𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 & 𝐌𝐚𝐲𝐡𝐞𝐦 || 𝐉𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐨𝐥 (𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐈𝐈)

8.1 - Seungcheol

"Not like that. Like this," I growl, shaking my knife in front of him as I try to show him how to grip the knife properly.

With the way he's holding it, he's either going to hurt himself, or he'll barely be able to get it through the tough meat of a human body.

"Like this?" He holds the knife incorrectly again, his thumb curling over his fingers, holding the handle too low to the bottom, his grip not nearly tight enough.

I shake my hand, and with my free hand, I grab the blade, sliding it from his grip way too easily.

"You aren't even holding it tightly," I groan, stepping up behind him.

We're standing behind the cabin, in the thick brush of the trees where even if we had an intruder or someone curious to travel this far in their search, they wouldn't see us all the way over here. The trees are thick, and we're dressed in dark, mixing in with the branches and the dark foliage.

I curl my front around Jeonghan's back, bringing my hands around on either side of him. With his knife in my grip, I poise my hands in front of him, and he watches me intently as I show him exactly where my fingers go.

He nods as he watches me place them where they need to go. Then I hand him the knife, watching him closely as he holds the knife similar to how I was, but it's still just not where it should be.

I reach forward, adjusting the handle in his grip until he holds it tightly, properly.

"Good," I praise, pivoting the both of us until we're in front of a tree. Releasing him, I step to the side.

"Okay, pretend he's coming toward you head-on. How are you going to react?"

He shoves his knife out directly in front of him, and I'd laugh if he wasn't planning to go do something so drastic.

I shake my head. "No, like this."

Gripping my own knife, I walk up to the tree, swiping right so the sharp end of the blade nicks the tree. A large part of the wood chips away, flying through the air before falling to the ground in a light plop.

"Shit, Seungcheol," he mumbles, staring at me in awe. He stares at me like I'm a saint, a god.

He's silly, because a man like me would never make it into Heaven.

I turn to him slightly as the corner of my lip quirks. "I want you to be the same, Jeonghan. If you fuck up, he could gain the upper hand and we could be screwed. So pay attention to what I'm doing and do the exact same."

His eyes narrow. "It's going to take time for me to be as good as you, Seungcheol. You have practice. I have none."

I step to the side, giving him full access to the tree. "Which is exactly why we're here. Practice. You need to be perfect, Jeonghan. There are no other options."

He takes a deep breath, moving forward a step. The light coating of snow on the ground crunches under his oversized shoes. They are about a size too big, but it was the only thing I could find. I left early this morning, before the sun was up, making my way to the edge of Hellcrest Heights. There's a strip of older homes, most of them elderly people who have lived there their entire lives. As expected, the first home I went to was unlocked, and I was able to score Jeonghan some clothes so he wasn't subjected to living the rest of his life naked underneath my sweatshirt.

I wouldn't have complained, but he also wouldn't never been able to leave the house.

"She's not moving. Attack her," I snap, and he lunges forward without a second thought, plunging the old rusty knife we found in the kitchen straight into the cold bark.