“Hey, Eunbi-unnie. How was the mission?” Yena asks when she sees the older girl’s car pull into the campus garage. She’d read about the police investigation in the group chat but was away with Yuri who was filming for a music video. Since it was happening out in the countryside and wouldn’t be done for a few days, Yena decided it would be best to head home on her own in case they needed her.

“Not now, Yena…” The leader mumbles before walking right past her. It was uncharacteristic for the leader to just brush her off like that, and that’s when Yena realized someone was absent from Eunbi’s side.

“Huh? Wait, where’s Hyewon?” The duck thinks to herself. She then takes out her phone and dials her friend’s number. The line beeps for a few seconds before someone finally picked up.

“Yah, Kang Hyewon, where are you?” Yena asks worriedly.

“At the police station with Officer Hwang. We ran into some…trouble during the stakeout.” The shaky voice of Hyewon replies.

“Alright, I’ll meet you there. Just stay put.” The duck says. Before Hyewon could reject the offer though, Yena hangs up and opens up a message chat.

“Chaewon-ah. I think something bad happened in Eunbi-unnie’s mission today. Can you or Kkura-unnie check up on her tomorrow morning?” With that out of the way, the duck hops into her car and begins driving to meet Hyewon.

~~~~

“Sunbae, may I come in?” A voice asks after knocking on the campus principal’s door. Seunggi was just doing some paperwork and was surprised someone had come this late at night.

“Eunbi? Is that you? Come in, I was just wrapping up.” He replies, sensing something off with the aforementioned girl’s tone. Eunbi slowly opens the door and lets herself in. She didn’t look right at all.

“What’s wrong? Is this about the mission?” Seunggi asks as she takes a seat.

“Did you know?”

“Know what? Eunbi, you’re going to need to start from the beginning-”

“Did you know Hyewon killed my brother!?!” Eunbi’s voice sounded broken. The leader of IZ*ONE who was usually a perfect example of keeping composure was anything but that right now.

“I…I don’t know what you’re talking about, Eunbi. You know we do our background checks on everyone. She has no criminal record, and from my conversations with the 8D president, she was usually just sent on undercover missions.” The middle-aged man replies slowly, trying to calm Eunbi down.

“Then why…? Why did my memories show…wait-” Eunbi cuts herself off when her eyes land on a certain picture hanging on the wall. It was the picture of I.O.I that she usually didn’t think much of, that is, until now when she sees a familiar person’s face among the 11 girls.

“What is it?” Seunggi asks, turning to look at the frame behind him.

“She’s in there…the mutant who we met earlier.” She replies, pointing at a black-haired girl wearing shades in the corner.

“Oh, that’s…hmm, now that you mention it, I don’t think I know her name. I wasn’t the director at the time they were active.” Seunggi says, turning back to his computer to look for some information. After a couple seconds, the man’s eyes widened.

“Alright, I think I found it. You’re talking about Kim Sohye. Ability: Memory Manipulation.”

“Why do you look surprised?”

“Because when I.O.I disbanded, she went off the grid. Granted, it’s hard to keep track of a person who can erase your memories, but it’s still a little fishy. I’ll try contacting their director. In the meantime, maybe you can try looking for some of Sohye’s former teammates.” Seunggi then proceeds to print something out and hand it to Eunbi. It was a list of the members of I.O.I. and their last known locations.

“You’re telling me you keep track of our locations too?” Eunbi asks in a suspicious tone while looking through the sheet.

“No, this was voluntary information given by the members before they split up just in case we ever needed them. Also, we don’t keep a list of their strengths, weaknesses, and tendencies like Sakura did. It was exclusively for contact purposes, and you twelve have the same choice in the future.” Seunggi replies, trying to assuage Eunbi’s concerns.

“Alright sunbae. I’m going to trust you. Let me know if you find out anything.” Eunbi says before turning to leave. Just as she gets to the door though, Seunggi calls her attention one more time.

“Get some rest first. It’s getting late. I’d also advise you to talk to Hyewon and get her side of the story. As team members, and more importantly as a leader, you have a responsibility to listen and give your fellow teammates the benefit of the doubt.” Eunbi nods quietly and leaves.

~~~~

When Yena arrived at the police station, she was greeted by a bunch of commotion. It appeared that because of Eunbi and Hyewon’s intervention, Sohye hadn’t been able to get all her minions out. The station was full of officers trying to interrogate and contain the apprehended criminals.

“Uh, hi! Is Kang Hyewon here?” The duck asks an officer who was running by with some paperwork.

