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THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT, Robby Keene and y/n l/n sat together at the corner of the bar, talking about everything and nothing all at once. Their conversation flowed with the ease of old friends catching up, yet beneath the surface, something unspoken simmered. The y/h/c-haired girl found herself smiling at his dry humor and even laughing at a ridiculous story about how he shaved off Hawk's mohawk, but her laughter always faltered whenever her gaze strayed across the room.

Kwon sat at the opposite end of the bar, leaning casually against his chair with Tory beside him. His sharp eyes flicked over to y/n, and when he caught her staring, he smirked—a devilish curve of his lips that sent her blood boiling. As if to drive the dagger deeper, he draped his arm lazily over Tory's shoulders and leaned in to whisper something in her ear.

Tory rolled her eyes but didn't push him away. "You're really committing to this, huh?" she muttered under her breath, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

Kwon's voice was low and amused. "Just humor me, okay? I have as much interest in you as a fish does in a desert."

Tory scoffed but played along, leaning slightly closer, knowing full well that Robby was watching. It wasn't like she cared about Kwon. Not really. But with her boyfriend and best friend sitting together, laughing and looking way too comfortable, a sharp pang of something unpleasant twisted in her chest.

Robby, meanwhile, was trying—and failing—not to notice the way Tory's body language shifted around the Korean. Every glance, every slight movement, it all felt amplified in his mind. He knew the blonde, knew the little tells of her discomfort, but this wasn't discomfort. This was calculated, and it stung more than he wanted to admit.

"So, what's the plan now that Miguel and Johnny are gone?" the girl asked, her voice soft, pulling him out of his thoughts.

Robby shrugged, forcing his focus back to her. "We're working on flying Kenny in," he said, his tone nonchalant, though a flicker of fondness crossed his face at the mention of the name.

"Kenny?" y/n tilted her head, the name unfamiliar.

"He's Shawn's little brother," Robby explained. "Shawn was a friend of mine in juvie. Kenny's a good kid—new to karate, but he's got potential. And after everything he's been through with Silver's Cobra Kai, this is a good place for him."

Y/n nodded, holding back from rolling her eyes, every time the topic of Mr. Miyagi's greatness came up. She had no idea who he was, neither did she care. A dojo is only as good as it's students, and so far, Cobra Kai was the best one out there. 

"That's... actually really nice. You guys are giving him a shot." She sighed, regardless. "Especially after the entire shit-butt fiasco."

"Everyone deserves a shot," Robby replied simply, his voice warm with conviction. "How do you even know about that though?"

But before y/n could reply, his gaze wandered back to Tory. She was laughing now—at something Kwon had said, no doubt—and Robby's stomach churned.

Across the bar, Kwon's smirk widened as y/n's attention inevitably drifted toward him again. He leaned back in his seat, exuding that infuriating air of nonchalance, and let his fingers trail along the rim of his drink. The unspoken tension in her glare was enough to make him feel victorious, but it wasn't enough to soothe the frustration in his chest.

This wasn't fun. Not really.

Y/n tore her eyes away from him, but her mood had soured. "I need a drink," she muttered, chugging her club soda down.

Robby looked up, surprised. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she lied, brushing off his concern. "Just need some hard drugs to make it through the night..."

On Kwon's side, however, he used the moment with Tory to dig deeper into y/n's past. His voice was casual, but there was an undercurrent of curiosity.

"So... what's her deal?" he asked, swirling his drink lazily before meeting Tory's skeptical gaze.

"Her deal?" Tory scoffed, raising an eyebrow.

"You know what I mean," Kwon clarified, rolling his eyes. "Fear of heights, complicated relationship with the enemy dojang."

The blonde hesitated for a moment, unsure if she should reveal anything. But something about Kwon's tone—uncharacteristically serious—made her relent. "It's... a lot, like I said before."

Kwon leaned in slightly, gesturing for her to continue.

"She used to be completely different," Tory began, her voice softening. "Back in the Valley, she was like... in this phase of rebellion. Worse than you, honestly. We all were."

