And with this chapter the story breaks the 100,000 word mark! So I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who's stuck with the story from the beginning, and everyone new who shows up and leaves a comment! Your comments all mean a lot to me, thank you everyone. ♥♥♥ There's still a lot left to tell, but I never expected the story to be this long when I started it, so I'm feeling a little emotional about it today. ♥

For this chapter—it's a Jinhwan chapter. The others are there for bits but it's mostly just him. There will be more of everyone else next chapter, I just had a lot to cover with him at the moment. :)
 

'i'm heeeere!! just parking now, where are you?'

'im coming!!!!!'

Jinhwan jumped up from his seat in excitement. “Seiyeon's here finally, I'm gonna go get her! Be back in a bit!”

The other three watched as he ran down the steps, in a rush to go find his sister.

“He seems excited,” Hanbin mentioned, amused at how quickly Jinhwan ran off to go and find her. He was the only one so far that had yet to meet Jinwhan's sister and he was curious to see what she would be like. Junhoe had liked her after meeting her, quick to compare her to Yejin.

Bobby had been wondering if Jinhwan was going to explain the situation with his family to them, but after saying nothing about it, Bobby decided to tell them at least a bit himself. “I didn't really want to say anything because it's not my place to tell you guys this, but this is actually the first time Seiyeon's coming to watch him fight.”

“The first time ever?” Hanbin asked, face dropping in shock.

“Yeah, actually both Seiyeon and his mom have never really supported the whole jiu jitsu thing,” Bobby explained, and he hoped Jinhwan wouldn't be mad at him later, but he thought that they deserved to know.

Junhoe thought back to their night together at the orchestra, suddenly making sense of Jinhwan's odd request. “I forgot to ask you about it, but when I met them, Jinhwan asked me not to say anything about jiu jitsu. Made me follow some story about being friends from school. I never got around to asking him why, but this makes sense.”

Bobby frowned at the comment. Typical Jinhwan, he thought to himself in disappointment, asking for a favour but not giving the full explanation. “Yeah, I don't know the whole story, because he's never told me even though I keep asking, but his mom has always ignored everything to do with the sport ever since he started. He used to try to get her interested, but she never budged, so he just gave up. Seiyeon never wanted to hear about it either, but I guess she changed her mind recently. That's why he didn't want you to bring it up.” Bobby told Junhoe.

“Are you serious?” Hanbin asked, still surprised and growing upset at the news. “That's bull, his mom should be supporting him!”

“I know, I try to talk to him about it, but he brushes it off and tells me not to worry. But anyway, guys it's a huge deal that Seiyeon's finally coming. So can you make sure you're extra nice to her? I don't want her to feel weird about coming. I want her to enjoy herself and have a fun day, maybe she'll keep coming.” Bobby looked pleadingly between them.

Junhoe felt conflicted, though, still thinking about that night. “His mom was so nice when I met her, though,” he said, “she was really welcoming. And he seemed so happy to be with her, he was excited the whole night.” Junhoe couldn't imagine his parents not supporting him to that degree in something he loved. How could you still smile and happily exist around someone who didn't support your passion?

“That relationship's kinda weird,” Bobby said, “when it comes to music, his mom is honestly the most supportive person in the world and they're super close. He video calls his mom a lot so she can watch him play, he does it all the time when he's feeling frustrated. I know she loves him, she's very proud of his music, and I know he misses being away from home. I guess he just doesn't want to argue with her since he's away? If he doesn't bring it up, she can pretend it's not happening, and then he doesn't have to deal with her being upset about it. I wish I could get him to talk about it more, but he always clams up about it.”

“That's garbage,” Hanbin replied, still angry about the situation, “I feel bad for him.”

“He's okay,” Bobby answered, touched that Hanbin was so mad on Jinhwan's behalf, “he says he's over it, he doesn't care anymore.”

“That's bull too,” Hanbin replied, “if he didn't care anymore then why's he so excited that Seiyeon is here?”

“I know,” Bobby sighed and leaned his chin on Hanbin's shoulder, “but it's his issue, and we just have to let it go.”

Junhoe didn't say much as he listened to them talk it over. He agreed with Hanbin, but he wasn't really the sort of person to get involved in someone else's life. Everyone made their own decisions, and Junhoe wanted no part of someone else's. He usually didn't put much thought into other people's problems, anyway. With the exception of Hanbin, Junhoe preferred to not know much about other people. It was too much work caring about someone else. But still...

