simon says | 02

.eleven

eleven | fuck you

Jisung didn't close his eyes after Natty told him how she saw him.

For some reason, her words annoyed him so much that he found himself at the merged training grounds, a place he would most often try to avoid. The merged training grounds were located in the center of the camp, and just like the name suggested, they welcomed students from all districts.

Not knowing why or how he got there, Jisung figured he'd at least let his anger out by training because he thought he'd be the only one still awake and training after curfew.

Unknown to him, two other students had the same idea, but they came at least half an hour before the boy.

As soon as he entered the training grounds, Jisung could only hear the sounds of water, which perked his interest ever so slightly.

"Why did you just soak me in water?" a male voice asked annoyed.

"You soaked me two minutes ago, it's only fair if I get to soak you too." a female voice replied.

Figuring there were two people, Jisung decided to train on his own, thinking the two wouldn't be able to help him since they both had water-based powers.

"Just focus on where you're channeling your energy, it should result in higher intensity power discharge." the boy stated.

"Look at you acting like you know everything." the girl laughed, before shooing the boy to bed and continuing her workout.

Jisung got a glimpse of the boy as he was leaving the training grounds, and although he wasn't sure who the boy was, he assumed it was Seok Matthew, one of the top first years. If his assumptions were correct, then the girl Matthew was training with had to be Ning Yizhuo, the girl who managed to get into the top ten ranking of first years after just a month of training.

Jisung had heard stories about them. They were good, there was no reason to deny that, but rumors were spreading around. One of the rumors every first-year heard was that the two would sneak out to train after curfew, which Jisung now confirmed as not just a rumor, but as a fact. He thought whether or not the other rumors were true, but quickly shook the thought out of his head as it made him even more frustrated.

Jisung couldn't place his finger on it, but there was something weird about the way she splashed the water around and how it sounded. The sound was nostalgic in a way, and without his brain's approval, Jisung began strolling toward the sounds.

That's when he first saw her. He knew she was good, but no one ever told him how good she truly was at controlling her power.

Yizhuo seemed like she was enjoying wielding that immense power of hers, and it made Jisung sort of envious, not because he wasn't able to tame the hellfire, but because she was new to camp and was already at the top of their year.

He ended up watching her train for a little while.

"Who are you?" the girl asked after she finished, not even bothering to turn around and look at Jisung.

"Why would that matter?" Jisung questioned in the same cold tone Yizhuo asked.

"Students are usually too afraid of the punishments to go out after curfew," Yizhuo replied before turning around, "Which means you don't care about the punishments."

"I don't care because no one has ever caught me before." Jisung shrugged his shoulders.

"You really are cocky, Park Jisung," Yizhuo smirked, not in a cocky way, but in a way she usually would when she finally figured out or understood something.

"What's it to you?" Jisung questioned.

"Nothing," Yizhuo replied while shaking her head, "I just haven't beaten you yet."

"You think you can?" Jisung asked.

"I haven't even tried yet, so who knows," Yizhuo replied. She had no intention of beating the boy anytime soon, because she very well knew which powers he held, and she knew she wasn't strong enough to take them on. At least not yet.

"You want to try?" Jisung tilted his head in a taunting way, just waiting for the girl to fall into his trap. he wanted to see whether he was better than her, even though he already knew the answer to that.

"I don't really feel like it tonight," Yizhuo replied before brushing past him, "But I'll tell you what. Meet me here next Saturday at the same time. And come alone."

"I should be telling you that," Jisung scoffed, "Who would I bring, anyway?"

"I don't know, you and Natty seem pretty close," Yizhuo replied with a shrug.

"Who told you that?" Jisung asked.

"No one," Yizhuo replied before turning back around to look at him, "But there are rumors that you two are dating," she stopped to recall the rumors regarding two of the most powerful first years, "Or that there is at least something going on."

Jisung was left stunned by the new information. He had heard all sorts of rumors, but he never came across one that he was a part of. And to even think that he and Natty would be in a rumored relationship, was uncalled for.

Sure, the two were pretty close, but they were close because they found value in using each other to get better.

He knew that if Natty weren't this strong, he would've never even thought about befriending him. He was also pretty sure that Natty saw him in the same light, as just another stepping stone she had to step over to get to the top, yet he was going to make sure that she always tripped on that stone, no matter how hard she tried to keep her balance.

"Do you know who started the rumors?" Jisung asked.

"No, and I don't care." Yizhuo replied.

"Do you care about the rumors students made about you?" Jisung questioned.

"Why would I?" Yizhuo chuckled, "If the most interesting thing they can do in life is talk about those better than themselves and make up rumors about them, then their lives must be sad and uneventful."

"You're the first person that said what I was thinking," Jisung stated.

"Did you expect Natty to say the same?" Yizhuo asked, "As much as she's seen in life, she still cares too much about everything. That won't get her far in this camp."

"You think she's weak?" Jisung asked her, ready to throw hands at the girl who seemed to think highly of herself. How dare she call him a stuck-up when she was no better?

"No, I just think that if she doesn't change her ways of thinking, students will start to overpower her, and I'll be the first on that list." Yizhuo shrugged her shoulders.

"Fuck you," Jisung spat at her, taking Yizhuo by surprise.

"Why?" she asked.

"For saying nothing wrong."