Slopes

f o u r

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Mark groans and slams his hand over his alarm clock, sighing tiredly. Not letting his jet-lag get the better of him, Mark slowly gets out of bed, eyes groggily blinking around his new apartment. He had moved in, with the help of Yuta, a few days ago. It was now Monday and it marked Mark's first day on the Olympic team. He still couldn't wrap his mind around it. He, Mark Lee, is on an Olympic team? And an international one at that. It was insane; so much so that he was waiting to wake up from his dream. He'll be back in his home with his mom and aunty. Back in Toronto.

Mark almost breaks his alarm clock as he hits it again to fully shut it off. "Damn clock." He sighs and heads to the bathroom to clean himself up; he didn't want to seem too out of it at his first practice.

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Donghyuk smiles at the "I'm-not-crying-my-eyes-are-just-sweating" Jaemin and the tired Jisung. "Guys seriously, it's not like I'm dying so stop acting like it's my funeral." He rolls his eyes and pats his two friends on the back. "I'll see you two soon alright? And who knows, maybe it'll be from a TV screen." He begins to walk away, saluting his two friends before climbing into his coach's van. "See you soon losers! Win some tournaments for me!" Is the last thing he says before closing the door.

"Ok Donghyuk." His coach starts. Well, his old coach starts. This would be the final time he sees the grown man as a mentor. Donghyuk was moving on. "Your new practice schedule is much more packed than it used to be. Practice takes up pretty much all afternoon. The board has already spoken to your school, and you'll only be doing half-days from now on. You'll still get full graduation credits though, so don't worry." Donghyuk sighs in relief. "You will get uniform practice gear, and are more-or-less required to wear it. They give you two sets of gear and of course, you have a professional uniform for the games. You practice on Saturdays as well, but not Sundays. That's all I have for you, Coach Choi will give you more details when you and the team are all together."

Donghyuk nods slowly, taking everything in. "And you said I was the only new member?"

"No," the man shakes his head. "There's one other new kid. Some boy from Canada. Said he was a prodigy back in North America." He shrugs. "So it'll just be you two."

"Ok..." Donghyuk sighs and stares out the car window. "Canada huh?"

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"Hello sir! Welcome to Yongpyong, how can I help you today?" The desk lady smiles sweetly.

"Uhm..My name is Mark Lee. I'm here for the Olympics..team..?"

The woman nods and presses a few keys on her keyboard, eyes scanning over the computer in sharp focus. "Mark Lee...Mark Lee...Ah! Here you are. It seems you're new?"

"Yeah.." Mark nods, leaning over the counter slightly.

The lady smiles, a giddy glint in her eye. "Well Mark, let's get you signed in!"

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