This chapter will be somewhat the same as the previous one, but mostly from Jiyoon's perspective

Despite the long sleep, it was still a very tiring morning. No one knew what to expect in the later hours, but there would definitely be more work. In the end, their efforts paid off as the laundromat seemed to be thriving, leading to further hope for the rest of this town. Nothing else laid outside their large stone wall, just desert sands and mountains, literally the middle of nowhere. Sure, it seemed like quite a vulnerable spot to pick, but better to stay here and keep their grounds than wandering about, waiting to get caught by anyone. They only had themselves and each other to trust. In the motel, Zoa had woken up at around seven in the morning while everyone else was still deeply asleep. She had to stop herself from giggling as Jiyoon snored away in dreamland. Monday was on the other bed, clearly frowning at the noise, making it even funnier. Just then, Zoa pulled out her ukulele before playing it loudly again. The bed was comfortable enough to sleep through the alarm, thus it took Jiyoon about half an hour to finally awake and freshen up in the bathroom. Soon enough, all of the girls were just getting snacks from their RV as breakfast because no one had the energy to use the stove and pans. Shortly afterwards, everyone gathered back in the lobby for discussion.

“We haven't had access to the internet in a long time, do you guys want to build a router together? Monday unnie and I can use our powers to fuel it.” Jaehee asked the girls, who perked at the idea. 

“Totally, that way, we can finally see the news. And so then our lives are less boring.” Monday’s suggestion made them laugh. 

“I’ll be able to fix it up if we all look around for some metal parts and perhaps a few batteries.”

“Perfect! There’s gotta be dozens around here.” Jiyoon said as Jaehee questioned afterwards.

“But don’t they wear out over time? Especially after twenty three years?”

“Some actually do last for that long. Either way, just find a few and I’ll work my way through to create the router.”

“You got it.”

Soeun muttered as they all quickly dispersed into small search groups, inspecting about a quarter of the town. Thankfully, Zoa was right: there was much to find in many buildings. Monday and Jiyoon discovered a bunch of wires at a hardware store, though no batteries were in the shelves, which was when Jihan and Jaehee came in clutch after finding five different types of batteries in several houses. Soeun and Soojin collected loads of metal scraps for Zoa to assemble together as she was delighted by all of the items. With that being said, she immediately got to work on the router, leaving everyone else to continue revamping the town. Jiyoon suggested they start off with what looked like a clothes store, agreeing amongst themselves as Jihan knocked down the door. Monday had to pull Jiyoon out of the way as a large dust cloud exuded from inside, both watching in awe as the two Blues directed wind to clear it up. After a quick use of a fire hose, everyone grabbed rags to scrub off remaining dirt, with Jiyoon and Monday working together when some couldn’t leave the walls and floor. Once they were finished making the whole interior spotless, Jihan brought the clothes towards the laundromat. Funny enough, Zoa was listening to music while just halfway done with building their router and her friends were casually being chaotic right outside. 

Shortly after, they returned to the clothes store, though quickly getting interested in the garments themselves. Seconds later, all of the girls walked out of the changing rooms while doing different kinds of silly ‘modeling’ poses and laughing together. Zoa arrived just in time to see them trying on some more clothes before grabbing an outfit herself to join along with their little fashion show. They then danced around to some music Soojin cued up, which inevitably turned into a battle, everyone cheering loudly for the contestants. Jiyoon busted out some b-boy moves, failing horribly but hilariously as Monday and Jihan did some funny dances as well. Zoa declared it was a tie, which everyone agreed with before moving onto the abandoned elementary school. Like usual, more intense cleansing followed, then Jihan found paint and now they were all redecorating the walls. It was hard to pick just one color for the whole interior, so different colors were settled: black for floor, white for ceiling then either red, blue, purple, green, orange and yellow on the walls. As they were painting and drawing, they talked amongst each other, bringing up any topics that came into mind.

“I haven’t drawn anything in so long. Usually I’d create portraits everyday after school.” Jiyoon honestly revealed, but Monday shook her head, disagreeing. 

“You still have the talent, if I’m being real. I like art because I just draw stick figures.” 

This made Jiyoon giggle as she looked over to see. “That’s cute, what are they doing?” 

“Oh, these are us. Here’s Soojin and Soeun, Jihan using her powers, Jaehee and I summoning thunderbolts and you as a fire breathing dragon.”

