Rating: Strong T

Warning: Unbeta-d

A/N: Thank you for reading, commenting and subscribing people. Here is the next installment.

|Six|

When Yunho announced that he would be joining in on Sooyoung’s training they were surprised by the change of heart, since he was the kind of person who didn’t change his mind once it was set on something.

“Did the sky fall or something?” Changmin was the one to dare ask, since the others just accepted his word at face value when there was a big catch hiding behind them. Was Yunho devious? No, that was Jaejoong, but there was something not obvious about his change.

Yunho was never a good liar, especially when Changmin was involved because he saw right through him so did Jaejoong. But, he calmly sipped his coffee and tried to divert their attention. “I thought you’d be happy, since it will be less work for you and more time for your freaky experiments.”

“And it took you two weeks to magically reconsider your hard-line stance? You can sell that to Junsu, but I’m not buying it,” unable to figure out his hyung’s angle, but knowing there was one. His attempt at deflection was glaring obvious.

Junsu couldn’t help pipe in, “how the hell did I get involved in this, I didn’t even say anything?” The maknae always pulled him into his tiffs with their hyungs, which in turn got them to join in on picking on him.

“You’re an easy target,” Jaejoong informed him of the obvious. Junsu wasn’t an idiot, far from it but he did just ask for it with his unbearable aegyo. “And even though it isn’t my thing to agree with the kid, your trooper attitude is suspect.”

Of course the two of them would team up against him when it served their purpose; otherwise they were like two alphas always at each other’s throats. “Why are you even complaining Joongie? You aren’t exactly lifting a finger to help in Sooyoung’s training, so questioning me is odd.”

“And deflection isn’t your strong Yunho-ah, but whatever. You being involved means I don’t have to oversee these idiots while they baby her.” The less he saw of her the better in his opinion; woman just annoyed him even on standby.

--~*+*~-:-o-:-~*+*~--

Sooyoung had honestly thought the drill sergeant among the guys, when it came to her training was Changmin because he was the one to push her to her limits before eventually letting up. However, the Dong Bang Shin Ki maknae had absolutely nothing on the leader. If anything the man training her was nothing like the one who had saved her and consoled her when she had chosen to return with him instead of going back to her dongsaeng.

Nothing she did was enough, even though she pushed herself even harder than she had with Changmin. She was too slow, her movements to lazy for him, her stamina too weak and her drive non-existent to him. But, she’d be damned if she gave up because it was too hard. Giving up had never been in her vocabulary, and it wouldn’t begin then.

“Too slow,” was all Yunho said as she came panting down the track, running at speeds even Usain Bolt would be envious of and internally impressed him, given that it was her tenth round. Her feet light against the ground and wouldn’t have been heard had it been an ordinary listening in on her approach. The sweat drenched tank she was wearing clung to her body, limbs glistened and hair mated against her forehead. His acute hearing could pick up her rapid heartbeat as her heart threatened to beat out of her chest, and the slightest of wheezes as her lung worked to full capacity. It didn’t make him happy to do this, but someone needed to knock some sense into her –might as well be him, “Another lap.” He knew these past few days he’d reinvented the meaning of cruel, but he’d rather be cruel now and keep her alive and safe than complacent and risk her death.

Like hell she will, was Changmin’s frame of mind as he raced past her and stopped her before she could run herself in the ground. For goodness sake, she was ready to wheeze out a lung, and all but collapse into his arms when he stopped her, heart beating violently against his chest. “Enough,” he ordered gently, hearing her struggle to catch a breath. “Breath slow,” rubbing her back gently as he glared his hyung something wicked. He was well aware of Yunho’s tactic and his intention to make the woman quit, but at this rate he would destroy her before she even got to an actual mission.

“Fine, we’ll pick this up tomorrow,” hating the look Changmin was giving him right then. Sure the kid tended to be a brat, but he was the hyung –along with Yoochun –that rarely annoyed him. But, that look told him he was at top of his -list, way above Jaejoong who was only guilty of verbally annoying the woman.

