______________________________________

Walking back to her room, Mina felt mentally and emotionally drained. She was practically dragging her feet down the hallway. She needed to clear her head because her thoughts were racing—mostly she blamed herself for the unknown feelings she had for Akari. Did they really compare with the butterflies she got whenever she was with Chaeyoung?

“Hey!” a voice called, and Mina looked up from the floor to see Chaeyoung running at her—speak of the devil. The short girl stopped in front of Mina and began panting slightly. Where did she come running from, and why was she running in the first place? “Did you talk to her?” Chaeyoung asked when she was finally able to muster a breath.

“Talk to who?” Mina asked, but then she remembered that she looked like Akari at the moment. “Oh, Chaeng—”

“She doesn’t want you to leave, I know it,” Chaeyoung replied, cutting Mina off.

“It’s me...Mina,” Mina said shyly, instantly feeling her face become a shade of red. It was weird seeing Chaeyoung from Akari’s height—she looked even tinier and cuter.

Chaeyoung wrinkled her brow in confusion, and then her eyes widened in embarrassment. The uniform the girl in front of Chaeyoung was wearing did look slightly too short for her, so it made sense.

“Really?” Chaeyoung asked. When the girl nodded, Chaeyoung sighed.

Mina closed her eyes and tried to find her center, but her mind felt jumbled and unsteady. She thought about herself, tracing out the details of her own face in her mind, and opened her eyes slowly. “Back to normal?” she asked, and was relieved to hear her own voice ringing in her ears.

“Mostly.” Chaeyoung stood up on her tiptoes and lightly tucked a strand of hair out of Mina’s face and behind her ear. It was brown and longer than her normal hair—still Akari’s. “Seems like you always have trouble with the hair.”

“It seems that way.” Mina pressed her lips together. Normally she’d smile, but her head was all over the place at the moment.

“What’s wrong?” Chaeyoung noticed Mina’s gloomy demeanor...and since she’d accidentally shifted into Akari, she knew something was up. Akari must’ve talked to her. “Let’s go back to your room.” It had been a long day, but Mina was happy to have Chaeyoung’s company for a little bit longer. If she tried to fall asleep now she wouldn’t be able to anyway, due to the racing thoughts in her head.

Mina simply nodded and let Chaeyoung guide her back further into the school. Mina fished out her room key and opened her door. She kicked off her shoes and collapsed on the bed. Chaeyoung followed closely behind. “So you talked to Akari?”

Mina nodded. “The reason she skipped out on our training session is because she thought I told her I didn’t want her around.”

Chaeyoung leaned forward, watching Mina’s face intently.

“But it was Nayeon who told her that. She pretended to be me…”

“That’s just messed up,” Chaeyoung replied after taking in the information. Why would Nayeon do something that stupid?

“I know,” Mina replied. “I let her know that.”

Chaeyoung’s eyes widened slightly. She was surprised Mina would actually confront Nayeon about it. “Is Nayeon going to be okay...you don’t think Akari would do anything to her, do you?”

Mina thought for a moment but shook her head. “No, actually. Akari just seems relieved to know what she thought I said isn’t true.” It made Mina quite happy to know that Akari had more control over her temper now, but Mina knew better than to trust Akari completely.

“Mina, you know I care about you, right?” Chaeyoung blurted out. She was growing a bit tired of talking about Akari. Even though Chaeyoung was happy that there was no more tension between the older girl and Mina, Chaeyoung was ready to move on from the subject.

Mina looked at Chaeyoung from the corner of her eyes. “You do?”

Chaeyoung nodded firmly. “Yes, of course I do.” Chaeyoung reached over and curled her fingers around Mina’s. They were sitting crossed legged on her bed, both facing each other.

Chaeyoung lightly let her fingers brush against Mina’s skin and Mina began to do the same, tracing circles against Chaeyoung’s pointer finger with her thumb. “I care about you too,” Mina admitted.

