“ on that, Jennie Kim.” Irene says with a confident smirk on her face as she looks up at her challenger. But Jennie simply beams from her spot on the temple roof, and says into the phone, “Your mom is a show off, kids!” before she extends her wings to allow her to drop gently onto the ground.  

“So, new record, huh? How fast are you clocking now?” Jennie asks before quickly pulling Irene into a hug, her arms and wings covering the tiny speedster. “I’ve missed you, you grumpy pants!” 

“Get off of me, you demon!” Irene scowls, shoving Jennie away. 

“Years ago, that would have hurt my feelings. But you know what, Irene? I know the truth. I know you could have evaded my hug cause you’re a quick little bug but you didn’t. Therefore, I conclude that you love me.” 

“No, I don’t.” 

“You love me, you love me, I’m your little demon best friend and you love meeee,” Jennie singsongs, playing with Irene’s hair. “But really, I did miss you. How have you been?” 

“It’s been really busy but we’re doing okay. Nayeon left with three others this morning, so we had to distract everyone else. You know how sad they can get... Oh! We have a new kid that’s like you, you know? Turns into a demon and all that. She hasn’t reached her full form yet though, just the wings, horn and tail. If you’re free, you should drop by and teach her next time.” 

Jennie scoffs, “Can’t you just say you miss me like a normal person? But sure, I’ll help. Though, you have to tell her to be patient. It will take a while for her to get into a full form, then a little bit longer to use it all at once and then it’ll take even longer for her to be able to control it during an actual confrontation. And hey, don’t think I didn’t notice that you completely dodged my question. How. Are. You. Irene.” 

Irene shrugs, avoiding Jennie’s inquisitive eyes. “What? It’s the truth. I am busy. I’ve been up since dawn.”

“You’re just distracting yourself.” 

“It’s called being productive and keeping everyone safe. I’m focusing on what’s important.”

“Fine. I know there’s no point in arguing with you anyway. Just take care of yourself, okay? Eat all your meals and all that. You know I worry about you right?” 

“As long as it’s platonic worry only,” Irene smirks. 

“Of course it is, you doofus! Jisoo’s a complete and utter sweetheart unlike you. Anyway, let me tell unnie you’re here. Be right back!” Jennie says, sending a flying kiss Irene’s way before she spreads her wings once more.

Irene playfully rolls her eyes at her friend’s antics, and waits atop of one of the temple ruins. She observes her surroundings and from where she sits, she can see the once tall belltower, now in a pile of rubble. The main pillar gate is now just debri, and similar to their own home, vines snake throughout the premises to ward non-Rogues away. It is a humble temple rich in history, and much like the city of Andong itself, it was a cultural center and a way to experience Korea of the past. Maybe it was its general aura or the fact that it is a city relatively farther away from Seoul or the fact that the Nakdong River and Hwasan Mountains were nearby that once made it a safe haven for Rogues. It was a place they could run to, until the bloodthirsty Sentinels came hunting. With the hunt, came the fight and destruction, and the city of Andong was never the same. 

There is a part of Irene that mourns the loss of such cultural icons. This temple on its own was standing for more than 850 years before the Sentinels burned it down to drive out Rogues. But, at the same time, there is a part of her that is grateful, grateful for what it has now become. Once a symbol of pain and loss has now evolved into one of their safest places to meet and place for some of them to call home. 

Suddenly, Irene feels a chill crawl up her spine, but instead of fear, all Irene feels is annoyance. “RM, if you’re invisible and standing behind me, I swear, I’m going to punch you a thousand times.” 

Barely a second later, laughter breaks out to Joohyun right and two young men come into view. “Jin! I almost had her!” 

“Sorry, sorry, I just imagined Irene doing quick little punches and couldn’t help it. She’ll look like an angry little bunny!!” Jin says, holding his stomach as he doubles over in laughter.

“Yah… do you want to be my next target?” 

