Donghae was transfixed upon the mastery of Kyuhyun over the slippery icy floor. He just couldnt stop himself from clicking pictures and had completely lost track of time. He was spellbound and felt drugged in the blink of an eye. In fact he was so intoxicated to the point he didnt even hear his phone ringing. Meanwhile Kyuhyun, not minding Donghae's annoying presence, fully concentrated on his routine. He slid on the ice gracefully and just as he was about to perform a tripple lutz, he felt his lungs constricting and a wave of cough took him by surprise. And as a result, he faltered and failed to complete his mid-air stunt. As his leg buckled the momentum threw his body across the floor as he slid to a stop a few feet away.

What the..??? What just happened? Why cant I ...?

His vision became hazy and soon tears filled his eyes as he coughed repeatedly. From a distance, he could see someone running towards him in a frenzy. Fortunately he was able to avert a major crisis as he took few deep breaths and his vision cleared for the better. Right then he saw that it was Donghae who had come to his aid.

"Hey....Are you ok?" He heard Donghae asking him and his eyes were filled with worry. As much as he had wanted to answer that just to reassure him, he couldnt since he was yet to calm down his erratically beating heart and his laboured breathing.

"Say something...you ok? Lets get you to the hospital." Donghae urged on and was about to pull Kyuhyun up on his feet when he felt a firm grip on his hand preventing him from doing so.

"N..No....*sigh*...I...I...am f..fine. I just slipped." Kyuhyun insisted clearly refusing to cause unwanted fuss. But Donghae, being Donghae was persistent and offered to help out. He slid his hands over Kyuhyun's waist and secured it firmly while Kyuhyun's arms were slung over his shoulders. He made Kyuhyun sit down on the bench and went down on his knees immediately to take off the skates. But just as he was about to do that, he was stopped abruptly and he lifted his eyes to look at Kyuhyun. The look on his face was that of contempt and irritation. The whole idea of someone other than Siwon barging into his personal space without warning angered him but he didnt make it evident to the person before him as he didnt want to seem rude. And simply because Donghae had genuinely offered to help him.

"I'll do it myself. Thank you." Kyuhyun said curtly and Donghae stood up and crossed his arms gruffly. Now Donghae didnt know that the real reason behind Kyuhyun removing his skates all by himself and not letting him do it was because they were gifted by someone who meant a lot to Kyuhyun personally. So he carefully examined the younger as he removed the skates and placed them safely and carefully beside him as if they were made of fragile china. Donghae huffed and stooped down to examine if there were any injuries or bruises.

"You know....I didnt know a cutie like you could give people the cold shoulders!" he said as he held one of Kyuhyun's ankles. He bent it back and forth with so much forethought and carefulness that Kyuhyun couldnt help but let him do it just for the sake of his self-satisfaction. And because letting Donghae have his way would put a stop to the non-stop cheese and flirtatious comments that he was being served with since this evening. However as Donghae bent it in a particular angle, he winced and clutched his ankle. Donghae's eyes went wide with shock and he suddenly let go off the ankle.

"Figures! You must have twisted it when you fell!" Kyuhyun found himself agreeing to Donghae's expert diagnosis.

"I do hope you would atleast let me you to a hospital so that someone could tend to your ankle." Donghae held out his hands for Kyuhyun to take.

"No worries. I have an ankle-spray and a crepe bandage. I can manage" Donghae felt his casanova charms melting away into nothingness as Kyuhyun gave him that reply. He had hoped that the younger would relent on being taken for atleast a simple examination but he didnt know that Kyuhyun had come fully prepared. His shoulders slumped weakly as he helplessly watched Kyuhyun remove his socks and spray his ankle with the medicine and later tie it securely within a pink crepe bandage.

"Dont you think you're being awefully self-reliant? I mean you could have let me do it for you." Donghae said.

"Why? The last time I checked, my hands were fine!" Kyuhyun said.

Again with the curt reply! Damn! Playing hard to get huh?

"The least you could do is say 'thank you'. Coz I kinda helped you out if you havent noticed!" Donghae said as Kyuhyun got up to check if there was still any pain. He stepped on his injured ankle a few times and made sure that he could successfully mask the injury from his mentor. He simply couldnt imagine the news about his new injury getting out in front of his teacher.

Its just a sprain....It'll heal in a day or two if I rest it! I hope!

