"Okay, everyone, please take a seat!" Seunggi's voice projects over the crowd seated in the auditorium. He and the instructors felt like it would be better to let everyone know about the current situation rather than a select few.

"As you all know, there was an attack on our campus that resulted in several trainees being captured. The group, from what we've gathered is an anti-mutant organization with a mix of Korean and Japanese operatives." People in the crowd are mumbling and whispering about whatever extra bits of information they'd heard, like Jurina being one of the enemy or what exactly the weapons used were.  Lee Gaeun was the most notable abductee, but there were also Na Goeun, Kim Sihyeon, Yamada Noe, Takahashi Juri, and most notably, Park Seoyoung. That last bit was only known by Eunbi and the others though. Everyone else is still under the impression that she's in the detention facility, and for their sakes, they decided it would've been better to keep it that way.

"Now, we are hard at work trying to trace the infiltrators' whereabouts. They have to be running out of places to hide because your fellow trainees have already taken care of two of their bases." He claps as he calls the attention of the twelve. It was a bit embarrassing, sure, but Eunbi felt a hint of pride as they stood to be recognized. She's been in charge of taking care of these girls and they'd been rather successful through two attempts despite being complete rookies.

"As such, I believe these twelve have what it takes to be our representatives to stop this syndicate once and for all. Kwon Eunbi, Miyawaki Sakura, Kang Hyewon, Choi Yena, Lee Chaeyeon, Kim Chaewon, Kim Minjoo, Yabuki Nako, Honda Hitomi, Jo Yuri, Ahn Yujin and Jang Wonyoung, congratulations!" The sudden announcement catches everyone off guard to say the least. It's only been a couple weeks, but the selections were over? Of course there were grumbles of disappoint, like from Chaejeong, but it seemed like most trainees agreed with the assessment. Eunbi's group of twelve had some valuable field experience already and have shown to be very capable with their powers. Eunbi was also rather taken aback by it, but she wasn't exactly surprised. Seunggi had asked her to prove herself as a leader, and the others had followed along. She couldn't be prouder.

"The rest of you have a big decision to make in the upcoming days. Those who still feel unfit to leave or want to continue to train or seek shelter may stay here, but those who would like to return to their institutions are also free to do so. The same goes for the Japanese; we understand that there must be some confusion among you all because of Jurina's withdrawal, but you are as free to choose as the Koreans here." Everyone nods in understanding. Seunggi seemed very genuine in what he was trying to say. He didn't discriminate between the Japanese and Koreans despite the knowledge that Jurina had gone rogue and any that of these foreigners could do the same.

"I feel like that's everything. Everyone can go back to their regular routines, or can start packing. The transport will be here by tomorrow morning." As more people begin to get up, Seunggi heads to the podium again, calling. "Wait, except for the twelve, you may all go. There's something I must discuss with them." 

When the auditorium is finally clear, Seunggi clears his throat and begins to speak. "I know it's sudden, but you girls are the best bet we have. We don't have time to complete everything we were planning."

"It's okay, sunbaenim." Eunbi says. "We won't let you down!" Though she appeared confident, the entire group still wasn't completely sure themselves. Minjoo's head was getting dizzy again and she knew it wasn't an after-effect of the gas. More missions, huh? I guess you really made it. Minjoo thinks to herself. As for Yujin, she was bouncing in her seat. YES! I'm finally gonna make it back. Let's do this thing!" The rest of the group had thoughts within those ranges swirling in their heads.

"You all display impeccable teamwork and skill already. This will be the biggest challenge yet, but I trust you'll be fine. We'll handle everything on this side in the meantime." The group nods along, but the reality of the task was slowly dawning on them. They were gonna be going to who knows where to save their friends knowing the enemy has almost perfected their arsenal. It was a tall order, but Seunggi had faith.

"IZ*ONE. That was the name of this project, twelve colors becoming one. That's you girls. Let us know if you need anything to prepare before you make your move." He concludes.

"IZ*ONE...sounds, interesting." Eunbi whispers to herself.

"We approve!" Yena shouts.

"Yah, since when were you calling the shots?" Yuri complains. Uh oh. Seunggi thinks. They couldn't allow time to be wasted and he just knew those two could talk for hours on end without coming to an agreement.

"Aaanyway" Chaeyeon cuts in. "The name's perfect, right Eunbi-unnie?" Well, she was already inclined to agree so it wasn't a difficult decision to make.

