“Is this thing safe…?” Yuri asks when the gondola lowers to them with Sakura on it.

“It should be, but maybe only two at a time just to be safe.” The Japanese girl says before she hears a knock coming from the glass behind them. It was Song Hayoung.

“Hey, the cameras turned right now, get inside soon!” She whispers after opening the window. Slowly but surely, Hayoung helps lift them up one by one.

“Thanks, you know where we’re going, right?” Chaeyeon asks while Yena zaps the security cameras in their vicinity. That would buy them some time to move freely until they rebooted.

“Mhm, the surveillance room. I checked the map, and it should be a couple halls down.” Hayoung replies pointing to their west. Chaeyeon nods just as her comm device buzzes.

“Must be Eunbi-unnie. Gimme a sec.” She says, answering the call and giving Eunbi an update.

“She and Hyewon-unnie have met up with Saerom now. They’re heading towards the ballroom.”

“We better get a move on then.” Yena says. Before they could make it far though, Hayoung raises her fist, a sign to stop.

“Someone’s coming. Hide.” She says, hearing the sound of voices coming in their direction. The others do as instructed and dive into the closest open room.

“Hayoung-unnie? What’re you doing all the way over here?” The voice of a woman while shining a flashlight in her direction.

“Ah, it’s nothing, Jiheon! Just a bit of exploring is all.” Hayoung replies, trying to act casual. Jiheon didn’t look convinced though.

“Unnie, I know you. You wouldn’t be up here without a reason. The party’s downstairs after all.” The younger girl says before continuing. “You and Saerom-unnie usually have a knack for uncovering mystery cases, so is this one of them? Did KYB do something wrong?”

Hayoung seems to freeze for a second, considering her next words very carefully before replying again.

“Fine, you got me. Just investigating some gadgets they’ve been developing.” It was the truth, but not the entire truth. “Saerom and I just wanted to do some initial digging before bringing it up with Captain Hwang.”

“Oh, can I help then? It’s sooo boring standing around doing nothing.” Jiheon whines.

“I don’t know. You might get into trouble if we get caught.” Hayoung says, but Jiheon doesn’t budge.

“Come on, unnieee. I promise I’ll be fine.”

“Okay, okay. Just don’t tell Hwang about any of this until we’re sure there’s something. I’ll take the westside while you check the rooms on the eastside. Got it?” The older girl finally relents.

“Alright! I won’t let you down, unnie!” Jiheon says with a puppy smile before heading back the way she came from. When she’s finally out of sight, Hayoung knocks on the door where Sakura’s team was hiding.

“Why didn’t you just let her come with us?” Chaeyeon asks curiously, having heard bits and pieces of the conversation. Something about that girl kind of reminded her of Yujin, but she quickly brushes it off.

“She and the others don’t know that we’re mutants yet…” The police officer mumbles quietly.

“You’re afraid they’ll turn on you two if they find out?” Sakura guesses to which Hayoung slowly nods. The others wanted to say something supportive but weren’t exactly sure they’d be helping. It wasn’t like they had many fond memories of revealing to regular people that they were mutants. After a few seconds of silence though, it was Yuri who finally decided to speak up.

“Listen… I understand being afraid of revealing who you are, worrying if you’ll be accepted. It takes time, but the ones who are truly your friends and supporters will love you know matter what.” The popstar says. “You’ve been using your powers for good, and I’m sure your teammates will see that too.”

“Thanks, I needed that.” Hayoung replies with a smile.

“Uh, guys, hate to ruin the moment, but I think the cameras will be back up soon. We gotta move.” Yena interjects.

