Chapter Sixteen.

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Class 3-2 had been forced to stay in their classroom all afternoon and evening. They even had to eat their dinner in their homeroom, which tasted even worse than normal. When it was finally time for their night training, morale had reached its lowest point. The kids' anger for the situation was directed at the tires they were supposed to hit during their combat course.

"Move quickly! Hurry!"

"Hurry and move! If you moved like this, you would already be dead!"

"Run!" Chun-ho barked. "If you want to survive, then run!" The kids were exhausted beyond measure, both mentally and physically. Already, a few of them were crying and moving sluggishly due to their fatigue getting the best of them. "Move it. Run quickly! If you want to live, then run!" He pulled Chi-yeol up, shoving the boy onward. "Run. Run! If you move like that, you all will die. If you don't want to die, then run!" He strode over to the unstable tunnels. "Recruit Noh Ae-seol. Do you want to become a burden to your friends?" Chun-ho questioned, pulling the girl up.

"No!" Ae-seol shouted, holding back tears.

"Run!" Chun-ho ordered, pushing Ae-seol forward. "If you want to live, move. Nobody will protect you. Do not become a burden to your friends! If you want to live, then run!" Deok-jung cried out in dismay before using his frustration on the tire. Beside him, Jang-su did the same. "Nobody will save you!" Jang-su managed to knock down the tire. "If you don't want to die, then move! Run!" Yu-jeong crawled weakly out of the tunnel right beside (Y/n)'s. She was abruptly pulled to her feet. "Senior Trainee... Run. If you want to live, then run!" He lightly pushed Yu-jeong forward. (Y/n), who was struggling to push herself to her feet due to her shaky legs, glanced at Yu-jeong as the girl remained unmoving.

"I can't," Yu-jeong sniffled, shaking her head. "I can't... I can't do it anymore." She turned to Chun-ho, crying. "Platoon Leader, I can't do it anymore. I can't do it anymore." She sunk to her knees, weeping. The training halted and they all watched as Yu-jeong reached for Chun-ho's limp hand, hoping to find comfort in their leader. Chun-ho's eyes glazed over and he stared ahead as he swallowed. Several other people dropped their guns and sat down, bawling their eyes out. Il-ha removed his helmet and So-yeon buried her face in her knees. (Y/n) closed her eyes and turned her head to wipe her eyes as tears rolled down her face. Given that no amount of shouting could get the kids moving again (Chun-ho and Won-bin didn't even try yelling at the kids after they all broke down in front of them), they were dismissed. They didn't get off the field due to not wanting to see their platoon leader.

"This didn't even make sense from the start," So-yun said angrily. "If we get trained like this," she threw her gun down, "there's no way we can take the CSAT!"

"We were too naive, like idiots," Jun-hi said miserably.

"Hey," So-chul called. He and Tae-man were sitting back to back, leaning against each other. "It's not that we're naive, but that the adults are bad."

"That platoon leader just enjoys torturing us," Bo-ra said. "I mistakenly thought he was a good guy..." The kids glanced up as Won-bin shuffled over with a box of snacks.

"Don't think so badly of the platoon leader like that," Won-bin scolded lightly. More kids glanced up as Won-bin knelt down, setting the box in front of him.

"Gosh, it looks like we'll die not from the Cells, but from training!" Jun-hi cried. "Damn it!"

"You will realize later that the platoon leader is acting like that is all for you guys," Won-bin said. A few people scoffed and shook their heads. Won-bin tossed Jun-hi a bun before getting to his feet and walking off. Jun-hi picked up the bread and furiously threw it away from her.

"Seriously! What a joke!" Jun-hi seethed. So-yun threw a handful of dirt, glaring at the ground.


(Y/n) gazed down at the camcorder. There was a light breeze on the rooftop, one that made her quite chilly. During her shower, she, along with several other girls, cried. It was an unspoken agreement that none of them would later bring up their crying as it was common knowledge that they were either crying over their homeroom teacher or over their experience earlier in the day. (Y/n) had been the first out and she washed her uniform, undergarments, and jacket all on her own before heading to the barracks to let them dry. She then grabbed the camcorder and headed to the rooftop to be alone, which she was successful in after she had picked the lock on the door.

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