The sound of steel clashing sharply pierced the air. Kang Sihyun dropped the sword he had been holding, letting it fall to the ground, as he sank down, catching his breath. Beads of sweat trickled down, gathering at the edge of his jaw. He buried his face in a towel.
The eighth time.
For someone with not-so-great stamina like him, the sparring sessions that used to happen only twice a day had now stretched into their fourth day. Throughout these four days, every sparring session had ended solely due to Sihyun's call to stop. Eight sessions and the outcome remained the same every day.
"…Hyung, if I ask you to go easy on me, would you?"
Sihyun, worn out after these days, asked. His shoulders, burdened with sore muscles, sighed away the day's exhaustion. There was a depth to his gaze, a profound concern.
"…Maybe, if you try, you could. But still, it might not last long…"
There was a lack of confidence in the voice that couldn't firmly assure. Haru handed him a water bottle while he pondered. The lukewarm water slid down his throat. It was a brief moment of quiet until Sihyun's breath returned to normal.
"The end-of-month evaluation is coming up, it's the partner assessment. I think it'd be better for you if I focused more on support abilities, what do you think?"
"Support abilities?"
"Yes."
Healing, shielding, copying buffs—those sorts of things. As they discussed over the half-empty water bottle, Haru looked at Sihyun intently. His crimson lips moved leisurely.
"As long as you're safe, I'm fine with it. That's all that matters."
"……"
The question about convenience only brought back concerns for his well-being. Being in the support class was riskier for him than being in a combat class like Haru's. Yet, he seemed to exude confidence in himself, or was it overflowing worry?
Perhaps it was both.
"I might be safer than you, Hyung. Still, it wouldn't hurt to draw initial aggro to capitalize on your class's strengths. What do you think?"
"……"
This opinion didn't seem particularly welcomed. Judging by Haru's silent response, Sihyun made his assessment. The question of 'why' sluggishly surfaced in his mind.
Assassination was most effective when the target was unaware of their presence. If it came down to facing Irregulars together, unless he managed not to attract attention, he'd end up losing a weapon and fighting as if he'd lost.
Of course, he still had physical strength on his side.
Sihyun mulled over the placement test incident when thoughts resurfaced. Knowing the Irregulars' traits back then was almost like receiving free intel. He contemplated whether to add provocation to the skill list he would copy during the evaluation day. Lost in these diverse thoughts, Hamin abruptly burst into the training room without knocking. Among those Sihyun knew, only two people would do such a thing.
"Haru Hyung! Let's switch partners!"
"……?"
He abruptly entered someone else's training room and even dared to request a partner change. Surprised, Sihyun waited, curious about what was happening, until Hamin, who arrived belatedly, grabbed the guy's back and dragged him out.
"Sorry for interrupting."
"Do you even know how to apologize?"
"What?"
Baffled by the overly casual apology, Hamin furrowed his brows. Sihyun realized his slip of tongue and rolled his eyes, shrugging it off.
"Well, I mean… So, what's going on?"
"This crazy guy's getting worked up over a simple synchronization."
"What? Min called me pathetic for being a lousy support class!"
Hamin protested, feeling unjust. At the mention of being a lousy support, Sihyun's gaze narrowed. Stepping back, he observed an odd scene unfolding.
"Are you guys synchronizing too these days?"
"Yeah. Since we got the notice two days ago, we've been practicing with our partners."
The notice, unlike in March, was a simple sheet of paper with overly simplistic information. It just stated that the next month-end evaluation would be on May 31 and would involve partner assessments. It seemed unfair that they only informed Sihyun and Haru about the partner evaluation, leaving the rest out.
"Are we getting expelled again this time?"
"Probably."
The faces of the eight who were expelled in March faintly flashed. Sihyun's gaze lingered on Donghyuk, the clearest memory. Naturally, Seowoo came to mind.
"What's Yoo Seowoo up to these days?"
Before, he used to roam other training rooms to find things to copy during training sessions, but lately, due to his sparring sessions with Haru, he stuck only to his training room. This led to fewer accidental encounters. The times they met were limited to class and meal times. When asked, Haewoon chuckled, answering.
"He's probably tanking with Gunwoo."
"Tanking?"
"Yeah. Gunwoo asked for his help, right? So, they're probably sparring by now."
"…What?"
He looked at Haewoon, hoping he hadn't misheard. Haewoon urged Sihyun to join him if he was curious. As the sparring had just ended, it was break time. Rising from his seat, Hamin also sluggishly got up. Their gazes briefly met. Four people from Room 207 walked towards Seowoo's training room.
