In the afternoon, there was "training." But it couldn’t really be called training.

"The object in front of you is a gun."

We were now in the gym, sitting on the ground, all staring straight ahead.

To our surprise, the object in front of us was a gun.

It was long and black.

Naturally, there were no live bullets or magazines.

"This gun is called the K2. In the past, we used the M16, but now we’ve switched to the K2."

A lengthy explanation followed. Not really information I wanted to know.

While the soldier explained, my mind started to wander, and I wasn’t the only one.

"Why only me…"

Choi Ye-Seo slumped her shoulders and scratched at the sand with her finger.

Ha Soo-Yul patted her shoulder to comfort her, but...

"Hiing..."

It didn’t seem to help.

"As I said before, everyone will try the shooting position once."

That meant we could hold the gun, right?

Excitement spread across the students' faces.

"But! Do not touch the gun until the person in front of you stands up and moves away!"

The soldier said, drawing a line near where the guns were placed to make sure no one crossed it.

Six K2 rifles, one for each class.

Given the number, it looked like it would be over quickly.

"Then, let’s begin with the company commanders. Step forward."

Honestly, I didn’t like this soldier much. You could tell from his tone.

My turn was last, which meant I had to wait a while.

One by one, students picked up the guns and started giving their impressions.

"Wow, this is heavy!"

"Of course. Are you an idiot?"

"Who’s this guy?"

Let’s stop listening to this. Eventually, it was time for Choi Ye-Seo and Ha Soo-Yul.

"Whoa! This is so cool!"

Choi Ye-Seo seemed ready to lick the outside of the gun as she inspected it.

Wasn’t she just feeling down a moment ago?

"Oh."

Ha Soo-Yul’s impression was short and simple. She lost interest quickly, which was a bit disappointing.

Finally, my turn came, and as I looked at the other classes, they were almost done.

"One knee down."

Before the soldier even finished speaking, I got into position and rested the gun on my shoulder.

"Ho."

He let out an impressed sound, but did he really need to do that? Isn’t that a bit embarrassing?

"Do you have anyone in your family who’s used one of these?"

"No."

"That’s a shame."

I quickly set the gun down and was about to return to my spot when...

"Didn’t I tell you not to touch the gun?!!"

A loud voice echoed across the gym.

The source of the roar came from Class 1.

What’s going on there? Why is it always connected to Class 1 when something happens?

The soldier who seemed to be in charge over there shouted in a sharp voice.

"Those three who just touched the guns, step forward!"

As I returned to my spot, I glanced at them.

Familiar faces. Now I noticed they were from our school’s troublemakers.

I turned my attention away and went back to my seat.

If I paid attention to that, it’d just give me a headache.

The soldier walked over to the officer in charge.

They were talking, but there was no way I could hear it from here.

"Eun-A."

"Yeah?"

"Have you ever used a gun before?"

"No? I just watched some videos on YouTube."

Ha Soo-Yul gave me a skeptical look.

"It’s true."

At my assured answer, Ha Soo-Yul finally relaxed and spoke.

"They’re having a campfire tonight."

"Oh, right. Do I have to go out again?"

A campfire. Sounds annoying. Maybe we’ll have marshmallows?

"Hey, Eun-A. After the retreat, it’s the weekend. Want to hang out?"

"Suddenly?"

At Choi Ye-Seo’s unexpected comment, Ha Soo-Yul and I both responded.

"I’m good with it."

"I don’t mind, but what are we going to do?"

"They’re having a drawing competition at school. If you win, you get a musical ticket!"

I remembered seeing the poster in front of the cafeteria about the competition.

"Eun-A, you’re good at drawing. Why not practice and give it a shot!"

Choi Ye-Seo was already brimming with excitement, acting like she had already won.

"So why are we gathering this weekend?"

"Let’s go to a drawing café!"

A drawing café. It’s been a while.

"Sounds good."

Ha Soo-Yul immediately agreed. I didn’t have a reason to refuse, so I nodded.

"Then I’ll send you the details through text!"

Choi Ye-Seo was practically bouncing with excitement.

After dinner, we gathered back in the gym, where cut logs were placed in the center.

It was about to get serious.

Yeah, this is what a retreat is supposed to feel like. It’ll boost the kids’ morale, right?

When the cut logs started burning fiercely...