"Hello! I am still standing here" Donghae's constant reminder was really getting on Kyuhyun's nerves.

"*sigh* Fine! Thank you. There! I said it! Now can you please move over so I can leave?" Kyuhyun asked. Donghae consented and stepped aside to make way without saying anything in retaliation. Kyuhyun slung his bag over his shoulders but the weight of the bag was putting aweful stress on his injured ankle. He visibly winced at the pain and gasped sharply and that didnt go unnoticed by Donghae. Without taking into consideration, the possible scold that he was yet to get, Donghae boldly strode forward and snatched the bag from Kyuhyun.

"You just talk tough! You cant even walk ten steps without fumbling." Donghae boasted with a smirk as Kyuhyun refused to meet his eyes. He helplessly watched Donghae sling his bag over his shoulders and walk ahead of him.

"I.....wait a minute...." Kyuhyun protested and Donghae retraced his steps and stood before him in a flash.

"You're officially prohibited from constantly rebuking me until we reach your house. Is that perfectly clear?" Donghae said sternly and Kyuhyun was quick to shut his mouth. And so with a heavy bag slung over his shoulders, Donghae made sure that his sight never left the young and charismatic skater as they walked. Occasionally Kyuhyun would throw glances at the vivacious photographer and wondered if there was anyone who could be more energetic and jumpy.

He is fit enough to be the promotional model for an energy drink! Suits him just fine!

"So...you live close by?" Donghae asked as he couldnt take the prolonging awkward silence between them. And as he said that, he readjusted the strap of Kyuhyun's bag and that led to his camera-case falling down on the pavement.

Aish! Not again! My boss's gonna break me if this one breaks!

But Kyuhyun was quick to bend down and pick it up before Donghae could make it. He carefully ped the case, took out the camera and observed it left and right before saying "Dont worry! Nothing's broken."

"Thank god! I could have lost my job you know!" Donghae breathed a sigh of relief. Kyuhyun said "Let me carry this for you! You're already burdening yourself with mine anyway!"

"And regarding your question earlier, yes, I live nearby!" Kyuhyun said and smiled faintly. But that was enough to send Donghae's heart into a frenzied beat.

"You know! You should smile more! A scowl doesnt suit your pretty face!" Donghae confessed and Kyuhyun blushed again with his candidness.

"Are you always this greasy? I've simply lost count on the number of pick-up lines you've mercilessly thrown at me since this evening!" Kyuhyun said.

"Really! Is that so?" Donghae wondered excitedly as they both walked on the almost deserted street side by side.

"Yup! If any, you could probably set a record for this!" Kyuhyun laughed out heartily. The sight of a laughing Kyuhyun pleased Donghae to no ends. And with the way he was laughing, he wondered whether they were off to great start indeed.

~~~~~~

Meanwhile as Siwon was stuck in traffic, he was concerned over making Donghae wait this long. So for courtesy sake, he decided to inform his friend of this inconvenience and request him to postpone the meeting till tomorrow. However as he tried his number, it kept ringing till the call disconnected on its own. He tried several times but still the user remained unavailable. He mentally cursed Donghae for his nonchalance.

Tch! Must have spotted a pretty one and gone behind her! That idiot!

But what was it that he wanted to tell me? Sure seemed serious about it!

The traffic didnt seem to be letting up and it had started to drizzle already. He could only sigh frustratedly as he contemplated the possibility of getting stuck in this traffic for hours together now that it had started raining as well. The rain intensified and at a certain distance the bus had broken down. The driver announced that they couldnt move further and that the passengers would have to look for an alternative. This just took a toll on Siwon as he frustratedly went in search of a taxi instead. However he was in luck as he saw one heading his way as he got drenched in the rain. Siwon immediately signalled the driver to stop and gave him the address of the place where he had to reach. He was prompted to try and call Donghae again but thought otherwise since he was almost certain that his friend wouldnt answer it anyway. And so he decided to meet Donghae at the cafe straightaway.

He reached the cafe half an hour later and hurried inside. However to his disappointment, Donghae wasnt there.....yet.

Could it be that he got tired of waiting and left already?

Aish! That should explain him not answering my calls. He is probably mad at me!!

But just when he was about to leave the cafe, one of the waiters stopped him from leaving. "Excuse me. Are you Choi Siwon?" He asked as Siwon got curious as to how the waiter could possibly know his name.

"Yes. I am Choi Siwon. But how...?" Siwon asked the waiter.

"One of the customers this evening showed me your photograph and told me to give this to you if you came here." the waiter said handing out a piece of paper. Siwon unfolded the paper and found that it was someone's contact number.

No name??? But why would Donghae try to..

"Um...Was it a guy by any chance? Short black hair, shorter than me? A little lou...." Siwon asked for the person's identity but stopped midway as he saw the waiter nodding his head in disagreement.

"It was a girl. She had been waiting for you for hours and just left a few minutes ago." the waiter said.

"A girl? But why would any girl come in search of me? Do you know who she was? Her name?" Siwon urged. His anxiety was getting the better of him. But as the waiter opened his mouth to tell him more about the girl, he was immediately called by his boss. Apparently the old man had gotten annoyed at his waiter constantly chatting up his customer instead of serving tables.

"Sorry but please excuse me. I have to go now." the waiter bowed apologetically and dashed off to take orders. As Siwon left the cafe, he was left to wonder who the girl could be. He had initially decided to turn up thinking that it was Donghae since he had been the one to come up with such an arrangement but now this new story of a girl coming in search of him and wanting to meet him out of the blue had puzzled him. And to make matters even worse, it was raining cats and dogs. Due to the relentless downpour, some of the customers had to seek shelter within the cafe, thus prolonging the closing time a little bit while others who had umbrellas left a few minutes ago. Siwon checked his watch and it was already 9 and there was no sign of Donghae anywhere. Not knowing what to do at this point, he decided to wait till the rain had subsided a bit and go back home. Maybe even give Donghae a piece of his mind later for sending him off into this wild goose chase.

