Where Are You Looking?
Before I knew it, two weeks had passed since the semester started, and September had arrived. Even though it was September, the weather wasn’t exactly what you’d call autumn-like. It was hot. Not just hot—scorching.
Now that it was September, I wanted to tough it out without turning on the air conditioner, but the heat made that impossible.
Mom had gone to school, and Dad had left for Grandma’s place, so I was home alone. Whenever I was alone at home and turned on the AC, I felt guilty about it.
—Weeeing!! Weeeing!!
“Hello?”
[Jung-woo!!]
Whoa, why was she yelling like that? My eardrums nearly burst.
“What’s got you so excited?”
[Want to go to the ice rink?]
“Did you get heatstroke? Why the ice rink all of a sudden?”
[Dad got two tickets from work. He gave them to me so I could go with a friend.]
“And that friend is me?”
[Yep!! Let’s go!!]
“What happens if I say I’m too lazy to go?”
[I’ll barge into your house and drag you out.]
So there was never really a choice to begin with. If that was the case, why even ask?
[You’re probably dying from the heat anyway. Let’s go somewhere cool and have fun.]
“Do you have CCTV in here or something? Creepy.”
[Anyway, come out. Got it? I’ll text you the meeting spot.]
“Hey, wait a sec—”
She hung up. A moment later, Chae-yeon texted me the location.
Did I really have to go? Just like that?
Even if it was hot outside, I didn’t feel like leaving the house. Going out in this heat was basically suicide. No matter how cool the destination was, who was going to take responsibility for the heat on the way there?
But looking at the rabbit emoticon clenching its fist, it seemed I didn’t have veto power. I’d never been ice skating before, so I felt some resistance, but what could I do?
“Jung-woo!!”
“Chae-yeon, did you seriously get heatstroke?”
“If we take this bus, we don’t even need to transfer. We’ll get there straight away.”
“I can just watch from the sidelines, right?”
“As if.”
“I’ve never been ice skating even once.”
“Me neither. First time since elementary school.”
Come to think of it, we did go to an ice rink once for a field trip back in elementary school. I’d caught a summer cold that supposedly even dogs didn’t get, so I couldn’t go. It left a bit of a grudge, but that was a childhood grudge. I had no lingering attachment to it now.
“You missed the ice rink trip in elementary school because you caught a cold, remember? Now’s your chance to get over it.”
“How do you even know that? We weren’t even in the same class.”
“Of course I’d know.”
Well, even if we were in different classes, our moms were close and used to share news about each other. Still, it was impressive that Chae-yeon remembered it all this time.
“Did you bring extra clothes?”
“Yeah. Long sleeves, long pants, and gloves too.”
“Good job. Now let’s go!!”
Even if the ice rink was cold, did we really need long sleeves, long pants, and gloves in this sweltering heat? How cold could it possibly be? That’s what I thought—until we got on the bus.
But that was just my own misconception.
It was cold. Not just cold—freezing.
If I hadn’t listened to Chae-yeon and packed proper clothes, I would’ve frozen to death right there.
“I told you, right? It’s super cold.”
“Why is it winter in here? This is way too cold for humans.”
“That’s why I told you to bring gloves and everything.”
Without hesitation, Chae-yeon put on the rented gear and stepped onto the ice. She stood there as naturally as if she were on solid ground, even though the ice looked hard to stand on.
“You said you haven’t skated since elementary school.”
“Yeah. I’m just pretending I’m on inline skates.”
Watching how easily she stood there made me think maybe I could do it too. With that thought, I carefully stepped onto the ice—only to immediately lose my balance and slip. Thankfully, Chae-yeon caught me by the waist before it turned into a disaster.
“You okay?”
“I think I just saw someone I vaguely know waving at me.”
“If you follow them, you’ll never come back.”
“Whoa, my head almost cracked open.”
Thanks to Chae-yeon’s help, I survived and grabbed onto the guide rail. She moved slowly around me, gliding as comfortably as if she really were on inline skates. She even did a full lap.
Her athletic sense was way too good.
“I think I’ve got the hang of it now.”
“I’m just gonna watch from outside.”
“No way. That’d be a waste of the ticket. Let’s try moving slowly.”