“Really?” Chaeyoung looked up shyly from their intertwined fingers to Mina’s face. “I wasn’t sure…with Akari around and all.”

Mina’s chest instantly tightened up. She flashbacked to the conversation she just had with Nayeon. “You don’t possibly have feelings for Akari too, do you?” Nayeon had asked.

“I’m not sure what to think about Akari,” Mina sighed. She searched Chaeyoung’s face intently, as if she could find the answer hidden there. “But...I know what I think about you. I’ve known it ever since we first met.”

“Do you remember when I kissed you?” Chaeyoung asked quietly. It had only been a few days since they’d even met. Mina had accidentally hypnotized Chaeyoung to kiss her, and both of the girls had been mortified.

Mina lowered her head in shame, letting some of Akari’s hair fall in front of her face. Yes, she remembered her moment of weakness very well. She nodded.

“Do you think we could do that again? Without any hypnosis this time?” Chaeyoung brushed the hair out of Mina’s face and placed it gently behind the girl’s shoulder.

Mina looked up slowly, holding her breath. The tension in the room was off the charts. The two girls stared at each other, scared and unsure. But someone had to make a move.

“You just gotta go for it. Don’t think about it.” That’s what Nayeon said. That’s what Mina was going to have to do.

And so Mina unlocked her hand from Chaeyoung’s, placed both hands on Chaeyoung’s face, and leaned forward. She closed her eyes. Chaeyoung did the same. Their lips met.

At first, they just remained pressed against each other, but then Chaeyoung drew back and took a breath. Mina was too embarrassed to look Chaeyoung in the eye, so instead she remained focused on the girl’s lips. Mina scooched closer to Chaeyoung and leaned in again, this time with a sense of urgency and desire. Both of their lips parted slightly, and the two girls fit together perfectly.

Chaeyoung had almost no experience in this department, so Mina began to take the lead, silently thanking her old boyfriend for the lessons she learned from the kisses they shared back when she was young and naive and didn’t have a worry in the world.

Chaeyoung gently wrapped her arms around Mina, placing her hands on the small of the older girl’s back and pushing her closer to Chaeyoung slightly. Mina let her hands travel to the back of Chaeyoung’s neck, playing with the soft tufts of hair there, while her other hand scratched Chaeyoung’s back gently. They continued to kiss, alternating positions like a rhythm.

All of Chaeyoung’s worries and doubts slipped away. There was just Mina and the bed they were sitting on and the taste of her strawberry chapstick.

After a few minutes, Mina drew away, laughing quietly.

“What’s so funny?” Chaeyoung asked flusteredly, smiling at Mina’s giggling. “I wasn’t that bad, was I?”

Mina shook her head and stopped laughing, but continued to smile. “No, you were wonderful. I just can’t believe this actually happened.”

“Have you been dreaming about this moment for awhile?” Chaeyoung teased. “Me and my very kissable lips?”

“Would it be really embarrassing if I said yes?” Mina asked cutely, and Chaeyoung nearly melted.

“Oh, come here you!” Chaeyoung wrapped Mina into a hug, pushing the older girl back against her bed so that Chaeyoung fell on to top of her. They wrestled until they were laying side by side, giggling.

“Can I confess something?” Mina asked quietly. Chaeyoung nodded. “Yesterday when I accidentally shifted into Momo, I was jealous about her relationship with Nayeon. I saw the two of them so happy together and I realized I wanted that for myself...with you.”

Chaeyoung had to physically contain herself from making any squeeing noises, but she couldn’t contain the wide smile that burst across her face. “Wow, after our first kiss you’re already talking about a relationship? You move fast,” Chaeyoung teased.

“Well, technically it’s our second and you did kiss me on the cheek earlier…” Mina began, and Chaeyoung quickly patted the girl’s arm and shushed her.