“Well, I must say, that’s kind of flattering.” She grinned wider. 

Monday blushed seeing the heart smile. “Yeah, you’re quite a badass.” 

“Thank you! Lightning is pretty cool, too. You should totally pull a Thor and summon thunder when there’s a rainstorm.”

“It might be dangerous, but we’ll see what happens.” 

“Oh, by the way, have you seen how cute Soojin and Soeun have been lately?” Jiyoon uttered under her breath. 

Monday burst into laughter at this. “Tell me about it, I caught Soeun staring at her back in the motel, then I pushed her into the room with Soojin unnie.”

“Wow, really?? Damn, I wish I saw that.”

“It was pretty funny. And honestly, they’re being so obvious at this point. I wonder when they’ll actually get together.”

“Getting into a relationship takes a while because you’re putting your trust in someone else.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know, like trusting your heart to a partner in hopes they’ll love you forever and promises not to break it. All that cheesy stuff.”

“Huh, you seem to be an expert.” 

“Nah, I just watched the typical high school romance movies, you know?” 

Monday slightly grimaced. “Those never end well, but can’t say the same for those two, even though they’re not really dating.” 

“I’d call for a celebration if they eventually do one day.” 

“Who knows, maybe one of them would make some big proposal like those before prom.”

“Ugh, who goes to prom anyways? They’re never fun.” 

“Prom is like any party, you just dance and eat more.” The two laughed and agreed with each other. 

“Perhaps when we invite more kids to this town, we could host our own version of prom.” 

“Like partying?” 

“Yeah, all day, all night.”

“Wow…that’s kind of like a dream. I’ve always wanted to start a band, hopefully that will happen, too!” 

“Oh, what instrument do you play?” 

“The guitar, learned since childhood.”

“Cool! I kind of know how to play the bass guitar, but I haven’t gotten the chance to play it for three years.”

Jiyoon immediately gasped after this. “We should form a band together!” Before they knew it, Zoa was standing behind listening, blushing when Monday noticed her. 

“U-uh sorry, I couldn’t help but hear. I know how to play the drums….” She nervously informed the two as they glanced at each other, then back at her. 

“That’s great! Us three can form one!”

“Seriously? I wanted to be in a band for the longest time, too.” 

“Then you’ve come to the right place, Zoa.” Monday slung her arm around the younger girl’s neck. “When we somehow find these instruments, it’s game time, ladies.” 

They laughed with each other until Jihan interrupted everyone. “Hey guys, Jaehee and I are going to look around this place, wanna come along?” 

“Sure!” Zoa piped up before skipping after them. 

“We’ll stay here in the main room while you guys go.” Soojin motioned to Soeun and herself.

Monday teased and whistled. “Alright, have fun.” Jiyoon giggled at her antics while they both rolled their eyes.

Afterwards, the five of them split up into small groups once more to explore around, being careful to not touch freshly painted walls. Jihan and Jaehee wandered down the hallway, arms linked as they scanned the area. For a place that'd been abandoned for years, it still stood tall and strong, even after revamping this, sort of, everything seemed new. The two were thankful they had their friends here along with them, otherwise it wouldn't be nearly as joyful. They passed some rooms along the way, inspecting each while walking along. All of the girls had worked together to set up the tables and chairs like the classrooms they remembered, which was nostalgic to see, even drawing on the chalkboard for fun. Jihan and Jaehee recalled times when they would dash around together, holding hands to make sure the other didn't trip. Often, the teacher would lightly scold them for rushing outside for recess before anyone else, but it was just because they were airways eager to spend time with each other. Over the years, Jihan and Jaehee had met a friend who'd join them, then the group grew even more, until high school. It went from six to just the two of them in a matter of weeks. Though as sad as that sounded, they knew more than anyone the others were persistent enough to survive on their own.

A while later, both of them stopped by some lockers as Jihan leaned against one as Jaehee stood before her, arms crossing. "I miss everyone…our friends. I love being with the girls, but I don't know."

"I get that, I feel guilty making Soeun and Soojin unnie risking their lives just get us out of the city since they both got hurt…."

"Yeah…I'm also curious though, what did they see to make us leave so quickly." 

"Honestly, whatever it was, we're alive because of them."

"I admit, they were so brave." Jaehee marveled at their courageous actions last night. "We should ask them about it later." 

