Candle Lights

J-Hope had already beaten me for the tenth time in a row in the cards game by the time Jin had finished cooking the meal for us. I had a good surprise when I saw that Jin had cooked ramen, which explained the exquisite yet very different smell, to which I wasn't really used.

'Guys it's ready!' - Jin warned the boys in the living room.

'Ooh, ramyeon!' - Hobi said coming closer to the pan, lifting the lid and clapping like a seal.

'I hope you don't mind, I didn't even ask if you eat Korean food or not' - Jin said a bit embarrassed once he retuned to the kitchen and noticed my surprised look.

'Oh, no, no, don't worry' - I felt guilty for making him feel bad, even after he had cooked an entire meal for us - 'You were not with us, but earlier I told Namjoon and Jimin that I loved Korean food, especially when it's made by someone who knows what they are doing'.

'I hope it will meet your expectations then' - Jin replied.

'I don't know, I'm very hard to please' - I paused and giggled at his expression - 'Just kidding!'

'Alright enough joking you two I want to eat' - J-Hope pushed his way trough already holding a plate and shortly followed by all of us.

We had a very filling meal, he was indeed an excellent cook. He sure deserved his station as chef among the members. And he sure did compete with Tae on who eats the most. After tidying up, and washing the plates we all went back to the living room to discover that snow was falling once again.

'Is this never going to end?' - Suga complained.

'It feels like we took a trip to Finland instead of France' - the maknae commented ironically.

'Well at least we're no longer outside' - Jimin said smiling, and trying to keep up the good mood.

'And we have filled our tummies with oemma's delicious food'- V stated. Why didn't it surprise me?

'So I guess we can all be thankful and try to think of something else. What do you think about playing games?' - I suggested.

'What do you have in mind?' - Namjoon asked, seeming to agree with the idea.

'Well... I have a few board games' - I suggested while trying to remember those we had.

'Wouldn't it be difficult because of the language barriers? I mean, unless you have one in Korean' - Jimin stated, and it made sense, I hadn't really though about that.

'Yeah right, sorry. I hadn't thought about that... I also have Twister, which doesn't require a language, or we can play card games'.

'How about we do something simpler?' - said Jin - 'I mean, twister is nice but we're all full so that wouldn't end well'

'What do you have in mind hyung?' - Suga asked.

'What if we do a game to get to know each other better? I mean we may have to spend days all together so it could be a fun way to bond' - his proposal made sense and we all agreed.
We sat in a circle, some on the couches, some on cushions so we could all face each other. It was determined that just asking ourselves blunt questions would feel weird, so we though it was best to first spin a bottle to determine two people. Then, we would get a challenge from the ones we had written on papers and put in a jar. Finally the winner got to ask the question, and the loser had to answer.

The first bottle spin landed on Hobi and on myself. Our challenge was to see how many spoons we could get to stay attached to our face. We gave it a go, and didn't even care how silly we looked doing this. I was terrible at this so I barely managed to have one that stayed put while he managed to get 4.

'Okay, Hoseok won' - the judge aka Suga determined - 'Now proceed to the question'

'Alright' - Hoseok stopped to think - 'Where are you from? Because ever since we met you I've been wondering, as you don't look like the other French girls at all. Your hair is different as well'

'Oh right' - I chuckled as I was surprised by the question - 'I'm from Brazil'

'Really?' - Namjoon immediately reacted - 'We love your country!'

'And that explains the book in Portuguese' - Jin thought to himself but I still heard it.

'Is that so? It's always nice to hear it' - I smiled and replied - 'Have you ever been there?'

'On a few occasions, yes' - Suga spoke up - 'Mainly in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro though'.

'That's already something! I really like your country and culture as well' - I stated.

'We did notice, as you wished to respect some rules and as you simply speak Korean fluently!' - Hobi commented and I felt a little flattered – 'How did you learn it?'

'I'm afraid you have already asked a question so it will have to wait for your next chance' - I said laughing at his disbelief and we moved on. Next pair the bottle chose was Jin and Rapmon who had to face the limbo. That was a marvellous slapsticks show as both were nowhere near coordinated and very tall. They also had very evil dongsaengs who chose to put the bar very low, which contributed to the disaster. They both took very long until Jin finally prevailed, lucky that Namjoon's pink hair fell into his eyes and stopped him from going straight, and knocked down the bar.

'Nooooo' - Namjoon dramatically holding the bar in his hands.

'That's why pink is my favorite color, it always favours me!' - Jin smiled mockingly at him.

'That... and the fact he also is the "God of destruction" after all' - Suga pointed out making us giggle.

'So, Jin hyung, what's the question?' - TaeTae was very curious.

'Uhmmm, as we're with a new member in our circle why don't we aim for different things?' - Kookie had a mischevious glint in his eyes.

'Ah, not bad' - said the eldest - 'How about... Namjoon, tell us something a bit more intimate to you or about you.'

'Ooooh straight to the juicy stuff' - I smiled, matching the maknae's expression.

'Oh God... And here I was thinking I would get to keep my dignity a little longer' - He displayed an ironic smile and took a deep breath - 'Ok, here we go. Uhm, let me think...'