“Don’t joke, Jin. It’s actually really painful.” RM then smiles at Irene before playfully ruffling her hair. “It’s good to see you, Rene.”

“It’s good to see you too.” Irene rolls her eyes as the other young man points at himself. “Fine, it’s nice to see you too, Jin. But wait, since when can you make someone else invisible?”

“Developed a couple of months back,” RM shrugs, “It doesn’t last long though, I also need to be touching their skin. Clothes are a no go though they do end up invisible as well. I’ll need to ask noona about it.” 

“Wendy’s force fields are back too. Still working on making it last longer than a couple of minutes under pressure or do two things at once though.” Irene then bites her lip, wondering if she should bring it up, but RM beats her to it.

“And before you ask, Jimin’s doing really well.”

“Tell him I’m so-“ 

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence.” Jin says, suddenly serious, “It’s not your fault. We all know that. Jimin too.” 

“But-“

“No buts. Jimin cares for his cousin, but we move forward in her honor. And for all the others.”

Irene is about to say something more when Jennie steps back into the room, “Okay, they’re ready for you.” 

Jennie and Jin walk ahead, and though she’s seen them side by side countless times before, she can’t help but notice the differences in her winged-capable friends. Aside from the obvious contrast in height, Jennie’s wings are jet black, leathery and almost bat-like, and are now fully morphed back into her body, leaving two small holes on the back of her shirt. (She files away the memory of Bom unnie making Jennie her first custom shirt for another time.) Jin, on the other hand, has beautiful feathered wings of pure white protruding from his back, an angel at first glance and a high contrast to Jennie’s demon morphing. 

Their differences do not stop there though. Jennie, knowing fully well she would not be accepted by her family, ran away on her own at the first sign of her powers and searched for weeks until she found the Rogues. Jin, on the other hand, was the well-loved eldest son, an heir to one of the biggest corporations in Korea and one day, he and his family were horrified to see that small feathers had begun to grow onto his back. Day after day, they would rip it out one by one, hoping that if they kept doing it, it would stop growing. It was a concerned housekeeper, worried about all the blood spilled on Jin’s sheets, that called the police for help and thankfully, it was intercepted and Jin was rescued.

Laughter rings out from the two of them and Irene feels the happiness throughout her body. So different, and yet, here they were, laughing and joking around, as if none of that ever happened.  

“What are you smiling about?” RM whispers, though, it’s a funny sight, seeing him have to bend that much lower just for her to hear him. 

“We’re just incredibly lucky, you know?” Irene answers, and she can feel RM agree though he doesn’t say anything else. They both know it’s true anyway. They are lucky. Lucky to be alive. Lucky to be able to laugh. Lucky to have each other. Lucky to be able to be in the position to do something.

They weave through debris in relative silence until they reach a set of iron double doors with Jin and Jennie stepping aside to let them through. On the outside, it looks like years of decay has gotten to the temple, but inside this room, it’s obvious it’s clearly not the case. In the middle of the temple hall is a beautifully polished wooden table with tablets waiting for each of them, and a giant screen positioned at the end. (Most, if not all of it, courtesy of Wendy’s brilliance.) 

As soon as they enter, Irene and RM do a full bow to the other three present in the room. There’s Sunmi, leader of the camp in Jeju and Taeyeon and Tiffany, who reside in the temple and are the de facto leaders of the Rogue. From what used to be almost a hundred or more Rogues from the first generation, are now down to five. The three women before her, are the only women left. 

Taeyeon greets them first, “Irene, RM, glad you could make it on such short notice.”

“Of course.” they answer, as they take their respective places across the older women.  

Tiffany gives one of her signature warm smiles before she gestures towards the woman beside her, “Let’s do a status update before we brief you on why you’re here. Go ahead, Sunmi.” 

