*Carolyn’s POV*

“Can we go out for ice cream for dessert?!” Taemin asked as we exited the restaurant.

“What about our sundae in the freezer?” I asked, linking arms with him.

“Well, I thought maybe everyone else might want ice cream too!” he smiled. “Plus that way we can just save our sundae for later!”

“You’re so silly,” I laughed, kissing him on the cheek.

I heard a gasp from somewhere and suddenly became conscious of all the people watching us. Some held pens and paper in their hands with uneasy looks on their faces, while others snapped pictures of us.

“You guys probably shouldn’t do that in public,” Onew whispered from behind us. “The media will take something as simple as a kiss and twist it into a huge lie.”

“Things are so different here than in America,” I sighed, slipping my arm out of Taemin’s. “Don’t people already know about your relationships with us?”

“Yes,” Jonghyun spoke up. “But SM doesn’t want us advertising it. They want to keep the female fan base alive and thriving.”

“Um, I don’t know if you’re done explaining about how you want to entice girls so they buy your music and you can steal their money, but I’m with Taemin on this one. We’re getting ice cream,” Nicole butted in.

“Excuse me?! Who do you think you are; queen of the world?” Jonghyun fired back.

“Yeah, you could say that,” she smirked. “Now Rudolph, please light the way to the ice parlor with your shiny hair,” she directed red haired Taemin.

“Hey,” Taemin pouted.

“Come on Tae, let’s just go,” I said, urging him on.

“I don’t look like Rudolph, do I?” he asked as we walked and the others followed behind us.

“No baby, don’t worry. You look really manly with it actually.”

He smiled at this and practically pranced the whole way to the shop, making him resemble his animal twin even more.

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*Rebecca’s POV*

Each boy ordered for their girlfriend, paying for them and everything. However, since Nicole was alone, Onew offered to pay for hers as well.

He’s such a gentleman. I sighed and looked at him dreamily.

“What would you like?” Onew asked her. That was another reason why the boys ordered for us; our Korean wasn’t the sharpest.

“I’d like a large bowl of chocolate soft serve with hot fudge, brownie chunks and extra chocolate sprinkles.”

Onew looked at her in surprise, then whispered to me, “Did I just hear her right?”

“Yes, you did. I’m a little surprised too, but I guess she just likes chocolate now,” I shrugged.

Onew placed her order and paid for our cold treats. We all headed outside with our ice cream and found two picnic tables off to the side, slightly separate from all the others, which we claimed. The outside patio area was decorated with beautiful hanging lights and multicolored lanterns. It made a very romantic and joyful scene. A warm breeze also joined us, adding the perfect touch to this beautiful night.

Annie, who was sitting on my right, eyed Nicole when she came over. She then leaned in and whispered to me, “Okay, the appearance change was a lot to take in. But how can someone who was a vegetarian concerned about her weight all the time turn into a chocolate loving freak? Doesn’t it look like she’s gained weight too?”

I really don’t like gossiping about people, but when I looked over at Nicole I noticed this was true.

“Maybe she turned into one of those people who don’t care about social status anymore and accepts people for who they are,” I suggested.

“Well she clearly doesn’t care about social status anymore, but I don’t know about the acceptance part. There’s just something weird about her. Maybe Vanessa attacked her and gave her a little bit of crazy,” Annie laughed.

I gave a weak laugh and shrugged, “Who knows.” I didn’t want to be mean to Nicole. I wanted to find out what was wrong with her. Seeing people like this always made me sad and I immediately wanted to help.

I’m going to get to the bottom of this. I just have to find a way to get her to trust me…