"This is stupid." Jeno muttered under his breath as he punched the punching bag with all his might. The bag swung aggressively, almost hitting Jaemin who was standing on the other side.
The two boys were training together that afternoon, alone in the corner while the Juniors were dueling on the mats. The youngest members of the agency were also shooting in the range, located on the other side of the wall, the loud shots ringing through the room. Many agents were training during this time of year, preparing for their physical exams with the Academy.
"Whoa there." Jaemin said, blocking the punching bag with his arm. "Why are you so angry?"
"My solo mission is so stupid. I'm basically a search dog!" Jeno exclaimed with another punch. This time, Jaemin held onto the punching bag, stopping its movement.
"It could be worse, you know." Jaemin said, slowly releasing the punching bag so that it returned to its original position.
"Like what?" Jeno asked, eyeing his best friend.
"You could be going to Hell, literally." Jaemin said. Jeno let out a scoff.
"Meeting the devil seems better than looking for your sister's fiancé." Jeno said before eyeing the long hallway down the side of the training area, where the simulation room was located. There, Renjun was also currently training for his solo mission.
"You could also have Sejung teaching you how to prevent being brainwashed by sirens." Jaemin said, a bright smile on his face. Jeno rolled his eyes.
"Whatever." Jeno said, taking his boxing gloves off just as Jiwoo and Rena exited the axe throwing area, meeting the two boys.
"You seem grumpy." Jiwoo said, hands on her hips as she eyed Jeno while Rena went to greet her boyfriend.
"He doesn't like his solo mission." Jaemin told the girls as he wrapped his arm around Rena.
"At least you have a mission." Rena said softly, giving Jeno a small smile of encouragement.
"Let's not talk about it." Jeno said, feeling uncomfortable. Jiwoo noticed this and quickly changed the topic.
"Where's Renjun and Haechan?" Jiwoo asked, looking around. Just then, Renjun and Haechan came out towards the main training area, Jaehyun and Sejung following them.
"Training well?" Jaehyun asked the four of them. They nodded to the elder male.
"That's good." Jaehyun said before shifting his attention to Jaemin and Rena. "There's a board meeting tonight, don't forget."
Jeno held his hands in fists as the words escaped Jaehyun's mouth, a small action, only noticed by Jiwoo. The faerie knew that Jeno wanted a position on the board, but it was difficult to take it away from the other two. Before Jiwoo could calm him down though, Renjun had already put a hand on Jeno's shoulder.
"Their meetings are boring, trust me." Renjun whispered into Jeno's ear, just barely audible for Jiwoo. She watched as Jeno seemed to relax a bit more to the words of his friend.
"Well, we should get studying." Haechan said, breaking the tension. The rest of the group bid the two older agents goodbye before heading to the locker rooms to get changed.
In the range, the young agents stood on the range, practicing how to shoot with a rifle.
"Nice." Ten said, as Chenle hit all his shots perfectly, forming a single hole in the centre of the target. Chenle smiled as he put his rifle down before looking at Minjee, who was struggling to carry the heavy rifle in her hands.
"You need to work out your arms more." Ten said, shaking his head before fixing Minjee's position. "Do more push ups and chin ups."
"But those are hard." Minjee whined, making Chenle and Naeun. Ten quickly turned to Naeun.
"You don't get to laugh, your arms are in bad shape as well." Ten said, eyeing the faerie. Chenle watched as the smile was wiped off of Naeun's face, the faerie taking a deep gulp.
Ten made his way to the other side of the range, where Jisung and Jimin were shooting. The two of them had been constantly in the training area since they didn't have exams, making big improvements. He observed their groupings on the target.
"Not bad." Ten said to the two. Jisung and Jimin exchanged smiles, both knowing that Ten was hard to impress. Ten returned to the centre clapping his hands together.
"Alright folks, that's all for today. Fire a blank and turn the safety back on before returning the rifles." Ten announced. The agents followed the instructions carefully before making their way to the locker rooms.
...
Rena shifted in her seat beside Jaemin as they waited for the rest of the board members to attend. Beside her sat Naeun and Chenle, the two representatives of the freshmen class. Rena remembered sitting in their seats last year with Jaemin.
"It's the last board meeting before the end of the semester." Jaemin pointed out. Rena nodded. If the class representatives couldn't keep their marks up or if their collegues surpassed them, this might be their last board meeting.
