A new day, a new itinerary. Jungwon had just finished one of his classes for the day - heading immediately out of the classroom door. He was really excited to arrive at his next destination because he felt that the person he'll go to will give him the most inspiration for his homework.
In his class, they were tasked to look for a 'client' - it can be their parents, sibling, or friend - and they have to make a basic architectural moldboard based on said person's interests and aesthetic preference.
Among all his friends, he thought that the perfect 'client' would be the one who is a perfect definition of grace and beauty - the one and only ice prince.
He doesn't exactly know where Sunghoon is, but there's a high chance he's in the ice skating rink.
Jungwon traveled quite a distance. The building wherein he came from is far away from the school's ice skating rink. He still couldn't believe a school has a skating rink - he keeps forgetting he studies at one of the biggest schools in the country.
After a long walk, he entered the stadium through its shiny metal door - immediately feeling the cold air surrounding his body.
As he walked further into the rink, he could only see a few people inside - one adult who is most likely the coach, and 3 student-athletes, one of which is Sunghoon.
Jungwon saw that they were still skating on the ice, dashing through the cold, and doing combinations of intricate moves. He stayed put on the bleachers, not wanting to disturb the practice. He has a lot of spare time before his next class though, so he decided to watch until they finish.
The three athletes suddenly gather around their coach he had an important announcement.
"The qualification tournament is near. There are only five slots in the national team, and there are other skaters out there with the same goal as you. I know you may treat each other as rivals for the spot, but I hope you help each other so that you can all be on the national team." the coach said, hoping that they'd keep the team spirit.
"Well I would be glad to help just this once, but there's someone here who'd rather make out with their significant other than practice. What a waste of talent. " Donghyun - a taller younger boy indirectly referred to Sunghoon.
"You little-" Sunghoon approached, ready to fight the boy - but was stopped by their coach.
"Stop that. Donghyun, I know you practice the most among the 3 of you, but Sunghoon practices at the specified time. Just because you work overtime doesn't mean you can talk like that to people who have other things they want to do."
The coach looks sternly at Donghyun, disappointed that his team of three is far from being close friends.
He dismisses the three, Sunghoon immediately leaving to get Donghyun out of his sight.
He doesn't get it. Ever since he, Donghyun, and their other friend Suho - ever since they made it to the school's skating team, Donghyun has never seen him as a teammate and most definitely not as a friend.
In Donghyun's eyes, Sunghoon and Suho are his rivals. After all, their figure skating is an individual activity.
It's either him or them.
Sunghoon headed to the bleachers to get his things - surprised to see more than just his gym bag, but his dongsaeng as well.
"Jungwon? What are you doing here?"
"I came to ask you for help with my assignment, but it looks like you're not in the mood right now."
"You heard all that?" Sunghoon asked, placing his skates inside his bag as he glances at the far away Donghyun.
"It's a big stadium, but there aren't a lot of people. I could easily hear everything."
Sunghoon sat down, sighing from frustration. Not because what Donghyun said hurt Sunghoon a lot - but because Donghyun is so irritating.
He keeps bringing up Jake like how Jake's mom keeps bringing up Sunghoon. But of course, Sunghoon didn't know about that latter part.
"I feel like the reason why you're upset is that he is saying something false." Jungwon said, trying to see if his analysis was correct.
"But he's partly correct."
Jungwon looked at his hyung, wondering why he would agree to such negative remarks made towards him.
"I'm not practicing more than I should, so it's not enough." Sunghoon said, eyes gazing on the matted floor.
"Whether it's because I'm with Jake or something else, I spend my time on something that's not practice." he added.
Jungwon has never been in a situation like Sunghoon's, so he doesn't know what it feels like.
"How am I supposed to please everyone with my trophies and medals if I don't practice enough to win?"
He does have a lot of trophies and medals, but he can't stop there. Until there are bigger competitions to win and bigger titles to claim, he feels that he has to keep going - keep being the winner he is expected to be.
"And sometimes, I worry that I'll lose something. If I focus on one just thing, I'll lose the others parts of my life. If I'm unlucky enough, I'll mess up more and lose everything"
Choose Jake, his friends, and other things in his life - or choose to focus on being the best he can be at ice skating.
"Sometimes I fear that something terrible will happen - like, what if I twist my ankle severely and I can no longer ice skate? And to make things worse, what if everyone, including Jake, only loves me because I win?"
"Hyung, you're thinking about this way too much. I don't know about Jake, and I don't know about your parents - but I'm confident when I say that you are worth much more than the things you achieve." Jungwon said in a heartfelt manner.
Sometimes, people just need someone to talk to.
Sunghoon is a psychology student, but he forgot one of the most important things he's learned - when your luggage is too heavy, you can always ask for help.
"Overthinking is a bad way to go. It's your mind that's going to pull you down more than anyone can, remember that." Jungwon said, patting Sunghoon's shoulder.
Sunghoon smiled and lightly laughed. For a moment, it felt like Jungwon was the hyung.
---
Heeseung sat down after ordering his iced coffee - prepared to spend the day by himself.
He didn't plan on doing much. He texted Minji if she wanted to join him, but was preoccupied with studies - she had an upcoming test.
And just like her, the other members of their friend group had prior commitments.
He brought out his phone, scrolled peacefully through social media just to pass the time.
Until he saw a notification. A memory - from a post made 5 years ago.
A picture of Heeseung, Sunoo, and a girl right in between them. The caption says:
"You left Heeseung hyung and I really early. I'm really going to miss you Miyoung, please be happy up there. Love, Kim Sunoo."
Heeseung got teary-eyed as he read the message - as if it was his first time seeing it.
"Heeseung!!! You're gonna get hurt!! Heeseung!!"
"It should've been me. I'm so sorry."
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author's note:
there's been a pattern since the last few chapters. I wonder if anyone got it :00
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