“I just got word that Nayeon and the kids have arrived safely in our camp. Thankfully, no run-ins with the Sentinels. Ryujin almost accidentally burned down a section of the forest but luckily, it was past the halfway mark so Jeongyeon was there to help Lia put it out. Another village made an offering at the foot of the mountain… which is interesting of course, but not out of the ordinary.”

“The boys are doing well. They do miss their pretty noonas though.” RM chuckles, “They’d take Yeri’s teasing over Hope’s training any day. For the ground team, we also successfully intercepted a shipment from the west a couple of days ago. It’s some sort of protection, possibly against psychic attacks. Honestly, we’re not exactly sure, Suga is still trying to take it apart to fully check it out but we’ll definitely have to send one to Wendy.” 

Taeyeon nods, scribbling on the tablet in front of her, “If Taeyeong did as he was supposed to, they won’t even notice the missing shipment.”

When it’s her turn, Irene doesn’t say much. Her camp’s main role is to search for and to train young Rogues for either Sunmi or RM’s camps and because everyone is temporary, Irene chooses to be a little selfish. Selfish enough to enjoy every moment she has with them, to keep them hidden and close to her chest before they go off and join someone else. 

At the same time, she wants them to learn about the kids on their own. To see what makes them special so that the young Rogues will not feel abandoned like what many of their birth parents chose to do. She wants RM to see Yeonjun and Hueningkai go absolutely crazy over mint chocolate ice cream while Taehyun, Soobin and Beomgyu just shake their heads in disappointment. She wants Sunmi to be the one to hold Chaeryeong at night when the child starts to cry as she misses her powerless older sister. 

As soon as she ends, the screen and their respective tablets come to life. “Okay, listen up. We’ve come across very important information and we need to act as soon as possible. Irene, RM, both of your teams will be active for this. One team will be in charge of data extraction, while the other will deal with weapon interception with a plus side of getting to punch Onew in the face.” 

Irene tries not to smile at the thought of punching the other Rogue leader. She knows she’s not the only one thinking it as Sunmi forces a frown on her face and Tiffany bites her lip. They all understand and acknowledge that many of the things they’ve done would not be possible without Onew and his team of shapeshifters. But a part of Irene always wonders, at what cost? He has been able to climb up the ranks inside the Sentinels, but because of the need to keep his identity safe, he picks and chooses what to share with everyone else. 

She understands why, but Irene doesn’t have to like it. With Onew, there’s always a layer of suspicion when she deals with him. She can’t help but wonder what he’s hiding and she’s sure there has to be a better way than to keep secrets. At least his right hand, Minho, who is on the field with Sentinels is actually useful to her. He informs Irene’s team as soon as they have a lead and sometimes even delivers young Rogues to their camp’s doorstep when he stumbles upon one. She even let him shoot her (he missed, of course) just to help him keep the facade of his loyalty.

There’s a lightness to Taeyeon’s voice when she speaks again, a hint of teasing, further acknowledgment that they’re all on the same page with regard to the shapeshifter. “Let’s deal with the more lighthearted one first, shall we? Onew is risking a lot by giving us this information, especially since he was only able to obtain it thanks to his promotion. Therefore, in order to protect his identity, we will be staging an ambush. He’ll be travelling from Daegu to Seoul via convoy and all you have to do is attack, steal the weapon that is on his person at that time. You can injure but no deaths though, okay? Even to the Sentinels. I want this as clean as possible.” 

Irene nods as she goes through the map presented on her tablet. If she were to do it, it would be quick, she could even do it without alerting the whole convoy. Get in a good punch, sabotage the tires… it would be quick and easy work. 

She turns to her co-leader beside her, “The usual way then? Rock paper scissors?” RM glances at their leaders who all nod, allowing them to continue. 

It’s clear to Irene that RM is nervous. His breath begins to pick up, his chest suddenly moving up and down at a much quicker pace than normal, and his hands start to shake. As much as she wants to get a good punch in, she knows that RM blames Onew’s lack of full transparency for the death of one of s and that the guilt still weighs heavily on him, more than a year later. She knows that hurting Onew won’t solve it, but… what if it’ll help? 

