Chapter Text
Yuna’s routine song blared over the speakers. Her limbs flowed in tandem to the beat, an instinct driving them from hours of practising to the same song.
Her skates glided over the ice as she rounded a corner and eased herself into her next jump. It was a key point of her routine, one of the hardest jumps Yuna had ever attempted in her career, but if she could land it perfectly the reward was massive.
She kicked her boot off the ice and spun into motion. Yuna had a split-second of realisation before she hit the ground hard on her back. The sudden throbbing in her hips jerked her from the intense focus on her skating.
The fall was painful from the way she landed, but nothing hurt more than the mistake she made. The same mistake she had been repeating countlessly for the past hour.
‘I rushed again’, Yuna let her head thump against the ice and stared at the lights above, ‘I keep doing that.’
The ice was cold against her sweatpants and she remained glued to it. Years ago, she would have picked herself up immediately and finished the whole routine despite her mistake. Now Yuna barely had the energy to get herself up again.
The music cut to a stop.
Out of the corner of her eyes, Yuna could see Eunha skating towards her. Her lips twitched in amusement when her friend wobbled midway. Even after trying to teach her for years, Eunha could never grasp skating.
“Come on, Yuna,” Eunha reached out to her. “The evening class’s going to start soon. Let’s stop for today, okay?”
Yuna took her hand but pushed herself up with her strength. Their hands were both cold but neither of them let go. “Sorry. You should be at home.”
“I’m here because I want to. I love watching you skate.”
“It’s not really skating when I keep falling.”
Eunha squeezed her hand in a wordless reply. Her short hair bobbed as she almost slipped forward again if it wasn’t for Yuna balancing her. Yuna snickered.
“I’m glad you think my misery is funny,” Eunha huffed when they finally reached the edge of the rink. Her lips curled upwards despite her tone, betraying her true feelings. “You’ll get through this, Yuna. I’ll make sure of it.”
Her words lightened the heaviness in her gut. Yuna didn’t know what she would do without her best friend holding her up.
They fell back into a comfortable silence as they changed their skates back to normal footwear. Now that she was off the ice, her rigorous practise was catching up to her and it was hard to move. She forced herself to anyway, she didn’t want Eunha to know how tired she felt.
Eunha began to ramble about her morning beside her and Yuna was content to just listen to her. As they made their way out of the rink, the evening class filled in at the same time. It was a group of children clad in their bright yellow training uniform with their small skating boots in one hand.
They spotted her instantly. There was a burst of noise and the group soon surrounded her with beaming eyes.
“It’s Choi Yuna!”
“Teacher’s daughter!”
“Auntie Yuna, can you skate for us?”
Her grin slipped easily enough onto her face. Yuna patted one of the children’s poofy hair and smoothed it down. “Another time. You have class soon and you know how strict my mother is. You don’t want to be scolded, right?”
“Aww…”
Yuna spent another few minutes entertaining their questions before Eunha managed to convince the children to let them go. Her shoulders slumped in relief when they were left alone in the hallway.
Children were always the hardest to talk to. They were all smiles and laughter, hope in their eyes and an innocent passion. Yuna was like them when she first started figure skating. When everything was simple and her hobby was just an enjoyable pastime.
A lot of them loved to call her their role model. Yuna couldn’t bear to squash their hopes by telling them never to be like her.
She wouldn’t wish her life on anyone.
“Eat this for dinner and go to bed soon. Oh, and here are some treats for Buddy. The animal shelter ordered too much.”
Yuna held the plastic bags Eunha shoved into her hands, nodding absent-mindedly as her friend continued to fret over her. She glanced at the treats in the bag. It was specifically her dog’s favourite treat. She had an inkling it wasn’t from the shelter’s excess order.
“I better not see you online at three in the morning again!” Eunha warned as she backtracked slowly out of Yuna’s house. “You hear me?”
“Don’t be awake so late either then,” Yuna said in response. Eunha shook her fist cutely at her until she disappeared out of sight into the streets.
