“I’m Chou Tzuyu, a normal civilian, and you?”

Tzuyu’s words ring in Nayeon’s head, the villain blinks a few times with surprise thinking maybe this a joke.

But Tzuyu’s greyish black orbs tell her otherwise, the hero’s eyes shining with honesty and seriousness.

A soft puff of wind passes between them, Tzuyu’s long hair moving softly as she looks at Nayeon’s auburn brown hair move slowly.

Her hand is still stretched and still, waiting patiently for Nayeon’s answer.

“Can I trust her?” Nayeon thinks as she looks at Tzuyu’s hand and purses her lips. “What if this is a lie? What if-“

“Her eyes aren’t lying.”

A voice inside her head tells her, her conscience she believes, the conscience she doesn’t like to hear.

“I-“

Before Nayeon can end the sentence, a loud explosion is heard not so far away making both of them turn to look at it.

Tzuyu’s watch vibrates and a message pops in the notifications, the hero raises her hand to look at the message which is from Wendy as always, an alert of a villain near her, attacking houses and civilians makes her frown.

“I have to go.” Tzuyu informs as she looks at Nayeon’s eyes, the villain expression is unreadable, Tzuyu can’t pinpoint whether if Nayeon is angry or is only being serious.

“Oh, and before you misunderstand” The blue grey-haired woman says with a light voice before jumping and stepping on the pole and looks at Nayeon a last time. “We chose Chaeyoung because of her abilities, not because of you she doesn’t look like she’s on your side, or is your sister undercover?”

And with that Tzuyu jumps from the terrace and slides with ice until she’s on the ground.

Nayeon makes a fist and purses her lips wearing a guilty expression.

“She’s not…she’s not and will never be like us…”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning, Mina greets everyone she encounters as she walks towards her office, she puts a folder on her desk and sits.

She managed to get information from the energy drink’s CEO company, as she opens the folder she starts to read the drink information and frowns finding nothing weird.

“Then why was the recipe stolen?” Mina thinks. “I get it’s ‘new’ product and highly expected among some companies, but it’s still nothing more than a new drink…”

“Maybe I’m not seeing something, I should talk to Wendy later.” Mina whispers and closes the folder putting it inside her safe deposit box even though it’s not a risky document.

“Miss Myoui.” Her secretary speaks from the closed door. “Your food delivery is here.”

Mina turns to look at the office’s glass wall arranging her hair fast, she turns her chair and breathes deeply. “Please, let her pass.”

Her office door opens and she notices a slim girl wearing a white and black chef uniform, her wavy black hair combining perfectly, she bows and she walks toward her.

“Good morning, miss Myoui.”

“Her voice is so cute as always.” Mina thinks and smiles internally before showing a soft smile and speak. “Good morning, it’s the usual right?” The chestnut woman wants to call the girl’s name so badly but they’re always formal with each other.

“Yes, but-“The black-haired woman’s blue eyes seem nervous for a moment. “We didn’t have avocado this morning, if you want, I can bring it later.”

“Oh.” Mina almost shows a sad pout but, instead she shows a gentle smile, the woman in front of her plays with her hands nervously. “It’s okay, I really like the avocado with your tuna dish, but I’m sure it’ll taste good nevertheless.”

The black-haired woman purses her lips and looks at Mina’s black onyx eyes. “I apologize for the issue.”

Mina shakes her head softly she wants to hug this woman so badly, it hurts her heart to see the usual cheerful but quiet girl looking like a sad puppy.

Mina’s black onyx eyes look at the name etched on the right side part of the girl’s chest.

“Momo”

“peach in Japanese.” Mina thinks and Momo’s soft voice makes her snap from her bubble. “Do you need anything else?”

The chestnut shakes her head with a light cough. “No, thank you that would be all.”

Momo nods and bows to Mina politely. “Again, I apologize for the avocado issue, I hope you enjoy your breakfast, Miss Myoui.”

“Have a good day.” Momo says lastly and turns around walking to the door.

Mina can feel the words she wants to say on the tip of her tongue, she can hear her heart beating.

“Would you like to eat with me later?”

“I-“ Mina says and Momo stops, turning to meet Mina’s black onyx orbs.

