"Yah, Yena-unnie. Don't think we'll go easy on you just because we're roommates." Yujin says as they gather in their rooms that night.

"I wasn't expecting you to either." She responds with a laugh.

"I heard your leader, Eunbi-unnie, was hurt. Is she going to be back in time for the match?" Wonyoung asks curiously.

"She was pretty confident in herself. I think she believes she'll be back in time, so we're going to trust her." Yuri answers.

The four continued bantering for a while when their other two roommates, Juri and Goeun walked in.

"Oh, hi guys!" Wonyoung greets. She then turns to Juri, saying, "I'm sorry if I hit you too hard, Juri-unnie. You okay?" It was a sincere apology, everyone could tell, but Juri was a bit confused by it.

"Sorry? How come? You did what you had to do- help your teammate. It's all just training anyway. We should all be on each other's side." Juri says to which the group nods in agreement with. Every day, people like them were being persecuted for a power they didn't have control over getting. It didn't make much sense to squabble with each other when the only people who could truly understand them was each other.

"But..." Goeun jumps in. "That doesn't mean we're going to cheer for your team to win." Goeun teases the younger girls. "You four are our roommates, but we'll be siding with Yuri's team. Get revenge for us, will you girls?" She adds with a laugh. Yujin and Wonyoung proceed to whine, and the room starts bursting with laughter. Although rocky in the beginning, this room's inhabitants had slowly managed to get more comfortable with each other.

"Anyway, congrats on your team's win, Yuri. Want me to treat you to some extra food from the vending machine?" Goeun then asks. It was a surprising offer. Though meal time in the facility was structured, the trainers did allow them to order food from outside or spend extra money on vending machines or ice-cream parlors located in the cafeteria. The catch was they could only have this 'cheat' day, once a week, so giving that up to someone else was quite rare.

"Oh, sure, Goeun." She agrees but looks back at her duck-faced friend who's avoiding her gaze. "What about Yena-unnie? She's my teammate too."

"Ah, I'm sorry, Yena. I only have enough money for one meal right now." She then turns back to Yuri. "C'mon, let's go." Yuri gives one last look back at Yena before walking out.

~~~~

"Unnie...you are really slow." Yujin says flatly.

"I'm going to agree with Yujin on this one, unnie. You really let her do that in front of your salad." Wonyoung adds.

"You two actually agreeing on something? Has the world come to an end already?" Yena says jokingly while laying on her bed.

"Yah, can two people not agree with something when they see someone act like you? You really got to step up your game, unnie." Yujin replies.

"D-did you want some food too, Yena?" Juri asks quietly.

"No, Juri. I'm fine. I'm just tired from the match is all." Yena's just staring at the ceiling which causes her to miss the frown on Juri's face.

"Alright, I'll go meet some friends, guys. Don't wait up for me." And Juri walks out the room.

Yena groans loudly. "Why did she just agree like that? Does she not see the look Goeun gives her every time?"

"Unnie, if she can miss the look on your face every time you look at her, she'll obviously miss Goeun-unnie's too." Wonyoung replies which makes Yujin snicker.

"Yah, what face? I don't have a face. She's my teammate. I wanted to treat her to food too. That's all."

"Why are you getting defensive all of a sudden?" Yujin says with a laugh. "Maybe Yuri does see it but likes Goeun instead."

"Yah! Why would she?" Yena throws her pillow over to Yujin. Both younger girls laughing hard. If she'd like anyone, it'd be me, right? She asks herself.

"Anyway, since when have you two been so buddy-buddy? I heard from Chaeyeon that you two had quite the moment." Yena changes course and attacks the two with her questioning now.

"That wasn't a moment, unnie. It was the end of the match and we were celebrating. Besides, Me? Like her? C'mon, we're like a cat and a dog." Yujin suddenly gets on the defensive mode, but she doesn't see the way Wonyoung's expression changes as she says that. "Right, Wonyoung? Back me up here. We're just friends."

"Yeah, sure. Just friends." She says dejectedly.

"Huh? Wonyoung, what's wrong?" Yujin asks, noticing the lack of energy of her younger friend.

"Nothing, unnie. I'm just tired too. I'll go sleep already." And with that, she covers herself with the bedsheet and quiets down.

Yujin looks over to Yena after making sure Wonyoung had really fallen asleep. "Yah, unnie. What did I do wrong?" She asks.

"Tsk, and you call me slow?" Yena responds snidely.

"Is the playing hard-to-get strategy not working? Am I pushing her away?"

"Just go to sleep, Yujin. I don't want to be awake when Yuri gets back." Yujin just sits her bed, confused, as Yena falls into slumber too.

