frost || nomin

✎ jeno does everything he can to make jaemin believe in him again.

genre : fantasy, fanfiction, short story, one shot, fluff

*:･ﾟ✧ start *:･ﾟ✧

i. christmas eve, 2000.

in amidst the christmas eve, you'd expect families cheering and opening presents. smiles on their faces as they watched the lights twinkle and fireworks decorate the sky.

but in the small neighborhood of jeonju, they all waited in anticipation as they mumbled prayers under their breath. mrs. na screamed and pushed as her husband gave her words of encouragement. she holds onto his hand tight, eyes shutting in pain as she groans loudly.

as soon as the first snowflake fell, another life has been brought to this world. the family rush towards the stuffy room the moment they heard the baby's cries. there erupted soft cooes as they all watched him, eyes twinkling in admiration.

but they fail to notice the figure watching from the window near them. he smiled fondly at the new born, resting his hand on the glass. almost immediately, a blanket of ice spreads and sparkles against the night sky. the boy retracts his hand in a hurry and flies away, letting the wind carry him through the whole neighborhood.

no one ever told him to, but he felt as if it was his job to protect jeonju. no matter how old the people were, how different they were from one another, it became his duty to guard them with his life. he's been giving them the winter nights during holidays, where families snuggle by the fire place, enjoy a nice hot cup of cocoa as they sang along to christmas songs.

he's been doing it for centuries and it never got old. he watched people start their life here and drift off peacefully, assured that their families were safe and sound because of him. the guardian they called jack frost.

to him, it was an endearing nickname. far from his real name, which was lee jeno, but he went along with it anyway. no matter what he was called, he will protect everyone here with his life.

ii. new year's eve, 2001.

two hours before new year, jaemin was stuck in his stroller and watched his family and their friends prepare the table. they were running around, plates of food on their hands, the smell of various delicious dishes wafting in the air.

"do you wanna go outside, jaemin?" mrs. na asks in her "baby voice" as she lightly tickled her son's neck.

jaemin only blinked and kept sucking on his pacifier, all cozy in his soft fluffy blanket. she pushed the stroller out and into the porch. he's faced in front with the houses across them, their neighbors greeting them a happy new year.

"stay right here, okay? keep warm; you don't want jack frost nipping at your nose," she warns him and lightly taps his nose, beaming a soft smile even though her son couldn't understand a word yet.

she blends right back into the family, preparing the table with her husband whilst the other kids played with sparklers and their loud party horns.

the noise instantly startled jaemin. then, he feels as if his pacifier was being pulled out of his lips.

tears well up in his eyes, watching the pacifier float and sway in front of him. he opens his mouth to cry but a laugh makes him stop.

jeno appears right in front of him, casually sitting on the porch's rail with the pacifier on his hand. jaemin only watched him.

"hi there," jeno greets the baby, "i'm jeno!"

jaemin opens his mouth. he reaches his arms forward and stammers, "n-nono."

"no, no," he chuckles as he shook his head, "it's je-no."

"nono," jaemin repeats with a giggle and tries to reach the man in front of him.

a squeal interrupts their conversation. sighing, jeno puts the pacifier back in the baby's mouth and smiles fondly.

"he just said his first word!" mr. na managed to hear his son despite all the noise. jeno couldn't believe he just heard a grown man squeal in excitement. they all drop what they're doing and rush towards jaemin, clapping and cooeing at him.

"nono?" mrs. na repeats with her eyebrow shot up.

mr. na nodded, "that could be his nickname!"

"hm," mrs. na hummed, "how about 'nana'?"

"i love it!"

"he's so adorable!"

"my handsome nana," mrs. na whispers, lightly brushing her son's cheek with her finger.

jeno let the family gush over jaemin. he leaves without another word, sprinting out of the porch and off to guard the whole neighborhood again.

iii. christmas eve, 2003.

it was na jaemin's third birthday. he was carried around by different family members, fawning over him and giving him all sorts of toys. his uncle, johnny suh, just got back from chicago and gave him a variety of expensive clothes and action figures.

mrs. na thanked her brother-in-law as her son only sat there on the carpet, his eyelids growing heavier and his thumb in his mouth. saliva dripped from his lips as he started getting sleepy, his head almost falling to the side.

but when he sees a figure on the window near the christmas tree, in between mrs. na and johnny, all his drowsiness washes away. his big doe eyes widened as he watched the boy wave at him. jaemin laughs adorably, doing grabby hands towards the figure.

