___________________________________

 

After a few hours of interrogation, the girls were released from the police station without any charges pressed against them.

The questions had been pretty simple, really. Questions about their powers, the nature of their training at JYP’s school, and their intentions for taking on the rogue mutant—Tzuyu’s look-alike. JYP had hired a lawyer, who got the girls out as quickly as he could.

“Tzuyu...Chou Tzuyu, is she here?” Jihyo asked one of the cops who was escorting her back to the front of the station after her questioning was over. “She’s another student at JYP’s school…”

“She’s at another station downtown,” the cop answered. “She’ll be there for a few more hours probably, while they finish clearing things up.”

Jihyo sighed with relief, but her heart still felt heavy. The status of both Nayeon and Akari was still unknown. Nayeon appeared to be fine, but Akari hadn’t looked so good…

When she got back to the front of the station, Jihyo found that everyone else was there besides Chaeyoung. Since Jihyo’s short friend had fired the fatal shot against the rogue mutant, taking a gun from an officer to do so, it seemed she was being given the hardest time during questioning.

Mina was sitting down in a chair in the lobby, looking absolutely miserable. Her face was swollen and puffy and she looked about ten years older than she actually was. Sana was beside her, holding her hand tightly.

“Are you okay?” Momo asked Jihyo when she sat down next to the older girl.

“As fine as any of us can be. There’s no word on Nayeon or Akari, right?”

Momo shook her head sadly. Jihyo could see it was clear that Momo had been crying too. “They were both taken to a hospital. We don’t even know which one…”

“Nayeon’s gonna be okay,” Jihyo whispered. “She had a concussion, probably nothing more.”

Momo nodded numbly without a word. All she could think about was Nayeon’s pale face with her eyes closed, laying on the pavement...

About a half an hour later, a cop escorted Chaeyoung back to the front, and Mina’s eyes lit up with with relief after seeing her girlfriend was finally released.

“It seems you girls did us all a great service. That mutant would’ve surely killed many other innocent people if it weren’t for you,” the cop said. It felt nice to hear some praise—Sana wasn’t too sure that everyone felt the same way as this man.

“She’s dead, right?” Dahyun asked him. He nodded.

“It seems you have a ride home,” the cop pointed in the direction of Wonpil, who had walked into the police station at that moment. Jeongyeon immediately stood up and ran to him. They hugged each other and whispered things that Momo couldn’t quite make out from where she was sitting.

“Our friends, the ones taken to the hospital, can you tell us how they’re doing?” Mina asked the nice cop as everyone stood up to leave.

“I’m afraid I can’t say.” He looked down at Mina apologetically. “Your professors have been notified of the hospital both of your friends have been brought to though. I’m sure they will know more than me.”

Mina nodded and thanked him.

“Alright everyone, let’s go home,” Wonpil said. He twirled the keys for the school’s van in his fingers. The girls wordlessly followed Wonpil outside, climbing into van quietly.

 

 

Arriving back at the school, the girls were immediately swarmed by the entire student body, who applauded and cheered. Miss Suzy pushed through the crowd, walking up to greet the heroes. “You did it!” she told them, with a small smile on her face.

The girls wanted to celebrate but they were still drained from the battle. Perhaps if Nayeon and Akari were there with them they’d be a bit more in the celebrating mood.

“I went to the hospital to take care of Nayeon and Akari,” Suzy said. Immediately every one of the girls’ eyes lit up. “And—”

“Momo!” a voice cried from somewhere in the crowd of curious students.

Momo’s eyes desperately searched for the source of the cry—a voice she knew anywhere. Suddenly Nayeon was pushing through the crowd, and students cleared a pathway for her. Momo didn’t even let Nayeon run to her, instead she used her super speed and was by Nayeon’s side in an instant, wrapping the girl into the tightest, warmest hug imaginable. The two girls held onto each other, crying. The crowd of students surrounding the two girls embracing applauded. Dahyun and Sana joined in on the cheers as well.

Through her tears, Nayeon began to laugh. “Did you miss me?” she whispered in Momo’s ear.

“Don’t you ever do that again, Im Nayeon,” Momo replied in the most serious tone Nayeon had ever heard from her.

“I just hit my head, I’m okay now.” Nayeon and Momo’s foreheads touched as they continued to hold each other.

“Thank god,” Momo whispered.

The rest of their friends all sighed with relief at the sight of Nayeon looking happy and healthy—a stark contrast to the unconscious girl they’d seen on the ground only hours earlier.

“What about Akari?” Mina asked nervously. She was scared to ask, but needed to know. Suzy took a breath and took Minal’s arm, pulling her aside. Mina’s legs felt like jelly as Suzy pulled her aside. Luckily Chaeyoung was there to steady her, holding onto Mina when she felt as though she would collapse.

“When I got to the hospital, Akari was gone.”

Mina choked out a sob and threw herself into Chaeyoung, who wrapped her arms around her shaking girlfriend.

“Not dead,” Suzy reiterated, “gone.”

Mina lifted her head from where it was pressed against Chaeyoung’s shoulder and sniffled, looking at Miss Suzy blankly. “Gone?”

“She wasn’t in her room. No one had seen her leave, but she must’ve gotten out somehow.”

“So...she’s alive?” Mina said, voice barely above a whisper.

“She must be,” Suzy confirmed.

Mina shared a look with Chaeyoung. She took a breath and closed her eyes, thinking of Akari with all of her heart. She opened her eyes slowly. “Do I still look like myself?” she asked.

“You do,” Chaeyoung confirmed, putting her hand on Mina’s shoulder.

“My shapeshifting ability...it’s gone, which means...which means…”

“Akari ended up taking it back from you. She’s okay!” Chaeyoung pulled Mina into a hug and Mina hugged her back tightly. Tears continued to slide down Mina’s face uncontrollably.

After a minute, the two girls pulled apart and Chaeyoung wiped a tear off of Mina’s cheek. “Where is she then?” Mina wondered out loud. “Where would she have gone? Shouldn’t she have come right back here?” Mina’s voice began to rise in pitch as she grew more and more worried. Chaeyoung could feel the older girl trembling slightly as Mina leaned into her.

Suzy pressed her lips together and shook her head. “We were hoping you would know that. The hospital staff had no idea…she wasn’t captured on any security footage.”

Mina took a breath, staring at the floor. “She must’ve teleported out.”

“I’m sure she’ll turn up soon,” Chaeyoung assured. “She might’ve just needed some time to herself.”

“Maybe,” Mina whispered. “The HCA...they don’t have her, do they? They couldn’t possibly…”

“I don’t think so, since their ultimate plan ended up failing. It’s true they made people fear mutants but you all showed the world that not all mutants are the same. You showed the world that mutants are willing to sacrifice everything to keep people safe. The entire city of Seoul should be thankful to you,” Suzy replied.

Mina nodded. She still felt slightly numb and her skin felt uncomfortably prickly. Her stomach felt like it was about to empty its contents even though she hadn’t eaten anything since this morning.

