Chapter Text
"Another perfectly executed triple axel by Jung Hoseok of South Korea! This is Jung Hoseok’s first Grand Prix and he’s already a favourite to win!"
The crowd bursts into deafening applause, the sound rippling through the cold air and pumping into Yoongi's eardrums. Yoongi smiles, big and wide, watching Hoseok slow down to a halt, the blades of his skates clicking against the ice before he bends into a bow. There's a haze around his feet, the blades still hot from his routine. Yoongi's too far to see, but he knows that Hoseok is smiling too.
At the end of the routine, Hoseok raises his head from his bow and locks eyes with Yoongi before turning around. Yoongi's heart thumps, the erratic beat resonating with Hoseok’s quick footsteps. The audience is still booming with applause but the sound almost dies out as he hones in on Hoseok making his way towards him. Hoseok glides languidly against the ice, graceful, pretty. His red hair waves with the motion, and paired with his red shirt, he looks like a fire in the rink of ice, burning his way to victory. There's that same fire in his eyes too, Yoongi notices when he comes closer, crackling with unsuppressed glee.
"That was great, Seok-ah," Yoongi whistles under his breath, handing out a bottle of water to an approaching Hoseok. “You scored so high on the leaderboard! Hyung is so proud of you. Semifinals, here we come!”
“You think so, hyung?” Hoseok giggles. “Oh my God, that would be the best! I still can’t believe I made it this far!”
“Better believe it, Seok-ah,” Yoongi’s smile is tender. He reaches out and ruffles Hoseok’s hair, chuckling when Hoseok whines at him about messing it up.
“I’m gonna go change now,” Hoseok says, pulling back. “Let’s get dinner once I’m ready. I’m starving!”
Yoongi waves at Hoseok’s retreating back. He picks up Hoseok’s discarded skates and makes to follow suit. Only to stop in his tracks when he sees a familiar face in the distance.
“Min!” Coach Choi waves from the bleachers, walking briskly as he approaches Yoongi. “Got a minute?”
Yoongi frowns. Coach Choi has an awkward smile on his face, and he’s scratching the back of his neck as if in embarrassment. “Sure,” Yoongi mutters, shoulders slumping in resignation. “What’s up, Choi?”
“Ah,” Coach Choi rubs his hands together as if he’s cold, and maybe he is. “It’s about the Figure Skating Association’s annual dinner, held after the Grand Prix."
Choi looks at Yoongi sheepishly. It’s almost as if he’s waiting for Yoongi to take the conversation forward. But Yoongi finds himself quite lost. The annual dinner hosted by the International Figure Skating Association is the biggest social event of the year for their community. This being Hoseok’s first Grand Prix, would also be his first dinner. Yoongi smiles subconsciously, remembering the way Hoseok had panicked when he first came to hear about the event. “Annual dinner? Does that mean I have to speak english during the whole night?”
“Coach Min?” Choi interrupts Yoongi’s reverie, leaning forward, clenching his jaw as if he’s in deep thought. “Does Hoseok-ssi have a date for the dinner?”
“A date?” Yoongi frowns, feeling a sudden itch on his nose. “I didn’t know it was mandatory to bring a date for the dinner.”
“It’s not,” Choi is quick to clarify, fluttering his hands around in the air in panic. “It’s just—” He clears his throat, fanning himself rather exaggeratedly. “It’s also not rare for contestants to bring a date, you know? In fact, most of them do bring—” He waves his hands in the air again, squinting as he struggles to find the right words. “Contestants usually bring their family, or their lovers, or—” He looks back at Yoongi again, his smile twitching nervously. “Or a date,” he finishes lamely.
“Okay,” Yoongi frowns, nodding in acknowledgement. “Noted. I’ll let Hoseok know.”
“Yeah,” Choi squeaks enthusiastically. “Please do that!”
“Well then,” Yoongi bows, before turning around and starting to walk away. “If that’s all, I’ll be leaving now—”
“Wait!” Choi yells, reaching out to grab Yoongi’s elbow. Yoongi hisses in annoyance, yanking his arm from his lousy grip.
"Listen here, Choi—”
“Hoseok-ssi should go with Jackson for the dinner!” Choi says with great enthusiasm. “Jackson’s always expressed how attractive he finds him, you know?.”
Something bitter rises up Yoongi’s throat. He swallows the bile, feeling a strange rush of anger at the thought of Jackson Wang being Hoseok’s date for the dinner.
