Jisung shivered, hugging himself for warmth. His nose was red and numb from the cold and white clouds escaped his lips. He was standing under a bare tree, as if it would shield him from the cold.

Despite the harsh, cold temperature, he was only dressed in short sleeves and ripped jeans. The duffle bag he packed for dance practice only contained a small face towel and his sweaty clothes.

Ahh~ why did I forget to bring my keys? Dad won't be back till 9 PM today..

Jisung sighed as his shoes squeaked with the snow. His socks were soaked and his face cringed with disgust.

"Are you Park Jisung? You're a regular at Crystal Dance Studio, right?"

A girl, wearing a thick winter jacket, asked. Jisung wasn't sure if he recognised her. She looked like she was at least 4 years younger than him, judging from her height. Her face was covered with a mask with a cute design and her bangs rested just a little bit above her eyes.

"Who are you?"

"Kim Minseul. Ring a bell?"

"No."

Minseul blinked at Jisung, before the corner of her eyes crinkled and Jisung could tell she was smiling.

"Well, I'm a regular at Crystal Dance Studio too. What are you doing out here? The session ended thirty minutes ago."

Jisung wanted to answer, but all of a sudden, his lips felt numb and he couldn't move his lips, he needed a hot drink.

It would be rude to just walk away without giving her and answer, so Jisung grabbed her wrist and dragged her to a nearby cafe.

"What are you-"

Jisung quickly went to order two drinks, one to warm up his body and the other to give Minseul, for courtesy reasons.

Jisung sipped on his hot chocolate and sighed contentedly.

"Sorry about that, my lips were too cold so I couldn't really talk."

A giggle escaped Minseul's lips and all of a sudden, Jisung's face felt warm. He cleared his throat.

"I forgot to bring my keys and uh my father won't be home till 9 PM."

Jisung mumbled loud enough for Minseul to hear.

"Ahh~ do you want to stay at the dance studio until your dad returns? I can open it for you."

"How?"

Minseul took a sip of her hot chocolate.

"Mrs Kim is my mom."

Jisung choked on his hot chocolate. Mrs Kim is the dance teacher at Crystal Dance Studio, and she was also Jisung's kindergarten teacher.

"My Mom taught you in kindergarten, right?"

Minseul grinned. Jisung nodded and reply and took a sip of his hot chocolate.

"Then why haven't I seen you around?"

"You have. Just that you don't remember me, that's all."

Minseul had a sad smile plastered on her face, she played with her fingers as an awkward silence engulfed them.

Jisung felt guilty, if what she said was true. He mumbled a "sorry".

"I went to the same Kindergarten as you, but we weren't close since you were always hanging out with Chenle. I was a shy kid so I always sticked to my mom. I don't expect you to remember me."

Jisung nodded, not knowing how to reply. Soon, he finished his hot chocolate.

"I'll get going now, thanks for the company"

"Where will you be going?"

"Home- oh yeah my keys..."

Jisung mumbled, blushing in embarrassment.

Minseul chuckled. She placed her empty cup onto the table and walked out of the cafe with Jisung.

Immediately, Jisung started to shiver, and it didn't go unnoticed by Minseul. She quickly removed her winter coat and passed it to Jisung.

"Ah- no thank you. You'll get cold."

Minseul pouted and slipped into her winter coat. She unwrapped her thick, hand-made scarf and placed it around Jisung's neck, wrapping it around him snugly.

"So cute!"

She exclaimed, giggling. A shade of light pink dusted Jisung's cheeks and he coughed in embarrassment. He muttered a soft "thank you".

"I'll open up the studio for you, okay?"

Jisung nodded.

The two walked to the studio in silence, a comfortable silence. Jisung's shoes produced annoying squeaks here and there and he was trying to move cautiously. Resulting in him waddling like a duck.

"Are you okay? Did you get hurt or something?"

Minseul asked, thinking that he might have hurt his foot while dancing. Jisung quickly shook his head and replied,

"Im trying to prevent my shoes from squeaking."

Minseul tried not to smile at his cuteness, but failed badly.

"By the way, how old are you?"

Jisung asked

"I'm the same age as you! We were in the same kindergarten class."

"Ah~"

Soon, the pair arrived at the tall building. They walked up a flight of stairs to get to the dance studio. Only one of the studios had its lights on.

Minseul took out the key to the dance studio and unlocked it, opening the door for Jisung.

"Ladies first."

Minseul smiled at his good manners and walked in, still holding the door open for him though.

They walked towards the dance studio that was emmiting light, pushing open the door, they heard loud music blasting and a familiar figure lying on the floor, resting.

"Mom!"

Minseul exclaimed and Mrs Kim looked up.

"Oh Minseul-ah. And Jisung too? Since when did you become friends?"

They didn't respond to her question and instead placed their bags down, sitting by the bench at the side together.

"What are you doing here, Jisung?"

Mrs Kim asked, wiping her sweat with a small face towel. Jisung smiled sheepishly and replied softly,

"I forgot my keys and my dad won't be back so soon. Minseul offered to open up the dance studio for me so i won't be stuck in the cold."

"Ah~ how sweet of her, right?"

Mrs Kim teased and laughed when she noticed the blush on Minseul's face.

"You guys know I'm a choreographer, right? A school nearby requested me to make a choreography and teach it to some students. Want to join me?"

Jisung and Minseul nodded in unison. Minseul removed her jacket and Jisung unwrapped the scarf and passed it back to her, thanking her in the process.

"Oooo"

Mrs Kim said when she saw Jisung passing the scarf back to Minseul.

"Stop it, Mom!"

Mrs Kim only chuckled in response. The teenagers stretched first and did some warm ups before helping Mrs Kim choreograph the dance. The sky darkened, and before they knew it, the clock had struck 8.

"Its about time I go, I roughly take about an hour to go home so by the time I reach, my dad will most probably be home."

Jisung said, wiping his sweat.

"Before you go, take this. You can return it to me at the next session."

Minseul hung her scarf around Jisung's neck despite him being all sweaty.

"Take care, Sungie!"

Mrs Kim said, waving to him.

Right after the door swung shut, Mrs Kim gave Minseul a teasing look.

"You like Jisung, right~"

Minseul scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Took you long enough to find out."

Mrs Kim raised an eyebrow and laughed.

"Since when did you start liking him?"

A blush set on Minseul's cheeks and she avoided eye contact, mumbling,

"Since kindergarten."

Her mother squealed in excitement and hugged Minseul tightly and spun her around.

"My daughter is growing up!"

Minseul only rolled her eyes and hid her burning face in her mother's shoulder.