Three

:C What happened to Winglin? My computer said there's a virus on it T_______T POOO.

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After a fight, I always go for the forget option. Forget anything ever happened. It was just a few days before the competition and I cleared my mind of Taemin. I practised and practised, making sure that no guilt would offset me. It was hard not to think of Taemin, though. I thought I saw him on the street once with his fiery red hair and changed my whole route just so I didn't have to deal with anything. I know. I should've apologized. But sincere apologies never worked for me. They sounded so sarcastic that I was never convinced myself.

I was glad we had a winter break. If I actually had to go to school, my whole plan of avoiding would fail. Plus, I probably wouldn't be able to practise all that I did in the same amount of time and yes, I was desperate for any practice time. Why? Because I seriously wanted those tickets so I could go to the gallery with the one and only Mr. Choi. There were no more dance meets before the competition so I had to work by myself all day, reminding myself every little tip that Taemin had told me.

With each coming night, I would get more and more nervous. After the competition, I would definitely have to apologize to Taemin.

Then a bad thought entered my head, almost as bad as the one I had a few nights ago. I should really stop thinking so much right before bed but I had a big decision to make now.

Should I just stop my friendship with Taemin?

I was obviously getting too close to him, way too close than what I had planned. I wanted to stay friends, nothing more, because it's hard to find a friend like him. But now I keep telling myself that it's even harder to find any boy like him so shouldn't I take the chance to be with him as his girl?

No.

I promised I wouldn't. It would just be wrong and stupid. The only way to stop myself from thinking about it was to stop being his friend, stop being around him at all. The last few days have been uneventful. And to be honest, I hated it. I missed going to ice cream shops with Taemin. I missed dancing with Taemin. Heck, I missed Taemin's mom's cooking.

Again, these thoughts haunted my sleepy head whenever I was almost off to dream land each night. I just hoped they wouldn't jeopardize my performance. They can't.

-

Today's the day. In just a few hours, after the competition, I would have to apologize to Taemin and then leave him altogether. How would Taemin feel? He'd be fine. He's probably already found a girl to take to the gallery so I guess he's found the one he wants to be with, huh?

I grabbed my bag that had my outfit inside and headed to the bus station. In just a little bit, I would be in Seoul and see Taemin. On the subway, I formulated my words into something that wouldn't make him do that puppy dog face. If he did, I would feel so guilty that anything could happen. It was extremely hard to stay nonchalant when Taemin had that special face plastered on. He was, of course, the cute maknae from SHINee.

All the dancers were gathered into one room and as I sat down, I looked for the red mushroom head. I didn't see Taemin at all though, and listened to the instructions instead. The man in the front of the room was a short man with little hair left on his head. After listening to him talk for a good twenty minutes, we were all lined up and led into another room to get our numbers. I held onto the number 26 sticker and shifted along in the line. I was still trying to find Taemin in all this but there wasn't even a clue that he was here at all.

Could he be dropping out? I shook my head at the thought. It was Taemin. He loved the cold and he loved dancing. Put it together and this is an event that he wouldn't miss. So where was he?

After changing into my outfit, I waited backstage to be called on. Three hours later, we would know the results. Three hours later, I would have to find Taemin and say what I had been meaning to tell him for the past few days. Three hours later, I was probably going to be even more stressed. I regretted for a second about entering this competition.

I grabbed my phone and called Onew, the leader of SHINee. He was a pretty chill and honest guy and since he was the leader, he probably knew the whereabouts of Taemin.

"Hello?"

"Hi Onew, it's Tae Seul. Have you seen Taemin? He's not backstage."

"He didn't tell you? He broke his ankle a few days ago."

"Oh." Taemin didn't tell me this. Was he trying to avoid me, too? "Oh, well, I hope he gets better soon."

"I'm sure he'll be fine. Good luck at the competition, Tae Seul. Sorry for not being there."

"It's alright." I sighed to myself. Right at the end, Taemin wasn't going to be with me in this competition because of a stupid broken ankle. How does a kid like him break his ankle anyway? It's not like he's clumsy.

"Bye, Tae Seul. Good luck again."

"Thanks. Bye bye Onew-oppa."

I closed my phone and took a deep breath. The competition was about to begin and my spirits were totally down. I could hear the crowd cheering and I wasn't in the mood to dance. I felt a vibration and looked down at my phone. Taemin was texting me. A smile immediately lit up on my face and I opened my phone.

"don't be nervous.tae seul hwaiting!"

Should I text back? Before I could even press the reply button, the music started blaring and we were rushed to line up. I shut off my phone and joined the line, repeating what he texted me in my own head.

