Day Four - Ice ft. Jonghyun and Minho

Jonghyun shivered as he left his apartment building. The morning air was crisp and cold. Jonghyun threw his hood over his head and sped through crowds of people. Despite being a Saturday morning, the streets of Seoul were still bustling with activity. Jonghyun had to squeeze past some passers-by and made his way towards the canal for his morning jog.

He stretched and did his warm-ups. It has become a routine for him now, to jog every Saturday morning. It feels empty to jog alone, but Jonghyun forced himself to get used to it. He plugged in his earpieces and commenced his jog. As he jogged along the canal, the cold air attacked him mercilessly. ‘It’s getting colder,’ he thought. ‘It’s winter again.’

After 30 minutes, he reached the end of the canal. He wiped off his sweat and strolled towards the bus stop. As he did so, he scanned his surroundings. The canal was connected to a small park. The park was one of his favourite places to go to. It was serene and it had a small cozy café in it. However, it was no longer the case. The park contained too much sorrowful memories for him to handle. Yet, he would walk by the park every time he did his morning exercise. It was to remind him of the reason why he was alone. Hastily, he made his way to the bus stop and took the bus home.

Once he stepped into the comfort of his own house, he sped into his room. He tossed his keys onto his table and changed out of his clothes. Just as he was about to throw a dark blue sweatshirt over his head, his sister came barging into the room. Jonghyun shot a look at her before quickly pulling the shirt over his well-toned body.

“How many times have I told you noona?” He asked, annoyance apparent in his voice. Despite that, he could not bring himself to be angry at his sister. He loved her too much; she was his only relative left. Well, in his heart at least.

“It’s not like I’ve not seen your body before,” she replied cheekily, poking her brother’s abs. Sodam was 2 years older than Jonghyun, yet she could pass as a high school student any day. Her large eyes and petite size made her look youthful and adorable. Her fair skin contrasted that of her brother’s slightly tanned one. Her hair was long and straight, and she looked like an angel.

“Anyways,” she started. “Did you go out to jog again?” Sodam was concerned. She knew of her brother’s motives. He went there every week to remind himself of the incident that happened 2 years ago. She had always tried to convince Jonghyun to stop, but to no avail. He was far too stubborn to listen to anyone.

Jonghyun excused himself and went to the kitchen. He did not like to talk about this at all. He wanted to live his life the way it is. Jonghyun almost choked on his water when he heard what his sister said next.

“Jjong ah. I want to settle this once and for all. Let’s go to Incheon. Let’s go visit him.” She said firmly. She was fed up seeing her brother living his life like a living corpse. It was an accident he could not prevent, yet Jonghyun always took the blame of what had happened. Jonghyun too was fed up with his life, yet he was afraid to change the way things are working now. However, seeing his sister’s sad eyes staring back into his, he decided to give in. He knew how much is sister loved him. Throughout the two years, she was always by his side. Whenever he needed comfort, Sodam would be there for him. He looked into her pleading eyes and sighed. Jonghyun was so blinded by himself, he failed to see what his sister has went through because of his selfishness. Jonghyun nodded and agreed to his sister’s request.

Two days later, Sodam drove Jonghyun to their destination. After an hour, they arrived at an old apartment building in the quiet areas of Seoul. Jonghyun got out of the car with little energy. He scanned the surroundings. Nothing much has changed, with only two new shops opened nearby. Sodam told him to just take a walk and call her when he’s done. With that, she drove off, leaving her brother behind. Jonghyun stuffed his hands into his pockets and made his way up the building.

When he finally reached the fifth floor, Jonghyun dragged his feet towards an apartment unit. Tears rimmed his puppy like eyes as he pulled himself closer to the door. He raised his fist to knock the door, but he was unable to bring himself to do it. He did not know what to expect. he could even lay a knuckle on the door, it swung open. At the doorway stood a girl with fair skin and long hair. Sulli. His friend’s sister. She was surprised at Jonghyun’s sudden visit, but allowed him into the house anyways. She served him a cup of tea and looked at him quizzically. She used her hands to sign ‘What are you doing here?’ Jonghyun almost forgot that she was mute. He patted her head like before, and memories started gushing back. He explained that he wanted to come back after so long, relieving memories of the past. Sulli nodded and signed again. ‘I would like to visit my brother today. Wanna come?’ Jonghyun nodded slowly, hands trembling at the suggestion. Sulli pointed to a room, one that Jonghyun was so familiar with. He understood what she wanted and stood up.