~~~~~~

"So, you're aiming for the Olympics next year huh?" Donghae asked as he accommodated himself within the protection of Kyuhyun's umbrella. Now that they're stuck together they thought it was only appropriate to formally introduce themselves to get to know each other better.

"Of course, it has been a dream of mine since childhood." Kyuhyun replied. For some strange reason, he found Donghae rather amusing. For starters, he was such a chatter-box and was lively 24/7. People would rarely get bored if they had Donghae for company.

Completely the opposite of Siwon......while Siwon is more reserved and gentle, Donghae is loud and vivacious!

But Siwon is way better!

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Donghae shrieked and popped his eyes out in shock. Kyuhyun was startled by this sudden outburst.

"Wh..whats wrong?" Kyuhyun asked.

"I had to meet up with my friend earlier and I completely forgot about it." Donghae said in a frantic pace. Kyuhyun saw him fishing out his phone from the backpocket and ruffling his hair frustratedly a second later.

"Aish! Now even my phone's on low battery. What should I do?" Donghae said worriedly. They both were standing in the middle of the street amidst this pouring rain, carrying an umbrella and the temperature started dropping drastically. Kyuhyun rubbed his hands together to warm himself up and Donghae was visibly shaking as well, both from the cold weather and nervousness.

"Thats alright! Dont worry, you can use mine to call your friend!" Kyuhyun was ready to offer his phone when Donghae nervously fiddled with the strap of his back-pack.

"Whats wrong now?" Kyuhyun asked again in an irritated tone.

"We..Well...its just that. I havent memorised his number yet and its only saved in my mobile. And now........its....completely switched off! Lovely!" Donghae said sarcastically.

"I guess there's no point in worrying about it now. You're getting cold and its better if we get you home sooner before it worsens." Donghae added.

"What about your friend then?" Kyuhyun asked curiously.

"I am sure he would forgive me. Whats the worst that he could do? Scold me? Lash out at me? The worst would be sporting a black eye the next day!" Donghae said nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders.

"Are you always this hopeless?" Kyuhyun asked incredulously as they began walking again. This rain had deterred their pace quite a bit as they had difficulty moving further due to the strong wind that sprayed a few drops onto the front part of their bodies. By now, both Kyuhyun and Donghae were completely wet and the only part that remained dry were their heads.

"Well.......sometimes! But mostly I am shameless. Care to know more about me?" Donghae said and Kyuhyun laughed at his reply yet again. He was certainly beginning to get the hang of his conversations with Donghae.

"It seems like de'ja vu. The first time I saw you, you had a similar crisis up your nose! Do you always arrange for meetings only to forget about them later?" Kyuhyun asked and smirked.

"Nope.....It rarely happens this way. And today just happened to be one of those days." Donghae said.

