"Has anyone heard from Eunbi lately?" the teacher asked, adjusting his glasses.

Yoobin glanced to her side, staring at the empty seat next to her. It had been at least a week since Eunbi last came to school, and she hadn't been in school since the Apocalypse game. Eunbi didn't even message anyone about her absence, but since the teacher seemed to remember her, they knew that she did not disappear into Timepiece.

She locked eyes with Dongmin, who looked behind his shoulders to see her and the empty seat. He gave her a look and she replied with a simple shrug. The teacher scanned around the room, then sighed.

"Okay, that's fine," he said. He looked at Dongmin. "Dongmin, can I talk to you for a second? Everyone, self-study."

Dongmin nodded his head. The entire class began to self-study, whether that meant talking with their friends or actually doing their assignments. Yoobin quietly did her work, studying for the upcoming exams. She carefully watched Dongmin get up from his seat and follow the teacher outside.

A few minutes later, Dongmin came back with a piece of paper in his hand as well as a couple of books and sheets of paper. He stuffed the items in his desk and continued to work. Yoobin quietly looked down at her own books and continued to study in silence.

When school was over, Yoobin was getting ready to pack up and leave before Jisoo could get to her. Before she managed to rise from her seat, Minkyung raised her foot in front of Yoobin's face, causing her to jolt and sit back in her seat. Minkyung and Yuri giggled and lowered her foot while Jisoo walked over with her arms crossed and a wide smirk. The girls all looked at the empty seat next to Yoobin.

"Where's your little hero today?" Jisoo asked. "Still not here?"

Yoobin braced herself for any sort of pain. She closed her eyes, her whole body trembling in fear. The three girls laughed wickedly.

"What a cute sight," Yuri cooed.

Yoobin only opened one eye. From afar, she could see that Dongmin was hesitating on coming over and interrupting the situation. He looked like he needed something from Yoobin, but he didn't want to interrupt Jisoo and her friend's activity.

"Get up," Jisoo ordered. Her smile disappeared when Yoobin didn't move from her spot. "Do I need to repeat myself/"

Yoobin's lips trembled. She slowly got up from her seat, her knees buckling and almost giving in. The three girls grinned wider, satisfied over the fact that they could still control their little puppet anyway they wanted.

Suddenly, Yoobin felt a cold hand on her shoulder. She turned and her eyes brightened when she saw Eunbi standing behind her. Her hand pressed against Yoobin's shoulder, gesturing her to sit back down. Her eyes were on Jisoo, who looked up and finally noticed Eunbi's appearance. Yoobin lowered herself back in her seat.

"Well, look at this," Jisoo murmured. She smirked. "The hero finally came back."

"Too bad you're still a ," Eunbi remarked.

Jisoo grabbed Eunbi by the collar. Jisoo glared and was about to strike her until someone much stronger than her grabbed her wrist. She turned and saw Mingyu towering over her, glaring down at her.

"Let go," Jisoo ordered.

"That's what I should be telling you," Mingyu said, looking at how Jisoo grabbed Eunbi's shirt. "You're wrinkling her clothes."

Jisoo looked at her hand, then looked at Eunbi. Eunbi didn't seem to pleased to have Mingyu step in all of the sudden, but she wasn't complaining. With a frustrated sigh, Jisoo released her hand from Eunbi. Mingyu dropped Jisoo's hand to her side and stepped in between her and Eunbi. He narrowed his eyes.

"Aren't you going to leave?" Mingyu asked.

Jisoo scoffed. Without another word, she walked out of the room. Minkyung and Yuri both gave him a bitter look before following their leader out the door.

Mingyu turned around to check on the girls. When he deemed that they looked fine, he landed his eyes on Eunbi.

"You've been gone for a long time," Mingyu said. "Why?"

"Had some things to do and arrange," Eunbi said.

Dongmin, who had been hiding in the background, finally scurried over. He handed several sheets of paper and notes to Eunbi.

"This is all that you missed," Dongmin told her. "The teacher wanted me to stop by your house and give it to you."

"Thanks," Eunbi said, "but there's something more important that I want to show you." She looked around. "Where's Jungkook?"

"Right here!" Jungkook said, popping behind from Mingyu. He smiled. "I couldn't really say much in front of Jisoo. People still talk a lot about me and Jisoo, especially if we're near each other. It's a hassle to deal with it, so it was better for me to stay in the background and hide."

"Whatever. You four, follow me," Eunbi said.

"But I came cram school," Dongmin argued.

"What's more important? Cram school or TP?" she asked.

