Weeks of studying, of forcing himself to stare at numbers when he'd rather be doing anything else, and it had all come down to this moment. Had it been worth it? Or had he just been wasting his time? Would he actually be allowed out of his apartment for the next month, or would he locked up in his room, atoning for his brain's inability to comprehend this year's mathematics course work?

A slow flip of the paper, curling back the top corner, he held his breath...

“Good god you're so dramatic, what the hell is your mark?” Hanbin groaned as he watched, tempted to grab Junhoe's paper himself and look.

“I got a ninety two, , but thanks for ruining the moment.” Junhoe breathed in a lungful of air and felt like he might just collapse into the desk out of sheer relief.

“Wow, a whole ninety two, all by yourself! I'm so proud.” Hanbin , leaving his paper turned up on his desk. He'd gotten a hundred.

“Listen, I know you're a cocky piece of who's been acing the course this year, but I feel like I've gotten dumb. I had to work my off for this grade, so go yourself. You and your damn one hundred.” Junhoe's words were grumpy, but his tone was playful. Hanbin always got better grades than him, so he didn't care. He was just overjoyed that he'd done so well.

Hanbin grinned and grabbed Junhoe's test paper to look it over. “Not bad, not bad. Look at you! Aced the integers section. Yunhyeong hyung will be so proud.”

“Give that back and shut up.” Junhoe grabbed his test out of Hanbin's grasp, smiling as he looked down at the paper. He'd been hoping for a mark in the eighties and had prepared for a mark in the seventies. Ninety two was beyond his wildest dreams.

“No really, take a picture and send it to him. I can hear the pride in his voice already.”

Junhoe could sense the oncoming comment and he focused his gaze on Hanbin.

“Hyung is proud of you, Junhoe-ya! This is what happens when you really set your mind to a task and focus! Good job, you deserve this mark!” Hanbin spoke in his impersonation of Yunhyeong, and the tone and inflection was so accurate that Junhoe had to clap.

“That was perfect, probably word for word what's coming, too.” Junhoe took one last look at the paper before pulling out his phone, snapping a picture and sending it to Yunhyeong. Then he slid the test in his backpack, along with his textbook.

“Really though, I'm proud of you for doing so well.” Hanbin tried to say it with a serious tone, but he cracked up at the end.

“Really though, go yourself.” Junhoe stood up and reached over to mess up Hanbin's hair.

“I'm actually relieved you did well, because now that means I don't have to cancel our weekend plans.”

Junhoe stopped and looked back at him, watching as Hanbin stood up and shouldered his bag. “What plans?”

“Our Saturday plans,” Hanbin began, “we're going to Lotte World to celebrate you doing well.”

Junhoe frowned and felt like hitting him. “Ah, Hanbin! I hate rides, you know I can't do them.” Of course there were more than just roller coasters at Lotte World, but still.

Hanbin gave him a disappointed look. “You couldn't do them as a kid, when's the last time you tried?”

“Motion sickness doesn't get cured with age!”

Hanbin rolled his eyes. “You don't have motion sickness, you baby. You're just afraid of anything thrilling.”

“Roller coasters aren't thrilling,” Junhoe retorted, “they're death traps.”

“Well prepare to die, then, because you're going.” Hanbin led the way out of their math class, heading for their lockers.

“What if I refuse?” Junhoe asked, even though of course he wouldn't.

“You won't,” Hanbin replied, “I know this because Jinhwan hyung is coming too.”

“What?” Junhoe looked at him in surprise.

“The four of us are going,” Hanbin explained, “me, you, Bobby, and Jinan.”

Junhoe groaned and looked up. “God, why do you hate me?”

“It's our first official double date.” Hanbin teased.

“You have to be dating in order to go on a double date.” Junhoe replied.

“Well, it's Thursday, and we're going on Saturday, so you've got two days to win his heart.” Hanbin winked at him.

“Why are you so irritating?” Junhoe muttered, stopping at his locker to exchange his text books.

“It's part of my charm, you love it.” Hanbin grabbed his gym bag.

“You're so annoying, you put the harm in charm.” Junhoe grinned when Hanbin laughed.

“Thank you, your words of encouragement always put a smile on my face.” Hanbin closed his locker and leaned on the one next to Junhoe's.