“Tch, unbelievable,” he didn’t care that he was being an insolent brat, because Yunho deserved much more at that moment. There had to be a better way to getting his way than what he was doing. Conditioning had been hard on her body enough as it was, and pushing past her limits was only hurting her. “Yah, Choi Sooyoung, you want to die?” easily lifting her into his arms bridal style without too much of a fight, not like she was able to since she was exhausted beyond belief.

Her breathing was better, but she was still having a little trouble on regulating it back to normal. “Oppa… could you… not right now,” barely able to keep her eyes open, as they continued to attempt to droop closed. It didn’t help that he was comfortable and warm, almost lulling her to sleep.

“You are the pabo who’s pushing yourself beyond your capabilities,” he lectured, carrying her toward the house. He rarely let himself care for people outside his hyungs, the professor and Boa, but along came Sooyoung who made him add her to the list; a person who actually made him out-of-his-mind angry at Yunho for the first time, when he rarely fought with the guy otherwise.

“I’ll get used to it, like you said I’m adjusting to the change,” she defended herself and comforted his obvious worry. She was too stubborn to just quit when she’d given the captain her word. “I actually feel more sorry for you in this situation,” shifting only slightly to get comfortable.

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, “why’s that?” Not seeing how the situation affected him more than her.

“You’ll have to suffer Jaejoong’s experiment tonight, because I’m not going to be cooking,” delivering her punch line in a somber tone as if she’d just informed him of his puppy’s untimely death. But, she stood by her view of Jaejoong cooking, horrible and potentially lethal for ordinary human consumption. It was lucky he hadn’t burnt anyone’s tongue off yet.

He couldn’t help laugh; that why he liked her, always with the witty jab at Jaejoong.

--~*+*~-:-o-:-~*+*~--

“Don’t you think you’re going too far hyung?” Junsu voiced unable to remain silent after what he’d witnessed earlier.

Training was essential, but both Changmin and Boa had agreed that a gradual increase in difficulty was healthier than going from zero to hundred with Sooyoung, conditioning as she gained the weight able to sustain her changes, then moving on to full on training when she’d achieved it. Yunho had pretty much shot the whole thing to hell.

Yunho was well aware he’d gone far beyond what he should have and Junsu was just being polite to not blatantly call him out for it, but it was the whole point. Push her to quit, so he wouldn’t have to worry about her dying due to her stubbornness and a warped sense of duty. “You guys were going easy on her, and the way she is at the moment will be more liability than asset,” forcing his voice to be detached and cool to drive the point home to the part of himself that was skeptical about his approach.

That tone wasn’t something he often heard; especially when Yunho spoke about someone he cared about. It was too detached, cool and uncaring, he didn’t like it, “Hyung, she could barely stand or breathe today maybe –”

“She’s the one who asked to join in, no one put a gun to her head and forced her to comply,” he cut him off, knowing Junsu gentle tone would likely convince him to reconsider his plan. “If it’s so hard for her, she can simply quit.”

Jaejoong sniggered, “which is your end-game to begin with?” please Yunho was embarrassingly transparent in his attempts, he was pretty sure Sooyoung herself was aware of it too. “Well I’m all for it but, I suggest being harsher, because if you really want results your current level of hard- is kind of weak.”

 “Joong don’t start,” Yunho warned, not wanting to start with the guy. He wasn’t exactly enjoying what he was doing, it pained him to push her and see her suffer. But he had to, for her sake.

“Even though she annoys me, she isn’t exactly oblivious or slow and will figure out your intentions,” Jaejoong ignored the warning and went on. Like he said Yunho didn’t exactly have a vindictive bone in his body, unless of course he was dealing with really nasty, lower-than-scum adversaries, so his aim was clear as day. “You need to be harder on her if you are really looking for her to quit.”

Yoochun would have preferred to stay out of it, but even he was disturbed by Yunho’s methods. “How about just respecting her choice to do this,” he wasn’t surprised to get a withering glare from his hyung for his words, but he felt strongly about what he was saying and didn’t stop. “Just saying, it’s less taxing on her health and your conscious, to give her choice a chance than trying to wear her down.”

