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Soonyoung had never been here before.
Supposedly hidden in the basement of a small bar tucked in the corner of a narrow alley, he had to stop in front of the threshold to regard the barely glowing red neon lights of ‘Maison bar’ before slipping himself in. He looked around as he got a whiff of the air inside, his nostrils flaring with the smell of cigarettes and liquor. His steps were uncertain amongst the lack of patrons due to it being a Tuesday night, but it brought him to the booth with a pink haired girl who was currently busying herself in wiping the shot glasses.
A nervous cough, and the girl looked up to him. She had a pretty, small face, but somewhat giving off a cold feeling as the single raise of her eyebrow got him stammering at his words, a little intimidated from the gesture. "Uh, Jeonghan … sent me here?" he croaked out, hesitating.
A look of recognition dawned upon her face and she nodded, cocking her head to the red door right beside the toilet at the far end of the room, her ponytail swaying with the movement. "Basement, there." He noticed her clipped tone, off handedly thinking that she's probably a foreigner.
Soonyoung mumbled a thanks and went off to the door, merely hearing an indifferent hum as his reply. It was a metal door, and when he heard its hinges creaked as he pulled on it, he wondered for a split second if he were too trusting on Jeonghan and his apparent confident nod when his friend directed him to this place once he had listened about Soonyoung’s whine about how he was bored with nothing to do.
“Look, Seungcheol has a share of the place there and I worked there for a while. Just say my name and you’ll be fine!”
And like everyone else who had talked to Jeonghan, he was immediately sold. Small bar in a narrow alley be damned, if Jeonghan told him that chicken could fly if they tried hard enough, Soonyoung would believe him in a heartbeat.
Not that it was a personal experience or anything, just a testament of how much he trusted the older, really.
The spilled warm light from the bar didn’t help the darkness he was welcomed with, nor the narrow set of stairs with a single blinking light at the end, but he gulped down the fear and hesitancy. He pulled out his phone for a flashlight before the door slammed shut behind him, holding onto the round metal rail for balance as he descended. He was too focused on stepping down carefully in order for him to not fall for the steps were too small that he almost missed the low thrum of the bass and the ringing bell with the shout of people from behind the walls.
Soonyoung paused in the middle of the stairs. He registered the barked words, the thumping sound and the erupted cheers, all in that order and found his own lips pulled up in a small smirk. Excitement swirled inside his stomach, blood rippling throughout his veins as he fled the stairs, jumping through the last three steps before snatching the handle open.
Everything was intense. The blazing yellow lights. Clamoring people and their scratched throats from screaming. Loud speakers with their exertive commentary. Sticky, sweaty bodies. The sweet, greasy popcorn and sizzling sugary sodas in paper cups.
And the boxing ring in the middle.
Soonyoung took it all in, a look of wonder on his face, transfixed by the whole boxing club even when somebody else bumped him from behind with a sneer. He let himself be swallowed by the crowd, following the path to the ring as he squeezed his way in. They were currently wiping the floor of the ring when he was able to stand at the edge, his vision slightly obscured by the thick band of rope but clear enough to see the blue chair and red chair on the sides of the ring.
He cringed as the speaker let out a loud shrill.
"People of Maison, you guys have been waiting for it all night long, the main event, the cherry on top, the main entrée of Tuesday night!" a bright voice on the speakers, powerful and loud and the basement voiced out their excitement.
“And it’s coming!” another set of voice, stronger and sharper then. “People of Maison you have been waiting and waiting you have been! Our next contender is our black horse for the tournament, challenger of our champion. On the blue we have, C-B Ninety–”
“Seveeeeeeeen!” As the crowd screamed, Soonyoung watched as a young man with black hoodie climbed up to the stage, pale face hidden by the hood before he made a show of pulling it off. Screams and whoops are heard as the sculpted pale body was slowly shown, but the personification of Adonis seemed to be shy from all the attention as he covered his face afterwards, tips of his ears pink under the glaring light and lips pulled in a tight grimace underneath his fingertips. Soonyoung couldn't help but smile. It was boyishly cute.
"Our CB ninety seven truly has earned himself a rightful place in the final, but this next contender is definitely deserving the title of reigning champion for 5 consecutive tournaments! Kwan, let himself be known!"
"Of course. Our pride and joy, the son of Maison on his way to become a legend, the jawbreaker! On the red!" A dramatic pause was put by the other guy, but the crowd around Soonyoung was already erupting with cheers.
"Wooziiii!"
If the previous guy had the whole crowd screaming for him, this man has the whole crowd roaring. It seemed like they were worshiping him, if praying was done by loud hoots and clamor and chaos. The place vibrated from the loud sound, eardrums thrumming as he struggled to keep his place, constantly getting pushed aside by the jumping devotees.
He looked up, finding that the Woozi guy was shorter than his opponent. Short enough that Soonyoung found his face obscured by the wide white band of the boxing ring from his angle. He merely caught the unzipped white hoodie, showing off the pale skin of his body with a clear line of abs. Slowly, the guy doffed himself off his clothing, and the crowd's scream intensified with more skin being shown. As Soonyoung was shown the toned chest and arms, the sound felt dull, muted by his own heartbeat pounding inside his ears with the sight of Woozi’s skin glinting from the thin sheen of sweat by the harsh light above them. His pink shorts were hung lowly around his hips, a Calvin Klein band of his boxer drawing all attention towards the small waist, and Soonyung couldn’t help but to have his breath hitched, aware that his throat had gone dry as he gulped.
He bit his lip as he groaned. He would not get hard in public, especially for lusting over an unknown boxer he had just seen for tonight.
But then the object of his denied desire walked forward, and it was then he could see parts of his face. A sly smile bordering on a smirk even with the mouthguard on. A pair of chubby cheeks. Cute pointy nose. A sharp gaze of an angry kitten behind slightly long, messy bangs. All in that order.
By the time he reached the last piece of the puzzle, his brain was already scrambling on putting it together. A sense of familiarity momentarily hit him, but he lightly shoved it off for the face he was familiar with and this current face he was seeing definitely didn't share the same wavelength together. This insanely ripped, boxer dude that Soonyoung might be thirsting over and the short, reserved guy that sit by two rows to his right on his Compulsory Music Theory class every Tuesday and Thursday that he might or might not be stealing glances of every now and then was definitely not the same guy.
Right. There was no way.
He didn't get the chance to mull over it as the announcers’ voice took all his attention aside, and Soonyoung watched as the two boxers nod to each other before going to their stance, gloved hands raised up–he didn't even notice that they were wearing them–before three chimes of the bell signaled the start of the fight.
Soonyoung had watched boxing fights on old TVs during his childhood, crammed in the living room when his grandparents were visiting and they didn’t have any other show aside from that during midnights when he wanted to spend more time with his grandparents. And it was just that. An okay thing that wasn't something that begged all of his attention–he was more into taekwondo, anyway.
But this particular fight–with Woozi light on his feet, endlessly dodging the punches aimed at him–was something else entirely. He was hopeless against its charm, willingly pulled him in at the spot, a hint of wonder inside his widening eyes with the pull of a smile tugging at his lips.
He kept his attention on the shorter man, watching as he dodged yet another punch swung at him before successfully landing a light jab at his opponent's face. The crowd ooh-ed and Soonyoung found himself doing the same thing, clapping as he cheered with more punches Woozi was giving.
With each round passed, it was obvious that Woozi was being more offensive now, and Soonyoung couldn't help but be drawn by the glimpses of the sharp gaze behind those raised up gloves. There was something else underneath the ripples of muscles as the glove collided with skin, that despite all the violence he found himself seeing a sense of delicacy in it that drew him in. Woozi gave a strong uppercut towards the side of the jaw, and the other guy went stiff, body tumbling towards the ground with a grunt.
The crowd around him exploded, cheers turning into counts with the referee starting it, the body laid on the ground unmoving as the referee checked on him, but Soonyoung paid everything no mind. For Woozi was there, his breath heaving, his eyes wide with mirth and as he swept his bangs aside, Soonyoung could finally see just how familiar he was, the puzzles fitting into place so perfectly.
Somehow that fact didn't really change how fast his heart beat, how dry his throat was, or just how mesmerized he was with the boxer, for Woozi slash Lee Jihoon was there standing, and–
"That's a knockout! Woozi has done it again, a clean knockout!"
Radiant.
Lee Jihoon was radiant.
And Soonyoung wanted to soak in his afterglow.
"I challenge Woozi to a fight!"
Frankly speaking, he was aware that impulsively doing things by himself wasn't his staple. At the very least, his dumbest decision would be backed by alcohol and very much stupidly drunk stupid friends, something that he'd cringe about on the next day as he fought the effect of hangover and swore that he would never do it again–in which he would, ultimately, do again.
But there wasn't a single drop of alcohol inside his body as he hoisted himself up towards the stage, carefully slipping through the bands as he felt everyone's gaze staring right at him. He hadn't been visiting the club long enough to know all the operating systems of the club, but it was enough for him to know how beginner nights worked. One novice and an open challenge for fellow novice to kickstart their Maison boxing career, and he did exactly that except for the fact that Woozi was very much not a novice.
And he knew about it. His classmate was indeed a four times reigning champion of the tournament, and he wasn't sure if he could even believe in his own rusty taekwondo skills, but Soonyoung couldn't help it. The image of the other standing with the glorious winning smile, basking on the cheers and praises after giving the final blow…
Addicting. He wanted it for himself, up close and personal. To experience the stretched out tension, to feel the electrifying punch, to share the scorching heat.
He wondered if it was the first time the club was ever reduced to a complete standstill for two whole seconds. Even the subject of his challenge froze on his seat at the bar as he drank his coke upon the mention of his name. Then it was the laugh spreading through the crowd, chuckles and giggles before the full blown wheezes and guffaws.
But Soonyoung was adamant, his gaze trained at the boxer even amongst the ridicules, his lips were tight, heart racing. He watched as Woozi stared back at him, and at this distance he couldn't quite make sure what his actual expression was, but he was sure that the other was chuckling and shaking his head.
The challenge was unexpected for the night. If he were to be rejected, he knew that he would already have a name to himself–he envisioned it, the dumb novice that challenged Maison’s son. It was enough surprise for the day, but then Woozi raised up his can of coke, an eyebrow raised, small smirk on his face before he drank the rest of it, his head thrown back and Soonyoung couldn't help but smirk in return, the whole crowd cheering was but a muted white noise because adrenaline was streaming through his veins, heart pumping inside his ears.
Because it meant that Woozi accepted it.
And now, standing on the ring with both of his gloved hands raised and his classmate's curious gaze directed at him, Soonyoung figured he could probably know what a single hay felt like under the scorching summer heat, waiting for a single flick of fire in order to burn the entire yard.
Woozi raised his gloved hands. "I didn't know you like boxing?"
Soonyoung shrugged. "Honestly, neither did I."
Woozi gave him a confused stare, his head tilted slightly to the side and it was so unfair that all Soonyoung could give in return was a wide smile at the shorter guy because there was no way that someone with the strength to knock someone out with body built like a Greek god had the ability to look so fucking cute before a boxing match. But he did thank whoever it was that created the rule that fighters in beginners night shouldn't need to shed their clothes off, for he was sure that it would give him far more problems.
But then Woozi’s eyebrows were scrunched before he glanced at the referee and at him. Soonyoung felt the soft clap on his shoulder almost immediately from the tall referee who reached out his hand, “I’m sorry, you forgot your mouthguard.”
“Ah, right. Sorry.” Soonyoung said, sheepish and embarrassed before accepting it and slipping it into his mouth.
He took a deep breath to prepare himself. He watched as Woozi didn’t.
The bell rang.
Soonyoung immediately sent the first punch and although he caught the way it made Woozi's eyes widened for a quick second, his opponent was able to parry it perfectly. He had to fight down the urge to smile with the more punch Woozi was able to dodge and parry, his excitement grew with the more seconds he spent circling around the ring with him.
Woozi gave a classic combo of jab and cross after letting Soonyoung have his share of punches. He reacted just a little too late, however, and pain bursted on his left ribs as he groaned, steps staggered, and despite the blooming bruise, he couldn't help but feel that it was the ignite of fire he was waiting for.
He chuckled around his mouthguard, watching as it raised one of Woozi's eyebrows in confusion but didn't waver his attention to him at all. And Soonyoung bathed on the utmost focus, feeling the flames licking the ring beneath his feet and he swung his arm for a hook. A slip by Woozi, his head inclined to dodge the arm before the other gave another hook that was dodged perfectly.
Another attempt of a jab. Blocked. A series of hooks. Dodged. Blocking a jab sent at him. Ducking at full swing of arm. Dodging an uppercut. Stepping slightly to avoid short burst of hooks. A dance of the two that sets Soonyoung's heart and soul in fire, firecracker blooming inside his ribs, and he longed for the heat, for his heart was lighter now, felt as if all of his pent up feelings evaporated.
A glimpse of the timer and he found out that he had another half minute left of the first round before that split second was used by Woozi to swing his arm. He felt his breath got knocked out from his lung as Woozi's left glove hit the side of his face and eye, his head pounding from the force and sending him tumbling to the ground with a pained groan.
The world was spinning as his head hit the floor, and as he found himself staring up at the warm lights above, he could barely figure out the sound of the crowd counting down from ten. Soonyoung knew that he must wake up if he wanted to continue fighting. Knew that he could .
But then he saw Jihoon staring down at him. Amongst the spilling warm lights that was a little blinding, he focused on how his classmate's plump lips were ajar with the mouthguard, his chest heaving with exertion, and there it came again, that feeling of watching Jihoon sending someone into a knockout. He couldn't help but to throw a smile even with his mouthguard, raw from his heart, a little crazed and dazed from all the adrenaline pumping through his veins. The thrill of fighting. The burning fire flickering throughout his skin. From the urge to be soaked upon the light that is his opponent. The greed to have it all to himself.
And Soonyoung let himself lie there, aching pain on his eyes and tournament be damned, for he was able to witness a glowing Jihoon on top of him, cheers filling the basement as a smile bloomed on his lips.
Soonyoung lost that night, but watching Jihoon win over him?
(He felt) Glorious.
"The dazed look on your face with a black eye is actually a little concerning." Wonwoo commented, the very next day as Soonyoung arrived at his class. "What, did you actually get laid last night?"
Soonyoung thought back at the blooming fire, purple bruises and red lips. Thought back at one familiar person. He smiled.
"Even better."
The area around his eye was still tender and pulsing when he found himself back at Maison, neon lights turned off with its inside void of people. The whole day he had tried to find Jihoon on campus, but their shared class was canceled that day and he had no other choice but to return to the bar. He found the pink-haired girl almost immediately and chuckled to see her doing the same action as she did during his first time here, the sound carried itself over to the girl in the middle of an empty bar. She looked up at him as he arrived at the table, expression flat.
“We’re closed.” She had a softer lull to her voice now that he could actually hear her, but her clipped, sarcastic tone was evident.
“Yeah, sorry, I’m aware.” Soonyoung chuckled nervously, still intimidated. “I’m wondering if you know, um, the reigning champion of the boxing club? Lee–” He caught himself, “Woozi. I mean Woozi, the champion. Um, do you know him? Or where to find him, at least?”
