After their little adventure together, things return to normal at the school. Students adjust to their new schedules and fall into a routine and another pool of trainers begins their time at the academy.

For the first few days, Jihyun and Jeno continue to join the guys for lunch, the whole school taking note of the new clique. Soon, though, the boys start to see less and less of the pair.

Jaemin is walking through the hallway, heading to lunch. It's been about 2 weeks since the arcade trip, and nearly a week since he last hung out with Jihyun or Jeno. He rounds the corner when he sees a familiar leather jacket rushing away.

"Jeno!" He calls out, jogging towards him. The other boy stops in his tracks, turning at the sound of his name.

"Where are you going? The cafeteria is this way!" Jaemin says, trying to drag Jeno with him.

"Oh, sorry, I'm not going to be there today..." he says, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.

"We haven't seen you in almost a week, where are you even going?" Jaemin asks in frustration, "I know we all have the same lunch and free periods but you're never there. I know you still sleep in your dorm but none of us ever see you in the morning or evening. What's going on?"

"Oh...yeah I still sleep in my room and we have the same frees but uh, I usually spend them training. I'm working out or practicing all the time now." He says quietly.

"Well, just ask Jihyun for a break, she's really understanding and if you just tell her that it's too much and you want to do other things then-"

"No, Jaemin, that's not it at all, um, I actually enjoy it. A lot. Jihyun tells me all the time that I'm only required to train during our scheduled time but I like it." Jeno trails off, a small smile on his face.

"Isn't it lonely though?"

"Oh not at all, I'm always with Jihyun. Whenever I want to train, she just told me to text her to let her know and she just started showing up every time. We've kinda fallen into a routine..." he says, a slight blush on his face.

"Oh...so you're with her a lot then. That's also why we don't see her in the cafe anymore..." Jaemin says sadly, a hint of jealousy in his tone.

Jeno nods awkwardly, shifting his weight from side to side. A glint on Jeno's waist catches Jaemin's eye. As he looks closer, he sees a harness with a gun and two knives in it.

"You're allowed to carry weapons?" Jaemin asks in disbelief.

"Oh" Jeno gasps, his hands instinctively touching his gun and knives as he looks down. "Well I'm basically always in the Ace Center, so Jihyun lets me keep them with me."

"Oh that's cool...I didn't know she gave you her weapons." Jaemin says, the jealousy evident now.

Jeno senses Jaemin's tone and scoffs to himself, beginning to feel defensive. He's not jealous of Jaemin in the slightest more frustrated. Jaemin's jealousy triggered a possessive side of him that he didn't know existed.

"Yeah well these arent her's. She custom fit me for them last week, so they're mine." Jeno says proudly, a smirk on his face.

"Well, isn't that nice for you." Jaemin seethes out through clenched teeth.

"Hmm" Jeno hums in response, "I should get going, Jihyun will probably be looking for m-"

"Jeno?" He hears his name being called from the opposite hallway. He turns with a smile towards the voice, Jaemin following his action.

"Jeno! There you are, I thought you were ditching me." Jihyun walks up to them laughing. She comes to stand next to Jeno, smiling at him before noticing Jaemin.

"Hi Jihyun" Jaemin says with a shy smile.

"Nana! It's been so long since we've talked!" She says, giving him a quick hug, "well I'll let you two catch up, I didn't mean to interrupt." She says, backing away from Jaemin and turning to Jeno, "I'll be in the center for whenever you're ready."

She turns to leave but Jeno reaches out to carefully grab her arm, pulling her back towards them.

"I was just leaving anyway, let's go together hmm?" He says cheerily. She nods in agreement and waves a small goodbye to Jaemin.

Jeno turns to smirk at the jealous Jaemin as he walks away with Jihyun, putting arm around her waist as they walk back.

Jaemin stares at their retreating figures, his jealousy growing as he hears their laughter echo down the hallway. With clenched fists he turns and heads towards the cafeteria.

Jeno and Jihyun arrive back at the Ace Center. They walk through the now familiar hallway and continue discussing training as they enter the center.

"Wassup Jihyun?" Says a voice in front of them. The pair snap their heads forward to see Mark, Haechan, and Sungchan sitting in the middle of the combat mat.

"What are you guys doing here? Only Mark has clearance to be here." She asks, staring at them in confusion.

"They're my guests," he says with a smile, jumping off the mat. He walks up to the pair with a cocked eyebrow.

"Whats going on here?" He asks with a smirk, gesturing to Jeno's arm around her waist. The pair jump apart, their eyes widening and cheeks turning red.

"Nothing, nothing, we were just walking back for some training. What are you guys doing here?"

"Wanted to meet the newbie" Mark replies, looking at Jeno.

"Oh right. Jeno, this is Mark, part of my council and in charge of weapons. He's the best assassin in NCT and one of my closest friends." She says as the two shake hands.

"I've heard a lot about you Jeno. You're exam results were pretty impressive" Mark says with an intimidating stare. Jeno bows respectfully as he shakes Mark's hand, looking at him with a mix of fear and admiration.

"Thank you, Mark. You're a legend, honestly. I hope to be as good as you one day." Jeno says nervously. Mark just smiles a bit before walking away.

"He's actually a total softie, he just likes to seem scary." Jihyun whispers to Jeno as they approach the other two.

