Baki pushed the hospital room door open and stepped inside.
Johan was sitting up in the bed with his arms resting on his knees. He looked better than he had any right to after that fight. The bruising across his face had darkened overnight but his eyes were clear and steady.
Baki pulled a chair over and sat down. "How do you feel?"
"Fine," Johan said. "My ribs hurt when I breathe too deep but the doctor says that's normal."
Baki looked at him for a moment. "Your eyes."
Johan nodded. "Yeah, they're fine now. The surgery went well." He paused. "I didn't think I would see clearly once again."
"That's good," Baki said. "I thought you'd ignore my words and won't go under the surgery."
Johan looked at the window. "I didn't want to go through the surgery." He was quiet for a second. "But I really wanted to see my mom smiling again."
Baki watched him. There was something new about Johan that Baki couldn't quite name.
"The fight with Gun did something to you," Baki said.
Johan looked back at him. "Yeah."
He didn't explain further and Baki didn't push. Some things didn't need words.
Baki stood and put the chair back. "Rest properly. Don't try to train yet."
"I know," Johan said.
Baki picked up his jacket from the door hook. "When you're out, I'm buying barbecue."
Johan almost smiled. "I'll hold you to that."
---
The J High cafeteria was loud at lunch.
Daniel set his tray down and slid into the seat next to Jay. Zack was already there with a textbook open in front of him, a highlighter in one hand and a look on his face like the book had personally offended him.
Zoe stared at the textbook like it was a UFO. "Is that... Zack Lee? Studying?"
"Don't make a big deal out of it," Zack said without looking up.
Zoe reached across the table and stole one of his fries. "It's because of Mira, right?"
Zack's highlighter stopped moving. "No."
Mira didn't even look up from her food. "It's not because of me. He lost a bet against Johan." She picked up her chopsticks. "We visited him yesterday. They made a bet. If Zack lost, he had to study every day until midterms." She picked a piece of pork. "And he lost."
Zack clicked the cap back on his highlighter. "I didn't lose! He tricked me!"
"You lost," Mira said.
"Hmph," Zack said, and went back to highlighting.
Daniel hid his smile behind his cup. Jay sat beside him eating quietly, but the corner of his mouth was up.
Vasco slammed both elbows on the table. "Alright. Arm wrestle. Me and Vin Jin. Right now."
Half the cafeteria scooted their chairs around immediately.
The Burn Knuckles members jumped to their feet.
"VASCO! VASCO! VASCO! VASCO!"
Vin Jin looked up from his food. "I'm eating."
"You can eat after," Vasco said.
Vin Jin set his chopsticks down, moved his tray aside, and put his elbow on the table. "Fine."
The chanting got louder.
"VASCO! VASCO! VASCO!"
They locked hands.
"THREE!" someone shouted.
"TWO!"
"ONE!"
"GO!"
For three seconds it looked even. Then Vin Jin's arm moved steadily to the right and Vasco's went with it. Vasco gritted his teeth and leaned in. His arm shook.
SLAM!
Vasco's knuckles hit the table.
The Burn Knuckles members went completely silent.
"No way," someone said.
"Did Vin Jin just..."
"That's impossible. That's literally Vasco."
Vin Jin picked his chopsticks back up. "You were saying?"
Vasco rubbed his wrist. "You've gotten freaky strong. Next time I'll definitely win!"
Zoe ignored the whole thing and turned to Daniel. "Hey. Have you where's little Daniel lately? He's been really quiet."
Daniel kept his expression neutral.
"Not recently," he said. "He's probably busy."
"He should come hang out sometime," Zoe said. "I miss him."
"I'll pass it on," Daniel said.
Jay said nothing. He just kept eating, but his eyes moved to Daniel's face for a second and then moved away.
Eli leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed and a relaxed look on his face. He had been smiling since he sat down, which was normal for Eli, but today it was different. His smile seemed warmer.
Mira noticed first. "You look happy."
"I am," Eli said simply.
"Why?" Yui asked.
Eli picked up his drink. "Prosecutor Choi invited me and Yenna over. Heather was there too." He took a sip. "First time we've all been in the same place."
The table went quiet in a different way than before.
"How was it?" Mira asked carefully.
"Good," Eli said. He didn't add anything else but he didn't need to. The look on his face said everything.
Zack closed his textbook and leaned back. He pulled out his phone and called someone. After a few rings, he gave up. He had been quiet for a minute and the look on his face had shifted. "Phew," he said. "Where's that old monk? I've been trying to reach him for days and he's not picking up."
It seemed a casual remark that everyone ignored. Everyone except Vin Jin.
Vin Jin set his chopsticks down.
He looked at Zack. "Can we talk after lunch? Just us."
Zack read his face. His expression shifted. "What happened? You can tell me now."
Vin Jin was quiet for a second. The cafeteria noise continued all around them, completely indifferent.
"I think the old monk you're talking about has been captured," Vin Jin said."
Zack scoffed. "Tch! Who would even kidnap that old fake monk? And why would they even do it?"
Vin Jin stressed his words. "I am serious. He has been captured alongside the kings of Chungcheong, Ansan, and Suwon." He kept his voice low and steady. "I found out from Baki-hyung and my teacher."
The highlighter was still in Zack's hand. He set it down on the closed textbook very carefully.
"Who did it?" he said.
Vin Jin met his eyes. "I don't know."
Zack said nothing. He stared at the table for a long moment. Then he picked his textbook up, put it in his bag, and zipped it shut. "I have to save him."