"So, what am I supposed to do?" I walked towards them as Haknyeon explained detailedly.

"Right now, we're training on our shifting because I'm rather bad at it, basically when the target comes, we'll slide either left or right depending on the placement of the target. It'll train our reflexes too."

He proceeded to demonstrate the following technique with Donghyuck as the holder. As the latter brings up the target, Haknyeon brought up his right foot and slid towards his right, swinging in a kick with the same leg almost immediately. It took only a second for him to recover before the next set came in, and the cycle repeated with alternating sides. I could only stare in awe.

"So, you wanna try it?" He asked, panting heavily as an anticipated smile formed on his face. I switched places with him without a word, finally facing Donghyuck who wore an emotionless expression on his face. My heart started thumping loudly against my chest as I tried to shake away the fear I had in me. Gosh, why am I even afraid of him?

Getting into a fighting stance, I bounced on the spot, preparing myself for the exercise. It took a few seconds before he shot the target up as I lagged a little, shifting to the side and throwing in a kick. He clapped the targets together without a word, signalling me to recover to my original position to which I did. The target came in again and I shifted to the opposite side, kicking with my other foot.

Just as I slowly got used to the speed, he picked up the pace and started adding in feints. I was thrown off by the majority of them at first, sliding at the slightest movements of the targets, but eventually, I learnt how to read his arm movements and time my shifting perfectly. Before I could even give my full potential, the set ended as he heaved out a heavy sigh and stretched his shoulders. Meanwhile, Haknyeon clapped in awe from the side.

"Are you sure you're a newbie? That was some next level shit right there," he praised as he gave a double thumbs up to me, but his choice of words made me wince a little.

"It wasn't that good, I lagged a lot at the beginning," I muttered softly, but he probably saw that as an act of humbleness and brushed it off.

"She's right, don't need to sugarcoat your words," Donghyuck butted in, earning a light-hearted scoff from Haknyeon.

"I'm just motivating her, is it that bad?" The latter shrugged before turning to me with an assuring smile. "Don't take it to heart, you just need to work on your reflexes, that's all."

"No." Both of us turned to the guy beside us, who was stern with his voice, "You're quite slow, and your shifting isn't smooth at all. And just by being your holder, I can see you're rather hesitant as well. You have a lot to work on."

I was left speechless by his ruthless feedback. Did I come here to get lectured or what. Haknyeon darted his eyes between us as if wanting to cut in, but I could handle this.

"Fine, then what do you propose I do?" I raised sarcastically, highly expectant for whatever his reply would be. He may act almighty, but that doesn't mean he's knowledgable on skills as well. To my surprise, he smirked at my enquiry, stepping closer to me as I resisted moving back.

"Do I really need to tell you this too?"

I saw a familiar glint in his eyes, the exact same one as the first time we trained together.

---

"What you need to work on first is not speed, but stamina, seeing how weak your endurance is," he shouted from across the gym as he placed the last cone onto the mats, strolling back to where Haknyeon and I were standing. Cones were lined up neatly in front of us, and I didn't need his explanation to know exactly what he wanted us to do.

"At the start of my whistle, run to each cone and back here," he instructed, "Don't need to sprint but don't take your time either. The point of this is to pace yourself."

Before I could even get ready mentally, his whistle blew and I found myself taking off in an instant, reaching the first cone in a matter of seconds. The three of us were neck and neck, but the difference in speed was soon visible as we reached the third and fourth cone. I've competed with him once, and I know won't be able to beat him again. This training was all about focusing on myself.

I tried my best to pace myself, keeping my speed steady as I approached the fifth and sixth cone. The mats gave me much better traction than the beach, so I could easily pivot between cones and not worry about spraining my ankle. Again.

Once I reached the last cone, I sprinted as fast as I could back to the start, where the two boys were already waiting and panting. He didn't even give me a 10-second break when the whistle sounded again, forcing me to dash forward once again. I could hear my heart palpitating in my ear as my breathing drowned out the sounds around me. I was starting to lose my focus when a figure appeared beside me.

"Don't you dare stop." He dashed past me and reached the next cone, casually turning around and sprinting back to the starting point. Pfft, I wasn't planning on stopping.

At least the past few pieces of training have led to a slight improvement in my stamina; I wasn't feeling as drained as before and my legs felt lighter. Still, it wasn't enough to keep up with them.

I reached the start last again, but this time, I was given a short break before proceeding with the last round. I gathered all my strength and sprung off the ground, completing the first and second cones in a jiffy. Right, if I want to rest, I should finish fast.

