Chapter Text
As president of the Student Council in the Azure Dragon Academy, Dokgo Jun is eager to show the martial world that his school does indeed possess the qualities needed to be one of the Five Great Academies, starting with the famed teacher Baek Suryong and how he managed to reform three of the worst students in the school.
One said student was currently zoning out in his spar with Dokgo Jun. Sparks fly as Jun swings his sword against Heonwon Kang’s dao, sending a shockwave that would knock the average person to the ground. As the fierce clash of swords continues, Jun can sense that something’s off with Kang. One, he wasn’t as responsive, and two, his normally overwhelming techniques were much more subdued. While most students would’ve been defeated by Heonwon Kang either way, Dokgo Jun was still a first-rate master who had reached enlightenment, and could notice the slightest changes in a person’s martial arts.
Dokgo Jun leaps away from Heonwon Kang, sheathing his sword back in the scabbard before turning back to Kang. “Okay, time out. What’s going on with you? You’re clearly not focusing on the fight,” He frowns, and Kang averts his gaze.
“It’s–It’s none of your business, so stay out of it,” Heonwon Kang turns away from Jun, his tone oddly evasive. Kang’s practically an open book, so when he’s being like this, it only makes Dokgo Jun feel annoyed. He strides up to the still-dazed boy, and as he puts his hand on Kang’s shoulder, startling him.
“Fuck! When’d you get this close?!”
“See? You’re only proving my point. Come on, let’s head back in and you can tell me what’s bothering you,” Dokgo Jun pats him on the back, pushing his sparring partner indoors.
When both of them have sat down, Kang continues to be silent, a strange expression on his face. He’s about to say something, before somebody behind him cuts in.
“Oh! Wonkang and Senior Dokgo Jun! Are you two done sparring already? That was fast,” The voice chimes in, and both of them turn around to see Yeomin. With her newly gained white hair, it wasn’t an overstatement to say that she was a beauty. From being one of the most troublesome second-year students, Yeomin had become one of the most popular students for her role in the Valley of Villains, and her proficiency in qinggong and ice arts had made her a formidable martial artist.
“Ah? No, Kang seemed to have something on his–”
“Actually yeah–No, I mean– Yes, we just finished– Uuhh, you know what– I’mgoingtohaveanothersparwithhimagain see you!” Heonwon Kang suddenly blurts out, rushing to the door, leaving a flabbergasted Jun behind.
“Geez. Everytime I come up to Wonkang, he starts acting strange. Would you mind checking up on him? You’re one of the only friends he has apart from us,” Yeomin sighs, looking at Dokgo Jun apologetically.
“I was already planning on doing that,” Dokgo Jun says, and Yeomin lights up. “You should go back to training while I talk to him.”
“Thanks, Dokgo Jun!” She smiles, and Jun nods in return, before he goes out, catching sight of Heonwon Kang. Kang looks up at Jun, burying his face in his hands and groaning.
“Why’d you rush out like that? I thought you and Yeomin were–” Dokgo Jun stops, mouth open wide as he sees Kang’s face turning red.
“Are you serious?”
“Okay, okay, listen!” Heonwon Kang grumbles, glaring at Jun. “It wasn’t that bad at first, you know? It’s just that– I can’t get her out of my mind–!”
Jun sends Kang an unimpressed look.
“You’re not helping!” Heonwon Kang yells, withering into himself.
“Is everything okay? I heard senior Wonkang yelling,” Yeomin’s head pops out from the doorway, and Jun shouts “Yeah! Everything’s fine!” for her to leave, though she still doesn’t seem too convinced.
“You better do something about this before Mr. Baek finds out,” Dokgo Jun tells Heonwon Kang, who only groans in response.
“Okay, smartass! What plan do you have in mind then?!” He snaps in response, rubbing his forehead in frustration.
“Just confess to her and tell her you like her. She feels the same, great, she rejects you, well, at least you tried,” Dokgo Jun says, only for Kang to shoot it down immediately.
“No way! How am I even supposed to confess to her?! I have no idea what I’m doing, plus, shouldn’t I have a little dating experience first? So I can, uh, be a good boyfriend,” His voice shrinks at the end of the sentence, and Dokgo Jun has to refrain from smacking the boy’s head.
“All of a sudden, I think I understand why Mr. Baek likes to hit your head all the time now.”
“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean–” Kang says, bewildered, before he goes silent, seriously considering something. He’s deep in thought, and just as Dokgo Jun turns to ask Kang if he’s fine, Kang grabs onto Jun’s shoulders, his eyes lit ablaze.