“Coach Choi,” Yoongi’s voice is colder than the ice in the rink. “I get what you’re trying to do here. But I am just Hoseok’s coach. I don’t involve myself in his personal affairs. Feel free to ask him yourself. Or better yet, ask Wang to man up and ask Hoseok by himself.” Yoongi tugs his hand out of Choi’s grasp. “Now if you’ll excuse me—”
“Jackson already asked Hoseok-ssi before!”
Yoongi whips his head around to take in Choi’s face. He looks confused, and a little intimidated by Yoongi.
“Jackson asked Hoseok-ssi a few days ago, just after the qualifier round.”
Yoongi’s eyes bulge in shock. Hoseok hadn’t mentioned anything about this. He hadn’t said a word to Yoongi. But then again, just as Yoongi had mentioned to Choi mere moments ago, Yoongi is just Hoseok’s coach. Hoseok’s personal life is none of his business.
“But Hoseok-ssi rejected him,” Choi sighs, looking dejectedly at Yoongi. There’s a small thrill that runs down Yoongi’s spine at the thought of Hoseok rejecting a pompous Jackson Wang. He has to force himself not to burst into a smile. Lucky for him, Choi doesn’t notice the way his facial muscles twitch. “Hoseok-ssi said he wouldn't be able to accompany Jackson for the event because you wouldn’t let him.”
“What—?!” Yoongi’s jaw all but drops to the floor in shock.
“He said you enforce a strict no dating policy,” Choi frowns, eyes pleading as they look up at Yoongi. “He said you don’t allow him to date, because it affects his training schedule.”
Yoongi makes a small strangled sound at that, wondering why on earth Hoseok would say such a blatantly obvious lie. Choi balls his fists and shakes them enthusiastically, before leaning into Yoongi’s space. His eyes glitter pleadingly.
“But now that you know about the nature of the dinner, maybe you could relax those rules?” Choi rubs his hands together, wiggling his eyebrows in the most obnoxiou way. “It’s just one night, Coach Min. Let your boy have some fun.”
There’s something about the thought of Hoseok having fun that makes Yoongi’s skin crawl in discomfort. He glares at Choi, who is now almost kneeling on the ground, halfway down on his knees. Yoongi groans, rubbing his temples in a mixture of confusion and exasperation.
“Fine, I’ll talk to Hoseok,” Yoongi mutters, wincing almost immediately when Choi makes a happy squealing noise. “I’ll let him know about the dinner and clear things up about my apparent ‘ no dating policy’ . You can ask Wang to ask him again in a day or two.”
“That’s great!” Yoongi has to push at Choi’s chest in order to prevent himself from being grabbed into a bear hug. “Thank you so much, Coach Min! Jackson will be so happy. Not to mention how good this will be for both of them in terms of publicity!”
“Yeah,” Yoongi mumbles under his breath. “That’s great.”
Maybe it’s actually a good thing. It’ll definitely be great for publicity— two attractive international figure skaters dating each other. It’s sure to do wonders for Hoseok’s sponsorship and brand value. Besides, it’s always a good idea to clear up Hoseok’s misunderstanding regarding Yoongi’s stance on dating.
Yoongi can not for the life of him imagine what could’ve possibly led Hoseok to jump to such a conclusion. Whoever Hoseok dates is none of Yoongi’s business, after all. Yoongi is just his coach. Their relationship is purely professional. Outside of the skating rink, Yoongi doesn’t care about Hoseok at all! He’s completely fine with Hoseok going to the annual dinner with whoever. He’s completely fine with Hoseok seeing whoever he wants.
Yoongi’s absolutely fine !
And if he deliberately chooses not to acknowledge the painful squeezing in his chest at the thought of Hoseok dating someone else, that’s no one’s business.
*****
They have dinner together, as they’ve been doing since their very first competition back home in Korea. Only, this time, they’re in Italy, a foreign scenery for them both to explore together.
And yet, they find themselves at a Korean fast food joint tucked in the corner of the city. Yoongi chuckles as he watches Hoseok chew on his bulgogi, looking a little miffed because it doesn’t taste as authentic as the ones they get back home.
“Next time, we’re getting McDonald’s,” Hoseok grumbles. He’s pouting, lips a little red from the gochujang sauce. Pretty, Hoseok is so pretty. There’s something about the way Yoongi instantly relaxes whenever he’s in Hoseok’s company. Even when they’re thousands of miles away from home in a foreign city, being by Hoseok’s side automatically makes everything so simple, so easy.
“Is everything okay, hyung?” Hoseok asks, continuing to eat his lacklustre dinner. “You look kinda stressed.”
