SURVIVE

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: TRAININGS AND INITIATION

“There were three survivors that came in last night, and the two had volunteered for Pilgrim immediately. Turns out they had been people formerly living here, exiled by the leader who is missing until now. Jiu, the one who saved Yuqi yesterday, was the one listed as a stand-in, so she would be the one to lead us into training outside the walls, it seems.” Soojin said, the two of them walking towards the gates, having woken up early to go with the team going out of the walls.

“I’m kind of contemplating settling with Pilgrims, with the things that are happening with Yuqi and the others. I don’t want them to be threatened and feel like they’re not safe here.” Minnie said, as Soojin sighed, putting a hand on her shoulder.

“Song Jin and Jaechan are here, and they can protect them, Minnie.” Soojin said, as Minnie sighed, troubled by the thought that the traitor she suspects to be the one who is behind everything would be left here, and could harm the girls any second while they were gone.

“Why do you want to go outside the walls, Minnie, by the way? I’m sure Miyeon had already scolded you when all of us learned that you voted to go to the Pilgrims.” Soojin said, as Minnie sighed, shaking her head and letting out a grin on her lips, scratching her nape nervously.

“I miss the rush of being outside the walls, my heart wants danger or something like that. Why do you think I kept volunteering to go outside the apartment in the missions while preparing for the trip towards here?” Minnie said, Soojin chuckling at that.

“So Soyeon wouldn’t go outside?” Soojin said, earning a laugh from Minnie, who nodded at that.

“That, and because I really don’t like getting confined just to one space for a very long time. I feel choked up, and these missions will help me release stress, hopefully.” Minnie said, Soojin laughing at that as they finally reached the gates, finding a small group of people that were gathered there, probably waiting for the new ones before they go.

“Ah, the newcomers are here. The part of the miracle ten, the only ones who received our message and are still alive when they got here!” one of the men explained, Minnie and Soojin chuckled as they were welcomed into the group.

“I heard the one who is the genius behind how you survived is now working as a leader here, isn’t it?” the man said, Minnie nodding at that.

“She’s my sister… but I’m more of a technological type of girl, so I help her with the weapons and stuff.” Minnie said, the man nodding at that.

“Gather round, please.” Jiu said, as she asked all the newcomers to go forwards, including a girl and a boy that Minnie hadn’t seen before, and was claimed to be found last night, when everyone was sleeping.

“This is Seo Soojin and Jeon Minnie, the ones who came in three days ago, the ones who you dubbed to be the ‘Miracle Ten’. This is two of our former Pilgrims who we thought were already dead, but had gone back here and also rescued one survivor. These are Hara and Hayoon Cho, and they are to be my assistant leaders immediately, since they already served a fair amount of time with us. Is that fair enough for all of you?” Jiu said, as the others nodded, the guards already opening the gates and firing onto the undead who dared to come close.

“The boat ride will take 15 minutes to come back once we’re in the city, so take care not to die before the boat comes back. We act independently here, and in no circumstances will we be dependent to each other. That way, in times that we get separated, we would be able to decide on our own. We only have maximum of two hours before the boat would come here and leave, strictly on time.” Jiu said, as they walked down the path towards the port.

“That means…” Minnie trailed off, as Jiu nodded at her.

“When you don’t get back to the boat on time, you will be left here, regardless if you are alive or not. It had been formulated when we lost a whole team and a second boat just because they decided to wait for the people who never came back.” Jiu said, as the team of eight soon reached the port, a boat waiting for them to go.

“Hey, my name is Son Chaeyoung. I’ve been here since the start, and had been one of the original members of the Patrols, before they needed people for the Pilgrims. I had been doing this for, like… two weeks now, I guess?” Chaeyoung said, as Minnie and Soojin nodded at that, alighting the boat as they clutched the weapons given to them.

“My name is Warren Young, a half American and half Japanese that came here before the pandemic, since I was kicked out of the house, I was living in. I had been part of the Pilgrims since day one, and I remember going to the market to buy food when the pandemic still didn’t start.” Warren said, Minnie raising her brow at that.

