It didn't last very long, though, as it took Chaewon more than a day to reply the next day, only to click the last message on Sunday evening and do nothing more. On one hand, Minjoo had been deeply confused, but on the other, it only made her more impatient to see the skater who had ghosted her all weekend. Intentionally or not, it gave Minjoo time to reflect on her possible crush and this Monday, she was more than determined to keep this little thing going between them, asserting herself a little more if she had to. Anyway, that wasn't enough to put her in a good mood after receiving a failed test. Therefore, with one hand in the pocket of her baggy, she followed Yena to the cafeteria, casually pushing her tray onto the rails.

For lack of having Kim Chaewon on her DMs, Yena had scored a better grade with even less studying than her roommate, and she was happy to remind her every ten seconds. It was good-natured, of course, since the day before the history test, on their way from practice, the two friends had exchanged a look, then a smile, and closed their notebooks to join a PUBG game —they got killed in barely five minutes, by the way—. As a result, Yena didn't mind throwing in another nag, and Minjoo responded with a grotesque imitation of her laugh as they entered the cafeteria. 

Forced to take it out of her pocket, Minjoo revealed a ringed hand with the burns from countless falls on the ice visible on the knuckles and palm. She followed Yena at a slow pace, unable to stop herself from looking down on the world, sending a few smiles to acquaintances who did the same. Anyone could fall under her spell, the way she walked so casually as if she owned the cafeteria, her head held high, long wavy hair cascading down her back, curtained bangs sublimating her face. She wore black jeans so baggy that a belt secured it around her waist and a long-sleeved tee-shirt from the centre matching her sneakers. A pretty sloppy outfit, but she felt comfortable.

They met up with the boys and settled down in the seats they saved for them. The team spent the meal laughing, talking about the past game as much as the week ahead, excited to get back on the ice they already missed. They were mostly waiting for Cocho's debrief to find out what they had done well, but more than anything, what they needed to correct to become even stronger. To sprint straight into first place and stay there. Although she was committed to the conversation, Minjoo couldn't help thinking about her week of figure skating.

Oh yes. Because apart from Yena and Ryujin, they didn't know about it. It wasn't a secret, but Minjoo preferred to keep it anecdotal. Naturally, she wasn't taking figure skating too seriously. She was just being the little helper until Hyunjin could practice again. But just like for Yena, she was considering the worst-case scenario and preferred to keep it to herself. The team came first, and she couldn't afford to invest as much in hockey as in skating. Besides, they wouldn't leave her alone if they knew she was doing it with none other than Kim Chaewon, read the name in red underline on every hockey player's list. Oh yeah, as long as Minjoo could keep her to herself, she would. Even though Chaewon still hadn't opened her message.

Minjoo quietly checked. Nice . Even though Chaewon had opened the message, but hadn’t replied.

Anyway, they waited for the last teammate to finish his plate before getting up noisily, relieving a group of athletes arriving from a workout. About to vacate the cafeteria, and just as her thoughts directed to her, again, Minjoo noticed pink hair on a table by the exit door. Chaewon looked so lovely, especially since her hair was loose and she was wearing something other than fleece, an ODSD hoodie or her white jacket. Indeed, she was gorgeous in that uniform shirt and her eyes shining as she was laughing was enough to make the hockey player fold.

Minjoo also noticed how Chaewon beamed at Seohan, and strangely enough, it did something to her. She'd forgotten that detail, and it just popped into her head; Seohan had smiled, so she had to do something else. But then, since she was Kim Minjoo, number 11, who acted more hastily than she thought, she just shoved Chaewon's head as she passed by her. It certainly wasn't the cutest or most romantic thing. In fact, it was rather stupid, but when she glanced over her shoulder, she noticed Jimin strangely looking at her at her and how Chaewon turned around, a thin smile dancing on her lips. After all, Minjoo often shot in a hurry, and miraculously, she scored every time.

Double scored, even, when once settled at their rendezvous point outside the cafeteria, resting on her school bag, she received a lovely '🖕', confirming the elegance of figure skaters, that made her heart flutter. To be ed, she really was, and for good.