Dongmin didn't even say another word. He nodded and followed Eunbi and the rest outside.

The five walked for a long time. They took the bus a few times, getting further away from school. The neighborhoods became less busy and more isolated. Yoobin and Dongmin neared each other out of fear while Mingyu and Jungkook followed Eunbi with some distance.

Eventually, the five arrived at a small park. No one seemed to be occupying the park except for four familiar faces. Dongmin widened his eyes as he was the first to recognize them.

"L? IU? Sandeul?" he called out. He looked at Park Kyung. "You're not Jin…"

"That's right," Park Kyung said, chuckling lightly. "I'm 'Park Kyung.'"

IU was sitting on top of the geodesic dome, swinging her legs through the holes. L was close by to her, leaning his back against a bar of the dome. Sandeul was casted to the side, sitting on the floor with his laptop on his lap. Park Kyung was the only one who stood at the dead center, clearly establishing his leadership.

"I thought it was a bad idea to get involved with people you meet in TP in real life," Mingyu said.

"These guys are fine. They're my old friends and partners," Eunbi explained. "Do you guys want to introduce yourselves?"

The four looked at each other, then looked at IU. She smiled and hopped down from the small dome.

"My name is Lee Jieun, and I go by 'IU' in TP," IU said, playfully curtsying.

"I'm Kim Myungsoo, also known as 'L' in TP," L said.

"I'm Park Junghwan. My name in TP is 'Sandeul,'" Sandeul informed them.

"And I'm Kyung," said the leader of the group. He gave his usual gummy smile. "Park Kyung, which is the same in TP."

"This is Dongmin, Yoobin, Jungkook and Mingyu," Eunbi said, introducing her teammates without their permission. They stared at Eunbi with wide eyes. "Cha Eunwoo, Binnie, Jungkook and Mingyu."

"They didn't change their name?" IU asked.

"They weren't smart enough," Eunbi explained.

"How cute," IU said, grinning.

"I thought we weren't supposed to tell anyone," Dongmin whispered.

"You can trust them," Eunbi said. "More importantly, I trust them."

Mingyu didn't seem to like her statement, but Dongmin felt comforted. 

"So what's the point of bringing us here and introducing us to them in real life?" Jungkook asked.

"Eunbi wanted you guys to have practice!" IU exclaimed. She took out her lollipop from . "She told us to look after you guys."

"Why?" Mingyu asked, crossing his arms. 

"Because the games are changing," Park Kyung said. He walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder. Mingyu frowned in disgust. "All the Returnees are realizing that something's happening to Timepiece, but we don't know what's going on." He looked at Eunbi. "We just know that it's changing, right?"

"Right," Eunbi said, nodding her head without a second thought. "It's not safe, especially because you're new."

"So what? Are you suggesting that we combine teams?" Mingyu asked. "We were doing well with just the five of us."

"Where's Jin?" Eunbi asked.

"Oh, he doesn't associate with us in real life," Park Kyung said, ignoring Mingyu with Eunbi. "I mean, we met him in real life, but he doesn't want to get involved with us. We still hang out when we're playing TP, though."

"You seem to know everyone in real life," Mingyu remarked.

"We don't accept anyone in our team unless we met them in real life," Park Kyung said. "Take us, for instance. I was old friends with Jieun since we were young. She was childhood friends with Myungsoo, so we naturally met. I met Sandeul later and introduced him to the group after finding out that he was part of TP."

"So what? Now that we've met you, you're planning to recruit us?" Mingyu frowned. "I don't want that."

Park Kyung looked at Eunbi. "Well, I guess there's no luck?"

"You didn't even try to convince them," IU said, cackling.

"The kid has a point anyway. Adding five more to our team is a lot of people," Sandeul said. He got up from the floor and closed his laptop. Dusting the sand from his bottom, he looked at Park Kyung. "We're done, right? Can I go?"

"Wait!" Eunbi exclaimed, stepping in. "They're just not good with strangers. Give them some time, and they'll grow to like you." She turned to Jungkook, the most social one. "Right?"

"We're good people," Jungkook said, confirming her statement with a nod.

"Eunbi," Park Kyung said softly. He walked from Mingyu and towards Eunbi. He rested his hands on her shoulders, nearing her. Mingyu glared. "It's okay. You have your own team right now. They trust you best—they see you as their leader. Don't worry about us because we're good."

Eunbi's face turned red. "I-I know, but…"

"If you need us at any time, let us know," IU said. "Call our name if you need help. We're really good at responding."

