Rednegne ✅

Peal 3

[이도]

I sat in the chair as Youngjo bounced excitedly on the bed. "It's been so long since I've slept on a proper bed." "How long have you been away from home?" "Ah, I forgot to mention that. It'll be a year 4 months from now." I nodded then felt a bit guilty for the decline in his mood. "Do you miss them?" "Yeah, even if I don't want to. It's natural though. They're family, even if they're scum of the earth." "Yeah...Unfortunately I can agree."

We sat in silence until someone opened the door. "Did you get comfy yet? Well don't. We start now." "Now?" We looked at each other then back at Hwanwoong. "Yeah. Now. So get up off your asses and let's go. The sooner the better." "Hey, you should be nicer to us. We could always up and leave." "If that's even possible at this point." What did he mean by that? "Geon, let's just go..." "Fine..." Was there some kind of invisible mark on us?

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"So, we'll be rotating each day with who will train with you." I frowned as I had ended up with Dongju for the day. I didn't like him at all. There was something sinister hidden within him and it bothered me that no one else seemed to notice. That, or they really didn't give two shits. "Well, since I'm off today, anyone want anything while I'm out? Speak now or forever hold thou peace." "Ooo! Get me one of those sweet buns." "Sparkling water for me." Keonhee's eyes then landed on the both of us. "I'll be nice and get you both water. Be grateful."

The treatment I received here was no different than the way I was treated back at home. They looked down upon me and it pissed me off. "I don't want to do this anymore." "Geon-" I turned on my heel and left the room. My quickened pace soon became a sprint. I didn't know where I was going, but anywhere was better than there.

I found myself in a courtyard full of withered plants and dormant trees. It was probably beautiful once. "So this is where you ended up." I turned to my left and saw Mr. Lee standing at a distance. "Mr. Lee..." "Do you want to leave?" Was he really going to let me? I decided to test the waters. "Yeah. I do. I don't like it here." "Is it something or someone?" "Someone..." "Who?" I took notice that I was being forced to speak against my will. "No one. I was just messing around." "Is that so. Well, you're both always free to leave."

I was once again alone in the courtyard.  Until I heard a voice. "Found you." "Hwanwoong." "Look, Keonhee can be insensitive at times. Don't take it to heart. He comes from a upstanding family, but he's trying to become openhearted and open minded." "You call that trying? He looked down on us as if we don't even deserve water." "Okay, I admit that wasn't his best, but he was much worse a few years ago."

I remained quiet as I wasn't going to forgive him. "So, come back? For Youngjo?" "Whatever." I didn't want to leave him by himself with these three fuck ups. "Good. If you want we can switch. Or request that we work together every time." "That's pretty ideal, since you're the least of three evils. But, it would probably be better if I trained with all three." He nodded then motioned for me to follow. "Mr. Lee will come in to train with both of you randomly, so be prepared."

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"So, are you willing to train with me?"' "Not willingly, but yeah. What do we do?" "Meditation. We need to clear your mind and body first." He positioned my body then told me to close my eyes. "How long am I to do this?" "You'll know." I didn't trust him, but I decided to give this meditation thing a try.

I didn't know how much time had passed, but my concentration was broken with a touch from something. "Let's move on. As we do it more, you'll need less time to clear your mind." I nodded then watched as he pulled out a box. "What's that?" "A game to train your mind." He placed it in front of me then sat across from me. "Have at it. Don't worry if you don't finish with 30 minutes." "30...?" Dongju was really something else. "Everyone is always given half an hour. That's at max how long it should taken an experienced person." I took out the contents then groaned as it turned out to be a jigsaw.

"Doesn't this go here? No wait, there. Ugh." I was clearly struggling and he didn't even bat an eyelash. "Can you give me hints?" "Nope." I frowned as I couldn't figure it out. "This is impossible. It's like the pieces are changing form." "They are." My head snapped up at him. "Why? How? Explain." "It's you. You aren't thinking about the puzzle." "So, if I focus on the puzzle, the pieces will form into the right shape?" "Yeah, but time is up."

I sighed heavily as I didn't even piece together two pieces. "Last thing for the day." "Now what are you going to torture me with?" "Training." "Training?" My limbs soon became as heavy as lead. "Why can't I move?" "Are you dumb or are you Dumb?" I growled at him. "This a magic school, what do you think is happening?" No matter what I did, my body only got heavier. I soon regained control of my body and fell to my knees. "Hopeless." "Fuck off."