“She’s at Officer Hwang’s office. Down the hall to the right.” He replies before rushing off. Yena nods and starts making her way there, carefully trying not to bump into any of the officers bustling around.

Eventually, she finds herself at Hwang’s door and knocks before slowly opening the door and poking her head in.

“Hey there, Officer Hwang! Fancy seeing you again.” She tries to say casually, but the duck could already see the officer’s expression dampening the second he registered her presence.

“Oh, great. What is it this time, Yena?” He asks in a tired tone. It’s been a long day, especially for him who's been leading the operation.

“Why do you always assume there’s trouble whenever I show up?” Yena asks back before recalling every meeting she’s had with the officer until this point. “Okay, nevermind, but I swear I’m just here for Hyewon this time.”

Hwang sighs before pointing over to a couch to his right where the aforementioned girl was sitting and drinking hot chocolate. She clearly looked out of it.

“Yah, Kwangbae, it’s me. Can you please explain to me what happened between you and Eunbi now?” Hyewon looks up at her friend, sipping a bit of her drink before replying.

“Remember how we mentioned that there was something going on with people losing their memories randomly? Turns out it was an old acquaintance of mine, Kim Sohye. I don’t remember much because she wiped my memory of her, but from the looks of it, Sohye used to work with me on undercover missions when I was at 8D.” The older girl then goes on to narrate the memory that Sohye had resurfaced for her and Eunbi.

“That’s…heavy, for both of you.” Yena says a couple after processing the information.

“…it’s all my fault. I can’t imagine how Eunbi-unnie is feeling right now.” Hyewon says quietly.

“Yah, it’s not your fault. Sohye was the one who whacked him to make him lose focus. Besides, I’m still not convinced you’re the one who killed him.” The duck replies, putting an arm around her shoulder.

“Wait, what do you mean?” Hyewon asks, confused by Yena’s last conjecture.

“You’ve frozen people before, but I don't recall any of them actually dying. You usually break them out to interrogate them right after. Do you remember anything past that event?” The older girl thinks hard, trying to recall anything else about Sohye or that day, but she came up with blanks.

“No…it’s just what Sohye brought back.” Hyewon eventually says, understanding what Yena was suggesting.

“Mhm, I feel like there’s something else that Sohye is hiding in your head.” The duck says while jokingly tapping on Hyewon’s forehead.

“Well, it’s not like I can remember the exact events without her giving my memories back.” At this, Yena gives a mischievous smile.

“Don’t worry, Kwangbae. I have an idea.” She says. “Now come on, let’s head back to campus. We can go over my plan tomorrow after you get some rest.”

Yena was just about to walk Hyewon out of the room when a certain someone clears his throat to get their attention.

“You do realize I heard everything, right?” Officer Hwang says. “Whatever you’re planning, make sure it’s within the law.”

“Of course, officer. What do you take us for?” Again, Yena realizes the irony in her statement a second after she says it.

“Just bring this “Kim Sohye” in if you manage to track her down.” He says while pinching the bridge of his nose.

“You got it, boss!” Yena salutes before hurrying herself and Hyewon out the door, leaving Officer Hwang to deal with the stack of paperwork piled on his desk.

~~~~

It was a rather uneventful car ride back to campus. Hyewon offered to drive, but Yena could see the tiredness in the older girl’s eyes.

“I’m sorry, Kwangbae, but no one drives the Yen-mobile except me.” The duck says instead before ushering her friend into the passenger’s seat.

“What am I even going to say to her?” Hyewon mutters to herself once they are on the road. Even if there was a chance that she didn’t kill Eunbi’s brother, she was still at the scene of the crime. She was complicit in whatever Sohye did.

“Just take it slow, unnie. Give Eunbi-unnie some time to cool off. I’m sure she’ll come around.” Yena replies without looking, keeping both eyes on the road.

“I’m afraid though, Yena. I thought I knew myself well, but what if there’s even more secrets Sohye buried in my mind. What if I’ve done worse things?” Hyewon, who was usually stoic and unreadable, was feeling vulnerable for the first time in a while. The thought of not being able to take responsibility for the things she might’ve done in her past ate her up inside.

“What matters today isn’t what you’ve done yesterday or the day before that. Those are things you can’t change. The only thing you can do is try to become a better you every day. We’ve both done things in the past we’ve regretted, but I also know we’ve both grown a lot since then.” Yena says, trying to lift Hyewon’s spirits.

“It isn’t our job to make people forgive us. We can’t control what others think and do. Instead, it’s our responsibility to build off our mistakes and make them a thing of the past.” Silence engulfs the car as the meaning of Yena’s words settle in.

“Thanks, Yena. I needed that. Yuri was right. You can have your moments.” The older girl says with a chuckle.

“Yah, I promise that I’m smarter than y’all think.” Yena whines, reverting back to her childish self. On the inside though, she was relieved that Hyewon was back in a joking mood. When Yena turns to look at her again a couple minutes later, the older girl was finally asleep.

