NHL 18

Dylan, who had suddenly shaken his head from side to side without finishing his sentence, put on a determined expression.

“If you ever find yourself struggling to make a living, you can sell it on an eBay auction later. I’ll give you special permission.”

A mysterious sincerity could be felt in his words, though it was impossible to tell if he was being serious or joking.

“Are you really giving it to me? No backing out now.”

Dylan laughed, giving Joeon’s shoulder a light tap. Unlike his previous attitude of being careful every time he dealt with Joeon, the intensity was surprisingly strong.

“Of course. Our friendship remains the same. After all, I’m Joeon’s coach.”

Friendship. Joeon repeated the word in his mind and nodded. In his arms, he was holding the case containing Dylan’s signed puck securely.

The very fact that he had made a friend felt so unfamiliar, as it had been such a long time. In college, he had peers he took classes with, and at work, there were colleagues he worked with, but there was something missing to define them as friends.

Even if he felt a sense of camaraderie from solving common challenges while being in the same situation, he had never particularly brought them into his own personal space. Conversely, Joeon had never been brought into theirs, either. It was the same for having never exchanged unrequited kindness.

Joeon recalled the arena, which had been filled to the brim with people’s cheers like bubbles. The hot passion that filled the cold space and the dash of Dylan, who was leading it.

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

Although it seemed there had been some misunderstanding before that could happen.

“Thank you so much. I’ll keep it as a family heirloom and pass it down to my descendants’ descendants.”

“The honor is mine.”

Dylan, who had risen from his seat, walked toward the entrance, unlocked it, and opened the door. Having stepped one foot into the hallway, he gave a simple farewell.

“See you again. Sleep well.”

The carpet laid in the hallway swallowed the sound of Dylan’s footsteps as they walked away. Joeon spoke toward his retreating figure, a beat too late.

“Drive safe.”

Dylan, who turned back over his shoulder, waved his hand with a smile. Then, he soon turned toward the side where the elevator was and disappeared from sight.

🏒🥅

After the town hall last week, the year-end office was empty. These were the vacant seats of people who had gone on long vacations ranging from two weeks to a month. Perhaps that was why the open-plan office without partitions, welcoming Christmas Eve, gave off an even more desolate atmosphere.

Although there were no strictly designated seats, Joeon always insisted on the same spot. The area where his team members usually sat was entirely vacant today, except for the seats of one intern student and the mentor in charge of them.

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

It was obvious they would likely slack off and only return in the afternoon. That was the usual atmosphere of an office at the end of the year, with neither people nor work.

Joeon put earphones in his ears and fiddled with his phone. A new habit had formed for him, who had become distracted during work lately. It was checking sports news.

A week had already passed since he awkwardly parted ways with Dylan, and naturally, there had been no contact in return. Even so, there were many things weighing on his mind for Joeon to contact him first.

This was because there was a possibility he could be seen as someone who leaves room for people to misinterpret. Joeon was even more anxious because he already had several track records of that. It would be fortunate if it were all just his own delusion, though.

At any rate, he didn’t have the courage to approach him pretending to be friendly, and Dylan didn’t have the time. Once the home game on Saturday was over, he had to fly out for away games in Montreal the next day, Carolina two days later, and Washington, D.C., after that. It seemed the golden time to return their intertwined relationship to the way it was had already passed.

He was a giant among giants in terms of narrow and shallow human relationships, but….

Like a midsummer night’s dream, the connection had faded away as well. Still, since the goodwill and kindness he showed in his memories hadn’t faded, Joeon often ended up keeping track of sports news. Including today’s highlights or interviews.

[Play Highlight Video]

As he pressed the thumbnail featuring Dylan in a Polar Bears uniform prominently displayed, the video started.

“Dylan McClain, who was removed from the roster following the concussion protocol after a major collision in the game against the Bronze three weeks ago, returned spectacularly in front of over 15,000 home fans in the comeback match held on Thursday.”

A middle-aged anchor dressed in a neat suit started the intro in a tone as if singing. It was a highlight video he had watched over and over, so he was now at a level where he could recite his lines.

“Look at this. He makes a one-on-one situation with the goaltender after shaking off the defenseman with his specialty, skillful skating. However, the angle seems already read at the end. At this moment, he presents a sharp shot with a minute time-difference attack while giving a slight fake. It was a very minute and sharp movement. It was truly a play worthy of Dylan.”

“If it’s that distance, the goaltender must have been immediately deceived because he reacts instantly to the attacker’s movement.”

“That’s right.”

“It’s truly a witty play, isn’t it?”

“In the interview held after the first period, McClain said he wasn’t worried about the injury at all.”

The short interview video he introduced next started playing.

“Hello, Dylan McClain. How have you been during your break?”

Dylan on the screen was in his uniform since he had just finished the first period and was drenched in sweat. A hint of exhaustion was visible, but it seemed as if excitement still dominated him. The atmosphere he exuded was completely different from when he came to visit his house after finishing the game.

“I’ve been well. I was excluded from team training for a while, and the team doctor advised me not to overdo it, so at first, I spent my time following the instructions well.”

“At first?”

Dylan smiled as if struck to the heart and shrugged his shoulders.

“I couldn’t stand it after a few days. To make sure I didn’t lose my feel for the ice, I went to a nearby park, met a friend at the skating rink there, and did things like that.”

“Did they recognize you?”

“No. They didn’t recognize me.”

“Oh my. It seems they must be people who have never seen your game even once. If they had seen it even once, they wouldn’t have been able to forget it.”

At the words the interviewer threw out like a joke, Dylan laughed and shook his head from side to side. However, he left no further comment.

“As you know, there were a lot of fans who were worried. You seem to have proven that you are still in good form by scoring an incredible goal as soon as you returned from an injury that could have ended your player career if things had gone wrong. How was it?”

“I wasn’t worried about the injury at all. I have been eagerly waiting to show this goal today, and I’m happy because the first period went well.”

“That’s a relief. I hope you finish the remaining periods well.”

“Thank you.”

The interview was short and ordinary, not even exceeding one minute. That was, except for the fact that Joeon was treated as someone who had never seen Dylan’s game even once. And, embarrassingly, that was true. That was because when Joeon watched the game with people from his company, Dylan was already excluded from the starting roster due to his injury.

The video ended after filling a few more minutes by patching together highlights. Joeon was lured into moving on to the next highlight video. Even though he had watched the game in person at the venue, it gave him a different, fresh feeling as if he were seeing it for the first time.

Detailed scenes that he hadn’t been able to notice due to the massive venue and the energy exuded by the people were revealed much more clearly in the video.

Such as the timing of Dylan’s substitution, how he looked sitting on the bench, his profile as he talked to team members, or his lips that he held firmly shut by habit while watching the game.