“First and foremost, they must be capable. But the second most important thing is to test the chemistry and how their bloods react to one another, for these protectors must be connected by body and soul in order to accomplish tasks impossible for other human to do.”

Book of Aurora, 1675, K.G.

“Did you meet Mr. Jung on your first day of school?” Came Sehun’s first bizarre question. He did not ask me how my day was, or how I felt the school, which would have been awkward if he did. He took off his slippers and entered the training room, which was bigger than the dining hall itself. It was rather empty, though.

“Yes, he was in my first class,” I replied and slipped out of my sport shoes, which I figured would be useless since we were all going bare-footed. I wore a black sports bra and a matching training pants, leaving my stomach bare. “Such an uptight old man. I don’t really like him.”

Sehun gave me a lopsided grin, “Well, don’t be. He loves pretty girls. Bet you would get ninety by the end of term without doing much.” He paused as if he remembered something, “Which reminds me, he gave Jongin and I hell in the final project because we wrote reports about Japan’s invasion to China during the World War.”

I was dumbfounded, “What happened?”

“Well,” Sehun chuckled reservedly, “Guess we wrote the whole truth and it wasn’t written in the common history book, so we got zero for writing nonsensical things.”

I swallowed. The clan’s library had a vast collection of books that were banned for telling the truth about the corrupted government, their cruelty and the casualty they had caused. A literature-major like Mr. Jung wouldn’t know much about history and would not bother to dig out the truth anyway. I spat out, “He was a fool.”

“Maybe,” Sehun shrugged it off lightly. He didn’t seem to hold a grudge. In fact, he was rather calm when talking. Or perhaps, like many times before, this was just a façade Sehun maintained to fool people. “It is exactly those kind of thoughts that make people innocent, Sena. The world, as we all know, is not a place of black and white, right or wrong. Sometimes, you’ll be surprised at the vastness of a grey area.”

“So what happened to your grade? How can you pass with a zero on your finals?” I carefully shifted the topic back to school so we would avoid taking things too philosophically. It wasn’t that I was afraid of deep, complicated subjects. It was just that deep down, I still hadn’t trusted them yet.

“We scored nearly perfect marks on all the other subjects and petitioned the principal to give us another shot. Needless to say, Mr. Jung wasn’t so happy. In the end, the head teacher Mr. Kim, himself mark our essay and gave us a passing grade,” He explained, his tone light, Laughing, he said, “It’s the first time we got a C.”

“Even Jongin?” I raised my eyebrow.

“He skipped classes a lot, but that boy’s smart,” was Sehun’s first compliment for him. “Psychology is one of the toughest major in SNU, but he got in anyway, and that is without a special admission from our family. In fact,” he looked down at his very red hands, “You’ll be surprised at that kid’s unpredictability from time to time.”  

“I reckoned you had a good time talking behind my back, Oh Sehun.”

I froze because I hadn’t noticed his presence behind me, nor did I hear the sound of door being opened and closed. I turned around very slowly. Jongin was dressed in sleeveless striped shirt. He glowered at us, or more at Sehun than me. He just gave me a scoff and turned away.

“I always do,” Sehun followed him to the area which was covered with sparring matt. Jongin clenched and unclenched his fists, but his feet were stuck on the ground, his eyes following me as I joined them in the arena. “How many rounds are we going for today?”

“Aren’t you going to stand aside and watch us, instead?” He asked with his eyebrows furrowed. His posture was almost too relaxed for a fighter, but the moment Sehun strike the first blow, he was ready to block it. The former chuckled lightly as he stepped back and faced me.

“Sena, it’s your first day here. Better watch us first and see what comes out of it.”

“Is it usually intense?” I asked unabashedly.

“It gets worse with each passing minute, so yes," Sehun replied my question. I wondered if he was always this two-dimensional because his character seemed pretty flat to me. It was like talking to an overly courteous young man who was prim and proper to the core.

“Say, Princess,” Jongin seemed to have gotten very comfortable with this new nickname. He stopped looking at Sehun and fixed his eyes at me. Only then did I realize that behind the calmness, was a frightening raging madness. “How skilled are you in fighting?”

“Jongin, you won’t do this to her,” Sehun warned but I was as stubborn as he was. Obedience was never my forte; the more they provoked, the more excited I was. To me this was nothing but a challenge to overcome. Besides, how badly could I end up but bloody and messed up?

