The Sun and The Three Little Critters

Unniedul, Saranghae! ❤ -- Discontinued --

Chapter 01

 

Yongsun's POV

 

"Good morning, unnie!"

I turn my head as I heard a greeting from my left side. A familiar neighbor girl smiled at me as she waved her hand. I returned her wave after I finished locking the door of my house.

"Good morning, Wheein-ah."

Jung Wheein, a student at Seoul University who rented a house a few houses down from mine, walked cheerfully by my side clutching her backpack. Wheein and I are close, especially because her campus and my workplace are located in the same area. We left or went home together for almost every day.

She also loves to spend the night at my house. Usually, its when she's bored or afraid to sleep alone. Because of our frequent meeting, I already thought of Wheein as my own younger sister.

"Its unusual for Yongsun-unnie to left early. What's wrong?" she asked, starting the conversation.

"Well, my boss called me and asked for a file that I brought home. A sudden meeting, he said," I sighed. "What about you, Wheein-ah? Aren't your class starts at eight?"

Wheein frowns. "Hyejin left her assignment at my house, Unnie. She's supposed to collect it before eight. And you know how Mr. Kim is if we're late!"

"Hyejin? Ah, I'm not surprised," I laughed, remembering Hyejin.

Ahn Hyejin is Wheein's close friend at the campus. If there's any group assignment, Wheein always invites Hyejin to her house or to even stop by mine. They also spend time studying together when there's an exam coming up. That's why I know that Hyejin has a bad habit of leaving her things at Wheein's house.

"Right!" Wheein huffed angrily. "I mean she's turning 21 this year! Why can't she be a bit more considerate of her stuff?"

I just nodded while listening to Wheein. One, because I'm already used to her venting about Hyejin. And two is because I know that anger will disappear after they met each other.

I mean ... Hyejin is smart at bribing people. While Wheein is weak to bribes, especially to ice cream.

"To top it off, unnie, my children fight a lot lately, I'm tired," Wheein said, continuing her complaint.

I raise my eyebrows. "Your children? You mean Ggomo?"

Wheein sighed tiredly. "You could say so..."

"I don't remember you adopt a second cat."

"Hmmm ... how to explain?" Wheein stares into the sky as if she's looking for inspiration. "They're not cats... actually. But, ugh. It's hard, unnie! Especially if one of them is narcissistic while the other one is a savage!"

"What?" I nearly hollered in laughter when I heard Wheein's description of her new pets. "Hahaha, Wheein-ah! You said that as if they were humans!"

Wheein just pouted while hitting my arm slowly.

It doesn't take long for me to arrive at my office and with that, I said goodbye to Wheein.

My day at the office was pretty relaxed. Other than the sudden request of the files, the day pass by slowly as nothing else in particular happens.

As usual, I went home at five in the afternoon. Today I walked home alone because Wheein said there were additional assignments on campus. The sun had begun to sink as I turned into the street of my residential complex.

I casually walked to the door of my house, and that's when I saw a black shadow on the corner of the roof. The mysterious hanging object has two bright yellow spheres at its very bottom. I blinked in confusion. The two circles blinked back.

"Why is there a bat here?" I muttered to myself. The black furry animal remained motionless, but its mouth opened to form an arch. Waw, the animal smiled at me.

I replied to its smile and returned to unlock my house.

...

Wait.

Bats don't smile.

I quickly turned my head to the point of nearly dislocating my neck, glaring at the bat. But the creature just smiled (grinned?) even wider, tilting its head as if asking, 'what's wrong?'

I'm having goosebumps. Okay, this is weird. There is no such thing as a smiling animal, Kim Yongsun. You're hallucinating. What happened to me? Maybe I ate the wrong food. Director Park gave me a donut today. He wouldn't be as evil as to drug me, right? Is there a possibility that it was stale? Maybe it was stale. It might explain the hallucination.

I tried not to steal another glance at the black furry creature while I entered the house. As soon as I'm inside, I slam the door close and lock it. For a moment I fell silent, trying to calm myself from the most absurd events I might have experienced in the 27 years I lived.

I wanted to run straight to the room, but my sense of curiosity made me peek out of the window. The bat is still at the corner of the roof, but its eyes are not visible anymore. Is it asleep?

My body slowly slumped to the floor.

"Calm down, Yongsun. Deep breath, deep breath... the bat was not smiling at you. You're making things up... it was the donut I swear. I'm going to ask Mr. Park about that and–"

Before I could finish my sentence, my stomach growled.

"...not the donut, I guess. I'm probably too hungry," I exclaimed, not wanting to put the blame on Mr. Park. He's been a very nice director there's zero percent of him suddenly developed a desire to poison me.

Well, I've got to eat now. I don't even bother to look at my fridge. It's been a busy week I barely have time to buy groceries. So I simply change my work clothes into a t-shirt and shorts while typing some delivery number on my phone.

While waiting for my food, I proceed to lay down on the couch and flipped through the TV channels. There's not really anything that catches my attention so I decided to turn it off. I was in the middle of contemplating whether to take a bath or to keep on lazing around until my food arrive when a soft rustling sound echoes from my front door.

My neighborhood is regarded as a safe one, but I can't help to be a bit wary. I mean, who the hell loiters around in front of people's door at this time of the day?

I grab an umbrella on my way to the front door. I cautiously peek through the window to see any suspicious movement.

Surprisingly, there's nothing on my front porch. Only some pots of flowers Hyejin gave me a few months earlier. I was just returning to the couch when the rustling starts again. This time I slammed my door open with my umbrella pointed like a sword.

"Who's there!"

Still no one.

I'm starting to get nervous again but a loud squeak broke me from my trance. I turn my head to see the bat from before flapping its wings a few meters from me. It squeaks one more time, watching me with its unblinking bright yellow eyes then turned around and flew away.

I stood there for a few moments with my jaw hanging open.

Why is it squeaking at me like that? First the smile and now? Is it trying to communicate with me?

I haven't found the answer to my questions when the bat returns. It squeaks again, louder this time and flies closer to me. I swatted it away but it keeps on squeaking loudly, flying around me with apparent urgency.

To be honest, I'm afraid of a lot of animals. For as long as I live, I dare only to get close to and touched dogs, cats, cows, and some more barn animals. Before this, I'm pretty sure I will scream my lungs out (or probably fainted) if I see a bat flying less than five meters from me.

Maybe it's the eyes, or the not-so-normal smile it gave me, but there's something strange about the bat that made me intrigued.

So I grabbed a pair of sandals and follow the bat into the street.

###

Now, I should have thought this more thoroughly. The streets are dark, with only a few street lamps illuminating both of us. The bat I'm following is black, and I forgot my phone which means I'll have no means of communication or light source in case I lost the bat.

For probably five minutes after we left my house, it's been flying fast, guiding me into some alleys I didn't know existed before. Thankfully, as the lamps grow dimmer, the bat seems to realizes that I have difficulty seeing in the dark and flies closer.

It squeaks as if asking whether I'm alright.

Emphasis on as if, but I still responded to it.

"I'm okay."

It squeaks again, seemingly satisfied with my answer and turned its attention back to the alleys.

...

I seriously have to get myself checked.

Suddenly the bat halts, and it screeches, very loudly this time, into the darkness. I'm not really surprised when another screeching sound answers the bat. There's a soft pit-a-patting sound, like some animal's paws on the hard concrete. I squint to see any movement and nearly choke on my own spit when I see a fluffy ball of a hamster scurries across the alleys.

I stood there dumbly as I watch those two animals screaming at each other. Questions running through my head.

Are they're communicating? How on earth does a bat communicate with a hamster? I might not like animals that much but at least I know they belong to a different family. And it certainly doesn't register to me why do a bat and a hamster are having a conversation in the middle of the night.

After a loud and heated argument(?), both the bat and the hamster returned their attention to me. I gulped nervously, feeling as if I'm being judged. The bat squeaks again, flying next to me and poke my shoulder with its claws. The hamster follows, closing its distance to me.

I don't know what to do at this extremely bizarre situation so I just nod and gulped audibly.

"Are you guys trying to show me something?" I asked slowly. By this point I'm actually won't be surprised even if the hamster starts dancing randomly. So when it nods, I spoke again. "Show me, then."

The speed of which the hamster run into the alleys is actually pretty impressive. I jog to where it disappeared, the bat following closely beside me. It only takes three turns for me to discover something even crazier.

There, behind a dumpster, lay a small penguin with its eyes closed. The hamster stood by the penguin, looking distressed as it nuzzles it companion's flippers.

I don't really have time to ask why on earth is there a penguin walks around my neighborhood in the middle of a ing summer, accompanied by a hamster and bat, because I saw patches of red on its white feathers.

"Omo, are you hurt?" I blurted spontaneously.

The penguin cracked its eye open, squawking meekly. I almost couldn't hear it even when it's so silent around us. I took it upon myself to check the avian's well being, and true enough, there's a deep gash on its left flipper that's oozing with blood.

I carefully tucked the small bird into my arms, cautious of its bleeding limb and walked away. Soft flapping sounds and small squeaks tell me that the bat and the hamster are following me home.

