Chapter Text
“Park Sunghoon!” The coach yells from a distance, his eyes locked on one person, and only them. The distinct figure gracefully skates around the rink with meticulous precision. His ice skates scrape across the rink, sending shards on shaved ice flying into the air. He lands a flawless triple-axel. Three spins, what he’s been striving to achieve for multiple hours straight.
The coach taps his foot, waiting for the boy to skate back to him. This was Sunghoon. Park Sunghoon, the golden boy of the school and the all-too-famous figure skater. Everyone admires him, that was a known fact. Maybe it was his aura, the princely ambience or his charming looks. He was known for his good looks, serenity, and swoon-worthy talent. Moreover, as he skates back, Sunghoon’s hair even flies back gracefully as he skids to a stop near his coach.
“Yes, coach?” Sunghoon respectfully asks with an eccentric grin on his face. He just landed what he’s been trying to do all day. Of course he’s happy! He’s over-the-edge, waiting for the praise and feedback from his coach.
The man just stares back at him before clearing his throat. “Right… yes. That jump was fantastic.” He says. Sunghoon is jumping in joy mentally, but keeps his cool on the exterior. He sends his coach an appreciative nod, waiting for him to continue.
“As you know, the competition is soon,” The man looks frantic as he hints at Sunghoon his newfound urgency. “I need to provide some feedback to you because we are running out of time!” Sunghoon listens to his coach ramble on about the time crunch. This competition being mentioned might be one of the most important ones ever, to Sunghoon. It was the KISU, the event he’s been preparing and waiting for for probably his entire life. It’s the most prestigious figure skating competition, which showcases the pinnacle of artistic and athletic excellence. Elite skaters from all around Korea gather to compete and showcase their mesmerizing skills on the ice, vying for the coveted championship title. It’s all he’s ever wanted, but also everything he’s ever feared. A huge audience, staring down at him analysing his every move. Sunghoon's breath gets unsteady at the thought as he catches it and listens to his coach.
“Sunghoon, you need to improve. We don’t have time. All I need you to do is improve your stage presence. Enhance it. To me now, it just looks like you’re… doing it. It’s nothing special! I know, you’re a very good-looking boy but I am afraid there’s no expression on your face,” He expresses his concern. “This performance is supposed to be show-stopping and meaningful.” The coach makes a chopping motion with his hands to show emphasis and to signal exigency. “It… it’s supposed to be full of emotion and longing. You don’t do any of that, you just skate.” The coach shrugs and finishes.
Sunghoon nods along to everything he is saying. His words are a little harsh, but Sunghoon understands the necessity and the seriousness. His coach has always been a little despotic but Sunghoon knows it's for his own good. With the added pressure of university and all, Sunghoon has to make time for all three. He may not be the best academically but he always asks Jake for help anyway. Sunghoon lets out a prolonged sigh.
“Yes, coach. I-I will try my best to fix my facial expressions…” Sunghoon says solemnly for some reason. This gets the coach concerned. He sighs and turns back to Sunghoon, patting his shoulder for comfort.
He nods at Sunghoon in an acknowledging manner. “I understand you’re in college now and you have other things to do as well. But, I know you know how important this is. This is your life, Sunghoon. Your career.” He motivates Sunghoon, not knowing it’s only making Sunghoon feel much more pressured.
Sunghoon nods after the coach tells him to go practice more. The song begins playing. A classic ballad, but full of emotion. “Waltz of The Dancing Flowers” plays and resonates through the rink. With its elegant and graceful melody, the music envelopes the ice rink and transports the audience to a world of beauty and magic. As Sunghoon glides across the ice, his every move perfectly synchronizes with the tender notes of the music, his body seemingly moving effortlessly to the rhythmic beats. Each stroke of his skates and every twirl of his body mirrors the fluid and delicate motion of the dancing flowers portrayed in the composition, creating an exquisite and artistic display.
Right in the middle of his performance, a loud noise protrudes, followed by multiple college students laughing and fooling around. Sunghoon snaps his head towards the source. The ice hockey team, presumably, entered the ice rink unannounced, their presence disrupting the tranquility of the space. With the noise of clattering sticks and skates, the atmosphere suddenly became livelier as the hockey players made their entrance. Sunghoon lets out a squeak of surprise and confusion. He skates out of the way as a player on the team zooms past him like a racecar.
“Out of our way, Hoon!” A player snickers at him, his stick knocking on the precious ice. The team laughs with him as if that was the most cinematic comedy ever created. Sunghoon rolls his eyes, annoyed that his tranquil and concentrated performance was interrupted. He shoots a look up to his coach who only shrugs to go and investigate what is happening.
But right now, Sunghoon has bigger fish to fry as the boys stare him down. Sunghoon raises an eyebrow.
One of the guys raises an eyebrow back. “Figure skating…” He chuckles. “Does the rink really need to be used for something like that?” The guy laughs as if this was the most hysterical moment he’s ever been in. Sunghoon shoots him a glare. They come in and interrupt his performance and his practice time for this nonsense? This was not a movie, his life was not a movie.
The guy slaps the stick against the ice again, making a sonorous sound echo across the closed space. He demands Sunghoon’s attention.
“Don’t you feel weird? Surrounded by manly men all around you,” To which Sunghoon rolls his eyes again, letting out a drawn out sigh. Manly was an overstatement to these jerks, they act much more like children than his own sister, Yeji.