“Rock, paper, scissors… shoot!” Irene sees it happening in slow motion, the small twitch in RM’s index and middle finger and she responds accordingly. 

“Ah damn.” Irene sighs, waving her losing ‘paper’ for everyone else in the room to see, “Congrats, RM, I guess you get to do it.”

RM stares at his hand in disbelief, as if he can’t believe he beat Irene, and the speedster has to gently nudge the giant for him to focus again. “It’s settled then. According to Suho, the Sentinels weapons expert has been in talks with a ‘concerned’ scientist from the west that’s been looking to help with Korea’s so-called pest problem. The weapon is what Onew will be delivering to Seoul and it is what you will be intercepting. Understood?” 

“Yes, noona.” 

“Next up is more… troubling news. As you are all now aware, Kai’s real identity has been compromised so he is currently living in disguise as one of the Sentinel’s top data researchers. Great for us, bad for them. Now, because of that, we’ve got confirmation that the government now has a database of all the Rogues since Day Zero.” Taeyeon says. 

Sunmi snorts, “Please, that’s easy. Just check the missing children's list for the last sixteen years. I can Google it right now if you want.” 

“While that is true… the report says that their database may also have a list of potential Rogues.”

“What do you mean potential?” 

“Let’s put it this way, how old are the youngest in your camps?” 

“Nine,” RM answers. 

“Eleven.” Irene answers. “But before Nayeon’s group, we recently sent two others to Sunmi’s camp.” 

Sunmi confirms Irene’s words, “Yes, the two eight year olds, Chaeryong and Yuna.” 

Tiffany turns to Irene, “How old was Yeri when you found her?” 

“She was eight.” 

“And how old were you when we found you, Irene?” she asks again.

“Eight as well.” 

“That’s our problem. At the time, Irene and Yeri were special cases. Both one-offs that exhibited powers before the age of ten. Now, more children are showing their powers at a younger age.” 

RM furrows his brows, “How is this possible?”

“Day Zero gave powers almost instantly to teenagers and young adults, like me and Taeyeon. Some, like Sunmi, developed powers over the succeeding months.” Tiffany says, “As your generation grew up, you started to develop powers as well. According to this, there is a belief that the Day Zero blast altered the genes of adults but not enough for them to develop powers or change their way of life. However, if they procreate with another with similarly altered genes, then it is possible for them to create a Rogue child with powers manifesting by the time they’re toddlers.” 

“And they’re basing it on proximity?” Irene asks, as she skims through Kai’s report. 

Tiffany nods, “Just like we do. It’s clear that the majority of Rogues are still coming from Seoul and its surrounding areas. Remember, the highest concentration of Rogues came from where we grew up, and from our former high school.” 

“New Rogues could be an advantage for them. They don’t have to kill them, they can still mold them.” Sunmi points out. “A Rogue with Sentinel technology and funding. That would be hard to combat.” 

“That’s why we need that database. We need to know who the potential ones are and keep an eye out for them, ready to protect if they actually do have powers. We can’t just claim a child if they develop anything, but we have to make sure the Sentinel doesn’t either.” Taeyeon adjusts something on her tablet, to project it on the screen, on it are the list of every known Rogue currently in their care. “We also need to check their list of existing Rogues. I don’t want any of us on it. For all they know, we don’t exist. I don’t want to have to go through hell again just to live my life.”

“What’s the plan?” 

“Luckily, Kai says there’s one central database. It’s currently too dangerous for them to have it on multiple servers. So, again, good for us. Irene, I trust you can get it.” 

“Consider it done, unnie.”

“-and your whole team.” 

Irene folds her arm across her chest, “Why? If it’s as simple as extracting data, I can do it myself. Having the whole team will leave our camp defenseless.” 

