"The soil is bad."
"What do you mean? Soil is soil."
"No, Y/N, look. The soil here is damaged and can't produce anything. It needs to rest. It needs to heal."
"We don't have that option. If we don't try and plant now, there will be nothing for the harvest, and our family will starve this winter."
"I wouldn't let you starve. You know that."
"And what if your farms can't produce enough, Namjoon? What if there's only enough for your family?"
"Idiot. I just said I wouldn't let you starve. When I make you a promise, believe it."
You dug the soil out of your nails as you followed Hoseok. The soil here was rich and dark. Nothing like your farmland.
Maybe if our soil had been like this, Mother would still be here.
You missed her. You missed her so much that it hurt. Even though you rarely saw her during the day, it felt so warm when she came home at night. Her dirtied hands from the fields, her soiled clothes, and her bright smile. Even after your father left, she was like that.
You missed that smile.
And worse... you missed him. Seeing him again... dozens of memories you had shoved down to your gut were now bubbling up, no matter how hard you tried to stop them.
Those days in the farmlands, back when you trusted him. Back when he made all those stupid promises.
No, the promises weren't stupid. I was.
"What are you thinking about?" Hoseok asked, interrupting your thoughts.
"How much I don't trust you," you replied. "Also, where are you taking me?"
"I'm taking you someplace beautiful," he replied. He turned back to face you, walking backwards. "And for the record, sweetheart, I don't trust you much either."
The forest opened up to a wide field, the scent of lavender and grass hitting your nose. Your heart sank at the smell, bringing up even more old memories you were tired of. But the sun glistening on the lake was enough to distract you from your annoyance, the gentle ripples from the water bugs on the surface calming your spirit.
"What is this place?" you asked.
"I knew you'd like it. It's a special place of mine."
"You have a lot of special places."
He lifted an eyebrow and smiled.
"Can you swim?" he asked as you both walked along the edge of a lake.
"Of course," you replied. "I was raised around the --"
He shoved you in the lake. The cold water smacked you in the face, consuming your clothes and hair. You broke to the surface, sputtering.
"What the hell!" you yelled.
"Just checking," Hoseok replied, shrugging. "Come on out."
You pulled yourself out, the weight of your clothes pulling down against you. The summer breeze suddenly felt colder than it had moments ago.
"I don't have any spare clothes, you know," you growled, wringing the water out of your robes.
"I know," he replied. "You can strip if you want."
"Drop dead,"
He chuckled. "You're ready for your resistance training now. Come with me."
He took you past the lake to a cleared area, surrounded by trees.
"You ready?" he asked.
"For what?"
"Private training. You should feel honored that I'm not charging you for it."
"It only means that you'll ask for a trade later,"
He put his finger against his nose and winked.
"What is it you want from me?" you asked.
"I want you to fight me."
"What?"
He swung. You dodged his arm before the punch landed, stepping out of the way and beside him. He jumped in and swung again, and this time you brought your hand up to block, right before returning a punch yourself. He dipped his head sideways, anticipating the move. You stepped back again, waiting for him.
His eyes narrowed for a moment before he sprung at you again. This time, he tried to send a kick to your shoulder, but you turned, blocking it with both your forearms. He clicked his tongue, then kicked again. You did the same block, the pain vibrating through your arms.
"No good," he said.
His leg swept under you, sending you on your back. As he charged, you kicked into his gut, jumping back up to your feet. You raised your hands ready to fight again, very aware of the fact that his stomach was rock solid. His neck muscles seized right before he lunged for you again, and you spun to kick him. Before you could land the kick, he reached around and spun you so your back was pressed against his front.
"This is how you get your throat slit, sweetheart," he said in your ear. "Don't ever give your back to your opponent."
His arms tightened around you as you struggled.
"I could do it properly if you hadn't shoved me in the lake and ruined my clo-- are you smelling my hair?"
"...no."
You elbowed him and spun out of his grip. You raised your hands, waiting for him to attack again.
"Wet clothes are the least of your problems," Hoseok said. "Your moves are too rigid. They're easy to predict. That may work if you have a weapon to back you up or if you're fighting someone with the same style, but it won't work in the streets. You fight like fire. I need you to fight like water."
You scrunched your eyebrows. "What does that even mean?"
He smiled. "You'll see."
An hour passed, then another. Hoseok made you do intervals of sparring, running, and balancing. He gave you a five-minute break twice, allowing you water. By the time you finished your wet clothes had dried, then became drenched again from your sweat.
"Let's go back," he said finally as the sun rose a couple of hours past noon. "Mid-afternoon training starts at camp soon."
"What?" you asked, panting. "There's more?"
"You didn't think I was finished with you, did you? There's a lot we need to do. Come on."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was like that every day for two weeks. Hoseok made you work the gardens in the mornings, train privately with him afterwards, and then train with his men in the late afternoon. None of them questioned his decision, but they gave you glances that could ice the lake you trained at every day.
The one who gave you the longest stares was the man you saw the night you arrived. The one who brought you a bed, and then looked at you like he would kill you in your sleep.
Whoever Taehyung was, he didn't like you.
Breakfast was the heartiest meal of the day, usually a soup of some sort with meat and vegetables. Lunch was only rice, while dinner was usually some sort of broth and vegetable pancake.
Yoongi ate with everyone for dinner, but you never saw him at any other meal. He also never acknowledged you. Sometimes you would stare at him for the entire meal, but he wouldn't look at you. Not once.
You were completely invisible to him.
"Are you doing alright, miss?"
