34: Teach Me

Another long chapter to compensate for the short one... Enjoy!

•~•~•~•~•~•~•

In a hospital room, there were three teens. Two were talking, while the remaining one remained silent, and listened intently.

"Yeah... I remember challenging him back when we were 15 years old... Tch."

"Can you tell me about your fight?" Jiwoo asked with great interest.

Jisuk was about to answer... but he remembered the fight...

****

[Three Years Ago...]

In an enormous mansion, only a couple of people could be seen. Some maids were trying to take down some birthday party decorations...

A raven-haired boy and an old man could be seen greeting people goodbye.

"Let's go, Jisuk." said a beautiful young woman.

"Just a sec, sis. I need to do something first..." Jisuk replied, separating from her, and going towards the raven-haired boy.

"Oi, Shinji. Fight me."

"That rascal really just said that?" asked a man in a green suit with disbelief.

Shinji gained an amused face, he looked at the old man beside him.

"Gramps, Subin's asleep now, right?" asked the boy, to which the old man nodded.

Grinning, Shinji looked at Jisuk and said,

"Sure. Let's fight."

'I'm going to beat you annoying, arrogant bastard... Just you wait.' thought Jisuk while they were moving towards an open space.

...

The boys faced each other, with a couple of dozen meters separating them.

As they got ready to fight, an unnoticeable change happened in the surroundings for those without Abilities, but for the Awakened Ones, the boys were enveloped by a huge bubble.

"Spacial Isolation..." said an expressionless young woman, looking at the old man.

"You boys can start now..." informed the old man.

Once they heard that, Jisuk immediately attacked with several blades of wind, which were blocked by a wall of ice.

Shinji then raised his hand and launched the wall toward Jisuk. The boy used the wind to dodge it, and once he fully dodged the attack, he slowed down.

'Gotcha.' thought Shinji.

"[Ice Maiden]!" exclaimed Shinji once Jisuk slowed down, which alarmed the boy.

The white-haired boy attempted to speed up, but it was simply too late as he was engulfed by a coffin-like ice structure. On top of the structure was the head of a blindfolded woman.

One second later, a scream of pain was heard.

"Arghhhh!"

Shinji gave his grandfather a thumbs up, and the huge bubble disappeared.

The boy then twisted his hand and the ice structure turned into water, releasing a bruised up Jisuk.

"I win." Shinji told them with a shit-eating grin.

*****

[Back to current time...]

"Can you tell me about your fight?" Jiwoo asked with great interest.

After a while, Jisuk just said, "Hell no. But... I'm going to say this... That asshole is crazy strong..."

'Even though... Even though Sir Kayden told me that he's way out of my league... I still want to fight him. Just to see how much stronger he is...' pondered Jiwoo, not noticing his cat looking at him.

'This kid... Heh. He still wants to fight that brat. Hmm... Well, it could serve as a learning lesson to him. But... this brat should just listen to me, his genius teacher!' thought Kayden as he looked at Jiwoo's face.

****

A day has passed and...

Four people were in the Chairwoman's Office. All were sitting on a chair, discussing some things.

{Shinji POV}

After a while of bickering with me, Seongha sighs and turns to Jiyoung.

"Miss Jiyoung, I still don't understand why you insist on keeping those three in the same room. Jisuk and Wooin are going to constantly cause trouble," he tells her.

"Hey! Don't question the Chairwoman's decision!" Inhyuk comments but was mostly ignored.

"They will represent our country in the future. They shouldn't be enemies," she replies.

I then say, "Yeah. I think it's a good idea to let them hang around. You know, to build some friendship of some sort."

...

"Well, that's that. Now... How is the Union planning on caring for Wooin?" Inhyuk asked Seongha.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, doesn't the Union think poorly of Wooin and his mentor, Dr. Delein? Why don't we take him off your hands?" he asked challengingly.

...

Inhyuk and Seongha argue for a while, but suddenly, Inhyuk gets a phone call.

"What is it?"

"What!? They're fighting?! Ugh. Yeah, I'll be right there." he said, ending the call.

Hearing this, Seongha told Inhyuk, "I'm coming as well."

****

Alright... We're alone now...

Still sitting, I ask Jiyoung, "So, we haven't seen each other since my and Subin's 15th birthday. How's everything in your life?"

She sighs and replies, "Everything is alright."

"Hmm... Alright then... Wanna grab something to eat for lunch?"

She tells me, "No. I am not hungry."

Man... She's always so cold...

"We could always get coffee."

She seemed to contemplate something, but after a few moments, she replies, "Shinji. If you are asking me on a date, then I must refuse."

"Eh~ Why~?" I ask teasingly.

"I have duties as Shinhwa's Chairwoman. There is no time for "dating"," she tells me in a serious manner.

Sigh... Well, it was worth a try. But, I'm not giving up, though.

I'm just getting started!- is what I would say if I was a Shounen Protagonist...

"Well, as expected. Sigh. But, moving on from that, there is actually another reason on why I'm here." I say in a more serious manner.

"Since you mentioned your duties as the Chairwoman, I believe it is also your responsibility as a Head of an Organization to nurture young, talented, Awakened Ones, right?"

I see her nod...

You've fallen right into my trap!

I continue, "Good. Then, I want you to teach me, [Spacial Isolation]."

"... What?" I hear her say in disbelief. "Hm... Alright. I'm going to see if Inhyuk has some free t-"

"No. I want you to teach me. You. No one else."

"Shinji... Why don't you ask Union Agent Seongha to teach you [Spacial Isolation]? Or even your grandfather?" she asked me.

"Look. I have nothing against Seongha or Gramps, I don't but... I'd rather get taught by a talented, beautiful woman, rather than some old men." I say with a huge smile on my face.

"I- Sigh... I still need to see if my schedule is clear..." she told me, but I just inform her,

"Nope. No need. I checked with Soomin, bless her kind soul, and you're free on Saturdays and Sundays, for this month and the next one."

Her face became annoyed, ever so slightly, while I just adorned a happy smile.

After a while, she finally spoke, "Fine... But, I can only teach you on Saturdays."

"Great! And yeah, I understand. You need to spend time with Jisuk. It's fine... But Uhm. If you ever talk with Grandpa, don't tell him I called him an Old Man..."

Jiyoung's face became a little amused for a split second but quickly changed back into an expressionless one. She then said, "If you are well-behaved in my lessons, then I will keep it a secret."

*****

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