Mina swallows softly and breathes deeply before asking with a soft smile. “Can you add a brownie tomorrow as dessert?”

Momo shows Mina a light smile and nods. “Of course.”

Mina nods even though she wants to slap herself on the face. “Have a nice day.”

The black-haired woman nods again and gets out of her office, the moment she leaves the office Mina puts her hands on her face. “A brownie? Really?” the chestnut sighs defeatedly. “It’s just a simple sentence but why can’t I say it? Damn it.”

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

“Girl, did you forget your morning coffee?” Sana asks as soon as Mina encounters them in the hospital, since it’s Saturday, today they get their weekly evaluation.

“No.” Mina answers with a frown and looks at Sana with an annoyed face.

“I bet it’s the chef girl again then.” Jeongyeon smirks.

Mina rolls her eyes and Jeongyeon knows she hit the jackpot, Tzuyu laughs and looks at Mina. “Cat got your tongue with her again?”

“I asked for a brownie this time.” Mina sighs and sits beside Sana each one waiting for their turn.

Sana laughs. “It’s the sixth time already, just ask her out, is not that hard.”

Tzuyu side-eyes Sana and shakes her head with a smile. “I wouldn’t be saying that if I were you, Sana-unnie.”

Sana pouts and leans against the chair. “I will ask her today.”

“If you don’t do it then you will have to give us five bucks.” Jeongyeon winks.

“Five? Ten at least.” Mina smirks playfully.

“Dream about it.” Sana shakes her head and shows a playful frown.

“Sana-sshi?” Jihyo pops out her head from her consulting room and Sana gets up quickly. “Y-yes?”

Jihyo shows Sana a bright smile. “You are next, come in please.”

Sana nods fast and enters to Jihyo’s consulting room with robotic steps, the team looks at her holding back their laughs because Sana is all teasing and jokes until she’s in front of Jihyo.

Once Sana enters she closes the door quietly and when Jihyo signals her to sit on the medical stretcher and Sana obeys like a loyal puppy.

“Is there anything that hurts?” Jihyo asks as she prepares her stethoscope

“My heart because of your beautiful and bright smile.” Sana thinks and shakes her head, normally she would say it to Jihyo, but today she feels shyer.

“I will listen to your heart okay?” Jihyo smiles and approaches Sana, dangerously close as she listens to her heart with her stethoscope.

Sana always suffers when Jihyo checks her heart because her face gets red and her heart beats like crazy, she can smell Jihyo’s light perfume, she sinks her nails on the medical stretcher and breathes deeply.

Jihyo separates after a moment that felt like hours for Sana with a curious frown. “By any chance, are you nervous?”

Sana shakes her head at first but then she nods slowly.

“Every time I check your heart it’s always beating really fast. “Jihyo chuckles “Please don’t be nervous, I’m not going to inject you.”

Sana can feel her cheeks getting red and tries to hold back her blush mumbling a soft “Yes..”

“How’s your hand?” Jihyo looks at Sana taking her hand gently and Sana’s heart beats faster again. “It doesn’t hurt anymore and I do my stretches…”

Jihyo nods softly and analyzes Sana’s hand meticulously, she smiles brightly. “It seems like your muscles are doing well now, thanks to the stretching.”

Sana nods and swallows shyly. “And…thanks to you.”

Jihyo chuckles softly and lets Sana’s hand go gently. “I like to help, specifically cure with my quirk.”

Of course, Sana knows this, she reads and watches every interview Jihyo does, even though in the news she appears as “healing Ji” her hero name, a hero that helps heroes ironically, her quirk can help with muscles and bones, but it doesn’t work in something internal, like organs or diseases.

The pink-haired doctor frowns when she notices one of Sana’s arms has a bruise and surprises Sana when she touches her bruise, Sana quickly speaks. “Oh, that doesn’t hurt, it will go in-“

Sana starts to feel something warm on her bruise and looks at Jihyo’s shining hand, the doctor seems concentrated, Sana’s blueish grey eyes look attentively at the doctor forgetting about her bruise.

Jihyo smiles brightly when she sees the bruise is gone. “Do you have more bruises?”

