Ice Cold- Park Sunghoon

four

"I need a break", Soojin muttered as she laid down on the ice, not caring about her clothes getting wet or her being cold. She was covered in sweat anyway. 

It wasn't a pretty sight, Sunghoon had to agree on that. Under normal circumstances, he would've considered her quite attractive, her brown, wavy hair, that was just long enough to reach her shoulders, the mysterious dark eyes, that seemed to stare into his soul each time they looked at each other and the contagious smile he saw way more than he wanted to. 

In other words, she was quite literally beautiful. But that wasn't anything new to him, after all, he had travelled a lot as a figure skater. Seeing pretty girls wasn't anything new to him. She just was one of a bunch (oNE oF a kINd xD). 

Well. Not at this very moment. 

"Please get up, you look-" The strict stare of Soojin made him shut up before finishing the sentence, intimidating him once again. "How do I look, Park?" 

"Absolutely gorgeous", he sarcastically stated before skating towards the young female to help her up, which he knew she wasn't capable of on her own. They had been training for 5 hours, the ice rink already closed for "normal" guests, but they always kept it open for Sunghoon if he needed it. The owners were long time friends of his family that trusted him, so he had a slight advantage over other skaters who might only have limited access to the ice rink. 

Normally he would practise from 6 am to midnight, a few breaks in between but not too many. He knew that it could cause more damage than it would help in the long run, but he didn't have anything else to do. 

Truth be told, he quit school a year ago when his skating became serious, so he had all the time in the world to focus on training. He missed school sometimes, the lack of social interactions was hard to deal with from time to time and he just missed messing around with his friends, at least for a few hours of his day. He lost contact with them, mostly because he was ashamed of the person he had become. 

Soojin on the other hand did still go to school. In fact, she really enjoyed going there, messing with her friends and learning new things every day. She still had to figure out how she was going to do both, figure skating and school, at least for a few months, but she was too scared to ask Sunghoon. 

But Soojin knew she had to overcome that fear. 

"I still go to school, so I can't really be here before 5 pm. School ends at 4 and I need a little to drive home, change and come here."

The young male was frustrated. He didn't even think of her having to go to school. Not everyone was like him and her life actually depended on her education, which he obviously respected. 

"Right. Sorry. Didn't think of that", Sunghoon smiled apologetically and looked down at the ice after. "Just get here as quickly as possible and be ready to be sleepless. If that's fine by you of course."

Soojin was confused. Why was he being so understanding? So considerate? It was weird seeing that side of him, in these few hours she actually got used to the mean, cocky Sunghoon, so this was very strange. 

"It's fine. I will talk to my teachers though, maybe they will let me out an hour earlier or give me less homework or something. You probably need to come as well and tell them if you don't mind." "Makes sense, will do. Tomorrow?" 

"Yeah", Soojin breathed before subtly smiling at the elder, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere between them. She could get used to this Sunghoon as well. She liked this Sunghoon even more. He felt genuine, like he actually had a heart and feelings. 

"I will come to pick you up after school, then we can go to the principal together. You can just get changed here afterwards", he proposed, quickly receiving a nod from the girl in front of him. Her hair was messy, hair strands falling out of her ponytail because it was too short to stay in it. Her cheeks were flushed red, and her breathing was still a little irregular. But something about her seemed different now. Something had changed and Sunghoon knew it. He just didn't know what exactly it was. 

*

The bell rang. Normally Soojin would've slowly picked up her stuff, waited for her best friend that was even slower than her and calmly left the classroom, politely saying goodbye to the teacher before going home to do her homework. 

Today was different. 

Without hesitating, she grabbed all her stuff, running towards the door while trying to put everything into her bag as she ran, almost running over a few students on the way. After she was so late yesterday, she didn't want to provoke Sunghoon again. Soojin also hoped that he would stay as nice as he was yesterday night if she cooperated enough. 

That's when she saw Sunghoon, leaning against the gate of the school, his eyes resting on her, a weird expression decorating his handsome face. It confused Soojin, but she still ran towards him, her hair covering her eyes at some point, which made her trip a few times before she finally arrived in front of the boy. 

"I'm here", she breathed heavily, panting like crazy. Sunghoon chuckled. "Yeah, I can see that", before unconsciously grabbing her bag, swinging it over his own shoulder and walking towards the school again. 

Soojin just followed, trying to regulate her breathing at least a little. 

The both of them were fully aware of all the whispers coming from the students around them, most of them directed towards Sunghoon, who was not only a celebrity but also pretty much the best-looking guy on this planet. At least Soojin liked to think so, and her classmates would agree on that. 

"Tell them to stop staring", Sunghoon whispered, slightly flustered at all of this female attention. It wasn't new to him, but it was strange getting it while another girl was walking right next to him, her bag on his shoulders as if they were...

"I don't like this. They are going to think we're- you know... a thing?" 

Soojin had thought of that. She didn't really have a problem with that, but Sunghoon definitely did. It hurt a little, a little much, but she didn't tell him that. He wouldn't understand after all. Everyone around him, even the guys, would want to date him. 

Not that Soojin wanted to of course. She didn't even like him. How could she after knowing him for only two days, getting treated like shit all the time? 

But why did it hurt so much then?