“What about him? What’s her name?” Minnie asked, looking at the man who was seated near at the front, a samurai on her back with a bow and a quiver full of arrows as well.

“We don’t know when she really came in, but Sir Wallace introduced her to us. We call her Raven, because we don’t really know her name, except that she’s very good at the weapons that she uses, and survived being left alone once, for a whole week, until she found one of the teams that were sent out the next week to buy some supplies.” Warren said, Minnie widening her eyes at that.

“And when was that…?” Minnie asked, as Soojin raised a brow on her, curious as to what she was getting through.

“Um… Maybe a three weeks ago?” Warren said, as Minnie widened her eyes, suddenly turning silent as he stared at the horizon, Soojin widening her eyes at that.

“Hey. Why, what happened to you?” Soojin said, as Minnie shook her head, gritting her teeth and scratching her nape nervously.

“Nothing… It’s just that…” Minnie said, as Soojin raised her brow, waiting for the man to speak.

“At one of our trips outside the apartment, Song Jin suddenly disappeared, and he came back with this… This arrow sticking onto his back, and he was groaning in pain at that. He said that he encountered someone who fired shots at him, but was then immediately killed by the undead that came close to her while she was focused on trying to kill Song Jin.” Minnie said, Soojin raising her brow.

“And you think that the one who shot an arrow to hyung? Minnie, maybe that’s just a coincidence or something.” Soojin said, looking at the man who had very long hair, not letting Minnie see her face, as they neared the port, just minutes from entering the city again.

“This trip will serve as the first initiation out of five in the Pilgrims, and we will go to the ammunition stores or police stations to get weapons for the use of Pilgrims, and some melee weapons for the use of Patrols.” Jiu said, as they neared the port.

“Trust me; after attending the initiation of Pilgrims, the Patrols would just bore you out.” Warren said, as Minnie chuckled at that, gripping her weapon tight as they soon reached the port, alighting the boat quietly as the driver soon waved at them, promising to be back in one hour and thirty minutes, and leaving only fifteen minutes after that.

Minnie clutched her sniper rifle tight, scanning the surroundings for some of the undead that might wander by.

“You are free to go with whoever you like with this team of ours. Just go back here after an hour and a half, alright?” Jiu said, as they soon split up to teams, with the long-haired man tailing Soojin and Minnie as they wandered around the place, Minnie trying to remember the locations of the police stations—

“Wait… the convention center is near here, right?” Minnie said, Soojin nodding at that as she pointed at the sign on the side of the road, pointing to them the direction of where the convention center would be.

“There’s a weapons fair at the second hall when we had the medical technology fair before. Do you think it would be raided?” Minnie said, as Soojin shrugged.

“It’s not far from here, we should go and take a look then.” The man with the long hair said, Minnie nodding at that as they changed course, going to the direction of the convention center.

They were nearing the place when the Japanese dragged the two of them into an alley, dragging down a ladder and climbing up onto the rooftops of the buildings near the convention center.

“Why? Is there a problem?” Minnie said, as the man pointed on her rifle, Minnie nodding at her then looking at the surroundings near the convention center—

“Bombs. There are plates hidden on the stairs of the place, it’s booby trapped.” Minnie said, raising her brow as she looked back at the man, who looked unto the place with strict concentration.

“How did you know that there are traps there, Raven?” Soojin asked, the man looking at her.

“Just call me Mina Myoui, please. I know so because I lived there for a week before I was rescued and taken back to Paradise.” Mina said, as she pulled an arrow from the quiver, placing it onto her bow and aiming back.

“And…?” Minnie asked, Mina taking a second to aim, then fired.

The arrow flew across the air, its destination calculated perfectly as its pointy tip struck onto one of the unnoticeable plates, setting it off.

