Chapter 80: Summer Vacation Begins (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 80: Summer Vacation Begins (2)
“...”
Lee Sol gazed up at the ice rink building before slowly stepping forward.
Lee Seung-ho, walking beside her, asked, “Have you been here recently?”
“...Maybe once? For a field trip back in elementary school.”
She couldn't even remember exactly when it was. Only a faint, blurry trace of the memory remained—just enough to know it had happened.
“Really? That was a long time ago.”
“Yeah.”
It made sense. It wasn't a place she particularly liked, so she’d never had a reason to visit. She wasn't good at skating, nor did she enjoy the cold.
‘I don’t like moving around much...’
Especially when it came to exercise.
Despite that, the reason Lee Sol had chosen this as their date spot was simple.
‘Shin A-young...’
It was because of her. Because Shin A-young had come here with Lee Seung-ho. That time she’d used a counseling session as an excuse.
“...”
Lee Sol’s eyes narrowed at the memory. She still vividly remembered the post Shin A-young had uploaded, practically dripping with smugness.
“Should we take a picture?”
“...A picture?”
“To commemorate the day.”
“...”
Seung-ho hesitated for a moment before giving a stiff nod. “Sure, if you want.”
*
...What the heck? That’s actually terrifying.
“...”
Reading Lee Sol’s thoughts left me with a complicated feeling. To think she decided to come to the ice rink just because Shin A-young had been here... her determination was a little scary. I’d wondered why she suddenly wanted to come here, and it turned out this was her motivation.
“I’m taking it now.”
Lee Sol held her phone out, her fingers forming a small V-sign. I leaned in next to her so my face would be in the frame.
“...!”
Lee Sol’s shoulders gave a tiny flinch before she pressed the shutter.
Click-click-click-click—
She must have had it on burst mode; the shutter clicked away like a machine gun. Lee Sol scrolled through them and nodded with satisfaction.
“Let’s go in.”
The interior was more crowded than last time. Perhaps because vacation had started, the place was swarming with kids. A boisterous hum filled the air. We bought our tickets and headed to the rental shop.
“What’s your size?”
“Hold on...”
After renting our skates, we went to pick out helmets. They were color-coded by size: yellow, blue, and then black.
“...”
I grabbed a blue helmet, and Lee Sol followed suit, picking up the same color.
“Ah...”
Slip—
The moment Lee Sol put it on, the helmet slid down over her eyes.
“That one’s not going to work.”
The blue helmet was clearly too big for her. I swapped it for a yellow one.
“Want to go straight in?”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Lee Sol nodded eagerly, waddling along behind me.
“...”
I stepped onto the ice first. Perhaps because the sensation from last time still lingered, I felt more accustomed to the frozen surface than before. Lee Sol followed me in.
“Huh?”
Thump!
She hadn't even taken a few steps before she slipped and landed right on her butt.
“Are you okay?!”
Somehow, this felt like a scene I’d witnessed before.
“...”
Lee Sol blinked, looking dazed.
“I’m... I’m okay.”
Flustered, she tried to scramble up. But it wasn't working; she ended up on all fours, struggling against the ice. She was flailing like a water-logged hamster.
— “Ugh...!”
Her Mini-Me buried its face in its hands. Steam was practically erupting from its head.
“Come here.”
I helped her up and led her toward the wall. It was dangerous to stay still in the middle of the rink while people were zooming past.
“...It’s, it’s even more slippery than I thought...”
Only then did Lee Sol let out a deep sigh of relief. The aftermath of the fall still lingered, her face flushed a deep red.
“Do you want to try following me slowly while holding onto the wall?”
Lee Sol was even more of a novice than Shin A-young. She was at a level where I had to teach her how to balance from scratch. Still, if I taught her slowly, she might be able to skate by the end of the day.
“This is how you do it. Move your feet like this—”
I gave her a demonstration. Lee Sol gripped the wall and took cautious, creeping steps, one at a time.
“Yeah, exactly. One foot at a time.”
I nodded, encouraging her. I made sure to praise her every now and then as I moved slowly, teaching her the tricks of the trade.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
Lee Sol moved her body with great effort. Left foot, right foot—she tapped the ice alternately. It looked more like she was walking than skating.
— “Should I try it?”
Maybe the problem was that I’d praised her too much. Brimming with confidence, Lee Sol let go of the wall. Like a ship drifting away from a harbor, she moved further and further from the railing.
“?!”
Soon, her body began to wobble violently from side to side.
— “---------!”
A burst of mental noise erupted like a warning siren. Panic flickered across Lee Sol’s face. She threw her arms out to the sides to catch her balance, but the shaking wouldn't stop.
I quickly grabbed her hands. I had a feeling this would happen.
“---------”
Once the noise started ringing in my head, it refused to die down.
“D-Don’t let go yet.”
Lee Sol gripped my forearms tightly.
— “H-Heeeeeek...!”
The Mini-Me had long since leaped off her shoulder and was now dangling precariously from my arm. It looked genuinely terrified.
“Calm down and follow me slowly.”
I leisurely led her back toward the wall. Lee Sol was dragged along, her legs trembling like a newborn goat’s.
“Phew...”
She only looked relieved once both her hands were back on the railing.
— “It’s... it’s not easy...”