Left with no choice, I held both of Chae-yeon’s hands and took one shaky step after another. Even with her help, I still couldn’t get the feel for it. It was nothing like inline skating.
“This reminds me of when we were kids. You didn’t know how to inline skate back then either, so I had to hold your hand and help you.”
“No way. I was perfectly fine on inline skates. Don’t make stuff up.”
“Whose memory is better—yours or mine?”
“Obviously… yours is better, but that still didn’t happen.”
“That doesn’t even make sense. Want me to let go?”
“Whoa, don’t do that. I’ll seriously crack my head open.”
“I think I taught you how to inline skate when we were kids too. Right?”
“Ugh, yeah. You did. You taught me.”
The water didn’t have the answer, and what kind of situation was this? Every time I tried to voice my own opinion, Chae-yeon threatened to let go, so I had no choice but to keep agreeing.
Still holding her hands, I looked around as we moved. There wasn’t a single guy out there struggling as much as I was. It really felt like I’d turned into a baby learning to walk from Mom.
“Just a little more. A little more. Yeah, you’re doing great. Don’t forget that rhythm—right foot forward. There you go!!”
“I think I’m getting a cramp in my leg.”
“Meow!! There, I chased the cramp away.”
“What kind of stream-of-consciousness nonsense is this? Am I actually here for hell training?”
“If you stop because it’s hard, you’ll forget it right away. It’s better to learn everything in one go.”
Following Chae-yeon’s instructions, my legs started moving on their own. I think I was finally getting the hang of it. Of course, I’d probably fall if she let go, but compared to when I couldn’t even stand, this was huge progress.
“This makes me feel like I’m your big sister.”
“What are you talking about? Your birthday’s six months after mine.”
“Want me to really let go?”
“Noona, please don’t. Why are you trying to kill me?”
“The ice knows the answer. Say it properly.”
“Of course. You’re my noona. Noona.”
“So you’re calling me noona for the rest of the time we’re here?”
“If I say no… Ah, understood, noona.”
Faced with Chae-yeon’s attitude—like she was about to let go at any second—I immediately backed down. I had no choice. Right now, my life was literally in her hands.
“It’s cold, but I feel like I’m sweating.”
“That just means you’re moving a lot.”
“Chae—noona, aren’t we going faster and faster?”
“It’s just your imagination.”
“Anyone can see we’re speeding up. We were just here a second ago.”
“Everything looks the same around here, that’s why. Let’s hurry up.”
“Hey, you just said ‘hurry’!!”
I desperately tried to keep up with Chae-yeon’s pace, fighting for my life. Or more accurately, I was being dragged along. Being pulled like this made me realize just how much she was holding back her speed for me. If I weren’t here, she could go way faster. Was helping me this entertaining for her?
“Two laps complete!! Congratulations.”
“I think I’m actually gonna die. Save me.”
“Want me to buy some water? They’re selling it right out front.”
“Please.”
While Chae-yeon went to buy water, I leaned against the guide rail and tried to catch my breath. I hadn’t even skated that fast, but I was already out of breath. My heart was pounding harder than when I worked out at the gym.
“I got the water.”
“Thanks. Aren’t you tired?”
“Nope. I feel like I could skate for another hour. But you really have zero athletic sense.”
“You’re just way too good. You said you don’t even exercise these days—how are you so good with your body?”
“Just because I don’t exercise doesn’t mean my dad’s genes went anywhere.”
Chae-yeon’s dad was a police officer. He’d always loved working out and still did it consistently. Since Chae-yeon was his daughter, her athletic ability and stamina were only natural.
“I’m gonna do a lap. Rest up.”
“Yeah, go ahead.”
Chae-yeon took off across the ice without hesitation. I’d thought the speed she used earlier was fast, but this was on another level—like a cheetah. As I sipped my water and looked around, one woman in particular caught my eye. She was gliding across the ice so naturally, like she was walking on solid ground. Was she a pro? She was really good.
“Hey.”
“You’re back alrea—ack!! Why’d you hit me?!”
“Where exactly were you looking just now?”
“Where do you think? There was someone skating really well, so I watched them.”
“You should be paying attention to the person you came with.”
“You’re not gonna fall or anything, so I was just looking around…”
Chae-yeon glared at me once, then went back to skating around the rink. What was that about? Did I do something wrong?