Seolhyun glanced down at her half-eaten sandwich and sighed. She dumped her plate and followed the Genuine to the med building behind the training facilities. “Am I getting a physical or something?”

She didn’t answer.

Any attempt of conversation was ignored and Seolhyun gave up by the time she hopped up on the table. She watched her go to the cabinet and move around for a few seconds. She turned around, flicking the end of the syringe.

Seolhyun’s eyes widened. “Uh… what is that?”

“Please lift up the sleeve of your shirt.”

Seolhyun did as instructed. “But what are you giving me– dammit!” Her skin burned from where the Genuine had jabbed her in the upper arm. “That hurt like hell.”

Her lips curved in a faint smile, but her words dripped disgust. “You will be reminded in six months to receive another dose. For the next forty-eight hours, please try to refrain from unprotected ual activities.”

Try to refrain? As if she had uncontrollable animalistic urges and jumped every half in sight? “Dude. Seriously?”

The Genuine turned her back, clearly dismissing Seolhyun.

When she returned to the training room, Hyejeong eyed her rubbing her arm, but Seolhyun didn’t explain. By the end of practice, every muscle in her back ached and thighs felt like someone had punched them.

“It’ll get easier.” Hyejeong looked up as Seolhyun limped over to where she was piling the mats. “Your body will get used to it again.”

“I hope so.”

“But you should definitely do the warm-up stretches at night. It will help loosen up your muscles. You won’t be so sore then.”

“Alright.”

Seolhyun followed her to the door. Outside the training room, she waited while Hyejeong shut the double doors.

“Tomorrow we’ll work on the jump some more. Then we’ll move on to blocking techniques.”

“Okay.”

“You okay?”

Seolhyun nodded, wincing at the idea of the scar the Demon tagged her. “Yeah.”

As if Hyejeong could somehow read her minds, she stepped forward and brushed Seolhyun’s thick ponytail back over her shoulder. The slight touch drew out a shiver. “It’s not bad. It’ll be gone soon enough.”

“It’s going to scar– it has already scarred.”

“Some would say such scars are badges of honor.”

“Really?”

Hyejeong shook her head. “Yes. It shows how strong and how brave you were. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

“Sure.” Seolhyun forced a quick, bright smile.

She could tell by the look on Hyejeong’s face she didn’t believe her, but she didn’t push it. Then she’s heading back to her room. Chanmi waited outside her door with a handful of shopping bags and a nervous look on her face.

“Chan, you didn’t have to do that. And you’re going to get busted over here.”

“Then let me in your room before I get caught. And don’t worry about the shopping. I got some hot chicks to try clothes on.”

Seolhyun snorted as she scooted over to the couch and eased herself down. “Thanks. I owe you.”

Chanmi launched into all the things her friend had missed during her MIA, while she pulled out various jeans, dresses, and shorts Seolhyun doubted met the Ephensy standard. Where in the hell she was supposed to wear some of this stuff?

“Was your training that bad?”

“I think I broke my back today.”

Chanmi looked like she wanted to laugh. “You didn’t break your back. You’re just out of practice. In a couple of days, you’ll be kicking Hyejeong’s .”

“Doubtful.”

“So what did she want yesterday?”

“Hyejeong knew about the thing in the student hall. She really didn’t me out, but I could’ve done without the lecture.”

Chanmi nodded as she sat back in the chair, running a hand through her hair. “Maybe we could burn off her eyebrows or something. I’m sure Hwiyoung would be down with that.”

Seolhyun laughed.

“You know, I hooked up–”

“What?” Seolhyun shrieked, nearly coming off the couch. Ouch, wrong move. It hurt. “Please tell me you didn’t hook up with Rose?”

She shrugged. “I was bored. She was available. Not bad at all–”

Disgusted, Seolhyun tossed a pillow at her head and cut her off. “I don’t want to know the details. I’m just going to pretend you never admitted to that.”

A grin appeared on Chanmi’s lips. “I’m joking. Well, it seems like Rose was determined to get you in trouble if she ratted you out.”

Seolhyun lay back down, thinking about the others in the room. “What about the Genuine who was in the room?”

“Who? Mina?” Chanmi shook her head. “There’s no way she would’ve told anyone. She’s new by the way, with a kid named Jennie.”

