Chapter 7: Everything is not what it seems

    By the time the final fight was about to begin, it was already 7PM that Saturday night. They were only about half way through the games, and Wonwoo began to wonder if they'd go all night or take a break and begin again tomorrow. He'd ask Seungcheol, who was right next to him, but just like Mingyu was when they'd watch Seungcheol's fight, he was extremely tense. Wonwoo was sitting stiff at the edge of the cage, while Seungcheol was pacing back and forth along the side. 

    Wonwoo's eyes followed Seungcheol's erratic movements, or simply stared downcast at the floor. He looked everywhere but up, everywhere but at Mingyu and Wonho who were staring one another down, ready to pounce, as they heard the rules.

    Wonwoo didn't do well with conflict. He'd never encountered conflict. Where he came from, conflict didn't really happen, or if it did, it was behind closed doors. People just kept their lips tight and quietly ruined others lives through looks or politics. Physical fighting was even more frowned upon. It was disgraceful and rather inappropriate. Wonwoo didn't know about that, but Wonwoo knew that it did make him feel uncomfortable. 

    That wasn't all that made him feel uncomfortable. Before the fight when Mingyu was away getting ready, Wonho approached Wonwoo. All the other boys from 17 were obviously watching out for Wonwoo, so Wonho didn't get to stay long, just long enough to whisper 6 words in Wonwoo's ear. Wonho had come up behind Wonwoo and wrapped his arms around him. While he gave him the seemingly casual backhug (which was startling enough for Wonwoo), Wonho leaned forward and slyly whispered in Wonwoo's ear. Wonwoo expected some erse flirtatious saying or maybe a lowly insult, but he certainly didn't expect the, "Everything is not as it seems." That was all Wonho got to say before Seungcheol yanked him off of Wonwoo. Seungcheol asked Wonwoo what he said, but Wonwoo was just staring off at Wonho who was laughing quite eerily while not breaking eye contact with Wonwoo. The rest of the boys from 17 were pulling him away, but he just kept laughing, with his hand in a shh motion in front of his mouth. 

    Seungcheol just rolled his eyes, "Ignore him, don't tell Mingyu yet. That's why he's doing this, just to get in Mingyu's head." Wonwoo just nodded, and then went back with the other guys, taking Seungcheol's advice and forgetting what he said. 

    But he hadn't really forgotten what he said. It was all he could think about now that the fight was about to begin. Hearing the ding of the bell, Wonwoo whipped his head up. He looked up just in time to see the first punch. It was Mingyu, and he'd just punched Wonho in the gut. Wonwoo couldn't contain his whooping and hollering at the sight. The adrenaline was like a drug, and Wonwoo could only imagine the high that Mingyu was feeling.

     But just as soon as the high began, it crashed. Wonho returned Mingyu's punch with a roundhouse kick to the face. This made Wonwoo realize one of the reasons he had always shied away from conflict, his heart didn't handle the constant fear and unending questioning that competition held. 

     Mingyu fell back but quickly recovered from Wonho's kick. He slid his leg under Wonho and knocked Wonho to his feet, jumping up before Wonho could get up. Wonwoo noticed the bruise on his cheek and the sweat already dripping down Mingyu's face. 'It must be really hot in there. He thought. Even with all the excitement and physical activity, he shouldn't be sweating that much. He needs to calm down. ''Even in the steaming state that Mingyu was in, he still wouldn't kick someone who was already down this early so he waited for Wonho to get up. 'Maybe that's why he's so good at battle. He knows how to control himself and rather than letting his emotions get the best of him, he uses them to his best advantage'. 

    It was something Wonwoo truly envied. Where Mingyu had to deal with anger overtaking him, Wonwoo had fear. Throughout the entire camp, his fear had gotten him into trouble over and over again, causing him to freeze up repeatedly. Mingyu, on the other hand, used his overpowering emotions to get them out of the situations Wonwoo caused. 

    Now, as Wonho was getting up and the boys were facing off, Mingyu was doing the same thing. He was storing all the anger up. The two boys were circling each other slowly. Wonho was taunting Mingyu, trying to get him to pounce, but he was standing strong. That was, until Wonho mentioned Wonwoo. At first it was just a "hello Wonwoo" but then it turned explicit of course. Lovely innuendos about boys in glasses and what he would do to them. That was it, Mingyu cracked. The two boys ran at each other, drawing back their arms and preparing to strike. Right as they were about to collide though, something happen. As Wonwoo's fist were clinched and his hear was racing, a bright light flashed from the arena. Then everything went dark. 

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    It didn't take long for Wonwoo to figure out that he was in the infirmary. Why, he didn't recall. He just remembered the camp infirmary quite well from his previous visits. When the nurse came around, Wonwoo asked her what happened. She said he had passed out during one of the rounds of the games and had hit his head on the way down. Wonwoo simply nodded, that sounded like him. She said he probably lost his memories from within the past 12-24 hours. That made sense. The last thing Wonwoo could remember was waking up with Mingyu the ious morning in the forest. 

    'Mingyu' Wonwoo thought, 'where is Mingyu?' Mingyu had grown to be his best friend at the camp, so why wasn't he here with Wonwoo like the last time Wonwoo had been injured. Maybe Wonwoo was just being temperamental. After all, they were just friends and Mingyu was a busy popular guy, with lots of friends. Still, Wonwoo was a little bit upset that he wasn't here. Or that no one from 17 was here. Surely, even if they hated him, they would have sent someone to check on him. Wonwoo decided to ask the nurse where Cabin 17 was. She smiled and replied that they were doing physical training but she had sent someone to tell them that he was awake and they should arrive soon. Wonwoo unabashedly hoped that someone was Mingyu. 

    Yet, he tried not to look too disappointed as Seungcheol and Jeonghan walked in the door. They quickly filled Wonwoo in on what had happened last night. During Wonho and Mingyu's fight, Wonwoo had apparently passed out from fear or stress when he saw blood. He blushed as the other boys explained this part. He could only imagine how embarrassing it was last night, looking like some weak person who can't stand the sight of blood. 

    "Oh..." Wonwoo chuckled, "Sorry about that.... Um, where's Mingyu now though?" He shyly added in.