"This shortie over here is Donghyuck, our explosives specialist. Watch out with this one, he's a total savage and will roast you to no end." She rolls her eyes as Donghyuck nods to Jeno.

"This human tree right here" she says pointing to the taller boy, "is my protege Sungchan. I trained him myself." She says proudly. Sungchan stands and smiles at Jeno.

"You're in good hands with this one" he says, playfully messing up Jihyun's hair, "she's tough snd will work you hard but she knows what she's doing. I was too scared to even pick up a knife when I met her and now I'm an ace."

Jeno nods enthusiastically, bowing at both of the other boys and returning their smiles.

"So do you guys want to join us for training?" Jihyun asks, causing Jeno's eyes to widen.

"Duh, why else would we be here? Say hi for 3 minutes and then dip?" Donghyuck snaps back, standing up and cracking his knuckles as he rolled his eyes.

"You're always just so kind Hyuckie" she says, climbing onto the mat and shoving him playfully. Jeno climbs up too and the five of them begin to stretch.

"So Jeno," Mark says after they finish warming up, "from what I can tell, you're a pretty good fighter?" Jeno shyly nods his head in response.

"Then how about a challenge? Think you can take on Haechan, Sungchan and I? We'll do it final exam style, one after another." Mark says with a smirk, a spark in his eyes.

"Let's do it." Jeno says confidently.

Haechan goes first, the two fighting for a few minutes but Jeno is ultimately able to overpower him.

Mark is up next. He's a tougher opponent for Jeno, he has a unique fighting style. Jeno can see why he's an assassin, his moves are sharp and precise. Jeno has to adjust his fighting style, quickly realizing that Mark attacks with a repetitive rhythm. After repeatedly pinning one another, Jeno is able to force Mark to yield. Standing up, he turns to face Sungchan.

As they begin their fight, he quickly realizes why Sungchan is an ace. He's like a carbon copy of Jihyun, which is bad since Jeno's never been able to beat her.

What makes them so difficult to fight is that their fighting style is to not have a fighting style. They are well rounded offense and defense, and always make sure to fight with a totally random pattern. They're never predictable.

"You're not too bad," Sungchan says, dodging one of Jeno's swings. "Jihyun has already done some work with you. You're strong and you have great reflexes." He continues, blocking another one of Jenos attacks and jabbing him in the stomach.

"Thanks" Jeno breathes out hard, narrowly avoiding Sungchan's kick, "but I still have a long way to go." He attacks again, only to be blocked.

"You need to learn to stray from rhythm." Sungchan says, landing a kick on Jeno's side, "your attacks are too predictable"

"It's easier said than done," Jeno replies, striking out and knocking Sungchan in the shoulder, "it's hard to fight without rhythm, I don't know how you guys do it."

"Oh we have a rhythm, believe me." Sungchan says with a smirk, spinning around Jeno and jabbing him in the back.

"What are you talking about? I've never been able to pick up on her rhythm, and I can't figure out yours either" Jeno pants, spinning around to face the taller boy. Sungchan lets out a small laugh of satisfaction.

"Well our rhythm isn't like a normal repetitive pattern like Mark or Donghyuck. Think of ours as more like a...song. Yeah a song. It doesn't necessarily repeat a lot but there are beats to it. That's what keeps it random" Sungchan says, jabbing Jeno a few times before sliding away.

Jeno knows that Sungchan isn't trying very hard to fight with him, rather, much like Jihyun, he's trying to help him but also keep him focused.

"No one will ever know the song in our heads, so it's a rhythm for us, but unpredictable for the opponent" Sungchan says calmly. Jeno nods his head slightly in realization.

Suddenly, Sungchan starts to smirk and cocks an eyebrow before letting out a small huff, confusing Jeno. Sungchan then runs towards him, avoiding his fists and sliding to the ground. He grabs Jeno's outstretched arm and then stands, flipping a Jeno over onto his back. Sungchan looks down at him with a smile, putting a foot on his chest in victory.

Jihyun lets out a small laugh and gives Sungchan and thumbs up. He turns back to Jeno, offering a hand and pulling him to his feet.

"You're not bad. You've got good reflexes and technique, you'll be fine." Sungchan says with a smile, nodding towards Jihyun in approval.

"Thanks for coming to train today" Jihyun says to the three boys.

"Yeah it was awesome!" Jeno exclaims from beside her.

"How about we start coming to train with you? It's good practice for us anyway, and we could help out a bit?" Donghyuck suggests, looking at the other boys for confirmation. All of them nod at Jihyun in agreement.

"What do you think, Jeno?" He just turns to her with an excited smile and vigorously nods his head.

"Alright then, yeah! Why not?" Jihyun says with a smile.

"Cool, see you tomorrow, Jeno!" Mark says with a wave. They bow at one another before the trio turns and leaves.

"That was so cool, they're so cool. I was so bad ugh" Jeno says once they leave.

"Stop, you did good today. Even if it doesn't feel like it, you impressed them. They like you."

"Really? Sungchan made a total fool out of me and I know the other two weren't really trying." Jeno says dejectedly.

"They don't care, they see your potential. They wouldn't have offered to come back if they didn't like you. Trust me." She says with a smile. Jeno returns it, beaming at her with pride before the pair return to their regular training.

- - -
Sorry for the short update yesterday, so here's a longer one... and it'll probably be a double update again lol. Enjoy!
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