“I’m with Chunnie,” Junsu chipped in.

Jaejoong snorted, “Like that’s a surprise.” Please, the two rarely disagreed on anything so it wasn’t a shock he agreed this time. “Where’s the demon seed anyway? Isn’t food his calling card?” Referring to the fact that there was food on the table, and Changmin wasn’t the first one to dig in despite it lacking manners.

“He’s with Sooyoung-ah,” Junsu answered. “Her muscles are bothering her.” A medicinal bathe was doing nothing to ease the soreness and pain in her muscles, so the maknae had resorted to hot packs and massages as he grumbled about stubborn hyungs.

He could feel Jaejoong and his two dongsaengs eyes on him, the former in amusement and the latter to in subtle accusation. “Let’s eat; he’ll join us when he’s ready.”

--~*+*~-:-o-:-~*+*~--

The good thing about her body’s recovery time now was that it was much faster, and the soreness and pain she’d experienced the night before was almost nonexistent the morning after. The medicinal spa bath Changmin had made her take, as well as the hot packs and massage helped a lot as well. Today was her swimming lesson with Junsu and weapons training with Yoochun, and Sooyoung still didn’t know whether Yunho would takeover that too, but she was ready for whatever he threw at her because she wasn’t going to give up like he wanted.

She wasn’t in the mood and didn’t have the desire to make breakfast, so she settled on a large bowl of cereal, toast and juice waiting for the rest to wake. Changmin was probably going to sleep in to catch up on the hours he’d stayed up with her the night before and wouldn’t be seen ’til the afternoon, which left Yoochun, Junsu, Yunho –now that he’d stopped avoiding her, and Jaejoong. Unfortunately, for her Jaejoong was the first to wake and join her in the kitchen, and of course being him he greeted her with a smirk and invasion of space.

“I have to say your cockroach-like resilience is rather impressive,” Jaejoong commended, placing hands on either side of her whispering the words in her ear with a husky laugh. “I would have thought you would have given up by now.”

Sooyoung didn’t know what was more ridiculous, his attempt at a compliment or that he dared to compare her to bleeding cockroach. Did this guy’s ego know no bounds or did he just have some sort of god complex. In the end she could only chuckle, “Well I don’t know about cockroaches, but I do know I’m too stubborn to give up. You know normal people begin with good morning not a thinly veiled insult.”

“Normal is for ordinaries,” he returned with a click of the tongue, leaving her to her food so he could prepare everyone else’s, “and we both know I’m far from ordinary.”

She couldn’t help snigger at that, his ego didn’t know any bound. “Indeed you are,” she agreed even, offering an extra bright, sickly sweet smile to assure him of it. Of course he was an extraordinary idiot, but whatever floats his boat she guessed.

“You sure you want to eat so much, Sooyoung-ssi, because I’m pretty sure it all going to come back up after Yunho is done with you,” he smiled evilly, not liking the fact that she was left with the upper hand and was enjoying a private joke he wasn’t privy to. Besides, she deserved it for being so resilient and not folding like Yunho hoped, so if he pushed her until she threw up well it was all on her and she didn’t deserve his sympathy.

Sooyoung rolled her eyes wondering why he brunette was such a malevolent jerk. Seriously, was the thought of her in pain that satisfying? “Careful, Jaejoong-ssi that almost sounded like you cared.” Not giving him the opportunity to protest or answer as she walked out of the room.

Of course she stormed out leaving him to clean the dishes like he was her personal maid. “Damn insufferable yeoja,” if it wasn’t her breathing, talking, laughing and overall presence –

“I know the long hair throws people off sometimes, but last time I checked I was all male,” Yoochun walked in on the tail end of that grumble knowing full well it wasn’t him his hyung was cursing out under his breath, but couldn’t resist. Jaejoong spared him a fierce stare down that pretty much tried to burn him to the ground. “It’s not working so you can stop trying to glare me down.”

