A Holiday Snowdown

Part 3

With the hard part complete, you begin your descent.

Two steps down from the top, your foot slips and this time the ladder tilts with you. Gasping, you attempt to rebalance and feel the heel of your shoe break.

Jolted downward, you're thrown off-balance so quickly, you let go of the ladder. In hindsight, this was a poor decision. For a moment you flail, reaching out and then you're falling, air rushing past you. Stomach plummeting, you scream and –

"I've got you!"

Squeezing your eyes shut, you prepare to hit ground and instead, feel your fall broken by a warm body.

In the movies, the guy catches the girl and easily cradles her against his chest. He's barely winded, the girl's hair stays perfect and romantic music ensues.

What actually happens is you hit the guy's outstretched arms, and the momentum is enough for you both to crumple. You land sprawled across his chest, hard enough to knock the breath from your lungs.

Once you're able to breathe, you open your eyes. Forcing yourself to move, you wince at the dull pain in your side. For a moment, you think your savior is Namjoon, but no – this guy is slightly shorter, dressed in a dark puffer jacket and face mask.

Stomach sinking, you still. Carefully, you scan his frame and notice the Olympic logo emblazoned on his jacket. Immediately, your eyes snap upwards.

"Jungkook?" you squeak, sincerely hoping you're wrong.

Propping himself up on one elbow, the guy reaches upward to tug on his face mask. Your heart sinks as Jeon Jungkook is revealed.

He's cut his hair, you realize.

During the last winter Olympics, headlines were made, and fan blogs devoted to the rumpled man-bun Jungkook was sporting. Now he's shorn his hair close, styled up top to look ridiculously attractive. He also has an eyebrow piercing. And a lip piercing. Those were certainly never visible during general programming.

Realizing you're staring, you blink and Jungkook looks on with amusement. This is enough to snap you back to reality.

Glancing down, you realize your legs are still intertwined. Cringing, you extricate yourself and push yourself to your feet. Your right hip aches, and one of your heels has snapped off, but you attempt to greet Jungkook as naturally as possible.

"Hi," you say, sticking out a hand. "I'm Y/N, general manager of the Inn on the Hill. Welcome to our property, and I'm so sorry about the entrance. Are you okay? Do you need me to get ice, or a medic or anything?"

Jungkook continues to stare at you from the ground.

"I – uh. Y/N. Right. Are you okay?" he asks, incredulous. "You just... fell off that ladder."

Wincing, you look up and immediately spot the problem. You were in such a rush to fix the tree, you forgot to lock the base of the ladder. No wonder it wobbled when you lost your balance.

"I'm fine," you assure, forcing a smile. "Thanks for catching me. Can I help you up?"

Realizing he's still on the floor, Jungkook pushes himself to stand and ignores your hand. Dusting off his pants, he quickly scans the lodge. You watch Jungkook take it in, so busy staring at him that at first, you don't react when something licks your palm.

"Ah!" you yelp, whirling to find yourself face to face with – a dog.

"Whoops – sorry," Jungkook blurts. "That's my dog, Bam. Bam – here."

With a final glance at you, the dog obediently trots to sit at Jungkook's feet. His tail continues to wag, head cocked to one side with interest. Reaching down, Jungkook scratches behind the dog's ears and he happily whines.