As time went on, more and more people started piling into the great hall. The seats that seemed impossible to fill looked as if they wouldn't be enough if people kept coming in.

Yena turns to her friends, Sihyeon and Yiren, excitedly. She'd known that there were always others like her- people with strange powers, but she never expected this many.

"Can you guys imagine? Everyone here is like us! I can't wait to befriend all of them!" Yena was still in a state of awe seeing the amount of people all assembled in one room. She turns her head in the direction of someone about to sit next to them.

"Hi!!! I'm Yena, I'm good with electricity, what's your power??" She's always been an enthusiastic person. She was never shy when meeting others despite many giving her the cold shoulder.

"Pft, what's it to you? I'm not here to make any friends." The girl harshly responds and turns away from Yena.

"Gee, can't we all be a little more light hearted?" Yena asks her friends.

"Not everyone's as eager to be here as you, Yena". Sihyeon interjects. "Not everyone wants to be here."

"Yeah, remember, we're technically required by law to be here if we want to stay alive." Yiren adds

"C'mon guys, not everyone is gonna be like that though, stop bringing down the mood." Yena then proceeds to shift her attention to another girl seated in her vicinity. Woah, that girl's pretty- Is the thought that runs through her head first. She had long caramel colored hair, wearing jeans and a white blouse. She was catching a lot of glances from the people around her.

She squints to read the name tag on her shirt. Kim Minjoo. "Hey, Minjoo, over here! I'm Yena! It's nice to meet you!" Yena enthusiastically waves while her friends try to calm her down, nodding at the girl apologetically as if saying, Excuse our friend here, she's really like that. Minjoo turns shyly and all of a sudden disappears in front of their eyes, well her face does but her clothes were still visible.

"Woahhh! You can turn invisible? That's really cool. I can't really show what I can do because they said elemental powers can't be used without permission." Yena rambles.

Minjoo smiles and waves back awkwardly, embarrassed how she didn't completely disappear when in her mind, she really wanted to. Listen Minjoo, you came here alone, maybe you need to make some friends. She thinks to herself. She looks back at Yena still hyped up and excited and keeps her eyes trained on the entrance once again. Buttt, maybe after I find my way around here.

Minjoo had always been a shy person. She was known as an innocent angel when she was younger and was beloved by almost everyone...until her powers showed up. Ever since, she'd always wished that she could somehow disappear forever and never reappear.

~~~~

Somewhere near the entrance, a couple of young kids are bickering. One had long black hair wearing a plain white shirt with jeans, though you could tell that they were branded and high-end. The other had short black hair, wearing a blue shirt with a dog on it along with some white shorts. "Yah, Yujin-ah, where have you been? We were supposed to go in there 10 minutes ago!" The first girl asks.

"Can you relax, Wonyoung? I just went to the washroom." Yujin points to the crowd of people lining up to enter the hall. "See? Not everyone's even inside yet."

"Yeah, but we might end up not getting any nice seats! What if we have to end up sitting next to some weirdos!" Wonyoung was very young, no pun intended. She had come from a prestigious background and always expected things to go her way. She was very spoiled in that aspect. When her powers showed though, it didn't matter how powerful her family was. She was forced to enlist in the training program.

"Sheesh, picky as always, I see. Maybe we should wait a little longer, just so you'll be forced to-" Yujin is cut off by someone pinching her ear.

"That's enough, Yujin. We have to go in now because we're late, not because of what Wonyoung wants. Our representatives will not be happy if they find out. They could make it out as us trying to flake and run. That wouldn't be good for any of us." Said an older voice nagging to the two young girls.

"Yes, Gahyeon unnie. Fine let's go." Yujin grumbles. Like Wonyoung, she was also very young, just a year older than her, but that's where the similarities ended. Yujin worked really hard to be casted as an eyewear child-model. She was on so many billboards and commercials, she felt she was dreaming, but once word got out about the manifestation of her powers, all of that fame faded away. She was forced into hiding before she ended up at StarShip's institution for mutant reformation and safety. All her ads were scrapped and she was easily replaced with someone "normal". Someone who was what the people wanted her to be. She really felt hurt by that.

