"Annyeonghaseyo~"
Everyone entered the practice room one by one. Llana came in last, letting out a small yawn before stepping inside. She still felt sleepy and worn out.
Saturday had been exhausting. The photoshoot started at five in the morning and didn't end until two in the afternoon, way longer than she'd expected.
Right after it wrapped up, she went straight to the venue for JYP's special stage. It was her first time watching one in person, and the excitement alone was enough to lift her mood and push the exhaustion to the back of her mind.
By the time they finally got home, it was already 1:40 a.m.
And now they were here again, called in for an announcement.
Llana sighed quietly.
Another mission was probably coming.
"You all worked really hard during the team missions," PD-nim said, scanning them one by one. "You seem very tired."
"Ne~"
The answer slipped out of Llana automatically, paired with another yawn. Only to be met by silence. She froze a second later, blinking as she looked around.
Her gaze slowly shifted from face to face specially to her friends, wide-eyed disbelief quickly turning into pure betrayal when she realized she was the only one who had answered.
The room burst into laughter.
Llana could only stare, mouth slightly open. 'Traitors,' she thought.
"Oh? Only Llana-ssi?" PD-nim teased. "What about the others? You're not tired?"
"Anniyo~" Jihyo replied at once, shaking her head with a completely straight face.
Llana turned to her in disbelief. 'Seriously?'
She might've believed her if she hadn't just seen her nearly topple over in the elevator, dozing off while standing.
Don't lie, unnie~" Tzuyu protested right away. She had been about to admit she was tired too, but Jihyo had already jumped in, forcing her to speak up. She was still exhausted from last night's performance and really not ready for another challenge.
Maybe if they were honest enough, PD-nim would actually give them a rest.
The others laughed again at her comment. Llana nodded along enthusiastically, silently backing Tzuyu up, while Jihyo stared at her with pure disbelief, making the moment even funnier.
"Ne, ne~ I saw you dozing off in the elevator earlier," Nayeon added, pointing at Jihyo with a grin, laughing as she showed her bunny teeth.
Jihyo opened her mouth to defend herself, but PD-nim spoke first.
"Since everyone is tired," he said, "instead of giving you a mission, you'll go camping for today."
"WAAAAAH!"
"YEHEEEY!"
"KAMSAHAMNIDA!"
The room erupted in cheers.
Llana's exhaustion vanished instantly as she clapped her hands loudly, her face lighting up with a bright smile.
What she loved most of all was camping. She wanted to go fishing, set up a tent, and spend her time on simple recreational activities.
It felt perfect.
Jeongyeon stepped forward and patted Jihyo's shoulder. "It's okay, PD-nim. You don't have to worry about Jihyo."
Jihyo blinked. "What?"
"She said she's not tired," Jeongyeon continued calmly. "So just leave her here with the company staff. She can do extra practice. We'll go camping."
"Yah!" Jihyo protested as the room exploded with laughter.
PD-nim let them celebrate a bit more before continuing, "alright, we'll give you an hour to pack your luggage we'll be going right after."
"Ne~"
___
Not even half an hour later, everyone had already packed their things and was ready to go.
Llana slung her backpack over her shoulders. Inside were two sets of extra clothes and all the necessities she might need. After that, they headed back to the company building and waited outside for their vehicle to arrive.
It didn't take long before a white mini bus pulled up, big enough to accommodate all of them.
"It's here, let's go!" Natty pointed excitedly at the vehicle, hopping in place.
"Yeheey!"
"Where do you think we'll go?"
" I have no idea."
Everyone started talking over one another, the noise quickly growing loud and messy, to the point where it was hard to make out any single conversation.
"Isn't this the kind of bus usually used for kindergarteners?" Jihyo joked, laughing.
"Don't we kind of look like one right now?"
Llana, walking just behind her, chuckled softly as she glanced at the bus. It really did look like it, except the color.
The others didn't seem to mind at all. Either they were too excited to notice, or they simply didn't care.
Llana climbed into the bus and scanned for an empty seat.
"Llana, here!" Chaeyoung waved at her from the back, motioning for her to come over.
Llana smiled and made her way down the aisle, settling into the seat between Chaeyoung and Dahyun.
The bus jolted slightly as the engine started.
"Oooh, we're moving!" Dahyun clapped softly, her eyes lighting up. "I'm so excited."
Llana laughed quietly, feeling the same flutter of excitement in her chest. She really excited to go into camping. But Llana found something amiss, something felt a little off.
She leaned back in her seat, eyes drifting around the bus as everyone settled in. MiSaMo sat a few seats ahead, chatting animatedly in their own language, words Llana couldn't understand. Jeongyeon occupied a single seat, completely absorbed in her phone, thumbs moving quickly as she texted someone. Seated in the back with them, are Tzuyu and Natty talking softly together, while the others laughed as if nothing in the world could dampen the mood.
Maybe she was just thinking too much.
But she couldn't shake the feeling completely.
There wouldn't really be another mission waiting for them there, right?
The thought made her frown slightly.
Llana let out a small breath and shook her head. Worrying about something like that wouldn't help anyway. Worrying will only ruin her mood so she'll shake it off for now and enjoy the moment.
"Hey, let's take a picture too," Chaeyoung said when she noticed others around them already snapping photos. She pulled out her phone and opened the camera app, wanting to take this chance to capture the moment with her friends, something to remember later.
Without thinking too much about it, Llana leaned in beside Dahyun, smiling at the camera as Chaeyoung lifted her phone and took a group photo.