The girl stopped wiping the glass and merely stared at him. They shared two blinks, silence stretching out before Soonyoung realized that the clipped tone she always gave him came because she wasn’t exactly a native speaker. It would explain the short, simple sentences she was using at him and he felt bad for immediately barging in with such a long question at her.
“Ah, I’m really sorry. ” He blurted out in Japanese, and when the girl’s eyebrows scrunched up even more he cursed himself for not knowing any Chinese other than that one word–silent!–that Jun taught him once at class once his friend muttered it under his breath. His mind was scrambling as his hands were flailing around, trying to grab onto any other Chinese words his friend had said before.
“Uh, hello. ” The sight of her cringing with him was definitely not helping. Just when he was about to embarrass himself more, the creak from the basement door opening stole both of their attention. Soonyoung sighed in relief when he saw Jeonghan and Seungcheol emerging from the basement, his hand raised up in a greeting. “Oh, hyung!”
Seungcheol waved back, but his attention was definitely not on him. His eyebrows were raised, albeit his tone was playful. “Yah, Handong. What did I tell you about pretending not being able to speak Korean to people?”
“To not do it.” Soonyoung stared back at her in shock, mouth opening. The girl let out a loud laugh at the sight, resuming her glass wiping. “But it’s been so much fun, he was so tormented when I didn’t say anything.” Handong grinned at him afterwards, eyes full of mirth. Her tone wasn’t the slightest bit apologetic. “Sorry, it was too good of a chance to pass on.”
Jeonghan hummed loudly, nodding in approval. “I know I taught you well, Dong-ah.” He gave her a wink that was returned, before he shifted his attention to a still gaping Soonyoung. “What do we have here, though? Soonyoungie?”
Handong beat him into answering, smirking. “He’s looking for Woozi. I don’t know why, though. The black eye should be enough to prove that you shouldn’t just challenge the reigning champion like that.”
Soonyoung would’ve paid more attention as to how Handong knew about his action last night if he didn’t see how Jeonghan reacted. His lips mirrored Handong’s, a cheshire smile, almost taunting and even though he knew it didn’t come from a bad place, it was still unnerving to be the end of it. “Ah, I didn’t mean it in that way when I said the place would be good for your boredom, though.” It was phrased in a way that warmed Soonyoung’s face, but Seungcheol didn’t let him answer that and he was glad.
“Oh, so you’re the rookie that challenged Woozi last night?” He could see how Seungcheol was entertained, amused, but Soonyoung felt that there was a glint of wonder inside his eyes. “It’s a miracle that you came out with only a black eye instead of being an actual proof of his title as jawbreaker though. Woozi never really goes easy on anyone.”
He shrugged. “I didn’t think he went easy on me. He beat me in the first round.” A pause, contemplation. “I don’t think I ever wanted him to.”
Seungcheol’s lips quirked up. “Interesting. So tell me, how did it feel to get sacked in the face by the son of Maison?”
His mind was an unstoppable broken faucet almost immediately, the memories trickling in, of the thrill he felt upon challenging him, his racing pulse when they were facing each other at the ring, the majestic feeling of watching Woozi winning. Soonyoung licked his lips, aware that they were all waiting for his answer but he also knew that his feeling couldn’t just be reduced down to one particular emotion. He scratched his head, finding the shot glasses behind Handong to be an interesting sight.
“I don’t know. A lot of stuff,” he mumbled. “Kind of similar to being in love, maybe.”
The silent stare that the three of them gave him was kind of similar, and he noticed the absurdity of his words when Jeonghan bit his lips from laughing, tone amused, “He really messed your brain up that much?”
He felt the tips of his ear warming up, brain gearing up to find better words. “I mean, not in that way! I was looking for the word… ah what was it… admiration!” He was flailing his hands again, a nervous tic. “I meant that he was really good at this thing and it was… amazing that he was willing to share it with me? I mean he could’ve just said no, but he accepted the challenge from a measly rookie like me and was willing to let me in… to that world.”
He trailed off, feeling the genuinity of his words. “I want him to show me more of it. To teach me more. I think I might be falling in love with it.”
Soonyoung looked up to find the three of them staring at him with widened eyes. “What?”
“I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news but...” Handong glanced at Jeonghan and Seungcheol before looking at him, shrugging. She wiped the top of the counter before flicking the cloth onto her shoulder. “Woozi is not a teacher.”
“I’ll be his first student, then.”
He heard Seungcheol sigh, his body leaning against the counter. “She meant, Woozi never really accepts any students. You’re not the first one that comes here and asks him to teach.”
It didn’t deter him at all, his words easily tumbling out with conviction. “And like I said, I’ll be his first student.”
“And what makes you so sure about it?”
Soonyoung whipped his head around almost immediately upon hearing the familiar voice. In front of the threshold of the entrance, stood the guy whose side look had been imprinted inside his mind over the amount of staring he did in class and the very guy who had knocked head out last night. Lee Jihoon slash Woozi was there, donning a slightly oversized gray hoodie that gave him an even softer look for it was hiding his actual body form, bangs framing his face after a failed attempt of pushing it back. The question hung in the air, but Soonyoung’s throat was dry out of shock and relief and…and…
He swallowed.
Adoration . Just standing there, he was easily the most beautiful person Soonyoung had ever seen.
As if he was in a trance, cheery greetings directed to Woozi from the other three went unheard. He focused on the slow steps that the other had taken until they were face to face, noticing that it would be the first time he would look down on him due to their height difference. He thought that he must’ve look stupid then, merely staring without actually answering anything, but the way his classmate’s gaze bore into his felt like stripping his own self bare and he was hopeless against its pull.
“Kwon Soonyoung, right?”
Soonyoung wet his lips, ignoring the way his heart skipped at his name being uttered. “I didn’t think you’d know my name.” He paused. “At least, for someone like Lee Jihoon.”
Jihoon gave a small chuckle, a playful twinkle in his brown eyes. “It’s hard not to, you know? You’re not exactly subtle.”
He blinked twice. Needed time for the words to sink onto his mind before it clicked. His jaw dropped before he closed it, he could feel the warmth spreading from his face into the tip of his ears, bubbling inside his skin. “I–” He swallowed twice. “I’m so, sorry if i ever made you uncomfortable in any way I was a lo–”
“Uncomfortable?” Jihoon cut him off, eyebrows scrunched in confusion. “What do you mean? I mean you challenged me openly in front of the whole club to see, of course I’m going to know your name.”
Soonyoung felt like launching himself to the rack of shot glasses behind Handong. Oh .
“Oh.” He said, dumbly. “I mean, yeah. Sure. Of course. Yeah, I didn’t know why it didn’t cross my mind, sorry.”
But then Jihoon gave him a soft smile afterwards, almost bashful in a way his eyes were staring everywhere but Soonyoung’s eyes and it squeezed onto his heart. “And yeah, we also share that music theory class. I saw you a lot then, too.”
He didn’t get the chance to reply with Seungcheol immediately standing beside him, arm glomped around his shoulder. “Well, now that we settled that one up, what do you think, Ji? He wants to be taught by you.”
The bashful smile vanished from his face then, and Soonyoung saw how his eyes immediately narrowed, his tone serious. “Yeah, that’s what I said. Why were you so confident that I’m going to take you as my student?”
He gave him an easy smile, his heart beating harder with each word tumbling from his lips. "Just from the fact that you're considering making me one."
He could hear how Jeonghan whistled at that, felt the clap of Seungcheol's hand on his back, but his attention was fixed onto the way Jihoon's eyes widened. His smile never faltering, "I don't know how much you've heard about me before. But I saw how you fight and I couldn't help but feel–" Captivated. Entranced. Bewitched.
Exhilarated.
"–interested." He breathed out eventually, figuring the safest word of them all. "When I first saw you give cb ninety seven his knockout, I don't think I've ever remembered anything else that could rival the utmost awe I felt towards you that night. By the time you sent me into knockout, I knew then that I wanted more of it. No. I needed it.
“I want to know everything about it.” The “about you” part was silent, but he hoped it reached him nonetheless. “I want to know how you manage to create something so beautiful out of something that’s supposed to be gory. I want to feel that thrill that you feel when the light beats down on you and all you could do is to smile to the crowd, with your chest heaving as the referee raised your arm up. How you bask in your victory. I want you to teach me all of it. I know that you could.”
Soonyoung didn't realize that he had stepped closer to him as he spoke. He saw how Jihoon's fringe moved from his own breath, how the shorter man had his slightly chapped lips slightly open as he stared up, a light pink dusting the high of his cheeks. He tried his best to tame down the need to come closer, for his height was perfect for a forehead kiss.
"Also," he added, because he was a college student, "the money won’t hurt."
Jihoon stepped back after a few heartbeats, his words slipping out with a slightly shaky exhale. "You know that I won't go easy on you, right? I've seen you fight before, you need tons of practice to be a decent boxer and even then I can't really say if you'll be able to win the tournament."
He stepped forward again, eyes locking into his. "Yes. As long as it's you."
His classmate averted his gaze then before stepping backwards again and away from him, coughing slightly. "Great. Just send me your schedule by text and we'll talk about it."
He couldn't fight the stupid grin blooming on his lips, wasn't sure if the dazed "yeah, sure" was something he had said. There was no mistaken of Jihoon's ears going red now and the way it sent Soonyoung's heart into a series of somersaults made him ache for it a lot more.
The four of them watched as Soonyoung's back disappeared from the front door. Jihoon could feel that their attention was now on him, with the way the back of his head felt like it was pricked by thousand warm needles.
He could hear Jeonghan and Seungcheol cackling after a beat of silence and Handong joining in, "I really thought they would just start fucking right then and there."
"Not. A. Word." A stern ultimatum, but even then it was weak to his own ears.
He touched his ears before his cheeks, finding it still warm as his heart was still pounding harshly inside his ribs.
He wasn't sure if the amount of zero coke Jihoon drank could be considered healthy. The red can has always been visible from his place when he was staring at him at class, perched on top of the table just beside Jihoon's laptop. But then he would see it held within his grasp as they were riding the bus together to the gym, and again written on the list of receipt once they stopped by the convenience store beside the gym, and again on the table as they were sparring, and again on his lips with his head tipped back, throat bobbing as Soonyoung was sprawled on the floor, panting after their session, willing himself to quash another kind of thirst crawling into his throat.
Soonyoung told him as such once during their convenience store runs, one of those rare cheat days where both of them finally coaxed into eating ramyeon after their training, and all he got from Jihoon was a nonchalant, “Well, I’m still alive, am I?” with no room for second opinion, so he left it at that.
There were lots of things Soonyoung didn’t realize he was going to uncover from Jihoon during those convenience store runs. Talking to Jihoon was easy this way, he realized. When they were side-by-side on the stool right in front of the window, the whirring of air conditioner filling their comfortable silences as they got themselves some snacks to nibble on.
When they got themselves a cup of ice and packed americano, Soonyoung found out that he lived quite far from campus, exactly 7 stops of subway stations he would pass each morning and that would be the reason why he carried such a big gym bag with him, for he would train and then compete at Maison before going home with bus since his metro lines stopped operating at 11 pm.
The soft ice cream sandwich was sweet on his tongue as Jihoon blurted out that he didn’t go anywhere aside from those places, not even for eating out since he was preserving his energy–Soonyoung asked him if it was his fancy reason for saying that he was lazy, and Jihoon was quick to say yes.
It was easy to get him to talk about anime and how he actually preferred staying home and watching it, with Soonyoung pointing him out about Anya’s hair clips pinned to his gym bag as they watch the hot water trickling down to their ramyeon cups. And with Jihoon’s eyes immediately widened, his cheeks pink, he figured it was worth the dirty glare Jihoon sent him when he said that he was cute for that.
One thing that he was surprised on uncovering was how Jihoon was someone that couldn’t be swayed by others' opinions–or rather so reluctantly accepting on being swayed, that is, with Soonyoung having the on-hand experience with how much they’ve spent so many afternoons debating about the best Sailor Moon character was. Or the best animal to be reborn into– It’s tiger, thank you very much! Can’t you see it from the way I stare at people? I would be the best tiger there is! And Jihoon would blankly stare at him, roll his eyes and scoff.
So whenever he had time in-between their training when all he did was stare as Jihoon took it to himself to try and destroy one of the heavy bags on the gym, Soonyoung thought back at that one afternoon at Maison where pink-cheeked, slightly stuttering Jihoon accepted him as a student almost too easily.
The undeterrable Lee Jihoon easily gave into something he was notorious for never doing…for someone like him. It would be a lie if it didn’t pique his interest at all.
But the thing was, that blushing, soft Lee Jihoon definitely didn’t exist every single time they had stepped inside the boxing gym. In between the boxing ring in the middle of the room, sacks of heavy bags and speed bags neatly hung by the long bar, traces of Lee Jihoon he had known simply evaporated, leaving a mere sculpted body and mind of a boxing champion and stern trainer of Woozi.
“We’re doing speed bags after this,” Jihoon said, seemingly unaffected by the series of warm up exercises that left Soonyoung heaving from the bench as he doused down his water bottle, head thrown back. (At least he was just heaving and not panting off the ground with his head pounding during their first session. An improvement, really.) “And then the speed ladders, then a few rounds of heavy bags. I want to know if you were able to hit it as hard as I told you to last time.”
Soonyoung put the empty water bottle down beside him, wiping the water from his mouth when he caught Jihoon staring at him from across the gym, lips curved into a frown. “What?”
It seemed to shook Jihoon off from his stupor, and the latter shook his head as he pulled down the zipper of his black hoodie. “Nothing. I’m saying we should spar too, after this.”
Soonyoung choked on his breath as Jihoon’s bare forearms were shown, milky white skin on display as he shrugged down his clothes down to his black tank top, his chest prominent under the fabric that wasn’t supposed to be that tight in the first place. He coughed lightly before diverting his gaze to the empty water bottle before grabbing it and crushed it on his palm as he tried to get small droplets of water out of it, willing the sudden urge to feel the muscle under his palms to dissipate.
If Jihoon noticed how much he was affected by it, he didn't show it, and Soonyoung was glad. Some deep breaths, then he went to Jihoon's side to get his own pair of gloves before trying to wrap both of his hands with the gauze. He was never good with it, the gauze always ended up with being too tight or too loose, messy knots tangling around his hand and in some more days it could even be a lot thicker than what it should've been even with the tutorials he had watched and Jihoon’s teachings.
He didn't know what kind of mistake he would’ve made today, though. Because Jihoon took the gauze from his hand and Soonyoung, in a moment of stupidity, stared down at his empty hands before staring at his trainer who already had his own head ducked down. It was silent save from the growing tempo of his heart when Jihoon’s hands were reaching for his right hand, and he pushed down a shiver racking through his body as their hands touched, zaps of electricity running through his veins and straight into his soul.
“Spread out your fingers.” His whisper was low, but Soonyoung obliged, his throat dry.
Soonyoung watched, sure that his gaze was dazed when Jihoon’s pretty fingers placed his thumb through the loop before they worked diligently on wrapping the gauze around his wrist and his hand, ignorant to the way each of his touch were lightning strikes to his skin. By the time the gauze had been wrapped perfectly around his fingers, the electricity had shimmered down into pleasant little pops, but Soonyoung knew that he would never be numbed from it.
