Helen followed Jungkook back to his car after the exhilarating impromptu basketball game. He drove the now familiar path from the park to the ice cream shop, parking the car and getting out. Jogging to the other side, he playfully opened her door with a flourish.

"My lady," he said, extending a hand.

Helen laughed at his theatrics and took his hand, swinging both legs out and stepping out elegantly. Locking the doors, Jungkook walked with her to the front door and held the door open exaggeratedly, both of them giggling foolishly when she pretended to curtsy at him before stepping inside.

"Welcome back, Helen, Jungkook!" Leo said happily upon seeing the childish pair walking in.

"Hi Leo, beautiful day today!" Helen said with a smile as they approached the counter.

"I'm ready for your sweet magic Leo," Jungkook said, rubbing his hands together in anticipation as Leo laughed.

"What'll it be today, you two?"

Helen and Jungkook looked at each other. They had been eating their way through a different flavor on the menu each time they came.

"Surprise me!" Jungkook said.

Helen nodded. "Me too, I'm down for anything!"

"Alright, two surprises coming right up!" Leo said with a grin, gesturing for them to take a seat.

Helen and Jungkook went to sit at a table to wait, chatting idly. Within a minute, Leo was back, with 2 dessert plates that he set before them. Helen and Jungkook peered curiously at the plates. On each was a slice of ice cream cake, whipped frosting on top.

"What is this Leo? I've never seen this before," Helen asked.

"I've been working on a new flavor, this is cheesecake ice cream on a graham cracker base. I know how much you love cheesecake, Helen. So I've been working on this for several months."

Helen looked up, touched. "You got this idea because of me? That's so sweet, I'm honored!"

"Don't feel too mushy yet, you still need to be my first 2 non-family tasters."

"Why us?" Jungkook asked.

Leo chuckled, turning to Helen. "Because Helen would tell me straight up if it's good or not, but wouldn't put me out of business just because she doesn't like it."

"And me?" Jungkook asked curiously. He wasn't sure why Leo chose this time when he was there to let Helen taste it.

Leo paused for a moment, a mischievous twinkle in his eye. "Because it's obvious you'd do anything Helen asks, including tasting my creations and not putting me out of business if you don't like it."

Jungkook chuckled. "I guess you have a point."

Leo was good, very good. Helen blushed furiously, glancing at Jungkook's slightly bashful but sincere expression as he gazed at her.

"My point exactly," Leo said, gesturing to Jungkook's expression. "Now I'll leave and let you two eat. Let me know what you think before you go. Whether you like it or not, it's on the house!"

After Leo walked away, Helen and Jungkook dug in. The ice cream cake was delicious, and they immediately told Leo, who chuckled merrily, his laugh ringing out in the tiny shop. The pair polished off their slices, slipping money into the tip jar when Leo wasn't looking since he refused their money upfront.

When Jungkook got up to order another slice each from Leo, Helen checked her phone for messages. The bell on top of the door chimed and 2 people walked inside up to the register where Leo's daughter Reina was working.

"Hey Reina, can we get 2 Rocky Road double scoops in cones please?"

Helen looked up sharply. Sure enough, it was Nick's voice, and Aisha was next to him. Jungkook was standing barely 2 feet away from them, waiting for Leo to come out of the back with their special order. Helen watched as he nodded politely at the couple, who both responded with polite smiles, neither having any idea who the other was. Nick and Aisha hadn't seen her yet. Normally, Helen would have been looking for the nearest exit. Yet today, she felt surprisingly apathetic. Seeing them merely invoked a momentary surprise. She was startled to realize her previous feelings of hurt and betrayal were no longer in her mind. Helen involuntarily glanced at Jungkook's back, her heart suddenly warm. She smiled despite herself, coming to a startling realization, one she already knew but had chosen to ignore for some time.

Leo came out of the back room and stopped suddenly upon seeing Nick and Aisha, who nodded at him. He glanced at Helen, who smiled at him. Brain working furiously, he then resumed walking toward Jungkook with a nod in the other couple's direction.

"Looks like I get to put this on the menu now, thanks to you and Helen," he said as soon as he handed the plates over to Jungkook.

Nick turned to Leo in surprise, looking between him and Jungkook, who thanked Leo and walked back to where Helen was sitting. Jungkook set the plates down and sat back down across from Helen.

"Here you go. By the way, there's whipped cream on your face," he said as he handed Helen a napkin.

"Here's your ice cream, I hope you enjoy it," Reina said, getting Nick's attention.

"Huh? Oh, right. Thank you," Nick said distractedly, taking the cones and passing one to Aisha.

He hesitated for a moment before leading Aisha over to a table right next to Helen and Jungkook. A bit annoyed, Helen glanced out of the corner of her eye and didn't react, taking a bite of her ice cream cake. She could see in her peripheral vision that Nick and Aisha were having a silent conversation, nudging each other silently. Finally, Aisha spoke up.

"Hi Helen." Aisha was clearly uncomfortable but tried to keep her voice bright.

