kang taehyun is a famous figure skater, and the son of the president of korea. he appears so perfect, but will anybody find out what's really going on?
freeform schedule
6# in taegyu on 25/03/23
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✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
today was the same as any other day for taehyun. his daily routine was always the same since he had nowhere to go for fun. that was except for skating. it kept his mind occupied and distracted from reality. it felt like silent gliding. serene, peaceful, rhythmic, and hypnotic. every day, taehyun would plug his earphones in and practise.
practise,
practise,
and practise.
of course. that's the only way he would be enough, if he won competitions and didn't mess up. but it wasn't always that great.
growing up, taehyun always thought that his presence, may it be in school or at home, was annoying. it felt like he was a giant, and everyone around him was tiny. so in order not to get attention, he would have to be careful not to step on any of them. and it was incredibly hard to do that, since he was known around korea. he thinks that everyone is monitoring him every second of his life. whether it's his clothes, the way he walks, what he's looking at, his facial expressions, the list goes on. he would always get anxiety and panic attacks because of this, especially on the ice where all the skaters are watching. and right now was one of those times where he was freaking out about it more than usual.
you're gonna be okay. nobody's watching you. it's okay. just land this double axel and you'll be fine. stop overreacting. when taehyun was ready, he skated speedily along the borders of the rink, the cooling wind making his hair messy.
when he took off, mid-air, he looked perfect. absolutely stunning. his form and posture was correct and his landing would be no problem.
well, yes it would be. taehyun was supposed to land on his outer edge for an axel, but did quite the opposite and landed on his inside edge. that cause his ankle to wobble and he fell to the side. taehyun hit the ice with a thud, and disconnected himself from the world as soon as he fell.
i did not just fucking fall. i'm gonna kill myself right now. oh my gosh, they're all looking at me. no, i'm going insane. everyone falls. everyone makes mistakes and you just have to get up. wait. i can't get up. i can't fucking get up. if i get up then my pants will be wet. ... you know what, i should just suck it up and be a man. everyone falls anyway.
and so, after arguing with himself, he decided to get up on shaky legs. he pulled his gloves up and slid his compression shirt further down his wrist for obvious reasons. taehyun himself thought that he would try again, but he was so terrified that his legs took him to the gate of the rink. he felt everybody's eyes on him and tried to cover his eyes with his hair as he slipped his guards on.
taehyun arrived at the boys' bathroom and saw nobody in there. he cried silently as he entered a stall. he whimpered in humiliation and wiped his eyes aggresively. after a few minutes, he checked his trembling hands.
that was so embarrassing. i'm never ever going to participate in a freestyle again.
he was so uncomfortable that he took his phone out and dialed his driver's number hastily.
"please come pick me up right now. i'm in the bathroom, i don't want to go out." he whispered to the phone against his ear in a shaky voice.
"but sir, usually you finish at eleven," his driver spoke through the call.
"i just can't today. something happened and i need to leave right now, please,"
---
taehyun entered the mansion with his head low, ignoring the countless maids and butlers who bowed at him as he made his way in. his guard accompanied him to his room and greeted him respectfully before shutting his door. a few minutes after he had washed his face and showered, he called some maids in.
taehyun lay in his boxers on his bed as maids rushed to disinfect his bruises. he would do this every night. his grip on the sheets would tighten everytime the medicine stung a wound. with a few more groans and cotton buds, they were done. the maids bowed and left the room, leaving taehyun laying there with stinging injuries.
he slid his hands under his head, using them as a pillow as he tried to sleep, even though he knew he wouldn't be able to. nothing could fix his sleepless nights.
