Jinhwan looked down at the floor and watched as the competitors for the next match prepared; his eyes were glued to one in particular. He wanted to go down closer to watch, but he didn’t want to make it seem obvious that he cared. Maybe he could use Junhoe as a cover? He wanted to watch it over with a critical eye, wanted to see if this guy was really worthy of that genius title. Maybe it was a joke, and he was obsessing over nothing. 

“Hey, Junhoe?” Jinhwan turned his head to look his way. “Wanna come down and watch this match a little closer with me? This is the guy you might fight when you win your group. He trains with Eric but he must have come after I left, because I don’t know him at all.” He tried to sound as nonchalant as possible, tried not to make it seem like he actually cared. He aimed for mild curiosity. 

Junhoe looked back at him, surprise etched into his expression. “Yeah, sure, that’s probably a good idea.” He hadn’t missed Jinhwan’s expectation of his victory, and it felt nice to hear it come from him. 

“You two can stay here if you want,” Jinhwan turned his attention to Bobby and Hanbin, “save our spots and all.” 

“Meaning: we better stay here!” Bobby replied, grinning back at his best friend. 

Jinhwan grinned back at him. “If you’re dying to come, I guess you can. It might be a boring match though. We’ve never seen him before, so we just want to get a closer look at him.” 

“That’s fine, I know when we’re not wanted,” Bobby replied, still teasing. He was actually more than happy to let the two of them go off on their own. 

“Yeah it’s okay, we don’t want to interfere with your date.” Hanbin teased, laughing when Junhoe glared at him. 

“Maybe we won’t bother coming back, you two are annoying.” Junhoe leaned over to flick Hanbin in the ear. 

Hanbin grabbed his hand and held on to it. “Is that a promise? Since you guys have each other now, does that mean Bobby and I are free from jiu jitsu babysitting duty?” Junhoe didn’t reply, he just wrenched his hand out of Hanbin’s grip and flicked him again. 

“You’ll never be free!” Junhoe teased, before standing up and following Jinhwan down to the lower level. 

Hanbin watched them go before speaking. “I hope you’re saving up for that dinner, hyung.” 

Bobby shook his head and tightened his arms around Hanbin. “I hope you like McDonald’s.” 

“I demand a high class place! I’m a high class kinda guy.” Hanbin teased, twisting around to look up at him. 

“I’m gonna sabotage them, just wait.” Bobby replied, laughing when Hanbin frowned. 

“No, don’t you dare! They deserve each other.” 

“Do you mean that as a compliment or an insult?” Bobby asked with a laugh. 

“A little bit of both?” Hanbin answered, turning around and settling back against Bobby’s chest. The day was going well, so far. He got to be cuddly with Bobby, and Junhoe and Jinhwan seemed to be getting along very well. He took his phone out, typing an update text to Donghyuk, who wasn’t able to come due to a tutoring session his parents had booked for him (not that he needed it, but they wouldn’t let him out of it). 

‘op: hook up is going good!! they dont fight til tomorrow and are being friendly now! ill update you if anything happens’ 

He waited for Donghyuk’s response (which consisted of heart and thumbs ups emojis) before slipping his phone back in his pocket. He curled his fingers around Bobby’s forearm and smiled when he felt Bobby press a kiss to the top of his head. He wondered what sort of a couple Junhoe and Jinhwan would be if they got together? Junhoe would probably be weird about public displays of affection, but Jinhwan seemed like the type who enjoyed it. Who would cave for who? 

“When they eventually get together, and they will, who do you think is going to end up being the romantic one?” Hanbin asked Bobby. 

“It would have to be Jinhwan, right? I can’t imagine Junhoe having a romantic side? You’re his best friend, you’d know if he even has one at all.” Bobby replied, amused at the idea. While Jinhwan enjoyed romantic movies, he wasn’t really certain if he could see him actually being romantic with a partner? It was a weird idea to contemplate. 

“This might seem weird to you, but Junhoe’s favourite types of movies are romantic dramas.” It still surprised Hanbin sometimes. 