Upon entering the room, it felt like it was 2 years ago. Everything was kept the way things were, thanks to Sulli. Jonghyun limply walked towards the bed and sat down. Tears started flowing uncontrollably and he allowed all the painful and happy memories of him and his friend, Minho, to flood his mind.

Minho and Jonghyun were friends since they were in high school. Minho’s family decided to move from Incheon to Seoul so that Minho could complete his education in a better environment. On the first day of school, Minho met Jonghyun. Everyone was in awe at how gorgeous Minho looked, including Jonghyun. Minho had large round eyes that were icy cold yet ablaze with fire at the same time. He was tall, standing at about 178cm tall at that time. Minho had well toned arm muscles and a broad chest. Anyone with common sense would know that Minho was athletic. He looked like a model straight out of a fashion magazine.

“Hello. I’m Minho. It’s nice to meet you all.” Minho said as he introduced himself to the class before sitting down. Jonghyun stared at the cold boy two seats away from him. ‘What a cool guy,’ he thought. When it was Jonghyun’s turn to introduce himself, he stood up confidently and announced his full name. “I am very happy to see all of you! Let’s be great friends alright?” He had more in store, but seeing how cool Minho was, he decided to end his introduction here.

As days went by, Jonghyun found out more and more about Minho. He was excellent at basketball and football, and he was almost perfect at every other sport. Minho was great at his language, but the rest of his subjects were either below average or average. Jonghyun on the other hand was excellent in language and his humanities subjects. The two never exchanged words until one day, their teacher decided to pair them up for a literature project.

Jonghyun and Minho started to get close because of that. Jonghyun had an outgoing character, which was helpful since Minho is more reserved. Jonghyun learned that Minho’s dream was to become a soccer player and play in the Olympics. He had always admired all the players and athletes and wished that one day, he would be part of them. Jonghyun said that he wanted to become a singer, but his parents were against it. Like any parent, they would want their children to have a stable job and a stable life. But what’s fun in that right?

They talked a little before Jonghyun suddenly said, “You know, you remind me of Ice.” This was met by silence and Jonghyun quickly added, “No, I mean that you’re so cold and quiet you’re like some kind of ice man.” Minho chuckled a little and said that Jonghyun reminded him of a lost puppy. They laughed and that was how their story began. It was the story of 'Ice Man' and 'Puppy Kim'.

After the project, Minho and Jonghyun became closer to one another. Once, Jonghyun asked Minho what he did to become so fit, and the latter replied, “I jog every week. It builds up your stamina as well as leg muscles. Jogging in the morning was the best.” Minho is always providing detailed answers when Jonghyun asked sports or health related question. He even once joked that if Minho could not become a professional soccer player, he could become a gym instructor, given his knowledge. Slowly, Jonghyun too started to follow Minho to his jogging routine. Jonghyun became sportier after meeting Minho. Often, the two would meet up at the basketball court near the school and have a match of basketball into the night.

It was that one night that changed everything. Minho texted Jonghyun to meet up at the park near the canal and he waited there patiently. Patience was one of the many traits that Jonghyun admired about Minho. Jonghyun came jogging along, eager to see his friend. However, the news that Minho wanted to deliver was not what Jonghyun wanted to hear.

“I finally got into the national team for soccer. I might have to transfer schools because of that. I figured you ought to know.” Minho said carefully. He tried his best to pick the right words, knowing how sensitive his puppy looking friend was. Jonghyun was shocked at the news. He did not know how to respond to it. All the time in school, Jonghyun only had Minho to go to. He was friendly with other classmates, but he always looked for Minho as they have a sort of connection that no other have. Now, his precious friend was leaving him for soccer. Jonghyun knew that soccer was his dream, but at that point in time he was confused.

Suddenly they heard footsteps. The two turned to look and saw an approaching gang. It consisted of about 7 people whom were in their mid-twenties to mid-thirties. The gang smirked at the two and they knew that trouble was brewing. They tried to escape, but the gangsters had caught up to them.

“You’re in our territory. Don’t you just run away like that.” One of the people said. Jonghyun gently brushed the gangster’s hand away and took a step back. The gangsters seemed to be drunk as they reeked of alcohol. The gangsters shot them looks and Minho and Jonghyun knew that this would end up in a fight. They’ve heard of fight cases in this park because of these gangsters.

