Ice: Thaw the Frozen Heart [EDITING]

Chapter 46

The hall was already dark and silent when Kris stepped out of his room after the shower. He trudged down the hallway toward Jinho's room passing Lin's. Lin had bid goodnight half an hour ago and his mom had left for the hospital after coming back from dropping off Grandpa at the airport. Yeojin probably had fallen asleep too in Jinho's room. She wanted to stay at the mansion with her brother while her mom is in the hospital, and Kris went with her wish.

Carefully he opened the door to Jinho's room and peeked in. The room was completely dark. With only little amount of light from outside seeping in through the little gaps between the curtains, he could make out the silhouette of Yeojin hugging her brother.

A soft sigh escaped his lips. He couldn't imagine how shocked they were. Yeojin was silent throughout the drive home. Sitting at the back seat, she kept on holding onto Jinho's hand as if afraid the boy would disappear if she let go. Kris wished he could comfort them more. But now, seeing them able to sleep peacefully was enough.

He turned around and pulled the door to close it, but he suddenly heard a faint sniff. He paused and peeked inside the room again hearing another sniff. Carefully, he slipped inside the room and closed the door behind him.

"Yeojin? Are you awake?" He approached the bed. There was no answer, but Kris was sure she was awake. "Jin?" He tried again as he sat on the edge of the bed beside the sleeping Jinho.

Yeojin was hugging the boy for dear life. Her brows were furrowed. Though her eyes were closed, Kris knew she was just trying to pretend she was asleep. With a sigh, he ran his hand through her hair. Startled, Yeojin opened her eyes and peered up at him who gave her a small smile.

"Pretending to sleep huh? You should know by now that you can't lie to me." Kris softly chuckled still caressing her head. When Yeojin's gaze strayed down to Jinho, he asked, "Are you okay?"

Yeojin pursed her lips and brooded over what to answer until she decided to just shake her head. She squeezed her eyes when she choked on a sob.

"Shhh." Kris's hand slid down to cup her cheek and wiped a drop of tear that just escaped her eyes with the pad of his thumb. "You'll wake your brother up," he whispered.

Yeojin bit down her trembling lip to hold back the tears. She hugged her brother closer.

"Everything's gonna be okay. I'm here," Kris told her while stroking her back to calm her down. He shifted on the bed and rested his back on the headboard.

They stayed like that for a long while in silence. Yeojin eventually calmed down but still couldn't fall asleep. Kris, on the other hand, didn't stop stroking her head and playing with her hair. Looking down at Yeojin and then at Jinho between them, he wondered if this is what it would look like later if they have their own family. A smile curled on his lips, but he couldn't help but to fear that Yeojin would push him away again.

"Kris," Yeojin finally spoke up.

"Hm?"

Yeojin didn't take her eyes off her brother while she ran her hand through the boy's hair much like what Kris was doing with hers. "I..." She sighed. "I... can't love you back."

Kris' hand abruptly stopped stroking her head as a sudden pain squeezed his heart. Hovering over her head, his hand curled into fist. For a short moment, he almost lost himself, but he gulped down the pain and confusion and gently stroke her head again.

"I'm sorry," she sobbed. "I-"

"We'll talk about this tomorrow, alright? Now stop talking and sleep. You need it," he told her while patting her head.

She finally looked up at him, but it only tore his heart even more. He couldn't stand seeing her moist eyes. He couldn't stand seeing her cry because she couldn't love him back. The thought of her pushing him away again pained him more. This was what he feared most when he heard her mom fell.