Tzuyu and Human 101

“… You know Jihyo-unnie, when we agreed to adopt a cat, I’m pretty sure we were going to, like, adopt a cat.” Dahyun mused.

They were all gathered in the common room, wearing disturbed expressions of various extent.

Dahyun was disturbed, and a bit relieved; she would not have to put up with furballs running around the house everyday.

Momo was disturbed, and a bit aroused; coming from a Japanese culture, she could not help but be fascinated by humanoid animals. There should be a pair of cat ears lying around in her room, so she made a mental note to dig it up later.

Nayeon was disturbed, and a bit worried; she would no longer enjoy the monopoly over the milk stash.

Mina was disturbed, and a bit jealous; it was simply not legal to have those legs.

Chaeyoung was disturbed, and a bit happy; no matter what age Tzuyu might be, she was but a child, and Chaeyoung herself would no longer be picked on for being the youngest of the group.

Sana was disturbed, and a bit irritated. She would love to be changed by Jihyo one day…

Jeongyeon was disturbed, and a bit hungry. Sandwiches.

Tzuyu was happily eating one of Momo’s jokbal in the middle of the room, blissfully ignorant of the fact that she was being scrutinized by every other person present. It remained unknown as to Momo’s true intention behind giving away her all-time favorite food, but the gesture did raise a lot of questions that needed answering.

Tzuyu was having great difficulty eating the jokbal. Kneeling down and keeping her hands firmly on both sides of the dish, she was tackling it with only her jaws- exactly like how a cat would do.

“… I certainly did NOT expect we’ll have to raise a cat to be a human.” Continued Dahyun. “Not that I have any problem with it though.” She hurriedly added upon seeing Jihyo’s crestfallen face.

That was also what everyone else was thinking. The notion of teaching someone to be human, a process that would otherwise take place for at least a dozen of years depending on how long one’s childhood was, was something unheard of for someone at Tzuyu’s age. No one was really sure how old the cat-slash-girl was though, but they projected her to be about as old as Chaeyoung.

At any rate, watching a girl with fully functioning hands struggling with only was both comical and extremely pathetic.

“You know, I’ve never appreciated my hands as much as I am now.” Nayeon said, looking down at her slender fingers. “How do we go about teaching Tzuyu how to use them?”

“As soon as she understands us.” Suggested Chaeyoung.

“You mean, as soon as she knows we are talking to her.” Replied Momo.

“You mean, as soon as she knows her name is Tzuyu?” Sana chimed in.

“You mean, as soon as she learns how to speak?” Asked Jeongyeon.

“You mean, as soon as she can make any sound other than meows?” Mina spoke up.

This was driving Jihyo crazy, so she finally interrupted.

“As soon as she finishes eating.” Other members laughed and highfived among themselves. “You guys do know she can imitate right? If she sees what we do to eat, she can very well do it herself. The same goes to every other activity.”

Looking around only to see either disbelief or pity in others’ eyes, the leader stood up in frustration. “Fine. If you guys don’t believe it, see it for yourselves.” She proceeded to walk up to the eating Tzuyu. As expected from any other conventional cat, Tzuyu stopped eating and stared at the approaching threat warily.

“I hope you’l