Ice: Thaw the Frozen Heart [EDITING]

Chapter 61

"It won't be just the two of us, I promise!" Yeojin quickly added. "I'll have Sunhee tag along. And we'll be doing it in the library where most of my other classmates will most likely be working on their papers in."

Kris chuckled. "Relax!" He patted her head. "I trust you."

__________

Trust is one thing, but jealousy is another thing. Just because he trusted Yeojin didn't mean jealousy was absent. In fact, it was very much present inside him. It was like a poison spreading in his mind. Kris hoped Yeojin can sort out her feelings by being friends with Sehun. He hoped that way, there wouldn't be room left for thoughts of what-ifs. He hoped in the end she would still choose him.

Yet this toxic jealousy gave way to doubts.

Feigning a smile got harder with each passing day of her coming home with the biggest smile after spending time with Sehun. Yeojin always had a story to tell about Sehun, Sunhee, or Lin whenever she came home. But her stories were mostly about Sehun. He had to remind himself to be the bigger person and be more mature in viewing this.

At least Sehun didn't seem to have made any move on her beyond friendship, he assured himself.

"You're still up?" Kris asked one night when he just arrived home and spotted Yeojin in the living room hunched over her laptop at this late hour.

"Yeah. Finishing the paper," she answered without looking up. "Tomorrow's the submission day, and we'll have the thesis defense thing on Friday." She briefly glanced up to smile at him. "How's your day?"

"Nothing new." Kris took off his jacket.

"What about that project you told me?"

"We're working on it," he replied and was reminded of Luhan. He made a mental note to text Areum later about whether she had told Luhan about everything. He hoped she already did.

"Oh by the way—" Yeojin exclaimed stopping him in his steps to the bedroom—"I think I'm starting to get the hang of driving. You'll be proud!"

Her grin was wide and she beamed that it somehow made him feel uneasy. His hunch made him think of Sehun for some reason.

"Sehun taught me a bit."

Damn that guy! "He what?" Kris could not restrain sounding disapproving. He could feel his own face muscles contorting to a slight frown. Yeojin didn't seem to notice the tension, though, as she focused back on her laptop.

"He taught me driving," she nonchalantly replied; eyes on the screen and fingers rapidly typing. "Just for a while." Kris folded his arms in front of his chest as she continued, "We get to finish some parts of the paper earlier than we planned, so I asked him to teach me a bit before dropping me off here." The clicking sound of the keyboard suddenly stopped.

Kris watched her face morphed into a look of horror. Confused by her sudden pause, he just quirked an eyebrow.

Her head snapped up. "I'm sorry! I swear it was just for a while. We-we're just friends! You're not jealous, are you?"

Despite the toxic feeling gnawing his heart, with gaze averted elsewhere, he softly answered, "No."

Yeojin let out a sigh of relief. "I just wanted to make you proud." She forced a grin looking like a child apologizing to her dad for eating the candies she shouldn't be eating at midnight. "You're really not jealous, right?"

Heaving a breath, Kris made his way to sit beside her. He grabbed her hand and lowered his gaze to her hand in his. "You don't have to walk on eggshells around me, Jin. You're a grownup. Do what you want." When he glanced at her from the corner of his eyes, she was already staring at him. "I trust you know what should and should not be done."

A look between a grimace and a grin was donned on her face causing a frown on his. "What's wrong?" She only rubbed her nape and bit down her lip in reply, so Kris repeated, "Jin, what's wrong?"

"Can I—" she sighed—"Is it okay—" Eyes squeezed shut and shoulders hunched, she rapidly continued, "Is it okay if I go watch a movie with Sehun tomorrow?"

It was as if something hard just knocked him out. For a moment, he couldn't really think. Kris opened and closed his mouth while Yeojin opened one eye to peep at him.

"What?" His question came out louder than he intended.

"Okay don't misunderstand. Hear me out." She shifted her body to face him. "So I've been wanting to watch Hobbit since it came out last month. But because of the sudden public announcement of our marriage and our vacation to China, I never got to watch it. And tomorrow I don't have any class at all. I just need to submit the paper and us seniors are free to go. So when Sehun brought up Hobbit, I thought why not and asked Sunhee, Jongdae, and Lin to come along with us, but Lin said she had two last exams and had to study, and Mother won't let her,; and Sunhee said she already had a planned date with Jongdae—and you remember what I told you about their situation, right? So it came down to just the two of us. But I swear I want to go not because of Sehun, but because it's Hobbit. Plus, I know you don't like that type of movie and even if you want to watch it with me, you're busy, so I have to wait for the weekend and I don't know if they will still be showing the movie by then. And it will take a long time to wait for the dvd version so—"

Kris grabbed her shoulders to stop her. "Yeojin, breathe!" When the girl followed his instruction and took a deep breath, he let go of her shoulder. "So you're watching with just Sehun?" He couldn't help but to frown.

"Yes?" She answered with uncertainty.

Kris groaned, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose.

"It's not going to be a date. Just a... hangout?" A hand touched his arm. "Are you mad?" He heard her ask with caution.

He finally looked at her with a tight smile and patted her hand. "Just do what you want," he told her the same thing he did before, but not as gentle as before. Then, he stood up from the couch and strode for the bedroom.

"You're mad, aren't you?" Her voice somehow sounded chirpier—a little more playful and amused—than before.

"No," he replied without turning around.

"Are you jealous?"

For some reason she sounded like she was taunting him.

He held back another groan and didn't stop walking. "No, I'm going to bed." He closed the bedroom door behind him and sighed.

"Are you made of gelatin?" came her holler from outside. He swore he heard muffled chuckles too. "Because I think you're jelly!"

She's definitely taunting him!

The movie date—or hangout as Yeojin would call it—couldn't be a joke though, he frustratedly thought.

Sehun was just too smooth in doing this.

Damn you, Sehun!