peach blossom; 桃花 || jung wheein x kim taehyung

flower bud; 花蕾

The frozen dirt beneath Wheein's feet crunches with every step she takes. Her breathing is controlled, coming out in soft, shallow pants so as not to lose her stamina. The chill of the winter morning stings as the wind blows lightly at Wheein's face, but she pays it no mind. If she loses her concentration now, it could prove to be fatal.

At the sense of a faint presence in the nearby woodsy brush, she freezes in place and is barely quick enough to dodge behind a tree just as a gunshot goes off. The bullet blows past her hiding spot, splintering into the tree several meters behind her with a resounding crack. It's silent for a moment, neither party willing to reveal their own location nor reckless enough to make the first move so rashly. Wheein slowly reaches for the dagger strapped to her ankle, only to freeze empty-handed as she feels the cold and unforgiving press of a gun barrel against her temple.

"Hands up."

Wheein pauses, slowly bringing her hands behind her head in a show of surrender. She holds her breath and ignores the way adrenaline floods her veins, waiting for the perfect moment. She only has one chance.

"Turn around."

Wheein exhales calmly, pivoting slowly on her left foot and dropping her shoulders ever so slightly in the process.

Now.

As her attacker's figure comes into Wheein's peripheral view, she takes the chance and goes on the offensive, dropping low and to the left side of her assailant before leaping upwards at them with a burst of speed. She grabs the other's wrist to immobilize the hand holding the gun previously aimed at her head and slams all of her weight through her shoulder into the center of her opponent's chest with a blow of strength, keeping a firm grasp on the barrel of the gun with her other hand as she rips the weapon from its owner and drives forward into the assailant. They both hit the ground with a light grunt, the world momentarily going upside down for Wheein as the other throws her off of their person and onto the frost coated forest floor.

She immediately scrambles back up to her feet, looking around for the attacker with their gun in her hand. The back of her neck prickles as she senses their presence and she spins around, but she's just a second too late. A heavy blow to the back knocks her forward onto her hands and knees, a combat boot clad foot kicking the gun out of her hand from behind. Before she can make another move, an arm quickly wraps its way around her neck and pulls back tight across her throat.

Wheein knows she's lost and taps the ground in a sign of defeat. "Okay, I give. I give."

The weight quickly lifts off of her person as the same pair of arms that put her in a choke hold just moments ago help her stand back up. She turns around to glare up at the assailant.

"Sneaky little bastard," she grumbles at the man standing above her with a triumphant smirk tugging at his lips as she sits back down on her own accord to catch her breath, "You've been taking stealth lessons with Hyejin, haven't you?"

The man tucks his .45 caliber away absentmindedly, the smug look of victory quickly replaced with a childish pout as he plops down onto the ground next to Wheein. "How'd you know?"

"Tch, those strategies and that movement were all practically patented by her." Wheein lets out a light scoff and reaches over to pluck a stray leaf that must have gotten stuck in his hair from when she had tackled him to the ground earlier. "You've still got a long way to go, Taehyung."

Taehyung huffs in protest. "But I've gotten better, right?"

Wheein smiles softly, her eyes crinkling into gentle crescent moons as she takes in his figure. While he wasn't necessarily weak or scrawny by any means back when they had picked him up and took him into their crew, the months of physical training he had done since then certainly didn't lie. Her eyes trail up until they meet his own heated gaze. He stares back at her unabashedly, neither of them willing to look away first. "Yes, you've gotten very good."