Come on, red string, why aren't you moving yet?

Xiumin smiled at Jae, who smiled back, the silence becoming gradually awkward. Crap, Xiumin thought, why am I choking? I was perfectly able to talk to all those other girls and it's not like I haven't had a conversation with Jae before, so what gives? Come on, Xiumin, pull yourself together! he tried, prepping himself.

Jae shuffled her feet a bit, holding the Tuzki doll up and checking on the other gifts she had received, lying on the ground in paper bags. Xiumin saw Lay's unicorn horn peeking from one of the bags, the red string waving in the breeze. He swallowed as he saw the threads fanning out from Jae's pinky. She had them too, the red strings. They looked strong. None of them were tangled or knotted, but there were many of them and it was difficult for Xiumin to check whether one of those cords was connected to his.

She's still smiling at me. Is she expecting me to give her something? Should I just hand it over to her? Damn it. If Lay had given him just a little bit more time, then maybe- I'd still be sitting on that bench until nightfall and I still wouldn't know what to say to her.

"So," Jae finally broke the silence. "You came with a van, Xiumin?"

"A-ah, yes," he nodded. Lord knows he wanted to say more, but the words simply refused. He didn't understand one bit of it! Everything had gone so well up until now! Why am I so nervous? Why isn't the string pulling me towards her?

"Cool," Jae said. "Think you could help me with this guy?" she then asked, gesturing at the Tuzki. "I'd carry it myself, but I got the other stuff to carry as well, and I'm pretty sure this thing has the ability to squash me if I'm not careful," she joked and Xiumin relaxed.

"Of course, no problem," he answered, immediately grabbing the oversized doll and waited for her to gather her things. Go on, say something, Xiumin!

"Um, you're ready to go? I mean, you got a lot of gifts," he mentally slapped himself. That's not what he meant to say.

"Hm? Oh yeah," Jae chuckled shyly. "The guys were really sweet. I told them that they shouldn't get me anything, I know the chocolates I gave you all were terrible," she grinned sheepishly.

"Right," Xiumin nodded seriously, suddenly making her laugh and realizing what he had said. "N-no, I didn't mean it that way! Your chocolates weren't that bad, really, I mean- um..." his fumbling made him feel worse, but Jae's laughter didn't seem to be directed at him.

"It's okay, Xiumin, they really were horrible," she shook her head and sighed. "I still have a lot to learn when it comes to making chocolates."

"Yeah," he nodded absently, startling again when he heard her chuckle. "No, that's not what I mean at all," he tried, wanting to sink into a hole and have the Tuzki doll stand guard for him. Why was everything he saying not right?

"It's okay, Xiumin, don't stress," Jae urged, noticing his discomfort. "I appreciate your honesty," she reassured, but he still felt bad. He decided then to do what he always done when he felt this way; he shut up.

By the time they got to the van, Xiumin had lost all his courage to give Jae her gift. He placed it in the backseat next to the gigantic Tuzki doll before helping her get into the car too.

"Ooh, a gentleman, nice," Jae commented with a sweet smile. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he muttered and got into the van as well. As they drove off, Xiumin couldn't help but notice the red string still tied around his pinky as he gripped the steering wheel. It was silly of him to think it, but he kind of felt betrayed by it. Right when he needed it to guide him, so he could properly convey his feelings towards Jae, it bailed. He wouldn't mind the silence at all if he didn't have to share it with anyone, but Jae was sitting right next to him and who knew what she might be thinking right now?

She must think I'm ungrateful, not giving her a gift, he thought ruefully. Then again, she probably thought very little of him to begin with. She could talk with the others, even with D.O., who was normally just as quiet as he was. Xiumin's stomach turned. He didn't like the idea that he and Jae were the least close amongst their pack, but there isn't much I can do about it either. Oh man, why can't you just open your mouth to speak?!

"Xiumin? Is everything alright?" Jae suddenly asked, breaking the silence once more while glancing worriedly at him. He cleared his throat.

"Hm? Oh, uh, y-yeah," he nodded, but he'd be damned if he didn't keep the conversation flowing. "Why?" he continued.

"I don't know, you seem a bit stressed," she noticed. "You're not still worried about the remarks I made regarding my chocolate-making skills, are you? Because I really don't mind," she added. "But, I promise you, I'm gonna work on those skills so next year, you're gonna get really tasty chocolates," she crossed her heart and smiled at him.

Well? Say something, you idiot, don't just smile back at her!

"Um, thanks," he ended up saying, cringing to himself once he heard the word escape his lips. Maybe he had to face facts and accept it that perhaps he wasn't connected with Jae. Why would everything seem so hard otherwise?

He pulled over in front of Jae's house, still feeling uneasy.

"Wow, that was quick," Jae commented and Xiumin wondered whether she was pulling his leg or really meant it. To him it nearly felt like they were in the car for hours.

"Thanks for the ride, Xiumin. Hope it wasn't too much trouble," she said, getting her stuff and putting them on the curb before going to the back to grab the Tuzki doll.

"Here, I'll help with that," he managed to utter, getting out of the car to put the Tuzki with the other stuff on the curb.

"Thanks again," Jae said. "You've been really helpful today, Xiumin," she remarked with a gentle smile.

