This song sets the mood pretty well. I do recommend that you listen to this while reading this fanfiction.

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The winter wind caressed his face, his cheeks, his bare skin. The chills sent by the cool air made him shiver; it wasn't a good shiver. It was one whereby it makes you feel uncomfortable and scared. He was petrified. Petrified of what? He refused to think about that now. It has been months since he last came to this part of the city; the city of love, happiness and heartbreak.

He walked down the streets, alone. In his hands, he towed a metallic grey luggage. The exact same luggage that he took with him the other time. That time was of him leaving; Now, he is back, for good. The ice that formed on the once dull rough ground made the roads reflect light off its smooth surface. The once lovely green trees became bald, the melodious tune of the songbirds have been paused; the harsh season of Christmas. There was just silence, him and his heavy footsteps.

He continued to stroll down the pathway that leads him to nowhere; along this highway, alongside of the tall bared trees. There were no cars that drove along this part of the highway. It was just him and his luggage. He sighed. A puff of thin white smoke came out of his mouth. Water vapors condensed into water droplets instantaneously when in contact with the cool air.

How is she?

Is she okay? 

He halted and turned to look behind him. Nothing but a long trail of footsteps on pure white snow. Far behind are tall concrete structures; The city he knew all too well. The sun was overcasted by the thin white cirrus clouds. The road ahead is just a long stretch of white untouched land. 

The place where the mailbox once stood is now a patch of ice covered land. The green field of wheat grass is now a winter wonderland and that dilapidated treehouse on the old oak tree was left abandoned during this bitter cold season. Still, the same swing remains, the one he used to hang around whenever he needed to be alone. He recalled the moments they once shared together, the times when their hearts were filled with the ecstacy of being near one another, the umpteen times their eyes met each other, and all the tears their eyes shed.

Those days may have been the worse days, but they were also the best. Because to him, just spending those days with her has taught him so much more about life than those years he spent alone without even knowing of her existence. To him, she was that spark of hope that ignited and triggered this wildfire called 'love'; And now, it has spread all over him that he can no longer be mended.

Simply said, he was a fool in love. He still cannot deny the fact that his palms get sweaty around her, the tiny butterflies that flutters in his stomach whenever he is standing next her and this heart of his still beats for her.

In this cold weather, he will be doing something that he has never done before.

In this cold weather, the weather that made him realise the true meaning of life, he will be doing something life changing; once again.

All it takes is for him to walk up to her doorsteps and apologise for his mistakes for initiating this, this separation. But things are not always as simple as it seems. There will always be the existing few complications. 

Will she forgive me?

Does she still love me?

Has she moved on?

Will I still stand a chance to win her heart?

Is she still there?

These thoughts flooded his mind. He can still remember those days they spent together as clear as water. Their six-month-old relationship was lost within a couple of minutes. An impulsive, reckless action and crude words of his. Why couldn't he just had held it in like every other time?

He closed his dark eyes, pictures forming at the back of his mind. 

A smooth flow of memories played.

The first time they met each other was at their workplace. She was a senior barista while he, an amateur; even though she was younger than him. She is the boss' daughter of this coffeehouse that he worked at. Her movements when she made each and every potation was like a flowing liquid, there was no flaw in her movements in his eyes. 

He still remembers how he screwed up every single time; getting the orders wrong, giving the wrong amount of change and even adding the wrong amount of cream into the coffee. The boss was so close to firing him but she pleaded for him to be able to continue working in this coffeehouse. However, they were both given a month of probation from work. He had to learn every nick-nack in the books or he would be fired; she had to teach him every single skill that is required otherwise she would have to return to law school which she dreaded desperately.

He couldn't afford to lose his job. It had the best pay and his mother was in the hospital diagnosed with renal failure. They worked together everyday; stuck to each other like glue, not once leaving each other's side for more than 10 minutes. This caused their colleagues to suspect their close relationship but shrugged it off each time.

By the end of their probation, her father was very pleased with their results and allowed them to continue to serve this coffeehouse. To celebrate their success in securing their jobs, they headed out together.

He insisted on treating her though he wasn't that rich. All he could afford is to buy her a packet meal and a bottle of soda. She didn't mind either. She definitely wasn't one of those rich snobs who looked down on other's social background and status.