"Great! I think that's all for now. Make sure to run your plan by us before executing so we can properly allocate for your travel needs!" And with that, Seunggi bows politely and walks outside, leaving IZ*ONE to start putting their heads together. I already know how this is gonna go. Hyewon sighs as the yelling and noise begin.

~~~~

A few days later...

It felt like the campus had slowly started to revert back to normal with everyone trying to go back to their regular schedules. Most of the trainees actually elected to stay, believing in strength in numbers. The few who did decide that they wanted to go back to their institutions or back to Japan had managed to leave already. Despite this calmness, the recent abductions were still lingering with the remaining trainees. Gaeun was like a leader to a lot of them as she was always a voice of reason and helping hand to everyone. It definitely hurt Yunjin the most because she'd known the older woman the longest. She'd practically been raised by Gaeun and wanted desperately to join the upcoming expedition, but she had been prohibited. It would be too dangerous to send any more people out, especially someone who was recently hurt; Yunjin could end up being an unintentional liability to the mission. She may have been disappointed, but she trusted Eunbi and the others to do it.

Inside one of the dorm rooms, a figure is typing away on her laptop continuously. She'd been staring at that screen for days already trying to find any useful piece of information, but kept coming up short.

"Agh, the light!" She exclaims when the curtains are drawn to let the sunlight flow in.

"Yah, Saku-chan, you should get out again some time. All this time in the dark is not good for your health." Chaeyeon nags.

"Hmm, what time is it? Is it time for lunch yet?" Sakura asks, rubbing her eyes.

"It's already breakfast of the next day..." Chaeyeon sighs. Sakura had been spending so much time searching and scouring for where that third base could be, but kept coming up empty. "Give yourself a break, will you?"

"Yeah, yeah, just a bit more of code to sift through- WAIT!" Sakura shouts, surprising the younger girl. "I think I got something! It was hidden deep in a locked folder, but I finally hacked into it!"

"That's great! Good job, Saku-chan! We gotta tell the others!" Chaeyeon cheers.

"Oh, there's a slight issue though..." Sakura's tone suddenly changes as she scans the files and pictures.

"Huh? Why? Where is it located?" Instead of saying it aloud, Sakura just shows Chaeyeon the screen. It displayed pictures of a seemingly abandoned warehouse, but what caught her attention was a word written on one of the walls. Busan...

~~~~

"All the way over there?!?" Yuri responds exasperatedly. The twelve had gathered in a room that Seunggi had reserved for their new team meetings and were sitting around a roundtable listening to Sakura explain her findings.

"Yeah, I was surprised too, but it makes sense for them to spread their hideouts out instead of centralizing in Seoul."

"I really don't want to go back there." Yuri mumbles loud enough for Yena to hear. She grabs Yuri's hand from under the table and holds it tightly, trying to give her reassurance.

"It'll be different this time. We'll be there." She says. Yuri smiles hearing it. Yena always knew how to make her feel more sure of herself.

Across the table, Eunbi begins to speak. "Well, we have a general location and a tour guide, like last time. All we need now is transport."

"Busan is way bigger than Myeong-dong though. I think we're gonna have to narrow it down a little more, don't you think, unnie?" Chaewon comments.

"I agree, but I think getting the basics established will help us later on."

"From the pictures, it looked like it was in a somewhat forested area." Sakura comments. "I'll try to look more into it, but maybe Yuri could help?" Yuri nods her head in agreement, but just the thought of going back was making her nervous. Things were actually going pretty well the past couple days for her. Yena and her would spend a lot of the days together and she'd never been happier, but knowing Goeun got captured after splitting up with them was still running through her mind. They had to save their friends no matter what.

"Alright everyone, I'll relay this information to Seunggi-sunbaenim. Get ready to leave by tomorrow morning at the earliest." The rest of the girls nod and head off to prepare.

"Busan, huh? I heard they have nice beaches." Yujin jokes to Wonyoung as they head out.

"Unnie, we have to focus. We can go to the beach after. We can do anything you want after." She replies which surprises Yujin. Wonyoung looked like she was really determined this time. She wasn't the rich brat who'd Yujin met months ago. It looked like there was a fire in her eyes this time.

"Yeah, I guess we have real responsibility this time. We're a team now...wow, we actually made it, Wonnie." When Seunggi had announced their names, she was over the moon. All the hardships they'd gone through were rewarded, but not in the way they'd wanted in the beginning. Yujin initially went into this program to regain her platform, to become a noticeable star again, but the more time she spent with her new friends, the more she realized how pointless and trivial those aspirations were. She has a chance to be more than a model, more than a commercial girl. She can push for change. She and Wonyoung were still kids for the most part, but their time at the campus has really helped them mature. Yujin was still a playful jokester like Yena, but she was definitely more grounded now.