One after another, people danced. I watched on the little monitor backstage and got worried. These people were good, really good. After an hour, it was number 24's turn. Already, we had had some scary moments. A boy fainted even before he was called on stage. Would I faint like that from all the stress? Another girl slipped after doing a flip on stage and there was a loud crack that could be heard from where the camera was. I was suddenly glad that my routines weren't that demanding.

I got into position on the stage and waited as the MC finished introducing me. My eyes were drawn to one point of the crowd where I could swear I saw Taemin's head bobbing around. Unfortunately, the music was about to start and I had to tear my eyes away from the searching.

-

Three hours later, many songs and dances later, the results were going to be announced. We had dance offs to rule out the competition and I was amazed that I was in the top eight.

We were all sweating and panting as we stood on stage, waiting for the MC to end the suspense. "We have seen many outrageous and spectacular dancers today. They were all wonderful but these eight dancers are our best." I almost laughed out loud at that part. Best? I seriously didn't think that I was anywhere close. Taemin would blow their minds if the judges thought I was one of the best.

"Without further ado, the envelope, please." A girl handed the MC the envelope and I was sure that nobody was breathing for a few moments.

"It has, no doubt, been a magical evening." Oh, get on with it. "And the one to spend another magical evening with a special someone is..." The crowd began a drum roll. "Kim Tae Seul!"

I was confused for a second. What was my name again? Then the truth hit me and I began smiling like Taemin whenever he gets ice cream. The rest passed by in a flash. I was handed the tickets and the crowd was having an uproar over me, an unknown little dancer. I didn't know what was going through my mind at the time but I swear I saw a glimpse of Taemin in the crowd. Confetti streamed down and I felt lightheaded from all the happiness and adrenaline surging through me. I actually won.

After ten minutes of bowing to my elders and getting congratulatory speeches, I could finally let the feeling sink in. I won the tickets. I jumped around backstage and squealed in delight. "Ice gallery with Mr. Choi!" I repeated to myself quietly over and over. Then my cellphone buzzed and I picked up, "Hello?"

"Tae Seul, you won!"

"Taemin? Taemin!" Taemin was actually talking to me!

"Can you come out from backstage now? Or are they keeping you in there?"

"I'll be out in a sec. Oh my gosh, thank you so much for helping me!"

He laughed softly, "No problem."

We both hung up and I picked up all my stuff, getting ready to leave. I got a congratulations from one of the judges and thanked him profusely before running out. I wanted to share my happiness with Taemin, he knew how excited I should be since he's won dance competitions before. At the front door, there were people pouring out. I stood at the side and looked for the red head. A few people high fived me as they passed and others said, "good job" and "keep on dancing". I thanked them but the voice that I wanted to hear and talk to was Taemin's.

Finally, after a good five minutes, Taemin emerged from inside the building. He was trailing behind the big crowd with his crutches. His head was bobbing up and down as he looked around and at the ground, making sure his footing was steady.

"Taemin!" I called. I walked over to him and led him past the doorway. "I'm so happy, I'm so happy!" I chanted.

He smiled a brilliant smile, "You should be! You deserved that." I jumped around and wanted to tell him more when his eyes looked up. "Oh, I guess you have to go now."

I looked behind me and saw reporters with cameramen behind them. "What is this?" I asked quietly.

One of the reporters spoke up, "Hello, we're from Soeul Star. Would you mind an interview with us?"

I turned back to face Taemin, "Tae Seul, go have the interview!"

"B-But I'm horrible at interviews."

Taemin grabbed me by the shoulders and turned me around. "She'd love to have an interview." I guess he felt how cold I was. Still in my performance clothes, I wasn't dressed for Soeul winters. He took off his coat and slipped it around me. "See you later."

"Taemin!" I called while he was walking away. "Meet me tomorrow an hour before dance class outside the studio!" If I forget to tell him the important message today, might as well do it tomorrow.

He gave me a thumbs up and continued along with his crutches. I pulled the coat closer to me. It was warm and it smelled sweet. Then a thought hit me as I started walking with the reporters: I shouldn't be holding his coat. I should be ignoring him, stopping all contact with him. Yet, I still somehow got his coat. I sighed and started my interview. Even in my moments of joy, I still felt a bit stressed.

After my fifteen minutes of fame, I rode the bus home and collapsed onto my soft bed with Taemin's coat over me. My mom came in right before I fell asleep and she kissed me good night. Even her congratulations to me didn't seem to make me as happy as when I saw Taemin approve of me. Was it because he was the one who helped me win?

If I was that happy about Taemin congratulating me, imagine how happy I would be once Mr. Choi congratulates me! I took the tickets out of my bag beside my bag and kissed them. Kissing inanimate objects wasn't weird at all considering how happy I was.

