Hyunwoo lay still, his breathing uneven as the weight of their words settled over him. The silence in the room pressed down, heavy with pity and worry. He closed his good eye, exhaling slowly. For a moment, his mind flickered back to the fight—the claws, the crushing force, the searing red light tearing through his body. He should've died there.
When he finally spoke, his voice was quiet, steady despite the ache in his throat.
"...I see." He paused, then gave a faint, tired smile. "A broken arm, a blind eye... better than no life at all."
Ruby flinched at his words, guilt flashing across her face. Jaemin shifted in his bed, wanting to argue, but too weak.
Hyunwoo's gaze drifted toward the ceiling, his tone softer now, as if he were reminding himself more than the others. "If I can still breathe, still stand, even with one arm and one eye... then it's enough. I won't stop here. Not when there's still more to do."
Jiwon clenched his fists, his throat tight. Jisoo turned away, blinking hard. Pyrrha's eyes softened, recognizing the quiet resolve burning beneath his pain.
Hyunwoo managed a faint chuckle, dry and weary. "Besides... scars aren't the worst thing to carry. I can keep moving forward."
The room stayed quiet, but the air shifted—less heavy with despair, more with unspoken respect. Even broken, Hyunwoo's will held firm.
Hyunwoo turned his head slightly, his one good eye catching Ruby's trembling expression. She stood at the edge of the bed, her hands clutching her cloak tightly. Her silver eyes shimmered, guilt eating at her voice.
"This... this happened because of me," she whispered, her throat tight. "If I hadn't been kidnapped... you wouldn't..." Her words broke, shoulders trembling. "...you wouldn't be like this."
The room fell silent. Even Jaune and Pyrrha didn't speak.
Hyunwoo let out a quiet breath, the corners of his lips tugging upward—not in joy, but in reassurance. His voice was weak, but steady.
"Ruby... don't." He shook his head slowly. "This isn't your fault. Grimm exist to hurt, no matter who they chase. If it wasn't you, it would've been someone else."
Ruby bit her lip, looking away, but he kept speaking, his tone firm despite his broken body.
"I made that choice. To fight. To protect. And I'd make the same choice again, even knowing the cost."
Her eyes widened, meeting his gaze again. His single eye burned with conviction, even as his bandaged arm and scarred face betrayed the price of that choice.
"You're alive, Ruby. Jaemin's alive. Everyone's alive. That's enough for me."
Ruby's tears slipped free, but this time she didn't argue. Instead, she nodded, her hands loosening their grip on her cloak.
Jaemin, still lying in his own bed, let out a hoarse laugh. "That's Hyunwoo for you... saying stuff like that even when he's half broken."
The heaviness in the room eased, just a little, though Ruby's eyes never left Hyunwoo—shining with sorrow, but also with a growing respect.
Hyunwoo let the silence hang for a moment, then a crooked grin tugged at his lips. His voice was raspy, but he forced some humor into it.
"I bet..." he paused, wincing from the pain in his ribs, "...even with one eye and one arm, I can still beat all of you."
The room froze for a second—then Jaemin snorted so hard it turned into a cough. "Y-You're insane, man," he wheezed, shaking his head. "Half-dead and still talking trash."
Jaune blinked, torn between concern and disbelief. "Wha—you're joking, right? You couldn't even lift a spear right now!"
"Exactly," Nora piped up cheerfully, slamming her hands on Jaune's bedframe. "But that just makes him scarier! Imagine him fighting us one-handed like some legendary warrior!"
Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose, muttering, "This is ridiculous." But even she couldn't hide the faint smile tugging at her lips.
Ruby laughed through her tears, a shaky little sound that lightened the heavy air. "Only you would joke about that right now."
Hyunwoo let his head fall back against the pillow, still smiling despite the pain. "Guess that means I'm winning already. Got you all rattled."
Pyrrha folded her arms, trying to stay composed, though her eyes softened. "If you're strong enough to joke like that, then maybe you'll be just fine after all."
The tension broke—just a little. Enough to replace the suffocating worry with something warmer.
The laughter lingered in the room, thin but real, when the soft click of the door opening cut through it.
Ozpin stepped inside, cane in hand, his expression unreadable as ever. The room shifted instantly—voices died, eyes turned toward him. Even Nora, who had been grinning ear to ear, fell quiet.
His gaze lingered on Hyunwoo. Not on the bandages, not on the missing strength in his arm or the eye clouded in shadow—but on him, as if searching past the broken body to see what still burned underneath.
"I see..." Ozpin's voice was calm, low, carrying a weight that settled over everyone present. "Even in this state, you still manage to bring a smile to the people around you."
Hyunwoo tilted his head slightly, forcing a small smirk despite the heaviness in his chest. "Guess I'm just that good, huh?"
Ozpin's lips curved faintly, but his eyes remained serious. "Strength isn't measured by the condition of one's body, Mr. Kim. It lies in the will to keep moving forward... even when the world has taken pieces of you."
The room grew still again, but this time, the silence wasn't heavy—it was reverent. Team RWBY exchanged quiet glances, and even Jaemin straightened a little in his bed.
