Im Jaebeom: Collection

New Year Treasure Hunt

Summary: The one about getting a better prize than a ticket to the hottest New Years Eve party in town.

A/N: this was part of a collab that i am just cross posting!

xxx

"This has to be a mistake," you declared as you stood outside the balcony with your phone in hand and the other scratching your head in confusion. "The hottest party in town cannot be here in Jackson's apartment."

"Don't let him hear you say that," Jaebeom chuckled. "You know what he's like."

Rolling your eyes, you sat down on one of Jackson's outdoor couches. "That's not what I meant. I just don't think that this is the party that this treasure hunt is referring to because if this was Jackson's clever way of inviting everyone, you would've gotten a text too."

Jaebeom smiled before joining you on the couch. You were always smarter than he gave you credit for and you proved it to him yet again. "What about we go over the clues again?" he suggested. "Just to make sure."

With a grateful smile, you unlocked your phone and scooted closer to him. The places that the clues led you both to seemed oddly familiar but you couldn't put your finger on why that was. With every clue, you were more desperate to find out about the significance of it all instead of the prospect of being invited to the hottest party in town — even though that was the reason why you were doing this treasure hunt in the first place. It confused you to hell but you were going to figure this out, one way or another.

"What was the first clue?" Jaebeom asked.

"The familiar looking cafe."

"Why does it look familiar?"

You thought hard for a while before replying, "...because it's near our old campus."

"Is that the only reason?"

Throwing him a puzzled look, he chuckled before nudging you with his shoulder. Jaebeom asked you to think harder and you closed your eyes, imagining the cafe in your mind. Images flashed through your mind. The overhead menu. Books. A booth. Lastly, an image of Jaebeom smiling.

"Why does it remind me of you?"

Jaebeom smiled, "that's where we met."

With a gasp, the memory of meeting Jaebeom flooded into your mind as clear as day. That day was one of the busiest for the cafe, filled to the brim with students cramming for their finals and other regular customers. You'd woken up late, carrying a devastated face along with your iced caramel latte as you tried to search for an empty table, only to find none. The only free space available was across from this guy with a laptop and a tower of books that filled the table.

"You shared your table with me that day," you reminisced with a smile and he nodded. "The library was packed, too. So if you hadn't, I would've ended up back at my dorm getting no study done."

"I was hesitant at first, especially when you asked me to move my books," Jaebeom laughed heartily, his eyes turning into crescents that you loved the most. "But, you seemed like a lovely girl so I couldn't find it in me to say no."

"You thought I was lovely?" you teased.

"Desperate too—ow!"

"Let's move on to the second clue, shall we?" you asked but didn't bother waiting for a reply as Jaebeom feigned the pain in his arm where you punched him. "It's a familiar looking park bench."

"Why does it seem familiar?"

"It looked like one of the benches that were near my dorm," you answered hesitantly.