You looked up. Two bright, sparkly eyes looked back at you, along with a childlike smile. He set down you and Hoseok's broth on the table, then plopped down on the other side, grabbing his knees as he crossed his legs.
"It's been awhile since I've seen a woman stay so long," he said. "A pretty one, too. Are we keeping her, Hoseok?"
"Of course," Hoseok replied, slurping from his bowl. "She's my pet."
You frowned at him.
"It'll be nice to have a woman around again," the man in front of you continued, rocking back on his hips. "As much as I love my brothers here, it's nice to have a little variety to mix things up..."
"Mix things up and eat more of my food," Jin said, coming up behind the happy little man and making him cower. "There's enough going on here. We don't need variety."
The happy little man looked up at Jin. "Even you said yesterday that it was good to see--"
Jin kicked him before he could finish. The man stood up, rubbing his backside.
"Get back to work, Jimin," Jin said. "Your job is to serve the food. Not make small talk."
Still rubbing his back, the man bowed to you, flashing a smile before wandering back to the kitchen. Jin's eyes fell back to you and Hoseok, his eyebrow raised.
"How long should I expect this to continue?" Jin asked. "If I have to keep feeding this girl --"
"This girl is under my command until I decide otherwise," Hoseok replied. He stuffed part of his vegetable pancake in his cheek. "Your job is to feed whoever sits at these tables."
Jin turned his head back towards Yoongi. Yoongi looked at him, then in your direction. It was the first time he had looked at you in the two weeks you were there. You straightened. His jaw ticked, but he made no other attempts at acknowledging you before going back down to his food.
"The Boss hasn't said anything?" Jin asked.
Hoseok shrugged. "Only that she's my responsibility. Therefore, she's mine."
"And why do you need a woman in the Rebellion?" a voice asked. "What use do you have for her, despite the obvious?"
Jin stepped back as Taehyung came in front of you, his fists clenched at his sides.
"Taehyung..." Hoseok warned.
"You have dozens of women outside of the camp," Taehyung continued. "Why the hell do you need one inside?"
Hoseok chuckled. "Dozens is a bit of an exaggeration. Twenty or so, maybe..."
"And why are you training her every day? Privately."
The other men looked at you, not eating. Yoongi included.
Hoseok's eyelashes fluttered before he put down his chopsticks and leaned back. "Is that what you're worried about? That I'm replacing you?"
Taehyung's fists unclenched and clenched again. Hoseok stood from the table, facing him.
"Are you training your whore to be your replacement?" Taehyung asked, voice low.
This time, you stood from the table. "I'm not his whore."
"I can't think of any other reason he would keep you around," Taehyung spat back. "And I can't think of any other reason he would train you to fight. You're a poor excuse for a fighter, at that."
"Make your move and see if you say the same thing after I slice you to pieces."
Taehyung stepped forward, but Hoseok put a hand out, stopping him.
"She's not my whore," Hoseok said, sounding bored. "And she's not my replacement. She's my pet. And a project you don't need to worry about right now."
"Why would you keep this from me?" Taehyung asked.
Hoseok reached out and ripped Taehyung's robe open. There was a deep cut from Taehyung's collarbone to his ribs. It was red, barely scabbing over.
"Why did you keep this from me?" Hoseok returned.
Taehyung's eyes widened. He lowered his head.
"I shouldn't even let you do afternoon training in this condition," Hoseok continued, "but I knew you wouldn't listen to me. Tell me, has it been healing the way it's supposed to?"
Taehyung bit his lip.
"I didn't think so. For now, she's taking your time slot. When you've fully healed, I'll continue to train you as my successor. But remember your future position can be taken from you easily. Don't get so attached to it that you forget who I am."
Taehyung bowed. "Yes, Master Jung. Forgive me."
"And you," Hoseok said, turning towards you. "You're not strong enough to fight my men. So don't provoke them."
You scoffed. "What do you mean I'm not strong enough? I train every day with you --"
"--Because you're not anywhere close to where you need to be. I train you eight hours a day because you're weak. Only I get to decide when you're strong enough to fight."
You looked at Yoongi. He brought his tea up to his lips, keeping eye contact with you as he sipped. He lowered his cup back to the table, leaning back against the pillar behind him and shutting his eyes.
You looked at Hoseok and Taehyung, then turned on your heel and left. As hungry as you were, the humiliation was too much to bear.
Weak. He called you weak. In front of Yoongi, nonetheless.
If he had known the things you'd been through, he wouldn't have thrown that word around so easily. The arrogant, stupid bastard.
You walked away from the eating area, towards the edge of the camp. You couldn't leave - it wasn't like you knew how to get out, and you didn't have a plan if you did.
How could you save Jungkook at this rate?
The moon rose high, but you were still lost in your thoughts. You held onto your frustrations - Namjoon, Hoseok, Taehyung, Jin, Yoongi...
You shut your eyes, imagining each one of their faces. You could use your anger. Your anger could fuel you to push harder.
To hell with all of them. If they thought you were weak, all you had to do was prove them wrong.
"There you are," a low voice said, right before an arm snaked around your shoulders.
"I'm not in the mood for your games, Hos--"
You stopped as you turned around. It wasn't Hoseok.
The heartless leader of the Rebellion was standing behind you instead, his eyes soft in the moonlight.
"I was looking all over for you," Yoongi said, his hand reaching up for your face. His fingertips were cold, but his touch was warm; delicate and smooth.
He stepped in closer. You froze.
He chuckled softly as he touched your cheek. "I've missed you... Yujin."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SOUNDTRACK: Broken Dreams by Fractured Light Music
Long chapter today. Pretty good, considering I have a cold. Also, Happy Suga Day!