Fate

"Isn't it odd?"

I passed a hand through his light blonde hair, fiddling with the ends. "What is?"

Joon smiled up at me as he wrapped the laces around the ankle part of the ice skate over and over again. "This."

"You tying up my ice-skates? I told you, you didn't have to." I scoffed, shrugging my shoulders.

"No, no. I mean… this." He let go of the strings, reaching upwards and brushing my cheeks with the palm of his hand. I could feel the cold, leather, fingerless gloves on my skin as his fingers brushed near my temples, pulling me closer towards him. "This. You, the rest of our group, me. How we met. Isn't it odd?"

I leaned in, pressing my forehead against his, and smiled. "No. It's fate."

"Fate?" His eyes locked with mine.

I pulled back, looking over at the Wollman Rink, watching Mir gently tugging Tara onto the ice. He had a bright smile on his face, the typical smile he gave when he was near her. Two days ago he knocked on my hotel room late at night, fidgeting close to the door and asked if we could talk. I quietly shuffled out of the room, being careful not to wake Tara up and followed him to the corner of the hallway.

He looked around, pulled me close and whispered, "I like Tara, but don't tell anyone 'kay? I just had to tell someone. I couldn't sleep at night, and, and, I just couldn't so, pretty please. Promise, yes? Promise?" And I promised. Tara hadn't said anything, she was sweet just as she was shy, but deep in my heart I knew Tara felt the same way.

"What do you mean fate?" He asked, curious eyes glancing to where I was looking.

"If we had never met a year ago, what do you think would've happened?"

"Well, for starters… ahm," Joon looked around, his eyes glancing from side to side, scanning the rink. A bright smile formed across his face as he pointed outwards, my eyes following his finger. "We wouldn't have ever felt the sheer embarrassment that we are feeling right now."

We both burst out laughing as we watched my little sister, Chuey, slither around the ice on her belly, hollering, "slither, slither, slither," over and over again while the rest of New York watched. G.O and Thunder were cracking up right next to her, pulling her up and down again when she bumped against someone.

My sister and I weren't blood related but as soon as she showed up on my apartment doorstep, toothy grin on her face, bright eyes sparkling, and voice loudly pleading me to let her stay, I did as she said without a second thought. She was young, but was the face of maturity when the time called for it. Obviously, that wasn't one of those times.

I patted my stomach down, inhaling and exhaling as a burst of laughter came now and then. "Okay, okay. But what else?"

He looked down, looping a lace once more around my ankle and tying both of them together in a quick and tight fashion. "If we had never met I wouldn't have felt as happy as I am now. I know we're all happy. Before you guys came Mir kept quiet, but deep inside we knew he missed his family a lot. And when Tara showed up it was like everything was okay at last. She became his and our family. It just got better when Chuey showed up. She kept up with G.O and Thunder easily, making them laugh and understand the greatest things in life can go on forever."

I grinned, turning over towards the ice. Tara was clutching onto Mir for dear life as he held onto her back, both of them with absolutely terrified gazes on their eyes. He was wearing a Burger King crown with, "Mr. Pinguin" painted in blue, while Tara wore the crown he had made for her with the name, "Mrs. Pinguin".

"And also…" I turned my head back, his eyes staring into mine. "Do you see Seungho over at the end of the rink?" I looked over, Suengho's face calm as a flock of girls surrounded him, his gaze turning towards where we were. "He's watching over you. Ever since I told him that I liked you, he's been more over-protective than usual. You make him happy too. But I won't let him have you."

I could feel my cheeks redden as I tugged my knitted scarf upwards. "You… like me?"

He laughed, shaking his head, a slight blush on his face. "Oops. And I thought you knew." He patted my knees, standing up and extending his hands towards me. I laced my fingers with his as he pulled me up with him, helping me balance myself with the skates. He let go of my hand as we got near the entrance to the ice, looking over at me from the corner of his eyes.

"See?" I hid my large grin underneath my scarf, linking his left arm with my right one. "It's fate."

"Hm?" He stepped on, watching me closely as I stepped with him. His eyes widened in realization. "You… like me?"

I grabbed onto his coat with my left hand and let my head lean on his shoulder, watching people skate from side to side. "Oops." I looked up at him, etching his profile onto my brain. "And I thought you knew."