A couple weeks have passed since that fateful day. Khan's nowhere to be found, which makes life easy for the rangers from having to go out. However, with police knowledge that Eunji's a ranger, everyone is cautious to even go out. Bada continues to smuggle things in to help, like futons for Bomi, Namjoo, and Hayoung so they could sleep a little more comfortably. However, the rangers wish for a time where they can simply relax and not have things to worry about. After all, they were quite close to that before coming to the past. Eventually, Eunji convinces Chorong and Bomi to take a walk with her late at night, leaving Namjoo and Hayoung at home.

"What are you up to, Hayoung?" Namjoo asks.

"Trying to see if I can design something that can help us. Something that we can carry by case, perhaps."

"What's the point of a case when we can just summon most of our stuff?"

"Well at least I'd like to design a prototype, which is why it would be in a case. Plus, this would be new to our suit's interface and trying to sync them would be a nightmare."

"You could try and solve it, though. You've always been super smart!"

"Everyone's been telling me that since I was a kid, unnie. I honestly feel a little uncomfortable being recognized as that."

"C'mon, Hayoung! We need, er... well I just think you should value yourself a little more."

"Hmm... Yerin and Sooyoung said the same thing to me."

"Hayoung..." Namjoo rubs Hayoung's shoulder before pulling her into her arms. "They'd be proud of you," she says with a soft voice. "I'M proud of what you've become." She then grabs a tissue. "C'mon, Hayoung. We're all proud. Okay?"

Hayoung can only nod as she gently wipes at her eyes.

-

"Hey! Sleepyhead! The boss wants a meeting in five minutes!"

"Ugh... roger that..."

SMACK.

"YAH! I'm awake, alright? GOSH! Gotta treat your twin like that?" Roy says with a snear as he reads the smirk on his twin's face. As his twin leaves, Roy gently rubs his cheek. "The nerve of that guy..." As he rubs his eyes, an image flashes in his head. The people in his dreams. Their screams as they were running. We're almost there! Just a little further! Keep pushing! Roy can only sigh as the nightmare keeps playing. One that's been sitting for years. "What am I even doing here?" he sighs. Then, he looks to his small bag, and pulls out a small piggy bank. Unlocking it, he takes out two brass coins. "Time's running out for me to set you free."

-

When the three unnies return home, they find Hayoung sleeping in front of her computer at the table, with Namjoo asleep in her futon. Chorong hastily clamors over to Hayoung and gently taps her on the shoulder. "Hayoung-ie..." she whispers.

"...huh? Unnie..." Hayoung says while yawning.

"What were you up to to make you sleep here?"

"Oh... I was... working on something... guess I fell asleep... sorry, unnie..."

"Don't worry about it, okay? Let's get you to bed," Chorong says softly as she takes Hayoung's hand.

Eunji stares intently as she watches this exchange. "Do you need help, unnie?"

"I'm okay, Eunji. Thank you for asking, though!"

Bomi emerges from the bathroom having changed into her pajamas as Eunji tip-toes over to her.

"Hey, mind coming to the office with me?"

"No, not at all! Is something wrong?"

"No, I just... didn't want to disturb Namjoo and Hayoung, that's all. Just wanted to ask you something."

"Oh, well sure..."

Eunji and Bomi make their way to the office couch, gently closing the door behind them.

"What did you want to ask?"

"I'm just curious about Hayoung... and you guys also. I realize I didn't really ask you about your own backgrounds beyond a superficial level. All I really know is that you're childhood friends of Chorong-unnie and how you met and a few other small details."

"I see..."

"I also worry a bit about Hayoung. Every time I look she's clicking away at the keyboard. I was hoping she could tag along earlier so she could take a break."

"Yea, well... Hayoung's tech skills are truly remarkable. She's the best at that of the four of us. Her computer is where she learned to work her magic."

Then, Chorong comes in.

"Hey you two, what's going on in here?"

"Eunji's just asking about Hayoung."

"Oh, yea... you're worried, aren't you?" Chorong asks as she plops next to Bomi on the couch.

Eunji nods her head, giving a long sigh. "I'm just concerned she's absorbing herself with her computer and working too hard."

"You and unnie really think on the same wavelength. I don't mean that in a bad way, though."

"Eunji, Hayoung's smarts are truly on another level, even by the standards of our time. Most people thought she'd go on to become a scientist for the World Police, including me, Bomi, and Namjoo. But... she wanted to become a cadet."

"Why was that?"

Chorong begins to tremble. Bomi slowly wraps her arms around her. Chorong lets out a sniffle as Eunji hastily hands her the tissue box.