“What are they doing here, anyways?”

It was odd to see any Genuine at the Ephensy during the summer. They stayed during the school year, but when summer came, they went off with their parents; probably traveling the world and doing other ridiculously expensive things. Of course, they had Guards who accompanied them on their adventures, just in case a Demon got any ideas to ruin the day.

“Their parents are on the Council and they don’t have any time for them. Mina is really nice, but Jennie is super quiet. I think she’s got the butterflies for Jisoo.”

“Jisoo, as in Hyejeong’s sister?”

“Yup.”

Seolhyun could tell there was something behind the fact Jennie liked her. “What’s the big deal? They’re both Genuine.”

Chanmi arched a brow at her, but then seemed to remember Seolhyun hadn’t been there for three years. “I’m gonna tell you later.”

Seolhyun yawned.

“Ah, almost forgot. Do you remember Irene Bae?”

Seolhyun’s lips pursed. Irene Bae… the name did sound familiar. “Wasn’t she a Guard here?”

“Yeah, she’s about five years older than us. She got herself a boyfriend.”

“Good for her.”

“Wait for it, Seolhyun. You must wait for it. His name is Sehun– uh, not sure what his last name is. Anyways, he’s a Genuine from one of the other communities.” Chanmi stopped for dramatic effect.

Seolhyun ran a hand over her ponytail, not sure where Chanmi was going with any of this.

“Um, Seolhyun? He’s a freaking Genuine,” Chanmi raised her hands. “Remember? Not allowed!”

Seolhyun’s eyes popped wide. “Oh no, not good…”

Chanmi shook her head and strands of dark hair fell over her eyes. “I can’t believe they were stupid enough to even consider something like that.”

The fact that they weren’t allowed to have any type of romantic relationship with a Genuine was a one thing rule since birth. Most Myx didn’t even question it, but then again, most Myx didn’t question much. They were trained into obedience.

Seolhyun tried to find a comfortable position. “What do you think will happen to Irene?”

“She’ll probably be stripped of her Guard duties and sent to work in one of the houses.”

That filled Seolhyun with annoyance and resentment. “And Sehun will get a smack on the hand. How fair is that?”

Chanmi looked at her strangely. “It’s not, but that’s what happens.”

“It’s stupid.” Seolhyun felt something tighten in her jaw. “Who cares if a Myx and a Genuine get together? Is it really a big enough deal that Irene has to lose everything?”

Chanmi’s eyes widened. “It’s the way it is, Seolhyun. You know that.”

Seolhyun folded her arms, wondering why she felt so strongly about it herself. It was the way things had been for ages, but it seemed so unfair. “It’s wrong, Chanmi.”

Chanmi was quiet for a moment and then her eyes zeroed in on her friend. “Does your reaction have anything to do with the fact your new personal trainer happens to be the Genuine all the chicks drool over?”

Seolhyun made a face, sinking down in the cushion. “You forget I spent three years out there in the normal world; a world where Genuine and Myx don’t even exist. No one checks someone’s godly pedigree before going out with them.”

Chanmi stared off in the distance a few moments. “What was it like?”

“What was what like?”

“Being out there, away from all of… this?”

“Oh.” Seolhyun propped herself onto her elbow. Most Myx had no idea what it was like. Sure, they were like alien in the outside world, but they were never a part of it, not for any amount of time.

Chanmi listened with far too much excitement for her own good as Seolhyun tried explaining what it was like out there.

“Whenever we moved around, Mom had used compulsions to get me into the local school system without transcripts.”

“Daebak.”

“It was different than the Ephensy. Here, we spent most of our days fighting in class. Out in the Mortal world, I’d spent most of my classes staring at the whiteboard.”

“Um, sounds boring.” Chanmi tilted her head sideways as she studied her. “How you doing being back here?”

Seolhyun was staring up at the ceiling. “Good.”

“Seriously?” She stood up. “Because you’ve been through a lot.”

“Yeah, I’m okay.”

Chanmi made her way over and sat down, practically shoving Seolhyun on her side.

“Ouch!”

“Seolhyun, the crap that’s happened has to have, you know, bothered me. It would’ve messed with me.”

