3 Chained by Ice

When she came to, she was met with a pair of red-rimmed eyes.

"Why...are you crying?"

She found herself reaching out to wipe away the stranger's tears.

"Wang Fang?" The stranger's eyes widened.

"Who?"

She found herself suddenly grabbed by the shoulders and gently shaken about.

"???"

The stranger made unintelligible sounds as she started brawling.

"Miss? Are you alright?"

Her eyes were red and slightly frenzied as she cried, "Wang Fang!! Are you so mad that you won't even recognize me?!"

"Wha-"

"Not your Bai Min!? Wang Fang!"

"B-Bai Min?"

There was vehement nodding as the stranger began to stop crying.

"I don't think I know you…"

The stranger's eyes widened once more. Afraid of the stranger bursting into tears again she tried to calm her down.

"B-but I don't know who I am either so it isn't too bad?"

Looking at the large pooling tears in the stranger's eyes made her heart hurt.

"Amnesia?"

"I-I'm not sure…"

The stranger pulled her into a tight hug, making her feel fuzzy.

"It's okay Wang Fang. I'm here." The stranger's voice was weak and she spoke as if she was ready to collapse, but there was a comforting sense of certainty in it.

"Wang Fang, you don't have to do anything. Just sit back, let me repay my debt."

…

After the chaos of this morning's events, the two got out of bed and made their way to the kitchen.

The stranger introduced herself as Bai Min and talked about her past.

She then made breakfast and the two tacitly ate in silence.

"..."

Wang Fang eyed the person across from her.

Bright amber eyes that were almost hidden by a curtain of long lashes. Her eyes were cast downwards as she focused on her food.

This Bai Min was quite attractive.

The scene she made this morning when she was rambling and crying distracted Wang Fang from her beauty.

Now that Wang Fang had gotten a good look at Bai Min, she found herself unable to look away.

Bai Min's slender fingers pushed her ebony hair behind her ear as her pink lips blew at the noodles. Her face was slightly flushed from the heat and small droplets of sweat started to drip down her forehead.

Wang Fang flinched when those warm amber eyes swept upwards to look at her.

"Is something wrong?"

"N-not at all."

Bai Min smiled apologetically, "Sorry, this is the only thing I can make. The housekeeping auntie is on vacation right now."

Wang Fang inhaled shakily. Bai Min did not seem to have noticed Wang Fang's stare.

"It's alright. These noodles are delicious."

Bai Min tilted her head to one side.

"But you haven't even touched your chopsticks."

"I can tell from the way you've been eating it."

Wang Fang cringed at her own reply. This is the same as blatantly admitting that she's been staring at Bai Min.

Instead of being disturbed, Bai Min blushed before giggling at her response.

"That's just like you, Wang Fang."

Bai Min propped her chin up with a hand and looked somewhat wistful.

"Just like always."

Wang Fang felt a pang of jealousy from the girl's faraway look.

In the past, Wang Fang must've been a goddess to be able to make the girl in front of her act in so many different ways.

Wang Fang ignored the aching of her heart and dove into her bowl of noodles with gusto.

Bai Min was brought back to the present with the clinking of Wang Fang's chopsticks.

"I'll...go watch some TV."

"Okay."

Bai Min was left alone once again, watching Wang Fang walk away from her.

Wang Fang lounged on the couch, her body automatically assuming a comfortable position.

She grabbed the remote on a nearby coffee table and turned on the TV.

Wang Fang became lost in her thoughts before long and tuned out the sounds coming out of the speakers.

…

She found herself in a completely dark place. The only light source was coming from herself.

She looked down at her hands. They were glowing.

Not just her hands.

Every part of her was giving off light.

She was wearing simple white clothes. The top and bottoms were as plain as possible.

Wang Fang felt a strange urge to start walking. So she did.

She walked aimlessly.

There was no end to this blank terrain. Just eternal darkness.

But then there was light.

Unlike her white light, it was deep blue.

A freezing, deadly blue.

Her instincts warned her of danger, but she went on.

When she got closer, the darkness faded.

What replaced it was equally unwelcoming.

It was a land snow. Not the soft and fluffy sort of either. There were ice shards littering the ground. The snow was tainted gray and compact. Razor-sharp icicles threatened to impale her at every turn.

In the middle of it all, glowing blue, was a person.

Hundreds of icicles pointed towards her and chains held her in place.

She stood straight, not weighed down in the slightest. Like an apex predator, her eyes locked onto Wang Fang the moment she entered.

"You…"

There was a feeling of recognition.

"You're the real Wang Fang, aren't you." Wang Fang was guarded against this person of ice.

Her phoenix eyes carved into crescents as she smiled.

"Not exactly." Her chains rattled as she straightened out her suit. "You may call me President. They all do."

"They?"

"You'll see."

The chains rattled once again as she began snapping the icicles around her, clearing a path for Wang Fang.

"Go on, they are waiting for you. The little one...is very impatient"

Wang Fang looked back one more time at the person surrounded by ice. This must've been the cold president that Bai Min talked about.

"I'll see you again?"

"You'll see me again."

Wang Fang trudged off.

Behind her, the president collapsed under the weight of her chains. The ground beneath her broke and dragged her under.

When Wang Fang turned back, she saw nothing but a giant hole and broken ice.

"President..."