TEST SUBJECT 312 || JJK

𝐒𝐈𝐗𝐓𝐘 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑

"We're going to start with running," Hoseok announced, cutting my train of thought and deflating my mood.

"Running?" I questioned, hoping that I was having hearing loss and had heard him incorrectly.

He just smiled shamelessly, as if he'd expected this exact reaction from me. "Running is the first step to self defence. You're skills might fail you mid fight but if you can avoid combat in the first place, you'll never have to worry about that."

My smile dropped, an unamused look reflecting on my face but Hoseok didn't bat an eyelash. "Don't look so disheartened, sometimes running can be the best weapon." I didn't budge, the thoughts running through my head. Did he think I wasn't good enough to fight? He must have noticed that his motivation hadn't done much to budge me because he tried again. "Okay, let's make a deal. You do three laps around this field and I'll give you your first lesson."

I raised my eyebrow, my lips pursed. "You promise?"

He held out a hand to shake. "I promise."

I sniffed, reluctantly shaking his hand. "Fine but I'm not running alone."

The boy chuckled, leaning down to tie his shoelaces before jumping up. "Let's get started then."

We ran for what felt like the entire day. By the time the third lap came around, I was convinced that my endurance was quite close to running dry. The warm humidity of the day wasn't helping either, insisting on making my clothes and hair stick to my skin as the perspiration ran down my forehead. I wasn't even sure that I was running anymore, just fumbling around carelessly.

By the time we'd finished, I felt like collapsing into a pile and sleeping for eternity, the only thing keeping me awake was my burning throat. Hoseok passed me a bottle of water and I wasted no time, grabbing the object and swallowing hastily as though I had a large hole to fill. Even so, my mouth remained as dry as sandpaper even as I gulped in breath after breath.

"Well that was fun," Hoseok stayed, wiping a stray hair from out of his eye. Just like Jungkook, this boy had the miraculous ability to remain absolutely unbothered after a strenuous exercise. It was infuriating.

I blinked up at him from my position on the floor, scowling. "I am never doing that again."

Hoseok nodded understandingly as he sat down next to me, a sense of peace following him. "I'm sorry about all that but I meant what I said. Sometimes running is much more valuable than one might think. If I'd had the power to run away when I was a child, I'd never be in this situation."

I hummed, closing my eyes and enjoying the faint breeze that danced over my face. "I understand." The running was hard, yes but, like he had mentioned, I wasn't blind to it's usefulness. I had just hoped that I'd be able to do something a bit more impressive than sprinting from combat. "I still don't forgive you though, that was torture."

He chuckled, also optioning to lay down and look up at the ever changing clouds. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it."

"I mean it, I'm never doing that again." He didn't answer and I hissed angrily, already dreading the bout of endless laps. I turned slightly, so that my weight rested on my shoulder and I was looking forward at the boy. "Where did you learn how to fight anyhow?"

A faint smile ran over the boy's face as his eyes fluttered shut. "My grandfather owned a karate class and I went there since I was a young child. However, I had bad family relations and ran away when I was fourteen. I was only on the streets for a year but it was enough time to hone my fighting skills. I certainly needed them; the streets were a nasty place for a child."

This peaked my interest; I don't know much about the previous lives of the boys, other than Jungkook. "Is that where you met Namjoon?"

He nodded enthusiastically, a memory floating around his head. "Yes, he was only a scrawny little thing back then. I found him being harassed by a gang in an abandoned alleyway," he paused, an angry expression brewing. "I protected him for a year before MediHeal dragged us to that laboratory."

I had a faint twinge of recognition as I pulled myself up, into a seated position. "Yoongi saved you didn't he?"

From what I remember from Jungkook's tale, Yoongi had saved the two boys from the abuse of a new guard optioning for what seemed like his only option- using his fire as an offence.

Hoseok hummed in response. "I've always been grateful for what he did for the two of us yet, I also feel constant regret. The other boys always say that Yoongi changed after his punishment. He's always been a jerk but something shifted after he came back. He never told us what happened to him."

The look on Hoseok's face was terrifying. I had never seen such an expression, especially not on a boy of such calm and composure.

"Do you think MediHeal really hurt him?" I asked, my voice dropped down to a whisper. The idea didn't make me drop in shock horror; I knew MediHeal weren't too low for abuse, the scars on Jungkook's back proved that. However, Jungkook lasted a year without his hope shattering. It seemed strange that they could break the strong-willed Yoongi in less than a week. Whatever horrors they made him go through- I couldn't even imagine it.

"I think they did a lot more than just hurt him. I think they stripped his soul from his body and, for many years, it didn't return. When Jungkook was captured, we were all scared that he'd go off the rails again but he held out. I suspect he was trying to remain sane so that he could save Jungkook, if given the chance."

"He really loves you all, doesn't he?" I mused, a new idea brewing.

Hoseok didn't hesitate. "Of course. I don't even think it would be too extreme to say that, out of everyone, he's the one who cares the most. He was traumatised when Jungkook got caught; he didn't talk to anyone for weeks. He just locked himself in that room and wasted away, the blame building up and up. It was suffocating." Hoseok shivered as if the memory wasn't something he was keen on remembering.

I paused, feeling both somber and motivated. "Can the fighting be pushed to tomorrow? I need to go do something?"

I didn't even wait for a reply before standing up and storming towards the house, a new intention engraved in my mind.