Love Bomb [Namkook]

16: Combat Training

Jungkook was excited. Today was his first day of combat training downtown, and he had no idea what to expect, but he was sure that he was going to like it if Namjoon was there.

He wore an athletic shirt and sweatpants, hoping that it was okay. He didn't know exactly what the best outfit would be or if he would get hot, but he figured it was good enough for the first day.

There was a knock on the door and Jungkook grew even more excited, quickly running to the door and flinging it open to reveal Namjoon.

"Hey, bun. Are you almost ready?"

"Yeah!"

"Someone's excited," Namjoon chuckled, watching with fond eyes as Jungkook turned to gather his things, bouncing around the room.

"Why wouldn't I be excited?" Jungkook asked, throwing his bag over his shoulder. "I'm finally going to be able to defend myself from--"

Jungkook froze, realizing that he was about to reveal more than he was comfortable with. And besides, once he gets his dad off his back, he planned on staying with BTS and he wouldn't have to deal with those touchy creeps anymore. 

Like for a society that claims that homosexuality is disgusting, there are an awful lot of older men targeting younger boys. Suspicious, but whatever. Jungkook was going to learn self defense to prevent any future... problems. 

"From what?" Namjoon asked.

"Nothing in particular," Jungkook lied, looking away to avoid eye contact. "It's just good to have basic defensive skills."

Namjoon frowned, knowing that Jungkook was lying. But somehow, he was sure Jungkook's reasoning had to do with a sensitive topic that shouldn't be pushed. He let it go with a sigh, wishing that Jungkook would open up to them about his trauma so that they could know more surely how to help him get better.

"It is indeed," Namjoon sighed, leaving the room and motioning for Jungkook to follow.

Namjoon drove while Jungkook sat in the passenger seat, all the way downtown to the facility for combat. It took about half an hour and they drove in peaceful silence as the radio played music at a low volume.

Namjoon pulled into the parking lot and put the car into park. "We're here, bun."

Jungkook hurriedly got out of the car and closed the door, making sure not to slam the door shut since Namjoon scolded him for that in the past. Namjoon followed Jungkook into the building, locking the door to the car as they went in.

Inside there were a few boxing rings, a bunch of stations with punching bags, and a few treadmills. Of course, there was some other workout equipment too, but those were the things that took up the most space and drew the most attention.

Namjoon walked right up to a place that didn't have anyone else around, and dropped his gym bag. Jungkook put his gym bag next to Namjoon's.

"Alright. We should do some light stretching before we get started," Namjoon said.

"Okay." Jungkook smiled.

"Go ahead and stretch what you need. You know your own body best," Namjoon encouraged before sitting down to stretch his legs.

Jungkook sat down next to him, also deciding to start with his legs.

Jungkook had never really done anything active before since his father didn't sign him up for sports or combat lessons when he was younger, so his flexibility was unsurprisingly sad.

He was just slightly more flexible than a middle school boy doing the sit and reach test.

But he didn't feel bad because Namjoon's flexibility wasn't really any better.

After their basic stretching, Namjoon led Jungkook in some jumping jacks and agility exercises to get his heart rate increasing and to provide a baseline for footwork ability.

One part of a good defensive combat style was speed and agility, quick footwork and fast reactions, to avoid powerful attacks.

And until Jungkook could spend some time building muscle, speed would be important.

"Alright. Let's get into the real stuff now," Namjoon stopped Jungkook during a set of jumping jacks.

Jungkook became excited and got a random burst of energy even though he had just been tired.

"Okay. Make a fist."

"Like this?" Jungkook asked, wrapping his fingers around his thumb.

"No," Namjoon lightly grabbed Jungkook's hand and fixed the positioning. "Keep your thumb to the side of your fingers. If your thumb was where you had it, you could end up breaking your thumb on accident."

"Oh, okay."

"Now stand slightly angled with your feet shoulder length apart," Namjoon instructed. "The power of your punch should come from your whole body and not just your arm, or it might be too weak. Being angled allows for hip movement that adds to the power."

Jungkook did as instructed, and lifted his hands up into a fighting stance, playfully swatting at Namjoon.

"Really?"

Jungkook just giggled in response.

"This is supposed to be serious. Defense is important."

"I am perfectly serious," Jungkook huffed, straightening up and crossing his arms.

Namjoon scanned his eyes over Jungkook with a calculating gaze before wordlessly swinging his arm out and smacking Jungkook's butt, making him stumble forward.

"Ah!" Jungkook tripped and threw his arms out, stumbling right past Namjoon since he was angled to the side.

Namjoon reached out and caught Jungkook by the waist, setting him calmly back onto his feet.

"If you were really serious and focused, you would be on your toes, expecting the unexpected, and you wouldn't have just gotten hit. I even moved slowly to see if you would even attempt to move out of the way."

Jungkook blushed and looked away, frowning. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, bun. I'm here to train you. I'm going to be a little tough on you, but it's only because I care about you. If we goof off too much, it might put you in danger later on."

A warm feeling spread through Jungkook when Namjoon said that he cares about him and his well-being. It felt nice to finally have someone who cared.

But he didn't really feel deserving of that affection. So he got back into a fighting stance so he could train seriously. Maybe if he could fight well he would be worth something, and he would feel more deserving of Namjoon's attention.

"Okay. What do I do now?"

"Hold your hands a little higher. They should shield your face a little. And don't be so flat-footed. Being on your toes helps you move quicker, so that angling your body doesn't leave a huge opening for your enemies."

Namjoon grabbed Jungkook's hands and held them higher. "There." Still holding his hands, Namjoon looked up and his eyes met Jungkook's. "Perfect."

Thump thump.