One

"1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8" Taemin and I were sweating as we danced to the beats that my dance instructor shouted. "Tae Seul, make sure your arms are straight when you punch." My instructor did the punch move and I practically fainted from the sight of his muscles rippling. Ah~ He was so dreamy.

"That's all for today, everybody. Next week, we'll work on the ending." The assistant said. She was my only enemy against obtaining my dance instructor since they hung out often together but I knew I would eventually rise above the assistant and my instructor would notice me.

I laid down and let the floor cool my sweaty body. I saw feet walking towards me and looked up. "Tae Seul, can we go get some ice cream? There's this limited edition Christmas flavour that I wanna try!" Taemin was on his knees, begging me. This guy was crazy for ice cream. I didn't know how he could stand the cold but he is darn good at it unlike me, who hates being cold.

I put my finger up to my lips, motioning him to be quieter. There were other students in the class and they would've killed to go for some ice cream with Taemin. "Maybe after you shower." I sat up and pushed back his red hair to reveal his shiny forehead. "You sweat way too much under that hair, why don't you get a haircut?"

He helped me stand up and answered, "Because the noonas love it."

"And how many noonas have you dated so far?"

He looked at the ceiling and poked his chin, "...Um, if you count yesterday, it would be 24."

"Wow, you've improved. How come you don't go for anybody younger?" I asked cautiously. When I had first met Taemin, I instantly had a crush on him like all the other girls in my school. How couldn't I? He was tall, talented, and had a great sense of style but then when I actually got closer to him (by going to different ice cream shops with him), I realized that he only went for older women, noonas. I was devastated but I got over it. Sadly, he still followed me and constantly asked me to go to ice cream shops with him as a friend. It was his little addiction but I didn't mind, there was usually hot chocolate or another warm drink being sold nearby anyway. I didn't pursue my crush for him anymore because really, there was no point.

Taemin shrugged, "They don't like me very much, I guess. Not like the noonas."

"Liar." I accused, "Don't you notice all the little girls my age trying to stalk you?" I'm not joking. There are girls that are better than the paparazzi. Somehow, Taemin always finds huge and colourful boxes on his doorstep every year on his birthday. Obviously, he's also received many hand-written love letters. In extreme cases, he's received letters written in blood. When he showed me, I almost puked.

He tapped his cheek and then his face lit up, "Tae Seul, do you like me enough to date me?"

I instantly shook my head. I wasn't going to tell him the truth. No, it wasn't the truth. Me liking Lee Taemin is not true. I liked him enough to date but not anymore. "No." But he made a puppy face that was too hard to not feel sorry for. So this was how he got the noonas, huh? "I'm kidding, you're cool. Anyway, I like Mr. Choi." I whispered, making sure that our dance instructor didn't hear.

Taemin knew that though, and laughed. "Well, off to go shower. Meet you outside in fifteen minutes, okay?"

I nodded and headed into the girl's change room.

Fifteen minutes later, we both braved the bitter cold. "Tae Seul, can we go now? Can we go now?" Taemin begged as I tried to fix my scarf that didn't seem to want to keep the cold out and the warmth in.

I nodded and Taemin immediately hopped away. He didn't go too far ahead of me, though, since he knew I would get lost if I couldn't see him. "Taemin, why are you going so fast?" I asked once I caught up with him.

"Because the shop closes in an hour!" He seemed to be in a panic.

I groaned and covered my cheeks as we waited for the light to turn green. Taemin held my hand as we crossed the road. It was nothing out of the ordinary since the streets of Busan were always packed and I would probably walk out of the white stripes if nobody kept me on track. It was during these moments, though, that I wished I didn't have my mittens on so I could feel Taemin's warmth. No, I shouldn't be saying that! I like Mr. Choi, not Taemin.

After ten minutes of walking in minus eight degree temperatures, we arrived at the shop. I was relieved that they had hot chocolate on the menu and Taemin ordered one for me and a special Christmas cone for himself. I sat at the table and rolled into a ball on my seat.

"Take your hot chocolate Tae Seul! It's melting my ice cream!"

I took it out of Taemin's hands and held it as if it were the key to saving my life. I looked up as he was doing the same to his ice cream.

He held it out to me in amazement. "You want a bite?"

I opened my mouth, waiting for him to hold the ice cream closer to me but instead, he made a puppy face again and took it back. I cocked my head to the side in confusion.