Ozpin stepped closer, his cane tapping softly against the floor. He rested a hand briefly on Hyunwoo's bedside table, leaning just enough to meet his gaze directly. "And you, more than most, understand that lesson."
For a moment, his eyes seemed almost distant—troubled. Like he was remembering something, someone, from long ago. Then he straightened.
"You've done well. Rest, for now. There will be time to speak of... the rest."
_____
The glass of wine in Cinder Fall's hand quivered, a single drop of red slipping down the crystal stem as her grip tightened. She stood before the wide window, Vale's skyline bathed in a deceptive calm, as though the city had not nearly been torn apart.
It should have been chaos. The underground train bursting beneath Vale, the explosion ripping through the foundations, the Grimm surging in numbers beyond containment. A strike so devastating even Ironwood's military bravado would have crumbled under the panic.
Instead... nothing. A wreck, yes. Grimm, yes. But controlled. Contained. Small.
Her lips curled in quiet rage. "Too small."
It was Ironwood. His forces had moved earlier than predicted, storming the docks before her preparations were complete. The dust stockpiles they'd managed to slip into the train were barely a fraction of what she'd planned. The grand firestorm she envisioned fizzled into a manageable ember.
And then, of course—them.
Team RWBY, meddling where they had no right to be, surviving by sheer audacity.
But none of that festered in her like him.
Hyunwoo Kim.
The boy who should not matter. The boy who should not even be alive.
Her eyes narrowed, wine forgotten in her hand. "The Queen herself sent a hunters after you," she murmured. "A Grimm forged for one purpose... and still you live."
It was infuriating. His survival was not luck—it was defiance. He had interfered again and again, shifting the flow of carefully-laid plans, forcing pieces on the board into positions she had not chosen.
And worse still, the more he endured, the more the others began to notice him. To trust him. To follow him.
Her hand clenched. The glass cracked, a thin fracture running down its side.
"You've become a nuisance, Hyunwoo Kim. A thorn I cannot ignore."
Cinder's mind raced. If he had endured the Queen's gift—the humanoid Grimm—it meant two things. Either he had stumbled upon strength he should not possess... or he was being protected. Either possibility was dangerous.
Her eyes burned, molten gold flaring with a quiet promise.
'Next time, boy... next time, I'll make sure you're erased properly.'
___
The steady beeping of the hospital monitor was the only thing keeping time. Hyunwoo stirred slightly, his body aching with every breath, his left eye blind to the world, his left arm limp at his side.
But he wasn't alone.
Jiwon leaned against the wall, his arms folded, his expression hard to read but his eyes betraying restless worry. Jisoo sat right at the edge of Hyunwoo's bed, her hand hovering close but not quite touching his—like she wanted to, but was scared it might hurt him. Jaemin, pale and wrapped in fresh bandages, sat slouched in a chair nearby, refusing to rest despite his own injuries.
"Sorry..." Hyunwoo's voice cracked the silence.
All three of them looked at him.
"For dragging you into this," he whispered. "You didn't sign up for... all of that."
Jisoo shook her head almost instantly, eyes sharp with emotion. "Don't you dare say that, Hyunwoo. We're here because we chose to be. You're not alone in this."
Jiwoo scoffed, but his voice wavered. "Idiot. You think we'd let you face something like that by yourself? Not a chance."
Jaemin chuckled, though it hurt him to even move. "Besides... you're not the only one allowed to collect scars, you know. I've got to keep up somehow."
Hyunwoo blinked at them, a faint smile pulling at his lips despite the pain. His chest felt heavy—not just from the injuries, but from the weight of their loyalty.
"Team NOVA..." he murmured, his voice soft. "Guess I really hit the jackpot with you guys."
For a moment, silence settled in the room again—not empty, but full. The kind of silence that carried trust, unspoken promises, and a bond that no Grimm or red aura could tear apart.
Hyunwoo's voice broke through the silence again, weaker than before but steady.
"However... with this state," he shifted slightly, grimacing as his arm refused to move, "we can't join the Vytal Tournament next week, I'm out. Unless..." he glanced at them with his one good eye, "...you guys think you can handle it without me."
Jisoo's jaw tightened. "Don't be ridiculous. We're not going in there without our leader. That's not how Team NOVA works."
Jiwoo crossed his arms, tone dry. "Yeah, besides, who'd keep us in line? Jaemin?"
"Hey!" Jaemin protested, raising a hand in mock offense despite his bandages. "I'd make a fine leader. First rule: no bedtime. Second rule: all snacks are mine."
Even Hyunwoo chuckled at that, the sound rough in his throat but genuine.
"See?" Jiwoo muttered. "We'd be disqualified before the first match."
Jisoo leaned closer, her voice softer now, almost like a vow. "We'll wait. Tournament or not, nothing's worth more than you getting back on your feet."
Hyunwoo's gaze lingered on her, then on the others. He sighed, half defeated, half touched. "Guess I don't get a say, huh?"
"Not a chance," Jaemin smirked, slouching back in his chair.
For the first time since the fight, Hyunwoo allowed himself to relax, his one good eye closing as the warmth of their loyalty settled in.
___
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