-

This time, having learned a lesson from previous sessions, Minjoo put on thermal underwear fit enough to the body to prevent her sleeves from interfering with her movements. It was uncomfortable, of course, wearing it under her Florida Panthers jersey, but at least Eunbi and the other old lady, if she was there, would notice her effort. For bottoms, bearing one of those ice skating leggings was non-negotiable, so she asserted her time-worn black sweatpants, usually matched to her skates but now contrasted with the white boots. Presently used to sitting here merely over an hour before training started, she pushed her headphones into her ears and relaxed after a long day.

However, the peace was very short-lived as, barely fifteen minutes later, she was jolted out of her reverie by a kick in her sneaker. Gentle and discreet, but in the light of the rink, Chaewon's teasing smile was even more beautiful than the one she had in the cafeteria. Yeah, she was so pretty Minjoo gasped because of it, not because of the kick. Besides, Chaewon had kicked her foot with far more force than she had pushed her head, an eye for an eye, apparently. 

But what was she even doing here in advance again? Minjoo raised a questioning eyebrow, incapable of containing a smirk as Chaewon didn't let go of her gaze.

"You're not the only person who can sit here," the skater exaggeratedly crossed her arms against her chest, her chin a little too high and her face a little too dismissive to not be joking. "If anything, you're in my zone right now."

"See the Zamboni?" Also bombing her chest, Minjoo pointed to the machine Teddy was driving while listening to music, tracing a wet pattern on the ice, as he did between each session. Chaewon threw a look over her shoulder and then tilted her head. "It's making the ice clean after my training. Right now, you're in my zone."

Chaewon only rolled her eyes, perhaps rather than admitting she was wrong then sat, spreading her intense scent as she removed her white jacket and replaced it with a thin black fleece with sleeves covering her hands. Despite her willingness to appear disinterested, Minjoo couldn't help but side-glance at her a little too long, as always. Once again, she was caught with her hand in the cookie jar. And so, once again forcing her eyes on the ice resurfacer to avoid yielding, Minjoo didn't notice how Chaewon looked at her a little too long in turn.

After a few minutes of awkward silence where they only glanced at each other when the other didn't seem to be doing so, Chaewon got out of her seat. Clearly, Minjoo couldn't have known the pink-haired girl was waiting for her to talk to her, too shy to make the first move. She couldn't imagine Chaewon was waiting for her to make her laugh like that Friday night in messages, that she sacrificed her only break of the day to get to the rink an hour in advance. Minjoo didn't know that, and she was too intimidated to engage in further conversation. Despite all her recklessness, she just let her chance slip away. Like a puck she wouldn’t see coming in her direction.

Nevertheless, Chaewon gave her one last look before quickly warming up her ankles. As if it were the most casual thing in the world, and only a small leap in the air after two side-steps and without much momentum, she managed to spin on herself. She landed on one foot, then hopped until she was completely stable, ready to do something else.

Already impressed by her mere presence, and even more so after that jump that an ordinary person would be unable to reproduce, Minjoo nodded slowly in admiration, eyebrows lifted and lips curled, earning a laugh from the skater.

From the little they had skated together, Minjoo had, in fact, never grasped the technical potential of the renowned Kim Chaewon. Indeed, only repeating crossovers, codified program moves and performing a few toe-loops and waltz jumps, she had yet to genuinely see the skater launch herself into the air and spin at such a speed that one wondered how she could land without getting dizzy. Therefore, today was her chance, so she locked her phone and took in the moment, finally, taking courage, "Lemme guess what was that."

"What?" The skater spun on one foot, her arms gracefully arcing in front of her chest like a ballet dancer, her voice vibrating with the movement as she spoke as soon as the pace slackened between swings. "The jump?"

"A Salchow?" Minjoo attempted, gathering all her old memories and minimal figure skating knowledge to try and identify the off-ice jump the other had just performed. With each practice, she got to be a little more accustomed to Chaewon's complex character, and she was becoming more and more intrigued by it.

Indeed, the skater was not as pretentious and cold as she appeared to be, or at least what she reflected. As might be expected, the Nationals had plenty to show off for when the school's honour rested on their shoulders and the country's press was waiting for them to arrive back from competitions outside the gates, cameras and microphones in hand. Minjoo thought back to a few weeks ago, looking at a Asian Junior Grand Prix poster with Yena, who was drooling over the not yet pink-haired skater. Never, at that moment, could she have imagined that Kim Chaewon was actually rather timid.

