Complexity

Do You Want to Build a Snowman?

Xinyu POV

When I stepped into the house, the tension was palpable. Ning-Ning and Handong were huddled near the bathroom door, whispering with expressions that screamed concern.

"I feel like I've been gone for hours. Sohyun's still in there?" I asked, a faint edge of worry creeping into my tone.

Handong gave me a tired shake of her head.

"We've called her so many times, Xinyu. Not a word. She might've fainted, or maybe she just doesn't want to respond."

My heart skipped. Fainted? I forced myself to take a deep breath. Sohyun wasn't fragile—at least, not anymore. She had endured far worse. But still, the thought gnawed at me.

"Maybe she just needs space," Ning-Ning added, though the uncertainty in her voice didn't ease my worry.

I crouched down, knocking lightly on the bathroom door.

"Sohyun?" My voice was softer than I expected. No answer.

A part of me wanted to break the door down, but that would only make her feel cornered. Instead, I tried a different approach.

"Hey, I bought ice cream. Your favorite. If you don't come out, I might eat it all myself," I teased, hoping my tone sounded lighthearted.

No response.

I knocked again, pressing my forehead against the door.

"If you're still upset, that's okay. You can cry. Scream. Throw things if you want. Just... don't keep it all bottled up in there. You'll make yourself sick."

Still nothing. My heart tightened.

"Sohyun," I tried again, my voice dropping to a gentle whisper,

"you can complain to me. You can be mad. Sad. Even weak. I'll sit with you in it, okay? You don't have to deal with this alone."

I could hear Ning-Ning behind me muttering something about how I was being unusually sentimental. I ignored her.

Then, as a last resort, I started singing 'Do you want to build a snowman' in the most exaggerated voice I could muster. Ning-Ning burst out laughing.

"Xinyu, you're going to scare her, not comfort her!"

But then I heard it—a faint laugh from the other side of the door. My chest eased. She was still there.

"If you don't want to hear me sing, you better come out," I said, leaning my back against the door.

"Otherwise, I'm going to start on 'Do You Want to Build a Snowman?' again?"

The door clicked. Slowly, it creaked open, revealing Sohyun's tired face. Her eyes were red, but there was a small, reluctant smile tugging at her lips.

"Ice cream?" I asked, holding out a cone.

She chuckled softly, taking it from me.

"You're so annoying, Xinyu."

"Annoying, but effective," I quipped, motioning for her to follow me to the couch.

Sohyun POV

The silence of the bathroom was comforting, like a protective cocoon. But inside, my mind was 

anything but still. It was chaos—a swirl of emotions that I couldn't name.

Meeting my mother after so long... I hadn't expected it. I hadn't wanted it. And the way SeoAh looked at me, so apologetic, it made me feel worse.

I stared at my phone, reading and rereading SeoAh's messages. Twenty-plus apologies filled with crying emojis. She meant well, but every word felt like a weight pressing down on me.

A single notification from Nien stood out among the flood. Just my name. Typical Nien—straight to the point, always knowing when something was off.

"Why am I like this?" I whispered to myself, tracing a crack on the tiled wall.

Then, there was Xinyu. Her voice filtered through the door, gentle but insistent.

"Come out. I bought quite a lot of ice cream. Come eat with me."

A lump formed in my throat. Her attempts to cheer me up were ridiculous—singing 'Do You Want to Build a Snowman' songs, bribing me with ice cream—but they worked.

"If you still want to cry, cry with me. I'll accompany you. If you're in a bad mood, I'll be in a bad mood too. We'll be in a bad mood together," she said, her voice closer now, as if she were leaning against the door.

Tears pricked my eyes. How did she always know what to say?

"You can complain to me," she continued, softer this time.

"Even being the weakest person, I don't mind."

I hesitated, my hand hovering over the lock. Could I really let her see me like this? Weak, broken, a mess? But then she said,

"The bathroom's cold. You've been in there for a while. Come watch a movie with me."

And just like that, the walls I had built crumbled.

I opened the door, greeted by Xinyu's warm smile and an outstretched cone of ice cream.

"Ice cream?" she asked, grinning like an idiot.

I couldn't help but laugh, the sound surprising even me.

"You're so annoying, Xinyu."

"Annoying, but effective," she said, nudging me toward the couch.

As we sat down, a weight lifted from my chest. Maybe I didn't have to face everything alone after all.  

Author Note: How is it? SoXinz wins for the best couple award? I already guess it as soon as I Saw them nominated.