----
For a moment, the training room disappeared.
Jiwoo was small again.
Younger.
Much smaller.
The road had been loud.
Too loud.
The horn had screamed through the afternoon as a truck came rushing down the street, too fast, too close, tires shrieking against asphalt.
A cat was in the road.
Tiny.
Frozen.
Jiwoo had moved before thinking.
One second, he stood on the sidewalk.
The next, he had the cat in his arms.
The truck roared past behind him, wind whipping against his back.
Someone shouted.
"Did you see that?"
Jiwoo froze.
The cat trembled against his chest.
A man on the sidewalk stared at him with wide eyes.
"That kid just now… he disappeared and appeared with the cat on the road."
Another person frowned.
"What are you talking about? That doesn't make sense."
"No, I saw it. He was there, then he—"
Jiwoo ran.
He ran until his lungs hurt.
Ran until the cat finally wriggled from his arms and disappeared into an alley.
Ran until the world blurred through tears.
When he reached home, he locked himself in his room and curled into the corner, shaking so hard he could barely breathe.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
Again.
Again.
Again.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
He had used it.
His ability.
In public.
Someone had seen.
They were going to come.
They were going to take him away.
They were going to take Asuka away too.
The door rattled.
"Jiwoo?" their mother called, panic in her voice. "Jiwoo, what's wrong? Unlock the door."
He only cried harder.
Then Asuka sat beside him.
Small.
Quiet.
Too calm for a little sister.
She did not ask him to stop crying.
She did not tell him nothing had happened.
She simply took his hand.
Her fingers were warm.
"Oppa," she said softly.
He looked at her through tears.
"They're going to take us away."
Asuka's eyes softened.
"No."
"I used it."
"I know."
"I'm sorry."
"You saved the cat."
"I used it where people could see."
"You saved the cat," she repeated.
The door shook again.
"Jiwoo! Asuka! Open the door!"
Jiwoo flinched.
Asuka squeezed his hand gently.
"I am here," she said.
It was such a small sentence.
But somehow, it held the whole room together.
"I will not let them take you."
Jiwoo believed her.
Even then.
Even when he was too young to understand why her voice could sound so certain.
Even when he was scared out of his mind.
He believed her.
The memory ended.
The training room returned.
Jiwoo stood across from Jisuk, blood on his face, body shaking, guard raised.
It was difficult just to stand.
His skin stung like it had been sliced open by knives.
His muscles throbbed.
His ribs screamed with every breath.
His body felt like it had been hit by a car.
Maybe two.
Inhyuk's voice came from the side.
"Jiwoo, it's not too late."
Jiwoo did not lower his hands.
"I don't want to."
Inhyuk stared at him.
He did not understand.
Why was Jiwoo not giving up?
What was he trying to prove by fighting like this?
Even Jisuk stared from across the room, wind gathering around him.
What does he want?
Why risk himself for something like this?
Jisuk's expression hardened.
Fine.
If Jiwoo insisted on being stubborn, then Jisuk would end it.
He could not help it if the kid refused to stay down.
Wind swirled around him again, stronger than before, wrapping around his arms and hands in dense, compressed currents.
I won't drag this on any longer.
He did not want to torture him.
He was not that kind of person.
So he would finish it with this attack.
That was what he could do.
Jiwoo watched the wind gather.
So much power.
How can he be that strong?
They were around the same age.
And yet Jisuk's energy felt heavier, sharper, more practiced. Not like Jiwoo's speed, bright and sudden. Jisuk's power filled the room with pressure.
Jiwoo was scared.
Of course he was scared.
If it hurt this badly already, how much would it hurt if Jisuk hit him with something even stronger?
The wind in Jisuk's hands compressed tighter.
Sharper.
Jiwoo's breath trembled.
Then Kayden's voice rose in his memory.
"I didn't see that kid with my own eyes," Kayden had said during training, sitting on the crate with his tail flicking irritably. "But based on what you told me, you won't be able to beat him in your current state."
Jiwoo had looked up, exhausted and sweaty.
"Really?"
"That guy has trained since he was little. You can't compare to him after a few days."
Jiwoo's hands had curled.
"Is there really no way to win?"
Kayden had smiled then.
Sharp.
Dangerous.
"There is one way."
Jiwoo's eyes had widened.
"What is it?"
"That kid probably thinks of you as easy competition. Use that."
Jiwoo had listened with everything he had.
"Don't use all of your awakened ability at once. Ration it while you fight. Even when things get critical, store your energy."
