A week passed by, much faster than Jihyo would have liked.

Still…

“Tzuyu, get some orange juice please.”

“Yes, Sana-unnie.” Replied Tzuyu enthusiastically, before bolting into the kitchen.

“You know…” Jihyo mused, her eyes never leaving the TV screen. A few members were gathered in the common room, watching a really intense drama series. “I’m quite glad that Tzuyu’s improving a lot, but I just can’t shake the feeling that something is off.”

“Sana-unnie want ice-cream? Mina-unnie? Chaeyoung?” Asked Tzuyu, who just came back from the kitchen with a carton of juice in hand.

“No Tzuyu-chan, thanks. Do you want ice-cream?” Nod. “Get some for you, then come here with us to watch this drama.”

“Well, simple dialogues, check, facial expressions, check. So lucky that smiling and laughing are something we learn by instinct. Maybe it’s her grammar…? No, that can’t be right. She’s still just putting words together, but soon she will manage fine.” Jihyo still wondered out loud. There was something wrong, but she could not put a finger on it quite yet.

She decided to go by elimination process. “Say, Sana? How are things going along in the dance studio?”

Jihyo half-expected a delighted nod from the bubbly Japanese, but she actually shook her head for once. “Not that good, Jihyo-ah. Tzuyu-chan catches up really well, she never gets tired, and she’s really flexible too. But…” Sana was interrupted by Momo, who just burst open the door noisily like she normally did.

“I’m hungry!”

Sana shot Jihyo an apologetic look. “Let’s talk later.” With that, she wanted to walk away, yet she was held back by the shoulder.

“Hold it right there, I just realized what seemed wrong.” Jihyo said, a strange glint present in her eyes. “Why are you using Tzuyu as your errand runner!!” She shouted as she tackled the laughing Japanese, adding even more chaos to the noisy household.

_____

“Okay Tzuyu-ah, let’s learn some new words.” Tzuyu grinned and nodded quickly. Throughout the week she had shown the same zealousness whenever it was time for language lessons. It was hard for her to explain what word she wanted to learn due to the limited existing vocabulary, so she hung on to everything Jihyo taught, never once failing to memorize it perfectly. ‘Learning very fun, make Tzuyu feel happy’, she had said in her minimally simplified language, melting a few hearts in the process.

Jihyo smiled, Tzuyu’s hair affectionately. The girl’s contagious enthusiasm somehow always managed to bring a smile to her face.

“Good girl.” Recognizing the usual praise, Tzuyu made a happy squeaking sound and attempted to Jihyo’s outstretched hand. “No! No Tzuyu. Bad girl.” Pout.

“Now, look here. What do you see?” Jihyo pointed at the objects she had arranged on the table in a specific order.

“On table are ice cream… a cup of water… two cup of water… three cup of water… and…” Tzuyu trailed off, not yet knowing the word for the stove.

“This Tzuyu-ah, is a stove. A stove.” Tzuyu repeated the word, and Jihyo nodded in satisfaction. “Good job!” The catgirl beamed.

“Give me your hand Tzuyu.” Said girl held out her hand without having to be told twice. Body parts were the first thing to be covered in Jihyo’s makeshift syllabus. “Now I’ll put your finger in the ice cream.”

“But Mina-unnie say no touch food.”

“This is for the lesson, so it’s okay.” Jihyo replied patiently. She was glad that it was not only language that Tzuyu remembered, but lessons from other members too. “Here, just put your finger in.” Tzuyu obeyed. She immediately winced, not liking the sudden freezing sensation.

“Cold. Ice cream is cold.” Again, Tzuyu repeated the word accurately, and Jihyo allowed her to withdraw the finger.

“How about this stove? Just touch the outside.” Tzuyu did what she was told. She immediately gasped, pulling back quickly and jumping away from the stove. It was just used, so there was boiling water inside.

The girl stared at her finger for a bit, before glancing up at Jihyo with a pained look.

“Jihyo-unnie hurt Tzuyu.” She said it in such a sad tone that Jihyo swore her heart just died a bit. She took