“How are you going to get in? Wendy won’t be able to control their security systems from that distance. She’ll only be able to only monitor. You can’t have her nearby either, she won’t have any way to defend herself.” 

“Fine. Then I take Joy. We’ve done countless missions together. Yeri can keep watch on the camp, especially if Wendy will be focused on us.” 

But Taeyeon simply shakes her head, “Take Yeri.” 

“With all due respect, unnie, the plan is illogical. I’m faster now, it would be easier for me to just take Joy, get it and go. This is aside from the fact that Yeri hasn’t done anything to this scale yet. All she’s done are rescue missions.” 

“Yeri is ready.” 

“Yeri is fifteen.”

“And when you were that age, you were doing that and much more.” Taeyeon answers obviously trying to put her foot down and leave no room for discussion. 

But Irene is nothing but stubborn so she continues on, “So what’s your plan? Have Yeri teleport out with the information? You do know that Yeri has limited range, right? You know that she has to at least imagine where she’s going, right? So, where is the logic in it if we need to spend more time setting up a safe house for her? I can do it in half the time without risking someone else.” 

“Will you listen to me first?!” Taeyeon grits her teeth, but Irene continues to stand firm, “We will need the safe house anyway so that if it’s traced back, it will be linked to the safe house and not to your camp. From there, you can send the information to Wendy.”

“It would be faster if-” 

“No. End of discussion, Irene.” 

“. Fine. The only way I’m going to agree to it is if we have logistics covered for both the safe house and our camp. I want at least Jennie and Lisa at the airstrip. I swear, if anything happens to the camp or to the kids while we’re gone…”

“Nothing will happen. Right, Taeyeon?” Tiffany says, nudging the small leader. 

“If you trusted me-” Taeyeon seethes. 

“I do trust you, but apparently you don’t trust my abilities in being able to do it alone.” Irene scoffs. 

“What?! Of course I trust you! But you don’t have to-” 

“I just want to keep my team safe! I don’t want to lose anyone anymore!”

Taeyeon slams her hands on the table, “YOU’RE NOT THE ONLY ONE THAT HAS LOST SOMEONE!” 

“DON’T YOU THINK I DON’T KNOW THAT! OF COURSE I KNOW THAT! THAT’S EXACTLY WHY-” 

“BOTH OF YOU, SHUT UP. NOW. I’ll deal with you two later.” Tiffany snaps, before turning to RM who looks like he’d rather be anywhere else but here right now. “Show Irene the aerial shots you and Jin were able to take of their center. And I don’t want to hear another word out of the both of you until this is over, understood?” 

“Irene, can you stay behind?” 

RM gives her an awkward head pat and whispers ‘Good luck’ before he opens the door to allow Jin to stick his head inside the room to greet everyone with a hello and goodbye. Sunmi even gives Irene a small strained smile, which is odd that she’s even looking at her, but Irene has more pressing matters at hand than to wonder what Sunmi thinks of her.

As soon as the double doors close and they’re left alone, Tiffany pulls Irene into a bone crushing hug. 

“Unnie! You’re smothering me!” Irene whines, trying to break free from the older woman’s hold. 

“What? Are we not allowed to miss you?” As she lets go, she holds Irene by the shoulders, seemingly inspecting her. “You’ve grown so much!” 

“I’ve literally been this height since I was sixteen.”

“Shh. Do not ruin my moment. I’ve missed you a lot.” 

“I missed you too, Fany unnie.” Irene mumbles, mostly to herself, but the way Tiffany places a wet kiss on her cheek lets her know she heard it. 

Taeyeon, meanwhile shifts awkwardly as she watches them from the side, the tension from their argument obviously still present. 

“Oh my god, can you two please stop fighting? Rene already hardly visits cause she’s so busy!”

“You sound like you’re my mom or something.” Irene snorts.

“Excuse me, I am your mom, Irene.” Tiffany says hugging Irene again and with her free hand, reaches out to pull Taeyeon towards them. “You, go apologize to our daughter.”