"Yeah." Jihan nodded while continuing to lean on the lockers, Jaehee finally noticing them.

"I can't believe they have these at an elementary school."

"I was wondering that, too! They're not even locked either." Without any hesitation, she pried one of them open and yelped when piles and piles of skateboards were dumped out onto the floor. The noise attracted Monday, Jiyoon, and Zoa in the room nearby, also completely surprised when they saw this. "Holy crap! This is a jackpot!" 

"There has to be more!" Jaehee exclaimed before opening the next locker, gaining the same results.

"Oh awesome!" Jiyoon picked one up as Monday quickly followed in suit. 

"We can totally use these to explore the whole town faster." Zoa's eyes sparkled with happiness.

"Guys, there's also a skatepark behind the school, let's go!"

Jihan hopped with anticipation before grabbing Jaehee's hand as they both held a skateboard, Zoa following close behind. Outside, the two girls did numerous kinds of amazing tricks without accidentally hurting themselves. Jihan was bold enough to try the taller ramps while the others remained on ground level. Soon, they were joined by everyone else as Monday, Jiyoon and Soeun skated on the large ramps as well. Soojin casually sat on the side to observe with a small skateboard beside her, not one of them noticing the older girl sitting alone yet, until Soeun convinced her to join them at last. The rest giggled lightly amongst themselves seeing them interact, knowing the lighthearted tension between the two. Upon seeing Soojin carefully riding towards, everyone enthusiastically bursted into cheers and whistles, causing them to laugh. Afterwards, they all helped her grow more comfortable with the skateboard and soon enough, she was riding side by side with either Jiyoon or Jaehee, with Soeun close with them to make sure she doesn't fall. Eventually, night quickly fell, therefore they had to get back to the motel. As the rest of the girls raced up the stairs, Jiyoon caught Soeun carrying Soojin with both arms as the two were practically lost in each other's gaze. She chuckled at this, completely amused seeing the sight since they were clearly unaware of her presence.

Jiyoon had no other choice but to interrupt them. "Alright, love birds. Time to go now."

She giggled even more at their bright red faces before heading off, catching up to Monday and zigzagging on the streets with her. joining everyone else as they happily sped down the streets, going back and forth with Monday while laughing. Like all of their other fun little games, this quickly turned into a racing game to see who would reach the motel first. Jiyoon won as Monday tripped over a rock, taking Jihan, Jaehee and Zoa down with her, but luckily, they weren’t too hurt, merely laughing it off as everyone helped them up. Shortly afterwards, the girls were able to binge watch some of the most recent movies, as well as classic Disney films, thanks to Zoa who was able to hack into a streaming app without being detected. Everyone crowded around Soojin’s phone to see the antagonist get their kicked at the end of the movie, cheering on for the main character’s victory. A typical ‘happily ever after’ conclusion like always to entice viewers. As the girls recalled their nostalgic childhood for several hours, Soeun was in the back scrolling through her phone, updating herself on recent news around the world. Just as expected, nothing in the world was getting better. Adults secluded themselves in another city to get far away from the camps and even still, kids were getting caught and rounded up. Many had been hidden by their parents to avoid being taken away, but that was horrible news for the guardians themselves if they’d gotten caught. 

Children were forcibly placed in the camps while the parents met their own demise for disobeying government orders. Without saying a word, Soeun simply showed them a video of the news reporting live on the scene. Everyone collectively gasped as Soojin immediately paused the movie so they could view what was happening. Needless to say, the sight was horrible, like reliving that exact moment again, especially for Jihan and Jaehee who hadn’t seen their own parents in months. Soeun’s soul nearly left her body when she heard what they were thinking about. It wasn’t intentional to read their minds, but it just happened so suddenly. Immediately, she informed everyone what they were thinking, earning shocked looks that were quickly suppressed. Though thankfully, neither of the two said anything about their parents as everyone else quietly sighed in relief. No one was ready for that discussion just yet, and honestly, they didn’t think they’d ever be. After a while, Soeun turned off her phone as the girls collectively took deep breaths and laid on Soojin’s bed.

"……that was something."

"Yeah…I wonder when this will ever be over." 

"Who knows. At least there's a lot more they're looking for now, so it's not just us." Jaehee said. 

"Also about the whole 'building our own city' thing, how the hell are we going to invite a bunch of kids to help us out? They might not even have the internet like us." 

