Sungjong may be unresponsive, but he isn’t rude. He may never respond, but he always listens. He learns a lot this way. Today he learns about Myungsoo. For once, he hopes his manager can’t tell that he’s listening.

Myungsoo’s claim to fame comes from two fields and his transfer from one to the other. After all, most successful models don’t quit their jobs while they’re still successful and even fewer of those decide to become photographers. And of course, the icing on the cake was that Myungsoo was good at it; in fact, he was even more brilliant behind the camera than he was in front of it.

Sungjong doesn’t have to hide his surprise. With Myungsoo’s looks, there was no doubt he could be a model. It still doesn’t detract from the admiration Sungjong unconsciously holds towards Myungsoo. He denies that the admiration may have given way to attraction a while ago, but Sungjong denies a lot of things nowadays.

Sungjong allots himself a quarter of an hour to digest this information. By the end of the first minute, his thoughts have drifted from Myungsoo’s talent to his good looks and back again. The rest of the time passes in a similar fashion. When his allotted time is up, Sungjong is no more clear about his thoughts than when he started and he gives up the feat altogether in favor of following the floating snowflakes outside his window instead. He notes that even the coldest, most beautiful snowflake, becomes nothing more than water when it falls upon the warmer surface of his tinted windows.

Sungjong reminds himself that he is a good actor; he can pretend the snow will never melt.

When Myungsoo finally wraps his scarf around his neck and pushes the doors of the café open with an elegance that one can only be born with, the snowflakes have already increased their drizzle to a shower. He glides to his car, only to retract his steps and stroll around the café for a just a moment longer. He isn’t sure why until the snowflakes seep past his scarf and start melting against his heated skin. By the time he finally enters his car, his scarf is a slop of snow and his hair begins dripping as the collected snow begins to melt as well.

But Myungsoo knows that snow is simply frozen water, trying to make its way back to the ocean.

He savors the taste of melting snowflakes the entire drive home.

Myungsoo allows himself a warm shower and half a load of laundry, but he hangs up his scarf to air dry. He doesn’t pretend the machine will destroy it, or scapegoat his laziness. In fact, he has to stop himself from kissing the sentimental feelings almost tangible in that scarf, just like he has to stop himself from kissing the person it reminds him of.

But Myungsoo has always had restraint. And patience. In fact, he seems to have oceans of these wonderful traits many have to scrounge up drops of. It is a fact he knows, but does not act upon. He simply accepts it and swears to use his powers for good, before giving a dorky smile to whoever is willing to receive it and flying off to save the world with his super powers. Ah yes, childishness was another wonderful trait of his.

Myungsoo could only hope he had enough wonderfulness in him to win the right to court the angel that had charmed him.

But no matter how long the winter is, the sun will eventually melt even the coldest of the ice. Myungsoo is not sure how true this thought may be, but if this thought is a lie, it is the one lie that Myungsoo will allow himself to believe.

Sungjong wonders how many times he has lied to himself since meeting Myungsoo. Maybe three or four times, he thinks, and somewhere in the back of his mind a chibi-Sungjong adds another tally to a blackboard already coated in lines of chalk. After all, there isn’t much to lie about. The chibi adds another line.

He steps into the studio –the completely empty studio that had become so familiar after so many years of photoshoots. “Oh! Myungsoo!” There is shock in his voice, but the most shocking fact was that Sungjong didn’t bother to disguise it. “I didn’t expect to see you here!” The chibi adds yet another line.

For a moment, Sungjong contemplates feeling remorse for his newfound skill in lying –well, his newfound perfection of the skill –but when Myungsoo sends him that smile, and the ever familiar scarf brings color to more than just Sungjong’s neck, even the chibi in his mind dismisses this thought.

When Myungsoo pulls Sungjong into a hug “to ward off the cold,” Sungjong thinks, the chibi gives up on counting the tallies and begins drawing KM+LS inside of hearts instead.