jeno beams a smile back and touches the window with his finger tips. a thin sheet of ice appears, making jaemin's mouth widen more. he leaned closer, anticipating the man's next move.

giggling, jeno draws a mustache and a silly top hat. he then leaned closer and made a funny face. jaemin's laughter resounds again, clapping adorably as the man started doing more expressions.

mrs. na cooes as she rested her palm on her knees, completely in awe of her cheery son, "aww, he likes you, johnny!"

the said man gasps and clutches his chest, "come here, jaemin!"

he carries the toddler with ease and makes him rest in his arms. jaemin is brought to the kitchen as more of the family members watch him in delight.

jaemin pouted when the figure waved and sprinted away, leaving him alone. he starts to sob loudly. big drops of tears fall from his chubby cheeks. his nose was as red as a tomato and makes everyone panic.

"maybe he wants to play outside?" ten, johnny's boyfriend, suggested. they all nod in agreement and immediately cover the toddler in warm clothes.

the crying doesn't stop at all even outside. he ignores all the snow on the ground, not interested and only sobbed louder.

but when a tiny snowflake lands on his nose, he immediately stops crying as his eyes lit up. he starts laughing and tells his uncle, in broken words, to play with him in the snow.

they run around and chase each other. ten joins in and starts making a snowman. he carries jaemin in his arms, letting the toddler place the carrot as the nose. jeno only watched from the roof, his legs dangling with his wooden staff laid on his thighs. he watches the adorable family for a few moments before flying off again.

it was a beautiful winter that jaemin never wanted to forget.

iv. christmas eve, 2005.

"happy birthday, jaemin!" the whole family greeted the five year old. his eyes immediately gleamed as he runs into his parents' arms, thanking them for throwing such a wonderful party for him during christmas.

"come here, nana," mr. na carries his son into the porch, where all his presents and cake were.

a gasp leaves his lips at the surprise. all his gifts were wrapped in blue, his favorite color. his cake was winter themed and had tiny snowmen, beautiful snow flakes and edible glitters.

all of that were on their porch, real snow on the ground that he could go and play with later on.

"blow the candles!" mrs. na announced, clapping her hands as soon as the birthday song finished.

jaemin tip toes and rests his hands on the wooden table, closing his eyes as he made a wish. he then puckered his lips, blowing the fire out of the five candles.

as soon as he did, snow started falling from the sky. all his others cousins that were around his age rushed and stepped out of the porch. they cheered, their parents and their other family members joining them.

he opens his eyes and gasps when he sees jeno in front of him. the man was seated on the porch again, the cake between them, and a smile on his lips.

"nono!" he exclaims, clapping his hands to the sight of his friend.

"jaemin?" mrs. na calls out, "who are you talking to?"

mr. na stops her, "it's probably just his imaginary friend. let him be a kid, honey."

she nods and leaves her son with the cake, a little bit concerned that he was talking to a friend he made up. mr. na tries to calms her down.

after all, we all were young innocent kids with a wild imagination.

"how are you, nana?" jeno asks, giving the child a small smile.

"good now that my wish came true!" he replies with the same cheery voice he always had.

jeno stifles a laugh, "i can't stay any longer. i'll see you soon. take care, nana."

with that, jeno ruffles jaemin's soft fluffy hair before flying away again.

jaemin only nodded and looked back at his cake, surprised to see a mini version of himself and jeno made of ice.

jeno had a lop sided smile and his eyebrow shot up, staring at jaemin who was hanging from the curve of his wooden staff and had a bright and cheeky grin.

"nana! come here!" his cousin calls out. she invites him to create snow angels, pure excitement in her eyes.

"sure!" jaemin runs towards her, stealing one last glance at the figurine.

v. christmas eve, 2008.

"i'm sorry your cousins couldn't visit this year, nana," his mother softly says, caressing his cheeks to comfort him.

"it's alright," he claims, "chaeryoung won't stop bugging me anyway."

jaemin was sad that the whole family wasn't here. for eight whole years of his life, they were always there. no matter the occasion.

but they were all busy with their own lives and decided to celebrate in another day.

but not only because of that. his friend, jeno, has been missing in action for three years. the last time he saw him, he left the ice figurine which didn't last a day and melted.

"but we did get you a gift," mrs. na tries to lighten his mood, "let's go out and meet dad, yeah?"

she holds his small hand and guides him to the porch. his eyes widened when a white samoyed lunges towards him, making him land on the wood with a thud. he lets out giggles, "he looks like jeno!"

