1. Project IZ*ONE

Chapter 14- Regroup

"So, there's supposed to be some kind of facility like yours for boys?" Hyeongjun asks curiously after hearing Nako and Hitomi explain more about where they came from. Most of the other prisoners had managed to escape and flee to different hideouts in the city, but he and a few of his friends had stayed behind until the others arrived. Around them were a bunch of unconscious guards that they'd had to take care of once they got up. Hitomi was glad she was closer to the plants this time to use, but felt slightly bad about the church's garden after they were done.

"Mhm, they'd probably take you in if you just showed up." Nako says, but Hyeongjun shakes his head.

"I don't think I'm ready for something like that right now. I like being free, you know?" Hitomi looks at him with a serious expression.

"It's not easy to live like that...you can't always be on the run. At least find a safe space like the institutions around the country. They care about people like us over here, unlike back in Japan." The look in her eyes was enough to put a hint of worry in the young boy. If how mutants were treated in Korea was considered nice, then what did they have to go through back over there?

"Listen, you're friends with Yuri, right? At least do it for her to find a safe place to stay and not get into trouble."

"Fine, we promise." He says while nodding, noticing the elevator bar going back up. "Well, looks like they're coming up. We'll head out now." Hyeongjun turns to follow his friends who had begun walking ahead. He looks back to the two Japanese girls one more time, saying, "Tell Yuri I hope what I gave her helps, and that I'm thankful for her and Yena." And with that, Nako and Hitomi are left with some time alone.

"What did you mean when you told him about running away?" Nako asks which catches the fluffy cheeked girl off guard.

"You were in AKB, right? Something tells me there's more to your story." She continues when Hitomi stays quiet.

"As you know, the Japanese normally just take us from our families, right? They do it without warning, without compassion, then they force us to be like their personal army. I didn't even know people like Jurina and Sakura were part of that syndicate group." Hitomi says after pondering how to respond. Nako nods understandingly. She herself had caught the wrong type of attention when she beat the local boys in arm wrestling competitions and was taken away. The stigma against mutants existed everywhere, but at least there were pro-mutant groups here in Korea. Japan didn't want anything to do with them, and those who tried to speak up for them, were imprisoned or killed.

"Well, my parents cared about me a lot. They found out quickly that I was a mutant, but didn't let that sway them. They even encouraged me to use my powers." A sad expression came upon her face while reminiscing old memories. "I should've known someone would report on me for the mutant bounty. One of his co-workers had been paying close attention to me whenever I went with him to the reactor for take-your-kid-to-work day, and saw me one time playing around in the company garden with the plants. When my parents refused to give me up, the soldiers arrested them, but not before they caused a distraction to help me escape. I just kept running from that day on, but...I felt so much guilt for having my parents have to do that for me. I ran and ran, and one day, I was caught by surprise and it was game over."

"Do you know where your parents are right now?" Nako asks to which Hitomi shakes her head.

"I couldn't find any leads on them while I was on the run, and when I finally got caught, there was no way I could find them."

"That's messed up....Stupid question but, are you okay?" Nako sees a tear roll down Hitomi's cheek, and it just makes her so sad as well. "We'll find them one day. You have a lot of friends who can help now. We'll get through this together." Nako says while patting her back. In the short time they'd known each other, the twelve girls had really bonded with each other. Even Sakura, who she wasn't that familiar with in HKT to begin with, became such a close friend to her. She wants Hitomi to know she has pillars to lean on too.