Oh really?" he interrupted her, "Missed me? You said you would call everyday!! You just called thrice a week!!" he sulks while looking away, "I cried, listening to IU's and Rap Monster's songs..."

"Oh, you look like a bunny while pouting!" Soojin teases him. Jungkook couldn't help but give in to her cuteness. He traps her in his arms and tickles her, making her cry out while laughing.

I hope our friendship lasts for eternity like this. He stares at her, with those doe eyes, showing an unexplainable emotion that Soojin can't decipher. It's not that she notices much how he loves staring at her silently with admiration whenever he gets the chance to.

::

"Oh c'mon Sujuu!! You just returned yesterday and you're already back with your books?! Unbelievable!!" Jungkook whines when he sees her stuck with her books again. He sometimes hates it, especially when he wants to spend some time having fun with her.

Soojin gives a side eye to him, "Don't forget Kookie, our exams are approaching." she says reminding him of the tests.

"And when is that? March!! It's freaking January now!!" he exclaims in annoyance.

He plops onto his bed beside her, snatching her book from her. "Hey!! What is this?!" Soojin gasps.

"Talk with me!" Jungkook pouts.

"Kookie.... You know right why I'm studying so hard?" Soojin looks at him with a serious face, "I told you, I'm doing this for my dad. I've to get a good job so that... I can provide him with a lavish life."

That somewhat hits Jungkook hard. He stares at her with those doe eyes and silently returns her book. He just sits beside her, slouching. Soojin noticed the weird silence and felt guilty that she might have ruined his good mood. She closed her book and looked at him, "Mhm... Let's chat now, yeah?"

"You will?" he looks at her with those hopeful eyes.

"Yep. I'm bored of studying for hours now." she gives him a assuring smile.

He grins and began sharing about his day. "Hey!! You didn't tell me about your trip to Daegu! I wanna hear about it." he asks her enthusiastically.

"Ah that... It was good..," she smiles recalling those memories, "I enjoyed a lot with my brother. He asked about you." she looks at him and bites her lower lip.

"Me...? What did he ask? What did you say?" Jungkook is both excited and anxious at it. What might her brother think of me?

"Uhm... At first he was confused, how could a girl have a name Jungkook?" she fights back a laugh, "When I said my best friend is a guy, his reaction.... was priceless... You know, he's overprotective!" she chuckles recalling Taehyung's reaction over it.

Jungkook scoffs at that, "Well, what's wrong in having a guy best friend, huh?" What does that guy think of himself? I've been protecting his sister all along!!

"Hey hey, calm down!" Soojin cackles at his annoyed reaction. "Everything was good... Just...," she pouts remembering about Yoongi, "Yoongi Oppa... I told you about him... I didn't meet him... "

"Huh? Where was he?"

"IDK... Just got to know he ran away...," she says, her voice getting heavier, "He had a tough childhood... He was forced to..."

Jungkook noticed the building tension. He recalled how excited she was before the trip, how she talked about Yoongi a lot, being the coolest guy according to her. Not meeting him must be very dissapointing for her.

"Seems like destiny always has different plans for me... Always... I lose everyone..."

Jungkook in a sudden moment, pulls her in a hug tightly. He doesn't know why but he felt like giving her a hug, "Don't say that, Suju ya! Hmm... Perhaps destiny surely has different plans. Maybe you'll get to meet him someday in the future."

Soojin nods at his words, "Perhaps someday.."

::

It's almost midnight and everyone is probably is asleep in the house. But Jungkook, he doesn't know what's happening to him today. He shifts to his side, on his stomach, on his back, but nothing worked. Something's playing on his mind.

He stares onto the ceiling, that's almost dark, just reflecting some of the dim light of his night lamp.

"I told you, I'm doing this for my dad. I've to get a good job so that... I can provide him with a lavish life."

Those words keep replaying in his mind. They're working like some magic to him.

Help... She's doing it to help her dad. She's working hard for a reason. And here's me, doing nothing but just wasting my time.

He recalls in his mind how his father goes to office early in the morning and returns late, how his mom faced struggles raising three kids. He remembers overhearing his parents talking about some financial issues.

They work so hard...They're young too. Perhaps, I can do something to help them too? Like Suju?

He turns to his side, staring at those posters of his favorite band, Big Bang, and a brand new poster of his favorite rapper, Rap Monster, that are pasted on his wall.

Yes... I will!