Kayden's eyes had gleamed.
"As time passes, your opponent will get used to your movements and react accordingly. That's when you'll get your chance."
Jiwoo had swallowed.
"When that time comes, put all your energy into one attack and bet everything on it."
Kayden had lifted one paw.
"It might be 0.1 seconds."
The basement had gone quiet.
"It might be even less."
Jiwoo had stared.
Kayden's voice lowered.
"The only way you can win is to rely on the outcome of that instant."
Back in the training room, Jisuk lifted his hand.
Wind shards spiraled toward Jiwoo.
Sharp.
Fast.
Jiwoo made up his mind.
He would not dodge anymore.
He could not.
If he kept running, he would run out of chances.
He thought of himself as a child, crying because he had used his ability.
Terrified because someone had seen.
Ashamed of the one thing that made him different.
Kayden's voice came again.
"You are an awakened one. It's nothing to be ashamed of."
Asuka's voice followed, softer.
"Oppa."
She had nodded then, eyes gentle.
"You saved the cat."
Jiwoo's fear did not disappear.
But it moved aside.
He inhaled.
All of it.
Every last bit.
Energy surged through his core.
Asuka's force control caught it first, cool and steady, stretching the instant open.
Kayden's force control sharpened the release, compressing it into a single direction.
Jiwoo moved.
No one saw him move.
Not Inhyuk.
Not Jiyoung.
Not Jisuk.
Not even Kayden, not clearly.
For one impossible second, the world stopped.
The wind hung in the air.
Jisuk's eyes remained fixed forward.
Inhyuk's mouth was half-open.
Jiyoung's gaze was frozen in sharp focus.
Kayden sat motionless in Asuka's arms.
Everything stopped.
Everything except Asuka.
Her finger twitched once against Kayden's fur.
A tiny movement.
Barely anything.
But to her, it was loud.
Time.
Her brother had touched it.
Not fully.
Not cleanly.
Not consciously.
But for one fraction of a second, Jiwoo had grasped the edge of time through speed, force control, and desperate will.
Her heart tightened.
Oppa.
Then the instant broke.
Time flowed.
Jiwoo appeared beside Jisuk.
Jisuk had no chance to turn.
No chance to block.
No chance to understand.
One moment Jiwoo was in front of him.
The next, he was at his side.
His fist struck.
For a heartbeat, blue-white electricity flashed around his knuckles.
Too fast for anyone to clearly see.
Too quick to name.
The impact detonated.
Jisuk's body slammed sideways into the wall hard enough to crack the surface behind him.
The room went silent.
Inhyuk stared.
Jiyoung's eyes widened.
They had missed it.
Both of them.
Jiwoo's movement had happened so suddenly that neither had followed the full route.
Was he always that fast?
Inhyuk's thoughts scattered.
No.
He had increased again.
No, not just increased.
That had been something else.
Jiwoo stood for half a second after the punch.
Then his body gave out.
He collapsed.
Asuka moved.
Not fast enough to draw attention.
Not obviously.
She simply stepped forward and loosened her hold.
Kayden dropped lightly from her arms to the floor.
He walked toward Jiwoo.
Just a cat.
A fat orange cat padding across the training room toward the fallen boy.
No one stopped him.
Asuka followed a half-step behind, quiet and calm.
Jiwoo lay on his side, breathing hard, completely spent.
His body would not move.
His core felt hollow.
Empty.
But his eyes opened when Kayden approached.
"Mr. Kayden…"
Kayden stepped close enough that no one else could hear.
His voice was low.
A whisper.
"You did well."
Jiwoo's eyes softened.
"Mr. Kayden…"
Kayden's eye twitched.
"Why do you keep calling me?"
Jiwoo smiled faintly.
"Thank you."
Kayden huffed.
Satisfied.
"Hmph."
Asuka knelt beside Jiwoo, one hand hovering near his shoulder.
Her voice was gentle.
"Oppa."
Jiwoo looked at her.
"You did well," she said. "Your technique. Your timing. Your movement. You used everything you had."
The words landed softer than praise.
Warmer.
Jiwoo's expression loosened.
"Asuka…"
Then Inhyuk reached them.
"Jiwoo!"
He knelt quickly, concern overtaking shock.
"Are you okay?"
Jiwoo tried to answer.
Only a breath came out.
Asuka's hand settled lightly near his arm, already reading the damage beneath his skin.
Exhaustion.
Cuts.
Bruising.
Pathway strain.
Nothing fatal.