“How about we get changed and get some rest?” Chaeyoung suggested. She took Mina’s hand and began to guide the taller girl back toward the dorm rooms. The crowd of cheerful students and professors had begun to disperse, but Chaeyoung’s friends had all remained, waiting for Mina and Chaeyoung.

“What happened to Akari?” Dahyun asked softly, rushing to catch up to the two girls. Sana was by her side, with their hands entwined.

Nayeon had already briefed the girls on what Suzy had told her on their way back from the hospital, but Dahyun had wanted to hear it from Mina herself.

“She disappeared. But she’s alive, or at least we think she is,” Mina explained.

“That’s great news!” Sana cheered.

“I just hope Tzuyu will be home soon,” Jihyo sighed.

Jeongyeon put an arm around Jihyo’s shoulder. “She will be, safe and sound. We somehow all made it out of that battle alive, we’re lucky.”

“We really are,” Nayeon agreed. Her and Momo were close behind the rest of the group, holding hands as well.

“I think I’m gonna sleep for about 5 years now,” Jeongyeon said. “And I mean it, I’ll freeze time for five years so I can get some decent rest for once.”

Everyone laughed, and then fell into a comfortable silence. It was really over, at least for now. They could go back to their semi-normal lives, worry about classes and their blooming relationships.

 

 

Tzuyu arrived back at the school a few hours later. She was exhausted from endless questions and tests but she was finally home. Even though the thought of collapsing on her bed was enticing, she stopped at another particular dorm room first. Taking a breath—why was she suddenly nervous?—she knocked on Jihyo’s door.

Luckily the older girl herself was the one who answered it, practically leaping into Tzuyu the moment the door was opened. “Are you okay? What did they do to you? You weren’t charged with anything, were you?” Jihyo began to bombard Tzuyu with questions as she hugged her and Tzuyu couldn’t help but laugh. Jihyo pulled back and beamed when she saw Tzuyu smiling down at her.

Jihyo was alone in the room—Nayeon was out with Momo doing god-knows-what and Jeongyeon was presumably with Wonpil somewhere (“Wonpil, really?” Nayeon had asked her younger friend when it was just the three roommates in their shared room. “Bi and proud,” Jeongyeon had stuck out her tongue at Nayeon as she got up to leave the room. “See y’all lesbians later”).

“Yes, I’m okay,” Tzuyu stated simply.

“Did they perform any tests on you?” Jihyo asked, pulling Tzuyu with her toward her bed, where they both sat down.

Tzuyu nodded but didn’t say anything.

“My poor girl,” Jihyo murmured, taking her thumb and lightly tracing it across Tzuyu’s cheekbone. The gentle touch made Tzuyu shiver unconsciously. “All that matters is that you’re okay now.”

“It’s thanks to you and everyone else that I’m free. The police were really convinced it was me who caused all that trouble. Their eyes practically popped out of their heads when they saw the rogue mutant on TV while I was sitting in their interrogation room.”

“She’d dead,” Jihyo said. “Chaeyoung killed that girl.”

Tzuyu remained silent, biting her lip. Her eyes glistened and it looked like she was holding back tears. “Is it terrible to say I’m glad she’s gone?”

Jihyo took one of Tzuyu’s hands and intertwined her fingers with Tzuyu’s slender ones. “No, of course not. She was dangerous...she killed people. We tried to help her, we tried to give her a chance to surrender, but she didn’t take it.”

Tzuyu took a shaky breath. “Jihyo, I decided something while I was at the station...when they were doing all those tests on me.” Looking at Jihyo with a deadpan expression, Tzuyu forced herself to continue. “I don’t want to try to get my powers back.”

Jihyo’s eyes widened as she stared at Tzuyu in shock. “Really?”

Tzuyu swallowed and nodded. She turned away from Jihyo, staring at the carpet. “I’ll miss my super strength for sure...but I don’t need it. I am who I am. And besides, I wouldn’t wanna risk everything for a small chance I could get my powers back. I didn’t think I had much to lose, but I realize now I was wrong.” Tzuyu looked up from the carpet and stared at Jihyo intently. That was one thing about Tzuyu that Jihyo loved—the girl’s expression was often pretty blank but when she really cared it was as plain as day on her face.

“I was scared for you, as soon as I saw footage on the news of you guys taking that girl on. I don’t wanna lose you, ever,” Tzuyu continued. “I want to be there for you...with you.”

Jihyo let out a little squeak, taken off guard by Tzuyu’s confession. The girl often had a hard time expressing her feelings and stayed away from anything too sentimental, but it seemed she really wanted Jihyo to know all this. “I couldn’t lose you either, Tzuyu. And besides, you know I’ll love you no matter what, right?” Jihyo squeezed Tzuyu’s hand and Tzuyu squeezed back, putting on a small smile. “God, Tzuyu, you’re the bravest person I’ve ever known.”

Jihyo leaned into Tzuyu, wrapping her arms around the taller girl. The two of them laid down on Jihyo’s bed, side by side, cuddling in silence. After a few moments, Jihyo heard a sniffle from Tzuyu. Jihyo turned her head to look at Tzuyu’s face. The girl was closing her eyes and Jihyo pulled Tzuyu even closer. Jihyo began to sniffle as well. Tzuyu let her tears flow freely then—crying for all she’d been through recently, losing her powers, but now finally accepting that the person she was now was enough. For the first time in a long time, she finally felt whole.

 

 

“Stay still, will you?” Chaeyoung commanded. Momo opened to protest but quickly shut it after getting a warning glare from her younger friend. Nayeon and Momo were going out, and Momo had wanted to impress her girlfriend and go all out since she didn’t have to wear her school uniform. Nayeon had said they were going to a market, a kind of craft festival where there’d be food and jewelry and hand-crafted decorations. It was nowhere fancy, but that didn’t mean Momo couldn’t dress up.

She’d recruited her younger friend, that had mastered the art of makeup after watching way too many youtube tutorials, to help “doll” her up.

“Keep your eyes open!” Chaeyoung exclaimed, trying to draw with a liquid eyeliner pen on the top of Momo’s eyelid.

“I’m trying!” Momo whined, “But you’re sticking something right next to my eye, it’s hard!”

Chaeyoung sighed and continued to try her best, eventually getting a decent looking wing on both of Momo’s eyes. “Now I’ll put some mascara on you, we’ll finish off with lipstick, and you’ll be good to go.”

“Alright,” Momo said cheerfully, excited to see her reflection after all this. She rarely wore any makeup on school grounds like Nayeon did, which is why Chaeyoung had offered to use a lot of her own on Momo.

Momo was quite grateful that her younger friend was helping. She stared at the Chaeyoung’s face, that looked adorable when it was scrunched in concentration, and smiled to herself.

Chaeyoung rubbed on a shade of light pink lipstick on Momo’s lips and let out a satisfied exhale. “Perfect!” Chaeyoung grabbed Momo’s shoulders and turned the girl around so she could see her reflection in the mirror. Momo blinked a couple times, taking a moment to take in the makeup painting her face, which really did look beautiful. For once, Momo began to feel slightly more confident.