“So please don't say anything to her about this, okay? Just be nice and make sure she has a fun day. I like Seiyeon a lot, I want her to keep coming, I think it's good for Jinan. So when she gets here just be nice, okay?” Bobby asked, hoping they'd both try and treat Seiyeon well despite knowing what they did.

“Got it,” Hanbin replied with a grin, “I'll make sure I'm extra charming!”

“Don't be, you might scare her off!” Junhoe teased, putting the information about Jinhwan's family out of his head. It was just easier to pretend he hadn't heard anything Bobby had said. It was Jinhwan's life, after all, it didn't affect him.

“If you didn't manage to scare her away, I think I'll be fine.” Hanbin replied, and they descended into a round of traded barbs and insults as they waited.

Jinhwan was outside standing on the front steps when he finally saw her. He almost couldn't believe she was here, willingly and of her own desire. It affected him more than he'd thought it would and he had to take a deep breath to try and keep his emotions in check as he watched her approach. He almost broke when she looked up at him and their eyes met—his sister looked near tears herself.

“Jinan-ie,” Seiyeon greeted him, reaching hands out to cup his face, “look at you! Such a nice looking uniform, you look so good.” She kissed his cheek before pulling him into a hug and Jinhwan wrapped his arms tightly around her back, closing his eyes as he buried his face into her neck. Get a hold of yourself, Jinhwan!

“Thanks for coming, noona,” he said, barely keeping himself together, and when Seiyeon seemed to want to pull out of their hug Jinhwan clung tighter, not ready to let her go yet. Seiyeon kissed his cheek again and waited until he was ready.

“I'm sorry I didn't come yesterday,” Seiyeon started to explain, “I told you I'd explain in person but that can wait for later. When are you fighting?”

“In about an hour,” he answered. After finishing the top in his group yesterday, this morning saw him fighting a semi-final and if he came out victorious he'd fight in the final in the afternoon.

“Oh good, we have a bit of time then,” she said, smiling and grabbing his hand, “my flight was a little delayed so I was worried.”

He held her hand tightly, elated that she was here but also mindful of why he'd come out to meet her without anyone else around. There was something they needed to discuss, something very important that he didn't want the others to overhear.

“Before we go in, though, I need to talk to you.”

“Should I be worried?” Seiyeon teased, and Jinhwan shook his head.

“No, it's nothing to worry about, but you need to know.” He pulled her away from the steps, heading for a bench on the school's front lawn. No one was around and he wanted a degree of privacy for the conversation. “I know you might be a little upset with me for not telling you about this, but I didn't want you to worry--”

Seiyeon cut him off, almost like she'd been anticipating his topic of conversation. “Is Eric here?” Her voice was a little harder, and Jinhwan could hear the difference in her tone.

“He is.” He met her gaze for a moment, calm and collected as he gauged her reaction. “It's a national tournament, so he brought some of his students. I knew he was coming, but I didn't want you to stress about it. That's why I didn't tell you.”

Seiyeon nodded, accepting the information thought she wasn't happy about it. “Have you talked to him?”

Jinhwan nodded. “We had dinner last night.”

“Dinner? Whose idea was that?” Seiyeon asked, clearly unhappy with the news.

Jinhwan fought to stay calm, though he was tempted to brush off her concern and tell her to stop meddling in his business. But if he wanted her support, he knew he had to be mindful of her own feelings too—and while she knew part of what had happened between he and Eric, he'd kept a lot from her. He couldn't fault her for being upset. “It's not what you think, okay? It wasn't that kind of dinner--”

“Jinhwan, I'm sorry, I'm trying to be calm about this but it just makes me really uncomfortable.”

“I know, but I mean it, nothing happened--”

“I certainly hope not!” Seiyeon replied, almost yelling. She lowered her voice after realizing how loud she'd responded. “You have to understand, Jinan, this whole situation-”

“I know, okay? There's no need to discuss it.” He hoped she wasn't going to make him discuss it.

She was, though. “I just don't like the idea of him taking you out for dinner. Not when he has a wife back home.”

