Completely out of breath from the circle warm-up series, Minjoo didn't even wait to reach the benches before collapsing when the whistle announced a break. On her last legs, she sprawled out on the ice, which did not startle her thanks to the protective gear, thermal shirt and jersey. She left her Bauer stick to the side, feeling her heavy feet drawn by the weight of the skates, not retaining enough force to keep them up, forfeiting. Jiung sent snow at her face as he hockey stopped right next to her, and she let the white powder cover the visor of her training helmet, a few particles landing on her lips. If the drill hadn't been this gruelling, she would have assuredly fought back, but now it was impossible.

Taking deep, controlled breaths, she gradually caught it back. Typically, training on the eve of a matchday was the most draining. This time again, Cocho hadn't gone easy on them. He said there was no way they were going to Busan's  Doekchon Ice Rink to take a beating, and he made sure everyone knew. It wasn't a national premier league game, but hockey performances are about luck and tactics. Anyang was the strongest team, neck and neck with Haneulae Training Center and Daemyung Killer Whales, but other clubs sometimes challenged them. So, according to Coach Oh, they shouldn't go in there claiming victory before stepping on the ice.

Yet, there was a difference between instilling humility and being outright sadistic. Minjoo sighed as best she could, only straightening up enough to see the cruel Coach arranging a new set of orange cones on the rink, and she laid back again, taking advantage of her helmet to bang her head against the hard ice several times. Fortunately, according to the large LED display cube screen overhanging the rink, there were only twenty minutes left, and luckily, Cocho would use the last ten to make a briefing about the strategy. 

Back up on her skates, the center sprinted around the face-off backwards ahead of coming to an abrupt stop and accelerating again, making a quick turn around another red circle before shooting a puck that Intak stopped. Minjoo was so exhausted that she drew strength from secret resources she didn't even know she had but performed each warm-up circle with energy. It was passion. She was keen about the heaviness in her calves that made it difficult to move, about the frustration when her slapshots were intercepted, about the risk of falling with every small, uncontrolled skid in the turns. She liked to recover her breath for a few seconds, tightening her grip around her stick before surpassing herself again, constantly giving the best of herself.

Best things always come after hard work. And in this case, just coming out of the changing room after a hot shower, dressed in comfortable sports clothes, Minjoo was greeted by Chaewon entering the arena, wearing her white fleece, skates hanging around her neck from the laces.

"If you arrived ten minutes earlier, you would have seen me fighting for my life," she said as she slung one of her bags over her shoulder, stepping onto the bleachers' stairs right behind the pink-haired girl.

"Too bad," Chaewon, who was leading the way, glanced over her shoulder, raising a playful eyebrow, a small smile coming to her lips as Minjoo's gaze travelled up to her eyes. "I would have loved to see that."

Too tired to talk back and already embarrassed enough at being caught red-handed, as usual anyway, Minjoo simply repeated the skater's words in a particularly cheeky voice, earning another smile from her as they started climbing the stairs again. It might have been meaningless, but Minjoo glimpsed Chaewon had slightly pulled her fleece up to her hips. The hockey player was already staring in secret, so if the skater let her do and even showed more, she didn't need to be permitted twice.

From texting her late at night and since the revelation the day before, Minjoo grasped that behind her reserved and cold princess aura, Chaewon was quite playful. Maybe it was just her love for attention, but either way, the skater knew exactly what to do and say to make heads turn, and it always had its effect. She liked to please, and apparently, she knew how to do it, making her even more irresistible. It was new to their friendship, anyway, this little game, but Minjoo couldn't wait to find out more. To get to know everything about Kim Chaewon and find out what was hiding under that outside of cold gazes, white fleeces and triple Axel jumps. 

She dropped her bags heavily, relieved to be able to sit back for just an hour. Honestly speaking, she had never reached this level of fatigue before between classes, practices and gym sessions. Supplementary figure skating training became both physically and mentally part of her routine, but her metabolism hadn't had time to get used to it yet. Despite her willpower, the heaviness in her muscles betrayed it. However, Chaewon was already on her third practice of the day and wasn't complaining, so Minjoo positivised, leaning against the low wall.

"I'm finally done with ISU rules and all," the skater announced, sitting cross-legged with her back straight against the wall. Like the previous two days, she had her hair loose but not curly this time, falling straight down over her shoulders. Oh, she was drop-dead gorgeous.

"You're free," Minjoo clicked her tongue, darting her eyes away when Chaewon noticed she was staring like a creep, playing it cool. "Was it the worst experience of your life?"

"The worst experience of my life is to be here with you every day," the skater retorted so seriously that Minjoo could have believed it, but she didn't, so she grinned as she gently placed her palm against Chaewon's cheek, pushing her away. Reciprocally, she got shoved by the shoulder, but the skater then pulled her closer, snuggling to her side. That was why Minjoo hadn't been offended by the teasing sneaky remark, she pretty much got used to it, most of the time knowing the truth behind them. 

