𝐌𝐞𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐞 𝐒𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐲 ☇ Park Sunghoon

☾ 30

ღ
___________
Fear is temporary, regret is forever
______________
ღ

The three days were finally up but unfortunately, Ji-eun felt like more of a mess and disappointment for this competition than any other. It wasn't about not winning, but it was about holding out, until she would finally be able to take a break from skating for a while to examine the source of her pain. She felt bad for not telling her boyfriend but she thought it was for the best; to keep him focused on his goal.

"Ji-eun! Have you seen my keys? Where are the keys!? Does anyone know where the keys to our car is?" Her father's voice announced loudly, more questions continuously being asked with no response.

"Hunny calm down. The keys are right on the table. Did you at least utilized the beautiful gift of sight you were bestowed with to find it?" Ji-eun's mom pointed out sarcastically, pushing her husband in the direction of the table.

"Ji-eun! Do you know where that purple box I had on my bed went?!" Jungwon yelled from upstairs.

Ji-eun was sitting on the couch in her living room, slowly munching on popcorn as she watched the drama that aired on the television. One thing's for sure, she was the one who was panicking the least even though she had the invisible pressure of the competition weighing down in her mind.

She was unusually calm but on edge at the same time. She didn't really pay attention to whatever was going on around her. She was left sitting there, staring mindlessly at the television, trying to distract herself from the very negative thoughts that ran through her mind. Her hands were turning clammy and the feeling of nervousness and disappointment began to dawn upon her, making her doubt everything that she had worked for.

What if I fall? What if I embarrass myself? How disappointed would my parents be?

Thoughts plagued her overcrowded mind and an image of her stumbling while performing replayed in her brain, discouraging the girl.

What if I fall? How am I going to pick myself up?

"Ji-eun let's go!!" Jungwon called from behind the open front door, frantically waving his hands, gesturing for her to come. The girl quickly snapped out of her trance, picking herself up and her lilac backpack which contained her skates, joining her brother on the front porch. Both of her grandparents were already in the car along with their mom and dad, grinning from ear to ear as they watched her approach the car to enter.

The girl took a few deep breaths, gripping onto the car's handle, opening it.

In the blink of an eye, she was at the ice rink.

How did I get here so fast?

She was so preoccupied with other things that the drive to the building which hosted the competition was so quick. Ji-eun was standing at the thick glass doors, watching as the crowd filled stands roar with cheers. They were all staring at her, yelling, cheering and many other things. She wasn't given time to breath properly due to being dragged into a small crowd of sports reporters, taking blinding pictures and asking way too many questions.

Jeez— my eyes hurt from the flashes! Forget getting disqualified because of falling or something, I'm probably going to get disqualified because my eyesight dropped from 20/20 to 10/20 vision because of all those blinding lights!

Ji-eun sucked in a deep breath, building up her confidence as the reporters kept throwing questions at her.

"Do you think you'll win this competition?"