One of the bombs exploded, sending debris and dust flying around, the noise attracting some of the undead that had been loitering around, some of the monsters already walking towards the convention center, towards the plates—

The undead stepped upon it and triggered the traps, sending even noisier explosions as the bombs obliterated the undead, turning them into lifeless, unmoving masses of flesh.

Minnie looked unto her rifle again, widening her eyes as he saw something inside the convention center, withdrawing her rifle.

“Someone’s inside the center. I think it’s alive, because it moved away from the explosion, as if alarmed that something had happened.” Minnie said, Mina nodding at that as she asked them to go down the building already, cautiously going to the place.

“The explosion must have set off every plate leading to the center, so it cleared a way we could take and enter the center. How long do we still have, Soojin -ssi?” Mina said, Soojin looking at her watch.

“Only twenty minutes had passed. I think it’s too dangerous to go inside there, Mina. Who knows, there might be more people there than we could ever take?” Soojin said, but the concentration still wasn’t erased in Mina’s eyes.

“We’re here already, right? If we wouldn’t go there, then I just wasted one good arrow.” Mina said, as Soojin sighed, getting out her katana that she got from her brother, wielding it as Minnie nodded, switching into the baseball bat that he had brought, dragging it down to the ground.

“Do not kill them, alright? Just deal blows into the parts of their body that would render them immobile, but still alive.” Mina said, Minnie nodding as the three of them went closer to the center, stepping onto the stairs that were already free from the plates.

“What do you say? Storm in, or do it stealthily? They probably still don’t know that we were here.” Mina said, pulling the arrow that she fired from earlier, putting it back onto her quiver.

“Let’s do it stealthily, at first. Then when we’re compromised, let’s just do it as fast as we can, then.” Minnie said, Soojin nodding at that as they went inside the center, finding it too silent for their liking, as they made their way to the second hall.

“Stop where you are.” A man said, holding a shotgun tightly as he aimed onto the three of them, the three of them stopping abruptly, raising their hands up.

“Why are you all here? I thought there aren’t any survivors left in the city except us here?” the man said, still aiming the gun on the three of them.

“How many are you here?” Mina asked, as the man chuckled at that.

“Why, so you’ll know how many you have to kill? We are living here peacefully, man. We don’t want any trouble, so can you just leave, before I fire this gun on you and have your blood on this floor.” The man said, his tone harsh and strict.

“We’re here just to get weapons, and we would leave immediately.” Minnie said, a hand gripping her rifle tight, bracing herself—

But she knows she wouldn’t be fast enough.

“I don’t care if you’re here for the weapons, and I don’t have time for you to be playing with me. Get out of here, now!” the man said, as he gritted his teeth, his finger poised over the trigger, ready to pull it and fire.

“Please… we need it to defend ourselves, sir. Just let us get what we want, and we’ll go our way.” Soojin said, raising her hands up, the man raising his brows at that.

“How do we know that you aren’t the ones from before, huh? You and your group tricked us into letting you in here, and you kidnapped some of us and killed the rest! We were so many here, but now we’re down to two or three, just because we were able to hide.” The man said, as Minnie widened her eyes at that.

“Are you saying that people had already come here before all of you?” Mina said, as the man nodded at that.

“When did you say you came here?” Minnie said, looking back at Mina who nodded at him.

“We’ve been here for a month since the stupid pandemic struck this place. No further questions, so get out—”

“Funny, you saying that… because I was the one who laid out all those plates as traps for anyone who would go in there, such as the undead, or unwanted people. I saw some traps that had been triggered from the sides, so I imagine… your people that you said had died from the rebels were actually the rebels who died from setting of the traps that I had laid out here.” Mina said, chuckling as she saw the shaking in the man’s hand, his fingers shifting from the trigger to the side.

“What? We were the ones who put all those traps there!” the man said, and Minnie could see that the man was already sweating.

“Quit the act and drop the weapon, man. While we’re being nice here, stop aiming that goddamn weapon on our faces.” Soojin said, her tone turning strict and certain.

