"Someone ate Christmas and threw it back up," you breathe, staring at the main lodge.
Tonja, the Inn's interior decorator, has truly outdone herself. Holiday décor has been steadily appearing over the past weeks, but last night she put on the finishing touches and today, well – a winter wonderland.
Plush, cozy chairs are pushed around a roaring fireplace, draped with white throws she assured you were imitation fur. Fake snow dusts the mantle, and garland has been draped, hung, or placed across all available surfaces. Everything surrounds a gigantic evergreen which nearly scrapes the ceiling.
It's what people traveling for the holidays expect, and therefore worth every penny sent to Tonja's bank account. Lifting your clipboard, you check off review decorations. Satisfied, you resume the Inn's inspection and immediately slip.
Catching yourself, you glance down in alarm. The snow mats you ordered are nowhere to be found, and your expression shifts into a scowl.
"Where are the snow mats?" you call as you turn.
No one answers, either too busy or being one of the guests. A nearby couple glances up from their snowshoes; you offer them an apologetic smile before hustling away. Yoongi is checking in a large party at the counter.
Realizing he has no time to get mats, you exhale and set your clipboard down on the counter.
Jungkook is scheduled to arrive in fifteen minutes, and you're supposed to be the one greeting him. Having your guest of honor slip on wet floor and fracture a gold medal-winning ankle sounds like a terrible first impression.
Leaving the lobby, you head for the supply closet. Tugging open its door, you bang your knee on a mop and – swearing – hop around it to locate the mats. Lugging a box down the hall, you place them as neatly as possible before the main entrance.
Stepping away, you take a photo for Namjoon. You're returning your phone to your pocket when you glance up and realize the tree's star is crooked.
It wasn't obvious from where you stood before but from here, the error is clear as day.
Swearing again, you check the front desk and find Yoongi's still busy. Another look at your watch says you have five minutes to go before Jungkook's arrival.
You blame your dad for your can-do attitude.
After your birth, your parents kept trying, but a second child just wasn't in the cards. Your dad made up for it by joking you had the energy of three children, anyways – always ensuring you felt you were enough. Everything was possible, and nothing was ever off the table. After he died, you were the one who took care of your mom and now, at the Inn, you do the same.
Retreating to the supply closet, you grab the stepladder and return to the lobby. Kicking open its frame, you place this before the tree and start to climb. Halfway up the ladder, you begin to regret your decision. While you're more than capable of fixing an ornament, you're currently wearing heels. It makes everything more difficult and when your foot slips, you recoil and cling to the rungs.
A moment passes while you slow your racing heartbeat, and then you grip the rungs tighter and continue to climb. On the next step, you make the mistake of looking down.
"Oh, fuck," you mutter.
You're not exactly scared of heights, but neither do you enjoy them. Especially not while balancing precariously on ladders while wearing pumps.
There's nothing to do but continue and so, gritting your teeth, you force yourself to climb. Reaching the top, you exhale and lean over, adjusting the star.
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.
"It's okay that he's here, right?" Jungkook pauses, looking up. "Namjoon's parents said it would be fine, that you have dogs stay all the time."
That's definitely not true, but you keep your smile in place. Possibly Namjoon's parents confused your resort with another, or maybe they're trying to make their VIP guest happy.
"Of course," you say. "We can definitely make accommodations for – Bam, right?"
Bam barks in approval.
You glance down in surprise, and Jungkook laughs.
"Sorry," he says, reaching to pet Bam again. "I thought it'd be funny to teach him that, and Bam took to it a little too well."
You're about to smile when you remember who Jungkook is and clamp your lips shut. This is all part of Jungkook's act, you remind yourself. Act cute, talk sweetly and then – bam! The hit-by-a-car kind of bam, not the dog version.
The dog version is adorable, with giant paws, floppy ears and a tail which won't stop wagging.
"Right, well." Turning, you find the front desk unoccupied. Yoongi must be showing someone to their room. "Why don't I show you where you'll be staying this week?"
"That sounds great."
Jungkook's gaze lingers a moment, as though expecting you to say more. Not wanting to fall into that trap, you look away.
"Just give me just one second," you say. "I'll change my shoes and we can start."
You keep snow boots in the break room in case you need to leave for whatever reason. After a quick yet dignified (you hope) hobble to the front counter, you replace your heels with boots that are infinitely more comfortable.
Grabbing the keys and returning to Jungkook, you gesture for him to follow. His suitcase sits beside the front door, left in his haste to cross the room to you. There's an extra-large dog crate placed beside his things and you stare at it, stumped and wondering how you'll move it.
"I've got this," Jungkook says close behind you.
When you jump, he starts and takes a step backwards.
"Sorry!" He holds up both hands. "Didn't mean to startle you."
"Oh – I, uh, you didn't. I was just wondering how to get the dog crate to your room."
Jungkook shakes his head. "Don't worry about it. I'll come back for it later. So," he says, grabbing the handle of his suitcase. "Which way?"
You hesitate but eventually decide this is a better plan than you awkwardly dragging a crate down several halls. Once you get Jungkook settled in, you can have Namjoon or Seokjin bring his things up. Jungkook is supposed to be your VIP guest, after all.
"This way," you say, forcing your smile. "We're incredibly grateful to have you here. Thank you for agreeing to do the social media takeover this week."
"It's not a problem."
Keeping your smile in place, you gesture for him to follow. Bam trots along at Jungkook's heels, tongue out and staring adoringly up at his owner.