“Nayeon’s gonna love it,” Chaeyoung sang, giving Momo’s reflection a goofy grin. “Her jaw is gonna practically hit the floor when she sees you!”

“You think?”

“I mean, it already does on a daily basis so I think it’s safe to say she’s gonna be wowed.”

Momo was shining so brightly that Chaeyoung couldn’t help but giggle. “Okay, we’re leaving in twenty minutes, so I gotta get ready too. We’re still meeting in the hallway, right?”

Momo checked her phone and looked down at the text Nayeon had sent her with a kissy face emoji. “Yup, see you soon.”

Nayeon had planned a day out for her and Momo, but figured it’d be nice of her to take some of her friends along as well. There was a craft festival nearby, and Nayeon figured it’d be cool to walk around there. She’d extended an invitation to Mina and Chaeyoung, figuring Mina especially needed to get her mind off things and get off the school ground’s more often. “It doesn’t have to be a double date,” Nayeon had told Chaeyoung, “but once we get out there we can each go our separate ways and meet up again when we’re ready to leave!”

Chaeyoung had agreed, excitedly messaging Mina about their new plans for the weekend. This was her first chance to go out on an actual date with Mina, instead of just hanging out in the courtyard or the library. It was what her girlfriend deserved.

Chaeyoung couldn’t help but sing along to herself as she got ready for their outing, carefully putting on some makeup in the bathroom mirror.

“You’re in a good mood,” Tzuyu observed, standing next to Chaeyoung in the bathroom as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail—she was going to work out at the school’s gym for a bit, like she did every other day. Even though she didn’t have her super strength anymore, she still wanted to be strong and fit in terms of normal human standards.

“Yup,” Chaeyoung popped her “p” as she said it, giving Tzuyu a small smile in the mirror.

“Try not to embarrass yourself to badly,” Tzuyu teased. Chaeyoung simply rolled her eyes.

After a few more minutes, Chaeyoung wandered out into the hallway with her purse in hand.

 

 

She found Nayeon and Mina waiting there already, standing in silence. Things were still slightly awkward between the two, but then again, they kind of always had been in the first place. Mina had forgiven Nayeon for what she’d done in the past, so there were no hard feelings. The guilt Nayeon faced had also nearly faded, as Akari’s strange disappearance had nothing to do with what she’d done weeks ago.

After a few more minutes, Momo stumbled into the way, apologizing for her tardiness.

“Alright are we all ready to—” Nayeon stopped short, looking up at Momo’s face clearly for the first time since her girlfriend had walked out into the hallway. Momo was wearing a lot more makeup than usual and it made her look like she was almost glowing. “...oh.”

Momo couldn’t help but giggle at Nayeon’s sudden shyness.

“You look...you look really pretty. Wow,” Nayeon murmured, staring at Momo with wide eyes.

Momo did a little dance and smiled brightly at Nayeon. “Thank you,” she said in a small voice, and Nayeon practically fell over.

“Yes, we’re ready to go,” Chaeyoung quipped. “Let’s go, lovebirds.” Chaeyoung began to push Nayeon forward down the hallway. “And make sure you close your mouth, or you’ll catch flies.”

Nayeon quickly snapped shut and gave Chaeyoung a glare before she reached for Momo’s hand and started walking down the hallway. Mina and Chaeyoung followed after them, also hand in hand.

The festival was about a half an hour drive, so the girls passed the time by singing along to an IU album—Nayeon plugged in her phone and put on her driving playlist, which she had made just for this occasion. Mina and Chaeyoung held on tightly in the back as Nayeon maneuvered through traffic ratherly aggressively. Momo didn’t seem to mind though, she just laughed when Nayeon got mad and yelled at the drivers around her as if they could actually hear her.

They found a parking spot in a parking garage near the festival and all walked down to the ground level. “Alright, meet back here at—” Nayeon glanced down at her phone to check the time, “—4PM?”

Everyone nodded. “Okay, be safe,” Nayeon waved to Chaeyoung and Mina as the two couples parted ways, headed toward opposite ends of the large festival, which encompassed a few streets which had been blocked off from car traffic.

Once Nayeon and Momo were alone, they went from booth to booth, seeing all there was to see. They admired the handmade jewelry, wind-chimes, trinkets, painting and photography. Momo especially liked this booth that was selling cute, little animal statues. She pointed out a chubby pig and started gushing over how adorable it was, causing Nayeon to laugh.

“You’ll be graduating soon,” Momo said, out of the blue, suddenly pouty. They were standing in line to get some gelato even though they hadn’t eaten lunch yet. Gelato, Momo had assured Nayeon, was a perfectly good substitute for lunch.

Nayeon turned to her girlfriend, smiling at the girl’s cute face. “Yes, but there’s no reason to be sad.”

“What are you going to do?” Momo asked, continuing to pout. Nayeon was tempted to poke the girl’s cheeks.

Nayeon pressed her lips together. “I’m not really sure,” Nayeon confessed. “All I know is I wanna be with you...I haven’t really thought about the rest.”

Momo nearly softened up but caught herself and then increased her pout once again. “Nayeon, this is serious! You need to think about this, it’s important!”

“Are you trying to lecture me, Hirai Momo?” Nayeon looked stunned and then laughed, making Momo cross her arms and puff her cheeks.

“It’s cute to know you worry about me,” Nayeon reached over and pinched one of Momo’s cheeks.

“I do...very much.”

“Well, you know, since I just got a general degree, I guess I can try to pursue anything I want. I like music...maybe I’ll be a DJ.”

“Like, on the radio?”

Nayeon nodded, smiling a bit shyly. “Do you think I can do it?”

Momo’s pout turned into a big and dopey smile, causing her eyes to squint up. “Of course you can! What kind of music would you play?”

“Popular music,” Nayeon supposed. “Lots of Taeyeon, of course. IU too.”

“Would you let me come in and watch you work? Could I be a guest on your show?” Momo smiled cutely at Nayeon and snuggled against the older girl. Nayeon made a face that suggested she was having trouble containing herself out here in public.

“You’re getting way too ahead of yourself! Besides, I still have a few months before I graduate!”

“I know, I know,” Momo murmured, nuzzling into Nayeon’s neck. She had a small smile on her face and her eyes were closed, as if she were going to fall asleep. “As long as you’re still mine, that’s all that matters.”

 

 

Mina and Chaeyoung walked hand in hand down the city street, passing by eager street vendors and other pedestrians. A few weeks after the rogue mutant incident, JYP had decided that the students should try to venture off of the school grounds a bit more. They’d take it slow and be cautious, of course, but everyone could agree that a little fresh air and a change of scenery could do them some good. Mina wouldn’t admit it but she’d been dying to get off the campus. She’d taken every opportunity to go outside and go somewhere new. Even though she’d normally rather just stay and bed in relax, she had felt extremely restless ever since Akari had disappeared.