"I found a radio at the laundromat the other day and have been trying to get it to work somehow. If we could make a code and record a message, then that way, they can use that code to tune in on the radio to hear that message of invite." 

"But how would they know the code? We can't just write it out somewhere that the military could easily find it." 

"Well not just any code, something that kids would know what it means, but adults wouldn't."

"Wh—we're just gonna sit here and come up with some millennial password that's like a repellent against boomers?" 

"Yeah? It's not like they could pull their twisted brains out of their own asses to solve the puzzle." 

"So what do you have in mind?" 

"Hm…I might know just the thing. In the meantime, any one of you can come up with the message?" They all glanced around to see who would do it, but someone else thought differently. 

Soojin stood up from her bed, making everyone look at her. She seemed determined to work together with everyone. "Let's do this."

With that being said, the girls stayed up a few hours past their usual bedtime to come up with a message, while Zoa figured out how to input her code into the radio. First, the group started off by writing their own messages on paper individually before sharing and combining it together into one. However, this started off not too great because one, Jiyoon’s suggestion was literally a Shakespeare poem, second, Jihan could barely come up with anything without sounding like an amusement park advertisement, and lastly, Soeun simply said, ‘help needed to rebuild a town.’ So all in all, it was just a jumble of mess. But luckily, everyone worked together to rearrange some of these by using Soojin’s paper as a template since she already had all of the crucial details. Shortly after, they had everything ready for Zoa to read off of as she recorded with the radio. She couldn’t help but laugh at some of the ridiculous things they wrote, but was mostly satisfied with the wording, then pressed play. 

“If you’re hearing this message, you’re one of us. You’re capable of many things that’s considered outrageous in our mess of a world. Together, we unite as a strong force against the horrible oppression that the adults have brought upon us. Do not be afraid of who you are, do not let anyone make you feel different, and never think you’re weak. We are more than just ‘abominations’, more than anything adults label us. We’re just kids who had our childhood destroyed by the hands of the very ones who’d deemed us the next generation to lead our country. But now, we’ll make our own, one way or another. So join us in the small town of Ahreum, where you’ll get to be yourselves. Beest afraid not, thy dreams shalt cometh true!

P.S. help is needed to rebuild the town.”

When Zoa finished recording, she pressed the stop button. Now to test this was by putting the code in as everyone waited anxiously. After she switched back, they all remained utterly silent to listen carefully. Then like a touch of miracle, the girls’ message played back just as they hoped, cheering instantly upon hearing Zoa’s voice in the radio. “You did it, you did it!” Soojin exclaimed as she held her hand. 

"Nice job, kid!" Monday ruffled Zoa's hair playfully as everyone continued cheering on. 

“Awesome! Now how do we spread this around for other kids to see?” Jiyoon popped up the question while smiling, but then the rest of the girls immediately stopped and stared at each other, then at her. “What?” 

“We actually haven’t thought about that yet.” Jaehee said as Jihan nodded. 

“Hm…I mean, you two, Soeun and Soojin unnie went out last time.” Monday reasoned before continuing. “Why don’t Zoa, Jiyoon and I try this time?”

“M-me?? But I—”

“That seems fair. You guys deserve to rest.” The youngest nodded understandingly, but her sister quickly stopped her. 

“Hold on a bit. We barely escaped alive last time and our Volkswagen was totalled. It’s not safe for you guys to go by yourselves.”

“Don’t worry! We’ll protect each other.” Despite Monday's reassurance, she still wasn't ready to let them go yet.

"I'm telling you, it's extremely dangerous! I'm coming along." 

"But unnie, you're still hurt. Your shoulder hasn't fully healed yet. We'll be ok." Zoa held Soojin's hands, which definitely helped her calm down as she took a deep breath.

"Yeah, besides, we got Jiyoon with us, she'll burn anything in her path." Monday swung her arm around the timid girl who grew tense thinking about the dangers.

"Alright…you should rest and be thoroughly prepared, and promise me you'll come back safe." 

"I promise. I'm the smartest one after all." She teasingly bragged, earning playful shoves from the two.

"Don't get so arrogant now, you dork." Monday warned while grinning. "Well I guess it's settled, we can all go tomorrow morning." 

"Yeah. And we should definitely find some bullet proof vests. If not, we'll make some armor." Zoa suggested, earning nods from her and Jiyoon. "Great! Now it's our turn."