~~~~

"Who's first in the showers today, Gaeun-unnie?" Chaeyeon asks in a sing-song tone.

"It's Minjoo, again." She says as they get unlock their room.

"Aww, wasn't she first last time too?" Chaeyeon whines. Despite being a leader for her team, Chaeyeon had a different personality when she was the younger. She acts more childish and playful, something Gaeun tended to enjoy.

"It's been a week already, Chaeyeon. That means the order resets."

"A week? Everything's gone by so quickly. I didn't notice." She responds with a laugh.

Gaeun sighs contentedly. "Time flies when you're training, young one. In the moment, it'll feel like hours, but once you finish, days will have passed." Chaeyeon considered this. It was true that she'd been having fun training with her teammates. Sometimes, they even went overtime with the work they put in.

"I guess you have a point. Now, where is Minjoo? Is she late again?" At this, the girl in question bursts through the door, once again saying her apologies, but no one could really stay mad at her.

"I'm really sorry again, guys. I was just coming from the infirmary, Hongki-sunbaenim was checking on my shoulder injury. Miru's claws left their mark." She says with a laugh, not wanting to sound too serious.

"Don't worry, Minjoo. Take your time. That reminds me, I have to check on Yunjin. Hitomi tied her up pretty good a while ago. Chaeyeon, can you accompany me?" A wave of confusion passes over Chaeyeon from Gaeun's request, but she reluctantly agrees.

~~~~

"That was a quite the performance your team put up against mine." Gaeun says.

"I could say the same about yours, unnie." She responds.

"Oh, drop the formalities. I already know how old I am. No need to remind me." She says with a laugh.

"Okay, Gaeun. So, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" Chaeyeon asks curiously.

Gaeun's expression suddenly becomes serious. "There's something brewing that we must talk about. It involves our roommates, specifically Jurina and Sakura." Sakura? What could she be doing to put off Gaeun? Chaeyeon asks herself.

"I know you've taken a liking to Sakura, but I'm just telling you to be on your toes during the finals. Make sure she doesn't do anything sketchy." She continues.

"Woah, wait a minute. I don't like her that way. Why does everyone keep saying that?" Chaeyeon tries in vain to hide her blushing cheeks. Gaeun just shakes her head with a smile.

"In any case. You are the team leader. Sakura may be calling all the shots, but you have to make sure people remember that you're in charge." She warns.

"What's wrong anyway? What brought this up?"

"I've been monitoring Jurina's actions lately. Something suspicious is going on. In our match, she asked to be the one to handle Sakura. At first, I thought it was because she knew Sakura's abilities, so I agreed, but I got suspicious. They're always wandering around the facility, as if they're scouting it rather than sight-seeing." Chaeyeon then remembers seeing them by the server room that one time. Gaeun did have a point.

"As the team leader, you are responsible for the well-being of your teammates. If something is up, you must address it before it becomes a problem. Pay closer attention during the finals." Gaeun concludes and walks ahead into the distance. I will then. Chaeyeon thinks. But I'm also going to prove that Sakura is innocent as well.

~~~~

"Anyone home?" A voice says as she enters the room. Hmm, I guess not.

Chaewon's always wondered where everyone goes to after dinner. Sakura and Jurina are always wandering around, Gaeun is always looking after Yunjin, and Chaeyeon...she's a pretty free spirit. She just can't sit still for too long.

She was about to open the bathroom door when she remembered the event from last week. She's been paranoid of walking in on someone in the shower since it happened. Chaewon would always make sure to check the shower schedule and listening for the sounds of water before going in. Minjoo, again? Oh, thank god. Cannot have a repeat of last time. She thinks to herself. Chaewon sits on her bed patiently, swinging her legs back and forth.

After a few minutes, she'd began to doze off until she heard the sound of the shower dying down. Chaewon perks up, and not because she got to use the shower next.