"Moving on," she drew out a spiral notebook from which several sheets protruded, folded and battered. "You're a third year, right?"

"You know I'm a third year," Chaewon quickly lifted her eyebrows, typing on her phone. She undoubtedly had this knack for turning situations around in a few words. Naturally, Minjoo knew by now what year Chaewon was in. She had stalked her enough.

But the hockey player was getting used to that as well, so she replied, "Don't you know how to converse?"

"Forgive me for my mistake. It appears I am a third-year as you foreknew." Despite all the sarcasm in her voice and her nonchalant attitude, Minjoo couldn't help but giggle. In fact, their sense of humour somehow matched quite well, and it encouraged her even more to break that ice, to keep joking around and talking about anything and everything with her.

But Minjoo also knew her priorities, and her chemistry exercises weren't going to resolve themselves if she just looked at them. She could have asked one of her good at science teammates, but that would have been less fun than giving it a try. Thus, she cunningly nudged Chaewon's leg, "could an amazing sunbae help me?"

"Uhh," Chaewon locked her phone, glancing down at the notebook Minjoo was holding, then back up to her eyes. "With?"

"Chem," knowing the subject wasn't going to provoke any dazzling cheer, Minjoo relied on her smile, trying her best to show off those dimples her family members loved to see. As a child, all she had to do was grin like that to get sweet snacks or whatever toys she wanted, and who knows, it could be enough to convince the skater. But it didn't seem to be.

"No, she can't," Chaewon shook her head, making big eyes, and Minjoo insisted, raising her eyebrows, tilting her head as she'd done two or three times before, and it worked this time. Apparently, the smile didn't work on Chaewon, but this did. That was good to know for the future. "What is it about? Reactions?"

"Yeah. I thought I got it but look," Minjoo opened her notebook, flipping through a few pages full of scribbles until she found the damned one. She shifted the notebook between their legs and took a deep breath as Chaewon came closer, diffusing her perfume, her pink hair also emitting a sweet scent of hydrating oils.

Fortunately, it was only an exercise notebook; its deplorable condition did not reflect the hockey player's studying methods. Minjoo wasn't the most scholarly or dedicated student, but she was diligent and disciplined, like hockey. Instead of mixing lessons and exercises, she possessed numerous notepads, making it clearer to study. Still, embarrassment took her as Chaewon bent down to decipher a little more of what was hidden between the scribbles, doodles, coloured circles and numbers written differently depending on the equations.

"Oh," the skater nodded, resuming in a gentle voice. "You're lucky this is common sense. I can help a little."

"Did you just politely call me dumb?" Minjoo cocked an eyebrow, placing a pencil in the palm Chaewon had presented to her.

"Not intended," Chaewon smiled, looking up for a moment, a thin simper adorning her face. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and repositioned the notebook between their legs, pulling the exercise paper and examining it quickly before writing the first equation on a new page. For the moment, she was better at explaining chemistry than figure skating. Or at least more patient than when explaining how starting from the outside or inside edge could change a Lutz's landing. "So, you know a reaction is reactants converted to products, right? It's about chemical elements and compounds, right? Nothing disappears. It's just adding and transforming, okay?"

"Right," Minjoo nodded sharply. "Okay."

"So, if you have this," the skater leaned in a little and drew a circle on the notebook, looking up to make sure her improvised student was following. She did that too when breaking down a jump, but like the physics behind the moment of inertia, chemistry hardly meant anything to the hockey player. Nevertheless, Minjoo nodded again, perhaps more interested in their newfound closeness than the crudely drawn atom. Oh, she would tear out that page and frame it. "And you add that, then boom, synthesis. Then you get this."

In fact, what made Minjoo so special was her spontaneity. She always lived in the moment, not spending too much time questioning things and situations—the proof is, when she last did, she got the whole thing wrong. This was particularly evident in studies, where the lessons she mastered best were those in which she focused in class, listening, taking notes and assimilating information on the spot. On the other hand, when she would spend an hour daydreaming or thinking about pink hair and honey eyes, it was much harder to apply her knowledge when sitting at her desk. Asking Chaewon for help was also a way to get back into the lesson, as a kind of win-win situation.

But just as it was Chaewon, Minjoo didn't think, letting her true personality take over as she retrieved the pencil, drawing another circle under the example one, scribbling a 'You2' on it. Then, she glanced briefly at the skater before drawing a second circle, 'Me2' and adding the reaction arrow. She had to hold back a silly smile as she outlined the last atom, this time in the shape of a heart, writing '4ever' inside. Putting the pencil down, smiling proudly, Minjoo contemplated the way Chaewon's lips stretched as she read. 

