Ko Yong Ha did a little damage control on his hair, and headed downstairs the hotel hosting the Samsung Cup. He wandered back out into the hallway in search of more coffee and potentially lunch before the afternoon match. He stepped into the elevator and hit the ground floor button, but before the doors closed, someone shoved his arm in, causing the elevator to beep in annoyance and open again. The boy who entered was glaring bloody murder, and after a moment Yongha recalled who he is. He even bowed his head a little, because he has promised to his event manager to behave, after all, but the glaring didn't abate.
"You. You're the bastard who didn't think I was worth playing last time you were here."
Yongha feigned incomprehension, hoping this will make the nuisance go away. This tactic, however, fails spectacularly, as the youngJapanese pro simply took this as an invitation to vent.
"Personally, I don't think you're worth ANY of our time. And I hope Kurata-sensei kicks your ASS today, though I'd rather do it myself. "
"I'm sure it's easy to be brave when you think I don't understand you," Yongha told him in Korean.
The glare intensified, and he didn't need to speak perfect Japanese to understand the venom in the other's words when he responded, predictably, with: " What? Are you insulting me? You're totally insulting me. You think you're SO great, don't you? Man, you have hair like a GIRL, and look at you, you probably wear MASCARA or something, and-"
He went on in this vein for a few seconds more as the door closes, and really, Yongha thought, he's perfectly justified in shutting him up the simplest way he knew how.
What he didn't quite expect is that after the typical moment of shock, the little upstart decided to kiss him back, and is generally not fighting the idea of being pinned to the elevator wall. In fact, he really seem to be getting into it, and when the elevator dinged to a stop, Yongha was rather reluctant to step back. He did, though, running his tongue over his lower lip, thinking it would probably swell a little from the particularly enthusiastic bite it just received. The Japanese player was panting for breath and looking at him with wild eyes as the elevator door opened, so Yongha took the opportunity to tell him, " You talk too much," in Japanese which elicited no coherent response—proving that his little experiment was clearly a brilliant success. He wondered if it would work half so well on one of Shindou's rampages.
As he left the building and went into a nearby ramen stand he noted this morning, he realized that those fifteen or so seconds pretty much constituted a complete breaking of his promise not to provoke anyone before lunch. Fortunately, it wasn't as though anyone would ever know.
###
His game against that fat Japanese pro that afternoon was a very good one; still Yong Ha managed to win. Besides, he was having a hard time not laughing over the fact that one young member of Japanese team was giving him during the whole game.
"Thank you for the game," Kurata tried to speak in Korean.
"You don't have to bother, Kurata-sensei. The crazy bastard speaks Japanese." If looks could kill, Yongha thought, he would definitely be in danger right about now. In response, he only grinned.
" Yashiro-kun!" exclaimed Kurata, "Language!"
"He's that bastard who insulted Shuusaku, don't you remember?"
"One more Shuusaku fan, no? " Yong Ha replied demurely. "Or are there some other…fancy reasons that evoked you?" He sit up and turned on his heel to leave, while Yashiro—whose name he made a point to remember this time—was dragged spluttering out of the room by the other Japanese pro, who had turned an interesting shade of purple with rage.
###
There was a small banquet that night, hosted by the sponsor in a sad attempt to offer the chance to meet and size up a few of the high-level Japanese pros. Most of them had clearly forgotten how to enjoy themselves and have very little use for time not spent at the goban, much like their Korean counterparts, but Yong Ha did manage to make one interesting connection.
Ogata Seiji was the sort of man that Yongha had a great deal of experience leading around on an implicit leash. There was something a little sleazy about him at first glance, something a little suspicious in the pristine whiteness of his suit and the carefully aloof politeness of his smile. Yong Ha noted appreciation in his eyes when they were introduced and allowed a slow smile to come across his face, just a little taunting, feeling very comfortable with himself and the approving gaze which was skimming over all sorts of inappropriate places.
After observing for a few moments, Yong Ha gracefully approached the man and remarked, "Not much entertainmenthere. Ogata- sensei? "
"Ogata's fine. What did you expect, anyway?" Ogata told him. "Your Japanese is very good."
"I study hard," Yongha replied, deciding to forgo humility. „Clearly, I am wise that I do so. It would be a pity not to speaking with you, Ogata-san."
That was not the sort of thing a man like Ogata would normally responded to, but this trip would be far too long to spend in the hotel lounge talking to that fat Kurata and old Morishita. A flash of obvious desire burned in Ogata's eyes before his face became inscrutable once again. "You flatter me. The pleasure is mine. "
"Yes," Yongha said, suppressing a laugh, and returned Ogata's smile with one of his own. "I am excellent company. "
###
"Ogata-sensei, no one can have everything he wants, you know." Yongha remarked, sprawled bonelessly across the couch, contemplating whether he had the energy to get up and get himself a drink. It seem more trouble than it's worth even to brush away the lock of tousled hair that had settled across his eyes, so he decided to stay put.
"I have everything I could possibly want," came Ogata's amused voice from the direction of the kitchen. " An enviable career, an excellent car, properly tailored clothing, and you sprawled mostly naked on my sofa."
"I am flattered," Yongha told him cordially, which was rather funny considering his current position, but being rude with this man was mostly pointless. He's the type that genuinely had to care about something before he bothered getting angry, and Yong Ha was hardly naïve enough to think he belonged on the short list of things Ogata Seiji cared about. But he certainly knew what he did belong.
"Ogata-sensei. Tell me. How that Shindou brat's doing?"
Ogata shrugged, trying to surpress his surprise. "Why do you care? I thought you never acknowlegdeged his strength?"
"I never did, either."
"So why care?"
Yong Ha closed his eyes remaining silent. Yes, why care anyway? Doesn't he have everything he wants already? But still…those eyes…burning with hatred, with will to revenge, and with passion. Those eyes haunted him, much more than he'd like to realise.
"You can't have everything you want, you know."
"Very much the contrary, Ogata-sensei."
"Then, sadly, you're not as smart as you think you are."