"thank you so much! i love him!" he beamed as he around the snow with the puppy behind him. they ran and chased after each other, his parents watching in complete awe.

"i'll name you nono!" he happily declared, crouching down to meet the puppy's daze.

"let him play first," mr. na insisted as he pulled his wife back to the house. jaemin's loud giggles could still be heard from inside.

but when the puppy started barking at the porch, jaemin freezes on his spot.

"i thought i was your only nono?" the familiar deep voice faked a cry, pouting as he watched the younger raise his gaze to meet his.

jeno sat on the porch's railing like always. this time, his right leg was held up and his bare foot was on the rail, beside his left thigh. he had his staff on his left while his cheek rested on the other, his elbow resting on his right knee.

jaemin remembers that whenever his dad did that while eating, he would always get scolded. even when he sat down on the porch's rail.

"you shouldn't sit there," the young jaemin sneers. he tried his best to act tough and confident, like his mother.

"aww," jeno cooed, "you didn't miss me, nana?"

the puppy suddenly showed its bare teeth, growling when jeno flew closer.

"it's okay, nono. he's a friend," jaemin whispered as he softly petted the puppy's head.

"why don't we play a game, nana? i have a lot of time today," jeno offered with a small smile. good thing the tooth fairy, huang renjun, had spare time on his hands and agreed to watch jeonju for him first.

jaemin fiddles with his fingers, still crouching and flustered, "i-i don't know if-"

"come on!" jeno pulls jaemin's hood with the curve of his wooden staff. the younger's feet leaves the ground and he squeaks, frantically nodding in agreement, "o-okay!"

"great! you're it!" jeno laughed after poking jaemin's nose. he drops the younger back to his feet, his shoes creating a soft sound against the soft snow.

gasping, jaemin chases after his flying friend and whines, "that's cheating!"

nono starts barking and chases jeno as well, the latter started giggling as he flew around the yard. their laughter and cheers could be heard from throughout the whole street.

jaemin struggles for a moment but manages to catch up, grabbing his shirt. he rejoiced, "aha! you're it-"

his victory was short lived when jeno only giggled, flying upwards with jaemin now in his arms. the child marveled at the town beneath them as his eyes widened and twinkled.

even just for a minute, jeno felt euphoric. he forgot his responsibilities and everyone else in the world. he enjoyed the time with his friend, laughing at how adorable he looked.

they return home just in time. mrs. na erupted from the door, searching for her little boy.

"nana? dinner's ready!"

jaemin replies with a short, "ok!" before turning to jeno again. he smiled, showing his pearly white teeth, "thank you, jeno!"

the latter's lips tugged into a smile as he ruffled his hair again, "i gotta go. take care, nana. i'll see you soon."

vi. christmas eve, 2009.

jeno didn't expect to spend his christmas with a certain boy again. but there really was something about that child that made him wanna protect him 24/7.

he kept an eye out on him everyday but never showed his face, careful to even make him feel his presence. he had a whole neighborhood to watch over. there shouldn't be favoritism at all.

and yet here he was, sitting on the porch with new skates on his hands as he waited for the birthday boy.

he hears a louder and more intimidating bark from inside. nono, bigger and fluffier from when they first met, has been watching from a window and kept barking on jeno till his heart's content.

jaemin lightly scolded the dog and opens the door to see what all the commotion was about. he freezes when he sees jeno again. he expected to see his friend after two to three years like always, but no, jeno was right there waiting for him.

"m-mom, i'm just gonna go out with a friend," jaemin manages to yell out without breaking eye contact. mrs. na replies almost immediately and reminds him to take care.

nono jumps from the window and joins the two, his tail wagging wildly behind him.

jeno smiles as his eyes turned into crescents. he reaches his hand out, offering jaemin a lift like they did last year, "let's go?"

speechless, jaemin gulps and nods. the nine year old launches off the ground and into forest nearby, the cold wind harshly meeting his skin. nono chases after them and only stops in front of a lake.

they both move lower and reach the ground, hearing the satisfying sound of the snow against his boots. he had to make sure that everything wasn't a dream.

"do you skate?" jeno slowly asked, confused as to why jaemin was suddenly pinching and slapping himself.

his friend was still there, proving that this was reality. still speechless, jaemin shakes his head and blinks. he watches jeno crouch lower and adjust the blue skates on his feet. they were sparkling under the night sky, twinkling like the stars and were as soft as the snow.

