Five months later

Seulgi and Taemin had moved from training at Mokdong rink to Taereung rink at the National Training Centre, upon joining Yuna’s training programme. The training centre had all the facilities they needed to grow as skaters, the best rink and the best gym and studios for off-ice training. However, Mokdong rink always had a special place in their heart. Seulgi worked at a cafe in Mokdong on the weekends, to earn some cash to off-set her training fees. Ice skating is expensive, period. Training, skates maintenance and venue admission added up; not to mention, competition registration fees, costumes, makeup. Seulgi and Taemin weren’t competing at an international level yet so they weren’t sponsored by all the Team Korea sponsors. After her shift at the cafe, she would go back to Mokdong rink to train or let off some steam from the stress her part-time job brought her. Every Saturday night, without fail, Seulgi would be there. And, sometimes Taemin would join her, depending on whether he felt like it or not. 

One fine Saturday, Seulgi was manning the cash register at the cafe she worked at. She fiddled with her apron that served as a uniform than its original purpose, considering she never touched the coffee machine or entered the kitchen, and left out a sigh. Upon hearing the bell on the entrance ring, she looked up at the customer who just entered. And, boy she was not expecting to see this person at all. 

“Hi, can we order one caramel macchiato, one ice americano and one french toast, please?” 

Seulgi punched the order into the cash register and repeated their order. “That will be sixteen dollars, please. Could I get a name for the order?” 

“Oh, Seulgi, you know me, don’t you? I’m Jongin’s sister, Jungah.” Well, I don’t know why I expected that she wouldn’t remember me. “Yea, I recognised you, I just wanted to make sure.” She gave the lady a tight-lipped smile and returned the change. Jungah, or Jungah unnie as Seulgi used to call her, took a seat with the guy she was with. As she waited for the barista to whip up some magic, Seulgi’s gaze floated over to Jungah, and they were caught in some eye contact. , she’s definitely telling her boyfriend about me… The guy collected their orders, and they ate peacefully, as Seulgi was dead set on not looking at their table. They finished their food and drink, hung around and eventually left, not without Jungah’s last glance at the cashier girl who pretended not to see her leave. 

“KIM JONGIN. I saw Kang Seulgi this afternoon. She’s working at the cafe at Mokdong, near the rink you guys used to train at. I wonder if she still goes there to train...” Jongin raised an eyebrow at the information his sister just dished out at him. “And, what am I supposed to do with this information, Nuna?” His sister rolled her eyes at his fake-ignorance act and told him off, “Oh please, don’t you want to skate with her again? Or at least meet her and talk to her? It’s been almost two years since you’ve seen each other!” Jongin groaned. Sure, he’d love to see her and talk with her. They used to talk everyday. Well, they trained together everyday so of course, they’d talk everyday. He wanted to see her in action on the ice again, how she’d own the space in the rink on her own. It’d been six months since his injury, six months since he left America and returned to Korea. His laceration had healed and the stitches were taken off, he had been attending physiology sessions to build back his strength. He was ready to return to the ice and he wanted what Seulgi had, he wanted success. That night, he pondered on what his sister had told him, more than he’d like to admit that he had. Figure skating, now, was something so familiar to him — it’d been at least 10 years since he started skating. But, at the same time, it became foreign to him — this six month break was the longest break that he ever took off skating and suddenly, skating didn’t feel like a second nature anymore. He pondered hard about his pact with Soojung as well, they promised each other that they’d try out singles on their own. The last he texted her, it seemed to be going well for her, she’d been learning new jump combinations. She said she was struggling but being about to smile through it was a good sign. It was time to return, his parents were pressuring him since his stitches came off and now, even his sister seemed to be nudging him. If everyone else was moving on, he needed to move on too. 

