"IT'S WAKE UP TIME, TRAINEES."

A loud voice resounded throughout their rooms and before they could even complain about how early it was, they got dumped with freezing cold water that was released from the ceiling. Everybody sat up immediately, soaking wet and coughing.

"W-W-What the hell is this!?" Mimi spluttered, trying to wipe the water off her face.

"Who do you think you're trying to make fun of, huh!?" Seunghee shouted to the ceiling, shaking her fist.

Noticing Arin was coughing like a child, Seunghee got up and began to pat her back.

"Hey, you alright, little one?" Seunghee asked, looking a bit worried. She clicked her tongue, looking annoyed. "What do those people think they're doing anyways? Why are they treating us like this???"

"I-I'm fine," Arin coughed feebly. "I'm more surprised that you care," Arin said honestly.

"Eh? Ah.. Well, I guess it's a habit of mine, y'know? We had lots of little kids at the foster place I always had to go back to. Just... a habit..." Seunghee said quietly, not looking at Arin.

They sat together quietly as Seunghee continued to pat Arin's back. Meanwhile, Hyojung was trying to find her face behind all the wet hair that was plastered to her face.

"You can't be a Disney princess like this," JinE laughed.

Hyojung couldn't reply to JinE's comment because she was busy with her hair. She also culdn't reply because she didn't even know what Disney was. Hyojung did spend most of her life in the mountains. JinE didn't wait for her reply before she moved forward to brush the hair away from Hyojung's face.

"It would be useful if you had a hair tie so this wouldn't happen again," JinE chuckled softly, still picking wet strands of hair away from Hyojung's face.

"Well, I-I've never really used one," Hyojung said shakily, shivering slightly.

In the rightmost room, Mimi was grumbling and shivering. She shook her head violently to get some water out of her hair.

"You remind me of a dog," YooA smiled, dripping wet.

"Is that supposed to b-b-be a compliment?" Mimi asked, teeth chattering. "Anyways, aren't you c-c-c-cold, YooA?"

YooA stopped smiling and looked away.

"I don't know how to swim, Mimi."

Mimi almost stopped shivering to focus intently on YooA. Mimi didn't ask if she could swim or not so why did she have to answer that way?

"What do you-?" Mimi tried to ask but the doors unlocked and opened before she could continue.

Several men in suits appeared at each door, ready with stun guns.

Everybody froze except for Jiho who immediately stood. She walked towards Binnie who was still spluttering from the cold water. Jiho grabbed Binnie's arm and hauled her up and began walking with her towards the men.

"W-What are you doing?" Binnie asked, stammering half because of the coldness and half because of her fear.

"It's time to wake up, private. You should know how to follow orders."

Jiho didn't say anything else and continued to lead Binnie out. The men moved aside  and they soon disappeared.

"That girl," JinE said in a low voice, "is really a brainless dog."

Hyojung was surprised by JinE's harsh words but didn't say anything. She kept very quiet and obediently followed the men as they ushered them out of the room. They were led to a spacious room which appeared empty. The men waited until they all got in before leaving and locking the door. They looked around the room which was pure white.

"GOOD MORNING, TRAINEES," a voice announced, "I KNOW YOU'RE ALL HUNGRY BUT HERE YOU HAVE TO WORK FOR IT. THIS WILL BE A PART OF YOUR TRAINING SO TAKE IT SERIOUSLY. YOU KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF YOU DON'T COOPERATE."

Hyojung nervously touched the menacing black collar around her neck.

"THIS MORNING'S CHALLENGE WILL BE TO MAKE PANCAKES. THAT IS ALL."

The voice disappeared, leaving the girls to themselves. Seunghee looked around some more and whistled.

"Those are some nice cameras they've got watching us," she said, nodding.

"Aren't making pancakes supposed to be easy?" Arin asked nervously.

"If you've got ingredients and a place to cook," Mimi grumbled.

"So what, we're gonna make pancakes out of thin air!?" Seunghee snapped.

At that moment, the end of the room backed away leaving a good amount of space between them and the wall. At the end, a long thick pole rose up with a box of instant pancake mix on top. 

