Stronger || NCT mafia au

Chapter 22 | "i saw you"

Jihyun sees his focus leaving him, his strength starting to deplete as well as his moves become slightly sloppy. San knocks him to the ground, Jeno catching himself right near Jihyun. In a move so small that you would miss it if you weren't within a few feet of her, Jihyun takes a deep breath, signaling with her hand for him to calm down and think.

He's done well so far, enough to pass, but beating all 3 members would essentially guarantee him survival, no matter how he did on the other exams.

Seeing Jihyun's gesture, he feels the energy return to his muscles, turning around and swinging at San, catching him off guard. However, San is quick to react and soon Jeno is back on the ground. Jeno lies on there, barely moving as he pants for air.

San saunters over to him, ready to pin him and force a yield. As San leans down, Jeno quickly slides to the side, knocking San's legs out from under him. Jihyun's eyes widen as she fights back the smile on her face.

Flashback to three days ago.

"Ok Jeno, one thing you have to remember, I know you're very strong, but eventually you'll get tired. When you get tired, you get sloppy and have to think about fighting smart rather than with force." He nodded to her, listening intently.

"Now, when most people think they've exhausted their enemy, they relish in winning the fight. Not only were they more skilled, but they didn't even have to kill you yet, you just couldn't handle them, essentially. It happens to even the very best of us" she explains.

"If you feel yourself giving out, use it." She lies on the ground, remaining still and breathing hard as Jaemin walks over to pin her. As he moves to grab her shoulders, she swings her legs around, knocking him over and pinning him.

Shocked, San rushes to get up but Jeno pins him down, using all his strength to restrain him. With wide eyes, Hongjoong steps up, pulling Jeno off of San.

"Congratulations, you won." Jeno tries to control his smile and fails as he turns to bow to Jihyun, beaming. He walks off the mat, drenched in sweat and out of breath, his clothes having drips of his own blood on them, but smiling nonetheless.

He walks past Jihyun and she hands him a water bottle and a towel.

"not bad" she says with a cold expression, but he can hear the genuine happiness in her voice. He smiles brighter and takes his spot back in line, Jaemin giving him a high five.

"Alright, and the final student, Na Jaemin. Go take your draw." Jaemin steps out of line, a determined expression on his face. He steps up and pulls out Jongho, Mingi, and Hongjoong.

The first two fights go fairly smoothly. Jaemin trips up a few times but is able to defeat Jongho and Mingi, moving to face Hongjoong with only a few bruises and a bloodied up lip.

Facing Hongjoong, however, is a different beast. He doesn't hold back at all on the students. None of them have any experience fighting him, as only San ever spars with the students. He's incredibly quick and hits hard, and no student so far as been able to beat their other opponents to fight him. Jaemin, being unfamiliar with his fighting pattern, has a hard time keeping up.

Jihyun quickly realizes that Jaemin won't win this without some kind of miracle. Hongjoong isn't like San, he's more experienced and mature, his focus won't waver in the same way.

With a loud crack, Hongjoong lands a punch straight into Jaemin's jaw, sending him flying across the mat and landing right in front of Jihyun, blood now flowing from his nose, as well as his lips and some fresh cuts around his face.

Jihyun steps up to grab him by his collar and throw him back into the fight, as she does with all students. Bending down and grabbing his shirt, she hurriedly whispers in his ear.

"He's going to try and kick you to finish you off, grab his leg and throw him as hard as you can." She rushes the words out of her mouth, speaking quietly and quickly so no one notices as she chucks him back into the center, hoping he understood her.

He lies there, clutching his jaw in pain. From the corner of her eye, she sees Jeno looking between her and Jaemin in horror, silently urging her to do something. All she could do was watch and hope that Jaemin heard her, Hongjoong never allowed students to yield.

Seeing the boy, Hongjoong quickly walks up to him, drawing back his leg to not waste anytime. Jihyun winces as she watches Hongjoong kick towards Jaemin's torso with all his strength.

Suddenly, Jaemin's arms shoot out, grabbing onto Hongjoongs leg before he can make contact, he turns, using all his strength and body weight, throwing the older boy across the mat. Hongjoong lands with a thump, clutching his side in pain as Jaemin scrambles over. Hongjoong tries to sit up but Jaemin has him pinned, throwing one last punch to his face to seal his victory.

Hongjoong wipes the blood from his lip, slightly smiling at Jaemin as he mutters out a 'congratulations'.

Jaemin stands up, a smile on his bloody face as he bows to everyone. As he looks up, the entire world starts to spin as he almost collapses. Jihyun's eyes widen slightly before she quickly composes herself.

"You" she snaps, pointing at Jeno, "take this kid to Twice to get his wounds treated." Jeno quickly nods, helping Jaemin to his feet as he limps out of the room with Jeno's support.

Jihyun lets out an exhausted sigh now that the exams are over. She and Mark make their way to her office, collecting reports from other council members and instructors along the way. The two of them begin to go through the papers, making sure every observer's evaluation is there.

"I saw you." Mark says, not looking up. Jihyun freezes at his words.

"What?" She asks quietly.

"I saw you during the exam." She quickly brushes it off, clearing her throat with an indifferent look on her face.

" I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Ji" Mark says, putting down his papers, "I know you helped him." He stares at her, a serious expression on his face as Jihyun gulps, her skin turning pale.

"Don't worry" he says, a playful smile making its way onto his face. "I'm not gonna tell anyone." She lets out a breath of relief.

"Thank you. I know I shouldn't have done it but I-"

"It's alright. I would probably do the same if it he was you or Donghyuck, so I get it. He was a pretty good fighter either way, I'm sure he would've made it. But you saved him a broken rib or two." Mark says with a smile.

"I can finish up here. Most of the students and instructors will be gone by now, go check on him. And grab the evaluations from Chaeyoung while you're there, we're missing hers" he says with a smile.

Jihyun stands from her seat, quickly giving Mark a hug around his shoulders before exiting the room. She walked straight to the medical room, thankfully not running into anyone. When she opened the door, she was met with Chaeyoung's smile.

"I was just about take these to you," she says, handing over her papers.

"Thanks, Chaeyoung. Heading home now?"

"Almost, just finishing up with this last student. Hongjoong bloodied him up pretty bad" she says with a small laugh.

"You've had a long day, why don't you head home. I can finish up here for you." Jihyun offers with a smile.

"Are you sure?" Jihyun nods in response, "ok then, thanks Jihyun. I look foreward to seeing the rankings and new assignments tomorrow. Please send some good kids over to the medical unit!" with that Chaeyoung turns and head down the hallway towards the parking lot.

Jihyun enters the room, carefully closing the door behind her. She sets the papers on one of the tables and turns to look at Jaemin.

"Hey, Hyunnie"

"Hey, Nana."

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Yayyy double update! For the few of you reading this, I hope you're enjoying it!
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