They sat down together by the shore, side by side, not minding the humid weather. The day was ending, the sun hid behind the islands ahead of them. The sky became darker and darker as it slowly sets. What is left of the duo is just empty cartons and bottles. They continued to sit down there, admiring the beautiful sea view, taking in the salty scent of the sea water and just enjoying each other's company.

They knew they had feelings for each other; they tried to confess multiple times but failed due to their lack of courage. They did not want to be friends with benefits as they had respect for each other. But that night, she mustered up the courage and blurted the words that both of them wanted to hear from the other party. She didn't know where she got that sudden burst of courage from; It just came rolling off her tongue. He was shocked by her sudden proclamation of love.

Afraid that she might have gotten the wrong idea about his feelings, she quickly looked away, red tainting her pale cheeks.

Not hearing any response, she faked a laugh and said that it was a joke and told him not to take it to heart, but his reply caught her completely off guard. 

"What if... I don't want it to be a joke." Her eyes grazed from her legs to his and back to hers. 

"I like the way you make that stupid face everytime you laugh; I like the way your double lids appear when you're really angry; I like the way you bite your lower lip showing your two front teeth when you get embarrassed; I like the way you play it cool when you see a cute guy. But from now on, I hope you don't do that, because, I want to be the only cool guy in your life, I want to be the only cute guy in your life, I want to be the only one in your life."

Her eyes brightened into a light shade of dark brown as she stared into his dark brown eyes. His arms slowly wrapped around her body, pulling her into a tight embrace. His hand reached out to cup her cheeks gently; slowly, she leaned in closer to him. 

Three inches, two inches, one inch left between them.

Their noses touched as they look into each other's eyes, completely oblivious to their surroundings. Their arms still grasping each other tightly, unwilling to let go of each other to find that it was only just a dream. They remained like that till the sky was painted velvet red and decorated with tiny gems they call stars.

However, when one comes, another goes. 

That night, the doctors informed him that his mother passed away. She stayed by him through his tough times and encouraged him to not give up on hope, faith and destiny. She knew the pain of losing a loved one when her mother passed away due to alcohol abuse.

Her father has made no objections after finding out about their relationship. He trusted them as he knew they were both adults. Whatever decision they made, was up to them to hold responsible for. 

They were both happy and content with their lives, until that one day.

They were supposed to meet at the summer carnival together for a date. However, she was late. It was a normal incident as she was frequently late and had to make him wait. But three hours had passed and she was still nowhere in sight. Worried and frustrated, he called her.

What he heard weren't pleasant. It seemed like she had accidentally hit the accept button and didn't realise that Yi Xing was listening to their every word. 

"Are you going to tell him?"

"No? It's not for him to know."

"Don't you think it's a little unfair to me? Don't you love me?"

"Of course I do." With that, Yi Xing hung up and left. 

He didn't turn up for work, neither did he receive any calls or messages from her.  

---

A knock was heard on his front door. He dragged his body or what seemed to be a hollow depressed shell to the door. His eyes met her, he scoffed and turned around.  "What are you doing here?"

She followed him into the house. "What do you mean? Don't you know it's been days since you came into work? You never bothered to reply my messages or call me back! My father and I was worried about you!"

"What's there to be worried about?"

"What? I'm your girlfriend, of course I would be worried!" 

"Oh, so you still regard me as your boyfriend? Don't you have another man out there to make you happy?"

"What?"

"That day, we were supposed to be at the carnival, you did not turn up for 3 freaking hours. How do you think I felt? It hurts me more when I heard your conversation with him."

"Oh! He's just-"

"Just a friend? Keep telling yourself that. I want nothing to do with you. Get out of my sight, I don't want to see you." Without even letting her explain, Yi Xing just threw her out of the house and slammed the door in her face. She was left outside of his house, on the doorsteps; crying for both of their sakes.

And within that one night, he packed everything he had and moved to another city. 

---

Now in winter, Yi Xing is back. With his suitcase in one hand and heart in the other, he was determined to apologise and let himself be heard by her. 

He counted 5 houses down the street of snow and stood outside of the house. He still haven't mustered up the courage he needed since 2 seasons ago. He shut his eyes for a moment and slowly advanced towards the door. The door swung open and he stumbled backwards running to hide behind the old frozen tree.