“Oh, do I?” Yoongi clears his throat. So much for Hoseok always making him feel so relaxed. “I saw Coach Choi today. We uh— We talked about the annual dinner.” Yoongi reaches for the tteokbokki, doing his utmost to avoid Hoseok’s eyes. “Apparently, it’s customary to bring dates for the event.”
“Is it?” Hoseok pauses to swallow, swiping the sauce off his glossy lower lip. Yoongi isn’t distracted at all. “Maybe it’s common, but I doubt it’s compulsory. I read through the itinerary and didn’t see anything about it. Western culture is truly beyond me. Apparently, they have fireworks at the end of the event. Talk about extravagant!”
And with that, Hoseok bursts into soft giggles. But for as much as the sound warms Yoongi’s heart, it also makes him want to strangle the oblivious man. Hoseok hums under his breath, reaching for the tteokbokki, giggling as his chopsticks battle with Yoongi’s. It would be endearing any other time, but not now. Right now, Yoongi feels his stomach burn, and he knows that it’s his nerves and not the samyang sauce.
"Coach Choi told me Jackson invited you to the dinner,” Yoongi says, watching how Hoseok freezes in the middle of taking a bite, his smile slipping dramatically off his face. “He said you declined Jackson’s offer because of some no-dating policy that I seem to be enforcing. What’s that about, Seok-ah?”
“Oh, you heard about that?” Hoseok puts his food down and clears his throat. There’s a soft blush that washes over his high cheekbones, and it’s definitely not from the cheap soju. He sighs, playing with a stray strand of hair. “I thought it was the easiest way to get him off my back.” He looks up at Yoongi, a sheepish expression adorning his features. “Sorry, hyung.”
“It’s fine,” Yoongi sighs, grabbing his bottle and taking a chug. The soju burns a trail down his throat, but it’s not soothing like it usually is. “I uh— I actually think you should consider taking a date to the dinner. Don’t want you to be alone, while everyone else happens to have a partner.”
Hoseok clasps his hands together in his lap. His eyes dart between Yoongi’s face and the plate of food in front of him. His blush spreads across his face to the tips of his ears, pretty, so pretty.
“Well, I’ll have you, hyung,” Hoseok’s voice is as soft as his gaze. Yoongi’s breath catches. “I won’t be alone because you’ll be there.”
The lights are dim, casting a shadow on Hoseok’s face, highlighting the sharp slope of his nose, the cutting edge of his jaw, the spit glossed curve of his red lips. Yoongi’s chest churns in longing. He knows that Hoseok’s words are innocent, but they ignite something inside him and make him helplessly yearn for something he shouldn’t desire.
“I’m just your coach, Seok-ah,” Yoongi whispers. He wants to sound convincing, he wants to sound strict. But he manages none of those things. His voice stutters, weak, pitchy, pathetic. “I’m someone who works behind the scenes; invisible to all these people. But another figure skater— especially someone as coveted as Jackson—” Yoongi clears his throat, trying to get rid of the lump that feels lodged there, trying to ignore the way Hoseok’s face sobers with every word he says. “Jackson will be good for you, Seok-ah. Jackson will be good publicity, the kind you could use.”
Yoongi looks at Hoseok and forces a smile, or at least he hopes it passes as a smile. Honestly, it’s nothing but a gnarly twitching turn of his lips.
“Is that really what you want me to do, hyung?” Hoseok asks, tone clipped, a little cold. “Will you really be okay with me dating someone else?"
The air between them is far too hot for a winter’s night in Italy. Yoongi gulps, eyes wavering as he tries to keep Hoseok’s gaze.
“Of course, Seok-ah,” Yoongi smiles, seeing first-hand how fake it looks, reflected in Hoseok’s obsidian eyes. “I only want what’s best for you, always. Besides, I’m just your coach. It’s none of my business who you—” He swallows, mouth suddenly dry. “It’s none of my business who you date .”
After a silence that seems to drag on forever, Hoseok finally gives his reply. “Fine,” Hoseok sighs exhaustedly before he continues eating. “As you wish, hyung. I’ll give Jackson a call after practice tomorrow.”
Yoongi nods, returning to his meal. They eat in silence, something that’s out of the ordinary for them. But it’s okay; because this is what’s good for Hoseok. Yoongi doesn’t mind at all.
The food tastes particularly terrible after their conversation, and Yoongi makes a mental decision to never come to this restaurant again. He tells himself on the way back to their lodging that the decision has nothing to do with his heavy heart and his stinging eyes.
To Be Continued