SEOKJIN - AUTUMN
Seokjin could see the tree from the bedroom window, the leaves slowly changing from green to a slight orange. Autumn was beginning to arrive in South Korea. It was getting to where the stifling summer heat was dwindling to that cool weather where you could go and put a light jacket on without sweating or needing a scarf like you would do in the Korean winter.
The big festival of Chuseok would be arriving in a month and just two weeks after that would be the biggest date in the Kim/Chu calendar. Finally, finally, after many days, months and years, Seokjin and Grace would tie the knot in front of their daughter, their family, their friends and the rest. The wedding of the century as it had been dubbed by Dispatch had been in full plan since last year and every little detail had been checked, double-checked and triple-checked.
The checklist had been endless and trying to plan a wedding around your career as well as a young daughter had been almost a logistical nightmare but soon the day would be here and the leaves would change from orange to red. Seokjin grinned to himself as he heard the thump of his daughter playing next door, Grace laughing as she watched and the unmistakable noise of six other men getting in on the playdate.
If autumn was going to mean anything to the couple, it would be the celebration of their little family coming together as one (even with four adopted sons and a large extended family), the Chu & Kim household now becoming the Kim household and the next BTS comeback around the corner after the couple returned from their honeymoon.
Seokjin carefully put the wedding rings away in the box that had all the important wedding documentation and closed the lid, glancing up in time to see one leaf fall from the middle of the tree. Autumn was on its way and he could hardly wait.
YOONGI - WINTER
"I hate snow," Yoongi grumbled for the seventh time.
"You say that every winter and yet it didn't stop you from joining the maknae line in the snow fight last year," Grace pointed out as she pulled her scarf tighter around her.
They had decided, stupidly, that they needed to do a snack supply. The weather had been predicted by the forecasters on the TV to be very bad for the next couple of days and it was recommended that people grab what necessary groceries they needed and stay home. Seokjin, Namjoon and Hobi had done the big shop while the maknae line had stayed behind to clean up the dorm (or so they said) and Grace & Yoongi had volunteered to go and get the snacks at the 24/7 convenience store at the bottom of the road.
However, the snow started falling the moment they got to the bottom of the stairs and Yoongi, in his usual grumpiness, had declared he hated winter. He hated the cold, he hated being wet, he hated snow, he hated being cold...the usual.
"I don't mind it, especially if we're inside. Just think, we can make hot chocolate, turn the heating up full, watch stupid TV programmes where we can ridicule them, eat a stupid amount of food and we can grab you two bags of tangerines," Grace added as she slipped her hands into the pockets of Jungkook's coat.
She couldn't even see Yoongi as he had bundled up in a puffer coat, threw on a beanie, his mask, two scarves and a long coat on top of all that. He almost waddled as he walked with how thick he looked.
"We best get tangerines otherwise this is a wasted trip," he sighed as he pushed open the door to the store. "You are such a grouchy old man. Why did you volunteer to go?" Grace asked, following the younger man inside.
"Because I wasn't going to be in charge of those three," he said referring to the maknae line, as he grabbed a basket, "because that meant I wouldn't have been able to sneak away for a nap."
'And there it was,' Grace thought to herself with a smile as she found the tangerines and slipped them into the basket.
HOBI - SPRING
"Hobi, this isn't meant to be a photoshoot," Grace sighed but she was smiling as said it. She had been stuck under the same cherry blossom tree for half an hour, doing various poses for Hobi's camera on his phone.
She had suggested, since they had no schedule and it was only the two of them at the dorm, to go outside and enjoy what spring had brought them - warm weather, cherry blossoms, a chance to breathe in the sunshine for once. Maybe go for some iced coffee, enjoy a walk at the local park, take in the trees and then go home. What Grace hadn't expected was for Hobi to whip out his phone and make her stand under various trees, cherry blossom in her hair and taking what seemed to be a million pictures.
"But noona, you look pretty in spring!"
Another photo was taken.
"I thought I looked pretty in any season," Grace remarked as she finally stepped away from the tree and back to the bath where the bodyguard was waiting, handing over her iced coffee where the ice cubes had melted in the warm breeze.
"Well you do, but you look prettier in spring," Hobi said as he joined his noona on the path again and dropped his arm over her shoulders. "It makes you look brighter."
She wasn't sure if she should take that as a compliment or an insult but in the end, decided to take it as neither. The walk back took longer as she took photos of him as requested, his own unique sunshine shining through each one.
NAMJOON - SUMMER
There was a certain innocence that came with Namjoon.
Whether it was his intelligence, his love of nature, how he couldn't cook, his clumsiness, his love of riding his bike or just simply sitting and listening to the sounds of Korea on a summer day, there were just times that Grace looked at him and saw him for the young man he really was.
There was a four-year difference between the two and though there was a bit of a small complication as he was technically her leader and she was technically his noona, there still seemed to be that innocence and shyness from that teenager who knocked on her office door. And she could see that as she watched him from where she sat on the towel, his feet in the sand as he searched for his crabs.
