Bambam was looking at me straight in the eyes, nursing a split lip. Unlike Yugyeom's death glare, Bambam looked rather surprised.
I was quite impressed myself. The cutie of GOT7 exceeded all my expectations. Well, I suppose he wouldn't be part of the group if he wasn't a great fighter.
I nodded in his direction as I walked by, a sign of respect for a good fight. He smiled... a porcelain doll with dimples. He looked so goddamn innocent with his big eyes and his bouncy hair...at least I knew better than to judge people by their looks now.
I left the arena, going in the direction of the medics tent. I had obtained a good few serious bruises myself.
The medics fussed over me, telling me to bend my arms in all sorts of directions to assure there were no broken bones. Eventually, after the applied what seemed to be every sort of cream in the place on to blooming purple patches on my arms and legs, I was allowed to go.
Even though my limbs hurt like hell, I wasn't going to miss out on training.
I slipped into the training room. It was a vast cavern, full of equipment that would usually be used by boxers, or athletes. Novices were practising their moves against each other. The trainers were shouting and scolding everyone, but the youngsters still looked like they were having a memorable time.
I gazed wistfully at them. If only I could go back to a time like that, where the fights weren't serious or life threatening. Only a game to be played whenever you felt like it.
A boy suddenly caught my eye. He loomed over the small frames of the eleven and twelve year olds by several inches. His hair was jet black, and it was shoulder length, tied back in a ponytail. The expression on his face was slightly wild, reminding me of Jackson.
The first assumption was that he was a trainer. That thought vanished when I saw he was in a fighting stance, a bad one at that, against one of the other novices. The smaller boy was trembling slightly, unsure of what to make of the dark stranger.
Suddenly, the guy caught my eye, sending electric shivers down my spine.
Then I figured out why his opponent was trembling. His eyes were red.
Not regular brown, not brown-red. They were crimson, the colour of red roses, or of freshly spilled blood.
I blinked and he tore his gaze away, facing his eleven year old opponent. The little boy jabbed at him suddenly, but the guy simply stepped to the side, looking bored. The smaller boy lost his balance, and hit the dusty ground with a thud.
The benches were occupied by others of my age group, waiting for the novices' hour to pass and to get to their training. When I walked by, the talk turned to whispers. I felt eyes on me as I walked towards Dongwoo, one of the trainers.
He'd lost an eye in a battle several years ago, but was still the most approachable of all the people I knew in the arena. ''Hello there girl. Long time no see.'' He ruffled my shorn hair. ''Change of hairstyle hmm?'' I grinned, nodding.
''So what do you think of this new meat?'' he asked, gesturing to the novices. I smirked. ''One word...children.''
''That one reminds me of you,'' he said. The girl he pointed to was short, and at first glance, sweet looking. She held the upper hand of a battle against a boy that looked twice as tall, and possibly three times as broad.
''Chun Ae's her name. A little fighter I picked up off the streets. I'd say wild cat would've been easier to persuade to listen.'' He guffawed at his own joke. ''But then again, you weren't a sweet innocent thing either. Looks are as deceiving as hell.''
I winked. ''All I recall is a temper, a high heeled shoe and a big bruise.''
He swiped at me, which I ducked. ''That bruise hurt you know. High heels are obviously a dangerous weapon.''
I grew distracted by the Chun Ae girl again. Her small frame dodged the attacks, and her small fists lashed out at the right moments. She obviously had potential.
''...are you even listening?!''
I blinked rapidly. ''Sorry Dongwoo sunbaenim!''
He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. ''Sometimes it feels like I'm talking to myself. I said, were you planning on taking on a trainee?''
My mouth fell into a little O of surprise. I recovered in seconds, smirking. ''You know, I nearly fell for that.''
Dongwoo raised an eyebrow. ''I'm serious you know. You can have any one of these little ones. Maybe the Chun Ae girl? She looks good, but I dare say you'll have arguments that might cause the whole arena to cave in..'' He smirked, showing several gaps where his teeth used to be.
I frowned. ''Someone of a good rank can take on a trainee. It's not like I have good rank...or a whole lot of experience for that matter.''
''You've been here for what, four years now? That's definitely enough experience. Besides, I bet you can see the mistakes these guys are making. I saw you looking at Hyun Ki when you came in. You could tell his stance was wrong.''
That wasn't the only reason I was staring at him for. I rolled my eyes. ''Be serious Dongwoo sunbaenim.''
He looked me straight in the eye. ''I am serious. There is less and less people willing to take on trainees, and yet there is more and more trainees. I need you. They need you if they want to stay alive.''
I stole a glance at the Hyun Ki boy again. He still looked at complete ease.
Dongwoo followed my gaze. I looked at him.
''I wan't him. Hyun Ki. I'll take him on as a trainee.''
Dongwoo grimaced. ''I can't give him to you, Zee.''
My eyes narrowed. ''And why is that?''
''He's Jackson's.''
That took me a few seconds to process.
Yet my mouth suddenly morphed into a psychotic grin. I was known for rash decisions.
''Well then I'll fight for him.''
* * * * *
Dongwoo growled. ''Be serious girl. It's Jackson we're talking about. Not some street fighter. Jackson.''
