Chapter 2

It turned out that the dean had somehow taken the seat beside me.

“Are you hot? It’ll be cooler once we reach the island.”

He was a full head taller than me even while sitting, which meant that everything exposed while I had been fanning myself had probably been visible to him…

At the thought, my face instantly turned bright red.

The dean, however, didn’t seem to notice at all. Instead, he casually took a picture with me, saying he wanted to film a travel vlog for the new dance class.

I obediently copied the strange pose he instructed me to make, looking shyly and awkwardly at the camera.

After taking the picture, the dean enlarged it with satisfaction.

Not long after the bus started moving, sleepiness overtook me.

Just before I fell asleep, I vaguely heard the dean open a voice message on his phone.

It seemed to be the voice of a middle-aged man, who said excitedly, “This group of students looks very promising!”

Our group of dance students really was the most talented in the academy’s history.

That man had recognized it at a glance.

He must have had an exceptional eye and deep expertise in dance.

Thinking about that made me even more eager and curious about the training on the island.

I didn’t know how much time passed before only our bus remained on the roads.

The late-night breeze blew through the window against my cheek, bringing with it a strange wave of drowsiness.

We finally reached the supposed destination at four in the morning.

Before we got off, the dean collected everyone’s phones to keep us from getting distracted during the trip.

The students had been complaining nonstop, but once the dean promised to cover our food and lodging for the entire seven-day, seven-night trip, they agreed.

After all, refusing such a generous deal would be foolish!

The instant we stepped onto the island, all my sleepiness vanished.

It was beautiful! I had never seen a place so breathtaking!

At the center of the island stood a dreamlike castle, surrounded by a lake so deep its bottom could not be seen.

Hanging lamps decorated with images of couples dancing hung all over the island, their light reflecting on the water as though they were putting on an unparalleled visual spectacle for someone.

There was just something strange about those dance poses… Did couples really dance while pinning one another against windows?

Well, maybe my understanding simply wasn’t advanced enough yet!

As we went deeper onto the island, we all noticed that there were actually staff members there.

They wore tight-fitting dance costumes that emphasized every curve, with high, full chests and long, slender legs. Combined with their delicate makeup, they looked just like Barbie dolls.

Each woman even had a dance pose painted across her back.

Seeing everyone cheer, the dean’s lips curved into a faint smile.

“Barbie dolls need to be replaced too. Just like all of you, they represent the future hope of our academy!”

Everyone let out foolish little laughs at his words.

I stared at those Barbie dolls, feeling as though they looked familiar.

Before I could remember where I had seen them, the dean continued leading us into the castle to rest, saying that our official trip would begin the next day.

Still, it was a shame that such beautiful scenery couldn’t be recorded without our phones!