"It's past 9 PM," Jungkook said, sitting at the kitchen table.
Juno, Jungkook, and I were now in the house where Jungkook had woken up. I could say we were at Jungkook's house, but it wasn't really his.
We came over to talk things through.
"Yeah. Do you think we're the only ones here?" Juno asked.
"I think so. There are still a few houses around, but none of them have any lights on," Jungkook shrugged.
"Actually, we don't even really know you yet, Juno," I said. "Tell us a few things about yourself."
"Like what?" he asked.
"Well… I'm 26, and I don't have a family of my own. I live in Seoul and work at a travel agency. I ended up here after I saw that book in a bookstore window," I shared my story, purposely leaving out the part about being gay. I didn't want anyone besides Kook to know.
"I'm 30, I have a wife and a 3-year-old son. I live in New York and work at a large bookstore. I was putting some books back at the end of my shift when I came across The Mystery of Christmas, then I fainted. Though originally, I'm Korean," Kook told his story.
"Oh, alright. Well, I'm 29. I have a 4-year-old daughter who I'm raising alone because, unfortunately, my wife passed away. I live in Busan and work as a photographer. I already mentioned how I found the book," he said, bowing his head.
"I'm sorry for your loss," Jungkook said, slightly bowing.
Juno didn't answer for a while. It was clear he hadn't come to terms with his wife's death, which I could totally understand.
I walked behind him and gently wrapped my arms around him, and his shoulders started trembling.
"I'm sorry, Juno. I shouldn't have brought that up," I whispered.
He grabbed my hands when I tried to pull away, silently asking me to stay. So I embraced him over his shoulders, and he buried himself in my arms, starting to cry.
When I was little, my mom used to say my hugs and touch had a calming effect.
Whenever my parents had arguments, she'd always come to me for comfort, and she'd find it in my hugs.
"I'm sorry… But my wife was the most beautiful woman on Earth. I would've done anything for her, really. I was the happiest man alive because I could call myself her husband. When our daughter was born… she died giving birth… The last thing she said to the nurses was: 'I'm not dying because of our daughter, but for her,'" he sobbed, and to my surprise, Jungkook suddenly stood up and stormed out of the house.
"Juno, hey… listen to me," I crouched down in front of him. "Your wife isn't truly gone." I said, my eyes tearing up. That made him stop crying.
"W…what do you mean?"
"Some wise people say a person only truly dies when no one remembers them anymore. But you still hold her here…" I pointed to his heart. "Her memory. So she still lives. You just can't see her anymore, but she's not gone." I smiled.
Juno collapsed into my arms and hugged me again.
"Thank you, Jimin. Believe me, I didn't mean to break down, but any topic about my wife has always been hard for me. I still haven't fully processed it, even after all these years. But you're right… she still lives on in my heart," he said, pulling away with a smile while wiping his eyes.
"You're welcome. I think we should get some sleep now, don't you think?"
"Yeah, I could use some rest. Where's Jungkook?"
"I don't know. I'll go find him," I said, stood up, gave a reassuring smile, and stepped out into the warm snowy night. I immediately spotted Kook standing on the bridge.
I walked over and leaned on the wooden railing beside him.
For several minutes, we just stared at the lit Christmas trees, the children's playground, and the stream flowing beneath us.
"You can't understand this, Jimin…" he said in a hoarse voice.
"You're right, I don't. I'm only good at comforting. But I can imagine how hard it must be."
"You can only imagine it if you've been through it. I have a wife and a child too. I ran out of the house because I imagined what if that had happened to my family. Juno is a strong man. I think I would've fallen apart, especially if I had to raise a child alone. I just want to go home and hug my family tightly right now," he sighed shakily.
"I believe you. I'd love to have a family too. But I don't think it'll ever happen." I shrugged.
"Why not? Gay couples can adopt now and live just like any other married couple," he said, confused.
"It's not that simple, Jungkookie. It's the 21st century, yes. There are quite a lot of gay people in Korea, but most of them are what I call 'show gays.' Recently, all this LGBTQ stuff has gotten so trendy that even people who aren't actually gay claim they are. They have one-night stands with the same gender just for the trend, then throw them away. I'm not like that… I'm genuinely gay, not just following some trend. People like me are rare now. Not many want to truly spend their life with someone of the same sex. So I don't think I'll ever find someone." I explained sadly.