“I have the weapon, and I’m ready to fire on all of you. Sure, we’re the ones who trespassed here, but we are here now. You can’t just go back here and reclaim your property, because it’s ours now—”

With a flick of a hand, a knife suddenly pierced onto the man’s shoulder, making him drop down the gun as he clutched his shoulder, screaming in pain.

“You bastards!” the man shouted, as he dropped down to his knees, his fingers closing over the handle and pulling it in one clean swipe, groaning in pain all the more as he gritted his teeth, glaring at the three who stood in front of him.

Mina kicked him forward, making him lie down on his back, stepping on the wound intentionally, making the man scream in pain.

“How many are you here? Are you all rebels, or is there people you took?” Minnie asked, the man gritting his teeth as he appeared to think about what he would answer.

“There are people blocking off every exit you can take, and there are people guarding the weapons room. Don’t… Don’t kill the women and the children, please… I was just sent here to talk to you and scare you off, or else they will kill my daughter. Please… let me come with you—”

Minnie shifted her gaze and stepped onto the man’s arm, making him let go of the knife that he tightly gripped, intent on stabbing Mina who was kneeling down on him.

“Are you really a hostage, or is this another one of your tricks, huh? What’s your name?” Minnie said, getting the knife inches from him and dangling it above his throat, the man thrashing against their hold.

“Please… let me go outside instead. Please.” The man said, the others widening their eyes.

“What about the daughter you mentioned, huh? What about her?” Soojin asked, the man gritting his teeth as he felt pain all over his body.

“I don’t care about her anymore! Just let me live, please…” the man said, as he began crying helplessly, Minnie nodding at Mina who just sighed, grabbing onto Soojin ’s shoulder and standing up, bringing out her katana and aiming it onto the man’s throat, the man backing away.

“Remember his face. When he dies, I want to be the one to ram my sword through his skull.” Mina said, as he put down her sword, the man running away—

A gunshot rang out from across the center as the man fell down on his knees, a shotgun obliterating his whole knee, shouting with pain while Minnie dragged the two into a nearby wall, hiding from whoever fired the shot.

“Ah, incompetent as always, Wanlin-ssi. Your daughter would probably be relieved that you would be gone, right, Mr. Yeh?” the man said, Minnie widening her eyes at the mention of the name.

“Shuhua.” Minnie uttered, the two women looking at her, wondering why Minnie said her name.

“What?” Soojin asked, clutching her gun tight.

“I know that man… he’s Shuhua’s father! I don’t recognize him that much since he didn’t show up whenever there were parents needed in school, but I knew his name from Soyeon. That man is definitely Yeh Wanlin, Shuhua’s father!” Minnie said, Soojin widening her eyes.

“Should we save him?” Mina said, as Minnie gritted her teeth.

“How much time do we have left, Soojin?” Minnie asked, Soojin looking at her wristwatch.

“Thirty minutes until the boat comes back.” Soojin said, Minnie gritting her teeth as she tried to think of something to do, or what they would decide.

“So much for your first day, huh?” Mina said, a maniac smile on her lips as she brandished her katana, Minnie knowing what the man had on her mind.

“You can knock that guy’s head off with that bow of yours, Hawkeye?” Minnie said, a mad smile on her lips, Mina chuckling and nodding at Minnie, picking up an arrow from her quiver as he drew the bow back, breathing onto the arrow as she released it—

Hitting the man who seemed to be the leader square on the side of his head, falling down, causing chaos to ensue on everyone, trying to find the one who killed off their leader without warning.

“We don’t want everyone to die, don’t we?” Minnie shouted, strapping her rifle onto her body and grabbing her baseball bat.

“Show yourselves!” one of the men shouted, but Mina and the others could sense the fear on his voice.

“Your leader is dead, right? We just freed you from everything!” Minnie said, as Mina got out of their hiding place, holding her bow and an arrow tight, Minnie and Soojin following the him as they stood close, glaring at the men who slowly relaxed, as if contemplating that what Minnie said was right.