Although Nayeon’s driving scared Mina slightly, she was super excited when Chaeyoung had mentioned Nayeon’s offer of driving them out to the festival. Besides, Mina was intent on getting her driver’s license soon, so hopefully she wouldn’t have to rely on either Jihyo, Jeongyeon or Nayeon to drive her around all the time. Once she had her license she could take her and Chaeyoung out whenever she wanted to, and that thought was a very nice one indeed.

Chaeyoung’s attention was pulled by a particular booth with an assortment of hand-made jewelry. The girl stopped to observe it, letting go of Mina’s hand. Mina watched with a small smile on her face as Chaeyoung’s eyes lit up. Crossing her arms, Mina leaned back on her heels and told Chaeyoung she’d buy her something. Anything she wanted (with the spending money JYP had given her, in exchange for her helping in the kitchen on school grounds a few days a week).

A strange feeling suddenly came over Mina, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. It felt as though someone were watching her.

She turned her attention from Chaeyoung to the street behind her, bustling with energy. There was a girl, standing about ten feet away, staring at her. Mina stared back at the girl curiously, taking in her appearance. Mina’d never seen her before but there was something about her that was so familiar. Maybe it was the way she was standing, or the intensity in her eyes…

Her eyes...they looked full of something...what was it? Fondness...adoration...love, even?

“Mina,” Chaeyoung softly replied, snapping Mina from the trance she was under. Mina turned toward her girlfriend immediately. “What do you think about this?” Chaeyoung held up a bracelet with woven beads and fabric intertwined.

Mina opened to say something but quickly glanced back in the direction of the stranger. But, to Mina’s dismay, the girl was gone. She quickly scanned the street, looking for the girl who looked at her as if she knew her—could see right through her even—but the girl was nowhere to be found.

Mina turned back to Chaeyoung and glanced down at the bracelet. “It’s beautiful,” she mused. It was eccentric and full of character, just like Chaeyoung herself. “Keep looking for a second, I’ll be right back.” Before Chaeyoung could ask any questions, Mina darted off in the direction the girl had been standing. She spun in a circle, trying to find the girl, but Mina didn’t see her among the moving crowd.

After another minute of scanning the area, Mina sighed and returned back to Chaeyoung’s side. “What’s wrong?” Chaeyoung asked her.

“It’s nothing, I just thought I recognized someone.” Chaeyoung pressed her lips together, looking at Mina knowingly, but said nothing. Akari’s absence had really saddened Mina. It was mostly the not knowing why part. Things had been going well, or at least Mina had thought they were. So why had Akari suddenly left without even saying goodbye?

This was not the first time Mina had thought she’d seen Akari watching her in public. Jeongyeon and her had craved coffee while studying for an exam, so Jeongyeon had decided to drive them both out to get some caffeine and snacks. While Jeongyeon raided the convenience store for a few things, she’d sent Mina into the coffee stop next door to get them both Americanos.

As soon as Mina walked in, staring up at the menu before stepping in line, she’d noticed a girl seated at a table by herself, staring at her. Normally Mina wouldn’t think much of it, but this girl was looking at her rather strangely and she didn’t turn away even when Mina made direct eye-contact with her. Could it be Akari in disguise, using her shapeshifting powers to hide? Mina took a breath and approached the girl, who looked up with a neutral expression on her face.

“Akari?” Mina asked quietly, holding her breath.

The girl raised her eyebrows. “Akari? No, that’s not me.”

“Oh,” Mina replied awkwardly. “I’m sorry to bother you.”

“You’re Myoui Mina, right?” the girl asked as Mina began to turn around and walk away. Mina froze and looked at the girl curiously.

“Yes…”

“You’re one of the girls who helped stopped that mutant from destroying the city.”

Mina was surprised someone had recognized her. It was her first time being out after the attack, but it had been a few weeks.

“You’re the hypnotist.”

Mina hesitated but nodded.

“I was there that day, watching from a building,” the girl explained. “You saved me and my coworkers, so thanks for that.” The girl gave her a small smile.

“It was nothing, really,” Mina shrugged, feeling slightly embarrassed.

“It was everything. You put your life in danger for people you’d never met.” The girl stood up abruptly. “Let me buy you your coffee, it’s the least I can do.”

Mina waved her hands and laughed nervously. “No, that’s not necessary. Thank you for the offer though—“

“—I insist! Please, it’d be my pleasure.” The girl was eying Mina intensely. Under her gaze, Mina felt a bit compelled.

“Uh...okay. Thank you.”

The girl stood beside Mina in line. They both didn’t say anything as they got closer and closer to the front. Mina ordered two Americanos and the girl quickly gave the cashier her card.

“Seriously, thank you so much. My friend and I are studying and wanted a pick-me-up, so this is perfect. You didn’t have to do that.”

The girl shot Mina another smile again. “I wanted to. It’s my good deed for the day.”

Mina smiled back warmly—surprised to encounter someone so kind. Mina took a step toward the door, holding her two drinks tightly.

“Well—” Mina started to issue an awkward goodbye but was quickly interrupted by the girl.

“Do you think you’ll be pulling off any more heroics in the future...saving other people I mean?” she asked.

Mina bit her tongue, trying to think of an answer she could tell to this stranger, who seemed awfully interested in her. “Possibly. If the city’s in danger again, then yes.”

The girl nodded thoughtfully. “Well, I should be going now. Have a nice rest of your day, and thanks again.” The girl began walking toward the door and Mina smiled and nodded at her.

The girl paused though before exiting the coffee shop. She looked back over her shoulder at Mina who was watching her go. “Please be careful, okay?”

Akari. It had to be. Before Mina could respond, the girl hurriedly pushed through the door and rushed outside. Mina tried to chase after her, but it was like the girl vanished into thin air. After her studying session with Jeong, Mina reached out Chaeyoung about what happened and they decided to spend the rest of the afternoon together.

“I just don’t understand why she’s doing this,” Mina sighed. “Why won’t she come back?”

“Who knows with that girl,” Chaeyoung replied, rolling over onto her stomach and looking up at her girlfriend—they were both sprawled out on the grass, laying on a blanket in the courtyard. “I’ll never really understand what goes on in her head.”

Mina looked a bit blue, so Chaeyoung quickly sat up and leaned closer to her girlfriend. “Hey, she’ll come back when she’s ready. Maybe she just...needed a break from all this.”

“Maybe,” Mina shrugged. She began to pull on blades of grass, finding satisfaction in the sound of ripping them from the ground. “I just wish I could thank her. She did save my life, after all.”

“What did that grass ever do to you?” Chaeyoung joked, leaning her head back into Mina’s lap and staring up at the older girl.

Mina quickly stopped what she was doing and suddenly looked self-conscious. “Sorry,” she muttered. “Nervous habit.”