Kwon raised an eyebrow at that, intrigued.

"She got into fights all the time," Tory continued. "But it wasn't just about being angry or reckless. It was because she was trying to protect people. Her friends mostly. But she also enjoyed feeling powerful... Bringing people to their knees." She paused, her gaze flickering toward Robby, but she quickly looked away. "Anyway, we got caught up in this huge rivalry between... well, the OG Miyagi-do. It was ugly. Like, worse than anything you've seen at the Taikai."

"Worse than this mess?" Kwon gestured around the bar, referring to the tangled relationships playing out before their eyes.

"Way worse," Tory confirmed. "None of us really had this sense of reality and consequences instilled in us back then — We were all just so young and angry. Her best friend, Miguel... he ended up paralyzed during one of the fights. And she blamed herself."

Kwon's smirk faded, his expression softening as the weight of the story sank in. "Paralyzed? Seriously? The only good fighter of Miyagi-do learned how to walk only recently? That's humiliating as fuck!"

Tory held back a laugh, exhaling deeply. "y/n didn't really know he was okay until now. Sensei Kreese wouldn't let me share anything with her before the tournament."

Kwon nodded slowly as the blonde continued. "The boy she's talking to right now? Yeah, he's the one who kicked him off, actually. And y/n failed to catch him. It wreaked her. We ended up getting expelled... Robby, y/n and I."

Tory's voice wavered a little as Kwon's eyes widened at that. Never would he have guessed that little miss goody two-shoes was a batshit crazy teenage dirtbag.

"Robby went to juvie, I was on probation for a year. And y/n's parents... they uh, they couldn't afford a stain like that. After everything went down, she left. Cut ties with everyone—me, Miguel, Hawk, Bert. All of us. She didn't even tell anyone where she went. Just disappeared."

Kwon processed this, his mind racing. "And now she's back, and they're all... what? Just cool with it?"

"Did they look cool to you?" Tory snapped. "y/n is trying. I think seeing all of us again, especially together, is messing with her head. Can't blame her, though. I mean, imagine disappearing for years and coming back to see your best friends and your enemies are basically family now."

Kwon's lips twitched at that. "So, Mexico Man's not a threat?"

Tory smirked, shaking her head. "Miguel's not from Mexico. He's Ecuadorian."

"Same thing," Kwon said with a dismissive wave, though his tone was teasing.

Tory rolled her eyes. "You're impossible."

"Yeah, well," Kwon muttered, leaning back. "Explains a lot, though. The freezing up on the platform during the Taikai... that makes more sense now. And why she's always so weird about bullies."

The blonde nodded, her voice quiet. "Yeah..."

Kwon's mind flickered to all the times he'd seen her back in Seoul, enduring taunts from Yoo-mi and Jae-chul without a word. "So that's why she just let them walk all over her... until the last line was crossed." he murmured, more to himself than to Tory.

"What do you mean?" Tory asked, confused.

"When I met y/n, she was all-bark no bite," Kwon said, his tone darkening. "I used to think she was a coward. But then that last fight with Jae-chul and his guys? She put five of them in the hospital like it was nothing."

Tory gave him a pointed look. "She's taken down worse."

Kwon leaned back, letting Tory's words hang in the air as his thoughts began to spiral.

He hated admitting it, but he had certainly fucked up a lot worse than he thought initially. He'd been one of the very few people y/n actually let into her life. She trusted him and cared for him in her own annoying way... at a time when the world had turned its back on Kwon.

Mistakes wasn't something he liked to think about, but now, knowing everything she'd been through, it felt like a heavy weight pressing on his chest.

She deserved so much more—more than he had been, more than he could offer right now. But the thought of letting her go felt impossible. He couldn't imagine his life without her, and he didn't want to. She was his reason to try, to grow, to change. He was willing to do whatever it took to be the man she deserved... Not just for her, but for himself, for them.

His mind raced, replaying memories of her back in Seoul—the way she used to shrink into herself when Yoo-mi and Jae-chul cornered her, the haunted look in her eyes when she thought no one was watching. And then that last fight, when she finally snapped, taking out Jae-chul and his goons like a storm unleashed. He hadn't understood it then, but now... now, it all made sense.

