4AM in the morning was an ungodly hour for anyone to be up on a Monday during vacation. When you're someone like Jinyoung who actually uses winter break as a break from his school schedule, being up this early for his friends was cruel punishment.

But that's what he found himself doing in his room with Jihoon and Dongbin, by the light of his lamp table, gathering the skiing essentials and other belongings he needed that day. Jihoon was running around the room grabbing the stuff he did forget yesterday. For someone who should understand the rules of safety, believe it or not he had actually left his helmet behind. They were lucky the slopes were closes the day before. it wasn't long until everyone was finished last-minute packing before they all piled into the van. Much like when they first drove to the cabin, there wasn’t much space since - after all - their ski gear was the bulkiest of their luggage.

When they pulled out onto the mountain loop, the first thing Jinyoung heard was the sound of plastic wrapping crinkling in the row in front of him. Though he had just eaten breakfast, Jihoon was already helping himself to the bread they packed in the cooler. It was about an hour drive to the resort - longer with traffic - but by the time they got there, the cooler was practically empty since they all pitched in with snacking. Now compared to the other families and groups of friends there, their little friend group blended right in with their puffy winter jackets and polyester sweatpants. However, when a giant fancy coach bus pulled up beside Jihoon’s family van, they stood out like a bump on a log. The doors swung open and out hopped teenagers around their ages wearing shiny, professional-level looking uniforms. By the looks of it, they were one of those elite vocational schools - the ones most people like Jinyoung’s families would have a hard time affording. Jinyoung caught himself staring at the first student who had exited the bus; he was leaning against the side of a bus with a few of his friends. Jihoon must have been looking at the same person because from beside him, he heard Jihoon mumble under his breath, “Who does that guy think he is?”

“That’s Justin,” Dongbin chimed in from behind them, causing them to turn and look over their shoulders at the taller boy. He was gesturing to the same bleached blonde pretty boy, “They’re from Daegwallyeong Racing Ski Academy. Justin is one of their international students. He’s like one of China’s best in the junior division.”

Of the five of them, Dongbin was the only one who knew anything about winter sports because it was something his family would do recreationally sometimes. This ski academy must’ve practiced where he would go. Dongbin explained that compared to their high school, the ski academy was mainly just skiing lessons all day with some school subjects on the side. For them it was vice versa; they would squeeze in extracurricular activities wherever they could find time to. Jinyoung watched as Justin and his friends headed into the locker rooms carrying their ski gear. Not going to lie, he was somewhat jealous. Their shiny Nordicas made their White Sierras look like toothpicks.

“Ugh, with these guys around, they’re totally going to make today’s race unfair.” Jihoon clicked his tongue in annoyance, slinging his bag over his shoulder to follow the ski academy boys into the locker room, “We might as well just not ski today either.”

Jinyoung almost dropped his bag on his feet when he heard Jihoon mention the word ‘race’. Jogging past Dongbin, he caught up to Jihoon and asked, “Wait, what race? No one said anything about a race.”

“Don’t worry, it’s just an amateur race that anyone can join. It isn’t competitive or anything so Jihoon and I thought it would be cool for all of us to try it.” Dongbin placed a hand on Jinyoung’s shoulder, guiding him into the locker room entrance from behind. When they were inside, they slipped past the ski academy boys that were huddled together to get to the back corner, “I mean, first place winner gets a free ice cream coupon or whatever, but like I said – not competitive.”

That didn’t settle well with Jinyoung. Opening the door to one of the top lockers, he hung his sweater on one of the hooks before slipping off his shirt to reveal a black singlet. From beside him, Jihoon’s mouth formed into a small ‘o’ as he studied the younger boy’s figure; he was impressed. Jinyoung didn’t seem to notice his friend’s reaction as he pulled on a black turtleneck with a scoff, “What part of a race isn’t competitive?”

“Relax, Jinyoung. What is it to you if we’re racing or not anyway?” Dongbin taunted as he changed into his own white turtleneck from about three lockers down. Jinyoung caught Dongbin gazing at him sideways, a mischievous smirk playing on his lips when he asked, “Scared of losing again?”

With a frown, Jinyoung opened his mouth to respond, but was immediately cut off by Jihoon running between them with his arms raised; he stood with his legs apart as if he was breaking up a schoolyard fight. Looking back and forth between the two, he smiled, “Hey, guys, calm down! A small race shouldn’t hurt… It’s like what my dad says: competition is good for growing boys. Besides, it’s not like none of us know how to ski here.”

“Right…” Jinyoung lowered his chin and turned his back towards the two boys. Now was not the time to get mad at the possibility of not winning another game again; he had bigger problems to worry about.

After the three boys finished gearing up, they followed the Daegwallyeong skiers out of the locker room and to the lifts. The lifts took them to the top of the slope they were going to be racing; the girls were already there among other families and friends who were also participating. They joined up with the girls who were lined up behind the kids they had played the Deathmatch Snowball fight with yesterday. Seonho was happily conversing with Sooji when Jinyoung trudged across the snow towards them. Seonho must have pointed him about because before he got to tap on her shoulder, she turned around to greet him.

“Oh, hey, you’re here! I was just about to head back down and look for you guys,” Sooji exclaimed, making clapping motions with her hands without actually clapping them because she was holding her poles in them, “Miyoung just told me we were going to be racing this course. At first, I was terrified, but it doesn’t look too bad. Want to see?”

Seonho and her shifted to the side so Jinyoung could lean over and see what the course had to offer. He almost had a heart attack. Tall orange flags were placed here and there as makeshift gates along the hill. They were going to have to navigate their way down and through those gates to score points. The only reason Jinyoung knew this was because his younger brother liked to play Tony Hawk snowboarding games with similar flag placements. Sooji had said it wasn’t a scary course; he begged to differ. Jihoon’s hollering pulled Jinyoung out of his head. Beside him, Jihoon was holding himself stead with his poles as he looked over the edge, “Aw, yeah! Look at how steep this is!”

At least Jihoon had enough enthusiasm for the both of them.

Before Jinyoung could regain his composure, a gust of wind blew past him, almost sending him over the edge in a panic. One by one, the Daegwallyeong skiers went sliding down the hill. Leading them was Justin, flawlessly passing through each gate at what Jinyoung could compare to the speed of light. Jinyoung took this opportunity to give himself a quick crash course on how to ski. To go left, he leaned left. To go right, he leaned right. Justin made skiing look easy.

“Want to do a dry run to get a feel of the course?” Dongbin approached them, gliding smoothly on his own set of skis; it came to him as naturally as walking, “We still have time before the race start. A quick lap could help ease out nerves for those who need it.”

Jinyoung could feel the corners of his mouth pulling into a frown, but he stopped himself.

About half an hour and five practice runs (that Jinyoung insisted he didn’t need), the race began. The boys were lined up behind the girls; Jinyoung was standing behind Jihoon with number 15 on his bib. Before them were a few of the Daegwallyeong skiers, Justin starting the boys’