The dorm was silent and still at 5:00pm.

Jeongyeon shuddered at the bad feeling as she entered. She turned to lock the door before feeling the emptiness. Even after years of living here, she never got used to the quietness, especially since her room and groupmates are some of the loudest girls in Korea. The woman left the day’s schedule early, with the rest of the members going out somewhere other celebrities or each other. She was strangely tired the past few days, and felt a feverish sensation, and a burning, pinching feeling around the back of her shoulder.

Weirder still, she thought she was seeing things…

The singer went to her room, dropped her jacket onto the floor and dropped onto the bed. She didn’t care for neatness right now. Her rest has beckoned her and she must answer the call. Jeongyeon curled up and slept in her bed, hoping for still dreams but instead her mind raged on with delirious imagery. Burly men, supernatural humans, unnatural outfits, a stone mask, floating beings, blonde hair and a menacing gaze…

The burning sensation on the back of shoulder intensified.

The sound of a crash reverberated through her sleep, causing her to wake up with a jolt. Jeongyeon’s heart pounded as she grabbed her phone to check the time. She sighed as the numbers, “6:07”, flashed in white. She placed her phone back down, but when she looked up to she froze.

Something had crashed onto her closet, laying there.

It was a feminine figure, but slightly exaggerated with a very thin waist and large hips. Right where its abs would be, is a what looks like a grilled furnace door with thick bars. Its skin was metallic, a chrome color that was scratched to show sheens of a dull, dark metal beneath. Its torso looked like it was some sort of fully closed, brass-colored double ed jacket, but the instead of buttons, there were openings protruding from where they should be. There was a chrome lid topped with black rubber cover affixed onto each of the holes, similar to a saxophone. The same details were on its arms, which was connected to  the torso by a seam like a suit jacket. It wore simple, brassy slacks that tapered down to chrome heels. Jeongyeon looked up to its face, and felt her blood chill at seeing her own reflection.

It was her face, but as if carved out of marble into a blank expression. The face was held into place onto a smooth, head-shaped brass cage as it looked at her. Atop the head sat a brass newsboy cap with black stitching.

Jeongyeon couldn’t breathe.

The thing she was seeing was right here in her room. She looked to the window, but couldn’t see any sign of forced entry. The door to her room was still closed shut. She bolted out to check the front door, but it was also still locked.

Until it clicked open, and swung inward.

“I’m home!” Jeongyeon’s heart sank as she watched Mina walk in. “Oh, unnie! You’re up!”

The older girl froze, unsure of what to say or if she could actually talk about the thing that’s in her room.

“You ok?” Mina waved a hand in front of her fellow member’s face. “You don’t seem-”

Jeongyeon saw movement in the corner of her eye and snapped to the sight of the alien thing standing in the doorway to her room. Well, standing seems to be inaccurate since it was flowing a few centimeters off the ground. Her jaw dropped further. Mina raised an eyebrow and looked at the same direction.

Jeongyeon heard Mina’s breathing quickly stop.

“Hey, unnie,” Mina said. “How long have you started seeing things?”

“Huh?!” Jeongyeon jumped at the question. “I-I don’t know what you’re-!”

A blue penguin materialized right beside Mina, it’s flippers outstretched as if in a martial arts stance. Jeongyeon must be going crazy, because there’s a small blue penguin with a red bow tie, golden feet, gold beak floating right beside Mina’s head. This must be a dream, she’s still sleeping! Right?!

The floating, feminine figure in the doorway flared bright, yellow flames breathing out of the holes in its outfit. In the blink of an eye, it flew like a jet towards the two girls. Jeongyeon covered her face with her arms, but felt nothing. Instead, she heard a loud impact before hearing the sound of clothes fluttering before a loud metallic crash. Jeongyeon peeked and saw the thing on its back in a dent on the floor.

“Unnie!” Mina stood with a hand out, the blue penguin posing the same. “Stop panicking and imagine it to stop!”

“Wh-what?”

The feminine figure stood back up, and lowered itself into a position of preparation with its back hunched and knees bent as its arms lay tucked to its sides.

“Tell her to stop!”

“Ora!”

“Stop!”

Just as it jumped forward and propelled itself with flames bursting from its exhausts, the flames disappear before rolling into a kneeling position right in front of the two girls.

“What the hell is going on…?” Jeongyeon dropped onto her knees as she stared at her own face carved in the stone of the creature. “What is this? What-?”

“I didn’t think you’d notice your Stand this soon,” Jeongyeon heard Mina mutter. “This is not good.”

“What’s not good?!” Jeongyeon looked at the younger member as tears began welling up in the corner of her eyes. “What’s happening?!”

“Your Stand has awakened.” Mina walked over to Jeongyeon’s back. “And your bloodline has been activated.”

Before the older member could say anything else, Mina yanked the back of Jeongyeon’s shirt.

“The purple star is there,” Mina told Jeongyeon as she poked the point where Jeongyeon felt the burning sensation. “It’s only a matter of time before other people will start trying to fight you.”

“WHY?!”

“They want your blood,” Mina explained before covering Jeongyeon’s star and massaged the spot. “They think it’ll make them stronger.”
“Does it?!”
“I don’t know.” The younger member pulled out her phone and began texting. “I’ll need to call Momo and Sana, they’ll know what to do.”

Jeongyeon wanted to ask more, but the situation overloaded her into speechlessness.

“I-Is this like an anime…?”

Those were the only words she could mutter.

“Unfortunately, yes.” Mina sighed before pocketing her phone. “We’re stuck in it now, our only path is to go forward in this bizarre adventure.”

“What about the other members?” Jeongyeon stood, a sense of dread growing within her heart. “Will they be in danger by these… Stands?”

“Not if you learn to control it.” They both looked to the still kneeling creature. “And you learn how to fight with it.”

“I… I can control it?” A glimmer of hope grew within the older singer. “Like you?”
“Yes,” Mina replied. “It’s not hard to do, but mastering your stand is the hardest part.”

“Then teach me,” Jeongyeon demanded, the faces of her members flashing within her mind. “If such dangers exist for me, then they exist for the rest of TWICE, and I can’t let that danger befall upon them.”

The flames from the creature flared brightly as it stood with Jeongyeon’s determination before disappearing and not burn an inch of the apartment.

“Tomorrow, then.” Mina instantly dropped forward as she dragged her feet to her room. “I’m beat from today.”

“Oh.” Jeongyen was surprised at the anti-. “Alright.”

“And name your stand,” Mina said. “That’s the first thing you need to do in learning to control it.”

“What should I-?”

The door to Mina’s room slammed. Jeongyeon huffed as she stared at the creature, envying its figure for a bit before staring at the marble etching of her face. She pulled her long hair over her shoulders before settling on a simple name.

“‘Yes’.” The creature- Stand stood up and bowed at its- her owner. “I guess we’re stuck with each other now.”

As she walked back into her room, Jeongyeon giggled at a pun in the face of her dangerous future.

“I just we hope we can, ‘Stand’, each other for the next few months.”