Crescent // ATEEZ ✔

38 [training]

Byul stands with her back against the wall, watching as they demonstrate to her basic martial art skills, with San and Jongho facing each other. They can't tell who's winning because both have their own plus points; the youngest relies on his strength while the older relies on speed.

Sweat glistens on both of their faces as again they head towards each other, but unfortunately Jongho misses a step as he trips over the training mat. San takes this opportunity to slam the back of his leg at the area between the former's shoulder blades, slamming him down onto the floor. Jongho raises up his hand, admitting defeat.

"That's what we usually do for beginners," San says, helping Jongho to stand up. "Unless you're ready to do something more complex."

Byul pushes herself off the wall and walks to the stand that stores different kind of combat weapons; from melee, range to flexible weapons. Her fingers dance across the choices of weapons, thinking of which one she'd curl her fingers around. The rest eye her as her hand stops on the blunt-ended wooden sticks, automatically stepping back as she takes one and swings it in a half-arch, pointing one end towards Hongjoong.

"Up for a match?" she invites before throwing the stick to him. He catches it swiftly, tilting his head towards the training mat.

"She's not even restraining herself and going straight for the captain," Yeosang comments. "This should be interesting."

She plucks one stick from the stand, walks with her head down to stand in front of Hongjoong, who has his stance ready as he tightens the grip around the stick. She seems to stumble around for a moment before she gets to the position where she would be face to face with him. She rests one end of the stick on the ground, wrapping her hands on the other and resting her chin against her hands.

"I don't discriminate," Hongjoong says, kicking the stick so it's launched off the ground, catching it mid-air. "Whether you're a beginner or not," he holds it horizontally, "my opponents are all the same to me."

"One thing about you, Mr. Kim, is that you've been offending me a lot ever since the beginning. I get where you're coming from since you're a man of many talents," she expresses, earning an 'ooh' from both Wooyoung and San as they look on, impressed. "But too bad you ruined an innocent girl's life because of you can't keep your mouth shut."

"Oh snap," Seonghwa hisses. "They haven't even started but it's getting hot in here."

"Less talking, more action then." Hongjoong strikes, in hopes of taking her by surprise at his sudden attack but she is all prepared as she slides backwards on the mat, the blunt end missing from driving into her skull just by a few inches.

She hits him from the side using the middle part of her stick, causing him to loosen his grip on his weapon. As if in slow motion, she throws her weapon in the air, using the few seconds of her free hands to steal from his loosened grip and lets the one in the air fall rightfully into her hand. She spins on her heel to give a spinning kick to his torso, and he falls down onto the mat, skidding before he rams sideways into the foam-padded wall. She crosses one end of the weapon over the other, pointing them towards him.

With all of them slack-jawed with the short but impactful show, Mingi and Yeosang are the first to clap their hands before they are joined in by the oldest, their applause resonating in the training room. San does little to hide how proud he is seeing her bringing down Hongjoong without much fuss.

Yunho has been quiet since they started the training, as he feels that there's a spark igniting from one end of a severed memory as he watches her fighting style. There are subtle differences in how she brings herself from his memories of Lee Eunbi, but he's not ready to bring down his theory that this girl right here just might be Hwayoung's mother.