“That’s it! I just need someone to practice on!’
“What…?”
“Hey, Dokgo.” There’s a glint in Heonwon Kang’s eyes that makes Dokgo Jun strangely afraid, but he’s not allowed a chance to interject as Kang says words that shake Jun to the core.
“How about you let me practice on you?”
All of a sudden, Dokgo Jun stares at the boy, his mouth agape. It takes a few moments for the words to click, and when it does, his face turns red.
Almost as if belatedly realizing what he just said, Heonwon Kang’s eyes widen, before he stumbles over his words as he attempts to rectify his mistakes.
“Oh–Oh shit, that wasn’t what I meant–Like, Gah–! Why does this sound so bad?!” Heonwon Kang groans, swiftly removing his hands from Dokgo Jun and rubbing his own face in agitation. He’s still berating himself when Dokgo Jun regains his bearings, albeit face still flushed.
“You know what– It’s fine, forget about it, I can handle it myself— Ignore what I just said—”
“Heonwon Kang!” Jun has to practically shout in his face for the boy to stop muttering, while the former clears his throat before continuing.
“Calm down first,” Dokgo Jun says, though he’s sure that neither of them will even be able to in the first place.
“Easy for you to say,” Heonwon Kang snorts, shooting the student council president a nasty look. “It’s not like you were the one who said that stupid shit.”
Dokgo Jun doesn’t have the confidence to tell Kang that he’s the reason why Jun could feel his heart thumping heavily against his chest right now.
“Listen–Listen to me,” He presses on, pointedly ignoring the swears directed at him. By now, Jun knows that Heonwon Kang doesn’t really mean it when he calls him all sorts of outlandish insults.
“If it’ll help you get over your inability to focus, I’ll do it.”
“Whuh–Wait. Seriously?” Heonwon Kang stops, looking at Dokgo Jun like he’s grown a second head. Dokgo Jun can only pray that Kang doesn’t notice his ears getting red. “I mean, I wasn’t really thinking things through when I said that, but are you sure you really want to do this?” He scratches his head, frowning. “You could be spending your time doing something better instead of putting up with me.”
“I’d argue that this is something serious. If you keep on going like this, how are you supposed to beat Peng Sahyeok in the Ultimate Martial Arts Tournament?” Dokgo Jun prods Heonwon Kang. Knowing him and his competitive nature, Kang would easily be convinced.
And indeed, he was proven right. The boy immediately flares up, indignant.
“Yeah! I’m gonna smash that asshole’s head in during the Tournament. Shit, how could I forget about him?” He says, already looking much more energetic. He hits his fist against his palm, grinning wickedly.
“Alright then, it’s settled! You’ll be my practice partner for this, dating,” He emphasizes the word with determination, “Business!”
Dokgo Jun nods. “How about we talk about this privately in your room before anyone overhears?”
Heonwon Kang grins, renewed with a sudden invigoration, and leads the way.
As Heonwon Kang turns and walks back with a skip in his step, Dokgo Jun can only hope that he hasn’t made the wrong decision.
When the both of them are settled in nicely, Jun takes the chance to look around. It’s nothing out of the ordinary, with his clothes and belongings strewn messily across the room. How does he live like this, Dokgo Jun thinks, before his eyes lock onto a piece of paper that’s stuck at the front of Heonwon Kang’s bed. Squinting, he thinks he can make out the signature of Peng Sahyeok and something about the Ultimate Martial Arts Tournament before Heonwon Kang clears his throat, his expression gravely serious.
“Okay. Okay,” He takes a deep breath. “How are we gonna go about this?”
“We should set a time limit for this,” Dokgo Jun says slowly, contemplating. “After all, you need to wrap this up quickly before it becomes worse. Will three weeks be enough?”
“I think that’s fine,” Heonwon Kang says, before looking puzzled. “So what are we even gonna be doing in the first place?”
“Wonkang, you’re the one who suggested this first! How do you not even know?!” Jun says, exasperated. “Fine. So your goal is to confess to Yeomin, right?”
“And to learn how to be a good boyfriend.” Kang interjects, and Dokgo Jun sighs.
“And to be a good boyfriend. Fine. You’ll practice whatever you need on me, such as…” Dokgo Jun stops and thinks. Doing certain things together, like flirting, and hand-holding? His face reddens. He’s not sure if he wants to do this anymore.
“Such as what? Hurry up and spit it out.” Heonwon Kang raises a brow, looking at Jun.
