#vixx leo

Length - 3460 words

Characters - Taekwoon x Original Female Character, VIXX Ensemble, Original Characters

Rating - General Audience

Summary - Minah doesn’t know why Taekwoon shows up to her games when he doesn’t know anyone on the team. Or rather, she knows why but finds it quite incredulous.

Tag List -  @tomatoholmes@merlionmen@seraphistols @k-craze-97@blossomtearsleo

-

“Taekwoon is here again” Miya points out as she laces up her shoes tighter.

Minah doesn’t dignify her statement with a response as she ties up her long braided hair into a bun because she knows what will come next.

“I think he likes you” Miya whispers conspiratorially. She wiggles her eyebrows and Minah shoots her a deadpan look.

“I don’t know what gave you the impression,” Minah says, pushing the freshman kid physically onto the field so she can focus on the game and not the audience. Although it’s not hard to wonder why the captain of the basketball team is at the football match in a rival school. As far as Minah knows, Taekwoon is not friends with anyone on the team. But the boy in question is here with his best friend Jaehwan and watching the game.

Minah wonders if the measly support they do have is of any use because the girls are huddled up and giggling about their audience today instead of brainstorming strategy.

“Get your head in the game girls” Ara calls out when she notices Minah scowling. She offers her an understanding look before jostling everyone into a huddle to get them to focus. Their team is one goal behind their rivals and at a risk of losing if they don’t get their act together.

Minah makes the mistake of looking at the audience and Jaehwan catches her eye to cheer her on. She watches as Taekwoon tries to hide his face out of embarrassment and almost chuckles if not for the indignation over the entire affair. She feels his eyes on her as she joins the huddle and they cheer before breaking off and returning to the field for the second half. She shakes it off because she has a game that she wants to win and that requires her entire focus. Not silly boys who are in random places for reasons she can’t fathom.

Their coach cheers loudly when they score a goal and tie with the other team. There is fifteen minutes still on hand. If Heeyeon can push through the defense line on the other side, she can easily score with Miya’s help. Minah focuses on going on the offensive. They have thirteen minutes and nothing to lose if they don’t score. Her team is good at penalty shoot outs if it comes down to that.

The regular time ends in a draw but Heeyeon and Miya pull through in the over time and score, leading their team to victory. Minah gets thrown into the air as a long running victory tradition of the team and lands on her butt and is surrounded by a rush of girls apologising and pulling her to her feet and a frantic coach yelling about injuries mid season when they should all be in top form.

“I hope you’re not actually injured,” Taekwoon says and Minah is surprised to see him here by the benches instead of by the bleachers. Jaehwan is off talking to Ara and Minah is surprised because she didn’t know they were on talking terms. There is clearly a lot she needs to catch up on with her best friend and team assistant.

“Nothing that I’m not used to” Minah shrugs. Injuries and roughhousing are a part and parcel of being an athlete. Taekwoon sports his own knee brace and is no stranger to this knowledge.

“And here I thought only the boys team got this rough,” Taekwoon says, sitting down next to her. He hands her a water bottle and she accepts it with as much grace as skepticism affords. Why is he here again and why is he offering her a water bottle?

Miya’s words echo through her mind but she brushes them off. The rough landing has affected her brain more than it has affected her body clearly if her mind is willing to entertain such ridiculous thoughts.

“I need to go,” Minah says, standing up when Ara calls everyone to round them up for the bus trip back to school.

“Right,” Taekwoon says, standing up as well. He pushes his hands into this pocket and awkwardly shuffles his weight from one leg to another as Minah gathers her things.

“That was a good game. You… play good” he calls as Minah walks away and she freezes. A nod is all she can manage as her cheeks flush warm on the words. He likes how she plays. That’s… something, she supposes as her brain goes haywire trying to figure out what in the ever loving fuck she must do with this knowledge.

Out of the corner of her eye, she sees him hit his head and sigh in embarrassment that mirrors her own and feels marginally better. She boards the bus and tries to avoid how Miya and Ara both shoot her knowing looks.

-

“I don’t know why cheerleaders can’t attend away games” Qiuyue huffs as she leans over the sink and fixes her lipstick. The maroon shade suits her lace blouse and Minah thinks that it’s incredibly high maintenance for a normal school day compared to her own sweater and jeans combo.

