You laughed nervously as the two of you walked into the skating rink. “Youngjae, you’re going to have to hold me the entire way. I really cannot skate.”

            He laughed and tugged you to the counter. “Come on, let’s go get our sizes.”

            Youngjae carried your skates towards the bench and placed all your belongings into a locker. You put the skates on and he propped your legs on his lap. Youngjae tightened the laces and made you stand up. “Walk around and bend your feet outward, see if they can wobble.”

            You obeyed and felt that they were on so tight, you could barely move. “Perfect. That means you don’t have to worry about twisting your ankles. Let me get mine on first.”

            You stood in the skates, stomping and walking around experimentally. Surprisingly, they were the same as heels, pretty easy to walk in. Youngjae stood up and took your hand, smiling. “You can walk now but wait until you get onto the rink. That’ll be a little more difficult. It’s easy here because of the friction but I’ll be next to you.”

            Your mouth went dry as you observed all the people around you. They were skating along and you saw people doing turns and loops. Youngjae tugged you forward. “Come on, don’t be scared. I got you.”

            You held onto the sides and nearly slipped. People were all around you, some speeding by, others hanging on just like you were. Youngjae hovered near you and criss-crossed his legs back and forth in order to keep himself steady. Both your hands were clamped on the side and you were hyperventilating.

            “I can’t do this. Get me out. I want to leave.” But already, a new batch of people flooded the rink. Youngjae gently unfurled one of your hands and you slipped. You landed ungracefully on your behind and laughed bashfully. “Look at this. Five seconds on the rink, and already, I’m down.”

            He helped you up and pinned you against him to avoid a couple who was wobbling near you. You stretched out your other hand to reach the sides and held on. Youngjae clutched you and you started to move your legs.

            “Try to bend a little forward, don’t lean too back. Okay, now push off with one foot. Be careful!” he held onto you. You had nearly fallen again.

            You bit your lip in concentration and pulled yourself along the rink. Youngjae tsked. “No, you have to use your own strength. You need to use your legs. If you keep relying on your arms, you’re going to be sore and it won’t be actual skating. Come off the sides. I’ll hold onto you from behind.”

            You shook your head. “Nope. I tried doing that once and already fell.”

            “You need to get over that fear of falling. It’s not so bad. It doesn’t hurt. All you get is a buttful of snow and then brush it off, start over. Come on.” Youngjae got behind you and held you steady. You started to walk slowly, picking up one foot then the other.

            He held onto you and you clumsily made your way through a pair of skaters. Every once in a while, you lean too far back and Youngjae had to steady you. You finally, painfully, made yoru way once around the rink.

            “Let me out. I’ve had enough. I want to watch you. It’s not fair that I slow you down.”

            Youngjae frowned. “It’s really okay. I don’t want you getting lonely. After all, it was my idea to drag you out here.”

            You smiled gratefully once your feet land on solid ground. You stood by the sides and watched Youngjae zoom in and out, weaving through the people. He waved at you and did a spin, finishing perfectly and skating before you.

            “Show off,” you laughed and jabbed his forehead. “You know I’m a failure at this.”

            He grinned. “Come back on the ice with me?”

            You shook your head and eyed a couple bashfully. “I really want to be able to just skate and hold hands with you. That would be so much more romantic than your having to be behind me, making sure I don’t fall.”

            He stuck out his tongue. “Never mind that. We’ll build up to that level. Come on, let’s go!”

            You shakily got back on the ice again. It took several seconds but you regained the feel and slowly were able to keep your balance better. He held you from the side and every once in a while, you would grab at the side to make sure you didn’t fall.

            After two rounds around, Youngjae unfurled your hand. “Okay, time to be completely off the handicap. I’ll still hold your hand but we’re going to skate between people now.” He confidently started to skate faster, forcing you to catch up to him. You tried the in and out movements that he had taught you and grinned happily as you started to slowly get the hang of it.

            Youngjae noticed and casually let go of you, but he had miscalculated and you nearly slipped over again. “Oops! Sorry, I should have warned you.”

            You growled at him. “You’re not being helpful here. I’m going to be traumatized forever if you do it again.”

            He hugged you and skated backwards, “I’m sorry. How about we go get some hot chocolate to make up for it?” 

requested by absolutebap

completely drawing on experience LOL