Jinhwan bit the inside of his cheek to keep from snapping back at her. Yes, Eric was married, but it wasn't real! But that wasn't Seiyeon's business. Some things had to stay private. Jinhwan knew the truth about everything, and that was enough. “Noona, I know it bothers you, but I mean it, the dinner was not like that. We just needed to talk about things, okay?”

“What sort of things? Relationship things?” Seiyeon snapped back, trying her best to remain calm but having a hard time of it.

“No, jiu jitsu things!” Jinhwan replied, his voice raising higher than he'd meant it to. Stay calm. Focus on the truth. “We talked about me possibly going to California. I've been putting off talking to him about it, but this was a good opportunity to get questions answered that only he can answer for me.” He paused, taking in her expression. “Seiyeon, please don't be upset about this. You're here to support me, right?” He paused again, and her expression softened a little. “Well, he's a big part of my support system, okay? Whether you like it or not. He's the reason why I'm so good, he's the reason why I want to keep fighting. Not because it's what he does but because I'm really good at it, and he trained me and believed in me and told me I could do it. For years, when no one else did.” He knew it was a huge risk, invoking her guilty conscience, but it was the truth, after all. All those years when Jinhwan could have used support from his sister, and she'd withheld it. Could she blame him for cherishing the support he'd gotten elsewhere?

“I'm sorry.” She crossed her arms and looked away, blinking tears out of her eyes that made Jinhwan feel bad.

It wasn't his fault, though. “Seiyeon, please don't cry about this, okay? I'm sorry to bring it up--”

“No, you were right to,” she interrupted, wiping at her eyes, “you're right. I wanted nothing to do with this part of your life, so I can't be mad. It's just hard, because I just think about how upset you were when he broke up with you. I remember finding you crying in your room, it was heartbreaking and I've never forgiven him for hurting you.”

Jinhwan took a deep breath, keeping himself together and focused. He really owed her a full explanation. “I lied to you about what happened,” he told her, his voice soft, “not about everything, I mean okay the reason we broke up is the truth, but how it happened was a lie. I was upset and hurt, but it was my own fault, not his. If I'd been honest with him and told him my feelings, it would have been different. But I didn't, and instead of telling him how hurt I was, I just kept it to myself. I lied to you because I wanted someone to feel bad for me, and I didn't think about how you would feel. I'm sorry.”

Seiyeon shook her head, sighing out loud and wiping her eyes again. “Jinan--”

“I'm sorry, okay? I really am. I acted in a selfish way, and I didn't think about what it would do in the long run. I just wanted you to be upset for me in that moment. I should have told you the truth.”

She didn't answer right away, and for a moment they were caught in silence, neither knowing what to say. Eventually Seiyeon broke the silence.

“Just answer me one thing, Jinan.” Their eyes met again, and Seiyeon took his hand again. “Do you miss him?”

Jinhwan didn't hesitate before answering. “Of course I miss him. All the time.” It was true, and after their talk last night he felt better about the whole thing. “But I realized something after we talked last night. I miss him, but I don't actually want to be with him again. Does that make sense? Like I miss when we were together, but I wouldn't go back with him, if I could. Things are too different now, I don't think it would work. But I still miss him. I probably always will.”

Seiyeon nodded, understanding written on her face. “Sounds like dad.”

Jinhwan was surprised at the comparison, but it kind of made sense. There was one big exception, though. “It is like that, but Eric was good for me, at least. Not like dad.”

Seiyeon took a deep breath and blew it out loudly, closing her eyes momentarily before looking back at him. “If you say so, then okay. I'll accept it, and I won't hold anything against him. I'll trust you. I guess it's just hard sometimes, to remember that you're growing up and you're not my baby anymore. You're almost an adult now. I have to trust that you know what's best for yourself. I'm sorry I haven't been doing that. I should have.”

“Ah, noona, I probably don't always know what's best for me!” He joked, before leaning in to hug her. She laughed and hugged him back and Jinhwan felt like the entire world had been lifted off his shoulders. That had been the heaviest conversation they'd had in a long time and he'd managed to come out of it with exactly the response he'd wanted. He was grateful to his sister for listening to him and trusting him, and he knew that he had a lot of work ahead of him in order to prove that he'd earned that trust.

“Ah, you're smart, Jinan-ie! But I'll still be here to call you on any stupid decisions you make.” She ruffled his hair and kissed his cheek and Jinhwan grinned back at her.