Fighting the urge to roll her eyes at Nick's obvious play, she glanced up at Jungkook, who was now looking between the three of them quizzically.

"Hi Aisha." Helen replied succinctly.

"Um...is that a new flavor-" Aisha started again after Nick nudged her some more.

Annoyed, Helen gripped her fork before setting it down and turning to the couple beside them. "Getting Aisha to talk to me instead, Nick? Really? That's just disrespectful, both to me and to Aisha. I don't have any problems with her but you're not making this easy."

Nick finally spoke up. "I just wanted to know how you're doing Helen."

"I told you last time to leave me alone, why can't you respect that? Move on."

Jungkook realized from the exchange that this must have been the ex boyfriend and his new girlfriend that had driven Helen to the nightclub the day they met. At first wondering if he should pretend to be Helen's boyfriend, he quickly abandoned the thought. "She might be uncomfortable with that. If I just act like we do privately though, it could cause some ambiguity that Helen can choose to use or not."

Jungkook cleared his throat. "Your ice cream's melting, Hely."

He caught her eye and raised a pierced eyebrow, a light smile playing at his lips. Catching his meaning, Helen smiled too.

"Thanks, Kookie," she said sweetly before digging back into her ice cream cake.

Nick spluttered for a second, flabbergasted at the nicknames and matching clothing that clearly showed they were close, although he wasn't sure how close. He began to speak when Jungkook cut him off.

"I don't know who you are, but can your questions wait until Helen's done with her ice cream? Please and thank you," Jungkook said brusquely.

Helen stifled a giggle as she continued to eat, lightly kicking Jungkook under the table. He glanced up at her with a mischievous grin before taking another bite.

Once they had finished, Helen was about to get up to throw away their trash when Jungkook got up, motioning for her to sit. Her heart warm, she nearly forgot about the couple next to her, unknowingly watching Jungkook with tender eyes as he threw away their trash and stuffed some more money in the tip jar despite Leo's hearty protests. He then walked over to her.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

Helen stood up, nodding briefly at Nick and Aisha. "Yeah, I'm surprisingly still hungry."

"I think we need some more gochugaru so let's swing by the store before we head home," Jungkook said ambiguously.

Helen giggled. "Sure, but I'll need to change before we cook," she said, leaning into the act.

"I'm not gonna have any more clothes left if you keep stealing them," Jungkook said cheekily, raising the stakes.

"I'm not stealing them! I'm just...borrowing indefinitely," Helen replied on the same wavelength with a wide grin as Jungkook opened the door for her with a flourish.

With one last wave to a widely smiling Leo and an amused Reina, Helen and Jungkook walked out of the ice cream shop, giggling like children sharing a single brain cell as they walked to the car, knowing Nick and Aisha heard the whole thing.

When they got in the car, they laughed even harder for a solid minute before either of them could speak.

"You should consider becoming an actor, that was telenovela...no, K-drama worthy material!" Helen said between laughs.

"You too, that was Actress of the Year kind of skill! 'I'm not stealing them! I'm just borrowing indefinitely'," Jungkook mimicked. "That was an S tier performance!"

"We make a great team," Helen said cheerfully as Jungkook put the car in gear.

· ── ·𖥸· ── ·

Helen and Jungkook continued to joke around until they got to Helen's apartment. Opening the door, she let Jungkook in and he made himself at home, already familiar with the layout of her place from repeated visits. Jungkook disappeared into the guest bedroom, reappearing shortly after with today's clothes in a bag. Helen noticed that he had found the same outfit he had lent her the morning after they met a month ago.

Her heart accelerated once more at the memories of that day as she went into her own room and changed into something more casual and comfortable. She stood still for a moment, thinking over the day's events, and the realization she had come to. Despite Nick's reappearance, her thoughts didn't change, which made her even more sure of her new decision.

"But how..." Helen thought, unsure how to proceed. After agonizing over it for a minute, she was jolted out of her mind by a knock on the door.

"Are you alive in there?" Jungkook asked, humor evident in his voice.

Helen pushed the thought to the back of her mind and opened the door, stepping out to see Jungkook looking down at her with a devastating grin. Her cheeks burned, suddenly self conscious.

"Let's go eat something quick, I'm sleepy, all of a sudden," Helen said quietly, something clearly weighing on her mind.

Jungkook's grin fell. He didn't know why all of a sudden Helen seemed subdued. "Is it because of her ex? Did I maybe go too far today?" he wondered.

Deciding to give Helen some space even though his heart felt sore, he nodded and followed her to the kitchen. They ate quietly, Jungkook watching Helen as she ate absentmindedly. After clearing the dishes away, he made an excuse to leave and felt mild disappointment when Helen distractedly waved goodbye, still not really looking at him.

Jungkook sighed and drove away, heart heavy. He knew something had changed about them, but didn't know what it was or how it happened so suddenly without warning.

"I don't know if I can keep hurting myself like this," he thought.

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