"then do you dance?" jeno inquired, eyebrow raising as he waited for an answer.

jaemin gulps for the nth time as he fiddled with his fingers, "a-a little."

"perfect!" jaemin feels jeno's cold hand on his wrist, not having enough time to process what was happening.

they were about to jump into the freezing lake in christmas eve. that's what's happening.

jaemin chokes out, "w-wait!"

but all his worries disappear when jeno stepped into the lake, a blanket of ice sprouting from his bare feet as he danced elegantly.

the water is quickly covered in ice and reflected the moon and stars. jaemin watched it spread even more with each of jeno's steps, growing and blossoming like a flower in spring.

jeno holds both of jaemin's hands, turning the younger and smiled at how he was such a natural at ice skating.

they spent jaemin's birthday and christmas eve like that. jeno admired at how jaemin was so engrossed in skating, dancing along to a song he was singing as nono only watched from where he was sitting from.

jaemin couldn't fathom at how happy he was. he couldn't wait for his next birthday.

vi. christmas morning, 2010.

"good morning, nana," his mother's lulling voice was the first thing jaemin woke up to, "happy 10th birthday."

jaemin sits upright from his bed and rubs his eyes. his hair was pointing in different directions and he was still droopy, trying to wake his senses up.

"we have something very important to tell you," mrs. na tries to hide her excitement but fails, smiling brightly as she held her son's hands, "your father got accepted in his new job!"

"that's great," jaemin's head falls for a second, eyelids dropping and still unable to regain his consciousness back.

they can literally say anything and jaemin would still fall asleep.

"which means-" mr. na adds and pauses for a second, drawling, "-we're moving to chicago!"

except for that.

jaemin's eyes flutter open and he looks at them with his mouth agape, "w-what?"

"we'll be living with your cousins from now on!" mrs. na exclaimed, "so you better get changed so we can make it before christmas eve."

it took jaemin a few minutes to take the news in. he was leaving his home town for good, leaving his friends and other relatives here for who knows how long?

and most of all, he'd be leaving jeno.

he couldn't do anything but watch his parents stuff their luggages into the trunk. he stands firm on the porch, tipping his toes and eyes roaming around in hopes to find his dear friend.

but everything was already packed and his mother was locking the door with the house keys, grabbing jaemin's hand.

"let's go, nana?"

jaemin tries to bite back his sobs. the stinging pain of his eyes made him sniffle. he plants his feet on the porch, refusing to leave, "b-but jeno-"

mrs. na sighs and bent to lean closer, holding her son's face between her soft hands, "whoever jeno is, he isn't real, nana. you'll make many more friends in chicago."

jaemin fails to hear his father's steps, "don't worry, you'll have so much fun with your cousins, too! jeno wouldn't forget you, buddy."

the ten year old swallows the lump in his throat, nodding weakly as his parents grabbed his hands and guided him towards the car.

as soon as the vehicle started moving, snowflakes start to fall slowly from the sky. the clouds were quite dim and had terrifying lightnings and thunder as well, making the boy snuggle closer into nono. the two were seated beside him at the back seat of their van and watched the familiar passing houses.

"look, nana," mrs. na cheers from the passenger seat, "it's so pretty."

despite the darkness in the middle of the day, jaemin still did find it breath taking. almost ethereal. like a scene from one of those cartoons he watched.

but the ten year old found the atmosphere so gloomy. he cautiously lowers the window once they stopped, peeking his head out to take a better view.

a glimmering snowflake was blown towards his direction. it dances with the wind for a moment, twisting and turning like an elegant ballerina. jaemin then lightly flinches when it lands on his nose. he wakes up from a trance he never knew he was in.

his heart was lighter yet his chest felt so empty. he brushes it aside and sits back to his seat, closing the window and wondered why he was so sad in the first place. was he gonna miss someone? a close friend, perhaps?

a single idea doesn't come back to him. he shakes his head and expresses how excited he was for chicago, claiming he'd play with his uncles and cousins as soon as they landed.

jeno watched the minivan pass and leave jeonju. he had a weak smile on his lips, his legs dangling from the lamp post he was sitting on. he breathes out, "take care, nana."

vii. christmas eve, 2012.

