Trinity Six | NCT DREAM

019

Jaemin's grip was getting so strong that it had begun to hurt, my not yet healed bullet wound aching as his big hand was curled tightly around my arm. Before I got the chance to object, though, we had entered a massive open room, filled with every kind of training equipment imaginable, brightly lit by lamps and the sun rays that shone through the big floor-to-ceiling windows. Their gym, I thought. Jaemin led the way inside as I followed behind, admiring the machines; treadmills, bikes, presses, bars, and ropes that were lining the walls and hanging from the ceiling. There were dumbbells as well, weights that looked more than twice as heavy as me scattered across the floor, shining underneath the lights as I let my fingers run over their smooth surface. Looking up once again as I noticed that Jaemin had stopped, my breath getting caught in my throat as I noticed the big boxing ring in the middle of the room, brightly lit in a way that made the red ropes lining the sides shine in an eerie way. I watched as Jaemin crawl underneath the ropes and look down at me with a raised eyebrow, "Get up here," he said. Knowing that protesting would get me nowhere with this man, I trudged over to the platform, making my way up and standing in front of him as I mustered every last piece of courage in my body, looking up at him with a fierce glance that only made him smirk.

"So," he began, rubbing his hands before cracking his knuckles, not once breaking eye contact, "Since you're tagging along for this mission, we need to teach you some basics when it comes to fighting," he said, "We'll get to the guns later, but let's hope you're never going to need one of those.

I nodded, not missing the dangerous look in his eyes at the mention of guns, but he didn't elaborate any more on that. Walking around me, circling me like prey, he continued, "When you find yourself in a confrontation, there's only a couple of seconds for you to act if you want to get a move in before your attacker has the chance to respond," he said. "You need to fight back before they get the upper hand, but it's important to conserve you energy as well. You want to inflict injury so you can get away, self-defense if you want to call it that. Because believe me, you've got absolutely zero chance at winning a fight if you can't run away," he said, still circling me as he eyed my figure with a judging glance. I couldn't help but feel offended at his comment, but taking a look at my body, he probably wasn't far off. I wasn't one for conflict, and definitely not one to get physical. Everyone in Trinity Six was all muscle, strength, and force. I was more of a runner, but I had proved to be quite a good one, at that, I thought, reminding myself of how I had outrun Jeno and Jaemin in Venice before leaving them at the habour.

"It's hurt or be hurt, y/n" Jaemin continued, getting my attention once again, "So aim for the parts of the body where you can do the most damage easily. That goes for the eyes, nose, ears, neck, groin, knee, and legs." he said, pointing at every spot as he expertly explained it to me. I nodded, taking note of every single word that slipped across the man's lips as he kept circling me. "The closeness and position of your attacker will determine where you will strike," he said, his voice coming from behind me before he continued once again. I was completely immersed in his words and therefore not noticing that, at one point, Jaemin wasn't coming back to the front again. He stayed put behind me instead of returning to face me. "Let me demonstrate," he said, and before I had time to register his words, a sharp blow of pain exploded on the side of my neck, making me let out a cry of pain as I stumbled sideways. Regaining my balance and covering the aching spot with one hand, I spun around and glared at Jaemin who returned my look with serious eyes, not a hint of sorry anywhere to be found in the man's face.

"The side of the neck is a great place to start," he continued, going back to pacing around me in circles, "considering the carotid artery and jugular vein. It's a good way to stun your attacker," he explained. This time I followed his every move, spinning around in the middle of the boxing ring as he kept talking, acting completely indifferent regarding his actions just before. "Another ideal self-defense target is the knee," he said, once again catching me off guard as he kicked me right on the knee cap, the sudden force as his shoe came in contact with the vulnerable spot making my right leg bend at the move. I fell to the ground with another cry of pain as I felt tears spring to my eyes, feelings of pain, and anger flowing through my body at rapid speeds before merging into something else. "It's vulnerable from every angle, the knee," Jaemin said, looking down at me with emotionless eyes, "You can easily hit it without the risk of your attacker reacting."

"You're a fucking dick," I growled, my voice laced with the anger I was feeling as I tried to get up. I found it incredibly difficult, though, almost as if my own leg was counteracting my thoughts, each movement resulting in a strong surge of pain that ran up the entirety of my leg. "If you kick the side of the knee, it's easy to cause injury or even incapacitate your attacker," he said, completely ignoring my comment as he stopped right in front of me once again, "You can also kick the front of their knee if you want to injure them more severely, but they probably won't lose their balance as a result of that,"

I was at a loss for words, stumbling as I finally got back up, standing on wobbly legs as I glared at Jaemin, biting my lip in pain and trying to hold my tears back. I looked weak enough as it was, and I absolutely refused to cry in front of him. "No matter how you put it, though, it's not as bad as a bullet to the chest, don't you agree?" he asked, voice cold as he stared right at me, looking almost scary as his dark eyes pinned me down, holding me in place right in the middle of the boxing ring. He looked so out of place at that moment. Jaemin looked dangerous, like the criminal he was. At that moment all I wanted as Haechan's warmth, Renjun's sympathy, Chenle's kindness, or Jisung's gentleness. Or Jeno. Anything but this. On the verge of crying, I realized that Jaemin had only brought me here to beat me up, out of sight from everyone else in the group he had brought me into the ring, luring me in with the offer of training, just to ruin me. He wanted to take his anger out on someone. He wanted to blame someone, and that someone was me, the girl whom his best friend had risked his life for. But no matter how he put it, I had saved Jeno's life, I told myself, repeating Haechan's words in my head. I was tired of only receiving criticism from this man, so, taking a shaky breath, I composed myself before meeting his eyes.

"Hmm, that depends," I began, "I can imagine another thing that could cause a whole lot of pain, actually. But you'll have to tell me if I'm right. I don't know if it's as effective as a bullet to the chest, though." I said, noticing how my words changed the look in Jaemin's eyes to one of confusion instead of hatred. "It'll probably make it a lot easier to escape your attacker if you put all of your strength into one move, I said, pulling my arm back before putting my entire body weight into the movement, slamming the heel of my palm under Jaemin's nose and watching his head snap back. Getting the desired reaction, I watched his face twist into one of pain as his hands flew upwards, covering his nose.

As Jaemin grunted in pain, I walked over to him and grabbed his chin, forcing his head in the direction of mine. As he looked me in the eyes, I was suddenly reminded of the other night in the garage, but feeling satisfied at how the roles had seemed to be switched this time around. "I get that you don't like me, but I don't have time for that, Jaemin," I told him, not missing the flare of annoyance in his eyes. Still holding his nose, Jaemin tried to keep the blood from running down his face as I continued, "I get that you hate me, even, but I also don't have time for that. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to check up on Jeno." i told him, "It's more than what can be said for any of you. You've barely been around him for the last couple of days, but I have, for every hour of every day. And yet, you're still blaming me."

Jaemin had seemed to compose himself during my speech, removing his hand from his nose as I let go of him, the blood falling freely from his nose and onto the floor. Realizing that my time was up, I quickly stepped away as he stalked towards me. Speeding up, I made my way to the door, throwing him one last glance, "Be glad that I didn't go for the eyes," I said, quickly shutting the door as he came running after me.

(This chapter was written with the help of lifehacker.com. All credit goes to them for their thorough explanations and help regarding self-defense. Do yourself a favor and check out their guide :) - it could come in handy one day)

A/N:
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