Chapter 3

Jungkook’s day had been going from bad to worse. He had woken up late, and the only reason he wasn’t late for the first training session of the day was because he had finished late the day before and had decided to stay in the compound barracks rather than cycle all the way home to his apartment.

A trip to the communal showers had turned into him having to bear a round of teasing when he realized he had grabbed a hand towel and not a bath towel to dry himself with. The men had a field day yanking his chain until someone took pity on him and let him borrow their towel.

Then, he arrived at the first session only to be told to expect visitors being given a tour at some time during the day. He had heard that the aliens they had been communicating with for years were finally visiting, but he knew almost nothing about them and didn’t know what to expect. As he wasn’t part of the military, he didn’t have access to certain information, but on the plus side, as only an employee of the military, he had a lot more freedom than his trainees.

The first session went well. Some of the trainees in this mixed-martial-arts course were improving enough he would be able to graduate them to a higher course set soon. The only thing they really needed to work on was their egos; overconfidence was never a good thing when fighting or defending.

Lunch was a quick sub in the compound canteen. He also used the time to try and find out what he could about these visitors. All he could glean was they’d arrived and been taken to the compound guest suites— which had been built entirely with them in mind last year. Apparently, the ambassador and his wife were hosting them for lunch, and then the aliens had agreed to a tour of the compound. He found out there were seven guests and that they were mostly tall. So in all, he had found out nothing useful and went back to work irritated at the military and their love of secrets. The whole planet knew about the visitors, but the military had kept all other details classified.

There were only four in his next session. They were learning the advanced techniques, but like the previous lot, they were getting cocky.

He split the men into pairs and set them a sequence of moves to go through while he watched.

Jungkook heard the door open and shut, but he ignored it to concentrate on the trainees. After the third time of Lee Jihoon being pinned, he called a halt.

“Lee, get out here,” he called, and the burly man moved slowly up to him. “Now, you go through the moves with me, and I expect you to try harder.”

Lee nodded and they took up their positions. The fight was over quickly, and he had Lee pinned to the mat.

“What did he do wrong?” he called out to the watching men, who were now sniggering at their poor teammate.

Kwon Soonyoung put his hand in the air. “Yes, Kwon?”

“He didn’t anticipate your moves, sir,” the man said, raising an eyebrow and looking far too cocky for Jungkook’s liking.

“Yes, that’s correct,” Jungkook responded with nod. “Now, you come and show them how it’s done. No sequence; first one pinned loses.” Kwon flushed but stepped forward as ordered.

As Jungkook circled Kwon, he quickly flicked his eyes to check on the visitors without losing track of his opponent. But suddenly, he was captured by a stunning pair of silver eyes. He was brought back to the present when Kwon nearly got the drop on him. He righted himself and soon pressed things to his advantage. His greater experience meant he knew when to take a hit and when to press forward. It didn’t take long for him to have Kwon pinned to the mat and the rest of the trainees cheering him.

A shrill whistle pierced the noise and he looked back toward the visitors. Ambassador Min was motioning him over.

“Kim,” he called and waited for the man to head his way. “Take over and finish with ten laps of the room.” Kim Mingyu nodded while the rest of the men groaned at the mention of laps. “You all need to remember to watch your opponent and anticipate. Use the laps as thinking time,” he told them before turning and jogging over to the visitors. He was startled when he was caught by his arm and pulled nearer by Yoongi.

“This is our head trainer, Mr. Jeon Jungkook.” Ambassador Yoongi sounded so much like a proud father that Jungkook had to stop himself from blushing. Yoongi had been there when no one else had been, and he owed him a lot. He listened as Yoongi continued, “He is the top mixed-martial-arts teacher in the country and has been employed by the military since he was eighteen. He isn’t actually part of the military but is an outside employee.

“Jungkook, these are the visitors from Aerok I’m sure you’ve heard about. This is Minister Namjoon and his mate, Seokjin.”

Jungkook nodded respectfully to both aliens. “Welcome to Earth,” he said.

“Would it be acceptable if Mr. Jeon accomp