“Fine, we’ll… We’ll go.” The men said, as they dropped the guns they carried, Soojin ’s command as he grabbed a garbage bag that was abandoned there and began putting the items inside the bag, Mina and the others watching the men go out of the center, into the stairs—

One stepped into the plates, sending all of the men exploding, not one of them left alive as their blood splattered across the stairs, some of the undead wandering towards the noise, setting off another wave of explosion.

“What…” Soojin said, Mina sighing at that.

“I forgot that there is a two-minute interval between the automatic charging of the explosives, but they weren’t cautious with where they were stepping on, so that’s their fault, I guess?” Mina said, as the three of them sighed at that and proceeded to the weapons room—

Finding it void of anything, except a girl who had a gunshot wound on her temple and a gun on her right hand, her eyes still open. Mina rushed towards the girl and closed her eyes, putting her in a relaxed position and draping a white cloth over her, getting the gun and putting it inside the garbage bag that Soojin had brought with her.

“What… there’s a baby here, Mina.” Minnie said, giving her baseball bat and her weapons to Soojin, rubbing her hands on her shorts as she carried the sleeping baby into her arms, the baby nuzzling onto her.

“You still have Yoona to take care of, Minnie. You sure you can take care of her?” Soojin said, as Minnie nodded, her eyes softening at the sight.

“Let’s just go to a store tomorrow when we go out for your second trip this week. For now, since we have just twenty minutes left, let’s go back to the port to wait for the boat to come back and go home.” Mina said, as the others nodded, Soojin standing at the back of their line with Minnie in the middle, carrying the baby tight, and Mina at the front.

“There’s another exit here that I use, so I would avoid the plates outside. Those weapons we got from those men should be enough for another week of going out of the walls, but we have to get ammunitions soon.” Mina said, as she smiled, looking at the baby who was sleeping soundly.

“Shall we go?” Mina said, as he smiled, opening the back door and going outside, the others following suit as they soon made their way towards the port.

“A baby? Where did you find that?” Warren asked, as Minnie temporarily gave the baby to Chaeyoung, as they waited for the boat to come back.

“We went to the convention center, since there were weapons there the last time I went here, when the boat left me here. We found her in one of the rooms, her mother dead beside her, probably shot herself.” Mina said, looking at the baby who did not have a clue of what had happened to the last family it had.

“It’s a boy, Minnie. From the looks of this, he’s probably just 6 months old. He needs formula, or breast milk immediately, since it would be a vital part of his growth. There’s a mother having her breast milk inside Paradise, but it would still be the best if we have formula just so in case that the mother is not available.” Chaeyoung said, as Minnie nodded at that, the others already seeing the boat from the horizon.

“Jiu and the others are still not here; we still have fifteen minutes before we have to depart.” Minnie said, as she sat down at the edge of the boat.

But thirteen minutes had already passed, and there had been no sign of the three who teamed up and, as they waited and waited—

A shout was heard as Minnie widened her eyes, picking up her rifle as she looked through the scope, widening her eyes as she saw the former leader of the Pilgrims, walking among the undead as the three ran away, towards the port.

“Chaeyoung-ssi, stay near the front of the boat, keep the baby safe. The others, prepare for fire; the three are drawing the horde of the undead towards us.” Minnie said, the others widening as Mina nodded at that, bringing out a rifle from the loot that they brought with them, as they aimed at the undead, firing whenever they can as the three successfully went closer to the boat, climbing up.

“Is that… Is that Yohan?” Mina said, as the boat successfully left the port, leaving the undead crowding the port, with the leader snarling at them.

“Kill him already, Mina. Set fire to them.” Jiu said, still breathing heavily as Mina nodded, tipping one of her arrows with fire, then shooting the former leader square onto his forehead, tipping him on fire with the others also catching fire, dropping dead as fire spread across their ranks.

“How did the former leader wind up here?” Minnie said, her brows raised as he stared at the port, still on fire, slowly disappearing into the horizon.

