First things first: thanks for the love, glad you guys are enjoying this. ♥

Important announcement: I honestly don't know much about jiu-jitsu! I've been researching for this story (on moves and counters, and I've watched a bunch of matches) but I do apologize in advance if my match write-up has any issues with it. If by any chance you're reading this and you are into the sport, I'd greatly appreciate feedback on my match description (from a technical standpoint)! I studied videos and read a bunch of posts on bjj forums, so I'm hoping it all sounds good. But if anything is off in the description please don't hesitate in letting me know! Being able to describe everything accurately is very important to me. :)

With that out of the way...
 

“Hey mom! Yeah, it went well; yeah of course I beat them! Did you seriously doubt me? My own mother!”

Hanbin grinned as he listened to the phone exchange between Junhoe and his mom. He’d won his semi-final (though it had been closer than he would have liked) and was currently calling her to invite her to come and witness the final match. His opponent still wasn’t decided yet (the second semi-final was being set up right now). They had an hour and a half before the final match for their division in the tournament.

“Well you don’t have to come right now, the match isn’t happening until four,” Junhoe told her, rolling his eyes at Hanbin, “is Yejin coming too? Of course I want her to come! Tell her to take video and show that boyfriend of hers so he doesn’t step out of line.”

Hanbin couldn’t help it, he burst out laughing as soon as Junhoe said it. Yejin’s boyfriend was not exactly threatening (Hanbin thought he was kind of a nerd) but Junhoe was still protective of his sister anyway, despite her being three years older than him.

He paid for it though when Junhoe kicked his leg, glaring at him while he listened to his mom on the phone. Hanbin shook his head at him and threateningly punched his fist into his own palm. Junhoe was lucky he still had a fight left.

Hanbin looked across the gym, eyes finding Bobby, who was sitting in the front row, attention on Jinhwan. Hanbin smiled without really thinking about it, still charmed by Bobby’s mere existence. It was only worse after talking to him earlier (Hanbin still got goosebumps thinking about how nice Bobby’s hands felt on his face) and Hanbin couldn’t help but be concerned about the outcome of the final (provided Jinhwan beat this last opponent). Would he and Bobby really get together? Hanbin didn’t even know where he lived, or where he went to school. Would they really have time for each other? And what would he even say to Junhoe? ‘Yeah, so I’m dating the best friend of that guy you hate…’

It was stupid. Hanbin ought to stop thinking about him so much, but he couldn’t help it. Bobby was everything he found attractive in a guy (above all else he was confident, and Hanbin loved confident people, it was one of the reasons why he liked Junhoe so much) and Hanbin didn’t think he’d really find a guy who matched him as perfectly as Bobby seemed to.

“Okay I’ll see you in a bit, then. Yeah just come find me in the gym, we’re in the bleachers. Text me if you can’t find us!” Junhoe’s voice was mounting in irritation, and Hanbin grinned. His mom was probably being overly sweet in her chat with him. Junhoe had a hard time handling emotion from other people.

“Ugh! She’s so annoying sometimes.” Junhoe huffed as he stowed his phone away.

“Be nice to your mom! You wouldn’t be here without her.” Hanbin couldn’t resist the jab, and Junhoe frowned at him in disgust.

“Okay enough about the family , the semi’s about to start!”

They both turned their attention to the match (though Hanbin couldn’t help but look at Bobby a final time) and watched as Jinhwan lined up with his competitor.

Junhoe had been watching all of Jinhwan’s matches so far, trying to find a weakness to exploit. As confidently as he spoke about kicking Jinhwan’s , in reality he was a little worried. Jinhwan’s game was very tight, his balance was excellent. He fought each opponent as intelligently as he’d fought Junhoe, critical in his game plan.

Junhoe usually fought opponents with an aggressive plan of action, dominating them with his (usually) bigger size. But Jinhwan was every bit as aggressive as Junhoe usually, and he’d shut him down completely. He’d have to take a different approach with him, more reactive instead of aggressive. Try and exploit mistakes.