“I wouldn’t provoke me if I were you, Chunnie,” rushing around the kitchen to gather ingredients, not sparing his dongsaeng another glance.

A sigh couldn’t help escape Yoochun, “Okay what did she do now that irritated you this time?” Trust him; he didn’t even understand why the older male was ever irritated by the woman.

“You mean other than talking, laughing, breathing…existing?” Those were on top the list really; the woman just got to him even on standby and, annoyed him to the very core. He was never one to pretend or tolerate people he didn’t like that was Yunho, who had the patience of a saint. For Jaejoong, if he didn’t like you, it remained so until kingdom came and Sooyoung… well, she was annoyance in a female ordinary package point blank.

Yoochun sniggered, “and here I thought it was over something rational this time. Why can’t you just ignore her?” Usually he understood the older male, but on this he was still stumped. With Boa he said things to get a rise out of her rarely meaning the things he said, with Yuri he flirted so that he could ultimately annoy Boa, but with Sooyoung he said things just to be hurtful.

“She’s 5’7 and living here, I can’t exactly pretend she doesn’t exist now can I?” Returned Jaejoong, wondering why Yoochun wasn’t letting it go already. There were only so many different ways he could explain his dislike for the woman, and he hated repeating himself.

Junsu and Yunho took that moment to walk into the kitchen, the older of the two looking like he hadn’t caught a wink of sleep. They were extraordinary by normal standards, but even they required sleep like any other ordinary human being would. “You look like ,” Jaejoong commented, not one to really mince words and adding Yunho’s state to the many reasons why he couldn’t stand Sooyoung.

“Just cook and shut up,” Yunho warned not in the mood to deal with whatever sass Jaejoong wanted to serve up.

“And feisty, that ridiculous guilty conscious of yours needs to take a holiday,” Jaejoong ignored the warning despite the tension it built in the air and the younger men in the room tensed thinking he was spoiling for a fight. “Your ordinary perfectly okay, you didn’t break her.”

Of course he wouldn’t shut up, “You know what, I’m not hungry,” pushing back his chair as calmly as he could before storming out of the room. He didn’t have the patience, this morning. Changmin could barely stand him, and he was likely pushing Sooyoung away from him too.

“Hyung –” Junsu tried to call out to the raven haired male, but he was already gone. “You should have just let it go, hyung,” he grumbled, the drama he was stirring up was unnecessary.

.                                               .                                               .                                               .

“Annyeonghasaeyo, Yunho-ssi,” Sooyoung greeted when he came storming out on to the patio, obviously in a less than cheery mood. Despite the grueling training, Yunho remained a person of calm for her, offering him a warm smile. “Do you want us to start training?–”

He was honestly surprised that she was greeting him with a smile –a genuine smile at that –after the grueling training he’d been putting her through the last few days. Wasn’t she supposed to hate him, or at least be weary? “–No, Junsu-ya, is the one taking you swimming,” he interrupted her.

“Right, I just assumed…” she trailed off, letting a silence fall between them for a moment before deciding it was better to just tackle the elephant in the room. “I know I’m not doing all that well in training, but I’ll do better. Min-oppa said that my body is still conditioning itself to the changes and it won’t be 100% for a while. I will work harder.”

That was the problem right there –she didn’t want to quit. She still didn’t get it, “Do me a favor, don’t,” his tone more tired than harsh, before he walked away in need of a ride to clear his head.

--~*+*~-:-o-:-~*+*~--

 “She’s younger than I imagined,” Dr. Shin Sungyeon commented after reading the file of the candidate the professor had recommended. “The younger they are, the more temperamental they are. I don’t need mood swings around this project.”

Professor Baek snorted, “What you need is someone who lives and breathes genetics and the only student I have that fits the bill, is Choi Jinri. Isn’t it enough that she’s already on her way to a graduate program at the tender age of 18? You were interested when you read her research thesis, don’t let something as insignificant as age stop you from achieving greatness.” Choi Jinri was a brilliant young woman and had the potential to be great, not only because of her passion in genetics, but her intelligence. Turning her down because of temperament was stupid.

“On paper she may be brilliant, but practical work is different. What if she’s unable to execute?” Wondering why Baek was acting like the girl was the second coming or something.

“Ahn had been looking into her as well, and we both know the man has impossible standards. The last time he gave a graduate the time of day was that Shim kid,” The professor said, knowing how much animosity existed between the two. “Are you really going to let him steal another one from you?”

Shim Changmin despite being a medical student had shown a strong grasp of the genetics field, and he had been in the process of recruiting him into his program when Ahn swooped in and leeched him away. The recruits he currently had hadn’t brought a single thing to the project, hanging on his word waiting for ideas so they could execute them. He needed an independent thinker, someone who would move his research further. “Like I said I need someone who is strong in the practical appl –”

“Apart from her theories on the Dong Bang Shin Ki, she successful breed and spliced a special breed of orchid and rose named ‘Summer’ which she is now in the process of cultivating in the University green house,” Baek interrupted, bringing out an intimidating binder of the projects particulars. “Read this and tell me if you want me to begin the recruitment process. I’ll leave first; I have a lecture to attend.”

Perhaps he was being too dismissive? Baek obviously had strong faith in the girl as well as Ahn, they both couldn’t be wrong could they?

--~*+*~-:-o-:-~*+*~--

Even though Junsu was wary about training her due to the heavy training Yunho had subjected her to, she’d managed to assure him of her condition. Her swimming was still on the weaker side and required the most work, so skipping was out of the question. With arms linked, they made the trek toward the lagoon conversation much easier after weeks of training.

“I still can’t believe you got Changdola to be nice to you,” Junsu grouched. Sure the kid had been all respectful when he was an awkward and gangly teen, but as soon as he passed that phase he became a snarky brat to everyone and anyone. Even the hyung he looked up to the most, Yunho. But with Sooyoung he was nice. “He’s still sarcastic, but the why he treats you is different. I hope you appreciate it while it lasts.”

Sooyoung giggled, “Jun-oppa, you do realize he was dressing me down and scolding me the entire time he was helping me last night. I swear he nags more than a wife.” She understood that due to his personality, it was hard for Changmin to get close to people but he was exaggerating when congratulating her.

“You should know that’s Changmin’s way of showing he cares,” Junsu informed her. “His favorite and the one he respects the most is Yunho, and he still nags him like they are married.” For Changmin he wasn’t flowery words and showering people with skinship and affection, nagging and taunting was his mode of action.

Sooyoung chuckled, “So, if Yunho-ssi is Min-oppa’s favorite who is his least favorite?” She had a strong idea about the person, but wasn’t one to make assumptions.

“I think it’s obvious, but it’s mostly due to the personality clash,” Junsu gave her a pointed look since it was clear as day that the maknae wasn’t exactly all that nice to Jaejoong and it was mutual. “But, they love each other like blood brothers; they just don’t like each other.”

“No offense,” okay she was lying, all offense was intended. “But, Jaejoong isn’t the most likeable person in the world.”

Junsu couldn’t exactly defend his hyung on that one, since the man was determined to show the woman the worst face possible. Even on average his blunt nature and general persona turned off many and burned Junsu as well who loved the guy. “I guess he’s an acquired taste…he doesn’t hate you, I hope you know that,” he tried putting in a good word anyway.

“Could have fooled me,” she could understand Junsu’s loyalty to the guy, but you couldn’t exactly blame her for being skeptical since all she got from the pretty boy brunette was venom and spite. “So, are we still practicing and treading or are we doing something different today?” Changing the subject was best because she didn’t want to ruin the mood, and they had arrived at the lagoon they’d been frequenting for the past few weeks, already stripping down to her trusty swim suit and shorts, expecting Junsu to do the same.

He knew a subject change when he heard one, so he let her have it –following suit and shedding clothes down to his swim trunks. “Your and treading are great, so we’ll do something different,” he really didn’t know how she would take his next statement, taking the time to jump in to the pool to come up with the words. He even managed to stall further as he helped her into the pool like he always did.