“Good, I'll be counting on you! We should head inside now, though, the guys are probably wondering what's taking so long.”

“Who's here with you? I thought you usually just came with Bobby?”

“Usually, but I have a bigger group, now. Bobby, Hanbin, and Junhoe--”

Seiyeon's eyes went wide at the last name. “Junhoe from the concert?”

Jinhwan's expression dropped when he realized he'd never told her the truth about him. “Ah yeah, that Junhoe. Listen, um, about him...”

Seiyeon's expression turned annoyed and she smacked his arm. “You little liar! Let me guess—he's not a school friend, is he?”

Jinhwan couldn't help but grin in response to her irritated reaction. He didn't even have to say it out loud for Seiyeon to know when he was obviously lying to her. “No, he's not. We actually met last month at a tournament.”

Seiyeon sighed loudly. “I can't believe you lied about that! Why wouldn't you tell me the truth?”

“Because I thought mom would flip out if she knew he was a jiu jitsu friend!” Jinhwan replied, and he knew she'd understand that train of thought at least.

Seiyeon nodded at the comment. “Well, I can't fault you for that. But still, you could have told me!”

“I know, I'm sorry! It just slipped my mind. It's actually kind of a funny story. We fought each other and we both immediately hated each other. I was here with Bobby, and Junhoe was here with Hanbin, that's his best friend. To make a long story short, Bobby and Hanbin met each other when they were buying us drinks, and now they're dating.”

Seiyeon laughed at the story. “Ah, teenage drama! And what about you and Junhoe?”

“What about us?” Jinhwan asked.

Seiyeon frowned at his answer. “Oh, is he straight?”

Jinhwan grinned and shook his head. “No, he's gay too! But nothing is going on, okay? We've barely been friends for a few weeks, we're not dating.”

Seiyeon grinned back and took up a teasing tone. “Well, he's very attractive, so don't turn your back on that opportunity!”

“Noona!” Jinhwan groaned. “Don't , okay? He's actually very sensitive, so he might get upset if you too much.”

Seiyeon sighed again and shook her head. “Ah, forget what I said then. If he can't handle being teased then he'd probably be a terrible boyfriend for you!”

Jinhwan laughed at her comment. She had a point. “Oh one last thing, actually. If Eric comes up in conversation, can you not say anything about the fact that we dated? Because no one else knows about that. I didn't even tell Bobby.”

“You didn't even tell Bobby?” Seiyeon repeated, her tone one of disbelief. “Your best friend? Why not?”

“Ah it just wasn't a good idea, you know the whole trainer thing? Could have gotten us in trouble.”

“I understand why you wouldn't tell other people, but Bobby? That's just surprising, I thought you told Bobby everything.”

Jinhwan shrugged. “It was just easier not saying anything. So promise you won't say anything about it?”

Seiyeon nodded. “I promise, not a word!”

“Thanks, noona! I appreciate it.” Jinhwan hugged her one last time before getting up. “Okay, let's go!” Seiyeon took his hand again as they made their way inside and Jinhwan happily held it, beaming as he made his way back to his friends. She was here finally, everything else today was a bonus.

Bobby was watching for them, concern growing slightly when it took a while for them to come in. It was probably nothing, he told himself. Probably just Jinhwan being an emotional sap with his sister and not wanting anyone to see. Bobby wouldn't put it past him. Hanbin and Junhoe were still trading insults and Bobby was impressed at how long they were able to keep it up. He thought it was cute. Hanbin almost seemed younger when Junhoe was around, he was more of a dork. Bobby liked seeing his dorky side.

It was weird, though, because sometimes Hanbin did things that Bobby would have judged past boyfriends for, would have teased them for, even. But everything Hanbin did was cute in his eyes. So Hanbin was a good distraction while he waited for Jinhwan to come back; Bobby laughed along with them and couldn't help but appreciate how well the four of them ere working out. Whatever did or didn't end up happening with Junhoe and Jinhwan had better not mess anything up for their group.

Bobby was the first to spot Jinhwan and felt all the tension he'd been holding onto slip away at the happy looks on the siblings' faces. He squeezed Hanbin's arm to get his attention. “Okay, they're here! Be nice, guys.”

