Otherwise known as How the Maknae Line Drove Yoongi to Write a Christmas Song from Playing “Last Christmas” on Repeat. Dedicated to @elizabeth-buchanan who gave me the idea.
Yoongi’s quest to write the perfect Christmas song was not based on inspiration. It was based out of frustration. The maknaes had been playing varying versions of “Last Christmas” on repeat for the last four days and if he had to hear it one more time he was going to scream. So he locked himself in his studio to try to prove that he could write a much better song than that. As he was sitting at his computer pondering over where to begin, his phone rang.
“Hey Jin-hyung. What do you need?”
“Yoongichi, I just want to spend some time with everyone individually before we get insanely busy. So, let’s have dinner in an hour.”
Yoongi had to admit that he and Jin hadn’t had time to just talk and be together like they used to. And Yoongi would never ever admit it, but he missed the heart to heart talks they used to have when they were roommates. Yoongi had an hour before time with Jin, but he was able to get a basic rhythm down for the track before Jin knocked on the door.
They went to a nearby Korean barbecue restaurant where the owner knew them, so they’d have a bit of privacy. When they went out, Yoongi and Jin would always take turns manning the grill. It was so relaxing to Yoongi to just be able to be present and talk with his hyung about everything and nothing at all. It always soothed him so much to let go of his responsibilities and trust his hyung to catch him if he fell too far; while it wasn’t something that happened often, it was still nice to not have to maintain control.
“Hyung, what do you think of when you think of Christmas?” he asked.
“Ah, Yoongichi. Christmas means family to me. When I was younger, my family didn’t really go overboard with gifts and all that, but we made sure to always take the time to just be together. My mom and I would cook together, and we would all sit down and eat together. I think that’s why I enjoy getting all of us in the kitchen together, just cooking and laughing and eating together.”
Even after they went home, Yoongi pondered a bit over how Jin brought a little bit of Christmas magic to the rest of the group. Just before he fell asleep, he wrote down a line in his notebook. Thank you for bringing Christmas magic all year long.
The next morning, Hoseok woke him up with a smile. “Come on, Hyung. We have to get going to the studio. But I made you some coffee to take with us.”
Yoongi thanked him and took a sip. It was perfect, just the way he liked it. He quickly dressed and brushed his teeth before topping off his coffee and climbing into Hoseok’s car. Since just the two of them had things to work on, they had opted to drive themselves instead of calling a car.
“Hobi, what’s the thing that stands out to you most about Christmas?”
“Hmm…that’s a good question, Hyung. I think the way Christmas smells. Like everything smells like cinnamon and pine and like baked things.”
Yoongi just nodded and jotted down some notes down about smells of cinnamon and pine. Somehow, he just felt like he needed to include a piece of all his brothers to make this Christmas song the best it could be. They broke off into their own studios after parking the car and agreed to leave around 4:30 that afternoon. He instantly pulled up computer and added to the track he’d begun the night before and was so in the zone he didn’t realize that someone had knocked on his door until Jimin touched his arm and Yoongi nearly jumped out of his skin.
“I’m so sorry, Hyung! I just wanted to bring you lunch. Jungkookie sent you lamb skewers.”
“It’s okay, Minnie. I just didn’t hear you come in. Thank you for bringing me lunch.”
They chatted for a few minutes and Yoongi asked Jimin to stay and have lunch with him. Jimin chattered a bit about the dance that he and Jungkook had been practicing to tape for ARMY. After they had finished, Jimin had his hand on the doorknob and was about to leave to go back to the practice room when Yoongi stopped him.
“Before you go, Minnie, I have a question. What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Christmas?”
“I love to give presents. That’s my favorite. I love picking the perfect thing for someone and seeing them light up like a firefly when it’s the exact thing they wanted. I love that.”
Light up like a firefly got added to his list of notes for the Christmas songs. That was an interesting visual for a Christmas song. Yoongi cleaned up a bit after lunch before jumping back into the track. He was at a bit of a standstill on the beat when Namjoon strolled in.
“Hey, Joonie. Can you take a listen to this and see what’s missing? I’m writing a Christmas song.”