“Ah, my apologies again. Let’s go.” Hayoung says after clearing . The five girls then go down the hall in search of the surveillance room.

~~~~

“This should be it.” Hayoung whispers, pointing at a room around the corner that had its lights on compared to the others which were off for the night. The police officer closes her eyes, listening hard until her ears pick up on a conversation inside.

The cameras are just on the fritz. I don’t know why you’re so worried. One older voice says.

I just hate the night shift. Everyone’s comfortable downstairs at that party, while we’re here on the 10th floor without any outside light. The other voice replies.

“Yena-ssi, could you zap that camera one more time?” Hayoung asks while pointing at one right next to the security room door. The duck nods and aims her finger like a gun right at the camera before shooting a bolt of electricity at it. Hayoung then focuses again to hear what the guards’ reaction would be.

Yah, another one went out. Are you sure this place isn’t haunted? The younger voice asks, clearly shaken.

Have you lost your mind? Ghosts aren’t real, kid. The other man, who they assumed was the superior replies with a huff.

If you really think so, why don’t you go out and check yourself? The first guy challenged.

Aish, f-fine. But when I get back and tell you nothing’s happened, you better get ready to apologize and accept a demotion. The older man replies with a slight stutter. Hayoung then hears the sound of a gun being picked up and the door to the surveillance room opening.

Not even a couple seconds go by before Chaeyeon dashes in and knocks him out in the blink of an eye.

“Uh… s-sir? You okay?” The younger guard asks into the darkness when he hears a thud. When no response comes, he shakily picks up his own gun and gingerly takes a step out.

“Why did they have to shut off all the lights at this time…” He mumbles, moving forward until his foot trips on something on the ground. The man quickly looks around, clearly afraid.

“W-whoever’s there, don’t even think of it…. I’m armed!” The man threatens in a not so threatening tone. He then activates the flashlight attached to his rifle and shines the direction he’d come only to reveal his boss unconscious on the ground. Before he could scream his lungs out though, a voice whispers in her ear.

“Sleep…” Yuri says, and with that, the surveillance room was in their control.

“Kkura, do your thing. I’ll contact Chaewon and the others that they should be on the move soon.” Chaeyeon orders after having tied up the two guards. Sakura cracks her knuckles before placing them on the control panel and exerting her will to take control.

“I’m in.” The Japanese girl says as she manipulates all the cameras to just show replays from the day when the halls were empty.

“What do we do now?” Yena asks.

“We defend this spot while waiting for the others to complete their mission.” Sakura replies.

“Aww what? Where’s the action?” The duck whines before getting smacked in the head by Yuri.

“Be careful what you wish for, unnie.” She chides.

“Well, if my role here is complete, I’ll head back now. People might be suspicious if I’m gone for too long.” Hayoung says to change the topic.

“Oh, sure. Thanks for your help, Hayoung-ssi.” Chaeyeon says with a respectful bow. “You stay safe now.”

“Heh, I should be telling you girls that.” Hayoung replies before leaving the room to look for Jiheon.

~~~~

“Alright, unnie. Thanks for the update. We’ll move quickly.” Chaewon says before dropping the call.

“It’s finally time?” Nako asks eagerly to which Chaewon nods. “Alright! Time to kick and take names!”

“Again, Nako. Eunbi-unnie said to avoid it if we can help it.” Hitomi replies with a sigh.

“Agh, y’all are no fun.” The short girl pouts as she steps out of their van.

“You ready, Min?” Chaewon asks.

“We’ll find out once I try it.” Minjoo replies with a nervous smile before heading out to follow Nako.

Just like Chaeyeon had said, the cameras weren’t blinking red anymore, which meant they weren’t recording. There was still the matter of the guard at the side entrance they were trying to enter from though.

“Alright, girls. Hold on to each other for a bit.” Minjoo whispers, and when everyone’s arms are linked, the brunette wills them to become invisible. It was always a tough task, but with the advice Sana had given her, Minjoo did feel a bit more in control.

Focus on an anchor…

The group was now a couple steps away from the man standing guard, and if he heard their footsteps, he didn’t show it. With the distance now fairly close, Hitomi uses the opportunity to cause a distraction. The peach-cheeked girl slowly raises a root from the ground until it is around the guard’s foot before pulling her hand back and taking him down.

“Yah, what in the world?” He mutters to himself. He could’ve sworn he hadn’t moved and yet he’d tripped on a root in the ground. When he had difficulty getting up, the man realized the root had wrapped around his foot. “Ugh, I don’t get paid enough for this.”

While he was busy extricating himself, the group managed to slip inside, the opening and closing of the door not even making a sound. Minjoo could finally let go of the breath she was holding.

“Nice one, Min! Looks like Sana’s tip worked.” Chaewon says, giving her girlfriend a pat on the back. While she appreciated the praise, this action did almost cause her to lose focus and drop the veil.

“Wait, so we really can’t be heard when we’re cloaked like this?” Nako asks curiously.

“Yes… just have to keep my mind steady.” Minjoo replies as a group of security guards walks right by them.

“Cool, I'll contact Saku-chan about where we should go then” Hitomi says before taking out her comm device and calling the aforementioned girl.

“So, what exactly is your anchor?” Chaewon whispers.

“Uhh… maybe some other time, unnie.” Minjoo says while trying not to make eye contact.

“Is it perhaps something related to me, then?” The older girl prods, and at those words, Minjoo’s cheeks redden deeply.

“Yah, do you know how awkward that is to say when we’re all holding hands?” Nako interjects which pushes the brunette’s embarrassment over its limits. In the blink of an eye, their invisibility was gone just in time for a pair of female guards to turn the corner and see them.

“Uh… and who might you be?” The woman on the right asks with a raised eyebrow, hand creeping down to the gun on her belt.

