NHL 54

There was a hint of stubbornness in him, even to the point that his reluctance to make noise stimulated my competitive spirit. Sometimes, Dylan wanted to completely break Joeon’s remaining resolve and make him beg. He had to try hard to hold back because he feared he might be hated if he did that, but Joeon was the kind of person who would accept it even if Dylan acted somewhat coercive. When they were together, there were times when he would find himself acting clingy before he even realized it.

However, having it confirmed that he was the ‘hyung’ was not a particularly pleasant feeling, so if possible, he wanted to be in a relationship where they supported each other as equals. Even if, for now, it seemed like a relationship where only he was pushing forward.

It would be a lie to say he didn’t feel disappointed. Joeon was stingy with his expressions, and he himself had been feeling a terrible lack of affection for some time now.

Still, seeing that he had allowed him his body, it was certain that he had feelings for him.

Haa. Dylan, who let out a groan-like sigh while covering his face with his palms, sprang up and searched for the phone he had put in his locker. He couldn’t muster the strength to play the game without at least looking at Joeon’s picture.

Dylan habitually went to look for Joeon’s social media. It didn’t seem like he was very active. Instead, there were photos posted in the past, so while he was away on the away games, he could secretly soothe his longing by looking at them.

Dylan, who was spying on Joeon’s social media while hiding in a corner so other players couldn’t see, discovered a new photo where Joeon was tagged and smiled happily.

It was a photo taken when they went to see a band performance that the younger brother of his host family was in. He remembered it because Joeon had come over to Dylan’s house immediately after the performance ended that day, and they had rolled around in bed until dawn.

“He has this expression even when he’s with other people.”

It was a minimal smile that bordered on a straight face when he kept his lips pressed together; it was a blank expression that revealed an unexpectedly blunt side, but his eyes were curved softly. It was cute, meaning he had tried to smile.

Before Dylan could stop his body, which was moving on its own, he kissed the phone screen repeatedly. This was the first time in his life he had ever done such a thing. A bright red heart appeared in the center and then disappeared.

Dylan, who was about to put the phone away just like that, suddenly felt a strange sense of unease and clicked on the comments.

//sergiothesexybaby You’ve been drinking, right? John, your cheeks and lips turn red when you drink. Contact me so we can hang out like before.

An inexplicable chill ran down his spine. Dylan had witnessed before that Joeon’s cheeks flushed easily, so he knew that well, but Joeon in the photo didn’t have a face that looked unusually red. Moreover, the comment left to show off to others that he knew Joeon well was grating.

“I can accept the cheeks, but the lips? What is this bastard?”

When he clicked on the author to visit the account, it was a disgusting guy exposing his thin, flimsy body, which didn’t look like it had a single muscle on it, in a cocky way. Photos of him on stage with a decadent atmosphere, perhaps because he played music, stood out.

“A druggie.”

And the strange atmosphere exuded by the daily photos interspersed between them whispered something to Dylan’s instincts. Even without clear evidence, sometimes a sixth sense tells the truth. He swore he didn’t look like a heterosexual.

‘But Joeon said he had never thought of a man as that kind of object before.’

The moment two opinions collided violently, his mind went blank as if his heart had stopped.

Joeon’s image, which had not shown 100% of his true feelings to him, flickered before his eyes like a photo fluttering in the wind. But that was also an afterimage of doubt created by himself, as he didn’t fully trust Joeon.

Dylan, who closed social media and brought his fingers to the messenger, hesitated without ending up pressing it. Rather than words, he wanted to face him and talk after holding him in his arms.

“Dylan. What are you doing there?”

“Sorry, I’m coming now.”

He ended up putting the screen, which had been stained black, back into his pocket. But his mind was filled only with thoughts of Joeon, panting in a lustful voice while being held in someone’s arms. And the one holding him was not Dylan McClain.

🏒🥅

“Gardner receives the puck, slips past the defenseman, and enters the Polar Bears’ zone. He sends the puck behind the net. No icing call. Olsen is skating down to intercept the puck immediately. Segal follows him, but… Oh! A huge hit!”

“The Polar Bears’ opponent today, the Bronze, is a team famous for their rough play. It’s heating up only a minute after the start. The referees are separating the players. It looks like we’ll see this kind of scene a few more times before the game is over.”

“It’s a rare occurrence for the Polar Bears, though.”

“There have been some recent changes in the Polar Bears’ lineup. With Volkin returning as a starter after recovering from a shoulder injury, the first line is composed of Matt, Olsen, and Volkin. He’s wearing the captain’s mark today. At the same time, he has reclaimed his spot as the team’s eldest member.”

The commentator added jokingly:

“Considering his age, his performance is truly amazing. However, since the first line tends to play the longest, it seems head coach Connor Walsh will always need to think of an alternative.”

After the collision between Segal and Olsen, constant psychological warfare went back and forth between the two teams. Dylan, who had gone up to the ice at the same time as the line change, sprang out like a spring and pressured the opposing team’s defenseman. The defenseman, who had been staying in the Bronze zone to catch his breath for a moment during the line change, was busy moving back and forth and passing to another defenseman to protect the puck from Dylan, who was rushing in without any mercy.

“The Bronze’s pass connects. Then Jackson intercepts it. He enters the Bronze zone and slips it to Petrov. No offside call. Petrov returns the puck to McClain. Back from Petrov to Jackson. But he loses control for a second. Jackson, a huge collision with Johansson! Wait, Jackson is unable to get up, covering his face. Game stopped. McClain, who was nearby, is rushing at Johansson.”

“Oh my, Jackson is bleeding. It looks like a high-sticking penalty, declared when a stick is swung above the shoulder.”

Soon after, a slow-motion video showed the tense moment of the collision. It showed Jackson, who had bumped into Johansson’s dash, being struck near the chin by the stick Johansson swung high afterward. Dylan, who hadn’t been far away, ran at full speed and shoved Johansson’s shoulder hard. Johansson responded by rushing at Dylan. The two men, who had thrown off their gloves almost simultaneously, exchanged rough punches. The players on the bench all stood up at once and beat their sticks against the boards, heightening the atmosphere.

Since Johansson was a player with a physique overwhelmingly larger than Jackson’s, it was natural for Jackson to be knocked down when the two collided. If he had hit his head on the nearby boards, it could have created an even more dangerous situation. That Jackson was hit by the stick Johansson swung while leaving the spot after the collision was, needless to say, a penalty.

The referees stepped in between them to separate the players of the two teams that had turned into a brawl. The sound of whistles was heard continuously. Players who were barely pulled apart by the referees were shown on the screen. Dylan was heading to the penalty box with a blank face and eyes colder than ever. Johansson wiped the blood from his mouth and spat on the ice. This seemed as if he had succeeded in the revenge for Jackson, who was presumed to have broken his teeth.

Commercials began after the final scene of the staff scraping off the bloodstains stuck to the ice with a scraper. Joeon, who had been watching this scene quietly, went out to the kitchen, took out popcorn, and put it in the microwave.

He hadn’t watched every single game, but according to what Joeon had seen so far, Dylan’s playstyle was quite gentle. This was because he was a player who knew well enough how much of a serious injury he could inflict on his opponent when his large body rushed in at maximum speed.