I stared him down. ''I know who Jackson is. But I still want Hyun Ki.''
Dongwoo's eyes burned. ''God, that boy isn't even worth it, look at his posture! That Chun Ae girl has a better chance of surviving!'' Chun Ae heard her name, and turned around, looking at her trainer with a look of confusion.
I held up a finger, still grinning from ear to ear. ''I vouch for Hyun Ki. I am going to fight Jackson if that's what it takes.''
Dear God have I gone absolutely mad?
Dongwoo roared, causing the entire population of the training room to stare at him. I didn't flinch and my smile didn't falter. ''I'm going to fight him. Next week, as soon as I've healed. Tell him that when you see him OK? I'm sure he won't turn it down.''
He hasn't taken our previous encounter lightly. Have I a death wish?
Dongwoo's expression softened. ''Yoon Ah, you'll die.'' I smiled at his concern, this time ruefully. ''No I won't. Not this time.'' He looked at me sceptically. 'How do you know?''
''I just do.''
I bowed as a sign of respect to a sunbae. ''I'll be back tomorrow to watch his progress.'' Dongwoo massaged his temples. ''Be off with you.'' I nodded and turned around, smile wavering slightly as my rational mind began to process what I just did.
Every pair of eyes in the room was staring at me. One pair of eyes stood out. The blood red irises that would forever haunt my nightmares.
I kept my head down refusing to look anyone is the eye. The bell suddenly rang and the novices were dismissed. Dongwoo left, with a final saddened look at me.
Our age group teacher came. ''Annyeong haseo Kal-seonsaengnim,'' we chanted in unison. She regarded us with her cold, hard eyes.
''Choi Ha Na,'' she suddenly barked. The girl shot up as if she were stung. ''Y..yes seonsaengnim?''
The teacher's palm made a large red mark on the girl's cheek.
''Stop that damned stuttering! Are you scared girl?''
Ha Na knew better than to show fear. She looked at Kal without flinching. The mark of a palm was beginning to show on her face.
Kal's eyes landed on me. They were like knives, cutting at my soul. I didnt look away. If you showed any fear in her class, you were punished.
She drew her gaze back to Ha Na. ''Get Yoon Ah and get the punching bags over here. I can't have you breaking any limbs in my class...the arena needs you. Why are you still here? GO NOW!''
Ha Na and I jogged towards the corner of the room where all the punching bags stood, and towed them over to the centre of the room.
Just as I'd let go of the first punching bag, Kal grabbed me by the wrist, and dragged me up the front of the room in front of everybody.
She pulled up my sleeve, revealing the blooming bruises on my arms. I raised a quizzical eyebrow but said nothing.
She yanked my wrist up for everybody to see. ''You know how little Yoon Ah got these?! She sparred against Bambam today. Quite a good brawl if I may say so myself.''
There was an outbreak of murmurs. ''SILENCE!'' she yelled. She turned her gaze back to me. ''Now sweetling,'' she murmured in a sugar coated tone. ''Show us how you disarmed Bambam yesterday.''
I didn't like that tone. Of course, I was right not to.
A blur of bronze flashed before my eyes, missing my nose by centimetres. If I hadn't stepped back...well my nose wouldn't be that much of a loss.
Kal started attacking me rapidly, raining down blows. Yet her punches were light, as if her arms weren't strong enough. I felt her blows before. And let me tell you they weren't weak. I dodged, and then it hit me.
She was impersonating Bambam.
I smirked and launched myself of a nearby wall, sending a kick for her wrist. My aim was true. A bit too much flair for a regular training lesson perhaps, but in no way in hell would I be beaten up again today.
The clatter of the bronze knuckles against the ground could be heard well. Everyone had gone silent.
Kal got up and started laughing. ''Well would you look at that.''
One by one, the class started clapping. I saw raw respect, admiration in their eyes. I did a 90 degree bow in Kal's direction.
''Good work ''Zee''. Take a break. You deserve it.''
I shook my head. ''I'm OK saeng. I need to practice.''
''I said rest.'' The warning in her tone was clear. I sighed and sat down on the floor beside the mats.
''Ricky, go help Ha Na with the punching bags. The rest of you, you saw that right?''
The majority of the class bore a confused look. Kal sighed. ''You idiots! I meant at the start, before she attacked. She retreated. It's one thing to fight. It's a completely different one to think and fight.''
''When Yoon Ah retreated, she was confused about what I was doing. Yoon Ah, why were you confused?''
Her tone was sharp. I cocked my head. ''Because I knew your blows are stronger than that Kal-seonsaengnim. I was assuming you were impersonating Bambam, because his arms aren't as strong, which is the reason he almost always uses knuckles. I wasn't going to risk going up front, because Bambam's speciality is footwork. The air is further away of the feet's reach, and therefore an advantage.''
''Correct. ''
Her gaze fell upon the rest of the class. ''Thinking and fighting stimulaniously is not easy. Your body must be so adjusted to fighting, it does not even need to think about what it's doing. Then thinking comes in. It comes eventually, but if you do not learn how to do it now, you may not survive until that 'eventually'.