Nako wanted to cut to the chase and knock them both out, but before she could, Hitomi spoke up, very much peeved at having her call with Sakura cut off.

“We’re friends with Saerom!” The Japanese girl says when she sees an emblem on her shirt that had ‘Fromis’ on it.

“Saerom? How do you know the captain?” The woman, whose name tag said Roh Jisun, looked unconvinced, still wary of how four girls dressed in camo suddenly appeared in front of her.

“It’s a long story. Can you just pretend you didn’t see us?” Chaewon suggests, equally embarrassed at being the reason their cover was blown. She definitely shouldn’t have tried to tease Minjoo at that time.

“Hmm, we’ll have to radio her in for that confirmation. Seoyeon, call her in.” Jisun orders.

“Sorry, no can do either.” Hitomi says, throwing a couple seeds on the ground that immediately sprout into vines which quickly wrap the two girls up. “Your comms might’ve been tapped.”

“Yah, let us go!” Jisun yells, unable to break free. Nako then picks them both up and places them in a janitor’s closet nearby.

“To prove we’re with you on this, we’ll call Saerom to come over here and get you out. Just give it a few minutes, okay?” Hitomi says before locking the door.

“You get all of that, Kkura-chan?” She then asks into the comm device that she’d left on.

Unfortunately, yes. I’ll get your message out. Just please stick to the mission from now on. Sakura replies with a sigh.

“Sorry about that, Tomi…” Chaewon says apologetically. She may have been the oldest there, but that was definitely childish of her.

“Don’t apologize to me, apologize to her.” Hitomi replies, pointing at Minjoo who was still a bit shell-shocked from the ordeal.

“Ah, yeah. My bad, Min. I should’ve known better.” Chaewon says, this time in her girlfriend’s direction.

“No, it’s fine.” Minjoo says with a small laugh. “Let’s just get this over with. You know where to go, right Tomi?”

“Mhm, computer rooms are on the fifth floor. Can you cloak us again?” Hitomi asks to which Minjoo nods back and extends her hands again for them to take.

“Chae, come on.” The brunette says when Chaewon looked a bit hesitant.

“Ah, sorry. No more messing around. Promise.” Chaewon says, and with that, the group is on its way again.

~~~~

Meanwhile in the ballroom…

“So, where are you two from?” A middle-aged man asks the two girls sitting across from his table.

“Uhm, Busan. My partner and I run a manufacturing company in Busan.” Eunbi replies. One thing she probably hadn’t taken into consideration when choosing this role was having to make small talk with rich people.

“Oh, we’re in that business too!” A woman, probably the man’s wife, says. “We usually supply KYB with metals though.”

“That’s nice… speaking of which, the surprise that KYB has in store tonight, do you know what it is?” Eunbi asks. If she was going to be subjected to this, she might as well get some information.

“Well, it wouldn’t be a surprise if we knew, right?” The man jokes, Eunbi and Hyewon returning a fake laugh to not look suspicious.

“Hello, ma’am! Would you like some more drinks?” A new voice asks, and when Eunbi turns, she sees it was Yujin with a pitcher of iced tea in her hand.

“Sure…” Eunbi sits back to allow Yujin room to lean forward and pour into her glass while whispering a message.

“Nothing so far in the kitchen, and no sign of anyone other than Geun.” The younger girl says.

“Thank you for that. I’ll let you know if we need any more.” Eunbi replies with a nod. Yujin then bows and goes back to investigating.

“You said supply metal, right? How’s it been like working with KYB?” Hyewon queries to keep the conversation going.

“Ah, it’s been wonderful, especially in the past few months. They’ve been ordering a lot more of our iron than usual.” The man says. “There is something strange about it though.”

Those words definitely catch the duo’s attention.

“Like what…?” Eunbi asks. The man looks around, as if making sure no one was listening before whispering.

“They’ve been asking us to deliver them to a place in Jirisan recently. They would never mention why that was, and I never really questioned it because we were getting paid. It’s just a bit odd.” He says, causing Eunbi and Hyewon to look at each other and think the same thing.

Jirisan?

~~~~

“Won-il! Why are you just standing there? Get those entrees out!” The kitchen supervisor chides when he sees the waitress who was simply gazing at the crowd of guests.

“Sorry, boss! I’ll get right on it!” Wonyoung replies, shaking herself out of her trance. After seeing Hunter Geun, she’d had her eyes peeled for anyone else who could be a threat.

Still nothing on my end, Wonnie. How about you? Yujin comms over.

“Nope. Geun hasn’t moved either. He’s busy getting drunk.” She whispers after delivering her plates to various tables.

Hmm, looks like we’re going to have to wait for KYB to make the first move. The puppy replies.