“I suppose you have nothing better to do than come in here and ruin my practice. Why’re you guys in here anyway?” Sunghoon asks. Typically, the ice hockey team has their practices somewhere else. This rink was specifically for the figure skaters so why were they here? He has never even seen them in the vicinity of this space. They often claimed that they never want to be remotely near a so-called “feminine practice area”, alluding to figure skating, which is ironic considering they’re here right now, disturbing the peace with their obnoxious gaudiness.
Another scrawny looking face from behind the main guy responds to Sunghoon’s question.
“We’re here because our coach told us to. Did you think we chose to be here? None of us would ever even step anywhere near something like a figure skating rink. It’s, like, the most feminine sport to exist. I suppose that’s why you do it, don’t ya, Sunghoon?” He exclaims.
Sunghoon opened his mouth to protest and defend himself. It was appalling how they thought they could just come in here and be all disrespectful. College boys, Sunghoon thinks to himself. They don’t change, even after high school. As he is about to let out a snarky remark in response to the guy’s insults, a voice from behind beats Sunghoon to it.
“Hey.” A warning voice lets out. Sunghoon averts his eyes to glance at the source of the voice. Lee Heeseung. Wait… Lee Heeseung? Sunghoon doesn’t make an effort to hide the shock in his face. He never expected that from him. He watches as Heeseung shoots a censure look at the guy who said it. He indicates for him to watch his mouth and for everyone to return to practicing.
Heeseung shot Sunghoon a glance as well. A smile. Sunghoon blushed, but quickly composed himself. What is going on? He smiles back at him as he watches the rest of the team mutter something disapprovingly and pick up their sticks to practice. The coach for their team enters shortly after the encounter, blowing a loud whistle to signify the players to get to their spots and do what they’re supposed to.
Well, at that, Sunghoon assumes his practice is over because of the overcrowding and the population colonization of the rink. He skates back graciously to the land area, off the ice. He waddled to the bench and sat down. His coach returned shortly after, giving him an overview of what happened and why the hockey team is suddenly here. He apologises for the practice ending short, greets Sunghoon a goodbye, and exits the building. Sunghoon decides to stay. Part of him wanted to stay and watch the team practice, his eyes locked onto one specific person. But, another part of him also wanted to thank Lee Heeseung for helping him today. It was the most respectful thing to do.
Sunghoon stood by the rink, his eyes fixed on the hockey team practicing on the ice. Despite his initial disinterest in the sport, he found himself mesmerized by the fluidity of their movements and the precise execution of their plays. However, one player in particular captured his attention. Heeseung. The way Heeseung glided across the ice with effortless grace and his strategic thinking during practice caught Sunghoon's eye. With each pass of the puck, Heeseung showcased his skill and coordination, leaving Sunghoon watching in awe and admiration.
I think maybe I should be more like him. Sunghoon thought to himself and he recalls back to him being told to improve on his expressions more. There seemed to be no correlation between the hockey team and his performing expressions, but Sunghoon connected it. He was inspired by the way they all methodically played the game and although messing up, they got back and tried once more.
Before he knew it, an hour had flown by. He zoned out like always as the team dispersed into little units as they exited the rink after instruction by their coach. Sunghoon snapped out of it after realising he hadn’t even taken off his skates yet, too mesmerised from watching. He lets out a huff and he seats himself on the bench behind him. He slowly hooks his fingers under the loops of his laces and unties them, loosening the tight grip his skates had on his feet. He hears a presence next to him, the thumping of skates just like his on the hard floor. He looks up to lock eyes with Lee Heeseung.
Sunghoon raises an eyebrow at him, “Hello? Is there something you need?” Sunghoon begins to speak when Heeseung cuts him off by sitting next to him on the bench. Sunghoon is confused by these actions.
“Are you okay? Those guys had no right to say that. I…I mean every sport is beautiful.” Heeseung begins with a grin, buttering up Sunghoon, who wasn’t buying it, but was still appreciative of Heeseung’s help.
Sunghoon nods, “I’m all good. No need to worry, I suppose. Thanks for your help back there, although I didn’t need it.” Sunghoon fractiously responds to Heeseung’s words, to which the boy smiles harder.
Heeseung makes small talk, rambling on about his day in an overly friendly way that Sunghoon was just not used to. Sunghoon was friendly, he wasn’t the cold and untouchable type of person many sought him out to be. He frequently likes making new friends, but he just doesn’t make the first move, essentially. Heeseung conversing with him so casually after just minutes of meeting was peculiar to Sunghoon, but he didn’t advocate against it.
After Heeseung finally takes a break from his rambling, Sunghoon uses the moment to excuse himself.
“Uh,” Sunghoon scratched his head, “I need to go now, it’s getting quite late” He turns to leave until he feels a warm hand on his shoulder. Sunghoon snaps his head around almost immediately at the unexpected physical contact.
Heeseung begins with an urgent voice, “Wait! Don’t leave yet, unless you have a curfew. I just wanted to…” He begins, gets nervous, and starts again, “I wanted to just… have a little walk with you. Is that alright?”
Sunghoon glances back at the jittery guy. He chuckles bodaciously at Heeseung’s nervousness. Everyone and their mothers found Sunghoon attractive, he assumed Heeseung wasn’t any different considering how much he was shaking and turning blue about. Sunghoon sends a quick nod.
“Of course, but may I text my roommate first, so he doesn’t get worried?” Sunghoon asks to which Heeseung lets out a self-conscious laugh and approves. Sunghoon takes out his phone, shooting out a quick text to Kim Sunoo, letting him know he’d be coming home a little later than usual. Sunghoon giggles a little, envisioning the adorable peach-like boy sulking at the fact that Sunghoon rejected his advances to his movie night.
Well… that’s some explaining to do somewhat later, am I right?