Hyejin stood there open eyed, as if the place was arised by magic. In that frozen place, that ice-world, looks like a sea that had frozen mid-wave, curling upward into the glowing streams. It gave it a feeling of motion from her prancing feet to the glassy ice and beyond.
The joint concert gala is beyond ordinary. It's a unique night, out of this world, a chance for everyone to become the shining star. The night began with a cocktail reception and in the brief time comes the performances. The place was filled with artists and performers and co skaters that she had stumbled from the past and Hyejin couldn't put into words how shining that night was.
"They we're right. You weren't called the "ice queen" for nothing. You looked like a real queen, Hyejin-a." someone said behind her ears.
"Eonnie!" Hyejin shrieked in delight. "I'm so happy to see you here!"
Surely the train of surprise is not stopping. Hyejin's smile went even more radiant as the person she's facing knows how to jest but apart from it, Choi Aerin's captivating smile is so arresting, something every girl would surely envy.
"Aigoo, look at you." Aerin cannot conceal her amazement looking at Hyejin dressed in a sparkling baby blue skater dress. "After Hee told me you're going to do a collab with Enhypen I quickly nabbed the opportunity to cover this event. I'm so thrilled to see you too, Hyejin. I'm happy you decided to go back home."
"I'm staying for good, Eonnie. Won and I patched things up."
"Really?! That's great! I silently wished for you and Won would come back together and fix things up. Heeseung and I felt so awful for leaving you behind just like that. We're so sorry, Hyejin. I felt chastened when I got to realize my mistakes."
"That was all in the past and you didn't do anything wrong, in fact, you were my needed comfort. Thank you, Aerin Eonnie. You were a great help back then."
"Park Hyejin, you need to go to the backstage now. We're about to roll in an hour. You're next to perform after Vi6en." the staff calling put their conversation on pause.
"Did she just say Vi6en?" Aerin whispered after the staff left and was ecstatic after getting a first hand info. "They're newbies but the fastest rising girl group prior to their debut just two months ago. Hyeon Jiah is trying to get an exclusive with them but cannot get through. I'll see if I can sneak out." Aerin set her foot to flee but halted and pulled an apologetic face. 
"Let's meet after your performance is done, alright? Got to go, work's calling me and I need to catch Vi6en before they hit the stage. And yeah, I need to see Hee secretly for a quick good luck. Talking about mixing work with pleasure." Aerin's euphoric giggles while gesturing a run off is highly affecting and Hyejin can't help but giggle back. 
"Break a leg, queen!" Aerin shouted while running like chasing clouds.
Hyejin giggled once more hearing Aerin's uplifting words but looking at the staff signalling her to rush, she moved with great haste that caused her to strike into someone on her way in.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. That was so clumsy of me." the girl quickly primed to ask for an apology.
"It's okay. My fault too. I was runninng fast, I'm a bit pressed for time."
"P-Park Hyejin--?" the lady paced back, arms stiff with tension.
 "K-Kang Bora? Oh God, I don't expect to see you here. What happened to you?" Hyejin's continuous asking is a clear evidence that she's equally surprised.
"I'm so sorry. Did I ruin your dress? Ah, my impaired knee. It's not doing excellent anymore. I injured it and unfortunately didn't recover. I bump into people so easily." Bora laughed, her jest screams double meaning. 
"It's okay. I'm so glad to see you here, Bora."
"I was invited here, totally unexpected. They said ex-skaters are still welcome. I'm teaching right now, need to take a sudden leap of career because of my injury."
"Was that the reason why you gone out of skating? I thought you--"
"You thought what? That I left skating because I have attitude? Was that Ahn Minhyuk told you?"
"Yes, but--"
"That moron." Bora scoffed. Her shaking head's shows she's in complete disbelief. "Glad to see you're okay, I mean, you're still up and unharmed while being in tandem wlth Ahn Minhyuk."
"What do you mean?" Hyejin eyebrows tensed up, face was painted by inhibitions.
Bora shook her head. Her reluctant face shows hesitation. "I don't know if this is the right time to tell you but take this as a warning." she started, resetting her thoughts. "Minhyuk is a total asshole. That jerk is so desperate for the top position and he'll do everything to earn it. He gets frustrated so easily and when he's losing it, he's turning into a freaking psycho. Before our last stint, he told me he cannot go anywhere if he's stuck with me. He wanted to be paired with you so bad, Hyejin. You're his last card to take Park Sunghoon's spot and upon learning you're planning to have your short vacation, he planned to get rid of me beforehand. He knows Coach Jang, by any means, will exert extra effort to pursuade you to take my spot."
