Dancing On Thin Ice // KTH

Chapter 71

Carmela stepped back from the edge of the building, staring in awe at the boy a couple of feet next to her. 

It had been two years. Two years since they had met or talked or even seen each other. 

"What're you... what're you doing here?" She called.

"I'm just..." JK looked down to the ground, before stepping back and turning to Carmela. "Just getting some fresh air." He nodded quickly.

"No, I mean what're you doing here? Like in Rooston?" 

"Oh, I'm studying. In the college a couple of hours from here. My parents sent me." His face fell slightly, but he gave a small smile, pushing his hood back.

"Oh. Um... you look different." Carmela said, shifting her feet. He looked nothing like the JK she had left behind in Chicago. She remembered their time together. When she was their... band choreographer. Wow. That seemed like a completely different life. Just two years ago.

"You do too. Like more mature." He smiled a little, a real one this time.

"I always forget I'm younger than you. Just one year though." Carmela didn't smile back, but she loosened up a bit. There was no harm in talking to JK. He was young, and studying here alone. No harm in that. Before she could ask more questions, he spoke.

"Do you want to... do you want to grab a coffee or something?" He asked in a raspy, tired voice. So different.

"Um... sure, why not." Carmela said before she could take the words back. He nodded and walked to her, hands in the pockets of his black hoodie. He walked past her and Carmela followed him, down the steps and onto the sidewalk.

He was silent. And so... different. He was nothing like the JK from before. Smiling and childish enough that she thought he was a teenager. Now he was... well, he seemed much older. Too old. Maybe old wasn't the right word. Sad? 

"Wanna go here?" He asked, all the childishness stripped away from his once cheery voice. 

Carmela looked at the building beside her where he was looking. It was a small coffee shop. 

"Yes." 

They walked into the warm place, the bell of the door ringing as they stepped inside, and seated themselves across from each other at a small round table. 

"So..." Jungkook slumped back in his tall chair, his arms dangling between his legs. "Why were you on the roof?"

"Um-- well, I was just... you know, catching some fresh air." Carmela stammered, unsure of why exactly she was on the roof in the first place.

"That was my excuse." He snickered, and looked out the window to the street. "This is a nice town. Great time passer." 

"When did you come here?" 

"Around the same time you disappeared. I never expected to meet you here of all places. Rooston?" He snickered again, and Carmela pursed her lips from his ice cold vibe.

"Yes, Rooston. What, did you think I'd stay in Chicago after your best friend murdered mine?" She raised her voice, burning her eyes into Jungkook's relaxed one.

"You don't know that. But hey, that's sorta why I left too. I had to go. Just couldn't stay in the middle of it anymore." He said, and Carmela calmed herself by his unalarmed expression. He was like a rock.

"Really? So you don't keep in touch with them?" 

"Kinda." He yawned, still staring out the window. "I know where they are. I just don't care anymore."