~~~~

Yena was still trying to converse with every trainee in her vicinity. Some would bite back harshly at her nosiness while others straight up acted like they didn't hear her. It was starting to get discouraging. Can't I make at least one new friend here? She thought. We all have special powers here. Shouldn't we be happy to find others like ourselves? It was then that she remembered what Sihyeon and Yiren had told her earlier

Not everyone wants to be here like you do.

They were right. Everyone does have their reasons for being here. That girl who blew her off earlier said she wasn't here to make friends. Then what is she here for? Yena was suddenly interested in what motivated everyone to come here. Was it as simple as Yiren's? I'm only agreeing because they'd hunt me down if I didn't. That's what she said when they'd first met a few weeks ago. Did everyone's presence here really just stem from survival instinct, or did others have reasons as complicated as hers?
 

Yena was pondering this as a new group of girls entered the hall. Her gaze immediately fell upon one of them, and her heart skipped a beat. Sure, there were many pretty girls who've entered thus far, like that Minjoo girl earlier, but she felt different looking at this one. She didn't understand what was wrong, but she found herself staring at that girl from afar trying to distinguish her name tag. Her long brown hair cascaded down her shoulders complimenting her clothes nicely. She was wearing a light-blue blouse and a white skirt. Her face looked like a cross between a hamster and a puppy and Yena was captivated. It was then that she realizes their eyes had met and Yena was quick to look away, cheeks flushed.

"Hmm? Who's caught your attention this time, Yena?" Sihyeon playfully teased.

"Huh?! Uhm, no one. I was just scanning the crowd and a light must've shone in my eye. Nothing to worry about." Yena internally slaps herself for such a lame excuse. She tries to look for the girl again, but it was difficult since her back was probably faced to her now that they were sitting. Hmph, I guess I'll have to find her later on. She thought to herself.

"Sure Yena, we totally believe you. She's over there by the way." Sihyeon points in a random direction and Yena's eyes dart to...empty seats. Sihyeon and Yiren were laughing at how easily Yena fell for it.

"Unnie! Don't play with me like that!" Yena whines, but as she tries to gather herself, she wonders. Huh, that's still a lot of seats to fill. I guess the seats really do go on forever. She quickly dismisses the thought while she tries to find the girl she'd seen earlier again.

~~~~

As time went on, many other trainees caught the eyes of a majority of the ones already seated. There were two giant giraffe-like girls followed after by two more giant girls who's faces looked like they couldn't be more than 17. Yena notices the two bickering as they try to find a seat. A complete contrast to the girls earlier who gracefully found their way to theirs. Those two are definitely early bloomers. She thought.

At this point, Yena was starting to get restless. Only a little bit over half the seats had already been filled when she heard murmurs up front. The way the hall was structured, voices echoed around easily enough to be understood. It looked like seats at an auditorium with Yena and her friends seated near the top since they were the first ones in. Who else could we possibly be waiting for?

"What do you guys think the commotion is down below?" She asks her friends curiously.

"Huh? I don't know if I heard this right, but I think the word 'Japanese' was thrown around."

"Wait, Japanese? No way, did they send over some trainees too??" Yena asks, even more inquisitive now.

"That doesn't make any sense though. I thought our countries were on bad terms. What benefit could Japan possibly get from sending trainees here to Korea?" Yiren interjects.

At that moment, silence engulfed the hall as they heard footsteps coming from the entrance. Then, one girl, then another, then another appeared. Japanese girls kept pouring out from the tunnel which left everyone stunned. This is crazy. Yena thought to herself. We're gonna be training with these people too?

"This is so odd." Sihyeon says.

"Huh? This is just awesome! I wonder what sort of powers kids get in Japan. Do you guys think they'll be anything like us?" Yena is just a bundle of energy right now. She's never felt this excited in her life.

"Really Yena? I'm part Chinese and the powers I get are pretty standard too you know. You act as if they're an alien race." Yiren chides Yena, but also having a set of questions of her own swirling in her head.