As expected, Jinhwan went on to win the match, and Junhoe’s gaze never left him as he celebrated his victory. Maybe it would be better for him if Jinhwan went into the fight overly confident after his first round defeat? He thought he knew Junhoe, he thought he was familiar with everything he had.

Junhoe would show him something unexpected. Jinhwan would be the one sitting in disappointment after their fight, while Junhoe would be the one holding the trophy.
 

“Regardless of who wins, I think we’re gonna have to elope.” Hanbin joked, standing by the counter and waiting for their order.

“Would you really run away with me?” Bobby asked, smiling cutely after asking the question.

“Well, I’d think about it.” Hanbin paid for their drinks, turning to face a now frowning Bobby after getting his change. “Don’t misunderstand! I have a little sister, she’d miss me if I left without a word.”

Bobby grinned at the new information. “How old is she?”

“Four,” Hanbin answered, and couldn’t help but smile in return at Bobby’s enthusiastic expression, “do you have any siblings?”

“I have an older brother, Jiun. He’s three years older than me.”

“Ah, so you’re the youngest and I’m the oldest!” Hanbin said, grabbing their drinks and moving to the wall.

“In our families, sure, but I’m older than you, so you’ll have to call me hyung.” Bobby leaned next to Hanbin, who grinned back at him.

“You sure you don’t want me to call you oppa?” Hanbin teased.

Bobby really hoped he wasn’t blushing.

“Ah, you can call me whatever you want!” Bobby replied, too embarrassed to tell Hanbin that oppa was exactly what he wanted Hanbin to call him. Maybe it was weird, but he kind of liked the way it sounded when Hanbin said it.

Hanbin thought back to earlier, his concerns about after the final. Time to just get it over with.

“So, what’s gonna happen after today?” He looked at Bobby, carefully schooling his expression. But Bobby’s confusion had him feeling confident.

“What do you mean?” Bobby wasn’t sure what Hanbin meant with the question. They’d exchanged numbers, surely they were going to keep talking?

“I don’t even know where you live.” Hanbin got to it quickly.

“Oh! Not that far from here, actually,” Bobby answered, “I live in Gwangjin. You?”

Hanbin felt relieved at the news. Bobby was just across the river. “We’re in Gangnam.”

Bobby’s face lit up in a smile as well. “Ah that’s not far! Honestly, I’d have gone across the city for you anyway.”

Hanbin could feel the blush spreading across his cheeks. He thought it was a bit stupid to be caught up so early, but at least Bobby seemed to be just as caught up as he was. Maybe it’ll be okay after all? “So, we’ll go on an actual date some time, then?” Hanbin asked him, just to be extra sure.

“Of course we will!” Bobby replied enthusiastically. “I mean, as long as you want to.”

Hanbin couldn’t help but laugh at the both of them, because they were both being stupidly awkward. “Yeah, I definitely want to.”

“Good, me too!” Bobby’s face turned a little red as well, because there it was, completely laid out between them, both of their emotions on display. Bobby had never exposed himself so completely to anyone before. “Junhoe won’t have a problem with us dating, will he?”

Hanbin laughed at the question. Junhoe would have a problem regardless of who it was Hanbin ended up dating, he knew that already. “Eh, what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him!” Hanbin replied with a wink.

Bobby laughed at the answer. “Well, I’d say good luck, but I kind of want Jinhwan to win.”

Hanbin grinned at Bobby’s comment. “Come on, Junhoe already has one loss, Jinhwan needs one too so they can build up their rivalry for another tournament!”

Bobby laughed at him. “I’ll tell him that, see how he likes the idea! I can’t promise anything, though.” They both looked at each other for a moment, fond expressions on their faces. Bobby was the first to speak. “Alright, we should head back out. I’ll talk to you later, Hanbin-ah.”

“Bye, Bobby oppa!” Hanbin couldn’t help himself, and he knew it was worth it the second Bobby’s face lit up in a happy smile. Alright then. Oppa it would be.

Bobby left first, and Hanbin stayed behind, waiting for a moment before leaving. He didn’t expect to be joined.