“Why don’t you find out yourself?” I stepped forward, but Sehun yanked me back. I thought he would be gentle with it, but his grip was forceful and strong. There was a hint of concern, but underneath it all, curiosity. I could recognize that anytime because I, too, had seen my reflection on his obsidian eyes.

“Sena, don’t mess with Kim Jongin. He won’t back away from a fight or give you a handicap,” Sehun spoke quickly while Jongin stretched himself. I shook my head stubbornly and refused to give in. He quickly came up to us and spoke in my defense, “She is the lady of the house, Cousin. I shall obey what she wants. Right?”

His right feet came hurling like a storm that I could hear the sound of wind passing my ear in a lighting speed. If it weren’t for Sehun’s quick block, I would be writhing in pain on the floor, completely at his mercy. “If both of you won’t back down, then I will be her first opponent.” His tone was stern, different from the usual Sehun. One flash moment, and the coldness in his eyes were gone. “Ten hits, and we’ll stop. Agreed?”

“Perhaps she’ll be down in fewer than ten,” Jongin cruelly remarked. I stuck out my middle finger at him. He could go and himself.

“Agreed. But no handicaps. Just stop when I somehow lose consciousness.”

Sehun did not give me time to think anymore. When he strike, it was powerful. But unlike Jongin, he held back a lot more. One strike down as I dodged it easily and tried to land a kick on his shoulder. He caught it and threw me off-guard as I was spun 180 degree. My head hit the solid ground. That was three. My vision became a bit blurry but I forced myself to get up and spat out blood.

“Halt!” I yelled and Sehun froze mid-air as his punch almost collided with my face. I never expected someone so gentle to be so unyielding in his attack, even to a girl. I did mention that I did not need any handicap, but it seemed that even with half of his strength, I was still no match for his capability. “Don’t attack my face or my teachers and schoolmates will suspect that something is wrong with me.”

“Alright,” Sehun finally smiled and Jongin cackled as if he found it very funny.

I tried to corner him, but he caught onto my second kick quickly and pushed me a few meters away. I spat out even more blood. It was five now, I counted with uneven breathing pace. My head was hurting like a but my heart screamed out in excitement as Sehun charged at me. I blocked his punch even though my hands were hurting like hell and elbowed him by the stomach. He probably let me have that one so my ego would not be bruised badly.

“Ouch!” Sehun staggered back. “You are pretty slow, Sena, but you hit like a bull.”

Three more and I would be done. I glanced at Jongin who was sitting down lazily, not a single sweat drop on his perfectly chiseled face. My anger grew but in the end, I took a few more punches from Sehun, who tried to hold back but failed miserably. It was either because I was too weak, or he was just way too strong.

“Stop,” Jongin finally called out and interfered a punch I tried to deliver. His hands caught my fist as his height towered over me. His eyes filled with mirth and when he spoke, it came out rather harshly, “Playtime’s over. Go and nurse the bruises on your body or it will become worse by the hour.”

Something was boiling inside of me and I could not tell whether it was anger or dissatisfaction. But Jongin had made a point that I could not disagree with. Had he not interfered, I would probably have a few more broken bones and a dislocated ribcage. I wiped away the combination of sweat and blood from my mouth and walked to the side.

“Didn’t I say…?”

“I know,” I cut him off and waved without much energy, “I’m fine. I will take care of it later. For now, I want to see your fight.” Since Sehun had praised him highly, he must be worth watching. I grimaced when I saw the bruises all over my stomach and chest. But Sehun hit well. There was no injury on my hands or my face.

“You heard the lady, Hun,” He grinned and stepped back a little. Sehun, too, got his defense up as soon as Jongin spoke. Unlike the younger one, he was much more relaxed, though both of them were probably calculating all sorts of strategy inside of their head. I thought it was impossible to feel this way but I swore the air shifted and the atmosphere became even more tense.

“Ten rounds?” Sehun asked challengingly. His eyes had lost its former wariness when he fought with me. He must feel better not having to hold back anymore.

“Don’t kill yourself!” I shouted at them. To my surprise, it was Sehun who replied with a small smirk that was so unlike him, “No promise this time… Cousin.”