I sat facing the fountain, letting my feet numb themselves in the freezing water. An ice cream cone sat in my hands, comforting me from my inner thoughts.

 

Suddenly, a yell struck the air. “Jessica!”

 

I gasped, and the ice cream fell from my hand.

 

Momentarily deciding to forget about my loss, I whipped my head to find Kyungsoo barreling towards me. “Seriously man, your screaming cost me an ice cream cone,” I grumbled.

 

The joyous expression on his face was quickly replaced by a hurt look. “Did I actually?”

 

“Yeah.” I turned back to the fountain, watching my cone drown in the water. “It’s okay, I can go get another,” I added, feeling guilty that I had fleetingly ruined his mood.

 

“I’ll treat you,” he replied cheerfully. Kyungsoo was flushed, panting slightly.

 

“You okay? You look like...you’ve won the lottery.”

 

He laughed. “I was looking everywhere for you. And look, I’ve found you.”

 

This struck me as odd. “Me?”

 

Two weeks ago, I was the one who pursued after D.O. It had been unimaginable that the shy, reserved boy I knew would actually turn the tables and run to find me.

 

“We haven’t gone on a walk in a long time,” Kyungsoo replied, a hopeful note in his voice.

 

“Ah,” I said. “I thought that there was some sort of an emergency.” I hopped off the edge of the fountain, slipping on my boots.

 

“I suppose it was,” D.O. declared with a grin. “To me, at least.” He pointed into the distance. “I think I passed an ice-cream vendor over there. What flavor do you feel like?”

 

I beamed at him. “I’m feeling minty.”

 

“Mint chocolate it is,” he agreed.

 

An hour later, I was laughing with Kyungsoo over our memories with EXO. He was definitely a lot more lively than usual, chatting as if we were the closest of friends.

 

“Minseok found out that the kid was a boy?” I managed through my giggles. “That must have been so awkward.”

 

“It was,” Kyungsoo smiled slightly. “Minseok walked away with his hands all up in the air, then just stood there for a minute.”

 

“Oh my god. Tell me another Minseok moment,” I pleaded before falling into another fit of laughter.

 

It took me a minute to realize that I was laughing alone. Kyungsoo, who had been happily grinning with me a short while ago, had lost all hints of his sunny expression.

 

“Kyungsoo?” I asked tentatively, my smile fading away. “What’s wrong?”

 

“You really can’t stop thinking about him, can you,” he replied quietly, staring into the distance.

 

I hadn’t realized that our conversation had shifted to Minseok until Kyungsoo pointed it out.

 

Not even another ice cream cone could comfort me now.

 

“Can you?” Kyungsoo repeated. He had stopped in his tracks.

 

“I’m sorry,” I finally mumbled. “It just happened.” I began to slowly shuffle forward, hoping that Kyungsoo would follow me.

 

He didn’t budge. “No. I’m sorry, Jessica.”

 

Kyungsoo’s tone struck me as odd. It didn’t sound like his normal self. “What do you mean?”

 

He sighed heavily. “When we met, you had a huge crush on me, didn’t you?”

 

“Maybe,” I said, trying to hide my unexpected smile. “You had been my favorite idol, after all. Was I that obvious?”

 

“Almost as obvious as I was.”

 

Suho was right. Natasha hadn’t seen this coming so soon, but Kyungsoo had decided to confess surprisingly quickly.

 

“I took a strong liking to you, Jessica,” he continued slowly. “It made me shy, so I tried to let you know through other ways. After all, actions speak louder than words, don’t they? It suited a quiet person like me.” Kyungsoo took a step towards me. “I had thought that those articles were just stupid rumours. I guess I was wrong.”

 

At least my rejection wouldn’t take him by surprise. “I’m sorry, Kyungsoo.” I took a step towards him in return. “I really am.”

 

Kyungsoo stood there for a moment, avoiding my eyes as he stared at his feet. I could see him trying to collect himself. “Don’t be sorry,” he replied. “Take it as flattery.”

 

A deep silence ballooned within the space between us. “If I hugged you, you wouldn’t take it the wrong way, would you? It’s the only thing I can think of doing right now,” I said after a while, feeling a sense of pity for the boy who stood in front of me. After all, there was no other way for me to console him.

 

Before I could take another step towards Kyungsoo, he rushed towards me, enveloping me in a hug. “Thank you,” he said in a muffled voice.

 

I stayed silent. A long moment passed before he spoke again. “You deserve him.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Minseok. I don’t know what the others have told you, but if you honestly like him...don’t scare yourself away.” D.O. took a shaky breath, his arms unconsciously tightening our hug. I stood, arms at my sides, unsure of how to respond. “If I were him, I wouldn’t let you go so easily.”

 

I smiled. “Thank you, Kyungsoo. You’re the first person who’s had faith in me.”

 

“Oh really?” Kyungsoo laughed slightly, breaking out of his hug. “If that’s true, then I take it back. I shouldn’t be the person that inspires you to leave me all alone.” He finally met my gaze, his baby eyes staring into mine. I tried to ignore the dejected look that pierced my eyes.

 

“Shall we go? I’ll treat us to another ice cream cone.”

 

“No, it’s okay.” D.O. pulled his jacket around him tighter. “I have to go somewhere else.” He gave me a small smile. “I’ll see you later.”

 

Kyungsoo had almost turned to go when he reached into his pocket. “Ah, I almost forgot.” He hesitated, then pulled out a tiny teddy bear. “I won this at the carnival. I was thinking of giving it to you when I confessed.”

 

I looked at the bear. “You shouldn’t give it to me. Save it for the next lucky girl.”

 

Kyungsoo stepped towards me, slipping the bear into my hands. “I couldn’t have been more lucky to meet you. Name him after me, okay?”

 

I nodded, unable to refuse him again. “I’ll name him Soo-Kyung.”

 

D.O. smiled. “I have to go to my meeting. Bye.”

 

“Okay.” I turned away, feeling a state of turmoil wash over me.

 

I knew that Kyungsoo wasn’t going anywhere. He just needed to get away from me.