"Well, that's a start," Seunghee shrugged, stepping forward.

She was thrown back by an invisible force field, shocking her.

"YOU MUST COMPLETE THE CHALLENGE BEFORE MOVING ON. IF YOU ARE THE LAST TO COMPLETE THE CHALLENGE YOU CANNOT MOVE FORWARD."

"You could have warned her first!!!" Arin said worriedly, checking on Seunghee.

Seunghee groaned as Arin patted her back to consciousness.

"This is way too insane," Mimi muttered, biting her nail.

"FIRST CHALLENGE: PICK UP A PAN AND USE IT TO SHIELD YOURSELF FROM THE ROCKS BEING THROWN AT YOU. ONCE SOMEBODY FALLS DOWN DUE TO INJURY, THE SURVIVING SEVEN MEMBERS MAY LEAVE WITH THEIR PAN."

After the announcement was over, eight black frying pans fell from the ceiling. They fell down with a loud clang! Everybody hurriedly tried to avoid getting hit.

"Oy!!" Mimi cried, almost getting hit by one. 

"They're pretty sadistic," JinE smirked.

Everybody hesitantly picked up a frying pan and practiced swinging it around.

"It's h-heavy," Hyojung said, dragging her frying pan around.

She watched in awe as JinE waved it around effortlessly. She didn't have enough time to watch more since an alarm buzzed and  they were suddenly pelted by numerous rocks coming from every direction. Hyojung's leg got hit and she was shocked by how much it hurt. Before she could think more about how much it hurt, she saw a rock flying at her. With all the strength she culd muster, she despeartely swung the pan at it.. It bounced off with a dull sound. Hyojung stared proudly at the pan.

"Nice swing," JinE commended, swatting the pan around her, not breaking a sweat. "Now, you can be a Disney princess. Well, at least Rapunzel."

"I actually have no idea what you're talking about," Hyojung admitted, avoiding another rock.

"Ah!" JinE exclaimed, "I forgot you were from the mountains. Sorry about that!" she said, rubbing the back of her neck.

She then rushed off to avoid more rocks. Hyojung was puzzled. She never told JinE she was from the mountains. Hyojung shook off the thought and decided to focus again. She hit around three more rocks until the stopped coming.

"What happened?" Hyojung asked, looking around.

She saw the others crowd around someone. She rushed over as well.

"Seunghee, are you okay!?" Arin asked, shaking her.

Seunghee groaned and rolled on her side. YooA looked worried as well.

"Maybe we can patch her up," Mimi suggested uneasily, staring at the knocked out Seunghee.

Bruises were beginning to appear on Seunghee's body making Mimi feel sick. Mimi was slowly remembering things she didn't want to.

"ONCE THE CHALLENGE IS COMPLETED YOU HAVE TEN SECONDS TO CROSS BEFORE THE BARRIER RE-ACTIVATES. 10...9.."

"We have to go," JinE said, tugging Mimi's hand.

Mimi was still spaced out, staring at Seunghee. Hyojung helped Arin up and ran to cross the barrier. Binnie and Jiho had already crossed. Once they ran a bit farther, they heard a sound which was probably the sound of the barrier activating. They stopped running and looked back at Seunghee, still motionless.

"W-Why did we run away instead of helping her!?" Mimi cried out angrily, snapping back to reality.

"If you don't follow the rules," JinE stated, "you get a little surprise."

She tapped her collar twice but Mimi looked unconvinced.

"Well, it's not like we'd be doing anything wrong! We'd just be trying to help her out!" Mimi argued.

"Obedience," YooA said, inserting herself into the conversation. "Discipline."

"She's right," Binnie said nervously.

There were some bruises on her as well, standing out against her pale skin.

"You understood that?" Mimi asked.

"What they're teaching us right now is to obey orders and to discipline ourselves. Even if it's a good thing, it's still out of bounds therefore it'd be wrong," Binnie explained.

"When did doing something right ever become wrong!?" Mimi asked, stunned.