As Jihoon reached for his left hand, Soonyoung shut his eyes, his breath coming off ragged as he figured that he was right, he could never be numbed from it as the strike of lighting shocked him again with the feel of the loop coming around his thumb alone before the movement stopped. Soonyoung held his eyes closed for a few (rapid) beats of his heart, and he found Jihoon already staring up at him, their proximity made it possible for him to count his short eyelashes and appreciate the pretty slope of his nose. His pink lips were parted then, and Soonyoung registered hot breath fanning over his face before the words were uttered.
“I said, spread out your fingers, Soonyoung.”
His own lips were parted as he nodded, silently lest his voice crack over the sudden vivid image that his immediate brain was projecting over Jihoon’s words. One that involved a lot less of clothing and more shared breaths, one in which the words were said with more air than words. He closed his eyes to will the image to fade away, but all he could see behind his eyelids were Jihoon’s eyes rolling back, his own fingertips spreading inside as the pretty flush of his face matching the shade on his bitten lips, pale skin under the moonlight painted by gala–
Fuck. He thought, forcing his eyes open to look up to the grey iron ceilings above. Nononononono stop don’t think about anything els–
Galaxies from his teeth, blooming purple–
Kwon Soonyoung!
“I have to go.” He blurted out, frantic as he felt the little electric pops subsiding once both of his hands were wrapped in gauze. “Uh. Bathroom. You know. Nature um, calls.” His gauzed hands were flailing and he would've noticed how it didn’t even slip from his fingers because it was wrapped so perfectly if his mind weren’t shutting up.
“Wha–”
“Gonna be quick. Ri ght .” Soonyoung was aware that his voice cracked at the last syllable, but he fled to the bathroom with one tilted smile he threw at a bewildered Jihoon.
“There’s a new tournament next week.” Jihoon shouted over the booming EDM despite standing near him, the gym packing a few more people than usual with the tournament approaching closer. Soonyoung even saw Handong these days, caught her punching a heavy bag and gave her a wave that was reciprocated before seeing her doing a 360 kick to the heavy bag that got him gaping and Jihoon whistling.
( "I didn't know Handong boxes?"
"MMA, actually. And now you know. Why do you think Maison let her serve the bar on her own even on busy nights?"
“Right..” Don't get on Handong’s bad side. Understood.)
Soonyoung had his focus on the small speed bag, the rapid thump thump thump a steady beat under his gloves. “Yeah, heard about it from Jeonghan the other day.” He gritted out, his forearms burning. But Jihoon’s stare on him scalded him even more and he fought the heat to keep on going. “Do you think it’s about time that I finally do it?”
The beginner tournament was something that happened once a month. And even in his fourth, Jihoon still hadn’t told him to go, always deemed him not enough just yet and told him to focus on practice instead, didn’t even allow him to go through with Maison’s beginner's night, leaving that one time he challenged Jihoon to be the only one he had. In each rejection too, the trust he had towards his own ability and strength as a boxer faltered.
But he didn’t tell Jihoon about it. There's an underlying trust in his own growing skills under Jihoon's training and judgment. He wouldn't want his first debut in the tournament to be something out of pity. But with the amount of time he had spent practicing, he couldn’t lie that he found himself wishing that what he did was enough for Jihoon.
Jihoon didn’t answer him immediately, silence stretching out between them as he kept on punching until his trainer told him that it was okay. The burn of his arms stayed even when Jihoon handed him a bottle of water, and even with the water inside his throat, the heat remained. He wiped the stray droplets of water trickling down from the edges of his lips with his wrist, his eyes wide with expectation for the answer.
He found Jihoon’s intense stare first, then, “Spar with me and we’ll see.”
That was another thing he had figured out from the time shared with Jihoon, his trainer’s obsession with sparring. It was normal in boxing, of course, encouraged, even. But what started off as a means for him to train became something else entirely when Jihoon found out about his black belt in taekwondo. There was a pause, then his lips spread out into a grin with a glint inside his eyes, excitement bleeding through his gaze and he broke out into a sprint towards the gym even when Soonyoung told him that he probably had forgotten most of the movements. All Jihoon gave him was another set of gloves and a helmet, excitement remained in his eyes. "No wonder."
Soonyoung never found out the meaning behind it. All that he knew from then was Jihoon upping up his energy for quite a notch during their spar, and how Soonyoung would scramble his way to catch up with the increased pace, and how it has become something to get used to.
Just like now, he had his helmet on, matching blue gloves on his hands with the red pair on Jihoon's. He caught the sight of Handong clasping a stopwatch from his peripheral vision, probably because Jihoon asked her to time them but the former had better sight to fixate on. Soonyoung wanted to burn this image onto his mind, all light sheen of sweat on his pale skin, worn-out band tank top and Magenta shorts as both of his red gloves are raised to his face, fearless, fervid brown pool of eyes pulling him in even with their height differences.
Woozi was magnificent during his win, that much was evident, but this shift of Jihoon to Woozi, when Soonyoung could watch the subtle donning of invisible boxer robe around him and yet knew that he wouldn’t be unreachable, that Jihoon and him would spend their time together at the convenience store, caught up in a heated debate about whether Eren’s action are ethical, it warmed his heart. It was simple. It was pleasant.
If it felt this good during sparring, he wondered just how much it would’ve been if he could challenge Jihoon in a real fight. To be on the edge of that fiery gaze with all of their might, yellow spotlight above them lighting them up and souls bared raw to each other. Soonyoung’s lips couldn’t help but twitch into a smile even with his mouthguard on.
Handong’s voice was clear when she shouted, “Start!” and almost immediately Jihoon was light on his feet with three series of left hand jabs sent to Soonyoung’s head that was held off by both of his arms. Soonyoung followed him around, small steps before he twisted his hips to punch with his right hand, aiming for a hook before Jihoon rotated his waist to the right and bent his knees, crunching as he slipped from Soonyoung’s punch.
Immediately Jihoon sent another set of left hand jab with right hand cross and Soonyoung’s helmet received the blow before the he stepped back, causing Jihoon to miss the last cross, but he stepped closer still and pivoted his left feet, elbows raised in a perfect ninety-degrees angle that would be appreciated by Soonyoung if he wasn’t so busy bending his knees to roll out from the punch successfully.
He saw how the fire inside Jihoon’s eyes intensified with the more punches Soonyoung was able to land, took and evade throughout the round, and by the time Handong shouted out, “Time!” after the three-minute limit had passed, he figured that his own gaze had mirrored his trainer, his whole body running with the same familiar feeling of heat he had felt when he first challenged Woozi on that beginner’s night.
Jihoon’s back was the only thing he saw as he took off his helmet on the bench when the former approached Handong, whose hand was stretched out with the stopwatch on her palm. He caught the way Handong’s eyes flickered onto him before looking back at Jihoon, her left eyebrow raised, lips pulled up in a subtle smirk before she asked him something and Jihoon’s shoulders raised slightly before lowering down, perhaps in a sigh as an answer. His mouthguard was already off and he was pulling the strings of the gloves off with his teeth when Jihoon came to sit next to him on the bench, heat radiating but if it was due to exertion or their proximity, Soonyoung wouldn’t know.
“You were too excited in the middle through the end. It’s everywhere, you wear your emotions on your gloves.” Jihoon began, tone flat. Soonyoung almost winced because it was true, how the way the fire flickered harshly inside Jihoon’s eyes was a fuel to his own and he was aware as to how many punches Jihoon was able to land then.
“You were excited too, though. You couldn’t lie.”
“I was, and I’m not saying you couldn’t be.” Jihoon sighed, taking off his helmet before shaking his head, his hair long enough to whip around and Soonyoung had a little thought of a young male lion with his growing mane as he saw it. “But it should be contained. Emotions could be your little push but you shouldn’t let it be the only thing that controls you. Your moves would be both uncoordinated and predictable, and those who box long enough would know the exact moment you slipped to that zone and that split second was necessary for them to send a final uppercut to your jaw. You have no idea how many times I could’ve done that to you on our spar today.”
He wanted to be cheeky for a little. “Can it be counted in two hands?”
“You need Jeonghan, Seungcheol and Handong hands for that.”
Soonyoung whistled but nodded nonetheless, staring down at his gauze-covered open fists before closing them. “I will keep that in mind, coach. But I’m not sure if it would be needed, though? Beginners wouldn’t really know the difference, would they?”
“Exactly my point, Soonyoung.”
“Huh?” He looked up, eyebrows scrunched before looking to the side only to find Jihoon already smiling at him and it was such a pretty sight that the gears in Soonyoung’s brain halted for a little, his trainer’s previous words hadn’t been settling inside his mind.
Jihoon gave him a chuckle, shaking his head a little at the sight, and the sound had him officially lost as to what they were talking about. The only thing he could conjure up was a dumb mumble but he figured it would have to suffice. “What?”
“You’re not getting to the beginners tournament, Soonyoung. I think you’re more set for the intermediate one.”
Soonyoung gave two slow blinks before the words sinked. “Oh.” Another dumb mumble, but Jihoon was still smiling and he thought that he wouldn’t mind being this slow and stupid on purpose next time if it meant that it could get Jihoon to smile. His mouth moved before his brain and he found himself stammering. “You, woah. Okay. Are you really sure about it? Uh, can I ask why?”
Jihoon shrugged, “During that one time you challenged me, I already knew that you had it. All that I thought of back then was why I couldn’t tell that I have a boxer as my classmate, but then I saw you almost forget the mouthguard and figured that you were really a novice.” He chuckled, airy and light. “I was holding off at first because of that, but then you were able to catch me off guard during that first jab you sent. I didn’t know if you saw it, how much you really shocked me there and I… I don’t really get surprised during the beginning of fights.”
He took off his gloves slowly, eyes trained to the movement, blissfully ignorant to the way Soonyoung’s heartbeat quickened in a way he had remembered that night in such detail. “Then your footworks was smart, controlled even when your form of punches were all wrong. But the turning point was when I saw the…um.” By then he was trailing off, palms clutching onto the gloves.
“Saw what?” Soonyoung’s lips were dry even when he licked them. “What did you see?”
Jihoon released a breathy laugh, ducking down his head. “It will sound ridiculous, really.”
Soonyoung slid closer on the bench, ignoring the way his thighs burned from touching Jihoon’s as he ducked closer, mouth close to Jihoon’s ear and he caught the way his breath stuttered. “I’ll keep your ridiculous secret safe with me, then.”
Slowly, Jihoon raised his head just slightly before looking to the side, his stuttered breath hitting Soonyoung’s face before he swallowed. His eyes were holding his again, and Soonyoung had a fleeting thought that he wouldn’t mind being a captive to it forever. “I saw the fire in your eyes, and I knew that mine wasn’t much different during my first ever fight at Maison, too.” Soonyoung glanced down and saw the way his lips moved around the vowels. “And then… then I found myself wanting to burn.”
“You did burn me then. That night.” Soonyoung mumbled, mouth was quicker than brain, but still second to the way his heart beat, feral animal under his ribs. He glanced back up and found Jihoon’s eyes movement mimicking his.
He caught a reserved smile on the boxer’s lips and couldn’t help but to copy. “Guess we both were.”
“Jihoon-ah, do me and the whole gym a favor next and take whatever it is you had with Soonyoung to your room, yeah? I don’t want to risk getting exposed to indecent stuff during my training again and ruining another one of the heavy bags thinking it was the both of you.” Handong shuddered as she gulped down one glass of water behind the bar and Jihoon’s face immediately burned.
“I didn’t even do anything!” He defended, but Handong ignored both his protests and his red face and maybe he was grateful for it just a little.
“Like, I’ve had enough with Mingyu and that glasses dude in the locker room, really. God, do you know how much I was supposed to pay for that heavy bag, Jihoon? Why the fuck are they so expensive?? Thank God Mingyu had the decency to cover half of it after he almost kneeled at me for forgiveness. He’s lucky I owe him that one time, really. Which reminds me, he should’ve just–”
Handong went on, and Jihoon wanted to shrivel up, bury himself to the ground and maybe die.
It felt weird to come to Maison with someone else, Soonyoung thought. Or maybe weird wasn’t exactly correct. It was new. To have someone else in front of him as he descended down that dark, narrow stairway. New.
For that someone else being Jihoon, however? Also new. Very much welcomed. But then he found himself pausing in the middle of the stairs, recalling the burn on the side of his thigh and the hot breath on his face and then he had to stop for a bit and will the image to not go on, try to not think about how soft would Jihoon’s lips be if he were to just move for–
Yeah, nope. He shook his head then skipped three steps when he found Jihoon already at the bottom. Not today, at least.
His wrist was warm from the way Jihoon’s hand was clasped on it from the first swing of the basement door, and he didn’t have to time to revel in the atmosphere of the Maison when he was immediately pulled by him into the crowd of sweaty bodies that got Soonyoung apologizing almost constantly for bumping into them. He watched as Jihoon pulled his caps even lower to cover his face–made sense, really–and he caught up until he was close enough that his chest met Jihoon’s back. He leant down, lips slightly brushing his earlobe in accident. “Has it always been this crowded during tournaments?”
Jihoon’s grip on his wrist tightened for a moment before it relaxed. “Yeah. Especially if it’s beginners night, sometimes they will bring out their friends to watch their first fight.” he chuckled, “Although usually not as much as tonight, though. I guess everyone wants to know how the crazy guy that challenged Maison’s son would do during an actual tournament.”
“They know I’m going to fight?” Soonyoung swallowed after dodging someone with two large cups of cola on their hands. Nervous had never been on his mind since his first fight with Jihoon, but the idea that he wouldn’t be fighting him tonight had never crossed his thoughts and now that it did , perhaps nervousness was due. “Great, thanks for the pep talk, coach. I totally have zero pressure on my shoulder right now. Wow, like do they know I’m trained by you? Do they know I’m your literal first student? Should you be worried for your reputation because of me?”
Jihoon’s laugh was clear even with the booming music and he heard the hint of a smile on his sentence when the shorter boy tugged him closer through the crowd. “Are you nervous?” He looked back at him, smile softening and the squeeze it gave to Soonyoung's heart was so pleasant. “Just enjoy it. You’ll do just fine.”
The crowd got lesser as they approached a threshold with a dark curtain in lieu of a working door, tucked on the corner just right beside the small popcorn booth and Soonyoung missed the warmth around his wrist when Jihoon let his hand go after telling him to wait outside because he wanted to take something. The room was bigger than he thought with tons of people showing their skins and lockers lining the wall when Jihoon whipped the curtain aside, and he thought it must’ve been some sort of room for boxers to prepare themselves.
Without Jihoon by his side, he felt the wave of nervousness crawling back inside his ribs, slithering and whipping on his heart to beat even faster. He leant back to the wall, arms crossed and head resting on the wall with his eyes closed.
