[CONTENTID1]Ice Cream Stillness[/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2]A SELECTION OF CHOCOLATE-BOYS[/CONTENTID2]

[CONTENTID3]

Suzy had a terrible headache the next day. Her stomach threatened to spill everything up and out into the open. The room swayed around her. She heard her parent’s bickering in the kitchen over her. She knew that Changmin dropped her home but she barely remembered how he did that.

Her dreams consisted of nothing but Sungyeol, his megawatt smile and her best friend Nana. There was something wrong with her heart. It was ill, she knew it. She wished to explore as to why it was. Perhaps she understood her feelings better after she was drunk. Not even Chanyeol’s betrayal could affect her as such.

There was an aching pounding inside her head. She needed fresh air so she dressed herself in a pair of jeans and a blazer. It was chilly outside by the looks of the broiling clouds and misty vapour, so she threw on a coat and wrapped her neck in a thick, woolly scarf.

Taekwoon was asleep in the living room when she passed, with Jungkook passed out on the floor. Haru and Minwoo were nowhere in sight, so she guessed that Himchan probably picked them picked them up again.

“Honey, you’re awake,” her father said as he appeared in the corridor.

“Not now, appa,” she sighed tiredly and before he could protest, she strode out the door.

Suzy ignored what her parents had to say. Her body moved of it’s own accord. She was suffering from a terrible disease that was eating away with her heart,and she had no clue on how to cure it. She passed through streets, trains and tunnels. She passed crimson faces that struggled to breath in the frigid air. She ignored the morning greetings that people sent her way.

Finally, Suzy plopped herself on a bench in the park. She shivered when a huff of wind blew against her, scratching her skin with cold, invisible fingers. The park was still; the lake in front of her had turned to ice. November was coming to an end and she knew that December would initiate a month full of rain, sleet and snow.

A cough was emitted next to her. She didn’t need to to see who it is. She could tell from his tall presence. She thought anger would possess her at the sight of him, but she could tell that he was suffering from the same disease as her.

So, Suzy gazed at him and patted at the space beside her. Yifan gingerly took a seat, hands stuffed into the pockets of his black coat. His cheeks were flushed with a pink hue, and his caterpillar eyebrows were strained with poignance.

They stared at the frozen lake where the ice wrapped around everything in it’s wake, including the plants and hissed in the cold stillness. The silence wasn’t awkward but rather comforting. For a long moment, they remained side by side and said nothing at all.

Suzy was the first to break their quiescence.

“It’s a cold morning, huh?”

Yifan sighed; a deep, heartfelt sigh. “Yeah.”

Another silence ensued. Yifan shifted in his spot and stared at her.

“Hey, I’m really sorry about what happened before the ball,” he said. She noticed how his words faltered. He clearly hated apologising but he somehow gathered the courage to do it now.

Suzy shook her head. “What you did was wrong and I won’t forget it.”

“But I’m doing it for my pay, you know?” he countered.

“You can do better than that,” she snapped at him.

He flinched and gazed back at the lake. “I’m so confused. I don’t know what to do.”

She blinked back a tear, afraid that it would freeze over her eyelashes. “Me too…”

“She just doesn’t notice me. I’m such a fool, Suzy.”

“I’m a fool too. I like him but she does too. Should I be a good friend or should I be selfish?”

Yifan let out another heavy sigh. “Decisions. Decisions. Life can really sometimes. You wanna go get some hot chocolate?”

Suzy stared at him. For a sliver of a moment, she felt a connection between them. Yifan gave her a smile; it wasn’t filled with malice and daggers any longer. It was genuine. She returned the smile and nodded.

-

Suzy stiffened when they entered the cafe. She recognised Chanyeol and his friend Halla working at the counter. Yifan didn’t notice but pulled out a chair for her.

Chanyeol stopped with whatever he was doing once he noticed them enter. A spark of rage flickered in his dark eyes, and a prominent scowl encompassed his features. Suzy hurriedly averted her gaze. The event so last night seeped back into her and she tried her best to push them away.

She didn’t know what to make of Chanyeol. She wanted to hate him, but she couldn’t bring herself to do that. All she knew was that she never wished to speak with him ever again. He was a rogue and he deserved her ignorance.

“Hot chocolate?” Yifan asked, and Suzy nodded. He walked up to the counter to order before returning back to her.

“So…” he started. “Let’s just be friends for today, huh?”

“Just today,” she said. “After this we can pretend nothing happened.”

He chuckled ruefully before leaning back into his chair. His long legs almost poked her knees. “Tell me your situation then. When did it happen?”

Suzy noticed Chanyeol glaring at them from the corner of her eyes. He focused on the both of them, lips curling into a distasteful grimace. An irascible darkness took over his features. His eyeballs almost popped in their sockets.

“I don’t know,” she answered. “It’s just happening recently. I realised that I like him.”

Yifan nodded in understanding. “I liked her a long time ago. We even kissed once but I didn’t know that she was just experimenting.”

“Oh…” Suzy blinked, not unfazed by this piece of information that Nana never revealed. “I’m sorry to hear that. She does it all the time.”

“Your story is just as bad.” He rubbed a hand over his face in dismay. “If I were you, I’d just go for it.”

She raised a brow. “Are you just saying that so you could be with Nana?”

His eyes widened. “Uh-- no! Why would I do that? Just saying. If you want yourself and Sungyeol to live happily ever after, then you need to push Nana out of the way.”

“No!” a scream erupted from nearby.

Suzy glanced up and saw Chanyeol flung himself at Yifan. Both of them tumbled across the floor. She screamed and Halla rushed at her side, panicking like a frightened ahjumma. The girl stammered incoherently, pulling at her hair and shaking her head.

The boys were groping each other’s shoulders and aiming for a punch. Halla yelled at Chanyeol to stop but the goblin was determined to land one fist on Yifan’s temple. Suzy clasped a