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Valentine’s Day.   It was usually a non-holiday.  Beyond the hearts they always gave to ARMY, of course.   But this year it felt especially underappreciated.  Who would have believed that they would spend a whole year in quarantine?  And they were still isolated from the rest of the world.

It was so depressing.  Still.

Hadn’t they waited patiently enough over all the months stuck inside their living quarters?  Shouldn’t something have given by now?  When would life return to normal?  Would it ever?

Jin sighed as he visited the mailroom.

“Jin!  I’m so glad you stopped by.  Something special arrived for you and the other boys,” the head of the mailroom informed him as he stepped inside.  

“Oh?  I was just going to ask if you could mail this letter to my parents.  But I’ll take the package.”  He glanced eagerly at the box.  And grinned as he reached out to receive it.

Where on earth had they found a cardboard box in the shape of a heart?  And a purple one, to boot?

He examined it carefully as he tipped it from side to side and then upside down.  Then he glanced up at the gentleman.  “Are you sure that it’s safe for us to open?”  He furrowed his brow.  “Don’t you usually open everything first?”

“We do.  But I know where this came from.  It’s safe.”

Jin quirked a dark eyebrow.  “Where did it come from?”

“Well, now, if I answered that, I’d be ruining the surprise.  Now wouldn’t I?”

Jin shook his head and chuckled.  “All right, all right.  I take it that I should wait to open it until all the guys are with me.”

“Yep.”

Jin stared down curiously at that purple heart as he carried it back to the common room where he and his friends spent a good portion of their time hanging out together these days.  He set the box down on the table between the couches.  Then he went to round everyone up.  He wanted to open that box.  Right now.

He rapped on Jungkook’s door.  

“Jungkookie?”

“He’s not in there,” Jimin murmured from behind him.

“Where is he?”

“I have no idea.”  With a shrug of his shoulders, Jimin spun around and headed for the kitchen.

Jin frowned.  “Then how did you know he wasn’t in his room?”

“Because I just looked in there.  I thought he wanted to grab a bite to eat with me.  We were going to order some fried chicken.”

“Count me in!” Jin exclaimed as a huge grin crowned his face in delight.

Jimin laughed.  “Okay.  At this rate, I may have to order it without Jungkookie.”

“No way!” came an indignant voice from behind him.  “You promised me fried chicken today, Jiminie.”

Jimin swung around to chuckle in Jungkook’s face.  “It’s your own fault for disappearing.”

“Can a guy not use the bathroom?” he countered.

“Oh.”  Jimin’s face fell.

“So, are we going to order that chicken already?” Jungkook demanded.  “I’m starving.”

On point, his stomach growled loudly.

Jin and Jimin both glanced at it in mock consternation, and Jungkook guffawed. 

“Okay,” Jimin murmured. 

“Don’t you think we should ask the other guys if they want some too?” Jin queried.

Jungkook nodded.  He wandered down the hall towards Tae’s room. 

“Hey, Tae, you want some chicken?” he quizzed his friend as he leaned against the doorpost to his room.

“Fried chicken?” Tae clarified.

“Fried chicken?” Hobi stuck his head into the hallway.  “Did someone mention fried chicken?  Where is it?  I’m hungry!”

Jungkook laughed.  “I guess that’s one more for fried chicken.”

“No,” Tae shook his head.  “That’s two more.”

“Mm-nmm,” Namjoon intoned as he walked down the hallway, “it’s four more.  You know that Yoongi loves fried chicken.  And so do I.  Where are we ordering it from?”

A few minutes later, they had all agreed on their favorite fried chicken spot, and Jimin had placed the order.  He ended the phone call and turned to beam at his friends.  “It’ll be here in less than half an hour.”

“Half an hour!” moaned Jungkook.  “But I’m starving now.”  Again, his stomach seemed to feel that it needed to support his violent assertion.

Everyone laughed.  Except Yoongi.  He was still missing.

They all walked into the common room to flop down on the couches and wait for their lunch.  Jungkook prayed that wait wouldn’t be as interminable as it seemed.

“I have something that will distract you from your noisy stomach, Jungkookie,” Jin averred.

“What’s that?” Jungkook asked at the same time that Tae murmured the same question.

Jin glanced at Tae and saw him pointing at the purple heart box.  He grinned at his young friend.  “That is a gift for all of us.”

