Jungkook knew she hated flowers because of her pollen allergy, so instead of a gargantuan bouquet of roses like he wanted, he bought her Red Aglaonema instead.  It may not have been the best choice, but he thought that the bold crimson on the leaves represented her audaciousness and his affection more than anything else in the flower shop.  She didn’t like chocolate either, so after almost an hour of speculation, he bought her a package of her favorite caramel creams.

When Jungkook’s friends called him for the fifteenth time that afternoon, he ignored the ringing of his phone and let it go to voicemail.  Clearly, they had forgotten what day it was and why Jungkook was gone.  He wasn’t surprised when Susie called for the third time in twenty minutes, either.  Jungkook had neglected telling her where he was going because he knew Susie might leave him, just like she had.

Her last goodbye had abrupt and he’d been unable to make sense of it for months.  When she’d said her last goodbye to him, her fingers had been cold and Jungkook told himself it was because they were standing in the middle of a snowstorm.  The cold had taken her and made her it’s queen that day, with snow in her hair and frozen flakes sticking to her long eyelashes.  The ice had built up on her coat and he could only imagine that her body must have been drenched and frozen underneath the layers.

Just like her name implied, Hwa Jae had always been warm and bright like the flame she was called after.  At work, Jungkook watched the clock like a hawk and when he got home, he always had a fire to curl up next to and it never burned him no matter how close he got.  She had always been there for him, just like he was there for her.  Unfortunately, Jungkook would never be like this with Susie.  No one would ever again come close to Hwa Jae’s level, especially not Susie.  Year after year, she kept him coming back.  Though he knew that every flame had to go out sometime, he just wished that it hadn’t been so incredibly soon for them.  For her.

He could see her from where he was now, the crowd never taking away from her location.  She couldn’t hide from him, not here.  When he got close, he whispered her name, Hwa Jae.  He knew she could hear him since the crowd, like the world around them, was silent.  When they were facing each other, Jungkook’s frozen mouth curved into a grin.  He set the gifts at her feet and lowered himself onto his knees to get to her level his lips managing to whisper Do you like them?  He wiped the still remaining snow off of her, pushing it onto the crowd of cold, quiet figures around them.  It was impossible for them to complain about the cold, just as it was impossible for her but he still tried to warm her.

He sat close to her, touching her in anyway he could since she couldn’t move.  If Jungkook tried hard enough, he could almost feel the warmth and joy coming back to her.  He could almost feel the fire starting beneath his feet and color flushing in her cheeks.  He hated even the thought of her with pale, sickly skin and cold hands.  With a heavy breath, he pulled open one of the packages of candy to snack on while they sat together in comfortable silence.

“I brought your favourite.”  Jungkook offered her a piece but she made no move to take a piece so he put one in front of her for later, “I really miss you, you know...  You always told me that I could do it without you, that I could move on...  I don’t think I can, Hwa Jae.  I still have to see you, even if it’s like this.  I keep thinking of you when I’m with Susie.”  Jungkook looked up at her, tears glistening in his eyes, “I still have the scars from the accident, you know when you...  I thought they might have faded by now but they haven’t.  They still hurt when it gets cold.  It’s their anniversary too, I guess.  It’s not over for me, I still wish we were together.  I... I at least want to hold you one last time.  I still love you, I’ll always love you.  God, Hwa Jae, say something!”  The boy practically screamed at the silent girl, but she made no move to look at him.

That’s when he knew that he would always be alone.  She wasn’t coming back.  Hwa Jae was gone for good, and the frozen stone was all that was left.