The Mini-Me on top of my head muttered, gulping hard.
“...”
True. It really wasn't easy.
*
Two hours had passed since they arrived at the ice rink. It was getting close to lunchtime.
“...”
Lee Sol sat alone on a bench outside the rink. Lee Seung-ho had gone to return the skates.
“Sigh...”
Lee Sol let out a long, heavy breath. The plan had gone a bit awry.
“...”
Correction. The plan had gone very awry. There had been one variable she hadn't accounted for.
She was worse at skating than she could have ever imagined. She had completely overlooked that fact.
‘No, putting aside the fact that I can’t skate...’
Her mind had gone completely blank the moment she stepped onto the ice. Because she was so afraid of falling, she had basically used Lee Seung-ho as a pillar. She’d clung to his arm and was practically dragged around the whole time.
“Ugh...”
Thinking back on it made her face heat up. It was a complicated, bittersweet feeling.
“Hooo...”
She couldn't touch her face for fear of messing up her hair or smearing her makeup. Her restless fingers fidgeted in the empty air. She had ended up initiating skinship, but she’d been so frantic at the time that she hadn't even been able to enjoy the feeling.
‘This isn’t it.’
This was a far cry from the natural skinship she had envisioned. She thought if she was just moderately bad at it, they could naturally hold hands and... well... stuff.
She thought it would be like that!
‘But this is definitely not it.’
This wasn't a date; it was a lifeguard performing a rescue operation.
“...”
Lee Sol swallowed hard. What if—just maybe. It probably wasn't the case, but...
‘...What if Seung-ho thinks I’m a nuisance?’
Lee Sol broke into a cold sweat. She’d been like that the entire time they were skating. She’d chosen the ice rink despite not being able to skate at all. Honestly, if she were in his shoes, she’d find it annoying too.
“Ah...”
If she’d known it would be like this, she wouldn't have tried to be clever and would have picked a different place from the start.
“...”
Just then, she saw Lee Seung-ho returning after handing back the equipment.
“Phew—”
Lee Sol exhaled sharply, shaking off her dark thoughts. Right, let’s not think about it now. This time is too precious to waste.
“...”
Lee Sol slowly stood up. Lee Seung-ho took the bag she held out to him and asked, “Should we go grab some food?”
“Yeah.”
Lee Sol followed after him. Their destination was the shopping mall right next to the ice rink. They decided to have lunch at the food court there.
“Hmm...”
The two of them stood in front of a kiosk.
“What do you want to eat?”
“Um... I’ll have the rice cake ramen.”
“Then, two rice cake ramens and...”
Seung-ho tapped the screen to add the items to the cart.
“Like this?”
He pointed at the selected menu to get her confirmation.
“Yeah.”
Lee Sol nodded, satisfied. He had picked items she liked without her even having to say anything. The portions weren't too large, either—just right.
The food came out quickly.
“Hoo— hoo—”
Lee Sol blew on the ramen and ate it in small bites. The taste was average—just the typical flavor of food court ramen.
Chew, chew...
However, she was eating much slower than usual. She was focused on eating as daintily as possible.
“...”
It had been like this for a while now. Everything seemed to matter when she was in front of Lee Seung-ho. Even now, she was worried about whether he was actually enjoying himself or if she was the only one having fun.
“...Seung-ho.”
“Yeah?”
“I mean, well... how was the ice rink...?”
Lee Sol gathered her courage and took a shot.
“? What about it?”
“No, I just wondered if you had fun today...”
Ah. Maybe she shouldn't have asked. No, if she hadn't, she would have just kept worrying about it.
“...”
Lee Seung-ho watched her for a moment.
“...You were actually starting to get the hang of it toward the end.”
That was all he said.
“Huh?”
“I think you’ll be even better if we come again next time.”
“...”
Lee Sol blinked. Did that mean he wanted to come again? Or did it mean he couldn't enjoy himself because he was too busy looking after her? Which one was it?
“...”
As she agonized over it, Seung-ho added one more thing.
“I even took a video. Want to see?”
Seung-ho played a video. On the screen was a recording of her flailing about.
“...!”
Lee Sol lunged for the phone, snatching it away. Her face was burning. Was this from when she was struggling to skate on her own? When did he even film this?
Tap, tap, tap.
She frantically tapped the screen. Why wouldn't it turn off?
“...”
Seeing her like that, a small chuckle escaped Seung-ho.
“...”
Seeing him laugh, Lee Sol’s lips curled into a small, natural smile as well. It seemed he had been enjoying himself in his own way. A sense of relief washed over her. Thank goodness.
“...?”
Ding—
Just then, his phone buzzed. A text message appeared at the top of the screen. It was from Shin A-young.
— [Shin A-young: What time do you want to meet on Monday?]
— [Shin A-young: Is there a movie you want to see?]
“Hmm...”
Having caught a glimpse of the text by chance, Lee Sol rested her chin on her hand. She forced her drooping lips back into a smile.
“...”
So, you have plans for next Monday? And it’s a movie date. A movie, huh...
“...”
In that case.
“...Seung-ho, do you want to go see a movie now...?”
I want to do that, too.
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(!Signpost!)
(Scroll down for AI illustration!)
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(Trembling Sol)