A Surge of Power | NCT

Prolouge

"Shit!"

Sooyoung yelped as her back hit the thin mat. Gritting her teeth, she attempted to maneuver a limb free to counter the attack, but to no avail. She puffed her cheeks and went limp as to silently say 'you win'. Leaning in close, her opponent, and long time training partner, smirked and chuckled.

"Damn Soo, when will you learn that you will never win against me?"

She rolled her eyes and lifted her chin in a mocking way. Still smirking, her friend stood while extending his hand to help her to her feet. Sooyoung smiled sweetly and accepted the outstretched limb only to harshly grab it and flip their positions.

Rule one of training with Sooyoung: never let your guard down. With a grunt they tumbled back to the mat and she pinned his arms by his head. Now it was her turn to be a cocky shit.

A small smile tugged at the side of her lips as she leaned in close. "Damn Min, when are you gonna learn that you'll never win against me?"

With a shake of his head and a huff, Mingyu knew he'd been beat. Sooyoung hopped up with a new found energy and helped the larger male to his feet.

Once standing, he walked to the side wall of the gym where his bag was propped up. He squat down to grab two towels and water bottles before throwing one of each to the sweaty girl behind him.

With little grace, Sooyoung caught both items and twisted the cap to the bottle and chugged it as she made her way over to the now sitting boy. With a sigh, she slipped down the wall next to her friend and closed her eyes. A worried expression crosse Mingyus face and he leans forward to get a better look at her.

"You doin ok there, love?"

With eyes still shut, she took a deep breath and sighed. She lifted her head and laid it on her crossed arms over her knees.

Turning her head to the side, she slowly opened her eyes and sighed. "Schools starting soon..." she trailed off with a sad tone.

Mingyu smiled sadly and placed a reassuring hand on her back and lightly rubbed circles into her skin. He knew she was nervous, she always got like this before the start of a new school year.

"I know Soo, but it'll be ok. You and I can still hang out as much as you want and I promise that I will make ti-" Sooyoung rolled her eyes and shifted her body.

"Don't make promises you can't Min. You've been giving me the same damn speech for the last God knows how many years and every single year it ends up the same. You with all of your friends and me with mine. We don't socialize outside of this room."

Mingyu knew  she was getting fired up again, so he lightly placed his hand on her shoulder.

She realized her little tantrum and placed her head back down before she continued. "I get it, you have a reputation and I don't. Everyone knows you and nobody knows me. Everyone adores you and..." she paused to think of a word to describe how she truly felt. With a sad smile she continued, "Nobody ever notices me."

With that she slowly begins to stand up and make her way for her things. Mingyu sighs and closes his eyes, he knows she's right, she's almost always right, but it still made him feel like a total dick.

Once she was across the room, Sooyoung grabbed her bag and hauled it over her shoulder with a huff.

With a sad smile she turned her head back to give Mingyu one final glance.

"I'll see you around Min, be safe and don't do anything stupid ok?"

He chuckles and shrugs his shoulders, " I won't." He paused but kept the eye contact.