Warning: mild swearing, violence, if you did not read the Foreword or The Story read it now because you will not understand most of what goes on.

Kyungsoo’s face hit the ground before he could catch himself.  He felt the cold thickness of fresh mud hit his cheek as he made contact with the earth. The mud smelled off, and he grimaced as he pushed himself up again to face his opponent.

It had rained the night before, yet Kyungsoo didn’t even think to check the area for mud. If he had known, he would have never asked Jongin to spar with him in this section of the training grounds.

The two of them were preparing for their final exam at the Anein City Soldier’s Academy. It was the exam that would determine whether the two of them would be advancing in training rank.

Unlike the other nations, Nation4 trained their soldiers in pairs. The pairs were chosen by taking aptitude and personality tests at the age of entrance. Each soldier in the pair is meant to compliment the other’s skills in combat and help them improve their abilities. 

In the yearly final exam if one partner fails the other automatically does as well.

Kyungsoo and Jongin had been partners since they had both entered the academy 5 years ago. The two naturally became best friends and quite devoted to each other. They would frequently practice their fighting and help the other improve.

This time was no different.

Jongin’s lips were stretched in an arrogant smile after seeing Kyungsoo tumble into the brown muck. A laugh escaped him. “I’m still waiting for you to hit me, ya know.” He teased as Kyungsoo wiped the mud off his face and reassumed his fighting stance. Kyungsoo’s eyes sharpened at his best friend’s remark.

Jongin was great at hand to hand combat.He was practically gifted in the art. His lithe body was ideal for dodging punches and his flexibility allowed him to move every which way to counter his opponents. The young man was covered in lean muscle, and he executed his moves quickly and powerfully.

Kyungsoo, on the other hand, was not so lean, not so tall and not so flexible. However, he also wasn’t as impulsive as his partner, which gave him an advantage. Kyungsoo always allowed himself time to assess tough situations and devise solutions to them, which was something Jongin was too careless to do.

Jongin laughed as he dodged one of Kyungsoo’s jabs with a graceful backflip. Jongin then swiftly threw a kick toward the side of Kyungsoo’s head, but before his foot could make contact, Kyungsoo quickly crouched down to aim a sliding kick to trip the other. To Kyungsoo’s dismay Jongin jumped over the kick and smirked at him.

Kyungsoo’s eyes looked up at the other before he was propelled backward from a hard blow to his face. Kyungsoo’s cheek stung ferociously from the hit. He quickly caught himself on his hand before he could fall into the mud again and jumped back into a standing position.

He locked eyes with his sparring partner who was standing a few feet away. The younger student was smirking with sharp eyes. Jongin wore arrogance really well. Kyungsoo darted towards Jongin and Jongin blocked Kyungsoo’s discerned punch with his forearm.

The two continuously threw powerful punches at one another. The sound of each blocked hit echoed throughout the open training area. Beads of sweat slid down their faces as the high sun beat down on them. Their moves became so synchronized it seemed neither one could get the upper hand on the other.

“You’re looking tired.” Jongin teased before back flipping away from Kyungsoo to catch his breath.

Kyungsoo bent down a bit and breathed heavily. “You’re the one running away.” He chuckled. The mud from earlier had dried on his face leaving gray, scaly patterns on his usually flawless skin.

Jongin his plush lips as he grinned deviously at Kyungsoo. “Fine then, let’s wrap this up.” He rolled up his shirt sleeves, revealing his toned arms. The sheen of sweat glistening off his muscles made them look even more defined than usual.

They both took their fighting stances. Their harsh breathing filled up the silence of the training area as they waited to see who would make the first move. Kyungsoo wasn’t a fool. He was damn tired and he knew Jongin was too. He wanted to end this quickly.

Kyungsoo swiftly threw a kick straight to Jongin’s face knowing Jongin would catch it right away. Jongin laughed as he caught Kyungsoo’s foot and twisted it so the older boy was now facing away from him.

“What a standard move, Kyungsoo.” Jongin snickered.

Kyungsoo smirked. Before Jongin could kick Kyungsoo’s standing leg to trip him, Kyungsoo purposely fell onto his hands. The act took Jongin by surprise. With Kyungsoo’s standing leg now free, he kicked it upward, crashing it into Jongin’s jaw forcefully.

The impact of the hit sent Jongin tumbling backwards. He let go of Kyungsoo’s foot and fell into the mud just as Kyungsoo had earlier.

Jongin looked at his mud covered hands in disgust. The mud smelled a bit unlike mud. Kyungsoo laughed at his friend’s weary expression and reached a clean hand out to him.

“Let’s go home, I'm beat.” He grinned with his hand outstretched towards Jongin. The younger boy smiled too and gripped Kyungsoo’s hand to lift himself up.

The two of them were exhausted. Jongin brought a tired arm around Kyungsoo’s shoulder as they walked back to the housing divisions of the city. The sun was setting and the city became washed in a warm, orange glow that reflected off the glass architecture.

Kyungsoo interlaced his fingers with Jongin’s nearby hand. The mud had dried onto his slender digits. Kyungsoo looked up at Jongin whose face was illuminated with the orange glow; his eyes seemed to shine in the sun’s light.

Even when Jongin was dead tired he looked handsome.

“Do you think we’ll do well on Friday?” Kyungsoo asked referring to the exam.

