I stepped inside my apartment and saw Eunwoo and Mingyu busy watching the soccer game. Eunwoo turned to look at me. "What took you so long? " I couldn't help but chuckle remembering the crazy girl I just met in the store. I thought no one could be as obsessed with ice creams as much cherry is but it looks like there are more people in the world.

"Oh... I don't know", I replied, slightly embarrassed by the question. "I guess I was just distracted by the fact that someone could be that obsessed with ice cream!" I added jokingly.

"So, how's the match going?" I asked, trying to change the topic and avoid embarrassing myself further. "Who's winning?”

"It's still early to say, but so far it looks like Liverpool is in the lead. "Eunwoo replied. I looked at the screen and indeed, the Liverpool team was leading. The match seemed to be pretty intense and the two teams were fighting hard to win.

I smiled and sat down next to Eunwoo, watching the match play out. I couldn't help but laugh at the thought of the crazy girl in the store. She definitely had some intense anger issues but it was certainly entertaining to watch her get so worked up over ice cream.

I tried to focus on the match, but my mind kept drifting back to the crazy girl. I couldn't help but imagine the look on her face and her reaction if she saw me enjoying ice cream right now. I snickered at the thought, but I found myself growing increasingly curious about her. She is so much similar about the obsession just like cherry my sweetheart when it comes to ice cream.

I couldn't stop picturing the crazy girl in my head. I thought she was so strange and yet so amusing. I also found myself wanting to know more about her. The more I thought about her, the more fascinating she became. I was intrigued by her obsessive nature and her intense emotions. I couldn't help but wonder what else she was so passionate about.

"Where are you lost? " Mingyu suddenly asks.

"I... Um..." I scrambled for an answer. I had been so lost in my thoughts that I had completely forgotten about the match. "Oh, just trying to see who's winning." I replied, hoping to not sound too distracted.

"I don't think so, you've been acting strange since you came back from the store. " Eunwoo interrupted looking at me suspiciously.

I gulped as I realized I had been caught. "I... Well, I just... " I struggled for an excuse that would make sense without me sounding crazy. "I saw this... This crazy girl in the store today and..."

"She was so crazy about ice cream", I explained. "In fact, she was so obsessive that she thought I was going to steal her ice cream." I laughed at the remembrance of the incident. "It was so funny, the way she overreacted and accused me."

"And so, while watching the match, I kind of kept thinking about her." I added nervously. "Is that weird? " I asked looking at the two of them nervously. "It's just that she's so weird and so obsessed with the most trivial thing."

"Yeah, but who gets so obsessive about ice cream?" Mingyu asked, sounding just as confused as me. "And why would she be so angry and serious about it?"

I shook my head, "It's not shocking to me because cherry was same, I wonder if she is still obsessed with ice cream? "

They sighed. "We were happy that you finally started talking about some other girl than your childhood best friend but looks like you will never stop" Mingyu says and took a bite of his pizza.

"Hey, come on now!" I protested. "I know talking about cherry all the time can be annoying sometimes but I just had this strange encounter with this similar crazy girl, who happened to also be obsessed with ice cream. You two will have to listen to me for just a little longer.”

I heard a long exasperated sigh coming from Eunwoo's side. "Fine, but first you owe us both a pizza for having to deal with your cherry obsession." He smiled. I frowned, giving him a playful punch on the shoulder.

I'm not obsessed with her. They both gave me side eyes and then scoffed. "So you're saying that you're not in love with your childhood best friend, but it's just friendship? “

"Yes, that's right!" I tried to sound convincing but the expression on both of their faces told me it wasn't working.

"So, you've never done anything romantic with cherry? "Eunwoo asks, his tone suggesting that he doesn't believe me in the slightest.

I slapped his arm, " Bro we were just ten, what do you expect us to do? and after that she went to London and never came back" I looked down to my feet feeling sad or maybe missing her.

The two of them looked at each other and I could see that they were discussing something in silence. I wondered what they were discussing.

"Anyway, I have already told you before. Cherry and I are just friends. " I repeated. "Sure, she is my favorite person in the world and I love her dearly, but that doesn't mean it's anything more than friendship."

They both hummed but I feel the sarcasm in their tone . "So never, not even once you thought something about her other than just friends? " Eunwoo asks and I remained silent.

"Well I did once at the age of eight , it was new year party "

"I used to go to cherry's house every new year to celebrate together, it was our tradition since we were kids" I explained.
"And that one year, she was looking exceptionally beautiful and I started admiring her."

"Aww, how cute" mingyu teased me and eunwoo also gave a faint smile "then what happened" eunwoo asked

I sighed remembering that night "We kissed, it was just a cute little kiss and I'm not sure either of us realized what we were doing but since that day my perspective changed.”

"Ever since that kiss I started realizing just how beautiful she was and slowly started developing feelings for her." I added.

Eunwoo and Mingyu were both smiling at this and looked really happy for me "So this explains why you're always going on about your childhood best friend. You've been pining over her all this time?" Mingyu asked.

I blushed and looked away "Yeah, I guess you can say that", I admitted, looking slightly embarrassed.

"And so that's the reason you really never had a girlfriend?" Eunwoo questioned, sounding shocked.

“Yeah, I couldn't really fall in love with any other girl after that kiss which was just peck still it felt so special. She's so special to me. " I explained.

"And what about this crazy girl from the store today?" Eunwoo asked "You do know that she's an entirely different person right?”

"But she is so similar, her obsessive behavior is just like cherry. " I replied, looking at them both, hoping they'd understand."She really made me wonder what cherry is like nowadays and... "

Eunwoo cuts me off, "So you have no plans to pursue this girl then?" he asks.