“Seriously?” Bobby couldn’t help but laugh, having a hard time picturing it. “Actually, it’s the same for Jinhwan.” 

Hanbin squeezed Bobby’s arm. “See! They are a perfect match!” Hanbin laughed, trying to picture them watching a drama together. “Does Jinan cry when he watches them?” 

“I don’t know, does Junhoe?” 

“I refuse to say!” Hanbin replied, laughing when Bobby leaned his chin on top of his head. 

“I honestly can’t imagine Junhoe being romantic at all, but to tell you the truth, I actually wasn’t before I met you either.” 

Hanbin snorted at the comment. “You’re romantic now?” He twisted to look at him again, grinning when Bobby pouted at him. 

“I just mean that, well, I never would have even done this before,” Bobby replied, “I was pretty hands off with guys I dated. Getting me to do anything in public was like pulling teeth.” 

Hanbin looked at him in surprise for a moment before smiling softly at him. “So, what you’re saying is that you caved to me?” 

Bobby smiled back at him. “Don’t tell anyone, but yeah, I guess I kind of did.” 

Hanbin settled back against Bobby again, a content smile on his face that only got wider when Bobby’s arms tightened around him. Knowing that Bobby had softened his public persona around him made Hanbin feel even more affection for him. He was glad the other two weren’t here to see his face right now, because he probably looked like a total dork. That was fine, though. It was nice to know that Bobby liked him so much that he was willing to change how he normally acted, just because Hanbin liked being affectionate. 
 

Jinhwan had picked seats two rows up from the floor, happy for the convenient excuse of Junhoe. He’d tried to sit as far out of Eric’s line of sight as possible, not exactly keen on being seen. He didn’t know why he was so concerned anyway. It was perfectly normal to be curious about new opponents. It would be stupid of him not to watch Jimin. He didn’t have to sneak around. 

Jimin was going to be fighting a guy that Jinhwan recognized. They’d moved up through the belt ranks at the same speed, but he hadn’t fought the guy since they were greens. It would be interesting to see how the match went. 

“So why are you really so interested in this guy anyway? What makes him special?” Junhoe asked once they were seated, curious because as much as he appreciated Jinhwan’s help earlier, he wasn’t exactly sure that he believed that Jinhwan was here just to help him further. 

“Just curious about him. I’ve actually never heard his name before, and the fact that he’s here must mean that he’s good.” No point in telling Junhoe that he’d overheard the conversation. 

“I wonder why we’ve never heard of him? Think he moved recently?” 

“Probably. That would make sense. If he just got promoted from blue, I’m sure you’d recognize him at least.” Jinhwan explained, and he wondered then where Jimin had moved from. Somewhere out of the country, obviously. 

“When did you get promoted to purple, anyway?” Junhoe was surprised that he hadn’t asked until now. But it was a little weird that he hadn’t known who Jinhwan was until their first meeting. Surely they should have met at blue belt at some point? 

“It’ll be two years in November,” Jinhwan answered, and he couldn’t help but laugh at the look of surprise on Junhoe’s face. “What? Why are you surprised?” 

Junhoe shook his head, a little embarrassed to be called out. “Sorry, I just didn’t realize you’d been purple for so long, but it makes sense I guess. I was just wondering why we hadn’t fought at blue belt, but I guess that answers my question.” 

“Why, when did you get your purple?” Jinhwan asked, because Junhoe did have a point. They should have met before, shouldn’t they? 

“Just in June of this year.” 

Jinhwan smiled at his answer. “Ah, you’re a little baby purple, then! No wonder I kicked your .” Jinhwan couldn’t help but tease, and when Junhoe just grinned and laughed back at him he sidled up closer to him. “You fought very bravely though, you did good!” 

Junhoe grinned and shoved him away. “Oh shut up, hyung! I actually feel better about our fights, well, the second fight, anyway. I kinda made it easy for you in our first fight.” Junhoe did feel surprisingly better knowing that Jinhwan had been at purple almost a year and a half longer than him. 