“I’m just kidding. I’ve liked you since I met you too. I’ve just been too much of a wimp to really do anything. And then so much happened, between Sana and Momo getting hurt and you getting shot...it just felt like there was never a good time.”

“Somehow Nayeon and Momo made it work, so I think we’re allowed to be a little selfish with our free time too,” Mina said. “If that’s what you want, that is.”

“Just promise me you’re not gonna get shot again,” Chaeyoung replied, only half-joking.

Mina’s smile faltered a bit but she clung onto it. “I’m not sure what the future will bring, but I’ll try my best.”

“Okay, that’s enough for me then.” Chaeyoung was beyond relieved to hear that Mina liked her as much as she liked Mina. Akari didn’t matter. She wouldn’t get in the way if this was what Mina herself wanted.

Thursday went by incredibly slow for Tzuyu. She was anticipating their stake out on Friday, where they’d possibly unlock the key to getting her powers back. She didn’t want her friends to put themselves in danger for her, but the plan seemed pretty solid and unstoppable. After all, what could really go wrong with someone who could control other people, on their side?

Friday morning went by even slower, as the girls attended classes as usual. Dahyun, Sana, Nayeon, Mina, Jihyo and Tzuyu were to meet in the main foyer of the school after their classes were over and they changed back into casual clothes.

Mina made it a point to ignore Nayeon completely on Thursday and Friday morning up until their meet-up in the afternoon. She ate lunch in the library with Chaeyoung both days, still very much flustered and happy from their shared confessions the day before. Akari, however, was nowhere to be seen. Mina was slightly worried but figured the older girl was just clearing her head and probably wanted some time to be left alone. Mina was slightly dreading the mission and being forced to see Nayeon, but she couldn’t exactly skip out on that when Tzuyu needed her.

So, when Nayeon came bounding over to the spot in the foyer where the group of friends had begun to gather, Mina turned her attention the floor, ignoring eye contact with Nayeon completely. It’s not that she hated Nayeon, but she couldn’t forgive her for trying to get Akari to leave just yet.

“Okay, here we go! We just need to sneak past security to get to the vans,” Dahyun replied as the girls walked outside toward the front gate together. They walked in the direction of where the garage containing all the vehicles was located, but stopped before getting too close to where the guards stood and hid behind some perfectly trimmed bushes. “Should be easy, right?”

“If we approach them they’ll definitely get suspicious...we want to do this in a way where they won’t alert JYP or anyone else,” Jihyo replied. “If we just start walking over they might get nervous and press the panic button, because they’ve been told to stay on high alert since we snuck out to rescue Tzuyu last time. JYP had a literal panic button installed, to be used at any sign of an emergency,” Jihyo explained. She knew this because she often worked closely with security because they used her to figure out a stranger’s true intentions in the past. “If either professor on guard duty hits that button then JYP will know immediately.”

“I need to get closer to use my hypnosis on them,” Mina murmured. “They’re out in the open with no cover around so this will be difficult.”

“I have an idea,” Sana mused. “Mina, how are your acting skills?”

Everyone turned to look at Mina, who suddenly looked horrified. “My acting? I’m not very good, why?”
“We just need to convince the guards that we’re supposed to be taking the van and that we got permission,” Sana said simply. “You just need to pretend to be someone they’d let chaperone us out. A professor...any one of them, really. If they see a professor with us they’re not going to jump the gun, then you can make sure they don’t hit the panic button using your hypnosis.”

Everyone, especially Dahyun, looked impressed by Sana’s plan. Mina was impressed, but also hesitant. She wasn’t expecting to be using her shapeshifting abilities today. Was she even ready for this? Besides, she still didn’t like shifting at all…

“But…” she began. “I don’t…”

“Do it for Tzuyu!” Dahyun replied. Beside the shorter girl, Tzuyu suddenly looked shy.

“No, I’d never ask Mina to do something she’s not comfortable with,” the girl assured.

Mina shook her head and suddenly looked determined. “I’ll do it. But...who…” Her voice trailed off.