Jihoon didn’t answer it then, but the idea of his performance tonight would’ve been some kind of test for other people to see just how well Jihoon could teach weighed in his mind. Because he was a good one. Soonyoung’s base of taekwondo was helpful, of course–Jihoon told him as such–but he wouldn’t be anywhere this good if it weren’t for Jihoon pushing him to break his limit, urging him to try and eventually expand it. There was always trust slipped in there somewhere, if he were to be more poetic. Something about knowing the potential of someone else and knowing exactly what to do for them to grow but not break under pressure.
But that didn’t matter to other people. If he were a spectator, he too would get excited over the idea of the progress of some unhinged dude that challenged some reigning champion. But that would be it. They wouldn’t understand the extra miles he put as he ran because Jihoon told him to, wouldn’t feel the burn on his arms as he punched on the speed bags with Jihoon on his side, wouldn’t be lit on fire when his gloves collided with Jihoon’s forearms as they spar. All that mattered was that if he were going to give them a good show, if Jihoon would be as good at teaching as he was at boxing.
Somehow it was pressuring.
“Oh, Kwon Soonyoung-ssi, isn’t it? Wow. It’s really you!”
When he opened his eyes, he found another guy grinning at him. He was unfamiliar and Soonyoung briefly thought if it was going to be an usual occurrence of him being noticed in full name by people who he had never met before. “Uh, yeah.” Soonyoung said, unsure. “And you are..?”
The grin didn’t leave his face as he reached out his hand for Soonyoung to shake. “Ah, I forget you’re new here. I’m Daniel. Kang Daniel.” Somewhere inside the mess inside his mind he figured out something similar to the name and perhaps Daniel was able to read his mind when he added, “We’re scheduled to fight today, you know? Your name was quite unfamiliar so I had to ask around for a while, but then I found out that you’re the dude that challenged Jihoon back then and everything made sense.”
The use of Jihoon’s real name instead of his boxing name got his interest piqued, but he ignored it as Soonyoung felt his cheeks heated up. It was weird to hear his daring action from a stranger. “Right… I don’t think I could ever recover from that one, do I?”
Daniel barked out a laugh, not degrading nor in delight, but it felt forced and it didn’t sit right. “First impressions matter, you know?”
Soonyoung merely nodded.
“I think I’m just shocked that Jihoon took you under his wing, I guess.” He continued, shrugging. “As far as I know, he really didn’t take anyone else as a student anymore. Well, not after…” Daniel trailed off, but the grin on his face wasn't exactly helpful to the context. He leaned closer to whisper in his ear, “Is he still good, though?”
Good? As in teaching? “He’s amazing.” He finally said, although confused as to why the question must be whispered and why the widening smirk on Daniel’s face was wild. “I keep on wondering why he chose me as his student, but at the same time I’m thankful that he did.”
It was Daniel’s turn to be confused. “Teach—no, I don’t mean it about teaching at all.” He gave a short bark of laugh, “What, you’re telling me that the only thing you guys have been doing is practicing?”
“Um, yeah?” And also getting on convenience store runs, and going to gym from campus together, but Soonyoung didn’t think it was about it, at all.
“No, nothing? Not even some locker room quickies?”
At first he was confused, but then something akin to anger started flicking through his mind and in a sudden he saw where the conversation was going. His tone was flat, nails digging into his palm. “The fuck are you talking about?”
The laugh Daniel let out was obnoxious, “Oh. Is he no longer that kind of whore anymore? I remember he used to ask me a lot to do so in the middle of trainings. Really, I guess it’s the tension that you have when you’re fighting that fuels it all, or something like that. Do you have any idea who started the jawbreaker nickname was?” Soonyoung was quiet still, and he went on even when he got no answer. “Me. Of course. Do you know that he has no gag reflex?”
“Kang Daniel-ssi,” Soonyoung began, tone very polite and low it even surprised him. He probably had left crescent bloods on his palm with the way his nails had been digging into it. “I really, really don’t appreciate you talking about my friend and teacher like that.” He didn’t know what kind of expression he made, but the smirk melted off Daniel’s face and he felt tiniest bit of satisfaction from it. “And I want you to know that if the rule didn’t say that fighting should only be done on the ring and not anywhere else on Maison’s ground, I would’ve taken Jihoon’s title with me as the jawbreaker with you as the proof.”
Daniel’s mouth was wide for a moment, but then he set his jaw and his eyes narrowed. “Watch your goddamn mouth, Kwon. I know the way Jihoon taught their pet. I wouldve–”
“Then you have no problem beating me later.” He was being cocky, he knew. But the way he talked about Jihoon like that… Soonyoung couldn’t help the anger rising from every single thing that he blurted out. He held Daniel’s gaze before the other guy cursed at him and left him alone, and Soonyoung kept staring at his back before he felt the clap on his own.
It was Seungcheol, who was also staring at Daniel before he got swallowed up by the crowd. “I see you’ve met your match tonight. Did he say anything to you?”
Soonyoung shrugged, anger still brewing. “Other than being an asshole, no.”
“He’s known for that, actually. Used to be Jihoon’s ex and student. First year of high school, though. It ended fast.” Seungcheol mumbled, chuckling a little from the way Soonyoung whipped his head so fast. “Why are you surprised? There’s a reason why Jihoon didn’t take people as students. The dude practically just used him to train and…” Soonyoung didn’t need words to understand that, gaze unfocused to the crowd in front of him.
“I guess it made me even more confused about why he chose me as his student, then.”
He felt the weight of Seungcheol’s stare on the side of his face. “Some choices are just like that. I think it’s an honor you just have to bear.” and he couldn’t help but agree.
***
Seungcheol stayed with him as they talked about their daily lives until Jihoon came out from the room with a small smile and both of his hands hidden on his back, but Soonyoung was a little too perturbed from the previous event to reply with a sincere one. He didn’t even notice Seungcheol greeted Jihoon before clapping him on the back twice, bidding him good luck before going off inside the room.
“You okay?” Jihoon asked, and when he didn’t get any answer his smile curled into a frown. He stepped closer and Soonyoung could feel his elbow digging into his forearm twice. “Soonyoung? What happened?”
Soonyoung sighed, running his hand around his hair. “Sorry. It’s just…” He trailed off, swallowing. He didn’t think telling Jihoon he had a run-in with his ex would’ve done both of them good tonight. “Nerves, I think.” Which wasn’t entirely a lie, and it got Jihoon widening his eyes before nodding slightly.
“I guess it happens to everyone, too. Even for someone like you.” He scrunched his eyebrows at that, turning his head to look at Jihoon’s side profile who was staring at the crowd. “I think it’s just a little naive for me to think that someone who was that bold would’ve been this nervous to face the stage.”
“Well, I told you, it’s the pull your fight had towards me.” Soonyoung scoffed, returning the gaze to the crowd before it trailed over to the two novice fighters on the ring. “I didn’t think of the crowd then, I only wanted you to fight me.”
Jihoon hummed, “I wasn’t talking about the challenge, though. I was talking about this person who kept on staring at me during Music Theory.”
One blink. Two blinks. The bell rang to signal the end of the round.
Soonyoung’s heart felt like it was exploding. Or stopped. He had no idea. But he turned to Jihoon, eyes bulging and jaw dropping, a shriek on the tip of his tongue.
“YOU KNEW?!”
Jihoon flinched from the shriek and he mumbled an apology, but then the words sank down again and he stepped away from him, horrified. “Holy shit. Y-you knew? You knew I’ve–I’ve been staring like–like an idiot?”
“Not like an idiot, gosh, calm down, you're even louder than Seokmin and Seungkwan combined.” Soonyoung simply couldn’t take his advice, but Jihoon continued as if he didn’t just drop the bomb to the building that was Soonyoung’s conscience and heart. “It’s okay, really. A little jarring at first because you didn’t even try to speak to me, but then Jeonghan-hyung told me you’re just shy so I… well… yeah…” Jihoon stuttered, but the damage he had done to Soonyoung’s brain made him unaware. “But then, I saw you at Maison.”
Soonyoung’s brain was spinning. “Hyung was the one telling me I should go to Maison.” Jihoon laughed at that as he swallowed, willing the heat to come down from his face. “This..this is so embarrassing… I don’t want to talk to you anymore.”
He buried his face in his hands, noticing just how warm his face was and just how red it would be if Maison amped their lighting just a little bit. He felt Jihoon stepping closer to him, laugh subsiding into giggles before he nudged his stomach with something soft. It took him three nudges that he finally peeked from between his fingers, finding only Jihoon’s playful gaze staring back at him.
“Come on, look.” Jihoon said.
Soonyoung looked down before pulling both of his hands from his face as he gasped. The soft thing Jihoon was nudging him with was a pair of black boxing gloves with seemingly abstract yellow stripes printed on it. Jihoon pushed it to his hands, and the weight of it on his palm felt perfect that he had momentarily forgotten his previous embarrassment. He turned it around to try it on before he paused, staring as he thought that the abstract yellow stripes weren’t seemingly abstract, at all. Soonyoung gasped before he looked up, and even in Maison’s dim yellow lighting, the shade of pink blooming on the apple of Jihoon’s pale cheeks were evident.
“Jihoon,” He began, lips twitching into a grin. “It’s a tiger.”
“Uh, really? I didn’t know.” He replied, his eyes darting everywhere but to Soonyoung’s gaze. “Guess you could just take it as a hush gift so you’ll shut up about them.”
Soonyoung laughed, but then he stared at the gloves before looking back up at Jihoon. His heart was full with so many emotions he couldn’t navigate, and among the mess all that he could point out was gratitude. “Thank you, for this. Even when you know I’m the creep that stares at you at Music Theory.” Jihoon scoffed then, rolling his eyes. “I don’t know how I should repay you.” He knew that perhaps his gaze was far too soft for this, that his words meant so much more than just the tiger gloves he had just received.
Jihoon’s cheeks were pink, but his ears were red, the warm lighting accentuating it even more as he waved him off. “Just do your best and enjoy the fight, really. It’s really nothing.” No, it’s really not nothing, Soonyoung wanted to say, but he’d save that for later. Later, when they weren’t waiting for his fighting schedule inside the cramped Maison air with too much sugar and sweat and dim lighting.
***
Whatever calm moment that Jihoon and he have had were all but dissipated when he was preparing himself for his fight.
He was sitting down at the metal chair on the ring as Jihoon stood by him, wrapping the gauze around his hands again, the electric buzz coming a little weak due to his nerves but it was still there and he was in the middle of savoring it all when Daniel walked up to their corner, smiling and Soonyoung felt Jihoon tensing beside him.
“Daniel.” Jihoon’s tone was neutral, void of any emotion and it brought Daniel’s smile into a smirk.
“Ah, Jihoon! Didn’t know that you still train people?” Lies , Soonyoung wanted to blurt out, but then Jihoon’s grip on his left hand tightened and instinctively he curled his fingers around it for comfort. He couldn’t care less about whatever it was that Daniel was spewing. “Kwon Soonyoung, isn’t it? I’m looking forward to everything that Woozi’s pet would be able to give me.”
Soonyoung didn’t say anything, opting only to give him a glare before Daniel gave Jihoon a wink and turned on his heels. He could still feel Jihoon’s grip on him shaking for a little, and he looked up to find him staring at, no, through their joined hands. Swallowing, he moved his hand on top of Jihoon’s. “Hey,” He said softly, “are you okay?”
Jihoon let out a bitter chuckle, “Should’ve known that he’s going to pull these things.” His grip tightened for a while as he exhaled deeply, eyes closing. When his eyes were opened, his gaze hardened at Soonyoung, his tone serious. “He’s going to be a hard one, since he knows how I fight and how I’d teach people. But I’m sure you’ll do just fine if you remember to keep yourself in check.”
Soonyoung nodded as Jihoon continued to wrap the gauze in silence. He clapped his shoulder twice to signal him to take off his shirt once he’s finished, and Soonyoung stomped down a little embarrassment he felt, knowing that once he pulled off his shirt everyone would see just how red his chest was. His hands were shaky as he pulled the back hem of his shirt, the feeling of Jihoon helping him to get his head off the shirt didn’t go unmissed.
Standing only in his black shorts, Maison air was a little chill on his bare skin, goosebumps breaking on them almost immediately and he swallowed as Jihoon held his gloves, his fingers slipping inside softly. It was snug and light around his palm, and he let the weight around it grounded him as Jihoon tightened the straps around his wrist. Jihoon let his hands linger there for a while as Soonyoung merely stared in silence lest his words would ruin this tranquility. It took a few heartbeats until Jihoon looked up, and under the yellow lights above the ring Soonyoung felt that kind of pull again he had experienced during that first night he came to Maison.
Jihoon slipped a mouthguard to his lips and his mouth opened slowly, obediently, before biting on it. There was trickling heat from the way his fingertips lingered on his jaw. His smile was small then, words a whisper. Like a secret. Or prayer. Or both. “Good luck, tiger.”
Firecrackers bloomed inside his heart, warm. He could only nod.
The speaker let out a loud shrill and it was the cue for Jihoon to come down from the stage. As he stared at his retreating figure, he was hit with a sudden epiphany where he realized that he was finally going to fight someone for real, that it wasn’t just him and Jihoon in that gym anymore. That he could release all of his soul and energy into this fight and perhaps experienced how it felt like to be bathed by the glow it used to soak him when he watched Jihoon fight. His heart pounded for all the mixed up emotions, felt the little tremor spreading through his arms as nerves and excitement churned around his chest.
But then he turned around and saw Daniel already staring pointedly at him from his side of the ring, and then he found anger brewing slowly inside his skin, threatening to boil out from his veins. All the words he had said about Jihoon, what he had done to Jihoon in their past and how he still had the audacity to taunt them even before his first fight… Soonyoung bite down on his mouthguard harder, irritation evident on the way his jaw tensed.
He didn’t catch the way the announcer was introducing them both, his sight merely catching Daniel waving around to the crowd before the announcer called for his own name. Soonyoung merely raised his right hand in a short wave, eyes never wavering at his opponent before immediately moving to stand in the middle, both hands raised and feet apart in a boxing stance.
Daniel raised one of his eyebrows but followed him, and it took Soonyoung all of his willpower to not punch the guy almost immediately. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath before exhaling, but then he opened his eyes, saw his opponent staring at them and there was still brewing anger inside his chest aching to burst, and decided that fuck it . He’d give it all.
The bell rang and Soonyoung didn’t even wait before he gave Daniel an immediate strong jab and hook combo to his head. It hit Daniel once before he swayed for a slip and stepped back, but Soonyoung’s steps were light, following him before he sent another jab and hook. His gloves collided with Daniel’s head, the skin on the edge of his opponent’s mouth tearing with blood and he could hear him groaning as he stepped backwards.
His opponent was trying to run, but Soonyoung kept on following him, arms raised as he kept on punching. He hit his shoulder and arms next when Daniel raised both of his arms in defense of his head.
“No, nothing? Not even some locker room quickies?”
His opponent staggered backwards to the ring band, in one moment of pure rage he gave a strong punch to his stomach, Daniel was pinned down to the band in pain, head lolling to Soonyoung’s shoulder and Soonyoung felt the rush of adrenaline kicking him in, both of his fist colliding to Daniel sides repeatedly as he channeled all the hatred to his punches. One single resolve was set inside his mind, the vision involving Daniel on the ground, defeated.
“He had no gag reflex.”