“Really, what are we doing oppa?” allowing him to help her into the pool. Her aversion to the water had gotten better over the weeks and she was no longer panicked whenever she entered. It helped that Junsu stuck close and held her until her initial reaction subsided. But today even though she didn’t feel the initial panic she used to feel, she definitely didn’t like the look in Junsu’s eye. “I’m not going to like this, am I?”

He tried calming her by making gentle circles with his thumb on her back, but it didn’t help. “We’re going to practice holding your breath…under water.” Now she wasn’t at all afraid to put her head in water, but he could only imagine what submerging herself and holding her breath for long periods of time would do to the progress she’d made during the weeks.

“N-Ne,” despite knowing she would be safe and Junsu would never let anything happen to her, it was still overwhelming. Her underlying fear had always been drowning and this was definitely testing the delicate progress she’d made over the weeks.

The tightening of her hands on his shoulder, labored breathing and paling at the revelation was something he expected, “Sooyoung-ah,” he called gently to her, wanting to get her attention so he can attempt to calm her. “Hey, Soo,” gently squeezing her waist he finally got her attention. “I know it won’t be easy, but I’m here. I’m here and I will never let anything happen to you okay. So trust me.”

“Ara…Arasso.”

He took the lesson slowly, even though Jaejoong had redressed him for going so easy on the lessons. But, he was just doing what was best for Sooyoung in the long term, traumatizing her further by pushing her too quickly wouldn’t help anyone. Besides, she was doing great for just a few weeks.

--~*+*~-:-o-:-~*+*~--

“She’s not ready, Captain,” Yunho announced not mincing words. It was barely past a month since he’d last seen her, and he already expected Sooyoung to do a mission?

Captain Dojin wasn’t at all surprised that Yunho was opposed to his request being that he’d already been against her joining them in the first place. “With her abilities I’m sure this will be a cake walk for her. It’s not even on your level of difficulty. Did I mention she’ll have five of my best with her?”

“It’s barely been a month –”

“She passed the simulation exercise with flying colors, heck it seem to be even too easy for her. None of my guys have ever gone past level 3 without failing; she completed level five of a 3-man simulation exercise. Is she not ready or are you not ready?” Dojin challenged the younger male with a raised eyebrow. Anyone wouldn’t cross someone who could probably kill him before he hit the ground, but Dojin wasn’t one to be intimated even by the Dong Bang Shin Ki boys.

“I’ll be back up on this, incase anything goes wrong,” perhaps he was overreacting and being overprotective of someone who could clearly take care of herself, if her performance during the simulation was anything to go by, but a part of him just couldn’t help it. Couldn’t help wanting to keep her safe and out of harm’s way.

That was Yunho’s greatest weakness, his inability to be disrespectful to someone he considered a superior unless pushed to wits end. In this case Dojin was right and the younger male was wrong so he had to relent. He wasn’t at all surprise he gave in by offering a compromise. “I actually need Yoochun to go over strategy and Changmin on comms and tech support anyway, so I don’t see anything wrong in adding you to the roster.”

“Kamsahabnida,” Yunho thanked the man out of courtesy. It felt like making deals with devils, but he was helpless to it. Sooyoung would jump at the chance to be back in the field whether or not he approved.  The only thing he could do was going along for the ride and make sure she didn’t get herself killed.

“Ah Sooyoung-ssi, you almost managed to impress me,” he greeted the freshly showered and changed woman, who was accompanied by the rest of the Dong Bang Shin Ki men, ready to receive her verdict on her performance. “But, can it translate on a mission?” Of course being the intelligent young men they were, they all bristled at the subtle hint in his question.

Sooyoung gave him a lopsided smile, “Well, you will just have to give me a mission to assess that, sir.” Please, she owned the simulation like it was child’s play and that wasn’t her bragging. It surprised even her to be honest, so she was sure she’d be more than capable to handle a mission.

