It was hard to describe Jongin and Sehun’s fighting styles. They switched from time to time. So it was equally difficult to say who was stronger, because Sehun was amazing in defense while Jongin’s offense was incredibly powerful. They said they wanted to fight for ten-rounds, but this one already lasted for fifteen minutes, and it was only their first.

Sehun blocked Jongin’s punch gracefully and threw a hard slap onto his neck, but Jongin was fully prepared as he avoided it flawlessly and grabbed Sehun by the shirt. They were sweating like crazy. “One round, huh?” Jongin’s eyes had an unfathomable darkness in them, while Sehun’s held depth and mystery.

“Hold on, give me a second,” Sehun took off his shirt and tossed it on the ground. Jongin scoffed and followed him, his shirt drenched in sweat and masculine smell. Now, I’d been trained before, and I had even seen a few men and felt nothing, but these two were… wonderfully sculpted. I meant, I could not find the words to describe them. Just look at those hot, sweaty bodies on the ring! Holy cow!

Then they started again. And went on with a whole lot more punching and kicking. Until they got to round five and their breath became shorter. That was approximately one hour and fifty minutes later, and they did not look the least bit tired. Jongin wiped away the sweat from his eyes and lips and panted heavily. Sehun took the towel from the bench and put it on his eyes.

“Are you guys going to continue? I mean… It’s only half of the portions,” Which was still insane, considering the amount of time they took to finish one round. Neither wanted to back down, and they were relatively comparable in terms of strength and agility. As their lady and leader, I was very satisfied and proud.

“Yeah well, if we don’t finish it, we’re going to delay the gun shooting practice tomorrow morning,” Sehun huffed, “Usually it takes three hours at most, but I have a quiz the next day so I can’t stay late. Hey, Jongin, let’s just wrap this up in thirty minutes, shall we?”

Jongin grunted in response. He did not seem all too happy.

“And we haven’t had dinner yet,” I reminded kindly. It was already eight-thirty and my stomach was grumbling and protesting. I did not have lunch because I forgot to bring spare money with me. “I asked Mr. Kim to cook cheesy fried chicken tonight, so hurry up, okay?”

Sehun chuckled and ruffled my hair lovingly, “Of course, Sena. It’s just that… It’s hard if it’s Jongin.”

“Can you win, though?” I asked that question out of curiosity. Sehun contemplated for a bit, his eyebrows furrowed as he pondered on. He did have that princely look on him, but the cold one, like the dark color of his hair. When he finally had an answer, he looked at Kim Jongin, who was lying motionless on the floor and whispered to me,

“Honestly? I’ve rarely won a match with him. It’s either he win or it’s a draw.”

“Is he that strong?” I asked again. I could see that they were both strong, but were they strong enough to take on a team of trained adults and assassins? I did not know. After all, I had only met them a few times before and this was the only time I got to see them practice. “As strong as Jiwu and Jisoo?”

As the leader of a well-known clan, I was required to know at least one kind of martial arts as a form of self-defense. These protectors, though, were specifically trained in a lot of things, which included handling all sorts of weapons and fighting with bare-hands. I had only seen Grandfather’s protectors, Jiwu and his twin brother Jisoo, in action once, and it was terrifying. They finished off thirty opponents so easily that I doubted the police would be able to trace the evidences on the victim’s bodies.

“Strong?” Sehun suddenly scoffed, which sounded so unlike him. He took off the towel and threw it at the basket beside the bench. His eyes were red, and they were frighteningly cold. He switched personalities as fast as the wind changed its direction. It was fascinating, yet at the same time, bone-chilling. “Dear Cousin, we’ve taken them on early in our training.”

“So did you win?” My voice was barely a squeak.

“For most of the parts, yes, except in gun-shooting, because for real, Sena, how can two thirteen years old boys win two grown up adults while carrying ten-kilograms guns in our hands?” He finally smiled and I did not know why, my heart eased up the moment he did. “But that’s years ago. We are much more capable now and those two protectors had already retired the moment your grandfather passed away.”

“En,” I nodded at him. “Now go and get him before the chicken gets cold.”

***

Much to my surprise and dismay, Kim Jongin loved chicken as much as I did, so that meant fewer chicken for me and more noise in the dining room. We ate on the second floor, in a smaller space that was specifically used only for nighttime. By the time we started eating, it was already nine-thirty.  

“Stop it, you er!” I cursed out loud, causing Mr. Kim, who was standing by the side, to gasp in shock at my colorful vocabulary. I raised my chopsticks in the air, ready for a fight, because Kim-ing-Jongin had stolen the very last piece of my precious fried chicken. “No, shuck, Kim Jongin, gimme back my chicken! I saved it for the last!!!”

“Lady Sena, please refrain from using such language in front of everyone. We have more chicken in the kitchen,” My head butler sounded so ashamed, it was as if he was the one saying it. Sehun, on the other hand, had long lost his appetite and sat by the side as a spectator, sometimes commenting lamely on how Jongin should have eaten less, “Jongin, give it back to her. You’ve already had enough.”