"Eunji," Bomi says softly. "Hayoung's childhood wasn't too rosy. She was an only child as you know, and she had us, but before us, she was orphaned before she really knew what anything was. She was quite lonely growing up until she found her two best friends that were her age. They were like triplets, even. They were that close."

"I see..."

"Well, several years back there was a bad incident involving Khan where they bombed a major residential building. A lot of folks perished. What's worse is that Hayoung's friends were eerily the only two people declared missing. No one knows what happened to them because their bodies weren't recovered."

"Oh my goodness..."

"Hayoung was never the same after that. You might know her as the cheeky little sister who loves to game, but in all honesty, she used to be a lot more bright. The incident really changed her. Now pretty much all of her time is spent in front of the keyboard. To her, well... it's her life now. And when someone mentions her friends, she just... withdraws from everything. And the gaming, too... it's another median to let it all out..."

"Wow..."

"Don't think you're alone in worrying about her, Eunji... we all do... especially Chorong-unnie."

Eunji can only nod as she ponders what she's learned. I need to spend some more time with her... maybe it can help lighten her up...

-

"Ah, Roy," Kwon Jiyong says. "Just in time. Seunghyun was about to show off the new tech."

"Observe," Seunghyun says as he clicks a button on a remote. "You might recall I was testing this weapon before my capture." Then, a small tesla coil activates and proceeds to disperse electricity, swiftly connecting to a small metallic cone. "I'm using this small tesla coil as a source of energy. The cone is designed to absorb energy before blasting it back with the hit of a switch."

"I see. Can a blaster shot work as an energy source?" Jennie asks.

"I was hoping you'd ask that," Seunghyun says before handing her a blaster pistol. Jennie promptly fires a shot at the cone, and to everyone's surprise, the shot disperses into the cone.

"Excellent..." Kwon Jiyong mutters.

"Now, I'm going to aim the cone here at this steel sheet to demonstrate the blowback power." Seunghyun hits another switch, to which the cone fires a whirring beam at the sheet, leaving a small mark. "I fed the cone a small amount of electricity, but the blaster shot provided enough threshold to allow the scarring as you see."

"How soon can you get this produced for us?" Kwon Jiyong asks.

"It will take a day for me to get this prototype affixed to a something like a suit or weapon. Preferably, I'd like to see the effects of using it on something like a sword."

"CQC, eh? Sounds like a job for Eddy-oppa or Jonghyun-oppa," Jennie remarks.

"Now, there's one more device. Well... I should really say three." Seunghyun then takes out three small coins. "As you recall, we tested using coins as frags before, such as the recent Convention Center operation. I've now developed new ones and have modelled these after the ones that the pathetic vermin use here in this time. One is designed as the generic frag we've been testing. These, however, are new: this one emits a flash for stunning enemies, while this other one will emit an EMP, to which I'm tweaking some of our tech to protect them from this effect."

"What's so original about that?" Jonghyun slyly asks. "You've definitely been capable of producing this new junk before."

"Not disguised as objects of this day and age, you buffoon," Seunghyun snaps. "Plus, we need to be able to distinguish them from the design of Zenbot coins. Lastly, these are perfect for stealth operations. Roy could make great use of these, just like he did for us at Century Tower. Ain't that right?"

"Yea," Roy says, fondling the two coins in his pockets. The explosions from the nightmare begin to flash in his head again. Don't stop to help me... get out of here... while you can save your skins... The image of the two girls all of a sudden being stunned with blaster shots as he fell unconscious.

"You continue to impress me, Seunghyun. Once your work is ready, we're going to go back on the town and have some fun. You're all dismissed. Fufufufufu..."

Roy begins to head back to his room before he's met with a pat on his shoulder, snapping his head to see who it was. "Oh, it's you."

"Yea, it's me. You like the coins that Seunghyun-oppa made? You seem to have an affinity for those."

"You could say that," Roy says, still fondling the coins in his pocket.

"Well, I won't be surprised if the boss sends you on a mission like Century Tower."

"Maybe."

"Anyway, I'll catch you later!"

"Yea, see ya, Jennie."

Roy returns to his room, lying back on his bed, preparing to take a nap to pass the time. He takes one last look at the two coins before gently placing them back in the piggy bank. "I can't let that happen again. Especially after what they did to you two."

-

What could Hayoung be designing? How will Khan reemerge from inactivity? Why would Roy have an affinity for those two coins? Find out next chapter!

-

A/N: Hey, guys! I'm back! Well, at least for now. Hope y'all enjoy this opener to Hayoung's arc! I won't be updating as frequently just to ease out the story. Feedback is always appreciated!