A guy pushed Jonghyun onto the ground and laughed. “Look at these students!” The whole gang laughed. Jonghyun, who was easily angered, threw a punch into the gangster’s face. With that, a fight commenced. Minho was swift with his movements as he fought off the gangsters. Every punch and kick was critical, as if he had fought many times before. Jonghyun too, was able to dodge attacks well. However, one gangster in his mid-twenties snuck up on Jonghyun and tackled him to the ground. Minho saw the situation and was distracted. The gang leader took the chance to attack Minho. He smashed Minho’s head at a lamppost and Minho groaned. In his giddy state, Minho was vulnerable to attacks. Jonghyun managed to fight off the guy that kept him distracted. One of the gang members saw a brick nearby and took it. Having being badly beat up by Minho, he wanted revenge. He showed a devilish smirk and charged at Minho. Jonghyun saw it and immediately alerted his comrade. However, it was too late. The gangster smashed the brick right at the back of Minho’s head and the latter fell to the ground.

“STOP! POLICE!” A voice roared from a few meters away. The gangsters scattered off, but 5 of them were still caught by the police that were patrolling the area. One of the policemen called for an ambulance and Jonghyun quickly crawled towards his unconscious friend. He held Minho in his arms and tears poured from his eyes. Jonghyun realized what he had done: indirectly caused unwanted harm to his dearest friend. He cried loudly, begging Minho to open his cold fiery eyes and slap him in the face saying, “I’m alright you idiot.”

When they arrived at the hospital, Minho started to regain consciousness. He took off his necklace that miraculously still hung around his neck and passed it to Jonghyun. He instructed Jonghyun to take care of that necklace before he was wheeled into the operation room. Jonghyun leaned against the hospital wall and started crying. He rejected offers made by the nurses to tend to his wounds. He wanted to feel the pain. He wanted to torture himself with the pain. He prayed and prayed for Minho’s survival, but his prayers went unheard. After 4 hours, the doctor came out and removed his mask. Jonghyun stared at the doctor with pleading eyes, and the doctor merely shook his head. Jonghyun dropped onto the ground, just as Minho’s sister and mother arrived at the scene. Mrs. Choi almost fainted and Sulli helped support her mother. She was at loss of words, mentally and physically.

Mrs. Choi hated Jonghyun for a while, but understood why her son had protected Jonghyun so much. He was a nice guy at heart. She realized after a while that Jonghyun was tormenting himself after the incident so that he could make up to the Choi family and Minho. She forgave Jonghyun a year after her son’s death, knowing that Jonghyun had find ways and means to keep him from being happy again. He disallowed himself to be happy ever since. It hurt her heart as a mother to see a child that was her son’s friend tormenting himself this way.

Jonghyun stared emptily into space as he sat on Minho’s bed recalling the past. He smiled as he thought of all those times they fought over little stuff, like who eats the last piece of spicy rice cake and who lost in an arm wrestle. Sulli knocked on the door gently and smiled. She signaled that it was time to go and Jonghyun stood up with shaky legs. It has been two years since he had stepped into the graveyard. He was scared, but he had to face it.

Upon reaching Minho’s grave, Jonghyun took his time in cleaning the tombstone. He cried as he apologized profusely for not visiting the past 2 years as he was busy with himself, busy with trying to make up for everything that he had caused. Sulli stood there biting her lips as tears formed two cascades under her eyes.

As he apologized again and again, a cool gentle breeze blew. Jonghyun scoffed. “It’s you isn’t it? Stupid giant, you stupid icy giant.”

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Woah. I did not intend for it to be this long. O____O This was intended for my friend Brey since she helped me with the MinStal chapter(: The crazy JongHo shipper haha :D

It was really crazy how I came up with 5 pages of words on Microsoft in one and a half hours. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed reading this. ^^ I cried a little at the end as I typed it out. I don't know why but... I just felt my nose sting and my tears starting to form. I had to end it before I become a crying mess. I know this has little relevance to the title 'Ice', I tried my best. Tutorials whacked the best of me away. THANK GOODNESS TOMORROW IS THE EVE OF CHINESE NEW YEAR YESSS~

Thanks for reading! ♥