She closed her front gate and it locked automatically with a beep. Her house was lit on the first floor by her lights scheduled to turn on in the evening. Yuna had a few acquaintances tell her it was a waste of electricity, but she didn’t feel comfortable keeping her dog alone in the dark without her around.
Yuna slid her key into her door and kept an ear out for the scampering of paws. When there was none even after she turned the lock, an unsettling worry gripped her. Buddy never failed to greet her at the door.
She pushed her door open and hung her coat. Still nothing. Her rising concern drowned her thoughts till all she could think of was to look around her house for her dog.
Not in the doorway. Or the kitchen. That only left the living room for the first floor and—
Her golden retriever was there. Wagging her tail with her tongue stuck out. Not at her, but a black shape curled on top of her desk.
“Hey,” Yuna called out softly. Buddy swivelled to face her immediately as if she just registered her presence. She let out a greeting bark and bounced towards her.
Yuna crouched and hugged her golden tuft of fur. “You worried me, you know.”
Buddy was a senior dog. At the age of ten, her health was a fragile thing. Yuna was afraid that one day she would come home and find that her dog’s last moments had already passed.
With her dog safely in her arms, Yuna turned her attention to the clump of black on her desk. She squinted her eyes. Then, she blinked and squinted again, not believing what she saw.
It was a black cat. Lounging on her desk with its legs spread out like it always belonged.
“Huh,” Yuna said dumbly. She released Buddy from her hug and sneaked towards the cat. She wasn’t quiet enough and its head snapped towards her in an alert. Forest green eyes glared at her.
“I don’t have a cat,” she mumbled. “Where did you come from?”
Yuna went past her sofa and that was when the cat decided to scurry underneath her television console. Shortly after, a discontented meow sounded from beneath.
She knelt on her carpet and peeked under her console a safe distance away. The cat’s dark fur blended perfectly till she could only see a pair of green eyes staring back at her.
Yuna wasn’t quite sure what to do. Eunha would, but she had troubled her friend enough today even if she knew she would come running to help.
One thing for sure was that she couldn’t let the cat roam around her house. It could have diseases and whatnot. Yuna kept an eye on the cat as she retreated to her storeroom to grab her dog’s carrier.
How hard could it be to get a cat into a carrier, anyway? She could handle this herself.
Or so she thought.
A tedious hour later, after countless pleading at the cat to come out and bringing out some leftover chicken, the cat remained unbudged and unfazed. It even seemed to relax and close its eyes, dismissing her.
While she tried coaxing it to come out, her dog also tried to stick her nose in. Literally, into the space beneath the console. Yuna had to lock Buddy in a room temporarily until she isolated the cat away or she might end up with scratches.
“A laser pointer might get their attention,” Yuna read out the results of the web search she did as she idly nudged the plate of chicken towards the cat. “Or a cat treat. But I don’t have those.”
‘Maybe I should call Eunha,’ the thought flitted into her mind. Yuna shook her head and dismissed it. She shouldn’t depend on her friend for every menial problem she has.
Just as Yuna contemplated whether she should go to a store and buy cat treats, her intercom buzzed. Her brows furrowed at the sound. Who would be visiting her now? Did Eunha forget something with her?
She pushed herself up from the floor and checked the intercom. The screen displayed an antsy woman dressed simply in shorts and a shirt which didn’t suit the cold weather, shuffling her feet in front of her gate. Her hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail, stray brown strands poking out. In her hands were a pet carrier and her phone. Curious at what the stranger wanted, Yuna spoke.
“Yes?”
The woman was startled but quickly flashed her phone towards the intercom. “Um, have you seen a black cat that looks like this? She ran out two hours ago.” She said in a rush and Yuna could hear the edges of panic in her voice.
In the picture, the current terror of her night gazed back at her with the same green eyes and grumpy frown.
“Oh,” Yuna let out a relieved breath. “She’s in my house.”
The woman perked up and mirrored her relief. “Really? Thank god. She’s not hurt, is she?”
“The cat’s okay, but I can’t get her out from her hiding spot.”
“Muji doesn’t like strangers. I know this might be too much, but could you let me in to pick her up?”