“Don’t be a sore loser,” He smirked at me and ate the chicken I so preciously saved. I wanted to vomit blood all over him. His handsome smug face angered me because he was just being unreasonable and so Goddamn insufferable, “You don’t need to, Mr. Kim. I lose my appetite watching him eat.”

My phone suddenly rang with a familiar ringtone. I quickly put it away and unlocked it to see a message from the second son of Genbu family. He had sent the official documents and required me to go through the whole pages and discussed the bargained goods for the deal. I did not open my email immediately because I knew that it would contain at least forty pages of words document.

“Oh, I forget to tell the two of you that this year’s Summer Solstice will be held in a week, at the same time as your initiation as protectors with the other twenty Elites that the Elders have picked,” I spoke without looking at them. My eyes were focused on the phone screen as my hands typed a quick reply to him. “Now, excuse me.”

I stood up and walked back to my room, which was a few doors away. My laptop was , and I quickly logged into my email account to check the document sent to me. It needed to be analyzed clearly because one missing details would create chaos for both clans. After all, this alliance was the very first in history, and it might attract unwanted attention from Byakko and Suzakku. This was the reason why the truce had to be done in utmost secrecy.

He had typed them in a semi-formal language, mostly because he intended it to be seen only by me and no one else. Unlike his brothers Minseok and Jongdae, Joonmyun was always so careful of everything. He was perfectionist to a fault and wanted precision in every little things he did. I actually scrolled down to the few last pages where he stated what he wanted and asked me to fill in my own requirements and requests.

As I was reading, someone knocked on my door, so I quickly close the window and log out of my email account. Outside, Sehun was waiting patiently, his arms folded across his chest. Jongin happened to be passing by, so when he saw us both, he halted his steps out of curiosity.

“Yes?” I blinked at the sudden interruption. I had other documents to look at and the Genbu’s was just one of many. “Aren’t you supposed to be studying for your quiz?”

“Sehun? Studying?” Jongin scoffed but he said nothing more. He eyed the two of us and put his hands in the pocket, “Whatever. I’m going to sleep…” He walked away hastily and shut the door with a soft thud. Both of them had their rooms located close to mine in case of emergency.

“Do you… want to come in?” I hesitantly asked. My room was not exactly a mess, nor was it neat, it was just… comfortable. Books and papers were everywhere, but it wasn’t like I had been studying them. Yawning, I remarked dully, “It’s only my second day and I’m thinking of skipping tomorrow.”

“Lazy,” Sehun chuckled and sat on the couch. He had showered and his scent filled the room in a very subtle, soothing way. He also wore a grey cardigan and white loose shirt and knee-length pants, looking like a typical boy next-door, except that he was too good-looking to be just that. “I will drive you to school tomorrow, so you don’t have to wake up so early. And look at all these papers. I assume you need help?” He picked up a few from the floor and read the content carefully. Those that were scattered were nothing of importance, but they still needed my signature to proceed.

I did not want to be spoilt by these two, but it seemed that I really needed more sleeping time, judging by the amount of unfinished works I had over the weekdays. “Well, for starters, can you help me arrange those in alphabetical orders? Put this stamp on them if they sound reasonable enough, like business expansion and most import-export trading. Be careful with the goods trading, though. Some branches of our family deal with drugs and illegal trafficking, so make sure to leave them at one side.”

Sehun started working on the lower table, but I told him to work by my side because it was easier, “So, Sehun. Seems like something is bothering you that you came to find me straight after dinner. Tell me.”

“It’s just that you don’t seem to trust us very much,” He said it without an ounce of shyness. There was a strange glint in his eyes when he said that, as if he was holding back a smirk from spreading. The more I saw him, the more confused I was.

“And you want to prove me wrong?” I pointed out sharply. I could often be blunt and overbearing, maybe because this position required me to do so. Frowning, I refused to look at him anymore and continued with my school’s homework. The weights of Joonmyun’s requests were still on my mind and it was distracting me away from anything else.

“Sena, it is okay to rely on us,” Sehun said, his hands moving fast and in no time, there was a pile of paper as tall as a wine glass in perfect order. I was amazed by his speed of doing things. Meanwhile, I was still coping with the third page of my chemistry homework. “After all, the three of us are in this for the long run, so we might as well try to be closer to each other.”

“Do you suggest this out of naivety or practicality?” I put down my pen and stared at him directly. His sitting posture was relaxed, his shoulders a bit slouched as he pushed his chair to the front. Even with the way I talked and my silent accusation, he remained very calm, which in return, unnerved me to no ends. There was something dangerous about the way he composed himself, as if nothing, and truly nothing would frighten him.

“I’ll let you decide, Sena. You are not dumb,” He smiled without looking up from his paper. I, too, smirked as I got back to my own work. This was interesting. Oh Sehun might not be as two-dimensional and flat as I thought he might be.