“Understood, Yuj. I’ll let you-” Before Wonyoung could finish her sentence, a hand tapped on her shoulder. When the bunny turns, she’s faced by a middle-aged woman that she doesn’t recognize.

“Wonyoung, right? What’re you doing here?” She asks.

“H-huh? Who’s Wonyoung? My name is Won-il.” Wonyoung replies quickly, pointing at the name tag on her chest.

“Oh please, I saw Eunbi walk in earlier too.” The woman says back which only confuses Wonyoung more.

“W-who are you?”

“Ah, forgot about the disguise. It’s me, Ryujin.” At this, the woman covers the sides of her face and shifts it into the ITZY member’s features before quickly reverting back to the facade. “I’m here with Yuna while the others go and extract some data from the upper floors.”

“Same… My team's also here to keep watch of KYB and his connections too though.” Wonyoung replies, eyes wide in surprise.

“That’s good. Maybe we can help each other then. I’ll go contact my team.” Ryujin says, but before she could leave, some sounds from the front stage grab the room’s attention.

“Hello again, everyone! Is everyone enjoying their meals because I think I’ve delayed the surprise long enough.” Kim Yong-bum says before a couple soldiers come in and place a tall box on the ground next to him.

“Today, I will be introducing the company’s biggest innovation yet! As you all know, mutants have always been a divisive issue within our society, and I’m here to tell you though that they have a lot of potential to do good. Think about it, one mutant could do the job of twenty construction workers. One mutant could supply electricity for a whole town. Why should we be shunning them when there's such a lucrative business opportunity here?”

“Now, I know what you’re thinking. How can we find them, let alone convince them to work with us? The answer is simple, my friends. Behold!” At this, he opens up the box to reveal what appeared to be a regular young woman with her eyes closed. The crowd seems to think this too as murmuring begins to increase, which prompts KYB to speak again.

“Okay, this may look like an ordinary college student, but this is actually an android! One that is built to hold its own against mutants in battle and restrain them!”

Those must be model 5s. Wonyoung thinks nervously as KYB presses a button that causes the android to boot up and open its eyes. The machine then steps out of its box and flies straight up to show off a lightshow, much to the amazement of the crowd. It then intentionally separates its body parts only to magnetize them back before they can hit the ground which elicits another round of oohs and aahs.

“Yes, yes, wonderful, right? With one of these, you wouldn’t need to worry about mutants anymore. So, I’ve gathered you here today because I wanted my dear friends and partners to have first crack at bidding for one of these. How about we start at a million won?” KYB says before one man at the side raises his hand.

“You say these machines can take down mutants, but how will they even track them down?” He asks skeptically.

“I’m glad you asked, Mr. Ki! These androids actually have a special modification that allows them to scan for mutants...” As KYB began talking and marketing the android again, Wonyoung felt her comm device begin buzzing. When she answers, she hears Hitomi’s voice, but it was very garbled.

Won--! Ge-out of- now. The wa-.

“Unnie, what are you saying?” Wonyoung asks, but the call had gotten cut.

“... just for fun, let’s test it out! Maybe there’s a mutant somewhere here.” KYB says with a knowing grin before pressing another button. The android's eyes begin to turn red as it swivels its head around the room… stopping the second its gaze meets Wonyoung.

“Uh… Wonyoung, why is the tin can looking at us?” Ryujin asks in a nervous tone.

“The water…” Wonyoung mumbles, the realization hitting her.

“Well, what do we have here?” KYB says smugly. “Seems like we have an uninvited guest. Would anyone want to see my invention here in action?”

~~~~

Back on campus….

“Rei, slow down! Run that by me again please.” Gaeul says. The Japanese girl had suddenly called her over and went on about some metal in the water.

“Sakura-unnie boiled the Jirisan water, right? There was something in it- iron casings. I don’t know what they do, but it can’t be good.” Rei replies.

Gaeul can only gaze out the window towards the city where their friends were. They had no way to contact them, and the location was too far to reach them in a reasonable amount of time.

I hope you girls know what you’re doing… She thinks.

 

A/N: Hi! Sorry for the delay. I got locked out of my room for a couple hours a while ago and couldn't find the keys HAHA. It may be midnight right now for me, but here it is already to make up for it being late!

So, for today's chapter, everyone begins their parts of the mission with varying degrees of success. Yena's team seemed just fine, Chaewon's nearly messed up, and Wonyoung's was caught. What the water does exactly will be explained in the next chapter, but I think you get the gist by now. 

Thanks once again for the support, likes, and comments! It warms my heart to see that people are still discovering this story today. Thank you truly!

Have a wonderful day, and see y'all in the next one!