Ice: Thaw the Frozen Heart [EDITING]

Chapter 41

Mind floating elsewhere, Yeojin bit the tip of her thumb. The thought of what Kris said yesterday made her heart uneasy. Her own feelings when he said it made her even much uneasier.

"Here you go!" With a smile, Sunhee put down Yeojin's ordered drink on the table as she sat down with hers in her hand.

Yeojin was grateful when Sunhee dragged her to the mall after school. She needed to be away from Sehun for now after the news of him having a girlfriend was spread.

"Hey, you okay?" Sunhee asked with a little frown when she realized her friend was blankly staring at a distance.

After a few seconds of delay, Yeojin sighed. Eyes still at far distance, she asked, "Sunhee, how did you know you like Jongdae?"

Surprised by the question, Sunhee blinked several times. "I don't know," she began and lowered her head to hide a growing blush. "I just felt it, I guess." She shrugged trying to control her grin. "I was just giving it a try, but then he just kind of grew on me. He makes me smile and I just feel happy with him. Then he's suddenly in my mind like twenty-four seven! I realized it wasn't just me being happy but knowing he's happy with me that makes me want to stay with him."

Yeojin glanced at her friend and smiled a little seeing how hard it was for Sunhee to hide her grin.

Suddenly realizing Yeojin's question, Sunhee knitted her brows. "Why?" Then, her eyes grew a little wider as she let out a soft gasp. "Are you starting to like one of the two?"

Yeojin lowered her gaze to the table. Her heart was suddenly twisting in pain and she took in a shaky breath. She then gulped before she softly said, "No." She momentarily closed her eyes feeling somehow ashamed as she added, "I think I like both."

"Wha-" Sunhee felt her words got caught in her throat. In disbelief, she stared at her friend with rounded eyes.

Opening her eyes, Yeojin scoffed at herself. "I'm such a bad girl, aren't I?"

As a little sigh escaped her lips, Sunhee's gaze turned gentle. Somehow she felt sorry seeing her friend like this.

Keeping her head low, Yeojin continued, "Kris confessed to me yesterday, and he asked me why I was so worked up over his kissing Areum eonni if I don't have any feelings for him. I realized that I was like that because I was simply jealous. Not just because I'm his wife, but I realized it's also because I actually like him too." She pursed her lips and took in a deep breath. "But then when I couldn't sleep last night, Sehun crossed my mind. I knew I had been in denial all this time. In truth, I'm slowly falling for him too."

Sunhee pursed her lips not sure of what to reply. This wasn't what she was expecting to hear. And it certainly wasn't a simple matter, she noted.

Yeojin willed herself to look up at her friend. Tears stinging the back of her eyes, but she held them in. "You know what confused me?" Sunhee slowly shook her head and Yeojin answered for herself, "I'm so scared of losing Kris that I told him to stop loving me. But it was weird that I didn't feel that way toward Sehun. When I'm with him, I felt normal even! I don't know if not feeling scared of losing him is a good thing or not. And I honestly can't understand myself now! I don't know if I'm like that because I like Kris more or Sehun more."

Finally cracking, a drop of tear escaped her eye and she bit down her lip. "I feel so bad, Sunhee. I can't understand my own feelings! I shouldn't have let my guard down in the first place! I should've stop myself earlier! Now it's too late and I'm so scared of hurting them both." She hiccuped a sob; her chest tightened. "What should I do, Sunhee? I'm such a jerk, aren't I?"

Her question sounded so clueless and broken to Sunhee that it hurt her too. She scooted her chair closer to Yeojin's and pulled her friend into her arms. She badly wanted to tell her friend to just stop being scared of losing the people who love her. But trying to put herself in Yeojin's shoes, she understood that it wasn't that easy. It almost felt like a miracle to even hear her say that she had come to like someone.