The Battle- Part One

Written by DaeGukNamAhForever for xRawrRiot. I hope you enjoy it!

Jihye sat in class, wishing for all the world that she wasn’t stuck here. It was a nice day outside, with the sun shining and the birds chirping happily outside the window. Jihye would rather be outside, taking pictures of the scenery or just lying in the sun. 

She was jarred out of her reverie by the teacher announcing loudly that the class was over. Jihye smiled quietly, gathering her books and placing them into her backpack. She didn’t even know what the teacher had been talking about, but this was an extra credit class, and she wasn’t too concerned about if she was dropped from it. It didn’t have anything to do with dancing or her other secret passion, rap. 

Standing to her feet, she smiled when she received a text from her brother, Zico. 

‘Hey, sis. I’m SO sorry (not) for interrupting you while in a class that I know you would rather shoot yourself than stay in…I just wanted to let you know that I’m in town and would love to see you. If you can meet me, that’d be cool. Laterz!’

Jihye hit reply. ‘Hey, Zico. I’d love to see you. Can you meet me at McDonald’s and we can grab something to eat? I’m starving…’

‘Sure! I’m hungry, too. I have a few friends with me. They want to show me some stuff. They probably want to challenge me, or somethin’ lol.’

Jihye was curious now. People were constantly challenging her brother to see if they could beat him. No one ever had, since he was very good. She wished she was as good as he was. However, she had never even mentioned that she liked to rap, also. She was afraid he would take it as a challenge, and she didn’t want that to damage their relationship. 

Once they met at McDonald’s, she smiled at him. “So, people have been challenging you, huh? Have you placed any bets on it?  You are good enough that you could win, you know?”

Zico grinned, but didn’t look very happy. There was something sad in his expression. “I know they’re going to challenge me, but…” he frowned, taking a bite of his burger and chewing thoughtfully. He swallowed and looked back at her. “I found out that my vocal cords are strained and that’s one reason I have been getting sore throats recently. I’ll have to take a break from rap for a while, which I really don’t want to do. However, if I were to challenge these guys, I could make some money…Good money that we need.” He finished off his drink, then placed a cough drop in his mouth. “Damn…”

Jihye stared at him for a moment, then began cleaning up their table. “Well…I could try it. I’m not as good as you, but I could give it a shot.”

Zico cocked his head. “I didn’t know you could rap. You never told me that.” He was silent for a moment, and Jihye thought that he might be angry. “I’m pretty sure you could do it. I mean, you related to ME. How hard could it be?”

Jihye grinned at him. “Famous last words…I’ll try it. When were you set for it?”

“Tomorrow night at the club,” Zico stifled a yawn. “I’d love to hear my little sister rap and shock everyone with your awesomeness.”

Jihye laughed and shrugged. “Thank you.”

***

The next evening, Zico texted Jihye about an underground battle that he was supposed to participate in, so they met at her dorm and left from there.

When they got to the location, Jihye noticed how dark it was. Now she wasn’t so sure that they were here for a rap battle, but rather a drug deal? Yikes! She really hoped that wasn’t the case. Zico smiled at her and ushered her in the back door of the building. She was nervous, but trusted her brother. When they walked in, she noticed the small group of guys standing over at a table, fiddling with some equipment. One of them grinned over at them, motioning to Jihye and her brother to come over. 

Once they walked over to the guys, one of them looked at Jihye, his eyes going straight to her chest. This pissed Jiho off and he glared at the guy. The guy ignored the glare. “Who’s the babe, Zico?”

Jiho pursed his lips. “This is my sister, Jihye. This ‘babe’ is going to kick your in rap. She’s my secret weapon, Jr…you .”

Jr took a few steps back, glancing at the guy next to him. “Zico’s not going to rap against our guys himself? That’s strange.”

The other guy shrugged. “I guess. What’s the deal, Zico? We agreed that you would go against Jackson. You’re not now?”  

Zico shook his head. “I was going to, JB, but my doctor told me I won’t be rapping for a while. I texted you about it, but I guess you didn’t get it.”

JB nudged Jr, rolling his eyes at his dongsaeng’s actions toward Jihye. “Well, I didn’t get it. My phone’s . Sorry. So, your sister’s going against Jackson?”

Zico nodded, grinning at his sister. Jiyhe was still trying to calm her own nerves down. “Yeah. She’ll go against him…and you’ll give me the same amount as promised before. Got it?”

JB nodded. “Got it. We’ll treat her like anyone else that would go against Jackson…like you, only I think we’ll be keeping our money, this time.”

Zico shook his head. “Doubt it. She has my blood in her veins. She’ll win. If Jackson wins, I’ll pay YOU.” 

JB nodded. “Deal.” He placed a hand on Jackson’s shoulder. “Go beat her, dude. Piece of cake.”

Jackson smiled quietly. “We’ll see…” He held out his hand to Jihye. “Hi, I’m Jackson. It’s nice to meet you. I hope you’re not as good as your brother.”

JB handed her a headset. “This is what you’ll need to rap to…if you think you can do it. I don’t think you can, honestly.” He ignored the glare he received from Jiho, turning to Jackson.

“Kick her …I don’t like to lose.”

Jackson shrugged, smiling at Jihye. “Ready?”

“Yup!” She caught her brother’s eye, then adjusted the headset. She was nervous. 

They began the battle, taking turns and being timed for their speed. She could see that Jiho was surprised at her speed. He also looked proud. That made her heart race…unless it was racing from being so close to Jackson. She wasn’t sure which.

At the end of the battle, JB stopped the recording and played it back. JB appeared dumbfounded. “This chic’s faster than Jackson…she won!” Jr walked over to the screen of the computer, staring at it and shaking his head. 

Zico laughed, then coughed into his sleeve. “I guess you owe US that money. Fork it out, dude.” He held out his hand expectantly. 

JB nodded, still shocked. He reached into his pocket and handed Zico the money. “Here. You earned it.”

Zico shook his head, motioning toward Jihye. “Give it to her. She’s the one that won this battle, not me.”

JB nodded again, frowning. He didn’t look happy that one of his guy had been beaten by a girl. He smiled at Jihye, handing her the money. “Here. Good job, missy.”

Jackson glanced at JB, noticing that he was being ist now. He held out his hand to Jihye. “You did great. Congrats!” 

She shook his hand, then caught his eye. “Would you allow me to buy you dinner? That way, you wouldn’t lose so much money. You did well, to.”

Jackson looked surprised, but nodded. “That would be nice. Would you like to meet me tonight?”

Jihye laughed, nodding. “Sure. I’m free now, if you want to go.”

Jackson smiled. “Okay. Is your brother okay with this?” He glanced at Zico nervously. 

Zico shrugged. “Sure. She’s no baby. Jihye can take care of herself.”

“Cool,” Jackson glanced at JB, who shrugged. He still looked grumpy about losing.