“Glad I could be of service.” Junhoe shut his locker just as he received a text. “Oh, it's from hyung!”

Hanbin leaned in next to him. “Open it while I still remember exactly what I said.”

Junhoe opened the message and grinned.

-I'm proud of you, this is what happens when you study hard and focus! You deserve this good mark! :)-

“Shame, bro, you were so close.”

“Mere words off. The world is so unkind.”

Junhoe slipped his phone back in his pocket. “Well, you had the voice down as well. I'd say that accounts for a bit of the word change. All in all, I'd give it a ninety one.”

Hanbin laughed and squeezed his arm. “So generous! I'll see you later, got ball practice.”

“Don't hurt yourself.” Junhoe replied, before heading for the exit. He took his phone out again, because he didn't feel like going home already. Hanbin had basketball practice and Donghyuk was busy with a study group. Today was his usual night off from jiu jitsu practice, at least at his own club.

-hey hyung, busy? wanna go hit the mats?-

Jinhwan's response was immediate.

-yeah! you coming to my gym or want me to go to yours?-

-ill come to you-

-cool, come now if you can, we can get food after if you want-

Junhoe headed for the bus that would take him across the river into Jinhwan's neighbourhood. It wasn't that long of a trip, and in twenty minutes he was already at the gym. Jinhwan was inside, so Junhoe entered. Even though he'd been here often enough he still felt kind of strange, training at someone else's gym. By now Jinhwan's club mates tended to greet him by name when they saw him, familiar enough after numerous sightings.

“Hey, congrats on the test. That's the one you were stressing out over, right?” Jinhwan met him with a smile, standing up from the bench where he'd been sitting.

Junhoe nodded. “Yeah, I thought I'd done worse on it. I'm still in shock.”

Jinhwan grinned. “That's good, I'm happy for you.”

“I owe it all to Yunhyeong, really. I'd be lost without his help this semester. Speaking of him, though, I am certain he's gay.”

“Oh yeah? Why's that?” Jinhwan sat down again as he waited for Junhoe to change out of his clothes and into his gi.

“He came over to me and Dong at the game on Wednesday, you know to say hi. Couldn't keep his eyes off Dong, he kept smiling at him. So his friend comes over, starts talking about how it's bad for him to be seen talking to us, typical homophobic stuff. We call him on it, Yunhyeong even told him to shut up and go back to the group. Wasn't expecting him to stand up like that in public.”

Jinhwan smiled (both at the story, and at Junhoe's bare torso). “That's a big step for him, calling a friend on that stuff. Good for him.”

“Yeah, well, then he starts saying that he doesn't want us to think that they're all like that. But I'm telling you, he only had eyes for Donghyuk. It still wasn't much to go on, but right at the end, before he left, he just blurted out that he really liked Dong's new haircut. Like blurted it and practically ran away, like he was trying to hide his face.”

Jinhwan grinned and pictured it in his head. “Probably blushing.”

“Yeah, that's what I thought. Like who runs away after complimenting a haircut? Nobody.”

“Unless you're complimenting someone you have a crush on, and you don't want them to know.” Jinhwan replied, and he agreed with Junhoe. It certainly sounded like something more than just a random compliment.

“Exactly. He always comes around whenever Donghyuk is there, I realized it. Like I saw him out the other day when I was with Jaeho. He waved at me but didn't come over to say hi. If Donghyuk's there? He always comes over to talk. Even if he's with other people.”

“Definitely sounds like he's got a fixation. It's cute. Did he ever used to talk to you as much before Donghyuk joined you guys?”

Junhoe paused for a moment, hands tying up the string on his pants. “You know what? He never really did. In fact last year he tried to actively ignore me whenever he saw me, always wanted to keep our relationship strictly professional, as he'd say.”

“Must be his subconscious then. I mean, given the chance, I think us gay guys would prefer to hang out with other gay guys, you know? Makes things less awkward. Maybe he's always seeking you guys out for two reasons. One is his crush on Donghyuk, and the other is his subconscious need for a pack of gay friends. Especially if he's got guys in his group that are homophobes.”

Junhoe considered it as he tied up his gi. “You make a good point.”

