NHL 3

Joeon took cautious steps. It wasn’t that balancing with just the strength in his legs was difficult, but moving while holding the railing was manageable. After walking a few steps, he felt a little greedy, so he tried to slowly increase his speed.

Stopping was difficult, but walking forward he managed reasonably well. Occasionally, there were people zooming past him, and he would shrink back fearing he might get caught up in it, but in those moments, he just had to grab the railing and stand still.

“Whoa, you’re pretty good for a first-timer!”

Tyler, who was passing by, winked and disappeared. His posture and speed were both top-tier. I wonder if I could become like that after practicing for about ten years. A desire to do well suddenly poked its head out.

Joeon slowly loosened his grip on the railing, which he had been holding onto like a treasure. Even though his posture was somewhat awkward, he was moving forward. On his first attempt, he had made it half a lap on his own.

Hiding the smile spreading on his lips beneath his scarf, he picked up speed. He now had enough leeway to skate without waving his arms like a penguin. He tried adjusting his hat and pulling up the zipper on his jacket. As he was waddling along, leisurely surveying the area ahead, a large man who was adjusting his hat at a short distance sent him a short smile the moment their eyes met.

Even though he was covering half of his face with a dark-colored winter mask, the eye-smile he offered was clearly visible, so Joeon also subconsciously nodded his head to greet him. Immediately after, he realized. That was too much of a Korean-style bow just now.

The blue eyes, which had been taking in his face as it reddened in embarrassment, curved softly like a crescent moon. He pulled his scarf up to hide his awkward expression, but the man tilted his head. Then, as if he had spotted something over Joeon’s shoulder, he suddenly ran toward Joeon at high speed. He snatched Joeon’s hand, which had been wandering in the air, and pulled him toward himself.

At the moment he thought “Ah!”, Joeon, in a daze, spun half a turn on the ice, was dragged by the man, traveled 10 meters in reverse, and came to a stop.

Scratch, the skate blades dug into the ice at a deep angle. An artificial snowstorm swirled around them. The man embraced Joeon, who had lost his balance in an instant and didn’t know what to do, to support him. The distance was excessively close.

“Wait, excuse me, what is this all of a sudden…”

Joeon tried to push the other person away, but a low voice came from above his head.

“Whoa, you almost got hurt. Are you okay?”

As he tried to understand the situation, thud, a loud sound of someone falling somewhere behind his back reached him. Along with it were the screams of people who were surprised by it.

A man was sprawled out on his back in the spot where Joeon had been standing just moments ago. It was the person who had been skating dangerously fast without slowing down since earlier.

If the man in front of him hadn’t snatched Joeon and helped him avoid that spot, Joeon might have suffered a major injury by colliding with that reckless skater just now.

“You moron.”

Joeon jumped, startled by the cold voice from above his head, and lifted his head high. Fortunately, he wasn’t looking at Joeon. At the end of his cold gaze was the man who was bleeding from his nose, likely from hitting something while falling.

“Hick, blood…”

Once he grasped the situation, a sense of relief and, at the same time, a feeling of regret washed over him. In this situation, Joeon was actually the one who deserved to be grateful to him. Startled, Joeon tried to pull the hand he was holding away from the man, but his body swayed.

“Whoa, be careful.”

The man, who had been standing stably even on the slippery ice, gently wrapped his arms around Joeon. Scratching his flushed cheeks with his gloved fingers, Joeon bowed his head.

“Thank you. I was saved because of you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

He placed a hand on Joeon’s shoulder and naturally led him toward the outskirts.

“Sit here for a moment. Are you hurt anywhere?”

As Joeon sat down on the stairs using the man’s forearm as a railing, the man knelt on one knee in front of him to match his eye level.

“No, I don’t think so.”

“I’m sorry for snatching you so suddenly. Some kid fell behind you, and that man was running toward you trying to avoid the kid, so I moved. Actually, I had been keeping an eye on him because he was skating dangerously since earlier.”

“I see. I’m fine. Thanks to you, I didn’t get hurt.”

“Is there any place that’s uncomfortable? That’s a relief if not.”

The man scanned Joeon’s body up and down to check once more. Having confirmed there were no issues, he cleared the look of concern, lowered the mask that had been covering his face, and said refreshingly. He was an incredibly handsome man.

“I’m Dylan.”

Joeon also pulled down the scarf that was covering his face and introduced himself.

“I’m John.”

“John….” Dylan murmured as if talking to himself, his gaze lingering on Joeon’s flushed face.

“Is this your first time skating?”

“Yes. Is it that obvious?”

Dylan burst into laughter, the tip of his tongue slowly licking his dry lips.

“Watching you waddle like a penguin—yes.”

Looking straight into Joeon’s eyes, he offered his hand readily.

“Shall I help you?”

Surprised by the unexpected proposal, Joeon lifted his head. Eyes as blue as the lake at midday sparkled in the lights. Because he was wearing a hat, his hair wasn’t visible, but Joeon guessed he would have bright brown hair, close to blonde. He thought it would go well with the man’s eye color.

His nose was straight, and his lips were reddish. Since he wasn’t interested in foreign dramas or movies, he couldn’t recognize who he was, but his beauty was enough to make him accidentally guess he might be a model or an actor.

Joeon hesitated, looking at the man’s hand in front of him. Perhaps because of his not-very-extroverted personality, this kind of kindness felt a bit unfamiliar.

“I’m good at it.”

The confident attitude urged him to take his hand quickly.

Refusing would seem rude. Besides, if he really was a celebrity, he wanted to take at least one photo together to post on his social media later.

Unable to refuse the kindness, Joeon grabbed Dylan’s hand after a short hesitation.

“Well, then I’m grateful for that.”

Dylan checked behind him and stood up. Then, while holding Joeon’s hand, he started moving backward slowly. Joeon, who had stood up in a hunched posture and was being pulled by him, asked.

“Are you going to skate backward?”

“Yes. Could you watch out for people for me? I’ll leave my back to John. Let’s try walking slowly.”

Dylan said in a casual voice. Joeon’s hand, which was holding his, gripped tightly. Perhaps feeling the tension, Dylan soothed Joeon with a light tone.

“Don’t worry.”

In reality, Dylan was a person with the skill to move skillfully while looking backward comfortably even without Joeon’s help. He was like someone who had eyes in the back of his head.

“Try making your toes point outward. Instead of lifting your feet quickly like when you walk, push them long. We’re on ice now.”

Joeon moved his feet according to Dylan’s instructions. Compliments poured out without stopping.

“Like this?”

“Yes, that’s it. You’re doing great? Very good. You’re following well.”

Because of the endless praise, his ears flushed red with shyness. Anyway, the teaching methods of people in this country are good, but… even as time passed, he couldn’t quite get used to it.

“You’re doing really well. You’re like a genius.”

“There’s no way…”

Just like the title of the book that says praise makes even whales dance, Dylan’s repeated praise made Joeon excited. He felt a bit like a dog that listens well, but it didn’t feel bad. He started counting his chickens as if he had discovered a hidden talent.

“Very good. Shall we stop looking at the floor now and lift your head slightly to look ahead? Because you might bump into other people, me.”

As he lifted his head, the two hands they were holding came into his view. Perhaps it was because he was wearing gloves or maybe it was just natural, but his hands were truly very large.

His gaze moved upward little by little, reaching Dylan’s face, which was looking behind quite seriously. Their speed gradually increased. Noticing that Joeon had been secretly observing him, Dylan glanced at Joeon and sent him an eye-smile.