a way to be yourself

- Shall we go on a date? And I’ve been hearing this question for two weeks now, or to be more precise, before and after training every. God’s. day. — Kim Seokjin, I’m telling you for the thirty-eighth time, no, I’m not going on a date with you. — despite the guy, I unlaced my skates while sitting on a bench. — Well, why? — Kim wailed. — Well, Hayuuuun. — the guy grabbed my hands and started swinging them left and right. — I have a competition on Sunday. I can’t. — I have been using this excuse for two weeks as well. — I’ve already heard. And more than once. — Jin snorted. Finally pulling my hands out of his paws, I said: — Well, that’s great. Then why are you bothering me? — putting my skates in my bag, I turned around to leave the ice arena, hoping to be alone as soon as possible and relax after a hard and exhausting workout. But unfortunately, my plans were not destined to come true. Literally 5 seconds later, Seokjin was walking next to me. — I want you to rest. — I’ll rest. You won’t believe it, but in a dream the body has an amazing rest. And now you’re personally taking away my legitimate free time with this empty chatter. — not looking at the guy, I replied — Are you grabbing your knowledge in the field of biology? — Jin decided to tactfully miss the last sentence. — No, it’s just a scientific fact known to any child. — I shrugged. — Do you understand that I won’t leave you alone, right? — the guy stood in front of me, but continued walking, though backwards. — I don’t want to understand it. — speeding up, I walked around him and shouted. — Don’t get in the column! Going into the locker room, I heard a loud “Aish!” in the back. *** — I insist. — My God! — I jerked and jumped away from the man who was leaning his shoulder against the jamb. — Scared me! — I am sincerely glad that I have aroused in you at least some emotions towards myself. — without ceremony, Jin took away my backpack and a bag with skates, and then went to the exit of the building. As I noticed, he managed to change his clothes. — Why are you doing this? I asked the guy when I caught up with him. — I think everything is logical. I like you, I want to ask you out. What’s not clear here? — Kim looked at me and raised one eyebrow. — Aren’t you tired of running after me? — Nope. — the guy shrugged his shoulders. — You know, as they say, the forbidden fruit is always sweet. — The smart guy was found. Stop spreading your sayings around here. — I rolled my eyes. — This is called a rich knowledge of the language. — Jin said with an intelligent look. Two minutes later, the guy spoke again. — Well, let’s go on a date! — Kim stuck his lip down and made puppy dog eyes. — Yes well! — I exclaimed with a little bit of anger, because the guy managed to get me a lot. When I realized what I said, I wanted to kill my head against the wall, and that’s putting it mildly. Sighing, I muttered, looking at the happy Seokjin. — What do they say? You can’t put a torn hair back in. — in my head, I’m now fiercely facepamned. *** — Ice rink? Are you serious right now? I looked at Seokjin, raising an eyebrow. — Well, yes, and why? — Jin smiled and led me to the entrance. — You said that you wanted me to rest, and as I assumed, you meant that I rested from the ice. — I exclaimed, getting tangled in my legs, because the guy was walking too fast, dragging me by the hand. — Not really. — Kim said, stopping at the cash register. — Can we have two pairs of skates. 44 and 35 sizes, please. — the guy smiled at the man who was standing behind the counter and looked at me. When he saw my face, he raised his eyebrows. — What are you looking at? — Why do you pay for the rental, if we have our own skates. — I was genuinely perplexed. — Well, first of all, that’s the whole joke. — seeing my now double bewilderment, Jin added, — I’ll explain later. — he waved it away. — And secondly, do you have skates with you now? — thanking the cashier and taking the pallets with skates, Kim went to the nearest bench. — I don’t either. — You would have told me, I would have taken them. — I mumbled and followed the guy. — Then all interest would be lost, because you would know in advance where I want to take you on our first date. — And I hope the latter. — I muttered to myself, put on my skates and reached out to lace them up. — That’s really a lie. — Seokjin sat down on his knees in front of me and began to tie his shoelaces tightly. -Why all these favours, noble Prince? — I was discouraged by the