The city skyline glittered with a myriad of lights, stretching out beneath the night sky. Fairy lights and blooming potted flowers adorned the rooftop garden, creating a serene atmosphere in the gentle breezes.
Minjoo looked out over the edge of the garden with a soft smile. She took in the fresh air, sighing, "There's something magical about the city at night."
Taeyang peered into the city. He turned to Minjoo, gaining her attention. Their eyes locked--two pairs of spheres gravitating toward each other like planets.
"Yeah. But nothing compares to the magic I see in your eyes, Minjoo."
A pink tinge filled Minjoo's cheeks as her smile grew. She playfully nudged Taeyang, "Look who's feeling romantic today. You even brought out the cheesy lines."
Mischievous glints twinkled in Taeyang's eyes. He stood up with his hand extended toward Minjoo. "Care to dance under the stars, my lady?"
Minjoo giggled, taking the young man's hand. She stood up gracefully, allowing the pair to move to the center of the garden, their steps perfectly in sync. With a small speaker next to their feet, they began to dance--a simple ballroom routine.
Their bodies moved fluidly with each step, filling the atmosphere with silent emotion. Slowly, they danced with their eyes locked, speaking volumes without words. The world around them disappeared; only the others' eyes kept them grounded.
As the song reached its crescendo, they shared a passionate kiss underneath the moon. A sweet, but bitter, hint of lemon mixed in their kiss, reminding the couple of the light meal they just finished.
"We should drop the act," Taeyang said softly.
"Why?" Minjoo giggled. "It's fun to see them look at us suspiciously."
"Because I want to broadcast to the world that I have such a beautiful girlfriend."
Taeyang swept the fox into a bridal carry, pecking her forehead. Giggles and soft laughter filled the air as the couple chased one another around the garden. With their backs on the picnic blanket, and their chests heaving to catch its breath, they held hands.
"I love you, Taeyang."
"I love you too, Minjoo noona."
Minjoo hummed as she walked down the dimly lit street. Cars whirred past the student, giving her inspiration for her future. She squealed at the idea of sitting in the passenger seat and watching Taeyang drive.
Maybe I should see if he'll start practicing~
To her right, a small opening between buildings revealed a calm alleyway.
I'll take the shortcut home today; see if I can call him before he goes to sleep.
Only the sound of Minjoo's steps accompanied her through the secluded path. Dim lamps illuminated the path with just enough light to show the path--no more, no less.
Suddenly, a second pair of footsteps accompanied the fox. She turned back to see a single person walking a few paces behind her. Their face remained hidden by a mask and hood, and their pockets covered their hands.
Minjoo increased her pace, straining her ears for the sound of footsteps behind her. When they too quickened, she heard a sharp step. Without hesitating, Minjoo turned around, coating herself in aether. The person coated their fist in a green aura, prompting Minjoo to redirect their punch.
She extended a water tendril from her arm as they passed her, binding their feet together. With a simple tug, the person fell to the ground. As they regained their footing, Minjoo ripped their mask from their face with her tendril, knocking their hood back in the same motion.
"Lee Seokjin?!"
"Long time no see, Minjoo." He wiped his mouth, sighing, "Nothing personal, but I've got something against your classmates, and you just happen to be the first person I found."
"We saw each other just last week," Minjoo squinted. "Er... Nevermind. You were probably too busy being scorched."
"You just love kicking people when they're down, don't you?" Seokjin huffed. "That's why you boasted so much about getting into Zephyr and taking my spot!!"
Minjoo took a step back, furrowing her eyebrows, "Took your spot? You lost your spot because you almost killed a student! I had nothing to do with it!!"
"Bullshit."
Blades of wind careened toward the fox, forcing Minjoo to respond with a vertical current of water. The blades sliced cleanly through her wall, narrowly missing the fox. She formed the current into a ring of water around her waist, clicking her tongue.
It's like I'm fighting Kyu... How hard has he been training?
With a bronze light, Seokjin thrusted his fist, flinging a chunk of asphalt from the ground. Minjoo spun out of the chunk's path, forming her ring into another tendril. She grasped the black block before slinging it back to its sender. The asphalt shattered on the student's head, yet he remained unfazed.
What the hell?!
Minjoo reformed her water ring with a deep breath. The ring of water spun around the fox's waist like a harsh river, allowing her to swipe her hand through the air, flinging aqueous sheets outward. To her surprise, Seokjin charged through the attack, delivering a devastating punch to her gut. He followed up with two jabs to her ribs, cracking the bones.
Adrenaline shot through Minjoo's body, forcing her to skip backward. What felt like blood oozed through her torso, and a sharp pain prevented her from taking effective breaths.
"You've forced my hand," Minjoo panted.
She extended her arm, directing her water ring around the student's head. With the curling of her fingers, it collapsed into a bubble. Seokjin swatted at the sphere. He grasped and pulled to no avail, instead turning his sights back to Minjoo.
A sense of guilt washed over the fox as she forced the water into Seokjin's lungs. Immediately, he dropped to the ground, squirming and writhing with his hands to his neck. When he began to grow limp, Minjoo pulled the water back.
Seokjin gasped violently, turning onto his stomach to cough. While he wheezed, Minjoo kicked the student's head, knocking him unconscious.
"Dumbass."
Though with great pain, Minjoo made the trek back to her dorm where Hana greeted her with a wave. The queen's eyes widened as Minjoo stumbled against the dorm entrance's wall, clutching her ribs.
