"Just one more thing before we start!" Namjoon rubs his hands in excitement. "It'll be a little loud Y/n, so brace yourself."
"Okay..."
Jungkook scoffs. "It's not loud at all. Don't worry, you'll love it."
I look between the two of them awkwardly.
"Huh?"
Namjoon shrugs. "Nevermind, you'll get used to it anyway. I'll get it out."
He disappears behind an unusually tall doorway to the side.
"What's he getting?"
"You'll see," Jungkook smiles. "It's my favorite part of training. And it'll be your favorite too, trust me."
We wait together in awkward silence. Jungkook decides to guide me through some basic stretches while we wait. I look around the room, taking in the vast space, and I even manage to make eye contact with Jungkook through the mirror reflection.
I look back down, flustered.
After a few grunts of effort from the storage room, Namjoon eventually comes back, pulling a...
Is that a fan?
My jaw drops.
It's a massive, MASSIVE fan that barely makes it under the doorframe. Namjoon pulls the thing with all his might, but he still makes slow progress. Jungkook and I rush over to help.
"If Namjoon-hyung of all people is struggling to move something and it doesn't break when he tries, that says a lot about how sturdy the thing is," Jungkook glances at me meaningfully.
Namjoon laughs. "No kidding."
Soon the fan is set up at the side, adjacent to the mirror wall. We take a moment to catch our breaths. Then Namjoon walks over and plugs the thing in, sending a big cool breeze over the room.
Whirrrrrrr....
The blades pick up speed.
WHIRRRRRR....
It sounds and looks like it's about to explode.
WHIRRRRRRRRRRRR!!
"What's this for?!"
My voice barely carries over the WHIRRR of the fan.
"A cool breeze!" Namjoon replies.
The blades get so fast that they practically turn invisible. And sure enough, it generates a steady wind, dropping the temperature in the room by a good amount. I cross my arms in the cold.
"Will it really get that hot?"
"No," Namjoon yells. "Your elemental is air, so it'll be easier for you to feel it and use it if it's moving around you!"
Meanwhile, Jungkook has moved to stand right in front of the large fan. His arms are spread out and his head is tilted back, eyes closed in the cool breeze.
His hair sways softly in the wind.
He looks so peaceful.
"Let's get started with some warm-ups, yeah?" Namjoon waves his hands around to get my attention.
I stare for a few seconds longer.
Then I tear my gaze away from Jungkook and nod.
~
The warm-ups are tiring.
We do some good old running and jumping jacks and push-ups, with burpees being the painful cherry on top.
Apparently physical strength helps our ability to control our elementals too - that's what Namjoon said when I asked, at least.
The exercise passes by painfully slowly.
Maybe it's because gym wasn't ever a priority at Freedom Academy, or maybe it's because Namjoon keeps adding on sets, or maybe I'm just so excited to learn things that time decided to make me wait longer.
I huff my way through sit-ups.
Eventually the last exercise comes and goes. I lay down on the floor, workout finished, sweating and inhaling so much air with each breath I take that even my lungs are getting a workout.
I mentally thank the large fan for helping me cool down.
"Nice work getting through that," Namjoon comments. "I was adding on sets to see how much you were willing to endure, and you went through all of it."
Despite my exhaustion, I lift up my head and glare at him.
"... don't worry, I'll go easier with warm-ups next time."
I rest my head back down on the floor in agreement. While Namjoon moves to get his notes prepared for the lesson, Jungkook comes over to help me up.
"Thanks," I say.
Jungkook winks. "No problem."
I look back down at the floor.
Before my body could react with a blush that I dreaded Jungkook seeing, Namjoon is already back and ready to go.
Thank goodness.
"So, the first move! I like to call this one "A Trip on Thin Air"', Namjoon says, making a rainbow motion with his hand like he's painting out the words.
"Sounds fun," I say.
"It is fun," Jungkook says dreamily. "I like to use it when I'm annoyed - it's like winding people away."
There's actually a move for that?
"Let's spread out first." Namjoon moves to the center of the floor and faces the mirror-wall. Jungkook and I follow.
"A Trip on Thin Air," Namjoon says, "is like pulling a rug out from under someone. But instead of a rug, you're working with air. What you do is hold both your hands out in front of you..."
He moves his hands, and I copy what he does.
"... and I can't do this because I can only control electricity, but the idea is you tug your hands back and imagine you're pulling on a rug. That should cause some current in the air to change, which should make the person trip."
I move my hands back.
Nothing happens.
"Am I doing something wrong?" I frown.
"Do it again," he walks to my other side, "so I can see more clearly."
I try again. Still, nothing happens.
"Well, your form looks perfectly fine."
"Hyung," Jungkook walks up from behind me. "Y/n specializes in sound. So... she needs audio."
"The fan is loud. Isn't that enough?"
"No, because it's monotone. She needs something with inflections, like music."
"What kind of music?" Namjoon raises an eyebrow.
I look at Jungkook in surprise. How does he know all this when I barely know it myself?
I'll have to ask him about that later.
"Our music worked just fine last time, back in the truck," Jungkook replies cheerfully. "So let's play some Baepsae or something."
Namjoon is skeptical, but he shrugs and brings out a big stereo anyway. We wait while he chooses a song, and then he lowers the power of the fan so we can hear the music.
"They call me! Baepsae ~ "
The instant I figure out the beat, a familiar sensation thrums inside me. I look down at my hands and, sure enough, the golden threads are back.
I stare at them fondly.
I missed you guys.
Without further thought, I bring my hands out in front of me, grasp onto the air, and pull.
The threads take a moment to figure out what I'm trying to do. I imagine myself pulling on a carpet, which seems to give them some direction. Then the threads work around me, spreading into the air and I feel them moving, shifting, morphing in tandem with the music...
WHOOOSH.
I realize that my eyes are squeezed shut, so I open them and look around.
Namjoon and Jungkook are both on the floor, a good amount of meters away.
Jungkook immediately jumps up and bounces toward me. "That. Was. AWESOME!" he laughs. "How did you do that?! You swept the entire ROOM with your Trip on Thin Air!! I had to mess around for a few hours before I could do the basic thing!"
"I'm actually not sure how - "
"It was the music, wasn't it?" He asks hopefully.
"Probably."
"I knew it!"
Jungkook claps excitedly and embraces me in a tight hug, much like the one at dinner last night. It expresses his amazement and support.
It works wonders.
Meanwhile Namjoon has moved to cross things out and add notes to his notepad. "Change of plans," he says. "I had no idea music helped you so much. No wonder the government is after you."
He shakes his head in wonder.
"I was planning on this "Trip on Thin Air" thing taking all day. But let's move on! I've got a lot to show you, and at this rate you could probably learn most of them before we leave."
I agree in excitement.
But after Jungkook ends our hug, the excitement wears off a little.
It'll probably be a long and tiring week.