Soonyoung’s teeth dug into his mouthguard, grunting as the memories of Daniel’s disrespectful words flashed inside his brain. His repeated punches got harsher, but an erratic burst of passion could only get you so far, and in one small moment of his speed reducing, Daniel was able to crunch down and punched him right in the stomach.
He staggered backwards, groaning. His eyes were wide as Daniel gave him an uppercut that he failed to see, and as his gloves hit his jaw he could feel the metallic taste bursting inside his mouth, knowing that it was blood. His head was spinning, but he was able to regain his footing as he raised his hands back up.
Daniel was unrelenting once he had gained an upper ground, his eyes narrowing in rage as he sent punches after punches to Soonyoung’s stomach. Soonyoung’s attempt at jabs were always able to be parried, his punches too slow for his opponent’s speed. After another strong uppercut he felt another burst of blood inside his mouth, tasted steel in-between his teeth. Jihoon’s advice on him wearing the emotions on his gloves flashed inside his mind as the world seemed revolving around him, the lights were too bright before he felt his head hit the floor.
His head lolled to the side and he caught Jihoon’s wide, concerned eyes and open mouth, seemingly saying something as he gestured him to wake up, and perhaps it was Seungcheol and Jeonghan beside him that did the same thing, but the sound around him was muffled down and his head was pounding, sledgehammer swinging inside his skull as his vision swayed.
Soonyoung felt the weight on his stomach, and then Daniel’s angry expression was on his face, his spit flying around as he screamed out muted words to Soonyoung’s ear, his right hand raised up, up, up before it collided with his jaw.
He thought about disappointing Jihoon before the darkness overtook him.
"Ah, Jihoon! You’re coming to see your pet lo–"
"FUCKING ASSHOLE!"
"Hold him!"
“People of Maison, the referee has stopped this bout and disqualified Daniel.”
His head was still pounding, in this darkness he felt that the world was spinning. There were pulses of ache throughout his whole body and his jaw felt like it had been pulled apart and shoved right back in. He remembered the fight, the anger he felt molten inside his veins and Jihoon’s concerned eyes staring back at him before Daniel hit him in the jaw.
Well , he thought blandly. At least I know where that jaw pain came from.
The voices came later on, muffled at first like he was underwater before it turned clearer and he could figure out words instead of mumbled static noises amongst the throbbing pain of his head.
“...about him.” Who?
“I’m sure he’s going to be fine. His head was hard enough as it is.” Perhaps a girl. Handong?
“Dong-ah.” That tone.. definitely Seungcheol.
“It’s a compliment! He’s a tough guy. Jihoon-ah, sorry I don’t mean like it’s an insult to your boyfriend.” Right . That’s not true. Nope. But the muscle on his throat hadn’t been waking up and it left him with no way of refuting it. He felt sorry for Jihoon then, but then he has always been too shameless for his own good, so there’s a little bit of delight there blooming inside his chest. Just a little.
“It’s fine.” This was Jihoon, no question. “I just feel guilty. Maybe I shouldn’t have sent him there immediately.”
Soonyoung waited for further clarification about Jihoon’s denial about his status as his boyfriend, but it never came. He wanted to dwell upon it a little longer, but then the later part of his sentence took all of his focus away. Shouldn’t have sent him there?
Did he think Soonyoung wasn’t ready?
“Not your fault that Daniel is an asshole, Jihoon-ah. Please don’t beat yourself up.” Oh, Jeonghan was here too. “Soonyoungie wouldn’t accept it.”
Perhaps it was his conscience begging him to not overheard things he wasn’t supposed to hear when he passed out that forced him to try to wake himself up. His head was still pounding as he fluttered his eyes open, the overhead lamp a little blinding that squeezed out a groan from his spent throat.
Soonyoung could hear the gasps and murmur then, and when his eyes finally adjusted to the lamp and not think as if it was the blaring sun, he found the slightly concerned faces of his friend staring down at him. He had caught the sight upon the familiar white walls and peeled paints, noticing that he was lying down at the bed of his small apartment. His tiger patterned blanket was draped on his bare torso. Perhaps Jeonghan brought them here. It certainly wasn’t far from Maison, unlike Jihoon’s, that was.
“Soonyoungie! You’re missing out all the good stuffs!” Jeonghan laughed, but he could tell that there was underlying relief there somewhere on his sigh. He could only roll his eyes, trying to pull a smile from his lips but then grimacing because his lips were busted.
“Don’t–” Jihoon began, worry dripping from his small voice. “You shouldn’t do too much stuffs with your lips, they almost stitched it because of the wound.”
There were small smiles curved on his friends’ lips, all except for Jihoon. His trainer merely stared at him, his pupils shaking and lip bitten. Guilt was written all over his face and Soonyoung couldn’t stand seeing him like this, akin to a sad little kitten with their ears down. “Jihoon-ah,” he called, ignoring the way his throat felt like it had been grated. “It’s okay.” Not only for the condition of his lips, but also for–
“For everything, really.” He gave him a crooked smile on the right side of his lips, figuring out that it didn’t hurt as much. “I should be the one saying sorry for disappointing you.”
Jihoon didn’t answer, his bitten lip was released and Soonyoung found himself transfixed from the way the flesh turned redder. He opened his mouth a couple times, but there was no sound coming out as he continuously licked his lips.
“Well, I think just seeing you waking up just fine should be enough.” Handong piped up, soft smile on her face after a couple beats of silence. She reached out to pat him on his bare shoulder, her cold hand gave him shiver and from this proximity, the twinkle inside her eyes were unmistakable. “Get well soon, our tiger! Your next fight is in few days!”
“Wha–”
“Yeah, take some rest, Soonyoungie. You’ll need it.” Jeonghan gave him a grin that was borderline playful and a ruffle on his hair, while Seungcheol merely nodded and smiled at him. Handong had waved at him before her toes hit the side of his desk and she cursed, while Jeonghan cooed at her with a laugh as Seungcheol pulled the door open, his laugh ringing inside the small apartment. “We’ll see you two later!”
Soonyoung waited until the door closed, the soft sound of feet padding around his living room with muffled voices and laughter before he heard the front door open and closed. Jihoon was still standing by the side of his bed, but his eyes were on the door. In the silence, the sound of his ragged breath was clear, guilt and anger swirling around the room too strong that he couldn't even feel embarrassed over his lack of clothing.
He reached out his right hand as he notice Jihoon’s closed fists, hissed a bit at the comfortable warmth before slowly enveloping his around the clenched left hand. Jihoon was quiet still, but then slowly, he released the tension on his palm, intertwining their fingers together. “I’m sorry,” He mused, after a couple of breaths. “I shouldn’t have sent you there.”
Scoffing, Soonyoung shook his head. “No. I was the one supposed to not wear my emotions on my gloves. You said it before. I couldn’t control it, and he took advantage of that.”
Jihoon gave him a pained smile. “As your trainer, I know that I should’ve been mad at you for doing that. It was so obvious that you were gone from the moment I came down from the ring, but at the time I was hoping that you’d be able to control it. The first part was okay until he got pinned between you and the band and you just… lost it. I was so angry.” He chuckled, staring down at their intertwined fingers. His words lulled softer. “I was prepared to yell at you and slap your face after the first round ended, but then the uppercuts were messing you too much…”
There was a slight tremble as he continued. “Then I saw you went down, sprawled on the floor, staring at me and I just… I don’t care about the fight anymore. I just want you to get up. I want to make sure that you’re safe.” Soonyoung sensed the grip around his hand tightened. “Next thing I know Daniel spat out his mouthguard and started to beat you even when you’re down… Then, well that was two fouls, so he got disqualified and you got to advance to the finals.”
His pride was wounded for a little upon figuring out that it wasn’t his own ability that got him to the finals, but then perhaps Daniel deserved that for being an asshole.
“That’s it?” The hesitation was palpable, but when Jihoon nodded nonetheless, Soonyoung sighed. His left hand reached out and Jihoon stared at him in confusion. “Give me your right hand.”
He looked up, eyes wide. “What? No I’m fi–”
“Jihoon-ah.” He insisted, “Give me your right hand.”
Begrudgingly, Jihoon gave his right hand, showing his palm up. Soonyoung took it, taking in the weight along with the pretty slim fingers, slowly turning it around only to frown upon seeing the bandage tapes on his knuckles. He ran his thumb over them, feathery caresses that still got him mumbling an apology when Jihoon grimaced. "Did you hit him?"
It took him a while to answer. "The rule said fighting could only be done in the ring. Well, he was in the ring then. I… I don't know. When he hit you I just…"
He couldn't help but smile. "lost it?"
Jihoon exhaled a short chuckle. "Yeah. You're right." He kept his gaze at Soonyoung, sharp brown pools keeping him. "What about you? What got you so worked up to the point that you lost it?"
Soonyoung stilled. The words flashing behind his eyes, ringing around aimlessly inside his head. He shook his head, dropping his left hand to clutch on his sheet but keeping his other hand intertwined. "No. I don't want to say it."
It made Jihoon frown, creases forming between his brows. He sat down on the side of his bed and Soonyoung had to scoot over to give him more space. He looked down on him. "Seungcheol hyung told us that he came to you before the fight. What did he say?"
He exhaled deeply before using his left hand as leverage to sit up. It was wobbly, and he felt immense pain blooming from his arms as he did it but Jihoon released their hands to help hold his torso–in which he had to fight a shiver, and the other to arrange the pillows on his back. Soonyoung scooted back, tiger blanket slipping from his body unnoticed as he looked back up at Jihoon, their faces inches apart with the new position and he wondered if Jihoon could hear his breath hitch.
He wondered if Jihoon’s did.
"I told you," He murmured, hands clutching the sheets lest it would shoot up to feel if Jihoon's cheeks were as warm as he was. "you don't deserve to hear it. He was an asshole, and there's that."
"He was my ex, Soonyoung." His frown deepened. "Whatever it was, I sure could fucking handle it."
"Exactly my point. It was in the past. It shouldn't mean anything at all." Soonyoung pointed out, his gaze to Jihoon unwavering. "In fact, you could beat me to pulp in this moment and I wouldn't even tell you a single. damn. word. You don't deserve to hear them."
His heart was racing, both from the intensity of his words and the memory laced behind it. The silence from Jihoon swayed him for a little, but then Jihoon looked down and sighed, his hand inching closer to Soonyoung's before covering it, and he knew they'd be fine.
Jihoon gave his hand a gentle squeeze before releasing it, reaching towards the side table and Soonyoung saw a little red jar of ointment balm clutched inside his palm. His effort on controlling his breathing as Jihoon twisted the cap open, fingers scooping on the balm before approaching the purple blotches on his torso, didn’t work as he looked down and saw his chest heaving. His own beating heart was a wild animal enraptured in a fragile cage, and he thought that his ribcage would’ve broken apart from its ferality.
“Can I touch you?” A murmur, Jihoon’s finger was hovering right above his left chest, trembling, and Soonyoung wanted to cry . He wanted to scream . He wanted…
God, how much he wanted.
Please .
Soonyoung hummed instead, nodding his head for he couldn’t trust his own voice from breaking, but he couldn’t stop a groan from slipping from his lips as the cold balm touched his skin. First it was from the temperature, then it was the pressure over the wound that actually ached, and he tried biting his lip to contain the groans before the searing pain flowed on his busted lips. “Fuck,” He breathed out, and Jihoon perked up at that, rolling his eyes.
“Told you to not do anything with your lips.”
Soonyoung huffed. “Well, it kinda hurts!”
“Then I’ll be gentle.” Jihoon replied, softer, and Soonyoung didn’t know if he preferred this, the way his fingers dragged through the splotches of blooming pain on his skin so slowly, gently, and carefully, the coldness spreading at such a slow pace that it actually burned through the epidermis and flowed right into his tight chest. Breathing normally was such a work he gave up on, but one glance at Jihoon’s slightly quivering fingers and red ears made warmth setting in inside quite easier.
The silence was comfortable, the slow ticking of his clock on the wall filled the space around them and it felt nice to just sit with Jihoon like this, the searing pain subsiding with the building intensity of his emotion. It was somewhat funny, how this kind of scene was simply unthinkable from four months ago. From a cute boy of music theory to his personal boxing trainer and friend and…. whatever it was that encompasses them in this bubble right now, calm indulgence with the silence doing all the speaking.
He couldn't help but chuckle a little, and Jihoon's head raised up to that, his fingers pausing their movements right on his chest.
"Sorry, it's just…" His smile grew fonder the more he looked into those brown eyes. Boxing shouldn't even need two people fighting each other on stage, all that it took was just Jihoon staring right at him and he'd KO-ed himself if it's what he wanted. He beamed further, "To think that I came to Maison when I was bored and saw you to… be with you like in this bed. It's a little funny."
Jihoon gave him a tight lipped smile before his fingers continued rubbing the ointments on his skin. "I didn't think you'd come, really."
Soonyoung's smile faltered, a little confused. He wondered if Jihoon could feel the way his heart picked up. "Uh. Well, I didn't exactly tell everyone that I was coming, though? But anyway, you knew that it’s me, the guy from music theory, from when I challenge you, right?”
His smile twisted into a grimace as he shook his head. “No, it’s from that first night you came. When I was fighting Chan–ah, cb-ninety seven.”
“From the first time? Great. Even more embarrassing for me, then. Sorry you had to go on with life knowing that the “Staring Guy” in class is also staring at you at Maison." He meant it to be a little self-deprecating joke, but then his chuckle died out and it ended up posing as a question. "Wasn’t–wasn't it weird for you to find me there out of nowhere?”
“No.. not really.” Jihoon bit his lip, retracting his fingers and Soonyoung suddenly missed the comfort it exuded on his skin. His eyes were straying away from his gaze and his voice was small. “I… I told Jeonghan to… bring you in. That night, when I was fighting.”
It took him exactly two blinks for the sentence to sink in. But even then, Soonyoung couldn’t find it within himself to speak with the way thoughts were swirling inside his brain, emotions scattered everywhere and he couldn’t even think because it simply meant that not only that all those “discreet” starings he had done to Jihoon wasn’t actually discreet, at all, but also that… Jihoon didn’t mind it the slightest.
Jihoon probably thought of his silence as his que to explain his side as he continued on. “Yeah, I’m sorry. You probably think that now I’m the creepy person orchestrating all this.” The bitter chuckle shook Soonyoung out of his stupor, and he realized that they were spiraling into a dangerous territory of misunderstandings if he didn’t speak up. But Jihoon didn’t let him, his cheeks reddening with more words tumbling out of his lips. “I did… notice all the starings, as I told you. It wasn’t annoying– well , maybe at first, but then I started noticing you, too. And it’s not really a secret that you’re…um…attra–ah, hand–um, cute. yeah.” He stammered, and Soonyoung watched, transfixed with the way Jihoon turning redder and just how well the color fits him.
“And when I ask Jeonghan about you he just gave me a really wide smile and, well, he was the one telling me that he could bring you to Maison. But it was really me who told him to tell you to come on the night I was fighting.”
“You wanted me to watch you fight.” Soonyoung mused, and Jihoon nodded. “You wanted to show me.”
“Silly, isn’t it? I felt like I was some high-schooler trying to woo their crush. Well, maybe it was something like that, in some ways.” Jihoon let out an exasperated breath, shrugging even with his eyes still avoiding him. “But I didn’t know that it was boxing that brought you to talk to me. That challenge was so unpredictable, I thought, ‘what a crazy guy, indeed.’ but I didn’t think that I'd ever been that happy in a ring before.”
Soonyoung had to ask, his tone careful. “So when you were accepting me as your student…”
It was then that Jihoon finally looked up at him, his eyes wide with alarm. “Oh, no. No way. I accepted you purely because of your abilities! Everything I told you about how I was fascinated by our first fight was true. The fire, the burn.. I knew that you’re going to be my student when you asked me to then, and it had nothing to do with the crush I was sporting,” he hesitated, “Perhaps a little, but only in a way in which I want to see you to be the best because I knew you could. And you did.”
Jihoon held his gaze then, so intense it made him a little shy. “You’re an amazing fighter, Soonyoung. Never forget that.”
Soonyoung could only nod, a little speechless from everything he had heard. Is he truly awake? Did Daniel hit him way too hard? But the sight of Jihoon turning bashful again, red ears looking down at his lap before closing the lid of the ointment balm again made his heart hurt in all the ways only reality would and maybe it was the vulnerability from such confession or just from the way people were bound to be vulnerable once it was nearing the bareness of dawn, but ever so suddenly he was enveloped with this bubble of want and he was hopeless against it.
And in the flash moment of bravery and yearn, Soonyoung's hands shot up to hold Jihoon's chin, softly pulling it up so the latter would stare at him. His pupils were dilated and mouth apart slightly from surprise, his breath was stuttering as it puffed across his lips, and Soonyoung knew he wasn't faring any better. He could see the small mole under Jihoon's left eye from this proximity, and he couldn’t fight the urge to let his thumb caress it as Jihoon’s eyes fluttered closed. "Thank you," He murmured, eyes closing as he moved forward so their foreheads were touching. "For giving me everything I've ever asked of you. And more."
He felt Jihoon’s own hands slowly reaching up to his neck, a little trembling. Jihoon leaned in, a tad closer. “Please stop here or else I won’t be able to.” It was a whisper, his lips barely grazing Soonyoung’s and the way pain just bloomed there wasn’t supposed to be pleasant but damn , how it was so, so welcomed.
They stayed there, lips brushing against each other with more words whispered. “What’s stopping you?”
Jihoon huffed, hot breath on his lips. “Your wounds, idiot.”
Soonyoung frowned, leaning away just slightly to be able to look at Jihoon’s face. He waited until Jihoon opened his eyes, finding that it was a little dazed even when they didn’t even do anything and Soonyoung felt the lit of a flare from inside his belly. “What’s with my wounds?”
“Your lips are busted, smartass.” Jihoon rolled his eyes, but the fondness on his tone was unmistakable. “And… I can’t just stop myself from just kissing alone.”
“Really, now?” Soonyoung’s eyebrows quirked, amused. “What else do you want to do, then?”
It was supposed to be a light joke. Soonyoung thought that it would fluster him and then he could see how pretty Jihoon would look like blushing from the question, but then Jihoon merely stared at him, lips quirked up in a little smirk and this was so familiar, this was the kind of smile he had seen during Woozi’s first fight and oh , his right hand was reaching down from his neck into his left chest where his heart pounds , “You really want to know, Soonyoung-ah?” He murmured, a low tone that got goosebumps breaking on his skin.
Soonyoung gulped, frozen in place as Jihoon leaned in to whisper in his ear, lips brushing on his lobes every so often. “I’d kiss you, of course. So, so long until the point we’d break down in heaves once we part. But I wouldn’t stop there, I’d kiss you everywhere. Here,” his left hand tapped his jugular, right below his jaw, “here, too.” His fingertips dragged to the juncture between his neck and shoulder, and Soonyoung suppressed a shudder. “I’d mark you there, too. Would you like that, Soonyoung-ah? The whole Maison figuring out who you belong to?”
Soonyoung’s grip on Jihoon’s chin faltered, holding on weakly to his waist instead. He groaned, eyes rolling back to the idea of being claimed. He felt the huff of air as Jihoon chuckled in his ear, “I know you’d like that. Don’t worry, I’ll let you do that to me too. Though maybe not on the neck. Somewhere else where no one could see...” Soonyoung’s breath hitched, and Jihoon perked up in surprise, pulling away to stare at him properly. His smirk grew, “Oh, what’s this? Something you’ve imagined, maybe?”
“Don’t..” Soonyoung croaked out, weak.
“Tell me, Soonyoung-ah. Wait, even better.” Jihoon swung his legs around his lap, knees on each side as he straddles him on the bed, and Soonyoung’s brain short-circuited as he looked up to his eyes sparkling with mischief and lust. Jihoon’s hands clasped his own, and Soonyoung missed the warmth of his waist as Jihoon held their wrists in the air. “Show me.”
Soonyoung couldn’t muster enough energy to speak, his jaw dropping slightly as he looked up at this…vixen of a man on his lap, all ragged breath and passion even with all his clothes intact, how he was completely at his mercy. It was the hottest thing he had ever seen, and what a feat that was, for he had seen Jihoon shirtless before.
Jihoon didn’t take his lack of an answer as a problem, merely directing Soonyoung’s palms to his own chest, hovering but never really touching and his fingers twitched on pure desire. “Here, maybe? But everyone could still see it if I fight, though.” He tilted his head in faux innocence, lips pulling into a pout as he dragged the palms down to his stomach and Soonyoung wanted to cry. “You could see it here, too. That’s too bad.”
Then the pout dissipated, widening into a familiar smirk yet once again as Jihoon leaned in, his eyes locking Soonyoung’s attention in place that he didn’t see where Jihoon had directed his hands to. He whispered, “No one could see it here, I think.”
He felt the strong muscle before it dawned upon him, that Jihoon had both of his palm touching the inside of his thigh, wrist barely brushing at the outline of Jihoon’s cock and the feeling alone get him reeling, head dizzy as he threw his head back, eyes closing. “Fuck, Jihoon. That’s–” He heaved a breath, tongue slack as he couldn’t help but to squeeze on the strong flesh before groaning. He could feel his own cock twitching, his mind was a mess, words weren’t a concept because all that was inside his brain was Jihoon’s thighs in full blast.
He heaved a breath, willing all he had left of his control to keep himself at bay before opening his eyes, hands moving to grab Jihoon’s waist instead, a tiny thing under his palm and couldn’t resist giving it a little squeeze, eliciting a little gasp out of Jihoon. “So unfair.” Soonyoung finally whined, and all that he got in return was Jihoon laughing heartily at him.
The sight had him smiling as well, and Soonyoung thought how he wouldn’t mind being blue balled if he could see this view of Jihoon being happy and carefree, eyes crinkling as he threw his head back, just right on top of him.
Jihoon’s laughs subdued into giggles, his own hands weaving around Soonyoung’s neck. His eyes sparkled with mirth. “Tell you what, if you win the tournament, I’ll take you on a date.”
Soonyoung looked up at him, to his friend and trainer, the way his long hair framed his face, the fondness in his smile, the pleasant warmth settling inside his heart and thought that,
Yeah.
He’d win for him .
The days afterwards went by in a blink and he found himself sitting down at that metal chair on the ring again, and it was familiar. The warmth of the yellow lights beating down on him, the clamoring sounds of people around, the shrill from the speaker after they turned on the microphone.
The weight of Jihoon’s gaze on him as his fingers slipped inside the black gloves that the former held for him.
Or perhaps it was just him being familiar with Jihoon as a whole. They had spent a night together after the confession because Soonyoung reasoned that Jihoon’s apartment was too far to the side of town and that it was unsafe, completely forgetting the idea that Jihoon could fight his way through it. It was only when Jihoon turned off the lights that the idea settled back down on him, and he almost felt like an idiot if not for the fact that the bed beside him dipped with Jihoon’s weight as he slipped inside the tiger print blankets, careful lest his movement would hurt Soonyoung’s wounds.
That Jihoon could fight, and yet, he chose to lay beside him instead, on this cramped single bed in his small apartment.
What an honor, really.
Maybe he was a little bit familiar with the way Jihoon frowned from the sunlight hitting him, that his eyebrows scrunched before he groaned and fluttered his eyelids open. Maybe the familiarity was also there when he figured out that the red shirt he barely wore on his closet fits perfectly on Jihoon’s body. Familiar was also the word he would use to explain the way he had held Jihoon’s hand through their walk to campus and to the gym, accustomed to the additional weight on his palm.
Maybe he was also familiar with the way Jihoon’s lips felt as he stood on his toes, gloved hands winding around Soonyoung’s neck as Jihoon pecked the side of his mouth where it didn’t bust after their sparring. And also familiar from the pain spreading on his lips when Soonyoung had begged him to give him a proper peck, as short and sweet it had been.
(Also familiar to the sound of Handong’s frustrated groans because of that.)
He sneaked a glance to his opponent who was wrapping his gauze around his hand as he listened to his trainer’s words. His opponent went by the name I.M, a guy his height with a lean built that actually had quite a nice personality, his voice a low timbre that got him just a little jealous and reminded him of Wonwoo when they greeted each other before the fight–or perhaps Soonyoung was a little biased because of his previous experience. He was a fairly new contender that won the beginner's tournament that actually piqued Jihoon's interest because of his fighting style, a calm one that aimed for long rounds, as he was light on his feet, opting for tiring his opponent out.
Jihoon asked him of his plan earlier that night as they walked down the stairs to the basement, and when Soonyoung replied to find his weak spots and aimed at that to end the fight as fast as possible, Soonyoung swore that he had never seen Jihoon's eyes that wide, his jaw hung a little before finally his mouth stretched out into a huge grin, front teeth digging into his lips just slightly as he nodded, humming.
He had to stop himself from doing something stupid like kissing him silly against the narrow staircase of Maison.
Jihoon left him after that, though. He was fidgeting around, eyes darting everywhere before he said he had to take care of something and Soonyoung, despite being a little perplexed, let him go. He found company on Jeonghan and Seungcheol as the three of them sat on the bench of the soda booth, and soon enough Handong joined them, blurting out that she would have to work on the weekends to make up for her missing shift tonight so Soonyoung better win the fight or else.
Soonyoung remembered the way she gave the punching bag a flying kick and gulped, nodding.
Jihoon returned a few minutes before he had to fight with Soonyoung already sitting on the metal chair and Soonyoung could feel that he was a little tense, his fist repeatedly clenching itself and clutching onto his sweatshirt. He inspected the gauze Soonyoung put around himself, and gave him an assertive nod, holding the gloves to him as he stared at Soonyoung, a little intense that got him a little speechless.
The gloves fit snugly around his palm as Jihoon’s gaze stayed on him, and it was then Soonyoung noticed how his breath was a little ragged and beads of sweat trickled down from the side of his hair. Was it the trick of the light or did his dilated pupils were a little wavering?
“Jihoon-ah?” Soonyoung asked, frowning. “Are you okay? You’ve been sweating ever since you came back.”
That seemed to shake Jihoon’s mind from whatever haze he was in, his eyes focusing back on Soonyoung. He gave him a tight lipped smile, gulping. “It’s…nothing. I’m fine, maybe just the heat.”
Soonyoung didn’t believe him in the slightest, but he knew that it was no use coaxing the reason out from Jihoon when he didn’t want to explain, so he merely nodded, hesitant. And it was probably his troubled expression that got Jihoon sighing, his hands reaching out to tilt Soonyoung’s jaw to look at him. “Don’t you worry, okay? Just focus on your fight,” He murmured, leaning in. “I’ll tell you later after this, but for now don’t think about me at all.”
“You know I can’t do that. Everything about boxing reminds me of you.” Soonyoung mumbled before pulling his lips into a small smile. “Also, someone told me that he’s going to take me on a date if I win, so the stake is a little high for me.”
Jihoon gave a chuckle, his teeth digging into his lower lip and Soonyoung feasted on the sight, yearning for a taste. “You seem to like him a lot, huh?”
He flicked his gaze back up, not minding his evident staring, his words a soft murmur on his lips, thick of want. “You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this.”
“Then win.” Jihoon grinned, easy and trusting.
Soonyoung found his soft gaze before Jihoon’s eyelids fluttered close, and in the next second Lee Jihoon’s smile were on his lips, short taste that was so addicting that he found himself chasing it once Jihoon leaned back just slightly. The hands on his jaw kept him from leaning forward, but Jihoon’s lips were brushing upon his when he whispered out, “Good luck, tiger.”
Soonyoung knew exactly then how fast matches could burn from one single flick. Blazing fire settling inside his chest was another familiar feeling, and one look at Jihoon made him wonder just how much of himself he'd burn for the man in front of him and for everything he had taught to soonyoung.
But then again he didn't mind the heat, had never been afraid of it, and so he gave him a smile, dopey and loving and utterly smitten, with Jihoon's little chuckle the last thing he heard before the mouthguard was slipped inside his mouth and his trainer slid back down from the ring, the speakers calling for the fight to begin.
And now as he stood in the center, arms raised up in a stance he had grown accustomed to, he couldn’t help but to smile, feeling the adrenaline rushing inside his veins, hands tingling with the urge to do something. Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, Soonyoung aimed to control his emotion, to not let it be seen by others but rather just felt by himself, excitement and nerves swirled together under his skin, but all that was visible from his eyes when he snapped them open were of utmost focus.
His opponent mirrored his actions, and they knocked each other’s gloves together lightly as a sign of respect before the bell rang.
Both of them were light on their feet, circling each other in the center as they waited for the other to land the first blow. And Soonyoung waited, kept his arms up in front of his face even when his opponent had his left arm reached out, and he waited, waited, waited.
Until I.M swung his stretched out arm in an attempt of a jab before immediately falling back, distancing himself from him. He felt the impact on his arms and decided to wait a little bit more, and with his opponent continuously giving him the same treatment of punch-and-run, Soonyoung could see bits and pieces of how he could end the fight as soon as possible.
Soonyoung stepped forward with left arm raised in a half-jab, dragged his right feet with him and the first attack he did for the night got I.M widening his eyes, before stepping forward again, this time with a left arm swung in a full jab that hit his opponent’s raised right hand. He immediately followed it with a cross with his right hand, the sudden surprise movement sending his opponent slightly tripped on his feet as he tried to step back.
He used the momentum to keep on going, giving another left hand jab and right hand cross, alternating it with the double jabs and single cross until he got close enough to I.M, whose arms were holding his torso in an attempt to stop him from sending more punches. It went for a couple seconds before he sent a punch to his opponent’s head, and as I.M crouched down to duck from it, his left hand gave a strong hook, and Soonyoung heard the pleasant thump as it collided perfectly to his opponent’s jaw.
He recalled the day when Daniel sent him tumbling backwards, and he figured that the searing pain with symptoms of concussion was exactly what I.M was currently feeling as he was sent towards the edge of the bands, the momentum sending him falling on his butt, his back on the ring bands as his eyes widened, jaws dropped and looking up at Soonyoung. There were cheers following it, but Soonyoung knew it wasn’t over. But then, from the way his opponent had to shake his head before holding onto the band for support as he stood back up, he figured that maybe the end would’ve come a little faster.
