Rarely burdened with a dilemma, Seonwoo found himself worrying ahead of his first day off. The reason, of course, was Eun Hyeonchae, who had been counting down the days until Seonwoo's break.
He had promised they'd hang out whenever his schedule was free, but there really wasn't that much to do at a ski resort. They could ski, or use the resort facilities. Mighty Town had a water park fed by hot spring water and a sledding hill, but neither of them sounded remotely appealing.
"Maybe it'd be better to go somewhere outside..."
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't come up with an answer. In the end, the moment he saw Hyeonchae waiting outside his door on his first day off, Seonwoo asked without hesitation.
"So, what do you want to do today? Anything you've been wanting to try?"
"I want to watch you ski, Senior."
Caught off guard by the unexpected answer, Seonwoo nodded after a brief pause and led Hyeonchae toward the après-ski shop.
"You said you've never skied before, right?"
"Yes."
Kneeling at Hyeonchae's feet to help him put on his boots, Seonwoo looked up. Noticing the tension on Hyeonchae's face, he smiled and patted his knee.
"What? Nervous?"
"...I'm just trembling."
"It's my first time teaching someone taller than me... but I can still hold you if I need to. Just trust me."
When Eun Hyeonchae emerged dressed in ski wear, Seonwoo was once again reminded of just how ridiculously handsome he was. Honestly, he'd expected sporty clothes not to suit him, but with that physique, he looked like he could have been a professional ski wear model.
At least when he was standing still.
Watching Hyeonchae awkwardly shuffle around in unfamiliar ski boots, Seonwoo's eyes curved into crescents. Apparently dissatisfied, Hyeonchae puffed out his full lips before hurrying over to stop beside him.
"Don't laugh at me."
"I haven't even said anything yet."
He said that, but the laughter burst out anyway. Hyeonchae adorably knitted his brows.
"...You make it look so easy to walk in these. I didn't realize they'd be this uncomfortable."
"You'll get used to them pretty quickly. If anything hurts, tell me right away. I'll adjust them."
Hyeonchae shook his head, insisting nothing hurt. Seonwoo handed him a pair of poles before slinging both skis across his shoulders.
"Let's go. Follow me."
After hearing Hyeonchae had only skied once as a child over ten years ago, Seonwoo had wondered if he'd have to start by teaching him how to fall.
But once they actually began, it turned out Hyeonchae's body still remembered.
With only a little guidance, he picked everything up surprisingly well. There was no need for basic instruction anymore. He was already ready to head onto a real slope.
"You're good. I think we can head up right away. Want to give it a try?"
Among the many runs, Seonwoo chose a long, gentle beginner slope and took Hyeonchae toward the chairlift.
Still unfamiliar with moving around while wearing long skis, Hyeonchae kept adjusting his stance. Then the moving chairlift arrived from behind and practically forced him into a seat.
His clumsy hesitation left him sitting farther away from Seonwoo than he'd wanted. Apparently unhappy about that, he started awkwardly wiggling sideways on the chair, trying to scoot closer. Having no idea how to do it properly, he only flailed in place.
Then the lift passed one of the support towers and jolted violently.
Hyeonchae instantly froze, clutching the safety bar with both hands.
Apparently giving up on moving closer, he stared down at the empty space beneath their feet and muttered,
"This is seriously someone's twisted hobby... hanging people in midair..."
"Are you afraid of heights? If you're scared, we can take the gondola next time."
"I'm not afraid of high places."
Looking away from the ground below, Hyeonchae began watching the skiers carving down the slope.
Then his shoulders suddenly twitched.
Following his gaze, Seonwoo spotted someone who had crashed into the safety net at the edge of the run and was flopping around like a fish.
Watching the poor skier intently, Hyeonchae quietly mumbled,
"...What if I fall while skiing?"
"Then you get back up. You're pretty good at standing up." New chapters come out on g.com first.
"That was on flat ground. This is a slope. I'll just slide all the way down."
The worry poured out without him even stopping to breathe.
Unable to hold back his laughter, Seonwoo leaned against the backrest and stared at Hyeonchae.
He's even cuter than I thought.
Quietly, Seonwoo shifted one seat closer.
Even after the chairlift had passed the fallen skier, Hyeonchae was still looking back over his shoulder. When the lift swayed again, he tightened his grip on the safety bar.
"Don't move. It's tilting."
"You come over one seat too."
Only then did Hyeonchae notice how close they already were.
Without another word about being scared, he cautiously shuffled sideways, still gripping the safety bar.
After waiting a moment, Seonwoo reached over, grabbed Hyeonchae around the waist, and pulled him the rest of the way over.
Now that they were sitting shoulder to shoulder, Seonwoo lightly patted him.
"If you're scared, I'll hold onto you. Don't worry."
"...What if I say I'm scared right now?"
"Want me to hold your hand?"
He'd only meant it as a joke.
But Hyeonchae immediately pulled off one of his gloves.
Blinking in surprise, Seonwoo chuckled before wrapping his own gloved hand around the bare hand being offered to him.