“It’s common sense that you would need cheering the most at an away game. You already have a large audience that supports you when you play at school” she adds, frowning at Minah.

“You can apparently attend away games so I don’t know what is stopping you from just accidentally showing up in your cheering uniform with pompoms to boot” Minah throws a suggestion out to the wind.

“I’d need someone to drive me there” Qiuyue huffs. Knowing Qiuyue, the cheerleader is not going to give up till she convinces the coach and Minah thinks she can pull it off if she begs enough. Or if she shows up with the sweet apple tarts from the local cafe that their coach likes so much.

“Speaking of people attending games, I heard from Hyojin who heard from Ara that Taekwoon showed up at your game again,” Qiuyue says, lowering her voice to a whisper.

“He did and before you ask me, no I don’t know why” Minah replies with a roll of her eyes. Jung Taekwoon is popular and hot news wherever he goes but Minah doesn’t fancy ending up on the gossip network that the entire sophomore year runs on.

“That’s easy, silly. He likes you and so he comes to watch your games” Qiuyue reasons as if it is the most perfectly normal thing in the world. And maybe it is for boys who like girls but Taekwoon doesn’t like Minah because that is not the sane course of action for anyone involved.

“Yes well not everyone is as obvious as Hongbin when it comes to wooing you” Minah retorts and Qiuyue chokes on the water she is drinking.

“Hongbin is not ‘wooing’ me. He shows up to the games because he likes sports. He even tried out for Taekwoon’s team, remember? And by that logic, you are admitting to Taekwoon showing up to your games to woo you” she points out.

“No one is wooing anyone in my case” Minah retorts with a half snort.

“Well no one is wooing me either and I think we’ve said wooing too many times because the syllables sound weird now” Qiuyue says, repeating the word to herself with a grimace that makes it look like it left a sour taste in her mouth. Minah thinks it is more denial than sourness but doesn’t push the other girl further.

“We have a free period next. Do you think I can copy your math homework before submission time?” Minah asks, changing topics.

“You’re still not done?!” Qiuyue exclaims in shock. “That assignment is the longest we’ve had!! You better be good at power writing or just be plain simple fast.”

Qiuyue pulls Minah out of the bathroom and off to the library and Minah thanks her lucky stars that Qiuyue has never stopped Minah from copying her homework.

-

Minah thinks that the only thing that makes school on Saturdays bearable is the fact that they can arrive an hour later and leave two hours earlier. It gives her time to avoid the weekday rush and pick up coffee and that does wonders for her morning mood.

She finds Miya and Jungkook sitting at the stairs and listening to music on a shared ipod. The two of them are lost to the world and very likely to miss the first bell in ten minutes but she doesn’t want to be the one to disturb the bubble they are in.

She finds Taekwoon by her locker and is surprised. He’s waiting for Kyungsoo to pick up his books. Kyungsoo who has a locker right next to hers (a fact that greatly helps Ara when she wishes to stop by and drop letters to the one she admires while drawing no attention to herself).

“I didn’t know you liked coffee,” Taekwoon says, looking at the cup in her hands. It’s long cold and empty but has the drawing of a teddy bear face that the barista who works on Saturday mornings likes to draw for everyone.

“Isn’t caffeine the lifeblood of every rational human?” Minah asks and Taekwoon laughs a bit. It’s a pleasant laugh that sounds like wind chimes on a windy summer day and is infinitely more pleasant than the warning bell that rings a moment later.

Minah grabs her textbooks and slams the locker shut because the lock is faulty and does not actually lock without the use of force. Taekwoon helps by re-slamming the door when it swings open and jamming it in place. Minah gives him an awkward smile because the locker is embarrassing her now and hopes he hasn’t seen the insides which she meant to clean up lastonth but never got around to.

“There’s this really nice cafe near the public library” Taekwoon starts before Kyungsoo yells and exclaims he will be late and interrupts their non existent conversation. Taekwoon sighs and yells at him to go along first and turns to Minah who is already balancing the coffee cup on top of the books she needs to carry.

“I can help you with that,” Taekwoon offers, gesturing to the growing pile of books and notebooks in her hands.

“I’ll be fine” Minah waved him off. He watches her with concern as she walks to her classroom and narrowly avoids bumping into Sanghyuk and Wonshik by the door.

