NHL 27

A person with whom I have nothing in common.

The chirping of birds weakly crying from afar and a light breeze tickled my hair.

A tingling sensation that began to climb up my spine spread to my fingertips. Goosebumps broke out because the body that had been heated up just moments ago had cooled down in the cold air.

Joeon turned his head, straining to scan the surrounding scenery. Sitting in the high driver’s seat of the Zamboni, he could see quite far.

Because the trees were dense around the rink, he hadn’t noticed it before, but something strange caught his eye between the trees. Joeon, who had been staring intently in that direction, returned to the entrance after finishing the ice grooming at Dylan’s call.

“Dylan, is there a lake over there by any chance?”

“A lake? So that’s why you’ve been looking in that direction for a while. Yes, that’s right. There’s a lake right behind the trees. By this time, it should be…”

Dylan, who trailed off for a moment, smiled slyly as if a good idea had occurred to him.

“Have you ever tried ice skating on a lake?”

“On a lake?”

“Do you want to try?”

“No, I…”

“Let’s go. It’s not like you have to go all the way to Banff, right?”

Dylan hurriedly put the Zamboni in the garage, threw the stick and gloves on the floor, and grabbed Joeon by the wrist, heading toward the gap between the thickly standing trees.

The path to the lakeside wasn’t manicured at all; it was nothing more than dirt ground packed down by people’s footprints. Even that had a thin layer of snow, so since they didn’t have boots, Dylan and Joeon trudged through the snow while wearing their skates.

“It’s frozen properly. Shall we give it a try? Take my hand.”

Arriving at the lakeside, Dylan, who had taken the first step onto the ice, held out his hand toward Joeon.

The lake wasn’t a small, pond-sized affair; it was as wide as a decent-sized river. If it hadn’t frozen solid, they might fall through the bottom in the middle of the lake and drown in the icy water. Anxiety and fear gripped his ankles.

“That… I’m not sure if it’s safe…”

“It’s fine. Come on.”

However, Dylan, urging him on with his palm held out, looked so composed that Joeon decided to entrust all judgment to him—an expert when it came to the state of the ice—and took his hand.

Clearly, he had thought his skating skills had improved somewhat thanks to the special training, but his footwork, stiffened by tension, had returned to the level of when he was first learning to skate.

“Relax. I’m here. Skate like you practiced. Yes, just like that.”

Dylan, standing behind Joeon, led him like a dancing partner, holding Joeon’s right hand with his own right hand and wrapping his left hand around Joeon’s waist.

“Is this… really okay? What if the ice breaks? Dylan, are you a good swimmer? My skates are heavy, so I feel like I’ll sink straight to the bottom before I can even swim… Are you listening to me? How fast can you take off these skates? Did you learn how to perform CPR? If I happen to drown and die, then my will is…”

“Shh, aren’t you going a bit too far? I’m a good swimmer, too.”

Dylan laughed through his nose at the words pouring out like a machine gun. His warm breath ruffled past Joeon’s ear.

“But a heart attack or hypothermia might get me before I can even take off my skates. At least it’s fortunate that I won’t be dying alone.”

“I’m not joking. I’m starting to get a little scared.”

“It’s fine. Look. It’s truly frozen solid.”

Scrape, Dylan stopped by grinding the ice, then stood his skate blade on end and tapped the ice firmly with the tip. A dent was left where the blade had pierced it.

“Argh! Don’t! It’ll break if you do that!”

Joeon shouted and lunged into Dylan’s arms. Dylan, as if he had been waiting for that exact moment, led Joeon and took strong steps on the ice as if they were dancing the tango.

“Relax and let your body go with the flow. I’ll lead. Hmm, the ice quality is definitely not great. It’d be easy to catch your foot and fall if you don’t have strength in your legs.”

Just as he said, unlike the groomed ice rink, the lake surface was rough. Tense, worried he might lose his balance with his clumsy footwork, Joeon entrusted his body to Dylan’s hands like a doll with its strings cut. All he could do was cling to him. Until Dylan was satisfied and let him go.

Dylan soon began to spin in place while keeping his hold on Joeon’s waist. As he spun along like a top, the world began to swim.

“Wait, stop… Argh!”

Just as he tried to put strength into his ankles to brake clumsily, his body tilted. With quick reflexes, Dylan pulled Joeon into an embrace, and they fell safely. Thanks to the pads he was wearing under his uniform cushioning the impact, fortunately, no one was hurt. Dylan was a professional even when it came to falling.

“Augh. Haa, you crazy bastard…”

“Haha!”

Even at the curse he couldn’t help but spit out, Dylan just laughed, as if he didn’t know what was so funny.

“Sorry, even I think I looked a bit like a crazy bastard.”

Breathing heavily, Joeon laid his exhausted body down next to Dylan. The sky, viewed while lying in the middle of the lake using the ice as a bed with his arms spread out, was vast beyond end.

Haa, a sigh the size of a fist, boiling up from his chest, dissipated, losing its shape. In the place where the clouds pushed away by the wind had disappeared, there was only a winter sky dyed in vividly clear colors. Flimtlessly clean and pure air filled the space where his hot breath had escaped.

Haha, Joeon soon burst into laughter. It was his first time experiencing something like this. The time spent obsessively engrossed in the act of moving his body, the moment of feeling the stillness of nature far away from everything in the world that cluttered his heart, and the burning gaze that turned straight toward him as if nothing else mattered.

“Did you learn figure skating, too?”

“No.”

“Then how are you so good at this? I’d believe it if you said you did ice dancing before.”

“I’ve watched it a lot. I’m just imitating it. The basics are similar because it’s done on ice. Although, of course, the way you use your edges would be different.”

Turning his body toward Joeon, who was lying flat, Dylan added,

“…I swear you are my first.”

“Ice dancing?”

When no answer came, he turned his head and saw Dylan, who had been staring intently at Joeon while resting his head on his hand, returning a faint smile.

“It seems you’re good at everything you do on the ice. To think you’re this good even without having learned it.”

“I’m good at everything involving my body, even off the ice.”

A subtle meaning seemed to linger within his unidentifiable confidence.

“Must be nice. I’m not. I remember I learned to swim and went to a Taekwondo studio when I was young, but I wasn’t that good at it. I wish I had even a quarter of your athletic ability.”

“Joeon, you’re doing well, too.”

“…Liar.”

“Are you doubting your coach’s words?”

“More than doubting, it’s just…”

“If you only list your flaws, anyone will look inadequate, Joeon. You need to acknowledge your strengths and know how to use them well.”

“What are my strengths?”

Dylan answered immediately, without even a hint of contemplation.

“Joeon, you have good concentration. Your movements are tidy and clean, without any excess. You’re cautious, careful, and…”

Joeon, who had been listening silently, replied in a small, embarrassed voice.

“I… have a lot of thoughts. Being cautious and careful is all in that same vein. This could also be a disadvantage.”

“Why?”

“As much as I have a lot of thoughts, I also have a lot of worries, and that’s why I give up easily. Even before I try moving my body.”

Dylan listened to the inner feelings Joeon was quietly pouring out with a calm expression.

“…Even though I made it here because you led me, I’m originally the type of person who gives up and runs away easily. People often dress up giving up and compromising as mature choices, but in my eyes, they’re no different from the excuses of a tainted pessimist. Because… that’s who I am. So I know it well. The excuses of defeatists.”

Realizing that Joeon was no longer talking about skating, Dylan soothed him with a gentle voice.

“Joeon, it might not be my place to interfere, but from where I’m standing, you’re doing really well. You’re working hard at your own life, aren’t you? Stably.”