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JIA

"So this is really our last session?" Sunghoon asked as the two of them shove their notebooks back at their bags. "Has it really been that long?" 

"Yeah. You've caught up with all your lessons plus we have the exams next week." Jia said, standing up who is later on followed by Sunghoon. The two walked towards the exit of the library. 

Jia's parents were having a misunderstanding again so now she's forced to take the bus. It was Friday already and the week passed by pretty fast. Her nose and throat were now better so she stopped wearing her mask in class. But she wears it when outside due to the cold weather. It was December after all, winter is bound to happen any time. 

"Don't you have practice today? It's sunset already." She asks. 

He shook his head. "Nope. I told my coach I'd be studying with you so I could finally catch up with my lessons." 

She nods. As soon as they step out of the gate, the cold wind immediately hit their faces. Jia puts on her face mask and began walking towards the bus stop. Sunghoon decided to accompany her once again just like before when she didn't bring her car. 

"It's so cold." Jia mumbled. 

"Do you want to stop by Serendipity Cafe?" Sunghoon suddenly offered and he laughed when Jia's eyes suddenly brightened. "My treat. It's the least I could do for everything you've done for me." 

"Then let's go." Jia smiled and they rushed towards the bus. 

It was sad to admit but Jia would really miss their after school lessons. Spending time with him had become her daily routine. She wondered if they would even meet each other at school anymore considering their sessions is the only time they ever meet. They meet in the mornings but that wasn't as frequent as the after school lessons. 

The tutoring session wasn't a permanent thing anyway. This was bound to happen at some point. Jia stared at the window as the orange horizon slowly fade and the darkness began spreading. 

The bus stopped and the two stood up, making their way out of the bus. The Serendipity Cafe wasn't too far from the bus stop so their walk wasn't too long. Sunghoon pushed the door and the strong aroma of coffee immediately hits Jia's nose. 

It was a beautiful evening for the cafe to say the least. They sat an empty table and Sunghoon had asked her what she wanted. Jia answered the red velvet cake. 

"I thought that wasn't your favorite?" He asked. 

"Yeah but I sort of liked it when you bought me one." Jia lied, trying to hide the fact it was really her favorite. 

He nods. "Hot coffee?" 

"That sounds nice." She replied and he finally made his way to the counter to order. 

She had never once paid for anything every time she's with Sunghoon. She was starting to feel bad while thinking about all the money he had spent for her. Maybe when the time comes she can pay him back. 

He returned to the table with a receipt in hand. "By the way, have you asked your parents to sign the reply slip?"

"Yep they were delighted obviously that's why they signed it as soon as they finished reading the slip." She replied. "They really aren't bad parents, they just solve their problem through the means of fighting"

"At  least they're always there to support you." He said. 

"Yeah but there are times where I feel like I'm only worth their time if I achieve anything." She sneered. 

She remembered those days where her mother would only skip a day of work to celebrate her getting those gold medals. After that, her parents would go back to their works. Maybe that was also part of the reason she found comfort through studying. The thought of having your parents notice you if you study all the time stuck to her head. 

"Sorry for ranting to you again." Jia apologized. 

"Who are you studying for anyway?" He suddenly asked. 

"Myself?" She replied out of the blue. 

"Really? It sounds to me you're only studying because you think your parents would finally give you the time you want." He said, surprising her. "I think you should learn that you should be selfish sometimes. Don't waste your time studying just to make please people around you, waste your time studying just to make yourself proud." 

"Who cares if people can't notice what you've achieved? At the end, it's your achievement. You're the one who worked hard for it not them. You don't need anyone's approval." Sunghoon said, surprising Jia.

"You're right. I guess I've been thinking about others way too much that I'm discrediting myself." Jia said. "Thanks for the scolding."

"Did what I had to do to wake you up." He smiled and all she could do was laugh. "It felt nice though that you trust me enough to open up your real feelings."

But there were feelings she couldn't freely open up. The cake had arrived and Jia immediately gorges herself to the taste of red velvet cake. The hot coffee made up for the weather outside. 

Jia noticed he ordered the same cake. "You like red velvet?"

"I've never had one actually. This is my first time trying one." He said, taking a slice from his cake and biting it. 

"It tastes good." Jia said taking a bite of her own cake. 

