Ryu Hwan was excited. 

No, it wasn’t the effervescent excitement that he used to feel as a young boy when he mustered a flow of movements. It wasn’t the giddy excitement he’d felt when he first held Suzy’s hand when they were still together. This excitement... was so foreign he almost forgot he was capable of feeling it.

He’d experienced it once, before his old Taekwondo Master Jang had passed away when he was 18 years old. During one of his last instructions with Old Master Jang, the teacher had sat him down and left him with a final teaching. 

“Ryu Hwan-ah, we both know, that among all the disciples I have now, you are a cut above the rest. But I have never acknowledged it publicly, I have never said it till now with you in confidence. Why, you ask? Ryu Hwan-ah, it is dreadfully lonely at the top. I will never place any one of my beloved fighters at such a height alone, to only fall and crash when someone surpasses them. Beyond your natural gifted ability, as your Master, I also guard your heart, your soul and your mind. Live like you fight, fight like you live. In life, we can never exist like an isolated island. We are all interconnected, we need each other. Don’t try to fight to be above the rest, fight to be the best you can be. The fight is with yourself, not others. As you rise higher, you will meet all kinds of fighters. But Ryu Hwan-ah, one day, you will find your soul mate. Like a life partner, your soul mate will fight alongside you, fight like they live, and live like they fight. They will match you in skill, but more importantly, match you in heart. Once you find them, never let them go. Keep them close to your heart, because they are precious. They will be with you, at the top, at the pits, wherever you go. And so will you. You will be their strength, as they will be yours. Live for that day, when you finally meet him, or her.” 

He remembered the deep bow he made to his Master after his speech, as he teared silently, overwhelmed by the last words of Master Jang. 

There was sadness, for he knew the incredible teacher was soon to pass because of his battle with lung cancer. But there was also excitement, for his Master had given him a person to find, to take his place, though this time not as a teacher, but a soul mate. 

But 6 years had passed, and time had encouraged forgetfulness. It took away the gut wrenching loss he felt when Master passed away, and dulled the excitement he had in the beginning of his ‘search’. 

It had taken too long. 

And yet now, in the short scuffle that surprised him, Ryu Hwan caught a glimpse of what Master Jang was describing to him. 

Hae Jin was beyond fast. 

Hae Jin had surprised him with his alertness. 

Beyond that, Hae Jin had in him a selflessness that he’d witnessed first hand the first day they met. 

“I’m so sorry Captain! I didn’t mean to! I’m so sorry!” The flustered younger man bowed countless times in apology while Ryu Hwan continued to lock up the dojang. 

Master, is this what you had tasked me to find? 

Turning sternly to the younger man, Ryu Hwan asked, “You didn’t mean to attack me? Or you didn’t mean to draw me?” 

Hae Jin stilled and turned red. He looked at his toes and mumbled, “Both?” 

Then almost immediately, he bowed again and exclaimed, “I’m willing to be punished for both actions, Captain!”

“Ok.” Ryu Hwan kept his stoic pretense as long as he could while the lower classman looked at him for further instructions. “You will present to me the drawing after you’re done with it.”

Hae Jin’s head cocked to the side. 

Adorable. 

“That’s... all?” The younger man asked quizzically. 

“Would you like to have more?” 

“Ah! No, no. No... I mean-” Ryu Hwan’s aloofness was clearly agonizing the apologetic boy.

“So where you heading off to now? Home?” Ryu Hwan decided to call an end to the entertaining conversation before the younger man’s head exploded from all the bowing and apologies. 

“...Yes! Um, not really home, home. My family is not from around here. I stay at a rented house above the place I work part-time near Hongdae. What about you, Captain?”

“Ah... I’m not in a rush to go home. Do you have dinner plans? Let’s grab dinner together.” Ryu Hwan asked, while they both headed to the bicycle sheds to grab their bikes.

The shy boy kept silent, and unlocked his bike. While adjusting himself on the bike, he flashed Ryu Hwan an eager smile and asked, “Captain! Let me apologize to you properly by cooking you a meal. Please accept my offer.” 

“I will not accept a meal out of apology. Cook for me as a dongseng would for his hyung. How about that?” Ryu Hwan smiled softly. 

“Yes Captain!” Always so eager, Ryu Hwan thought. 

“Hyung.” 

“But Captai-” 

“Outside the dojang, I am your hyung. Drop the captain, it hurts my ears now.” 

“...Hyung.”

“Good on you, dongseng. Now what were you saying about that dinner...” Ryu Hwan gave Hae Jin’s shoulder a friendly pat, as they rode their bikes towards Haejin’s rented apartment. 

-------

Captain Won Ryu Hwan had a weakness. 

He could not cook to save his life. 

Hae Jin didn’t know if he should pity the struggling captain, or feel glad that even the mighty had their imperfections. 

