A few weeks had passed and Sera was only moving up in the ranks. She went from being number 20 to 15 in just a few weeks. Her after class trainings with Kihyun had really been helping her advance. Everyday they would train until curfew. They would usually miss dinner, which just ment they had to sneak into the kitchen and take some food after the cooks left. Today, however, Sera made it in time for dinner.

"Hey Minhyuk" Sera plopped down next to him.

"Oh hey" He didn't seem that excited to see her, which was strange, because he was usually always excited to see her.

"What's the matter with you?" She boldy asked.

Minhyuk sighed "Nothing"

"Okay?" Sera started to eat her food.

"You're not training today?" He asked.

"No, Kihyun had to take care of some things for his own classes" 

"You've been training an awful lot lately" He was refering to her morning training as well as her night training. "Seems like you don't have time to much else"

"Is that what you are upset about?" Sera asked "That I'm not spending any time with you?"

He shrugged, meaning yes. 

Sera was about to say something when Hyungwon interrupted her. 

"Is this seat taken?" He sat down next to her without waiting for an answer.

"Who is he?" Minhyuk asked her.

"Oh, this is Hyungwon, he's in my class"

Hyungwon smiled and held out his hand "Nice to meet you"

Minhyuk ignored it and kept eating.

"Okay" Hyungwon put his hand down. "Did you hear what we're doing tomorrow?" his question was for Sera.

"No, what?"

"We start learning combat tomorrow" Hyungwon looked super excited.

"Sounds like someone is going to get hurt" Sera stated.

"Yeah, I wonder who will get hurt first. I bet it's going to be that weird kid who got himself stuck on the rock wall"

Sera punched his arm.

"Ow"

"You're a real bully you know that?"

He rubbed his arm "I didn't say anything that wasn't true"

Sera sighed and continued to eat her food.

-

Hyungwon was right, it was the first day of combat training. When Sera walked into the gym, she saw wresting mats all over ground. The coach asked the class to line up while she gave out instructions.

"Today, as some of you all may have heard, is the first day of combat training. All we will learn today is basic techniques, but in future you will all learn boxing and martial arts." 

Sera listened as the coach explained basic blocking and punching techniques. She hit Shownu as a demonstration. Sera was amazed at how well he could take a punch.

"Now everyone grab a partner and take turns hitting the punching pads"

Sera gravitated towards Hyungwon. He punched while she held up the pads. Hyungwon had excellent form and had a lot of power for such a skinny guy. Everytime he hit the pads, Sera would get pushed back slightly.

"Don't let him push you backwards" Shownu told her. "you need to be able to take a punch just as well as you can throw one."

She tried to listen to his advice but couldn't stop moving everytime he punched.

"Should I hit softer?" Hyunwon joked.

Sera ignored him and concentrated on her footing.

"Everyone switch!" The coach shouted.

Hyungwon took the punching pads from Sera and she tied tape around her knuckles. "Try to push me backwards" Hyungwon told her.

Sera threw her first punch but he barely moved. Without hesitating she kept trying. Hoping that one of her punches would throw him off balance.

When the time was up, the coach called everyone back together. "Good job, I saw some really great form from some of you. Remeber, if you are smaller than your opponent, the best plan of attack is going to be throwing them off balance. Your punches don't have to be powerful if they are strategic."

Sera looked down at the floor, listening to what the coach was saying.

"Now, how about a match?" The coach asked.

This made Sera immediately look up. "Already?"

The coach looked around "Jooheon, wanna show them how it's done?"

Jooheon smiled "With pleasure"

"And let's have..." The coach looked around the room. Then she looked up on the leader board. "Sera"

Sera pouted. Her name was the highest on the list out of all the classmates. "Me?"

"Get on the mat" The coach ordered.

She reluctantly moved onto the mat. Jooheon was already there waiting for her. "You ready?" He smiled.

"Not really" She said honestly.

"Don't go easy on her" The coach yelled "This match will show the students what to expect from combat training" 

Jooheon grinned widely "Did you hear that? I don't have to hold back"

Sera gulped. "Yeah"

"You can do it Sera!" Kihyun cheered from the crowd. The way he was cheering reminded her of a father at his daughter's soccer game.