"Wait," she moved closer to the bleachers again to get more space and did two more side-steps before jumping up and spinning in one and a half revolutions. "I can land triples on good, good days.."

"So that's not a Salchow?" Despite the second equally successful and impressive example, Minjoo nonetheless didn't recognise the subtlety. Just as a skater wouldn't perceive the difference between a Wrist shot and a Slap shot, the hockey player didn't have enough artistic precision to discern the two mechanics. Conceivably if she had paid more attention during her lessons a decade ago, she could have impressed the little star waiting for her answer with an amused expression.

"That's an Axel," she finally answered, gracefully grabbing her leg and stretching it over her head, surprisingly keeping her balance well. "Salchow enters from a turn. I can show you on ice, though."

"Yeah, teach me that," smiled Minjoo. "Can I put my skates on?"

Chaewon, who had just sat down again, looked up with a pout meant to be disgusted but was actually adorable, really adorable, plump cheeks puffed, eyebrows furrowed. The more time Minjoo spent with her, the more details she discovered that made her melt. As a result, she even wanted to apologise for foolishly asking such an absurd question, but her teasing nature won out this time as she defied the skater's explicit refusal.

"Why not?" she raised an eyebrow. 

"You're gonna ruin the ice," the pink-haired girl complained, regaining her seriousness as she began putting on one of her white skates with a mint-green dry cover over the polished blade. Her touchy-feely side didn’t last long, but her point was relatively relevant. As cliché as it is, the fierce competition between skaters and hockey players to be the first to step on the ice after the Zamboni indeed exists, and often smug skaters are happy to let it be known and taken to their advantage. And that made Minjoo want to tie on her thick Bauer skates even more and go skidding on the fresh, smooth ice, creating irregularities and holes in it. "And you can't jump with those."

"Who said I was gonna jump anyway?" Despite her teasing, Minjoo grabbed the white skates Viderski had lent her, to which her feet were gradually adjusting.

"You," while lacing her boot tightly, Chaewon glanced at her. " Yeah, teach me that ."

Being annoying and a master at hockey stops, Minjoo couldn't help but project a cloud of snow down the pink-haired girl's leggings and skates, and the latter immediately grumbled as she wiped herself off. They had the whole rink, all fresh and liquid, to themselves and enjoyed several laps at full speed. Gliding with the rapid air in their grinning faces, giggling as Minjoo would always get faster on curves. Figure skating skates were not as rapid as hockey skates because the blade wouldn't grip ice the same, but they were light enough to allow the movements to remain fluid, therefore, quick. They performed several crossovers. One possessed incredible grace and the other incredible skills, and they almost collided as they went into backwards ones, scarcely dodging a fall if Chaewon hadn't pushed Minjoo to the side.

"Do this one more time and I'm making you eat that goddamn snow," threatened the smaller one, finishing removing the snow from her skates. For a hockey player, there was nothing more fun than driving figure skaters crazy with their little antics. Minjoo even regretted not putting on her skates once more, which would have allowed her to do a powerful hockey stop projecting way more white powder. "I'm for real."

"I can't take you seriously," Minjoo admitted, sliding back a little before performing two rotations spin awkwardly and inelegantly but still trying to recreate the move Eunbi had rapidly explained to her in the first session. "Like, what are you gonna do with those small hands? Make me eat a snowflake?"

Chaewon sighed in profound despair as she tightened her ponytail, yet she unwillingly let a sneer appear on her rosy lips covered in lip balm, "why did they have to pick you."

"Want me to show you why?" Caught up in the game, Minjoo went backwards, a snicker ringing out as she noticed how Chaewon had reflexively shifted, making sure she wouldn't get snow on her boots and leggings. She recalled the skater's vague explanations and attempted an Axel where she narrowly avoided falling. Judging by the high-pitched laughter that followed her demonstration, her jump must not have looked like anything close to an Axel. 

"Put my great great great ancestors in skates and they do better," the skater mocked, with her pretentious attitude that was really only a joke when you got to know her.

"Maybe if you actually explained better?" Grumbled the hockey player, getting pushed away, by reflex, as she approached with no intention of doing a hockey stop this time. Anyway, she preferred caring only about the ease with which the skater had touched her, as if it was natural now, natural to tease each other physically. 