Yuna hesitated. For a moment, she wondered if this was some elaborate scheme to get into her house. It wasn’t the first time a stalker found her residence. But when she observed the carrier clutched tightly in the woman’s shivering hands and the desperateness in her voice, Yuna refused to believe it was a lie.
She unlocked the gate remotely and opened her door. The woman stepped in with a grateful look in her eyes, hurrying to her doorstep.
“I am so, so, sorry,” she said. Now that she was closer, Yuna noticed she was crying as she hastily wiped her tears away. “My niece opened my door and I didn’t realise my cat ran out until now and I thought I lost her—sorry, I’m rambling, she must have caused you so much trouble—”
Yuna interrupted her before the woman could spiral into panic. “Hey, it’s okay. She didn’t trouble me at all. All she did was hide.”
She imagined how she would feel if Buddy escaped the house. Yuna knew she would be just as distraught as the woman before her, and it made her want to comfort her.
The woman took a deep breath. Yuna guided her to the living room while she calmed herself, inwardly embarrassed at the state of her house. Some of her clothes were strewn over furniture and unwashed dishes piled in her sink.
“Can I ask for your name?” Yuna asked to distract her from the mess. “I’m Yuna.”
She figured it was safe enough to give her name. The girl would have recognised her by now if she knew who she was.
The woman didn’t show any recognition of her name and it was reassuring. “Yewon. I live nearby actually. I moved in last week.”
“How has it been living here? It’s a pretty quiet place.”
“Great, other than the fact that I went around and knocked on all of my neighbours’ houses asking for my missing cat. Not exactly the best first impression.”
Yuna let out a genuine laugh at that. “Pity my house wasn’t the first you knocked. And don’t worry about your first impression, you seem like you have a good heart to love your cat so much.”
“Thank you.” Yewon smiled shyly at her words.
They stopped in front of her television console and Yuna bent to check if the cat was there.
“She’s under here,” she straightened her back. “I tried giving her chicken but she doesn’t care about me.”
Yuna took a step back to let Yewon take over. She knelt by the console and set her carrier down at the side.
“Muji?” Yewon called out in a sweet voice. In an instant, the cat meowed in a high pitch and her head poked out. Black ears twitched. “Come here,” she coaxed.
Muji sauntered out and climbed onto Yewon’s lap, who let out a sigh and cradled her in her arms. Her head bowed as she cuddled the cat to her face. “You’re such a troublemaker,” she said fondly. The cat bumped her head against her cheek and purred loudly.
Yuna’s heart warmed at the sight. It was enough to forget that the cat crashed her place and did god knows what with her dog.
Speaking of Buddy, she could hear disgruntled whines from the room she locked her in. So could Yewon. She turned towards the noise as she stood up with Muji in her arms.
“Do you own a dog?”
Yuna nodded. “Buddy, my golden retriever. I wasn’t sure if your cat had any diseases so I kept her in a room.”
“You could let her out if you want. Muji’s healthy and up to date with her shots. She isn’t aggressive to dogs either.”
Considering how Yuna found the cat sleeping on her desk when Buddy was trying to get to her, it wasn’t hard to believe. She was also glad she didn’t have to go to a vet to see if her dog caught any diseases.
She went to let Buddy out. The dog yipped happily upon seeing her before coming to a stop and sniffing the air. Her fluffy ears moved and she hurried past Yuna directly to where Yewon was.
For a senior dog, Buddy had a lot of energy which Yuna loved but she didn’t want her to scare Yewon. The golden retriever was huge, and no matter what Yewon said about her cat, all animals had an instinct to react when an unfamiliar dog was coming at them.
It turned out Yuna didn’t have to worry at all. Yewon was calm and so was her cat.
“She’s so pretty,” Yewon said as she adjusted her grip on her cat and shifted her safely away from Buddy. Muji threw a disinterested look at the eager golden retriever. “How old is she?”
“Ten.”
“You must have had her for a long time then. Muji’s only three years old.”
Yuna whistled and Buddy came back to her. She petted her fur tenderly. “It’s been six years. She’s my steadfast companion.”