Seolhyun closed her eyes. “Chanmi, I appreciate your concern, but you’re practically sitting on me.”

Chanmi shifted, but remained beside her.

“Look. I’m doing okay. It’s not like it hasn’t bothered me.” Seolhyun opened her eyes and found her best friend watching her expectedly. “Okay. It’s messed with me. Happy?”

“Of course I’m not happy.”

“I… try not to think about it. It’s better that way.” One thing Seolhyun wasn’t good at was talking about how she felt.

“Seolhyun?”

Seolhyun sat up, ignoring the way her back screamed, and pushed Chanmi off the couch. “What do you want me to say? That I miss my mom? Yes. I miss her. That it totally seeing her get drained by a Demon? Yes, it . Fighting Demons and thinking I was going to die was fun? No. It wasn’t fun. That also . And this scar too.”

Chanmi nodded, accepting her little rant. “Did you get to have a funeral for her or anything?”

“That’s a stupid question, Chan.” Seolhyun pushed back the hair that had escaped her ponytail. “I didn’t get to have a funeral. After I killed the Demon, there was another one. I ran.”

“Did anyone go back for her body?” Her face paled.

Seolhyun cringed. “I don’t know. I haven’t asked.”

“Maybe if you had a ceremony for her, it would help. You know, a little moment just to remember her.”

Seolhyun leveled a hard look at her. “We’re not having a funeral. If you even think about something like that, I will risk getting expelled just to kick your .”

Having a funeral meant facing that her mother was dead. The wall, the toughness Seolhyun had built around her would break and she… She couldn’t deal with that.

“Okay. Okay.” Chanmi held up her hands. “I just thought it would bring you some closure.”

“I have closure. Remember? I saw her die.”

This time she was the one to cringe. “Seolhyun… I’m so sorry. Gods, I don’t even know how you must’ve felt. I cannot even imagine it.”

Chanmi then took a step forward, as if she intended to hug her, but Seolhyun waved her off. She seemed to get her friend didn’t want to talk about it anymore and so switched back to safer topics; more gossip, more tales of Ephensy.

Seolhyun tried focusing on the gossip she’d learned. She even tried thinking about how nice Rowoon looked now, even Rose, but their images were quickly replaced by Hyejeong and her arms.

And that was so wrong.

The Next Day

“There you go.” Hyejeong nodded as she deflected one of her strong blows. “Use your forearm. Move with purpose.”

“Move with purpose?”

Hyejeong launched herself at her and Seolhyun blocked her jab. Next, Hyejeong swung around, and for someone so freaking tall, she sure could move that body like a ninja. The heel of her foot slipped past Seolhyun’s arms and slammed into her side. Well, the impact barely registered on her pain scale. By now, she’d gotten used to the sharp spike of pain and the throbbing that followed.

She inhaled slowly. Myx didn’t show pain in the face of the enemy.

At least she remembered that.

Hyejeong straightened, concern flickering over her face. “You okay?”

Seolhyun clenched her teeth. “Yes.”

She approached her, looking doubtful. “That was a pretty hard hit, Seolhyun. We’ll take a few minutes.”

“No. I’m fine. Let’s try this again.”

And they did. Missing a few jabs and kicks was far better than having to run laps like yesterday or spend the entire afternoon in the gym.

Hyejeong went through several more blocking techniques a nine-year-old could master while Seolhyun obsessively watched the Linus’ movements. Over the past couple of days, she’d realized how far behind she really was, even she was amazed by the fact she’d managed to kill two Demons.

But she couldn’t even block most of Hyejeong’s kicks.

“Watch me.” Hyejeong circled her, body taut. “There is always something that’ll give away my next move. It could be a fine tremor of the muscle or a brief glance, but there is always something. When a Demon attacks, it’s no different.”

Seolhyun nodded and they squared off again. Hyejeong moved in with one swipe of the hand. Seolhyun knocked her arm away, and then the other. It wasn’t her jabs or punches she had a problem with.

It was her kicks; Hyejeong spun around so fast.

Twisting into the kick, Seolhyun brought her arm down in a clean sweeping motion a second too late. Hyejeong’s foot connected with her bruised back. Seolhyun doubled over immediately, grasping her knees as she slowly breathed in and out.

Right away, Hyejeong was at her side. “Seolhyun?”