"Yeah, I guess that does make it harder. But I'm sure there are real gay dating sites. Only serious people make profiles there, I'd assume," he thought aloud.
"I've tried many of them. But honestly, and sorry to say this, they're mostly full of old, pervy, sex-deprived men." I shrugged.
"Oh… I didn't know that. Still, you swear quite stylishly," he chuckled.
"I usually don't. My parents used to freak out when I swore, so I broke the habit as I grew up," I laughed.
"Your parents sound nice. At least that's the impression I get. But how do you feel about them?"
"Well, being gay isn't their fault. When they found out, they tried all sorts of things to 'fix' me, to make me straight again, but even then I was beyond saving. Eventually, they accepted it, and now we're just like any other family. They're kind, accepting, and I've got no problem with them. I don't think anyone would."
"That's great to hear. There aren't many families that close-knit. These days everyone breaks up or cheats. My relationship with my parents fell apart," he frowned.
"Why? I mean... if you want to talk about it, I'd be happy to listen," I smiled.
"Sure. It's not that complicated. They didn't like me moving around so much. I lived in Busan, then in three different places in Seoul, then half a year in Japan before moving all the way to New York. I met my wife in Seoul during university, and we had our wedding in Japan. That's why I moved to New York afterward. They hated that I married an American and totally lost it when I announced the move to New York."
"I sort of understand them. My parents also don't like the idea of me being far away. But at the end of the day, it's your life and your right to make those decisions. From that perspective, your parents were unfair to you."
"Exactly what I think. Now I just don't care what they think. It's not their life—I'm living my life," he shrugged.
"And that's exactly how it should be," I nodded, yawning.
"Tired?" he asked.
"A bit, yeah. It's been an exhausting day. I think Juno already went home to sleep."
"What happened to him after I ran out?"
"Nothing major. I managed to calm him down and suggested he get some sleep. Crying tends to make people sleepy."
"Not everyone can comfort others well. That's something you should really value about yourself. If someone came to me for comfort, I'd probably just panic," he chuckled, and we started walking back through the lit-up night.
"Come on, Jungkook. The key is just to speak from your heart, not throw out generic phrases. A few honest, kind words and a gentle gesture can do wonders. It's not that hard," I said calmly.
"Is that why you hugged Juno too?" he asked curiously.
"That's one of my superpowers. When I was little, my mom used to say my hugs calmed people. As I grew up, I realized she was right—I've always been able to soothe people with them. Like once, a coworker of mine came into the office crying because she found out her partner cheated on her. I didn't know what to say, so I just hugged her. After that, she seemed to have a much better day. You might think a hug can't do that, but it absolutely can. People calm down when they feel they're not alone. The key is to be sincere—otherwise, they'll know it's forced."
"I believe you. You do have a calming vibe. But no matter how much I want to, I just can't comfort people. I tend to panic," he said as we stopped in front of "my" house.
"For some, it comes naturally. Others have to learn. If I ever hit rock bottom… try and scrape me off the floor, okay?" I giggled.
"In that case, I'll use all the knowledge I've got. Promise," he smiled and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Hm… I could talk with you all night. You know, I don't usually have deep talks with my wife, but this actually feels nice. I wish we'd gone to the same high school. We've already spent this whole afternoon chatting like old friends."
"Yeah, I really enjoyed it too. And there's always tomorrow. Hopefully. This place makes my thoughts fly, and talking with you feels so easy. But we do need to focus on figuring out what this place is."
"You're right. Tomorrow morning, you, me, and Juno should meet again and talk things over."
"Sounds good. Well then… good night, Jungkook!" I smiled.
"You sure you'll be okay?"
"Of course. This house is perfect. Nothing scary has happened so far."
"Alright. If anything comes up, feel free to come to me. Or to Juno."
"I don't want to bother Juno. If something happens, I'll come to you," I laughed.
"Okay," he smiled. "Good night, Jimin," he said as we parted ways for the night.