“Couple… activities. You’ll know when we get there,” He responds, mentally preparing himself for all the things that were popping up in his mind.
“Well, I still don’t quite get it, but that’s what the practice is for, right?” Kang blinks, before he sighs.
“So this practice–thing is gonna last for three weeks, and by the time this ends, I’m gonna have to confess to Yeomin?”
“Yes.”
“Goddamnit!” Heonwon Kang crosses his arms, bringing a hand to his face to cover his blush once again. “This love–business– is harder than I thought. How am I gonna be able to do this in three weeks?!”
“You’d be surprised by how much can change in three weeks,” Dokgo Jun replies easily, before he gets up, brushing the dust off his clothes. “Now that we’ve figured out everything, I’ll take my leave. You’re fine with it starting tomorrow, right?” Heonwon Kang responds with a nod, and Dokgo Jun smiles.
“I look forward to seeing your progress.”
With that, he walks out of the room, leaving a stupefied Heonwon Kang behind. He’s dumbfounded. Really, who says a sentence like that and just up and leaves?! Kang wants to strangle that bastard for leaving like that, but his heart’s also set alight by Dokgo Jun’s words. Him, becoming a natural at romantic gestures? Heonwon Kang’s giddy just by thinking about it, but he manages to stop before his imagination starts running wild and fantasizing about a certain someone.
“Damn…! I’ll kill him for saying that…” He grumbles out, and yet there’s a wide smile on his face.
Dinner passes without much fanfare, save for the occasional worried glances sent by Yeomin to his way, which he tries to ignore to the best of his abilities. Kang scarfs down the food at an inhuman pace, and almost chokes a couple of times. He’s pretty sure he did a great job acting normal, but even if he didn’t, everyone makes a couple of mistakes, right?
Heonwon Kang rushes back to his room before anyone can approach him, and starts pacing back and forth. The words said by Dokgo Jun keep repeating in his mind like a ball bouncing around in his mostly-empty brain, and with each repeat, he grows even more agitated.
He’s excited for the most part, but he can’t ignore the growing feeling of nervousness. How was he supposed to become an expert at this in three weeks when he can’t even think about Yeomin without blushing after 5 seconds? All of a sudden, he’s reminded of the nickname he designated Suryong during their little trip to the Valley of Villains, and groans.
The Handsome Master Lover? Really? Of all the things that had to pop up in his mind, why this? Heonwon Kang can’t ask him for help on love advice either, since he’s sure that Suryong would hang it over his head until the day he dies.
He can’t back out of this now. He steels himself with a firm resolve. He lies on his bed, shutting his eyes as sleep washes over him, willing himself to be prepared to face whatever’s coming next.
As it turns out, saying that you look forward to seeing someone improve in romance doesn’t exactly put you in the calmest state either.
When Dokgo Jun’s sure he’s far away enough from Heonwon Kang’s room, Jun begins striding at a more hurried pace. He sees Yeomin in the training grounds, and she does too, approaching him with the Snow Spirit Step Technique. It’s light and swift, the air around her dropping to a temperature that’s a bit cooler than what he’s comfortable with.
He can’t deny that it’s a great technique, and wonders if Baek Suryong had also taught that to her. He’s slightly envious of Suryong, to have so many talented disciples, especially Heonwon Kang and Wiji Cheon, and with an endless amount of martial arts techniques on top of it.
Dokgo Jun greets Yeomin just like he’s always done with others, dipping his head and speaking with a respectful tone.
“Senior Dokgo Jun! How was he? I hope he didn’t cause you any trouble,” She waves off his nod with a smile of her own, and suddenly, Dokgo Jun has a detached realization on why Heonwon Kang had a crush on her.
“I’ve just finished talking with Heonwon Kang. I’ll leave now since it’s getting dark, and I wouldn’t want to impose,” Jun says. “You don’t have to worry that much about him now; Do let me know if he starts slacking off again,” He responds, and Yeomin nods.
“Alright, thank you so much! Then, I’ll see you in Master’s class!” She waves, and Jun returns one, before he turns to leave.
The walk back to his own dorm room is quiet, save for the thoughts in his own head. Agreeing to help Heonwon Kang confess to Yeomin on a whim, and having to make sure that he does so in three weeks?
Dokgo Jun suddenly has a terrible thought: Knowing Heonwon Kang’s personality, he’d probably fuck everything up before the three week deadline. And if everything were to go wrong…
He shudders. Well, he doesn’t want to think about it.