Off Guard

Quitters

[Narrator's pov]

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-"Ok, we'll start with some placement tests."

On the next night, when a full moon no longer lit up the sky, Taemin's first training session started.

-"First, the range test. I want you to find me an owl and bring it to me using nothing more than your mind," continued the merman.

"Maybe he is going to teach me something useful after all," the younger man guessed as he saw him show some seriousness for once.

Taemin nodded at him then started scanning his surroundings.

Once Taemin finally detected an owl, he took over its consciousness and guided it toward them.

He made sure the owl flew soundlessly toward Jinki from behind; curious to see if the latter would still be able to sense its approach.

The next thing Taemin knew the hypnotized owl was actually slamming into his face.
He stumbled backward, waving his hands in front of his face until he shoved the poor thing aside.

Taemin then looked at Jinki in shock, realizing it was his doing. The latter had blocked his senses for a moment; a moment enough for him not to see Jinki stepping out of the approaching owl's way, see it, or sense its body heat.

Being the experienced trickster he was, the merman had already noticed what he was up to and decided to make his little prank rebound on him.

-"H-how?!"

Jinki only chuckled mischievously in response to that bewildered question while writing notes in a pocket notebook he just took out.

-"At least you have some sense of humor. Next test: telekinesis," Jinki wrapped his arm around Taemin's neck, directing him to face the lighthouse standing a few dozen feet away on the rocks of the coast.

-"Cut its light when I say now."
-"Are you going to take your arm off of me before that?"
-"Now!"

Worried he might be testing his ability to fight distraction, Taemin let it pass and shifted his focus to the lighthouse instantly.
In less than a second, Taemin fixed his gaze on the lighthouse's lantern pane, let it seep through it to the lamp beyond, and turned it off.

-"Good," Jinki patted him on the shoulder before taking his arm off to write something in his little notebook again.

-"And now...," Jinki raised his eyes and two amused eyebrows at Taemin before he continued.

-"...resistance test. Each one of us is going to try making the other slap himself in the face. In the end, the one who resists and scores the most slaps wins. The one who makes the other slap himself first, in the beginning, gets a bonus point."
-"Excuse me?!- *SLAP!* OUCH!!"

Just as Taemin was about to slap himself again by the other hand, he held it in place midway to his face.

As he struggled to regain control over that hand, the other slapped him.

SLAP!
SLAP!
SLAP!
SLAP!
SLAP!SLAP!SLAP!

...