She snorted to herself with amusement as he found what he was looking for, first showing it to Hobi who all but screamed and ran away as did Seokjin. But Namjoon paid them no mind as he ambled his way across the sand to show her what was in the palm of his hand.
"Only you could be looking for crabs on a day off," Grace grinned as she glanced at the crab then frowned when she realised Namjoon had been wandering around with no sunscreen on. "For god sake Joon," she sighed as she grabbed the bottle and made him sit down in front of her, listening to him reel off fact after fact about the crab in his hand.
JIMIN - SUMMER
Jimin sighed as he looked out the window of their dorm. It was meant to be summer in Seoul and he had planned to go out, to go and enjoy the hot weather and the sun and relax on what little time off he had. Everyone had been the same as it was rare to get a day off in the middle of summer but it seemed the monsoon season had arrived with a vengeance.
"I don't think it's going to stop anytime soon," Grace said as she closed the front door behind her, shaking off her boots and raincoat. It was hot and sticky outside and the rain was warm as well, even if it was pounding on the pavement. She knew how much Jimin had wanted to go out and enjoy his time off but the rain had washed out those plans and now he was stuck at home, just like the rest of the boys who had disappeared to various parts of the dorm or the studio.
"Come on chim, I've got a plan," she said as she headed to the kitchen. "Go and grab a blanket from the closet and throw it on the floor."
He had no idea what his noona was up to but ever the obliging dongsaeng, Jimin did what he was told. With a bit of care, he pushed the coffee table out of the way and spread the blanket across the floor.
"Here we go," Grace said as she came over with what seemed to be a platter. On it were strawberries, blueberries and other summer fruits as well as whipped cream, traditional British scones that her mother had made as well as a teapot full of tea. She placed it on the blanket and handed Jimin a teacup.
"Noona, what are we doing?"
"We are going to enjoy a traditional pastime of British people - cream tea. That's a scone, I'll show you the proper way of eating it in a moment but pass me the remote."
Once it was in her hand, she flicked the TV on and went to YouTube and found the Wimbledon channel where they could watch full replays of the tennis tournament. Grace couldn't take Jimin to London and she couldn't take him out in monsoon weather but she could at least treat him to a British summer time.
TAEHYUNG - WINTER
Christmas isn't a big thing in Korea as it is in the US or the UK. But every year, without fail, Taehyung watched as Grace decorated the dorm. At the start, it had been cheap decorations and a small tree but now they were in the bigger dorm, Grace had gone all out.
There was a large artificial tree in the corner near the TV, that was taller than Namjoon, and three large plastic boxes on the floor near it. He could hear the sounds of Bing Crosby coming from the speaker in the kitchen and the unmistakable smell of gingerbread. Grace was fully in her Christmas mode - gingerbread men, roast dinners, the sound of wrapping paper being cut and the little bit of cursing when the sellotape didn't behave.
It was something Taehyung looked forward to every year.
This year, he had been put in charge of starting to decorate the tree. He was taller than Grace, even if he did have to use the ladder to reach the top, and he accepted the bauble from Grace as she had unpacked it and handed it up to him.
"Do we put a star, ribbon or Santa's hat at the top?" Grace asked as she pulled the three items from the box and held them up for Taehyung to see. Long fingers carefully slid the red glass bauble on the branch and once it was secure, Taehyung glanced down. He hoped that this would be a tradition for the two of them every year, even when they eventually lived their separate lives in their own separate places. It had become something that Taehyung planned for the moment December arrived.
"I think star this year, noona. It matches the star lights you bought for the kitchen."
"Ah see, this is why you and I do this. You and your impeccable taste."
JUNGKOOK - AUTUMN
He was born in autumn.
September 1st.
He knows the season better than anyone - the cooler weather, the Chuseok celebrations, seeing family, the changing of the leaves, how the t-shirts are swapped for jumpers and hoodies. There were traditions the Jeon family had when he was back home in Busan with his parents and older brother but none of them had followed as he moved to Seoul as a teenager to be a member of BTS.
He was 21 now. The clock had officially turned over to September 1st and Autumn had already arrived in Seoul.
They had the Seo Taijin's 25th-anniversary concert tomorrow and had been up late practising as well as early celebrating Junkook's birthday. Yet for the young adult, sleep wasn't coming so easily. 21 years was nothing in Korea - there was no big celebration other than 'yay! You turned 21.' 19 was the year you were an adult in the eyes of the government. So simple celebrations had to be had for 21 year old and he knew his noona wanted to go all out but with time restrictions, it just wasn't going to happen.
Jungkook stared at the clock as it ticked over to 1am. It was officially September 1st, it was his birthday.
The door to the room clicked open quietly and Jungkook watched in the darkness as his noona slipped inside, already a large bag of presents in her hands as she made her way to his bed. "Happy birthday," she whispered. She knew he was awake, she always knew. Gentle hands ran through his hair and it made him miss his mother. Yet his mother, in nearly every sense of the word, was next to him as she comforted him while trying to get him to sleep.
And as autumn ticked by another day, Jungkook would wake up to his family, to his adopted mother, coming in to sing him Happy Birthday.