“Yeah you kicked your own in the first fight.” Jinhwan agreed, smiling now when he thought back on it. “You definitely fought smarter in the second match, but my vast experience countered your youthful exuberance.” Jinhwan grinned when Junhoe rolled his eyes at his remark. 

“If you keep talking like that, I’m gonna go sit with Hanbin and Bobby again.” They both laughed at his comment. “So, hyung, you must be close to going for your brown belt then, huh?” Not that there was a strict timeline of belt advancement in the sport, but Jinhwan had been a purple for long enough to be granted the opportunity to advance. 

Jinhwan nodded. “Youngbae, my trainer, said he was going to gauge my performance at this tournament to see whether or not he’d approve me to start prepping for the test. I want to, but you know, between that and my trumper testing, and just school in general… I don’t like thinking about it. Like I’m confident, and I’m sure I’ll do well, but it’s kind of nice to have a reputation built up? Like I know when guys come here and they see my name, a lot of them know who I am. When I go up to brown, I’m going to be back down at the bottom again. Not sure if my confidence can take that right now.” Jinhwan grinned and was almost surprised to hear himself say it all out loud. 

“I get that,” Junhoe replied, “I was so nervous for my first fight at purple. Thankfully I’ve done well so far, honestly better than I expected to. But then I fought you, and my pride took a massive hit. I guess when I think about it, losing to you was probably a good thing? Reminded me not to be cocky.” Junhoe felt weird saying it around Jinhwan, because he didn’t often admit to this sort of thing. It was hard enough to say it to Hanbin. It was probably different with Jinhwan because he understood it better. Sure, Hanbin had his boxing, but that was different. 

Jinhwan smiled when he heard the admission from Junhoe. “Yeah, well, you didn’t hear this from me, but that second fight made me remember not to be cocky too. I didn’t take you seriously, and you did really well. You’ve improved from then already, so I think you’re on the right path.” 

“Thanks, hyung.” Junhoe was a little surprised to hear the praise, but it was nice. Felt good to hear it from someone who’d been his rival a month ago. 

Jinhwan turned his attention back to the competitors, who were just now shaking hands. “Oh, match is about to start! I’m interested to see Jimin’s opponent too, Yungmin? I haven’t fought him since we were both green belts! It’s always interesting to keep tabs on guys you came up with.” 

“Hoping that he won’t be as good as you?” Junhoe teased, and Jinhwan laughed. 

“Ah, you know me so well already!” They didn’t talk after the comment, watching in silence as the fighters took their spots and waited for the cue to start. 

Jinhwan couldn’t help but look for similarities between himself and Jimin. Of course they were both short, averaging smaller than the other competitors. Jimin didn’t come across as intense as Jinhwan thought he did, though, instead opting to smile while he waited to begin the fight. Jinhwan tried not to be irritated by it, but he couldn’t help but feel annoyed. 

When they finally began with each other it was Jimin who went for a takedown first, but Yungmin managed to reverse him on the mat and attain a guard position from the back. Jimin fought patiently, though, building opportunities out of Yungmin’s errors. Twice he managed to convert Yungmin’s attempts at submissions into different holds for himself, and Jinhwan hated to admit it, but Jimin did fight very intelligently. 

His style screamed Eric, something that Jinhwan picked up on easily. They had that much in common already. Jimin was a better fighter than Jinhwan had been hoping he’d be, and he could see why maybe he’d begun getting a bit of a reputation. 

Junhoe watched him with interest as well, concerned already when he saw how quick Jimin was to reverse moves and slip out of holds. It reminded him a lot of fighting Jinhwan, actually. When the first round ended Junhoe looked at him and shook his head. 

“He reminds me of you,” Junhoe said, “you guys fight the same.” 

Jinhwan frowned, because that was the last thing he wanted to hear, even though he could see it himself. “You think so?” He asked, feeling sulky as he watched Jimin get a brief shoulder rub from Eric. 

