Read story Scouts of Justice | BTS ✓ - IV : Potential

IV : Potential

When Hoseok charged at her, his moves were too predictable and it made Crimson confused. She knew that he was going to do something else and she was right when she felt his leg hit hers instead of his fist connecting with her face. She landed on her side and groaned at the pain from the strong impact.

"Tired already? Come on. I haven't even started yet," he smirked before going back to his fighting stance. Crimson rolled her neck, smiling as she heard that satisfying small pop. Hoseok's attack before was very tricky but she won't let it happen again. She attempted to punch him square in the face but he caught her arm and tried to turn it around. Thanks to her fast reflexes, Crimson was able to pull her arm back carrying Hoseok with it.

"Damn, girl. You sure are strong," Hoseok whispered and it sent shivers down her spine. Crimson now has the upper hand so she took this chance to turn Hoseok around and kick the back of his knees which made him kneel down. While he was struggling to get out of her man-like grip, Crimson placed her knee on his back before pushing him forward. He landed face first and expected that this will turn into a bruise soon.

He hooked one of his legs on the girl's foot before using all his strength to flip their positions. She was surprisingly very light so it was no trouble for him. Hoseok ignored the pain on his back and tried to get his hands out of her grip and succeeded on doing so. He pushed his elbow down her throat hard enough to lock her position but loose enough to not strangle her.

"You really are strong but you're not strong enough," she could feel his breath because of their close proximity. Crimson managed to lift her head high enough to hit his which caused Hoseok to stand up and stumble backwards. When he let go of his forehead, it was incredibly red and it earned a small laugh from the girl. The crowd was still cheering endlessly and unlike the Show-Offs, most of them were directed to her opponent.

She tried to quickly look around for Mijin while the boy was recovering from her sudden attack. Crimson was definitely worried about her new friend but she needs to worry about herself too. She doesn't want to hurt him any further if he decides to give up after this which Crimson thinks he might not, considering how much it would hurt his pride and reputation.

He's a top agent and a really skilled one too so him surrendering would not be one of the ways she could win this. It's either she completely defeats him or she's the one who surrenders. The problem is, she doesn't want to afflict any more wounds or bruises on him because she might 'accidentally' bring more serious damages and her chance to become a Scout will be gone in a flash. She heard someone's battle cry and before she knew it, she was lying on the ground, again.

"Rule number one: Never, ever, let your guard down," Hoseok sat down on her back while she was still composing herself, "Rule number two: Don't break eye contact with your opponent. It's the best way to intimidate them," Hoseok said with pants in between. This time, he made sure that she would not be able to move even an inch from where she's at.

"For the last rule: Never hesitate to attack. Take your chance when you see one. That's how you win a Duel," the shouts grew louder and Crimson's face was of shock and disappointment. She was so close. She almost won.

I almost made it.

The people started their countdown, "Five!"

Crimson was not moving and thought to herself if she will give up like that. Will it end like this?Years of planning and it has all been for naught. All because she was too scared to fail. Looks like I'm going to spend the rest of the day wrapped in my blanket, a bag of cheetos beside me.

"Four!"

Why is time going so slow? Why don't they just count faster or declare me as a loser? I swear this is the longest five fucking seconds of my life.

"Three,"Hoseok was counting down with the rest. She could visualize his sunshine smile even if she can't see him from her position, "Come on. I thought this would be the best Duel I will ever have. Turns out you're as weak as the others."

"Two," the crowd and him said in unison. Hoseok started to whisper before saying, "You look strong but you don't got any fight in you. Am I right, princess?"

With that single word, Crimson's eyes shot up and felt a sudden wave of anger through her. She gathered all the strength she had and managed to take out her arm from Hoseok's clasps. Grabbing Hoseok's shirt, she pulled it towards her before she stood up and hit the back of his leg with hers which caused Hoseok to flip. The sight was very astonishing to see especially that she looked so effortless while doing it.

"Such rules are of no importance to me," her glare was so strong as if she was looking right into Hoseok's soul, "Be fast. Be strong. Be smart. That, is how you take down your opponent."

The instructor blew their whistle which means that the 10 minutes time limit of the Duel was over. The crowd was left silent after Crimson's surprise attack. The instructor grabbed both of their hands once Hoseok stood up. Everyone was anticipating the result of their intense fight. Almost everyone cheered when Hoseok's hand was raised up in the air and was declared as the winner.

All of the remaining trainees, which were only four, were asked to rest and wait for the results of their assessment. The rest of the trainees looked worse than Crimson. According to Mijin, one trainee was beaten up very badly that he was rushed to the nearest hospital which was probably almost an hour from here. She informed Crimson that she lasted longer than the others and is the only one who was not knocked down within ten minutes. Unfortunately, none of them won in any Duels because the Bulletproofs are just extremely strong.

"Those two guys that got their asses kicked by you are still here. I can't believe they even survived it," Mijin threw her hands up in the air.

"I'm guessing that the rest of those who are not here walked away," Crimson mumbled to herself but the other heard it. She laughed before patting Crimson's back, who flinched in return.

"Not all of us are as strong and as brave as you. I told you earlier, not everyone will take this as seriously as you will."

»«

The general sat around the long glass table with the leader of the Bulletproofs together with a few of the agents who witnessed and judged the assessment. Everyone had four folders in hand which contains information about the remaining trainees.

"Now," General Kim sighed as he sat down on the chair at the very end of the table, "What do we have here?"