“Did you just call that guy oppa? I didn’t know you had a new boyfriend.”

Hanbin looked up from the floor, eyes falling on an all too familiar face.

“Noona! You’re here already?” It was Yejin, Junhoe’s sister! Yejin’s expression was comical, and Hanbin wondered if he looked as terrified as he felt.

“Yeah, believe it or not, mom decided an hour ago that she and I would get lunch somewhere close. Wanted to be ready when my dork of a brother won his semi-final.” Yejin replied, crossing her arms over her chest. “But enough about that! Who’s the guy? And don’t say no one, okay, I can see the hearts in your eyes.”

. “Uh, just a guy I just met,” Hanbin replied honestly.

“He’s got a nice body, face could use some work though.” Yejin .

“He’s got his good angles!” Hanbin said defensively, and she laughed at him.

“Ah it’s no big deal! You’ll always be the pretty one in your relationship.” Yejin winked at him and was about to walk away before Hanbin stopped her.

“Listen, can you, uh, not say anything about him?”

“Don’t tell me Junhoe doesn’t know?” Yejin looked at him incredulously. “Hanbin! You come to support my brother and instead spend your time flirting!”

“That’s not it!” Hanbin whined, wishing he didn’t have to explain. Yejin was good at keeping secrets, at least. “He’s best friends with the guy Junhoe’s fighting in the final.”

Yejin’s mouth dropped open in shock momentarily before she grinned at him. “Kim Hanbin! I can’t believe you!” She playfully punched his arm. “As much as I enjoy drama, I’ll keep your secret safe. I don’t want my brother going to jail for murdering his best friend.”

Hanbin grinned back at her, grateful she wasn’t upset with him, and that she was willing to keep his secret.

He really needed Junhoe to win.
 

An hour later the gym floor was set for hosting the final in the purple belt division. Junhoe’s coach was giving him last minute tactics revisions, while Jinhwan was stretching. Hanbin was sitting with Junhoe’s mother and sister (his father wasn’t able to make it, so they’d sent him pictures instead) but he was surprised to see that no one had joined Bobby to cheer on Jinhwan.

He wondered if Bobby would come to his next boxing competition? What would he do if he hadn’t told Junhoe about him yet? How was he going to handle telling his parents, but keeping it from Junhoe? It had potential disaster written all over it.

The simplicity of his looming love life depended on Junhoe winning. He’d date Bobby regardless, but if he could avoid having to deal with a moody and grumbling Junhoe, he’d be much happier.

Speaking of Bobby, Hanbin locked eyes with him and couldn’t stop from smiling when Bobby winked at him. His smile vanished when Yejin pinched him and leaned in to whisper in his ear.

“Okay, he’s got a cute smile, I’ll give him that!”

Hanbin shook his head, and a few seconds later his phone lit up with a new message.

-ur so cute when u smile :)-

Hanbin was torn between groaning at the cheesiness of Bobby’s message and revelling in the cuteness of it. His past relationship had been nothing like this, and he wasn’t even dating Bobby yet! How much worse would things get when they made it official? He looked back at Bobby, who was watching him with a fond expression. Oh, this was dangerous, openly flirting right in front of Junhoe, but Hanbin was still happy for it.

But there, in the middle of the mats, completely oblivious to the flirtation of their best friends, stood Junhoe and Jinhwan, the official in front of them. Match time had come and they stood face to face, ready for the fight.

“Fancy meeting you again!” Jinhwan greeted, friendly smile in place.

“Same. Don’t think the result is going to match though.” Junhoe replied as they shook hands.

“Agreed,” Jinhwan said as they went into their bow, his voice pleasant and sweet as honey, “I plan on making you submit this time.”

Junhoe couldn’t believe his gall! “Yeah well, FYI—I never submit.”

They stood up straight and faced each other, and Jinhwan’s expression made Junhoe think of a parent who was watching their kid do something cute but stupid. It was beyond patronizing. 

“Famous last words. I promise I’ll be gentle for your first time.”

It was honestly a skill, Junhoe thought, how cutting and mean Jinhwan could be with his words, all while retaining such a sweet expression on his face. It just made him hate the guy that much more.