Hanbin sat up excitedly, watching as Jinhwan climbed the stairs back up to them, his sister following behind him. He could see their family resemblance already. Jinhwan looked so happy to be here with her that it made Hanbin forget about what Bobby had told them earlier.

“Hey, noona!” Bobby called out, standing up to greet Seiyeon. “You look beautiful today!”

“I look beautiful every day, Jiwon-ah!” Seiyeon replied, pulling him into a hug.

Bobby laughed at her response. “Ah, of course you do!”

Seiyeon pulled back and looked down at Hanbin quickly before looking back at Bobby. “Is this the new boyfriend?”

Bobby grinned and looked at Hanbin quickly. “Yeah, this is Hanbin!”

Hanbin stood up and bowed quickly before addressing her. “It's nice to meet you, Seiyeon-sshi!”

“Oh don't be so formal!” Seiyeon replied, smiling at him. “If you're friends with Jinan-ie and dating Jiwon, then you're pretty much family already!” She pulled him into a hug too, and Hanbin happily hugged her back. She held him at arm's length for a moment after their hug before looking back at her brother. “Ah Jinan, you have such pretty friends now!”

“Hey! What do you mean, now?” Bobby exclaimed, frowning at her.

“Jiwon, you're a sweet boy and that's all that matters.” Seiyeon teased. “It says a lot about your personality to nab such a cute boyfriend!” She winked at Hanbin, who blushed at her comment.

“Ah, noona, I'm not that much better looking than Bobby!” Hanbin replied, playing coy.

Seiyeon didn't buy it, though. “Don't be modest, I'm sure you own a mirror! Speaking of pretty friends, though, I see you, Junhoe-ya!”

Junhoe grinned at the exchange. “Hey, noona!” He greeted her warmly, standing up to accept a hug as well.

“Jinhwan told me he lied about how you actually know each other,” she said, grinning when Junhoe laughed, “so it's nice to meet the real you! Are you fighting too today?”

“Yeah, I'm in the other semi-final, actually!” Junhoe replied, grinning at Jinhwan. “So we might be fighting later.”

“If we do he'll be losing,” Jinhwan replied, “I beat him twice already.”

“I let you win!” Junhoe joked back. “I like to lose every now and then to fabricate an illusion of modesty.” He said to Seiyeon, who laughed.

“Ah, cute and a good sense of humour! If only you were ten years older and straight!” Seiyeon teased, grinning when Junhoe blushed.

“Noona!” Jinhwan whined, “you promised!”

Seiyeon just patted his cheek. “I know what I promised, and it was something different!” They took seats then, chatting for a bit before Jinhwan had to head down to prepare for his fight. He was actually a little nervous about the match, because while he was familiar with his opponent, Ha Siwon, he'd never fought him before. Siwon had a good five inches on Jinhwan, at least thirty pounds, and no less than five years. It wasn't the first time he'd fought someone much bigger than he was, but Siwon's body type was of a stronger build than Jinhwan had ever fought before. Siwon also boasted a rather stellar record, much like Jinhwan.

He knew he could beat Siwon—he had the skill. But sometimes skill alone wasn't enough.

He was sitting with Youngbae, discussing tactics and potential moves he could try. They'd watched all of Siwon's matches together the day before, looking for weaknesses Jinhwan could exploit. He couldn't afford to make any mistakes in this match, especially not with Seiyeon watching. He wanted her to be impressed, and nothing would be more impressive than a victory against someone of Siwon's size.

Jinhwan got to his feet when it was finally time to take the mat. Youngbae stood up with him, one final shoulder rub while Jinhwan started shaking his limbs out in preparation for the fight. “You've got this guy, Jinhwan. Just follow our game place, feel him out for the first round. Let him advance on you, just worry about getting a feel for him and how powerful he is. Don't worry about actually going for any big moves until the second round.” Jinhwan nodded, knowing that it was the smart approach. “This match will be a really good test for you. If you pass this one, then we'll start looking at setting up a test for your brown belt.”

Jinhwan snorted at Youngbae's comment, turning to playfully glare at his trainer. “Wow, hyung! Way to pile the pressure on.”

Youngbae grinned back and patted his head. “You want to win, don't you?”

