Thin Ice- SunSun

- Explanation of the ending -

Hi everyone, I know it's been a while since the story ended, but I've noticed a lot of people have been confused about the ending. I've always wanted to explain it, but since it's been so long, I felt like it was too late in a way. However, I put a lot of thought into the significance of thin ice/falling through the ice, within this book, so I wanted to add a little explanation for anyone confused. 

Let's clear one thing up right away: Sunghoon never fell through the ice, not in the past, nor at the end of this book.

I used thin ice/falling through the ice, as a way of referencing multiple different things. When Sunghoon talks about it in reference to Jake, it represents his loss of control, being unable to stop Jake from leaving, and, in how he falls into a depressed state afterwards. It's also talking about how he didn't realize loving someone could lead to getting hurt in this way. When he talks about it in reference to Sunoo, it's more about his current fears of getting hurt.

Here's some quotes I pulled, to explain further:

Chapter 7 [When Sunoo and Sunghoon are talking at the party] - "I do everything I can to stay above the ice." Here Sunghoon is talking about how he put walls up to protect himself. E.g. hiding stuff from his mum, cutting his friends out of his life. "When I say there's no coming back, I mean it. Even when you get back on the ice, you'll never be the same." Similarly, here he's referencing to how he changed after losing Jake.

Chapter 12 - 'Staying by his side, wouldn't do any harm, the person he was a year ago, was already resurfacing.' In a way, Sunghoon view's his old self to have 'died' under the ice, but from interacting with Sunoo, he felt his old self coming back, which he didn't think was possible.

Chapter 17 [After the kiss at the rink] - 'Sunghoon couldn't control it, he had let himself slip away, he had fallen through the ice.' Sunghoon had lowered his walls, enough to reveal his true feelings through that kiss, and it scared him. The thought that this could lead to him getting hurt again.

Chapter 19 [Where SunSun get together officially] - 'It was like he could see himself, sinking in Sunoo's embrace, but this time, he had chosen to dive in.' Sunghoon decides that being with Sunoo is worth the risk, because he wants to be happy again.

Outro: Thin Ice - 'The whole world melted away, the ice cracked, he fell through.' Like I said, this isn't literal. It's more to show that Sunghoon was prepared to give his full self to Sunoo.

So I hope that helps in understanding the ending a little better. I honestly never realized that people would take it literally, but after re-reading, I can understand how people do. This is in no way me trying to shame anyone for thinking this, I just wanted to explain it for anyone confused. I don't use the ice reference that much in the sequel, but it does pop up from time to time. In that case, I use it in a completely different way, but I'll leave that for people to find out themselves.

I feel so embarrassed writing this since it's been so long😭