“Baekhyun.” He tried to ignore the call as he still needed his sleep. For god’s sake, he’d been travelling on the plane for like almost thirteen freaking hours. Sighs, from Toronto to Incheon, can’t they have a little bit sign of mercy?

“Baekhyun, it’s time to wake up.” The voice earlier became sterner. “Ugh.” He whined, still not giving up on his sleep. Not long after that, he felt the rays of light attacking him, distracting him from his sleep which finally made him to turn into seating position. His coach must didn’t have any sympathy on him that he didn’t even hesitate to roll up the curtains.

“Ugh, Brian. Not now, please.” He whined, covering his face from the disturbing morning sun rays. He couldn’t see clearly but he knew that his coach did shake his head for like almost thousand times. Perhaps, he even cursed under his breath.

“Baekhyun— it’s time for the Grand Prix Final. Have you forgotten the reason why are you here? I know that it must be great to be home but— it doesn’t mean that you can just let your guard down.” There he goes with his long nagging session. It didn’t seem helpful as the latter couldn’t stop himself from yawning, causing the elder to palm his face in frustration. The frustration didn’t last long though as the sleepy skater finally get his off from the bed, hands casually doing light stretches which would help him to refresh a bit. “Yup, it’s time for Grand Prix Final.” The sleepy eyes were no longer there when he said that. His coach let out a relieved sigh, as he saw the burning passion in the younger’s eyes just like usual. Perhaps, the mention of Grand Prix Final in his words earlier ignited the latter’s spirit. If then, he shouldn’t be worried.

He walked to the wardrobe of the hotel to grab a piece of towel and danced lightly to his program’s as he made his way to the washroom. Humming to his short program music, Ballade No. 1 op. 23 G Minor — Chopin.

He actually had a hot bath on that morning so that he could relieve his sore muscles, it could actually be somewhat an instant therapy for him before he started with his skating regiments again. Sighs, he couldn’t believe that he’s actually still in here— even though there were so many times he’d already thought to quit. But then, no. It’s impossible for him to do so.

He exhaled his breath, before chanting his own name, “Byun Baekhyun.” A proud smile was plastered upon his lips as he chanted his own name. There’s too much feels that he, himself couldn’t even describe or explain. As he closed his eyes, he started to reminisce the precious moments in his life, the moments of him getting gold medals, breaking the world records and sound of his fans roaring whenever he crossed through the airport with a gold medal around his neck. He could still remember the time when he was appointed as the Olympic champion back in 2014. His first participation in Winter Olympics and his first Olympic medal. What a magnificent moment.

Byun Baekhyun — the name that would make any fans of figure skating world goes crazy and thrilled. The one who people would always remember because of his tons of legendary achievements, just list it— world records? Gold medals? Trophies? Duh, he’d been spending all his years in breaking his own records that he created. He’s the superstar of the figure skating world, the Prince of Ice in everyone’s eyes. t wasn’t only a sport for him, it’s his life. Baekhyun couldn’t imagine what would he do aside from skating. Hapkido? Yeah, he did it once during he was younger but it’s already been a long time ago. Baseball? Nah, he didn’t have enough muscles for that. His body-build is just perfect for figure skating. It feels just right.

After the shower, he changed into his training outfit. Setting his hair up, Baekhyun applied a little bit of Chanel lip balm on his chapped lips. Now that he looked ready to rock the ice, he stepped out from his room with a big baggage full of his skating equipment. Oh, not to forget his pair of black shades. No one would be escorting him to the sports complex so he needed to keep himself as low as possible. It didn’t work at all sometimes, though. But it’s okay, Baekhyun always love the attention and love that he got from his fans. It became a reason for him to stand up whenever he falls or when he felt down.

He strolled with confidence along the hotel’s lobby, there’s no people there except the workers. The surrounding seemed calm enough to him that he started to walk a little bit slower as he was distracted with the sound of notifications entering his phone.