“Whatever, midget. Prepare to get your kicked.”

Whatever reply Jinhwan was about to give was cut off by the referee clearing his throat.

“That’s enough, gentlemen. Adopt your stances and let’s begin.”

Junhoe took a deep breath and brought focus back to his thoughts. He’d almost allowed Jinhwan to throw him off his game plan with the pre-match trash talk. Terrible. Whatever. He was going to wipe the smirk off of that cute face anyway. He had plans to pin him and shove his elbow right into that stupid little heart mole.

Jinhwan, on the other hand, was every bit as calm and collected as he’d been all afternoon. He knew this kid after fighting him the day before (and watching his other matches). There was nothing in Junhoe’s arsenal that worried Jinhwan. Sure, he was bigger, stronger, but Jinhwan had him beat in terms of speed and accuracy and overall athletic ability. So far Junhoe had bulldozed his way through his matches, but Jinhwan had proven yesterday that he couldn’t be beat that way. He had yet to see Junhoe attempt any other style of fighting.

He took a deep breath and held it in until the official gave them the go ahead, at which point he advanced to meet Junhoe, both of them moving in to try and get inside each other’s guards. Jinhwan’s plan was to go for a leg sweep, dropping Junhoe from the start, but he was instead surprised with Junhoe’s opening move.

With a strong hold on Jinhwan’s arms, Junhoe dropped to his knees and flipped Jinhwan over his shoulder, landing him back first on the mat, and unlike their fight from the day before Junhoe did not let himself pause for a second when Jinhwan landed, instead locking his right arm up into a deep armbar, laying back and locking his feet at the ankles over Jinhwan’s right shoulder.

Jinhwan’s shoulder was burning at the tight hold, and the first thing he did was try to scramble out from underneath Junhoe, but the armbar was locked in too tightly and Junhoe was too heavy for Jinhwan to easily lift. Instead he grabbed Junhoe’s foot, using it as leverage, pushing it up in an attempt to get some of Junhoe’s weight off of his chest.

It was just enough for Jinhwan to finally push himself up into a sitting position, using his momentum to keep rolling forward onto his knees, taking Junhoe with him. Junhoe still had his arm caught up, but the angle wasn’t as painful anymore, and Jinhwan carefully got to his feet, aware that Junhoe could try and roll him again and Jinhwan would probably end up going with him unless that arm bar let up.

Junhoe was feeling excellent at the moment, pleased with himself for getting the first points of the match. He didn’t expect Jinhwan to tap out right away, not after their match yesterday, but he was surprised at the way Jinhwan was squirming his way to his feet. Junhoe was used to fighting guys closer to his size, so Jinhwan’s smaller stature was giving him a bit of an edge at the moment as Junhoe found that he was locking his legs a bit too far down, and Jinhwan was able to slip out of his hold.

He grudgingly moved his left foot and released his hold on his ankle, trying to gain a better position over Jinhwan’s shoulder as he got to his feet. It actually ended up working out in Junhoe’s favour, because as Jinhwan struggled to remain upright he was dragged forward by Junhoe’s heavier weight, and Junhoe seized the perfect opportunity to pull Jinhwan’s arm in further and lock his ankles behind Jinhwan’s neck in a triangle hold.

To Junhoe’s surprise, Jinhwan was actually strong enough to lift him off the floor, and when he lost the mat as a counterbalance his lock around Jinhwan’s neck slipped. Jinhwan had a hand on Junhoe’s knee and shoved his leg away at the same time as he dropped Junhoe’s weight back to the floor, and the sudden move had Junhoe losing his tight hold on Jinhwan’s right arm.

He put a foot against Jinhwan’s shoulder, trying to use his long legs in an attempt to get Jinhwan’s arm back in a locked position. But Jinhwan dropped into a crouch instead, getting closer to Junhoe on the mat so he could pull his arm back in closer to his body. He then dove across Junhoe’s legs in an attempt to pass his guard and regain control, but Junhoe used his legs to roll out, keeping Jinhwan from gaining the advantage.