When Minjoo walks out, she gives a polite, "Hi", and Chaewon swore that Minjoo was the prettiest girl she'd ever seen. She'd just gotten out of the shower with her hair wet and messy, but Chaewon couldn't help but smile.

"Whatcha thinking about, unnie? What's got you smiling all of a sudden." Minjoo asks curiously.

Chaewon is quick to hide her grin and clears . "Just thinking about our matches, and how fun they were." She says.

"Really? Is that your idea of fun?" Minjoo replies with a laugh.

"Well, it beats my life before coming here, that's for sure." Chaewon hadn't meant to say it, but it just came out naturally. Minjoo was very easy to talk to. She always looked engaged and interested in what you were saying.

"And what was that life like, if I may ask."

"Hmm, where to start?" Chaewon wonders.

"The beginning would be nice." Minjoo responds sarcastically, to which Chaewon laughs back.

"I guess you have a point." And she begins.

----------

Growing up as a mutant wasn't easy. Sure, some people like Yena had people who cared for them, but that was rare. Chaewon considered herself lucky in a sense, but there were still things about her childhood that she wished turned out differently. At first, she didn't actually realize she even had powers. She just assumed she was seeing double when she'd see a mirror version of herself on the streets and around the neighborhood. Chaewon had heard stories of how mutant kids were tossed out the house, left to fend for themselves. She really hoped she'd be a normal girl, and for a while, life was going pretty smoothly. Chaewon had been quite blessed, growing up in a good home where she didn't have to worry about things like food or clothes. It came with having an actress for a mother.

Despite this, all good things come with a trade-off. Her mother had told her to keep her identity a secret. It wasn't that she was ashamed of having her. Chaewon was a diligent student who was also very popular with the other kids for her looks and intellect. She was a perfect student and daughter. What parent wouldn't be proud of her? Her mother had always told her that if people found out, they'd treat her differently. They'd try to use her. She wanted Chaewon to live a normal life as well, but things started to go wrong when they started to realize she had powers. Her mother became stricter with curfew. She'd snap at her more often, and one day, Chaewon snapped too.

She'd been raised to be the pretty girl, the model student. People were supposed to want to be her. It was about to be the mother-daughter event at school when things took a turn for the worse. Chaewon had really wanted her mother to finally be there for her for once, but she was shut down.

"No, I'm sorry, honey, but I have a schedule on that day. Besides, it wouldn't do you any good if I went." She had said.

"Really? So, you'd rather have me be humiliated and be alone? Why can't you grant me this wish one time?" She pleaded.

"No, Chaewon. In fact, it's better if you don't go at all. Just call in sick or something. It's bad enough that you have mutant powers. At least they aren't the type to show easily. I can't let you be in a position to expose us like that."

"Us? Don't you mean you? I just want you to be my mother, but all you care about is your reputation?" She'd started to put the pieces together long ago, but just refused to accept them. She'd always trusted that her mother had her best interests at heart, but maybe she was wrong.

"What is the meaning of this, young lady? You wouldn't even be in this position if it weren't for me. Your looks, your standing, this whole life? It was me who gave that to you. Don't you understand that all I want is for you to live a normal life? Is that so much to ask?"

"I guess it is. Goodbye, mom." And with that, she ran out of the house and into the streets. Her mother followed, but it was too late. It was impossible to track the young girl down because she'd split herself three ways and separate into different paths.

Chaewon was tired of always being the nice girl. She never really felt like herself back in school, always having to keep up an image, but when she ran? She had a new start. Chaewon had to start living on her own, so she had to start making money as well, and that's when she started using her powers more often. She'd become known as the Myeong-dong bandit. She'd mainly prey on lost foreigners asking for directions, but anyone was fair game. While she distracted her target, her clone would pick their pockets. It wasn't the most honorable way to live, but she had to do what she could to get by. Besides, Chaewon was starting to like the new persona. She'd cut her long brown hair to around shoulder-length, bought more comfortable clothing, basically did whatever she could to leave the model student persona behind.

All that would change the day she met Eunbi. She'd just finished fishing out an American couple's wallet, and as she started to walk away, she was stopped by a woman. She tried to walk by her, but the older girl blocked her way again.

"Yah, I'm walking here." She said rudely.

