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Ryujin yawns as she shuffles down the hallway. She stretches her arms overhead, the hem of her oversized hoodie lifting up.
If she's lucky, she'll walk into a shadowy part of the hall, and at just the right timing- bump into an officer she can swipe a packet of cigarettes off.
Speaking of shadows. From the far corner of her eye, she catches a shadowboxing figure. She stills.
Ryujin walks into the gym as she buries her hands into her front pocket. “Glasses? What are you doing here alone?”
Sayeon glances at her side-long. “Training. Why are you here?”
“Where's Min?” Ryujin stops short, her eyes following the blur of Sayeon's fists.
Ryujin eyes the bead of sweat trailing down from where a sliver of Sayeon's neck peeks from her open collar.
“I told him to take five,” she replies in between jabs, absent-minded.
Ryujin closely watches Sayeon for a beat or two, the way the fabric of her dress shirt swishes. Snickering, she inches forward. “Looks like you've finally got the rudimentary basics down.”
Sayeon lowers her arms. “What?”
“No, keep your arms up,” Ryujin steps in front of Sayeon, “I bet Min pulls his punches. 'Bout time you get a taste of a real fight.”
Sayeon furrows her brows. “Ryujin, Min will be back soon anyway-”
Ryujin strikes a blow square on Sayeon's jaw. “Then you'd better get through me quick.”
Sayeon grabs ahold of her jaw and rubs, faintly tasting copper. Glaring, she backs up and takes a defensive stance.
“That's more like it,” Ryujin rolls her sleeves up before tucking her chin beside her fist.
Sayeon wastes no time and goes for a wide swing, to catch Ryujin off guard first--
Ryujin swiftly ducks, wrapping both her arms around Sayeon's legs-- lifting and slamming her down on her back.
Sayeon yelps from the sharp pain that shoots through the small of her back, just as Ryujin cackles, “Called it, you know jack shit about grappling,” Ryujin's knees, where she can already feel bruises forming- bracket Sayeon's waist, palms flat on either side of Sayeon's head.
“See, the thing with actual fights- they're fast, unpredictable–” Ryujin slams Sayeon's wrists back down just as she tries to lift them, pressing more of her bodyweight into her. “--and often end up on the ground.”
Ryujin's gleaming gaze pierces into Sayeon's dulled-out blues. Think you're too good to use your essence on me?
Now that they're this close, she just might catch a better look.
“This is pathetic. All I see you do is train and train, and this is what you have to show for it.” Of what it is Sayeon sees in the Corps that she just doesn't.
Ryujin looks into Sayeon's eyes, really looks– the only light in them being the moonlight spilling from outside.
She can't find it. She just can't find it.
Ryujin lands a clean hook to Sayeon's nose, and blood spatters where her head swiveled.
Sayeon's essence finally flares up as she lets out sharp pants. A self-satisfied smirk splits Ryujin's face.
This is ridiculous. She should be saving her energy for Min, a proper, productive sparring session, but goddamnit--
Sayeon manages to bend at the core, headbutting Ryujin-- and right as she recoils back, Sayeon shoves her shoulders, ramming her into the ground.
Scrambling on top of Ryujin, she leans down, their ragged breaths mingling. “Big talk coming from dead weight,” Sayeon shifts to pin Ryujin down with her legs instead, straightening up- and with one hand, yanks Ryujin up by the collar while her other throws punches at her face.
Sayeon heaves, her shoulders dropping as she sees Ryujin's bloody, bitter grin, a daring, reddish glint in her eyes.
That's it. That's the exact fire Sayeon wants to see more of in those red-hot, spiral eyes. She could feel herself getting lost in their hypnotic swirl.
Reigning herself in– Sayeon drops Ryujin's collar, Ryujin breaking her fall by landing on the back of her forearms. She's wasted enough essence on this senseless bickering.
Dismounting, she uses the back of her sleeve to wipe at her nose and dusts her trousers off. “Head back to our cell, Ryujin-”
Ryujin lunges forward, and in one swift motion, drives Sayeon against the wall behind her.
She hikes her knee in between Sayeon's legs to keep her in place, and leans up to press her forearm against Sayeon's throat. Ryujin feels her swallow.
“We're done because you said so? You think that's how it works out there?” Sayeon squirms against Ryujin's knee, and Ryujin wedges her knee harder in turn. “Was all that talk about becoming an officer lip service?”
Sayeon digs her nails into Ryujin's arm. “Ryujin, stop it, I'm s-serious--” Sayeon chokes up with a half-stifled moan.
Ryujin damn near flies off Sayeon.
“What the fuck. What the fuck was that.”
Sayeon sucks in a sharp breath through gritted teeth, pressing the heel of her palm to her forehead.
All Ryujin's pretenses of bravado are gone. “You're fucking weird--”
“Just head back to our cell.” Sayeon looks down and smooths out her dress shirt. Anything to avoid Ryujin's eyes right now.
Ryujin scoffs and storms off.
The blood rushing to her face is from the adrenaline. Yeah. Right. She's out of sorts because of the lack of nicotine in her body, that's all.
She shoves past a dumbfounded Min walking into the gym holding water bottles.