He only nodded, still struggling with himself.

"Did you have a nice White Day?" she suddenly asked and he gulped.

"It was okay," he eventually answered with a lopsided grin.

"Good. Well, I should get all of this stuff in the house. Thanks again for bringing me home, Xiumin," she hesitated a moment whether she should just wave him goodbye or reach in for a hug. They ended up going in for the awkward hug where neither party quite knew where to put their arms and just ended up patting each other's back lightly before parting again.

"Alright, see you!" Jae greeted as Xiumin stood by the van, giving a small wave. He watched her open the door, putting the bags inside one by one before she tackled the Tuzki doll. He really wanted to walk back up to her to say something, but he didn't know what and he didn't know why he couldn't.

There's always next year, he thought in defeat opening the door of the van. He looked down when he felt the red string tighten. Xiumin frowned at the piece of thread and huffed, subtly starting to freeze it in hopes that it would shatter and disappear from his pinky. He continued freezing it, until he heard a soft squeal behind him. Turning around he noticed Jae standing by the doorway, rubbing her own pinky.

"Xiumin, is there something wrong?" she asked, approaching him again. "Was that you, just now?"

His eyes widened as he looked at his pinky. No way, it can't be!

"What do you mean?"

"I just felt this cold touch around my pinky, I thought it was you," Jae explained in confusion, shaking her head. "Is there something wrong? Did you forget something?"

Xiumin stared at her pinky, at the red threads that lead up to it. One of them was solid ice, a dust of frost sparkling over the cord. He felt breathless then, wondering whether it would break too, like it had with the other girls. Only one way to find out.

"Actually, Jae, I did," he stated, making up his mind. "Wait here one moment," he jogged towards the backseat and grabbed the pastel pink paper bag. Jae watched him with interest, blinking at him when he handed her the paper bag without a word.

"What's this?" she asked with a bashful smile, looking into the bag as Xiumin waited. She let out a soft gasp, glancing up at him a moment before reaching down the bag and carefully taking out the jewelry box.

"Happy White Day," he stated with a soft smile.

"Oh, Xiumin, you didn't have to," she started. "My chocolates were terrible, remember?" she joked, carefully tilting the lid open to reveal the porcelain personification of Winter as Vivaldi's melody played. "Oh my gosh, Xiumin, this is beautiful!" she exclaimed, watching the ballerina dance on the mirror. He could tell that this was his cue to tell him what he felt and why he had chosen a gift like this for her, but the right words still didn't come.

"And there's a note too?" she questioned, but here was where Xiumin's panic kicked in.

"Ah! I'd forgotten about that, you don't have to-"

Too late. Jae had already grabbed the note and looked at it. Xiumin scratched the back of his head as he winced, but was surprised when Jae had continued looking at the note with a touched smile on her face. On the note that contained only four words in total, Xiumin had drawn a heart in the shape of a snowflake, ending the note with Love, Xiumin.

Jae's smile had widened while the light red dusting of a blush had covered her cheeks. Before Xiumin was aware what was happening, Jae had wrapped her arms around him for a real embrace. A pleasant, awkward-free embrace.

"I always knew that you had the warmest heart, Xiumin," she said softly into his ear. "Thank you," she said sincerely, as he was still processing what had happened. His brief elation and happiness then made way for shock and concern as he eyed the red string that connected them together. Was it going to break? Was this it?

To his surprise, the red thread thawed and cleared away the cold, but instead of breaking, it vanished altogether. As he looked at his pinky, the red string was gone, and looking around the environment, Xiumin saw no red cords anywhere. He blinked at Jae.

"I guess it takes someone with a warm heart to recognize the warmth in others without exchanging words," he said a little breathlessly, chuckling, when he looked at Jae.

"Wow, you get extra points for being smooth, though that was to be expected of the island's main trend, right?" she nudged him as he groaned out loud.

"You've been hanging out with Lay too much," he grumbled.

"Aw, come on, Xiumin, you're obviously the king of cool, no reason to deny it," Jae teased. "Hey, do you wanna come in for some snacks and a beverage or something?" she then offered.

Xiumin's smile widened further and he simply nodded.

"Cool. Come on in," Jae lead the way and as she turned around Xiumin saw a last glimpse of red string tied around her pinky. There was only one this time and as she walked further into the house with Xiumin still standing on the porch, his hand was suddenly lifted and tugged. Nothing could wipe the smile off his face then.

When he closed the door behind him, the thread had gone invisible again, but he knew that it was there, ensuring that they would always stay linked with one another no matter what.

Xiumin laughed quietly to himself as he sat down on the couch when Jae went to get them some drinks. He spent all this time trying his best to be something that he wasn't - which was talkative - and ended up spending time with Jae just by being his awkward self. Was it fate? Maybe. What he did know for sure, was that the boys were right; it's always the quiet ones- but you know what? Maybe that wasn't such a bad thing.

"Tada! Totally self-bought chocolates and cookies with some iced lattes to celebrate White Day," Jae winked at him, handing him his drink.

"Oh! Thank you," Xiumin grinned, seeing her smile and starting to talk about the chocolates she bought.

Yeah, he listened to Jae's voice and memorized how she looked like and how her eyes sparkled when she was telling a story. Not a bad thing at all.