Lee JuNa. Ice Princess, Lee JuNa. Dubbed “Miss. Frost”, JuNa was notorious for her emotionless stares and her cold attitude towards the student population of Kyung Han High. Being a girl of few words, she was a victim of assumptions, of generalizations, judgment, scrutiny – the list could go on. Lies were fabricated, created by bored students with too much time on their hands. And without knowing why, she was characterized.

            Cold.

            Conceited.

            Dismissive.

She was labeled, given a personality. Before others even tried to get to know her, they claimed to already “know” her. But, all they knew were the lies, the gossip – the Lee JuNa created by others.

            Although she wasn’t what others made her out to be, JuNa couldn’t deny that she was quiet. She couldn’t deny that she spoke little, that she didn’t give much of an opinion. She never provided her own input or interpretations, always keeping her thoughts to herself. Her silence only fueled the lies.

            Yet, there was a reason for her silence. It wasn’t because she wanted kept quiet or chose not to speak. No, there was more to it. As much as she wanted to speak up, she just couldn’t. Words, speech, thoughts, and analyses – she had them all. Rather, she was scared. She was scared of using them. She was scared of letting people into her head, to see the world her way. It made room for more judgment, not that she didn’t have any to begin with.

            Eventually, Lee JuNa became “Lee JuNa”. She became the person whom others believed she was. She closed herself off from society, choosing to conform to the personality created for her rather than convey her true self. She became the cold, conceited, dismissive girl everybody made her out to be.

            However, only one person knows her true self.

--

            “JuNa! Can I borrow your notes?”

Just ignore her…

            “JuNa, we have to complete the worksheet together. It’ll go by faster if you talk, you know…”

Just ignore him…

            “Look at her acting all high and mighty. Who does she think she is? The Queen? What a joke.”

            “I know, right? Whatever, she’s a loser anyway.”

Just ignore them all…

            JuNa walked through the halls, pushing past her peers with her head held high. She heard all the whispers and gossip, fully aware of what they thought of her. She just didn’t care anymore. They had called her cold hearted and told her she was an ice princess, so that was who she was going to be. Just for them.

            Student shuffled around her, all trying to get out of the school. Classes were finished for the day and everyone just wanted to go home and crawl into the comforts of their beds on the cold winter day. JuNa was no different. She wanted to get out of school and escape the scrutinizing and criticizing. She wanted to slip into her warm bed and just sleep the rest of the day. Fastening her coat, she pulled down her sleeves and tightened her scarf with a tug. Set to brave the frigid air, she stepped outside.

            It wasn’t snowing yet in Seoul, but the air was already icy and dry. Each breath felt sharp against the lungs, while cold air nipped at exposed skin, piercing the tender flesh like a thousand needles. JuNa shoved her ungloved hands deep into her jacket pocket and briskly walked through the courtyard towards the school gate, hoping to make the next bus. With her freedom just meters ahead, her eyes lit up for a split second, and in just that nanosecond moment, her happiness shone through her façade and illuminated her stoic demeanor. Too bad nobody paid attention to details.

            "There she goes."

            "Better not stand too close or she might give you frost bite. Yeow!" 

            Just ignore them, JuNa. Don't do anything stupid. Just ignore them, just ignore them, just ignore them...

            JuNa strode past the group of boys, her face void of emotions. She prayed they wouldn't follow her, but Lady Luck was not on her side.

            "Hey Miss. Frost, my buddies and I are going to hit up the arcade later. Wanna join us?" The group of boys snickered as a bold Casanova slyly slipped an arm around her waist. He smirked to his friends, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. "Such a pretty lady like you needs a handsome guy to hang onto. And would you look at that, I'm just the guy for the job!" A couple of the boys snorted while the others bit back their laughter. "So what do you say? You up for some fun?" he asked, pulling her body closer to him. 

            JuNa suddenly stopped walking and pushed his arm off her waist. She looked at him nonchalantly before shaking her head in blunt rejection. Wordlessly, she turned away and continued on to the school gates, not even giving the boy a second glance.

            “Hey! You can’t just walk away from me. Get back here!” the boy growled. He reached out for her arm, his fingertips just grazing her elbow. She jerked her arm away, turning to him with a cold glare.

