Birth of a Player
Love On Ice
Woohyun was known for being a popular with the girls- and it seemed, to anyone who saw him, that he had been attractive to women since the day he was born. He had a way with them, he knew exactly what to do and say to get a girl to fall for him within a matter of minutes. But few knew that it wasn't until high school that he became such a ladies' man. Even fewer knew what he was like in those earlier years- a bit of a loser.
It was Woohyun's first day of school. He was starting first grade that year, and he was nervous. He didn't know anyone, and everyone around him seemed so big and tall. It wasn't as if he was any good at talking to others, either- he didn't like having to face people.
When he entered the classroom, he tripped over the floor, falling on his knees. Tears threatened to spill from his eyes when he heard his classmates laughing at him, calling him things like "loser" and "clumsy".
A girl's voice cut through the jeers. "Yah, stop laughing at him, you stupid-heads!" Woohyun looked up and saw a cute girl with pigtails approach him. She reached out her hand and pulled Woohyun up, while giving glares at anyone who dared to open their mouth or stare at them.
"Hi. My name is Jung Ah," the girl introduced herself. "Don't mind those kids. They're meanies," Jung Ah grumbled. Woohyun nodded uncertainly.
"What's your name?"
"W-woohyun," he stammered.
"Mm! Nice to meet you! You should probably find your seat," she added.
Later in the day, he would eat lunch with Myungsoo, the boy who sat beside him in class. They became the best of friends, going through all of elementary and middle school together. Woohyun was the one who'd be shyly munching his food with his head down while Myungsoo would eat lunch with the cool, i-don't-care attitude that Woohyun so admired.
Elementary school passed, but Woohyun always kept an eye on the girl that had helped him that first day. She was always there, laughing with her best friends at the back of the class.
He had watched her all throughout elementary and now, as they entered middle school, it was the same. She never noticed him, of course; they hadn't even spoken since that first day. He certainly noticed her, though. He saw the way she would roll her eyes when her best friend said something foolish, the sweet smiles she would give to the kids in younger grades, or the way her eyes would light up at the mention of skating. He watched as she grew and became prettier every day- at least in his eyes.
During middle school, Woohyun began to lose his shy side. He became more confident, and soon he was the one who was more outgoing of the two best friends. Girls started to notice him, and in turn he learned how to make them swoon.
Myungsoo and Woohyun then met the rest of the guys: Sunggyu, the musically-talented senior; Dongwoo and Sungyeol, the jokers of the school; Sungjong, the guy who was like a little brother to the female students; and Hoya, the dancer. When they entered high school, the boys quickly earned a reputation as the hottest guys in school. Wherever they went, girls would follow.
But amidst all this, Woohyun never forgot her. Park Jung Ah. She was almost a full-fledged woman now, not the little girl she had been when they first met; Woohyun could tell that all too well. But even the being the ladies' man he was, Woohyun couldn't quite gather the guts to talk to her. He had liked her since elementary school, and she hadn't even cast a glance at him all the while. All he could afford to do, he told himself, was watch her from afar. He had to content himself with looking over her silently from the sidelines.
And so he noticed when one day, she came to school with the most haunted look on her face. Her friends gathered to comfort her, but she pushed them away. She began to lose her cheerfulness; her quirky, loud side was gone, replaced by the sorrow in her eyes. It seemed like Jung Ah had hit rock bottom- and Woohyun's heart broke a little seeing her in so much pain.
But as the year went by, she started to gain her happiness back, bit by bit. She smiled more frequently. She talked with others around her more easily, though she still stuck with her best Yoon Mi mostly. Woohyun grew at ease, satisfied that she was getting her spunk back.
Now, as he watched her from across the cafeteria, Woohyun felt his heart grow warm seeing Jung Ah laugh, giggling at her friend's misfortune. He smiled to himself once more, turning to his lunch.
"I wish you could see how much I care for you," he thought to her. "But what can I do? I'm too much of a coward."
. . .
Jung Ah skated across the smooth ice, letting the cool air rush past her flushed cheeks and glancing up at the sky. It was especially dark that night, and the street lights near the rink had conveniently burned out. It was likely that she would be skating in almost pitch darkness for a few days. Fortunately, the moon still shone bright, barely giving Jung Ah enough light to see where she was going.
She hopped off the ice, sitting down in the corner of a bench to adjust her skates. As she pulled the laces tighter, her hands nearly numb in the November cold, she heard the sound of sharp blades scraping over the ice. Someone was on the rink.
"That's impossible," she though to herself. "No one comes here to skate anymore."
She lifted her head to see and sure enough, a figure could be seen gliding over the ice, moving faster than anyone Jung Ah had ever seen. It was much too dark to make out the identity of the skater, but she could see from her dark corner that it was a male, and a pretty tall one at that. He moved with an immaculate grace, his skates skimming over the ice increasingly faster. Jung Ah sat still, fascinated.
But it was when he started to throw himself into spins that Jung Ah became utterly captivated. She could hardly move as she watched the figure spin almost violently, jumping and twisting and somehow still managing to land perfectly on the deadly slick ice. She could have watched him for hours; the way he moved over the ice was absolutely magical. But of course, the moment ended, and after skating a few more rounds over the ice, the skater left. He walked right past Jung Ah, apparently unaware of her presence.
Finally alone, Jung Ah let out a breath.
"Wow. What was that? How can one person skate so well?" she wondered aloud, shaking her head. The only person she knew that could have possibly skated as fast was her sister.
She let herself onto the ice rink, skating around slowly and letting her thoughts run free. She skated for a little longer, in the end deciding to call it a day and go home to rest.
That night, Jung Ah lay awake in bed. She couldn't stop thinking about the mysterious skater at the rink earlier. What she would give to be able to skate like that, or even have a chance to skate with that person.
She closed her eyes, willing sleep to come. At last, she fell into a deep sleep, drifting off to dreamland with the image of a spinning figure flying gracefully over the ice still engraved behind her eyelids.
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