Opposing Hearts - Kwon Jae-Sung x Reader

Chapter 5: "So you do care?"

You had left the headband in the room. Kwon's room. As you looked around for Kwon apprehensively, he offered you a knowing smirk while discreetly holding up your headband. ~~~~
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"I told you to relax." Kwon mouthed, now visibly grinning at your foolishness.
With the grin still glued to his face and not dropping his gaze from your e/c eyes, Kwon handed the headband to Tory - who had slyly sneaked over to your team and passed it to you. You let out a heavy sigh of relief.

"Hey, you found it, now come on, the fight is starting!" Demetri urged, annoyed.

Getting into a position that allowed you to get tagged into the fight, the match had started. Hawk went first.

"Tag Kenny," Robby stated.
"No, do not tag Kenny!" Demetri urged.
"Tag Kenny!" Robby repeated, irritated.

Hawk, while dodging a flying kick, tagged in Sam instead, following Demetri's words.
"What are you doing?" Miguel questioned, frustrated.

Soon, Sam had begun to lose her balance and looked to tag in someone.
"Tag in y/n!" Miguel stated, with Robby nodding his head in agreement.
Sam, who gave you a scoff, ran directly past you and tagged in Robby instead.
"What the hell, Sam?" You screeched.

Robby, unprepared that he was going to be tagged in by Sam, had failed to block a direct punch to his stomach, causing the opposing team to gain a point. Instead of deciding to continue fighting, Robby ran towards you with a remorseful look and discreetly tagged you instead.
"Finally!" You bellowed in exasperation. Turning to face your opponent, you got into your fighting stance and knocked her down to the ground with a strong kick to the ribs. Before you could perform the final punch to earn the point for your team, you found your eyes wandering to a certain boy in the Cobra Kai team.

His face had formed a slight frown of concentration, his black hair slightly messy from his last fight, and a small cut glistened in the light just above his eyebrow. A smile began to creep onto your face. While you were zoned out, your opponent recovered herself and knocked you down with a harsh punch.

"Shit!" You howled in pure frustration. You had allowed yourself to become distracted. You let yourself appear weak and vulnerable to attack. Beside you, your team had already begun arguing about the loss.
"Why didn't you tag me in?" Kenny questioned.
"Because we do not trust you, you have only been here for one day!" Demetri stressed.
Fed up of the back-and-forth fighting between the two of them, you interrupted: "Guys, stop this. We are meant to be a team. It was my fault we lost, I got distracted." You bellowed, walking off.

Tory caught up to you: "Hey y/n, are you alright?" she asked, concerned.
"Yeah, I'm fine, I just need some air for a minute." You admitted, giving her a small smile. Feeling beaten with defeat, you walked out of the arena and sat down on an isolated bench - in the hope of being with your thoughts. In truth, you knew fighting in the Sekai Taikai was a huge opportunity, but it was so much pressure. As Captain, you had the sole responsibility for your teams' fate in the tournament. The pressure of fighting your best weighed you down enough - let alone being the person responsible for your team remaining in the tournament. It was so much. Too much.

You took a deep breath while you leaned your head against the bench in pure exhaustion. You had earned your spot in the tournament. You were worthy of the title of the Miyagi Do Captain.
You had failed to notice that someone had now joined you and sat down beside you as you were lost in your tormenting thoughts.

"I know you like me so much, but surely you are not that obsessed with me to lose your match, y/n?" Kwon remarked, smug.
He had noticed you staring at him. Of course, he did. A hint of awkwardness began to blush a rose hue on your cheeks.
"I wasn't staring at you." You lied, hoping to convince him, but it was useless. Kwon was looking at you. He always noticed you.

"Sure, go tell yourself that then." Kwon chuckled.
"Why did you follow me out here?" you questioned, inquisitive.
"Let's just say I wanted some sunlight. Besides, that did seem like a nasty fall." Kwon remarked.
"So you do care about me then, aww! How sweet!" You mocked, smirking. His cheeks slightly tinted with a ruby hue. Kwon quickly regained his arrogant, stern composure and washed the remaining colour out of his cheeks.
"You would like that, huh? Don't gloat about it, I would not go that far." Kwon chuckled.

A moment of lingering silence swallowed the circling, bitter air. Your loss did not bother you anymore, nor the fact you had walked out on your team. No. You cared about this heartfelt and sincere moment with Kwon. You cared about him. And now you knew he cared about you too.