“I see why you insisted on accompanying me” Kyungsoo comments with a smirk.

“Shut up” Taekwoon replies eloquently before turning around and walking to his own classroom, leaving Kyungsoo to carry the huge pile of assignments on his own. He deserves it for the interruption.

-

“How did you know that you liked Kyungsoo?” Minah asks Ara as she paints her nails. Light purple is a lovely colour on her and Minah has half a mind to borrow it for herself.

“I just woke up with a deep bottomless pit in my stomach and a feeling of dread and knew” Ara replies. It matches how Minah feels every time she sees Taekwoon in the hallways so it must be right. It still unnerves her.

“But how do you know it isn’t just a stupid crush that will go away?” Minah asks. Taekwoon is the first boy to show interest in her in a very long time. The first boy ever actually.

“That’s the beauty of it. You don’t. You could wake up the next day and not like the same person you were obsessing over the day before. You take every day as it comes” Ara explains.

“You’ve liked Kyungsoo for a while,” Minah remarks. Ever since freshman year if her deduction skills have any merit.

“What does it mean if you like someone for a very long time? Even if it is just a simple crush or just being interested in them?”

“You should ask Qiuyue that. She’s liked one person for the longest time I’ve ever known. Even if she says she doesn’t” Ara replies.

“Qiuyue thinks Taekwoon likes me” Minah confesses, coming to the topic that’s actually on her mind.

“Do you think so? Do you like him too?” Ara asks in return.

“He talked about this really nice cafe he knew and I… kind of liked the thought of spending time with him,” Minah admits.

“Was he trying to ask you out on a date?” Ara gasps.

“Stupid, I know. And he never really asked because Kyungsoo interrupted us but I thought he would” Minah says, flopping onto Ara’s lap with a sigh.

“On the contrary, I thought he would ask you to come see one of his games before asking you out on a cliche cafe date. And rest assured that no one will find Kyungsoo’s body after this grave crime” Ara tells her, frowning heavily at the offense.

“I guess it’s because he saw me with my Saturday morning coffee” Minah says as Ara fixes her hair and applies some lipstick on her. It’s a shade of brown that’s lighter than she usually wears but it doesn’t look half bad.

“He has the right spirit, I’ll give him that” Ara says, checking her work. She adds eyeliner and glitter blush and Minah lets her experiment because she’s lost in thought.

-

“You look super cute!” Qiuyue exclaims when she sees Minah. It’s a Saturday evening and she would rather be sleeping at home but Ara insists that Minah accompany her and Miya to the basketball game so they can support Qiuyue who’s cheering for the home team.

“Besides, it’s only fair that you go to one of Taekwoon’s games since he attends yours,” Miya says as she pushes Minah to wear a skirt instead of jeans. It’s a decision she regrets because it makes her legs freeze. At least she looks cute, she thinks.

“We’ll go grab some seats and you can get snacks?” Ara asks.

“Please get candy that I can steal” Qiuyue adds on, strapping her pom poms on her wrist bands so that they don’t fall off during the routine. She takes off before Minah can respond and Minah sighs, knowing her motherly instinct will make her feed Qiuyue anyways.

She grabs popcorn and a bar of rice crispies and chocolates that Qiuyue likes and treks over to the bench before heading over to the seats Ara found. She finds Hongbin kneeling down and helping Qiuyue with her shoelaces and the girl in question coloured the deepest shade of red she has ever seen her.

Minah approaches her with a smirk and Qiuyue shoots her a warning look before thanking Hongbin and practically running from him to Minah. “Careful or you’ll fall and then Prince Charming will have to carry you” Minah teases and Qiuyue punches her shoulder.

“Don’t worry I’ve got her” Hongbin says, slinging an arm around her waist and Qiuyue starts.

“Lover boy, you can flirt after the game” Taekwoon yells and the entire cheerleading team breaks into giggles at the expense of the two. Qiuyue scoffs and leaves to hide behind any kind samaritan since her own friends are of no help.

“I was going to give this to her but maybe you can for me” Minah says, handing over the chocolate to Hongbin who takes the excuse to follow Qiuyue.

“You’re ruining my teammate” Taekwoon complains when he walks over to greet her.

“I’m helping the cause of love” Minah replies with a bright smile.

