Deus Didymus: Rend

Pt2Ch22: Unlikely Tethers

Minho and Xiaoting panted as they sat up. A cool breeze brushed against the two from the ceiling, earning a relieved smile from the older.

"This new training building is really nice," she remarked. "I don't know how I'd live without AC."

Minho wiped the sweat from his forehead, "You can thank Moka and Yujin sunbae for that."

From the room's entrance, Chaewon approached the two, tossing both a bottle of water. She sat behind Minho, pulling him into her embrace while she gave him a warm massage.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Xiaoting questioned. "Hanam only."

Chaewon furrowed her eyebrows, "There isn't a sign that says-'

"She's joking, Noona," Minho interrupted.

"I've gotta say, you're lucky that you have that busted allele," Xiaoting chuckled. "Since you could sense other people's alleles and copy them, it was only a matter of telling you they're linked to wellsprings until you could sense wellsprings. You're also untraceable."

"I don't feel strong enough to hold the title of 'Hanam' though," Minho frowned. "Compared to you, and-"

"You can't compare yourself to me," Xiaoting scoffed. "I've been growing stronger since we started training together too."

"As strong as Ms. Ezaki?" Minho asked.

"Maybe..." Xiaoting looked down to her water, with a diminished smile. "But you're the focus here. You've got real talent, you know? You're already a Hanam at sixteen with incredible control over energy and your Allele. I couldn't do that until I was what... twenty-one? I wouldn't be surprised if you reached B-Rank Hanam in a few years--with a little push."

"Is that Xiaoting I hear complimenting someone other than Park Ji Hoon?" Mashiro stepped into the gymnasium with a grin, "How's it taste?"

"Gross!!" Xiaoting scowled, "Don't joke like that. He's thirteen years younger."

"I don't know, Unnie, we all know you had a crush on Ji Hoon. You acting like this is suspicious," Chaehyun smirked.

Mashiro and Chaehyun glanced toward Chaewon, taking in her uneasy frown. They chuckled before sitting next to Xiaoting.

"We're just teasing," Chaehyun reassured.

"How's the new batch coming along?" Mashiro asked.

"Mine are useless," Xiaoting sighed.

"You say that about anyone not named Kyu or Hana," Chaehyun squinted. "That's also not nice to say."

"Mine are blockheads just like Y/n hyung, but I think they're coming along well," Minho added. He turned his head, meeting Chaewon's soft gaze, "Wait, Noona. One of your students--Minji, the one that's the same age as Yujin--kind of looks like the Ahn siblings."

Chaewon and Eunbi's eyes widened. The three youngest instructors looked at each other in silence. All three sat quietly for what felt like forever, until Xiaoting spoke up.

"She's the one with the freaky shadow tentacles, right?" Xiaoting pursed her lips, "I guess she kind of resembles little Yujin."

"Little' is crazy," Mashiro chortled.

"Shut up!!" Xiaoting whined.

Chaewon pressed her chest against Minho's back, wrapping her arms around his stomach. "I'll ask her tomorrow."

Chaewon flipped through her papers, writing down different ways and methods she could teach her students. From combat training against each other to with another team, to fighting monsters, the radish thought of how to push her students forward. After all, aside from Xiaoting's team, her students were the weakest in the batch.