Seohyun lead Yoona to a wide secluded alley, away from any curious on lookers. Yoona was still in shock with the massive sprint that her and Seohyun just finished.

 

“So you said… you were going to tell me… something?” Yoona said between breaths.

 

Seohyun was skittishly looking left and right in order to be sure nobody was nearby.

 

“Well honestly Unni… I’m not sure where to begin.” Seohyun scratched her cheek as she was deep in thought.

 

“Why don’t you start from the beginning? Who was that girl? She didn’t look all that scary.” Yoona said as she composed herself.

 

Seohyun shook her head slowly before finding the right words to say.

 

“All I know is her name is Yuri and she’s a sinister person.”

 

Yoona couldn’t hold back a snicker. “Sinister? You make her sound like a serial killer Seo.”

 

“I’m serious Unni! There’s something not right about her!”

 

“Okay okay, I believe you. She’s evil. So would you mind telling me what’s going on between you two?”

 

It looked like Seohyun wanted to tell everything to her best friend, but for some reason she couldn’t find the right words to express herself.

 

“Well I met her outside of my lecture one day and she wanted to talk to me about this club she’s in. She said it was a club of special people, so I just assumed they were a group on intellectuals or scientists.”

 

“Okay, that’s not really weird. What else happened?”

 

“Umm, we walked around the campus and we talked about random things and I was talking about school stuff like evolution theories and qualitative physics,” Seohyun looked to the ground as she was reminiscing.

 

“Okay so you talked about sciencey stuff. Then what?”

 

“Well then she told me she wanted me to join her club because I was special to them, but I told them no. She was very persistent in getting me to join, but I kept telling her no. But then she…”

 

Seohyun returned her focus on Yoona. “Do you remember how she was wearing sunglasses?”

 

Yoona raised her eyebrow. “Yeah? So what?”

 

“All I remember was her taking off her sunglasses and the next thing I remember was my entire body stinging, like 1000 tiny pins were piercing into my skin,” Seohyun rubbed her arms as the painful memory was coming back.

 

“So wait, are you saying she caused that? Maybe you got stung by a bee and-”

 

“Unni I know this sounds silly, but please let me finish. That’s not the worst of it,” Seohyun interrupted and Yoona automatically zipped shut.

 

“So the pain subsided when she put her sun glasses back on and it looked like she was going to take me away. But then another weird thing happened.” Seohyun grabbed Yoona’s hands and looked her directly in the eye. “Unni, what I’m about to show you may be a little scary so I ask you please don’t be frightened. Promise me you won’t tell anybody, okay?”

 

“But Seo-”

 

“Promise me!”

 

Yoona jumped back a bit. She nodded in understanding and Seohyun took a few steps back from her friend. She grabbed an empty can from the ground and showed it to her friend. Yoona didn’t see what was so special about it but all of a sudden the soda can started to emit a green light and was beginning to shake. Yoona thought Seohyun was playing a trick on her, but Seohyun’s face looked dead serious as the glowing can continued to shake.

 

“Unni cover your ears!”

 

Seohyun lobbed the glowing can far away from them and ran to Yoona while covering her ears too. The can only bounced once and Yoona thought that was the end of it. But then the small can exploded and Yoona could feel the vibrations from the gigantic boom. Seohyun was cringing as she was squatting down. Yoona was still trying to process what she just saw. The sounds of car alarms were going off all around them and she was pretty sure curious people were going to come to the source of the sound.

 

“We should go somewhere else Unni. I’ll explain the rest later.”

 

Yoona could only nod when Seohyun lead her out of the alleyway.

 

***

 

“Unni I know I told you we should go somewhere else to talk, but did we have to go to a pizza restaurant? After everything that happened, the last thing I feel is hungry,” Seohyun sighed as three pizzas and a small salad quickly arrived at their secluded table in the corner of the restaurant.

 

“Well I’m sorry Seo but after everything that happened today, I think my stomach needs some comfort.” Yoona already gulfed down her first two slices and was already working on her third. “So about your power thingy… what the hell was that?” Yoona asked as she finished her third slice.

 

“I really wish I could tell you, but I still don’t know what that was. I actually discovered it by accident a few weeks ago. I think I was feeling angry one day and I was holding a cup of tea. Next thing I know, the cup was glowing and when I threw it away it exploded,” Seohyun explained with a straight face. Seohyun wished she could explain it in better detail, but the words she was saying sounded like utter nonsense. “And the next thing I know, I met Yuri and after some sweet talking she found out about my ability. That day she said she would let me go, but then next time I’d be forced to come with her.”

