The cold air bit at your skin as you stood hesitantly in front of the grand ice rink. Inside, the sound of skates gliding over the smooth surface echoed, mixed with muted voices and occasional laughter.

Your heart raced.

It had been years since you last set foot on an ice rink. The thought alone made your fingers tremble. You knew it was irrational, but the image in your head was too vivid: the dull thud of the fall, the screams of the people, the ice turning red. Your mother had loved figure skating—until the day the ice claimed her.

Since then, you had avoided the ice. Yet here you were now.

Why?

Because of him.

Sunghoon.

He moved across the ice as if it were liquid, as if the ice itself was responding to him. Every spin, every movement, was effortless, almost otherworldly. He wasn’t just good—he was mesmerizing. You weren’t the only one watching, but when he suddenly stopped and turned to look, his gaze locked with yours.

Startled, you instinctively stepped back, but it was too late. A slight smile tugged at his lips, as if he had already noticed your secret watching.

Then, he glided over to you, effortlessly, almost playfully. As he came to a stop by the edge of the rink, he regarded you with curiosity.

“Do you like figure skating, or do you just enjoy watching me fall?” he asked, a teasing grin on his face.

For a moment, you said nothing. Your gaze shifted from his skates to the glittering ice and then to his eyes, where there was no mockery—only genuine interest.