"This is why I hate hockey players," Chaewon rolled her eyes as she slowly glided on one foot, gracefully executing a tango stop in front of Minjoo, giving her a fake condescending look. "We tell you to take off on inside edge, you do it on the outside edge then complain."

"You didn't even mention edges..." Faced with the reproachful look, Minjoo resolved to accept she was wrong, and she tried an Axel jump again, this time having to put one hand on the ice to keep her balance after landing. As amused as she was embarrassed to have thrown the jump from the wrong angle again, she gave the skater a radiantly insolent smile that earned her a soft slap on the cheek. Minjoo repressed it, but her heart missed two beats when Chaewon's cold palm landed on her cheek. "Go on, miss superstar."

"I told you left foot steps forward during the preparation," she repeated, slowly making the gesture. "Then-whoop- draw back your arms, bend your knees, jump and swing."

Pretending to understand a little better, Minjoo took a few steps back before jumping again and violently falling before she had scarcely performed the jump's first rotation. Unlike the first few practices, Chaewon didn't hold back her laughter, but Minjoo didn't take it personally. On the contrary, and to her direct advantage, she scored more points if she ever really had to accept the fact she was starting to have a crush on the skater. Make her laugh and you're halfway there, right?

"This is why I hate figure skaters," she grumbled as she stood up without the help of her unprofessional and terrible personal trainer. "Y'all will tell us to do the most complicated jump, then complain about us not landing it on the third try."

"You asked for it," the skater in question defended herself.

Minjoo rubbed her gloves to get rid of the ice and tried to put some on the pink-haired girl's head who was quick enough to dodge it. "Can we please go back to crossovers and toe-loops?"

"Like you can land a single toe-loop..." 

That was the last straw for Minjoo, who remained silent as she skated slowly backwards, hands tucked in the pockets of her sweatpants. Making it easier for her, Chaewon had resumed doing simple upright spins, twirling her ponytail around at full speed before executing a few moves. Then, suppressing a smile, Minjoo rushed straight at the skater whose life flashed before her eyes, prepared to take the hit. It was a matter of a thousandth of a second and a few millimetres, but Minjoo successfully did her hockey stop, and a concentrated mass of snow sprayed on the figure skater, covering her black leggings with white powder.

So much so that the next moment, Minjoo found herself being chased around the rink, hilariously, as the pink-haired girl struggled to catch up with her and execute her promised revenge. It was a good thing Minjoo wasn't the fastest skater on her team for nothing. Because she couldn't even imagine what might have happened if she hadn't lost a tail on Chaewon by doing a sudden U-turn. Even more cheeky than she had been up to that point, she started to skate backwards to taunt the figure skater whose thermal leggings were still covered in white powder. In addition to being exceptionally talented and pretty, Kim Chaewon was relatively fun to mess with. 

-

To their delight, Chi Hyunjung was only coming for the next day's practice. When Eunbi informed them, the two girls exchanged a look that did not go unnoticed. They were immediately reprimanded because the coach was honourable, and therefore her manners should be respected. But Eunbi never stayed upset for long, and she was already clapping her hands, skating towards the door that led to the sound booth.

They started with some soft warm-up music, as usual, exercises serenely dictated by the short black-haired coach. Minjoo had become a little more flexible thanks to that. She could touch her skates with her legs straight while Chaewon comfortably touched the ice. They rotated their articulations from the knees to the neck, and the warm-up ended with some waltzes before they were ready to begin.

Eunbi recalled the moves from the start of the choreography to the first lift they had to do in motion. With her hair bound back this time —again, thanks to Chaewon's hair tie, which she had no intention of returning soon— free of her jersey and the sweatpants firmly tied around her waist, Minjoo listened intently, a fingernail finding a place between her teeth. Her job was to parade around until Hyunjin returned, but she comprehended the importance since all her movements had to give strength to the skater. From crossovers to lifts, they worked together. Eunbi repeated the word chemistry a good ten times, chemistry, chemistry, chemistry.

