The next morning, Jin tried so hard to act normal. He woke up early, trained hard, sparred with Bo, and even avoided Yooha's gaze during breakfast.
But it wasn't just him acting weird.
Yooha was quiet… too quiet.
She'd usually train alone, but today, she was nowhere to be found. Not even Rei Han knew where she'd gone.
"She left early," Meiqi said, arms crossed. "Didn't say why. Looked kinda… off."
Bo leaned close to Jin, grinning like a fox. "Maybe she's thinking about the blanket incident, huh? Wanna bet?"
Jin rolled his eyes. "Shut up."
But then, the announcement came.
"Special Combat Pairing Test – Two-person challenge begins today! All students must pair up!"
Everyone buzzed with excitement and nerves. The room became chaos.
Jin glanced around. Who would he pair with?
Before he could speak to anyone, Xie Luan stood next to Yooha—who had just returned, slightly breathless.
"Yooha. I want to pair with you," Xie said calmly, but his eyes were sharp.
Yooha looked at Jin—just for a second—before nodding at Xie. "Alright."
Something stung inside Jin.
He turned away… and felt a hand on his shoulder.
It was Meiqi. "Don't look so defeated. She's probably trying to push you."
"…Push me?"
"Yooha's always one step ahead. Maybe it's your turn to catch up."
Bo flopped onto a bench nearby. "Oooo. Drama."
Xie Luan and Yooha walked past, both calm. But Jin couldn't ignore the strange storm building inside him.
This wasn't just a test of power.
It was a test of hearts.
To be continue...