“Don’t we always?” Jongin said confidently, bringing his free hand up to teasingly pinch Kyungsoo’s mud streaked cheek.

Kyungsoo shied away from Jongin’s hand, “I mean…do you think I’ll do well?” he asked straying his eyes away from his best friend.

Jongin furrowed his brow at the question.

Kyungsoo was able to counter Jongin earlier while sparring; however that wasn’t a regular occurrence. Kyungsoo knew his skills at fighting were sub-par to Jongin’s. He always felt inferior to him and inferior to most of the other soldiers in their rank.

The younger boy tightened his arm around Kyungsoo as they walked. “Don’t worry so much Soo.” He sighed and rubbed Kyungsoo’s shoulder affectionately. “It’ll be the same as every other exam.” A sweet smile streched onto his lips.

Kyungsoo couldn’t help but still feel worried. The exams became increasingly difficult every year, and he found it harder and harder to keep up with Jongin. It seemed as though, with time, Kyungsoo would begin holding Jongin back, not allowing him advance to a rank he was deserving of.  A rank that was suitable for Jongin, one where he could thrive and enhance his skills.

That was a rank that Kyungsoo would never reach.

He forced a smile, not wanting to meet the other’s gaze. “We should practice again tomorrow.”

Jongin laughed lightly. “I can’t. I have to help my mom at the factory, remember?”

Kyungsoo’s eyes grew wider in realization. He had completely forgotten that Jongin had recently taken a small position at the factory where his mother worked. His family was having issues with money and Jongin had no choice but to work beside his mother to help support them. Jongin had his few weaknesses, and his family was one of them.

They had reached the housing division Jongin’s family resided in. It was the lower-middle division. The houses were fair-sized cement buildings set close together. Light sources were scarce around the area and power outages occurred every so often. However, shortages of water were never a problem like in the lower divisions of the city. 

Kyungsoo wished Jongin didn’t have to live there. He would often invite him over to his house in the upper division but Jongin would always kindly refuse. Jongin had his few weaknesses, and Kyungsoo was one of them.

Jongin ran a hand through Kyungsoo’s hair and trailed his finger tips to the shorter boy’s chin, pushing it upward. The sensation made Kyungsoo flush as he met eyes with Jongin.

“Don't worry about the exam. We'll be great.” Jongin reassured him. Kyungsoo’s lips turned up into a tiny grin as he nodded agreeing. "Night, Soo." the younger man grinned. The two bid their farewells and Kyungsoo made his way to the upper division.

When Kyungsoo reached his home it was already nightfall. He rushed through the mahogany door, escaping the biting cold. He quickly walked through the brightly lit living room into the obsidian accented kitchen, peeling the dried mud from his face.

Before he turned the corner to make his way into the dining area he stopped abruptly. He heard whispering. It was his parents and their voices sounded oddly frantic. It was obvious that they didn’t notice Kyungsoo enter the house. Kyungsoo stood behind the wall as he listened in.

“Why are you telling me this?” He heard his mother say faintly, her voice was quivering.

“You have a right to know. We all do.” His father’s deep voice reverberated through the dining room.

His mother’s voice trembled frantically. “B-but, w-what does that mean for us? What are we supposed to do?” she began to sob lightly.

Kyungsoo’s heartbeat became louder in his chest. What were his parents talking about? He felt a sick feeling grow in the pit of his stomach.

“I’m not sure. We should wait it out. I don't think those bastards are ing around this time...” His father said. Kyungsoo heard him begin to console his mother.

Kyungsoo walked away trying to forget what he heard. It might not have been anything, he thought to himself. He put a hand on his stomach, he really felt sick.

He made his way into his room and threw himself onto the bed. He didn’t bother cleaning himself off or undressing. He was too uneasy to care.

Kyungsoo stared out through the window beside his bed. The bright lights from the upper division out shined the stars. Yet they were no match for the full moon which illuminated Kyungsoo’s bedroom.

His bed sheets felt cool against his skin, he gently smoothed his hands over them as he tried to calm down his heart. His chest rose up and down steadily as he exhaled his worries.

If his parents didn’t want him to know what was wrong then he wouldn’t bother them. Maybe he was just overreacting. Maybe it was just a misunderstanding.

He turned over to face the window and pull a mound of blankets close. He stared at the bright moon and thought about the exam he would have to take in a few days. Perhaps Jongin wouldn’t need to work tomorrow; if that happened, they wouldn’t have to practice. Kyungsoo just wanted to spend time with him. He felt so uneasy at the moment; he yearned for Jongin's comfort.

Kyungsoo buried his face in the soft blankets and imagined they were Jongin's warm body keeping him safe.

Outside of Kyungsoo’s bedroom it began to rain. Clear droplets fell unto the earth that had dried from last night’s storm. The plants once again became adorned with crystalline beads of water.

A dark figure stood by the South gate of the upper division peering in. It was untroubled by the downpour. The figures eyes trailed to a window in a nearby house, a window that opened to a moonlit room. 

Don't worry, things will get more interesting in the next few chapters. I'm sorry if the fighting scene was a bit hard to follow. Those will get better too. ;)  Btw if anyone wants to offer to make me a layout for this fic please contact me!! Thanks so much for reading, I would love to hear your thoughts on the story so far in the comments.^^  2/8/14