CHAPTER 2 – Dandelion

Hwoarang shivered as he stepped out of the bar and into the hostel park. He hadn't expected the night to be that cold. Fortunately enough, it didn't take him long to spot a dark silhouette leaning against a tree. He came closer.

"Oi, Kazama! Thought you could run away from me that easily?!"

Jin looked up. Once again, he knew that Hwoarang would come. He always comes. It's always been that way. Even after the Korean had seen the worst of him, he had come back to him. So it would be useless to run away.

"I didn't run away from you, I just ran away from that loony bin," he spoke softly. "If they want to kill each other before the tournament even starts, fine, but I won't waste my energy myself."

Hwoarang whistled and rolled his eyes.

"Geez, man! You're such a killjoy! Can't you relax once in a while? They were just having a little fun. Anyway, what are you doing here on your own?" he asked as he sat cross-legged next to Jin and lit a cigarette. Jin silently watched him exhale a cloud of smoke.

"I like being alone. I hate crowded and noisy places," he explained.

"Then what the hell were you doing in that bar?"

"Waiting for you."

Those three words floated in the cool night breeze and Hwoarang didn't know whether to catch them or not. He mentally cursed Jin for being so enigmatic. The man is so hard to read. Hwoarang took a drag on his cigarette. What does he mean, waiting for me?! Damn Kazama!

"Come again?" he finally managed to say.

"It's just I knew you would show up there at some point. So I waited for you. I wanted to apologize for earlier."

"So why didn't you say anything?" Hwoarang asked, trying to hide his surprise.

"I would have, but you didn't really give me a chance, did you?" Jin smirked.

The redhead shrugged.

"Well, I was pissed off."

"Because there are times you're actually not pissed off? I hadn't realised."

Hwoarang gritted his teeth. He couldn't tell whether it was humour or disdain. Either way, he couldn't help feeling upset.

"Yes, there are. But only when you're not around. Not my fault if you always get on my nerves, Kazama!"

"Yeah, well..." Jin mumbled as he picked up a dandelion parachute ball. He absently blew its fluffy white seeds away and the little snowy parachutes scatter in the moonlight. Hwoarang just couldn't tear his eyes away from the scene. There was something so peaceful and almost poetical about it. Maybe something sad, too. It was hard to think that the man sitting next to him had recently turned the world into chaos. It was hard to think he could turn into a devilish winged creature at any time. Right now, he seemed so... beautiful...

Kazama, beautiful? What the fuck?! Hwoarang thought to himself.

He suddenly noticed there were dandelion seeds in Jin's dark bangs and, without thinking, he stretched out an arm to remove them. Jin startled and froze at the touch.

"You... You've got dandelion seeds in your hair..." Hwoarang explained a bit too nervously as he realised what he was actually doing.

"Oh..."

That was all Jin was able to say. The only person who had ever touched his hair so far was his mother, Jun. Outside fights, he wasn't used to physical contact at all, and he had always felt ill at ease whenever Ling Xiaoyu had been too tactile with him, but not in the same way as he felt right now. His breath became heavy but Hwoarang was so absorbed in what he was doing that he didn't notice that detail. Jin's hair felt like the softest silk under the tips of his fingers and he was unconsciously tempted to let them linger there. Their eyes locked and no words were exchanged.

"There..." Hwoarang said, as he finally removed the dandelion seeds and blew on his hand to get rid of them.

"Thanks," Jin replied, releasing a breath he hadn't been aware of holding.

"You know, Kazama, actually, I'm not mad at you for earlier..."

"No?"

"Yeah. The fine's a pain, but... I have to admit that was brilliant, and it's good to know that after all those years, you've finally grown a sense of humour," he said with a smirk on his face. "Just find another laughing stock next time, ok?"

"What was all this fuss about, then?"

"Can't figure it out? Man, I wanted to show you that your precious princess ass is meant to be on a Limousine's seat, not on a motorbike, and we didn't even get a chance to finish the race. That sucks!"

"You can't help it, huh?" Jin scoffed.

"Help what?"

"Proving you're better than me. In every possible way."

"I am better than you. Period. I don't have to prove anything!"

"Yeah, I guess that's why you spend your time challenging me..."

"Whatever!" Hwoarang snorted, as he pulled a face and looked away.