guy’s action. -I didn’t know you thought that I am a prince. — Jin chuckled, slapping me on the tied left skate, after that he took the right one. — I don’t know, my princess, you are too beautiful for this world and innocent for tying shoelaces. — What does cleanliness have to do with it? — I laughed, for the first time that evening. — I don’t know, — the guy shrugged, and why he looked at me. — A smile suits you, Hayun. Smile more, it’s so much nicer than when you’re making a serious face. — without waiting for my answer, Jin sat down next to me and began to lace up his skates. Feeling the blood rush to my cheeks, I got up and turned away from the guy, starting to look at the skating rink where people were skating: children and teenagers were chasing each other, miraculously not knocking down the rest, adults were driving calmly, many near the sides, couples were holding hands, insuring each other from falling. It was unusual to see a skating rink filled not with figure skaters, but with ordinary people who skated crookedly and clumsily in some places, without fear of getting scolded by the coach for it. — Do you know why I brought you here? — the question of Jin coming up from behind was rather rhetorical, so I didn’t answer. — We are used to seeing skating as a serious sport, where in no case it is impossible to screw up, where you need to be perfect, where mistakes are not welcome. Of course, you and I are madly in love with this sport, but it has ceased to bring pleasure to some extent. Boring routine, regular coaching, regular exercises, regular competitions. — I held my breath. — Here, at this skating rink, you don’t have to worry about mistakes, you can do whatever your heart desires. You can fall, laugh, chat, be yourself. — the guy took me by the shoulders and looked into my eyes. — Let go of all your worries now, Hayun, you don’t owe anyone here. Here, you are not the champion of South Korea and Asia, not the bronze medalist of the World Championship, not the junior champion of South Korea, not a contender for the upcoming Olympic Games, here you are Chan Hayun. Here you can relax and remember that you are an ordinary teenager. Sometimes you forget that you’re 15, Hayun, and that’s too bad. — Seokjin stepped onto the ice and held out his hand. — Let’s go. Kim smiled sweetly. After a few seconds, during which a real struggle was going on in my head because of Jin’s words, I still put my palm into his. Unfortunately, his words hit the nail on the head. *** It was a pleasure to ride with Jin. He was constantly telling his rather silly and old-fashioned jokes, which still made me smile. And his infectious laugh made me laugh at all. Seokjin was right when he said I needed to let go of everything. I relaxed and enjoyed the leisurely ride, smiling at all 32 teeth. This went on for an hour, when we decided to end up. Sitting on the bench, and stretching my legs forward, I looked at the guy. Jin was especially charming right now. The cheeks were reddened because of the frost, the hair was disheveled and now stuck out in all directions. It was also not particularly usual to see him in casual clothes, and not in sportswear. Jeans hugged the pumped-up hips due to constant training, and a white T-shirt with a cute alpaca face was covered with a plaid shirt. His plump lips were slightly parted, catching the cold air. — I always knew that I was irresistible, but I am very pleased that you think the same. — turning his head at me, Seokjin patted my hair. — Hey! — I exclaimed, realizing that he had ruffled my shaggy hair. — Where does such self-confidence come from? — I don’t know. — Jin replied sincerely and shrugged his shoulders. I was trying to smooth my unruly hair while looking at the guy. — I just realized at some point that self-love is one of the best feelings on the planet. It automatically becomes easier, from the realization of this. Oh, and listen… — Thank you, Jin. - I interrupted the guy. He stopped talking and stared at me. — Thanks for everything. - I looked up at him. — Thank you for this evening. Truth. — looking into his eyes, I drowned in the chocolate of his eyes, at the bottom of which infinite tenderness splashed. A sincere smile touched his lips. - I was sure you’d like it. - Jin leaned closer and leaned toward me. — Can I kiss you, Hayun? — a little taken aback by the guy’s words, I closed my eyes. In the next second, I felt warm male lips pressed a little childishly against mine in a gentle, soft and sincere kiss.