“What? Why me?” Taeyeon asks, but Tiffany just glares in response and the smaller woman audibly gulps. 

Tiffany refuses to let go of them. She has one hand on Taeyeon’s wrist, while her other arm is wrapped around Irene’s shoulders. “Go on, Tae.” 

Taeyeon sighs, running a hand through her hair. “I’m sorry I had to put my foot down like that. I know it may seem illogical and yes, there are flaws but I want Yeri doing more. I know you have a desire to protect her, but you have to give her experience too. You and I both know that the best way to do that is by pushing her limits and taking her out there. It’ll benefit her in the long run and I know she’ll be fine because she has you. Besides, Joy will be there too and as much as they give each other grief, Joy will protect Yeri no matter what. You know Wendy will look out for you guys too. I’m sorry I wasn’t clear on what my intentions were and it seemed like I was just pushing Yeri into danger.” 

“It’s fine, I understand where you’re coming from. I’m sorry too. I know we’ve all lost people, the both of you have lost more than I could ever imagine. That’s why I wanted to go at it alone. I can do it. You know I can. I just… I can’t lose any of them again. I didn’t mean to be disrespectful, Taeyeon unnie.”

“Going at it alone already gives our enemies an advantage. I know you’re scared, but... I’m scared too, you know? When you’re not here, how do I know if you’re okay? How can I guarantee that you’re safe? By keeping your team at their best, I can rest knowing that you can be taken care of as well. If you’re all at your best, you can look out for each other. Having all the burden on your shoulders isn’t good for you either.” Irene lets the leader’s words sink in and when she opens her arms, Irene slowly shuffles into her embrace.

“There’s my little family.” Tiffany smiles, joining in to hug her favorite girls. 

Irene stays a little bit longer after that, catching up and telling them about how it’s really been at camp. She hadn’t been lying when she said she missed them and Tiffany was right in saying she was basically Irene’s mom at this point. She’s spent more years with the two than her actual family and when she thinks about her birth parents, she realizes she has no idea what they look like anymore. It used to bother her when she was little, but she’s well past that now. Besides, she looks enough like Tiffany and Taeyeon to truly be their kid anyway. 

By the time they finish, it’s already a little past midnight, and Irene gives up on trying to search for Jennie in order to properly say goodbye. In fact, the demon shifter might kill her if she wakes her up from her beauty sleep. 

She makes her way out of the temple’s main courtyard, and is about to break out into a run when she hears, “Irene, wait!” 

Irene’s brows are knitted together as she turns to see the Jeju leader walking towards her, “Sunmi unnie? Were you waiting for me this whole time?”

“Yeah. I wasn’t sure when I’d get the chance to speak to you again.” 

Irene sighs, “If you’re going to shout at me again, I don’t want to hear it. I’ve heard it all already before. From you and from myself. Now, if you don’t mind, I need to get some rest. It’s been a long day.” 

“Wait, wait. Please.” Sunmi takes a deep breath before she properly meets Irene’s gaze. “I just wanted to tell you that I’m sorry. I’m sorry I gave you a hard time after what happened. I’m sorry I didn’t see you were hurting too.” 

A part of Irene wants to be mad, to reject her apology and tell her she can stick the apology up her . She can still clearly remember Sunmi pinning her to the ground, a dent on the airstrip in the exact shape of Irene. She remembers how her forearms shattered as she protected her face from Sunmi’s punches, tears of white hot anger flowing down her cheeks as she continued to shout at Irene. She remembers the way Sunmi called her a coward, how she called her weak and unfit to lead. She remembers how she could have dodged every single one of those blows. Sunmi will never be faster than her but Irene took the beating and the shouting because she understands. Sunmi was Seulgi’s mentor after all. The one who taught her to control her powers. The one who made sure she was strong enough to protect herself and her team. And besides, Irene was mad at herself too. So instead of rejecting Sunmi’s apology, Irene says, “It’s okay, I deserved it.” 