“I’m sure Akari knows you’re thankful...and I hope she knows I’m so thankful too.” Chaeyoung replied, smiling up at Mina. Chaeyoung reached up and booped Mina’s nose. Despite Mina’s heavy heart, she found it in her somewhere to smile.

 

Dahyun had the room to herself, which meant it was time to blast music while she took a shower and sing along to it like the fate of the world was dependent on her hitting each and every high note. She started off with some ballads and then moved to some songs by her favorite boy groups. She really highlighted her range, and pumped out some serious dance moves as she pretended that her bottle of shampoo was a microphone. The invisible crowd cheered and she took her bows and then rinsed off the conditioner in her hair.

Humming to herself, she thought she heard something coming from the bedroom, but the noise was so subtle that Dahyun figured she was imagining things. Chaeyoung was out on a date and Tzuyu was working out and training in the gym. Telling herself not to be too paranoid, she kicked it off with one final song, letting the hot water relax her muscles. She danced around, combining dances she’d learned from all her favorite choreographies.

There was laughter, as clear as day, loud, and then muffled. Dahyun froze and stopped singing mid verse, quickly brushing wet strands of hair out of her face. Since she was done in the shower anyway, she turned off the water and quickly wrapped a towel around herself.

The mirror in the bathroom was all fogged up, Dahyun noticed as she exited the shower. She opened the bathroom door, releasing all the hot air that had been trapped inside the room and letting in a rush of cool air. “Hey, what’s the big idea, huh?” Dahyun cried out, expecting to see either Tzuyu or Chaeyoung in the room, but it was empty. It was only her. “Oh…”

Dahyun felt stupid, rushing out of the shower for nothing. “Sheesh,” she murmured to herself. “Stupid Dahyun.”

She walked back into the bathroom to get changed, but was slightly stunned to see the fogged over mirror had a message drawn on it. In large characters, the message read: “I love you, Dahyun. -Your secret admirer.” Below it was a heart.

Dahyun read the message with an open mouth, and it took her a moment to process everything. “Sana! How long have you been in here?” Dahyun demanded, suddenly feeling her cheeks flush with embarrassment. She heard a giggle coming from the bathroom and in a snap her girlfriend appeared directly in front of her, making Dahyun jump back.

“Sanaaaaaaa,” Dahyun drew out the last syllable of her girlfriend’s name as she whined, causing Sana to laugh harder. After a moment Dahyun frowned and pouted, causing Sana to bat her eyes at Dahyun, looking slightly sheepish.

“I’m sorry, I came in here to scare you but you were in the shower so I stayed for a bit and listened to you put on a show.” Sana gave her girlfriend a smug grin and Dahyun groaned.

“That was a private show, meant just for my ears only!” Dahyun hugged the towel around herself more tightly. Then it dawned on her that she was standing in front of Sana only wearing a towel.

Terror. Pure terror.

Sana seemed to sense Dahyun’s embarrassment too, because she slithered closer to the younger girl and sent her a dazzling smile. “You look cute with wet hair.” Sana reached toward Dahyun and tucked a strand of the girl’s hair behind her ear.

“I...have to put some clothes on,” Dahyun murmured, not taking her eyes off of Sana (and noticing the girl seemed to be drifting closer and closer to her, ever so slightly).

“I mean, you don’t have to,” Sana purred, giving Dahyun a bit of a mischievous look. The younger girl blinked twice, staring at Sana’s deadly expression with wide eyes, and then gulped.

Long story short, Dahyun eventually let her towel drop (she couldn’t resist Sana’s almost hungry expression, after all), and Sana’s clothes ended up scattered across Dahyun’s floor, leaving a trail of breadcrumbs from the bathroom to Dahyun’s bed, where they had both ended up.

“I don’t know how long Tzuyu will be working out,” Dahyun whispered, as Sana began to kiss Dahyun’s neck, ever so softly.

“Don’t worry, I made sure she’s preoccupied. Jihyo and her are doing something together,” Sana breathed out, and Dahyun sighed with relief. “We have the room to ourselves for a little while.”

And a little while was all they needed.

 

Mina was in the courtyard, studying. Midterms were coming up and she had to cram a lot of information into her head if she wanted to do well on her exams. The professors wouldn’t be going easy on her and her friends just because they’d stopped the rogue mutant, after all. Their teachers still expected their best academic performance.

Mina had a pair of headphones in and was humming along to a pop song as she copied down some notes again and again—rewriting things helped her to memorize facts and take them in. She had her back against the tree she’d first leaned against when she’d first arrived at JYP’s school, months ago.

“Hey, mind if I join you for a minute?”

The voice made Mina jump because she was so focused on her studying. Mina immediately pulled out both earbuds and looked up to see Chaeyoung, giggling slightly at the sight of Mina being startled.

“You can’t just sneak up on me like that!” Mina whined, but after a moment a lazy grin broke out onto her face and she nodded.

Chaeyoung sat down beside her on the grass, staring at all of the notes she’d been taking. “Studying hard, huh?”

“Yup, just like you should be doing too,” Mina teased. “I don’t mind taking a little break though. Isn’t it so nice out today?”

“Sure is,” Chaeyoung replied, leaning into Mina’s right shoulder slightly. After a moment, as if debating internally if she should proceed or not, she rested her head on Mina’s shoulder and the older girl hummed in response, smiling to herself.

Chaeyoung closed her eyes, as if about to drift off. Mina looked down at her girlfriend’s face and stared at it lovingly. Chaeyoung opened her eyes and caught Mina staring. Mina giggled and turned away, feeling herself blushing.

“You’re so pretty, you know that, don’t you?” Chaeyoung whispered. She was staring at Mina intensely, who was picking at blades of grass absentmindedly.

“Thank you,” Mina whispered back, feeling her lips pull up into a small smile. “You are too.”

“I wish I could freeze this moment and stay with you here forever,” Chaeyoung murmured, rubbing the side of her face playfully against Mina’s arm. It reminded Mina of something a cat would do, and it filled her stomach with butterflies.

“Well, only Jeongyeon could do that,” Mina joked. Seeing that Chaeyoung looked serious though she added: “I wish I stay here with you forever, too.” Mina rested her head down against the top of Chaeyoung’s, feeling the girl’s soft hair against her forehead.

“Mina?”

“Hm?” Mina had her eyes closed and was taking in the feeling of the warm sunlight creeping through the tree branches and touching her skin.

“What you did a few weeks ago, trying to talk to that mutant attacking the city...”

Mina opened her eyes and lifted her head up to show she was listening to Chaeyoung’s words.

“I just wanted you to know that I thought you were so brave. You really tried your best to help her.”

“That wasn’t enough though,” Mina sighed. She tried her best not to think about this girl, but it was nearly impossible. The media had dug up her real identity, and linked the HCA directly to her. She was just a normal girl before they got a hold of her, and then they’d experimented on her until she was no longer recognizable.

“I don’t think she had a chance of returning to normal. What they’d done to her, it was permanent.”

“Still, I hoped I could at least save someone,” Mina sounded slightly heart broken, causing Chaeyoung to lift her head off of Mina’s shoulder and look directly at her girlfriend.

