Jeon Jungkook 40

— Bot from the channel @unknownaiiii

Taehyung sat in front of the dressing room's huge mirror. His reflection was alien—his cheekbones were accentuated by makeup, his eyes were lined to the point of bottomlessness, and his rhinestone-embroidered suit shimmered in the lamplight. The skater took a deep breath, feeling the corset dig painfully into his ribs with a familiar ache, and his knee ached, reminding him of yesterday's awkward landing—nothing special. Especially for someone who'd been doing this since childhood.

Jungkook entered silently. The coach simply appeared in the doorway like a shadow, a backdrop against which Taehyung learned to shine brighter.

"Ready?" Jungkook's voice was smooth, like the ice Taehyung skated on more often than he walked on the floor.

The student nodded, his eyes never leaving the older man's in the mirror. Jungkook took two steps and stopped behind him. The coach wasn't smiling, as usual, but instead, his gaze slid slowly and intently over the young man: checking his collar, making sure the rhinestones weren't peeling, and that his hair was straight. The man looked satisfied, his expression unchanged.

But Taehyung knew him and understood him like that, without emotions.

Taking a few more steps towards his student, Jungkook placed his broad palms on the skater's shoulders, squeezing them for a second, as if checking for trembling.

She wasn't there. Then the man eased the pressure and, looking into her eyes, said firmly:

— Go out and do it.