𝕎𝔸𝕐 𝔹𝔸ℂ𝕂 ℍ𝕆𝕄𝔼 ||𝐃𝐔𝐓𝐘 𝐀𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐋||

Chapter - 07

As the day began, the trainers gathered the students in a classroom for training in assembling and disassembling guns in a set amount of time.

"I'll give you a minute to disassemble and assemble the guns," Lieutenant Lee said, walking behind the first group of students. The students exchanged puzzled glances at each other. "If you can't get it done in a minute, you'll get a penalty."

The students whined out loud in protest, prompting Lieutenant Lee to turn his head in their direction. "Who whined? Come out." He said, rendering the students to turn silent. They avoided his eyes, pretending to not hear him. He turned to the first group. "Group one, disassemble and assemble the gun. Start."

Group one started working. Yeon-hwa was sitting beside Wang Tae-man, and she could clearly hear the conversation in front of her. "So-yeon, does he still look cool to you?" Ha-na asked but So-yeon remained silent, admiring Lieutenant Lee. "So-yeon?"

"Yes, whatever he does is so cool." Yeon-hwa heard So-yeon say and she couldn't agree more. Lieutenant Lee was definitely cool. She tried so hard to control the small smile playing at the corner of her lips.

Tae-man leaned towards the girls in front. "Cool? Who? Is it me?" He asked, glancing between the two girls.

"Shut up, Squid." So-yeon flipped him off, causing Yeon-hwa to let out a snort. The three turned towards her and she muttered a small "Sorry."

By the time, group one had finished the task. Lieutenant Lee called out to group two, then group three. As the groups progressed, Yeon-hwa found herself in the fourth group. She looked around at her classmates, noticing how everyone seemed to be getting the hang of it. Finally, it was her turn.

As she approached the table with the gun, her heart was pounding with excitement and nervousness. She reminded herself to stay focused and calm. The trainer instructed them to disassemble and assemble the guns within a minute, and the timer started.

Yeon-hwa picked up the first gun and began to work, her fingers moving quickly and efficiently. She had practiced this many times during the training and was confident in her abilities. "I'm done," she said, raising both of her hands and the students looked at her, surprised by her speed. She was the first one to finish in her group, with several seconds to spare.

As soon as Yeon-hwa finished, she felt a sense of relief wash over her. She had managed to complete the task within a minute, just like they were instructed to do.

Just as she was putting the gun back on the table, she heard a voice in front of her say, "I'm done too." She turned around to see Lee Na-ra raising her hand and looking pleased with herself.

Yeon-hwa looked at her, something bubbling inside her stomach. She couldn't quite put a finger on what it was, but she knew she didn't like the feeling. Yeon-hwa couldn't help but feel a tinge of envy, wondering why she was feeling this way. She had always been confident in her abilities and didn't usually compare herself to others. She tried to brush it off and focus on the other students in their group.

As she looked around, she noticed that all of her group members had finished except for No Ae-sol. She was taking a lot of time and Lieutenant Lee was getting impatient. "Stop," he said, "one minute passed. Assemble the rifle again."

Aesol looked at the desk, not knowing what to do. "Private No Ae-sol," Lieutenant Lee called once again. "Assemble the rifle once again." He said firmly.

Ae-sol looked nervous and started fumbling with the gun. She tried again and again, but couldn't seem to get it right. The other students started getting irritated and began complaining, which made Ae-sol even more anxious.