"We'll definitely save Gaeun-unnie and the others!" Wonyoung smiles at Yujin's enthusiasm, like an energetic puppy who never gets tired. She shakes her head while walking ahead. Some things don't change, do they?

~~~~

"Hyewon, are you sure we can do this?" Eunbi had asked quietly. Everyone had already made their way out and it was only her and Hyewon left.

"You sounded pretty confident when you said we wouldn't let Seunggi-sunbaenim down the other day though. What's wrong?"

"I don't know. Things are going so fast now. This is our first official mission as a group, what if I let them down? What if I can't help the way I want?" The doubts had finally reached Eunbi. She looked like a model of confidence whenever she spoke but when the lights were off, she'd question herself. Sure, she was confident in her combat and planning skills, but what if there's a point where they need more than eleven super-powered beings. She was still only human, and she questioned if she even had the right to lead them. Chaeyeon was a good leader, and she could speak Japanese. Maybe she should've been the lead.

"Unnie...you're the one who's led us this far. We wouldn't have been able to improve the ways we have if you didn't lead us. Hell, we may not even have come together as a team without you." Hyewon says as if reading the older girl's thoughts.

"Don't stress too much about it. We all trust you, unnie. You're the perfect leader for this team." Hyewon continues. She wasn't the type to console people often, but seeing Eunbi like that really triggered her to want to do something. Hyewon had been on many missions herself, had many people calling the shots, but Eunbi was the first to actually get her to care. There was just something about her aura that pushed everyone around her to be better.

"Thanks, Hyewon. I really appreciate it." Eunbi says, wiping away at what seemed like a tear. "Could you maybe accompany me when I go report this to Seunggi-sunbaenim?" She asks quietly after. Hyewon gives her a smirk, then a nod. "Sure, I'd love to."

~~~~

"Looks like we have our mark." Sakura says. Judging from the forested area and a bit of satellite tracing, they concluded that the base had to be somewhere in Yongho-dong.

"I've been there a couple times when I was a kid. I think there was a forest sanctuary near the coastline." Yuri says feeling a bit more relieved knowing they weren't going to her hometown of Munhyeon-dong. She still didn't want to face her parents, and definitely didn't want to get into any trouble there.

"We should go tell the others now. Seunggi is still going to have to find us a ride, and time is of the essence." Chaeyeon advises.

"You guys go on ahead. I need to get some air." Yuri says.

"You mean get to Yena, right?" Chaeyeon jokes back. Those two...they looked so perfect together. They always looked so happy together the past few days despite everything going on around them. Maybe she should be a little braver in her life, she thought while looking at Sakura who was fixing up her things.

"Alright, you got me." Yuri says with a smirk.

"At least you're not afraid to admit it now." Sakura comments with a slight chuckle. "Go ahead, this still must be weighing on your mind a lot, Yuri."

