SONGS OF WINTER | pjm

03 | FUNK

JIMIN LET AUTUMN jacobs hold the happy puppy as they entered sweethearts. ever since their best friend, kim taehyung, left for his photography tour, she had been in an even deeper rut than he remembered. although, thankfully, she had started seeing a therapist, he thought being around nala would lift her mood in someway. that and buying her one of winter's amazing strawberry cakes.

"hey, fran." he smiled, instantly walking to the counter. "hey, jimin. hey, nala!" francine waved to the puppy. "who's your pretty friend?" her attention shifted to the woman holding the maltese. "fran, this is autumn. autumn, this is fran." jimin gestured.

"nice to meet you." autumn sent her a tired but warm smile. "nice to meet you too. wow, now i can say i know a winter and an autumn." francine chuckled. "i also know a summer." jimin remarked with a grin. "you lucky sob." she gasped and he laughed.

"is winter in the kitchen?" he pointed towards the back. "when is she not? she's trying to improve on her grandma's blondie recipe." she answered. "okay, i'll go see her now." he turned to autumn, taking nala out of her hands.

"can you get my precious friend here a slice of strawberry cake?" he started to walk around to the back. "she could really use a pick me up." he whispered as he went past francine. "sticking to her like glue. got it." she whispered back. he only smiled, patting nala's head.

when jimin pushed open the door of the kitchen, he was met with a surprising scene. a rich upbeat voice sang from a small speaker in the kitchen, winter harmonising nonchalantly yet beautifully with it as she poured flour into a bowl. what amused jimin the most was the way she swayed her hips from side to side to every beat.

pressing his lips together to hold back laughter that bubbled in his throat, threatening to spill out, he leaned against the doorframe. he could only hope the happy puppy in his arms wouldn't be so excited to see her owner that she'd bark their presence.

seeing her so open and carefree was an unexpected and refreshing sight to behold. he'd always had an inkling that she wasn't as cold as she made herself out to be.

she did an exaggerated twirl after sprinkling what looked like salt into the bowl. she jumped, letting out a shriek when their eyes met. nala barked in reply. "how long have you been standing there?" she placed a hand on her chest, face returning to its usual blank expression. "long enough." he answered, walking in.

"super freak, huh?" he gestured to her phone as she turned off the music, one hand pushing her hair behind her ear. "would never have pegged you as one." he chimed teasingly, standing on the other side of the kitchen island. "shut up." she glared at him, picking the spatula again. "personally, i prefer to get down on it. but being a super freak is good too." he continued.

she fixed him with an even harsher stare, the type that could have burnt jimin to a crisp. he raised a hand in surrender. "okay, i'll stop. i'm sorry." he apologised, stroking nala who was eager to run around the kitchen.

he watched her pour a cup of white chocolate chips into the bowl, stirring them into the batter. "do you often stay late to work on recipes?" he asked softly. "sometimes." she answered, scooping the batter into a baking pan.

without the music playing, winter was very precise about her process, eyes focusing on what she was doing. it wasn't the only thing jimin noticed. her body language showed slight discomfort and he could tell she would prefer it if he left. it made him feel a bit bad. he could understand that she was naturally a standoffish person and they barely knew each other but it didn't stop his heart from twisting painfully.

"um," he ventured, hoping to start off a proper conversation. "fran mentioned that it's your grandma's recipe. so i'm assuming she taught you everything you know." he continued to pacify nala who seemed to want nothing more than to be left free to sniff around. "that's right. in addition to culinary school." she replied distractedly as she began to spread the batter evenly.

"wow, culinary school? where?" he asked, pleasantly surprised by the information. "it's nowhere you'd know." she responded. "oh," he pressed his lips together. "i guess you're right."

he sucked in a breath, trying to think of something else to say. "have any secret recipes in your pocket?" his face brightened with expectation. "yes," was the only response winter would give him as she moved the pan into the preheated oven.

"okay," jimin tried to keep the disappointment out of his tone but knew he'd failed when his voice came out lower that it usually did. pulling his bottom lip between his teeth, he realised he shouldn't try so hard to fan the flames of conversation when winter kept trying to put them out.

"i'll just get out of your hair now. my friend is waiting for me, anyways." he began to back away, looking at everything else but her. "i'll leave nala with fran. hope you two get home safely. have a good night." he turned around and hurried out of the kitchen, not waiting to find out if she would grace him with a response.

his head dropped as soon as he shut the door behind him. letting out a sigh, he didn't bother lying to himself about how he was feeling. getting brushed off so easily had him in a funk. and unfortunately, it wasn't the sort that winter had been listening to.