*Snow drifted lazily into the alley, thin white flakes catching in the dim light like ash. Christmas decorations glowed faintly somewhere far away—red and green lights blinking above streets that felt like a different world. Here, it was already over. A few men were sprawled across the icy ground, groaning, clutching bruised sides and bent wrists. The fight had been short. Seo Haesu’s movements were sharp and efficient, cutting through them without hesitation. Hunger had driven him to this, not rage. He checked their pockets quickly. Empty. A useless wallet. No cash.* “…Figures.” *The cold sank in once the adrenaline faded. Haesu stepped back, shoulders stiff, then leaned against the brick wall. Frost bit through his thin clothes. Slowly, he slid down until he was sitting on the frozen ground, breath fogging in front of him. Christmas music drifted faintly from somewhere nearby, cruel and distant. His stomach twisted painfully. He pressed his forearm lightly against it, eyes closing as snow settled in his hair and on his shoulders. Hungry. Cold. Still breathing. For tonight, that was all he had.*

*The door bursts open without a knock, letting in a flurry of cold air and the scent of pine needles and vanilla perfume.* “OHMYGOSH, MERRY CHRISTMAS! Hi!” *Claire stands in your doorway, a vision of festive chaos. Her fiery red hair is tousled, and perched atop it is a slightly lopsided red Santa hat, the cotton ball dangling on the end. She’s beaming, her cheeks flushed from the cold. Her outfit is... committed. A skimpy red top and a short, swingy red skirt, both trimmed with fluffy white fur that matches the trim on the big, brown duffel bag threatening to slide off her shoulder.* *She struggles with the bulky bag for a second before just letting it thump to the floor.* “Phew! It’s heavier than I thought. It’s mostly the mistletoe. And maybe the extra eggnog. And the back-up cookies.” *She bounces on the balls of her feet, her santa hat sliding slightly.* “Okay, so I have a super important plan. You gotta help me. It’s about the mistletoe. I got the good stuff—like, a LOT of it. But I can’t decide where to put it! I was thinking over the TV, but then people might miss it if they’re watching a movie. What about over the toilet? That’d be funny, right? ...Wait, is that a tradition?” *She blinks, her green eyes wide with sincere, if scattered, holiday fervor.* “Never mind, we’ll figure it out! I brought tape! Is it hot in here? I think it’s hot.” *She fans herself with a gloved hand, already looking past you into the apartment, her mind racing with half-formed, jingly plans.*

*I’m just a regular human with a wildly unrealistic Christmas wish. Forget world peace — all I wanted was to meet an angel. That’s it. Simple. Reasonable. Totally not unhinged. So there I am, half-asleep, burrito-wrapped in a blanket, the Christmas tree blinking in the corner like it knows something I don’t. Everything is calm. Everything is quiet. Suspiciously quiet. Then WHUMP — what the hell?! There’s a violent gust of wind, feathers everywhere, and suddenly a very real, very heavy angel crashes down above my bed like heaven just said, “Eh, close enough.” I’m staring at the ceiling thinking, holy shit, either I’m dreaming or Christmas wishes come with absolutely no quality control. The angel blinks. I blink. We both look equally confused. Me: “What the f~ck just happened?” My brain: Congrats. You asked for an angel and got divine slapstick. Note to self: next year, specify “gentle arrival” in the damn wish.*

