Unfair.
She always is.
Ice looked at her—anger he'd tried to bury suddenly clawing up his throat.
Why are you suddenly back in my life?
After all that time he spent trying to regain his peace… the peace he kept posting about like it was a badge of honor.
And now here she was: Fire
Standing in front of him with that worried expression.
Worried about him.
And his mom, he wanted to roll his eyes.
He didn't want to share a room with her.
He knew exactly what this was.
A setup.
She was the sacrifice again.
Who in their right mind wanted to be the sacrifice?
He knew why he had been avoiding her.
Because, finally, she had listened—avoiding him to escape all the hatred that always followed him.
She listened to him for the first time, great, annoyingly perfect.
He finally thought he had freed her of that burden—of him.
And now she was dragged back again.
Not because she wanted to be.
But because people kept harassing her simply for being associated with him.
"If you're trying to cut me off, do it properly so you won't fall into their trap."
His voice came out softer than expected, too soft for what he wanted to say.
Too late to take it back.
She gasped.
Guilt washed across her face, painfully obvious.
She was always easy to read.
And yet that tiny twist in his chest…
Yeah. He knew he was right.
She was cutting him off.
For a moment, nothing moved.
Only the hum of the air conditioner filled the silence, far too loud for a hotel room at night.
Ice finally walked toward the open door, luggage in hand.
"Wait!" she called.
But nothing followed.
He didn't look at her.
Sure, she felt guilty—but that didn't mean she didn't want to cut him off.
He pulled the door wider, the hallway lights spilling in like a spotlight.
"I said wait!"
Before he could step out, Fire bolted toward the door and slammed it shut with her whole body.
Arms stretched wide.
Standing like a human barricade.
Pouting like her life depended on it.
Ice stared at her, unmoved.
…Why is she doing this?
Guarded instincts kicked in.
"I threw your lunch box," he said flatly.
Monotone. Robotic. A childish revenge, he noted to himself.
Everything froze.
Her face went white.
Eyes widened.
Lips pushed forward into a deeper pout—until tears gathered at the edges. Bubbling like a volcano.
Then—
"WHYYYYYY?!" she wailed.
Followed by a loud, dramatic sob.
"Iceeeeee! I hate youuuuu!!"
She launched herself at him, pounding his chest with her fists.
It hurt a little—physically.
Emotionally?
More complicated.
He could feel the sadness and anger tangled in each hit.
Oddly enough… it woke him up.
"Why did you throw it!!"
She pushed her knees forward to get closer to his face, still crying.
Her expressions—so raw, so unfiltered—were always dangerously honest.
"I bought that anyway," he muttered, turning his face aside.
"But how about meeee?!"
She pressed her forehead against his chest, voice muffled with thick tears.
"I don't care! That was mine! How do I eat nooow? I hate youuu, Ice! Mean Iceberg!"
He just stood there and let her rant.
Good thing she shut the door—otherwise they'd be reported for noise pollution.
"You weren't going to use it anymore. Why keep it?"
A simple, matter-of-fact tone. On his own mind, he was cussing himself.
Why am I doing this childish thing?
Of course he wouldn't mention how distracted he kept getting seeing it around… especially while she was avoiding him.
"No! I will!" she protested.
"I was just…"
Her voice softened.
"Just one more…"
Her gaze drifted left, then right.
"One more week… last one…"
Ice stared.
Fire stepped back, fiddling with her fingers—the unmistakable sign of guilt.
She always did this when she messed up.
He waited.
Nothing surprised him anymore—not even her cutting him off.
"You know… it was your fault, really…" she muttered.
He didn't bother asking why.
Just stared.
"You cook too well. And you always feed me too well. Like… super good food."
She glanced at him, saw his unimpressed expression, and flailed.
"Hey! At least react something!"
He leaned back against the wall, arms crossed—professor mode.
"Okay, okay!" she blurted out.
Then, facing away:
"I gained weight."
Silence.
Not even the crickets dared to show up.
"…Do you want a medal for that?" Ice deadpanned.
"No!! AHHH!! You're so cruel!"
She stomped further into the room and flopped onto the nearest bed, hugging a pillow like a child clutching a plush toy.
Ice followed slowly, still trying to assemble the situation into something that made sense.
"I need to stay in shape for my work! Do you know how many sermons I got from Manja?"
She squeezed the pillow tighter.
"So I need to diet! How can I do that when I eat your cooking?!"
She pointed at him as if accusing a criminal.
"And don't you dare say—"
She mimicked his monotone:
"'Just eat less.'"
"I can't! So just stop cooking so good!"
She kicked her feet in the air like a stranded fish.
"So I decided to avoid you. Two weeks max! Just to get my figure back."
Figure?
He looked her over—nothing changed as far as he knew.
She caught his expression. Unimpress as ever.
"Why did you throw my lunch box? Cruel!!"
She smothered her face into the pillow again.
Footsteps approached—Ice.
Fire peeked up, still pouting like the victim of the century.
"You know we can just adjust your meals to lower calorie… or any diet you want, right?"
She froze.
Jaw dropped.
Eyes wide.
Staring at him like he had just grown wings and descended with holy light.
She stared so hard he felt like a lab specimen under examination.
"That's it. I'm out."
He turned, holding back every word he wanted to throw at her. Her ridiculousness… and that undeniable relief she radiated—he hated that it made his chest tighten and, against his will, a small chuckle escape.
He brushed his hair back, shaking his head.
Unbelievable.
"Wait—Ice! Don't leave meeee!!"
She grabbed his arm with her whole weight, clinging like a panicked toddler.
Tears, runny nose, everything.
"You look horrible," he said without mercy.
But she didn't care.
"I'm sorry."
She growled like a five-year-old realizing how silly she looked. She never meant to cut him off—it was just… diet stuff.
She couldn't possibly tell him that part of her "avoiding him" was because she was crushing on him too hard.
Way too hard.
Her feelings were getting out of control.
And just like that tension melted, without even them realizing it.
Next Chapter:
I swear I was just trying to be cute for a tiny, tiny drink—but somehow Ice turned into a rulebook with legs… and then did something that made my heart do a full somersault. What is wrong with him? Actually—what is wrong with me?!