The older boy looked like he was in battle with the loaf of bread he had offered to slice. The center of the bread was getting squashed as Ryu Hwan pushed the bread knife straight down into the loaf, but the crust of the bread too thick to be cut through with sheer force alone. 

This would not do. The cook in him was tearing him inside out for allowing this travesty to happen.

Hae Jin looked over his stewing pot of indian curry, took out the bowls and utensils, and counted to 10. 

Finally relenting, he reach his left hand underneath Ryu Hwan’s right arm and steadied the bread. The other hand placed over Ryu Hwan’s tightly clenched right hand, Hae Jin said softly from behind, “Relax, hyung.”

-------

Hae Jin had beautiful hands. That was the first thing that came to his mind when the boy had reached behind him to guide him in slicing the bread. 

“We need to be gentle with the bread, hyung. We slice from an angle, not chop.”

Ryu Hwan gave a distracted nod, while studying the boy’s hands.

Nimble and slim. Old knife scars. Fight callouses. 

Beautif- 

“There! Now you can do it on your own.” Quipped the younger boy. Hae Jin removed himself from their semi-back hug nonchalantly, and began to ladle the curry into two big serving bowls. 

What the hell. 

Ryu Hwan was brought up in a relatively liberal family. Being a student in a college that encouraged creativity and self-expression, he had seen things that perhaps the majority of Korea still ignored. He had come to embrace these identities, and come to appreciate his peers by their character and integrity as artists. In all honesty, he had never thought much about his uality, but whatever it was, he was pretty sure it didn’t matter too much to his family or close friends. In fact, he would bet on his middle finger that Hae Rang was bi. No, actually, if he asked Hae Rang about it, he would probably kick up a fuss at him for trying to categorize his uality. He wasn’t any uality, he just loved. 

The problem at hand, however, was another issue altogether. 

This was definitely not Master Jang’s idea of a soul mate.

Ryu Hwan’s stomach growled. 

Another problem for another day, Ryu Hwan’s stomach won in the end. Silently reminding himself to come back to this on a less hungry day, the hungry captain carried the plate of sliced bread to join the younger one in the living room for dinner. 

--------

As dinner ended and progressed to a tea session, polite conversations flowed into meaningful ones. 

Ryu Hwan learnt that Hae Jin was from a village town near Daegu, and he had received an artist scholarship to the college. He also learnt that Hae Jin was brought up by his mother single-handedly, and that he loved his mother fiercely and detested his abusive father who was now behind bars. Hae Jin had picked up Taekwondo and martial arts from the teacher that had stopped his father from ramming his fists into his mother’s face on a drunken night outside the town’s watering hole. Taekwondo was a declaration against his father, that the problem wasn’t in the fists, but in the wielder. Then he learnt why Hae Jin’s form look familiar. 

He was a student of Master Jang’s closest confidante, Master Park. 

Now that he thought of it, were they perhaps... ‘soul mates’? 

When Master Jang passed, Master Park had witnessed his last breath. He had cleaned  and dressed Master’s body reverently before the undertakers came, and he had sat silently throughout the whole funeral procession. No tears came from the silent Master Park, until the whole procession ended and he had to leave Seoul to go back to his dojang near Daegu. 

“It hurts more that you have to go alone, hyung-nim. I would’ve felt better if we did this journey together, just like how we have in our journey as fighters.”  Ryu Hwan remembered Master Park whispering these words mid-breakdown. 

Two years later, Master Park passed peacefully in his sleep. 

“You know, Master Park was never the same after Old Master Jang passed. He looked the same, he instructed the same, and he loved his students all the same... but he always looked at the dojang gates with this unfathomable look in his eyes. When we asked him, Master always smiled serenely and said that he was looking forward to a new journey,” Hae Jin recollected solemnly as he refilled Ryu Hwan’s tea cup. 

Letting out a small sigh, Ryu Hwan lifted his cup to the skies. 

“To our greatest teachers.” 

Letting out a small teary smile, Hae Jin echoed, “To the greatest teachers.” 

-------

Author's notes: Hi guys! :D hope you're enjoying this chapter so far. I've been bringing in characters (from Secretly greatly hahaha) in this story while developing the two boy's relationship, I felt it was important that we all had a feel of what and who made the boys who they are today. I wasn't sure whether it would bore you out, but personally I felt it was key for this chapter in particular - to show the fighter's integrity in both boys, and how that sculpted their characters.

ALSO, a HUGE BIG WARNING HERE for all my readers. This story is NOT a fic about BROMANCE. I fully intend to make this . The unexplored tension in the movie was too much! This will be a FIC! Last warningggg.

Anyhoozles... ENJOY! Keep your feedback coming, and I'll see you in the next chapter! :D 

<3

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