“Prove it. Show to me that you’re really a gifted,”

Baekhyun’s words echoed in Soohyun’s mind. If he wanted proof, she can easily show him what he wanted but only if he was also a gifted. Soohyun’s powers doesn’t work with people who aren’t a gifted. She amplifies someone’s powers, doubling its use, not creating one for them. Soohyun has no idea if he’s a gifted or not. There was no news about him being a gifted that circulated around, it was mainly about him being one of the most dangerous pirates out there. Plus the people who actually lived to tell his story were scared to even talk about him so all Soohyun knew was how he probably looked like.

“Are you a gifted?” Soohyun asked.

There was an immediate smile that crept Baekhyun’s face as soon as she asked. It wasn’t a warm smile or even a welcoming one, it was deceitful. Soohyun can’t help but cringe at the sight of it. It reminded her of how Hamin smiled every time he’d make use of her power— it was absolutely something she loathed.

“I see you’re trying to change the topic. Alright, I’ll let you pass with that one since I don’t care about it at all. Moving o-“

“I can prove to you I’m a gifted only if you’re also one,” Soohyun cut him off. This time she was determined to show him she’s serious about this stuff. “The help I was talking about earlier? This is it. I can help you with my power.”

Baekhyun seemed to be quite taken aback by her sudden declaration. He looked at her with curious eyes. For a moment out there, Soohyun was quite amazed at how expressive his eyes were. It was obvious when he’d show interest or when he’d be bored or when he’d be curious. Baekhyun then gave it a thought for a few moments until he spoke up. “Oh, yes I remember that one. I was just about to ask that but you brought it up yourself which is good thing. Lesser questions for me,” he said. He brought his arms in front of his desk and rested his chin on his palms as he looked at Soohyun.

“As for your question, I’m a gifted,” he shortly answered.

Soohyun had expected him to be one but to hear it directly coming from his mouth, it gave her quite a shock. She suddenly wondered what could his power be. Was it something powerful? Soohyun had seen countless of gifteds who were powerful enough to take life from a person mercilessly. Is he one of those kinds of gifted? Is that why he’s branded as a dangerous pirate? Soohyun shook her head off the thoughts and then cleared as she slowly took a step forward, bringing herself to where Baekhyun was. There, she stood in front of him with only the desk separating the two of them as she laid her palm on it.

“I need something sharp,” Soohyun stated.

Baekhyun chuckled in response. “That I cannot give you. I don’t trust you enough to let you handle something sharp in front of me.”

Soohyun heaved a sigh. “I believe you’ve seen my skills with the dagger a while ago—it was bad. I don’t think I could even land an attack at you even if I wanted to,” she said. It happened to fast and she didn’t had the time to review what was she going to say. She didn’t meant the last words she said to be said out loud, it was supposed to just stay in her mind. She immediately regretted it as she saw the reaction on Baekhyun’s face. Baekhyun then playfully shook his head as he grabbed something under his desk. It was the dagger Soohyun had used a while ago. He placed it above the desk as he waited for Soohyun’s next move.

“Now?” he asked.

Soohyun stayed silent for a while as she took the dagger from the desk. She looked at it for a moment as she gathered her courage, until she looked back on Baekhyun who was looking at her with anticipating eyes. “Could you lay your hand out?” she asked. Soohyun expected Baekhyun to complain and disagree with what she asked but unexpectedly, he silently complied as he laid out his hand.

“This will hurt a bit but I promise it’ll be gone in a snap and that’s it. You’ll be having the proof you wanted,” Soohyun said. Baekhyun was about to say something but was stopped when Soohyun had dagger make a cut on her palm in a blink of an eye. She winced in pain but immediately went back to what she was doing. Without any word, she took Baekhyun’s hand and did the same. His eyes went wide with the sudden pain and his initial reaction was to immediately yank his hand away from Soohyun’s. He looked mad, Soohyun was sure of it but she needed to do that.  

“What the he-“

“Wait,” Soohyun interrupted as she quickly grabbed his hand back and held it with the hand she just impaired with the dagger. Soohyun felt an immense pain throughout her entire being, as if her soul was being out of her in full force, as she tightly held his hand. It was the first time she felt pain this intense. She winced and groaned in pain as she tried to hold it in until the completion of it. A few more seconds, the pain slowly subsided and she felt a bit light headed as she detached her hand from his. The cut that was both on their hands a while ago were now gone, as if nothing happened at all, and Soohyun felt like she was on the verge of collapsing any moment from now.

Baekhyun looked at her with confusion written on his face. “What just happened?” he asked as he examined his hand and looked back at her.

“That was a—“ Soohyun dropped on her knees as she felt the exhaustion coming up to her in full force. She breathed in and out and tried to stabilize herself before speaking up once again.

Soohyun stood up and looked at Baekhyun. “That was a bond. I created a bond between you and me. I can amplify