Last Christmas | Jikook ✓

❄️Chapter 6 - Christmas Could-Be❄️

Jungkook

"Stupid alternate universe! Why can't I do anything right?" I yell, pacing around my room and pulling my hair. "I can't be an idol and I can't be normal!"

Taehyung materializes. "Trouble in paradise?"

My head snaps to his direction and in a flash, I'm pinning the pesky spirit guide to the wall by the collar of his shirt. "Now look here, you offbrand Taehyung." I narrow my eyes. "Where the heck have you been?! Some spirit guide you are! You've been missing!"

He slowly unclasps my fingers from his shirt one by one and smooths the fabric out before crossing his arms and leaning against the wall with a quirked eyebrow. "I thought you wanted to be normal Jungkook? You were given what you wanted, so why are you complaining to me? Were you not the one who said that this life isn't so bad?" He checks his nails.

"That's the thing! I just wanted to be happy. I thought that being normal would make me happy." I hold my head in my hands. "Dating this Jimin... it's weird. I know way more about him than he does about me. He might end up thinking that I'm some type of stalker. And Guide, I need Jimin right now but I can't have him. I can't just kiss him or sleep with him. That'll land me in prison or something. And my memories. They're fading. I'm forgetting song lyrics and choreography!"

The spirit guide chuckles. "No BTS means no more 'No More Dream.'"

My eye twitches. "That's not funny."

"Well, what did you expect. Memories that don't belong here will all be gone."

Tears start to stream down my face. "This was supposed to make me happy. It was supposed to lessen my loneliness. Yet I feel lonelier and sadder than ever."

"If the cure to depression was as simple as changing your settings or career, I'm pretty sure there wouldn't be increasing numbers of anxiety and depression in today's youth."

My heart stops and I turn around slowly until I'm looking at Min Yoongi.

"Spirit of Christmas Could-Be." Yoongi waves lazily. "I'm here to show you what your Christmas will be like in the future if you stay here."

I look between the faux Yoongi and Taehyung. "We're running low on time, aren't we?"

Taehyung nods.

"I'm the last person to see you before you make your final decision," Yoongi explains. "Are you ready?"

"Yes." I close my eyes, allowing myself to get transported.

I hope this will make everything easier.

-

Christmas - 10 years from now

"Wake up. Dad says we can't open presents until you're up too."

My eyes open and I blink slowly. This is... different. I have the ability to react this time rather than be a simple spectator. I look at the seven year old girl in awe. She looks like me. Did Jimin and I...?

"Uncle, are you okay?" She waves her hand in front of my face. "Are you sick?"

Uncle?!

So this is Junghyun's daughter. That explains the resemblance at least.

"I'm up, I'm up." I stretch and look around the room. It's not too big, but it's definitely not small. I can't tell if I live with my brother or if he lives with me...

The brunette happily grabs my hand and leads me downstairs where my brother and who I guess to be his wife are drinking coffee.

"Look who finally decided to get up." My brother laughs.

"Oh, leave him alone. He had a long night at the office last night." The woman rolls her eyes. "Duna, are you excited to open presents?"

I have an office job?

I shiver.

"Yeah!" My niece yanks me along and I sit down on the floor as she hands everyone their presents before opening hers.

Nothing for me is from Jimin. That's odd. He always gets me something, even if it's just a goofy drawing. Maybe he's not here yet or maybe I'm supposed to meet him at his place. Yeah, one of those has to be it.

"Soooo," my sister-in-law drawls, "that guy you've been seeing... did you invite him to come over?"

"Jimin?" I cock my head to the side.

"Who?" Duna blinks, putting her sketchbook down.

"Park Jimin... my boyfriend?"

Junghyun laughs loudly, nearly spilling his coffee. "Oh my gosh, Kook! And to think that I thought you were losing your sense of humor! Park Jimin? As in the idol? Korea's number one soloist who ended up falling off of it and going off the radar? You're funny."

My eyes widen. Jimin did what? I'm not dating him?!

"Makes sense. You suck at being the initiator," Yoongi says, checking his nails. "Your boyfriend is like forty and has literally no sense of humor. You basically just use him as a hookup and to save face."

I swallow and force a laugh. "You know, just trying to feel young again. My youth is fleeting. It's like I blinked and was suddenly ten years older."

"Life does feel like it's going fast sometimes." Junghyun nods. "When I found Minjung, everything felt like it was going so quickly." He smiles fondly. "Next thing I knew, I had this little bug." He ruffles Duna's hair.

"Yeah, and now you've got me drinking decaf again." Minjung laughs and I notice the bump in her belly.

I feel happy for my brother. At least if I'm stuck here, this isn't a family that I'd feel ashamed of at all. It's not something I envisioned, but I'm healthy and have a steady job.

"Isn't that what you had before?" Yoongi asks and suddenly, I'm in a black room with him, my possible family long gone.

"What's going on? What is this?" I ask as my memories start to display all over the once empty space in the form of film reels.

Yoongi walks up to me and rests his hands on my shoulders. "You forgot that BTS aren't just group members. They're your family. And you can't burden family. Family is stronger together and exists to be something to lean on. If you're depressed, there's no need to push those you love away and wonder if things would make you happier if they were different. Depression isn't that forgiving. It's a beast that takes a support team to slay. And you had the perfect support system. You had a group of people who could all empathize with you in many ways."

A transparent group of the members appears, holding their hands out for me, Jimin at the forefront.

"There's no need to be ashamed," my spirit guide appears next to the Yoongi look alike. "In both realities, you were trying to do this alone. But all you needed to do was let your family shoulder some of the pain for you as they work to get you professional help."

Yoongi and Taehyung look at each other before saying in unison, "Fourteen shoulders are stronger than two. You don't have to go through this alone, Jungkook."

Author's Note: The true message of this story is making itself apparent now and I'm happy. I hope this helps other people. I hope to get this short story done by Christmas! So I will work harder!

What do you think of the chapter?

Make sure to take care and love yourself as best as you can.

With lots of love,

-BBM