Over the next few days, Calissa was taken around the sanctuary by the male, whose name she found out was Master Minhyuk. He rarely spoke but he always made sure she had food to eat and time to clean herself.

Calissa slowly learnt the passages and the rooms that she was allowed to go into. Her favourite room other than her own was Minhyuk’s personal library. Some days they would sit together as they both read or as Minhyuk wrote another essay on some topic that he was studying. Rarely, he would read something to her or explain parts of Hunter history to her.

One morning she was alone and as she took time to explore some more, she heard heavy breathing and sounds of thudding.

She found the source coming from a room that she had never been in before, she peeked in to see what was going on.

What she found, didn’t surprise her but rather reminded her of the distance between her and Master Minhyuk, whom she still knew very little about.

Without any warning, he was in front of her. He opened the door fully and then went back to his training. Even though in the back of her mind she knew that he was training to kill her kin, she couldn’t help but admire the beauty of what could have been a dance. So smooth but dangerous was each and every movement.

Somehow it became routine for her to watch as Master Minhyuk exercised every day, then they would take lunch together. Later he would leave for dinner with his family and she would return to her room where there was always a plate of food for her. Calissa never talked because she wasn’t sure of what to say.

His voice broke her thoughts, “I can teach you a few moves if you like.”

She blinked unsure if she had heard correctly, “You want to instruct me,” she said slowly.

He nodded and held out his hand for her to take.

The rest of the day before dinner he spent with her teaching her various sequences and moves.

Soon this change became the new routine and they would work together perfecting strategies throughout the day. Unknowingly, Calissa lost herself in this new world of becoming strong and she forgot about home and all the things that she missed. With this change, she saw Master Minhyuk in a different light.

“Master Minhyuk,” she said softly.

“Don’t call me that. You can just call me Minhyuk,” he said cuttingly.

She nodded, “Why are you so willing to teach me? Not that I’m not grateful or anything like that.”

His eyes pierced her as if searching for the answer in her soul. Without answering her, he left the training room. Calissa followed him until she split from him to go to her room.