The day began like any other, with the crisp morning air sweeping through the campgrounds and the subtle hum of routines being carried out. However, there was something unusual in the atmosphere, something the boys couldn't quite put their finger on. As they gathered outside the dorms, stretching and yawning, Tae-young nudged Joon-ho and gestured toward the instructors' quarters.
"Do they seem...off to you?" Tae-young muttered under his breath.
Joon-ho squinted at the three male instructors standing in a huddle nearby. Instructor Dong-soo had his arms crossed, his brows furrowed in thought. Instructor Ji-woo kept glancing toward the horizon as if expecting someone—or something. Instructor Seung-hyun rubbed the back of his neck, a clear sign of discomfort.
"They do look a little...tense," Joon-ho agreed. "But you know them. Probably just discussing something boring like logistics."
Hyun-ae walked over, her curiosity piqued by their hushed conversation.
"What are we whispering about?"
"The instructors," Tae-young replied, nodding toward the trio. "They're acting weird."
The boys continued to watch for a moment, but the instructors eventually noticed their stares and quickly dispersed, their expressions neutral but their body language betraying unease. Not wanting to get caught, the boys pretended to focus on their morning stretches, though their curiosity lingered.
The dining hall was bustling with activity, students chatting and grabbing their usual breakfasts of eggs, rice, and side dishes. Yet, the tension only seemed to grow stronger. When the boys arrived, they noticed that the female instructors—Instructor Min-ji and Instructor Hye-won—shared the same anxious energy as their male counterparts.
Instructor Min-ji, normally lively and talkative during meals, was unusually quiet, pushing her food around on her plate with her chopsticks. Instructor Hye-won, who often maintained a serene composure, seemed distracted, her gaze flitting toward the door every few seconds.
"What's going on with them?" Kang-dae whispered, sitting down at the table with his teammates. "It's like they're all waiting for something to explode."
"Who knows? Maybe they're stressed about the next phase of training," Soo-jin shrugged.
"Stressed? Those five eat stress for breakfast," Jin-kyong raised an eyebrow.
The comment earned a few chuckles, but it didn't dispel the underlying concern. Even as the instructors tried to mask their unease, their behaviour was glaringly unusual. They weren't engaging in their usual banter, nor were they offering the students any cryptic teasers about the day's schedule, as they often did.
Team 1, seated at a nearby table, also noticed the change. Tae-young observed how Instructor Dong-soo's usual aura of unshakable confidence seemed dimmed, his focus entirely elsewhere.
"Do you think something happened outside the camp?" In-su speculated, his voice low enough for only his team to hear.
"Maybe," Chin-hwa replied, thoughtfully. "But if it were serious, wouldn't they tell us?"
"Not necessarily," Hana said, sipping her tea. "They might not want to alarm us."
At the instructors' table, the tension was palpable. Instructor Ji-woo leaned closer to the others, speaking in a hushed tone.
"We can't let them notice. They're sharp enough as it is."
"We should've gotten word by now," Instructor Min-ji whispered back, her fingers tightening around her cup. "The fact that we haven't..." She trailed off, her face clouded with worry.
"Stay calm. Until we know more, we stick to the schedule," Instructor Dong-soo cut in.
Instructor Hye-won nodded, though her grip on her spoon suggested she was anything but calm.
"Easier said than done. If this turns into what I think it might..."
"Let's not jump to conclusions. We'll reassess after breakfast," Instructor Seung-hyun sighed.
Despite the instructors' attempts to maintain normalcy, the students couldn't shake the feeling that something significant was looming. As breakfast wound down, the instructors stood and addressed the group, their usual commanding presence slightly dimmed by their obvious preoccupation.
"Alright, everyone," Instructor Ji-woo said, clapping his hands. "Get ready for today's training. You know the drill—split into your teams, and report to your respective instructors in ten minutes."
The students exchanged glances but obeyed, filing out of the dining hall and heading to their designated areas.
"Whatever it is, they're not telling us," Hyun-ae said to Tae-young as they walked toward the training grounds.
"Yeah," Tae-young muttered, glancing back at the instructors. "But for how long?"
The unspoken question hung in the air. Whatever was troubling the instructors, it wasn't just another day in training. Something bigger was brewing, and whether they liked it or not, the students knew it was only a matter of time before they were pulled into the storm.