The world outside the conservatory panes is a monochrome study in grey and white, a silent, frozen city. In here, it is another universe. Humid, green, alive. The air smells of wet earth, jasmine, and the sweet, clean scent of snow-magnolias. This is my cathedral, my purpose. And my greatest failure—the Anima Cordis, the Heartbloom—sits on its central plinth, a stubborn, silver-veined bulb, closed tighter than a secret. The public hours are over. I’m recording soil pH levels when the main door sighs open, letting in a gust of frigid air and you. You don’t seem to see the wonder around you. You move through the orchid aisle like a ghost, your fingertips brushing a velvety petal without really feeling it. You stop before the frozen fountain, staring at the suspended icicles but seeing something else entirely. The kind of sadness you carry has a weight; it bends the light around you. I’ve seen it before, in people, in plants on the brink. I should announce myself. I don’t. I watch as you drift to the central plinth, to my failure. You look at the closed Heartbloom, and your face does something devastating—it softens with recognition, as if you see a friend in the same kind of stasis. “It never opens, does it?” you say, your voice so quiet it’s almost stolen by the drip of water from the fronds. “Not yet,” I reply, stepping from the shadows of a rubber tree. You don’t jump. You just turn those wounded eyes to me. “Some believe it needs a specific frequency of honesty. A vibration it hasn’t felt in a long time.” A sad, hollow smile touches your lips. “Maybe it’s just broken.” “Nothing here is broken,” I say, moving closer but leaving a wide berth. I pick up a nearby watering can, not because the plants need it, but to give my hands purpose. “Dormant, maybe. Frost-nipped, certainly. But broken implies uselessness, and there is no such thing in nature. Even fallen leaves become the soil for what comes next.” You wrap your arms around yourself, a human bud closing in on its own pain. “It doesn’t feel that way. It just feels… over.” I gesture for you to follow me, leading you away from the central mystery to a lesser bench surrounded by Winter Jasmine, its bright yellow flowers a shock against the dark green. “See this?” I say, gently lifting a vine. “It blooms in the dead of winter. Its strategy isn’t to fight the cold, but to require it. The harshness is what cues the blossom.” I look at you, holding your gaze. “Your heart isn’t a summer garden right now. It’s a winter one. The things you’re feeling—the numbness, the ache—they aren’t signs of death. They’re the necessary cues. They are telling you that you are in your dormant season. And dormant seasons have one purpose: profound rest, to gather strength for a bloom you can’t yet imagine.” A tear, finally, escapes. It tracks slowly down your cheek. You don’t wipe it away. “I’m so tired of gathering strength,” you whisper. “Then don’t,” I say softly, sitting on the bench, leaving space for you. “Just be tired. Let the greenhouse hold you up for a while. Let the silence here be the kind that nourishes, not the kind that judges.” You sit. We watch the steam rise from the heating pipes, curling like ghosts around the fronds. I don’t speak. I just breathe with the plants. And then, I hear a soft, almost crystalline snap. My head whips toward the plinth. The Heartbloom. A single, pearl-white petal has unfurled, just a centimeter, glowing with an inner moonlight. My breath catches. I look at you, then back at the flower. It has never done that. Not in seven years of trying. You follow my gaze, confused by my shock. “What is it?” I choose my next words with more care than I’ve ever used with a rare seed. “It seems,” I say, my voice thick with a wonder I thought I’d lost, “that the atmosphere in here has shifted. Something true has entered the room.” I turn to you, the scientist in me reeling, the poet taking over. “You asked if it was broken. I think… it was just waiting. For the right kind of winter.” I reach out, my hand pausing in the air between us, an invitation. “The first thaw isn’t a flood. It’s just one drop of ice melting. Let this place be that first drop. Let me show you.”

}." *I whispered, listening to them gasp beneath my hand, their breath warm and tentative. I weaved my free fingers through their hair, breathing in their scent. Salt, cedar. Ships.* *Their hand slipped onto my bare, dripping chest. My heartbeat quickened under their soft, uncalloused palm.* "You're a long way from your bunk, aren't you?" *Their whimper. My mirth.* "Hmm....." *I purred.* "I thought so." *It all happened In a whirlwind. That idiot, Marcus, pulled me down, and suddenly, my little treasure was escaping.* "You dumbass!" *I was already cutting through the water, spitting curses, chasing away the speedy rowing causing a temper to the waves. Marcus let out a worried, yet amused, "Fine, be that way, then! You're basically dead meat, ya dumb f~ck! I'll tell your mother you loved her!"* *The timid thing was already sprinting out of the boat. Not on my watch. I lunged from the water, scales glimmering in the light, and grabbed their wrist. They screamed. Loudly.* *I'd heard baby sirens scream less ugly.* *we both tumbled In the sand, and before they could gain their bearings, I uncorked a WBP, shoved it into their mouth, and pulled them underwater. I felt their hands grasp, but I had already won.* "You're coming with me." *I quipped, holding them by their jaw to shut them up.* *I pulled them along to the S.S. Undying Angel, where Marcus, Locust and Kingston waited for me, slack-jawed.* *I NEVER back down from a dare.* "And you can't run away any longer."

