CHAPTER TWELVE
CHANGKYUN didn't show up to the rink for two nights.
he had a good reason, though, so it wasn't like the boy just ditched the place. the first night when nayoung showed up to the arena without her cousin, anxiousness twisted around inside kihyun's stomach, afraid he might had said something wrong when they were hanging out the other day. however, there was no need to worry, as she told him that changkyun spent the afternoon with his braille tutor and simply felt too tired to be there.
understandable, kihyun thought, then made a mental note to remind himself that he wanted to learn the language.
but, right now, changkyun was at the rink, currently skating.
the navy-blue haired boy was absolutely stunning on the ice, but then again, when was he not? he looked like the happiest when he was skating, as if all his worries and fears became so little, they didn't even matter anymore. his attitude changed from what kihyun saw when they watched a movie at the boy's house, or from the way he talked about the earth, it was in a whole different light; and he was still so wonderful in kihyun's eyes.
without stumbling or almost falling to the freezing ground, changkyun did a few more tricks. he threw his arms up in the air, clapping his hands together when he succeeded.
"yeah! changkyun!" kihyun cheered.
changkyun turned around, hair lightly dancing against his forehead. he covered his cheeks with his hands, "stop embarrassing me, kihyun."
impulsively, kihyun retorted with, "then stop being so talented."
the boy shook his head, wide smile on his face, going back to ice skating.
it was a few hours later, after kihyun was done dusting the counter, and was in the middle of sorting out papers, when nayoung and changkyun approached him. the girl was talking about a competition she had on the upcoming weekend- luckily, kihyun didn't have work that night, and said he could make it there. apparently, it was only a small ice skating competition, yet the way changkyun's eyes held so much joy when the girl discussed it, made it seem so special.
he supported his cousin with her dreams, just like how she supported and helped him, even with disadvantages.
kihyun knew the blindness would never stop changkyun from becoming a great skater. he believed the boy could do it; that one day, changkyun would be a professional skater, and kihyun would right there on the sidelines, cheering him on.
"here you are," kihyun placed a water bottle in changkyun's hand.
he grinned, "thank you."
taking off the lid, the boy then brought it up to his lips. kihyun fumbled with his fingers nervously, silently praying nayoung would take a little longer changing out of her costume in the bathroom, so he could ask changkyun something.
he glanced at the closed door, then back to changkyun.
"so... yeah."
"what's wrong?"
"nothing, nothing," kihyun felt his body heat up out of embarrassment. he closed his eyes, then quickly spoke, "can you teach me to skate?"
slowly, he reopened his eyes, seeing the smile forming on changkyun's lips.
the first thought to flood through his head was beautiful, although, whenever he looked at him, or just heard his voice, it was always the most prominent word that flashed in his mind. kihyun also knew how incredibly true it was.
"i was wondering when you were going to ask," changkyun smirked.
"you were expecting it?" he heard a few suppressed giggles coming from the boy. leaning over, kihyun tickled changkyun's side, "i can't believe you."
loud, eruptive laughter and snorts came from changkyun. even when kihyun stopped tickling him after two seconds, the navy-blue haired boy only kept laughing. it seemed like those laughs were kept hidden for so long, and now, he was allowing them to be released. for a split second, kihyun wondered how hurt he actually was after the accident- how it really affected him emotionally. of course, those thoughts ceased as soon as he saw nayoung walking towards them.
she immediately mouthed did you finally confess? once she and kihyun made eye contact.
"would you look at the time," kihyun let out a forced chuckle and clapped his hands together, rising from the seat. "i should get back to cleaning."
before kihyun could get any further, he felt a tug on the hem of his shirt.
"wait." it was changkyun.
he turned around, watching as changkyun let go of the material, placing the water bottle on the bench before standing up. carefully, the boy put his hands on kihyun's chest, moving them upwards, then over his shoulders. changkyun brought him into a hug, and kihyun felt like his head was twirling so fast, he could had passed out right then.
"take care," changkyun said, pulling away a second later.
kihyun felt his skin tingling, cheeks extremely hot. "i will. you take care, too, okay?"
the whole time, nayoung was standing there watching them, a slightly confused expression on her face.
"alright," she looked at kihyun, "so, you did con-"
"t-take care!" he basically screeched, awkwardly sprinting away from the two.
later the night, when kihyun was eating cereal at two in the morning, he realized how full his heart actually felt when he was with changkyun. it couldn't be anyone else, kihyun knew that; well, he had know for a long time. he just wanted to tell changkyun his true feelings, hold him close everyday, tell him that he would always support him with his dreams. but he couldn't. he was too afraid he'd lose him.
but, that was okay, because kihyun just wanted to be around changkyun.
even if the saga of his pathetic crush lasted a lifetime.
