Jinhwan took her hand again, and the two walked out of the classroom together, heading toward the changing rooms at the end of the hallway.
A few minutes later, they stepped out each from separate rooms.
Both wore white, short sleeved T shirts, dark blue track pants, and black sports shoes. The uniform was simple, but it gave off a clean, focused look, ready for action.
They made their way outside, leaving the school building behind as the sun warmed the wide training field. The large playground was already filled with their classmates, all dressed in the same athletic gear, standing in two separate groups boys on one side, girls on the other.
In front of them stood a tall man with a sharp presence. His posture was straight, arms behind his back, and his dark coat fluttered slightly in the breeze. It was the same instructor who taught their first period.
Jinhwan joined the boys' group without a word, while Seyoung moved over to stand with the girls.
The Teacher took one long look at the students before speaking, his voice clear and firm.
"Now that everyone is here, let's begin."
His gaze swept across the field.
"This is your first practice class as a third year. I want to see how much stronger you've all become. So who wants to go first?"
He paused for a moment, letting his words settle in.
"No weapons allowed. Use mana. Don't hold back. If something goes wrong, I'll stop it so there's no need to worry about hurting or getting hurt."
The air around them grew still. A few students shifted on their feet, while others stared ahead, focused. The tension was rising. but so was the excitement.
One of the girls raised her hand.
"I'll go first." she said in a cheerful voice as she stepped forward.
Her jet-black hair was tied into a messy top bun, with a few loose strands falling around her face. Long side bangs framed her sharp yellow eyes, which were locked onto Jinhwan. A confident smile curled on her lips.
She was short around 5 feet but her energy filled the space.
Then she turned her head, eyes now on Seyoung. She lifted her left hand and curled her index finger, gesturing for her to come forward.
"Come on, you little worm." she said with a smirk.
"If you lose, you have to break up with Jinhwan."
Seyoung didn't flinch. She walked forward silently, her steps steady. She stopped a few feet in front of the girl and crossed her arms.
"You really don't learn your lesson, do you, Suhyeon?" she said, her voice calm but mocking. "I've beaten you more times than I can count. What makes you think today will be any different?"
Suhyeon scoffed, eyes narrowing.
"Shut up, you bitch. It was only six times," she snapped, her tone dripping with venom.
"I've been training the entire summer vacation."
She turned to glance at Jinhwan, who stood quietly in the crowd, arms crossed like he wasn't even interested. Suhyeon gave him a sweet smile then looked back at Seyoung, her eyes turning cold again.
"I'll break your bones, and when I do, you'll leave Jin alone. He belongs to me."
Seyoung gave a short laugh, cracking her knuckles as she stretched her arms.
"Oh really? Then if he liked you, you'd be his girlfriend. Not me."
Before Suhyeon could respond, their teacher stepped forward, rubbing his temple like he'd seen this a hundred times.
"Alright, alright. It's my damn class, not a soap opera," he muttered.
"You two are always at each other's throats."
He took a few steps back, raising one hand.
"Go all out. I'll step in if things get out of hand.. which they always do with you two."
He dropped his hand.
"Now start!"
Seyoung didn't waste a second.
In an instant, she appeared right in front of Suhyeon, catching her off guard. A smirk flashed across Seyoung's face as she swung a sharp strike toward Suhyeon's left side.
But Suhyeon reacted fast and blocked it with her left palm, then launched her right leg high toward Seyoung's neck.
Seyoung raised her right hand just in time, blocking the kick inches from her throat. Each blow shook the ground beneath them, sending shockwaves through the air.
Suddenly, Suhyeon's left leg turned red glowing like burning metal. Heat radiated off her skin as she drove her leg forward again, this time crashing it hard into Seyoung's neck.
The impact sent Seyoung flying several meters backward, landing roughly on the ground.
"Now do you see who's superior?" Suhyeon called out, eyes gleaming.
"Leave Jin alone you're not even close to being worthy of him."
Seyoung pushed herself up, slowly. She glanced down at her right hand red burns marked her palm, blood dripping from the cracked skin.
"Big talk," she muttered, rotating her neck with a wince. "For someone who just landed their first hit on me."
She looked up, eyes locked on Suhyeon with fire behind them.
"You've gotten stronger, I'll give you that." Seyoung said, stepping forward. "But did you forget? I didn't spend summer break slacking off either."
She bent her knees slightly, took a deep breath and vanished. In a blink, she was standing right in front of Suhyeon.
Suhyeon froze. She didn't even get the chance to react. A thin trail of blood slipped from the corner of her lips.
"Bitch.." she whispered, swaying. "You won't win next time.."
And with that, her eyes closed, and she collapsed forward right into Seyoung's arms.
The teacher let out a long sigh, clearly used to this kind of chaos.
He glanced over at one of the girls standing quietly near the back red hair tied neatly, glasses perched on her nose, calm black eyes watching everything.
"Harin. Heal her." he said, his tone firm but not panicked.
Then he turned to Seyoung with a pointed look.
"I told you to go all out, not break every rib in her body.. You could've knocked her out without turning her into scrap."
Seyoung didn't respond.
Harin stepped forward silently. She knelt beside Seyoung and gently took Suhyeon from her arms, laying her down on the ground with care.
Then Harin placed her hand over Suhyeon's stomach.
A soft green dust sparkled into the air, forming around Suhyeon's body like a glowing mist. It wrapped her gently, pulsing like it had a heartbeat of its own. Slowly, her breathing eased.
After a few minutes, the light faded.
"She's healed." Harin said quietly, standing up and lifting Suhyeon's unconscious body with ease. "Just needs some rest."
She turned toward the school building and walked off without another word, carrying Suhyeon toward the nurse's office Seyoung followed them.
[Episode 14 End]