"That's no way to talk to your elders, Chaewon-ssi." At this, Chaewon freezes, narrowing her eyes to take a good look at the older woman.

"If my mother sent you, you can go back to hell." She spat.

"She didn't send me." She says curtly. "But I did come to find you after seeing this." She holds up her phone where a notice is posted. Her old school picture was on it with her name and powers listed. It was a bounty. That witch.

"What do you want?" Is all she could ask.

"I'm not here for the bounty. I'm here to set your life straight again. Now could you please return that couple's wallet?" She points at the Americans she'd just conned frantically emptying their bags looking for their money.

"How can I even believe you?" Chaewon asks cautiously. At this, Eunbi takes out a card from her pocket and hands it to her.

"Kwon Eunbi. Recruiter. Woollim Institute for Mutants." She reads aloud. Eunbi takes the opportunity to snatch the wallet from Chaewon's pocket and walk over to hand it over to the couple who sincerely thanked her.

"Hmm, does this place have a bed?" When Eunbi nods, all Chaewon says is, "Alright, let's go then. Lead the way." And that's how Chaewon found herself at Woollim where she stayed and trained with Eunbi. Chaewon was intrigued at Eunbi's motivations. She didn't even have any powers yet she has worked for the good of mutants. Most humans would scoff at the idea of being nice to people like them. She doesn't blame them though. Why would they want to help them when they're either afraid, misunderstanding or straight up resenting to them? It shocked her even more when Eunbi had convinced her to sign up for the Produce camp saying she'd signed up herself.

"Unnie, don't you think it's dangerous for you? You're just a normal human, what if they find out?" She'd asked. Chaewon had grown to care for her older friend in the time she'd known her. She'd treated her like the mother she never had.

"I'm doing this to help mutants like you. Mutants who think all they're good for is stealing and ransacking towns. There's a place in this world for you, and I don't need powers to prove it. If I get on the team, I can help more people, Chaewonnie. Help me out, will you?" Eunbi had practically begged Chaewon to sign up with her citing the dangers of refusing, how they'd hunt her down to kill or experiment. She was pretty convincing, and well, she was the only family Chaewon had at that point. She didn't really understand Eunbi's motives completely, but she didn't want her to go alone.

----------

"Ah, I see. It must have been tough for you. I'm glad Eunbi-unnie found you." Minjoo had listened wholeheartedly, and Chaewon was glad. "I'm curious though. What exactly is Eunbi-unnie's power? I haven't exactly seen her in action."

"Oh, uhm, you see..." Chaewon was scrambling to come up with something. She'd conveniently left out the details of Eunbi's lack of powers for her sake. Eunbi had told her she'd share it in her own time. "She's slithery like a snake! That's it." She says with a nervous laugh. "She's able to channel it when she fights. That's why she's so good at combat." Minjoo nods along.

"Anyway, what about you, Minjoo? What's your story?" Chaewon asks.

"Ah, well, it isn't as interesting as yours really. My parents really just wanted me to go and make some friends. When my powers started to show, all of my friends left me, you see. They didn't want to be associated with a mutant." She responds glumly.

"You really are something, Minjoo. From all the hiding and disappearing you do, I wouldn't have been able to guess you were here to make friends." Chaewon jokes.

"It worked though, didn't it? I've made some friends here." She says in retort.

"Really? Like who?" Chaewon challenges.

"Like you? I'm really happy I've become friends with you, Chaewon. You were always so cool from afar. I was relieved when I found out we were roommates." Minjoo says meekly. "Ah, this is embarrassing, I shouldn't have said that."

"Oh, don't worry about it. It's cute. I'm glad to be your friend too." The way Chaewon looks at Minjoo right now makes her want to melt on the spot. Her heart is hammering in her chest.

The two are now left staring at each other awkwardly. Minjoo breaks first, turning away, fixing her hair. "Uhm, you should go take a shower already, unnie. We shouldn't keep the others waiting." Chaewon can only smile at the girl's disposition.

"Alright then, talk to you later, Minjoo." She gathers her towel and clothes and walks towards the bathroom.

"Hey, Chaewon?" Minjoo asks as she leaves. "Mmh?" she responds.