“Cupid is grateful I’m sure” Taekwoon says sourly with a frown. Minah laughs and watches the cheerleading team get into formation and Hongbin wistfully push the chocolate into his pocket and save it for later.

“I think that’s your cue” Minah points out.

“Will you stay till the end?” Taekwoon asks before leaving.

“Hard to say. I was supposed to be Qiuyue’s ride home but I don’t think she’ll be leaving with me and I am sure you guys would be busy celebrating the end of the season” Minah reminds him.

“I’m still glad you came” Taekwoon says.

“Me too” Minah agrees even though it hasn’t even been thirty minutes since she arrived.

-

“Taekwoon asked me for your number” Qiuyue texts Minah after the game. “I guessed you both looked friendly enough so I thought it was okay to give it to him.”

“He hasn’t texted me so I guess he didn’t really need it for anything” Minah responds because what else can she say.

She wishes she hadn’t told her because now she checks her phone every five minutes. Much to her disappointment, her volume is up and she just has no notifications.

Her phone chimes two hours later with a simple text saying “ hey, did you get home safe after the game ?” and she almost screams in the middle of putting a facemask on.

“ I was not the one at a wild party after the game ” she replies.

“ Touché ”

-

“ Mango ice cream or strawberry?”

“ Mango ”

“ You have terrible taste ”

“ Says the man who chose milk chocolate over dark ”

“ I am offended ”

“ Guess what I felt when you chose lattés over black coffee ”

“ Not everyone has an edgy bitter dark soul ”

“ No, some people have souls full of cream from the designer coffee they consume ”

“ Ha ha ha ”

-

In hindsight letting Qiuyue dress her up for her date is a very bad idea because Minah finds herself in a floral dress (“It has pockets!”) and a white jacket that Minah is worried will stain very easily. Qiuyue does let her wear her flat sandals in place of heels and agrees that they will be easy to run in if she gets cold feet and Minah gives her extra friendship points for that.

“You look… really pretty” Taekwoon says when he comes over to pick her up. Minah meets him downstairs on the street instead of the apartment so that her sister won’t see that she’s going on a date and hopes Taekwoon doesn’t mind.

“Thanks. I don’t usually dress this fancy” Minah says because she has a habit of putting her foot in her mouth.

“I think it looks nice on you” Taekwoon says, blushing because he feels honoured and happy that she put in the effort for him. He might even giggle into his phone if he wasn’t serious about impressing her on their first date.

“We should get going. We’ll be late for the movie” he tells her. They’re going to watch the new indie romance movie. Though if Minah is honest, she’s just going to watch Taekwoon who looks stunning in plaid shirt and jeans. He is wearing the long earring he considers lucky and it’s Minah’s turn to blush now. He doesn’t need luck for a date with her. She already knows they will get along well from all the late night conversations they’ve had till now.

Movie is followed by a late lunch in a McDonald’s that both of them feel overdressed for. The lunch also coincides with a child’s birthday party and they forsake conversation because talking over sugar induced screaming is a futile exercise.

They do end up talking about whether it is possible to kidnap the baby toy poodle that is left unattended for a minute by its owner. Minah thinks Taekwoon just might follow through with the plan if the owner doesn’t return soon. She laughs when the owner does return and Taekwoon’s face falls.

It’s a pleasant afternoon so the two of them end up in the cafe by the public library. The small cafe is covered in wall decals of cat figures and there are cartoon stickers on their cups and Minah laughs at how childish but pleasing all of it is. It’s not a side of Taekwoon that she expected but is happy to get to know.

The conversation flows smoothly despite Minah rolling her eyes at the amount of cream in Taekwoon’s coffee and his wariness over the strength of her coffee.

“Sleep is for the weak” Minah whispers and he sighs.

“Never considered you weak” Taekwoon replies but occasionally looks at her coffee like it would sprout two extra heads at any moment.

“Just pretty” she teases, mixing the sugar in.

“Beautiful” he corrects her and smile triumphantly when she blushes. He’s smooth and she marks him down as a player and bad for her health in her book. Her heart is not going to survive if it is going to flip-flop at this inhuman rate every time Taekwoon compliments her.

She still doesn’t know why he’s here in a cafe with her, looking at cat stickers and drinking bad coffee and fighting over ice cream flavours but she quite likes it. Even if he’s going to be clearly bad for her.