"Like a prince?" Jungkook asked. He looked at IU as if he was ridiculing her.

IU smirked and ruffled Jungkook's hair, causing him to widen his eyes in surprise. "Better than a prince."

"Let's go," L said to IU.

"Yes, sir!" IU saluted. She waved to the rest and skipped away with L.

Park Kyung and Sandeul stared at the two's back for a few minutes.

"Tsk, tsk," Park Kyung said, shaking his head. "Well, that's our boy for you. He's so cute when he's jealous."

"Are they dating?" Jungkook asked.

"No, but they're technically on their way of engagement. You see, Jieun's and Myungsoo's families are really close and they really want the two do marry each other and have children," Park Kyung explained. "They're trying to get the two to be engaged, but both sides are refusing." Park Kyung smiled. "Well, I think Myungsoo would've went with it if Jieun wasn't so opposed to it. She really just sees him as a good friend. Talk about being friend-zoned—" He glanced at Mingyu. "—right?"

"Did you just waste our time for this?" Mingyu asked Eunbi, getting fed up with Park Kyung. "You should've asked us first."

"I thought this would benefit all of us. They are way more skilled than you guys are. If we have them on our side, then it would be better!" Eunbi exclaimed.

"Is that really what you were thinking?" Mingyu asked.

Eunbi looked startled for a second, but quickly regained composure. "Yes."

"I don't believe it," Mingyu muttered.

"Guys, guys, don't fight," Park Kyung said. "It's no big deal. We'll see each other in TP. If we end up having to be enemies, then depending on what's at stake, we might give you an easy win."

Eunbi looked away. "Don't treat us like kids…"

"But you are kids," Park Kyung insisted. He turned to Sandeul. "Should we go?"

"Might as well," Sandeul said, checking his watch. He looked at Eunbi. "See you around."

Eunbi nodded pitifully. The two college students walked away, heading to do their own business. 

There was a short pause between the five. Then, Mingyu decided to argue with Eunbi again.

"What were you thinking?" he asked.

"I was thinking that we could get extra help—"

"But we were doing great with just us—"

"No, we weren't because then we wouldn't have had to separate—"

"So you decided to hook us up with some high-ranked Returnees or something—"

"Stop, stop," Dongmin said quickly, stepping in between the two. "You guys are cutting each other off. No one is listening to each other."

"Yeah, because I'm pissed," Mingyu said bluntly.

"We lived through the Apocalypse, didn't we?" Dongmin pointed out. "We could've died out there without Eunbi's connection."

"They shot me," Mingyu argued.

"They healed you, too," Yoobin commented quietly.

"I wouldn't need to be healed if they hadn't shot me in the first place," he pointed out.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Short beeps echoed in their phone. They all took it out, realizing that it was the Timepiece alert. The pixelated clock-headed man approached the screen with a blinking button on the center. The words "UPDATES" were clearly displayed on the button.

"Update?" Jungkook repeated.

"Do we press it?" Yoobin asked. She looked at Eunbi. "What is this?"

"I'm not sure," Eunbi said. "But it doesn't seem like we have a choice."

She pressed it. The other four followed suit. Their phones glowed for a few seconds, glitched around, then returned back to the homepage. They all clicked on the Timepiece app, where a box with the update changes popped up on the screen. They read through it carefully, taking note of the different changes. Frowns appeared here and there as they discussed the situation.

Eunbi stared at the screen. "Games will automatically start without the Creation Hall?"

"Why would they have that?" Yoobin asked.

"I'm assuming that they just want to catch us off guard more," Mingyu said. "One second, you're in class. You hear ringing, and the next second, a monster is right in your face and you'll have to run."

"That's… plausible," Eunbi admitted. There was something about her voice that clearly said that she was hesitant with that kind of thinking. It was like she wanted to deny it, but couldn't.

"But why?" Yoobin asked. Her hand started to shake. "I thought we finished the Timekeeper's game because they found the one messing with the system!"

"Could be that they didn't," Eunbi muttered. "It could be that the rat is still in Timepiece."

"How awful," Yoobin whispered. 

"So we have to suffer for one person who's been doing, what, like cheating?" Dongmin asked. He widened his eyes. "That's dumb!"

"There's not much we can do except to play and get out of the game as soon as possible," Eunbi said. She slid her phone in her pocket. "Be prepared. That update had a lot more rules. I don't know what else entirely changed."

They nodded. Eunbi took a deep breath and she walked away. As she walked, she checked her phone.

Yuna, what's going on? Eunbi wondered worriedly. Please be okay…