NHL 4

Taken aback by his smile for a moment, I tripped over my steps and lost my balance. Dylan planted his skate blade firmly into the ice and stopped.

“Make your back foot horizontal. That will slow you down. For a beginner, that’s the easiest way to stop. Your front foot should face forward. That way, your direction won’t get twisted and…”

“How? Wait, wait, wait, ahhh…!”

Before I could even put his words into action, Joeon slammed his nose right into his firm shoulder. During that, Joeon’s skate slipped between Dylan’s legs. As the skate slid through his legs while they were still holding hands, the center of gravity shifted backward. Joeon’s butt hit the cold ice, and his face collided with an unexpected place.

It was a pose that might appear in ice dancing. If only he hadn’t buried his forehead between someone else’s crotch. It would have been better to just pass through his legs entirely.

Dylan asked, trying to hold back his laughter.

“Whoa, are you okay?”

As he moved back slowly to create some distance, the unfamiliar crotch that had filled my view moved away. Joeon muttered in frustration.

“No. Um, I’m sorry. I didn’t do that on purpose.”

“I’m fine. Aren’t you in pain?”

I was so dazed that I didn’t even have time to feel the pain. Joeon hurriedly shook his head.

“No, this much is… I tried to do it as you taught me, but my body won’t move the way I want it to. I think it’s because I’m worried about falling.”

“That can happen.”

“It seems I have no talent for this.”

Dylan, having dug one skate blade into the ice, bent his waist and held out his hand to Joeon again.

“Make your blade horizontal like mine and stand up. I’ll hold you. Come on.”

Joeon did as he was told without a word. Although it was partly thanks to Dylan holding him, at least by following his instructions, the skates didn’t move on their own like a compass that had lost its direction.

Watching this, Dylan gave a pull on the arm they were holding, yanking Joeon’s stumbling body firmly upright.

“Ugh, thank you.”

Having managed to stand up, Joeon sighed while brushing off his butt. Ice dust fell from his clothes and fluttered like snow.

As Joeon turned dejected, Dylan tapped his shoulder to draw his attention, as if he had discovered something great.

“John. Look behind you.”

Thinking there might be someone else speeding by without manners, I hurriedly turned around, and a tower glowing brilliantly in red and green like a Christmas tree caught my eye at once.

“It’s pretty.”

When I muttered nonchalantly, Dylan said with a smile on his face.

“Right? And look. We’ve already gone around once.”

“Yes?”

Joeon only then looked around. Just as Dylan had said, the two had returned to the spot where they first started skating.

“It’s all thanks to you pulling me.”

Joeon admitted it obediently and expressed his gratitude. He never would have been able to skate on his own. However, Dylan modestly shook his head and gave all the credit to Joeon.

“No. John, you’re the one who made the effort.”

“I just fell, though.”

“Falling doesn’t mean your efforts disappear. Failure is also part of learning. Be proud of yourself.”

The words that were about to stick out sharply stopped due to his continuous comforting. Joeon was not such a pathetic adult that he would purposely deflect his praise, which was bundled together with positive energy.

“Is… that so?”

“Of course. You learned a lot today.”

Joeon’s fist lightly bumped against the fist Dylan held out.

“Thank you, Mister.”

Shhh, a long shadow was cast to the side along with the sound of blades carving the ice.

“Looks like someone found a very good teacher.”

Tyler was standing there, smiling broadly through his short mustache and wiggling his eyebrows.

“Oh, Tyler. Are you having a good skate?”

“Of course. But who is this…”

“A friend? Hello. I’m Dylan.”

Dylan looked at Tyler first and greeted him.

“I’m Tyler. I’m John’s colleague at work.”

Dylan nodded his head, saying, “Ah, a colleague…” His eyes, which had widened slightly, darted as if he found it unexpected. However, he soon hid his surprise and struck up a conversation.

“I am John’s new coach. We are in the middle of a very rigorous training session right now.”

Tyler stared at Dylan and asked.

“John needs a strict coach. But you look very familiar. You… by any chance, do you play ice hockey?”

The smile lingering on Dylan’s lips didn’t disappear, but he didn’t answer right away. Then, he tilted his head slightly and affirmed it. It left the impression that he didn’t really want to reveal the truth.

“I played for a long time.”

As Dylan affirmed it, Tyler’s eyes lit up immediately, as if he had expected as much.

“No wonder! John, do you know who you’re learning to skate from? Oh my god! This guy is a complete pro. He shouldn’t be the one teaching you here.”

“What’s wrong with me?”

At most, Dylan looked to be in his mid-20s, similar to Joeon. In that case, Joeon, who is indifferent to sports, roughly guessed that he might be a little famous in a college league or someone who had just debuted professionally. Still, it was a fact that he skated extremely well.

But even more surprising was the fact that he wasn’t an actor. He had such a handsome face that it seemed a waste, to the point where Joeon accidentally thought, should he change his career even now?

Round eyes stared at Dylan’s face. He was handsome, but not a familiar face. Even if he were a true professional athlete, I wouldn’t be able to recognize him anyway. It was obvious, as I don’t watch sports games.

Furthermore, because ice hockey requires wearing a helmet, unless I look up the player’s name separately, I wouldn’t have a chance to see their proper face, right? Unless it were a sports fanatic like Tyler, it was a story from a different world for Joeon.

Joeon looked between Dylan and Tyler and answered without much enthusiasm.

“…Is that so?”

“Yeah!”

“I see.”

Tyler looked at Dylan and pointed at Joeon as if he were pathetic.

“He doesn’t know the greatness of hockey.”

“It’s okay. That can happen.”

Dylan’s face relaxed even more. It was actually a relief that he didn’t know about him. Whenever someone he had never met before talked as if they knew everything about him, the feeling of being exposed down to the very bottom was never a pleasant one.

“We all came together from work, and later we’re going to have a drink at that pub over there. We’re going to have dinner, too. Want to come with us?”

To the suggestion Tyler offered readily, Dylan glanced at Joeon and shook his head.

“I’m okay. I’m not planning on staying here late. Have a good time.”

Tyler smacked his lips as if it were a pity and asked for a handshake from Dylan.

“Well, anyway, thank you for teaching John. Take good care of yourself.”

“Thank you. Have a good night.”

After Dylan shook his hand and said goodbye, Tyler went off to skate in his own style. Joeon stared blankly at Dylan, who was looking down at him.

“I didn’t know you were a professional athlete. Thank you for making the time. Thanks to you, I really enjoyed today.”

Dylan smiled and raised an eyebrow.

“What do you mean? Are you saying goodbye now?”

“Yes?”

“You’re not planning on quitting here, are you?”

“…”

“Give me your hand.”

Joeon reflexively grabbed the hand Dylan held out in front of him. His expression was still dazed. I had expressed it indirectly that he should stop now because I felt sorry for the other person spending time they didn’t need to spend because of me, but Dylan didn’t look like he had any intention of quitting at all.

“Hold on tight. From now on, we’re going to skate even faster.”

🏒🥅

“How is the end-of-month settlement data coming along? Let’s update the progress of each of your parts. John?”

Team leader Peter called out Joeon first.