-

Characters - Hakyeon & Taekwoon, VIXX Ensemble, Original Characters

Genre - Angst with happy ending

AU - Figure Skating AU

Words - 3300+

Summary -  The music starts and Hakyeon glides across the ice.

A/N - Another oneshot that I have been writing since forever

Tag List- @tomatoholmes@merlionmen@seraphistols @k-craze-97 

Hakyeon breathes. The sound of the applause is deafening but Hakyeon already has it blocked out the moment he skates into the rink. This is it. The Olympics. It is his last chance to get a score that can make it or break it. He has a lead from the short program but he can’t afford to fuck up and let it slip away.

He skates around the rink once, acknowledging his crowd and the judging panel with practiced ease.

He stands, raising his hands above his head to form a teardrop like shape. Three, two, one.

The music starts and he glides across the ice.

-

“Look Yeonnie! You are skating!” Wonshik yelled in delight.

“I’m skating!” Hakyeon exclaimed. The two three year olds giggled as they haphazardly moved on the ice, breaking in the new rink that Wonshik’s father had bought.

-

A triple lutz and a triple toe loop. Hakyeon nearly over-rotated there but he doesn’t. The execution is perfect and the technical score for the execution of this element is in the bag. Three more elements to go.

Hakyeon lunges into the next formation. The routine is three eighths of the way through.

Up next is a quadruple toe loop. The toe loop moves into a backward step that forms an eight across the rink and concludes in a salchow. Hakyeon smiles, trying to match the rising tempo of the song and emotes the determination the melody means to convey harmonically. He moves to the rhythm in a practiced manner. He has executed this routine nearly a thousand times now.

The axel concludes in a Biellman spin, his body forming a teardrop as the music crescendos in its climax and finally drops with Hakyeon spreading out and stopping in his ending poses, trying to control his heavy breathing long enough to not collapse.

The crowd breaks into a roar, applauding what is surely the best performance they have seen today.

All of it rings hollow to Hakyeon.

-

“I never want to skate again!” Hakyeon yells. Or tries to as the tears forming in his eyes lead to his throat choking on his own sobbing. Hakyeon falls over on a particularly tricky spot of ice on the rink and deduces that never skating is the best way to never risk injury again. Specifically when it hurts so bad and feels so cold.

“You’re fine you big cry baby” his sister tells him. Joohyun is five years older than Hakyeon but feels much older and more mean. “Falling is how you learn.”

Hakyeon shakes his head furiously, with all the stubbornness a six year old can muster when she offers her hand to help him.

“Suit yourself buddy” Joohyun says as she gives up and pretends to skate away.

Hakyeon is suddenly seized by a panic. Joohyun won’t leave him here right? The fear heightens when Joohyun disappears behind a group of teenage girls skating and is nowhere to be seen.

Hakyeon struggles but lifts himself up. He wipes his tears because they only cloud his vision and do not help in his search. He looks around frantically till he spots a familiar red wooden scarf flying around the rink and pushes forward, determined to chase it.

Joohyun spots him but sticks her tongue out at him and simply skates ahead. Hakyeon cries indignantly and follows, speeding up to catch up to her. She taunts him but slows her pace down and Hakyeon finally catches her by holding onto her coat.

“Was that so bad?” Joohyun asks when she puts her arm around her clingy brother. Hakyeon nods and she laughs.

“But you came so far all on your own. Skating was never your problem Hakyeon.”

-

Hakyeon wonders if he would be here today if not for Joohyun’s words twenty years ago. He stands in the kiss and cry and does his most mature expression of grace and modesty as he scores a high mark for his program, guaranteeing him a gold with the lead obtained.

His first Olympic gold. After years of dreaming about this moment, it’s finally here. Hakyeon modestly thinks he is getting ahead of himself but the numbers on the board don’t lie. The gap between him and the defending champion has him in the lead and he is the second last to perform.

He spots Joohyun and Wonshik in the crowd, cheering for him and his eyes well up just a little. He wouldn’t be here without them today. He couldn’t have made it this far without the support of his loved ones and the sacrifices they made to help him achieve his dream.

A small nagging in his head wonders if he would rather be here at all.

-

Hakyeon’s mother smothers him in kisses and his father proudly brags when Hakyeon humbly hands him his gold medal. Their family has a gold medalist now. The nation’s pride. He’ll be telling this story for generations to come.

