Amethyst // BTS AU

"Good Progress"

“Good Progress”
Training Room

//

"Again," was all Seokjin said as he peered down at a worn-out and sweaty Malia before him.

The petite girl heaved as her chest moved up and down forcefully. A thick line of sweat formed on Malia's brow; a product of the intense workout that her instructor – Seokjin – had just put her through.

The room all around was spacious with soft mats below their feet to help soften the blow if either party had been swept to the ground. Well, the mats were really there for the amethyst eyed girl who seemed to be no match for the bigger and more experienced fighter in front of her.

"I said again."

Seokjin stood confidently, his left hand resting on his hip. He didn't even look the slightest bit tired, his newly dyed purple hair shining under the overhead lights of the well-equipped training room.

That morning, Malia noted how much she liked the new colour, how it somehow made the eldest member exude an unmatched youthful aura. Plus, the hair was almost the same shade of her irises; she was left no other choice but to be in awe of the change.

"I-I genuinely can't, Seokjin." Malia said breathlessly.

Seokjin sighed as he walked away from the girl and to the side of the glass-walled room that housed a mini fridge. As he grabbed a water from the fridge, Malia looked at the outside view through the transparent walls.

It was a bright day outside, the rays of sunlight shining down on the vast patch of land that surrounded the training room. The sounds of birds chirping were very faint in the distance and reminded Malia of the world that she had yet to discover beyond her constraints. If her appa was still alive, they would have sat down in a shadowed area of their small backyard, eating sandwiches and drinking apple juice.

Malia smiled at the fond memory, missing the only person she had ever loved. She missed her best friend.

"What are you smiling at?" Seokjin asked curiously, walking up to Malia and handing her a chilled bottle of water.

She shook her head shyly and didn't say another word as she cracked the sealed lid open and allowed to ice-cold drink to flow through her. Her dry throat vanished almost instantly.

A second of silence fell upon the room before Seokjin spoke once again.

"You're scared."

A chill ran down Malia's spine at the simple statement. She looked up at Seokjin, a look that she couldn't quite decipher fell upon his face. A stoic look on his features but a tinge of sadness in his eyes.

"I–"

"You're afraid and that's making you hold back," the man cut off. "You're holding back and I can feel it. Instead of trying to fight me, you're trying to hide by dodging all my hits."

"I thought that the point was to not get hurt." Malia said, the bits of truth in Seokjin's words bruising her feelings and confidence.

"The point, Malia, is to show your opponents that you have no fear, that you're strong," Seokjin paused. "Even if you don't feel that way, there is no time to doubt yourself. Not now, not when we face SuperM in three months and definitely not ever."