~𝟭𝟬~

The next morning, I woke up with Hyunjin still in the chair next to my bed, fast asleep. I smiled as I listened to his soft snores. I got up and went to the bathroom, taking a quick shower. When I was finished I put my pj's back on and walked out to find Hyunjin awake. He rubbed his eyes, his hair standing up in weird places.

"Good morning sleepyhead. Sleep well?"

"Actually yes. This chair is very comfortable."

I smiled at him. When he left, I quickly got dressed and went downstairs. Lee Know, Jeongin and Chan sat in the living room, and I guessed the reason was that they didn't know what to make for breakfast. They all looked up at me as I approached.

"Good morning, Ava. Sleep well?" Chan asked.

"Actually yes."

"Oh, could I talk to you about something?"

I stopped in my tracks at his question, turning to him.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

"No, everything's fine. Just follow me."

I followed him into the kitchen like instructed. I took a seat at the island, him standing opposite me. He leaned with his elbows on the countertop.

"It's about your probationary period." My stomach dropped at his words.

"Did I do something wrong? Are you... firing me?"

"No, no, nothing like that. It's just.... you know how you still had the rest of this week and the week after that?"

"Y-yes?"

"Well, the commander has shortened it. You only have till the end of this week."

"Okay, what does that mean?"

"It means, if we want to have you ready by the end of the week, we'll have to start training, like, right away."

He straitened up and started walking to the sliding door leading outside. I hastily followed, unsure of what was going on. He walked past the pool and around the back of the house, and I struggled to keep up with my much shorter legs.

"Wait up," I said, and he slowed down, looking back at me.

"Training for what?" I asked.

"There are some things we need to teach you before you join our team. A lot of our missions will be much more dangerous then you're used to, with much higher stakes. So, I need to make sure you're ready."

We kept walking until we reached a sandy clearing not too far from the house. Chan walked over to a big shed at the edge of the clearing. He rustled around in there and emerged with a large rubber dummy. I rushed over to help him carry it. Once we were all set up he made me stand in front of the dummy and started circling around the big rubber thing and me.

"Now, I want to see how well you can defend yourself. Some hand-to-hand combat. Play as dirty as you want."

I was unsure of what he wanted. With my previous team, I never practiced on dummies. They always made me practice on them. For a more real experience, they had said. But now, I was suddenly unsure of my abilities. Especially with Chan watching my every move like a hawk. I breathed out a shaky breath and squared my shoulders. I looked over at Chan, who nodded. I threw the first punch, the rubber giving way under my knuckles. The scabs on my hands - from trying to break my door down - started cracking and flaking off. I kept throwing punch after punch, adding a kick or an elbow to the gut every now and then. I grew aware of Chan still moving around the dummy, watching me. After a while he told me to stop, and I heard a round of applause erupt from behind me. I turned to find the rest of the team congregated at the edge of the clearing, watching the show. I laughed softly at them, then turned back to Chan.

"Not bad. Nice form. But, I have to ask you something before we proceed. Do you think you could handle taking us on?"

As he asked it, he pointed to the boys and himself. I squared my shoulders again and wiped some sweat off my forehead. Surprisingly, I trusted them. They wouldn't hurt me; I knew that much.

"Sure. Why not? I'm up for the challenge."

I smirked at the boys, ready for a real test. I stretched out my hand, beckoning them over with my hand. The younger ones looked slightly uneasy; the older ones unfazed.

"So, who's first?" I asked, looking up at Chan. He smirked and shook his head.

"Let's start off slow. Han, come here."

He came over slowly. He looked very reluctant to fight me.

"He tends to be gentle, so why not try him first?"

Chan stepped back and motioned for us to continue. I looked at Han.

"Go right ahead. Whenever you're ready."

"Uh-uh. Ladies first."

I rolled my eyes before lunging. He side-stepped. I landed on my haunches and shot at him again. I hit him in the shoulder, knocking him off balance slightly. I moved to swing again, but he ducked and grabbed my ankle, yanking me down. I kicked his feet out from under him and turned him onto his stomach, pressing him down with my knee. Some of the boys cheered. Chan just smirked at me. I helped Han up and dusted myself off.

"Who's next?"

...

I had taken down almost all the boys I faced, only ending in a tie with Hyunjin because he was so much taller than me. The only ones left were Chan and Lee Know. They looked at each other and smirked.

"Are you going, or should I go?" I heard Lee Know ask.

"I'll go."

Chan approached me slowly. We squared up and I leapt. After a while I realized he had a weakness. Sure, he was stronger and faster than me, but he wasn't protecting his abdomen. I kicked him, sending him skidding in the dirt. I walked over to him and gave him my hand to help him to his feet, thinking he had given up. Instead, he grabbed my wrist, pulling me down onto the ground next to him. He grabbed me in a choke hold. I thrashed, but he held tight. I reached my hand up and grabbed his hair, yanking hard. His arms went limp and I crawled away, springing up.

"Playing dirty, I see. Well, what are you waiting for? Come at me," Chan taunted.

I leapt again, but this time I knew what he was doing. He swerved right, as expected, but I went after him, colliding with his chest. We rolled on the ground until I ended up on top. I pressed my knee onto his neck and pinned his arm down with my other foot, grabbing his free hand when it came up to my head.

"Looks like I win," I said with a smirk. Then I helped him up and dusted him off a bit, checking to make sure I didn't hurt him.

"Sorry about pulling your hair."

"Hey, it's okay. It was a good move. You're good. My only question is, can you handle the best person at hand-to-hand combat in the team?" he asked, looking over at Lee Know.

"Sure, I can. I mean, I beat you. That's got to count for something, right?"

"Not with him. He's strong, fast and can see what you're going to do five moves before you do it. He's really good."

"Okay, any advice?"

"Stay on your feet. Don't let him get you on the ground."

Lee Know had started walking to me by then, so I squared up to him, keeping Chan's words in mind. He just stood there; completely calm, his usual smirk playing on his lips. I took a deep breath before I leapt at him. He dodged easily and grabbed my arm, twisting it behind my back. I could feel him trying to push me to the ground, so I twisted, freeing my wrist from his grasp, and pulling him off balance. I leapt again, hoping to knock him over, but he pushed me back. I landed hard on the ground but got back onto my haunches. Chan's words from earlier echoed through my mind. Stay on your feet. Maybe that is what he's expecting me to do, I thought.

I started running toward him, but before he could grab me again, I slid underneath his legs, grabbing his ankle on the way. He landed in the dirt, but regained composure just as fast as he had lost it. He kicked the leg I was holding, knocking me in the head. He got up again and knelt next to me. He smirked, but it was wiped off as I grabbed his shoulders and flung him over my side, rolling out of the way and getting up again. I pressed my foot onto his back, and it seemed as though he had given up. But then he twisted, grabbed my ankle, and yanked me down, somehow managing to catch me before my head hit the ground.

"Nice work. You're a worthy opponent," he said, getting up and putting me on my feet. I dusted myself off, him doing the same.

"Now, what did you learn from this experience?" Chan asked.

"Never to mess with Lee Know."

The boys laughed at my answer, until Chan cleared his throat.

"I was observing you and I noticed; you have one fatal flaw. You let down your guard. You think the fight is over before it actually is. With me and Lee Know, there were times when you relaxed, thinking it was over. It gave us the opportunity to get you off your feet. But I'll help you work on that. Other than that, you fight very well. I'm surprised you lasted as long as you did, but I'm happy with where you are with it. Nice work."

I smiled at the last words and he gave me thumbs up. At least I knew I would be able to kick ass if the time ever came. The only question was would I be able to stay calm enough to fight if he finally came for me?