There is a mini crowd gathered around Joohyun who regales everyones with tales about the setup for the games and the sights she has seen. She’s lucky to have a kind brother who would drag her along and show her the wonders of the world. Of course the jet lag between time zones is horrible but the memories are worth everything.

Hakyeon poses for pictures with the neighbourhood kids. Everyone wants the memory of meeting a celebrity who lives near them. Wonshik is the one who comes to his rescue and shoos everyone away, claiming Hakyeon must rest after his long travel so he can stay in top form. Everyone agrees instantaneously. A model athlete must take care of themselves and stick to their routine, of course.

Hakyeon bows out and retreats to his room to take a shower and lie down. The press will circle in like vultures tomorrow morning but he has today for himself. He goes through his phone and sends perfunctory thank yous to congratulatory messages, clears out notifications from different social media apps and closes his eyes.

He normally dreams of his routines, practicing even in his sleep. Tonight, he dreams of an empty ice rink and his first ever pair of competition skates. He weighs them in his hand and sighs.

The echo of that sigh remains in his bones when he wakes up the next morning.

-

“What do you want to do now?” Joongki, his coach asks as he blows on his instant noodles to cool it down.

“Think of a new routine for the next season, I suppose” Hakyeon replies as he pushes the cherry tomatoes in his salad around.

The preparation of a new routine is a tedious process. Years of experience make translating the ideas in his head to steps on the ice easier but he is never satisfied till it is perfect before demo-ing to Joongki. But getting a vision of what the new routine should look like is hard at the moment. Nothing seems to coherently meld together in a way that satisfies the perfectionist in him.

Joongki laughs and pats Hakyeon’s head. “Always a workaholic. You don’t have to start preparing for the next season right away. You deserve a break. You’ve just won an Olympic medal my son!”

Hakyeon smiles sheepishly as Joongki launches into a list of ideas for what Hakyeon can do in his free time. He has ideas for overnight trips and retreats to week long holidays in foreign locations that would be cost effective at the moment. (“I might even let you go for a month you know! You’ve earned it!!”)

Joongki only stops when Sanghyuk, the owner of the small noodle shop they are currently seated in, stops by to congratulate Hakyeon and declare that their lunch is on the house today. It’s not every day that an Olympic gold medallist eats at his humble establishment, Sanghyuk declares dramatically. Joongki laughs and orders another round of the fried chicken to celebrate.

Hakyeon turns to the window and lets his mind drift as he watches the last of the brown leaves on the ginkgo tree fall. There’s still some time to spring, he thinks idly. How patient must the trees be to wait winters year upon year to bloom once again.

-

Hakyeon takes to walking at night. It’s the only time the town is peaceful and no one disturbs him. The night breeze is pleasant now that the cold is letting up and he doesn’t need more than a scarf and a long coat to stay warm.

He takes the familiar route from his home to his gym and then to the ice rink at the far end of the block. He passes by the neighbourhood they used to live in before Hakyeon took up competitive skating. His parents decided to move to their current home because it was close to the rink and affordable. Hakyeon doesn’t have many memories of this place since he was very young then but it still feels homely.

The small neighbourhood slopes uphill to a small cluster of private villas owned by a resort. The main rad is free for vehicles and people to move through. He walks till he reaches the sunset viewing deck on top of the hill. The viewing deck has a beautiful overview of the small town and Hakyeon has a habit of coming here to hide and simply breathe whenever he feels overwhelmed by the pressure of competition.

It’s ironic that he ends up here again when he should be feeling euphoric and on top of the world.

The stars look brighter and clearer here than they did back in the Olympic village. Hakyeon sits down on a bench and counts the stars in the sky. He no longer remembers the constellations his father taught him to identify and using an app just doesn’t have the same feeling.

Hakyeon takes a picture of the view for his instagram. He captions it with the date. He likes to keep his captions simple and short. He uploads it and switches off the notifications of likes and comments rolling in.

-

“If it isn’t the local celebrity” Jaehwan says as he notices Hakyeon. He stands up from the splits he’s attempting and envelopes Hakyeon in a hug. Jaehwan’s students aren’t here and Hakyeon is grateful for the privacy. He has had his fill of awestruck glances for a lifetime.

“How have you been Jaehwannie?” Hakyeon asks. He’s normally formal with everyone but Jaehwan’s very being inspires cute addresses.