“Miss Suzy,” Sana suggested. “You could do that, right?”

“I suppose,” Mina said quietly. She looked up at all the faces, beside Nayeon’s that is, and suddenly felt embarrassed. “But what do I say to them?”

“Just smile at them and then use your hypnosis to convince them that they heard from JYP already...that Miss Suzy got permission to take all of us out. No need for them to contact him at all and confirm it,” Sana said.

Mina nodded and turned her hands into fists, looking like she was about to get ready to fight. “O-okay.” She paused for a moment and everyone looked at her expectantly. “Uh...can you all...turn around? I can’t really do this with everyone watching…”

“You act like you’re getting changed,” Dahyun said, laughing slightly, but everyone did as they were told.

Satisfied, Mina closed her eyes and thought about Miss Suzy. The problem was she didn’t talk to her often since she didn’t have any classes taught by the woman. This forced Mina to think of the one intimate moment she shared with Miss Suzy. It was back at the hospital, when the woman had come into her room, placed a hand gently on Mina’s chest, and healed her. Mina remembered suddenly holding her breath with how close Suzy got to her. She averted her eyes, looking anywhere but at Suzy’s face, until she saw the older woman closing her own eyes while she used her powers.

It was then that Mina took a moment to study the professor’s face, and Mina was in awe at how beautiful the woman was, even though she was only a few years older. Before Mina knew it, she felt a thousand times better and Miss Suzy’s eyes opened as she took her hand off of Mina and stepped back to survey her work.

Mina opened her eyes, back in the present, and slowly lowered her head so that she could see if her hair had changed. Sure enough, her shoulder-length black hair was now much longer, wavy, and brown.

“Are you done yet?” Sana asked.

“I think so,” Mina answered with a voice lighter than her own. With that, everyone turned back around.

Sana and Dahyun audibly gasped, not yet having seen Mina shift before. Nayeon’s face was blank––a mask of indifference and guilt laced around the edges. Tzuyu looked slightly awestruck. Jihyo simply smiled.

“That’s amazing,” Dahyun whispered. “Cool party trick.”

“It worked then?” Mina asked, turning toward Jihyo. Jihyo nodded.

Sana stepped forward and reached her hand toward Mina’s face gently. Mina turned her head, looking down at the ground, but that didn’t stop Sana from lightly poking her cheek. “You’re all grown up,” Sana giggled. “Should I start using formalities with you, Miss Mina?”

“Leave her alone, Sana.” Jihyo wrapped her arm around Sana’s and pulled the older girl away from Mina. “Let’s do this.”

Mina took a breath and began walking toward the two professors on guard duty. Everyone else followed behind. The two professors turned to watch the approaching group with curiosity. “Hello,” Mina greeted politely. “I’m going to be taking the girls out for a bit. We’ll be taking the van.”

“Did you get permission from JYP?” one of the men asked.

“Yes, he told you we’d be going out, don’t you remember?” Mina’s left hand at her side was moving slightly, as if tracing invisible circles with her fingertips in the air.

The two men suddenly looked blank. “Of course,” one of them murmured. His voice sounded monotone and his eyes looked glossed over. “He told us earlier today. He told us to just let you go and not even alert him when you left.”

Mina smiled slightly. “We’ll be going then,” she said. She began to move forward, past the two men. “Oh, and if anyone asks, just tell them that JYP gave us permission to leave, okay?” The two men remained staring forward and both nodded. The girls made their way past security and into the garage where all the school vehicles were kept. As soon as they were out of sight of the guards, Mina sighed with relief.

“You did it!” Sana cheered, and engulfed Mina into a hug. Before Jihyo could pull Sana off of Mina, the girl snuck a kiss on Mina’s cheek.

“What was that for?” Mina said quietly as she gently touched the spot where Sana’s lips had met her cheek.

“Yeah, what was that for?” Dahyun replied a bit loudly, giving Sana a dirty expression.