~~~~

The next morning…

“Can you please explain to me why we’re here yet?” Hyewon asks when she finds herself in front of an old gray building. The name “Cube” was emblazoned on the wall next to the front door. She’d actually wanted to talk to Eunbi before going, but she was already asleep when they arrived last night and already gone by the time she woke up.

“If I told you earlier, you probably would’ve said it was a stupid idea.” Yena replies with an apologetic smile.

“It probably still is.” Hyewon replies sarcastically as the duck takes out her phone and dials a number.

“We’re here. Care to buzz us in?” Yena asks once her call was received. A couple seconds later, the building doors open to reveal one of their old friends, Han Chowon.

“Welcome to my humble abode.” She says with a chuckle. “Come inside before anyone sees you.”

The building looked about as unimpressive inside than it did from the outside. Cobwebs were stuck on the ceiling, the gray paint on the walls was peeling off, and the couches in the lobby looked old and rundown. There just didn’t appear to be a lot of positive energy in the place.

“Wasn’t Seunggi-sunbae pushing for mutant centers to be a bit more…restructured?” Yena asks.

“Well, as you know, it’s still a work in progress, and some directors just don’t care. It’s hard to police every single facility in the country, you know?” Chowon replies sadly before leading them into what appeared to be a training room.

“So, I hear from Yena-unnie that you have some memory issues?” The younger girl finally asks after shutting the door.

“Yes, some of them were recently brought back, and I want to check if there’s anything more to them.” Hyewon replies with a nod before turning to Yena.

“Okay, my idea was that since Chowon can read minds, maybe she could help in unlocking your memories. Worth a shot, right?” The duck says.

“Not a bad plan after all.” Hyewon thinks, not trying to admit to Yena that she was right.

“Alright, just close your eyes and think really hard about the event, so I can walk through your mind and see what’s going on.” Chowon says. The older girl does as instructed and focuses on her memory from five years ago.

“Good, good, I can see it…” The younger girl says, but once Hyewon got to the part where she froze Eunsang though, her head went blank again.

“Wait, it feels like I ran into a brick wall. The end of the memory just cuts off. Try focusing more.”

“I’m trying…” Hyewon replies, but after a couple seconds, there was still no progress.

“It’s no use. It’s like someone locked the memories behind a lock and key.” Chowon says, feeling out of breath from the strain.

“Hmm, I think it’s time to try the stupid part of the plan now then.” Yena says.

“Wait, there was more to it?” Hyewon asks.

“Of course! Just close your eyes again, do the same thing and wait. It just might get a bit tingly.” The older girl is confused, but decides to follow along anyway.

Once again, Hyewon reached the part where her memory disappears. Just before she could give up again though, a jolt of electricity shocks her mind, the darkness being replaced by a bright light.

“Yah, that was the plan? Electrocute me???” Hyewon complains after opening her eyes.

“I think it worked though.” Chowon interjects. “Your whole brain lit up once she did that, and I think I saw a glimpse of a memory. Can we try again?”

Hyewon sighs but ultimately relents and closes her eyes once more. This time though, she was mentally prepared for the shock. Once it hits, she scans her mind, searching for any semblance of a memory from that day, and like a fishing rod, the second she felt something familiar, she pulls it in for Chowon to see.

“I found it!” The younger girl says, but the voice sounds like a fading echo as Hyewon slowly begins to lose consciousness and fall back into the memory.

~~~~

Meanwhile…

“Looks like this is the place…” Chaewon says to Eunbi as they arrive at a restaurant called ‘IM’s Eats’.

“Wonder what she’s doing at a place like this…” The older girl says as she takes another look at her information sheet for the name of the person they were looking for- Im Nayoung.

A/N: Helloo and welcome back to another chapter! Sorry for the delays!

In this chapter, we see Eunbi and Hyewon going through the aftermath of their memories being restored. By the end though, it seems like they both have plans in motion to figure out the truth. 

Hopefully this chapter was still good even if it was a bit of setting up events for the next ones. I promise the pace and action will pick up in the next one!

Thanks again for all the love and support! Likes, comments, and quesionts are always appreciated!

See y'all in the next one!