“I always make good points.” Jinhwan replied with a wink.

“I can't argue there. Alright, enough about Yunhyeong. You want to work on anything specific for your test?”

Jinhwan started stretching with Junhoe. “Let's work on defensive manoeuvres. I need to practice some things and you're still lacking in defense anyway.”

“Yeah yeah, you know I just like being aggressive.” Junhoe sheepishly admitted, but it was true. He'd gotten much better at being a smarter fighter, but he hated practicing defensive stuff.

“As Royce Gracie is fond of saying, a belt only covers two inches of your , you need to cover the rest.”

Junhoe groaned and leaned in closer, looking around first before speaking. “I thought you liked my uncovered, though?” He usually didn't make such forward comments, but he was still on a high from how well he'd done on his test.

Jinhwan grinned back at him, surprised to hear the flirtatious joke. He was in a teasing mood, though. “What ?”

Junhoe narrowed his eyes at him. “Are you insulting me or complaining that we haven't gotten to that stage yet?”

Jinhwan laughed at the question. “A little bit of both,” he replied, feeling smug when Junhoe laughed. “It doesn't matter, anyway. Whether or not your has padding, it still feels just as good when you get your in there.” The both laughed at the comment, though Junhoe blushed a little at it. Even so, his reaction was nowhere near as shocked or scandalized as it would have been weeks ago. Jinhwan was impressed at the change in such a short time.

They got to work after that, sparring together for nearly two hours before Jinhwan called it quits. The session had gone well, he was feeling good about his work, and Junhoe was definitely seeing improvement. They showered together and changed into their regular clothes before heading out to grab some food.

“Did Hanbin mention our weekend plans to you?” Jinhwan asked him as they walked to their usual street vendor for post-sparring takeout.

“Yeah, and I ing hate roller coasters, which he knows.”

Jinhwan grinned. “Oh yeah? Too much of a chicken for them? I'll hold your hand and make sure you're safe.”

Junhoe glared back at him. “I am not afraid of going on roller coasters; I just get motion sickness.” That was a lie, but he wasn't about to admit it to Jinhwan.

“Right. Motion sickness. I'm pretty sure there's a patch for that.” Jinhwan teased. He didn't buy the motion sickness excuse for a second.

“I'm serious! I don't do good on stuff like that. Anyway, what do you want? I'll buy this time.”

Jinhwan studied the vendor, looking at the options. “I want some tteokkochi, some grilled squid, and some octopus gimbap!”

Junhoe rolled his eyes. “Anything else? You want me to buy you a house while you're at it?”

Jinhwan grinned back at him. “Hey, you offered to buy.”

“Yeah, well usually you don't get so much!”

“Because usually I'm the one paying.” Jinhwan replied. “You owe me for all the times I've bought.”

Junhoe grumbled but ordered everything. It wasn't really that expensive anyway, he was mainly just complaining for fun. They took their food and wandered over to a nearby park, settling in on one of the benches to eat. Junhoe paused when Jinhwan sat really close to him, close enough that their arms were touching, close enough that he could lean his head onto Junhoe's shoulder if he wanted to.

It was still weird for him, that Jinhwan tended to get so close. Wasn't it too close? Especially since they were out in public?

Jinhwan held his tteokkochi up in front of Junhoe's face. “Here, take a bite.”

Junhoe did as requested, taking a bite of the crunchy rice cakes. He mumbled out a thanks through his full mouth, noticing that it made Jinhwan smile before taking a bite for himself.

Two minutes later and Jinhwan's hand was on his thigh, tapping out a rhythm that Junhoe didn't know. It was highly distracting. What was Jinhwan doing? They weren't supposed to be like this, were they? Sitting close and being so familiar. It was behaviour more befitting Hanbin and Bobby.

Then again maybe he was overreacting. His only relationship had been so physically innocent, almost no touching whatsoever despite the boyfriend status, that maybe he was just misjudging what was normal and what wasn't? Maybe Jinhwan's touches were just platonic and friendly. After all, Hanbin was a touchy person, and before he'd had Bobby to expend that attention on he used to get clingy with Junhoe when it was just the two of them. The amount of times he'd wound up with Hanbin's hand on the back of his neck or clutching at his arm were too numerous to count.

