Once a best friend! || ft. Park Jimin [PJM] { Completed }

Flashback 7

💔 Breakup #13 💔

Jihyun P.O.V

• THE ONE THAT WAS
SOMEONE ELSE •

"What I'm about to say is highly inappropriate, so I'll deny it if you try to repeat it later." My coach places his hands on my shoulders and looks deep into my eyes. "You're sucking ass out there." He said.
"You gave me a perfect score thirty minutes ago."
"To see if that would inspire some life into your performance. You're not getting any better, so I'm giving you the spoiler: You're going to lose tomorrow morning, and some other girl will be standing at the top of that podium." He shook his head.
"I'm really doing the best I can, Coach." I bite my tongue to prevent myself from saying something sarcastic.
"No, this is your worst. You're out there skating like you've never been fucked before." He scoffs.
"What?" My jaw drops.

"I said what I said. You had the audacity to tell me that you're on the chase for 28 championships so you can beat your late mother's record? Well, I hate to break it to you, but you're eight short, and if you want to even think about achieving that, you can't afford to lose for two years." He shrugs. My blood boils as he criticized me in front of my competitors. Before I can tell him that I'm done listening to him for the day, he lowers his voice and softens his tone. "You're the best damn singles skater that I've ever had the honor of training, but you have to want this shit more than I want it for you, and you can't cut corners ... Even if you have more talent than anyone else."

I want to tell him that I'm trying my best, but deep down I know that's not true. I've been on auto-pilot ever since. I've done my best to forget about wasting my first time on an asshole, and I've been through a few other first dates. Landing on a guy, who believes in romance for a change, but my skating has hit a robotic, careless level.

"You want to continue reigning at number one? You want to cement your legacy as only here to get first place and being the best skater to hit the ice since they invented this goddamn sport?" My coach interrupts my thoughts.
"Yes."
"Then tomorrow morning, I want to see you go out there and shut your eyes. Dig deep into your best thoughts of you and your boyfriend Yeoujun."
"Youngjae. His name is youngjae."
"Really? That name is even worse than Yeoujun. Anyway, go out there and pretend like every move is a passionate appeal form Youngjae when he's making love to you. Get the hell out of my sight until then." He shudders.

***

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, welcome to Skate America," a loud voice comes through the speakers at Washington Arena in the morning.

Far across from me, in the front row, youngjae is wearing a bright blue "Go Jihyun!" sweatshirt. Several rows behind him, Jimin is attracting the attention of every woman in a hundred feet radius as usual, but his eyes are locked on mine.

He waves, mouthing, "Namjoon says sorry he couldn't be here. Raincheck?"
"It is what it is." I wave back.

Youngjae blows me a kiss, and I smile and hold onto it, not wanting that to get misdirected. For half an hour, I watch my competitors dance on the ice with my heart locked in my throat. It's as if they've all noticed my slight slump into carelessness, and they've raised the bar in hopes of finally uncrown me.

Especially Bong Areum.

When it's my turn, I glide to the center and shut my eyes. Think about Youngjae. Be passionate about Youngjae.

An instrumental version of "My time will go on." sifts through the speakers, and I push off backwards, launching into my routine.

My light blue dress flutters as I spin around on the ice, as I jump into a triple axel, and again when I complete a double lutz. Instead of following my already challenging program to the letter, I replace every double jump with a triple salchow or the ever-elusive quad that's always come so easily to me.

Gasps from the crowd fill the arena with my every move, and I keep picturing youngjae kissing in my bedroom, him slowly pulling off my clothes and making love to me. I know without a doubt that every move is perfect, that by the time the song ends and I complete a final Hamill spin that I haven't made a single mistake.

Except when I finish and the crowd, judges included, are standing to their feet and clapping. I realize that it's not Youngjae who I was envisioning making love to me.

It was Jimin. Park Jimin.