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Sori giggles as she watches my eyes widen.
"Nathan, meet my sister, Lee Hani. Hani, meet Nathan Chen."
Nathan extends a hand. "Hi, it's nice to meet you," he says quietly. I take his hand, shaking it gently. "It's nice to meet you, too," I smile.
Adam scoffs. "Nathan, sweetie, don't be so shy! Hani here is a lovely girl. You of all people should know that."
Nathan glares at Adam. "Dude, be quiet."
Sori looks between the two skaters. "What do you mean?"
Adam looks at Nathan one more time before leaning down and whispering something into Sori's ear. Sori breaks into a smile, nodding. "Adam is taking me to get some food, we'll see you guys in a bit!"
I have no chance to protest before they both run off.
"Does he always do that?" I ask. Nathan looks up at me. "Hmm?"
"Adam. Does he always say something a little sus, and then run off without explaining?"
Nathan laughs a little. "Yeah, sometimes."
A silence falls between us for a moment.
"Your sister was really nice. She was trying to hype me up even though I wasn't good," he says suddenly.
"She adores you," I tell him. "And hey, don't be too hard on yourself. We all mess up sometimes."
"Yeah, but this is the Olympics. I already messed up during the team event, and now my single? And now that I know that you were watching makes it even worse," Nathan explains. "You're Lee Hani, for god's sake."
"Lee Hani isn't all people think she is," I say quietly. "What do you mean?" he asks.
"People think I'm so perfect when I'm not. They only see the good side of me, so they only know the good side. They don't know the Lee Hani that spends hours writing lyrics and then throwing them out because they're trash, or the Lee Hani who cries when she can't get a dance move right," I tell him.
"I get that," he says. "Some people think I'm superhuman, or not human at all, because of my skating. Then when I fall, they forget I'm just a person and suddenly I'm a national disappointment."
I touch his arm lightly. "Hey, ignore them. You're a great skater, and sure, you fell a couple of times."
"I fell like, 30."
"A couple," I repeat. "But you also still have your free skate. Throw it all out there. You've already fallen, why not just go for it?"