Your smile turns semi-genuine, and you stuff both hands in your pockets.
"So," Jungkook says as you walk. "When you say, 'social media takeover,' does that mean you're planning on posting this week?"
Surprised, you glance sideways and meet Jungkook's gaze. His brow is furrowed, as though something about this is concerning.
"We were planning to," you say. "Why? Is something wrong?"
"No, not wrong, exactly." Jungkook pauses. "It's just... is there any way you could avoid posting until after I leave? Things can get kind of crazy, once I let people know where I am."
You hesitate, unsure how to respond.
On the one hand, you understand his concern. Jungkook is famous, and it must be annoying to have groupies following him everywhere. Simply the thought makes your insides twist. On the other hand, you need to make money as quickly as possible.
"I get what you're saying," you say at last. "But you don't need to worry about privacy. We can stagger the posts and make it unclear when they were taken. We also have police on hand in case things get out of control."
Jungkook hesitates, and then nods. "Okay."
"It's just," you say, feeling the need to explain, "my boss is hoping to increase sales over the holidays. And if we wait until after you leave to post, Christmas will have passed – and with it, the opportunity for last-minute trip presents."
"Alright," he exhales. "That makes sense. I guess it'll be fine."
He doesn't sound one hundred percent convinced, but you hope it's at least enough to keep him from calling Namjoon. The last thing you need is to push things back by a week.
It's better to monitor social media reactions in real time. If you do everything beforehand and only release shots once Jungkook leaves, there's a chance people might not react, and you'd be stuck without the chance to redo.
The elevator to the sixth floor – and Jungkook's suite – is at the end of the hall, so you need to pass nearly every room to reach it. Nearing Namjoon's office, the door swings open and your boss steps out.
"Jungkook!" Beaming, he sticks out a hand to shake. "So good to meet you at last. My parents are always talking about yours."
"Likewise," Jungkook says, shaking Namjoon's hand.
Stepping off to one side, you stop beside Bam and cross your arms. Behind Jungkook's back you mouth, traitor, at Namjoon, which he pointedly ignores.
"It's great to be here," Jungkook says. Subconsciously, he moves to stand beside you in the hall. "Y/N was just showing me to my room."
"Was she?" Namjoon's smile freezes. "Good, good. The mountain suite, right?" he asks, as though you might've stuck Jungkook in a broom closet.
"Yes, the mountain suite," you say sweetly. "Only the best for our VIP guests."
Clearing his throat, Jungkook looks faintly uncomfortable.
He does a convincing show of feigning humility, you must admit. You remember this about him from college. Jungkook was usually beside you on the couch at parties, observing the people like Leslie, who danced and sang.
This memory is accompanied by a twinge of self-doubt. It's been a long time since college and you didn't know Jungkook for long, but you did know him, however briefly. The fact that he hasn't recognized you only reinforces your negative perception.
It's only for a week, you remind yourself. You just need to get through this week, and then things can go back to normal.
"Well, we should be off," you say loudly. "Don't want to have Jungkook lugging his suitcase all around."
"Oh," Namjoon blurts. "Here, Jungkook, let me take that. You shouldn't be carrying your own bag. I can, or we can –"
"No, no, no." Jungkook wheels his large suitcase behind his back. "I insist. Thank you, though."
Namjoon pauses, torn between ingrained hospitality and the need to respect a guest's wishes. Eventually, the latter wins out and he takes a step backwards.
"Alright." Namjoon looks at you. "Why don't you give Jungkook a tour of the lodge, Y/N?" he offers as a compromise. "It'd be good to get him familiar with the Inn."
You grit your teeth, seconds away from offering an excuse, when –
"That would be nice," Jungkook says. "If you have time, Y/N, that is."
"Well, actually –"
"She does," Namjoon jumps in. "Y/N, I can get someone to cover whatever you have next."
They both look at you expectantly, and you realize there's no way to politely decline. Lingering awkwardness fills the air, making even Bam look somewhat distressed. Backed into a corner, you turn to Jungkook.
"Yes," you tell him. "I have time."
His expression softens a little, and he nods. Again, you remind yourself this is only for a week. You can be friendly for that long – as a professional of hospitality, this is what you train for.
"It's no trouble at all," you say, continuing down the hall. "Promise. Let's get you to your room and we can go from there."
"Okay."
You don't look back, but you hear Jungkook follow, with Bam trotting after.
Namjoon gives you a long look before leaving, slipping back in his office to shut the door. Left alone with Jungkook, you guide him to the elevator and – swiping your card – press the up button. The mountain suite is the most luxurious and private on the premises. It takes up the entire sixth floor, only accessible by private elevator at the end of the hall.
You tell Jungkook this as you enter, and Bam backs up to sit happily on Jungkook's boots. Jungkook doesn't seem to notice and, hiding a smile, you remind yourself dogs will love anyone. Even charming, duplicitous monsters.
Silence falls and, after a moment, you offer, "How was your flight?"
Jungkook glances at you in surprise.
"Good, I guess."
You nod and face forward again, feeling silly.
It might be egotistical, but you really thought Jungkook would recognize you. Not recognize-recognize, but recognize in the, hey, you look familiar, kind of way. To meet him after this all time and get nothing leaves the inside of your chest feeling hollow.
Interrupting the world's tiniest pity party, the doors to the elevator open to reveal the mountain suite.