 

“Well at least we know she was full of herself. You’re still here, right?” Yoona tried to reassure her, but Seohyun still looked down trodden.

 

“Unni, I’m scared. I feel like I’m some sort of freak of nature. I don’t want to be taken away from my family,” Seohyun muttered, trying to look strong.

 

“Hey hey, it’s okay Seo,” Yoona shook Seohyun’s wrist in an attempt to cheer her up. “Nobody is gonna take you while I’m here. Don’t you worry your cute little head,” Yoona assured with a smiling face. Seohyun smiled back and mustered up a smile.

 

“I guess you’re right,” Seohyun lied.

 

In the back of her mind, the memories of Yuri’s eyes sending a painful shock throughout her body was still haunting. The only reason she was able to get away that day was because she threw a small exploding book that had enough boom to knock her back and gave her enough time to escape. She didn’t want to worry Yoona too much, so she chose to keep that part of the story a secret.

 

“By the way Unni, have you ever heard of the Children of Tomorrow?”

 

Yoona thought about it as she chewed on her pizza. “Is that some kind of rock band?”

 

“Yuri said that’s what her club was called. I thought maybe you’ve heard of it somewhere.”

 

“Your guess is as good as mine. But like I said, don’t worry about it. Whoever Yuri’s organization is, they won’t lay a finger on you. We can stop by the police station to file a report on her. Plus we can get you protection if you want.”

 

Seohyun nodded. “Yeah, I think that might be best.”

 

Seohyun just wanted to forget about her ordeal for now and began to eat her salad. Unbeknownst to her and Yoona, another pair of girls who just experienced something similar were sitting on the other side of the restaurant.

 

***

 

Taeyeon and Tiffany were sitting at their own secluded table at the restaurant and both of them looked very downtrodden.

 

“Fany-ah… what are we doing here?” Taeyeon asked dully.

 

“You wanted to go to Mr. Pizza, right? Well I thought after that whole ordeal, we both deserved some pizza,” Tiffany said plainly as if nothing ever happened.

 

“Tiffany we were almost killed by a girl who summoned ice from her hands,” Taeyeon declared. “She froze our legs to the ground and ki-” Taeyeon was having a hard time uttering that word. “She did unnecessary stuff to you.”

 

“Tae there were way too many things that happened today. I had a hard day at work, I spilled my coffee, I thought you were suicidal, you dragged me to do your suicidal stunt, you flew, I got iced from some girl, and that said girl made out with me. Now if you don’t mind, I just want a few minutes to enjoy some pizza and RELAX DAMN IT!” Tiffany was starting to shake in agitation, but she noticed Taeyeon looking scared and quickly tried to compose herself. “I’m sorry. It’s been a long day.”

 

Taeyeon tried to distract herself by playing with the straw in her cola. She was happy that she wasn’t crazy and knew that she could fly, but remembering how Jessica did a one-eighty personality switch and tried to kill Tiffany still shocked her nerves. She still couldn’t believe Jessica was able to freeze her and Tiffany with just a flick of her wrist. And then there was the kiss. Taeyeon ignored her drink and tried to read Tiffany’s face; she looked to be playing on her phone.

 

“… are you okay?” Taeyeon knew Tiffany was probably still processing everything, but needed to be sure she was still sane.

 

Tiffany pressed a few more buttons before putting it back into her purse. “Honestly Tae, I don’t know. I feel like I’m dreaming right now and I can’t seem to wake up,” Tiffany rubbed her temples while speaking. “The idea that you hovered in the air and some girl in a suit froze us and made out with me… I mean like…. How the hell am I supposed to believe this?”

 

Taeyeon was about to respond, but their seafood pizza arrived without them noticing and when the waitress gave them plates and utensils, Taeyeon thought it be best to serve Tiffany a slice first. Tiffany immediately bit her pizza while Taeyeon served herself.

 

“I don’t know what to say Tiff. I didn’t know Jessica was crazy and had ice powers,” Taeyeon took a bite of her slice, but Tiffany froze and just looked at Taeyeon like she said something really absurd.

 

“You know who that crazy was?!” Tiffany said between clenched teeth.

 

Taeyeon just now realized she forgot to mention Jessica to her best friend. With a nervous chuckle, Taeyeon tried to play it off.

 

“Well it’s a funny story. True story actually,” Taeyeon tried to explain. Tiffany clenched her fist, looking really pissed.

 

“So why don’t you tell me this funny story of yours Kim Taeyeon. Who was that ?”

 

“Okay well umm… I actually just met her today. I met her during my lunch break and, get this, she knew about my flying dreams and she knew I was feeling empty about the whole flying thing!”