“You saved so many lives! Innocent lives. You saved Akari, too,” Chaeyoung assured.

“Did I?” Mina asked. “I guess I’d like to think so, but she’s gone now.” Chaeyoung could hear the bitterness laced in Mina’s voice.

“I’m sure she has her reasons for leaving,” Chaeyoung replied thoughtfully. “She wouldn’t just disappear without a reason.”

“I just wish she would’ve said goodbye,” Mina whispered, with her voice shaking slightly. Her head was bowed and she continued to stare down at her notes.

“Who knows, maybe she still will,” Chaeyoung said. She was trying to be hopeful for Mina because she couldn’t stand the sight of Mina looking so distraught. “Anyway, I should probably let you get back to studying, huh? I didn’t mean to ruin your mood, I’m sorry.”

Mina took her eyes off her notebook and faced Chaeyoung again. “You didn’t ruin my mood! I always feel better when I spend time with you.”

Chaeyoung smiled at that, looking at Mina softly. The soft expression quickly turned into something more—it was an expression Mina wasn’t used to seeing on Chaeyoung’s face.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Mina said shyly, beginning to hide her face.

Chaeyoung took a breath, suddenly looking very shy herself. “Because...I love you.” It was all out in the open now—everything was laid bare. Chaeyoung lifted her eyes to meet Mina’s. They stared at each other for a moment until Mina lightly placed her hand on Chaeyoung’s chin and she pulled the girl’s face toward her. They kissed, and Mina could taste an almost sort of longing on Chaeyoung’s lips. There was a desperation there that Mina hadn’t felt before.

“I love you too,” Mina replied. They’d only been dating for a few weeks, but with all they’d been through, and all the time they’d spent before pining after one another, saying it out loud felt right.

Chaeyoung let out something that sounded a bit like a sniffle. She smiled widely but Mina realized that tears were beginning to well up in the girls eyes. After a moment the tears began to spill, and Chaeyoung tilted her head away from Mina, quickly trying to wipe the tears away.

“Chaeng!” Mina exclaimed, suddenly very worried. Did I do something wrong? “Please don’t cry.” She reached a hand toward Chaeyoung but the shorter girl shook her head and scooted farther away. At the sudden and unexpected movement, Mina flinched back—eyes shining with a bit of hurt.

“I’m sorry,” Chaeyoung said. She tried to keep wiping the tears away but they continued to flow. The shorter girl stood up, wobbling a bit in the process. “I really do love you, Mina.” Chaeyoung took a shaky breath, trying to compose herself. “God, I shouldn’t have come here...what a mess.”

“Chaeyoung...what are you talking about?” Mina asked, voice so soft it was barely audible. Chaeyoung looked down at Mina, still sitting with her back against the large birch tree, looking as beautiful as ever even with a look of confusion stretched across her face.

(God, she was so pretty. Why did she have to be so pretty?)

Chaeyoung clenched her teeth together and said nothing—feeling like a complete idiot but not being able to do anything about it (she’d promised herself she wouldn’t cry in front of Mina, not again. She hated showing any vulnerability...).

“Chaeyoung,” Mina whispered—her voice suddenly sounded very far away. The girl was unable to look Mina in the eye. Something was wrong. The tension and strangeness of the moment was too much to bear.

It was then that Mina realized what exactly was wrong. Pulling out of fistful of grass from the ground a bit aggressively, Mina let out a slight gasp.

“No…” Mina muttered, looking horrified. “Please don’t tell me...oh god...you’re not her, are you…?” Mina’s words seemed to die out in .

The girl began to back away from Mina slowly, looking apologetic.

“No...don’t you dare leave,” Mina cried, immediately standing up and tossing her books aside in the process. They hit the grass with a dull thud, yet the sound was loud enough to make Mina grit her teeth.

The girl took another step back, beginning to turn her back on Mina. Mina was practically seething, with shaking hands curling into fists at her sides. “Don’t you dare leave, not after doing that! Akari, do you hear me?”

Another step backward, this one larger. Mina stalked forward without hesitation, looking like a wrathful angel. She stepped forward until she was only a foot away from the girl who she thought was Chaeyoung only seconds ago. Akari couldn’t bear to make eye contact with her, so instead she stared down at the grass like a dog waiting to be punished.

Mina lifted her arm…

SMACK.

Mina slapped Akari across the face, hard.

Akari took it with a grunt. She shifted her jaw side to side, bringing a hand to her cheek as it began to sting. “Guess I deserved that,” she remarked, still looking down at the ground.

Mina’s breaths were heavy and labored as her blood continued to boil. “How could you do something like that?” Her voice was low and rough—conveying all of her emotions easily.

“I just...wanted to see you one last time,” Akari confessed. Her usually strong voice was wavering. “I knew it was selfish and wrong, but I couldn’t help myself. I wanted to feel like I was yours, at least just once. I wanted you to look at me like you look at her.”

A wide range of emotions hit Mina all at once—sadness, anger, disbelief. Here she’d thought Chaeyoung had confessed to her, but the girl who’d said ‘I love you’ hadn’t been her girlfriend at all. And they’d kissed...she’d kissed Akari without even realizing it was really her! Mina wanted to wash out with soap.

“Akari...why did you run away? Why didn’t you stay at the hospital and come back here with Nayeon? Especially when you...you...love me? If you really loved me you wouldn’t do something so stupid.” Even though Mina’s voice was still shaking, Akari could see that Mina’s rage was beginning to burn out—it seemed being angry took a lot of energy out of Mina.

Akari opened to spit out an excuse but Mina kept going, face turning slightly cold. “You let me think something bad might have happened to you for weeks. Weeks! I thought the HCA might have gotten you. Do you know what kind of hell you put me through, after literally sacrificing your life for me and then disappearing without a word? I didn’t even get to thank you...”

This was the first time Akari had ever heard Mina sound so upset. Akari said: “I knew I wouldn’t be able to stay here for good. I just...don’t belong here. I never will, really. I don’t like being chained down anywhere, not after being locked up for so long…”

“And then you have the nerve to pretend to be Chaeyoung and kiss me? When I’m in a relationship? Was your plan to just leave afterward without revealing your true identity? Trick me and disappear again? Keep me wondering...never knowing what happened to you?”

Akari bit her lip and looked away from Mina, unable to hold the girl’s fiery stare. “This was going to be my way of saying goodbye...but god, Mina, you make everything so difficult for me. I can’t...think straight when I’m around you.”

Mina barked out a strange and cruel sounding laugh. She crossed her arms, pinching the skin on her left forearm in an attempt to stop herself from crying.

“Look, there’s more to it than me being an outsider. I’ve been doing so much thinking lately, and I’ve decided I want to try to make up for all the bad things I’ve done. I’m not sure how I will exactly, but I figured helping people in any way I can might be a good start, you know? I can’t ever make up for the crimes I’ve committed or the lives I’ve taken, but I wanna spend the rest of my life at least trying to.” It felt good to get it off her chest and say it out loud. She looked at Mina a bit shyly, not knowing how the younger girl would react.