It took Jongin one entire month to get the courage to go back to Mokdong rink. He had been going to the rink at Korea University, but it didn’t feel the same. He was trying to avoid meeting Seulgi at Mokdong, he didn’t know if she was still training there and it would be hella awkward to run into her at the rink where they used to train together, the same rink he said goodbye to her at. After Soojung sent him a picture someone shared on the Internet of Seulgi, he immediately knew she wasn’t training there anymore. The background was different, maybe it was the colour of the seats or something about the ceiling. He was confident that it wasn’t Mokdong. Finally, Monday night, he took his skater bag and took the subway to Mokdong. The building was exactly the same as 20 months ago, the rink well-maintained and serene, like he remembered it. The most comforting part was Seulgi really wasn’t there. The ice there felt magical, the life in his skating returned and he finally felt happy to be on the ice again. He began going there every night and thankfully, not once did he run into Seulgi. He didn’t even see her at the cafe that his sister claimed to have seen her at. Maybe things were going to work out again after the 20 months of crap he’d been through. 

Just like every other Saturday, after Seulgi finished her shift at 9pm, she headed to the rink to cool off. She tied her coffee-scented hair into a ponytail, laced her skates on and stepped onto the ice. It was quiet at the rink as most junior skaters were done with training and very few competitive skaters spent their saturday nights on the ice. 

Jongin was completely unsuspecting of what was ahead of him as he walked into the building at about 10pm, like he did everyday for the past five days. The moment he opened the doors to enter the rink, he knew he wasn’t alone that night. A girl on the ice, she was spinning a camel and when she recovered to an upright position, his heart dropped to his stomach. Kang Seulgi, damn it… What happened to not training her anymore? At that moment, she noticed him too and he didn’t miss her eyes widening as they met his. She gave him a weak smile and he sighed, she thought she’d be able to fool him but he knew that smile was fake. On the other hand, there were a million thoughts running through her mind, beginning with the worry that his sister had told him where to find her. She knew there was no running away from this situation, even though she was not ready to confront it yet. After all these years, you gotta be the bigger person and talk to him first. She skated to and leaned against the ledge, eyes still on her former partner who was putting down his stuff on the bleachers. 

“Why are you back?”

“Wow, Seul, that was really direct.” Jongin glanced up at her as he took his skates out of the bag. He didn’t even know where to begin: that he didn’t find the success that he thought he would overseas? Or that he had a terrible partner overseas who almost killed him a few times and eventually sliced his leg open? That he felt like a loser in America and even more of a loser in comparison to her success? Jongin hesitated and eventually pulled up his right sweatpant up to his knee, revealing the huge scar from that laceration six months ago. “Oh. My. God. What the heck, Jongin?” Seulgi felt tears forming in her eyes. All her pride and resentment harboured for 20 months was replaced with raw confusion and concern for her former partner. She heard a shaky sigh escape his lips as she slid her purple blade guards on and walked over to where he was sitting. He felt her hand rub his shoulder as he tried to gain composure before speaking. These emotions were foreign to Jongin, he’d never felt this vulnerable and devastated when telling this story. In hindsight, he knew that it was because Seulgi had always been that safe place for him to be vulnerable. He knew she wouldn’t judge him or the choices that he made, and he could tell the whole truth. 

“I… um… had a partner who… um… was new to pairs skating and she wouldn’t track me when we skated together, and my coach… She’s just crazy, she told us to just get on with our lifts on the ice and said that if we tried it, then she wouldn’t be so scared anymore when she realised we could do it. I don’t know why I didn’t protest even though I knew it wasn’t going to work out. Coach Park’s words kept playing in my head, he used to say ‘never do a lift on ice if it wasn’t solid off’ and even that thing you always told me before we tried new lifts, that you trusted that I won’t drop you... I kept telling myself in order for this whole thing to be worth it, I couldn’t drop her. So, it kinda did work? She got down from the lift safely, but we did a pair spiral right after, and... she kicked her leg up too high and her blade… I’d never felt that much pain in my entire life, I don’t think? Either way, my crazy coach cut me off the team because she didn’t want to deal with my rehab so here I am…” Tears were rolling down Seulgi’s eyes, how could she not feel a fraction of the pain and shock he must have felt as she imagined the entire situation in her head. Her tears mirrored his as the disappointment of his venture to the US weighed down on his shoulder. He glanced over at the girl next to him, her gaze was locked straight ahead and her jaw was clenched, he got her full attention. Taking a deep breath, he continued the story for her, “My parents were super disappointed in me, my sisters were more indifferent and they were anywhere in the world but America this whole time. My aunt was with my during the hospital stay, the flight home, but I’ve never been so alone before. Even in recovery, everyone was always asking when I’d be returning to the ice and continuing my career. It feels like no one cares about my wellbeing or mental health, Seul… and I hated even the thought of skating. It was time to come back after six months when my doctor gave me the clear and I wandered back to Mokdong because it was the only place that made me feel a fraction of enjoyment of this sport again.” 