Clang!
The noise of sword and shield clashing fiercely echoed from the opened door of the training room. When they discreetly pulled back their heads, they saw Seowoo swinging his sword aggressively, and Gunwoo defending himself.
As Seowoo swiftly lunged forward, he suddenly turned, slashing the scarecrow beside Gunwoo. With a thud, the decapitated scarecrow fell. Seowoo's movement paused.
"The provocation is canceled."
Wiping off the sweat at his chin, he chuckled, speaking.
"Gunwoo!"
It was Haewoon calling out to Gunwoo as he tried to sit down.
The cheerful voice calling out caught Geonu's attention. At the same time, Seowoo and Geonu both turned toward the door. Their gazes, previously fixed on Haewoon, shifted to the remaining three.
"I heard you guys all gathered here."
"I heard Haewoon caught Ban Geonu like a fish, so I came to see."
"Looks like it was a trick."
Seowoo, chuckling softly at Hamin's words, settled on the bench. The members of Room 207 quickly crowded around the bench.
"I heard Haewoon found something interesting."
As Sihyun, getting closer to them, perched on the bench, Seowoo, wiping sweat with a towel, asked while glancing at Sihyun. Sihyun's narrowed gaze turned toward Haewoon.
"Well, it's something trivial."
"Ah, was it something I shouldn't have known about?"
"It's widely known and not something pleasant. Besides, it leans more towards being a headache than interesting..."
As Sihyun's words trailed off, a sudden headache made him bow his head. Seowoo, seeing him clasp his hands in a triangle shape and bury his face, hummed softly.
"What's bothering you?"
"Just... whether being at the top matters or not."
"Worried your partner might be disappointed if you don't?"
"That's part of it..."
Because there's something to lose.
The small answer echoed faintly within. Raising his gaze, Sihyun found himself watching Haewoon, who was showcasing an alias to Eighteen Banharu.
From Haru's perspective, he was the first life form he brought in. He might have felt responsible for being the one who rescued him for the first time. Not to mention, he had given him a name, so there was an emotional attachment.
If he couldn't secure the top spot, Haru would lose such a being. Ignoring it wasn't an option.
If he had known this would happen, he would have let go of Haru when he first held him, seeing the possibility of losing him.
It might have been better not to have him at all, rather than having him and having him taken away.
"It's a headache."
Sihyun, squinting, murmured softly. Whether he knew about his worries or not, Eighteen Banharu seemed engrossed in showing an alias to Haewoon. Even though he didn't smile when rare glimpses appeared, he seemed to derive some joy from it.
In Sihyun's mind, images of Haru crying surfaced. Haru crying while shedding tears. Then, this time, a sullen Haru appeared, silent and desolate. Neither scenario was pleasant.
If Haru was something like a toy that could be bought from a store, there wouldn't be such worries.
If Haru had just asked for a toy and got upset for not getting it, it wouldn't matter much. But Sihyun clenched his fists knowing it wasn't like that.
"...I need to secure the top spot."
"Huh?"
"Be reasonable during your partner evaluations."
"Sure."
It was an abrupt statement and an unexpected request. Even though it bordered on being demanding, Seowoo readily agreed, prompting Sihyun to raise his head. After observing Haru for quite some time, his gaze slowly shifted, finally landing on Eighteen Banharu.
"Is it my turn to see now?"
"...What?"
"Finally, to see you."
I've been watching you for a while now.
Blinking slowly, Sihyun's eyelids descended and rose again. His eyelids hid his pupils multiple times and revealed them again several times. Seowoo seemed to have captured every moment without missing any, and she lifted the corners of her lips.
"I'll try to adjust things for the end-of-month evaluation. Your partner's skill isn't bad, so maybe you don't need to worry too much, Sihyun. Maybe it's Hamin who needs your attention."
Try your best. Saying it as if whispering, she lightly smiled and reached out towards Sihyun. A strand of hair by his ear trembled as he rose from the bench. Watching him pick up the sword leaning against the wall and walk towards the other kids, Sihyun's lips quivered.
He definitely had something to say to him.
Why did he rush it like that? He needed to ask why he was being so blunt...
Breathless, Sihyun remained dazed for a while, then jerked his head up after regaining his senses. Wondering if it was just once or twice, he tried to focus again and slipped his hand into his pocket. The phone screen that emerged displayed "May 15th."
Two weeks.
The end-of-month evaluation was approaching fast.
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