Stronger || NCT mafia au

Chapter 22 | "i saw you"

Jihyun watches as the first of her friends walk through the door, Jisung and Chenle sending her small smiles as they take their place in line. Her face stays cold and emotionless, but inside she's extremely nervous.

Soon it's Chenle's turn. He draws Wooyoung, Mingi, and Yeosang to fight. Jihyun silently lets out a breath of relief. They're all outstanding fighters but San and Hongjoong are the aces, no one has even come close to beating them yet.

Chenle does surprisingly well, first knocking out Yeosang and then Mingi, using the taller boy's height to his advantage. When he goes to face Wooyoung, he eventually yields with his arm pinned behind his back. He gets up and dusts himself off, his lip bleeding slightly. He bows to his opponents, then turns to the evaluators and bows deeply.

He makes eye contact with Jihyun as he lifts his head up, a small smile pulling at his lips. Jihyun keeps her cold glare, but nods her head ever so slightly so that no one else picks up on it. Chenle notices and smiles before quickly covering it and stepping back into line.

Jisung steps up next, drawing Seonghwa, San, and Hongjoong. Jihyun feels a pit in her stomach, knowing that there is no way for him to win this fight.

Despite his unlucky draw, he does well. It's the first time she's seen him fight with full strength, not holding back in his hits and she's impressed. He is able to take out Seonghwa and even pin San for a few seconds but is eventually pinned, stepping off the mat with a cut under his eye and a few bruises.

When he finally looks at her, she quickly sends him a wink, making sure that no one else saw her. Despite only beating one member, she knows he performed well enough to pass this exam. She almost smiles as she sees Chenle and Jisung fist bump in excitement afterwards.

Renjun is in the next pool, pulling Jongho, Yunho, and Hongjoong to fight. He is able to beat Yunho but is quickly overpowered by Jongho, walking off with a limp and a dejected smile. Jihyun feels her stomach churn. He didn't do that well, to be honest. She can barley pass him as he performed right about the middle of the students so far, but she passes him nonetheless.

At last it was the final pool of the day, the last 10 students walking into the room, both Jeno and Jaemin among them. They sent her small but nervous smiles.

"That's your boy, isnt it?" Mark leans over and whispers, nodding towards Jaemin. She responds with a small nod before taking her spot at the end of the mat, close to the action to observe and also throw students back into the fight. After a few exams, Jeno steps up.

He ends up drawing Seonghwa, Yeosang, and San. She sees San stand up from his seat on the sidelines, stretching his arms with a cool smirk. Jeno casts a nervous glance at Jihyun. Taking a deep breath, he steps up onto the mat, a focused look on his face as he cracks his knuckles.

Jihyun watches, holding her breath as Jeno takes on Seonghwa first. He falls into default mode, his nervousness gone and his senses heightened as he swiftly avoids Seonghwa's attacks. After being on the defense, Jeno changes the pace of the fight and overpowers Seonghwa, sending him flying across the mat with a kick to the side, the older boy yielding and sliding off of the mat.

Jeno wipes the sweat off his forehead as Yeosang steps up. Jeno does well but Yeosang is fast, he is able to get more hits on Jeno, bloodying his face. Jeno lets out a huff of air before tackling Yeosang. Jeno's able to get his arm behind his back, forcing him to yield.

Jeno stands back up, wiping off the blood from his nose and lips as he turns to face San. The older boy stares at Jeno, a wicked smirk on his face as he attacks. Jeno might be strong, but so is San, and San's reflexes are unmatched. Despite his best efforts, Jeno isn't able to land any hits on him.