Kim Jongin: Yo, hyung. Why are you taking so long? You better get your here already before Brian loses his .
sent 9.15 AM seen 9:16 AM

Byun Baekhyun: Oho, no worries kiddo. Brian won’t even mind though-- trust me (winks) Yeah, yeah I’m on my way.
sent 9.17 AM seen 9:18 AM

He scoffed at his junior’s text which was full of reminder. He knew Brian better, his coach won’t get mad because he’s like the best coach in the world. Brian might seemed strict but in reality he’s quite considerate though. Baekhyun still remember when he came late to the venue during the last Grand Prix Final in Marseilles because he was lost and Brian was totally chill about it. If it were the other coaches, he would might need to get a new pair of ears to cope with their blabberings.

“Ouch!” He whined when someone actually bumped on him while he was exiting the hotel’s glass door. Baekhyun crinkled his eyes at the other person, trying to identify his identity. It would be bad if he bumped onto his fan. But then it turns out to be a guy. His fans are usually girls, by the way.

“S-sorry.” The other person said apologetically, still not looking up at him since hes so busy rubbing off his pain on the head. Baekhyun was just going to brush it off and walk away but then something caught his attention. The guy, he’s wearing Korean Skating Union (KSU)’s uniform. “Is he’s one of the skaters? I’ve never seen him, before.” Baekhyun thought to himself.

“Uh, hey. It’s not even a big deal. By the way, you’re also from KSU?” By the moment Baekhyun said his words, they guy shot his head up. A surprised look was plastered on his face and the eyes behind a pair of glasses stared at him widely and, yeah creepily. Well, not that creepy but the look that the other guy had on his face when he looked up was just like as if he’s seeing a ghost.

“Uh, hey little guy are you—” Baekhyun was just about to ask him whether he’s okay or not but then the guy ran into the hotel as fast as lightning, leaving him alone and confused.

Baekhyun just watched and blinked confusedly, still cannot brain the current situation that he was in. Did the guy just ran from him? Or did the guy just freaked out because he’s the popular figure skating athlete?

Baekhyun shook his head off and brushed away all the unnecessary thoughts that he had regarding the guy earlier. He shouldn’t be thinking about a stranger right now. Like seriously, it’s already good enough that the guy is not a hater or a lunatic fan.

“CRAP! I’M LATE!” He shrieked as he glanced towards his Citizen wristwatch that he got from the last Worlds competition. Damn, Brian gonna be mad at him if he’s late and duh, his training regiments might be rougher.

“Ugh, blame that guy earlier.” Baekhyun ran as fast as he could to catch a cab and went to the training venue. Only God knows how he’s feeling right now. Well, let’s just hope that Brian would be good enough to cooperate with him this time.

“There you are. You’re late for almost half an hour.” Baekhyun was greeted by a tall latter with a very good and y tanned skin as he reached at the rink. Damn, the skin color that could make all females go crazy. Baekhyun was all set up with his skates and already done with the light warm up.

“Yeah, I know. Something came up and duh, I don’t know that it’s going to be jammed in the morning.” Baekhyun huffed as he entered the rink, joining the other guy. It seems like only they’re the ones who’s going to use the rink for training today. Weird, but then the other skaters might still in their jet-lagged condition.

“You’re lucky that Brian was out for morning tea, if not you’ll be freaking roasted.” The other guy said while chuckling softly, causing Baekhyun to narrowed his eyes to him. “ you, Kim Jongin.” He cursed, causing the tanned guy laughed out loud. Geez, sometimes Baekhyun couldn’t just brain at how good his junior could be in teasing him. Thank god, that he loved him as a fellow teammate.

“Aigoo, our Baekhyunnie-hyung is so sensitive.” Jongin mumbled in his laugh. Baekhyun just shrugged it off and started to skate lightly, practicing his balance on the ice. The condition of the ice seemed quite average to him, the organizers could’ve done it better. Perhaps, they’ll fix it before the competition starts tomorrow.

“The ice seemed a little bit off.” Jongin had the same thought with Baekhyun’s, he probably noticed at how pissed off he was while he’s doing the light training regiment. Yeah, Baekhyun nodded his head. While they were skating and trying hard to not bump on each other, Baekhyun finally realized about something. He couldn’t believe that he actually had forgotten about it. It’s weird that Jongin was alone.