Maybe Jinhwan was just the same way?

“So, when's your belt test, hyung?” Junhoe felt the need to talk, to do something that wasn't so intimate as feeding each other.

“Little over a month,” Jinhwan replied, biting into his squid, “I can't believe it's finally happening.”

“You nervous for it? How does your club handle belt promotions?” The subject of belts wasn't something that was necessarily linear across all clubs. Some places didn't believe in formal tests and fighters were promoted when their trainers thought they were ready for it. You show up one night at one belt level, and when you leave you're at a higher one. Other clubs liked to subject their fighters to actual structured testing.

“Youngbae is a ing king of testing,” Jinhwan groaned, “it's a long affair. Especially since I'm moving up to brown, so it's super serious now. Going to have to demonstrate practically every move known to man, and then I'll actually have to fight and demonstrate it all in real time.”

Junhoe was surprised at the in depth testing. His own head trainer did tests as well, but they weren't nearly as involved. “, is there a chance you won't pass it?”

Jinhwan shook his head. “No, Youngbae wouldn't call for it if he wasn't planning to promote me. It's just the ceremony of it all, you know? You wanna come watch when I do the test?” Jinhwan asked, wondering if he could convince Junhoe to come. He liked the idea of having him there to watch.

“Yeah sure, if it works out with my schedule.” He wouldn't mind watching the test, just to see.

“Your schedule,” Jinhwan replied with a laugh, “what schedule?”

Junhoe grinned at him. “You know, might have something important come up. Like a haircut.”

Jinhwan laughed and stole a piece of Junhoe's pork. “Well put it in your calendar now so you don't schedule anything for that day.”

Junhoe grinned, wondering if Jinhwan really did want him there to watch. Did they usually have spectators at their graduations? He usually didn't at his own club. The only people who watched were the other fighters who happened to be there on the day when graduations were decided.

“I'll make sure I jot it down somewhere, can't disappoint you by not showing up.”

“Oh I'll give you weekly reminders, don't worry.” Jinhwan teased, finishing off his food.

Junhoe finished his off as well, setting the containers aside and stretching his legs. “Thanks for tonight, hyung. I know it was a last minute request, but I needed to blow off some energy. I was all excited after doing so well on my test, I'd probably have driven my mom crazy if I'd just gone home.”

Jinhwan grinned and leaned into his side, hand back on Junhoe's thigh. “No problem! I'm always here for you, any time. You still feeling energetic?”

Junhoe looked down at Jinhwan and saw the smirk on his face. Clearly Jinhwan had plans. “Why are you asking?”

Jinhwan looked around the park. It was a closed in area, buildings on all sides except one. They were currently alone, and the sun had set already. They were lit only by the few lamps around them. “Just noticing that we're alone, and it's very dark over in the corner where that one lamp is burnt out.”

Junhoe looked around and wondered if he was really suggesting that they make use of the darkness. It was a little too open for Junhoe's preference, but then he supposed that there hadn't been that many people walking by.

Jinhwan got up suddenly and grabbed his hand, pulling on his arm. “Come on, let's go check it out.”

Junhoe let himself be pulled up, wondering if they shouldn't at least throw out their containers first. He didn't ask, though. They'd have to walk by them again anyway on their way back. He followed Jinhwan into the darkest corner of the park, his heart beating rapidly in his chest. What exactly was Jinhwan planning? If it was anything like the movie theatre...

They reached the wall and Jinhwan suddenly shoved Junhoe against it. “I got really ing while we were sparring, and it's just not going away.” He explained with a grin, before reaching out and grabbing Junhoe in between the legs, pleased when he heard Junhoe's strangled gasp. Jinhwan was no stranger to making out in public places, and he'd been watching the quiet street while they were eating. There wasn't much in the way of pedestrian traffic tonight, so he hoped that Junhoe wouldn't get too freaked out.

Junhoe needed a moment to let his brain catch up with his body. He shouldn't be surprised, but for some reason he was. Jinhwan's hand squeezed hard and Junhoe in a breath and tried to reign his thoughts back in. Was this really smart? Anyone could come into the park and see them. He wanted to tell Jinhwan to hold off for a moment, to let him really think about it all. But just as he was about to speak his zipper was pulled down and Jinhwan's hand was sliding in underneath the layers and the only thing that managed to slip out from his lips was a moan.