'I'm very curious now' - Jimin propped himself in position, like a child waiting for a bedtime story.

'Well I, uh... Well' - he started, stuttering - 'I don't know how to say this. OK, it's going to sound incredibly presomptious but that's not what I mean to sound like' - He continued, looking at me.

'It's okay go ahead, I'm not going to misunderstand it' - I smiled to reassure him and trying to guess what could he possibly say next.

'It turns out I'm kind of intellectually gifted, with a high IQ and everything...' - He paused - 'I don't like talking about it bescause it feels weird to say this myself, especially when I'm getting to know someone new and just blurt this out. But you guys asked, so I'm being committed with the game' - He chuckled weakly.

'That's really impressive! And kind of intimidating to be honest' - I chuckled - 'But I think it's really nice and you should be able to feel proud of such a gift!'

'Ha, thanks' - He scratched his head. He seemed reelief yet a bit embarrassed.

We kept playing a bit more, which brought us a little closer. Besides the games, which were lots of fun, I got to know their favorite colors, foods and a bit about their families and they got to know about my life, my favorite animals and things of the sort. With the bad news we had during the morning and the cold outside, these brought us just the little warmth we were missing. We decided we would do one last round and head to sleep, as we were all getting tired (just as much as we were all children and wanted to keep playing).

'What's the last game?' - Jin asked J-Hope, who had his hand pulling out a paper, yawning.

'For the last round we have...' - he did the drum roll on his knees, opened the paper and smiled - 'The orange game!'

'And what's that?' - I asked, confused.

'It's played in pairs, and the objective is to roll down an orange from your cheeks down to your belly without letting it fall' - Jimin explained patiently.

'So we're going to have to draw four names instead of two' - Hobi stated and proceeded to the sorting - 'Here we go... On this corner of the ring we have Suga... Who will pair with V!' - They got up and did a high 5 - 'And in this corner we have Jung Kook.... And Jimin!' - They got up and got ready, while I went to the kitchen to get the two oranges that would be required for the task. They got in position and waited for Jin's signal.

'Ready?... Go!' - as soon as Jin spoke they started squirming trying to get the orange to
move. And of course laughter filled the room, as a natural reaction to the mix of fierce competitive spirit and awkward pulled faces. The first duo had already dropped the orange twice but were progressing at a faster pace than the others. Kookie and Jimin were now hugging intently as the orange was locked between their chests. The maknae was doing and intense session of body rolls as he was trying to make the orange move further down. That made Jimin slightly embarrassed, who then backed away blushing slighty, making the orange fall to their feet and giving the victory to V and Suga.

'Yeah!! WE WIN!' - Youngi screamed in english and V erupted in a victory dance.

'NOOOOOO' - There was an obvious contrats between the two sides of the room.

'And now punishment time' - Hobi said with an MC voice, grinning like mischevious child.

'So what's it going to be now?' - I asked, curious to see what their combined criativity was going to come up with this time.

'What if instead of a question we went for a special treatment for the last round?' - Namjoon took the opportunity to take a little revenge on the maknae for the earlier suggestions.

'Have some mercy on us' - Jimin looked worried and I could swear he was begging me to help him with his eyes.

'(Y/nN), what is your favorite Kdrama kind of scene?' - Suga asked me suddenly.

'I guess I could say the back hug, I mean, it's a classic!' - I answered, unaware of the consequences.

'Oh no...' - Kookie guessed what was to come.

'Oh yes! (Y/N) will have her favorite scene live!' - V setenced the two youngsters and high fived the other boys.

'You just have to choose the roles now' - Jin had joined the giggling group as Jimin started losing his face colors.

'Ok I'll be hugging, otherwise Jimin is going to have a seisure over here' - Jung Kook spoke up to save his hyung. The got on their feet, facing each other. Then Jimin spun around facing us, and just waiting for the final punishment to take place. I felt sorry for him, as he really seemed embarassed by the situation but it was so funny to watch him squirm at the same time. - 'Ok, here I come' - Kookie annouced and waited a few seconds just to get Jilin by surprise. Then he hugged him and their reactions were priceless. Jimin blushed and squirmed, just as much as the maknae did, only the latter was better at concealing his discomfort. As for the rest of the room, anyone could barely even see the scene anymore as we were all rolling on the floor or crying of laughter.

'Ok kids, I think we had enough excitment for a day. How about we all head to bed?' - Jin omma suggested once we had started comming back to a normal state.

'It isn't very late but it's true we had quite a long day' - I agreed, streaching myself.

'At least we have electricity back tonight' - and just as Rap Monie spoke, the lights flickered and darkness fell once again.

'Oh, you gotta be kidding me' - J-hope spoke up a little tense.

'Well I guess it really is a sign for us to go to bed' - Suga got up and started shepperding he boys back into the dance room, were they had left the covers and mattresses that morning.

'Are you guys sure you don't want to sleep in beds?' - I tried them one last time to see if they would agree. I really felt lacking letting my guests sleep on the floor.

'We are, and you keep asking us those questions instead of worrying about yourself being confortable and rested we're going to have problems young lady' - the pink princess got up and warned me plyafully in an old lady's like voice.

