❅ First Love ❅

Almost five years had passed. Jongdae rested back against the dull grass of late November. He watched the clouds floating overhead and curled in on himself as a familiar, chilly gust of wind washed over him. He recognized the soft feeling of the freezing air against his face immediately.

“I missed you,” he whispered, eyes closed and hands stretching out into the grass.

“I missed you too.”

“I thought I’d never see you again.”

“I came, but you were never here…”

“I was at the university campus,” Jongdae blinked slowly and opened his eyes to look up at the blue ones staring back at him, “I’m glad you’re here now.”

Minseok’s cheeks paled pink, barely noticeable against his snowy complexion, “I’m glad I’m here too…”

“You still never told me,” Jongdae said propping himself up on his elbows as Minseok joined his side, “why it is that you have these powers? And why it is that I can see you?”

Minseok closed his eyes and let a cold wind wrap around him like a protective blanket, “I’m cursed. Until I can thaw my frozen heart.”

“But why?” Jongdae asked pressing his hand against the elder’s chest gently, “You’re so warm to me…”

“I’ll tell you a story,” he whispered as he rested his hand over the younger’s.

❅❅❅

Have you ever met someone with a cold personality? You know the type. A person who takes no pleasure in people's company, won't respond to anyone who talks to them, brushes past those in their way without so much of an apology. Those people are so cold that their hearts are practically frozen over. So cold that they may as well be ice.

Minseok was one of those people many years ago, born as cold as they come.

But, one day, he was a little too cold to the wrong person.

It was the day of the first frost.

Minseok closed his coffee shop with a click of his key in the lock. He turned, drawing his coat’s collar close to him as a chilly breeze brushed over him. Before he could start down the street, a soft noise caught his attention. It was unusual, for him to care, but it was late and the sound was of a small cry.

He turned and noticed a small boy, maybe three years old at the most, sitting on the streets. The boy was in tears and shivering under the light of a streetlamp. He looked up with tear-filled eyes and at the man in his long coat and suit. The boy reached out with a shaking hand before another gust of wind made him pull tighter in on himself. Minseok took in a sharp breath and looked away immediately. He had better things to be doing on a night like this than dealing with a tiny, lost child.

And so he walked away.

The wail that came from the boy’s mouth made him instantly regret his decision. He turned quickly before he had even made it to the end of the street to see the boy being yanked to his feet by a masked man. Minseok didn’t need to think twice before rushing to the small child’s aid.

“Stop!” Minseok yelled, but it was easily cut off by the knife the masked man carried.

Surprised by his own action, the masked man dropped his knife with jittery hands and dashed down the street. The small child’s sobs grew louder as he watched Minseok fall to his knees, a hand clutching at his side to try and stop the bleeding. It was all happening so fast and he felt an unnatural coldness filling his insides.

“Mister,” the boy sobbed, “Mister, are you okay?” the words were broken and incoherent through the heavy crying and childish speech, not that it mattered to Minseok, he was too busy thinking of his impending death.

“Get lost, kid,” Minseok spat, “If it weren’t for you,” he coughed, “If it weren’t for you…”

The boy watched with watery eyes as the man exhaled for the last time…

❅❅❅

When Jongdae was three years old, he went shopping with his Father. The businessman became easily distracted by important phone calls and e-mails. The man was so busy, in fact, he’d lost sight of his own son. The boy wandered down the sidewalks unaccompanied, enjoying the sweets shops and toy stores lining the streets of downtown. It wasn’t until it started to get late that the boy realized he was alone and that his Father was no where in sight.

The streets were lifeless. The frost was beginning to set on the ground and Jongdae was frightened.

The tears stung his eyes and fell down his cheeks heavily as he sat on the sidewalk, feet stretched before himself. He sniffled, trying to be a big boy, trying to be a grownup like his dad always told him to be, but it was dark. He missed his comfy bed. He missed his little nightlight. And, most of all, he missed his pink, stuffed dinosaur, Chen.

A door cracked open, a small bell above it jingling as it did. A man walked out, a long coat on him as he locked the door to a small shop. The boy looked up at him with tears in his eyes and lump in his throat. He didn’t want to be alone anymore. With one small hand he reached out towards the man, but an icy cold wind blew about him. He drew his legs up to his chest and cried harder as he watched the man walk away from the corner of his eyes.

“Little babe,” a menacing voice cooed, “what are you doing out here all alone?”

The boy looked up at the masked man, “I’m lost…”

“Let me take you somewhere safe instead,” the man grinned wickedly as he grabbed at the boy’s arm, pulling a knife from his coat, “This won’t hurt a bit, baby boy.”

Jongdae screamed.

❅❅❅

Minseok woke up on the ground, feeling pleasantly cold. He blinked up at the sky and felt a rush of wind against his face. It made a shiver run down his spine and he sighed in contentment. He had never felt so good to be so cold.

He sat up, fingers feeling the grass beneath him become frosty and white by the touch. He stared in shock at the sensation of frost coming from his fingertips. Something was wrong here.

He quickly looked down and noticed that the stab wound was gone. Panicked, he thought that maybe, for a moment, that he was dead.

“Feeling alright?” came a gruff voice, “You were almost dead when I found you.”

Minseok blinked and looked up into pale eyes, “Who are you?” he croaked.

“I am Winter,” the man spoke, “And you are now Frost.”

“What?” Minseok furrowed his brows as he tried to understand what was being said to him and what had happened.

“You were always so cold-hearted, Minseok. Doesn’t it seem fitting?”

“Why am I not dead?!”

“Consider this your punishment for not saving that little boy the first time he cried for help.”

“What do you mean?!”

“I meant exactly what I said. You’re being punished for always having been so cold to people.”

“I don’t want this!”

“I know,” the man grinned, “But the only way you can save yourself is if you unthaw that heart of yours.”

“How?”

“That’s for you to find out, Minseok. Good luck.”

The man disappeared with the start of a snowfall.

❅❅❅

“I was there…” Jongdae breathed in astonishment, “Is that why I can see you?”

Minseok nodded, “I’m so sorry,”

“Why?”

“I left you for dead on the streets at night,” Minseok choked on his words in his attempt to hold back his tears, “I can’t ask you to help save me, I can’t ask you to forgive me…”

“Oh, Minseok,” Jongdae rolled onto his side and pressed his lips against the elder’s in a soft kiss.

Minseok sighed in bliss, feeling his heart slowly warming.

“What happened in the past is past,” Jongdae breathed against now warm lips, “I love you regardless of who you were then. I’m in love with the you now.”

“I love you too…” The man whispered, lips finding Jongdae’s once more.

The frost covering Minseok’s heart melted…

Winter would be late this year.

❅❅❅

"Daddy?" A small boy with blonde locks crawled up into the couch his Father was sitting on.

The man looked up from his newspaper, "Yes, Taozi?"

"How... Um," the small boy squirmed onto his dad's lap, "How did you meet Daddy?"

The man's cheeks tinted light pink, "That's a long story, sweetheart." He said folding up his newspaper and laying it to the side.

"Can you tell me?"

"Of course," the man smiled and threaded his fingers through the boy's hair, "I was about your age when we met. It was during the first frost..."

I am so sorry for this ending. It lacks in so many ways and it was terribly rushed. I haven't even edited it. Maybe I will find some time in the future to, but for now it is after 1am and I have to wake up in 6 hours for work... Ah. If you like Xiumin and you like fluffy stories, to make up for this disappointment, please check out my fairytale Baozi & The Beast ^^; Thank you for reading! xo, TadaChi