Sprinting off to the next few cones, I ignored the stitches that were forming in my sides and concentrated on finishing the lap. The distance between the three of us wasn't so big anymore, and I was starting to feel the late adrenaline rush as I ran back to the starting line, collapsing onto the ground in a sprawled position. It wasn't long until someone hauled me back to my feet.

"Do you want to pass out? Walk around and do some stretches before resting," he growled, letting go of my arm that was left with an imprint of his tight grip. Eesh, he doesn't need to be that harsh.

I walked around, breathing in and out deeply to slow down my heart rate and once that was settled, I started to do some static stretching. Donghyuck approached me while I was at it.

"You have a problem," he started while I rolled my eyes in annoyance.

"Are you gonna criticise me for how slow I am again?" I continued stretching while expecting his mockery.

"Don't you want to hear genuine feedback?" He asked as I finally met his eyes, which was filled with impatience. He sighed, "If you sprint right at the beginning, you're bound to lose your energy at the end. Next time pace yourself properly."

Confusion grew in me with his stern yet rather calm tone, before it turned to scepticism. I didn't know how to reply to his unusual feedback, so I just nodded in return. He spun around right after, gathering Haknyeon as he proceeded to explain the next workout.

"To train your reflexes, Coach Lee has taught us this series of actions." He tossed a pair of targets to his friend and exchanged nods with each other while I stared at them in anticipation.

Donghyuck started running on the spot while focusing on the targets in Haknyeon's hand and when the latter swung one of it, he dodged it by shifting to the side almost instantly. He recovered to his original position and awaited the next move, and the cycle repeated with him either shifting side or to the back. I could only watch in awe.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" he yelled, snapping me back to reality. I exchanged places with him and stood in front of Haknyeon, who flashed me a reassuring smile. I exhaled and started jogging on the spot awkwardly, staring at the red targets that were now my enemies.

He swung the first target at me and I barely managed to avoid it, feeling the surface brush against my arm. I recovered and got ready for the next move, which was swung in the other direction as I dodged to the left.

"Don't give her any mercy," a harsh voice demanded as my holder started picking up speed, with my trying to keep up with the fast pace. With each coming swing, I managed to dodge it by a mere hairline, occasionally getting hit by the targets. But honestly, I think I'm doing pretty well.

"Haknyeon," Donghyuck called from the sides as both of us paused to look. He flicked his fingers, signalling to switch holders as Haknyeon complied reluctantly. I watched him stroll over with the targets in his hand, his piercing gaze forming a lump in my throat. Something tells me this won't end well.

The training resumed as I tried to regain composure, dodging the first swing that came to me. Before I got to recover fully, another swing came from the same side, smacking me hard on the arm. I shot him a glare, but he didn't even spare a glance.

"Concentrate," he said through gritted teeth and I was forced to go back into position without arguing. I concentrated even harder so as to avoid any more of his feedback, moving together with the motion of the targets as I dodged each one. I didn't even notice the speed picking up until I felt myself panting after the exercise ended.

I placed my hands on my knees as I puffed out furiously, feeling a piercing gaze down my spine. "You have a long way to go," Donghyuck huffed as I glared at him. Not even a good job? I did not work my ass off just to get disparaged. He could at least try to be nicer.

"Good job, you can take a break for now." Haknyeon tossed me a water bottle as I headed towards the benches, dropping heavily onto one of them. At least one person acknowledges my hard work.

Gulping down a mouthful of water, I watched as the two of them continued their sets diligently, moving on to their own variations of training. The atmosphere felt uncannily familiar yet different, or maybe because I missed training one on one. My old club was known for it's small but exemplary training style, but because of that, I've only just realised how reliant I was on Coach Yoon.

Meanwhile, the students here seem to depend on each other more than their coach, with an example right in front of me. Those two may be far from the textbook type of best friends, but one can tell that they rely on each other quietly, whether it was giving feedback on their skills or tagging along for a meal even with people they despise.

I sulked into my seat and for the first time, I felt jealous. Besides being acquainted with those in my club, I've never made any other connections outside of training. Half my time was spent outside of the classroom anyway, so making friends was even harder in school. I gazed towards the two friends quarrelling on how they should execute a certain kick. Maybe it's not too late.

"Have you slacked off enough already?" Donghyuck caught me in the midst of my thoughts as I sat up straight. "Training isn't over yet."

I pulled my heavy bottom off the bench and jogged towards them, perking my ears up as he demonstrated the next exercise. Right, it's just his character, maybe I should give him a chance to make amends.