Later that afternoon, the teams are crammed into vans and driven out to a nearby river for the final exercise of the day: combat water survival.

A-RA, BAEK-HYUN, and the OFFICER tag along, looking way too pleased about it.

A-RA lifts a loudspeaker to her mouth, voice crackling like an old radio.
“Alright, team! Final exercise. You don’t finish until the last member of your team drags themselves back onto shore alive. Now! Boats! Move it!”

The teams, already half-dead from the morning, shuffle nervously onto three inflatable boats like prisoners boarding for execution.

YU-JUN barely sets foot on a boat before A-RA flags him down with a sharp whistle.
“You. Off.”
He stumbles back to join her, BAEK-HYUN, and the OFFICER under a tree, looking suspiciously like a kid sent to the principal’s office.

HA-JOON, climbing into his boat, mutters under his breath,
“Man... I wish I had a broken ankle.”

The boats drift out onto the river, the teams looking around anxiously. Something about A-RA’s smile is never good news.

After a few peaceful minutes, A-RA casually turns to the OFFICER, who hands her—oh look, a rifle.

BAEK-HYUN immediately starts panicking.
“H-Hey, hey, wait! Let’s not be hasty here—”

A-RA smiles sweetly, way too sweetly.
“Relax. I’m not shooting anyone. At least... not today.”
She lifts the rifle and fires.

PFFT! PFFT! PFFT!

The boats hiss and deflate almost instantly. Teams yelp and flail as the river hungrily swallows them whole.

BAEK-HYUN gapes.
“You do know they’re elite right? There's no way they're gonna drown.”

A-RA just hums, passing the rifle back to the OFFICER like a woman finishing her morning coffee.
“They better not. I’m the only medic around.”

Her wicked grin says it all.

As the teams struggle to keep their heads above water, the OFFICER drags two giant coolers over.

BAEK-HYUN, already regretting breathing today, watches in horror.

A-RA cracks one cooler open—and with a splashy flourish—dumps a bunch of water snakes into the river.

YU-JUN gasps so hard he almost swallows a bug.
He freezes when A-RA picks up a wriggling snake and casually offers it to him like it’s a slice of cake.

YU-JUN does what any sensible man would:
He collapses straight onto the ground.

A-RA just shrugs, twirling the snake lazily in her hand.
“Relax. They’re harmless. But the fun part...” she grins wickedly,
“...is that they don't know that.”

BAEK-HYUN sighs so hard it sounds like a dying balloon as YU-JUN slowly peels himself off the dirt, looking like he aged twenty years in thirty seconds.

Out on the river, the chaos reaches critical mass.

The second one of the boys spots a snake slithering toward him, the screaming starts.

MIN-JUN shrieks at a pitch previously thought impossible for adult men, trying to run on top of the water like some panicked cartoon character.

DO-YUN, ever the brave one, shouts, “STAY CALM!” —only to immediately slap himself in the face when a snake brushes his arm.

HA-JOON doesn’t even bother pretending. He dog-paddles frantically toward shore, yelling, “EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF!” like it’s a full-blown apocalypse.

Meanwhile, A-RA leans casually against a tree, watching it all like it’s a pleasant lakeside picnic.

BAEK-HYUN covers his eyes.
“I can’t believe I stood here and just let you do that.."

Heavy sigh of regret escapes him involutarily.

A-RA shades her eyes with her hand, watching the chaos unfold with a proud little smile.

"Everyone’s a team player when they’re cozy and safe," she says into the loudspeaker. "But the second things get dicey? It’s every man for himself. Look at them! Chain of command? Gone. Brotherhood? Dead. Team spirit? "

She points gleefully at the men thrashing through the water, swimming like their lives depend on it—which, honestly, they think it does.

The teams dissolve into pure mayhem.
Snakes? Panic.
Splashing? More panic.
Each man is out for himself, abandoning teammates with zero shame.

A-RA beams.
"Seriously, where are they even going?" she calls out. "It’s just a few snakes. I didn’t import crocodiles... but then again," she adds casually, turning to the OFFICER, "what if nature did? Are there crocs in this river?"

The OFFICER just shrugs.
BAEK-HYUN looks like he’s two seconds away from passing out in protest.

Then—plop!
Something drops from the tree right into A-RA’s shirt.

She freezes.
Tugs at her collar.
Catches YU-JUN staring at her with the horrified expression of a man who just watched his life flash before his eyes.

"What?" A-RA demands. Without warning, she shoves her chest at him.
"You get it for me."

YU-JUN lets out a noise somewhere between a shriek and a prayer before dramatically falling off his crutches.

A-RA bursts out laughing, hands on her hips.

