CHAPTER 7

As Ji Hoo hit the brakes, the car screeched to a halt. Thank god there weren’t any cars around or there sure would have been an accident.

“Are you okay? What happened? Do you need something?”

“Yes”

“What do you need? Tell me, is everything okay?” Ji Hoo was nervous as to what had happened

“Everything’s fine, don’t worry”

“Then why did you tell me to stop the car?”

“I need ice cream, come on”

“Huh?”

Before Ji Hoo could say anything else, Mandy got out of car and started walking towards the ice cream parlor in front of them, which surprisingly was still open at this late hour. But when she saw that Ji Hoo had not budged from his spot, she went to his side, took the key out of ignition, stuffed it into her jacket pocket and dragged him by the hand to the shop.

“You know you could’ve caused an accident because of this” Ji Hoo was still acting a bit moody.

“Well nobody got hurt, so just chill okay. And choose a nice flavor of ice cream for me. I don’t know which one is which and how they taste. These don’t seem like the flavors we have back home.”

“Oh, so now you are letting me make your decisions for you?”

Ji Hoo was still not over it and Mandy knew that very well. It was the reason she had come up with this plan. But seeing his cold demeanor towards her made her want to curl up in a ball and cry. But she got hold of herself.

“I am the youngest in my family and also I am the youngest in all my cousins on both my mother’s and father’s side.” She started saying “As long as I can remember people have always tried to tell me what’s best for me. What clothes to wear, which friends to have, which stream of studies to pursue; I have always had people making my decisions for me. But one day I realized that I was not living a life; I was going on a path traced by others for me. I was just a puppet of their wishes. So I told my parents one day and told for once and for all that I would make even the smallest decisions regarding my life myself and would not tolerate anyone’s interference. I didn’t get much support back then because I was too young. But I kept on pushing against other people’s wishes and finally got my freedom. And it has been like that ever since. I don’t let anyone, and hear me, ANYONE make my decisions for me, even if it is choosing an ice cream flavor. You are the first person in six years to get this privilege; use it as you may deem fit.”

After saying this, Mandy walked out of the parlor.

Ji Hoo was left stunned after her declaration. He finally understood the weight of the issue and also the importance of the right she had given him. It felt like she had exposed a part of herself to him that she didn’t show anyone.

‘Ugh! How do always I end up to be the bad guy with her?’ He let out a frustrated sigh. He ordered vanilla and chocolate flavored ice cream cups and went outside to find her with one cup in each hand.

He had seen her walk towards a park nearby when she had walked out. He entered the park and started walking towards the center of the area.

He heard her before he saw her.

She was sitting on the seat of the swing with her back in his direction and crying with her face in her hands.

Seeing her cry because of him, Ji Hoo felt like somebody had kicked him in the gut. ‘I probably deserve it anyway’ he thought and went towards his crying friend.

Mandy wasn’t able to hear Ji Hoo’s footsteps in the sound of her sobs and was about to scream for help when something suddenly came in front of her, but controlled herself when she saw a person with a blonde head, kneeling and continuously saying “I’m so sorry, please forgive me” again and again, with hands joined in front of him.

Ji Hoo’s apologetic rant made her smile which later led to bring out a chuckle out of her. “Stupid guy” she said lightly.

Seeing that the situation had changed for the better, Ji Hoo stopped with his drivel and picked up the ice cream cups from where he had put them on the ground.

“Ice cream for the lady” and he put both the cups in front of her, smiling his enchanting smile.

“You know if every ice cream parlor had a salesman with a smile like yours, the ice cream industry would be the largest industry in the whole world.” She said jokingly, taking the vanilla cone.

“I’m again very sorry for what I did at the restaurant.”

“Seriously just let it go now. You don’t know anything about me so you couldn’t have known how it would affect me; but the lesson is learnt and it’s in the past now. So please, stop apologizing already.”

“But you are right”

“About what?”

“That I don’t know anything about you. You know my life story and I know nothing about you.”

“What do you want to know about me?”

“Hmn …… tell me about the ice cream then first. Was it the right flavor?”

“Yes”

“So you like vanilla. I was actually confused between chocolate and vanilla, so I got both.”

“I like chocolate flavor too.”

“Oh so you like both flavors.”

“I like more than just these two flavors, but vanilla is like my go-to guy. You can never go wrong with vanilla. It’s a classic; you can never go wrong with a classic”

“So you like everything that is vanilla?”

“Well yes, even though I haven’t enjoyed everything vanilla, but I’m sure I will in the future. If you know what I mean.” She said winking at him.

“Actually I don’t know what you mean” Ji Hoo said with a plain face

“Yeah right, fool someone else” but she soon understood that he wasn’t lying. “Oh my god, you seriously don’t know what I’m talking about”

“That’s what I said before”

Mandy looked at his face for a second and then burst out laughing and pinched both his cheeks playfully. “You know you’re as cute as a kindergartener” and continued laughing out loud. “Why don’t you ask Woo Bin what vanilla signifies. I’m sure he would be more than happy to explain it all to you.”

She was still laughing when they reached her apartment building.

“Today was fun, thanks for introducing me to your friends. Thanks to you I found a movie buddy” she said, referring to Ga Eul. “And don’t forget to ask Woo Bin about what I told you” and she was gone like the wind.

[A/n: Those who didn’t understand what I was talking about in the above lines, read 50 shades trilogy or talk to someone you know who has. I’m sure you would get all your questions answered ;-D]