“The same as when you last saw me” Jaehwan says with a shrug.

“So no progress on asking Sanghyuk out then?” Hakyeon asks, sitting down and doing his own stretches. Jaehwan sputters and indignantly protests as he sits down next to Hakyeon and goes back to stretching. (“I don’t know what gave you such a ridiculous idea”). Hakyeon laughs at Jaehwan who threatens to hit him with the nearest stage prop and bears his threats as graciously as possible before collapsing into fits of giggles and falling to the floor. Jaehwan takes the opportunity to wrestle him down completely and the two rough house for a bit before Jaehwan gives up and pulls away.

“Why are you here today? I would have tidied up a bit if I had known you were coming” Jaehwan says when both of them have taken a moment to calm down. Hakyeon simply hums in response.

“I was taking a walk and thought I would drop in to trouble you” he says mischievously.

“You are never a bother” Jaehwan says sincerely. “I thought you would be practicing right now though. You never seemed to do anything other than practice.”

“I wonder if that is a good thing or a bad thing,” Hakyeon says. He pretends not to notice Jaehwan’s gaze on him. Jaehwan is intuitive like that. He picks up on whatever Hakyeon doesn’t say even before Hakyeon realizes what he isn’t saying. But if he doesn’t look, he can pretend to hide his melancholy forever.

-

“It’s good to see you here” Taekwoon says when Hakyeon comes to stand next to him.

The national sports organization organizes a free program in Seoul to celebrate the performance of their athletes in the winter olympics. Hakyeon receives the first press invite as the gold medallist and current champion. Taekwoon receives it too as the current silver medallist but three time gold champion before Hakyeon.

This is the first time in three weeks that the two of them have had the time to talk since the competition ended. It’s only when Hakyeon sneaks away to the empty auditorium after the program is over that he finds Taekwoon and decides to say hello instead of leaving. Taekwoon is a man of few words and Hakyeon appreciates that since his socialisation battery is running low.

“It’s nice to be here” Hakyeon replies, leaning against the wall enclosing the ice. Taekwoon hums and the two of them watch the empty ice without saying much.

“You live in a pretty neighbourhood” Taekwoon says and the statement surprises Hakyeon. “I saw your instagram” he adds by way of an explanation.

“Didn’t take you to be a social media stalker Mr Jung” Hakyeon says playfully.

“I am stalking your cute friend. Please set us up” Taekwoon deadpans and Hakyeon laughs.

“Wonshik likes someone” Hakyeon confides in him. “I’m afraid I can’t set you up with him.”

“He’s not the one I had in mind” Taekwoon says with a shrug and Hakyeon is surprised by the admission. Surely Taekwoon has been joking with him.

“Have you started working on your new program yet?” Taekwoon asks, switching gears mid conversation.

“I'm… thinking about it” Hakyeon admits.

“Just thinking?” Taekwoon hums and leans back. He looks at Hakyeon with an incredulous face. This is Cha Hakyeon who always has too many ideas to try and too many elements to practice.

“I have a few ideas. Nothing has clicked into place yet.” Hakyeon confesses.

“You don’t have much time to modify it if you want to practice it to death like you always do” Taekwoon says. He hits the nail spot on and Hakyeon does not appreciate his thoughts being deciphered accurately.

“I know that” he snaps, unable to hide his irritation. Why did he think this was a good idea again?

“I’ll beat you again next time. Last month was a one time fluke Cha” Taekwoon tells him.

“It was not!” Hakyeon argues. He is aghast at Taekwoon’s brashness and not so charmed by the roguish grin as Taekwoon expects him to be.

“Continue thinking about your routine” Taekwoon says, with a smile on his lips like a cat toying with its food.

“And here I thought that I liked you for a second” Hakyeon huffs out loud.

“I thought you worshipped me. I guess we were both wrong” Taekwoon says cheekily.

Hakyeon almost leans over and hits him on his shoulder. Taekwoon leans out of reach just in time and Hakyeon flounders. His competitive side flares up and he leans and leans forward till he finally manages to hit Taekwoon on his chest and the two men devolve into laughter.

Taekwoon readjusts himself before he can fall down and Hakyeon graciously does not hit him when he is low.

“I think I know why you still haven’t started on your routine,” Taekwoon tells him.