Oh. The skater was so pretty as she immediately suppressed the smile, tucking her hair behind her ear again, retrieving the pencil, "that's the point. But look, nothing gets lost and... you lost You and Me. You want something like Youme4"

"Okay," the hockey player giggled at her seriousness. Like how much fun she was having while playing hockey and how focused Chaewon was becoming while performing her program. The contrast amused Minjoo, knowing full well that the other had understood the genuine intention of the drawings but preferred to be coy. She wasn't that oblivious either. "If I do this right, will you give Youme4 a chance?"

"Focus," bending down again, Chaewon drew a tiny heart next to the 'You2+Me2→4ever' before copying another series of equations from the paper to the notebook. And, sure, Minjoo wasn't that oblivious, but still enough to not notice how the skater was biting her lips to keep from smiling too much and how the tips of her ears had just turned a sweet shade of red. "Okay, here. That's a combination."

Minjoo observed the equation for a few seconds. Well.. her eyes were on the Nh and HCl, but all her attention was focused on the new pickup line she had just thought of. Without wasting more time, she cocked an eyebrow, "and when my heart beats faster when I see you, that's some kind of reaction too?”

Pretty pessimistic or used to her awful pick-up lines being omitted—Sumin never being receptive to them— Minjoo expected just the same for Chaewon; something like an eye roll, a gentle sigh and a side glance before turning her head. However, to her surprised delight, the skater raised an eyebrow, almost timidly, "it does?"

"Yeah," at this point, there was no point in lying or digressing. After all, it was the final practice before Hyunjin could skate again, the last evening to spend in the cold under the rink's few lights, glancing at her in secret, feeling dizzy at their knees brushing. There was no need to repress or pretend anymore. On the contrary, since these were the last moments, Minjoo shrugged, holding the other's stare. Only her gaze dropped lower for a brief moment, enough to notice the outline of a smile that looked more shy than amused or playful.

Chaewon muttered something, then rested her attention on the notebook, taking a small that went unnoticed by the hockey player.

"Same."

It was hard to believe, though. Really hard to believe, and not because Minjoo lacked confidence. No, she was actually really confident in everything. Otherwise, she would never allow herself to attempt risky tricks in the middle of a game, taunt defenders by going behind their backs, or even agree to train with a national skater. She knew what she was worth and what people would find in her. Hockey guys would say she was hot and funny for a girl, Yuri would say she was annoying, Yena would laugh, her ex would complain like she repeatedly did, Sumin would say that she would be in love with her if she was a boy, they would all say she was a hockey genius, but Chaewon? They had solely known each other for two weeks. Well... They'd never even paid attention to each other before that Friday night, two weeks ago.

In fact, before that, and until yesterday, Kim Chaewon was the definition of that someone you can't have. So talented, world junior champion, multiple times Asian and four continents champion, that watching her performances, something Minjoo had never done before the first training session, one would wonder if she was real. Oh and she was gorgeous. Objectively pretty, with captivating eyes, a unique smile that hid many treasures inside, an intimidatingly straight posture. She was also inaccessible because of how popular she was. Minjoo didn't care back then, but naturally, she spent entire lunch breaks listening to her friends fantasise about that girl who sometimes smiled at them, knowing well they would talk about it for hours.

Minjoo had been in denial at first, wanting to believe all of Chaewon's ex-boyfriends didn't mean anything about her uality. But Minjoo had to admit that apart from Taeho, she had seen the skater in her gala dress sitting on the lap of an N1 player during the graduation show last year, and before that, she was dating Serim, the N2 goalie. Then at the very beginning of the year, her team would always tease Jaehyuk because he got ghosted by her for a footballer, not knowing Seohan was already talking to her at that time. Minjoo didn't give a damn about all that. She was there, in her second year of high school, for hockey, friends and girls. And maybe Kim Chaewon was so perfect to everyone's eyes that she had convinced herself she didn't see anything in her. Perhaps it was out of pride, indeed, out of ego, that she forced herself not to click on the performance videos when they appeared on her browse page.

And actually, the most confusing part was discovering she was like the others. And that, like the others, her heart missed a beat when she would see her in the cafeteria. That, like the others, she dreamed of having her attention, a look, a smile, a giggle. And that was the thing hard to believe; that despite all of that, Chaewon liked girls too and appreciated spending time with her. That Chaewon said 'same', visibly meaning it, and that they were here now. Yeah, that was a bit incredible. Like, totally unbelievable.