I.M was wobbly afterwards, and Soonyoung used all the chances he could get to give him multiple combinations of punches, all aimed for his head to further sway his opponent’s vision. And although I.M was still fighting back, Soonyoung noticed how it was uncontrolled and almost feral, his punches strong but not aimed correctly, which made it easier for him to dodge and withstand it.
The bell rang, signaling the end of the round and Soonyoung heaved a breath, walking towards his side as Seungcheol slipped a stool to the ring, Handong and Jeonghan ready with cold bottles of water on the sides with Jihoon climbing onto the ring. He sat down, breath heaving as Jihoon took out his mouthguard, and the way he stare at him, pupils blown out and cheeks red got his own blood rushing, lava brewing under his skin before it was sated down for a little by Handong dumping the cold water onto his head.
“That was…great.” Jihoon began, licking his lips. Soonyoung noted that it was a little red, like Jihoon had been biting on it throughout his fight. “Just make sure to keep your guards up whenever he began fighting back, he was aiming at your torso a lot once he panicked.”
Soonyoung nodded, accepting the water Jeonghan gave to him. His throat was parched.
“Keep going. You’re halfway there if you keep it up.”
“I will.” He replied, handing the water back to Jihoon before frowning. Softly, he said, “Don’t bite your lips too much, you might hurt yourself.”
Jihoon’s eyes widened, and the way his chuckle came out a little as a gasp got Soonyoung’s brows raised. “Ha…Right. I won’t.” He smiled, a tight little thing and Soonyoung caught the way his ears were flaming red. “Good luck.”
It was a little confusing, but there was no time for him to ask or contemplate it as he was back again in the center of the ring, arms raised by the time the bell rang.
Soonyoung got even more offensive with the rounds passing by, with I.M obviously struggling from that strong hook he landed on his head from the first round. Although Soonyoung had to give it to him for still holding on even to their fifth round, even with his punches missing the aim more than it actually hit him or with him dragging his feet around instead of stepping lightly like he used to.
If it were any other person, perhaps I.M would be able to win the competition, but to be fair, Soonyoung had a prize waiting for him afterwards, and the way Jihoon’s face got even more flushed, his lips redder every time he saw him in-between the rounds got him even more worried. What started out as confusion began to look a lot more like concern now, and it bled into his thoughts even as he sent out punches to his opponent. Time was ticking, and Soonyoung knew he had to end it now.
In one rapid combination of jabs and cross that I.M was sending his way, Soonyoung managed to duck down, dodging it before standing back up as he found an opening between the punches, his own right hand shot up for a clean uppercut to hit his opponent’s jaw. I.M stumbled backwards to the band yet again, and Soonyoung was ready with his relentless punches to his head, arms weren’t even raised in defense. He gave a strong hook, gloves hitting his opponent's head perfectly and I.M fell down, his back slamming the floor as his head lolled back, slipping through the ring bands. Soonyoung distanced himself to the neutral side, his eyes not leaving the guy.
The countdown started at the count of three and Soonyoung watched as I.M lay down still, his arms and legs twitching, seemingly trying to get up. But the whole crowd was still counting with his failed attempts of getting up, and they were reaching seven when Soonyoung glanced at Jihoon, standing by the side of the ring and his breath stuttered at the sight.
The way Jihoon looked up at him sent pleasant tingles to his body, noting the obvious difference to their usual dynamics of Soonyoung looking up when Jihoon was fighting, but it was the way Jihoon’s eyes widened and jaws slightly dropped that got his heart beats rapidly, awed from the beauty. His bangs were stuck to the side of his head from the sweat, and Soonyoung just couldn’t look away from all the blooming shades of red of Jihoon, his flushed face, red lips and flaming ear. He figured that something else was happening, but Soonyoung was clueless, and all that he could do was just stare down helplessly, drawn to the fervid gaze that was Jihoon’s.
The countdown stopped and he was declared the winner, the whole crowd roaring as they cheered and chanted for his name but Soonyoung had everything else zeroed out from his mind, gaze never leaving Jihoon’s who had his lips stretched out in a smile before mouthing a, “Tomorrow.”
Their date. Soonyoung’s heart ached, wanting to burst from the happiness.
It wasn’t until his friends climbed up to the stage to congratulate him that he finally tore his eyes away from him, the reality of him becoming the winner of the competition finally dawning upon his mind. Soonyoung had wondered upon the idea of being a winner, his heart aching towards the idea of being surrounded by the people screaming out his name and washed by the warm yellow light of Maison when he had witnessed Jihoon on the stage for the first time. Just how radiant he had been, and how Soonyoung craved to be bathed by his afterglow.
Jihoon climbed up to the stage, heated gaze narrowed at him as he strutted through the crowds, and Soonyoung was barely able to spit out his mouthguard to form his mouth in a greeting when Jihoon’s hand shot up to hold the back of his neck, pulling his lips to crash upon his.
There should be poems written about the way Jihoon kissed.
Soonyoung’s gloved hands immediately went to his waist, circling it after he recovered from the earlier surprise, letting himself melt into the kiss as he closed his eyes. It felt like none of the kisses they have shared before, all the careful pecks on the side of his lips and innocent, fleeting kiss. This particular one was searing, heat spreading from his lips to his entire body and he was a pyromaniac, slave to the burning sensation of the fire and he yearned for more.
His hold on Jihoon’s lips tightened as he pulled him even closer, and Jihoon let out a surprised gasp at the sudden act. He saw it as a way to deepen the kiss, his tongue slipping in between Jihoon’s lips. And if what Soonyoung felt was fire growing beneath his skin before, he could feel that it was now a raging inferno. The heat bubbled in his rapidly beating heart, an unsatiated hunger growling in his chest that could only be calmed by Jihoon’s pants into his lips and the clutch of his fingers on his neck.
“Really? In public? Before he was even crowned as the official winner, Jihoon?”
It was Handong’s words that pulled him out of the trance. Reluctantly, Soonyoung parted from Jihoon with ragged breath, but his eyes were trained solely at Jihoon, whose eyes were dilated, his gaze resting heavily on him with his lips plumped. His heart soared with the thought of him doing that to Jihoon, sure that his trainer could feel the quick thump, thump, thump under his ribs from the way their chest touched.
At last, he knew how it felt to be bathed by Jihoon’s afterglow.
An arson. His body and soul were victims to the crime, and god, how he was addicted to the flame.
The winner ceremony was quite uneventful, in his humble opinion, nothing if he compared it with the way Jihoon kissed him on the ring in front of everyone else to see. That was exhilarating. Now he was no longer the crazy guy that challenged the son of Maison in a fight, but a tournament’s champion and Jihoon’s boyfriend, and Soonyoung honestly liked the way it rolled off the tongue a lot better.
Their friends asked them if they were going to stay longer, with Handong even offering to open up a brand new bottle of Kaoliang to celebrate and Soonyoung had a mind to accept their offer if not for the sight of Jihoon, stiff on his side, eyebrows furrowing and cheeks still flushed. He had thought that was nervousness due to his fight, but, here they were, Soonyoung being the winner and Jihoon was still at the same state like he was right after he came back before his fight.
Jihoon was definitely sweating. Hard.
“Do you wanna stay?” Soonyoung asked, frowning as he put the back of his palm to Jihoon’s temple. It was warm. His frown deepened. “Jihoon-ah, are you sick without telling me you are?”
Jihoon looked up to him, swatting his hand away albeit playfully. “I’m not .” His voice cracked, and he coughed before speaking again. “I’m not– ah– ” Gasp. “sick. I’m not sick, I mean.”
Soonyoung rolled his eyes, sighing. “Right. Whatever. Let’s just go home, then.” Then, as a precaution–just to make sure–his voice was smaller. “Do you want me to call a cab for you?”
Jihoon blinked before exhaling a little huff, “It’s a little too far, don’t you think so? Aren’t you afraid that I’ll get mobbed?”
Before Soonyoung could answer, however, he narrowed his eyes, although there was a playful lilt to his voice. “What, is the public kiss not enough for you to know my feelings?”
Soonyoung felt warmth creeping inside his own cheeks now as he could still feel the pressure of Jihoon’s lips crashing onto his, that little moment where he could feel his breath literally taken away by him. The moment where Jihoon gasped so he could deepen the kiss.
Like his mind had been figured out, a breathy chuckle slipped out at Jihoon, his eyes twinkling. “And you’re blushing. Cute.”
Soonyoung huffed. “Like you’re not . Your face had been so red even from before the fight, you know? Did you eat something spicy or what?”
Jihoon’s eyes widened slightly, but then his lips were pulled in a smug smile, comfortable, confident. Alluring. Soonyoung gulped, his throat suddenly dry. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
He chose not to reply instead, fishing for his phone from his duffel bag instead to call them both a cab to his apartment as Jihoon laughed shortly. They told their friends that they wouldn’t stay, and the silence before the nod as Soonyoung told them that Jihoon would be staying at his apartment afterwards didn’t help the warmth from his cheeks to settle down.
Seungcheol gave him a pat in the back once their cab arrived, and when Soonyoung looked back, Jeonghan gave him a smug nod and a smile, while Handong mouthed something that suspiciously sounded like “wear protection” but he immediately whipped his head back before confirming it, his ears burning.
Nope. They were going on a date tomorrow, for god sake. That was what he was looking forward to, not… whatever it was their friends were implying. Bunch of heathens they were.
Besides, Jihoon was definitely not in his prime after whatever it was that he did before his fight, and their road home together solidified his guess. Jihoon was constantly fidgeting on the seat beside him, clearly uncomfortable if the way his jaw tensed and fists clenched by his sides didn’t clearly show it already. Soonyoung’s worry grew on the way, and despite Jihoon’s refusal to tell him what was wrong, he was grateful that they would have a chance to discuss it at his apartment.
The white light was a little blinding when he flicked the light switch of his apartment, and Soonyoung was grateful that it was kinda decent, no take outs on the table or clothes cluttered on the floor even when he didn’t have a thought of bringing Jihoon home tonight. A joke about the situation was hanging on the edge of his tongue before he heard Jihoon’s breaths labored as he bent down before he stood back up to take off his shoes with his feet.
He couldn’t help but sigh, dropping his duffel bag to the floor. “Jihoon, I’m so sorry but like, can you tell me what’s going on?” His laces were tight on his shoes, so he bent down to untie them as he blabbered on, “I just can’t help but notice that you’re struggling, and I understand if you don’t want to talk about it if it’s something personal, but I want to know if you’re actually okay and that I don’t have to call the ambulance on–”
“You were so fucking hot.”
Soonyoung paused, fingers on his laces as he blinked. “Uh, what?” Hesitantly, he peered up only to find Jihoon’s dark gaze already staring at him, face flushed with lip bitten.
He glanced at how Jihoon’s adam apple bobbed in his throat. “I knew that you could win, hence why I did all,” Jihoon’s hand flailed to gesture his body before chuckling, “this, but to see you actually fight with all your might like that…God, I think. I think I was about to go insane. From everything.”
Soonyoung’s mind was reeling, his heartbeat picking up pace. “Oh. I… Thanks?” Was all he could say. He wet his lips, and the way Jihoon’s gaze dropped into it almost immediately got him tripping over his words. “I’m flattered. Uh. I also… Thought the same of you. On that first fight of yours that I watched.”
Jihoon’s gaze shot back up into his eyes, and the way his bangs fell before his darkened, glassy eyes had Soonyoung reminiscing the first time he ever looked up at Jihoon on that boxing ring. But instead of an angry little kitten, this… this was a male lion staring down at his prey who had been waiting for the time to pounce, and maybe Soonyoung had said that he was a tiger beforehand but he had never thought that being this transfixed upon something so powerful could felt so good .
“Soonyoung-ah,” Jihoon murmured, voice low that brought a pleasant shiver down his spine. “I really, really want to kiss you right now. But frankly, I’m not really sure if I could stop there.”
Soonyoung raised his eyebrows, “Well, do you want to stop?”
Jihoon gave a little shake of his head, and Soonyoung couldn’t help but smile as he stood up, stepping away from his shoes. The way Jihoon’s eyes followed his move as he stepped forward made his blood flare, and he chuckled from the way Jihoon’s hands twitched beside him. His labored breath and glassy eyes were evident from the way he looked up at Soonyoung, his mouth a little ajar and maybe, just maybe–
Soonyoung hand’s shot up to hold his jaw, and the gasp the younger elicited as he leant into Jihoon’s ear was such a nice, nice surprise.
“Then don’t stop,” He whispered, heavy on Jihoon’s ear as his lips brushed his lobe,
–maybe he wasn’t the only prey here.
He pulled his head back, and the last thing he saw before he closed his eyes was how wide Jihoon’s eyes went as he closed the gap between them. The fire from their earlier kiss after his fight reignited almost immediately, and with no crowds but rather just his apartment walls caging both of them in, Soonyoung wanted nothing else but for the fire to burn him completely, the heat to encase them in this moment. Jihoon seemed to be but a walking, blazing flare and Soonyoung was mesmerized by its light, addicted by the way he burns against his lips and he couldn’t help but to ask for more.
His hands trailed down from Jihoon’s jaw, and it wasn’t his intention to brush on Jihoon’s nipples but the way he arched into his touch, lips opening in a gasp that Soonyoung swallowed and made his blood rush downwards, his mind spinning from the feeling. Jihoon’s hands circled around his neck, fingers clutching lightly on the hair in his nape and he couldn’t help but to let a groan slipping out from his lips, his own hands clutching onto Jihoon’s gray sweater harshly that if he weren’t so focused on kissing Jihoon he would’ve been worried on ripping it.
Jihoon's fingers on his nape tightened and Soonyoung, drowning in the moment, slipped his hand inside Jihoon’s sweater. He found that despite the fire Jihoon carried within him, the skin on his–fucking small–waist, right under his palm was cold to the touch, and the contrast to his warm palm had Jihoon pushing a breathy moan against his lips, sensation going straight to his cock that Soonyoung had to leant back in order to control himself.
He opened his eyes to find Jihoon’s dilated pupils, red, glossy lips panting out short breaths with a dazed expression on his face and he had never wanted something this bad before, couldn’t help but to let his urge free, lips surging into Jihoon’s lips again, tongue slipping as his kiss deepened, grip on Jihoon’s waist tightened. Jihoon’s hands were on his hair, nails scraping on his scalp and Soonyoung had Jihoon’s lower lips on his when Jihoon pulled .
Soonyoung groaned, pulling back before looking down at him.
“Just… fucking take me to your room!” Jihoon’s snarl was evident, but the way he panted out his words made him not the slightest bit intimidating but rather, desperate . And god, did Soonyoung feel drunk from the knowledge of his own power, that he was the one at fault in reducing such reigning boxing champion to a begging mess. “I won’t–” He gasped, grip on his hair tightened and Soonyoung fought down a hiss from his throat. “–Fuck, just–just take me, please.”