“I have started on it!” Hakyeon protests.

“Oh yeah, go ahead and show me what you have then” Taekwoon says. He points to the empty rink to emphasize his point and Hakyeon sighs deeper than he intended on.

“You’re not very happy with your victory” Taekwoon speaks the words he is too afraid to say.

“That… would be a very thankless thing to feel” Hakyeon says, drawing little circles on the floor with his feet. He doesn’t look at Taekwoon. Taekwoon always seems to know and he doesn’t need Hakyeon’s confirmation for the truth.

“Not at all. It would be just as natural as elation” Taekwoon assures him.

“What do you do when you feel like that?” Hakyeon asks him.

“Nothing. I admit how I feel and live with it. I look at why I feel sad and correct it or look for things to make me happy. Sometimes it is people, but mostly it is good food.”

“What if you feel nothing?”

“A break from emotions is not a bad thing” Taekwoon says gently.

“It’s not a break but more of… lack of knowing what to feel”

“You sound like you’ve burnt out” Taekwoon concludes. Something hasn’t been feeling right with his long time rival. Hakyeon usually blazes like the sun in whatever room he is in but now his fire is dim. Like the stars in the sky have taken a break and disappeared to a depth in space where human eyes cannot see.

“Can I afford to burn out?”

“No one can” Taekwoon says bluntly. Hakyeon winces but Taekwoon knows that he will appreciate his honesty more than sweet white lies. “Doesn’t mean that we don’t from time to time.”

“What do you do when you feel burnt out?” Hakyeon asks.

“It depends on person to person but I go looking for inspiration. I set my skates on ice once upon a time for a reason, I go look for it again” Taekwoon tells him. “Sometimes I find it, sometimes I find a new reason to go on.”

“But you always find a reason to continue?” Hakyeon asks. Taekwoon nods and Hakyeon feels hopeful in a way he hasn’t in some time. It’s okay. The way he feels is okay and he will find a way out of it. He isn’t alone.

-

When Hakyeon comes back home, he treks across the neighbourhood again. His mother yells at him to eat before he goes and he replies that he will whenever he returns and asks her not to wait up. He’s just going to Wonshik’s place, he lies and then sets off up the road and to the hill he visits.

It’s a clear and bright night and Hakyeon plugs in his ipod and listens to old playlists he hasn’t in a while. He passes by the large rink and then the convenience store and gym. He waves at a busy Sanghyuk in his restaurant as he jogs by and passes the markets and goes up the hill to the smaller villas where the lights are being switched on and the neighbours are walking their dogs. One or two yip at him and he waves in response before bowing to the pet owner and jogging by.

Unlike last time, he knows where he is headed to. Hakyeon starts to huff but doesn’t give up till he reaches the top and the sunset point rewards him with a view of the lit up city skyline. Hakyeon takes a deep breath and lies down on his back to look up at the sky. It’s a dull orange and purple with only the strong stars shining bright through the atmospheric scattering of light.

Hakyeon lies there till his breathing steadies. He feels the hours passing and knows he is well past the deadline his parents insist on but he doesn’t care. He watches the clouds drift, reflecting the city lights till there are none in the sky. The moon is a crescent and the stars twinkle and he can make out faint meteors moving across the sky. The stars are falling but it isn’t the end of the sky. Tomorrow the stars will be there again and the night after that and the night after that too.

He just has to do the same. Tomorrow he will get up and text Jaehwan to look over some new routine ideas. He’ll run the theme by Joongki before finalizing on the piece and he will simply not rest till he has the next perfect piece that will defeat Taekwoon and have his rival approving of his skills. Tomorrow, he will wear his skates and step on the ice again because that is where he belongs, regardless of his rank. It’s where he has always belonged, seven, seventeen or seventy.

Tomorrow, he will dance his heart out because he was always meant to dance on ice.

For tonight, he beams at the sky as the tiny stars fall and lets them reignite his once lost passion.

{210909}RealVIXX update celebrating the return of our Jung Taekwoon!!

{210905}Leo’s Instagram update “”

{210828} Leo’s Instagram update!! [⭐❤"]

Kidnapper: We have one of your members.

Taekwoon: Oh really? Who?

Hyuck, screaming in the background: ITS ME, HYUNG HELP.

Taekwoon: You have the wrong number, have a nice day.