Divine Enmity (Catnipz)

XX. Hell nah.

Haerin walked back to her cabin, her brow furrowed and fists clenched. It had been days since she had seen Kim Minji, and for some reason, instead of being a relief, it was torture.

Haerin's mind went back to their confrontation the other day, how close they were, the teasing, that little flirtation... Yes, flirting, right? That's what Haerin thought it was, and she was pretty sure it was. Minji's hints were far from being a joke or something to annoy Haerin. The way she responded was far from that.

They were far from hating each other as they believed. But they were also far from tolerating each other.

After that day, Kim Minji disappeared from the camp. Well, not like she had evaporated; Haerin understood that she had just left for who knows how long. Danielle told her that Kim Minji came and went, just like when Haerin arrived at camp, and no one expected her to be in the Capture the Flag game. And many times, she took Pham Hanni with her.

Obviously.

She always had to be with her. And that wasn't something Danielle liked either when she told her about it.

But they couldn't do anything about it.

During those days, Haerin was quite bored. The absence of many campers in the camp was noticeable, as there were fewer due to the winter schedule, so many of the activities she loved didn't happen. There were still around fifty campers, but it wasn't enough for Capture the Flag, for example.

Haerin sighed.

She had already done her daily training in the combat arena and had taken countless walks to distract herself. Danielle had left her to do who knows what, and some of her sisters had asked Chiron for the afternoon off to go shopping in New York.

So she was practically alone.

Or that's what she thought.

"Hey, Haerin!"

Nishimura Riki was approaching her with his perfect smile, and Haerin greeted him with equal enthusiasm.

"Hey!"

"You seem a bit lonely," the boy commented.

"Why do you say that?" she replied sarcastically.

Niki smiled again. "Maybe because I've been watching you for a while, and you're pretty alone..." Haerin nodded. "... Or because you just built a small city with some sticks and leaves."

Haerin laughed, seeing how in front of her, she had made small figures out of branches and dry leaves, even making a small house for them.

"That has nothing to do with being alone!"

Niki laughed. "Are you sure?"

Haerin blushed. "I'm not going to answer that."

The boy continued with his characteristic smile.

"Well, before your stick city becomes a nation..." Haerin rolled her eyes. "... How about a fight between you and me? This time, I'll win."

Haerin smiled. "You seem too confident, Nishimura."

"You have no idea, Kang."

She narrowed her eyes, and the boy did the same, challenging each other with their gaze.

"Do you think you can handle me winning again?"

"You didn't win, we tied!"

Haerin laughed as she started walking towards the arena, followed by the boy.

"If that helps you sleep at night..."

Niki then stopped her by grabbing her shoulder.

"Wanna bet?"