"You have no idea, unnie." She was still very much flustered with the rush of new information. She really needed to get to her happy place now (aka Yena).

~~~~

The next day...

"Everyone ready?" Eunbi asks the eleven girls in front of her. She was just so proud of each and every one of them. Hyewon's pep-talk really gave her the confidence she needed. This was her team, and she wasn't going to let them down. It wasn't just her team relying on her, it was all the mutants that their team represented. They had a chance to be a force of change. Currently, they had the transportation they needed in the bus that Seunggi had brought out for them, and several days of planning and training. This should be the start of something big.

"I think we have everything we need." Chaeyeon says. She made sure that everyone double checked their bags for the essentials they needed to bring like food and water. Chaeyeon had become Eunbi's right-hand in a way during the preparations. All the traits that she'd pointed out to Hyewon were really showing; Chaeyeon's communication skills were excellent, and she was really good at keeping the mood up.

"Hmm, wait, I think we did forget something!" She says out loud, everyone looking at her expectantly.

"What's that?" Sakura asks.

"We're a real team now, right? Maybe we should have a cheer to get the mood up before missions!" Sakura's expression falters for a second at Chaeyeon's sudden request. That dork...She thinks while smiling to herself.

"Oh, come on, unnie! We're not some dance troupe or sports team!" Yujin whines.

"Hey, I think it's a good idea. It'll symbolize everything we did to get this far!" Yena jumps in.

"As if you'd actually do it." Yujin smirks at the duck. "You better be enthusiastic about it then."

"Okay! Maybe we can go off what Yujin was saying. 'We're not a dance troupe or sports team', who are we? I-I-IZ*ONE!!!" Chaeyeon sounded very pleased with herself coming up with that.

"Uh...don't you think that's a bit corny though?" Yena asks, suddenly regretting encouraging the idea.

"C'mon, unnie. You said you'd do it!" Yujin reminds her. The rest of the group did cringe a bit at the suggestion, but Chaeyeon was just so lively and energetic about it that it was difficult to reject it.

"Alright then, who wants to do the first bit?" Chaeyeon asks.

"I think Minjoo said she'd love to." Chaewon responds while raising Minjoo's hand for her to the younger girl's complete shock.

"Wait, what? Unnie!!" Minjoo whisper-shouts to Chaewon who was snickering to herself. The only thing that kept Minjoo from complaining more was Chaewon still holding her hand after she'd brought it down. Fineee.

"Okay, everyone gather around!" Chaeyeon directs everyone to get into a circle with their hands on top of each other in the middle. Eunbi watched the scene that happened in front of her with amusement. Chaeyeon really knew how to work a room. She'd even convinced Hyewon to join in. When everyone's in their places, they all look back at Eunbi who was still watching.

"Eunbi-unnie! C'mon!" Nako yells.

Minjoo tries to clear a bit before starting, partly because she was trying to do it without laughing. "Who-Who are we?!" She asks the group loudly, with just a hint of a stutter.

"I-I-IZ*ONE" They yell back...well, for the most part. Yena was the loudest, like she told Yujin she'd be. The rest were still a bit embarrassed about it seeing as the other trainees who were remaining were there to see them off.

"Alright! It's gonna be a work in progress, but I know we'll get the hang of it eventually." Chaeyeon comments, holding in a laugh as she turns to their leader. "I think we're good to go, Eunbi-unnie." She says. With that, the twelve girls get onto the bus, and prepare to embark to Busan.

~~~~

"Yah, can you all just be a bit more quiet back there?" Eunbi scolded while taking a glance at the rearview mirror to see the chaos behind her, Yena and Yujin being at the center of it as per usual. They were trying to get everyone involved in games like I Spy, truth or dare, never have I ever and the like. It'll help build camaraderie! They had said. Yuri and Wonyoung were looking at them with defeated expressions. Once those two started, there wasn't any stopping them. Chaeyeon was trying to get in on it too, tugging on Sakura's sleeve, but she was too enthralled with her Nintendo switch that she'd brought along, saying it was essential.

"Not until we all play one game, unnie!" Yena whined.

"Ugh, you're impossible." Yuri comments, staying quiet for a couple moments before speaking up again. "...I spy with my little eye, something yellow."

"Oh, come on, Yuri-unnie. You're really gonna play along?" Wonyoung complains.

"See? If Yuri-unnie can join in, then so can you~" Yujin teases. Yena on the other hand looks at Yuri thankfully, the younger girl giving her a small smile.

"Something yellow, huh? Let's see..."

~~~~

"At least it's only those two being loud." Hyewon says. She'd called shotgun before anyone else and had the luck of being up front where it was relatively quiet.

"Yeah, I guess it could be worse." Eunbi looks again and sees Chaewon playing around with Minjoo's hair while the latter was taking a nap. How she managed to do that with how noisy Yena and Yujin were being was a mystery in itself. In the seats closest to them, Nako and Hitomi looked like they were in their own little world, talking casually with each other as if there wasn't a mess going on behind them.

The team had been on the road for about two hours already which was probably why the back was starting to get louder. Eunbi expected at any minute for one of them to ask "Are we there yet?". Though slightly dreading it, she did feel a sense of relief. It felt like they were just a family going on a trip to their friend Yuri's hometown rather than a taskforce with the goal of saving their fellow trainees and stopping a syndicate. Eunbi felt it was better for everyone to be as loose as possible going into the mission, so they'd be able to perform with less pressure.

"Do you have any idea what we'll be facing?" Hyewon's question shakes Eunbi out of her thoughts.

"Probably a similar arsenal of weapons, and more guards because they're definitely expecting us."

"We only really know about what the place looks like, and it probably connects to another underground facility."

"You're right. At least we have that down. We gotta be way more careful though because this is their home turf." 

"Hopefully the plan works out well."

"I'm sure we'll be fine. We made it out the other times, didn't we?" Eunbi says with conviction. They'd really thought about the plan of action this time, and how to execute it.

"If you want to get some rest, I can take the wheel for a bit." Hyewon offers.

"No, it's fine. You should save your energy. It's not like I'm the one who's gonna be shooting ice or electrocuting people."

"Unnie, you're still an important piece. They'll definitely have that nullifying gas again, and we're gonna need your leadership."

"Fine, but let me drive until we get to a rest spot. We've got a long way to go." Eunbi finally relents. Hyewon, looking satisfied at their agreement, takes a bag of chips out of one of the duffel bags they'd stocked with food and takes a couple bites.

