1. Project IZ*ONE

Chapter 1 - Awkward Greetings

As time went on, more and more people started piling into the great hall. The seats that seemed impossible to fill looked as if they wouldn't be enough if people kept coming in.

Yena turns to her friends, Sihyeon and Yiren, excitedly. She'd known that there were always others like her- people with strange powers, but she never expected this many.

"Can you guys imagine? Everyone here is like us! I can't wait to befriend all of them!" Yena was still in a state of awe seeing the amount of people all assembled in one room. She turns her head in the direction of someone about to sit next to them.

"Hi!!! I'm Yena, I'm good with electricity, what's your power??" She's always been an enthusiastic person and was never shy when meeting others despite many giving her the cold shoulder.

"Pft, what's it to you? I'm not here to make any friends." The girl harshly responds and turns away from Yena.

"Gee, can't we all be a little more light hearted?" Yena asks her friends.

"Not everyone's as eager to be here as you, Yena". Sihyeon interjects. "Not everyone wants to be here."

"Yeah, remember, we're technically required by law to be here if we want to stay alive." Yiren adds

"C'mon guys, not everyone is gonna be like that though, stop bringing down the mood." Yena then proceeds to shift her attention to another girl seated in her vicinity. Woah, that girl's pretty- Is the thought that runs through her head first. She had long caramel colored hair, wearing jeans and a white blouse. She was catching a lot of glances from the people around her.

She squints to read the name tag on her shirt. Kim Minjoo. "Hey, Minjoo, over here! I'm Yena! It's nice to meet you!" Yena enthusiastically waves while her friends try to calm her down, nodding at the girl apologetically as if saying, Excuse our friend here, she's really like that. Minjoo turns shyly and all of a sudden disappears in front of their eyes, well her face does but her clothes were still visible.

"Woahhh! You can turn invisible? That's really cool. I can't really show what I can do because they said elemental powers can't be used without permission." Yena rambles.

Minjoo smiles and waves back awkwardly, embarrassed how she didn't completely disappear when in her mind, she really wanted to. Listen Minjoo, you came here alone, maybe you need to make some friends. She thinks to herself. She looks back at Yena still hyped up and excited and keeps her eyes trained on the entrance once again. Buttt, maybe after I find my way around here.

Minjoo had always been a shy person. She was known as an innocent angel when she was younger and was beloved by almost everyone...until her powers showed up. Ever since, she'd always wished that she could somehow disappear forever and never reappear.

~~~~

Somewhere near the entrance, a couple of young kids are bickering. One had long black hair wearing a plain white shirt with jeans, though you could tell that they were branded and high-end. The other had short black hair, wearing a blue shirt with a dog on it along with some white shorts. "Yah, Yujin-ah, where have you been? We were supposed to go in there 10 minutes ago!" The first girl asks.

"Can you relax, Wonyoung? I just went to the washroom." Yujin points to the crowd of people lining up to enter the hall. "See? Not everyone's even inside yet."

"Yeah, but we might end up not getting any nice seats! What if we have to end up sitting next to some weirdos!" Wonyoung was very young, no pun intended. She had come from a prestigious background and always expected things to go her way. She was very spoiled in that aspect. When her powers showed though, it didn't matter how powerful her family was. She was forced to enlist in the training program.