Taemin's POV

I slowly crawled along the busy Soeul streets, trying to get to my bus stop. It was cold with the snow around me and people thought I was crazy for only wearing one layer and no puffy coat. They didn't know how warm I was on the inside, though. Tomorrow, Tae Seul was going to ask me to go with her to the Soeul Ice Gallery.

Finally, I'll actually have a date where I can be a real man. All my noonas pinched my cheeks and called me cute. Sure, I took it with a smile but would any guy out there really want to be treated like a grandkid while out on a date?

No.

I glanced to my right when I saw two familiar faces. It was Mr. Choi and his assistant. I swear, they act like a couple. Mr. Choi called me over to him and I bowed as I slowly walked up to the couple.

"Hey, Taemin, you saw Tae Seul, right?" He asked and I nodded silently. "She was great."

This time, the assistant spoke, "Isn't it great how your dance teacher and I get together on the day that one of our students wins a big contest?"

I furrowed my eyebrows, "What do you mean by get together?"

The assistant looked both ways and leaned into me, "Don't tell the rest of the class, we wanna tell them tomorrow. You've seen how Mr. Choi and I are around each other, right? Well, today, he finally," she emphasized finally and looked at the smiling man beside her, "asked me to be his girlfriend. Isn't this great?!"

I looked behind me, afraid that Tae Seul would be right there to hear everything. "Yeah, super."

The assistant pointed at a shoe store. "I wanna go there next!"

Mr. Choi led his girlfriend away and waved to me, "See you tomorrow, Taemin."

I bowed again and left to look for the bus stop. Tae Seul has shown a great interest to Mr. Choi ever since I knew her and knowing that Mr. Choi and his assistant were together would crush her. But she's asking me to go with her to the ice gallery, right?

Right. She's over Mr. Choi. She's gonna ask me. I smiled at my conclusion. Not to be overconfident or cocky but my male ego repeated her own words in my head.

"A guy...He's tall...He can dance...and he's older than me." Tae Seul's words were loud and clear in my head. Another smile appeared on my lips as I boarded the bus. I would sleep right when I get home so that morning would come faster. I'm glad I didn't tell anybody about my crush on Tae Seul; not even the rest of SHINee knew. Now rejection wouldn't follow me everywhere. I was sure that she was going to let me have the other ticket.

And hell yes, I was grateful.

-

Tae Seul's POV.

I breathed out a big puff of air as I stepped out of my house. Even with my own coat on and Taemin's coat in my arms, I was cold. Snow fell quickly and everything was covered in a white blanket. It was hard to see anybody and cars were moving along slowly.

"This snow system will stick around for at least a week." The weatherman had said this morning.

At least Taemin would be okay with it. I mean, he loves the cold, right? He'd probably like it better when he has his coat. I hurried along the roads, making sure not to slip on any patches of ice.

Somehow, I eventually made it to the right building. I looked around and saw Taemin with his crutches leaning against the metal railing that was on either side of the steps into the building. I crept up behind him and draped his coat around his shoulders. He immediately turned around and was surprised at first.

We both exchanged greetings and an awkward silence followed. "So what happened to your foot?"

Taemin looked down and laughed, "Long story."

"Oh." I nodded. "You're not usually tripping everywhere like Onew so it's weird seeing you injured." How was I supposed to ease into telling him that I wasn't going to be his friend anymore? Do I just say it?

He reached for my pockets and I saw that the tickets were poking out. "Why did you bring them here?" He took one out and studied it.

"I'm gonna ask Mr. Choi to come with me." I said shyly.

He looked confused. "Why?"

"What do you mean why? I told you a few days ago that I was gonna go with him."

"He's the tall guy that can dance?"

I nodded, "Yup, and he's older than me!"

Taemin mumbled something while I began going up the steps.

"Taemin, hold onto that ticket for me, okay? I don't wanna lose it. I'm gonna give this one to Mr. Choi right now." I waved the ticket in my hand. "You should come in, Taemin, you're gonna catch a cold."

He looked down at the ground and trudged up the steps with an annoyed expression. He should be fit; he shouldn't be grumpy about climbing a few stairs with crutches.

I held the door open for him and sprinted carefully up the stairs. Once I got to the studio, I headed to the office and knocked. I summoned all my courage and turned the doorknob.

"Don't come in!" I froze when I heard Mr. Choi's voice. Quickly, I let go of the doorknob and stepped back. After a few seconds, Mr. Choi opened the door.

"Hi, Mr. Choi." I bowed.

"H-Hi Tae Seul. Congrats on winning." He fixed his hair and cleared his throat. Aww, he was fixing himself up for me! He was probably asleep in his little office.

"Thanks." I blushed and was about to go on when I spotted Mr. Choi's assistant in the back, trying to fix her own hair and clothes.