Nothing permanent.
Enough to hurt.
Enough to teach.
Too much, almost.
But not past the line.
Across the room, Jisuk coughed against the wall.
His hand pressed to his side.
Pain burned where Jiwoo's punch had landed.
This is crazy.
He stared at the floor, jaw clenched.
He really got screwed over by a kid.
Jisuk's pride stung worse than the impact.
He had that kind of speed and kept it hidden all this time?
His teeth clenched.
I won't fall for that again.
He started to push himself forward.
Then Jiyoung stepped in front of him.
"Enough."
Jisuk froze.
"Sis?"
Jiyoung looked down at him.
"Neither you nor Jiwoo can continue anymore."
"What do you mean?" Jisuk snapped, still breathless. "I can still—"
Then he looked past her.
Jiwoo was in Inhyuk's arms now, barely conscious, body limp from complete energy depletion.
Jisuk's expression shifted.
Ah.
Jiwoo could not move anymore.
Jiyoung's voice remained calm.
"Jiwoo can't move."
Jisuk stared.
Then muttered, "Damn it…"
Jiyoung's gaze stayed on him.
"Jisuk Yoo."
He looked away slightly.
"You must have learned a lot from this fight."
Jisuk's jaw tightened.
Then she said, "And you did well."
His head snapped up.
"What?"
Jiyoung did not repeat herself.
She was already walking away.
Jisuk stared after her, stunned enough that his annoyance faltered.
Jiyoung crossed the floor and knelt on one knee near Jiwoo.
Her posture remained composed, but her voice softened.
"Your perseverance is worthy of respect."
Asuka, standing beside him with Kayden now back in her arms, thought Jiyoung was not wrong.
Jiwoo opened his eyes weakly.
"Thanks… for bearing with my stubbornness."
Asuka's mouth curved faintly.
Yes.
Thank goodness they had the patience to withstand her oppa's stubbornness.
Jiyoung shook her head.
"Not at all. It was a good experience for Jisuk as well."
Jiwoo's gaze shifted.
"Jisuk."
Across the room, Jisuk glanced at him.
Jiwoo's voice was faint but sincere.
"Thanks for the fight."
Jisuk stared.
Then his face twisted.
"Stop being ridiculous."
Jiwoo blinked.
Jisuk looked away, one hand still pressed to his side.
"Really. Thanking me after you got yourself beaten up…"
Jiwoo smiled, tired and soft.
"No, really. Thank you."
Jisuk's ears went faintly red.
He turned farther away.
"Stop smiling, idiot…"
Jiwoo let out a weak laugh.
Asuka softened.
Inhyuk adjusted his hold carefully, supporting Jiwoo without jostling his injuries.
"We need to get him treated."
Jiyoung nodded.
"Yes."
But as Inhyuk helped lift Jiwoo, Jiyoung's gaze drifted.
Not only to Jiwoo.
To Asuka.
The younger sister stood still beside them, Kayden held against her chest again, bandages covering her eyes. She looked quiet.
Almost ordinary.
But Jiyoung had led Shinhwa too long to trust the surface of anything.
Asuka's presence felt odd.
Different.
Not bad.
Not hostile.
Just…
Quiet, but not quiet.
It was like looking at a still lake and realizing the depth beneath it had no visible bottom.
The closer Jiyoung paid attention, the more difficult it became to grasp her.
She could not sense Asuka properly.
That was the most unsettling part.
Every awakened user gave off something.
A trace.
A rhythm.
A pressure.
Even those who concealed themselves could rarely erase everything.
But Asuka's presence was perfectly contained.
Not absent.
Contained.
As if what she allowed others to feel was not even a fraction of what she truly was.
Then there were her eyes.
Covered by bandages.
Yet she walked without hesitation.
Moved around the room as though she saw everything.
Reacted to small shifts in space before they happened.
Was she truly blind?
Or were her senses so refined that sight was unnecessary?
Jiyoung did not know.
And that intrigued her.
Asuka turned her bandaged face slightly toward Jiyoung.
For one moment, Jiyoung had the strange feeling she was being seen completely.
Not looked at.
Seen.
Then Asuka gave a small, polite nod.
Nothing more.
Jiyoung returned it.
Quietly.
Thoughtfully.
Jiwoo Seo had surprised everyone today.
But as Jiyoung Yoo watched Asuka Seo follow her brother toward the treatment center with an impossible calm wrapped around her like a veil, she could not help thinking that Jiwoo might not be the only extraordinary sibling in the room.
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