Snow and Ice || 태국

I like you

Taehyung's cold war with Yukhei lasted till the last day of the province skating championship.

The last day was the figure skating finals. Taehyung sat in a corner of the audience. He wore a hat and a mask and had wrapped himself in thick layers like a dumpling.

There was numerous figure skating fans in the audience. When they saw Yukhei appear, they burst into applause. Yukhei had once clinched gold in the National Youths' Singles. Though he was not as well-known as some famed athletes, there were still many people closely following his news. Recently, someone claimed to have bought his gold medal on IdleFish. This was voted by a certain forum to be one of the top ten jokes of the year.

Yukhei's face was pale and he appeared tired. When Taehyung saw him like this, he began to feel self-reproach. Perhaps he should not have taken his anger out on Yukhei. After all, it was not his fault for having a strong-willed and overbearing mother. He was a victim himself rather than an accomplice.

Yukhei's song choice for his free skate today was a jazz piece. Though the music was rich, sensual, and riveting, he executed a performance awash with melancholy. Taehyung was no expert in music but he could sense that Yukhei was not happy. Taehyung felt extremely upset and was overwhelmed with the urge to rush down and apologize to him.

He was still feeling torn over this when suddenly, Yukhei's skates slipped against the ice at the end of a triple Axel jump. He fell towards the ice uncontrollably.

Crash—Taehyung seemed to hear the heavy thud of a fragile human body ramming against the icy hard surface.

He leaped to his feet.

Figure skating was as dangerous as it was beautiful. When athletes land amid a fast spin, they must bear an impact that is several times their weight. One could imagine the pain that Yukhei was feeling now.

Nevertheless, without hesitation, he immediately climbed to his feet and continued skating.

While some people were silent, there were a greater number of people who were clapping.

......

After the competition was over, Taehyung wanted to find Yukhei. However, he saw him waving to his mom. Taehyung sighed, got up, and left.

When Taehyung returned to his dorm at night, he spotted Yukhei standing outside the dormitory building.

Wearing a tracksuit, he stared blankly into space as he stood under the street light. As usual, his figure was tall and slender but his side profile appeared pale and drawn.

As Taehyung approached, he happened to turn and their eyes met.

After staring at each other for a while, the two of them spoke at the same time.

"I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry."

Taehyung scratched his head uncomfortably and asked, "Why are you apologizing?"

Yukhei was stumped for a moment. He said, "I'm apologizing to my mom. Though I'm not sure what she said to you... Taehyung, please don't be angry anymore."

"It's fine." Taehyung shook his head. "I shouldn't have taken my anger out on you. My bad." Taehyung felt a little sheepish after his apology. He shifted his gaze away from Yukhei to a distant grass patch in the dark.

Yukhei watched Kim's face without saying a word. Once again, silence fell between them.

The silence stayed till Taehyung remembered what happened to Yukhei earlier. He opened his mouth and asked, "Does your body still hurt?"