~~~~

A couple hours later...

"Yah, Eunbi-unnie! Wake up!" A loud voice rings aloud. Eunbi gets up quickly in a fighting stance ready for action, but was met with giggles and laughter from the others. After rubbing her eyes, she manages to take in her surroundings and realizes they're at a gas station next to the highway. The place appeared rather normal, not that many people around. There were a couple fast food restaurants and a convenience store surrounding it. Looking at the sky, the sun was already setting. They'd left the campus a bit after noon, so they must be getting close to their destination. Despite saying she'd switch driving responsibilities at the next rest stop, Hyewon managed to pry it away from her when the older started nodding off, looking sleepy. Those all-nighters Eunbi spent to plan were finally catching up to her. They'd pulled over and let Eunbi rest for a while until now where she was rudely awakened.

"Jeez, unnie. No need to be so serious~" Yujin teased.

"Then why'd you have to call me out like that?" She asks half-irritated for being woken up so suddenly.

"Well, I guess it was kind of serious. We needed a bathroom break after being in this bus for so long, and we didn't want to just leave you sleeping in here alone." Yujin replied sheepishly. Aish, these kids. She thought with a smile.

"Thanks, the others can go to the convenience store or something afterwards. Hyewon and I will stay here to refuel. Just make sure to stay low, so we can get out of here without any delays!" Even for a simple gas stop, Eunbi couldn't help but lay out a plan.

"C'mon, what's the worst that could happen?" Yena says earning looks of disappointment from the others.

"You just jinxed it, duck." Yuri chides.

"Let's not take any chances. Group up and be back in fifteen minutes everyone!" And with that, the group splits up.

~~~~

"Anything you want?" Yuri asks Hitomi and Nako who had accompanied her and Yena to the convenience store. Despite being in Korea for only a few weeks, they'd gotten used to the language pretty quick, especially Nako, but that didn't mean that they could just be left alone. The convenience store they were in wasn't much to gawk at, a couple aisles lined with snacks ranging from chips to chocolates with refrigerators at the back for drinks and freezers on the sides for cold treats. Right now there were a couple guys and a woman and child inside milling around.

"Oh! Oh! There's something I've really been craving for the longest time!" Nako says as she bounds over to the ice cream freezer. It seemed like every little thing she did was cute, Yuri and Yena giggling to each other while Hitomi just sighed contentedly at Nako's excitement. This however was quickly changed when they realized what she'd pulled from the freezer.

"No way...really Nako? Mint chocolate?" Yena asks dumbfounded.

"Of course! It's my favorite flavor!"

"I guess no one's perfect after all." Yuri comments. Yena was about to continue before Nako stopped her.

"If you say what I think you're gonna say about this flavor, I'm gonna be really mad." She warns. Yena looks to Hitomi for support, but she just shakes her head, urging her to stand down.

"What I was going to say was, 'great choice!'" Yena says with a forced laugh, afraid of what Nako would do to her.

"Mint-choco? Nako! A woman of taste I see." Chaewon's voice says as she and Minjoo had wandered in to buy snacks too. Minjoo on the other hand looks at Chaewon with surprise.

"Wait, you mean the toothpaste ice cream?" She asks, wincing at just the thought of it.

"Uh-oh, she said it." Hitomi whispers while shaking her head. Nako looked like she was about to say something but Chaewon beat her to it.

"Excuse me? What did you just say?" There's a gleam in her eyes that actually intimidates Minjoo a little, making her wonder what she said wrong.

"I-" She began but was cut off.

"No, no, no. I know what you just said, and I can't believe it. How can I like you knowing you just called mint-choco that?"

"D-did you just say...huh?" Minjoo is all sorts of flustered and confused as the conversation its head.

"You heard me! If we're gonna be together, you need to accept that mint-choco is superior." Chaewon says very boldly. Nako is now standing there in confusion wondering if Chaewon even realized what she was saying.

"O-okay, okay, fine, I'll buy you and Nako your mint-choco ice cream, but I'm just getting plain classic chocolate." Minjoo finally relents not knowing exactly what had happened.

Embarrassing realization in three. two. one. Hitomi thinks to herself watching slowly as Chaewon's smug look was replaced by a very red and flustered one as she runs after Minjoo shouting "Wait, it was a joke!"

Hitomi laughs to herself at how Chaewon can always go from one mode to another. This embarrassed mess was the same one who confidently proclaimed mint chocolate as the best ice cream flavor. Hitomi herself has her own reservations against the flavor, but she learned from her first time talking about it with Nako that it was a topic better left untouched.

