Divine Enmity (Catnipz)

XV. Him

As she said, Haerin did something to change that.

If she used to train almost every day before, now she practically lived in the training camp, spending all her free time there. Even Danielle was worried about her, and along with Wonyoung and Yuna, they dragged her away to take breaks and not forget to eat. She couldn't continue with that obsession.

"You can't live here forever," Danielle told her, concerned, as she forcibly led her to the cabin to shower.

Haerin knew she was becoming obsessed, but she couldn't help it. Every time she closed her eyes, she relived the humiliations in front of Minji. The archery incident made her despise her, and what happened with the straw man... She was so close, with those deep eyes, her mocking smile, the way she made her spin in the air before bringing her down... She clenched her fists in frustration. She wouldn't go through that again.

So that Haerin could improve in all types of combat without having to sacrifice sleep, other campers offered to help her get better sooner. Despite Heeseung's complaints, Haerin decided to have another camper assist her with archery. She still considered Heeseung like another brother to her, but he wasn't the best fit.

Xiaojun was the leader of the Apollo cabin and proved to be much more helpful than her brother; he was infinitely more patient when teaching archery techniques, even if it was hard for Heeseung to admit. He had the eye of a hawk, able to shoot and hit any moving target. It was incredible, really. He handled the bow like no one else.

On the other hand, Wooyoung had more knowledge about fighting, combat, and weapons than Heeseung, so he served as a much better mentor. Heeseung was a little upset with her at first for choosing to train with someone else, but it didn't last long. Training hand-to-hand with Wooyoung was entertaining and fun, but the older one seemed to enjoy slamming her to the ground over and over again.

"You need to learn to fall properly," he would say with laughter, offering her a hand to help her up. And she did learn at least how to fall without hurting herself.

Haerin was improving more and more, to the point where she could even bring down Ryujin in one of their training sessions. Even Ryujin was surprised by this and congratulated her, but she also got competitive and started training even harder because, in her opinion, Haerin couldn't beat her. No child of Aphrodite could beat her on her own turf.

Wooyoung then called his best friend San, and although Haerin had been a little afraid of him since Capture the Flag, his rough appearance was contrasted by his kindness. Well, kindness outside of the training ground, just like Ryujin and Yeji, he was a sadist. But at least he was a sadist willing to help her. Every muscle in her body ached after trying to bring down or dodge a behemoth like him. But she was determined not to give up.

Wonyoung still sometimes felt distrustful of them, especially when she surrounded herself so much with the Ares cabin members, and even more so if it was Ryujin, although this was more due to Yuna's influence than Wonyoung alone. However, after so much time, Wonyoung saw that she posed no danger to her sister.

San was much harder to handle due to his size, but the advantage of Haerin being shorter than him was that she could move more easily. She was gradually learning that this was a great advantage for her.

At that moment, she was once again heading to the training camp, highly focused. She had already practiced her endurance and strength enough. She began to stretch a little while waiting for San to arrive. Her muscles were a bit sore from the last time they trained together, but it wasn't unbearable.

However, Choi San never arrived.

Instead of a burly guy like him, another tall and lean guy with defined arms showed up. His hair was straight and blonde, and he also had a big smile. Nevertheless, his eyes were quite intimidating.