THE8 | Junhao

TEN

| CHAPTER TEN |

| two weeks later |

Minghao breathes heavily, straining with every lift of his arms. He was training, training pretty hard, as he had been for the past two weeks.

He found a good routine for himself. Wake up, eat, train, train, train, train, eat, shower, sleep, and then repeat. Each and every day consisted of the same thing, but Minghao didn't mind.

The was what he was here for, right? To train? To get stronger? To get wiser?

He needed this.

Whether he enjoyed it or not, he needed to bulk up... He needed to get more intelligence in the fighting department, as well as instincts.

"Why are you thinking so much? It's stupid." Minghao meets the blonde boy's eyes, and he immediately looks away, sighing under his breath.

He learned the boy's name a few days after he met him, Seokmin had told him when he asked. His name was Jeonghan apparently. Yoon Jeonghan. Minghao didn't care enough to remember.

He's come to just ignore the boy now.

He found it best.

"Hello?" Minghao just lets it fly in one ear out the other, humming softly under his breath to turn it to nothing but mush, a simple rush of clumped, white noise.

Jeonghan scoffs, throwing his sweat rag down on one of the benches, "Yah," He sounds a bit upset, maybe pissed, "Are you ignoring me?"

Minghao just sighs, closing his eyes, "I don't want to start anything, hyung," He hums, focusing on lifting the weights, "Now like what you told me the first day I came here—" He opens his eyes, staring right at the him, "Go work. I cant stand you doing nothing."

Jeonghan scoffs, kicking Minghao in the side.

The weights fall to the floor, and so does Minghao. He hits the ground rather hard, feeling his skull rattle when it hits the concrete. Minghao doesn't bother to look around the room at the rest of the people, he can already feel the attention.

"Say that again." Jeonghan clenches his jaw, pulling Minghao up off the ground before he can think, gripping him tight by his shirt.

He shakes him roughly, "Say that to me again, see what the fuck happens."

Minghao rolls his eyes, "What a child."

The blonde's lip twitches, and he huffs in anger. He cracks a grin, almost sadistic, "You've gotten very brave, newbie. Very brave."

"Maybe these are just my true colors." Minghao grins at Jeonghan, leaning closer, so close he can feel Jeonghan's breath tickle his nose, "I'm very good at hiding my emotions."

"Is that something to be proud of?" Jeonghan snorts, amused, "You weren't very confident the first time we met. You looked like a weep little dog who wasn't potty trained."

Minghao just chuckles, shaking his head, "Very clever." He hums, amused at Jeonghan's snappy grin, "You think you're so cool as well, when in reality, you're just a sad little shit who has no other hobby than bringing people down—"

A punch is flying towards Minghao's face before he can think, gasps and curses echoing throughout the room at the suddenness of Jeonghan's fist slamming to his cheekbone.

He only feels a heartbeat on his skin before another kick is sent to his stomach, his whole body doubling over, thrumming in pain.

"Not so tough now are we?" Jeonghan laughs, "Your shitty parents must be proud to have a weakling for a son."

Oh fuck no.

Jeonghan starts laughing, and all Minghao sees is red. So, lifting his head up slowly, his eyes lock with Jeonghan's.

And then he's flying like a beast, pushing Jeonghan to the floor roughly, throwing punch after punch to his face. Jeonghan fights back of course, flipping them every once and a while.

"Break it up!"

"Come on you guys, stop!"

"Come on you little bitch, you can hit harder!" Jeonghan swipes a tongue across the blood on his lip, cackling at the crimson that puddles under Minghao's nose.

Minghao hits Jeonghan's side harshly, and he coughs, "Yeah, just like that."

Minghao flips them both over, pushing Jeonghan on his back, fisting his blonde hair, tugging at it harshly, relishing in the delicious sound of Jeonghan's pained curses.

The screams around them don't stop.

Jeonghan raises a leg, Minghao yelping at the sudden kick to his spine, a dull pain traveling down his bone.

Jeonghan flips them over once again, but this time Minghao doesn't have any chance to swing, as hands are suddenly wrapped around his throat, putting an overwhelming amount of pressure against his windpipe.

He coughs, and Jeonghan smiles.

"Jeonghan, stop!" Someone screams, grabbing the blonde, but Jeonghan just shrugs them off, squeezing Minghao's throat tighter, laughing at the way he wheezes desperately.

"Han, get off!

"Stop it, you're killing him!"

"Stop!"

Minghao thinks this is it. When his eyes filter a pretty white, and a flicker of bright stars in a night sky invade his senses, he almost sees himself turn purple.

His own hands scraping against Jeonghan's slow, and he feels the air escape him, his arms sluggish, falling by his sides. His eyelids begin to flutter, his chest rattling.

"God, get off!" Someone kicks Jeonghan harshly, his blonde hair sprawling the floor in waves when his head hits the concrete, throat low in a groan.

Minghao almost regains a second heart when he feels the air travel down his throat again, reaching his lungs beautifully. And it almost feels like a miracle on christmas day.

Air, the best present.

Minghao shoots up and coughs, turning to the side. He holds a hand to his stomach, ignoring the blood that runs down his cupid's bow, the split on his lip burning.

A couple hands pat his back firmly in beats, and Minghao assumes some of the members are trying to help him gather his breath.

"Get him outta here." Minghao hears, as well as the sounds of Jeonghan cursing loudly, forced out of the room from what Minghao can hear.

"Are you alright?" Someone bends down in front of him, tilting his head up by his chin, "I thought you died for a second."

Minghao chokes out a chuckle, shaking his head. He holds up a hand, "I'm okay." He signals, ignoring the rasp in his voice, "His grip was weak."

A couple of laughs erupt through the room, and Minghao's helped up, pausing for a moment to collect his senses back, his mind still fuzzed from the lack of oxygen.

"Are you gonna be alright?" The same guy asks, chuckling nervously, "You're as white as a ghost."

"I'm good." Minghao breathes in and out. He squints his eyes, "Uh ...?"

"Vernon... or Hansol, if you want." Vernon shrugs, "I don't mind which one you call me."

Minghao nods, "The8." He introduces his own self, patting Vernon's shoulder, "Thank you for saving me from having my ass beat."

"Oh he beat your ass, I just saved you from dying."

"Don't sound so cool." Minghao scoffs, "I had it."

"Said your purple face."

Minghao throws Jeonghan's sweat rag at Vernon, and the man gags, running away. Minghao laughs, shaking his head, wiping the blood from his nose and resuming his workout like nothing had happened.