2. Project IZ*ONE II

Chapter 13- Aftermath

"I'm not saying that. I'm saying that in the moment, Eunbi-unnie's thought process made sense. Think about it, when Yuri was abducted, Yena did something stupid. When Minjoo was abducted, Chaewon did something stupid. Can you really blame her for not telling us? Besides, if you knew it was Chaeryeong, you might've let your guard down. She was still under their control, so we don't know what she would've done if we'd gone easy on her." Chaeyeon was still upset, but she had to begrudgingly agree with Sakura's arguments.

"I hate when you're right..." She mumbles.

"I'm sorry again, Chaeyeon." Eunbi says. She appreciated Sakura defending her, but she knew that she was still in the wrong for withholding that information.

"I think we should move on to more pressing matters now. At least we have Chaeryeong here with us. She's going to be helpful when we go get Hyewon and the other ITZY members." Sakura says.

"Wait, Hyewon-unnie? What are you talking about?" Chaeyeon asks, not completely caught up with the situation. Sakura was about to reply, but Eunbi beat her to it.

"She left with them..." Eunbi says.

"Left with them? You mean taken?"

"No, their leader, Yeji, told Hyewon something and she joined them. She told me to trust her, but...I don't know what to do." Eunbi's emotions were starting to catch up to her while retelling what had happened. Chaeyeon's expression softens seeing the tears welling up in Eunbi's eyes. She'd initially been upset with the older girl, but Chaeyeon couldn't imagine what she had to go through. She suddenly felt guilty herself for piling on her.

"D-don't worry, unnie. We'll get her back. We've always gotten our friends back before. She also said to trust her, right? I think Hyewon deserves our trust after all we've been through, don't you think?" Chaeyeon says as she envelops Eunbi in a hug.

"Thanks, Chae..." Eunbi says between sniffles. She always tried her best to remain composed for the team, but she just couldn't help it this time. It was nice to have a secondary leader in the group like Chaeyeon to take some of the burden off her, and remind herself that she was allowed to have emotions too.

Eunbi was about to say that they should round up the others already, but a coughing noise suddenly interrupts the moment. It seemed like the commotion must've woken up the person lying in bed. While Chaeyeon turns to check on her sister, Eunbi was surprised by Sakura, who gave her a handkerchief to wipe her tears with. It was a small action, but it meant a lot coming from the tech-girl who wasn't normally one to be involved in emotional situations.

"W-where am I..." Chaeryeong mumbles from her bed.

"Ryeong, it's me. It's Chaeyeon-unnie. Do you recognize me?" The feather-girl asks.

"Chae...Chae...Chaeyeon!" She shouts as she sits up in her bed. "Be careful! It's dangerous!" She continues to yell, not realizing where she was.

"Hey, hey, calm down, Chaeryeong! Everything's fine. We're safe here. We rescued you." Chaeyeon calmly replies, putting a hand on her sister's shoulder. Eunbi realizes watching her that Chaeyeon was very good at calming people down. There was this aura around her that got people to feel less agitated.

"Wait...unnie? Is that really you?" Chaeryeong asks slowly.

"Yes, it's me. It's gonna be okay. We'll explain everything, but for now, I need you to look at me."

"It-It is you...I missed you so much, unnie..." Chaeryeong says, embracing her older sister. Eunbi gives Sakura a look signaling that they should give the two some time to catch up. The aforementioned girl nods and quietly makes her way out.