“Maybe he sneaked out?” Chaeyoung said, the baby sleeping soundly in her arms.

“But he knows that this is an important day as a leader, since we have people that are coming in for the first time.” Jiu said, looking into the horizon as she saw the faint glow of the fire they had started, slowly disappearing as they neared into the port of the island.

“I will be the one who would report all the events tonight, but you guys should tell me anything out of the ordinary tonight, when we meet for the destination tomorrow. You may go now.” Jiu said, as Minnie and Soojin nodded, Chaeyoung and Mina tagging along with them as the Japanese had her hair tied up, her katana strapped on her back as he looked wary and alert of her surroundings, also appearing to protect the baby in Chaeyoung’s arms.

“Guys, this is Gaia Lee. She’s the only one I know here who has a child, and could stand in as a mother to this child we rescued.” Chaeyoung said, giving the child to the girl, who took it and began to feed it from her bosom, Minnie nodding at that as she got out for a moment, Mina following her.

“You said you have a child here with you?” Mina said, Minnie nodding at that.

“Her name is Jeon Yoona, I rescued her from a group of rebels a month ago. She treats me like a father now, and she’s one of the people that I want to protect.” Minnie said, as Mina nodded at that.

“I once had a little sister, before a member of the mafia killed her. That was why I was forced to flee here, in hopes of letting the people who killed her forget about me, but disaster struck and I’m here.” Mina said, Minnie nodding as she put a hand on the man’s shoulder,

“Something tells me… something tells me that you guys wouldn’t be able to stay here for long.” Mina whispered, Minnie widening her eyes at that.

“What do you mean by that?” Minnie said, as Mina sighed, chuckling at her.

“We’re the same, you know. I also don’t want to be confined to only this place, and that is why I kept going out of the walls, even if fear settles in my heart every time I go back to the city.” Mina said, as Minnie nodded at that.

“Do you think the mafia who killed your brother are still alive?” Minnie said, as Mina nodded.

“The radios that transmit information internationally were still working, and just stopped transmitting messages a week ago. It seems like South Korea is the only country affected by the virus, like it’s holed up here, not getting out.” Mina said, Minnie widening her eyes at that.

“Surely there are some others who were able to sneak out?” Minnie said, as Mina shook her head.

“There are reports that said that the undead who winded up on foreign land died immediately, as if someone is controlling them, not letting them get out and are just containing them in Seoul.” Mina said, Minnie widening her eyes at that.

“Then someone who is behind all this might still be here, right?” Minnie said, as Mina nodded, considering that part of information that Minnie suggested.

“By the way… I noticed that you protected Chaeyoung first before setting fire to the horde that attacked us in the port. You like her, or something?” Minnie said, as Mina chuckled at that.

“She’s the one my sister asked me to protect. She still doesn’t know that, and I don’t intend on telling her anytime soon. I just want to fulfill Haruka’s dying wishes.” Mina said, as Minnie nodded, the two of them looking at Chaeyoung, who was smiling at the lady who carried the child that they rescued.

“Then I’ll help you.” Minnie said, Mina widening at that.

“You already have people you protect, Minnie-ssi.” Mina said, gripping her katana tight as Minnie shook her head.

“No, Mina. You can count on me in protecting her. We would be together in missions, right?” Minnie said, Mina nodding at that.

“Thank you, Minnie.” Mina said, Chaeyoung seeing them and waving at them, smiling wide.

“With your sister’s wishes or not. Do you like her, or not?” Minnie said, as Mina took a moment to look at her, and instantly he found a smile creeping up her lips.

“I… I don’t know. Warren is her boyfriend; I know that at least.” Mina said, as Minnie widened her eyes.

“They don’t seem to be like that.” Minnie said, as Mina chuckled.

“Oh, please. Before you two came, I grouped with them for a while. Seeing them make out is the reason why I preferred to go alone in those missions.” Mina said, sighing as she removed the hair tie, tying her long hair up again in a very messy bun.