"You’re scared of everything!" she teases. as she continues to look down  into her shirt."Someone would think I shoved grenades in your face... Speaking of grenades, you know, they kind of look like—"

"PLEASE don’t finish that sentence!" BAEK-HYUN shouts, practically begging.

A-RA smirks. "How do you know what I was about to say?"

"Because I know you," BAEK-HYUN grumbles. "And your filthy puns."

"Still not what I was going to say," she says sweetly. "But thanks for the idea. Actually, most of them are shaped like grenades."

BAEK-HYUN lets out the longest, most exhausted sigh known to mankind.

YU-JUN, still sprawled on the ground, stares up at the sky, pure fear flickering across his face.

I really did step on a mine, he thinks bleakly.
A shameless, absolutely unfiltered mine.

A-RA casually pulls out the loudspeaker, her smile downright sinister.

"Don't leave your teammates behind!" she blares. "Bring each other back to shore!"

The teams, already half-drowned and traumatized, clumsily start organizing themselves, shouting out clumsy plans and forming wobbly human chains.

For about ten glorious seconds, it looks like teamwork is winning.

Then A-RA pulls out her handgun.

Without warning, she fires several shots into the air directly over their heads.

Instant chaos.

The human chains snap faster than cheap twine. Grown men scream. One dude literally tries to climb onto his teammate’s head to get away.

A-RA shouts over the panic, voice full of glee, "In the real world, there’d be gunfire aimed  directly at your heads, not politely at the clouds!"

Finally—miraculously—the battered teams crawl back onto the riverbank, looking like war survivors. Soaked, shaking, eyes empty.

No one even talks on the bus ride back to the office. They just slump against the seats like sad, wet potatoes, barely able to stay upright as the bus rattles along.

The teams drag themselves into the changing rooms, zombie-walking toward their lockers.

A few minutes later—

"BLOODY HELL!"

"WHAT THE—!"

"I'M SUING EVERYONE!!"

A symphony of cursing and crashing erupts from the lockers.

BAEK-HYUN looks over at A-RA with his patented “What did you do now?” expression.

A-RA beams innocently, hands behind her back like a schoolgirl hiding a slingshot.

"While they were out swimming with the snakes," she chirps, "I had someone fill their lockers with ultra-realistic fake rubber snakes. Very lifelike. Very squishy."

BAEK-HYUN just stares at her, too exhausted to form actual words.

BAEK-HYUN rubs his face, sighing into his hands.
"I don't know if I should be proud... or just incredibly concerned," he mutters.

A-RA gives him a cheerful wave as he drags himself toward his office, her face glowing with unholy satisfaction.

Behind them, more screams echo down the hallway.

On reaching his office,BAEK-HYUN approaches his locker like a man about to disarm an active bomb.
Sweat beads at his temple.
He twists the lock with the delicacy of a heart surgeon, easing the door open just a crack—peeking inside like it might explode

Nothing happens.

Relieved, he finally slumps into his office chair with a groan, massaging his temples.
Hiring my niece... what was I thinking...
He sighs and reaches for his desk drawer without a second thought—

THWUMP.

A MASSIVE rubber snake launches itself out with all the dramatic flair of a Broadway star.
It flops lifelessly across his desk, its dumb rubber tongue hanging out like it’s mocking him.

BAEK-HYUN freezes.

For one perfect, cursed moment, time itself stops.
Just him. And the world’s stupidest snake.

He blinks once. Twice.
Then sighs.
Long. Painful. Existential.

With the strength of a dying man, he drags his phone out and speed-dials his niece—because walking over to her office would require hope, and that left his body several pranks ago.

She picks up on the first ring, her voice sickeningly sweet:
"Uncle! You found it!"

BAEK-HYUN slaps a hand over his face.
Why is she proud of this.

Before he can even speak, she chirps,
"As your niece, it’s my duty to make sure you stay sharp. Never let your guard down, Uncle! Never!"

"Princess," he tries to plead weakly, "Can we not—"

"Nope!" she cuts him off cheerfully.
"Already told you, that tactic would never work."

He can almost hear the mischievous sparkle in her eye through the phone.

"And anyway," she adds, smug, "I warned you. Remember? You were the one who insisted— 'Come tame these four boys for me, A-RA, I trust you, A-RA, it'll be fiiine—'"

BAEK-HYUN leans back in his chair and stares blankly at the ceiling, questioning all his life choices.
By now, he figures, he would've been on his twentieth tactical trainer if it weren’t for her.
It is technically a win...
A very expensive, sanity-draining win.

He sighs again and says, defeated,
"No, no. I love having you around. Keep up the... good work."

He hangs up quickly—before she hears the raw despair leaking into his voice.
Gathering what little remains of his dignity, Baek-Hyun shrugs, grabs his belongings, and heads home for the night...

Mentally preparing himself for the next battle.