“Any word from Chaeyeon?” Eunbi asks. It had only been fifteen minutes, but she couldn’t help but worry.

“Nope, but I’m sure she’ll be here with Chaewon’s clone soon.” Sakura responds calmly.

“Well, we can’t stay here forever. We got to find a better hiding spot soon.” The leader says.

“I agree.” Hyewon jumps in. “Ten girls just hanging out in an alley is pretty sketchy.”

“That’s going to be quite difficult.” The tech girl says. “I’m pretty sure your faces are plastered all over the news, and ours will probably be there too now when Principal Ahn finds out.”

“So, we’re being chased by the police, and we can’t go back to campus, and we don’t have anywhere to go???” Wonyoung says worriedly. Yujin puts a hand on her shoulder trying to calm her down, but this situation was a lot to take in, especially for the fifteen-year old.

“Yah, Chaewon-ah. What’s with the look on your face?” Eunbi asks, noticing how the younger girl’s face tensed, as if she were debating something.

“Hmm…I think I might know a place where we can stay.” She replies with an unsure expression. “Anyone got a phone?”

~~~~

“Chaewon-unnie, why did you never tell us your mother was Lee Ran Hee???” Yuri pesters while they were in the private van Chaewon’s mother had sent for them.

“Yeah unnie! I would’ve asked for an autograph. I love her work!” Wonyoung complains.

“I mean, no one ever asked.” The short-haired replies with a shrug.

“I didn’t even know you reconciled with her.” Eunbi says, remembering how the younger girl described their relationship. Chaewon had hated her mother and even ran away from home, so she was surprised at how casually Chaewon talked to her when Sakura had handed her a phone.

“Well, I didn’t think you would because I literally only did that last night. How else do you think I got to Daegu so fast? Bus fares are pretty expensive, you know.” Chaewon says before detailing what had happened the night before when she’d left the campus on her own.

“Wow, you really liked Minjoo-unnie enough to patch up things with your mother? Impressive.” Yena teases.

“Yah, don’t you remember what you did to go save Yuri-unnie? I don’t think you should be one to talk.” Yujin interjects, causing the others to laugh.

“Madam Kim, we’ll be arriving shortly.” The driver announces after a couple minutes. Chaewon nods and informs the others who give oohs and aahs when they see the mansion they were approaching. The front area was a beautiful garden with well-trimmed shrubbery and all sorts of flowers blooming from roses to violets. The mansion itself was a stark white building, three stories tall, and Chaewon realized that she’d forgotten how nice it had looked. She thinks that she probably didn’t appreciate it as much the night before because it was too dark.

“This is where you used to live, unnie?” Wonyoung asks, quietly reminiscing about her own mansion where she used to live in before being taken to StarShip. As the group gets out of the van, the doors at the front open and a woman in her late 40s appears. She looked like an older version of Chaewon.

“Chaewonnie! It’s so good to see you again! You brought your friends too!” She greets.

“Good to see you too, mom, but, the Chaewon you saw yesterday was a different one.” The short-haired girl says with an awkward smile.

“Nonsense, it doesn’t matter if it was one of your copies or not. You’re still my daughter in my eyes.” The older woman replies before addressing the others.

“Oh, where are my manners? Come in! Come in! Chaewon told me about your current situation. We should get you inside before anyone sees!” She says.

~~~~

The inside of the mansion was even more impressive than the outside. Beautiful art pieces lined the halls along with chandeliers hanging overhead. As they walked, they also passed by intricate sculptures and rooms with fancy furniture. You truly wouldn’t have guessed that Chaewon had grown up here with how she’d changed.

“Feel free to make yourselves at home. This is the first time that Chaewon’s ever brought friends over after all.” Chaewon’s mom says.

“Wait, is this Chaewon?” Yena asks when she sees a portrait of a young girl in a school uniform.

“Yes, she never did seem to enjoy wearing that uniform. She always wanted to wear more casual clothes, but I was too stubborn.” The older woman says, referring to how Chaewon wasn’t smiling at all in the photo. The other girls tried but ultimately failed to hide their laughter trying to imagine Chaewon as a child. She must’ve been quite the handful.