Shownu got into the ring and counted them off.

Once the game began, Sera's heart started pounding in fear. Everytime Jooheon moved closer, Sera stepped back. "You're pretty quick" he commented.

Sera stayed quiet and concentrated.

Jooheon made a jab at her side. Sera clenched her teeth in pain. The crowd let out a "Oooh" as if they sympathized with her pain. 

Using her arms she blocked her face from one of his punches. She felt her arm bruise where he hit. 

"C'mon Sera, hit him!" Hyungwon shouted.

Taking his advice, Sera threw a punch towards Jooheon. Unfortunetly, he blocked it. "That's all you got?" Jooheon asked. Sera threw a few more punches, even if he didn't block it, it didn't look like it hurt him in anyway. 

Kihyun walked over to the coach and asked her to call it off. "I think the students get the message" he begged. "There's no point in letting this continue"

Shownu, who was standing by disagreed "Jooheon hasn't even started attacking yet, I say let him finish it"

The coach sided with Shownu. "Let's let this play out"

Back on the mat, Jooheon was ready to let her have it. He threw one punch after another. Sera dodged most of the punches, but one of them knocked her into the crowd. She toppled over a few students and brought herself to her feet. Then she walked back onto the mat.

The coach was starting to see Kihyun's point. "Sera, whenever you want to tap out, just step out off the mat"

Sera acknowledged her statement but wasn't done just yet. She threw punches at Jooheon, she tried to to her best to throw him off balance. A few here, some there. But it was obvious he had been doing this a lot longer than she has.

He threw one final blow to her head, not on purpose, he was aiming lower, but Sera moved just in time. 

"Sera!" A collective yell was made when she fell, passed out on the ground.

-

The nurse's office suddenly became very crowded. Hyungwon, Jooheon, Shownu, and Kihyun were all there patiently waiting for Sera to wake up.

Minhyuk came running when he heard the news. He busted into the room and found the crowd sitting outside the office. "Where is she? Is she okay?"

Hyungwon laughed at his worried expression. "The nurse says she's fine. She's in there resting"

He let out a sigh of relief. "What happened?"

"Jooheon didn't go easy on her like he should've" Kihyun groaned.

"I wasn't aiming for her head! She moved to quickly!" Jooheon defended himself.

Shownu stood up from his seat "She'll be fine, four stitches never killed anyone."

"Four stitches?!" Minhyuk gasped.

"Four stitches is nothing" He rolled his eyes "I'm going back to class"

Minhyuk took his Shownu's seat. 

The room fell silent for a while. They all waited anxiously for Sera to wake up.

Jooheon looked anxiously at his watch.

"Do you have somewhere to be?" Kihyun asked. 

Jooheon shook his head "no"

"If you need to go to class I can text you when she wakes up" he offered.

"Really?" Jooheon's eyebrows raised "Thanks" He got up and left the waiting room.

Now Kihyun, Hyungwon, and Minhyuk were all that was left. They all waited patiently in silence. It was almost like an unsaid contest. As if whoever stays the longest cared about Sera the most. Dinner time rolled around and still, none of them had budged.

Minhyuk's stomach growled loudly enough for them all to hear. 

"Dude, if you're hungry go get food" Hyungwon complained.

Minhyuk shook his head "What If she wakes up when I leave?"

"Seriously?" Hyungwon stood up "I'll go get you food then"

"Would you really?" Minhyuk's eyes widened, he was really hungry.

The nurse stepped out of her office. "What are you all still doing here?"

The three boys all looked at her. "We were waiting for Sera to wake up" Minhyuk explained.

She smiled "How sweet! But she's going to be resting until tomorrow. You all should go home and get some rest"

Suddenly the three of them felt ridiculous for sitting out there for so long. "Are you sure?" Kihyun asked.

"Of course, I'll watch her until then" The nurse told them.

Reluctantly, the three of them left the nurse's office. Looks like no one won that unsaid contest.