She'd been carrying so much, and he had only made it worse.

Kwon's jaw tightened as guilt surged through him. He didn't know how to fix things, didn't even know if he could. But he wasn't going to let that stop him.

If he wanted to make things right, he had to figure out his own way to do it. No help, no shortcuts—just him. It wasn't going to be neat or pretty, and it probably wasn't going to make sense to anyone else.

But if there was one thing Kwon was good at, it was chaos. And this time, he was going to use it for something that mattered.

y/n and Robby continued chatting, though her attention repeatedly flicked to the Cobra Kai captains. Her annoyance mounted each time Kwon leaned closer to Tory, the final straw being when he tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear with infuriating casualness.

The girl couldn't take it anymore. She shot to her feet, grabbing Robby's drink and downing it in one go. She scowled, disappointed. "Needs rum," she muttered.

Robby raised an eyebrow. "That's cola."

"Exactly," she deadpanned, then tossed the empty glass on the table. Her voice dropped to a low, conspiratorial tone as she leaned toward him. "I swear to god, if anything happens between them, I'm having a threesome with you and Vlad."

Robby froze mid-sip of his own drink, sputtering. "Hey, hey, hey! I do not consent to that!"

Before y/n could retort, a low chuckle came from behind them. She turned to find Vlad, the Russian captain, leaning casually against the counter, grinning ear to ear. "Interesting proposal," he said with a wink, accent thick.

Y/n rolled her eyes, exasperated. "Calm down, you incessant spawn of uselessness. I was kidding." She shoved her chair back and stormed off, leaving Robby and Vlad exchanging bemused glances before the Russian walked away to try his luck elsewhere.

Across the bar, Tory had been watching the entire scene unfold. She let out a sigh, shaking her head. y/n was spiraling again, and she had no desire to recreate another school fight—not here, not now.

Still, the outburst had clarified something for Tory. y/n's reaction wasn't about Robby; she didn't have feelings for him at all. The tension between her and Kwon suddenly made a lot more sense. The blonde needed to stop doubting her friends all the time just because of one bad experience two years ago.

Tory stood, glancing toward Kwon, who was still smirking like the chaos-loving idiot he was. "I'm getting out of here before she comes after me with a hatchet," she muttered. 

Without waiting for a response, she slipped out of the bar to return to her hotel room to draft a heartfelt paragraph, explaining everything before shit could escalate more.

Kwon gulped down the last sip of his drink before he casually followed behind the girl, not to catch up with her but to find y/n instead. Yet, he couldn't resist the opportunity to rattle an opponent first. As he passed Robby, he leaned in just enough for his voice to be heard, his tone dripping with mockery.

"No need to worry. I'll keep her warm tonight," he murmured.

The ambiguity of his words hit perfectly—designed to imply y/n but leave just enough doubt to make it seem like he was talking about his girlfriend.

Robby's jaw tightened as he stood abruptly, getting in Kwon's face. The taller boy didn't flinch; instead, he let out a low chuckle, his gaze condescending as he stared down at him.

"Oh, come on... make a move," Kwon taunted, his smirk widening.

Robby inhaled deeply, reigning in his temper despite the provocation. Kwon's smirk only deepened at the restraint.

"Guess I'll just have to kick your ass on the mat then... again," He added, his voice laced with faux pity.

Robby stayed rooted, refusing to rise to the bait, though his fists clenched at his sides.

Kwon tilted his head, mocking him with exaggerated patience. "Now, if you'll excuse me, someone is waiting for me," he teased, the innuendo clear, before brushing past Robby and striding toward the door.

The move was textbook Kreese—disrupt your enemy's focus, mess with their head. And by the tense look on Robby's face, Kwon knew he'd done just that. Another victory in his book.

But as he stepped outside into the cool night air, the confidence in his smirk faltered ever so slightly. The real battle wasn't on the mat. It was with y/n.

And something told him this fight wasn't going to be as simple as landing a perfect kick.

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