A dashing young man around their age came out of the house, followed by her. They said their goodbyes and the male slowly turned to leave. He was graceful in his steps, gentle even.

Afraid of getting caught by him, Yi Xing decided to run. 

"Oh my god. Zhang Yi Xing, is that you?" The said male commented. Yi Xing found his voice awfully familiar but didn't care. His mind was a blank and he didn't know what to do, he just kept running. 

Only then did he realise his luggage wasn't with him. He hit himself on the forehead and had no choice but to turn back. That same young man was standing beside his luggage and looking for him. 

Yi Xing walked straight up to him and claimed his belongings. 

"Yi Xing..."

"How did you know my name? Who are you?"

"I'm Joon Myun. Min-Ha's cousin."

"Cousin??"

"Yes. I knew about your relationship with her and I truly apologise for the misunderstanding that happened a few months ago." 

"What do you mean?", Yi Xing's eyebrows furrowed.

Flash back
"Hey Joon Myun!"

"Oh! Hello Min-Ha! Aigoo, why did you call me out today?"

"Well, you remember Yi Xing? My boyfriend whom you 'spied' on in the coffeehouse?"

"Heheh, yeah." Joon myun said as he scratched his head.

"Well, I'm thinking of throwing him a celebratory party for getting a distinction and award for the culinary examinations. Think you could help me?" 

"Well, yeah sure. But.. are you going to tell him?"

"No? It's not for him to know.", Min-Ha stated the obvious. It was a surprise party.

"Don't you think it's a little unfair to me? Don't you love me?" 

"Yes, I do love you, but what are you trying to say?"

"Because, you didn't throw me a party when I passed the bar examinations!"

"That was because Hyun Ae, your classmate who had a crush on you remember, already had one planned for you." 

"Oh..heheh"

Flashback scene ends

"Yes, that was all to our relationship which you suspected! I would never date another girl if I'm the third party. I'm terribly sorry if you had misunderstood it."

"No, no. I'm the one who should be apologizing to you for suspecting you two, and Min-ha for not hearing her out." Yi Xing knew he couldn't change the fact he hurt her feelings and sighed as he looked at the ground. Well, to him it seemed more interesting now.

"You do know she's still hasn't gotten over you right?" Joon Myun announced. Yi Xing looked at him in disbelief. Shock was evident on his face. He stared at him in realisation and he knew he was the one at fault. 

Heavy footsteps padded the ground, inking the pure white cushion with more dark prints. 

He suddenly halted, images of their time spent together flashed in his mind. "It hurts, it hurts so badly," he whimpered as tears cascaded down his rosy cheeks. He missed every single thing that screams uniquely her. The way her laughter just made him want to smile, the way she just smiles at everybody and the way she smiles at him. Unknowingly, he felt the end of this lips tugging upwards at that memory. He really did love her afterall.

He stood there, out in the cold; alone and feeling sorrow. He knew that it was his fault now, not hers. He ran back, hoping to find her, to apologise for he had broken her heart. It was all up to him to resolve this relationship they had.

The only place he knew where to find her is the place where they first met each other. That little coffeehouse that everything began. He ran towards it, he was ready to give up everything to be with her or at least get her to forgive him.

Just one more street, he thought.

But fate was never in his favour. And this time, there too is no exception.

He lost his footing on the ice covered ground. He slid off the pavement, into the middle of the road. And poor Min-ha, she witnessed it all. She saw him, she placed her coffee down on the table and stood up, she was ready to head out there to talk to him, to amend their relationship. She wanted them to get back together and be the lovebirds they were before; but it's all too late.

He caught her eyes, that signature beanie she wore every season; the one he gave her on her birthday. She knows that he saw her looking at him. And that look in his eyes, she know he wanted to apologise for everything. And he knows that he is well-forgiven. And alas, he can finally close his eyes in peace.

"No, Yi Xing!" Those were the last things he heard, ever.

---

A car, skidded across the road a couple of moments ago;

A sharp screeching noise filled the air.

A loud scream;

Blood splattered on ice.

Tears rolled down her cheeks.

His blood, her tears and one cold winter day.

---

Author's note:

Hey there friends. Anna's story has been moved to her account. Here is the link: Speak. The characters are the same just that the story line is different from this. I sincerely hope that you people will enjoy this story. :) Do check it out! :) 

And last but not least, Merry Christmas!

-Blue