Taemin looked at me and then at the ice cream and then back at me. "But I kind of want the first bite."

I took a sip of my hot chocolate and melted at the warmth. "Then go for it." He did. A big section was now missing from the ice cream. "But I'm not eating it now."

His eyes once again turned big and round. "Why not? You have to try this! It's superior to any other flavour!"

I rolled my eyes, "That's what you always say." I heard a camera click from another table. "Besides, people will spread rumours about us in school and I don't want to get frostbite by eating ice cream in this kind of weather." I could hear girls telling each other that Taemin from SHINee was just a table away from them, eating ice cream. All of a sudden, a line formed at the counter and people were buying the Christmas cone just to have some sort of connection with the SHINee member.

Who's SHINee, you ask? Just the most popular group of guys in our school. They were so cool that a lame name like SHINee didn't bring their popularity down; it just made it soar higher. I could see the headlines if I took a bite out of Taemin's ice cream. "GIRL SHARES SPIT WITH SHINee'S MAKNAE!" Of course, if I took the first bite and then Taemin took the second, nobody would be publicly against that. Nobody wanted to make a poor image of the kingkas.

Taemin sunk into his chair and his ice cream. I felt bad for the kid. Even though I was younger, he still acted like a baby most of the time and so I treated him like a younger sibling, watching out for his every move and making sure that nothing happened to ruin his image or his mood. "So how does the Christmas cone taste like?" I said, trying to get him upbeat. I wasn't really going to care but might as well get him talking instead of seeing him turn into a blob on the chair.

"It tastes sad." Taemin took another out of the white, red, and green ice cream. Somehow he ignored all the flashes and clicks that the girls at other tables made. I, however, flinched whenever I saw the bright lights of the cameras.

I didn't like his tone and instead, tried to cheer him up. "But it's still pretty." I said with half a smile, trying to get him to do the same.

Taemin looked at me and then at the cone. "But if it's sad, it's not as pretty as when it's happy. I don't think it likes being a special Christmas cone. I think it just wants to be a normal one...like vanilla and chocolate."

This baby talk was funny and I continued. "Aww, does the ice cream cone need a friend?" I held out my hot chocolate. He nodded vigorously and sat up but then I snatched my cup away. "Too bad. Hot chocolate and ice cream don't make a good pair. You'll get a stomach ache." I took a sip in triumph at how strange I made this situation.

This time, it was he who cocked his head to the side. "But isn't the hot chocolate lonely?"

I thought about this for a moment. "No, it likes the iced coffee better. Iced coffee used to be hot coffee so it has more of a connection with hot chocolate."

Taemin's face scrunched up. "But the iced coffee tastes horrible."

I laughed and continued to sip my hot chocolate while girls took pictures of Taemin. Luckily, me hanging around him wasn't going to cause too much of a scandal. At first it did, but now they were used to seeing me with Taemin so there was nothing to worry about.

I got home an hour later and found a message from my dance instructor in my inbox.

"Dear students,

I found out about a contest from a colleague of mine and since I'd like you guys to experience what it feels like to compete, I hope a lot of you will enter. Please email back if you would like to participate; I'll have the forms ready for next week's class. Start on possible routines over the week and I'll give tips on it once we have class. Good luck everybody!"

I clicked the file that was attached and read it. With each word came more excitement.

"December 6th

We know many of you set the stage on fire when you dance but would you use that talent to experience the cold? We're not just talking about snow and sleet, we're talking about the ice gallery going on right now in the heart of Seoul! Come on down to show off your dance moves on the 20th and you can win two tickets to tour the whole gallery! So bring your two left feet and get ready to rip up the stage for a chance to see a magical winter wonderland!"

I thought about how much Taemin liked the cold. He loved snow and of course, ice cream. I knew he would enter this contest so he could win the tickets to take a noona on a pre-Christmas date. Then again, he would probably just want to go there to see the ice sculptures himself.

I, on the other hand, didn't like the cold at all. I definitely didn't like ice or sculptures. You just look at them and move on, right? But wouldn't this be a great first date for me and Mr. Choi? Yes, a "magical winter wonderland" would be the perfect place. There would probably be a warm place for all the people like me out there who can't stand the cold. I could stay there with Mr. Choi and we could cuddle!

I nearly fell off my chair at the thought of cuddling with Mr. Choi. I realized how much my head was messed up, though, and went to sleep, still dreaming of cuddling with Mr. Choi.