"...The glove."
"My hand will freeze. Put yours back on too."
Apparently realizing Seonwoo had no intention of removing his own glove, Hyeonchae pressed his lips together in dissatisfaction.
Still, even if it was only a gloved hand, he had no intention of letting go.
He stubbornly gripped Seonwoo's thick glove with his bare hand.
Seeing Hyeonchae's fingertips turning bright red in the biting wind, Seonwoo finally reached over, took his glove, and helped him put it back on.
"Once your hands freeze, they don't warm up easily. Keep hand warmers in your pockets and use them whenever you get cold. Put the straps from your poles and gloves around your wrists too. People drop them from the chairlift all the time. See all that stuff down there?"
He pointed at the scattered equipment lying in the safety net beneath the lift.
Hyeonchae nodded.
Finding his own numb fingers inconvenient, Seonwoo removed his gloves and tucked them under his arm. He fastened the glove and pole straps securely around Hyeonchae's wrists before pulling the gloves firmly back on. Then he carefully adjusted the cuffs of Hyeonchae's ski jacket so no wind or snow could get inside before curling his fingers, silently asking for the other hand.
Despite having just claimed it was too cold to remove his gloves, Seonwoo had been fixing everything with his bare hands.
His fingertips had turned red as well.
Watching him quietly, Hyeonchae suddenly asked,
"Are you always this kind?"
Glancing up, Seonwoo met the gentle ripple in Hyeonchae's eyes and slowly grinned.
"It's my default setting. If you fall for me over something like this, that's going to be a problem."
"...You don't have to do this for me. It's the first time you've treated me like this, so my heart's racing."
"You really know how to make me feel guilty."
"You said I could book your lessons."
"What, are you planning to buy out my whole schedule? Are you jealous thinking about me doing this for someone else?"
Hyeonchae closed his mouth, looking like he'd been hit right on the mark.
Taking a fresh hand warmer from his inner pocket, Seonwoo shook it until it began giving off heat before slipping it into Hyeonchae's pocket.
"I don't date students."
"...I never asked you to teach me."
"Right. You're my junior. Not a student."
"We're here. Let's lift the safety bar."
Contrary to how terrified he'd been of falling, Eun Hyeonchae only fell once on the long beginner run.
Even then, it wasn't really his fault.
A young boy came charging straight downhill with both poles tucked under his armpits, and Hyeonchae fell while trying to avoid him.
Gliding leisurely behind, Seonwoo immediately accelerated toward him.
"Eun Hyeonchae! Are you okay?"
"Yeah."
Aside from one ski having detached from his boot, he looked perfectly fine, almost as though he'd simply sat down because he was tired.
Hyeonchae tried to stand on his own, but the moment he saw Seonwoo reaching out a hand, he relaxed the arm supporting him and sat back down again.
"My ski isn't broken, is it? It flew all the way over there."
"It's fine. They're designed to release so your knees don't twist when you fall... More importantly, can you stand?"
Hyeonchae gave a small shake of his head.
Seonwoo wrapped an arm around his upper body and helped him up.
After brushing the snow off himself, Hyeonchae struggled to clip the ski back on.
The ski kept sliding downhill on the slope.
Finally, Seonwoo took off one of his own skis, walked over, and knelt in front of him.
"There's snow packed into your boot, so it won't lock properly. Tap it here."
After knocking the snow loose, the boot finally clicked firmly into place.
Confirming everything was secure, Seonwoo looked up.
Their eyes met.
Seeing Hyeonchae staring at him again, Seonwoo smiled.
"What? Was I being kind again?"
"...Stop teasing me."
Still laughing, Seonwoo suddenly froze as Hyeonchae left him behind and glided downhill without another word.
Hurriedly putting his own ski back on, he shouted,
"Hey! Eun Hyeonchae!!"
Whether it was natural athleticism or simply exceptional talent, Hyeonchae absorbed every technique after only a little instruction.
It was hard to believe he'd only skied once over ten years ago.
After successfully mastering the snowplow turn and then the stem turn, Seonwoo brought him to a slightly more challenging run after a few more trips down the slope.
Inside the gondola, Seonwoo removed his goggles and shook out his damp hair.
"Aren't you hungry? There's a restaurant at the summit. This run's pretty long, so we could eat before heading down."
"I'm fine with anything."
Cold wind drifted in through the slightly open window, brushing against his eyelashes.
As the gondola slowly passed through forests coated in snow-covered branches, Seonwoo absentmindedly gazed outside.
Then Hyeonchae's quiet voice reached his ears.
"I think I understand why you like skiing so much, Senior. It suits you."
Seonwoo turned toward him.
Still holding the hand warmer Seonwoo had given him with both hands, Hyeonchae wasn't looking at the breathtaking snowy scenery surrounding them.
He was only looking at Seonwoo.
"You look like someone who comes alive in the snow, Senior."
"...You're saying the strangest things."
Despite his dry reply, Seonwoo stared for a long time at his own faint reflection drifting across the snowy landscape beyond the gondola window.