Sana giggled as Jihyo dragged her away. “I’ve always wanted to kiss a professor, at least once.”

Everyone collectively rolled their eyes. “Let’s hurry it up.” Nayeon opened the driver’s side of the nearest van and hoped in. “I’m driving.”

The building was only about a fifteen minute drive away. Once they were relatively close to it, Nayeon parked across the street and killed the engine. The girls unbuckled their seatbelts and peered outside at the entrance of the building.

“And now we wait,” Dahyun murmured.

Stakeouts were a lot more boring than Sana imagined. After about a half an hour, the girl began whining in Dahyun’s ear. Sana sat down on Dahyun’s lap and wrapped her arms around the girl’s shoulders, clearly so over this mission.

“Stop distracting me,” Dahyun murmured, trying to resist Sana’s affection. “We need to focus.”

“I’m pretty sure everyone else can handle being on look out for now.” Sana’s lips were getting dangerously close to Dahyun’s face and the younger girl couldn’t help but gulp. It didn’t help that they were in close quarters with the other girls, who could see everything that was going on.

“Get a room you two,” Nayeon muttered, rolling her eyes at Sana’s antics. Sana stuck her tongue out at Nayeon.

“It’s possible neither of the people we’re looking for are even going to come out,” Tzuyu said. “It’s a Friday afternoon...they could’ve left early…”

“Or they could be staying late and won’t be out for a few hours,” Jihyo offered. “Either way, we all volunteered our time for this, we’re staying until we see them. If we don’t, we’ll come back another day, soon.” Jihyo looked at Tzuyu encouragingly. She wasn’t going to let Tzuyu down, not when Dahyun had just given her a little hope that she might have a chance of getting her powers back.

“What exactly do you think they do in there, anyway?” Mina asked, staring at the building intently and sizing it up.

“We didn’t get a great look at it but I saw lots of equipment and offices. It almost looks like a normal science lab, if it weren’t home to terrorists,” Jihyo answered.

“I only saw one room,” Tzuyu replied. She didn’t really talk about her time with the HCA, probably because it was so traumatic. What Jihyo could piece together was that Tzuyu had basically been tortured. That thought made Jihyo’s skin crawl.

“Hey, someone’s coming!” Nayeon announced. Everyone turned their heads to peak out the tinted windows. There was a man that exited through the front door.

Tzuyu squinted in his direction. “I don’t recognize him,” she sighed.

“But it’s possible he might still know something, right? We could still ask…” Sana suggested.

“Sana’s right, we could be waiting here forever if—” Dahyun began, but stopped short as Mina stood up, made her way to the back of the van, opened the doors, and jumped out gracefully. “Mina?”

All the girls watched as Mina began to approach the man, who had his hands stuffed in his pockets and was walking down the street towards where his car was most likely parked. The street itself was pretty deserted besides a few parked cars along both sides. He looked up in interest at the sight of her.

“Are you a scientist here?” Mina asked, motioning to the HCA building. At her side, her hand was jittering slightly as she focused her power.

“What—?” the man froze and suddenly looked uncomfortable. “Yes.”

Mina wordlessly turned around and headed back toward the van. The man obediently followed but his movements looked jerky and constricted, as if he were a puppet on a string. Mina hopped back into the van with Jihyo giving her a hand, and the man climbed up as well. He was much too tall to stand up in the van, so he had to bend his knees to fit inside. Once inside, Jihyo closed the doors behind them.

Mina stared at the man intently. “He’s a scientist here,” Mina explained. “There’s a chance he’ll know the information we need. Are you familiar with Chou Tzuyu, the girl with super strength that you kidnapped from JYP’s school?”

The man looked like he was rooted to the floor, unable to move. “Yes,” he spit out against his will.

“How did you get rid of Tzuyu’s powers?” Mina asked the man, who suddenly looked slightly terrified and kept fiddling with his glasses.