From the sound system booth, Eunbi began the countdown. At one, Chaewon pressed her back against the other's chest a little more, taking a deep breath, already in-depth in concentration. This was the first time she was going to put into motion the choreography she had been working on for weeks, so of course, it was momentous. At two, Minjoo tried to ignore how her blood ran cold when Chaewon's palm covered hers, resting on her waist in the starting position. For the sake of the choreography, she had to stay focused solely on the countdown and the music. Therefore she only swallowed hard as Chaewon squeezed slightly harder, guiding their joined hands further than on her abdomen, forcing Minjoo to tighten her grip around her waist. At three, the chemistry worked on in all its magnificence, and without even realising it, Minjoo was deep into it. Dreaming of you as my lover . Her arm guided Chaewon's waist to the side, then to the other, making her spin and lean on her side before parting away, simply gliding.

Their fierce eyes locked for a brief second before the first crossover. Unlike the previous times, Chaewon performed all the movements. Far behind her was the teasing smile and playful raises of eyebrows of a few minutes ago, as an impenetrable veil passed over her. She spun around in full crossover, her arms gracefully accompanying the movement until she grasped Minjoo's hand again. I'd quench that thirst . This was the moment, and with ease, they executed the first lift at arm's length, in a short time during which only the hockey player's skates struck the ice. The controlled landing was also almost flawless, perfectly fluid. Chaewon performed elegant spirals, closely followed by Minjoo, who was already preparing to grab her hand and start a new series of artistic crossovers.

‘When she tells you to look her in the eye, you have to do it’ , so Minjoo locked her gaze in Chaewon's, which glinted as she skated backwards, facing her. Was this what chemistry was all about? Skating, perceiving nothing but each other's eyes and yet feel as if every move was controlled and bound to be done, right? To understand without a word that they trusted each other enough to share their strength and speed, to become one as Minjoo hardened her arm and Chaewon performed her aerial front with ease, taking over the crossover, their poise melting to combine.

Just before the fateful moment of the throw, Mouth open like- , Eunbi cut the music and clapped as she would customarily encouragingly do, though her smile had something different this time.

"Bravo, bravissimo, girls!" Eunbi eyed them carefully, genuinely amazed. "I never thought the first try could turn out so well. I'm blown away. Almost everything went fine."

The two elite skaters were regaining their breath, and if Chaewon hadn't pulled it back to tighten her ponytail, Minjoo wouldn't have even realised they were still holding hands. Besides, having been a figure skater for a week only, she was rather proud she had managed to keep up and even memorised a small part of such a complex long program. Though absolutely not comparable to hockey ones, this modest success gave her enough fierce energy to do it again and again, putting a little more intensity as the movements became familiar. 

"Feels like it's lacking or rushing between the two lifts, don't you think?" Once more, Minjoo didn't notice she was looking at her with big fan eyes until Chaewon turned her head in her direction. But they exchanged a slight, awkward smile as Eunbi pondered, one hand on her chin. "Maybe we could add a spiral, side by side?"

"I'm scared there's a bit too much side to side for such a short amount of time..." the Coach pulled out the IPad where everything regarding the program was gathered. Eunbi replayed one of the takes, and Minjoo approached them. Although the hockey player was focused, eyes on the screen, all her senses fantasised about the skater standing right in front of her. So close that looking over Chaewon's shoulder, she could smell her perfume mixed with ice, fingers burning with the desire to touch her. Again. "See, there. We should try face to face. Maybe start by facing, then you go for a spiral with Hyunjin, Minjoo holding your skate."

And it; it was getting too hard to resist. Minjoo grasped Chaewon's necklace to carefully adjust it, the small golden angel locket having ended up on the back of her neck because of the spins. It went unnoticed as she nodded at Eunbi's explanation, saving the sensation of her fingertips brushing the pink-haired girl's warm neck for later. It didn't have to be significantly complicated; a face-to-face crossover, and when Chaewon turned around and started her spiral, she just had to grab her skate and be careful to hold it tight enough for them to get unseparated.

Therefore, they performed to the sensual music maybe thirty more times before Eunbi declared it was enough for today, allowing Minjoo to leave as she wanted to work on the technical points with her talented trainee. As much as the hockey player could have stayed to slump in her seat, front row of Chaewon practising Axels and Quads, the cold and fatigue got the better of her, and she left after greeting them warmly, hands in her pockets, head full of pleasant thoughts.