Jihyun's face started to turn red as they stared at one another. Quickly snapping out of it, she backed away from him, clearing her throat and turning away to take a deep breath. She walked over to the nearby bench and grabbed a bottle of water before turning back to him. He was staring at her, watching her every move with an intensity in his eyes and a small smile on his face.
"i-if you can, um, do that next week, you'll, uh, you'll have no problems." she stuttered out, tossing a bottle at him, which he caught, dipping his head towards her before taking a big gulp.
"thanks, Miss Jang, I-"
"Jihyun" she interrupts him.
"What?"
"You can call me Jihyun." she shyly smiles at him.
"does that mean we're friends now?" he asks with a quiet voice, fixing her with a curious stare. She pauses before responding, sighing to herself.
"I guess so, if you want to be? I've never really made a friend before, it's always just been other gang members." she laughs out before pausing. "But please don't be my friend out of fear. I won't take it to heart if you don't want to, I'm not the most likable person." She trails off.
"Sure you are. You might come off as cold, but I know that underneath that mafia girl is a person worth getting to know... if you'll let me." He looks at her with a kind smile and pleading eyes.
"You swear you're not doing this out of fear? I'm well aware that basically all of my....acquaintances, only tolerate me because they're too scared to do anything else." She trails off, nervously biting on her lip.
"Well, if I'm remembering correctly, I asked you to be friends, not acquaintances. Friends aren't fake, and, uh, actually like one another for their personality you know." He lets out a light laugh, causing a smile to pull at the corners of her lips as she quickly nods her head.
He takes a step away from her, moving so that they're directly facing one another before plastering a big smile on his face.
"Hi, my name is Na Jaemin and it's a pleasure to meet you." He says in a proper tone, dipping his head towards her.
"It's very nice to meet you too, Na Jaemin. You can call me Jihyun, I hope we can become great friends." She matches his tone and action, the two of them laughing.
"Well then," Jaemin straightens up and walks over to her, extending his hand. She places her smaller hand in his, causing him to grip it firmly and shake it. "consider me your first real friend, it's truly an honor." he jokes, dramatically bowing in the process. The two laugh before he straightens up to look at her.
"So, Jihyun, thank you for your help. Maybe I'll actually get to live longer than I thought." He smiles, a hint of nervousness in his voice. She looks at him in pity, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
She knows he wants her to tell him that he'll live, but she can't. The strength and future of the gang always comes first, no weak links. Even if it was a friend.
"Why don't we move on to something else? What are you best at, I want to see you in your element." She quickly changes the subject before the atmosphere becomes too tense.
"My strength is combat. Hongjoong says that I'm one of the best of the level 1's right now. I'm the only one who's been able to pin San for more than 10 seconds." He smiles with pride. Jihyun's eyes widen at his words, San is the best combat fighter in Ateez.
"You pinned San? For more than 10 seconds?" She asks in astonishment. He nods his head vigorously as she looks at him with a new sense of curiosity.
The pair walk over to one of the small combat arenas. Jihyun removes her NCT jacket and holsters, pulling the hidden knives out of her outfit, leaving her in a short, tight, black tanktop and leggings. She steps onto the arena, waiting for Jaemin as he slings off his varsity jacket. As he climbs up, she takes note of his toned arms, getting glimpses of his toned abs through the low cut arm holes of his sleeveless workout shirt.
"Like what you see?" He smirks at her, catching her off guard. She quickly diverts her eyes and gathers herself.
"In your dreams, I just like to observe my opponent." She huffs, not looking at him.
"Mmhmmm" he continues to tease her, a blush creeping up her cheeks before she shakes it away, clearing her head.
"Are we here to fight or talk? Let's get on with it." She growls out playfully, turning to face him with a dark stare. He walks to the opposite side of the mat, turning back to face her with his smile now gone, a determined look in his eyes.
"Whenever you're ready." He breathes out.
"Begin."
The two stalk around one another on the mat, carefully observing each other, waiting for someone to make the first move.
Jaemin lunges first, striking out with his fist, which Jihyun easily dodges, pushing him off balance as she slides out of the way. As he stumbles around, she takes the opportunity to land a kick to his side, sending him tumbling to the ground. He quickly gets back up, shaking himself off before staring at her again.
This time, Jihyun attacks first, running at him before kicking out with her foot. He grabs her leg before she can make contact, trying to throw her off balance. She smiles to herself, allowing her supporting leg to go weak beneath her, sending both of them tumbling to the ground. Jihyun is able to gracefully roll out of it, getting back to her feet quickly and staring down at him as he scrambles to get back up.
The two run at each other, striking and blocking one another, neither able to really land any impactful hits. Jihyun feels the sweat starting to form on her forehead as Jaemin matches her move for move.
She notices him dropping his arms ever so slightly. Taking the opportunity, she swings for his head, but is caught off guard when he drops to his feet, kicking her legs out from underneath her as she lands on the ground. He quickly jumps on top of her, pinning her down. She stares up at him in shock, a triumphant look on his face.
"not bad" she huffs out, trying to regain control of her breathing. "not bad at all." He smiles at her compliment, pride radiating off of him. "but you did forget one thing" she adds. He stares at her with a blank expression, confusion in his eyes.
She quickly pushes up with her legs, flipping them over so she is straddling his stomach, her arms pinning his shoulders down into the mat. A smirk on her face as his eyes widen at their quick change of positions.
"Never lose focus. A fight isn't over until your opponent is dead or close to it." She says triumphantly, Jaemin letting out a sigh of defeat.
"I really thought I had you there." He mumbles out, staring back at her.
"You had me for a solid 15 seconds though, pretty good I'd say." She smiles down at him. He nods his head before turning to look to the side. Jihyun smirks to herself, knowing what he's trying to do. She allows herself to turn her head towards whatever he's looking.
She feels his muscles tense up as he tries to throw her off. Sighing she shoves his shoulders back down onto the mat, a light laugh making its way past her lips.
"Goddamnit I really thought I could pull that off." He laughs in defeat.
"You really thought I wouldn't take my own advice?" She giggles out, staring down at him with a smile.
"Eh, it was worth a try." his chest rapidly rising and falling as he tries to catch his breath. The two of them laughing together as they stare at one another, simply enjoying the other's company. The laughter dies down, but the two stay where they are, gazing at one another in comfortable silence.
She notices his features, really looking at him for the first time. She stares at his sharp jawline, his round eyes and plump lips. The way his light blonde hair fluffs around every time he moves.
He observes her too. He her small nose, almond eyes. The way strands of her dark black hair loosely frame her delicate face, having fallen out of her pony tail during the fight. He looks at her pink lips and then into her deep brown eyes.
The two stare at one another, a comfortable intensity about them as neither one wants to break away. He opens his mouth to say something but their moment is cut short as the door to the training arena is thrown open and someone shouts out her name.
———
I'm shocked and enraged by what's going on in Washington DC right now. This is crazy. Please stay safe everyone.
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