"Thanks, for being open with me, it was really nice talking to you." Chaewon smiles again. "The pleasure is mine. I'll be off then." And Minjoo is left laying on her bed smiling to herself, giddy and happy.

~~~~

"I'm just saying, Hitomi. You didn't need to be that serious." Yunjin whines while rubbing her arms, covered with bandages.

"How was I supposed to know you were allergic to vines? You didn't even know yourself." She responds. The two are arguing while the rest of the group walks back to their room. It had been a long day for all of them, especially the eldest who was lagging behind the group, observing.

"Your shoulder feeling alright?" A voice pulls Eunbi out of her thoughts. It was Hyewon, who'd slowed down and fallen into step with her. It was surprising to be honest. She'd never looked like the type to be concerned about anything.

"Yeah...I guess so. It should heal by the time the finals roll around." She says as she rubs her injured shoulder. She would admit though that in the moment, she really felt like her time had come. She'd been stabbed cleanly through her shoulder, through the bone. If Hongki hadn't come sooner, she may have been through. You have to talk with Representative Lee. He had advised her. She was hesitant though. She was afraid of being kicked out of the program. What use would a normal human like her have in this superpowered world anyway. Despite this, she held strong to her goals. She had to make the team, and maybe if she let Seunggi know it, he'd allow her to stay.

"What's on your mind? The match from earlier?" Hyewon prodded, seeing the serious look on her leader's face. Now Eunbi was starting to get curious. This did not feel like Hyewon at all.

"Why so curious all of a sudden?" She asks. "You've never been one to get to know the others."

"Is that the person you take me to be?" Hyewon says, no offense taken. She doesn't seem quite surprised. "I wouldn't blame you, but I do care about the team. I told you to leave Chaejeong and Choyeon to me, didn't I? The others clearly needed help, so I took responsibility for distracting them. Yena and Yuri can't even see their feelings for each other, do you really think they can function alone together? As for the two Kims, Minjoo clearly needs more pep talks, and you seem to be the only one who knows how to handle Chaewon. I can handle myself." Now, Eunbi was really taken aback. Hyewon was way more perceptive than she'd thought. She wonders why she'd never said anything.

"Woah, I didn't take you to be someone like that, Hyewon." She blurts out.

"I told you already, unnie. I take no offense to that. But in my defense, it's not like you guys tried to get to know me better either." Hyewon concludes and walks ahead leaving Eunbi feeling quite guilty. She'd just assumed Hyewon was the quiet type who wanted nothing more than to not be here, but she never actually tried to approach her.

When the group arrived at their room, they took time to clean up, take showers, change clothes and the like. Eventually, they settled down and exchanged stories of the day. Nako got very angry when Eunbi had told them about how ruthless Seoyoung had been in the match.

"If I see her in the next training, want me to teach her a lesson for you?" Nako huffs, but with her stature, it looked more cute than intimidating causing the group to laugh.

"No need, Nako. We beat her. That's all that matters." Eunbi says with finality.

"Well, unnie. Now we get to meet in the finals! I'm so excited!" Nako shouts cheerfully.

"Aish, I may have a soft spot for you, Nako, but we won't let you win that easily." Eunbi says with a laugh. "Anyway, guys. I have to go somewhere for a bit. I'll be back soon, okay? The group nods and continues bantering as the room leader walks out.

~~~~

I guess I'm gonna have to come clean, aren't I? Eunbi thinks to herself. She'd come here with a dream, that mutants and humans could live together peacefully. She wanted no part in the anti-mutant protests around the country calling for all mutants to be executed, imprisoned or experimented on. She wanted nothing more than justice for them. After all, she'd already lost family because of this hate.

As she walks to Seunggi's office, she runs into Chaeyeon, the opposing team's leader. She'd trained with her during combat lessons with Nako and Chaewon, and she could tell that Chaeyeon was definitely an ace. She was multilingual, trained in JYP and much more. She'd make a difficult opponent. Eunbi had expected her demeanor to change now that they were opponents, but she was surprised to see the wide smile that appeared on Chaeyeon's face when they made eye-contact.

"Unnie!" She greeted. "I hear you'll be our opponents in the finals. Good luck!"

"Oh, uh. Good luck to you guys too." She takes the hand Chaeyeon had offered and shakes it.