The question hung in the air around heavily. JinE looked at Jiho who seemed indifferent to everything that had just happened. JinE smiled to herself.

"An order is an order. Follow your orders and forget everything else. Isn't that right, Private Jiho?" JinE said loudly.

Jiho didn't move and coldy ignored JinE. JinE didn't seem to mind and just carried on smiling. Somehow, there was a lot of tension between the two of them.

"SECOND CHALLENGE: YOU HAVE TO CARRY THE LONG POLE ON YOUR SHOULDERS WITH TWO LARGE BAGS FILLED WITH EGGS AT THE ENDS. AFTER THAT, YOU MUST RUN TO CROSS THE SECOND BARRIER. THE BARRIER WILL ACTIVATE ITSELF BEFORE THE LAST PERSON CAN CROSS."

Jiho didn't wait as she hauled the long pole on her shoulders and ran off without everyone else. JinE clicked her tongue and did the same. The rest were left to struggle with their poles. They stumbled along blindly, not knowing where the barrier would be placed. After running for a bit, Binnie realized something important but before she could warn others, a shock and the sound of a body hitting the ground was heard. 

"Arin!!!" Hyojung cried out, dropping her pole, not caring about the eggs breaking. She was almost at the barrier when Mimi pulled her back.

"Don't touch it!" Mimi said gruffly, holding her back.

They stared helplessly as Arin was left on the other side of the invisible barrier that had shocked her. 

"That... wasn't.. fair," Binnie panted. "They... made us run blindly... without knowing our specific goal..."

"Yeah, that sounds like the company. You have to follow orders without knowing what's up," JinE said nonchalantly. "That's why you gotta figure things out on your own."

"Independence," YooA stated. There were sweat beads dripping down her face but she had her mellow composure around her.

"There's nothing independent about this," Mimi said angrily, grabbing her collar to state her point. "They're just controlling us as they please and when someone gets hurt they take away their liability and say we made this choice for ourselves."

"In technicality, we did," Binnie said somberly. "We made the choice to run without asking questions. We should have... thought things through."

"So... this is some type of twisted lesson? They think that they're some kind of teacher!?" Mimi yelled.

"Experience is the greatest teacher," Jiho said, not turning around. 

"Binnie seems to like the word 'technical'," YooA observed, "Are you perhaps a robot?"

Binnie was about to reply when JinE cut in.

"If anybody here is a robot, it's Jiho," JinE smirked.

Jiho gave her a nasty glare before the announcement came. JinE stared back at her confidently.

"CHALLENGE THREE: STEP INTO THE RUNNING WATER AND FISH OUT A SPATULA."

The floor in front of them disappeared and a river appeared before them. The current was heavy and the water splashed loudly. YooA's eyes widened and her mellow composure began to slip away. One by one they got into the water and struggled to stay upright in the water except for YooA.

"If she doesn't want to go, then we shouldn't force her," Mimi said, concerned.

Nobody said anything else and they struggled in the water, trying to grasp something beneath the water. Jiho looked triumphant as she finally pulled out a spatula and heaved herself onto the other side. Binnie was surprised she had gotten one so fast and was caught off guard. She lost her balance and was carried away by the current. She felt somebody grab her firmly.

"Are you alright?" JinE asked, holding her around the waist tightly.

"Y-Yes, thank you..." Binnie stammered.

They were very physically close to each other now and Binnie could feel Jiho staring at them but when she looked at her, Jiho looked away. Unbothered, JinE continued to hold her tightly and fish for a spatula. Binnie found it a little hard to concentrate, being so close with JinE but JinE didn't seem to mind at all.

"Are you sure you're okay?" JinE asked, noticing Binnie's awkwardness.

"I-I'm fine..." Binnie said.

"Don't be discouraged!" JinE cheered, "I found a spatula just now so I'm sure you'll be able to find one too!"

JinE smiled brightly, waving around the spatula.

"Ahh, good for you," Binnie smiled. "Shouldn't you go up and rest?"

"No. I'll stay with you. What would I do if you got swept away by the current again?" JinE grinned.