They both scrambled back to their feet, but it wasn’t long before they were diving at each other again. Unlike the first match, this fight was closer. Junhoe fought with a different strategy, more intelligently as opposed to just aggressively. Jinhwan was still the overall aggressor, but Junhoe was able to block his attempts, trying to use Jinhwan’s moves against him.

It worked on a few occasions, and resulted in Junhoe gaining side guard twice, and even getting a mount position. Jinhwan seemed to be concentrating more on trying to get Junhoe’s back, which was resulting in fewer successful mounts. Where Jinhwan had beaten Junhoe readily on points in their first match, things were tighter this time around, and as the clock ticked closer to the end of the match Junhoe switched his tactics and moved in aggressively, trying to get past Jinhwan’s guard (who was currently lying on the floor beneath Junhoe), only for Jinhwan to block his mount with both knees. Junhoe was determined to power his way inside, though, wanting another three points to solidify his lead as they were coming up on what had to be the last minute.

But as Junhoe lunged forward, Jinhwan grabbed both sleeves of his gi, wrapping his fingers in them tightly to try and gain control of Junhoe’s arms, while he took the risk of bringing his knees up into his chest before digging both heels against Junhoe’s biceps, using the leverage to wiggle himself back a bit.

Junhoe felt like screaming—was Jinhwan trying to get a spider guard on him?! That wouldn’t end well for Jinhwan! Junhoe immediately pulled back against him, trying to get to his feet in order to pull off a stack pass, but again he was surprised at Jinhwan’s tenacity. Junhoe managed to get his right foot under him, but when he tried to get to his left foot, Jinhwan dropped his right leg down and jammed his knee into the back of Junhoe’s knee, collapsing his leg down. Junhoe tried again and Jinhwan denied him a second time.

Junhoe took a second to breathe and think, because the clock was still on his side.

Jinhwan did not, and the second Junhoe’s head dropped down and exposed his neck, Jinhwan drove his heel into Junhoe’s left bicep again, while simultaneously digging his left heel into Junhoe’s hip to control his forward movement. He dropped Junhoe’s left sleeve and instead sat up, grabbing a tight hold on the collar of Junhoe’s gi, pulling him forward and bringing his right arm inside his chest while popping his right leg up and behind Junhoe’s neck.

Before Junhoe could fight it, Jinhwan’s left leg was back up and hooking over his right ankle, locking the triangle choke in place. Jinhwan dropped his hold on Junhoe’s gi and reached forward, curling his own body up and grabbing the back of Junhoe’s head, forcing the full weight of the choke to compress around Junhoe’s neck.

Junhoe was stuck. Jinhwan’s lock around his neck was tight, leaving him no room to wiggle his arm out of it. He tried to get a grip on the back on Jinhwan’s gi, tried to get himself some kind of leverage, but suddenly his limbs felt heavy, leaden and tingly, and the next thing he knew he opened his eyes to see the face of the official looming over him.

What had just happened? Shouldn’t he still be in the triangle choke with Jinhwan? Unless…

Junhoe sat up and looked around, eyes falling suddenly on the beaming face of Jinhwan, posing for a picture and looking victorious.

For the first time in his competitive career, Junhoe had been choked out.

The stinging burn of rage and humiliation settled uncomfortably in his gut, made worse by the fact that he still felt heavy-limbed, still had pinpricks dancing up and down his arms. He wanted to get up and stalk away in anger, but he couldn’t actually get to his feet on his own. His coach approached him then, giving him a hand and saying something, but Junhoe wasn’t really paying attention.

He wanted to get the hell out of here and go home to nurse his wounded pride, but etiquette dictated that he still had to congratulate Jinhwan on his victory (and of course they had the medal and trophy presentation—not that Junhoe wanted his this time).

Seeing Junhoe on his feet, Jinhwan approached his opponent, friendly smile in place again. He stopped a distance away to bow, and Junhoe, who was feeling a bit better on his feet, pushed his coach’s arm away to stand on his own. He bowed back (only a half bow, because he could get away with that) and straightened up as Jinhwan approached him.