"Lee Il-sung, grandson of Lee Chong-il who was an agent during the 19th General. He scored fairly high on the skill assessment by placing third and he also passed his style test. He lasted one minute and three seconds against Agent Park during their Duel before he lost. His overall average is 84.3%" the people around the table nodded their heads.

"What about his Joey friend?" the general tapped his pen on the table with his chin resting on his hand.

"Go Dong-yul was the second one to finish the race and reached 83.8% on his style assessment. He lost the Duel against Agent Kim Seokjin after 48 seconds. He is the youngest son of Go Chung-ae and Go Mina who both worked under the 21st General."

"After I talk to them, assign them both as field agents. What about the other Joeys?"

"Jun Mijin, one of the two female trainees who finished the assessments. Daughter of Jun Kaebum who served the 22nd General. She placed 7th but she got the highest average for her style which is 93%. Jun Mijin was defeated by Agent Min after 12 seconds in the Duel ," the agent said while reading the contents inside the folder.

"And our last Joey?" the General looked up expecting a reply from the agent but she hesitated whether to read the results or not. He leaned towards the table giving the agent an expectant look with his eyebrows raised.

"Uhm...S-she was..uh," the tapping of the General's pen became more audible to signify his impatience, "Her name is Kang Eunmi and there were no records of her or any of her relatives that became a Scout."

This made his eyebrows go up higher as this was a very rare occurrence. He flipped through her files and was surprised to confirm that the agent's statement was true, "Continue," he said.

"This Joey has set a new record for both assessments," everyone watched the agent intently in curiosity, "She fought against Agent Jung for ten minutes straight despite losing afterwards. She was also the first one to finish the race and the fastest time, in history, to do so. She was a minute faster than the record she just broke," all of them were making marks and highlighted words on her file while the Bulletproof leader was sitting quietly, looking forward to the agent's next words.

"However," this single word made the people let go of their writing utensils, "She failed her style assessment by getting an average of 7%. The lowest score ever recorded in the history of the Scouts of Justice."

Everyone turned to look at the General Kim who seemed deep in thought, "Assign Miss Jun on the same department as our first male trainees. As for Kang Eunmi, I will be needing your help on deciding."

"Sir, we need to uphold the agency's motto so we cannot overlook the fact that she did terribly on her style assessment despite her outstanding skill record," one agent spoke up.

"What are you suggesting then? To throw her out the Dumpster? The poor girl wasn't even aware she was being assessed the moment she arrived here. She would do well in the Beehive if we give her a chance. "

"No, no, no. She's too skilled to be there. I say we make her a field agent but we should not allow her to do undercover or long-term missions," the man stood up after slamming his hand on the table. Seong-jun watched them quietly and waiting for someone to propose a good idea.

"You're going over the board there. She does not have a good sense of style and accepting her would only ruin our reputation. Being a Scout also means being a role model."

The meeting turned into a debate as many captains and agents argued if skill or style is more important. The Bulletproof leader stood up and whispered something on the general's ears, whose eyes widened.

"Everyone, sit down!" his booming voice echoed around the room, "Mr. Kim Namjoon here has a proposal that we might consider," he looked at Namjoon before nodding his head to tell him to introduce his idea. The boy cleared his throat and placed his hands behind his back.

"To us, being stylish is as important as being skilled and I agree with all of you. Ms. Kang Eunmi deserves to be thrown out the Dumpster but we can't afford to waste such abilities, can we?" after blurting out the rhetorical question, he saw the committee nod at each other.

"In our motto, we find the words 'action' and 'fashion' and a Scout should have both, not just one or the other. Her scoring 7% on her fashion test means there is so so so much room for her to improve. Imagine what would happen if we fill up that remaining 93%. She would be an asset to this agency," General Kim smiled at Namjoon's words.

"What are you implying, agent?"

"If we give her time, maybe a month, to improve her style and if we find the right people to help her, imagine how great of a positive impact that can have on the agency," Namjoon smirked, his dimples now protruding.

"Where can we find the 'right people', then? Not even the most fashionable person can help her."

"You're right. The most fashionable person can't help her but maybe seven people who have the best fashion sense in this agency can."

"Are you saying tha一,"

"Yes," Namjoon took a deep breath, "That's exactly what I want to say. Assign Kang Eunmi to us, Bulletproofs, and if she is able to improve within a month, then consider her a new member of the Bulletproofs."

"And what if she fails?"

Namjoon gulped loudly before saying, "She will never be accepted as a Scout, nor will she ever set a foot inside our headquarters because she will end up being a disgrace to our agency."

"As the assigned leader of the Bulletproofs, I would like to request for your agreement regarding the additional training that will be given to trainee Kang Eunmi. I swear, as my team's representative, to make her our responsibility and ours only. If you have any complaints with this proposal, you are free to speak out your thoughts," his heartbeat was abnormally fast and another smile painted his lips when he was met with silence. The general smiled widely, completely agreeing with Namjoon's proposal. He stood up from his chair and gave the agent a pat in the back.

"Congratulations, Agent Kim. We wish you all the best on this well-devised plan of yours. We hope, with all our hearts, that this would turn out as how we want it," Namjoon nodded, extremely excited and nervous at the same time.

"The whole committee, including me, puts their trust on you and your team," everyone started to leave, including the general who was standing by the door, "Don't fail us."

May I present to you, THE DUALITY OF HOSEOK

The Bright Side / The Sunshine Side: