collision | jay | enhypen

7. ice cream

YUNHEE

"Alright Wonbin, I think that's it for today. You can pack up," I say, replacing the cap on the pen and arranging stray sheets in order. Our professor had assigned me to help tutor my classmate after school hours and while it was fulfilling, it was also extremely exhausting because I was cutting back on time to do my work.

"Aren't you leaving? It's getting dark," he asks.

"Nah, I have some unfinished work to do. You go ahead. Enjoy your weekend!" I wave him off. Once again, it was just me, all alone in this dark and soulless work room. It was bad enough I had to take two days off because of a stupid cold, so being here with tons of shit to complete and no one to keep me company was kind of depressing.

I unknowingly extend my stay at the campus without keeping track of time. I had been busy sewing away a little design I had sketched out in my notebook. A side project, if you would like to call it that. I was meaning to use it as a comfort project when the others felt too overwhelming.

I look at the watch slithered around my wrists, alarmed at the time it displayed. "Shit, I'm going to miss the last bus," I mutter under my breath as I shove all my stuff into my backpack and turn off the lights before running out of the building. It was getting a little creepy being all my by myself.

"Wait!" I despairingly call out, seeing the bus speed past the gate of the campus. It pays no heed to my desperation. I crouch down on the step, burying my face in my palms having no idea what to do. My phone had died and I couldn't see a single soul around here, which was increasing my paranoia by the second.

All of a sudden, I feel a powerful beam of bright light peeking through the gaps of my fingers. I move them from my face to be met with that hideous yellow Lamborghini I knew all too well. It was none other than Jay. He rolls down the window.

"Damsel in distress, I see?" He teases. I really must look pathetic sitting on the staircase looking like a stranded tourist.

"Don't get me started," I mumble, looking away. I was really looking forward to changing into a comfortable set of pajamas and chilling in front of the TV eating pizza after a long day.

"I know it hurts your pride to ask so yes, you can hop in," Jay says cockily, unlocking the door to the passenger seat. Left with no dignity to spare, I wordlessly trudge to the car. He looks surprised at my lack of snarky remark. I set the location to my place on his GPS and lie my head against the headrest feeling completely defeated. Silence reigns the vehicle, before he breaks it.

"What are you doing till late these days? It's not safe to be alone outside at night."

"Oh, is someone concerned right now?" I ask in amusement.

"It's called being nice. What's up with you?" He groans.

"I'm just falling behind on projects and assignments. And I've also started tutoring Wonbin so that's taking up my time too. I swear, I need to learn how to manage my time better," I start stressing out, pulling my hair and threatening to rip it off its roots.

"Relax, I've missed whole semesters and I'm still here, right? And no, my dad didn't 'pay my way' through grades."

"Why do you, or did you, miss a lot of classes the past years?" I ask, genuinely interested in his lack of presence ever since we started college.

"Well, my dad had me flying to America every now and then to 'learn more about business' and stuff because he believes fashion design is useless and I need to be equipped to take over the company. We kind of had a whole fight about it because I wasn't interested in it and I finally dropped it. You're in luck you get to see me more this year," he says smugly, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. I lightly punch his arm jokingly.

"Keep dreaming, Park," I say with a scoff. "Wait, where are we going? You didn't reach the turn to my apartment yet."

"I know, we're going to get some ice cream. You really need to chill your nerves," Jay says casually, and I feel something weird in my stomach when I hear that. It was an unexpectedly sweet gesture.

"What'll you have?" He asks me, standing in front of an ice cream truck we found at a park. He was wearing an oversized plain white t-shirt with ripped baggy jeans and a thin chain dangling around his neck. It was simple, but it looked perfect.

What the hell are you saying, Choi Yunhee?

"Uhh, vanilla," I say, not giving much thought.

"Basic bitch," he pokes fun at me.

"It's classic." I roll my eyes.

He reappears after a while with two cones of ice cream, one vanilla and another one which looked eerily like blood.

"What's this, exotic human juice churned into ice cream?"

"Gee, Yunhee. That was horribly graphic," Jay grimaces at my description. "It's red velvet. I'm not going to be able to have it the same way again."

We sit in silence for a while, enjoying our cold dessert till Jay suddenly bursts out laughing.

"What?" I ask.

"Wait, stay still. I need to get a picture of this," he says, guffawing as he fishes out his phone from his pocket. He turns the screen back at me after clicking a photo and I look horrified.

"This is going on my story," he says, looking pleased with himself. It was a picture of me looking confused as fuck, vanilla ice cream smeared above my lips like a mustache.

"Ew Jay, no!" I attempt to snatch the phone from him, but he just stands up and holds it over his head.

"Really?" I raise my eyebrows at him, folding my arms.

"Yes," he says, lightly tapping his ice cream on my nose and leaving a red dot on it. "You look like a clown now."

"Thanks, my look today was inspired by you," I reply, earning a playful nudge from him.

"Oh, my God, you know what I should do? I should get some blueberry ice cream and put it around your eyes. Then you'll really look like a clown. Oh, and some red lipstick to look more creepy-" He starts, rambling as if he had the greatest epiphany.

"Sorry to interrupt your artistic awakening, but we'll be doing nothing of that sort. Let's get going. It's already way past midnight," I say, pushing him to his car.

"Ugh, you're boring."

"And you're impractical."

"That makes us perfect for each other," he says with a wink, catching me off guard. I ignore it and get into the shotgun seat.

He plays some soft music, occasionally exchanging a few words with me on the way back. I roll down the windows and stare at the scenery outside, letting the cool breeze gently blow past my face. Tall trees slightly obstruct the view of the night sky, a cloudless, dark void illuminated by the full moon. There weren't many people on the streets at this hour, so you could really enjoy the view without any disturbances. Strangely enough, I felt at peace in this car with Jay.

I feel a pair of eyes on me from my peripheral vision and I turn to see Jay looking at me. He quickly averts them when he notices me.

"Eyes on the road, Park. I don't want to die with you," I say with a smug look.

"Does that mean you want to live with me?" He one-ups me.

"Never mind I said anything."