The pencil tapping insistently on her lap brought her out of her thoughts so suddenly she wanted to burst out laughing. A laugh of euphoria maybe, because wow, she'd just had a retrospective of the past two weeks and everything they changed. And wow, a chuckle finally escaped her lips. Chaewon was staring at her with doe eyes, their legs totally touching, her pencil in her hands, so close. Like... Minjoo only realised that now. Kim Chaewon, with her, here, amazing, right? She nodded and squinted at the two equations written in her notebook, but a new smile prevented her from really concentrating. Equations written by miss superstar Kim Chaewon, for real.

Minjoo took one last look at the confused skater, grabbing back the pencil and grinning again. She was so close that it was the perfect example of how much had changed in two weeks. Before the first practice, Chaewon had sat ten seats away, and now her knee was pressing against Minjoo's. And that really meant everything at the moment, so the hockey player shrugged when the skater lifted a questioning eyebrow. Then she actually focused on her notebook, starting her exercises, and because it had been like that for the past two weeks, she didn't notice how Chaewon kept staring at her, let alone how her heart was also pounding in her chest, was it a chemistry reaction or not.

"Wait a minute, assistance please," Minjoo raised her pencil, and Chaewon leaned in again, their heads coming together over the notebook. In another world, a parallel universe, Minjoo would have stared deep into her eyes, then down to her lips, and she would have done it suggestively enough for Chaewon to understand and do the same, then she would have kissed her right there, right now. But no. She was still Kim Minjoo, excellent at shooting hockey pucks, terrible at shooting real shots. Thus, she pointed to the equation she was struggling with. "You said nothing is lost but look...this one's gone."

"If you paid attention to what I was saying," the chemistry teacher sighed, picking up the pencil to solve the equation, stating the process out loud. Then she did the next two, pausing once to regain the hockey player's attention. Decidedly, her lack of patience must've been her only flaw, and she sighed again. "Don't ask me if you're not listening."

"I'm trying to listen," Minjoo didn't care now, for the better, so she smirked a little more. "But you're so pretty it's-"

She was immediately interrupted by Chaewon's palm on . Her whole body ignited at the contact as if the skater's hand against her lips had just started a fire whose flame was taking hold of her lungs, passing through every vein. Needless to say, she didn't try to move it away, and neither did Chaewon, writing new equations, her face hidden behind her pink hair, her thumb lightly caressing the hockey player's jaw as she pushed her head further away. And when she finally withdrew her palm, looking up, placing it gently on her cheek to shove the goofy smile away again, Minjoo realised that it had only just been two weeks but that she liked Chaewon.

"As much as I want to help, if you're just waiting for me to do the job for you, you can dream," the skater shook her head, returning to her original position against the wall, her eyes slowly going back to her phone.

Conceding defeat, Minjoo sighed, leaning against the wall as well, bringing her legs and notebook together to seriously get into it. It had been fun for two, ten minutes, but Chaewon was right; these exercises weren't going to solve themselves, and the pretty skater wasn't going to do them for her either. And really, it wasn't even that hard. As Chaewon said, common sense and logic as she solved the first equations. Only, it was too quiet, and Minjoo wondered who Chaewon was texting so much. She wasn't the jealous type, or not so much, but she sighed loudly enough for the skater to look away from her phone, "I kinda have another chem pick-up line, but I don't know if I'd get a reaction."

The pink-haired girl smiled for a brief moment, to her pleasure, but ceased as fast, getting serious again, almost demanding, "finish your exercises so we can do something else."

"What am I doing right now?" The hockey player retorted as if she'd been persecuted, holding up the page slowly filling with equations between new drawings and scribbles. "I'm just struggling with reactants, and you're a terrible sunbae."

"You just have to keep everything balanced, oh my," Chaewon scowled, running a hand through her pink hair, pushing her bangs aside a little. She was adorable, even when looking exasperated. She was still absolutely not patient, like when she would get tired of repeating that Minjoo had to take off at the second rotation or that the pivot was performed on the outside edge. But it was funny, and when she raised her eyebrows in annoyance and impatience, Minjoo could even less take her seriously.

"My girl is mad at me," she dramatically looked down and exaggeratedly palmed her face, as dejected as possible. "I hope I die."

Because Minjoo once again hadn't expected it, she was startled when Chaewon started laughing. A genuine laugh, hidden behind her palm, her pink bangs slowly falling back into place, her head against the wall, eyes forming crescents as her hand cupped Minjoo's shoulder. And to hear her giggle in such a honeyed voice, a sincere and unique sound, Minjoo laughed heartily too. Actually, it had only been two intense weeks; it was just a burst of laughter, a hand on her shoulder, a leg against hers, music and the love of skating, but she had never liked anyone as much as she liked Kim Chaewon—even if she was terrible at explaining things and easily annoyed.

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please note this is only a filller chapter to avoid a long wait! I'll post the rest whenever I have more time (just discovered having a job actually means having a job and woah??) lmaoo keeping everything updated on twt @eyesonemi !! ty for readingggg n see u very soon🤭