“Yeah, you’re both good at getting out of positions.” Junhoe wasn’t aware of Jinhwan’s behaviour towards the comparison, his eyes also on Jimin and Eric. 

“Think he’s as good as me?” Jinhwan asked, trying not to sound as bothered as he felt. 

“Hard to say, cause it’s only been one round,” Junhoe answered honestly, “but I think you’re more dominant? He didn’t dominate Yungmin as much this round. I mean okay he got more points and he’s obviously a better fighter, but he didn’t push as hard as you did, I don’t think?” 

Jinhwan felt a little placated at Junhoe’s observations. Okay, sure it was a little petty, but hearing that Junhoe thought he’d fought better made him feel better. “Thanks, Junhoe-ya!” 

“Like, you didn’t hear this from me, but you’re a little intimidating on the mat, even though you are small,” Junhoe grinned when Jinhwan grumbled at him, “but this guy’s not intimidating at all. Looks like the kind of guy who’d offer to do your homework just so you quit teasing him.” 

Jinhwan laughed at Junhoe’s description. It was oddly accurate. “You’ve got a good way with words.” 

“You say that like it’s the only thing I have!” Junhoe replied, pretending offense. 

“Well, I mean, you do have your looks, but apart from that not much else, right?” Junhoe laughed at his comment, and Jinhwan was left feeling weirdly content. He never would have expected that he and Junhoe would fall into such easy conversation so quickly, but maybe Junhoe just wanted another friend more than any of them realized? Whatever it was, Jinhwan was happy for it. As much as he liked having Bobby come to his matches, it was nice to have someone else who truly understood the sport to pass the time with. 

They watched the second round, critical eyes taking in everything as Jimin finished off Yungmin with a guillotine choke. Jinhwan was impressed, but not as impressed as he’d anticipated being. Jimin was good, for sure. Maybe even great. 

But genius? 

Definitely not. 
 

“I thought you said Seiyeon was supposed to come today?” 

Jinhwan looked back at Bobby, surprised it had taken him this long to ask. “Yeah, she was supposed to make it for today but something came up. She’s coming tomorrow, though! Booked her flight already.” 

“Sorry she couldn’t make it, it would have been a good day for her!” Bobby replied, “you dominated all of your matches today. Almost like you were trying to impress someone.” Bobby , and Jinhwan shoved him into the wall. 

“Yeah, well, listen speaking of that, I kinda need you to make yourself scarce for a bit.” 

Bobby looked at him with suspicious eyes. “Oh? What for?” 

Jinhwan just smiled back at him. “Very personal conversation that I need to have,” he replied secretively, “I’m sure you won’t mind spending more time with Hanbin, right?” 

“Ah, I don’t know, Jinan, I’ve been with him all day, kinda need a break?” 

“Excuse me, I can hear you!” Hanbin spoke up from his seat on the ground next to Junhoe. 

“See what I mean? It’s like a little puppy that won’t get out from under my feet.” Bobby teased, moving out of the way as Hanbin tried to kick him. 

“I hope he bites your ankles!” Jinhwan replied, laughing when Hanbin crawled over to Bobby, branding his teeth and snapping at Bobby’s legs. They all laughed and Hanbin stuck his tongue out, panting at Bobby. 

“Okay, I’m sorry! Go sit over there and be a good boy!” Bobby played along, patting Hanbin’s head. 

Jinhwan couldn’t resist making a jab. “Wow, didn’t expect you guys to be this !” 

Bobby groaned and frowned at him. “Why do you always have to ruin everything?” 

Jinhwan grinned and winked at him before looking at Hanbin. “What are you guys planning for the night anyway? We didn’t really talk about what we were going to do.” 

“We’re meeting up with Donghyuk at a ramen place in Hongdae. We’ll bring Bobby with us, I guess, if we have to.” Hanbin grinned and looked up at his boyfriend, smiling sweetly at him before looking back at Jinhwan. “How long are you going to be? You wanna come join after?” 