"happy birthday, nana!" mark lee, his cousin, greeted loudly. he started dragging the younger around as he sang the birthday song.

jaemin stopped with his heels. he lets go of the elder's hands and weakly stammered, "thank you, mark."

mark pulled jaemin towards the christmas tree, jealous that more than half of the presents belonged to the younger.

he was ecstatic yet he didn't know how to express it. he was already 12 but he felt as if something was missing in his life. and not any kind of gift could fill the void in his heart.

vii. christmas eve, 2016.

"there he is!" mrs. na rejoices in joy, spreading his arms to envelop her son into a tight hug, "happy birthday, nana!"

"i told you to stop calling me that, mom," jaemin grumbles under his breath and broke the hug after a second.

"it's adorable! you always talked about this imaginary friend you had, hence the nickname-"

"yes, i know. i've heard the story a million times mom," he snaps back, wanting to get out of the house as soon as he can. he grabbed his skateboard and his bag, stepping out of the door before he hears more embarrassing stories about him and his imaginary friend.

but his mom beats him to it, "where are you going? we're throwing a party for you, birthday boy!"

jaemin groans, "i'm too old for that, mom. if you need me, i'll be in the skating rink."

"no," mrs. na deadpans, "you're staying here and celebrating your 16th birthday with your family."

he forces himself to turn around and clicks his tongue, "i'm not 12 anymore, mom. please."

his mother sighs dreamily, feeling somewhat nostalgic, "i remember you always rushed out the door during your birthday. you played around with nono on the snow."

"terrible name, by the way," he retorts without missing a beat. as if on cue, nono barks at him.

"then your imaginary friend would talk and play with you," mrs. na sadly adds, "i miss those times, nana."

"please stop, mom," jaemin resists, "almost everything was just a fragment of my childish imagination. i'm 16 now, i barely remember her."

"him," mrs. na firmly corrects her son.

jaemin froze, eyes widening as he choked out, "what?!"

"your imaginary friend was a he," she adds with her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "do you not remember?"

he bit his lower lip. after all those times, his imaginary friend was a boy.

he's been listening to stories of him and an imaginary boy, pined over him for years and waited for him. the thought made him shudder.

if he wasn't real, then why couldn't he just imagine him to be there with him?

viii. new year's eve, 2017.

"so, do you have eyes on anyone?" mark teased as he wiggled his eyebrows, nudging jaemin's arm. the sea of teenagers danced and cheered from the neighbor's yard. they had different kinds of booze on their hands as they sang along to the song from the loud speakers.

"no one," the younger mutters, "i'm not like you, mark lee."

"aw, come on!" the latter groaned out in frustration, "you've been single since forever! i'm starting to think that you don't like girls at all!"

jaemin snaps his head towards his cousin's direction, stare cold and intimidating, "and if that is the case?"

mark smirked, patting the younger's shoulder, "then welcome aboard! small reminder, i like donghyuck from around the block so don't even try."

"happy new year!" the teenagers' voices boomed and started recording the fireworks that danced on the night sky.

jaemin rolls his eyes and swats mark's hand away, walking back to the house with his forehead creased, "fuck off."

ix. christmas morning, 2019.

"jaemin! jaemin! jaemin!" mark chanted, frantically shaking his shoulders, "have you heard the news?"

jaemin pushes his cousin off of him. mark falls with a loud thud to the ground, but that doesn't stop him. he immediately jolts upright, "we're going back to visit jeonju!"

silence fills the place. for a whole minute, they're both quiet. then, jaemin realizes what mark just said.

"what."

"hurry up! i can't wait wait to meet your imaginary friend!"

"fuck you."

for the 12 hour trip, jaemin couldn't get a blink of sleep. mark had his head rested on donghyuck's shoulder, his boyfriend for a year who's also korean, and slept the entire time.

donghyuck was lucky that his parents accepted mark and agreed to let him visit korea, too. almost half of the plane was filled with his and mark's relatives. they were all sound asleep whilst jaemin stared out the window the whole time, his cousin park jisung sleeping beside him.

the pilot then announces that they'll be landing in five minutes. they all wake up to the sound. donghyuck just kissed mark to wake him up. jaemin had to wear his airpods to block out all their obscene sounds.

x. christmas eve, 2019.

as soon as they landed, the whole family took pictures and spent another hour sleeping. everyone was jet lagged, especially jaemin.

"get some sleep, nono," he tells his samoyed. the dog walks in circles before lying down, closing his eyes as jaemin sat on the bed across the dog.