Jinhwan laughed as he looked back out at the mat, his eyes falling on Siwon. He could handle this. It's not like Youngbae wouldn't let him test for the brown if he lost. The important thing wasn't really the victory but how he fought. Some victories were earned, while others were lucky. Youngbae would consider a well fought loss to be a better result than a lucky victory. Anyone could capitalize on a mistake. Jinhwan didn't want to make a mistake.

When he stepped out to take up his spot his eyes fell across Eric, who was sitting near to watch. Jimin was there next to Eric, of course, but Eric's eyes were focused on Jinhwan, and as soon as he noticed Jinhwan's attention Eric smiled at him and shot him a quick thumbs ups. Jinhwan smiled back, feeling buoyed by Eric's presence.

He thought about their conversation the night before and felt a warm surge of confidence flood through his limbs, bolstered by the memory of what they'd talked about. All of Jinhwan's concerns from the day before, insecurities dredged up by that overheard conversation, those had all been put to rest after their talk.
 

“Hey, what's your problem, huh? Why are you suddenly giving me short little one word answers?” Eric asked, confused eyes on Jinhwan's face.

“Nothing.” Jinhwan answered with a shrug, realizing too late that he was being every bit as obvious as Eric had called him out over. He couldn't pretend that nothing was wrong if he kept acting like something was.

Eric was well-versed when it came to Jinhwan hiding things, though. “Come on, out with it! I can tell when something is bothering you. You know you'll feel better once you get it over with.”

God, Eric could be so infuriating! Acting like he knew it all (even if he did know it all). It was the same thing every time. But it usually did help, though, when he talked. Should he ask and get it over with? Would Eric laugh at him for being petty? Or worse—would he confirm Jinhwan's fears and admit he'd been telling the truth?

“If I guess right, will you tell you me what's bugging you?” Eric playfully asked, and Jinhwan hated how much it made him remember. So many of their conversations in the past had started this way, Jinhwan afraid to express his concerns and worries, and Eric always able to pry them out of him.

Fine. He'd play along. For old time's sake. “Take a guess, then.”

“It's Jimin, isn't it?”

. How was Eric always so good at this?

“Don't think I didn't notice you coming to watch every single one of his matches. You took quite the interest in him.”

Jinhwan shrugged and hoped his face wouldn't give it all away. “Well, I've never seen him before, never even heard his name. Of course I was interested.”

“Why, because he trains with me? You didn't care that much about the others. But you watched every single one of Jimin's fights, from close, too. Are you worried about him?”

“Why would I be worried about him?” Jinhwan asked, and he knew from Eric's grin that he'd sounded every bit as defensive as he hadn't wanted to.

“I don't know, Jinan, you tell me.”

Jinhwan let out an annoyed huff of breath. How did Eric always manage to talk him into letting his secrets out? Every time. “I, uh, overheard you talking about him this morning.” He was embarrassed to be admitting to this already.

Eric's expression softened though, and he looked thoughtful. “What did you hear?”

Jinhwan pouted and tapped his chopsticks against his plate, already feeling like a whiny kid for even bringing it up. “It was when you first got to the venue, I was in the bathroom and I heard your voice. Someone was asking you about your new genius student.”

“Ah, of course. Did you hear the whole thing?” Jinhwan nodded, and he felt like he was fifteen again, moping quietly while Eric talked him through every problem he was having—family problems, school problems.

He briefly looked up at Eric, their eyes meeting. “Do you really think he's better than me?” Jinhwan hated himself for asking, hated that he actually cared about the answer.

Eric's expression was hard to read. “No, of course not. He's really good, definitely my best student right now, but he's not at your level.” They stared at each other in silence for a moment before Eric smiled softly at him. “You can't really be surprised that I said it in front of him, can you? Unless you expected me to tell him that he's not as good as you?”

Jinhwan flushed and looked away, embarrassed shame colouring his cheeks, because wow, he actually had expected Eric to tell Jimin that he wasn't as good as Jinhwan, hadn't he?

“Ah, Jinan! I'd be disappointed in you if it wasn't so cute.” Eric chided him, reaching out to pat Jinhwan's hand.

Jinhwan laughed at himself, hating how childish he'd sounded. But he couldn't hide how he felt, and honestly this had nothing to do with their relationship. Eric was more to him than just his ex-boyfriend, and when it came to jiu jitsu Eric's opinion would always matter to Jinhwan. “Okay, but how do I know you're being honest now? What if you really do think Jimin is better than me?”

