The group trains together for the next few weeks, Jihyun officially appointing Mark and Haechan to assist her in training them.  She falls back into rhythm with the boys as they all become close again like they used to.

"C'mon guys, let's go to the cafeteria. I have an announcement to make." She says cheerily, linking arms with Jaemin who looks at her warmly.

All the boys stand up, getting ready to leave, Jeno eyeing Jaemin and Jihyun's linked arms with a frown.

"Stop pouting and let's go already" she says to Jeno, linking arms with him as well. Jihyun doesn't see the glare between Jaemin and Jeno as they waltz out of the ace center.

"Attention students! I have some exciting news to share with you!" The cafeteria quickly falls silent, all eyes on Jihyun.

"For our senior trainees, this upcoming weekend will mark one year of being with the Jang Training academy, and for the juniors, 6 months of training. I wanted to commend you on your hard work and dedication." The cafeteria breaks out into a small round of applause.

"As a bit of a treat, we have decided to host a celebratory ball in three days. All the mafia members will be in attendance and all students are welcome to attend. Back in your rooms, you'll find a shopping portal to choose your outfits. Furthermore as a bit of a gift, you will all have the next three days off to relax and get ready. We hope to see you there." She hops off the platform as the students begin to talk excitedly.

"That applies to you guys too, you know. I want you guys to relax for a bit, and you all better come to the ball." She smiles as they nod, heading back to the aces center together.

"Well you guys go do whatever, I'll be here for a bit training. Go and relax." She ushers them all away, walking over to the weapons area after she watches them leave.

Typing something into the computer, the targets start to move as she steps into the simulator. She draws the knives from her holster, waiting for the green light to flash.

As soon as it flashes she throws a knife, burying it into the center of the target. As it falls, she searches for the next one, repeating the motion. She quickly pulls the daggers from her jacket sleeves, from the harness running down her legs, and from her boots as she perfectly nails each target that pops up.

Smiling in satisfaction, she straightens up, panting heavily as the drill ends and the targets reappear, each with a knife in the center. She walks over to each target, carefully pulling out the knife and placing it back on her body. She turns around to leave the room when she sees Jaemin leaning on the wall of the entrance.

"Enjoy the show?" She asks with a smirk, but his eyes stay serious.

"Can we talk for a second?" Taking note of his demeanor she quickly nods her head in concern, walking to sit with him on one of the couches.

"Is everything ok?" She asks, searching his face for answers and only seeing nervousness in his eyes.

He can't look at her, anxiously rubbing his hands together and bouncing his leg. He takes a deep breath before meeting her gaze.

"Yeah...I just wanted to ask you something." She nods her head, urging him to continue.

"We've known each other for a couple of months now, and I can't tell you how glad I am that we met when we did. You're the greatest person I've ever known." He trails off shyly.

"Thanks Nana, I'm glad I met you too. You've literally changed my life." He smiles at her response, grabbing one of her hands before continuing.

"Well, anyway, what I wanted to ask you was, uh, you know with this ball coming up and everything...I was wondering if you wanted to go with me?" He looks at her, his stomach churning and his heart rate increasing as he waits for her response.

"Oh Jaemin, I'm sorry but I can't."

Jaemin looks away dejectedly, pulling his hands away from her as he feels his heart breaking.

"It's not because I don't want to"

He turns back to her, rapidly blinking away the tears in his eyes.

"All of us mafia members will be going together, we're not allowed to go with students or student groups. I'd love to go with my best friend, but I can't." He nods his head in understanding, slightly hurt when she calls him a 'friend'.

"Oh yeah, that makes sense, don't worry about it." He says with a small smile.

"I'll still be there though, and I'll make sure to hang out with you guys. Why don't you save me a dance, okay?" He nods his head enthusiastically, pulling her into a hug which she happily returns.

Just on the other side of the wall, Jeno walks away from where he was listening to their conversation. He had wanted to ask her but Jaemin beat him to it. A small smirk appeared on his face when he heard her answer, and he was ready to fight for her.

- - -

Jihyun arrives back at home around 7pm to see Taeyong and Yuta cleaning up.

"Hey guys!" She says, walking into the main room.

"Hi Jihyun!" Yuta says with a smile.

"How was today? I take it the announcement went well?" Taeyong says, handing her a cup of tea.

"Yeah everyone seems really excited." She nods as she sips on the tea.

"Any news from unit U or WayV?" She asks.

"Oh yeah actually wa-"

"Is Jihyun home?" She hears a familiar voice call from upstairs. She turns to the staircase and sees all of WayV running down towards her.