"i can't believe i'm back here," he whispers to himself in disbelief. he rubs his palms against his face and groans out.

he abruptly stands up, shrugging the leather jacket off of him but halts when he feels a pair of eyes on him. he tries to brush it aside and takes his black shirt off. his bare body shudders from the low temperature so he moves as fast as he could. he tugs his black sweater pants and hops out, only his boxers covering his lower body.

a faint sound then interrupts him. his old teddy bear falls to its side, its big plastic eyes felt like they were staring right at his soul. he approaches it with his eyebrows furrowed.

for a second, he grabs it and stares right back into it before placing it back down the table, turning the toy to the other way.

he quickly aids the back of his neck, throwing his head back as his bare chest heaved. he throws on the first thing he sees from his bag: denim pants, a violet turtleneck and a soft dark jacket with a red heart sewn on the left chest.

a sigh then escapes his lips as he stared at his dog, wondering why he named him nono in the first place. it was a weird name that sounded like his nickname.

his mother told the story a million times and yet he refused to believe it. out of all the real words, his first was word was nono? where'd he even get that? aren't babies supposed to say mama or dada?

the whole thing didn't make sense to him.

"nono is the dumbest name ever," he mutters to himself, watching the dog wag his tail as if he could understand its owner. the drowsiness then starts kicking in. he yawns and rubs his eye.

but before jaemin could lie down his bed, he feels something land on his hand. he pauses and blinks, eyeing the glitter that fell on him.

was it even glitter? he ponders to himself.

"what the-" he stops and feels another on his arm. and to say that he was shocked to see snow falling, in his own tiny room, was an understatement. not a single idea came in his mind. his window suddenly cracked opened and his hair brushes back from the cold wind.

"nope, nope, nope," he denied as he covered himself under his blanket. he doesn't question how strong the wind was to open his rusty old window. this was all just a dream. just like when he was 3 or something.

"you're just sleep deprived," breathing heavily, he tries to convince himself. he wraps himself with his blanket and closes his eyes shut. sleep is the answer to everything.

it was 10:00 o'clock on the evening when jaemin woke up to the chilly temperature of his room. he groans before standing to close his windows and lock them properly.

"let's go eat, nono," he suggests to the dog who has been scratching the door. he pulls the knob and opens it with ease, hair still tousled and his shirt askew.

"there's the birthday boy!" mark suddenly announces as he lightly punched and pulled jaemin into the porch.

"happy birthday!" the whole family greets him, clapping and cheering at the winter themed cake. he and nono were the figurines this time. his mini self was sitting down on the snowy field with the dog on his lap, both adorable smiles on their faces.

jaemin forces a laugh, "ah, how... cute?"

"blow out the candles!" mr. na tells him, his voice still energetic even though he's been running around town to buy a cake.

before jaemin could do so, the wind beats him to it. the cool breeze makes the hair at the back of his neck stand. it sends shivers down his spine and the family cheers, oblivious that the birthday boy failed to do a simple task.

as soon as the tiny fire disappeared and turned into smoke along with the air, snow falls again. they were much bigger from what jaemin remembers from his dream, even prettier and in the shade of his favorite color.

he feels a presence near him and his head immediately turns to the cake, eyes widening when he sees another tiny man behind his figurine who was giving him bunny ears. he was made of ice and had super realistic details.

and he's damn sure that man wasn't there before.

"what the fuck," jaemin breathes out.

"jaemin! stop staring at the cake and have some fun!" mark yelled from the yard, receiving a snowball right to his face from his laughing boyfriend.

as much as jaemin wanted to freak out, he sets the matter aside and decides to join his family instead. that was probably just his imagination. he hasn't eaten since morning after all.

a snowball hits the back of his head and he laughs, "okay, who was that?"

but everyone was busy attacking each other. mark and donghyuck were right in front of him. jisung was busy making snow angels.

though confused, he grabs a handful of snow and launches it right into jisung's face, "you're so gonna get it, na jaemin!"

they spent a whole hour like that. mark suddenly called a timeout and pulled donghyuck back to the house, making hot cocoa and kissed under the mistletoe.

jaemin wanted to barf at the sight. he then realizes the whole family's busy, giving him an opening to run. so he doesn't waste much time and grabs his new pair of skates.

he sprints out of the house, with the shoes in his hands, through a familiar route. not much has changed and almost everything was exactly like in his dream. it freaked him to his core.

even the lake in front of him was exactly like he pictured. but it wasn't frozen, reflecting the moon and himself with its dark waters.