Eric's expression was serious now. “You saw him fight today. Do you think he's better than you?”

Jinhwan thought about it seriously, recalled what he'd watched. Jimin was an excellent fighter, absolutely. But was he at Jinhwan's level? Was he that good?

“No. I think I'm better than Jimin.”

Eric smiled softly at his answer. “Then why do you care so much about what I think?”

The question sobered Jinhwan up in a way he hadn't expected, because it wasn't something he'd expected Eric to ask him outright. He didn't have an answer because he wasn't ready to admit it to Eric. Couldn't bring himself to say it out loud.

“Do we have to play the guessing game again?” Eric asked him, and Jinhwan frowned and shook his head. This was one secret he wasn't going to let Eric pry out of him, no matter how hard he tried. “I kept wondering why you keep avoiding me all the time, Jinan. I asked you if you wanted to keep in touch or if you needed some distance, and you promised me you were okay with it. You promised it didn't hurt, remember?”

Of course he remembered. He thought he'd done a convincing job at the time. Was he betraying himself now?

“You lied about that, didn't you?”

Jinhwan didn't answer. But he didn't have to. Eric had him figured out, and he couldn't even deny it. It was true.

Eric sighed and rubbed his fingers across his face. “Ah, Jinan. I wish you'd been honest with me about your feelings. I was always so good at reading you, but I was so focused on my own problems. I should have seen it, though, I don't know how I missed it. I'm sorry.”

Jinhwan wanted to dispute him, wanted to tell him no, that he never should have figured it out. Wanted to apologize for not hiding it better. It was pointless anyway, because the relationship had grown into something it was never supposed to be. Neither of them had meant to fall in love. That hadn't been the point. Love is what made the whole thing end. It would have been better if Eric had never figured him out.

“I'm sorry too.” Sorry about so many things.
 

It was funny, though, how admitting to something you'd desperately been trying to hide ended up making a big difference anyway. He felt a better resolution about things after last night. Maybe he still didn't have exactly the kind of closure he wanted, but it was something, an acknowledgement of what might have been had their situations been different. It was enough to clear the cloud of bitter regret that gripped his chest every time he heard Eric's name.

And Jimin? Jinhwan wasn't particularly interested in Jimin anymore. He was just another student with a fancy nickname, nothing more. He'd beat Jimin later if he faced him. Jimin still had to get through Junhoe, after all. Regardless of who won that fight, Jinhwan was confident that he'd be the one victorious at the very end.

He just had to get through Siwon first.

He took his place in the centre of the mat, bowing when Siwon joined him. They shook hands as well, and Jinhwan felt an odd calmness when Siwon addressed him, no trace of the usual pre-fight arrogance.

“Kim Jinhwan-sshi, you and I finally meet!” Siwon said with a touch of mirth.

Jinhwan grinned back at him. “Ah, I feel like hyung has been avoiding me these past two years!”

Siwon actually laughed at that, and it made Jinhwan feel a little less nervous. “I was thinking the same! Thought maybe you were waiting to grow a few inches.”

They grinned at each other, and unlike other matches, Jinhwan didn't feel annoyed by the joke. Maybe he was finally maturing a little?

“I gave up on that dream years ago, hyung!” Jinhwan replied, and Siwon laughed. The official called for their match to start then, and they clasped hands again before wishing each other a good fight. Jinhwan felt calmer now than he'd felt all weekend.

His eyes briefly found Eric again, and the little nod Eric gave him had him feeling a renewed sense of confidence. Eric knew he could do it, Youngbae believed he could win, and Seiyeon was finally here watching him.

Siwon didn't stand a chance.

The matched started quickly with Siwon on the attack and Jinhwan patiently fending him off, getting a feel for him. They went through one round without much action, a few mounts here and there, a few half-hearted attempts at submissions that were easily slipped out of. They were both fighting cautiously, showing one another a great deal of respect. It wouldn't last, of course. By the end of the round Siwon was up on points, which was fine by Jinhwan. He'd learned what he needed to learn about Siwon. He wasn't planning on letting this fight end on a decision.

Before the second round started Jinhwan looked up into the stands, waving to Seiyeon. She was beaming back at him, and the pride in her expression gave him an extra boost. She'd finally come to watch him fight, and she was going to watch him win.