He remained silent, looking from girl to girl.

“Somatic genome editing,” Jihyo replied while staring at him intently. “He’s terrible at hiding his thoughts.”

Dahyun quickly scribbled it down on a notepad she’d brought with her. “That method is still in early stages...it’s expensive and dangerous….how…?”

“Get out of my head!” the man yelled—face turning red as he glared at Jihyo with hatred. “You filthy b—” but he was then abruptly cut off—face turning blank.

Mina had her hand extended in his direction. “He’ll be more cooperative now.”

“With gamma technology,” the man answered in an almost monotone voice. “We have wealthy donors dedicated to the cause. We target the mutated gene and use nuclease editing to insert a new gene.”

“What does that mean?” Nayeon asked, looking at Dahyun.

“They wrote over Tzuyu’s mutated genes,” Dahyun replied. “Replaced them with normal ones.”

“Is there any way to reverse this?” Tzuyu spoke up, starting to look a little panicked.

There was a bit of hesitation from the man. He opened his mouth but didn’t speak.

“Is there any way to reverse this!” Tzuyu repeated again, more loudly. Her eyes were wide and desperate.

“Maybe. If the same process was repeated,” he answered with a strained voice. He clearly was trying his best to resist Mina’s hypnosis. “However, it could be dangerous and unpredictable…”

“I don’t care,” Tzuyu stated.

“Each mutant’s mutated gene is different. You’d have to reinsert the same mutation in the exact same place. However, there’s no telling what the effects of this may be on the host…it may be dangerous, even deadly.”

“Can you make him go back in there and get the records of my genes?” Tzuyu asked Mina. “Maybe JYP can rely this information to his contacts and find someone who can perform the same method on me elsewhere?”

Mina turned to look at the man. “You can let him out of the van,” she replied. “He’s going to get what we need and come back out. Then I’ll wipe his memory of this conversation entirely.”

Nayeon and Sana opened the van doors and the man stumbled outside, as if in a trance, in the direction of the building.

“Tzuyu, it could be dangerous,” Jihyo said, taking the younger girl’s arm. “Are you sure about this?”

Tzuyu’s mouth was set in a straight, determined line. “Yes, I want to be who I was born to be. I want to be able to protect you...all of you.”

Jihyo looked like she wanted to say more, but she held back since she wasn’t alone with Tzuyu. She’d talk to her later when she had the chance.

After a few minutes of heavy silence, Nayeon spotted the scientist approaching again with a briefcase in hand. Nayeon and Sana opened up the back doors for him and ushered him inside. He seemed very unwilling but ended up handing the briefcase over to Mina. “That’s everything you’ll need,” he muttered. “Now—”

“When you got out of work today you decided you needed a drink. That’s why you stayed out a little later than normal. But you realized you forgot something at work so you came back,” Mina began.

He was staring at her as if he were mesmerized.

“Nothing out of the ordinary happened today. We were never here. You never talked to us. You have no idea who we are.”

He nodded firmly.

“You can leave now.”

The man did as he was told. Sana shut the van doors behind him and everyone peered out the window, watching him walk away and then stop, blink a few times in confusion and mutter to himself, look around, and then presumably head in the direction of where he parked.

“We did it!” Dahyun cheered.

Mina sat down in a seat and sighed. It was clear the hypnosis took a lot out of her.

“Thank you everyone,” Tzuyu said.

“Now, let’s head back,” Nayeon replied, climbing into the driver’s seat. “But wait...have we thought about how we’re gonna re-enter the school?”

Everyone was silent. Sana slowly turned to Mina, making eye contact and causing Mina to audibly sigh again. “The same way we got by them in the first place, I suppose,” Mina replied.

Sana smiled dazzlingly and put her hands on Mina’s shoulders, shaking the girl back and forth while saying “Miss Mina, Miss Mina, Miss Mina,” over and over again. Sana was enjoying herself way too much. Dahyun sent her the stink eye again.