~~~~

"Lucky we got out of that mess before it got worse." Yuri sighed with relief. She had managed to pull Yena away to another aisle once she realized what was going on. Mint-choco isn't the best flavor, but its fans sure are passionate. She thinks to herself. Yuri instead focuses or thoughts now on the girl next to her.

"Anything you have in mind?" Yena asks while gesturing to the rows of snacks on the shelves in front of them.

"I'm fine with just some jellies." She responds. Yena walks over to the rack and picks some packs out which just so happened to be Yuri's favorite brand without her ever having mentioned it. Yuri took that time to admire her. Yena was just such a perfect match for her. She was the type of person who she'd always envision falling for: someone who'd laugh when she laughed, bring her out of her sad moods, make her feel like she isn't alone, Yena was all of that and more.

"Whatcha looking at?" Yena teases, having noticed the Yuri's stare without even looking back.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" She challenged, and Yena did just that, setting aside the snacks they'd picked out in a basket and simply stared at Yuri right back. Eventually, Yuri was the one to crack and break eye-contact, her cheeks blushing. Yena smiles smugly to herself and heads to the counter where the others were.

Before they could do any of that though, the two guys that had been in there before them rushed to the counter, guns drawn. "This is a stick-up! Hand us the cash and no one gets hurt." One has his pistol aimed right at the cashier while the other threatens the bystanders with his. Unfortunately for them though, the girls were not your ordinary bystanders. Just as the cashier was about to relent and hand over the shop's money, a voice speaks up.

"Are you really going through with this?" Yena's voice projected unimpressed. She'd handed her basket to Yuri and walked right up to the armed man with no fear.

"Yah! Stay back or I'll shoot! I meant it." Yena was undeterred getting right up into his face, and just as he's about to fire, she grabs his hand and gives a slight jolt of electricity, making him drop the gun in shock. His partner looks over, and using Yena as a diversion, Chaewon sends a clone to sneak up and knock him out.

"That was a bit too easy." Yena pretends to dust of her hands to look cool. "You don't have to thank us, we just want to pay for our things and go." She says to the cashier who is still not looking at ease.

"M-mutants..." He stammers pointing a shaky finger at the group.

"Hey, man. We're cool, we're not gonna hurt you." Yena tries to say, but he backs off.

"No, stay away! Or I'll call the police on you!" He yells.

"Wait, we just saved you!" Chaewon complains.

"We don't serve your kind over here. Get outta here!" He yells once more. The scene at the convenience store was enough to get the attention of some bystanders in the restaurants in the gas station. Murmurs were going around, none of them good. The kid of the woman who was in there with the girls walked up to Yena and was about to thank her, but his mother simply picked him up and tried to get him away. "Don't touch them. You might become one of them!" She shouts.

"Really? It doesn't work like that at all." Yena sighs. The group was starting to gain a few more eyes, and it was clear that they weren't welcome.

"Yah! We're not dangerous, we were just trying to help!" Chaewon tries to reason, but it falls on deaf ears as the crowd begins yelling at them to go away. The commotion was enough to get Eunbi's attention who signals at them to get back in the bus. What happened to keep a low profile... She thinks.

~~~~

When they got back on the road, Yena and Chaewon continued to air out their grievances. "This is why I would rather pickpocket these idiots than save them! How can they be so rude?" Chaewon says.

"Would he have rather gotten robbed? We really aren't that different from normal people anyway. What makes us so bad?" Yena grumbles.

"Girls, I'm sorry, but this is part of the process." Eunbi says, now having the energy to focus on them after a while. "There will always be people like that, and it's part of our responsibility in this team to help change the bad rep mutants get. I know it's tough, but we can do this. I believe we can."

"You really know the right words to say, Eunbi-unnie. We appreciate it." Yena says back. Now the team was on to the final stretch of the journey to Busan where they had to save their friends.

The only down side right now was they weren't able to buy their snacks, Nako especially being upset at not getting her ice cream.