“You could do some good here, you know. That rogue mutant won’t be the last threat,” Mina replied. Her voice had softened up a bit, but she was still looking at Akari with accusatory eyes.

“I know, but I won’t be able to do as much as I want to if I stay here. Here you’ll always have someone telling you what to do. I don’t operate well like that. I never have, actually, even when I was a kid. I can’t sit through classes and pretend to be a normal student knowing that there’s still bad people out there that need to be stopped, and I have the power to stop them.”

Mina looked at the ground and nodded. She closed her eyes briefly and then covered her face with her hands. Akari took a step toward Mina, feeling guilty and concerned, but she knew better than to get too close to Mina now.

“I...I don’t love you, Akari,” Mina confessed, muffled through her hands. “Not like that.”

Akari swallowed and nodded. “I know, I understand. You deserve someone better than me, and you found her.”

“I still care about you though,” Mina replied, uncovering her face. “I care about you a lot. I want you to stay. Please.” Her voice was so earnest and sincere. Akari closed her eyes and took a breath, knowing she couldn’t stay much longer or else she’d let Mina get her way. After all, she was practically putty in Mina’s hands. Akari could feel herself beginning to shift because she was getting so emotional—she lost her disguise and now looked like herself again.

“You have Chaeyoung. She’s a good kid and she can take care of you. I’m happy for both of you, truly,” Akari replied. Her image was beginning to flicker—back and forth between herself and Mina. She could feel the shift morphing her body rather violently, like it couldn’t make up its mind about who it wanted to look like.

Mina looked slightly miserable, so Akari put on a smile. “Hey, you did end up saving me, right? Won’t that help you get over this a bit? You made a hero out of me, somehow.” Akari smiled at that.

Mina didn’t smile back.

“I’ll be just fine. I can take care of myself. And who knows, maybe you’ll see me again some day.”

Mina knew she couldn’t change Akari’s mind. “Promise me...please promise me I’ll see you again.”

Akari didn’t want to make any promises, not knowing how dangerous the situations she’d be getting into would be, but she couldn’t say no to Mina. “Okay. Yes, I promise you. I still have that outfit JYP made for me, after all.”

Mina released one of Akari’s hands and wiped her eyes. She took that same hand and lightly placed it on Akari’s face. “Thank you, for saving my life...two times now.”

“You saved me too,” Akari replied softly. “From the moment I met you. Do you remember that? The moment I saw you I knew you didn’t belong in a place like that because you hadn’t been corrupted yet. Not like me. There was still a chance for you. I knew then you’d be the death of me.”

“I nearly was,” Mina whispered, thinking about that shard of ice that had been launched straight through Akari’s chest, poking out of her back.

“Almost, but I took back the powers I loaned you for a bit. I’ll put them to good use, don’t worry,” Akari smiled slightly. “Alright, I really should be going now. I’ve been starting to follow a trail left by the HCA...I want to make sure they’re not experimenting on anyone else.”

Mina dropped her hand from Akari’s face. “Okay. Please be careful.”

“I will, for your sake.” Akari smiled again. She looked at Mina carefully, taking in every detail of her face—the slight downward slant of her nose, her large eyes that looked like they contained a whole universe of their own within them.

Mina stood up on her tip-toes and placed a kiss on Akari’s cheek. Akari closed her eyes and let the feeling of Mina’s lips sink in. She felt as though the kiss would forever leave a mark on her.

“Goodbye,” Akari said. She gave Mina an encouraging smile, seeing that Mina was beginning to cry again.

She took a few steps back, turned around, and began to run. In the blink of an eye she disappeared from the courtyard, leaving Mina alone.

 

 

An hour later, once the sun began to set, Mina slowly dragged her feet back inside the building. Notebooks and textbooks tucked under her arm, she moved sluggishly toward her room. She felt like collapsing on her bed and going to sleep early.

She’d made it into her bed somehow, although she couldn’t really remember walking through the halls. She snuggled under her covers and closed her eyes, feeling a few tears fall. Somewhere in between the crying and the sadness and the strange sense of relief, Mina fell asleep.

Mina didn’t tell Chaeyoung about her encounter with Akari. She figured bringing it up would only worry Chaeyoung and make the girl angry. Besides, Chaeyoung had nothing to worry about—Akari was gone. Mina hoped she’d see her friend again, maybe months, even years from now. She hoped Akari could find happiness, and forgive herself for the crimes she committed one day. But for now, Mina tried her best to focus all of her thoughts on her girlfriend. It was easier that way, to try to forget.

Chaeyoung was Mina’s everything. The girl could brighten her mood, give her butterflies, kiss her until her knees felt weak. Chaeyoung knew about Mina’s dreams, her worries, the way she had a strange obsession with putting ketchup on almost everything. When Chaeyoung wasn’t by Mina’s side, she felt slightly restless, as if Chaeyoung always carried a part of her wherever she went.

And Mina was ready to tell her girlfriend that, a couple weeks after saying goodbye to Akari.

They were in Mina’s room, sitting on Mina’s bed, staring up at the ceiling. “I love you, Chaeyoung. I love you so much.” It’d taken her about 12 minutes to build up the courage to actually say it. When she’d said it before to Akari who had looked like Chaeyoung, Akari had said it first. It made things easier. Saying it first was much more difficult and scary.

Chaeyoung felt her breath catch in . Here she thought she’d be the first one to say it, not Mina. She looked at Mina—really looked at her—and saw the girl’s wide, nervous eyes on her.

“I...love you too. So, so much.”

Mina breathed out a sigh of relief. “Really?”

“Yes,” Chaeng laughed, breaking out into a wide smile. After a moment, Mina did the same, smiling sheepishly at her girlfriend. She pulled Chaeyoung close and hugged her tightly.

“You’re kind of crushing me,” Chaeyoung wheezed. Mina quickly released Chaeyoung and looked at the younger girl in horror.

“I’m so sorry!”

Chaeyoung’s mock-serious face quickly turned into a smile, seeing the look on Mina’s face. “It’s okay. If I’m gonna die, getting crushed by one of your hugs isn’t a bad way to go. So, you love me, huh? Is that what you’ve been waiting to say to me since I got here?”

“What…? How did you know I had something to say?” Mina asked, looking a bit taken off guard.

“I could just feel it, in the way you were holding your breath and being all quiet. The silence was kind of deafening.”

“I was scared…” Mina admitted. “I wasn’t sure what you would say. I didn’t think anyone could love me after what I did...most days I don’t even think I deserve love.”

“Don’t be ridiculous!” Chaeyoung cried. “Are you talking about how you accidentally killed her best friend?”

Mina turned away from Chaeyoung and nodded. This was the first time the both of them had actually talked about it. Chaeyoung had been shocked to overhear Mina say this fact to the rogue mutant during their fight, but Chaeyoung didn’t want to bring it up until Mina was ready.

