The Progress

(08) ibuprofen

Minhyuk Park

Life was going just fucking great!

I got a machete and learned how to hack into the government.

So fucking exciting.

On the bright side, my face felt like it was cracking in two laughing at San's wanna be ninja skills.

"All right everyone, form a circle," our teacher shouted above everyone talking. Silence ensued as her cold voice reminded us of where we were.

People slowly moved into a circle, not wanting to know what she had in store for us.

"Brynn and Jacob." Her manicured nails pointed to a skinny brunette girl with a crossbow and an older boy with a spear. The girl's eyes widened with fear as she slowly moved into the center of the circle, her legs quivering. The boy looked at his opponent with pity, rolling up sleeves to reveal numerous tattoos. I must admit that I was surprised about the tattoos since they're generally looked down upon by people of our social standing.

"Begin."

The boy was the first to move, stepping towards the Brynn slowly as if to wait out the inevitable outcome. The girl seemed to be struggling with her crossbow, likely with no prior knowledge. Not that I had any on that subject. As soon as my Father realized I wasn't going to better than my cousin at archery, he took me out of the classes.

"Go!" Clearly, Mrs. Manicure was impatient.

Jacob paused for a moment before lunging at Brynn who seemed to have given up on her crossbow, dropping it onto the ground. She clenched her fist around one of the arrows, stepping to the side to avoid his spear. With a quickness no one expected, she charged.

Drip,

Drip,

Drop.

Dark red slowly oozed out of Jacob's side as Brynn pulled the arrow out. He collapsed, howling in pain as her shaking hand grasped the arrow, preparing to strike again.

"Stop."

Brynn froze, eyes widening in horror. I looked between them, a small girl with dark circles under her eyes and a much larger boy on the ground, crying like a baby.

Why are we learning to fight in a school that's supposed to put us on the right track?

It's not like any of us will end up physically fighting anyone in the real world. That's what bodyguards are for.

For a brief moment, I considered what it would be like being my brother's bodyguard before getting rid of the absurd thought. Minseok could beat me in any fight and my father knew it.

"GET UP YOU BITCH!" I tensed, even knowing that it wasn't directed at me. The group of boys Jacob stood next to earlier snarled at him. The teacher turned towards them with an icy glare, silencing them.

"Nice job, very creative," The woman smiled, applauding the girl. "Don't worry, we'll show you the typical way to use a crossbow."

She turned towards Jacob,

"Pathetic. You underestimated your enemy and then you paid the price," she sighed. "Bandages are in the back cabinet, but don't get used to them."

He nodded and walked over to the cabinet, head down as he passed the jeering group of boys. The woman muttered something about being disappointed in him before moving on.

"Minhyuk and Keith."

I felt my stomach drop to the floor. For once I was worried about the fight. The opponent she chose for me was a big brute, with muscles worthy of gawking.