NHL 13

Dylan spoke as if it were no big deal, but in a brief media interview right after the first period, he had just been praised for ‘scoring a ridiculously cool goal right after returning from an injury that could have ended his career’.

It could not be compared to his professional debut’s first goal, but as the interviewer said, it was certainly a special enough goal to prove Dylan’s continued presence. In a way, he had personally shattered the negative expectations of those who had been clamoring about the severity of the injury and wondering if he would go through the process of retiring.

“I came today to give this to you.”

Joeon, who was looking at it with wonder, apparently had not thought it was a gift for him, and asked back, “Pardon?”, expressing his surprise without hiding it.

“It’s a gift for you.”

Joeon, who was at a loss for words, blankly reached out his hand to the transparent case and examined the object inside with eyes full of curiosity.

The long, slender fingers that had been wrapped around the mug of citron tea now carefully stroked the case. On the case, which still had a cold feel to it, a hazy mark lingered, following Joeon’s touch.

“This is for me?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because I recovered quickly thanks to you, Mr. Joeon.”

“I’m not a doctor…”

Dylan leaned his body towards Joeon so their shoulders touched. He whispered like a child confiding a secret. The distance grew even closer as he leaned in to hear his words.

“Let’s call it a mental recovery.”

The scent of perfume, reminiscent of the winter wind, gently mixed with the cozy and sweet fragrance of the citron tea that was changing the cold into warmth, and spread through the air.

“I’m not a counselor either…”

The moment he turned his head towards Dylan, Joeon realized that the personal space he had been trying to maintain until just a moment ago had been completely invaded. Dylan’s face had somehow come too close.

The moment their eyes met, both Dylan and Joeon forgot what to say and stared at each other in the silence.

Dylan’s blue eyes, which did not hold the light reflected off the ice, were as dark as indigo submerged in dark clouds under the dim lighting.

His deep, dark eyes, like Lake Ontario at dawn, seemed to be constantly whispering for Joeon to come closer.

A strange sound of breathing, not his own, was heard loudly. For a moment, it seemed as if the tips of their noses had brushed.

At some point, Dylan, who was stroking Joeon’s hair with his fingertips, tilted his head slightly and naturally rubbed the small, white earlobe, which was still damp, with his finger.

At that sticky and blatant sign, Joeon flinched his shoulders. Dylan’s eyes shone fiercely, like those of a beast of prey that had been lying low in the dark, hiding its presence, and watching for an opportunity.

Only then did his senses come back to him. Dylan was just about to lean his upper body forward and lunge at Joeon as if to devour him in one bite.

“W-wait, just a moment.”

Joeon, who had suddenly come to his senses, urgently pushed Dylan’s shoulder away and drew his body back. His balance was so precarious that it seemed he would fall off the chair at any moment.

“I…, uh, Dylan. I, I think there’s been a misunderstanding.”

Dylan, who had shown a puzzled look, soon hardened his expression. Even without Joeon, who was busy trying to catch his breath, explaining his feelings at length, Dylan already seemed to have understood the rejection.

Dylan, who had pressed his body close as if to pounce on the other person at any moment, moved back and lightly bit his awkwardly smiling lips.

“Oh dear, I’m sorry. I apologize.”

“No, no. It’s not that. If I made you misunderstand in any way, then I’m the one who’s sorry. That is, I…”

Joeon wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, even though he was not sweating.

“I’ve never thought of a man in that way. Uh, I don’t have any prejudice, so please don’t misunderstand. I mean, even if you are, uh, that way, Dylan, that’s not to say it’s a bad thing, or something like that, what I mean is…”

Dylan, who was choosing his words for a moment, laughed as if in dismay. It was not much different from the smile he always showed, but because the situation was different, it looked cynical.

Seeing Joeon’s anxiety that he might have found his reaction insulting, Dylan replied in a much lighter voice.

“No, Mr. Joeon. This is entirely my fault. Because I was the one who misunderstood that you were that way.”

Dylan playfully touched Joeon’s cheek with his finger.

“I was mistaken all by myself and even had some foolish worries. I’m sorry.”

He said so and roughly straightened Joeon’s collar. As he did, he did not forget to nag, “But Mr. Joeon, you need to be a little more careful. You know?”

“I’m really sorry.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry about. Now that I know it was a misunderstanding, I’m relieved.”

Dylan replied cheerfully, as if he had truly breathed a sigh of relief, and then added.

“For the record, it’s the same for me. I’ve had girlfriends, but this is the first time I’ve had these kinds of feelings for a man.”

When Joeon showed a disbelieving attitude, Dylan made an excuse.

“Why? It’s not a lie. But if it’s you, Mr. Joeon… No, um, it’s probably better not to say things like this. It’s nothing. I’m sorry. It would be good if you could pretend you didn’t hear that.”