            “Don’t touch me,” she uttered. Her voice sent shivers down his spine, but he shook it off. Retracting his hand, he put on a smirk and took a bold, threatening step towards her. She scoffed at him before spinning on her heels and walking off. She didn’t have time to play around with juvenile boys. There were other, more important things to do in her life, namely slumber.

            “Well, looks like I’m going to have to do this the hard way then,” he sighed, brushing back his hair in arrogance. Rubbing his hands together, he ran after her.

            JuNa heard heavy footsteps quickly approaching from behind. Before she could even register it the situation, someone shoved her to the side. She slipped on some ice, but managed to maintain her footing. Flustered, she whirled around just in time to catch a tall figure in a different school uniform shoving the boy to the ground. Bug eyed, her jaw dropped in surprise.

            “You okay, JuNa?” the tall figure asked. He flashed a cheeky grin and picked up his backpack. Giving the boy one last nudge to the leg, he jogged over to her with a wide smile and shining eyes. He stooped down next to her, picking up her fallen scarf and draping it back around her neck.

            “Sungyeol oppa, you shouldn’t have done that…” she mumbled, eyeing the fallen boy and shaking her head. Grabbing his hand, she dragged him hurriedly to the bus stop just in time to catch the bus before it pulled away. They squeezed through to the back, both having to stand since all of the seats were occupied. Sungyeol pushed her towards the chairs, letting her hold onto the lower pole while he held the higher. He stood behind her protectively, resting his hand on her shoulder as a stabilizer in case she lost balance.

            JuNa turned her head and looked at her boyfriend with a soft smile. A frown creased his forehead and she knew well what was bothering him. Stealthily, she pivoted in her spot, grabbing hold of the pole with her other hand, and stood facing Sungyeol.

            “Oppa, stop worrying or you’ll get more wrinkles,” she told him, wrapping her free arm around his waist. She felt him relaxing, his arm automatically enclosing her in a hug.

            “I can’t help it. Some guy was hitting on my girl,” Sungyeol sighed. He hugged her closer, an image of the boy running after her flashing through his mind’s eye. Anger coursed through his veins and he unconsciously growled. JuNa felt the vibrations on her cheek resting against his chest and chuckled quietly. She raised her head and blew cold air on his ear, easing him out of the anger zone.

            “Just forget about it, Oppa. Besides I could’ve handled the situation on my own, thank you very much.” She playfully stuck her tongue out at him and smiled as he raised an eyebrow at her.

            “Really? You could’ve handled it yourself? Puh-lease, I bet you would’ve shaken your head, made some obscure gestures, and then run off,” Sungyeol chortled. He ruffled her hair, cooing at her disgruntled pout. “Come on, JuNa, you know I’m right. As much as I don’t like it, I know you would’ve kept your tongue and stayed silent.”

            JuNa closed her eyes and leaned her forehead onto his chest. He’s right. I probably would’ve done exactly that. She let go of the bar and wrapped both of her arms around him. “I guess I should thank you for saving me then, huh?” she mumbled into his shirt. She felt his laugh and knew he was smiling down at her with warm eyes. He her hair, letting her know that he received her thanks.

            No words were exchanged; no words needed to be exchanged. Her message was conveyed clearly through her actions, and Sungyeol didn’t need help interpreting them. Their relationship was unique in that way, where neither had to say anything to know what the other is thinking. Preferences and dislikes, they knew everything about each other. What made them happy, sad, frustrated, and depressed – they knew it all.

            Sungyeol even knew of the one thing that would light up her smile and bring out the social butterfly from within. He knew what brought joy into her world, the one thing that would always make her happy no matter what. And just maybe, he could use it to his advantage and help her open up to those around her, to bring out the Lee JuNa he always knew and loved. Just maybe, he could help JuNa become Lee JuNa again.

Hello hello~~ So I decided to make this into a two shot because leaving it as one chapter would've made it a super long oneshot. Besides, splitting it into two chapters makes for more scenes and interactions ^^

Part two will be up in a few days, so keep an eye out for it!

-greenninjapanda GNP-