YOUMIN

I gape at the white bandages covering his hands.

How did I not notice that four days ago?

"Get here. Or did you already lose your will?" He growls, and I quickly run over to where he is.

Remember to thank him.

"Uh," I start, tugging at my fingertips. "I just want to say thanks— for not dismissing me, and also about your hands..."

I look up.

And then freeze when I realize he's not paying attention to me whatsoever.

"Three straight laps." He says, ignoring a furious blush up my cheeks. "And then you're going in the water."

I jerk. "Water?"

"Yes, water." He says, lip curling. "Swimming is a basic here. What did you think when you came to be trained?"

"That it was all going to be easy?"

I put my gaze down and shake my head.

"Then run."

Biting down on my lip, I break into a steady pace. But still he pushes me, driving me to go faster.

By the time I'm done, I'm a sweating, gasping mess.

He tilts his head towards the lake.

Breathing harshly, I stumble into the water. It's cold against the heat of my body, and soon I'm shivering again.

"Stay in."

I swallow. His dark eyes sweep over the waterline, and I start to lose the sense of my body as seconds tick by.

Come on, come on...

"One minute. Dive."

What?!

I stare. But I shouldn't have. I should've known already.

"Fine. One minute and a half. If you come back out before that ends, I'm lengthening the time."

I push down the panic as my face meets the cold darkness of the lake.

I'd heard an average person could only hold their breath for thirty seconds. And I was just a slightly fitter average person.

I didn't even know how to swim.

"Relax." I hear him call, but his voice is all muffled. But I understand, and pull the tension out of my body.

It feels like two minutes when I rush back up to the surface, coughing and sputtering water.

His features are cold.

"That was barely a minute. Again."

I look up at him dazedly. But taking another deep breath, I sink back under the lake.

My body feels much relaxed than before.

But then something brushes against my clothed leg, and that's what makes me shoot back out of the water.

I scramble out to shore.

"T-There's something in—"

"I don't care. I never said you could come back out."

My face goes paler than it already is. "But it might be, I don't know, a—"

"Get dismissed then."

I feel like I'm about to cry as I force my legs to walk back to the lake. One thing I was deathly afraid of were things I couldn't see.

And I could see absolutely nothing underwater.

"Go back in. Relax."

Relax. I really try, but now I know I'm not alone in this lake. And that makes everything so much worse.

I can't relax.

"I'm giving you one last chance." He says, voice angry as he watches me cough and shiver.

"I'd thought you were stronger than this, trainee."

Water drips from my hair to the ground. Without another word, I scramble up to my feet and push myself back in the lake.

I hate him.

I hate him so much.

I can't feel myself anymore as I stay down there for God knows how long. I'd run out of air a long time ago, but I don't go back up.

Was it time yet?

I'm afraid. It really feels like I've passed my time a while back, but what if I hadn't? I'd always come back up thinking that way.

And only had him send me right back in.

I try counting, but my mind's too sleepy.

Then the moment I start closing my eyes, something pulls me straight out of the water.

My back slams against the dirt.

"I told you a minute thirty and you stay in there for fucking three?"

A strong push against my chest follows after the voice, and I jerk to the side. Water spills from my bluish lips.

"You damn idiot."

He makes me cough out water one more time. He starts to stand, but I stop him desperately.

"Wait— wait. I didn't mean to stay in so long. I j-just couldn't keep the time right, and I promise I won't do it again."

He looks at my trembling figure.

And I feel he's angry. He's angry, I can tell even though I can't see his eyes.

I falter, my hand falling from his sleeve.

"Fine."

My head snaps up. He sighs when he notices the hopeful look in my eyes, and then flicks his hand towards the water.

"One more time."

__________________________

I'm surprised when the instructors lead the groups towards the lake. And it's like he'd known— that we would do this.

"Choose two people to represent your group in this competition." The leading instructor says, pointing at the lapping water.

"Whoever lasts longest wins one point for their group."

Jungkook's fingers stop playing through my hair. Him and Seokjin had fussed over me all last night— for staying in the medic for days.

And Seokjin. I hadn't known he was so similar to my mom.

"Kook? What about you?"

"No, no." He shakes his head, eyes wide. "I'm good at swimming, but not holding my breath. Ask Jin hyung."

"What? Hell no." He wrinkles his face when I ask him. "I'm not willing to get myself all wet trying this. Even if it's for a point."

So I end up participating with another guy named Changmin.

"Alright. Group reps go in."

I can sense Instructor V watching me as I splash into the water, up to my chest line. I'm shorter than the other trainees, so they go in a bit deeper than I do.

My lips purse when I hear whispers.

"At least we'll beat Group C. Look at who they sent out."

"Isn't that the kid who got himself stuck in medic for three days?"

Stop listening. They don't matter, anyway.

"On three." Instructor Yoongi drones, and I breathe out slowly, relaxing my body.

It's like I could never get used to the cold.

"Three, two, one."

I sink into the water. My face chills, but I keep myself completely loose as the time goes by.

Just until you can't take it.

I wait, my hair rippling underwater until my lungs start to seize. And then I wait a little bit more, until the seizing starts to come up to my throat.

I burst out gasping.

"Yes hyung!"

My hands scrub at my watery eyes, and I see Jungkook jumping up and down excitedly on shore.

Wait...

Really?

My eyes go wide when I realize I'm the last person to come out. I make a huge smile at Jungkook, and look to V in excitement.

Maybe he's a bit proud of me.

So it makes me falter a little bit when he doesn't show a single shift in his stone expression.

"Wow. When did you learn how to do that?" Seokjin gapes when I shake out my hair. "Wow. Really wow."

"I know!" Jungkook squeals quietly, swinging my hand in his fingers. "We got a point! We're leading!"

"It's obviously because he's getting special lessons from the instructor."

My head turns when someone talks a bit too loud.

It's someone from Group A.

He glances at me sideways. "It's unfair, really."

Seokjin crosses his arms, eyes narrowed to a glare. When they just shrug and turn back around, he sticks out his tongue.

"Idiots. It's because they're jealous."

"Yeah, hyung. Don't listen to them." Jungkook says, his doe eyes sparking. "We just have to keep training, and then we'll get so good they can't even say anything."

He offers me his pinkie finger, angelic smile on his face.

"Okay?"