𝗟𝗢𝗦𝗘𝗥$ (Shangri-La) - Taegyu✔️

XXXIX The Missionaries

"Shangri-La is protected by love-powered soldiers, people who experienced pain and turned it into love..."

Taehyun yawned, dozing off as he struggled to open his fluttering eyes. The content of the lecture was like an ambience distancing from his mind. His head slowly dropped to the side and thankfully Yeonjun, being observant, kept his head up straight.

"Beomgyu didn't let you sleep?" The older sniggered into his ear, suppressing his volume.

"I bet Soobin didn't let you sleep either." Taehyun, quick-witted, countered him while rubbing his droopy eyes.

In return, that bashful smile on Yeonjun was quite fishy for Taehyun to not suspect on, "Don't tell me you bottom–"

"Boys! Are you listening?" The female instructor stared at them, shedding unnecessary spotlight on the two at the corner, causing the whole room of freshmen to fall silent and have their eyes on them. Involuntarily, they sealed their mouths. Seems like they would need another time to catch up on their sex life.

Every new missionaries needed to learn about the history of Shangri-La. It was inevitable for Taehyun and Yeonjun too.

From what they could pick up from their drowsy morning mentality, Shangri-La was nearly self-sufficient on food, plantation and manufacturing. They also enjoyed trading with small towns or villages which were trustworthy and utilizing similar values with them. Their location had always been strictly confidential to the world.

Among all the occupations, missionaries had their specialty. They carried out missions outside the border and functioned as a part of national security at the same time. It was said they were the hardest and most dangerous walk of life. Their selfless contribution was the key to maintaining safety and peace for people of Shangri-La.

This morning, right after they entered the facility for missionaries, the boys were awed by the big slogan across the wall. They swallowed a lump in their throat while reading the line on it– 'Say 'Yes' to your higher calling'. The two extroverts felt motivated just by imagining the adventures, all the high-hard missions ahead. Their hearts blazed in passion which indicated this place was made for them.

"You have a good heart? That's not enough. You will receive practical training to truly master your skills as a missionary. That's all for today. Any questions?" Finally, the informative lecture aka the cause of their headache had reached the end. The speaker quickly spotted those hands raising in the air.

"Is that true we will have gym usage for free?" A random dude from their class sought for verification. Taehyun and Yeonjun perked up at his question.

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Next they were brought to an orientation event, where the new met the old.

Apparently the members were quite non-typical, as they expected all the missionaries to be bulked-up lads like them. The central hall was filled by a wide range of people, from younger teens to seniors and surprisingly women were taking up half of this body. Perhaps they needed to fall out of assumption when it came to Shangri-La.

Yeonjun, with his openness, already chatted with a few regulars while Taehyun was just tailing him. Socializing was not his thing.

The venue inclined to silence when the rolling wheels of a white board entered. The team divisions were listed out on it. The mass crowded around it, curiosity peaked when the oldies and newbies were dying to find out who was on their team.

Taehyun and Yeonjun found their names under one of the elite teams– 'Wolf Gang'. Were the members as intimidating as the title? They were a little nervous while checking out their names–

Seo Changbin, Hwang Yeji, Shin Ryujin...

That anxiety rose to his feet when Taehyun saw the name of their leaders–

Bang Chan

"Sh*t– It's him." Taehyun muttered, catching Yeonjun's attention, "Who?"

"You don't remember? That jerk pushed me down the skateboard–"

"I pushed you? Did I? Or were you playing a fool on yourself?" Both of them almost jolted when Bang Chan's voice cut in. They turned around to see their new leader, as well as his skate-buddy Changbin and two other girls standing behind them.

"Oh, the cute boys at the skateboard rink! Eeek, more extroverts." Ryujin clung onto Yeji while watching the drama between these boys.

"So you two will be our new members?" Bang Chan continued to ask, arms crossing, biceps bulging in the most daunting way.

"Yes. So?" Taehyun, too, imitated his posture.

"This is not another playground. Go home if you just want to play heroes." Bang Chan might sound discourteous but the old members knew him– He was testing the newcomers.

"I am serious. I won't cast any disgrace on Mr Kim Namjoon's name."Taehyun didn't step back from his challenge.

The oldest's scowl slacked off upon the mentioned name. The team glowed up immediately. Not a single member of the missionaries didn't respect Namjoon after hearing his heroic deeds. Everyone loved him, admired him.

"How did you know him?" Bang Chan changed to a less provoking tone.

"He saved me... with his life... and... I vowed to be a warrior like him." Taehyun looked down to suppress his melancholy. He felt an arm rounded over his shoulder, it was Yeonjun reassuring him.

"You know what? Not only Mr Kim, Taehyun saved my life too." Yeonjun brought up a topic that intrigued the girls. "Ditch Bang Chan and tell us more about it!" Yeji and Ryujin advanced closer to the new members.

"I guess he wanted to hear about it too." Changbin said, pushing Bang Chan to the front. "Stop bluffing. It's not funny anymore. Leave them a life." He convinced the leader, who finally softened his expressions. "Sorry for being mean to you guys. We are a team now and I hope we cooperate well. Everyone here is your brothers and sisters. Welcome to the missionaries!"

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Characters

Ryujin and Yeji (from ITZY)