Lucas reaches her first, picking her up and spinning her around in a tight hug.

"I missed you"

"I missed you too, Xuxi." She laughs out, turning to hug each of the members.

"No injuries or issues?" She asks, turning to Kun.

"Nope, none at all. It went really smoothly, actually."

"Good to hear" she nods in approval, turning to face Sicheng.

"Did you get what we need?" He nods, handing her a document. She scans over it before turning to face Taeyong and Yuta with a smile.

"Luhan, Kris, and Tao signed the agreement to partner with Jang company in China." She says happily, Doyoung and Taeyong exchanging an impressed look.

"That's great! Our business in China should be much more stable now." Taeyong says, turning to WayV and congratulating them.

They all begin to talk happily when the front door opens up, revealing the members of unit U.

All of the boys walk over to the newcomers, greeting as they enter, Yuta rushing over to Shotaro and embracing him in a hug.

"Sungchan!" Jihyun calls out, seeing the tall boy walking in. "How'd it go? Are you hurt?" She pulls him carefully into a hug before backing away to examine him.

"I'm fine Ji," he laughs out, "I'm not hurt and the mission was a success."

"Wow" she replies, an impressed look on her face, "I guess you really are a true ace now, huh" she nudges him happily.

"Yeah well it's all thank you Jaehyun, he really saved my ass" Sungchan says guiltily rubbing the back of his neck.

"What do you-" she cuts off as she sees Jaehyun enter. She rushes over to him, seeing his face cut up and him littered with bruises.

"Jae oh my god what happened? This was supposed to be a low-risk mission, are you okay?" She rapidly checks over him causing him to chuckle at her concern.

"I'm fine, Ji, really." He says, pulling her into a hug. He feels his whole body relax as soon as he has her in his arms. "Sungchan almost got into trouble so I stepped in to help. Some big guys decided to try and go for me and landing a few hits, but Sungchan and I took care of it." He looks at Sungchan as they smile at one another.

"Well I'm glad you're okay, head over to Taeil to get your cuts treated and come to my room later to debrief the mission." She says lightly shoving him towards Taeils office.

The rest of them gather around the main room, all the other mafia members present now, except for Jaehyun and Taeil.

After watching the Lion King, per YangYang's request, Jihyun heads to her room for the night. She opens the door and sees Jaehyun lying on her bed, turning his head and smiling at her.

"Hey Jae, why didn't you come down with the rest of us?" She says as he sits up.

"Just wanted some alone time to think for a bit." He replies, patting the bed next to him for her to sit down.

"Oh, are you okay? How are your injuries?" She says, scanning over his face.

"I'm fine I'm fine" he waves his hand in front of his face self-consciously.

"Well Sungchan said the mission was a success, so that's good to hear."

"Yeah" Jaehyun trails off, the two sitting in comfortable silence. As Jihyun plays with the rings on his fingers, Jaehyun stares at her. He feels his heart rate increasing and takes a deep breath to slow it.

"Hey Jihyun? Can I, uh, actually ask you something?" She drops his hands and looks up at him, waiting for him to continue.

"So this ball on Saturday....are you going with anyone?"

"Well I mean we're all going together you know? As like the mafia?" She says, tilting her head in confusion.

"Yeah yeah I know but you're not, like, going with one person yet, are you?" He asks shyly.

"Oh, no I wasn't planning on it." She responds with a slightly confused smile.

"Then would you go with me?" Jaehyun whispers out. He feels his face heat up as he turns to look at her, his heart beating erratically. She continues to stare at him, slight confusion on her face as she thinks it over.

"I just figured it would be nice to have an escort you know? A beautiful girl like you should have someone..." he adds on. "And obviously we're all going to hang out and stuff, I just thought it would nice to go... a-as uh... as friends, of course. I just dont want you to be alone, but only if you wanted to though." He continues nervously.

"Oh, yeah sure why not? That's fun! Thanks Jae, it's such a sweet idea." She smiles at him, squeezing his hands again.

"Ok cool, yeah it'll be fun. I'll leave you be now, see you tomorrow!" He stand up from the bed, sending one last smile before leaving the room.

She stands up to do her nighttime routine, continuing on with her evening as normal, not really thinking about what just happened.

Jaehyun on the other hand was dying. As soon as he left the room he let out a deep sigh, pumping his fist and rushing to his room, butterflies filling his stomach.

———
I'm in a soft content type of mood so there's some upcoming soft/romantic moments.
Pls vote and comment any suggestions!