He took Siwon by surprise at the start of the second round, twisting inside his grip and going for an attempt at gaining Siwon's back. He held it long enough to get the first points of the second round before Siwon managed to flip him over his back and down to the mat. But Jinhwan was ready and twisted himself to wrap his legs around Siwon's back, gaining himself an open guard. He gripped Siwon's lapel, debating if he should go for a spider guard. But Siwon blocked him, driving an elbow down into Jinhwan's thigh.

Jinhwan didn't release the guard though, instead locking his heels around Siwon's back and curling his fingers in the fabric of the lapel. He was looking to try something a little crazy, confident he could pull it off based on Siwon's fighting so far. He was just trying to get him in the position he wanted.

When Jinhwan refused to unlock his heels Siwon stood up to try a stack pass, and that was exactly what Jinhwan had been hoping for. He waited until Siwon was nearly upright before dropping his legs from around Siwon's waist, barely touching toes to the floor before hopping up again and wrapping one leg around Siwon's front, sandwiching Siwon's left arm in between Jinhwan's arm and leg, while he swung his other leg up and around Siwon's back, following his right arm as it hooked around Siwon's neck.

The momentum of his jump carried through his body and he reached down with his left arm, hooking it around the back of Siwon's left knee, dragging him down with all of his weight dangling off of that shoulder. Siwon flipped over top of him and Jinhwan tucked himself in underneath, rolling their combined weight across his shoulders on the mat. As soon as they landed the roll he brought his right leg up and tucked it behind his other ankle, locking his legs in place while he wrapped his fingers back in Siwon's lapel and tugged hard to complete the bow and arrow choke.

Siwon tapped out and Jinhwan released it immediately, rolling to his feet and jumping up in victory, spinning on his heel to find his sister's face in the crowd. Seiyeon was on her feet, jumping in excitement and shaking Bobby's arm. Jinhwan waved at her and she looked so proud of him that he had to look away before it made him cry. He gave his attention to Youngbae next, who was on his feet and looking extremely pleased. They'd discussed the potential of the flying bow and arrow choke, but Jinhwan couldn't believe he'd pulled it off so perfectly. He accepted a hug from his trainer before turning to meet Siwon, who was back up on his feet.

“Guess you don't need those extra inches after all, do you?” Siwon said, and Jinhwan grinned back at him.

“I guess not! Thank you for the great fight, hyung!” They shared a brief hug before pulling apart and heading back to their teams. Jinhwan was elated. He couldn't wait to get back to Seiyeon and hear her thoughts. He climbed up into the stands, eyes on his sister the whole way. She reached out for him as soon as he got there, hands cupping his cheeks before pressing a kiss to his forehead. “I'm so proud of you, you're amazing!”

Jinhwan couldn't believe how good it felt, hearing her compliment after such a long time spent chasing after it.

“When I saw how big your opponent was, Jinan, I was so worried! I thought, how on earth are you going to beat him? And then you did that flip thing? I can't believe it!”

Jinhwan grinned, amused at Seiyeon's complete bewilderment. It felt good to have put on such an impressive victory for her to witness.

“I'm so happy I got to see you like that! I mean, I should have been supporting you all along, and really it shouldn't matter even if you had lost. I can see how important this is to you. I'm sorry I haven't been here. I really am.” She looked at him with tears in her eyes and Jinhwan could feel tears filling his own eyes.

“Ah, noona, it's okay. I forgive you.” It felt like a weight was lifted from his shoulders after saying it. He had her now, she wasn't going anywhere. He didn't need to hold on for anything more.

She kissed him again and hugged him, and that was when Jinhwan finally looked past her to see his friends. Bobby had his face half hidden in Hanbin's shoulder, but the look of relief in his eyes was enough for Jinhwan. Hanbin was wearing the biggest smile on his face, touched by Seiyeon's overwhelmingly positive response. Junhoe was smiling too, but the moment Jinhwan looked at him he averted his gaze, almost shyly, and it just made Jinhwan laugh.

He had everything he needed right here.

 

Just a note before anyone asks: no, Eric was NOT married when he and Jinhwan were together. More details about what happened between them will come out later. Just wanted to clarify that one, though. ;)