Let's meet where you are (Yuzuru Hanyu)

In a garden somewhere in South Korea

"You know," I started, "Those girls are not that bad." I said with sudden guilt.

"You didn't seem to like them too much." He responded.

"I know, but that's only because I decided not to like them. Really they only get nervous around you." I admitted.

"Why would they get nervous around me?" He asked in surprise.

"Oh come on, you know you're famous." I looked at him in conviction.

"I'm not!" He whined, "People over exaggerate things." He scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Whatever..." I paused for a second to appreciate the nicely trimmed bushes we were walking by. "Whenever I go to Japan, all girls ever talk about is you... and BTS."

"What about you?" He asked.

"What about me?"

"What do you talk about?"

"I don't talk about anything with them, we have nothing to talk about, apart from skating." I said with a sigh.

"Do you not enjoy talking about skating?" He laughed.

"Not really." I said, probably sounding like I was bored.

"Eeeh?!?! What?!?" He was now thrown out of tracks. "But you're a figure skater?"

"I am." I laughed at his stupid face.

"Don't you like figure skating then?" He asked carefully.

"Eh why you have to ask the difficult questions?" I whined, but still answered, "Of course I like it, I think I just liked it better when I was younger."

"What has changed?" Yuzuru-san asked sadly and sat down on one of the benches.

I stood in front of him, thinking about my answer and realizing that he was the last person on Earth who would understand.

"I realized my limitations." I told him and looked away.

"What do you mean?" He asked in confusion, a distraught look on his face.

"You wouldn't understand." My voice whispered.

"I would. Tell me!" He demanded, standing up once again.

"You never felt that Yuzuru-san." I argued, but seeing that frown in between his eyebrows I knew I had to do something to change it. Taking a deep breath I started.

"No matter how much I practice, no matter how many times I fall and get up, I'll never land a triple axel, nor a triple-triple combination. I'm limited by my talent, by my abilities. These things you don't realize as a kid, because, well, you're a kid and the world is a big landscape of opportunities and possibilities, then you grow up and realize that the world is made up of winners and losers, and I don't like being the loser. What's the point in doing something I don't excel at?" I turned around and looked him straight into the eye. Maybe my eyes were a little watery or my talk was too pathetic but he had an extremely apologetic look in his eyes, like he had just run a puppy over.

"You may land that triple axel one day?" He whispered.

I smiled and shook my head. "You know very well that out of all your skating friends throughout your life you were always the best, and there was nothing else they could do about it." I told him, and he made an even more apologetic face.

"I mean, I'm not depressed about it, I still work hard, I love skating, I just feel like I'm wasting everyone's time and money. I'll never make it to the Olympic team, I know it."