That shut Junhoe up before he could even get started.

Jinhwan watched Junhoe's face go from nervous and concerned to blissful excitement in the span of seconds. He knew it wasn't the smartest idea, making out here, but they were far away enough from the street that no one would really notice them unless they came into the park and walked a little closer to their corner. He wasn't looking for anything long lasting tonight, anyway. He literally just wanted to get off as quick as possible.

Jinhwan ped his own pants while he continued to fondle Junhoe, and when he'd gotten them open enough he grabbed one of Junhoe's hands and shoved it under his own layers. Junhoe blinked his eyes open at the unexpectedness, hesitating when he realized where his hand had been shoved. Their eyes met and Jinhwan packed his gaze full of unspoken challenge, daring Junhoe to pull away.

Junhoe's fingers closed around him though, the way he'd anticipated, and Jinhwan leaned into him, wanting to buck into Junhoe's hand. But Junhoe wasn't quite at that level yet, wasn't experienced enough to figure out exactly what Jinhwan wanted. Jinhwan had to be somewhat responsible.

Junhoe's fingers tightened around Jinhwan's , and he closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall. His intent to question the intelligence of doing this right here was lost, crushed in the tight grip of Jinhwan's fist.

Now that Junhoe was fully immersed in their mutual act Jinhwan slipped his other hand down the back of Junhoe's pants, fingers digging into his , gripping harder than usual, waiting to see how Junhoe would react. All that came was another moan and it fed Jinhwan's smug confidence. Junhoe's body was easy to play.

Jinhwan closed his own eyes then, concentrating on Junhoe's hand. Junhoe had rather big hands and a strong grip, and Jinhwan could feel himself getting carried away in his thoughts. He couldn't stop the words before they slipped from his lips. “I can't wait to you,” he said quietly, punctuating the sentence with a tight squeeze of Junhoe's . Junhoe froze at the comment, but Jinhwan kept talking. “I can't wait to let you me, too. It's been too long.” Junhoe's stillness carried on, but Jinhwan thought that he didn't feel as tense.

“Of course you'll probably be terrible at first,” Jinhwan teased, finally bucking into Junhoe's fist, “but we all have to start somewhere.”

Junhoe had known this day would come eventually, but he hadn't given it any thought until right now. He didn't want Jinhwan to think that he was afraid, though. “I bet I'll be better than you were.” He relaxed a bit more and tightened his fingers again, looking down and taking the sight in with his own eyes. Just doing it was one thing, but the visual of their hands around each other was something entirely different. Made it all a little more real.

Jinhwan grinned and pinched Junhoe's . “I doubt it. I bet you'll come in ten seconds when I finally let you me. It's important for a guy to experience premature ion, though,” Jinhwan teased, and he was rewarded for it by Junhoe rolling his eyes. It was just a defense mechanism though. Junhoe pretending to not be worried.

In reality Junhoe was very worried about being a terrible lay. Of course it was to be expected, but still. Nobody liked feeling like an amateur. “What's your record, then? How long did it take you on your first time?”

Jinhwan hissed at Junhoe's increased friction, cursing himself for not keeping lube in his backpack. “I don't remember, I'll have to ask my partner.” Jinhwan wondered if Eric even had any idea.

“Well do that, then. I wanna beat your record.” Junhoe wrapped his free hand around the back of Jinhwan's neck.

Jinhwan liked the challenge, even though he figured it was just faked bravado. He let go of Junhoe's for a moment, tugging his pants down a little, just enough to be able to pull Junhoe's completely out. The cool night air was a shock to Junhoe, who gasped at the contact. But Jinhwan's hand was warm, so it wasn't that bad.

He'd been thinking about ing Junhoe for weeks, now, wondering how long it would take until Junhoe was comfortable with the idea. He missed , even though it would be drastically different with Junhoe. He was used to a partner who knew exactly what he was doing at all times. Instead he'd have to be that person now, he'd be the one guiding and reassuring. He wanted it, though, both ing and being ed. Junhoe had been a pretty quick study so far, after all. Jinhwan hoped he'd be surprised when the time came.

