"I...I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I'm so so so sorry. No amount of sorry's could relay just how sorry I feel right now - "

"I know, Jieqiong." Minkyung tells the shorter girl, who shuts immediately. Her pouting lips nonetheless quiver in remorse. The taller of the two girls simply turns around and gestures toward the lower half of her body. "Just help me get your stupid arrow out of my ."

Prior to accepting Jieqiong as her personal mentee, Minkyung was already aware of the Cupid-in-training's need to improve her marksmanship. However, she'd never expected it to be this bad. The mentor eyes the target board across the room, which Jieqiong had missed by a long, long shot. Now that she thinks about it, Jieqiong was infamous among her fellow trainees for this very reason. But what's done is done; Minkyung's is beginning to go numb. It's clearly too late to consider those things now.

Jieqiong stares at the arrow with her initials carved into the wooden shaft, her very own arrow that appears deeply embedded into her training instructor's right buttock. She tries not to squirm. Her hands are growing clammy with sweat. "...Is it going to hurt you when I pull it out?"

Minkyung sends her a subtle look which indicates that her question is a stupid one. "Since I'm not human, the intense dopaminergic effect of the arrow doesn't work on me. There's no doubt that the pain will be excruciating." Upon this answer, Jieqiong looks as if she could burst into tears at any given moment. Minkyung sighs as she feels herself softening at the sight. She speaks more gently: "The quicker you do it, the less pain I will feel, so pull as hard as you can in one go, okay?" Jieqiong nods wordlessly and they position themselves in preparation of the dreadful task.

Jieqiong plants her feet firmly on the ground and carefully secures her fingers around the midsection of the arrow. "I'm going to take it out now, on the count of three." Minkyung doesn't say anything, but Jieqiong can see the feathery wings on her back tense up in anticipation. The mentee takes a deep breath before starting the count: "Okay, one, two - " She squeezes her eyes shut and yanks at the arrow with all of her strength, stumbling back in the process b