"Pleasure to meet you Eunbi-unnie!" Chaeyeon's vibe was completely opposite of what she'd expected. Her cheeriness rivaled Nako's, and she appeared to be very humble. Maybe the interaction with Chaejeong and Seoyoung had put her on edge. I guess the Chaeyeon in training is the same as the Chaeyeon outside it.

"I heard you were injured in the last match. Don't worry, unnie. I'm sure it'll heal in time."

"Oh, thank you." She responds.

"What're you doing out at a time like this?" Chaeyeon asks.

"I could ask you the same question." She says back and at this, her face turns serious.

"Nothing much. I was just taking a walk with Gaeun-unnie. Evaluating our teams' performance and all." It sounded like the truth, but Eunbi could tell she was hiding something, but decided not to pry.

"Well, as for me, I was just on my way to Seunggi-sunbaenim's office. I needed to discuss something with him."

"Ah, I see. Take care then, I have to go. It was nice meeting you, Eunbi-unnie!" Chaeyeon bows and walks off.

~~~~

Nako, Hitomi, Yunjin and Chowon were sitting on their beds in deep discussion, Hyewon already asleep, when Gaeun had knocked on the door.

"Yunjin!" She yells. "I brought you some ointment for your rashes."

"Ugh, you don't have to keep babying me like that, unnie!" She whines. "It's embarrassing!"

"Gaeun really knows how to be a mom, doesn't she?" Nako teases. Gaeun hears this and gives the smaller girl a look, causing her to settle down. "Not that it's a bad thing, or anything, right Hii-chan?" Hitomi rolls her eyes at being dragged into another one of Nako's squabbles.

"Alright, Yunjinnie. I'll see you tomorrow!" Gaeun says cheerfully, her eyes looking like crescents when she smiles.

"Wait...Gaeun-unnie. I have a question." Nako says before Gaeun could leave. She turns around, looking at the girl curiously. "Hmm? And what would that be?"

"Do you know anything about Jurina-unnie? She said something to me and Hii-chan near the end of the match." Nako asks, and Gaeun's interest had been taken.

"Not, really. Shouldn't you two be the ones to know her?" She asks back.

"Ah, it doesn't really work that way in Japan. We're split off into different groups just like you guys have different institutes. I had only heard of Jurina-unnie from what others would say."

"Yes, from what I've heard, she's one of the strongest Japanese mutants, even getting missions and meetings with the prime minister, himself." Hitomi adds. That bit of information piqued Gaeun's interest even more.

"And what exactly did she tell you two?"

"That we'd be on her side if we knew what was happening. We're not so sure what she meant either, which is why we wanted to ask her teammates."

"Come to think of it. Jurina does seem to act weird whenever I see her around. She's always with Sakura and they walk close to the restricted areas." Yunjin interjects.

"Aren't you close with Sakura-chan, Nako?" Hitomi asks.

"Yes, we came here together in the same group actually. I've known her for a while, when I was brought to the HKT facility, she'd been there for years already. She was practically raised in that institute."

"Hmm, interesting. Chowon, have you ever tried reading Jurina's mind?" Gaeun asks.

"I actually have, but her mental walls are too strong. Once she sensed me in there, a cloud of darkness would just cover her thoughts." She responds.

"You guys are going to be training while waiting for the finals, right? Is it too much to ask you two to try and get information out of Sakura? We'll try to do the same for Jurina on our end." Gaeun was trying to fit the puzzle pieces together but there still wasn't anything concrete.

"Sure, unnie!" The two say as they all try to figure out what Jurina's plan is. Jurina and Sakura, hmm? Someone hums to herself. Though she'd looked asleep, Hyewon had heard everything, and now she was curious to what was happening too.

~~~~

"Please, sir, I can do this. Trust me." Eunbi had said.

"I'm sorry, but it's too dangerous. I admit your intentions are noble, but we cannot allow a powerless bystander to be in harm's way." Seunggi responded.

"Just give me one more chance. My team made the finals, they'd be so confused without me there leading them. Let me prove I belong."

"Okay then. It's not like anything I say will stop you. I admire your conviction, Eunbi, but I warn you that we can't be held responsible if something worse than the already fatal injured you sustained happens again."

"I understand, ssaem." And she walks out.

Quite the interesting team we're building up here. Seunggi comments to himself. I just hope they'll all reach their potentials. That Eunbi girl still has another level to reach.