♫ : blossom - enhypen

It had been a rough day. The café was busier than usual and you were extremely exhausted by the time you closed up the shop. The frustrations from work piled up and you had nowhere to vent the negative emotions inside you.

You walked home on the snow-dusted sidewalk, the cold air biting at your cheeks. The sky was completely dark, only the streetlights and a few windows lit here and there.

And out of nowhere, you felt something hit your back. A snowball. It was like the universe decided to kick you in the ass when you were already down.

Great. This is exactly what I needed, you thought, eyes narrowing in anger. You spun around, expecting to see some random kid messing around. You were ready to snap.

But it wasn't a kid. Under the soft glow of a streetlight, stood Jake.

His white puffer jacket and baggy jeans were lightly covered with snow, the ends wet, and his dark hair shone under the warm light. At that moment, the cold evaporated and the sound of the wind died down.

It was just you and him, standing in this perfect winter moment.

Jake was a ray of Brisbane sunshine in your freezing Seoul night, a warmth that seemed to melt the icy grip around your heart. It was as if he brought the warm summer in Australia to the cold winter in South Korea.

"Seriously?" was all you managed to say, but there was no heat in your voice. Jake's smile widened, a hint of playfulness in his eyes. He held up another handful of snow, ready to throw.

"You looked like you needed a pick-me-up," he teased, his voice light. "Thought I'd help."

A soft chuckle escaped your lips, the heaviness in your chest lifting as you picked up some snow and shaped it into a snowball, launching it at him. "You're impossible."

He ducked, and a snowball fight started in no time. The cold night air was filled with laughter as the two of you moved around, throwing snow at each other, just like you did when you were kids. It was ridiculous, really, but it was exactly what you needed.

For the first time all day, you didn't feel burdened by work or stress. All you could focus on was Jake - his smile, the way his nose had turned red from the cold, how his fingers had gone pink, but he kept going anyway.

As you crouched down to gather more snow, you glanced up at him. His hair was slightly messy and his breath was coming out in visible puffs of air. He seemed so carefree, so full of life.

Your eyes met his, and that fluttering feeling in your chest returned, but it was stronger this time.

The snowball fight eventually came to an end with the both of you breathless. Laughing, you stared at the mess on the sidewalks, with scattered footprints and random blobs of snow everywhere.

You hadn't felt this lighthearted in a while, and Jake had somehow managed to snap you out of your bad mood without even trying.

"We should probably head back before we freeze," Jake suggested as he shook some snow off his jacket.

"Yeah," you agreed, smiling despite the cold that's making your whole body stiff.

Just before reaching the front doors, you stopped at the usual dumpling vendor. The wind blew the warm steam towards your faces, warming you up. The older woman greeted you with a familiar grin, her eyes flicking between you and Jake, curious.

"Ah, you're here with someone today," she teased. "Is this your boyfriend?"

You were stunned for a moment and opened your mouth to reply, but Jake's voice cut through with lightning speed.

"No, no, we're just friends," he said with a laugh, the words sounding light and easy. But somehow, they hit you harder than any snowball ever could.

Just friends.

You didn't realize how much you'd hoped for a different answer until you heard the words aloud.

You knew Jake was a flirt, that he often said things with a teasing smile, never giving away too much of what he was really thinking. But for some reason, hearing him confirm that you were just friends stung more than you expected.

The vendor raised an eyebrow at you, clearly unconvinced, but she didn't push it. You forced a smile as Jake handed her the money. He stood beside you, unaware, or maybe just ignoring the sudden shift in your mood.

As you both walked back toward the apartment building, the steam from the dumplings rose between you like a gentle fog. You tried to shake off the disappointment that clung to your heart.

Jake was just being Jake - teasing, playful, always making you laugh when you least expected it. He didn't mean anything by it, right? Everything he did was what friends would do.

You stole a glance at him, watching the way his fingers drummed against the side of the dumpling boxes, the way his gaze seemed thoughtful. He had a way of getting under your skin, making you feel things you hadn't felt in a long time.

Part of you wanted to believe that he was just being a good friend - cheering you up, playing in the snow, sharing dumplings. Maybe that was just who he was. A flirt. Someone who says the right things without meaning anything deeper.

As you reached your floor, Jake handed you your bag of dumplings with a smile. "Thanks for hanging out. We should do this more often."

"Yeah," you said, trying to sound casual, trying to ignore the mess of emotions inside. "We should."

Jake was so... Jake, with his easy smiles and his constant teasing. And here you were, reading into every little thing he said, hoping for something more.

As you closed the door behind you, you threw your jacket on a coat stand and kicked off your boots. You flopped on the sofa, eyes staring blankly at the ceiling.

You told yourself you needed to stop. To stop wondering if there was something more behind his words and his actions, to stop hoping for something that probably wasn't there from the very start. After all, friends cheered each other up, didn't they?

Friends played in the snow, shared dumplings, and made each other laugh.

But you couldn't help but wonder if you'd ever be able to stop hoping that maybe, just maybe, Jake felt the same way.