Baekhyun slided closely to the younger guy, keeping up with his pace. “Yo, Jongin.” Baekhyun started first. “Yeah, what is it?” Jongin asked in return as he slightly glanced towards the elder skater. “Where’s Nana?” There, Baekhyun question managed to make the younger one stopped his pace all at once. Baekhyun did the same too. Sighs, how stupid he was. He should’ve noticed the oddness when he entered the rink. Jongin wasn’t a single skater, he’s an ice dancer which supposed to come with a partner. And the said partner was supposed to be his elder sister, Kim Jinah or might be more comfortable to be called Nana. With the darkened expression on Jongin’s face right now, Baekhyun came up with an assumption that these two might got into siblings’ fights or — perhaps just a misunderstanding. Weren’t they?

Jongin let out a heavy sigh, sliding to the exit of the rink. Baekhyun followed since he thought that it would be good to discuss about this off the ice. It would be unprofessional to discuss about personal matters on the ice, it’s as if they’re dragging along their matters in the competition. Most of the skaters had been trained to have a tough mental strength, that whenever they stepped on the ice, the only determination and goal is to win. Well, Baekhyun had been living with that for almost 14 years, he’s so very used to it.

“Now, spill it out.” Baekhyun said, filling the empty seat beside Jongin. The latter looked as if he hesitated at first but then, “Nana had pulled out to focus on her studies.” Baekhyun’s eyes were widely opened when he heard that. Seriously? He never thought that Nana would do that but then it’s her decision. “She’s going to retire? That’s so surprising, indeed. How come that I didn’t know about this ugh.” Baekhyun groaned frustratingly. “Duh, hyung. You’re out of country and a training maniac, what do you even expect on knowing this news?” Jongin rolled his eyes annoyingly at the elder. Baekhyun drew a smile, at least the darkened expression of Jongin already disappeared because of his lame remarks.

“Ugh, whatever. So, what’s going to happen to you?” Baekhyun asked, curiously. It’s clear that tomorrow’s competition would be the last performance for these Kim siblings to show their artistry in ice dancing, but with Nana retiring soon KSU must had arranged something for Jongin in order for him to pursue his career. Another sigh was heard coming out from Jongin’s lips. The darkened expression was back, but during this moment rather than a darkened expression, a worried expression suited the situation more.

“It’s hard for me of course, even though Nana was going to leave this sport.... I’m still in love with it.” Baekhyun put a hand on the younger’s shoulder, he clearly understood how the latter felt. Once you started, it’s just seemed impossible to stop. Or maybe you won’t be able to stop.

“I’ve informed the federation regarding that and the only solution that they could come up is by — replacing Nana with another female ice dancer.” There, now Baekhyun finally figured out the worries that the younger skater had in his mind. True, it’s quite tough for Jongin seemed he’d grown fond of Nana’s skating skills. Not to mention their bond on the ice. They’ve been skating together on the ice for almost 10 years.

“It’s hard, hyung. I thought they would let me to enroll in men’s singles instead but then— perhaps our country is just short of ice dancers and—” Jongin couldn’t continue his words as he broke into tears. Baekhyun let out a heavy worrisome sigh. He pulled Jongin into a comforting hug, hoping that it would help to ease his feelings.

“It’s okay, Jongin. I know that it’s hard but trust me, you can go through this. You’re actually stronger than you thought.” Baekhyun gave one of his favourite words of wisdom. It’s true, sometimes we’re a lot stronger than we could ever thought. It’s just sometimes we should breakthrough our weakness to finally find our strength.

“It’s going to different without Nana-noona. It would never be the same, anymore.” Jongin said in his tears. Baekhyun just nodded, still thinking of ways to comfort the fragile kiddo in his arms. In the end, he couldn’t came up with anything and just let the latter to cry his heart out. Ugh, Baekhyun felt like a terrible senior. He should’ve done something that would help his junior to recover from his sadness but what did he do? He couldn’t even do anything.

As soon as Jongin stopped producing tears with his eyes, Baekhyun passed him a bottle of mineral water. It must be so tiring to cry after having a tough training. Yeah, he’d been there a lot. He’d shed a lot of tears for this sport and whenever he thought that he could’ve done better.

“Feeling a little bit better?” Baekhyun asked as Jongin gulped on the water. The younger nodded, his sad and worried expressions had already disappeared for good. He’s looking better than before. “Thanks, hyung. You barely helped me with words but at least you’ve given me a shoulder to cry.” Baekhyun just smiled, he’s glad that at least he actually helped.