"jaemin?" a familiar voice calls out. his body immediately reacts to the sound, surprised to see his mother in the forest during christmas eve. well, who was he to judge anyway?

"what are you doing here, nana?" she inquired, walking towards her son.

if he said the truth, it would take him the whole night. what, he's wondering if everything from his childhood was a dream or reality? that his imaginary friend might be real and he's out here to prove it? to look for some clues, answers, anything?

so no, he doesn't tell all of the freaky events that happened to him lately and instead, "just getting some air."

"you and i both," she stifles a laugh, "well, i gotta get going. oh! and wear this-"

she takes her black scarf off and wraps it around jaemin's neck, covering his violet turtleneck before lightly pressing his nose, "you don't want jack frost nipping at your nose."

and just like that, jaemin's memories came flooding in. all his questions have been answered. his mother storms off without another word, leaving her son alone.

a sudden bark brings him back to reality. he pivots to see nono growling at something in the middle of the lake.

or more likely, someone.

jaemin tries to pull the dog back, scolding at how loud he was being. the last thing he'd want for his 19th birthday is to get murdered by a psychopath in a forest.

"nono, stop it! you-"

"i see you kept the name," a deep voice resonates from the center of the lake.

his whole body stops working at the familiar mocking voice. slowly, he raises his head to meet the gaze of the man floating across him.

"it's you," jaemin breathes out, "you're real."

the figure scoffed, laughing sarcastically, "real mad at you, that's for sure."

the confused look on jaemin's face makes jeno heave a sigh. he lowers himself to the lake, his touch making the lake freeze in a certain pattern. he points the curve of his staff downward and starts to create a trail of ice.

he produces a frozen path for himself as he walked towards jaemin, making the latter's jaw fall. jeno lightly hops and floats in front of him. their hearts beat in sync, pounding against their chest as they focused solely on each other.

smiling fondly, jeno offers his hand and jaemin's whole childhood flashes in front of his eyes. he was never a fragment of his imagination. and he didn't know if he should be glad or freaked out.

but nonetheless, he reaches forward and gasps when he feels something soft covering his feet. jeno only beamed a smile, enough to compete with the beautiful silver moon, and pulls the younger onto the ice.

the same gleaming skates from years ago were back on his feet, even bigger and prettier in his eyes. his old ones that were bought in a store discarded on the snow. he slides right to the frozen like and almost squealed when jeno started to dance along to the familiar dance.

they heartily laugh under the lovely night sky. not a care in the world. jaemin gets lost in jeno's ocean eyes, trapped inside them and enjoyed every wonder of it.

then, jeno stops the slow dance and starts to float, carrying jaemin in his arms like before. the younger's brown locks started flowing against the piercing wind.

only now does he realize that jeno looked even more breath taking up close, eyes gleaming under the night sky with his hair as soft and white as snow.

he had a long sleeved shirt that exposed the center of his chest and his collarbones, laces with golden ends in between and crossing each other. he was able to move freely around with his dark pants and and a belt around his waist. the wooden staff that he never lets go off had snow littered everywhere, making it glow to a shade similar to his eyes.

everything about lee jeno took his breath away, badly wishing that this wasn't a dream.

he takes the younger above the town, the lights and people under them, their terrible past long behind them. jeno snakes his hand around jaemin's waist and pulled him even closer. his fingers reach the younger's cheek, softly caressing them and realizes how much he longed for this.

"jaemin," the name rolls off his tongue like snow falling from the night sky, so delicate and flawless, "happy birthday."

for the first time in 19 years, jaemin hears the simple words fall from jeno's lips. he finally felt whole, as if a missing piece of himself was finally restored.

jaemin felt his chest swell in joy. jeno slowly closes the distance between them, the latter almost lunging forward to chase his lips.

and their whole world spins in bliss. jaemin couldn't believe himself as their lips finally touch, sharing a passionate yet sweet kiss in the middle of the night, the moon and stars rejoicing at their connection.

jaemin never imagined himself floating in thin air, the moon watching him and jeno kiss in his birthday. but here he was, an indescribable feeling nipping in his chest.

"i love you, nana," jeno whispers as he connected their foreheads. he had a soft and enticing gaze, staring right into jaemin's like he was his whole world.

jaemin chuckles whilst he wrapped his arms around jeno, feeling content at long last, "i love you, too, frost."

✧.*ೃ༄ end ✧.*ೃ༄