Namjoon put on the headphones and gave the track a listen. “I really like it, Yoongi-hyung. What if you added a bit of trumpet in the background?”
“That might be perfect. I didn’t want to add bells because that seems like it’s too cliché.”
“A trumpet might add a bit of atmosphere.”
“Thanks, Namjoonie. What is your favorite part of Christmas?”
“Honestly, I love the decorations. The lights and the tree and even the mistletoe. There is just something so aesthetically pleasing about it and it makes me so nostalgic.”
Yoongi added some notes about aesthetics and light to his notebook. He was starting to see some of the lyrics come together. And Namjoon was right. The trumpet rounded out the dull edges of the track perfectly and gave a bit of a Christmas flair without a bunch of bells. He saved the track and shut down his computer since it was time to meet Hoseok to go home.
When they got back to their flat, Yoongi curled up on the sofa beside Taehyung. Taehyung was curled up against one arm of the couch playing a game on his phone with Tannie in his lap. When Yoongi sat down, the little ball of fluff jumped out of Taehyung’s lap to come nose at Yoongi.
“Hi, Tan-ah. Did you miss hyung while he was away?” Yoongi baby talked to the little dog as he gently scratched his ears.
“Did you write something fun today, Yoongi-hyung?” Taehyung asked, smiling softly at his interactions with Yeontan.
“I’ve actually been writing a Christmas song. I got tired of hearing ‘Last Christmas’ over and over again,” Yoongi admitted.
Taehyung laughed heartily at that. “Well, I’m glad that we were helpful.”
“TaeTae, what do you like the best about Christmas?”
“That’s easy. I love watching my younger siblings and how in awe they are of the season and how excited they get about the presents. Their excitement makes the entire holiday worth celebrating. Just the way their eyes light up at everything.”
Yoongi just nodded and added a new note to his notebook. He jotted about the light in babies’ eyes near his note from his conversation with Jimin.
Before he could delve any further into the potential lyrics, he heard Jungkook call down the hall. “Hyung?”
“What?” he, Taehyung, Hoseok, and Jin all replied from varying parts of the flat.
“Oh. I meant Yoongi-hyung,” Jungkook replied.
Yoongi got up and immediately went back to Jungkook’s room.
“Did Jimin-hyung bring you the lamb skewers at lunch?” he asked.
“He did. He stayed and ate with me in the Genius Lab. Why didn’t you come bring them? Jiminie said you bought them for me.”
“I had planned on it, but Adora-noona asked me to come help her lay down a demo track for a new song she’s writing.”
Yoongi nodded and hugged Jungkook. “That’s okay, Jungkookie. You and I will just have to go out for lamb skewers soon.” Yoongi paused, looking at Jungkook’s shy smile, before adding, “Kookie, what says Christmas to you?”
Jungkook thought for a second before replying. “That’s easy, Hyung. It’s love. Everyone shares so much love near that time of year. Families spend time together, people donate to charities and to people who need help, and I get to spend time with all the people I love.”
While it wasn’t the answer Yoongi expected, he realized that Jungkook and his answer linked all the other parts of the song together. He sat down on the end of Jungkook’s bed and wrote the entire set of lyrics for the song within about 15 minutes.
The next morning, Yoongi got up early and headed to the studio. He laid a demo track of him rapping the verses and doing a basic version of the singing part of the chorus and bridge. He actually was there two hours before they had a dance practice session, so he saved the demo to his laptop and headed to the practice room. The others came in, some of them still a bit sleepy, but they all perked up at seeing Yoongi standing in the middle of the room with his laptop open.
“I wrote a Christmas song, and you all inspired it. Want to be the first ones to hear it?” he asked gently.
They all nodded, and he pressed play on his laptop. The soft and happy expression son their faces as they each heard the lyrics that were inspired by their favorite parts of Christmas. In that moment, Yoongi completely understood what Jimin had meant by watching the people he loved light up like a firefly as he watched each of them light up in their own ways. It made the song that much better to him that they loved it so much. And if you asked any of them, they would all say that Yoongi’s Christmas Carol was definitely better than “Last Christmas” because his heart was painted all over it.