Dylan trailed off and, in the end, did not complete his sentence, instead downing the rest of his citron tea. Then, he licked away the residue stuck to his lips with the tip of his tongue. He had thought it was sweet because the fragrance was thick, but for some reason, the aftertaste was bitter.

“Um, it’s getting late, so I should get going now. I was originally just going to drop this off. I’ll leave the gift here.”

“You should take it with you.”

Dylan, who was getting up awkwardly, stopped his movement.

“I said it was a gift. Do you want me to take it?”

“No, but… It must be a precious item to you as well.”

“Well, that’s true.”

Contrary to his words, his tone was light, making him sound like someone who did not think so at all.

“But I thought from the beginning that I should give it to you. It’s more pathetic to take it back now, isn’t it? As if I…”

Dylan, not finishing his words, suddenly shook his head from side to side and made a determined expression.

“If Mr. Joeon’s livelihood becomes difficult, you can sell it on an eBay auction later. I’ll give you special permission.”

An unknown sincerity was felt in his words, which were impossible to tell if they were a joke or serious.

“Are you really giving it to me? No take-backs.”

Dylan patted Joeon’s shoulder and laughed. For some reason, unlike his previous attitude which had always been careful when dealing with Joeon, the force was quite strong.

“Of course. Our friendship remains the same. I’m Mr. Joeon’s coach, you know.”

Friendship. Joeon repeated the word in his mouth and nodded his head. In his arms, he held the case containing Dylan’s signed puck preciously.

The very fact of having made a friend felt unfamiliar, as it had been so long. At university, there were classmates he took classes with, and at work, there were colleagues he worked with, but something was lacking to define them as friends.

It was because although he had felt a sense of camaraderie from solving common challenges together in the same situation, he had never specially let them into his domain. Conversely, Joeon had never entered theirs either. It was also the same that he had never exchanged favors without expecting something in return.

Joeon recalled the arena, which had been filled to the brim with the roars of people like foam. The hot passion that filled the cold space and Dylan’s sprinting that led it.

The arena was Dylan’s domain, and he had willingly let Joeon in.

Although it seemed there had been some misunderstandings up to that point.

“Thank you very much. I’ll treasure it as a family heirloom and pass it down to the descendants of my descendants.”

“The honor is all mine.”

Dylan, who had gotten up from his seat, approached the front door, unlocked it, and opened it. He took a step into the hallway and said a simple goodbye.

“See you again. And sleep well.”

The carpet in the hallway swallowed the sound of Dylan’s footsteps as he walked away with a thud, thud. Joeon said his goodbye a step too late to his retreating back.

“Drive carefully.”

Dylan, who looked back over his shoulder, smiled and waved his hand. Then, he soon turned the corner towards the elevator and disappeared from sight.

⛸️

Since the town hall last week, the office was empty for the year-end. It was the empty seats of people who had gone on long vacations, some for two weeks, some for as long as a month. Perhaps because of that, the open-plan office on Christmas Eve exuded an even more desolate atmosphere.

Although there were no officially assigned seats, Joeon always insisted on the same spot. The area where his teammates usually sat was all vacant today, except for the seats occupied by one intern student and the senior in charge of him.

As it happened, both of them had gone out to an external cafe, saying they would drink fresh coffee brewed by a barista instead of using the machine of questionable cleanliness, so there was no one around.

It was obvious that they would probably slack off and come back only in the afternoon. The atmosphere of a year-end office with no people and no work was always like that.

Joeon put earphones in his ears and fiddled with his cell phone. A new habit had formed for him, who had been slacking off more often during work these days. It was checking the sports news.

A week had already passed since he and Dylan had parted ways awkwardly, and naturally, there was no contact from him. However, for Joeon to contact him first, there were many things weighing on his mind.

It was because there was a possibility that he would be seen as someone who was leaving room for something more, in reverse. Joeon was more anxious because he already had several previous offenses. It would be a relief if it were all his own misunderstanding.

In any case, he did not have the courage to approach him in a friendly manner, and Dylan did not have the time. Right after the home game on Saturday, he had to fly for away games in Montreal the next day, Carolina two days after that, and then Washington D.C. after that. The golden time to restore the misaligned relationship seemed to have already passed.

He was a big shot who would have been second to none in his narrow and shallow human relationships…

Like a midsummer night’s dream, the connection had also faded. Still, his goodwill and kindness in his memory had not faded, so Joeon found himself checking the sports news from time to time. Things like today’s highlights or interviews.

[Playing Highlight Video]

The video started when he pressed the thumbnail, which had a large picture of Dylan in a Polar Bears uniform.

“Dylan McClain, who was excluded from the roster following the concussion protocol after a major collision in the game against the Bronze three weeks ago, made a spectacular return in front of more than 15,000 home fans at his return game on Thursday.”

A middle-aged anchor dressed in a neat suit began the introduction in a tone as if he were singing. He had watched the highlight video so many times that he was now at the level of memorizing his lines.