“A valentine?” queried Hobi.

“It sure looks like one,” Namjoon grinned, releasing the power of his dimples upon the group.  Of course, not being ARMY, and being used to hanging out with him, none of the boys even noticed the glory of those two tiny wells.

“Where did it come from?” asked Jimin.

“I don’t know,” replied Jin.

“Well, let’s open it!” exclaimed Tae.  “What are we waiting for?”

“Yoongi,” mumbled Jungkook.

“You called, little one?”

Jungkook glanced up at his hyung as Yoongi entered the room.  He smiled at his older friend.  “We got a package.  For Valentine’s Day.”

Jin held the purple box out so everyone could see it.

“Open it,” Yoongi commanded softly.

Jin didn’t need to be told twice.  Except…

“It’s sealed shut.  Can somebody grab a pair of scissors?”

Hobi ran to get some.  A moment later, Jin was carefully cutting a slit in the tape that had sealed the lid to the box.  Finally freeing it from its bounds, Jin lifted the lid from the box.

All seven boys peered down inside the heart.  And grinned as they saw the pile of valentine hearts awaiting their perusal.

“What’s this?” Tae murmured.

“Let’s find out,” Jimin suggested.

They each reached into the box and pulled out a small pile of valentines.  One by one, they read them aloud.  All the love an ARMY could send to her beloved Bangtan Boys.

“Who are these from?” Namjoon asked.

Everyone shrugged.  Each paper heart had been signed by a different girl, but the names were unfamiliar.  So they kept reading the cards.  The boys made their way through the whole box, one valentine at a time.  Finally, Jungkook reached into the bottom of the box and unearthed a letter.  He began to read it.

“Dear Jin, Yoongi, Hobi, Namjoon, Jimin, Tae, and Jungkook,” it began.

“Happy Valentine’s Day!  We miss you and we love you.  So we decided to get as many ARMYs as we personally know together to wish you all a wonderful Valentine’s Day.  We hope you feel the love of all your fans from around the world – and here at home. 

“We know that the last year has been a hard one.  And we figured that the same thing that’s kept us going is keeping you all going too.  Love.  The love of family.  And friends.  And ARMY.

“We’re sending you another gift.  It should be on its way soon.  We love you.  We purple you.  And so does ARMY.  From here at home.  And all over the world.”

It was signed by the sisters of Namjoon, Hobi, and Tae.

They all stared in wonder at each other.

“They coordinated this together?” the boys were all impressed.

“Did you know that your sister keeps in touch with mine?” Namjoon asked Hobi.

The older man shook his head.

Tae murmured, “I wondered why my sister wanted your sister’s phone number, Namjoon.”

They all grinned widely.  And glanced back down at the plethora of well wishes they’d been given.

“We might not have girlfriends.  But we have a lot of girl friends,” Jimin mumbled.

The boys laughed good-naturedly.

“I wonder what the present is,” Jungkook muttered.  “I hope it’s edible.”

For a third time, his stomach made itself known.  And everybody teased him again.

Five minutes later, the doorbell rang.

“Please tell me that’s our chicken,” Jungkook moaned.

“Nope,” Jin responded as he opened the door.  He accepted the large, white box that one of their staff members handed him.  Then he carried over to the table before lifting the lid.

Everyone gasped in happy surprise.  But no one was as overjoyed as Jungkook as he gazed down at the beautiful purple heart cupcakes lining the bottom of that fancy bakery box. 

“Oh, my goodness!  ARMY really does love me!  They know the way to my heart is through my stomach!”  He reached into the box and withdrew a cupcake.  It met its demise in his mouth a moment later.

The other six followed suit and were soon enjoying their sweet salutations from both family members and ARMY alike.

“Well,” Jin grinned as he enjoyed a huge mouthful of his favorite cake, “ARMY did not disappoint us.  Our girl friends gave us chocolate for Valentine’s Day after all.”

Smiles wreathed seven faces as they demolished those sweet treats.  Their stomachs were soon full of sugar.  But not as full as their hearts were.  They had to agree.  Being loved was the best life had to offer.  Better than top spots on the HOT 100 chart.  Greater than performing live on a variety of talk shows.  Even better than dozens of music awards.

Nothing could compete with the joy found in being accepted by those they adored.

And isn’t that what Valentine’s Day is all about?

The greatest of these is…love.