“Since, you begged,” he grinned, producing the file with the mission particulars and handed it to her. “I need you to prove yourself on this, it may not be Dong Bang Shin Ki level hard but, you can definitely earn your stripes and prove that I didn’t make a mistake.”

Jaejoong sniggered, “Sure you want a nugu on your team?” Almost impressing the captain was a hard thing to do, but to hand her a mission after a too easy simulation exercise was exaggerating her capabilities. Heck, why wasn’t Yunho voicing protest on this, wasn’t he the one being a protective bear over the ordinary?

“The fact that she got an almost impressive earns her a mission, Joong-ah,” Dojin could sense the hostility from a mile off, Sooyoung confirming it by subtly taking her eyes off the file for a moment to glare at the male who seemed to revel at the reaction. “Junsu and you get to sit this one out, so enjoy the holiday. As for Yoochun, I need you to go over the schematics with Changmin and let me know if changes need to be made. Changmin, I’ll need you to help Kyu with comms and Yunho will be the backup on this. Any questions?”

“Will I be working on this alone then?” Sooyoung put two and two together.

“You’ll be working with one of my units, who you’ll be meeting later. Just study the particular and be ready for the briefing later on,” he could definitely give her credit where credit was due, but she definitely wasn’t ready for any solos yet, Yunho wasn’t ready for her having any solos yet. “Yoochun, Changmin kaja, we have work to do,” leaving the other four in the room.

Jaejoong couldn’t believe Yunho kept his mouth shut. Passive just wasn’t the man’s strong suit, “Yah, you’re just going to let this pabo woman walk to her death?”

“Hyung…” Junsu tried to deter the eldest male, but couldn’t find the words since it was kind of suspect that Yunho hadn’t kicked up a fuss. In fact he’d remained silent the whole time.

“I know you are itching to get rid of me, but I don’t plan on dying any time soon. So don’t get your hopes up,” Yunho, who she’d expected to protest, hadn’t so why was Jaejoong being such a jerk about it? She wasn’t some toddler walking through rush hour traffic, she was trained and good at what she did, disregarding her only failure.

“Yah be quiet woman, I wasn’t talking to you,” Jaejoong warned her in a bored drawl, no real bite in his words. He was mostly saying it to get a rise out of the woman, who seemed all too proud of herself.

Junsu could tell he needed to get Jaejoong out before he really stirred up trouble. Sooyoung looked ready to throw a shoe at him, and Yunho wasn’t any less incensed with the man but, choose to remain controlled and silent. “Ah, hyung don’t you have to meet Boa in a while? We should go,” pulling his eldest hyung out of the room with him to avoid a blowout.

“I… I thought you were against me going on missions,” Sooyoung asked when the heavy silence became too oppressive, when the other two left. Even if he’d voiced it like the jackass that he was, Jaejoong had brought up a valid point. Why wasn’t he saying something against her involvement had he finally accepted her decision?

He sighed, turning tired eyes on the brunette who was looking at him with hope for approval. But, he would just have to disappoint her, “Because it wouldn’t matter if I say something against it, would it?” it was filled with subtle accusation and challenge. “The only thing I can do is make sure your stubbornness doesn’t kill you,” he was being distant and harsh, but he wasn’t sorry for it. Not giving her the opportunity to talk as he walked out of the room.

TBC

A/N: As you can see I’m leading this up to some action so please, be patient. As for the dynamics between the characters –as things unfold, it will become clearer, but I’ve dropped subtle hints. Also, the myth will eventually come to play, but we are a long way from there. Just for visualization purposes I’ll give you the looks I visualize for everybody. Yoochun –wavy shoulder length hair; Junsu –the short dark blonde he had, I don’t know the era; Jaejoong –Mirotic era; Yunho –Poseidon; Changmin-humanoids; Sooyoung-The Boys

The plotline and story is mine. Please do not repost, copy, translate anywhere without consent and plagiarism is a bad thing.

Comments would be lovely and greatly wanted, helps me know what you think. Constructive Criticisms is welcomed, because it helps me improve. Flames … “to each his own”.