“Hmm… aren’t you discomforted by that long hair of yours?” Minnie said, as Mina nodded slightly, touching her hair.

“Haven’t had the time to do that, since I was going out most of the time.” Mina said, as Minnie chuckled at that.

“Well… maybe I can help you with that.” Minnie said, Mina raising her brow at that.

“Didn’t know you worked at a salon, Minnie.” Mina said, as Minnie chuckled at that, shaking her head.

“I have someone who wanted to cut hair for a long time, and she even studied for that.” Minnie said, as the two of them walked towards the girls’ dormitory, Minnie going inside and seeing the girl he had in mind.

“Oh, Minnie! What brings you here?”  Miyeon said, Minnie putting a kiss on her cheeks as she smiled, also smiling at Mina who bowed at her.

“You think you can cut her hair?” Minnie said, Miyeon widening her eyes as she looked at the tied up unruly hair that the Japanese possessed, all growing out of proportion as Miyeon chuckled, nodding at that.

“Give me an hour or two, a very sharp knife and razor, an empty shower room with your supervision, of course, a towel, a mirror and a blindfold for her, since I don’t want people judging my work.”  Miyeon said, Mina widening her eyes at that.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! You look like you’re about to murder me, or something.” Mina said, Miyeon chuckling at that.

“Oh, please. Even if I try to hurt you or something that you would imagine I would do to harm you with that sharp things you are so cautious of, I feel like you are capable of subduing me even with a blindfold on, and plus, Minnie would be there, supervising.”  Miyeon said, Mina raising her brow at Minnie, who nodded at that.

“…should I be alarmed that you would be there, supervising her work, when you don’t even probably know a thing or two about haircuts?” Mina said, Minnie chuckling at that.

“It’s a precaution, in case her clumsy hand slips and cuts your ear in half or something—”

“WHAT?!” Mina exclaimed, Miyeon laughing that off.

“That is just a joke, I’m sure of that. Shall we go?”  Miyeon said, Mina nodding at that with a resigned tone as she sought out with her girlfriend and the “willing victim,” gathering all the resources that they need to give the Japanese a suitable haircut, to get rid of the unruly hair he had.

The trio found themselves inside the shower area of the boys, Miyeon gathering a basin of water and got some soap that she “borrowed” from a guy who just finished showering there (Minnie knew that the boy was seduced by her girlfriend, which was why she glared at him until he got out of the premises).

 Miyeon started to wash the man’s face and her hair, combing it with her fingers and then doing something Mina couldn’t even fathom; her fingers and hands were working too quickly against her hair, Mina feeling those hands not even touching her face as he was ultimately blindfolded, cutting away the excess and styling it, then washing it and even giving her a head massage, as she finished cutting her hair.

“You ready, Mina?” Minnie said, as Mina nodded, Miyeon patting away the cut hair away from her shirt, with Minnie removing the blindfold from her eyes.

Mina squinted multiple times as she widened her eyes, her hands caressing her new haircut, her mouth smiling automatically.

“Wow… I look better than an hour ago.” Mina said, not used to not having her long hair brushing onto her cheeks.

“There… you look so cool!” Minnie said, ruffling her hair, making Miyeon glare at her as she fixed her hair again, Mina nodding at that and smiling.

“So, this might be why I am missing some shots that I fired at, because of my humongous hair. Thank you, Minnie, Miyeon-ssi. I’ll go back to my post for tonight.” Mina said, smiling at them as she left.

“Who knew that vocational course you took just for fun would actually benefit somebody?” Minnie said, as Miyeon chuckled.

“That’s not just for fun, I did that hoping I would get to cut your hair since you didn’t have the time because of your work, and stuff.”  Miyeon said, as Minnie chuckled, ruffling her hair.

“Then you can cut it here, since I think we’re going to stay here for a very long time.” Minnie said, Miyeon nodding at that,

“A long time, indeed.”