Snow and Ice || 태국

The source of his happiness

Principal Kim thought the frequency in which Taehyung this lass was stirring up trouble was in no small part due to an excessive amount of free time.

He needed to find something to occupy his son.

For now, there was no need for academic-related remedial lessons. He was capable of tutoring his child.

"What about something more physically active? Such as dancing, swimming, or taekwondo?" Mrs. Kim discussed with him.

"Taekwondo is definitely out of the question. He's already bullying classmates as he is. Letting him learn taekwondo would be inviting a huge disaster." Principal Kim pre-emptively got rid of activities that could potentially incite violence.

After school, Principal Kim casually strolled through the area in front of the school entrance, collecting several flyers. After several rounds of evaluation and consulting Taehyung, they temporarily settled on ice skating.

That day, Taehyung did not head home immediately after school. Instead, he waited at the school gate with his father for the public bus. As the school had just dismissed, the area was a little chaotic and bustling with activity just like a marketplace. It was not only packed with people and cars but also small carts and vans selling various snacks.

Taehyung, who was carrying a little backpack, busily glanced around before suddenly yelling out in a certain direction, "Jungkook!"

Seeing that it was Taehyung, Mrs. Kim delightfully headed over with Jungkook in tow. Mrs. Jeon knew that Taehyung stayed in the faculty accommodation located on campus. Looking at how they were waiting for the bus, she straight away knew that they were not going home. Thus, she asked, "Where are you heading to?"

"I signed her up for a class."

"What sort of class?"

"Ice skating."

"How is it?"

"He hasn't gone yet. Today's the first lesson meant for trying out. Do you want to bring Jungkook along to give it a try? Trying out is free."

Mrs. Jeon thought this was something quite novel. She looked down at Jungkook and asked, "Do you want to give it a try?"

Jungkook decisively shook his head.

After much coaxing and persuasion, Mrs. Jeon finally got her son to reluctantly nods his head. Mrs. Kim did not spare him time to regret this decision and happily hauled him into the car.

Taehyung and his father had the good luck to hitch a ride.

......

Jungkook made good on his words. He said to simply pop by for a casual look and did exactly just that. He primly sat on the plastic benches by the indoor ice rink, his mannerism calling to mind that of an inspector.

The coach brought the skate gear over and invited him to give them a try. Jungkook merely shook his head.

Mrs. Jeon felt her head hurt. "He hates exercising the most. Sigh, this child of mine. He's young but very strong-willed. I may be his mother but I'm still not able to convince him otherwise."

After changing into the skates and protective gears, Taehyung followed his father onto the ice rink. Yes, that's right. His Excellency the principal knew how to skate as well.

After that, Taehyung's father threw him to the coach and merrily skated off.

For any single child learning to skate, the first step would always be to fall. Taehyung had barely moved under the coach's guidance when he fell with a "plonk" on the ice.

Sitting outside, Jungkook's lips curled upwards.

Taehyung did not cry. He got up and continued skating before shortly falling again with another thump.

Jungkook's tiny figure silently shook with laughter, his eyes glistening.

Taehyung continued to fall while Jungkook continued to laugh. Halfway through, he could not help but start clapping.

Sweat beaded at Mrs. Jeon's temple. She exasperatedly prodded his head. "You silly lad! It's one thing to not cheer someone on and another to start clapping!"

In any case, Jungkook's goodwill towards the sport of ice skating increased by leaps and bounds. This was to the extent that he was willing to personally give it a go.

Jungkook changed into the gear, stepped into the rink, and his first step was also to unsurprisingly stumble and fall.

Taehyung: "Hahahahaha!"

If it wasn't for Taehyung expressing schadenfreude at the side, he would probably have found this activity tiresome and given up after a few falls. However, there was just this annoying fellow clamoring noisily beside him. Somewhat crossed, he got back on his feet and continued from before. He listened to the coach's instructions while slowly getting a hang of the entire process. Just like that, he prevented himself from falling after a while.

Afterward, Jungkook casually skated past Taehyung. Even though his movements were not fluid, he was calm and unperturbed, putting on an act of posing that merited full marks. 

"Eh?" Taehyung was a little amazed.

Jungkook clasped his hands behind his back, leaving Taehyung with a back view that was the very image of profoundness.

"How did you manage this?" Taehyung chased along, and in a moment of anxiousness, fell again with yet another thump. He could not help but let out an "ouch".

Jungkook continued skating and cracked a smile. However, he did not dare to express his mirth too obviously and the smile only lightly tugged at his lips.

In short, his happiness was derived from his pain.

Principal Kim skated past the coach and heard him muse, "Kid's got a flair for this."

Principal Kim was quite happy. "Are you referring to our lass?"

"No, I was talking about that boy." The coach raised his chin and looked towards Jungkook's back.

"What about ours?" Principal Kim doggedly asked in dissatisfaction.

The coach contemplated for a while, trying to think of some strengths. "Sturdy, resilient to falls."

Principal Kim was offended. "Do you take him for a Nokia..."