As the night blanketed the camp in darkness, the students retired to their sleeping quarters. In the boys' room, the atmosphere was light and relaxed despite the peculiar tension of the day. The bedding was neatly spread out on the floor, forming an orderly arrangement, though its occupants were anything but.
Tae-young lay on his back, propped up by a pillow, scrolling aimlessly through his phone. Joon-ho, sitting cross-legged, was engrossed in a mobile game, muttering curses under his breath whenever his character took a hit. Kang-dae leaned against the wall, headphones in, watching something with a faint grin. Kyu, ever the quiet observer, skimmed articles online, occasionally typing furiously. Min-jae sat at the corner, texting someone with an amused expression, chuckling softly to himself.
The room buzzed with the soft hum of notifications, laughter, and the occasional exasperated groan whenever someone's internet lagged.
"Hey, is it just me, or is the Wi-Fi in this place worse than a dungeon?" Tae-young griped, waving his phone dramatically in the air as if trying to summon a signal.
"Maybe it's because you're hogging all the bandwidth downloading trash," Joon-ho shot back without looking up, still absorbed in his game.
The banter was interrupted when Joon-ho's phone vibrated with a new message. He glanced at the screen, seeing Soo-jin's name flash across it.
Soo-jin: Big news.
Joon-ho blinked and quickly typed back.
Joon-ho: What big news?
The response came almost immediately.
Soo-jin: Director Hye-su might be coming tomorrow.
Joon-ho frowned, momentarily forgetting about his game as he stared at the message. He typed back.
Joon-ho: Wait, what? Are you sure?
Instead of answering directly, Soo-jin's response was a single emoji: a wide-eyed, shocked face.
Joon-ho set his phone down, his curiosity piqued.
"Hey, guys, Soo-jin just said something weird. She thinks Director Hye-su is coming tomorrow."
That got everyone's attention. Tae-young sat up straighter, Min-jae paused his texting, and Kang-dae pulled out an earbud.
"Director Hye-su?" In-su repeated, his voice tinged with disbelief. "Why would she come here? Didn't she say she wouldn't?"
"That's what I thought," Joon-ho replied, scratching the back of his head. "But apparently, Soo-jin and the girls heard something about it."
Earlier that evening, as the girls were wrapping up their day, they had their unexpected encounter. In the dimly lit shower area, steam curled around them as they prepared for bed. The soft sound of running water and hushed giggles filled the space, the girls chatting idly about their day.
Soo-jin, Hana, Hyun-ae, and Hi-ah were finishing up when the two female instructors, Instructor Min-ji and Instructor Hye-won, entered the room. The students instinctively quieted, but the instructors didn't seem to mind their presence, engaging in quiet conversations of their own.
It wasn't long before the girls caught snippets of their discussion. Though at first hesitant to eavesdrop, the relaxed environment and natural curiosity got the better of them. After some casual small talk initiated by Hyun-ae, the instructors let slip the source of their unease.
Director Hye-su, a figure of both reverence and intimidation in the program, had sent word of her impending visit. Initially, she had made it clear she wouldn't be coming to the camp, trusting the instructors to handle everything autonomously. Her sudden change of heart was, to put it mildly, alarming.
"Why do you think she's coming now?" Hyun-ae had asked, her tone innocent but curious.
Instructor Min-ji sighed, running a hand through her damp hair.
"That's the thing—we don't know. She didn't give us a reason."
"Could be to check on progress," Instructor Hye-won added, her voice steady but lacking its usual warmth. "Or it could be...something else."
"Something else?" Soo-jin had pressed, unable to contain her curiosity.
The instructors exchanged a glance before Instructor Min-ji gave a faint, humourless smile.
"Let's just say she's not the kind of person to drop by unannounced for no reason."
The girls hadn't pushed further, sensing the instructors' unease. Yet, the information lingered heavily in their minds.
Back in the boys' room, Joon-ho shared what he knew, carefully omitting the details about the shower encounter.
"So, if she's coming," Min-jae said thoughtfully. "Does that mean she's going to evaluate us? Or is this about the instructors?"
"Probably both," Kang-dae muttered. "She's like the final boss of this place, isn't she? If she's coming, it means someone's either in trouble or about to be."
"Or both," Chin-hwa added with a smirk.
"Whatever it is, we'll find out tomorrow. For now, let's just try to sleep," Joon-ho sighed, glancing at the ceiling.
But as the boys settled into their bedding, their earlier carefree energy had dimmed. The thought of Director Hye-su's visit weighed on their minds, leaving a quiet tension in the room.