“Mina, it was an accident, okay? You didn’t have a grasp over your powers then...a lot of mutants do things like that when they’re first gifted their powers.”

“I know…” Mina sighed. “But still...I can never undo it.”

“No, you can’t, but that’s life. I like to think everything happens for a real, you know? Like you came here for a reason...maybe we were destined to be?” Chaeyoung was smirking slightly and Mina rolled her eyes.

“You’ve been hanging out with Sana too much,” Mina scoffed.

Chaeyoung took one of Mina’s hands and began to tug her toward her. They collapsed together onto the bed, snuggling into one another.

“Thank you, for being there for me all this time,” Mina whispered.

“You can always count on me,” Chaeyoung assured.

The two girls smiled at one another—hidden smiles from the rest of the world. This moment was completely their own.

 

9 girls, one team. They worked together to bring down any mutant that threatened Seoul. They were not completely welcomed by the public, but the word “mutant” stopped being a dirty one thanks to their heroics. The Mutant Registration Act was not passed, and the legislation was given up on entirely.

Mina was right when she told Akari that the rogue mutant was just the first threat they would face. One after the other, mutants rose up trying to claim that mutants were superior to humans. World domination was their goal, but JYP would send out the team of girls to stop them. JYP’s team didn’t have to kill anyone else luckily, as none of the new villains that came about were as powerful as the first rogue mutant had been. Instead, Mina used her powers to hypnotize these mutants to sleep. The villains would awake in jail, where they belonged.

The HCA all but disappeared. There were rumors that the members still lurked in the shadows, but the discovery of their experimentation on a mutant girl, making her a weapon perfect for causing death and destruction in Seoul, completely destroyed any supporters they had in the general public. People were still scared of mutants, sure, but it was the mutants like JYP’s team that proved that not all mutants were bad people. In fact, most of them were normal people just trying to live their lives.

The girls were labeled superheroes. They appeared in newspapers, magazines, even on Buzzfeed. They became somewhat of a social media phenomenon. Mutants had no more reason to hide, after all. Government testing on mutants was banned across the world. A reporter was let into JYP’s school, interviewing the man himself, as well as each of the girls on the “super team”.

Dahyun revelled in the limelight, taking her newfound fame as an opportunity to become the first mutant to appear on a variety show. She had the hosts in hysterics as she duplicated herself. The episode was met with such high reviews and ratings that Dahyun was offered a small cameo in a television drama and the offers began to pile in after that.

Eventually, JYP let other students out into the field to fight any enemies that sprang up—the girls’ classmates had been itching to get in on the action themselves. The girls were given a bit of a break, enjoying their time off from crime-fighting to focus on their social lives. Chaeyoung, being the pop-culture fanatic that she was, kept up with everything that was being said about her and her friends online. “They even are making action figures of us—action figures!”

Chaeyoung enjoyed her fame, tweeting memes 24/7 while also speaking out about mutant rights. She became a bit of a mutant activist, actually. Chaeyoung even made Mina make a twitter account, too. Mina wouldn’t admit it, but she actually loved checking twitter. She might have even checked it more often than Chaeyoung herself did. Chaeyoung decided to attend a public university for a degree in Art and Communications—the same university that Mina ended up transferring to to pursue a career as a forensic psychologist.

On a school break, her and Chaeyoung flew to Japan to search for Mina’s parents. Turns out they were living in the same house Mina had grown up in—Mina nearly broke down when she saw her last name still displayed on the mailbox outside. Chaeyoung had felt a bit awkward about being there for the Myoui family reunion, but Mina had wanted her girlfriend there by her side. Chaeyoung’s Japanese was quite bad, considering Mina had attempted to teach her the language only a few weeks before their trip, but Chaeyoung still enjoyed herself even though she just smiled and nodded at most things Mina’s parents asked her.

Mina’s parents had feared the worst when they didn’t hear from their daughter again—but always held out hope she’d made it to the rumored school for mutants in Korea. Imagine their happiness at seeing their daughter on the news—fighting crime.

Even after graduating from JYP’s school with a Bachelor’s Degree, Nayeon stayed very close to JYP’s school and always went out to help her team when needed. She pursued her dream of hosting a radio show by scoring an internship at one of the pop radio stations in the area. Momo, of course, was over at her apartment nearly every weekend.

Jeongyeon ended up getting an internship with the same pop station—much to Nayeon’s annoyance but secret delight. The two girls could continue bickering and teasing each other even at work. Jeongyeon ended up moving in with Nayeon, which meant that Momo saw a lot of them, and Wonpil too, who constantly brought over take-out for dinner.

Sana auditioned with one of the biggest music companies in South Korea. Even though she was a bit old to be a trainee, the company saw her as a potential solo artist. A year after becoming a trainee, thanks to her positive public reception coming off the heels of her time as a “superhero,” she debuted a single which Dahyun would jam out to in her shower repeatedly for the next few weeks.

Momo decided to pursue a career in dancing after graduating with her Bachelor's Degree, getting an audition to the same company Sana belonged to. She even performed alongside Sana and eventually went on to become a dancing instructer for the company. Much to Momo's delight, her wish to be a guest on Nayeon's radio show (that she co-hosted with Jeongyeon) eventually came true.

Jihyo became a professor at JYP’s school after graduating, continuing to help with the security of the school as well as beginning to take over some responsibilities from JYP. Tzuyu decided to finish up her schooling on the campus despite not having her powers anymore—JYP insisted that she finished her high school education there at least. Sana even teased Tzuyu for having a relationship with a professor in the few months in between Jihyo’s graduation from college and her own graduation from high school. “Did you and Miss Park have a nice study session?” Sana would give Tzuyu a mischievous grin and Tzuyu would just roll her eyes.

“Yes, as a matter of fact, we did,” Jihyo would reply, taking Tzuyu by the arm and embarrassing the younger girl even more. After the rogue mutant incident, Jihyo had officially asked Tzuyu out so they were now the hottest couple in the school. After graduating from high school, Tzuyu completed her college degree at Sahmyook University to become a physical therapist.

Over the course of the next few months, there were a series of “miracles” performed throughout Korea, and later Japan. The incidents involved terrible accidents—car crashes, house fires, bank robberies, but they all had one thing in common. A girl with multiple powers—teleportation and ice powers—would save the day. She always looked different, but Mina knew it was Akari, doing what she could to give back. As Mina watched a news clip of Akari putting out a fire with her ice powers, a little kid who lived in the newly rescued home walked over to Akari afterward and gave her a high-five. Seeing Akari smile, well, that made Mina smile too.

Life certainly wasn’t perfect after everything went down with the rogue mutant and the HCA—but things were certainly better. And even after the nine friends went on to pursue their own dreams, they always would cherish the time spent at JYP’s school, which helped them to become the people they were today. Besides, they each still had their customized jumpsuit and JYP still had their numbers on speed dial, ready to call them whenever the city needed their help again.