Demonic || Seventeen

Demonic 12

Five Months in the Camp. Without realizing it, five months had passed since they had arrived at the camp.

And for Seokmin, it had been nearly four months since he started his secret training with Joshua and Jeonghan.

Over time, his body had toughened. His reflexes had sharpened. The once overwhelming fatigue had become familiar, something he could endure. He had fallen countless times, but he had always gotten back up.

However, despite the progress, the tension in the air was heavier than ever.

They only had one more month before the camp officially ended.

And in just two weeks, the final selection would take place.

Even though there were still dozens of recruits left, the Armed Forces would only select seventy of them. Those who weren’t chosen would be sent elsewhere.

Everyone knew this.

They could feel it in every moment of training, every exhausted breath, every bruise and ache that they endured.

In the past five months, they had seen many recruits quit.

Some had walked away in the middle of the night, never returning. Some had collapsed from sheer exhaustion, unable to go on. Some had simply given up, unable to withstand the brutal routine.

And if they were being honest with themselves, even they had moments where they wanted to quit.

But they didn’t.

They refused to.

And now, with the selection so close, they had no choice but to keep going.

.

.

.

For the first time in months, the recruits had been given a rare moment of free time.

The captains and lieutenants were having an important meeting, leaving them without training for the afternoon.

Some recruits took this time to sleep, exhausted from the past weeks of training. Others continued practicing on their own, pushing themselves harder, afraid of falling behind. Some still remained in the food tent, eating slowly, taking their time with their meals.

And then there was Seokmin and his friends. Seungkwan, Hansol, Mingyu, and Minghao who had taken shelter in one of the small wooden huts, a half-eaten watermelon sitting in the middle of them.

It was a rare moment for them to just sit, rest, and talk.

Seokmin took a big bite of his watermelon, sighing in satisfaction as the cold juice dripped down his chin.

"This is heaven." he murmured, leaning back against the wooden wall.

"Agreed." Mingyu groaned, lying flat on his back with his arms stretched out, too full and too tired to move.

Hansol was lazily chewing on a piece of fruit, his fork spinning between his fingers. Minghao sat next to him, silent as usual, though his eyes were focused on Seokmin, as if observing something.

Seungkwan, on the other hand, was the first to break the silence.

"Oh yeah, Seok." he started, licking the watermelon juice off his fingers.

Seokmin hummed in response, still chewing.

"What’s been going on with you, Captain Yoon and Lieutenant Hong?"

At those words, Mingyu who had been lying down immediately sat up.

Minghao and Hansol also turned to look at Seokmin, their curiosity now fully directed at him.