Chapter 160 - The Warmth of Your Hands

​The muffled echo of the rehearsal music faded completely into the vastness of the Shibuya ice rink. The venue, which for weeks had been the place where Aibek tried to rebuild his routines after the worst moment of his career, now felt strangely different. Knowing himself to have endured misfortune after misfortune left him with a bad taste in his mouth, but he had managed to overcome it. The powerful spotlights bathed the frozen surface in a golden warmth characteristic of the festive atmosphere. The Grand Prix Final competition had concluded, the podiums were set, and with the official results finally delivered, the air in the building was not heavy with tension, but filled with that unusual serenity preceding the Exhibition Gala—where technicality gives way to artistic freedom, allowing all the skaters who made it to the tournament final to express themselves without worrying about the seriousness of their choreographies.