Despite the cold water around them, Binnie felt her face grow warm. She nodded stiffly and began searching harder for a spatula, very aware of JinE's arm around her waist. Finally, she got one and the two of them got out together.

"Thanks for staying with me, JinE," Binnie said gratefully.

JinE smiled at her. The others had also found a spatula and began climbing out. As soon as they had gotten out, the barrier activated. It seemed like the barrier appeared in the middle of the river and it separated them from YooA who was on the other side, sitting with her knees tucked tight.

"At least, nothing bad happened this time," Mimi sighed in relief.

She had spoken too soon. A hand appeared out of the water and dragged the horrified YooA in. She splashed around like a drowning cat, trying to climb up but it seemed like something was holding her down. Mimi was screaming as the others tried to hold her back. They all watched as YooA struggled. Her cries were almost like a cat mewing for help. Her head kept going underwater until her body stopped moving. Everybody froze. Finally, YooA was thrown out of the water and her limp body rolled on the floor. She coughed violently before becoming still again. Mimi was trembling.

"B-Binnie... you're smart, right?" Mimi asked shakily. "Then tell me why... What were we supposed to learn from that...?"

Binnie let go of Mimi and she spoke nervously, aware that the others were also waiting for an answer.

"It's.. probably... about facing your fears and moving forward. If you stop because of your fears, it will eat you up. Y-YooA was afraid of the water and didn't move on from it so... it ate her up."

Mimi was too tired to argue as she fell on her knees. The others also felt tired but it wasn't over yet. There was no time to rest.

"CHALLENGE FOUR: THROW THE STICK OF BUTTER IN THE AIR AND SHOOT IT WITH AN ARROW, MAKING IT STICK ON THE WALL."

"Just give us a rest already," Mimi muttered.

Several arrows and sticks of butter appeared with five bows. They began lifelessly doing the challenge and in the end, Mimi was the one left behind. The others watched anxiously to see if anything would happen to her but Mimi just lay herself down quietly and shut her eyes.

"So, they know when enough is enough, huh?" JinE scoffed.

Hyojung watched quietly, waiting for the next challenge.

"FIFTH CHALLENGE: YOU MUST FIGHT EACH OTHER WITH THESE STICKS IN ORDER TO BREAK IT DOWN. THE FIRST PERSON TO FALL DUE TO INJURY GETS LEFT BEHIND."

 Nothing else was said as four long sticks was hurled at them. Jiho caught her flawlessly as JinE caught the rest and handed them out. Jiho squinted at JinE who gave her a smug smile. Jiho gritted her teeth as she lashed out towards JinE. The two began to duel aggresively, the sticks wearing down at an alarming pace.

"Why are you so angry Jiho?" JinE laughed.

Jiho stopped attacking and stared at her stick. It was less than half its original size. She jumped away from JinE and began attacking Hyojung instead.

"Hey!" JinE cried out angrily.

She got between them but Jiho merely got past her and continued hitting Hyojung. Hyojung just held out her stick feebly, enduring all the attacks.

"I SAID STO-!!" JinE yelled but a loud crack stopped her sentence.

Jiho almost fell to her knees but managed to stop before looking back at who had hit her. Binnie was holding her stick way above her head and her lips were quivering slightly. Jiho seemed surprised. She straightened up and faced Binnie.

"Why did you hit me?" Jiho asked quietly, advancing.

"Y-You were hurting Hyojung..." Binnie said, pointing her stick at Jiho, backing away and blinking rapidly.

"I was just-" Jiho started defensively.

"Following orders," JinE finished.

The two watched as JinE swung her stick behind Hyojung's legs, causing Hyojung to fall down.

"The order is completed," JinE said, not smiling.

Jiho stopped advancing towards Binnie and simply walked forward, as if nothing had happened.

"I-Is Hyojung alright!?" Binnie cried, scurrying forward.

"She's better off here," JinE said. "She's too injured to go forward, anyways. Right, Hyojung?"

JinE knelt down beside Hyojung and held her cheek. Hyojung was surprised but still nodded. JinE smiled at her and got up.

"Let's go, Binnie."