“Yah, mom, don’t embarrass me like that!” Chaewon whines. On the inside though, she was glad to see that her mother had changed and began to understand why she acted the way she did back then. Eventually, the group was led to their rooms that were definitely an upgrade over the dorms they had back on campus. Each guest bedroom was twice the size of their old dorms, and had a queen-sized bed with feathery pillows and a flatscreen television in front of it.

“Thank you for your hospitality, ma’am. We hope that we aren’t causing too much trouble.” Eunbi says while bowing.

“It’s no problem at all! Just make sure my daughter stays safe. I hope you can finish your mission without a hitch. Go on and rest now, by the way. I’ll let you know when it’s time for dinner.” Chaewon’s mother says before leaving them be.

“Your mom’s really nice.” Nako says.

“Yeah, she’s really changed…” Chaewon says with a smile.

“Anyway, you heard her. We should all get some rest. I told Chaeyeon through my copy to head over here instead-” Just as she says that, the doorbell rings again signaling their arrival. “Well, that couldn’t have been timed any better. Alright, I’ll head down and meet her.”

~~~~

When Chaewon opened the door, she was greeted by Chaeyeon and her clone. The older girl didn’t look tired at all, but her copy was definitely reeling from the trip, her complexion a shade of green.

“Hi, Chaeyeon-unnie, thanks for making the trip! You want to rest for a bit before going back or…”

“No need, Won-ah! I haven’t been able to run this much in a while. Besides, I’m sure you can’t wait to see Minjoo again~” The older girl says with a smirk. Chaewon can only roll her eyes and send her off after handing her a water jug. After Chaeyeon left, Chaewon now found herself alone with her clone at the front door. She was actually about to merge back with her when the copy spoke.

“I saw you drive Yujin and Wonyoung to get away a while ago. You think we can pass the test next time? I would’ve rather been in there than be carried by Chaeyeon-unnie again.” She jokes, still trying to recover from the motion sickness. The barf bag did come in handy after all.

“Heh, I guess we should try it out when everything’s over.” Chaewon responds gingerly. Though all her clones worked independently, she realizes that she’d never actually had a conversation with one. In fact, she doesn’t think she’d ever heard her clone speak when she was in the vicinity. There was only ever one Chaewon talking whenever there were multiple copies in the same area.

“What’s wrong?” The clone says with a confused look.

“N-nothing. I’m glad you managed to save Min. Let’s just merge again, rest up and meet with the others.” Chaewon says. The copy simply nods, and the two walk towards each other and combine again. Chaewon thought it would all be fine, but she was suddenly overcome with the feeling of motion sickness. Everything the clone had felt and experienced was now being felt by her.

“Note to self…never let Chaeyeon-unnie race you halfway across the country at top speed ever again…” Chaewon thinks to herself as she closes the door and meets up with the others again. Later in the day, Chaeyeon had finally arrived with Minjoo without issues, unless you count Minjoo running straight for the toilet to hurl as one. The mood was definitely a lot lighter though from there as the group was finally all back together.

~~~~

A few hours later…

The group now found themselves seated around a long table, plates of delicious food being placed in front of them. Chaewon’s mom had certainly gone all out, asking her personal chefs to prepare the best food for her daughter’s friends. The dishes ranged bibimbap to japchae to yukhoe and all types of stew, but the main item that got everyone excited was all the grilled meat.

“Thanks again for the food, ma’am!” They all say before digging in.

“Please, just call me Ms. Lee.” She replies with a smile. She was already glad that her daughter had come home, but she was way happier seeing how bright Chaewon’s smile was as she talked with her friends, specifically the girl who had come late- Minjoo, she recalls. After years of coming home with a sulky expression, her daughter looked happy.

“So, I contacted Seunggi-sunbaenim a while ago for our next course of action.” Eunbi announces after a few minutes.

“What’d he say?” Sakura asks.

“Remember what you said about Jeju island? The base Chaewon went to was just a connection to their base there. They probably took Minjoo to that lab because it was faster, but Seunggi-sunbaenim said to leave that base be. We should go for the bigger one instead because all of their data gets consolidated there in Jeju.” The leader says.

“But how are we going to get there?” Yena asks. “Aren’t our faces all over the news? I’m sure we’re on some blacklist, so riding a plane or boat isn’t going to be an option.”

“That’s the next point. He said that we have to retake PD campus because there are private vehicles there.” Eunbi replies, recalling the first time they snuck in there to steal a van. The garage contained an assortment of vehicles, and she had a vague memory of seeing a plane hanging from the ceiling. The others nod in agreement, also noting how it could also be an opportunity to free their friends.

“What’s the gameplan then, captain?” Yujin asks, already looking motivated and excited to get some action.

“There should be three main objectives: 1. Freeing our friends, 2. Regaining control of the server room so that Principal Ahn can’t have access to our data, and 3. Securing the garage.” Eunbi lists.

“Sounds like groups of four.” Hyewon says.

“Mhm, I think you all know who you’ll be paired with at this point, so all we have to do is pair the pairs. Me, Hyewon, Sakura and Chaeyeon will plan it overnight and let you all know in the morning. For now, you should all rest and enjoy the night.” The others nod in agreement at the leader’s suggestion just as Chaewon’s mother walks back into the dining area.

“Hi, everyone! I hope you saved room for dessert!” She says cheerfully as she moves aside to let the servers walk in and give everyone a slice of chocolate cake.

“Wow…” Hyewon and Yena whisper as they eye the dessert.

“I’m also placing an order for some ice cream for later that you can all enjoy for a midnight snack. Anyone have specific requests?” Ms. Lee adds.

“Can I have some mint-choco ice cream, mom? I haven’t had it in a while.” Chaewon asks sheepishly.

“Oh, me too, me too!” Nako and Wonyoung say. The others can only roll their eyes knowing better than to argue with the three. Chaewon’s mother nods and takes the requests of the others ranging from vanilla to chocolate to strawberry.

~~~~

After dinner, the group goes their separate ways. Chaewon’s house was actually big enough that the they could all go and walk around and have time to themselves. Over in the garden, Yuri was sitting on the bench looking at the night sky when a familiar voice called out to her.

“Yah, Yuri-ah. Whatcha doing out here?” Yena asks. She was actually looking around for the hamster because Yujin and Wonyoung wanted to watch a movie using one of Chaewon’s projectors as if they were in a theatre.

“Hmm…nothing. Just thinking…” Yuri responds.

“You know you can tell me anything, right?” The duck urges. The younger girl knew she couldn’t say no to Yena, so she takes a deep breathe before responding.

“Seeing Chaewon-unnie patch things up with her mom made me think about my parents. Looking back, maybe I just misunderstood their intentions.”

“Yuri, your dad duct-taped your mouth when you refused to listen. What Chaewon’s mom did and what your parents did aren’t the same. They took advantage of you!” Yena says, recalling the stories Yuri had told her.

“I know, but they’re still my parents. I can’t keep running away forever.” Yuri responds. Yena wants to come up with another rebuttal, but ultimately decides against it.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. In the end, just remember that you have a family here with us too. Eunbi and Chaeyeon already act like our parents anyway.” Yena jokes.

“Mhm, can I ask a favor though?” The hamster asks.

“What is it?”

“When I’m ready to go face them, can you go with me? I don’t want to do this alone.” Yena simply nods.

“You were never alone, Yul.” The duck says reassuringly.

“How about your family? Any news about them?” Yuri asks the older girl. Yena goes silent at this, not expecting for the tables to be her.

“I…I’m not sure. We haven’t exactly had time for ourselves over the past couple months. I don’t think they’ll be missing me though. I was a huge headache. I’m even a wanted criminal now. Why would they want me?” Yena finally says trying to look anywhere but Yuri’s face. The events of the past couple months had really taken a toll on Yena. She used to be so motivated to come back and look for her parents, but now, she was unsure.

“Yah, you went on for so long about how much they cared about you. I’m sure they’ve been worried sick because you left without a trace.” Yuri chides.

“I know, but they even left our old home. I have no leads on where they could be.” The older says in an attempt of making an excuse.

“And since when has that stopped you? You told me before that you’d start looking for them once you had the resources to.” Yena was about to respond, but Yuri keeps talking.

“You don’t have to put up the tough girl act all the time, Yena. I know you want to find them again. I’ll even help you find them if you let me. It’s the least I could do for you.” Yena smiles at the younger girl’s fire. She came here looking to comfort Yuri, but it ended up being the other way around. Yuri was a lot more even-keeled than people gave her credit for. 

“Yuri, you know I love you right?” Yena ends up saying. the sudden confession leaving Yuri dumbstruck.

“Yena…you do know this is the first time you’ve ever said that, right?” The younger girl asks.

“Yeah, I guess it is. I didn’t think I’d need to tell you for you to know though.” The ducks says with a small laugh.

“Well, I love you too, dummy.” Yuri says as she leans in to give Yena a kiss. Before they could get more into it though, a voice calls out to them, startling the two.

“Yah! Save that for when you’re in your rooms, guys!” The voice shouts. Yena and Yuri then turn with red faces to see Chaewon looking down on them from the second floor balcony.

“Is there no privacy left in this country?” Yena says under her breathe. She then grabs Yuri by the hand and pulls her back inside the house leaving Chaewon to chuckle as she turned and walked back into her room.

~~~~

“Now, that was a déjà vu moment…” Chaewon says to herself.

“What was going on down there?” Minjoo asks. She’d been looking around Chaewon’s room when the older girl walked out onto the balcony and started shouting.

“Just the two love-birds again~” The short-haired girl says with a smirk.

“You know, you shouldn’t be so nosy. If they find out about us, we’ll never hear the end of it.” The brunette responds.

“It’ll be fineee~” Chaewon says as she walks up to Minjoo and pulls her into her arms. “I told everyone that they weren’t allowed in my room, so no one will find out.”

“Yah, you’re embarrassing me!” Minjoo says jokingly, shaking the older girl off. “Let me look around a bit more. I want to see where the young Chaewonnie grew up.” When everyone had gone off after dinner, Chaewon had led the younger girl up to her room to hang out. She was honestly surprised at how well-kept it was. Her mother really must’ve been holding on to the hope she’d return one day. While Chaewon was reminiscing, Minjoo looked around in awe at how spacious the room was, probably twice as big as her room back in her own house. There were stuffed animals and posters scattered around from when Chaewon was younger as well as a bunch of portraits and clothes. The older girl would normally be embarrassed if any of her other friends saw the place, but now that Minjoo was officially her girlfriend, Chaewon wasn’t as afraid to show her around.

“Wait, is this an SNSD album? I didn’t take you to be a fan of theirs.” The brunette says after sifting through one of the boxes Chaewon had brought out.

“It’s called a Sone, Min. Use the proper terms.” The older girl says with a laugh, Minjoo rolling her eyes in response.

“Also, what’s with you in all these school pictures? You’re not smiling in any of them.” Minjoo asks

“I guess you weren’t here when my mom embarrassed me in front of everyone, but I never liked wearing those uniforms. They were so tacky.” She responds with a distasteful look.

“Really? I think you looked really cute in them.” The younger girl says absentmindedly.

“Yah, Kim Minjoo. You’re gonna make me fall even harder with that sweet talk.” Chaewon replies with a laugh. Minjoo’s face turns red at this, realizing she’d said her thoughts aloud, which only makes Chaewon swoon more.

“Aww…you’re really cute when you’re embarrassed, Min. Don’t worry, I love hearing those kind of things.” Chaewon says as she cuddles up next to Minjoo and pinches her cheeks. The older girl certainly wasn’t afraid of showing her emotions anymore.

“Let’s rest up already for Eunbi’s mission debriefing tomorrow. It’s gonna be another long day.” She whispers. Minjoo nods in agreement and begins dozing off. It’s been a while since she’d been this comfortable.

After a while, a knock is heard on the door.

“Chaewonnie, the ice cream is here.” Chaewon’s mom says as she opens the door only to see her daughter sleeping soundly next to Minjoo. She could only smile as she turned and closed the door again to give them time to rest. Chaewon’s finally happy again…She thinks.

~~~~

Meanwhile downstairs, Yujin and Wonyoung were sitting side-by-side while watching a movie. Ms. Lee seemed to have an endless supply to choose from. Working in the industry must’ve had some perks. The two had invited Yuri and Yena, but they were a no-show, so the they decided to start the movie on their own.

“Ahh!!!” Wonyoung screamed as she watched the zombie on screen bite into a person’s neck.

“Yah, zombies aren’t even that scary! Be lucky I didn’t choose one of those paranormal movies.” Yujin replied with a quiet giggle.

“Train to Busan wasn’t exactly my first choice either. Why couldn’t you let me pick?” The younger girl whines.

“Because you were taking too long to decide!” Yujin barks back just as another jump-scare happens, causing Wonyoung to yelp again and grip on Yujin’s hand. The contact surprised the older girl, but it wasn’t exactly unwelcomed either.

“You’d think with our powers that things like zombies wouldn’t faze us, but here you are, still a scaredy-cat.” Yujin teases again.

“You never know…” Wonyoung mumbles as they settle into silence again. Though the scenes did scare her, it was reassuring to have Yujin’s hand to hold onto…It reminded Wonyoung that she’d never actually confessed her feelings like she’d originally planned. Honestly, so much has happened over the past couple months that she’d gotten cold feet. There wasn’t exactly a moment that she felt was appropriate to confess, so she put it off, being satisfied with Yujin’s comforting presence until the timing felt right. Maybe that moment is now though…

For Yujin, she was still curious as to what Wonyoung was going to say when the campus had been attacked. She’d been wondering about it for a while actually, the thought entering her mind from time to time when they were alone. Of course, with how close they were, Yujin was hoping that it was going to be a confession, but because Wonyoung had never followed up, she was afraid to jump the gun and ruin things with her best friend. Watching this movie alone next to her though was giving Yujin a bubbly feeling she didn’t really recognize, but didn’t want to go away. Well, Yuj, no time like the present.

“Yujin?”

“Wonyoung?”

The two had called each other’s names simultaneously, startling them both. Now they were stuck in a silent staring contest waiting for who was going to speak first.

“What is it? Wonyoung asks nervously, tapping her foot on the ground.

“No, you can go first…” Yujin says back.

“You sure? Is it important?” Wonyoung answers, trying to delay her confession a bit longer. She was getting cold feet again. Doubts suddenly popped up in her mind.

What if she doesn’t feel the same way and ends your friendship? A voice says.

Why would she let you hold her hand if there wasn’t a chance? Another responds. Wonyoung’s thoughts began to cloud and become conflicted.

“Okay, wait, before we end up going in circles, how about we both say what we want to say at the same time?” Yujin offers.

“That’s silly…but okay.” Wonyoung responds.

“Alright, 3-2-1-” And before either could say a word, a new voice interrupts them.

“Yah, Wonyoung-ah, you haven’t touched your mint-choco ice cream at all. It’s melting!” The voice of Nako says. Yujin and Wonyoung quickly let go of each other’s hands, faces both reddening.

“Nako, you ruined a moment right there…” Hitomi whispers, arms crossed.

“Nonsense, we can’t just let perfectly good mint-choco go to waste! You’re lucky Chaewon-unnie wasn’t around, Wonyoung, because she would’ve flipped.” The short girl responds.

“Yeah…my bad.” Wonyoung says quietly, grabbing her ice-cream cup slowly and eating a spoonful before another couple bursts into the movie area.

“You guys started the movie without us???” Yena complains as she pulls Yuri along.

“Well, you guys were taking too long!” Yujin fires back. “You two better not have done anything inappropriate outside!”

“Is that the type of couple you take us for?” Yena responds, not admitting that that’s exactly what happened.

“Will you two quick bickering…” Yuri says with a bit of charm-speak laced in to calm the two. She swore that the two just always ended up arguing no matter what the conversation was about.

“Yes, ma’am.” They both end up saying half-heartedly.

“Alright, so what movie were you two watching?” The hamster asks.

“Train to Busan, you heard of it?” Wonyoung responds.

“Uh, I’m from Busan, remember? Of course I know it.”

“Train to Busan?” Hitomi asks in confusion, not knowing what it was.

“Ah, Hii-chan, that’s what it’s called here in Korea. I think they call it ‘Shin-kansen: Final Express’” Nako responds.

“Oh, the zombie one? I wanna watch too!” The peach-cheeked girl says.

“I guess we’re backing up then…” Wonyoung mumbles.

“At least you know where the jump-scares are now.” Yujin quips, putting on her usual cheerful smile. On the inside though, when her eyes met with the younger girl, she could only wonder if she just missed another chance.

~~~~

In the morning, the group gathered again around the dining table for breakfast. This time, Ms. Lee elected to serve them bacon, eggs, and toast compared to the Korean food they had the night before. The group thanked her and began digging in.

From Eunbi’s view, everyone looked like they were in brighter spirits. She couldn’t speak for the others, but she hadn’t had that good a sleep in a while. Maybe the fact that they were all finally together lifted the stress she’d been feeling away. She could only assume it was a similar feeling for the others.

“Alright, girls, we have to get on the road soon, so I’ll give a quick rundown on the groupings for this mission.” The leader eventually announces after a few minutes. She had discussed it all night with Hyewon, Chaeyeon and Sakura, so she was hopeful the combinations would work out.

“Chaeyeon and Sakura will be heading to the server room for obvious reasons, so we’ll need some electrical help. That means Yena and Yuri will go along with them.” The aforementioned girls nod in agreement.

“Next, to go free Gaeun and the others, I’m going to need Nako, Hitomi, Yujin and Wonyoung.” This came as a surprise to the them because Eunbi would normally split the group in a way that one of the six older members would be in charge of the unit.

“Yujin, you’re going to be in charge of that mission.” The leader says after locking eyes with the younger girl.

“Are you sure, unnie?” The puppy asks. She’d never been given this type of responsibility before.

“I know you’re nervous, but I’ve seen you in trainings and how you’ve reacted on missions. I think you’re ready.” Eunbi reassures.

“As for securing he garage, me, Hyewon, Chaewon and Minjoo will go. Any questions or objections?” When no complaints are raised, Eunbi puts on a confident smile.

“We can do this, girls. They took our home from us. Let’s take it back!” She cheers, causing the others to pick up on her energy and cheer back. From the other side of the table, Chaeyeon stands up, clearing , and Sakura was already preparing herself for what she knew was coming.

“Who are we?” She asks aloud. The others would’ve normally cringed, but the energy was so high that they responded with their battle cry.

“I-I-IZ*ONE!!!” They all shout.

~~~~

“Alright, dears. Take care. I hope you get what you want from this mission!” Ms. Lee says as the group starts entering the van she’d lent them.

“Are you going to be okay here, mom?” Chaewon asks.

“Of course. Just make sure to come back in one piece. Invite your friends again too, especially that Minjoo girl. She’s a keeper.” She responds with a laugh.

“Yah, mom! You’ll embarrass me.”

“Let me be, Chaewonnie. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to act like a mother. Better late than never, right?” Chaewon smiles at her mother’s words. The short-haired girl then decides to walk up and give her mom a big hug.

“Thanks for everything, mom. I’ll make you proud.” Chaewon whispers, a little teary-eyed.

“I already am. You have wonderful friends, and a cause you’re willing to fight for. I’ll make sure to support you all the way. It’s the least I could do.” Her mother says back.

“Yah, Chaewon-ah! It’s time to go!” Eunbi calls from the van. Chaewon gives her mother one more smile before turning and joining her friends.

~~~~

A/N: Hi, everyone! Welcome to another chapter, and happy birthday to Minju! I hope you enjoyed this chapter; I know it's kind of a filler, but the action will return next chapter! I'm very appreciative of the support I've garnered from this story when I posted it here on aff! It really means a lot to know I've reached people who haven't read the story before a year after I finished the first one. Anyways, classes just started again, so expect a slower update, but I'll be writing when I have time. Comments and votes are very appreciated as well, I read each and every one of them. See you all in the next one!