~~~~

As the Japanese girls get settled into their seats, two are having a discussion. "Sakura, why are we here again?" Asks a short energetic girl, wearing a checkered blazer over her blouse and skirt along with a matching beret. She looked like the embodiment of an anime character. "Don't we have facilities back in Japan for this kind of stuff? It surprised me when we were assigned to go here of all places."

"Nako, I figured you'd be excited to come over here since you're such a big fan of the culture." The girl, Sakura, responds. She was wearing the same clothes, minus the beret. She had a pretty face for sure, accentuated by her large eyes and ears.

"Pft, like I'm the only one here. I know you packed your Red Velvet album with you just in case you met Irene."

"Why you little-" Sakura takes a breath to compose herself. "The facilities here are different, Nako. I'm pretty sure the government just wanted us out of their hair for a while. I'd just enjoy being here if I were you."

Sakura could feel the sets of Korean eyes gazing at their group right now. She figured there was a 92.7% chance of that happening. What surprised her was the mix of reactions they were getting. She predicted that most would jeer and stare harshly at them, that they'd try to intimidate them. Yet, once they were in their seats, some Koreans tried to make conversation with them. This one tall older woman tapped her shoulder and greeted her in perfect Japanese. "Hello! Welcome to Korea! I'm Gaeun, and you are?"
 

Sakura hadn't expected this yet replied anyway. "Miyawaki Sakura, pleased to meet you. I'm surprised though. You don't hate us?" She asks suddenly and bluntly.

Gaeun looks at her empathetically. "You're here because you guys have powers, right? That makes you one of us in my book." It was a surprising way of thinking. Huh, I guess we are the same in that aspect. She thought.

Her self-reflection was cut short as the blank screen above the entrance , and the lights started to dim. A group of adults with soldiers lined up next to them strode into the hall. One of them, a woman who seemed to be in her mid-forties, looked around at the 96 trainees minding their own business, conversing or resting, unamused before announcing. "DID ANYONE SAY YOU COULD BE THIS LOUD?" The trainees quickly stop talking. Silence once again engulfing the hall aside from a few murmurs here and there. The older woman continues. "Listen up everyone. From today onwards, you will be answering to us! No backing out now unless you want the government to chase you guys down." Sakura feels chills down her spine. She hadn't completely learned Korean yet, but she could tell from the body language and tone that this woman meant business.

One of her colleagues interjects more calmly. "I think what she meant to say was 'Welcome to the Produce training facility'! We will be your head trainers teaching lessons such as physical endurance, combat, power-usage, things like that. We promise not to be too hard on you guys, but as many of you know, only the best will be chosen to be part of the task force. Though the difference this year that many of you probably don't know is that this is part of a union between South Korea and Japan. They came to the agreement that it would be beneficial for both countries to join forces to create a stronger team of individuals." At this, many trainees looked around, some in confusion, some in shock, some in disgust. "I am Lee Seunggi, by the way. I will be, what most of you would probably call, the 'principal' of this training institute. Don't worry, I'm open to take any of your concerns later on." He then proceeded to say the same message in Japanese which shocked both the Koreans and Japanese. "Now, for your trainers. Firstly, you've already heard her, Bae Yoon-jeong. We also have Choi Young-jun, May J Lee, Lee Hongki, Soyou and 'Cheetah'." Each trainer waved and bowed to all the trainees, looking very professional...and to most people's surprise, sincere. Seunggi then starts to end the opening remarks.

"Now that our introductions are over, it's your girls' turn. You're all welcome here, and now, it's time to see what you all got."

"It's showtime!"