"Oh really! And I almost feel sorry for this friend of yours. Is he by any chance the same one whom you were supposed to meet that day at the rink?" At this question, Donghae snickered slightly before saying "Yup. The one and only!"

"OMG! I can almost picture you getting mercilessly beheaded under a guillotine!" Donghae was surprised by the fact that Kyuhyun could immediately turn the situation around so effortlessly. The first day he had seen him, he was blushing profusely acting bashful and all. Just this evening, Donghae had been given a dose of his snarky side and now with his witty alterego. He was surprised at the various shades of the younger's character. Soon the intensity of the rain lessened and they had almost reached Kyuhyun's house.

"Whew! Finally!" Donghae breathed a sigh of relief when Kyuhyun pointed out his house. As soon as they reached the front gate, Donghae handed over his bag and said "Better take care of your ank...."

"Shhhhhh......Keep it quiet! My seonsangnim will kill me if he knew I was injured during practise!" Kyuhyun said in a hushed voice as Hankyung appeared at the corridor shortly.

"Kyuhyun??? What took you so..... Dear lord, you're wet! Get inside quickly and change out of these clothes now! Hurry!" Hankyung said in a frenzied tone. Kyuhyun bid goodbye to Donghae and scurried inside as Hankyung asked "Its you, Donghae-ssi! Thank you for getting him safely back home. He can be quite a handful sometimes"

"Oh...No..not at all! In fact I was the one who insisted! I should get going now!" He said and stepped outside. The rain had been reduced to a mild drizzle by now.

"But...The least you could do is come inside and warm yourself up." Hankyung insisted.

"No..please. I am already neck-deep in trouble as it is. I should really get going." Donghae said and left immediately. After he left, Hankyung made his way upstairs to check up on his student.

~~~~~~

He said that it was a girl....And she possibly had a picture of me...

But...I am not close to any girls in particular.

And this number......Its awefully familiar.

And then it struck him. He immediately took out his phone and checked his call log. He finally found it. It was the same number from which he had received a call earlier this morning during office hours. Whoever this girl was, she was desperately trying to get in touch with Siwon!

As he continued walking towards his house, he decided to wrack his brain and figure out if she could be anyone he knew from his college days. One by one he recalled the names of girls who had been his collegemates and the possibility of any one them calling him or trying to meet up with him after so long.

Could it...? Nah! Why would she call me? She dumped me for a billionaire afterall!

Jessica would never call me in a million years!

And then he saw Donghae heading towards him from the opposite direction. He stopped in his tracks and stared at his clueless friend angrily and charged at him with his office bag.

"You imbecile! You didnt answer any of my calls. Do you know how..." Siwon yelled as he chased his friend around.

"I am sorry.....I am sorry....Ahhh! Spare me please!" Donghae pleaded as he shielded his head from being pummelled. After calming down his friend who was temporarily on an angry rampage, Donghae asked "So, did you meet her?"

"What? Meet who?.....Dont tell me....you know who she is!" Siwon asked him in return.

"W..wait..wait a second. You mean you didnt meet her at the cafe!? At all?" Donghae asked again.

"Of course not! I was stuck in a gigantic traffic in this rain and was trying to reach you for the past hour. And I thought it was you until I actually got to the cafe and found out that it was someone else. Apparently whoever she was, she has left me her contact number." Siwon said and saw his friend visibly gulping out of nervousness.

"Donghae.....I can figure out this much that whatever you had been trying to tell me since this morning is connected to this person. Spill it before I lose my patience!" Siwon said sternly.

"We..Wel..its...uh..its..mmm" he stuttered fearing an angry fist landing on his face.

"Go on....who is it?" Siwon egged on.

"First promise me you wouldnt get mad at me. I just had no choice. I mean she practically talked me into this despite my denials. So please....forgive me Siwon!" Donghae's voice was apologetic and this had Siwon worried about his friend rather than be angry at him.

"Alright! I promise. Now tell me who was it." Siwon reassured him.

Donghae locked his eyes with that of Siwon's black orbs and said "Its Jess...ica. Its Jessica!"

Woooo hooo.....finally Fishy admitted! And as many or should I say....all of you had predicted, it is Jessica!

Now comes the turbulent part but I seriously hope you all would support me regardless of the angst thats to follow!

Kindly comment on your suggestions and keep me entertained. I simply love it when I read all of your comments!

See ya'all!