“That… stung a bit.”

“If it makes you feel better, you almost had it this time.”

Seolhyun looked up and gave a short laugh at the sight of Hyejeong’s lopsided grin. “Good to hear.”

She started to say something, but her grin faded as her voice gave a low warning. “Seolhyun. Stand up.”

Seolhyun’s back protested such a sudden move, but the moment she saw Heechul at the door, she understood why. She didn’t need to look like she’d just gotten the crap knocked out of her in front of him.

Heechul leaned against the door, arms folded. “I wondered how training was going. I see it’s moving along expectedly.”

Seolhyun took a deep breath. “Would you like to give it a try?”

Heechul’s brows rose and he smiled, but Hyejeong placed a warning hand on her arm. “Don’t.”

Seolhyun shook her hand off. She was pretty sure she could take her uncle. With his perfectly groomed hair and pressed khakis, he looked like a poster guy for golf-club-president-of-the-month.

“I’m game if you are,” Seolhyun offered again with a bright smile.

“I’m telling you not to do this. He used to be a–”

Heechul pushed away from the wall. “It’s all right, Hyejeong. I wouldn’t accept such a ridiculous offer normally, but I find myself feeling charitable.”

Seolhyun snickered. “Charitable?”

“Heechul, this isn’t necessary.” Hyejeong moved in front of Seolhyun. “She’s only beginning to learn blocks correctly.”

Seolhyun scowled at the giant. Gods. Her ego roared back to life and she pushed around Hyejeong. “I think I got him.”

Heechul tipped his head back and laughed, but Hyejeong looked less than amused by the whole situation. “Seolhyun, I’m telling you not to do this. Be quiet and listen to me.”

Seolhyun looked at her innocently. “Do what?”

“No. She has this, Hyejeong. Let’s see what she’s learned. Since she is challenging me, I assume she is ready.”

Two planted hands on the hips. “I don’t know. I’d feel bad for beating up an old guy.”

Heechul’s gaze settled on his niece. “Attack me.”

“What?”

He looked perplexed, but then he snapped his fingers. “That’s right! You haven’t learned any real attack moves, then, I shall attack you. You do know defensive blocking techniques?”

Seolhyun shifted her weight and glanced at Hyejeong. She did not look pleased by any of this. “Yeah.”

“Then you should be proficiently trained to defend yourself.” Heechul paused and the smile slipped away. “Just picture me as the enemy, Seolhyun Kim.”

“Oh, that won’t be too hard.” Seolhyun raised her hands and motioned him forward. She was feeling a total badass.

Heechul gave no warning other than the fine tremor in his arm right before he moved. Seolhyun raised her arm, just as Hyejeong instructed, and blocked the jab. She couldn’t fight the wild grin as she deflected another bone-jarring punch. Gaze narrowed on her uncle as he straightened and prepared for another attack.

“Back off.” Hyejeong’s voice came from the sidelines, low and harsh. “You’re too close.”

Seolhyun pushed forward, blocking another one of Heechul’s hits. Cockiness took over. “You’ve got to be faster–”

Heechul grabbed her arm and twisted. As he spun her around he brought his other arm around her neck, placing Seolhyun in a brutal choke. Her heart slammed against her ribs. Any movement she made only succeeded in twisting her arm to an even more unnatural angle.

He bent his head, speaking directly into Seolhyun’s ear. “Now just imagine if I was a Demon,” said Heechul. “What do you think would happen next?”

Seolhyun refused to answer, clenching her teeth.

“Seolhyun Kim, I asked you a question. What would happen if I was a Demon?” His grip tightened.

Seolhyun’s gaze met Hyejeong’s. She watched the whole thing with helpless anger sketched into her face.

“Do we need to try this again?” asked Heechul.

“No. I would be… dead.”

“Yes. You’d be dead.” Heechul let go and Seolhyun stumbled forward. He brushed past her, addressing Hyejeong. “If you even hope to have her ready by fall, you may want to work on her attitude and make sure she actually takes your instructions next time. If she continues this way, she will fail.”

Not taking her eyes off Seolhyun for one second, Hyejeong gave Heechul a curt nod.

Seolhyun silently fumed until the moment Heechul disappeared. “What the hel