Kang Bora's revelation came like a bolt from the blue. Hyejin's sturdy feet wiggled in utmost shock. "H-How did he do it?"
"You mean, how did he get rid of me or how did I got this injury?" Bora clicked her tongue and maintained a full stance. "During our last performance, he changed it an extremely dangerous routine. I was hesitant at first but I trusted him, wholly, thinking his loose grip during practice is just normal, that he really got a weak clasp."
Hyejin kept her baffled stares on Bora's. She's not blinking and she can hear her heart hammering upon her chest. 
"We managed to pull it. He caught me in no time but his grip on my waist wasn't tight enough. I ended kneeling on the ice but still pulled myself up and gave the cheering crowd the biggest smile. Unknown to all, I was in excruciating pain and I can feel my knee fissured so bad. I was limping my way back to the dressing room only to be humiliated more. Ahn Minhyuk cussed on me, like I'm some kind of unnecessary baggage he's carrying. I don't know why he's so obsessed in taking your cousin's position. He wants to be the number one male skater that bad."
"But Sunghoon Oppa turned his back on his dream. He's an idol now. Practically, Minhyuk's number one right now."
"Not until he proves it himself." Bora quickly continued. "The timeline didn't quite favored him. He won his solo stunt after you both emerged victorious as a team so basically he's still attached to you. And come on, don't try to cover it. I know you experienced it too. I know you can feel he's ruining your stunts. He trying to damage you the same way he had done to me. Until now I still blame myself for letting him do the the triple lift spin."
"The triple lift spin..." Hyejin nervously muttered, her body quivered after she got a striking realization. "I need to talk to him!" 
She don't understand why Minhyuk wanted to change their routine so quickly that he really went to bat for the triple lift spin but after learning from Kang Bora, Hyejin can now prove to herself that all her hunches were all true.
"Wait! Park Hyejin!" 
But she was deaf to Bora's calling and upon reaching the dressing room's door, Hyejin pulled the deepest sigh thinking it would somehow calm her edging nerves. Her hands are uncontrollably shaking in line with her nose flaring in anger.
"Ahn Minhyuk!" she screamed at him. "You got a lot of explaining to do!"
Minhyuk shook his head and looked at her like her withheld words are kind of senseless complain to hear. 
"Seriously? Right now? We're about to roll."
"You selfish saphead! What did you do to Kang Bora?!"
Minhyuk scoffed, totally not buying her whims. "Kang Bora? Who is she by the way? Oh, the loser and the cry baby Kang Bora! Why? Did she told a fabricated story? That crazy woman is the queen of lies!"
Breathless with anger, Hyejin walked to face Minhyuk's now fuming face. She can feel her rage flowed up and it's too late to hold back. 
"She injured her knee and you caused it! God, how could you possibly do that?! She's your partner! I never thought you could go that far because you're so obsessed to reach the top spot! You harmed Bora! And now what?! Are you doing that to me too? Are you also getting rid of me after this?!"
Minhyuk stopped tying his skates. He forcefully stood up and rigidly grabbed her arms, gripping it hard with those furied eyes. His angry eyes is an evidence that his brain is in a different mode and never once Hyejin had seen that indignation in his stares.
Sensing a threat, she tried to draw back only to be squeezed a lot harder. "Let me go, you, nuthead!"
Minhyuk scoffed, lips curled up on the other edge. "You got sharp tongue, Park Hyejin. Just because you are my brother's ex girlfriend you think I can't harm you?! But yes, you're right, I got rid of Kang Bora because she's a useless garbage! She can't take me anywhere because she's also struggling to take your spot!"
"So, she's right." Hyejin echoed, her anger burning through her trembling lips. "I got it now. You fighted for the triple lift spin to be added to our routine because you got a harmful purpose, you stupid psycho!"
"Ah, seriously?! You're being belligerent right now all because of what the whiny looney Kang Bora just told you?! You both just literally ruined my moment before it could even start! Don't push me, Hyejin-a. I might do what you're trying to throw at me and decides not to catch you later on."
"You, bonehead!" Hyejin screamed back, her weakened stance is struggling to go out in Minhyuk's hard grip.
"You know what, I don't really need to do that. Damaging you? What for? I'm the top male skater as of the moment while you.." he gawked at Hyejin from head to toe that screams nothing but insult. "You are nothing without me. You're still a loser with a consolation prize."
"The only loser here is no one else but you. Let her go or I'll break your face before you can even catch a single breath."