“No, no you didn’t. I was angry then and I let it get the best of me. I should have known better… I should have been better. I should have set the right example for you and for everyone… I know that as a leader, you did what was best for your team.”
 

Irene nods, unsure of what to say. She’s spent two years not really acknowledging Sunmi’s presence except to bow during meetings so now she doesn’t really know how to handle herself. 

“I know you take care of the kids really well. They won’t shut up about you guys when they get to our camp. Hell, Yuna won’t stop nagging Jeongyeon to cook her sweet potatoes and gets mad when it doesn’t taste like the ones you made. What I’m trying to say is... You’re a great person and great leader, Irene. I’m sorry I made you think otherwise. Let’s just put this behind us, okay? You have my full support no matter what.” Sunmi says, as she offers her hand.

“Thank you, unnie. And I know all the kids are in good hands with you in Jeju.” Irene shakes Sunmi’s hand before the older girl pulls her forward and into a hug. 

“I’m still the cooler unnie, yeah?” Sunmi says as they pull apart, a tentative smile on her face.

Irene snorts before she reciprocates her smile and watches as Sunmi visibly relaxes at that, “I mean compared to Tiffany and Taeyeon? Definitely.”

“I’m really sorry if you felt you lost an unnie because of what happened to Seulgi. It was selfish of me, and I broke my promise to always have your back and watch out for you.”

“It’s okay, unnie. And I’m sure Seulgi will be happy to see we’re getting along again.”

“Or she’ll hate it cause we’d gang up on her again.” 

Irene laughs, “We only force fed her vegetables once! I swear I didn’t know she could hold onto a grudge.” 

“Please, that lasted like what? Six hours? She was cuddling up to you by the time dinner rolled around.”

Irene means to chuckle at the memory, but suddenly, tears start rolling down her face. “I’m sorry, I just… I really miss her, unnie.”

“I do too.” Sunmi says, wiping away Irene’s tears before gently cupping her face. “She loved you with everything she got. And she’d be so proud of you, Irene. Now, go home, it’s late. I’m sure Yeri is looking for you.”

“What about you?” 

“I’ll stay here for the night. I mean, not everyone has superspeed or a boyfriend that can literally fly them away.” 

Irene snorts, “What, you can’t leap anymore? Those old knees giving in already?” 

“These knees can still kick your .” 

“Yeah, if, and only if, you can catch me.” 

Sunmi playfully shoves Irene out the temple, “Go home, Irene. Good night.” 

“Good night, unnie.” With a wave, she runs off, not pushing herself too hard and letting her body go at its natural pace, though she still makes it back to camp in under two minutes. She quickly cleans herself up and as she makes it back to her room, Yeri is already there, taking up half the space of her bed.

“Unnie?” 

“Yeah, it’s me, Yerm. Go back to sleep.” 

Yeri nods, shifting to allow Irene enough space to lay on her back and as soon as they’re comfortable, she buries her face against the older woman’s shoulder. 

Irene is fully aware of how tired she is. She’s been up since dawn, and she’s felt more emotions today than she prefers. And yet, she’s wide awake, her thoughts on what transpired with Sunmi. She’s glad they’re okay, or at least on the road to being okay, but she didn’t think that it would cause her pain too. She didn’t think that fixing things with Seulgi’s mentor would make her ache for her girlfriend even more. 

“Where the hell did you two go?!” Sunmi paces across the room, a young Irene and Seulgi are sitting on the heels of their feet, their heads bowed and their hands on their lap. “What if someone saw you and reported it?! What if you got caught?!” 

“It’s my fault, unnie! I was bored!” Irene says, her arms flailing in panic. “Seulgi’s always training and practicing with you but I have no one to train with! I just wanted to see how fast I could go!”

“So what? You ran beside a train?!” 

“Yes!” Irene quickly replies while Seulgi answers with a “No!”

