"So do you mind telling me why you're so upset?" Jongdae asked, cocking a brow as they waited for their ice cream. Minseok huffed, her head hung low in what seemed to be shame and distress. 

"I-- I just-- I'm--" 

Jongdae sighed, lifting his hand on impulse. He gently brushed her stray hairs away from her face, a serious expression on his face as Minseok struggled to find the right words. He was taken aback, though, when Minseok paused to glance at him and his hand curiously. "Ah-- um.." He pulled back his hand, letting it drop by his side awkwardly. Minseok simply grinned at him before brushing the leftover strands of hair away. 

Jongdae was in a trance. The way Minseok's plump lips stretched into that stunning grin (God, they must be soft), or how her eyes turned to beautiful crescents when she smiled, or her cheeks that were a soft pink hue against her milky skin... And goddamn, she smelt so good and heavenly. Just being around her made Jongdae feel so nervous. 

"One chocolate chip mint and one strawberry cone," the server behind the counter pulled Jongdae from his thoughts. 

"Oh, that's us!" Minseok beamed, skipping over to the counter. 

"Right..." Jongdae let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

Minseok and Jongdae took a seat on the bench outside the ice cream parlor, savoring the taste of the confection in silence for several moments. Jongdae hoped she would be too preoccupied with her ice cream cone to notice him shifting every few seconds. He felt nervous all of a sudden and he wanted to punch himself in the face for it. Why was he acting so strangely? Sure, he's been all red in the face around her and everything, but there was something different about this time. Now, his hands got all clammy and his heart literally felt like it was going to burst out through his chest and run far, far away. 

Jongdae cleared his throat awkwardly in attempt to mask his sudden strangeness. "So, um... What were you upset about earlier?" Minseok looked at him with wide eyes as she her ice cream cone.

"Oh, right!" She responded but her words were muffled, mouth slightly full of strawberry ice cream. If Baekhyun were here, she'd attack Minseok and lecture her on speaking with full. Minseok giggled sheepishly before she swallowed the contents in , her lips free of ice cream. "When I was getting changed to leave practice, my friends insulted me." She frowned a bit before taking another of ice cream.

Jongdae's face pulled into an irritated expression. "Insulted you? What did they say?"

"Well, it wasn't exactly about me, but rather... About Baekhyun." Minseok shrugged as she confused on her ice cream with a pout.

"Oh." Jongdae replied, raising a brow once again. He didn't exactly understand why Minseok would be that upset over people insulting Baekhyun. She should be used to it by now. Everybody has something to say about the girl. It's nothing new. Even Baekhyun knows that herself.  "How is that insulting you, though?"

"Because." Minseok sighed gently. "It was like they were judging me for being friends with Baekhyun! And they said she was a bad influence--which is totally not true. Because of Baekhyun, I'm a whole new person. Boys actually like me!" Jongdae's lips twitched into a slight frown.

"But is having boys like you good for you as a person, though?" Jongdae asked rather cautiously, careful with his words.

"What do you mean? Of course it is!" Minseok mumbled. "I feel so much better about myself now. Now I'm not that stupid tomboy like I used to be. " For the first time since this whole thing started, Jongdae suddenly came to the realization that he didn't like where this was going. Well, he's always been unsure about the entire thing but it never hit him like this. And to make it worse, he had no idea what to do about the entire thing. If Minseok went any further into "Baekhyun-izing" herself, they might even get two Baekhyuns than just one. And boy, was one Baekhyun way more enough...

"Minseok, I don't think--"

The girl looked at him,