“Two scoops of pink bubblegum, and…” he trails off before glancing back at his female companion who is bending down to scan the various basins. As if feeling his eyes on her, she looks up and meets his gaze. “Sprinkles?”

“Lots of them.” She grins, her signature crescent eyes forming slits as she approaches him again.

“Right, and one scoop of rocky road, please.” He finishes his order and takes out his wallet from his back pocket. Not too long later, they receive their respective ice-creams and head to a table tucked away in one corner.

“You still remember my favourite, Ok. I’m impressed.” Tiffany praises while he steals a spoonful from her cup.

“Of course.” He shrugs and sends a smug grin her way. “You’re lucky to have me, Hwang.”

She beams at her friend who she has known for so long that she no longer remember what life was like before knowing him. Across the table, Taecyeon watches her as she takes a large bite joyfully like a child. He comments on how she seems to enjoy it more than Seohyun when he took her out for one, and Tiffany’s face downturns and she frowns at him. “When did you go out with our Seohyun?”

He almost burst out into laughter when he sees the drastic change in her expression. “Not that Seohyun. You think I’d dare take her out?” he manages a small chuckle. “I’m talking about Ahn Seohyun.”

Out of embarrassment, she makes a face at him while taking another bite of her dessert and scolds him for not making his points clear when he speaks and ends up causing misunderstanding. Just in time, her phone buzzes with an incoming message so she quickly diverts her attention to read it, and lets the spoon linger in between her lips as she fiddles with her phone, typing away a message in reply to someone with a smile on her face.

Casting his gaze outside at the passing pedestrians, Taecyeon tries to recall the last time they got to hang out leisurely like this, and realizes that he’s missed spending time with her. They’ve both been so busy with work, never ending schedules that stretch over from early morning until late past midnight, other personal stuff…

“Can I taste yours?” she interrupts his thoughts. When he returns his gaze at her, she’s holding out her spoon, so he gave his cup. “Hmm, somehow it suits you.”

“Why so?” he raises a quizzical brow.

“Nah, it has that familiar taste.”

He scowls. “I can’t tell if that’s supposed to be a compliment or otherwise.”

She only laughs in response, and the way her crescent eyes curve upwards makes him feel somewhat calm. Taecyeon leans back into his chair and continues to watch her. It’s almost a habit―staring at her as if she was a display at some art exhibition―something he developed unconsciously throughout all these years of friendship.

He didn’t know it back then, that rather than just staring, he was admiring her. He knows everything about her―the way her smile reaches her eyes, the sound of her laughter, the way crimson blushes fill the apple of her cheeks when she’s embarrassing, how she says all those silly things when she gets comfortable. He knows her more than he knows anyone else, perhaps more than he will ever know anyone else.

He didn’t know it back then, but he does now.

Just then, the door opens and the automatic welcome tone that follows immediately with it fills the shop. From the corner of his eyes he can see Tiffany leaping up from her seat to give the person who has just joined them a hug, followed by a quick peck on the corner of the lips.

“Did you wait long?”

“No, it wasn’t long at all.”

When the new addition to their little meet up locks eyes with him, he smiles a bit and nods in acknowledgement.

“Thanks for keeping her company, man.” Nichkhun gives him a pat on his shoulder.

“Hey, she was my friend first before she became your girlfriend, remember?”

They break into a small laugh, and he tears his gaze away from his best friend to the other, back and forth. Her yet-to-be-finished ice-cream sits on the table and melts as the two chat away, seemingly oblivious to their surroundings now. Taecyeon finishes the last bit of his own and gets up from his seat, the chair making a screeching noise as it gets pushed back but it doesn’t seem to bother his two friends at all, and shoves his hands into his pockets as he leaves the shop without even a word to the couple. He knows she’d be mad at him for this, but he doesn’t think it’s necessary now. Besides it can give her a reason to call him, perhaps, give him a good scolding, arrange another meeting.

He didn’t back then, but he knows now. What difference does it make, though?