“Wait a second, JYP is gonna find out we snuck out anyway, right? There’s really no point in sneaking back in, is there? We already did what we needed to do,” Dahyun replied.

“You’re right,” Jihyo confirmed. “It’s either we get in trouble right when we get back or as soon as we go up to JYP’s office.”

“Phew,” Mina sighed, clearly relieved she didn’t have to shift again.

“But…” Sana began, trying to think of some excuse, but failing. She really just wanted to see Mina shift again because she thought it was cool.

Nayeon took off and the drive back to the school was relatively quiet. Once Nayeon parked in the garage, the girls climbed out of the van with Tzuyu holding onto the briefcase with white knuckles. Together the girls marched toward the gate where the guards were posted. The people standing there were new—the other professors must have switched off. The guarding schedule was broken into shifts, as it wasn’t normal to have people standing guard near the gate. It was just something that was adapted during this uneasy time.

As soon as they got closer, one of the professors, a man Mina was unfamiliar with, held up a hand, signaling for them to stop. “Where did you girls come from?”

“We...went out,” Nayeon stated. “We need to speak with JYP now.”

The two professors looked at each other curiously. One of them took out his phone and dialed a number. “Yes, hello sir. I have some students here—”

There was a pause.

“Yes, those are the ones. I’ll send them up now.” He ended the call. “Alright, head right to his office. I hope you girls didn’t do anything too foolish again.”

The girls wordlessly re-entered the school grounds and began making their way toward JYP’s office. “He’s not going to be mad, right?” Sana asked.

“Maybe a little bit, but it’ll be just like last time when we went out to save Tzuyu. He couldn’t be that mad since we actually saved her,” Nayeon responded.

“Plus, we never actually went inside the HCA’s headquarters...that was the brilliant part of my plan! If anything he should be proud that we used our powers in the field!” Dahyun suggested.

They approached the office door and Nayeon slowly opened it. JYP was sitting at his desk and he looked up as soon as the door opened. “What did you girls do this time?” he asked.

Jihyo lightly pushed Dahyun forward. “We figured out how the HCA took away Tzuyu’s powers!” she announced. “Somatic genome editing! And we got information regarding Tzuyu’s DNA, so we thought you could reach out to your connections and see—”

“How did you get this information?” he asked calmly.

“We went back to the same building Tzuyu was held...they haven’t moved, probably because they have too much based at that location,” Jihyo answered. “We didn’t actually go inside though, we got a scientist to give us all this information and then Mina wiped his memory afterward.”

JYP was silent for a moment, and Mina tensed up, expecting him to raise his voice. “I’ll reach out to my contacts about that,” he said. “But you must understand, every time you leave the campus grounds you’re putting yourselves at risk. This world is not friendly to mutants right now. Perhaps in a few years, organizations like the HCA won’t exist. For now they do though, and they are not to be underestimated. If you ever have an idea like that again, please come forward and tell me. Do not assume I’ll dismiss something. I could’ve offered more help and assistance, or sent someone more trained to go with you.”

“I’m sorry.” Dahyun hung her head. “I just assumed you’d say no, so I wanted to take matters into my own hands.”

“You’re lucky no one got hurt.”

“Yes.”

There was a pause. “Let me see the genetic code.” JYP outstretched his hand, and Tzuyu gently handed him the briefcase.

“I might be able to get my powers back,” Tzuyu told him. “If the same process that wrote over my DNA is repeated, my mutation should be able to be reinserted.”

“But there is a risk,” Jihyo reminded her. “The scientist we spoke to mentioned the results could be unpredictable.”

Tzuyu shot Jihyo an annoyed look but said nothing.

“From what I understand, somatic genome editing is an extensive and expensive process. We certainly don’t have the means to do it here,” JYP began. Tzuyu’s face began to fall, so he quickly continued. “But I know many scientists that sympathize with mutants or are mutants themselves. And of course money is no issue.” Tzuyu’s face began to light up again. “You girls are free to go again. I’ll look into this matter. But remember, no more going off campus.”