 

Taeyeon tried to sound surprised as she explained, but Tiffany was not amused.

 

“So anyways, she was the one who told me to reenact my dream so it was thanks to her I was able to fly?” Taeyeon sounded unsure at the end and Tiffany just scoffed.

 

“I can’t believe you Taeng. If any cute girl told you to jump off of a building would you do it?” Tiffany criticized.

 

Taeyeon arched her eyebrow. “You thought she was cute?”

 

“Yah! Stop talking stupid!” Tiffany shrieked. “Your so called friend stuck her disgusting tongue down my throat and was groping me! You know how pissed I would’ve been if that was my last memory before I died? I swear, my first kiss and it was from an ice blowing killer .”

 

“Wait a minute!  That was your first kiss?!” Taeyeon choked a bit on her soda.

 

“Well yeah. Thinking about it now I never really got that close with my exes, so yeah it was my first. It’s a shame really. I always thought it’d be from a nice dorky guy.”

 

It felt like a dagger just went through her chest. She never admitted it, but she always thought there might have been something between her and her roommate. To think she actually preferred guys… did that mean she didn’t have a chance with Tiffany? That she would never see her more than a friend?

 

“But you know Taeyeon, I’m still a little scared about that Jessica girl. What if she comes back to finish the job? What if she has friends? I think we need to get out of Seoul and -“

 

Tiffany looked around for a minute and Taeyeon was confused.

 

“Taeyeon where did you go?”

 

Tiffany stood up from her chair and was scanning the restaurant for her short friend and she was starting to get worried.

 

“Taeyeon?!” She called a little louder. Taeyeon thought her friend was acting weird so she spoke up.

 

“Tiffany I’m right here.”

 

Tiffany shrieked when she looked to the direction of the voice.

 

“Where are you Taeng?”

 

“Tiffany, don’t be stupid. I’m sitting right here,” Taeyeon pointed to her chair.

 

 “Taeyeon, I don’t think you noticed but try looking at yourself.”

 

Taeyeon thought Tiffany was acting weird but played along by looking at her hand. The problem was, she wasn’t even there. Her heart skipped a beat as she looked down to see that her body was gone. All she could see was the chair she was supposedly sitting on.

 

“Oh my god! I’m invisible!”

 

Just as she said that, Taeyeon’s body appeared again on the chair again.

 

“Taeyeon!” Tiffany threw her arms around her friend. “Oh my god, I thought I lost you!”

 

Taeyeon was almost suffocated from Tiffany’s embrace that she thought she was going to turn blue. But seeing Tiffany concerned for her was comforting.

 

“How the heck did you do that?”

 

Taeyeon looked at her hand. “Honestly I really don’t know.”

 

Tiffany still couldn’t believe it. She couldn’t comprehend all of this.

 

Suddenly from the corner of Taeyeon’s eye, she saw two figures in black suits walk though the entrance. Once she recognized one of the two people, her heart stopped and she grabbed Tiffany’s hand.

 

“Tiffany, don’t look behind you. Just follow me to the back and stay quiet.”

At the entrance of the restaurant, two young women in black suits kicked the door open. The woman with long black hair and sunglasses was smiling brightly while her shorter partner looked annoyed.

 

“Listen up patrons! We’re just collecting a few people! If you all comply, nobody has to get hurt today,” Yuri yelled happily to the frightened customers in the restaurant.

 

The shorter girl slowly tried to drag Tiffany to the back of the restaurant. She tried her best to be as inconspicuous as possible, but then her eyes met with the short brunette. In one mere second, Jessica lunged towards the two and shot a ball of blue light. Taeyeon jumped to the side with Tiffany still holding her hand. The table they were just sitting at was now covered in ice.

 

“Jessi! I told you to not kill the targets! That was cold enough to freeze their bones!” Yuri pointed at Taeyeon and Tiffany on the floor.

 

“Don’t tell me how to do my job Black Pearl. Just grab Seo Juhyun and kill her friend. I’ll handle Kim my own way,” Jessica ordered as she marched towards Taeyeon who was now petrified.

 

“Unni get back!”

 

Taeyeon heard a random girl shout before a bright green explosion almost hit the girl called Black Pearl.

 

“Taeyeon…” Tiffany whispered as she held onto her best friend’s arm.

 

Slowly Jessica approached the two on the ground as she adjusted her leather gloves.

 

Taeyeon was running out of options. She just discovered she could turn invisible, but wasn’t sure if she could make Tiffany turn invisible too.

