After the remnants of the Troubles had completely faded, Min-ah and I sat on a nearby bench to catch our breath. The cut on her arm didn't look deep, but it was bleeding a little.
"We need a first-aid kit," Min-ah said, pressing her hand against his arm. "And we need to talk. This can't go on like this."
"What do you mean?" I asked, still feeling the adrenaline rush through my veins.
"I mean, the Troubles are getting stronger or more numerous, or both," Min-ah replied. "And we're just two people with barely controlled powers. We need a plan."
He told me that, according to what he'd read on forums and in a few books he'd managed to find about the Marked, the Troubles usually appeared in isolation. Seeing two at the same time was a sign that something was changing.
"Maybe we should contact other Marked," I suggested. "You said there were more."
Min-ah shook her head. "It's dangerous. We don't know who we can trust. Some Marked are... troublemakers. And we don't want to alert the organizations that are after us."
"So what do we do?" I asked, feeling a little desperate.
"We learn," Min-ah said determinedly. "We learn to better control our powers, we learn to fight together, we learn everything we can about the Troubles."
We began to review the fight. We analyzed our moves, what had worked and what hadn't. Min-ah explained how she'd used the wind to immobilize the smaller Trouble, creating openings for me to attack the larger one. I told her how I'd tried to use the metal fragments on the larger Trouble's body, and how I'd finally resorted to the steel bar.
"Your connection to the metal is strong, Ryu Hyuk," Min-ah told me. "But you need to be more precise. You need to learn to direct your power with more control. Try visualizing the metal, not just lifting it. Imagine it's an extension of your own will."
We continued practicing, this time focusing on precision. Min-ah asked me to try to hit specific points on a tree with small metal nails that she levitated. It was incredibly difficult. My first attempts were clumsy and imprecise, but little by little, with Min-ah's guidance, I began to improve.
Min-ah also showed me how to use wind more tactically. She explained how she could create gusts to deflect attacks, how she could use it to enhance her speed and agility, and even how she could create small currents to confuse her opponents.
As we practiced, we both reached our limits. My head was aching from the mental strain of controlling the metal, and Min-ah seemed exhausted after using so much wind power.
"We need to rest," Min-ah finally said, sitting down on the floor. "But we also need to keep training. This isn't going away."
I looked around at the quiet park that had become a makeshift battlefield. I knew Min-ah was right. The world had changed for us. We were no longer just Ryu Hyuk and Min-ah. We were Marked, and we had to learn to live in this new and dangerous world. And we had to do it together.
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