Mr. Choi looked behind him and laughed. "Don't tell the rest of the class, okay? We just got together and were experimenting. Actually, don't tell anybody. I don't wanna get fired for doing you know what during my lunch break."

My throat went dry. "What?" I forced the word out.

Mr. Choi shook his head. "Nevermind."

His assistant came up to me and took the ice gallery ticket out of my hand. "Yup, this is the right place." She said to herself. I glared at her. How dare she snatch away my future husband and my prize? "Tae Seul, Mr. Choi and I are going to the Soeul Ice Gallery, too. We heard it was going to be a tough bus ride to Soeul on that day so why not carpool with us? By the way, who are you taking?"

I opened my mouth but nothing came out. I looked over at Mr. Choi and then back at the assistant. A little fit of anger boiled inside of me and without thinking, I said, "Taemin."

The assistant handed me back the ticket and clapped her hands together. "Aww! Are you guys together, too? Dance is so romantic!" She sighed. "We're going on the 24th. Meet us here then at 1:00PM, okay?"

I nodded, still glaring at the couple.

Mr. Choi finally spoke up. "Good. Now, class doesn't start for another half hour so would you mind heading out the door? We have some business to take care of." He and his assistant giggled a stupid little giggle.

I didn't want to bother their little fling and walked away without a word. Down the stairs I went, not even caring if I slipped and ruined my nose or something. I didn't need a pretty face if I didn't have boys to show it to. Yes, boys are the only ones who would care about a pretty face.

I silently opened the door for Taemin and once we got outside, I asked, "Ice cream. Let's go."

He didn't object and we headed to the ice cream store that had the special Christmas cone. Cars honked, people yelled, and the snow fell. The city was as busy as ever. I, however, was confused as ever. After not being able to be with Mr. Choi, could I let go of Taemin?

I looked up at him walking beside me. Even though I walked fast to release frustration, he could easily keep up with me. I could see his breaths and his panting got harder with every step. I slowed down until with got to the big intersection. With no hand to hold, I had to make sure that I stayed on the lane. But that would require looking down and if I looked down, I wouldn't be able to keep track of Taemin and I could get lost.

Taemin nudged me with his elbow and said, "Hold on to me." I pinched his coat slightly and held on as the lights turned green. I felt people pushing me forward and pushing me backward. Soon, I had to extend my whole arm just to keep holding onto Taemin.

Why did these streets have to be so busy? People looked at me with frustration as I moved slowly. I didn't want to push anybody and I was scared of people pushing me into traffic. I squeezed my eyelids together and just held onto Taemin as I walked blindly.

"Tae Seul, open your eyes, silly!" Taemin stopped me from walking any more and I realized I was right about to kick Taemin's crutch.

We walked a bit further until we got to the ice cream shop. Again, I huddled in a little chair while Taemin ordered food. He placed a cup of hot chocolate in front of me and a cup of iced coffee for himself.

I looked at it in confusion. "Why?" I asked.

He sipped it and held it out to my hot chocolate. "Hot chocolate needs a friend." He took something out of his pocket and handed it to me. "Here's the ticket back."

I stared at it for a second and shook my head. "Keep it."

"What?" He asked, almost dumbfounded. "But aren't you going with Mr. Choi? I'm not the one going with Mr. Choi!"

"He's going with his assistant." I took out my own ticket and handed it to Taemin. "I said that I was gonna go with you and they would be willing to let us carpool with them but I think you'd rather go with somebody else."

"But Tae Seul, you earned this. Not me."

"If you hadn't injured yourself, you would've earned this."

"But--"

An idea popped into my head. "Are you faking your injury?" I pointed my ticket at him. "You're faking your injury!" I slapped him on the shoulder.

He smiled. "I'm not!"

"I don't believe you!"

"Tae Seul," he laughed, "I can't afford to buy crutches whenever I want just to fake an injury."

He got me there. I was even angrier now for being wrong. Today was not my day.

"You're going with me."

"Where?" I asked blankly.

"To the ice gallery, where else?"

"Why?"

"You don't want to lie to Mr. Choi, do you?"

I sighed and shook my head. "No."

"Good," he patted me and took a sip of his iced coffee. "Now, when do we meet with Mr. Choi and his girlfriend?"

Some girl from another table suddenly screamed and camera clicks followed. "Can we walk outside?"

He stood up and we walked to the door. Awkwardly, he dumped his cup of iced coffee that was still full.

"Why'd you do that?! You could've fed a starving child with that money!"

"A starving child like you?" He laughed and I threatened to kick his crutches. "Like I said, iced coffee tastes horrible. I should've just got coffee ice cream."

I rolled my eyes. "You and your ice cream."