"Help..."
"What happened?!" Hana gasped. She ran to Minjoo's side, lifting the fox's shirt. "Close your eyes."
Minjoo did as told. Hana pulled her dormmate's shirt over her chest, enveloping her hand in water aether. Though the bruising faded, Minjoo groaned in agony, causing Hana to cover her other hand in a purple hue.
"Sorry! Sorry!!"
Gears turned around Minjoo's ribs, healing the fox from her wounds. With a relieved sigh, Hana quickly dismissed the purple hue before falling back.
"Wow! You can even heal broken bones with your water arts. You're amazing Hana," Minjoo beamed. She stood on her feet, rotating her shoulder in its socket. "I feel even better than before I was hurt as per usual~"
"If you had broken bones, you should have told me," Hana mumbled.
Minjoo turned to the small student, tilting her head, "Did you practice a lot today? Why do you look so winded."
Hana covered her eyes with her forearm, "Yeah, I'm drained. Who attacked you?"
"An old classmate, Lee Seokjin. The same guy who interrupted my meal with Taeyang yesterday." Minjoo crossed her arms, "I don't know what his deal was..."
"The king of Haneuldo high?"
Minjoo hummed, "I guess so... Someone as strong as him is bound to rise to that position in a school like Haneuldo. How'd you know-? Right... Taeyang brought his brother here last night."
With a significantly less relieved sigh, Hana pulled her phone from her pocket. "The king of Haneuldo high school just attacked Minjoo unprovoked. Yeah. Okay."
The queen gave multiple hums of affirmation before stuffing her phone back into her pocket. She struggled onto her feet before turning toward Minju once more.
"From now on, travel in pairs. Have the rest of the royals let the school know."
"Travel in pairs?" Y/n furrowed his eyebrows, "Why?"
Youngeun shrugged, "From what I heard, it seems like there's going to be a war starting soon."
Y/n propped his chin against his hand, sighing, "More royal stuff. Sounds boring."
"I'd be serious about this." Youngeun folded her arms, "I don't even know what a war's like."
"It starts off with a battle for territory. It doesn't seem like much, but things are as nice as they are around the school because the school has a bunch of territory claimed," Jihoon replied. "After the territory struggle, the royals of the two schools duke it out in a tournament-style battle to decide the victor."
Y/n and Youngeun turned to the boy across the room. He approached Youngeun with a soft smile.
"Do you want to hit the arena today?"
"How did you know what a war's like?" Youngeun questioned.
Jihoon pointed to the wall separating classes, "My friend, Ji Hoon, from class-A participated in one while he was king at his middle school. Every royal should know what a war's like though..."
"Someone slacked a little~" Y/n cooed.
"Arena! Yeah!!" Youngeun blurted. "Y/n, you want to tag along?"
Y/n placed his head on his desk, "I'm good. I'm going to do my homework."
"You should at least meditate so you can improve your reserves," Youngeun frowned.
"Just let me know when you're going to eat lunch. I'll meet you at the cafeteria," Y/n dismissed.
As time passed, Y/n grew impatient with the sheet of paper before him. The words in front of him became nonsense, and his responses answered the nonsense.
I guess I'll head to the gym.
Y/n wandered into the gym, taking a deep breath of the smell of rubber. He waltzed up to a punching bag with a slight grin.
Time to take my mind off things-
"Hey!" Yujin slid into Y/n's view with a warm smile, "You're later than I thought you'd be."
Is she your girlfriend?
No.
"Hey, sunbaenim. What do you mean 'later'?"
"I thought you'd come here as soon as lunch started," Yujin chuckled.
"Do you live here?" Y/n chortled.
Yujin nodded, "It's a nice place."
She stepped closer, and closer until she could lower words to a whisper, "I heard you went through coalescence... what's your affinity?"
Y/n stumbled backward, gulping, "E-Earth..."
"Really?!" Yujin beamed. "How about I teach you how to use your aether? I'm earth and fire~"
You should accept her offer.
Can you stop back-seating?
Okay...
"What's your level--if you don't mind me asking?" Y/n mumbled.
"Four hundred seventy-seven."
She's stronger than Youngeun...
Y/n pursed his lips, "Sure. Taeyang hyung will probably be busy with the upcoming war--wait. What about you?"
"I'll be fine," Yujin waved dismissively. "I won't have as much work as he will. Plus, with what you showed yesterday, you might have some stuff you can teach me~"
Is she flirting with you?
She might just be friendly... I thought I told you to stop back-seating!!
Sorry, sorry~
"How about we head to the training grounds so I can properly teach you?" Yujin proposed.
"Sure..."
Inside the training grounds, Y/n scanned the dozens of arenas for Youngeun. To the surprise of neither himself nor Minseo, he couldn't spot Youngeun in the sea of black haired students wearing the exact same uniform.
"How long have you been doing martial arts?" Yujin asked as she slipped into an empty ring.
"Since middle school."
Yujin tossed her blazer to the side, cracking her knuckles, "Perfect. Let's start with a normal sparring match."
"Normal?" Y/n questioned. He rolled his sleeves back with a raised eyebrow, "Are you sure?"
"Yeah! Every earth user should know at least a little bit of martial arts. That's what most of us use anyway."
Y/n stretched his muscles briefly, letting off a loose sigh, "Alright, if you say so."