Seulgi remained quiet as she processed everything that Jongin said. Never in her entire life would she have imagined Jongin being ousted by an injury that wasn’t even his fault, without a single person in his family caring about the stuff he went through. “So what are your plans right now?” She tried to deflect the pressure of comforting him with a question. He merely shrugged, “I don’t know, maybe look for a singles coach, get back in the game so that my parents stop nagging me? Sign up for online high school classes so that I get at least a diploma in case my leg fails me and my skating career ends? I don’t know where to begin man…” 

“Train with me.” 

What? Didn’t think she’d want to skate with me again? “Seul, no offence, but I don’t think I’ll ever be up for pairs again. It’s too risky…” 

That brought laughter to Seulgi, he had misunderstood her, “No, silly, I didn’t mean skate with me. I meant to train with me under my coach, she’s the best in the country and I’m sure you’ll learn the best about singles under her. If you’d like to, I could put in a word for you and arrange for you guys to meet.” Jongin’s ears turned red when he realised he had misunderstood her. Was he really ready to train with Seulgi again and see her everyday? After today, he sure was, and actually would rather see her everyday again. It’d be like old times, 

“Sure, I’m in.” 

The next monday, Seulgi met Jongin at the Hwarang-ro station in the morning with a coffee in hand. It was the day that she was bringing him to see Yuna. She hadn’t told him that her coach was Yuna, it could be a great or terrible surprise for him to find out on his own. After she left Jongin at the rink two days ago, she immediately called Taemin, asking him if she was being too hasty in forgiving him, she realised she didn’t know if training together was even a good idea. “Dude, I’d give anything to see Soojung succeed with or without me, and I’d give anything to train with her in the same programme. I know it hurt when he left but your ten year friendship is more than that.” She was actually excited to see Jongin today, she was quite confident that Yuna would take him into the training programme. I think I made the right decision. “So, what’s your coach like?” Jongin was curious about who the “best” in the country was, he didn’t know much about coaches in Korea, or anywhere for that matter. He only had two coaches over his entire career, after all. “Hmmm, you’ll find out later. But, you’re definitely gonna love her!” Seulgi giggled, she didn’t want to spoil the surprise. Jongin rolled his eyes at the suspense. Somehow, he was strangely calm and slightly excited even though he didn’t know what he was signing up for. That assurance probably came from his inherent trust in Seulgi. 

The National Training Centre was huge, and the rink was quite a walk from the entrance. Seulgi ran into quite a few people as they walked in and she put on a sweet smile, waving to the familiar faces of the athletes around her. Jongin glanced at her more than a few times, in admiration of her grace and friendliness at the training centre. At Caroline’s, it was not like that. For some reason, everyone at Caroline’s was on edge and it never felt like a team, it was outright competition between each other. Maybe, it was because the other athletes here were competing in different sports and they could be supportive of each other, since they weren’t pit right against each other, right? Boy, he couldn’t have been more wrong. The people at the rink were nice too, speed skaters, hockey players and figure skaters alike. The locker rooms were bustling with athletes in conversation, many of them with smiles on their faces. Six months ago, the locker room that Jongin was in… You would hear a pin drop in that room. The hard stares and clenched jaws of the other trainees, except a few who were the kind to goof around, it was not a pretty sight. Seulgi offered her locker space to Jongin, since he hadn’t been assigned to a locker yet. It gave him a warm feeling in his chest as he placed his valuables inside the space she offered. 

