"Sunbae, tell me the truth. You're not a high school student, are you? Did you lie about your age?!" Jeongguk suddenly asks out of the blue.

"..." Chisoo slowly takes out his ID. "That's a common misunderstanding and I get it often."

"Wow...You're a real beast..."

Chisoo pats Jeongguk's shoulder as he walks past. Jeongguk stands there, a bewildered look on his face.

Chisoo leaves behind the remains of several breaking boards for the club members to clean up.

"I'll help, Jeongguk!" (Y/N) heads over to his side and picks up the broken pieces.

"Oh, you're here, Manager!" Jeongguk smiles brightly at the (H/C) haired female helping him out.

"Haha...It feels weird being called manager, and it doesn't get any less weird the more I hear it." (Y/N) comments.

"Why? I like it." Jeongguk's sunny smile is infectious.

"You do? Then you can call me manager all you want."

"Alright! Hey, you can loosen up around me, you know?" Jeongguk says pointing his index finger her way. "It's a bit weird being so polite..."

"No, it's okay...I'll take my time." (Y/N) says teasingly with a smug face.

"Hmm..." Jeongguk looks at her with his doe-eyes and pouts. "Your call. You're the manager. It's more comfortable for me. It really is."

(Y/N) smirks at his poutiness, "Okay...How's this?" She says with a more comfortable tone.

Jeongguk's lips curve up to an easy, comfortable smile. "Much better. Just keep doing that!"

"Alright, hehe. How's training? Is it bearable?" (Y/N) asks.

"Yeah, it's great." Jeongguk says, grinning happily.

(Y/N) couldn't help but coo at his adorableness. 'I don't think he's lying to reassure me. That's a relief!'

Jeongguk looks down shyly before picking his head back up and brings himself closer to her figure, "...Thank you."

(Y/N) tilts her head in confusion, "Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well...Thanks to you..." Jeongguk's voice gets softer and a little shaky as his ears turn red.

"Thanks to me...?" (Y/N) furrows her eyebrows, still confused on what he's trying to say.

"Ah..." His face flushes a bit, "Ah, we're done! This area's clean! Should we clean out the storage closet now?" Jeongguk quickly wraps up the conversation and awkwardly walks away.

"Ha, he must be really embarrassed." (Y/N) says to herself. 'This is a definite improvement from before, though! I have to continue to earn his trust like this, slowly.'

*Timeskip*

'It's been a week since Jeongguk started up Taekwondo again. I watch as Jeongguk adopts easily to training...and I start to believe that everything's finally going smoothly...Yeah, right. Who am I kidding? A big problem arises.'

"What are you all doing? Form up!" Chisoo demands as he stands amidst the crowd of sweaty club members.

Everyone looks pained in some way- they've all reached their individual limits.

"...Augh!!" A random club member groans out. "I can't go on. I won't!"

"What?" Chisoo asks with disbelief in his tone.

"All this hard training without a breather...I don't have to suffer like this. I'm leaving- I quit!!"

"W-Wait! Don't go-" The door slams before (Y/N) can attempt to stop them.

It's quiet and still in the club room until a deep sigh cuts through the silence.

"Hah...How many leavers is that now?" Seungmin asks.

"We're going to lose everyone at this rate." Junseon replies.

'Actually...I'm getting worried. Should I try saying something?' (Y/N) couldn't help but feel bad for everyone, "Hey, Chisoo...Maybe you're pushing everyone too hard? Why don't you try lowering the intensity a little? Out of consideration for the rest of the club. They don't seem to be able to handle it."

Chisoo looks away with an annoyed expression, "Anyone who'd quit over this doesn't belong here."

"No, but..." (Y/N) doesn't know what to say next.

"I agree with the captain." Jeongguk suddenly says from behind them.

(Y/N) sweatdrops from Jeongguk's response, 'Jeongguk, you too?!'

"Now, let's finish our conditioning." Chisoo orders to the club members, "Focus and start again."

Suddenly, someone comes rushing in. A club member with a very anxious and feared expression on his face.

"Guys, there's a huge problem!" The club member yells out, "Our Taekwondo club could be disbanded!"

The members look at each other with bewilderment. But Chisoo looks the most scared of all.

Moments later...Everyone sits in a circle.

(Y/N) looks at Chisoo with a look of concern. "So...You knew about this, Chisoo? You knew the Taekwondo club could be disbanded..."

Chisoo silently nods his head yes.

"But why? Why so suddenly?" Junseon asks feeling very worried.

Seungmin looks down at the ground very solemnly, "Hey...To be honest, it's not that sudden. We didn't have that many members to begin with, and a lot of people have left." He shrugs his shoulders, "And honestly, no one but Chisoo has actually won anything. It's amazing this club's lasted as long as it has."

Chisoo looks to the side with a down hearted glance, "...I thought if we placed well in the team match, we could avoid being disbanded. But with the members we currently have..."

"We might not even be able to participate." Jeongguk say, clearly frustrated.

The Taekwondo club has dwindled to five members. If anyone else quits or is injured, the club won't have enough members to participate.

(Y/N) clearly wasn't okay with this, not at all, "No!!!" She yells out, with everyone looking at her in alarm as she jumps to her feet. "Ha...All you need to do is recruit some new members, right?" She looks at them with a really determined look. 'It's been a journey for Jeongguk to start Taekwondo again. I can't let the club fall apart!'

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A/N: Guess who's back?! Man college really does take a lot of my time. I know this chapter doesn't seem as long but I hope alot of you are able to still enjoy the story still. Also take a look and give some love to my other stories as well if you'd like. And if it's not too much, share the story to any other ARMYS you know or Army friends that would seem interested. And as always, I purple all you beautiful ARMY and have a safe and happy day 💜🦋🌸