"I mean, what's the point? She's clearly mad, she thought I was stealing her ice cream and also I will never love anyone except cherry . "

"Okay so you're still pining over your childhood sweetheart" Eunwoo remarks making a pouty face jokingly and Mingyu chuckled "it’s been almost six years but you're still head over heels in love with her?"

I sighed "Yes, I am. I can't help it. She's just so special to me, my memories, everything is all connected to her and it's not like she did anything wrong for me to stop loving her. I'm just stuck I guess.”

Mingyu scoffed, "Well it does sound a little pathetic if you're still waiting for her after all those years"

I rolled my eyes "You don't understand, it's not like I'm waiting for her, but I've never been able to move on or look towards anybody else since then. "

Eunwoo looked worried at my words, "Do you think cherry even remembers you?”

"Why wouldn't she? " I asked angrily, trying to cover up my pain by pretending to be mad. "She is my childhood best friend. She can't forget me. "

Eunwoo looked at me sympathetically, "Listen, I know it's hard to hear this but you're living in the past , it's time to move on from cherry" He added.

"Move on? " I said softly, my voice full of pain. I looked away struggling to hide my emotions. "You make it sound so easy, but I can't. I don't even know how to do that. She has been a part of me for so long, you don't understand. "

"How can I just forget her? " I protested. "I see her face in every moment, I hear her voice in the wind, that one kiss we had has imprinted itself on my soul. "

“And it's not just about her, it's the entire past that I find myself constantly missing " I added. I had to look away to hide my tears " It feels like my entire life has been stuck since childhood, and I can't escape it.”

"You know , ever since that new year's party I keep hoping that by some miracle, cherry would come back to me." I said softly "If I had a chance to relive that moment of kissing her again, I wouldn't hesitate for a second"

The two of them looked at me with pity but also concern and I looked at the floor "I know it sounds stupid , but that was the happiest day of my life. "

"Can I ask you something, if you don't get mad? " Eunwoo asks with hesitation.

I felt a little uneasy. I felt like I knew what they were going to ask and I really wished they wouldn't, but I tried to remain calm while replying "Sure, what is it? "

"If by chance in future you find yourself falling for a person, then will you accept it or choose to remain in denial? " He asks.

I remained silent and let out a heavy sigh "I will be lying if I said that I would accept it. I just don't think that will happen. " I explained trying to hide my pain behind my expression. "I can't imagine loving anyone other than cherry, she will always be first in my heart.”

"Love is in never in our hands, you have never thought about any other except your cherry but today strangely you thought about that ice cream girl you met at store " He says calmly.

I stayed silent, avoiding his gaze for a few seconds "She's just... different from other girls, her obsessive and intense personality is just so much like cherry. I can't help but think that's why I was drawn to her so quickly. " I explained. "I'm not in love with her, but she just reminded me of cherry that's all."

"But you're still young, who's to say that you won't feel anything for anyone else?" Eunwoo added and Mingyu nodded in agreement.

"You don't understand! " I protested in a slightly annoyed tone "It's not about just love. There is something about cherry that just connects to my soul and I can't get her out of my head, it's like she's a part of me. " They just looked at me.

"I know it sounds absurd and I can't really justify it, it's just the way I feel." I continued to explain

They both sighed, as if giving up trying to make me see the reality.

"Atleast meet some other girls,  what if there is someone out there whom you could love in the future?" Eunwoo suggested, probably hoping that I would agree on this at least.

"What's the point?" I replied, sounding hopeless "I'm stuck on cherry and as long that remains true , I won't be able to fall for anyone else."

Eunwoo and Mingyu remained silent for several seconds, both of them seem to have realized that they are not gonna win this argument.

"What if you find another person who you instantly connect with like you did with cherry? " Mingyu asks "Isn't it worth giving it a chance atleast?"

"What if I can't connect with anyone like that?" I asked "What if the magic I felt with cherry is not with anyone else?" I ask and their faces fall, both of them realizing that my heart is now frozen and locked away for cherry.

"Why do you think you are so attached to cherry?" Mingyu asked softly, "You were just eight when that kiss happened, why haven't you gotten over it after so many years? and it was not even a kiss but a simple peck "

"It wasn't just a kiss, it was much more than that. " I explained "it was a moment of discovery of something new, a realization of feelings that I've never felt before and that one kiss is what made me fall in love with her. ”

I sighed and looked away, "And the weird thing is that after all these years, that kiss still feels like it happened yesterday, it's like that kiss froze me at that moment.”

They looked at me. " At the age of eight I saw her beautifully dressed in red frock which had a flower on the left shoulder and it was all frill in the edge, she looked so beautiful and that was the moment I thought someone pretty other than my mother, and I couldn't help but decide that she's the one I'm going to marry in future “

"So, you're saying since then you've never looked at any other girl like you looked at cherry?" Eunwoo asked and I remained silent "It's impossible to fall for anyone other than cherry, I mean there is just no comparison. "

They both sighed. “We can never win in this arguement” He exclaimed and I just chuckled. “Okay guys let's go to bed now, tomorrow we have to go school, it's first day in high school. “

"Yeah, we need our rest for tomorrow" Mingyu agreed and eunwoo nodded as well.

We said goodnight to each other and went to our respective bedrooms. As I lied down on my bed, I closed my eyes and let my mind wander away and suddenly I could see cherry's face. I had thought I had gotten over her but my subconscious mind still had her memories stored deep within my heart.
I tried to sleep but the more I thought about it the more I missed her.

Just come back cherry, I miss you a lot.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter!!

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Happy one year anniversary cuties!! It was a great journey as an author, I learned and improved a lot by writing. I hope you guys will always support me and stay with me as long I'm writing.