'Ok I got it granny ' - I raised my hands in rendition - 'Good night boys'

'Good night (y/n)!' - they replied in one voice - 'Don't go dreaming too much about me' - Rap monster shouted already from inside the room, to which I could only laugh.

'Ah, those dorks' - I though to myself and then went to my own bedroom to sleep. It was about 10pm alredy, which was kind of early for usual days, but they had taken most of my energy today and a good rest was needed.

I woke up in the dark a few hours later, I presumed, as it was still dark. That's when it hit me how cold I was feeling, even while I was still laying under the covers. I had been sleeping in a fetal position, holding my limbs in a failed attempt of keeping myself warm. I found that odd and got up to fix the temperature in my room. I got up as a walking burrito only to find out the thermostat would not be of any help to me as it was linked to all the heating system of the house. Only problem? it relied on electricity. I then wondered if the boys were as cold as I was and went back to the dance room, through the living room. I knocked on the door before entering to warn them about my presence.

'Hey, is anyone awake in there?' - I asked in a hushed voice tone.

'I... am....' - a voice with obvious difficulty because of the cold answered me.

'Jimin is that you?'

'Yep, are you okay? What are you doing here?' - He raised his head in the direction of the door so I could now make the contours of his head against the darkness of the room.

'My room was freezing because the heating is down and I came to check if you guys were okay' - I said as I moved silently around the room, towards the back left corner.

'How sweet' - he seemed genuinely thankful - 'Well, I don't know how bad it was in your room but it's a little cold yeah. Though nothing we can't survive'.

'If I'm right then that problem should be solved in no time' - my hand landed on the buttons I expected to find right behind a little piece of furninture that had been covered with a wool proctive cover my grandma had knitted.

'What do you mean?' - Jimin got up and closer to me to see, figuratively speaking, what I was doing.

'Here' - I placed his hand on the surface of the object that was now heating up slightly.

'What's that?' - He asked intrigued but seemed relieved to have found some source of heat in the room.

'That is the only heating device that can be activate by hand in the apartment, but I had completely forgotten about it as it never served any purpose. Well not until now.'

'You're a genius!' - he said a bit louder than the hushed voices we were using before, which made one of the boys sitr in his sleep. We were both surprised so we fell silent and closer to each other. Then we tried to conceal our laughter in the silence of the room.

'Shh, you're going to wake them up' - I tried to hush him, failing to do so myself.

'I don't mind, so long as it's not Suga' - he chuckled a bit more - 'He's already anoying enough sleeping, but god have mercy on the soul who dares wake him up'.

'Being a little overdramatic there don't you think?'

'Really? he's the reason I haven't been able to sleep! Besides the light snoring, he stole my covers' - That's when I noticed he was in fact standing next to me not wrapped in anything.

'Oh poor thing, no wonder you couldn't sleep' - I said taking mine from over my shoulders and wrapping it around him - 'Take mine for now, I'm going to get another one for me and I'll be right back'.

'There's no...' - I didnt even let him finish, as I was already passing by the door to get another one. He was so nice he could probably say I could go to sleep with mine and not even complain about not having one. I was back within five minutes.

'Is it better now?' - I asked him.

'Thank you, you didn't have to' - he sounded a lot better.

'Of course I did, what kind of person would I be if I let you die of hypothermia inside my own house?'

'Now who's being dramatic remind me again?' - He replied and I puched his shoulder gently.

'Ok try to get some sleep now then' - and just as I was turning to leave he held me back by the forearm.

'Where are you going? The only heating is in here' - He said worried.

'I'll figure something out, don't worry about me' - It was touching to see he cared.

'What kind of what kind of person would I be if I let you die of hypothermia inside YOUR own house?' - I couldn't help but laugh.

'Ok, we seriously need to get more creative in our comebacks' - I said making us both chuckle.

'And we'll do that after a nice night of sleep next to the heating system' - He had started dragging me away from the door.

'That's what I sound like when I insist you guys to stay confortable?'

'Precisely like that'

'God, how do you guys even stand me then?' - he giggled, and I asked - 'Are you sure I won't disturb you guys?'

'What I am sure of is, if they wake up in the morning and get to know you froze to death and I could've made you stay, it won't be long for us to meet in afterlife.' - I blushed, they were so adorable to be so caring - 'So if you want something to make your mind easier, think of how one extra human body increases the general temperature of the room and it's beneficial for everyone'

'Okay, okay. I'll lay here between you and Suga then, so at least I'll shield you from having your covers stolen again' - he shook his head and helped to lay down.

'Thank you (Y/N). Now I'll be here awaiting untill you sleep just to make sure you'll not slip through the door the second I close my eyes' - Jimin smiled at my contradicted breathing but I gave up.

'Alright I'll stay put but you have to stop reading my mind' - I punched him gently again and closed my eyes. It did not take very long for the sandman to take me to the world of dreams.

Notes

I'm sorry I'm taking this long to move forward with this story but it's because I have slow creative process in order to make all of what I have in mind flow naturally in the story. I just mean to say I will be definitely finishing this story, so please don't give up on me and thank you guys so much for the patience.