Jinhwan didn’t want to commit for sure, because he didn’t know how long he’d be. “I’ll call you guys when I’m done and see where you are. Be good to your hyung!” He teased them all before heading back into the building, looking for Eric. 

There was the pressing matter of California to talk about, but Jinhwan was sure something more would come up. He carried his duffel bag with him into the bathroom, changing out of his gi and back into jeans and a t-shirt. He hadn’t bothered to bring anything especially nice, and he was glad for it now. Dressing up would have just made him feel awkward. 

He pulled his phone out, reading a new message. 

‘Just having a team debrief, be ready for you in fifteen?’ 

He’d sent it almost ten minutes ago now, so that only gave Jinhwan maybe five minutes to prepare himself. He sat down in the hall, his back to a row of lockers as he waited. 

The day had been a weird seesaw of back and forth, emotional highs and lows. While he’d told himself that this talk needed to focus on information about moving to the US eventually, he’d be fooling himself if he wasn’t preparing to talk about things he wasn’t sure he was ready to talk about. Eric had always had a way of making him talk, figuring out how to weasel information out of him no matter how deeply buried it was. 

Did he want to talk about personal things? Would it be a good idea? 

No. Best not to open that can of worms. He hadn’t been honest with Eric at the time, there was no point in being honest now. Nothing good would come of it. Best to move on and stay moved on. 

Provided he could, of course, and based on today’s flip flop feelings? He wasn’t sure if it would be possible for him. Maybe this whole thing was a mistake. Could he cancel? Come up with some reason why he had to postpone their talk? He just wasn’t ready, not for one-on-one. Why hadn’t he asked Youngbae to stay with him? That would have made sense, right? Not that he’d ever trained in the US, but he was experienced in the sport, older than Eric, maybe he’d have different insights? 

But just as Jinhwan had his phone out, ready to write an apology over text message, there were voices at the end of the hall. He looked up and felt his heart leap up into his throat. 

“Alright guys, head back to the hotel and shower up, get some food. I’ll be back later and we’ll go out for a bit, alright? Insung, if anyone gets into before I get back, your is on the line.” 

Jinhwan watched as Eric gave a final chat to his fighters, remembering when he’d been a part of that group at one point in time. 

“Ah, hyung, how long will you be? Should we wait until you’re back to get food? I feel weird eating without you!” 

Jinhwan’s eyes narrowed at the voice, unable to stop the knee jerk emotional reaction. 

“Ah, Jimin-ie! Just get food, you’ll be fine!” Eric laughed. 

“Hyung, you should be taking us out for dinner, you know! It’s not right, going off and leaving us to fend for ourselves.” 

Jinhwan watched it all with a growing sense of irritation. God, how could Eric stand him? How old was this kid? Why was he so clingy? 

“I’m your trainer, Jimin, not your babysitter! Go cling to Insung, he loves it.” Eric playfully pushed him away. 

“The he will!” Insung grinned and pushed Jimin towards Changwook, who finally welcomed him with open arms. 

“Ah, Jimin hyung, we’ll be fine! Think of it this way, if hyung comes with us, he’ll be picky about what we eat! This way we can have whatever we want!” 

“You take pictures of your dinner and send them to me!” Eric teased them. “No one eat until I text you back with the all clear.” With that he waited for them to leave, and Jinhwan watched as Jimin turned around to wave pathetically to Eric. Jinhwan was annoyed when Eric waved back, couldn’t believe he was playing into such childish behaviour. It was embarrassing, and it just made him dislike Jimin even more. 

But then Eric finally turned around, and Jinhwan couldn’t even bring himself to get up as he walked closer. 

Focus on California. That’s the only thing you need to talk about. Just talk about California. Talk about your upcoming test for brown belt. Talk about jiu jitsu. Don’t talk about anything else. 

“Hey, kiddo! Wanna go grab some food?” 

Jinhwan smiled back and nodded, stuck his hand up and waited for Eric to come over and take it, waited to be pulled up from the floor. 

He was ed.