“Yes…and so?” I stood my ground.
“Why is that, I cannot help but be curious?” he taunted, and I shook my head in disbelief at how he could be so formal yet so familiar at the same time.
“What does it matter if I say your name, what do you want Wynter?” I quipped as his gaze shifted to my bag…where his diary was still peeking out.
“Ah.” He noticed it, stepping forward just as I did too, mimicking his step. “So you do have what belongs to me?”
“Yes I do, I found it in the box you left behind,” I confessed, and he paused for a beat, almost as if he were trying to decipher the meaning behind my words.
His face was always an optical illusion of mountains and highlands, swirling and whirling—just when I thought I could comprehend him, he shifted and a whole new image took its place. There were no maps, no compass, no directions that could lead you to any fathomable conclusions about the depths of him.
“I do not understand, do you not intend to return it?” He stepped forward to reach for the diary, but I was quicker, taking it and holding it close to my chest and away from him.
“Honestly no, I had zero intent of giving this back to you. Just as you had zero intent of telling anyone you were back in town. I was ready to read it and uncover all your little truths…” I shifted on my feet and began to walk around him.
“And yet?” he queried, tilting his head in question.
“Andyet. I don’t think I will.”
“And why is that?”
“Because I want something from you too.” I caught a glimpse of something close to irritation in his eyes.Close.
Wynter Kwon always gave you half-truths. Half glances, half promises, nothing about his being was complete. He would never reveal the entirety of any of his emotions, at least not willingly. Which is probably why he was so unsettled by the thought of me reading through his unfiltered thoughts.
“So you’re attempting to blackmail me?”
“No need for such grim and harsh language, aren’t girls allowed to take up hobbies anymore?” I responded, feigning offence.
“My sincerest apologies, girls are allowed to take up felonies for fun.”
“Ah, that’s more like it!” I applauded. “Now ask me again what is it that I want.”
“Want do you want, Soh?”
“Firstly, don’t call me that. That’s only for my close friends and family and you haven’t been that in a millenium,” I corrected him. “Secondly, what I wish for is very simple. I want you to teach me how to skate.”
“Down the sidewalk?” he prattled, and I rolled my eyes at him. “Oh…you cannot be serious.”
“On the ice,” I confirmed, “I want to know what it’s like.”
“That’s like teaching a human to breathe underwater and a fish to walk on land,” he concluded with a hint of humor to his tone. “Damn near impossible.”
“Why? I’m a ballerina, I have good balance and grace is of a second nature to me,” I defended, and he turned to face me directly.
“Ballet and figure skating may be distant cousins, but they’re not the same, youknowthat. You tried when we were kids and fell flat on your face, damn near breaking your nose. Why would you want to attempt this again?”
Because I want to be near you, to spend time with you in your world, I longed to say, but of course, I did not.
“Because I’m curious about it, I have been watching and learning a lot about the sport and I want to learn from…”
“The best?” he teased with a glimmer of sorts in his eyes from a compliment he crafted for himself. “You flatter me, Soh.”
“Quite the contrary, ice prince. You flatteryourself. As per usual,” I scorned. “I just want to learn from someone who knows a lot about it, okay?”
“If that were the case, if anyone would do, then you wouldn’t be here exercising your new criminal hobby on me,” he countered my argument and I narrowed my eyes at him.
He was smart, and that was endearing, but I wasintelligent. And that was rather unfortunate for him.