He’d tease about just how gone Jihoon looked from a kiss if he wasn’t faring any better, mind lost to the pleasure himself, so he opted to just nod, slipping his hands from Jihoon’s waist to grab Jihoon’s wrist from his head and dragged him to his room, their steps hurried on his floor. What’s left from his working brain cells that wasn’t fogged by pure desire had a thought to switch on the light and to close the curtain, but Jihoon already was kicking his door close, the sound leaving a resounding bang at his apartment as he pushed Soonyoung to the mattress.
“Ji–” Soonyoung felt his breath whooshed out from his lungs as his back slammed down to the bed, and again when he saw Jihoon standing in front of him, pulling off his sweater with the moonlight seeping from the window painting him in a pale light that got his skin gleamed. A white galaxy with unhealed bruises scattered around his torso, a constellation of yellow and brown shades as his stars and Soonyoung was reminded of his own dream of creating his own constellation of red and purple on it.
Jihoon’s fingers tugged into Soonyoung’s shirt and he complied, leaning up to his elbows and hooking his trembling hand to his collar before pulling it, couldn’t care less about where he threw his shirt because Jihoon was staring down at him, curses on his lips. “Fuck, how are you so beautiful.” He murmured like he was talking to himself, his hands tracing shapes to Soonyoung’s chest and the older couldn’t help but to hiss from the warmth of Jihoon’s palms. “You have no idea just how many times I have to hold myself back from doing this, oh shit .” His nails rake down the lines of his abs, heat trails down in the wake that had Soonyoung shivering.
He fought the urge to close his eyes as Jihoon’s gaze trailed back up, his words a whisper and eyes glossed with something akin to awe and Soonyoung felt warmth creeping from his chest, up into his cheeks. “I have you all by myself, it’s so–you’re crazy, really. How the hell did you think I was pretty when you look like this?”
Soonyoung groaned, brain too much of a mush to be ashamed, heart beating too hard to care. “ You’re crazy. Have you seen yourself? I couldn’t stop staring at you at class and then I had to fight a boner when I first saw you on that ring, fuck.”
“Really, now?” Jihoon’s eyes glinted with something else that Soonyoung’s delirious brain failed to decipher, “Scoot up, Soonyoung-ah.”
He wasn’t sure what it was from Jihoon’s words that got him so eager to comply, and frankly, he really didn’t mind it. He scooted further to the top of his bed with shaking elbows as he watched how Jihoon took off his pants, his pink boxer leaving no place for imagination as he was transfixed on the bulge it–barely–hid.
His back to the headboard and jaws hung open, Jihoon climbed up, up, into his lap and it felt like dejavu, how his knees were planted on the bed beside his thighs, how Soonyoung had to look up in order to look him in the eyes.
“Hi again.” He blurted out, and the sight of Jihoon’s dimples as he giggled, his eyes crinkling made Soonyoung smile.
“Hi again, indeed.” Jihoon gave him a soft smile, hands grabbing Soonyoung’s wrist before leading it to his waist that had Soonyoung hitching a breath. His voice was a murmur, “Do you really want to know what got me so red before your fight?”
Soonyoung could only nod, lips slightly ajar in a picture perfect of surrender and helplessness. Softly, Jihoon tucked a stray hair behind his ear. “I didn’t tell you but I actually have another present in mind if you win.” Jihoon’s smile was lopsided, easy. His fingers lingered on his ear, playing with the lobe and it was so, so warm. “Do you remember that I asked you about how you would fight your opponent tonight? Your answer would’ve been the decision maker for me, you know? If I'm truly convinced that you would win. If I should do it or not.”
His tongue was heavy inside his mouth, heartbeat pounding inside his ear. “What present?”
Jihoon’s lopsided smile widened in a smirk, his eyes glimmered. “To fuck me.”
Soonyoung’s grip on his waist tightened, his head thrown back as he cursed silently, more air than words. “Fuck,” was all he said, and in the midst of Jihoon’s giggling, he added on, “What the fuck…is–is this real?”
Jihoon didn’t answer it, but his smirk remained. “And since you answered my question correctly, you have another gift.” He grabbed Soonyoung’s hands resting on his waist, leading him to his backside and the way Soonyoung’s mouth hung open as he looked back up at Jihoon didn’t deter him. “Go on. See for yourself.”
His hands were trembling as it traced the globes of Jihoon’s ass, and he gave it an experimental squeeze that had Jihoon gasping, eyes rolling back. He only had little time to be pleased by his reaction, however, as his fingers came closer to Jihoon’s clothed entrance and there’s somethi– oh.
Oh .
Jihoon’s moan was loud, hands shooting up to Soonyoung’s shoulder when he touched it, and Soonyoung was so, so weak, he couldn’t help but to follow, his curse words streaming out from his lips as his cock twitched inside his own boxer.
A fucking butt plug .
“You…” He groaned out, voicy dripping lower from the wave of arousal crashing to him in waves. Soonyoung fought his urge to close his eyes in order not to miss the way Jihoon’s fluttered close, pale skin flushed even redder under the moonlight. “From before my fight?”
Jihoon nodded, leaning in to bury his face on Soonyoung’s neck and openly moaned as Soonyoung pushed the plug a little deeper. “I…I’m also” Jihoon stuttered, and Soonyoung shivered from the way his hot breath fanned his neck, from the way he sounded so broken. “L-lube– ah, don’t push it!”
“What lube, Jihoon-ah?” He heard Jihoon gasping as he slipped his fingers inside the waistband, dragging it below the curve of his ass. Soonyoung’s fingers found the item, snug inside his entrance, and he pushed it inside again to see how Jihoon would react, to sing yet another high moan. He got just that and Jihoon biting into his shoulder, but the pain dissipated almost immediately as he pulled the plug back and–
Wetness trickled down from Jihoon’s entrance, drenching his fingers after pulling the plug completely and Jihoon whined, high on his throat because of the sudden emptiness. Soonyoung’s brain short circuited before the notion settled down, lust clogging his senses, his hand clutching onto the plug. “Jihoon, how did you even…”
Jihoon’s nails were digging into his shoulder, lips touching his neck as he gave little bites and kisses. “J-just put the nozzle inside and… squeezed.” Soonyoung’s breath stuttered, but then Jihoon giggled wetly to his skin. “Imagined that it was you.”
Soonyoung couldn’t take it anymore, his insides were burning, molten lava inside his veins as he dropped the plug to the bed, his left hand dragging Jihoon’s head from his neck before kissing him. His right hand traced Jihoon’s spine downwards, and he felt him shuddering before slipping two fingers inside Jihoon. Soonyoung felt it before hearing him, how Jihoon outright whined , the younger’s nails digging yet another crescent on his shoulder and he was drunk from the power he had wielded, smirking into the kiss.
Then he remembered that Jihoon wasn’t necessarily powerless, at all.
Jihoon dropped his hips down onto his lap, brushing their fronts together and it was Soonyoung’s turn to gasp, his fingers slipping out from Jihoon as he held onto his waist. He felt Jihoon pushing him away from the kiss, and although his eyes were slightly hazy, the slightly manic smile curving on his lips got Soonyoung’s brain fogged as Jihoon began grinding himself lazily.
Choking out a moan, a little embarrassed, he blurted out “Jihoon-ah, I-I really can’t last long if you– fuck– keep on doing that.”
Jihoon cooed at him, gave him another slow grind once that had Soonyoung gasping and rolling his eyes back before finally giving him mercy with a peck on his lips. He sat back on his thighs, legs stretching around Soonyoung as he pulled down his boxer away and Soonyoung couldn’t stop staring at the way Jihoon’s cock slapped on his belly, heat flaring inside his skin and his hands twitched.
“Where are your condoms?” Jihoon asked, and didn't wait for Soonyoung to answer as his left hand was already reaching out for the drawer by his side table, hands rummaging the contents inside before his eyes lit up, fishing out a bottle of lube and packages of condoms. He slipped his right fingers inside Soonyoung’s waistband, his grin a tease. “Lube, Soonyoung-ah?”
Soonyoung could only whine as he lifted his hips up, letting Jihoon drag his pants and boxer in one go and closing his eyes from relief and the cold air hitting at his length. “I–” His breath was cut short with a hiss, eyes flying open as Jihoon’s lubed fingers wrapped around his cock, stroking him slowly and he had his fingers clutching onto his bedsheets, teeth gritting with all his effort to not come.
“Maybe later on I could use this on you, yeah? Would you like it?’ Jihoon mumbled, giving his base a squeeze before chuckling as Soonyoung moaned loudly. “Or maybe you’d rather watch, huh? Watch me use it to myself, and all?”
Those images of him being on Jihoon’s mercy on his four or Jihoon reaching back down as he stared down at Soonyoung that flashed inside his eyes were not helping his case. “Jihoon –please” His voice cracked, a little delirious and impatient from all the teasing he had done. How the hell did Jihoon was able to handle the plug locking all the lube inside him for such a long time was unthinkable, but he knew that he currently didn’t have the will and skill to hold out that long. His gaze was pleading as he stared up at him, “I really am going to come, baby. Please.”
Jihoon’s eyes widened in surprise on the pet name and for a second Soonyoung thought he had fuck it up, but then he bit his lips in a futile attempt to suppress a smile, cheeks rosy and Soonyoung would’ve wanted nothing more than to kiss him silly if Jihoon weren’t slipping the condom onto his length and jerking it once with the lube before lining it up to his entrance. Holding eye contact, Soonyoung could see the exact time where Jihoon sank down slowly, his hands grabbing the air before Soonyoung linked it with his own, mouth opening to pant out his breaths. Soonyoung felt the heat slowly encasing him, fireworks exploding inside his chest as he held Jihoon’s hands a little tighter, guttural groans slipping from his mouth.
As Jihoon sheathed him completely with a loud moan, his eyes fluttering close, Soonyoung had to fight the urge to snap his hips up almost immediately. “Baby…” He slurred, his breath stuttering with Jihoon suddenly clenching around him. “Shit. Take– uh– take your time, Jihoon.”
Jihoon’s eyes snapped open after that, his clouded gaze staring back at him before he shook his head, chuckling. “Fuck, you’re so perfect.”
Soonyoung’s reply died on his tongue as Jihoon raised his hips with their linked hand as his support, walls dragging around him so deliciously and he watched as Jihoon kept his tip inside of him before dropping back down, eliciting out a moan from the two of them. He kept the pace for a few times before he went faster, bouncing on Soonyoung’s lap, leaving the taller a moaning mess to a sight before him.
He had looked up to Jihoon a lot. Figuratively and literally. From his first fight as he watched the Jihoon beamed as he won, to that time he got knocked out as he challenged him with Jihoon’s confused gaze under the warm yellow light of Maison, to the way they spar at their gym with Soonyoung sprawled on the floor, exhausted and Jihoon merely telling him the rest of his trainings. All of it were beautiful sights, simply because it was Jihoon he was looking at, but Soonyoung had probably never seen something as magnificent as Lee Jihoon riding him.
His head was thrown back, moans slipping from his lips and hands playing with his nipples as his thighs flexed and Soonyoung couldn’t help but to hold onto his waist, clutching tighter he thought it’d leave marks. He wanted it to leave marks. This was Lee Jihoon in all his glory, and the thought of him being able to witness something as beautiful as this, the trust he had earned from Jihoon got heat crawling under his skin, brewing a lot slower from the passionate fire he was used to, but it flowed through, winding its way into his chest, squeezing his heart.
He found himself hitting the spot when Jihoon’s thighs quivered, eyes blown out as he clenched down on Soonyoung. “B-baby.” Jihoon muttered, voice low and spent. And god Soonyoung could understand the effect it had on Jihoon because he could feel himself twitching inside. “Can you–”
Jihoon didn’t need to finish because Soonyoung was frantically nodding, pulling Jihoon close to him as he switched their position. Jihoon’s black hair fanned around his white pillow in a makeshift halo, all flushed skin and spit-slicked lips that made Soonyoung’s heart ache. He leaned down to give him a kiss, uncaring about its messiness as he hiked Jihoon’s legs onto his waist and Soonyoung wanted to tattoo the way Jihoon moaned into his mouth as he thrust into him.
“You’re crazy.” Jihoon said through gritted teeth as Soonyoung pounded into him with fervent, nails digging another set of bloody crescents on his back.
“Yours.” Soonyoung replied, ardent hanging onto his words like tar with their lips brushing onto each other and Jihoon moaned at the declaration.
Hard and quick, he pounded into Jihoon as they panted to each other’s mouth, shared wildfire spreading on their skin. One pound that got Jihoon’s legs tightened around his waist and clenching around him got him aiming for that same spot repeatedly, palm slipping between them to hold Jihoon’s length on his hand and Jihoon gasp loudly as Soonyoung gave him a couple strokes.
If the sight of Jihoon winning had him wanting to bask in his afterglow, this image of Jihoon on the pillow, his eyes rolled back with wanton moan of his name slipping out from his swollen lips like a mantra and his inside clenching down on him like vice as he came, white spurts between their stomach got him wanting to worship the man. For it was glorious. A majestic masterpiece made for his eyes only and he couldn't even bother to quench the greed of wanting to have this sight only reserved to him for the rest of his lifetime.
And if Soonyoung figured out that the way he slammed his hips down on Jihoon, cock brushing on that spot as he chased his own orgasm got Jihoon to shot his eyes open, jaws slacked with nothing but incoherent babble and whine had him building another kind of fire brewing his insides–
He buried his face on Jihoon’s neck, panting as he kept on chasing his release, that knot inside his belly tightened, tightened, before it bursted and he groaned Jihoon’s name into his skin.
– then nobody had to know .
“Our very own pride and joy! The jawbreaker that earned the nickname Son of Maison, the living legend himself! Still our very own reigning champion… the unbeatable! On the red! ”
“Woozi!”
Jihoon takes off his red robe, a small smirk on his face as his gloved hand shoots up in a wave with the crowd cheering on his name. Pink boxers hanging low by his hips, skin glinting under the light and Soonyoung mouth still waters even after so many times of tasting it.
“While this is going to be his first professional competition, he has proved himself to be Maison’s crazy person by challenging the reigning champion, but again, he’s here, and trained by the very best! On the blue!”
“Hoshi!”
Soonyoung grins, pulling his blue robe off as he gives another share of wave to the crowd, enjoying the way his stage name resonated inside the basement despite catching the way Jihoon’s eyes roll at him– It’s tiger’s gaze, Jihoon! It’s fucking dumb, Soonyoung. He glances down at his torso, and somehow he wonders if people are aware that the splotches of purple and yellow splattered on it, right above his black boxers, aren’t only from his fighting.
Or if Jihoon actually has it too, still red for its bloom is still new, under the pink fabric of his boxer, right on that left inner thigh.
As the referee calls them to the center, Soonyoung couldn’t help but to smile upon seeing his boyfriend’s failed effort to squash down his own smile. He sees how Jihoon’s eyes glint, a single wick of a candle ready to scorch, and thinks that his own gaze mirrored his.
As they bring their gloves up, however, Soonyoung couldn’t help but think at how a sport that exuded such violence and harshness managed to bring something so warm into his heart.
How it brought Jihoon into his arms.
Soonyoung closes his eyes, takes a deep breath before releasing it and snaps his eyes open. He watches as Jihoon does the same.
The warm, yellow light beats down on them. The bell rings.
Together, they burn.