Sana shakes her head and Jihyo eyes her suspiciously, but Sana lets out a soft chuckle. “That was the only one, really!”

Jihyo doesn’t seem convinced but hums. “I will believe you.”

The doctor keeps checking and asking Sana questions from time to time, once they’re done with Sana’s evaluation, and Sana is about to get out of her consulting room she turns.

“Jihyo.”

Jihyo lifts her head and shows Sana a bright smile. “Yes?”

Sana feels her legs like jelly and she looks at Jihyo’s light brown eyes, she opens and closes it again until she speaks

“Can I have one of that candy popsicles?”

When Sana slaps Jeongyeon and Mina’s face with ten bucks as soon as she gets out, the team doesn’t say anything.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jeongyeon decides to go for a hot chocolate and a donut Tzuyu asked while Mina is still being checked, she’s always the one who goes for coffee, chocolate and donuts whenever they go to the evaluation, she waits on the line and feels someone is watching her, she slowly looks around and a silver-haired girl hides her face behind her book.

The blonde squints her green eyes suspiciously but shrugs and when she is telling her order to the barista she feels that look again and frowns softly turning to meet a pair of surprised black eyes.

The same girl that was looking at her gets red up to her ears and looks aside.

Jeongyeon raises a curious brow but the barista calls her, when she turns again, the girl is nowhere to be seen.

The blonde looks around and squints her eyes thinking. “Do I look intimidating? Or maybe she was a shy fan?”

Her phone vibrates and with her free hand, she answers. “Sana? What? Do you want chocolate too?” Jeongyeon sighs but chuckles. “All right, I will buy it.”

“By the way” Jeongyeon asks. “Do I look intimidating?”

“What? Hell no, you’re a cinnamon roll.” Sana says on the other side of the line with a chuckle. “Who told you that?”

----------------------------------------------------

Chaeyoung lets out an excited scream that makes Nayeon run to her room. “What happened?!”

“They choose me!!” Chaeyoung says with an excited voice. “Look look!”

Nayeon sighs with relief and approaches Chaeyoung looking at her computer display, she reads the gmail the director sent to her.

When she reads team “second-to-none” she lets out a long sigh and closes her eyes remembering what Tzuyu said.

“We chose Chaeyoung because of her abilities, not because of you she doesn’t look like she’s on your side, or is your sister undercover?”

“Isn’t this amazing?!!” Chaeyoung laughs with disbelief. “I will be training with my favorite heroes’ team for four months!! I- I don’t even know what to say this is the best surprise!!”

Nayeon turns to look at Chaeyoung’s big smile and excited face, full of color, emotion and…

Light.

She feels Chaeyoung’s arms on her waist and cups Chaeyoung’s grinning face with care, this is what her little sister deserves, she’s always training hard ever since she was a tiny girl, she’s always wanted to be a hero.

So Nayeon smiles at Chaeyoung and hugs her tight, she wants her sister to accomplish her dreams, no matter what.

“You’ll be a great hero.” Nayeon whispers and closes her eyes, a villain saying that words, isn’t it contradictory?.  “You know that, don’t you?”

“I’ll be! Just wait, you both are going to be really proud of me!” Chaeyoung smiles brightly and Nayeon nods gently caressing her face softly.

“You’re our pride already”

--------------------------------------------------------

Nayeon notices it’s already night, the clock signals eleven o’clock and she looks at the window noticing the calm night.

She wishes she could look and have these calm nights more often, she looks at her phone but decides to write a note better, telling that she went for some snacks knowing Chaeyoung is not alone at home.

Walking and walking until she notices she’s in front of the yangjaecheon stream trail, she doesn’t know why but she always ends in that tiny river in front of that trail.

When she was little she used to believe if she crossed to the other side she would unlock a path that guides to another world or even something she desires, something she’s sure everyone has but don’t appreciate it.

“It looks great when it’s dark, right?”

Nayeon nods and turns to look at the stranger’s voice, she opens her eyes with surprise when she sees who the stranger is.

“Are you following me?” Nayeon quickly says with a defensive tone, how dare this woman appear in her favorite place?