Junhoe's head was swimming with thoughts, torn between excitement and nerves, because even though he was a little afraid, he desperately wanted it. He wanted to experience it all, and Jinhwan would be the perfect partner for it, experienced and confident. But was he really ready for it? Was he ready to have Jinhwan inside of him? The thought was nerve wracking.

At the moment all he really wanted was Jinhwan on his knees in the grass, taking Junhoe's s into his mouth with practiced ease. He kept the request to himself, though. Jinhwan's hand was doing the trick right now, and it would be easier to hide what they were doing if they were both standing.

Jinhwan had his eyes closed again, head lolled forward against Junhoe's chest. He liked Junhoe's hand on his neck, liked the solid weight of it on his skin. He pictured himself ing into Junhoe, pictured Junhoe on his hands and knees. He didn't realize how loud he was being, didn't realize the moans coming out of his own mouth.

Junhoe heard them, though. “Hyung,” he warned, even though the sounds were getting to him, pushing him closer, “hyung, what do we do?”

Jinhwan jerked into Junhoe's fist, didn't bother answering him until Junhoe's hand gripped his neck tighter. “Ah, what?”

“What do we do?” Junhoe asked again, near breathless at the task of trying to hold it in. He was trembling now, his knees threatening to quit on him. “I'm gonna .”

Jinhwan grinned and bucked hard into Junhoe's hand again. The friction was a little painful without lube but he was too far gone at the moment to stop. He'd just deal with the sensitivity for a day. Let it remind him to make good choices with Junhoe. “Ah just blow it on the grass,” he said, heavy-lidded gaze meeting Junhoe's similar one, “can't be the first time someone has done this.” Jinhwan grinned when Junhoe groaned louder and tightened his grip around the back of his neck.

“Ah , hyung, I'm ready, right now--” Junhoe cut himself off with a strangled cry and Jinhwan angled his off to the side at just the right moment, and Junhoe came with a loud yell.

The uninhibited cry did its magic on Jinhwan. He pulled his other hand away from Junhoe's and instead closed Junhoe's hand over the head of his before he came into Junhoe's closed fist. Instead of yelling out he bit down around Junhoe's hoodie, muffling his yell into the fabric.

They remained there for a moment, shaking knees and panting breath. Junhoe's eyes were closed when he dropped his head forward and kissed the side of Jinhwan's temple.

Before Jinhwan could stop himself he was tilting his head up to meet Junhoe's lips, tongue pushing its way into Junhoe's mouth. They were a good ten seconds into the kiss before his brain caught up with him, and internally he was screaming at himself to stop kissing Junhoe, that it was a bad idea and was only sending the wrong message.

But he liked kissing Junhoe.

Liked it a little too much.

They pulled apart seconds later, and Jinhwan hastily tucked himself back into his pants. Despite feeling wonderful, he was already a little sore. But then he looked down at Junhoe's hand, the one he'd used to into, and Jinhwan had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing.

“Um, let me go get you a napkin.” He met Junhoe's eyes then and the look of mild annoyance in them brought out the laughter he was trying to contain. “Sorry, I uh didn't have time to point it somewhere else. It was either your first or your hoodie, and I don't think you wanted it on the hoodie.”

Junhoe grimaced at the warm, sticky mess in his hand. Without looking at Jinhwan he flung his hand back and forth, shaking the majority of it off into the grass. The move just made Jinhwan laugh harder and even though he kind of wanted to be annoyed, Junhoe couldn't help but laugh too.

“Next time let's think this through a little better?” Junhoe asked.

Jinhwan just grinned at him. “There's no fun in that. Come on, let's get out of here before our indecently loud moans bring anyone running.”

Junhoe flushed at the comment and followed Jinhwan back to the bench, where he took an offered napkin and used it to wipe the remaining mess off of his palm. They grabbed their containers and headed for the park exit, tossing the garbage out and starting on their way to the nearest subway station.

They both walked with equally smug expressions on their faces, and they didn't speak on the entire way there. There was nothing to say at the moment, nothing that couldn't be said by the brushing of their limbs against each other as they walked. Words would only ruin it.