“Hey Seul, who’s the boyfriend?” Jongin shut the locker door close, upon hearing some guy ask Seulgi that question. “Ooh, Kim Jongin is back in Korea. Welcome back, buddy.”

Lee Taemin. His friendly competition 20 months ago, when they were skating pairs under Coach Park. 

“Nice to see you again too, Taemin.” Jongin greeted him politely. They were never close, so this situation felt rather awkward. Seulgi pulled Taemin into a hug and flicked his forehead after, “Don’t be stupid, I already told you I was doing this on Saturday.” Wait, she told him about me? After she met me? She’s close to this guy? “Yea, and honestly I can’t wait to see what Coach Kim thinks of him.” Jongin started to get nervous about meeting this Coach Kim. This was the next most personal intel he had about Seulgi’s coach. His worry must have been written all over his face because Seulgi patted his shoulder lightly in an attempt to comfort him. “Don’t worry, Jongin! She is going to love you as much as I do!”

Seulgi’s phone dinged as a notification popped up on her screen. Glancing at the message, she stood up and started heading out the door, “I need to find Yuna-unnie and talk to her first. Taem, help me bring Jongin to the rink, I’ll meet you guys there. See y’all later!” 

Damn it, why did she have to leave. Now, it’s going to be so freakin awkward. “Hey, you heard her. Grab your phone, I’ll give you a tour around this place.” Taemin stood up and jerked his head towards the door of the locker room. 

“So, Caroline’s, huh?” Taemin began small-talking as they walked to the rink cafeteria, the place bustling with young skater kids and their moms. “Yea, it was rough and I got kicked out so I came back here…” Jongin was apprehensive about telling the guy about what he experienced in the past 20 months. “Hey, did you see Soojung there? She went for the same training programme one year after you did.” Taemin started getting worried when Jongin said that training at Caroline’s was “rough” and the very fact that one of the best skaters he knew got kicked off that programme did sit well with him. “Yea, we didn’t talk until my last moments in the training programme. We still keep in touch though, just that the time difference makes it difficult to keep up.” Taemin remained silent, he was desperate to ask Jongin how Soojung was doing, but he kept questioning if he had the right to find out since he didn’t make the effort to keep in touch with her all this time. “You wanna know how she’s doing, right?” , was Jongin a mind reader? “She did pairs there for about 4 months? It wasn’t really going well for her so she decided to make the switch to singles. And, to be very honest, I’m not sure how she’s coping right now. In the past 2 months, she hasn’t really replied to my messages and when she finally does reply, her messages are short and vague. Guess singles is keeping her really busy or tiring her out, more than usual.” Taemin’s heart clenched, he knew that the shorter the messages and the less frequent she replied meant that she wasn’t doing well emotionally. The first time he found out this quirk of hers was when she hurt her back while playing a dance game on Kinect. She blew him off for 3 days, and didn’t show up to training for a week. He later found out that it was because she was embarrassed about getting an injury due to some stupid game, and it had hit her self-esteem off the shelf. Taemin sighed, and whispered, “Come back, Soojung. I wish you’d come back.” When Jongin deciphered what came out of Taemin’s lips, he silently hoped she’d return to Korea soon too. 

“Oh, here we are at the rink.” The heavy conversation clouded Jongin’s mind so much that he didn’t pay attention to his surroundings until Taemin snapped him out of it. “Come on, we took quite a while to reach here, I bet they’re already here, waiting for us…”

Jongin spotted Seulgi sitting in the first row of the highest section of seats, and she saw him too. The smile she gave him was the sweetest and she waved at him, she looked so cute when she was excited. The lady she was with turned around, and Jongin’s breath hitched in his throat. It was Kim freakin’ Yuna. Coach Kim was Kim Yuna? No wonder she’s the best in the country but freakin Kim Yuna? Taemin smiled at his friend’s shock, and Seulgi was laughing her head off, her surprise definitely worked. 

“Take it all in bud, our new coach is Kim Yuna.” 

hi yall back with chapter 2 and slotted in some seulkai here (-: 3/4 are in korea so things are moving along quickly... i hope you like the plot developments!

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