As Chaerim finally reached the lobby, she saw Sunghoon and coach Ji waiting for her.
"Aw, you're actually up on time," coach Ji teased.
"Really, coach Ji?" Chaerim questioned with annoyance as she raised her brows.
"Sorry sorry," she laughed, "Anyways, you look gorgeous! Let's go grab a quick bite and then you can start warming up. The competition begins at 8 am."
Sunghoon walked by Chaerim as they headed over to the hotel's cafe. He rubbed her shoulder, reassuring that she would be okay.
"Your shoulders are so tense. Relax a little okay. The competition isn't starting till 8 am and it's only 6:49, okay? Let's go grab a bite. Don't worry about Lada till you get to the rink, alright?"
She nodded, giving him a half-smile. She sighed deeply as she continued to walk.
After a small yet healthy breakfast, they all headed over to the rink. People of all different nationalities and top skill levels filled the rink. An aura of nervousness, boosting confidence, and excitement penetrated the room. As Chaerim continued to walk to check-in for the competition, the rink suddenly became quiet. It was almost eerie as a buzz of whispers began. She turned around to see her, Lada Nikolaeva.
Lada held her head up high and smirked, looking down at the other female figure skaters. It was as if her presence had already crushed everyone and their confidence.
Chaerim consciously turned her head back and forth at Lada as she walked to the check-in stand.
"Chaerim, just look forward. You're going to be fine," Sunghoon said, trying to comfort her. He gave her a small side hug and patted her head, "Trust me."
"But Sunghoon, she's going to do her quad lutz. It's a freakin quad lutz," she whispered and pouted worriedly.
"Tsk, this happens every single time before a competition," Sunghoon shook his head in disbelief, "You always doubt yourself, but you always get first place. Chaerim, your logic doesn't work. You are going to be fine. And knowing you, miss perfectionist, I know you're going to skate with your best ability."
"Really?"
"Really. Now, let's go get you checked in for the competition."
**
"Oh how fate can be so cruel," Chaerim complained as she sat in her designated seat with Sunghoon and coach Ji, "How could they make me perform right after Lada?! Pure cruelty!"
On the verge of losing her sanity, Chaerim slumped in her chair, covering her face with her hands. She couldn't believe the reality of skating 5th which was right after Lada. Everyone was anticipating Lada's performance and she knew that she would be a disappointment once the standards were set extremely high.
"Well, I guess you get to see how she does before she gets to see you? You technically have the advantage," Sunghoon said, trying to make her feel better.
"Well, she's performing 4th, right? I don't want you to worry too much about Nikolaeva, 'kay? I want you to focus on warming up first so you don't hurt yourself since you have advanced jumps in your short program. There's going to be a good amount of time since they're letting you warm up on the ice. After you're called off the ice, I want you to start jump roping," coach Ji exclaimed, helping Chaerim get Lada off of her mind.
"I suppose," Chaerim sighed deeply.
**
"Skaters, you only have 3 minutes left to warm up," the lady on the speaker announced.
Hearing her shaky breath from nervousness, Chaerim glanced around to see the other female skaters practicing their jumps and when her eye caught Lada, she realized something was off. With immediate realization, Chaerim skated to her coach.
"Coach Ji, coach Ji," she whispered loudly, "Are you watching Lada?"
"Here and there, what about her?"
"Coach Ji, she's barely landing her quad lutz. When she lands, she falls out of the formation quickly and she's about to fall. Coach Ji, she's nervous," Chaerim said with her eyes wide open.
**
And so, the competition began. Chaerim was on the side as she was jump roping to condition her legs and practice her footwork sequence for her performance later in the day. Chaerim watched the performances of the talented girls dancing on the ice, but it was nothing new and not as eye-catching as she hoped.
After the 3 skaters finished up their performances, it was finally Lada Nikolaeva's turn. She took off her warm-up jacket with the Russian flag on it and began to walk to the ice rink. As much as Chaerim didn't want to admit it, Lada looked gorgeous. Her bright red dress with hints of gold and canary yellow and ruby jewels covering the bodice of her dress looked marvelous on her. It was almost as that nervousness in warm-ups had gone away and was blazing with fire. As soon as she glided to the center of the rink, all attention was on her. She spitefully glared in Chaerim's direction in her ready position. And the music began.
"Of course she'd skate to a song like this," Chaerim scoffed quietly.
Danse of Macabre, the dance of death.
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Score Board
Rank Name Nation Short Program Score
1 Ashley Smith USA 53.63
2 Esmée Dupont France 51.89
3 Jia Zhang China 50.12
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a/n: hello everyone! I am back! School was pretty hectic this week and was not the best so I needed some time off and didn't exactly have the time to write. Hopefully, I'll be able to write more this week. And also, thank you so much for 2.5k reads! I was never expecting to get this much. I promise I'll work harder to make this an even better story <3