The voice came like a whisper but the solace it gave her is profound, she found her defender in time she needs protection. The anger on Jungwon's eyes showed a different side of him, something Hyejin had never seen before. He turned himself into a furious cat, staring down at Minhyuk with his constricted pupils covered with flickers of fire and nails that's about to scratch. His fists stayed firmly by his sides but will surely land on Minhyuk's face with one wrong move.
"W-Won--" Hyejin gasped, feeling the need to run into his arms.
"I can tell you honestly, every time I ever blew I reckoned the person deserved it. Let her go." Jungwon repeated and throwing Minhyuk a violent stare. 
"Are you threatening me, small man? Oh yeah, I get it, you're trying to play as her knight in shining armor here. Well, let me tell you both a secret. Listen well!" Minhyuk pulled Hyejin closer and hissed at her ear. "Your cousin Park Sunghoon had beaten my brother to death because of your new flame and thinking about it I am now pumped up to get my revenge. Let's take it in the rink! And you---" he turned around to point his finger but only to greet Jungwon's hard knock on his face.
Jungwon moved fast to release Hyejin out of Minhyuk's rough hands and expeditiously grabbed the bleeding man's collar.
"I'm really not a fan of bullheads like you. When I give a warning, I meant it with one strike. Don't you dare touch my girl not threathen her with your dirty mouth. I won't allow you. You'll come to me first."
"What--" Minhyuk paused, feeling the gush of blood coming from his nose. "Shit!"
"Won--" Hyejin pulled Jungwon up, dragging him to make a wide distance from the extremely aghast Ahn Minhyuk. "Please stop."
Looking at Hyejin's begging eyes, his offensive brain switched back to sane mode and how fast he held her tight, wishing his embrace could heal all her physical and emotional pains.
"Are you okay?" Jungwon anxiously asked, his fingers are running through her face as if checking for a possible gash. "I'm sorry I didn't come sooner--"
"I'm okay. Thank you for coming for me--"
"What the hell is happening here?!" Coach Jang entered the room and was horrified. She quickly ran to Minhyuk and upon seeing him bleed, she faced Hyejin with a baffled face. "God, Hyejin! Why did you let this happen?! You're about to perform next!" 
Coach Jang is so distressed that she searched every corner of the room for something that would immediately treat Minhyuk's wound. Having the idea that Coach Jang will not listen to everything they needed to say, Jungwon pulled Hyejin out of the room to escape the probable tension and took him to their own waiting room. The Enhypen members were open mouthed upon seeing them appeared with their strained faces.
"Hyejin-a--" Sunghoon stood up, totally flabbergasted. "What happened?"
"Sunoo Hyung, do you still got your emergency kit at hand?" Jungwon asked while intently looking at the mark on Hyejin's arms. "That stupid bugger-"
"Who did that to you? Was it Ahn Minhyuk?!" Sunghoon is losing it and about to dash out of the room.
"I saw him assaulting Hyejin, telling her expletive words I cannot fathom to hear. I just lost it." Jungwon tried to explain.
"That motherfu****!"
"Hyung, no." Ni-Ki was fast to cease Sunghoon's flaming feet.
"Easy, man." Jake stepped in, calming Sunghoon's edging nerves. "This ain't the best time for some punch exercise. We are next to perform but--" Jake's face was covered with apprehension. "How can we if you just beat the guy, Won?"
"I need to get Yuki!" perceiving a flub, Heeseung immediately ran out of the room without thinking twice.
"Here. Good thing I always carry this with me." Sunoo cuts in, holding his kit. Among all, he's the calmest one amidst the tough situation they are all into. "I can see a deep clench, Won. You need to cover it temporarily but make sure to have it checked after the performance."
"If this performance is ruined this is all my fault. I shouldn't confronted Minhyuk just like that." Hyejin whispered in worry, tears forming in her eyes.
"Ya--" Jungwon hushed, gently touched Hyejin's cheeks, wishing it could somehow uplift her spirit in the middle of her crashing state. "It was never your fault. Don't feel guilty, even a bit. It is time to put an end to all of Minhyuk's ill intentions."
"Vi6en's up on stage. I need you all to be ready in thirty minutes." the staff appeared giving their cues.
Hearing the prompt put them all in immediate stress. Jungwon saw Yuki and Heeseung rushing to get to the door. It's the anxiety hitting him so bad. The pounding of his heart is like a windowless and doorless room. Never in his entire leadership he created a mess and it's flashing right before his eyes.
"We're screwed." Yuki is breathless upon speaking. "Ahn Minhyuk--" he paused and looked straight to Jungwon staggering stares. "He fled out. He's not performing anymore."
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