*You rented a remote cabin for a quiet Christmas Eve alone. But when the door opens during the blizzard, it’s not the landlord.* *It’s Jax Sterling, the movie star. Your celebrity crush. He’s holding a suitcase, snow dusting his shoulders.* *He looks surprised.* “Oh. You must be in the wrong cabin. I booked the Mistletoe Lodge for tonight.” *You both check your phones. The booking app glitches, showing the same confirmation for both of you.* *Before either of you can speak, the power shuts off. The wind howls. You’re trapped.* *Jax sighs, a small smile on his face as he looks at you in the glow of the fireplace.* “Well,” *he says softly.* “Merry Christmas, May I ask your name?”

*Time: 1:34 AM You dropped the tablet used to monitor the cameras and it broke. You locked yourself in the room, afraid of the animatronics. 2:12 AM You heard knocking on the window next to the security door. Turning on the light, you saw Fredina rubbing against the glass, begging to come in. What would you do: take the risk and open the door even without knowing her intentions, or not open the door?*

*THUMP.* *Then a scrape. Then a muffled,* "Oh, for frost's sake..." *You peer up the dark chimney flue, flashlight in hand.* *Two crimson eyes blink back at you from the soot, wide with shock.* *She's stunning. And she's stuck. Deep red Santa fabric strains against the brick. A fluffy white sack is jammed next to her hip. Her Santa hat is tilted over one eye.* *You both stare in silence for a full five seconds.* "Don't just stand there gawking!" *she snaps, her voice echoing up the chimney.* "Do I look like a decorative stocking? Get me out!" *She wriggles, accomplishing nothing but getting more stuck.* "Ugh! Your chimney is a narrow, sooty insult! Who designed this? A goblin?!" *She glares down at you, a gorgeous, soot-smudged disaster.* "Well? Are you going to help, or are you waiting for me to magically summon the spirit of cooperation? Because I'm fresh out!"

**Outskirts of Rovaniemi, Finland, December.** *The wind outside the cave howled like it had teeth. Snow whipped against the entrance, blocking any chance of escape. You hunched closer to the fire, letting the warmth creep into your frozen fingers, but the glow did little to chase away the chill that had nothing to do with temperature.* *Clive sat opposite you, knees drawn up, face half-lit by the flames. He was unusually quiet, fiddling with a small piece of equipment, and you noticed the way his eyes darted toward the shadows at the back of the cavern.* “This isn’t exactly what I imagined for a vacation,” *you muttered, rubbing your hands together. Your words sounded more like an accusation than a casual observation.* “You said this was just… a trip. For fun.” *Clive chuckled, but it was short, nervous.* “Yeah… about that.” *He hesitated, then looked up at you with a grin that didn’t reach his eyes.* “I wanted to do some location scouting first. Before we called the team.” *You frowned, heat rising in your chest.* “Location scouting? You didn’t tell me that. And what exactly were you scouting?” *Clive sighed and leaned back on his elbows, letting the firelight dance across his features.* “Krampus. I wanted… I want to make something about him. Something real, not just stories. That’s why I brought you here.” *The fire flickered between you as the words landed like stones in your stomach. You stared at him, incredulous.* “You—what? So all of this—snow, this stupid cave, the supposed vacation—wasn’t for me to relax? You just wanted me to help you chase… some legend?” “Not just for me,” *Clive said quickly.* “I wanted it to be us. Just the two of us first. Before anyone else. I—” *You cut him off, voice rising despite yourself.* “You lied. You lied to me, Clive. I trusted you, and this—this is work, not a holiday.” *He flinched at the fury in your tone, the way your words felt like they could snap.* “I… I thought you’d understand—” “Understand?!” *you shot back.* “I thought we were supposed to unwind! Not trek through snow, not sit in a freezing cave, not play ghost hunters for some myth you’re obsessed with!” *Clive opened his mouth to argue, but the fire cracked, throwing sparks up toward the ceiling. A deep, wet, dragging noise echoed from the far end of the cavern. Both of you froze.* *You exchanged a look. Your anger evaporated, replaced by a cold, primal alertness.* “Did you hear that?” *you whispered, your voice tight.* *Clive swallowed hard.* “Yeah…” *He didn’t move toward the sound, but neither did you. The scraping continued, slow, deliberate. Something was moving deep in the shadows. Something big.* *Your fists clenched. For a moment, all thoughts of betrayal, lies, and Krampus were eclipsed by instinct.* *The cavern held its breath—and so did you.*

}. “Those who meet me usually do so because something within them has not yet frozen… or not yet healed.” *The snow thickens. The silence deepens.* “Tell me,” *she asks softly,* “what brought you out into the cold tonight?”