On days when Yuna awoke to heaviness on her chest and no will to do anything, not even to eat, drink, or sleep, Buddy was the motivator that got her up. Even if she couldn’t take care of herself, she would never neglect her dog’s needs.
It was at the animal shelter where Eunha now worked when she met Buddy. At four years old, haggard and abandoned, the sad-looking dog named Buddy lying lethargically that no one wanted drew her in. She gave Buddy a home and a life, and now she was one of the reasons Yuna kept pushing through each melancholy day.
“Muji’s the same to me too,” Yewon looked at the cat in her arms, an affectionate grin spreading on her face. “She can be a gremlin at times, but I love her.”
She placed Muji down on the ground and unlocked the gate of her carrier. The moment the cat’s paws touched the ground, Buddy barked and surged towards her. Muji yowled at the golden retriever, smoothly leaping onto Yuna’s desk and ignoring her dog.
They both watched their interactions with fond exasperation. Buddy continued to linger around Muji even when she was placed into the carrier and held in Yewon’s hand.
“Thank you again. I was so afraid she had wandered off too far and gotten hurt, but luckily she was in your house,” Yewon said as they walked back to the entrance of the house. “I hope your night wasn’t ruined because of me.”
Yuna shook her head. The appearance of Muji made her night more interesting than her usual monotony, even though much of her time was spent trying to coax her out from her hiding spot.
When they reached the door, Yuna spotted her coat hung on the rack and was reminded of Yewon’s poor outfit choice.
“Wait, I’ll get you a clean coat to wear.” She meant to turn and leave but Yewon’s protest made her pause.
“There’s no need for that. My house is a ten-minute walk away.”
“The weather is still too chilly for you to walk around in shorts.”
“I don’t want to inconvenience you any further…” Yewon frowned, sounding uncertain.
Her conscience didn’t feel comfortable letting Yewon walk home freezing but their brief interaction was enough to tell her that the woman wasn’t someone who liked to trouble people. A glance at her dog still wagging her tail by Yewon’s carrier gave her an idea.
“How about I walk you home?” she blurted out. “I need to walk my dog so I can go with you. You can return my coat on the spot. I mean, if that’s okay with you.”
That worked. Yewon agreed with another thankful smile. Yuna went to fetch her something to wear.
As she rummaged through her closet for a coat, she wondered where her sudden burst of energy came from. She had never felt so eager to walk someone home before. Strangers usually exhausted her.
Perhaps it was the refreshing anonymity around Yewon. Yuna had countless strangers knowing her right off the bat as Choi Yuna, Korea’s elite figure skater, and that person was who she was expected to be around them. Prodigious. Flawless. A champion winner.
Yewon only knew her as the neighbour with a golden retriever whose house her runaway cat hid in.
“Here,” Yuna said when she came back with a brown coat.
While Yewon slid the coat on, she dressed Buddy with one as well. The temperature outside was still high enough to be safe for the golden retriever to be out, but Yuna was always cautious of her health.
“I appreciate it,” Yewon pulled the coat tighter around herself. “I wasn’t thinking about my clothes when I ran out looking for Muji.”
Yuna hooked a leash to Buddy’s collar and donned her outerwear as well. “It happens. Does your cat need anything to keep warm?”
“Oh, no. I made sure to put some warm towels in before I left.”
‘She remembers to keep her cat warm but not herself,’ Yuna couldn’t help but think, and her lips quirked up.
They set out from Yuna's house and onto the streets. Buddy was eager to go for her nightly walk, padding down the pavements and sniffing whatever caught her interest. Yewon observed her dog’s antics with a twinkle in her eye, stopping patiently whenever Buddy did. It probably made the walk home longer, but she didn’t seem to care.
Chatting as they strolled, Yuna was careful to avoid any questions about her occupation, wishing to drag her anonymity out longer. They mostly stuck to topics about animals, and Yuna found herself talking more than she ever did in the past week. Yewon was very inviting. She had an easy attitude that drew words out of her.