"Wow this cafe really is outstanding." He says, stuffing his mouth with red velvet cake. Jia agreed and laughed at how much he enjoyed the red velvet cake. "How did you even discover this cafe?"

"My cousin loves this cafe so whenever she would visit, she brings me here to eat cakes." She replied. 

"You and your cousin must be really close." He said, sipping from his coffee. 

"Yeah she's like a sibling to me. Plus she's a figure skater as well." She explained. 

His eyes widened. "Really?! Wow then you must know a lot about figure skating."

"I know the basics." Jia chuckled. "How about you? How did you start figure skating?"

"When I first step foot in the ice and actually learned how to skate, I just fell in love with the feeling of being free." He says. Jia couldn't help but tear away her eyes from him. Watching him speak about skating made her smile. The way his eyes lit up at the mere mention of being in the rink was bliss. "After that I convinced my mother to enroll me to figure skating lessons." 

"Wow. It's good you found something you're passionate about. Now look at you, you're a national level figure skater." Jia said and Sunghoon smiled at her compliment. She glanced at the glass window and noticed the sky was already dark. "I think we should go now. It's already dark." 

He nods, standing up. Jia then follows him and they marched towards the exit. The city was now brighter than ever because of the lights. It was a beautiful evening to say the least. The two walked in silence as they eye the beautiful scenery upon them. 

Suddenly,  a snowflake fell. 

Jia looked up and saw the snow fall. It's the first snow. 

She looked at Sunghoon who was looking at the sky and then towards Jia. The two just looked at each other uttering no words while the snow continued to fall.

"It's the first snow." Jia said, finally tearing her eyes away from him hiding the blush surfacing in her face.

"Yeah and you're here with me." He said. 

The two continued to walk after that. Jia couldn't bring herself to speak after what he said. Spending the first snow with him was something that made her heart jump. She couldn't get rid of the feeling. 

She had fallen even deeper and at this point there was no escaping. 

They finally arrived at the bus and sat next to each other at the very back. The two still hasn't spoken to each other and just chose to look at the window. She had nothing to say anyway. It was better to keep the silence before she could say anything she would regret later on. 

Once it was her stop, she smiled at him. "Thanks for the treat, see you."

Sunghoon smiled. "See you on Monday then." 

And then she went out and went back home, screaming to herself after what just happened. When she got home, she enjoyed the warm temperature of her house. It was so cold outside it made her want to wear thick clothes. 

Her phone rang and she looks at the caller ID. Her eyes widened when she saw it was her cousin. 

"Hey what's up?" Jia said, after answering the call.

"You can never believe the news I'm breaking out to you." Mira said.

"What is it?" She asked.

"I'm coming over tomorrow!" Mira announced cheerfully and Jia had the biggest grin ever. 

She was finally going to see her cousin. Not having siblings to confide makes your childhood lonely but because of Mira, Jia felt like she had someone to call a sister. Of course that wasn't the case sometimes since Mira lived in another city and was busy competing. 

That's when Ahra came in to the picture but before she ever did, Mira was the one who has been next to her for so long. 

"That's good to know! Why are you coming over though?" She asked. 

"Well besides from the fact I want to visit you, I miss your best friend. You better invite her after we hang out, just the two of us." Mira jokes and Jia laughed. Ahra and Mira were close friends too and would often join the two when hanging out. "My coach is also there at your city so I'd be practicing there. I know you would be delighted to watch me."

"You bet." Jia smiled. "So you're going to stay here until Sunday?"

"Yeah. I think that's enough time to catch up." Mira replied. "You better tell me everything about you."

"Oh you would be surprised at the events happening in my life but I'll tell you tomorrow." Jia teased, leaving her cousin hanging. 

"I hate you Jia but at least I get to know tomorrow. Well I have to get going! See you tomorrow!" Mira said. 

"See you tomorrow." Jia said and ended the line. She made her way back to her room with a smile. 

She was looking forward on telling Mira everything that was happening. Mira knew about her adoration to Park Sunghoon but what she didn't know was that Jia is now tutoring him and are now friends. 

"Her reaction would be priceless." Jia laughed, changing out of her clothes and falling to her bed. 

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AUTHOR'S NOTE :

i have a love-hate relationship with this chapter :/