Snow and Ice || 태국

Departure and arrival

In the latter half of December, Jungkook was summoned by the Korean male youths' ice hockey team to participate in the annual World U-20 Ice Hockey Championship held in Poland. "U-20" referred to the age criteria of the competition, meaning that only players under the age of 20 could participate.

Along with him was another ice hockey player from the RCU team named Min Yoongi.

The two of them would first head to Incheon to gather and train with the rest of the team for a month before flying to Poland. Yoongi was originally from Incheon and the training trip was like a trip home for him.

The day they flew happened to be the day before the province speed skating championship. Even though the speed skating team only assigned a few training goals to complete that day, Taehyung set a few more goals for himself since he was not participating in the competition. However, his plans were thwarted by Jungkook's insistence that he sends him off.

Jungkook's reason was that it was embarrassing to have no one sending him off.

"Jungkook, are you a princess?" Taehyung scoffed.

Rather than getting annoyed, Jungkook laughed, "I'll wait for you."

Taehyung rolled his eyes at his phone.

Though he rolled his eyes, he still agreed to head over.

They took a taxi to the airport. As the two suitcases were too big, the taxi boot could only fit one and the other had to be placed in the front passenger seat. The three of them sat in the backseat with Jungkook sitting in the middle. 

Normally, there was no problem with three people sitting at the back. However, Jungkook and Yoongi were too fit and tall. Taehyung felt that space was cramped with the three of them squeezed together. Jungkook sat boldly and aggressively like a bandit. They sat so near that Taehyung's thigh was touching his. Taehyung was not used to sitting so close to another person and felt slightly unaccustomed to being enveloped by his foreign yet familiar scent.

The atmosphere was a little strange; no one in the car spoke. The driver was a little aggrieved and felt that his car tires were about to blow from the tension. He wanted to grumble out loud but was afraid to do so.

Jungkook was the first to speak. He asked Taehyung, "Don't you have a parting speech before I leave?"

"It's not like you're never coming back." Taehyung curled his lips. He had nothing to say. After thinking for a while, he asked, "How about I sing a song for the two of you?"

Jungkook quickly stopped him. "Don't. Have mercy."

Annoyed, Taehyung swung his knee to hit him. Jungkook laughed as he dodged to the side.

Beside them, Yoongi looked out of the window silently.

As they messed around, the car suddenly jolted. Taehyung's body lurched with the momentum and his head swung towards the car window. In a flash, Jungkook raised his long arm and put his hand next to the window with his palm spread like a shield.

Taehyung's head bumped into his palm instead.

Taehyung was still a little confused at first, only realizing what had happened when he raised his head and saw Jungkook's hand pressed against the window.

Taehyung stares blankly at the lines on Jungkook's palm, at a loss how he should react.

He was unaccustomed to how considerate Jungkook was...

Someone, please return that annoying Lunatic Jeon...

Seeing Taehyung in a daze, Jungkook smoothly withdrew his hand. He commented, "You're already a fool. If you bump your head, you'll become even more foolish than you are now."

Taehyung glared at him.

——

Amid his morning training break, Yukhei's mind wandered as he drank electrolyte water.

He was thinking about many things, such as when Taehyung would return if the plane would be delayed if Jungkook that utterly shameless person would do anything to him, and....

"Lucas." A voice called him from behind.

Yukhei snapped out of the whirlwind of thoughts and twisted his head. He was astonished when he saw who it was. "Mom, why are you here?"

The one who called him was his mother, Mrs. Wong.

Mrs. Wong wore a light grey skirt suit. Her makeup was impeccable and appropriately applied, showing off a good complexion with clear, glowing skin. Unfortunately, she had obvious wrinkles on her forehead and thin lips that had grown even more prominent with age. This made her face appear a little harsh and unfriendly.

When she saw Yukhei, a smile spread across her face. "Aren't you going to the competition soon? I'll be here to visit you."

"There are still several more days to the competition."

The province skating championship was split into short track speed skating, long track speed skating, and figure skating. The short track speed skating competition was the earliest to be held while the figure skating competition would take place five days later.

"I'll accompany you for the next few days," Mrs. Wong said. Seeing how Yukhei opened his mouth to speak but hesitated, her smile disappeared. "Don't you want to see me?"

"Ah? I don't mean that..."

Yukhei only felt a little strange.

After chatting with his mother for a while, he put aside his doubts for the time being and resumed his training.

As for Mrs. Wong, she went to look for Coach Son and started talking with her at the side. 

Yukhei had the best potential on the entire figure skating team. Tinted by her excellent impression of Yukhei, Coach Son treated Mrs. Wong warmly. When Mrs. Wong asked about Yukhei's performance, Coach Son was full of praise for him.

However, after praising Yukhei, Coach Son added, "That being said, I feel that Yukhei has been a little distracted lately. Are there any issues at home?"

"Not at all. Both his father and I are doing very well."

"Mm. Perhaps he's young and still maturing. Of course, there shouldn't be an issue with this competition. Oh right, a few days ago, Coach Hwang Chansung—the head coach for the national team—saw Yukhei's competition footage and felt that his skating skills and performance aesthetics are top-notch. In particular, Yukhei's excellent performance aesthetics is quite rare in Korean athletics. From what he said, I feel that Coach Hwang is quite keen on accepting Yukhei into the national team. What do you think of it?"

Mrs. Wong had a clear plan for her son's professional career. Hearing Coach Son's words, she smiled and said, "I think that Yukhei is doing very well under you. There's no need to head over to the national team."

Coach Son was extremely flattered by Mrs. Wong's words. She laughed with a wide smile and waved her hand. "The national team is still a great choice.'

Mrs. Wong pursed her lips and suddenly said, "Coach Son, I'll like to ask about a person."

"Oh?"

"It's this young boy called Taehyung."

The truth behind Mrs. Wong's sudden appearance at RCU was not as simple as merely wanting to spend time with her son before the competition.

To learn more about her son's activities, she installed the RCU app and clicked into the school forum. After typing Yukhei's name into the search bar, she found a stunning amount of news of a relationship scandal.

What an outrage! Yukhei was only seventeen!

What made the whole affair even more ridiculous was that the relationship scandal involved not two, but three people. Toying around with two different guys at the same time with no qualms—how could a boy of such character exist? Did his parents know about his behavior?

Upon reading the details of the scandal that her son was embroiled in, Mrs. Wong was unable to sit still and immediately rushed to find Yukhei.

After hearing Coach Son's feedback that Yukhei had been distracted lately, she confirmed her suspicions.

It looked like she would have to meet Taehyung for herself.