“I’m not.” Tzuyu sighs and turns to look at Nayeon, hiding a little bit in her blue turtle-neck-shirt, her hands on her black coat pockets.

Nayeon puts her hands on her green oversized hoodie belly pocket and keeps frowning. “Then?”

“It was a coincidence.” Tzuyu answers. “I was walking and I saw you here.”

The villain gives the hero a side-eye look. “Do I looked like I wanted to talk?”

Tzuyu lets out a dry chuckle. “I don’t know, your face looked different.”

Nayeon purses her lips and turns to look in the opposite direction.

“Chaeyoung was chosen by your team.” Nayeon says with a dry tone. “Why? Because she’s the villain’s sister and you can get information from her? Or-“

“I clearly said that it was because of her abilities.” Tzuyu answers sharply. “you didn’t let her present you as her sister and when you were eating meat you burned your chopsticks, clearly irritated by my presence.”

“I guess she doesn’t know you are a villain, right?”

Nayeon makes a fist inside her pocket and breathes deeply. “I swear to god, if you try to-“

“to what? Reveal your identity to your little sister? Reveal it to the police?” Tzuyu turns to meet Nayeon’s angry brownish-green eyes. “Don’t you think if I wanted, you would be behind the bars right now?”

“And what are you waiting for?” Nayeon says with an exasperated tone. “What do you want?!”

Tzuyu stretches her hand again her eyes sharp and serious. “I don’t have intentions to use Chaeyoung neither taking you to the police.” Tzuyu shortens the distance between her and Nayeon. “I want to know why are you a villain.”

Nayeon looks at Tzuyu’s hand and breathes deeply, pursing her lips, her eyes unsure but still challenging.

Tzuyu saw the look on Nayeon’s eyes when she was looking at the river, she recognizes that loo, she recognizes that look, how couldn’t she?

When she also had a look like that when she was younger?

“But why?” Nayeon frowns with doubt. “Why me?”

“I’ve never seen a villain being that protector with their family, they only care about them…money, jewels…” Tzuyu explains. “They told me a few cases but I’ve never interacted with a villain like you.”

“I want to know why and…” Tzuyu says with a determined voice. “What do you hide behind that fierce look?”

“Why someone who cares so much about her sister and even saves a random life is a villain?” Tzuyu says with a frown. “why are you a villain that your sister will fight later?”

Tzuyu looks at Nayeon’s surprised eyes still filled with doubt.

“Why do you want to trust me? How can you know that everything I say will be true?” Nayeon says with an unsure tone. “How can I trust you?”

“Try to trust me as Chou Tzuyu.” Tzuyu says with a light voice. “Forget the first time we met, let’s start again, like normal people.”

“The questions I asked you, I’ll not ask them again, not until you tell me on your own.” Tzuyu speaks again. “Even if I said I don’t want your trust, now I want it.”

The hero shows Nayeon a smile that makes the auburn brown-haired girl feel that maybe…just maybe…

Nayeon looks at Tzuyu’s hand with uncertainty but at the same time with slight interest.

Even though she knows she shouldn’t trust this girl, even though they told her to not trust heroes.

Even though they told her to hate them, despise the persons who protect people because they’re all false, they only want fame and they are all fakes that don’t even care about society.

Nayeon decides to put her hand on Tzuyu’s despite everything.

Tzuyu will help her to know if everything they told her about heroes is true or not, because heroes are good people, right? If they’re not good people then how can they be heroes? Or is her theory mistaken?

Getting to know Chou Tzuyu will let her know if the Ice maiden is just a false appearance.

Keep your friends close and your enemies even closer.

Tzuyu takes her hand and gives it a strong squeeze along with a light smile.

Nayeon answers the squeeze strongly too, her brownish green eyes never leaving the calm greyish black ones.

“Good choice.” The voice inside her head says and for the first time, she actually likes to listen to it.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello hello! today Momo appeared and Jihyo too, although I didn't mention Momo too much, she will start to appear often.

Have you guys watched time to twice? jsjsjs I can't stop laughing every time I see it.

(Also monster got its first win c':)

Thanks as always for giving this a try and please, feel free to ask or tell me what do you think C: