“Where’d you even get all this footage, Kkura?” Chaeyeon asks as they watch the news broadcast roll by. The group received a hero’s welcome once they got back to PD campus the night before and were now seated around their lunch table just like old times. Seunggi was absolved from his previous allegations in light of the videos released by Sakura and was reinstated as PD’s Principal again.

“That laptop of Dr. Park had a lot of information, and while you guys were fighting Ahn, I was actually broadcasting it online. The people saw everything Ahn did including turning himself into a monster with that serum. It’s over for him.” She says with a shrug.

“You really do think of everything.” Chaeyeon says with a giggle causing everyone to grow suspicious.

“Hey, get a room you two!” Yujin teases.

“You’re one to talk. Don’t think we didn’t notice you and Wonyoung getting really close during the mission.” Chaeyeon fires back, inciting more oohs from the rest of the group.

“Yeah, we’re dating now. So what?” Wonyoung suddenly says while grabbing Yujin’s hand and raising it up. This silenced the whole table, and Yujin herself looked at the younger girl equally surprised by how bluntly she just revealed their relationship.

“Oh my god! Yujin, you lucky girl!” Yena cheers to break the quietness, pinching the puppy’s cheeks.

“Yah, Wonyoung-ah, what did you even see in her?” Yuri asks jokingly.

“Same thing you probably saw in yours, unnie.” She says with a laugh as they both watched their girlfriends begin arguing with each other.

“You better take care of Wonyoung, Yujin.” Eunbi chides, already acting super motherly towards the group’s youngest member. The group continued having fun and laughing about the situation, attracting the attention from other tables. Everyone knew that these twelve shared a bond that couldn’t be broken, and that they represented all mutants well.

“Hey, I’m sorry to cut this short, guys, but I’m supposed to meet up with Chaeryeong and her friends before they head back to JYP.” The group slowly begins to settle down and nod at Chaeyeon’s announcement.

“Send them our regards, okay? I’d love to hang out with them again- I mean, without the immediate threat of death.” Eunbi says with a laugh.

“Yeah! Yeji-unnie and Ryujin are really fun to talk to!” Minjoo says.

“Not as fun as me though, right Min?” Chaewon cuts in.

“Oh, of course not, unnie!” She replies with a chuckle, knowing she must’ve struck a nerve with her girlfriend.

“Alright, alright. I’ll give you their contact information too when I can. I’ll be off now!” Chaeyeon says before offering her hand to Sakura.

“Wait, what’s up?” She asks.

“I need to talk with you after, Kkura.” Chaeyeon whispers just loud enough to catch everyone’s attention. Before they could react and tease though, Chaeyeon grabs Sakura’s hand and runs off.

~~~~

“I’m gonna miss you so much, Chaeyeon-unnie!” Chaeryeong says while hugging her older sister tightly at the campus’ exit.

“It’s not like we’re separating forever, Ryeong. I might even pay JYP a visit some time if the old man let’s me.” Chaeyeon responds cheerfully, remembering the principal of her old home. After letting her sister go, she then turns towards the rest of the ITZY members and bows.

“Please continue to take care of my sister.” She says.

“We’ll do our best.” Yeji responds.

“I must say though, you and your team work perfectly together. I apologize again for any trouble we may have caused while under Ahn’s influence, but the fact that you girls held your own was really impressive given how little time you’ve spent together.” She adds.

“Now that we’re all free though, maybe we can have an actual rematch sometime. I heard you guys have a game called capture-the-flag? Sounds like a lot of fun.” Ryujin says with a playful smirk. As the three continue to talk and exchange contact information, Chaeryeong makes her way over to Sakura who had been trying her best not to be noticed.

“You confess to my sister yet, unnie?” She whispers, causing Sakura’s face to flush a shade of red.

“No-No…not yet. I might do it soon though. Actually, after this, Chaeyeon said she wanted to talk to me.” At this, Chaeryeong’s eyes widen in curiosity

“Interesting…I have a feeling this will be it then. I can’t wait to meet you again as Chaeyeon-unnie’s girlfriend.” She says with a laugh. Sakura sighs noticing how similar the two sisters really were.

“Alright, I won’t hold you up any longer then!” Chaeryeong says before waltzing back to her friends.

“Girls! I think our ride’s almost here. You know how JYP gets when we’re late.” She says, interjecting between Chaeyeon, Yeji and Ryujin.

“Yah, we’ve been kidnapped for a couple months. He’s gotta cut us some slack!” Yuna whines.

“Chaeryeong does have a point though. You know how he is with discipline and precision.” Lia counters, causing the youngest girl to begrudgingly nod.

“That settles it then. It was nice to meet you all, and hopefully the next time we see each other will be under more favorable circumstances.” Yeji says with a bright smile before signaling the group to move.

“Good luck with Sakura-unnie!” Chaeryeong whispers after giving Chaeyeon one last hug.

“Yah, Lee Chaeryeong-” She tries to scold her younger sister, but she’d already sped off to catch up with the others.

“She sure is your sister.” Sakura says with a giggle.

“I’ll take that as an insult.” Chaeyeon jokes back.

“So…you want to talk here or somewhere else?” The older girl asks.

“Actually, I was hoping we could go back to where you found me before we left for Japan.” She replies. Sakura nods and the two head off.

~~~~

“I love the vibe up here…” Chaeyeon says with a relieved sigh. There was just something very peaceful about sitting on the dorm rooftops.

“Even the last time we met here, it feels the same.” Sakura says in agreement.

Well, Chaeyeon…here goes nothing. She thinks to herself before speaking, but the older girl had beaten her to it.

“Chaeyeon…remember what I promised before we went into the labs on Jeju Island?” She asks.

“Yeah, you said you had something to tell me after the mission.” The younger girl recalls.

“Well, the reason I was acting so weird before was because I was feeling very…confused.” Sakura begins to say, Chaeyeon nodding along.

“You know me, right? I’ve always had trouble expressing my feelings, and during the missions, I’ve felt some things that were unfamiliar to me.”

“And…what were those feelings?” Chaeyeon prods, trying to hide her emerging smile.

“I…think I like you, Chaeyeon. No, I know I like you, and I’ve liked you for a while now.” She says more confidently after stuttering the first time.

“I was told once that love couldn’t be boiled down into some equation with numbers, and seeing you always stand by me and protect me, even putting yourself in harms way for my sake made we realize what that meant. I hope I can be that same person for you too…” Finally being able to get those words out made Sakura’s chest feel a bit lighter than it did before, but now a sense of anxiousness replaced it as she waited for Chaeyeon’s response.

“Of course, I like you too, Kkura. To be honest, I’ve just never found the right way to tell you either. I was afraid that you wouldn’t feel the same way and ruin what we had.” Chaeyeon says with now teary eyes. The feelings seemed to be contagious as even Sakura was now starting to feel emotional. She slowly closes the gap between her and Chaeyeon and gives her a big hug, something she’d never really done often before.

“Heh, that sunset…it’s as beautiful as you, Kkura.” Chaeyeon says with a small laugh.

“Yah, you’re embarrassing me.” Sakura replies, though inside, she felt really happy.

“Better me first before the others start teasing us.” The older girl nods in agreement, and the two continue to watch the sun set together.

~~~~

“Ah, look at those two, Hii-chan. I guess they’ve finally made it official.” Nako says when the she notices their friends on the rooftop.

“I’m happy for them. They complement each other really well. Actually, all the couples in the group match each other perfectly.” Hitomi responds, thinking about how everyone was slowly starting to admit their feelings for each other…everyone except the person she liked. That was about to change though.

“Now that you mention it, we’re the only singles left. Maybe it is high time to all be honest with each other.” Nako says nonchalantly.

“Do you mean what I think you mean?” Hitomi asks hesitantly.

“Yup. Look, I’m sorry for being oblivious the entire time. It’s honestly much more fun to tease the others instead of looking at myself in the mirror and thinking about my feelings.” Nako quietly admits. Hitomi smiles and gives the shorter girl a playful smack on the shoulder. The two girls’ dynamic was more similar to the quiet one that Eunbi and Hyewon had. Whenever they hung out, it was like they were in their own world away from everyone else.

“Better late than never though. It would’ve upset me so much if I left not knowing you felt the same way the entire time.” She says.

“Wait, you’re leaving?” Asks confusedly.

“Yeah. I was actually going to mention it earlier, but everyone just seemed to be in a good mood. I didn’t want to bring it down.” Hitomi replies.

“Now that the mission is done, I think I should go back and visit my parents.” The peach-cheeked girl continues.

“Things might be settling down over there, but that doesn’t mean AKB still doesn’t have problems back home.” Nako says.

“I feel like that’s all the more reason to go back. Maybe I can try settling things there too. You saw how bringing mutants together here galvanized the entire movement, right? I’m sure we weren’t the only ones tired of being controlled like soldiers.” Hitomi says determinedly.

“That wasn’t a warning. I was saying that I’m going to go back with you.” The short girl replies.

“Wait, are you sure? I know how happy you were to move over here to Korea and meeting all our friends. You were talking about wanting to go to K-pop concerts and learn more about the culture here too. I wouldn’t want you to leave all that behind.”

“Our friends will always be here when we come back. K-pop will also still be here too. But, if something happens to you while I’m enjoying myself here, I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself. Besides, it won’t do you any good to go home alone anyway.” Nako says. Though she knew it would be another tough journey, Nako knew that there was a lot of good that could come out from it.

“Thanks, Nako-chan. I think we should save telling the others until tomorrow though.” Hitomi replies.

“For now, let’s go enjoy the rest of the night.” She continues, taking hold of Nako’s hand and pulling her along.

~~~~

“Yah, I still can’t believe you went and said that in front of everyone, Wonnie.” Yujin whines while laying her head on the younger girl’s lap. The two were sitting on a bench by the walkways, all the other students staring as they passed by. It seemed the announcement of their relationship had spread throughout campus already.

“They were gonna find out sooner or later, dummy. Best to rip the band-aid off now.” Wonyoung replies.

“I know, I know. Everything’s just so surreal to think about. You remember the first day we met? Who would’ve thought we’d be where we are now…heroes for all mutants.”

“You gonna give the modelling gig another try? It looks like people are starting to change their views on us based on the livestream Kkura-unnie put out.” Wonyoung asks.

“Heh, if I do, you’re definitely getting into it with me. You look more like a commercial goddess than me.” Yujin replies with a laugh before continuing.

“I’ll still be part of IZ*ONE first though…I thought about it before and how my initial intentions for joining this program were pretty shallow. I just wanted to regain my platform and fame, but we’ve done so much more for other people beyond what I could’ve imagined.” She says. Sure, the glitz and glamor were nice, but they didn’t compare to the feelings she got from helping and inspiring fellow mutants.

“You’ve really matured, Ahn Yujin, but there’s no reason you can’t try both.” Wonyoung says.

“As for me, I haven’t had the time to think about what I want to do next with everything that’s happened. I’m pretty sure this change in public perception will make my dad want to take me back and send me to a boarding school, but I’m honestly happier here alongside you guys.”

“You better tell that to your dad then because there’s no way I’m getting admitted to a boarding school too.” Yujin replies with a laugh that earns a smack from the younger girl.

“It’s getting late already, Yujin. Let’s head back in before Yuri-unnie and Yena-unnie lock us out.” Wonyoung says as she gets up, causing Yujin’s head to hit the seat of the bench.

“Yah, you did that on purpose.” Yujin complains, but the Wonyoung quickly shuts her up with a soft kiss to the forehead that causes her brain to short-circuit.

“There. Happy? Now stop being a baby and come along already.” She says with a playful smirk. When Yujin remains frozen in place, Wonyoung sighs and levitates her girlfriend up, bringing her back to the dorm.

~~~~

One week later…

A lot has changed in the time since Ahn Joon-young had been arrested. The actions of IZ*ONE seemed to inspire action by the government to look more into possible abuses towards mutants in the country. New laws were already being drafted that covered topics from anti-discrimination and education. It was a big step in the right direction, and no one could be happier than Eunbi.

“The bastard finally got what he deserved.” Hyewon says as she walks up to the older girl who was looking up at a television broadcast in the main hall. It appeared that Ahn Joon-young was sentenced to twenty years in prison for his actions, and all of his company shares would be auctioned off.

“It’s only the first step though. Ahn only got that much influence because others believed in similar things. He’s far from the only person in power who’s harboring ill-intentions towards mutants.” The group leader responds.

“I know, but it wouldn’t hurt to lighten up a bit now. If more bad guys come out, we’ll just have to be there to take them out.” Hyewon replies. A calm quietness then falls between the two as they continue to watch the broadcasts. Sometimes, just their presences alone were enough to settle themselves down.

“So, any update on those two serums?” Hyewon asks suddenly. Eunbi turns towards her and shakes her head.

“They’re still trying to isolate the properties that caused the enhancements to Ahn, and it’s a delicate process. Sakura’s doing what she can, but without actual test subjects, it’s difficult to get a read on how they managed to develop them in the first place.” Eunbi replies. At first, it was suggested to use animals like rats to test the serums on, but the group had refused. They didn’t want anyone or anything else getting hurt by any testing.

“Maybe Hii-chan and Nako will find something else on their trip to Japan.” Hyewon says. The two girls had informed them of their intent to head back to their home country last week and had only left the day before. Of course, everyone wanted them to stay, but Hitomi convinced them with her passion for making the change they caused in Korea happen in Japan. They wouldn’t be alone either. Murashige and a bunch of the other Japanese trainees joined them on their trip back. Now that the situation in Korea had cleared up a bit, it would be easier for them to communicate with them if they needed help as well.

“I almost took the serum when we were at the hangar, you know?” Eunbi admits after another few seconds of silence.

“I thought if I did, I’d be in a better position to help and lead the team.”

“I know you meant well, unnie, but like I said, we don’t know the risks that taking that would’ve entailed. You saw how Ahn lost control of himself back there. Your voice and presence are worth more than any power you could have.” Hyewon says reassuringly. Eunbi nods, knowing Hyewon was right. She was glad to always have a steadying presence like Hyewon in her life.

“What’s up next?” Eunbi then asks.

“I think it’s time for me to pay a visit back to 8D again. My boss was put under pressure by Ahn’s goons, remember? It’ll be quick, probably just a couple days.” Hyewon says.

“You sure you’ll be okay without me?” Eunbi asks.

“Yah, I know how busy you are trying to transition the campus into a school. I’ll be fine. Besides, you’ll always be here.” She replies, pointing to her heart which causes Eunbi to burst out laughing.

“Kang Hyewon, you are really a catch, you know that?” Eunbi says. Despite the quiet demeanor Hyewon had, she really had a good sense of humor that everyone enjoyed. The younger girl then closes the gap between them and gives Eunbi a quick kiss on the lips.

“Just call me if you need anything, okay? I’ll come rushing back.” Hyewon says.

“Sure. Same to you. If you run into any trouble, I’ll be there as fast as I can.” Eunbi replies.

“By the way, you mentioned making a mockup design for a gymnasium, right? Mind if I check it out?” Hyewon asks.

“Sure, it’s on the laptop I left in the library.” Eunbi then takes Hyewon’s hand and the couple walk off happily together.

~~~~

“Why do you look so nervous right now, Min?” Chaewon asks as they approach a familiar set of double doors.

“Well, this is the first time I’m formally meeting your mother without the others. Of course, I’m nervous.” Minjoo replies. Now that everything had settled down for the most part, Chaewon wanted to honor her promise to her mother and pay a visit without the threat of impending doom over their heads. She wanted to bring Minjoo along because she wanted to properly introduce her as her girlfriend as well.

“It’ll be fineee. You already let me drag you this far. She won’t bite. I promise.” The short-haired girl says before knocking on the door. After a minute, the doors open to reveal Chaewon’s mother.

“Chaewonnie! You’re finally back home!” She greets, but the middle-aged woman’s eyes widen when she saw who her daughter had brought along.

“Oh, my goodness! You must be Minjoo! Please, come in!” She says, ushering the two inside.

“You seem more excited to see her than me.” Chaewon says jokingly.

“Of course, I am. I know she’s special to you from the way you were acting the last time you were here.” She replies causing Minjoo to blush.

“You’re embarrassing me, mom!” Chaewon whines.

~~~~

“So…tell me. How did you two meet?” Chaewon’s mom asks curiously when they all sit down on the couch in the living room.

“Well, to start, we were roommates back at the campus dorms. We ended up being assigned to the same team for simulation trainings and we’ve been close every since.” Chaewon says.

“And how would you describe how you became close, Minjoo?” Her mothers asked again, this time turning towards the brunette.

“Uhm…I guess the story is pretty similar, but I think the thing that’s made us really close though is how she’s always seemed to save me when I get in trouble.” Minjoo replies before recounting Chaewon’s daring rescue at Daegu.

“Wow, you must really like her to have gone all the way there alone, Chaewon.”

“Mommmm!” Chaewon whines again. This time though, Minjoo laughs at their interaction.

“That aside, I’m just so glad you brought Minjoo along today. The food should be ready soon!” She says with a bright smile that Minjoo thought looked just like Chaewon’s.

“Oh, if that’s that case, would you mind if I brought Minjoo along upstairs while waiting?” Chaewon asks.

“Of course not. This is your house too, Chaewon. Just make sure not to get into any trouble up there.” She says with a wink that causes Chaewon to groan.

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding. Could you just leave one of your clones down here though? We need to talk about something else.” At this, Chaewon tilts her head, slightly confused, but eventually agrees.

~~~~

“Remember the promise you made the first time you came back?” Her mom asks, cutting right to the chase after Minjoo and the other Chaewon had gotten out of earshot.

“Ah…that.” Chaewon had gone through so much the past weeks that she’d honestly forgotten about that.

“Alright, mom. Remember when you said that all my copies were the same to you? Well, because of my position on the team, I’m going to have to leave for missions from time to time. If I’m just training on campus, I can leave a clone here. Is that fine with you?” She asks.

“Whatever lets me see you as often as I can. Are you sure it won’t be too draining for you though? You’ve mentioned before how splitting for too long can tire you out.” Her mother replies worriedly.

“That only happens if I’m doing anything strenuous. I’ll probably merge back with my clone if I need to do anything dangerous.” Chaewon says reassuringly.

“Okay, Chaewon. Just stay safe and stick with your friends.” She says with a nod.

~~~~

“What do you plan to do now that things have lightened up?” Chaewon asks while laying on her bed.

“Hmm…I haven’t really talked about this before, but I’ve always wanted to try acting.” Minjoo responds sheepishly.

“Really? That’d be so cool! Now that the public is starting to like us now, maybe our powers could even come in handy for things like that.” Chaewon replies enthusiastically.

“What do you mean?”

“Like, imagine you play a character in a drama where you’re a spirit who shows up to other characters. It would save them a lot on CGI to just have you disappear and reappear at will.” Minjoo seems to perk up at the idea, and how the powers they used to think were curses could prove to be blessings.

“How about you then, unnie? What would you use your powers for?” Minjoo asks.

“Being able to clone myself has a lot of daily utility you know?” Chaewon replies with a laugh thinking about all the times she’s used her clones to do chores quicker.

“I told you how I liked SNSD, right? I could become a popular youtuber doing dance covers of their songs.”

“That’s actually a great idea! If you get into the idol world, you could probably get multiple gigs at once too.” Minjoo proposes. The two continue to talk and discuss what their friends’ lives could be like outside of being part of IZ*ONE, sharing laughs at each other’s suggestions like Hitomi being a florist or Yena being an electrician.

“In the end though…like you said, when we’re called for a mission, that would still be priority number 1” Chaewon says after a while.

“We have a lot of other friends and new trainees who could take care of things, but I know that this won’t be the last time we’re needed.” She continued.

“As long as we’re together, I’m sure we’ll be just fine.” Minjoo says with a nod.

“Chaewonnie! The food’s ready!” Chaewon’s mother calls suddenly from the dining area.

“Wonder what she prepared.” Minjoo asks.

“Don’t worry, it’s your favorite.” Chaewon says with a cheery smile. The short-haired girl then takes Minjoo’s hand as they waltz downstairs.

This is one dream I hope I never wake up from…Minjoo thinks to herself.

~~~~

“Seems like everyone’s gotten busy again…” Yuri says out loud.

“Yeah, turns out a lot of things open up when we’re not constantly fighting for our lives.” Yena replies with a slight chuckle. The two were on an afternoon walk through the campus grounds observing the continued changes going on around them.

“Eunbi said they’re planning to build a gym for us to play sports in. You got anything you’re good at?”

“I’m actually really good at everything. I’m surprised you haven’t noticed~” The duck boasts. Yuri simply rolls her eyes in amusement.

“You say that, but you’ve never beaten me in karaoke or even that racing game you keep challenging me in.” The hamster teases.

“Yah, you just got lucky!” Yena whines, leading to the two losing composure and laughing together before both laying down on the grassy field. For a second, Yuri imagined that they were just a normal couple going about their day.

“What would it be like if we didn’t have our powers?” She suddenly asks. Yena, sensing the topic was a serious one, sits up and gazes into the horizon.

“If we didn’t have our powers, we wouldn’t have met, you know? You would probably be living out your dream of being an idol, and I might still be with my family.” She says somberly.

“You don’t know that. We might’ve still met under different circumstances.” Yuri tries to argue, but even she was slowly realizing that Yena was right.

“We wouldn’t have met our friends here either, and two other trainees could’ve been added to the team. My point is, everything that we’ve gone through and sacrificed has led us to today, and knowing what we accomplished…I think it was all worth it.” Yena says.

“I know my family knows I’m out here and alive now that our faces have been all over the news, so I’m sure I’ll find them some day. I’m sure you can still become a great singer too because I’ve never heard a voice like yours.” She continues.

“Way to be an optimist... I’m sorry for bringing down the mood. Those thoughts just pop into my head sometimes.” Yuri says.

“Don’t worry about that, Yul. Like I’ve said before, I’ll always be next to you. Besides, there’s no reason not to be optimistic about the future, we kind of saved mutants around the country from getting captured, remember?”

“When you put it like that, you make us sound like superheroes.” Yuri says with a laugh.

“Well, we help people in need, make hard sacrifices and face death every other week. Sounds like heroes to me.” Yena replies.

“Speaking of your family though, I assume you’re going to go look for them now that we’re relatively free? Everyone else on the team appears to be tying up some personal loose ends.” Yuri asks. Nako and Hitomi had left for their new mission, though they made sure to let everyone know they were now official too. It appeared like the same was true for Sakura and Chaeyeon. Eunbi and Hyewon were working on campus development while the rest were focused on more personal things like family.

“Yeah…I planning to head back to my old neighborhood and ask around. I was too afraid to do that last time. How about you? You gonna try and find your parents?”

“Maybe. Maybe not. Right now, I just want to make this idol dream of mine, work. Then, maybe I can come back and show them that they were wrong about me.” Yuri says quietly. Yena nods and takes her hand. She would’ve liked Yuri to go and make up with her parents first, but who was she to judge? Yuri knew what she wanted, and that was something she respected.

“Just another step in the road…It’s honestly crazy how we’ve gotten this far, but hey, I guess we just keep finding miracles.” Yena says.

“With all those miracles, my favorite one was still meeting you.” Yuri says with a smile.

“Yah, is my corniness really rubbing off on you now?” Yena replies after hearing that line.

“Are you really going to ruin the moment like that?” Fires back while trying to make an annoyed face.

“I’m just kidding~ I’ll treat you to a movie and dinner tomorrow. Now come here.” Yena then grabs a hold of Yuri’s shoulder who lets herself get pulled into a sweet kiss.

~~~~

A/N: (Idk how but the chapter didn't post last night, so here it is again!)

So, we've finally reached the last chapter. It's been a hell of a journey, and I still can't believe it's done. I've loved every second of writing this story and sharing it with everyone, and I hope you've all liked it too. When I first set out to write this second story, I knew it would be more difficult given how I was juggling my senior year, but I managed to figure it out before the year ended.

 I'd like to thank everyone who's given this story a chance, and I especially thank the IZ girls for inspiring me to write the story. Even if they're all doing their own things now, they'll always be together in my heart, and I will continue to support them. 

Now, even if this is the last chapter, that doesn't mean the story as a whole is completely done. Like I mentioned before, there might be some spinoff short stories here and there, but I won't have a schedule for them. These would be more focused on specific pairings to give them their shine that they might've not gotten since I had to write about all twelve of them. Some examples off the top of my head are Friendly capture-the-flag with ITZY, Chaewon having clone issues, Nako and Hitomi in Japan, etc. 

Anyway, that's about it. I always appreciate the likes and especially the comments on every chapter. I always wonder what moments were your favorites or what I could improve on writing, and the comments have helped alot. 

This was Project IZ*ONE II, and I hope you all enjoyed!