A muffled laugh broke the silence and Hwoarang had to look back at Jin to make sure he hadn't dreamt it. But it was all real. Jin Kazama was laughing.

"Excuse me, but your bad faith is hilarious!" Jin said, still grinning.

Dumbfounded, Hwoarang kept staring at those white, perfectly aligned teeth which shone like diamonds in the moonlight. Jin's smile faded into a concerned look.

"What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Sort of. That's the first time I see you laugh. The only time I saw you smile was after the fourth tournament, in that parking lot. I wasn't even sure you had teeth so far!"

Jin shook his head in amusement.

"That's got to be the stupidest thing I've ever heard," he said, but deep inside, he couldn't help but feeling flattered that the Korean remembered such a detail about him.

"By the way, who are you tagged with?" Hwoarang asked, trying to change the subject and to hide his agitation.

"No one. Well, there wasn't any candidate, anyway..."

"Yeah, well, you didn't make many friends during the last tournament..."

Jin shrugged.

"It's not like I had any before..." He said, a hint of sadness in his voice.

"What about the Chinese girl?"

"Xiaoyu? Well, she's a nice girl, but we don't have much in common."

"Anyway, who in their right mind would want to make friends with a freak like you, huh?" Hwoarang said, grinning and stubbing out on a stone what was left of his cigarette. "Seriously, you turn into that winged thing and fire laser from a third eye. You gotta admit that's kinda creepy, huh? And dude, your family's so twisted! Your father fucks your adoptive uncle, you just found out that you have another uncle, a Swedish jerk who's just a couple years older than you," he paused, "and in love with a robot. Your great-grand-father wants to kill your grandfather, who wants to kill your father, who wants to kill you, and you want to kill them all."

Jin chuckled.

"Yeah, you got the point."

"See? No surprise you don't have any friends! Not to mention that you're quite boring and not the funniest guy to be around."

"Thanks, I feel much better now."

"Hey, you're welcome!"

"Who are you tagged with yourself?"

"Ah... No one. More loneliness than any man could bear. Rescue me before I fall into despair."

Jin raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

"Message in a bottle," Hwoarang explained as he realised Jin hadn't understood the reference, but the latter remained perplexed. "Police," the Korean added. Jin seemed even more lost. "Dammit, Kazama! Those were words from Message in a bottle, a song by the band The Police!"

"Ah, sorry. Never heard of them," Jin mumbled.

"Man, what planet do you live on? Gotta add No musical knowledge to the list of your many faults!"

"I thought you'd be with your Master..." Jin replied, ignoring the sarcasm.

"Yeah, I thought so too, but he doesn't want to. Said I wouldn't learn anything new this way."

"Well, he's got a point. You know him too well and have already learnt a lot from him... Who would you like to team up with, then?"

"No idea. Just hope I won't get Fury or Dragunov, they're even more boring than you. And their laughter gives me goose bumps, no kidding! Well, we'll find out tomorrow, at the Tournament opening ceremony. Heard there'd be an official draw for those who don't have partners yet."

"Yeah, that's right."

"Anyway, it breaks my heart to leave you here on your own, Kazama, but I'm fucking freezing so I'd better go back to my room if I don't wanna catch a cold. Nighty-night!"

Hwoarang stood up and started walking back to the building.

"Yeah, I was about to leave too..." Jin said, following the redhead's steps.

Hwoarang chose another entrance to avoid crossing the bar again. So did Jin.

He made his way to the stairs and climbed them up to the second floor. So did Jin.

He turned left. So did Jin.

Their steps echoed in the empty corridor and he started to get nervous. As he arrived in front of his room, he turned around to face the Japanese, and folded his arms.

"Ok, now this is getting awkward, Kazama! I know you have the hots for me and all, and I can't blame you for that, but sorry to disappoint, I don't get laid on the first night. So will you stop stalking me?" he said sarcastically.

"My room is right here," Jin explained impassively, pointing at the next door and taking the key out of his pocket.

Hwoarang could feel his face become hot and feel the blood rush to his cheeks.

"Yeah, sure," he said, frowning and trying to hide his embarrassment. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow..."

Jin nodded and entered his room. He closed the door behind him and leant against it, an amused smile curling the corners of his mouth.

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Published on March.17 2013