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After dinner, we decided to take a walk since everyone else had chosen to stay in the break room until they collapsed, given that there were no practices the next day.

Outside the dormitory, there was a small garden with winding paths. It wasn't very large, but that didn't matter at the moment. I was more focused on the fact that Yuki was holding my hand. His large, warm hand was soothing against my cold one.

"How was your day?" I asked, looking at him. He continued to look ahead, allowing me to admire the profile I liked so much.

"It was fine, just the usual training. We're focusing on improving our receiving skills. I think it's something we absolutely need to work on."

"Why is that?"

"After the Olympics, I realized how much we still need to improve in this area. Of course, we're not neglecting other aspects." I saw his expression turn somber, and I squeezed his hand gently. He turned to me, and I gave him a reassuring smile.

He returned the smile, but it was clear that it was a sad one.

"The Olympics didn't go as we hoped. It was really a tough blow because we were so close in the last match. It felt like the thing I wanted most was right in front of me, but when I tried to grasp it, my hands went through it as if it were made of air... I told myself I never wanted to feel that way again..."

"At first, I blamed myself too because I'm the captain and the ace of the team. But I didn't let this defeat stop me. In fact, I'm more determined than ever." He looked at me with a resolute gaze.

"It will all be okay. And I'm sure it wasn't your fault. You're a great captain; if you weren't, your teammates wouldn't trust you as much as they do." I stroked his hand.

"So, Nabi, why did you choose to start this sport?"

'Go Nabi! You're so fast!' a female voice shouted behind me as I made my first turns on the snowboard.

I pushed that memory away.

"My mother loved snowboarding, and when I turned three on my birthday, she gave me my very first board and took me with her to the mountains." I absentmindedly turned his hand over in mine, gently playing with his fingers, lost in thought.

"Three? You were so young! Wasn't she afraid you'd fly away? After all, you slide a lot on the snow." He looked at me, almost in disbelief.

I smiled. "She wasn't afraid, she knew I'd learn quickly."

"So you've been snowboarding for over 20 years? Why didn't you join the national team sooner?"

"Actually, I stopped after I was 13 and only got back into it about a year ago." I did some mental calculations to figure out how many years I had taken off.

"You were inactive for more than 10 years, and you're still this good?" He looked at me, stunned. "Why did you stop, and why did you come back so intensely?"

I nervously scratched my neck. "I went to high school in Seoul and then to university. Let's just say I didn't have much time for the mountains there. The schools are really demanding, so I focused only on my studies. After graduation, I returned to Denmark for an internship, and during the weekends, I ended up going to the mountains where I met my manager."

He looked at me with an expression I couldn't quite read, perhaps sadness. So I tried to change the subject.

"Shall we go inside? It's starting to get really cold now." I lied, as I was used to the low temperatures.

Back in the dormitory, we joined the others in the break room.

"Here you are! We were just about to start a movie. Will you join us? We have hot popcorn!" Ayumu said, trying to keep the popcorn away from others who wanted to devour them.

courage dear heart    |    Yuki Ishikawa Where stories live. Discover now