The talent show began.

The MCs were the student council president and vice president, Choi Seung-Cheol and his assistant.

The talent show had singing, rapping, magic tricks, skits, and dance performances prepared by many students.

I was caught up in the atmosphere and clapped along, cheering as needed.

However, in the middle of it, I was the only one who missed the girls' group dance.

Ha Soo-Yul and Choi Ye-Seo deliberately blocked my view.

Even Ha Soo-Yul covered my eyes with her own hands.

"Alright! The final moment is approaching! The last performance!"

The student council president’s voice raised the excitement.

"Each class will have one representative come up and sing a line of a song!"

Wow, that’s totally the kind of game you’d see in a class party, right?

"Each class, please send your selected representative!"

Heh. That clueless student council president.

"Who in our class will go?"

"We have an idol trainee here! Ye-Seo, go ahead!"

"Hey, don’t you think Ha Soo-Yul would be good at it too?"

The votes were split. Now, it was between Team Ha Soo-Yul and Team Choi Ye-Seo.

"Future idol!"

"The voice of the cold beauty!"

I felt like hitting my forehead.

But the two people who were chosen were looking at me.

"...Now that I think about it, we’ve never been to a karaoke place, have we?"

"Yeah, never."

I had never gone with Ha Soo-Yul because of her personality, and Choi Ye-Seo was always out with other people.

"Eun-A."

Please, no.

"Eun-A, just once! Okay?"

Please don’t.

"Can’t one of you go instead?"

"Yeah."

"I’ve never heard you sing before!"

I’ve never heard myself sing either.

"I don’t even know any songs."

"You can sing a children’s song!"

The mood was building, and our class was the only one without a representative.

"Aaah~. Class 2 is still up, huh?!"

I’m definitely going to trip that student council president one day.

The eyes of the two girls bored into me. Reluctantly, I stood up.

The rest of the class was already in a lull, watching us.

In the end, it was me. Damn.

I walked forward to join the other class representatives.

"Then, first! Class 1, please give us the title of the song!"

They looked like real MCs. Where did they learn this from?

Class 1’s song was from a girl idol group.

They sang it really well, and the applause and encore didn’t stop.

"When it’s my turn..."

"Oh, no such thing! Please give us the title of your song!"

That bastard.

I sighed deeply and spoke.

"...The Broken Wing."

"Yeeeee~!"

The song started.

It was a song I once considered one of my masterpieces.

Out of the seven masterpieces, this song was used in all of them.

It was an OST from a certain game, but this song gave me so much inspiration and energy when I was painting.

Each masterpiece had a unique external element.

If I painted those now... the whole world would probably turn upside down.

"Fly, broken wing

I know you’re still by my side

If I just push, I can start

Fly, broken wing

To the place where freedom awaits

Let’s approach our ‘ideal.’"

As the music played, the lyrics flowed out of my mouth.

I slowly opened my eyes and remembered my past studio.

In the cramped room, holding the palette with one hand and the brush with the other.

The ghosts of the past had come back to life.

Tears filled my eyes.

I had once wanted to be recognized by my parents, who saw only the need for academic success.

But they only told me to study more.

I was doing what I loved.

It should’ve been enough.

"Why does this hand chase an unattainable dream?"

The longing for my own sanity. Was it "weird"?

I had endured many moments of wanting to give up, with this song in my head.

It was just a game OST, but it meant so much to me.

I was grateful to it, and thankful that it allowed me to draw.

"Fly, perfect wing

Where have you been hiding all this time?

Lead me to the wisdom that began our journey."

"Fly, perfect wing

Show me who I can be."

As I stared straight ahead, there was no applause or cheering.

They just stared at me blankly.

The confused looks on their faces were so funny that I burst into laughter.

I felt so light-headed. Hmm, maybe I’ll go to karaoke later.

When was the last time I felt this free?

I locked eyes with Ha Soo-Yul and Choi Ye-Seo.

Both of them looked dazed. This is what singing is, guys.

That’s all.

"That’s it. That’s all."

I lowered my head and heard the applause.

After a brief silence, the room erupted.

"Woaaahhh!!"

The next person, the representative from Class 3 (9th grade), looked at me with teary eyes.

"...Sorry."

I didn’t expect such a good reaction.

I turned my head and ignored them.

...Not my fault.