“Yes, thank you,” all of the girls replied. They each bowed slightly and then left his office.

Dahyun sighed in relief. “That went better than expected.”

“Jihyo, can I talk to you for a moment?” Tzuyu stated. Jihyo nodded, while the other girls gave each other worried looks and continued on ahead without the two girls, back toward their rooms.

“Why would you bring up the risks to JYP like that?” Tzuyu asked Jihyo with a betrayed expression, once everyone was out of earshot.

“Because he deserves to know you could be putting yourself at risk—”

“I don’t care about the risk!” Tzuyu raised her voice slightly and it cracked at the edges.

“I just couldn’t bear it if something happened to you,” Jihyo confessed. “I know this is your decision, but please just think about this for a moment.”

“I have thought about it. I’m done thinking. Every moment since they took my powers away from me has been torture. I feel incomplete...like a shell of myself missing my core. You wouldn’t understand.” Tzuyu crossed her arms.

“When we went out on Wednesday, you didn’t enjoy yourself?” Jihyo asked, with huge eyes that looked slightly heart broken.

Tzuyu’s scowl softened slightly at the sight. “Of course I did,” she admitted.

“I like you for the person you are. You may think your strength defined you, but Tzuyu, you are the strongest person I’ve ever met—super strength or not. No one could take that away from you.”

Tzuyu swallowed hard and stared down at her shorter friend. Jihyo slowly moved closer to Tzuyu, spreading her arms and eventually wrapping her in a hug. Tzuyu buried herself into Jihyo, bending her neck and letting her face rest on Jihyo’s shoulder.

“I still want to try though,” Tzuyu whispered. “I at least need to see if JYP can find someone who might be able to provide the equipment and expertise to edit my genes.”

“If that’s what you want, I’ll support you,” Jihyo whispered back. She began rubbing Tzuyu’s back comfortingly. “You know I’ll like you no matter what. You could grow a second head and you’d still be my Tzuyu.”

“Ew,” Tzuyu made a face and Jihyo laughed despite not even being able to see it.

“That won’t happen, I promise,” Jihyo said, smiling. She released Tzuyu and reached up to wipe a tear from under the girl’s left eye. These days, Tzuyu’s tears were showing themselves more easily. Before this past week, Jihyo hadn’t seen Tzuyu cry since she caught her alone in the gym a few years ago, missing her family that was back in Taiwan. Jihyo told her then that she shouldn’t be afraid to cry. It meant she was human.

Mina parted ways with the rest of the girls, smiling at Sana and Dahyun, who were walking hand in hand, and even gave a curt nod to Nayeon. She couldn’t stay mad at the older girl forever, even if Mina wanted to.

She reached into her purse and pulled out her room key. Unlocking her bedroom door, she stepped inside and flicked on the light switch.

There was someone standing in the middle of her room, facing away from her. Mina froze and breathed in sharply, nearly crying out. It took Mina a moment to recognize that tall and lean frame and sweeping brown hair.

“Akari?” Mina asked, taking a hesitant step forward. What was she doing standing in Mina’s room in the dark? “What—”

Mina’s breath caught in as Akari spun around. Mina was finally able to get a good look at her. What she saw was shocking.

Akari’s arms were shaking slightly. Her head lolled forward. Her eyes were wide. Running down her arms, soaking through her school uniform, was bright red blood. The pathways it made down her arms looked like the branches of an upside-down tree. It dripped off her finger tips and stained the dark blue carpet.

“Mina…” the girl choked out, starting to tip forward. Mina ran to her and caught her before she collapsed onto the ground. Mina held the shivering girl up, feeling the blood staining her sweater. “I did something bad.”

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Dun dun dunnnnn. It wouldn't be one of my chapters if there wasn't a cliffhanger ending, now would it? Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!