 

“Kim Taeyeon, it’s good to see you again. My organization really needs you alive so just sit tight. As for your friend,” Jessica stopped and aimed her hand at a frightened Tiffany.

 

Jessica cocked back her blue gloved fist and Taeyeon didn’t know what to do. Tiffany was gripping on to Taeyeon for dear life, praying to God for help. Taeyeon closed her eyes and tried to take the punch with her back, but then something happened. The icy punch never came. In fact, the entire restaurant was pretty quiet. Taeyeon opened her eyes to see Jessica’s fist only inches from her face. Jessica’s entire body seemed to have stopped entirely for some reason.

 

“Hey Tiff, are you okay?”

 

As she shook her friend, Taeyeon noticed that Tiffany was also not moving as she clung to her best friend’s arm. Taeyeon stood up and released herself from Tiffany’s grasp. The entire restaurant seemed to have stopped in time. A lot of people were frozen in a way that looked like they were trying to escape to the entrance. In the corner of the restaurant, the tall woman with the sunglasses looked to be shielding herself from a chair that looked to have exploded with a green light.

 

The whole situation was getting too weird for Taeyeon. She tried to shake Tiffany to see if she’ll become unfrozen, but nothing happened.

 

“That’s not going to work you know.”

 

Taeyeon jumped when she heard a voice behind her. A girl wearing a black suit similar to Jessica with short black hair and a rather amusing grin stood near the entrance.

 

“Who are you? What the hell is going on?” Taeyeon looked at the only other person who wasn’t frozen in time.

 

“Isn’t it obvious? I stopped time. It’s pretty cool, don’t you think?”

 

The strange girl walked right past Taeyeon and grabbed a slice of pizza from a nearby table.

 

“Are… are you one of them?” Taeyeon grabbed Tiffany by the shoulders and tried to pull her away from the strange girl.

 

“Haha. If you’re asking if I’m with the Ice Princess and The Black Pearl, then no. I don’t deal with them anymore. Did I just save your life? Yes I did. You should be very grateful, Noona,” the short haired girl grinned as she finished her slice of pizza and was sipping on someone else’s soda.

 

“Noona? But aren’t you a girl? You should call me Unni,” Taeyeon raised her eyebrow.

 

The strange girl grinned cheekily as she threw her empty cup to the ground. She walked towards two girls in the corner who were near the exploding green explosion.

 

“Be back in a second.”

 

She put her hands on both of the girl’s shoulders. She closed her eyes and before Taeyeon could say anything, she vanished in a blink of an eye. Taeyeon couldn’t believe what she saw. She was about to investigate where the girl disappeared when she heard a voice behind her.

 

“Hope you didn’t wait long,” the mysterious girl appeared again next to Tiffany.

 

“Woah!” Taeyeon almost fell back from fright. “Who the hell are you?” Taeyeon grabbed Tiffany, not wanting the girl to take her friend away.

 

“Relax Noona, I’m not gonna hurt ya’ll.”

 

The girl ruffled her short hair and looked directly at the shorter girl.

 

“Name’s Amber. Former member of the C.O.T.”

 

“The C.O.T.?” Taeyeon looked confused.

 

“The Children of Tomorrow. I can explain it all to you later after I get you guys to safety. Now if you don’t mind,” Amber reached her hand out, expecting Taeyeon to grab it.

 

Taeyeon looked at Amber quizzically. How do I know you’re trying to help me? For all I know, you could be just like Jessica and trying to kill me.”

 

Amber chuckled in a semi-deep voice for a girl. “That’s possible, but how I see it, you don’t have much of a choice. I can either unfreeze time and let those other two noonas have their way with you and your friend or you can let me save you and live another day. So what’s it gonna be, Noona?”

 

Taeyeon looked to see Jessica still frozen in place, about to ice punch the ground. Tiffany was still kneeling on the ground, hugging the air that was supposed to be her arm. Taeyeon took a deep breath and grit her teeth as she grabbed Amber’s hand.

 

“Alright, I’ll trust you. Just stop calling me Noona.”

 

Amber held onto Taeyeon’s hand and touched Tiffany’s shoulder.

 

“Whatever you say Taeyeon Noona.”

 

Taeyeon’s eyes widened. “Wait a minute, how do you know my name?”

 

Amber was about to say something else, but Taeyeon couldn’t hear a thing as she felt her entire body feel like it was squeezed through an invisible tube. She could barely make out Amber or Tiffany as a million tiny bright lights passed by Taeyeon’s eyes. The entire experience was making her feel sick as she held onto Amber’s hand for dear life. She felt the whole world spinning on the top of her head and it was to the point where eventually she out.