"Have you been studying?" Rena asked him. She noticed Jaemin tense, staring at the screen in front of him instead of answering her. "You haven't, have you?"
"I've been busy training with Jeno. Don't worry, I'll keep my spot here." Jaemin said, but Rena noticed a hint of uncertainty in his voice. Before Rena could reply, the agency leaders walked in, signalling the start of their meeting.
...
"Help." Haechan said, walking into the room without knocking, a habit of his. Renjun rolled his eyes before putting his pen down.
"The least you could do it knock." Renjun said, turning around to face his friend, who was already getting comfortable as he sat on his bed. Haechan passed him his notebook, pointing to the question he had circled in red.
"I don't understand this question." Haechan told him. Renjun took the notebook in his hands, eyebrows furrowing as he looked at the problem.
"To be honest, I haven't gotten this far." Renjun confessed. Haechan raised an eyebrow, surprised.
"Huang Renjun hasn't finished all the questions three days before exams? That's a first." Haechan said, making Renjun let out a deep sigh.
"This solo mission will be the death of me." Renjun said, rubbing his head. Haechan gave him a small smile, being able to relate.
"Yeah, I don't know how long I can fake supporting my brother." Haechan admitted. Renjun turned to face the male.
"Was your brother always terrible?" Renjun asked. Haechan thought for a moment, trying to recall a time when he didn't hate Dongwook.
"To me? Always. But there was this one person..." Haechan's voice trailed off. Renjun's eyes lit up as he got up, taking a seat beside Haechan.
"Tell me about it." Renjun said, interested. Haechan gave him a smirk before leaning back.
...
A tiny Donghyuck giggled as he ran, his hands brushing the soft clouds of the Phoenix Kingdom, located high in the sky amongst the clouds. He was so happy, he didn't notice the older boy standing in front of him, and ran straight into his back.
"Oof." Donghyuck said as he fell on his bottom. The male turned around, giving him a small smile before helping him up to his feet.
"Taeyong, did my brother run into you?" Dongwook asked, glaring at Donghyuck. Donghyuck hid behind the tall boy, Taeyong, as Taeyong patted his head.
"It's okay, it was a mistake, right?" Taeyong said, crouching to face the boy. Donghyuck slowly nodded.
"Aw, your brother's so adorable." The girl beside Dongwook said, crouching down to pat Donghyuck's head as well. Donghyuck stared at her, eyes wide as he recalled the photos of her in his older brother's room.
"Are you Hwayoung? The Phoenix Princess?" Donghyuck asked. Hwayoung's mouth dropped, surprised.
"Yes, how did you know?" Hwayoung asked the boy. Donghyuck eyed his brother before motioning his hands, telling Hwayoung to get closer. Hwayoung exchanged looks with Taeyong and Dongwook before following his instructions.
"My brother has a crush on you." Donghyuck whispered. He watched as she stared at Dongwook before laughing.
"You brat, what did you say?" Dongwook exclaimed, grabbing Donghyuck by the ear.
"Ow, hyung that hurts!" Donghyuck cried but his brother's grip was firm.
"He said his favourite colour is pink." Hwayoung lied, hoping that Dongwook would let go. As the words left her mouth, Dongwook let go, eyeing his younger brother.
"I'm letting you go because Hwayoung wants me to." Dongwook said. Donghyuck quickly scrambled onto his feet, before running back to his house, away from his brother and his friends.
...
"Your brother had a crush on the Phoenix Queen?" Renjun exclaimed. Haechan nodded.
"That's the only reason she's still alive, otherwise he would have wiped him out along with her father when he tried to take over the kingdom." Haechan explained.
"I thought Hwayoung had a massive crush on Taeyong though." Renjun pointed out.
"She does, but when Taeyong came to the Academy, his eyes were only on Seri." Haechan told him. Renjun slowly nodded, taking in his words.
"Why did you change your name to Haechan?" Renjun suddenly asked. Haechan sighed deeply.
"Because Donghyuck is related to that filthy piece of trash. If any phoenix heard that name, they would shiver in fear. My brother is pure evil." Haechan said. A shiver ran down Haechan's own spine as the image of his brother ran through his head.
How will I survive my solo mission?
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Inkigayo tonight ~~