“Good fight,” Jinhwan said, and there was not a shred of malice in his eyes (which kind of made Junhoe that much angrier, because if Jinhwan presented only a polite and grateful face in victory that would make Junhoe an even bigger for wanting to reach out and wring his neck), but then he leaned in to speak in a hushed voice close to Junhoe’s ear, “it wasn’t the submission I was hoping for, but it still felt really good.”

Jinhwan was lucky that Junhoe was still heavy-limbed. All he could do was stare back with fire in his eyes and fantasize about ripping Jinhwan limb from limb.

Jinhwan gave him an extra friendly squinty smile before bowing again and turning away. Junhoe finally let himself be guided back to the bench by his coach. He sat down heavily, hearing voices in his ear but ignoring them. He couldn’t believe Jinhwan had choked him out! The little midget cockroach had choked him out!

“Dude, do I have to your to get your attention?”

Junhoe’s angry inner monologue was interrupted by Hanbin’s abrupt question and he fixed his best friend with an annoyed sneer. “The , Hanbin?!”

Hanbin grinned back at him, but looked sheepishly at Junhoe’s family and coach. “Uh, just making sure his hearing wasn’t damaged!”

“Sit down, idiot!” Junhoe glared at him, though he half wanted to laugh because he could just imagine the looks on the faces of the other three. Hanbin was very good at distracting from unpleasant situations.

Junhoe sat still while his coach looked him over, purposefully not listening to what he was saying. It was something about how Junhoe had been up on points, and yeah, he knew. Once again Junhoe hadn’t lost to Jinhwan—he’d lost to himself. Jinhwan had managed to get the hold only because Junhoe had dropped his head and shown his neck. That had been his mistake.

Under normal circumstances, Junhoe would be unhappy about the loss but still thrilled with having made it to the final and fighting well. But he’d never developed such an intense dislike of an opponent before, and he wasn’t comfortable with the idea of losing to Jinhwan twice in one weekend. It felt unsettling.

He didn’t think Jinhwan was a better fighter than he was (though he’d never fought someone who employed the spider guard so effectively) but he’d have to watch the fight again to see. Just to make sure that Jinhwan hadn’t simply been going easy on him in anticipation of trying to secure a hold, chasing after a submission the way he’d threatened to.

And maybe, if he was bored at some point, maybe he’d look Jinhwan up and find out where he trained. Find out if he’d be seeing him again anytime soon. Junhoe couldn’t let this defeat go.

He’d get his revenge.
 

Jinhwan settled comfortably back in bed, stretching his arms up over his head and yawning. He always slept well after tournaments (especially when he fought well) and tonight looked to be no exception. He was pleased with the outcome, though he was a little disappointed in the match itself. He was definitely going to have to watch it over again to see how he’d allowed Junhoe a better run this time. Junhoe had been up on him by three points when Jinhwan had gotten the triangle hold on him. Jinhwan didn’t like that at all.

He’d brought his trophy back to Bobby’s with him so his “surrogate parents” could celebrate his victory. Mrs. Kim had made him his favourite meal, and Mr. Kim had taken a picture he could use in order to create a painting from the moment (he’d already painted Jinhwan twice, but Jinhwan still felt special being asked again). Even Jiun had captured Jinhwan up in a tight hug when he’d gotten home from work, overjoyed at the victory and teasing Bobby over being the less accomplished of the two.

As he’d promised Bobby, Jinhwan had taken a picture and sent it to his mother to let her know about his victory, but he’d sent it nearly six hours ago (and had conveniently left his phone in his room while they celebrated so he wouldn’t keep checking for his mother’s reply).

But it was midnight and he was alone in the room now, trophy and medal on the table beside his bed, and with nervous fingers he unlocked his phone and checked his messages. There were a few new ones, but he didn’t read those right away.

Instead he opened the conversation between he and his mother, looking down at the picture he’d sent her (at 6:09), his own smiling face peeking out behind the trophy. According to the conversation notifications she’d opened the picture—

message read @ 6:12

But, as usual...

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