They moved forward and they heard another invisible barrier activate itself behind them. They saw Hyojung laying down, staring at the ceiling.

"Will she really be alright?" Binnie asked.

JinE nodded. Jiho was standing ahead of them and didn't bother look back. Somehow Binnie began to resent Jiho. It was as if she didn't care about anything else but the orders being given.

"SIXTH CHALLENGE: AVOID THE FLAMING ARROWS. THE PERSON WHO CATCHES ON FIRE GETS LEFT BEHIND."

The last three members began to dodge the arrows agilely. None of them were giving in until Binnie began to slow down.

"Binnie, look out!"

Binnie prepared herself to be caught on fire but strangely it didn't happen. She then noticed JinE rolling around, trying to put out the flame.

"JinE, why-!?"

Before Binnie could finish her sentence she was dragged away by Jiho.

"Hey, what are you doing!?" Binnie cried, struggling.

The invisible barrier activated and Jiho let go of her hand. By now, JinE had extinguished the flame. She was sitting down, staring at them. Binnie tried to move as close to her as the barrier would let her. JinE just smiled at her and waved her off. Binnie frowned and looked back at Jiho.

"Why didn't you let me help her!?" Binnie asked.

"Don't interact with her," Jiho said sternly. "She's bad news."

"You're bad news!!!" Binnie retorted. "You've just been following orders all day, not caring about anyone else but yourself!"

"That's not true. I've cared about you," Jiho said, frowning.

"In what way!?" Binnie asked, shocked. "It was JinE who cared for me, not you!"

"She doesn't care!!! She's just trying to win you over! Is that caring for you? How will you learn if you don't get hurt?" Jiho asked angrily.

"So, you let me get hurt because you care?" Binnie scoffed angrily. "Why do you care in the first place?"

"We... are roommates," Jiho said unconvincingly. 

Before Binnie could argue any further another announcement came.

"FINAL CHALLENGE: CLIMB THE POLE AND GET THE PANCAKE MIX."

The two were quiet after teh announcement. Binnie was feeling upset so she just decided to sit down, facing away from Jiho. Binnie could feel Jiho's eyes on her.

"What do you want?" Binnie asked sulkily.

"Aren't you going to climb it?"

Binnie turned around angrily and was surprised by Jiho's expectant stare. She shook off the thought of how pretty Jiho looked and continued to be angry.

"Why don't you!? You're the one who likes following orders!" Binnie said angrily.

Jiho was quiet.

"I'll catch you," she said, staring at Binnie.

"What?" Binnie asked, caught off guard.

"I promise I'll catch you if you fall," Jiho said sincerely.

This was the most emotional Binnie had seen Jiho ever since they had met, not too long ago.

"T-That wasn't my problem in the first place..." Binnie muttered.

Binnie was still confused about Jiho's motives but she just wanted to get the challenge over with. She walked past Jiho and looked at the pole. It was a bit tall but nothing impossible. She sighed and began climbing up. The higher she got, the more nervous she became. She tried looking down and saw Jiho guarding the bottom, just as she had promised.

"Don't look down," Jiho called out.

Somehow, Binnie found more courage in herself and began to climb faster. She finally saw the top and reached out for the box. She finally got a hold of it.

"I did it!" she cried happily.

Just then, she lost her balance and fell. She felt herself plummeting down until she was caught by Jiho's secure arms.

"A-Are you okay?" Jiho asked, looking nervous herself.

"Y-Yes. Thanks," Binnie said, getting up.

Jiho watched her as she patted herself off.

"Didn't it feel great?" Jiho asked.

"What did?" Binnie asked, curiously.

"Accomplishing your mission on your own," Jiho said.

Binnie looked at the box in her hand and felt pride swell up in her. She began to understand where Jiho was coming from. Well, just a bit anyway.

"But I didn't do it on my own. They helped me," Binnie said. "We all did this together. And the fact that I have people to help me and people that I can trust... makes everything so much better!" Binnie smiled.

Jiho was taken aback by her smile. All she could do was nod.

"Your smile... is too bright for me..." Jiho muttered, heat rising to her face.