“Sorry for being a useless senior and fellow teammate. But it’s nice to see you getting better. Just trust yourself a little bit more, alright buddy?” Jongin nodded and Baekhyun felt relieved. He ruffled the younger’s hair playfully, a revenge for making him worried as .

“Guess that I’ll just have to cooperate and create a new bond with my new partner. That’s the only solution that I could come up with.” Yes, indeed. Baekhyun nodded without having any doubts, well that’s absolutely what the best to be done.
“Ah, anyway. Have you met your so-called-new-partner, then?”

“Nope.” He simply replied as he shook his head. “Eh? That’s weird. I thought that the KSU would arrange the meeting with your new partner as soon as possible? Aish, these guys need to do something regarding on how they managed things.” Baekhyun nagged, feeling annoyed. Jongin just laughed it off and continued, “No worries. I’ve met her once though.”

“Oh, you did?” The elder skater turned out to be surprised on his words. “So, how did it goes?” Baekhyun couldn’t control his curiosity of course. There’s something on Jongin’s face that Baekhyun couldn’t even describe. Duh, this guy is quite hard to read.

“It won’t be a surprise if I told you now.” Baekhyun groaned in frustration. Jongin got him right, aish this kiddo. “Ah! I want to know! Who is she!? Do I know her???” Baekhyun keep whining until Jongin would give him an answer but then, nope. The younger guy swiftly packed his things in his luggage, getting ready to end his training session. Perhaps he’s going to go back to the hotel and have a nice chat again with his sister, Nana.

“Geez, hyung. You’ll know sooner or later so just chill okay.” Jongin left a tap on Baekhyun’s shoulder. “And yeah, good luck with your training session. Seems like Brian is going to be quite late, huh?”

“Yeah, right.” Now that Jongin had mentioned it, Baekhyun just realized that Brian hadn’t came back from his breakfast yet. Weird, because his coach was never late. Even breakfast would just be brief to him. “Seriously, though. What’s taking Brian so long anyway? He’s never be late especially for training.” Baekhyun complained while playing his fingers on his blades.

“Oh, perhaps he’s having a brief meeting with Coach Park. They seemed to be in a serious conversation just now before Brian left for his breakfast. I assumed that it’s about the new-late-bloomer skater.” Baekhyun scrunched his nose upon what he just heard, many many confusions existed in his mind right now.

“W-wait. Didn’t Coach Park had stopped pursuing his coaching career? Dude, he’s almost in his 70’s now, are you kidding me? And w-what do you mean with a new skater? We’re having a new person in our team now?”

“Whoah, slow down. I couldn’t catch up with you, hyung.” Now it’s Jongins turn to complain at how fast Baekhyun talked. Not that it’s Baekhyun’s fault, he was born to be a good speaker that sometimes talking too fast is already a habit for him.

“Firstly, yeah. I don’t know what happened between the federation and Coach Park but not long ago, Coach Park came and bring this ‘new talent’, as he dubbed and signed him under KSU. Didn’t know much about the new guy but he’ve been training for months now and yeah, he would be ready for the next season if I’m not mistaken.”

“Ooo-kay.” Baekhyun mumbled as he’s still trying to brain everything up. “Continue, please.”

“So yeah, perhaps Coach Park only want to ask Brian’s assistance regarding his new pupil I guess? It’s nothing serious though. It’s a need for KSU to find another skater to be enrolled in men’s singles category, don’t you think so? You’ve been left all alone after few retirements of our seniors. It would be good to have the others competing with you as well, right?”

“Yeah, it would be great.” Baekhyun said, drawing a smile on his lips. It’s true. Putting aside his competitive feelings, Baekhyun really needed someone to fight with him for the country. He’ve been carrying all the burden by himself for too long, so it would be great to share the burden with the other person.

“I know that you’ve been longing for someone to share the burden with you, am I right.” Baekhyun couldn’t even utter a word but nodded. Indeed, he was.

“Ah, guess that we’re just in the same state aren’t we? Me with my partner and you with your other fellow teammate in the same category.” Jongin drew a ‘how ironic’ smile.

“Yeah. It is.”

It just felt odd to him, but one thing that Baekhyun was quite sure of — he just couldn't wait to meet the new guy. It might would be another fun journey, well he hopes.