Sunmi pinches the bridge of her nose in an effort to prevent an even bigger outburst. Really, how the hell do Taeyeon and Tiffany handle them day in and out. She’s twenty, and yet she feels like she’s in her forties as she deals with the most annoying kids on the planet. “What? What do you mean, “no”, Seulgi? That’s not what the others said. Hell, that’s not what Irene said.” 

“Duh, unnie.” Seulgi says, “Irene unnie didn’t run beside a train, she was faster!” 

“Wait, what?!” 

Seulgi just beams up at her mentor, while Irene tugs on her sleeves and mumbles for her to stop it so they won’t get in any more trouble. “Yeah! Unnie was faster! It was so cool!” 

“How… how fast are you?” Sunmi asks, turning to Irene. 

Irene shrugs, “Faster than a train?” 

“I- you know what, forget I asked. Why would you run and leave Seulgi alone then?” 

At this, Irene reacts, appalled by the fact that Sunmi would think she would ever leave Seulgi behind. “No, I didn’t leave Seulgi! She was with me!” 

“What, you carried her?” 

Irene and Seulgi look at each other, they’re now sporting twin looks of utter glee on their faces, before looking up at their unnie. “I leapt!” 

“You what?!” 

“I tried to carry Seulgi first but she said I was slowing her down and we figured that with her superhuman strength that means she can jump really high! And I thought, what if she jumps forward instead of up? And she did!! So she was just leaping to catch up with me!” Irene rambles, as Seulgi nods excitedly beside her. “Don’t you do it, unnie? You’re strong like Seulgi too!” 

Sunmi smiles, ruffling Irene’s hair, “No, I never needed to. Only Seulgi has the privilege of having a super fast best friend she needs to catch up with.”

Irene cackles, “Yubin unnie’s dog is faster than her! She’s such a slowpoke!”

“I agree but don’t tell her that okay?”

“Unnie, unnie, do you wanna see?” Seulgi asks and quickly drags Sunmi outside before she can even properly respond. 

Their home this time is different, it reminds Irene of Sunny’s family home, it’s close to the countryside, with wide stretches of fertile land all around. The abandoned farmhouse is small, but enough for all of them to get by. They position themselves by the lonely dirt road, and Irene points to the distance, “If we go that away, we’ll end up near the ocean. Is that okay?” 

Seulgi gives her best friend a thumbs up, and she crouches low in order to propel herself forward. Then, she looks back to the awaiting mentor. “You’ll follow us, right Sunmi unnie?”

Sunmi nods, “On your marks, get set, go!” 

As they take off into the open field and into the nearby forest, so does their relationship. Sunmi is more aware of Irene’s needs after that, making sure she isn’t lonely and sometimes allowing her to join in when Seulgi learns to control her strength. When the speedster becomes restless, too much unreleased energy in such a tiny frame, they’ll go out for a run together because Tiffany argues that the two shouldn’t be left alone without any adult supervision. 

“You’re cool, Sunmi unnie.” Irene says, as their legs dangle at the edge of the cliff, watching the sunset. They’re a lot farther than they’re supposed to be, but Sunmi insisted that they needed to see the view. The mentor sits in between them, letting them lean against her. 

“I am?” 

Irene nods, “Tiffany unnie and Taeyeon unnie always treat me like a baby but I’m not! I’m 12!” 

“They’re just looking out for you, kiddo.” 

“You look out for me too! Tiffany unnie always checks if I have a scratch but I heal real fast anyway! You just laughed when I tripped.” 

“That was a bit mean though, unnie.” Seulgi, ever the sweetheart, comments.

Irene shrugs, “You’re still cooler. Don’t tell them though.” 

Sunmi laughs, and puts her arms around both their shoulders. Irene squirms at the affection while Seulgi fully leans into it. “Thanks, Rene. And don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me.”

“Unnie’s got our back!” Seulgi cheers. 

“Yeah, yeah I do. Always.