Suddenly, the wall behind them moved forward pushing them forward.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

The two girls screamed as they were propelled towards the invisible barrier and JinE who stood up, wide-eyed. They braced themselves for impact but the barrier disappeared and JinE was hit by the wall and the three of them continued to scream. Hyojung turned to her side and sat up just in time for her to be pushed by the wall as well. Now there were four of them screaming. Next, Mimi came along for the ride, then Yooa, then Arin. The seven girls were all awake and screaming by now, being relently pushed forward by the wall. They saw Seunghee get up groggily before she joined them and the speeding wall.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT'S HAPPENINGGGGG!??" Seunghee yelled, fully awake now.

Everybody stared back at her and simply yelled: "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

Seunghee soon joined them. They all screamed as they were approaching the other wall and just when they thought they'd get crushed the speeding wall turned around, scooping them up and hurling them into their seats. They all sat upright and frozen in their seats as a pile of hot pancakes were placed in front of them. Seunghee almost passed out as she slammed her face into her pancakes. Arin stared at Seunghee and began to giggle slowly until they all burst out laughing.

"T-This was the craziest morning I've ever had!!!" Seunghee said between laughs, face smothered with syrup and butter.

A hand wiped her face clean as they all finished laughing.

"It's the boss lady!" Mimi cried out.

The person in question had tossed aside the tissue she had used to clean Seunghee's face and smiled at them.

"I'm glad you enjoyed your training. There's more to come so don't burn out yourselves too early," she winked, walking away.

They watched as she walked away from them, as if she hadn't done anything wrong.

"This place is so..." Arin murmured.

"Confusing," Hyojung finished.

"Let's eat up," JinE suggested, cheerily. "Gotta take the good opportunities while they last!"

Everybody cheered one last time before stuffing their faces with food. They felt sore and bruised but right now they were also very happy and full. 

Binnie looked at Jiho who was eating her pancakes at a well-mannered pace. She noticed a bit of syrup at the corner of her lips so she decided to brush it off. Jiho looked very surprised and covered .

"A-Ah... I just wiped something off your face," Binnie said nervously.

"Y-You didn't have to do that... I can take of myself," Jiho coughed, trying to avert her eyes from Binnie.

"I can take care of you, too!" Binnie retorted loudly.

Everybody turned to them, wondering what the fuss was all about. Jiho seemed embarrassed by all the attention and held out her hands.

"Alright, alright. You can, you can! Uhm... thank you... in advance..." Jiho muttered.

"Hey, what can of relationship do you two have?" JinE teased.

"W-What's it to ya!?" Jiho said, red-faced.

JinE grinned maliciously, seeming to cook up a plan in her head much to Jiho's dismay.

"This is gonna be fun~!" she said cheerily. "Good job, Binnie," she winked.

"B-But I didn't do anything?" Binnie said, turning to Jiho.

Jiho started wolfing down her food, still red in the face as the others went back to their own business, getting friendly with each other. 

"I like how smart kids can be dense," JinE smiled. "It's cute."

 

 

 

 

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I'm so sorry this took so long. I couldn't believe I'd actually get so busy in life lol 

Also sorry I've beaten up some of our gals but no pain no gain amirite? too much? 

I'm also putting a lot of ShinBin in this for some reason lol coz i think a jealous jiho would be soooo cute~

but anyways, thanks for sticking around and i hope the next chapter comes out much sooner than this did ;)

also sorry if this is a bit boring :<

but dudes, try re-watching the I'll Make a Man Out of You scene and imagine this:

Binnie- Mulan (girl pretending to be a guy)

Jiho- Shang (hot, mean trainer)

Seunghee- Yao (short, black-eyed bully at the start)

Mimi- Ling (dorky, skinny who's sorta mean at first as well)

YooA- Chien-Po (fat, mellow guy lol)

JinE- Mushu (the dragon not a lizard fyi)

Hyojung- Cri-Kee (the cricket who helps Mushu and Mulan)

Arin- every extra in the whole video xDDDD

 

Like, I dunno, do that if you want to hahaha

Author, out ;)