“There’s a good pet store called ‘Pet Paradise’ nearby a few blocks away,” Yuna said as they rounded a corner. “I also know a few qualified veterinarian clinics around the neighbourhood.”
Yewon hummed. “Have you ever gone to the Animal House clinic?”
“No, but I’ve heard of it. They work with the animal shelter I got Buddy from. Haven Shelter.”
Yewon’s eyes lit up and she turned to her with an excited bounce in her step. “What a coincidence. I’m a veterinarian at the clinic, and my sister recently took over the shelter.”
“Really?” Yuna blinked. It was a surprise. She was aware of the animal shelter’s newest owner. Kim Sojung. Tall, blonde, and gorgeous—according to Eunha’s rambles. And Yewon was a veterinarian? That explained why she was so calm around her dog.
“Yeah. The shelter is a family business passed down to the eldest. Our parents retired recently and handed the operations to Sojung, my sister,” Yewon lifted her pet carrier to show Muji curled inside. “It’s also where I adopted this troublemaker from.”
A family business. Yuna knew well enough about that, with her mother owning a skating rink branch. Though, Yewon’s family sounded different from hers. She knew Haven Shelter and it was aptly named. You could hardly be cruel if your business was all about saving animals and most of the time you lost rather than profit.
“That sounds like an admirable family tradition,” she said. “So does your job. I always appreciate veterinarians, I think it’s not an easy job.”
Yewon looked at the ground with an embarrassed tilt of her lips. “Well, every job has its difficulties. Helping animals is my passion, and being a veterinarian lets me do that, so in a way I’m lucky.”
Yuna tightened her grip on Buddy’s leash. Passion. She was lucky like Yewon, once. Would she ever get that luck back?
“If there’s ever an emergency with Buddy, which I hope there won’t be,” Yewon gestured to her golden retriever. “You’re welcome to bring her to my house or the vet.”
Yuna gave her an appreciative nod as they came to stop in front of a house, not unlike her own. Yewon took a glance at her phone, checking the timing, before facing her. She fidgeted nervously.
“Would…” she started, a red tint to her cheeks. Her next words came out in a rush. “Would you like to come in? Have dinner?”
Oh. Yuna didn’t miss the shy but determined tone of her voice.
Yewon continued even as the flush in her cheeks deepened. “I had a good time talking with you and well, I would love to know more about you. And continue our conversation. Only if you want to!”
Yuna hadn’t expected her walk with Yewon to end with being asked out. She had countless people, fans mostly, asking her for a date and they were always given a polite rejection.
Just like the others, she prepared herself to reject her—and found that she couldn’t. Not after taking a proper look at the girl before her. Hopeful yet unsure eyes gazed up at her. It wasn’t fan adoration she saw. It was a genuine attraction. To Choi Yuna, the neighbour.
Yuna had a seed of interest sown in her. And maybe, just maybe, it could grow into something more. But not tonight, when her bones felt heavy from her practise and her eyes sagged with exhaustion. She wasn’t ready for a spontaneous date. Eunha’s food was also still laid on her dinner table.
The time she spent considering it was long enough for Yewon’s face to fall slightly though she tried not to show it. “I’m sorry—”
“I’m not up for dinner now, but we could exchange numbers,” Yuna said gently. “And see where that takes us?”
“Yeah?” Yewon flustered, clearly not expecting Yuna’s words. “Yeah. That sounds nice.”
Yuna chuckled fondly. Yewon was cute. She was talkative but fumbled for words when she was shy. Asking someone out on the same night you met them was a bold move but she did it regardless.
They swapped numbers with a light mood, Yewon beaming and Yuna at ease. Yewon shrugged off her borrowed coat and handed it back to Yuna. As she did so, their hands brushed against each other.
Moments ago, Yuna wouldn’t have thought much of it, but now it sent a spark of electricity. Her cheeks warmed despite the cold.
“H-have a good night, Yuna,” Yewon said and her eyes crinkled. She leaned over to rub her waiting golden retriever on the head. “You too, Buddy.”
Buddy’s tail thumped against the ground. Yuna’s heart thumped along in her chest. “Good night, Yewon.”