My food had arrived and is put on my front porch before the four of us reaches my house. Thank god I've already paid it online, or else the delivery man would be so weirded out by my three companions.

I put the penguin gently on my couch, letting the bat and the hamster roam around it while I search for some first aids. I return with a bowl of water, a small towel, antiseptics, gauzes and a roll of bandage to find the three small creatures huddled up together.

I can't help but chuckle at the adorable sight.

"Scram, you," I said jokingly to the hamster that's laying on the penguin's left side. It squeaks, protesting but moved away nonetheless.

I assess the penguin's wound once more. It doesn't seem so severe that it needs stitches, and the blood had stopped flowing out, so I just wipe the wound until it's clean from dried blood. I applied some antiseptics and close the wound with gauzes. To keep the gauzes from falling down, I tied a bandage circling its flipper.

"You're okay now, little one. I'll call animal control by tomorrow morning to see if there are reports of missing zoo animals. Until then, you'll be safe here," I said to all three of them.

"Are you hungry?"

Squeak.

"What do you guys eat?"

Squeak.

"Hmm... I guess... fish for you, penguinnie?" I turned my head to the penguin. It squawks happily, so I went to my delivery food box, grateful for the sudden urge to eat Japanese food earlier.

I opened the box to find a beautifully arranged sashimi meant to fill my hunger tonight. But these animals need food, so I (albeit unwillingly) gave the raw fish meats to the wounded bird. After that, I rummage through my fridge to find some fruits. I found two apples from a few days ago, deciding that it's not rotten yet and gave both to the bat and the hamster.

As those three eat in silence, I found myself watching them fondly. All the weirdness aside, those animals are actually kind of cute. They seem to be close to each other, evident from the way they cuddle and how the bat and the hamster care for the penguin.

Not many animals know to find help from humans when their friend is in danger, after all.

Speaking about danger, it occurred to me that a penguin is supposed to live in a cold place or it will suffer from heatstroke. At least, that's what I think.

"Hey, penguinnie," the animal lifts its head and stare at me with its brown eyes. "Look, I don't know if you'll understand or not, but do you want to sleep somewhere cold? I have an air conditioner in my room and –why the heck am I talking to you like this?"

I'm really starting to reconsider my own sanity, but the penguin (if it's even possible) beamed at me and waddled to my feet. I shrugged, leading the avian into my room while listening to its soft steps against the floor. A loud screech suddenly echoes from the living room, followed by flurries of wings. I turned my head to find the bat flying slightly above the penguin's head and the hamster grabbing its healthy limb.

I sighed.

"You guys won't let each other go, don't you?"

The bat screeches, quietly.

"Fine, get inside, all of you," I open the door, letting the three animals swarm my room. They stood silently behind me as I arrange some pillows on the floor.

"You guys can sleep here, don't you dare climb onto my bed," I warned the penguin and the hamster, as the bat choose to hang itself upside down at the corner of my room. Both squeaks at my warning then proceed to lay on the pillows.

As I contemplate what to do now as the animals are all asleep, I managed to catch a glimpse at the calendar to find that tomorrow is a national holiday. That means I don't have to go to work.

"Well, I guess I can sleep early and search for any information about these three tomorrow," I said, making a mental note to myself.

I went through my nightly ritual, locking all the doors and windows then turned off the lamps. Before I fell asleep, I throw one last glace to the huddled animals, wishing them a good night and close my eyes.

###

Hot.

Despite the low rumble of my aircon, the air feels really hot to my skin tonight. Or, more like, the skin of my left arm. My right arm that's placed near the wall of my room is still freezing cold.

There's something hot enveloped itself at my left side.

Speaking of enveloping, there's also something long and heavy drapes itself across my stomach. Struggling to pry my eyes open, I tried to have a good look on whatever thing is disturbing my beauty sleep.

I saw black. Black... lines. Lots of black lines.

No, wait.

Is that hair?

My eyes snapped open in realization that someone sleeps next to me. And by the sensation on my left arm, I'm 100% sure that this someone is definitely . My free arm blindly s in the dark, finding the switch and quickly turned the lamp on.

The blinding white light hurt my eyes, but as the pain subsided, I do a double take on whatever being sleeping next to me.

It's a girl.

A very girl with black hair hugging my arm tightly as if it's a lifeline.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!"

The girl jumped as I scream my signature dolphin scream, tripping herself on my blanket then fell down to the floor with a loud thud. She's groaning in pain, but before I could continue my screaming, two other voice resounds from the other side of my room.

"What was that?!"

"Oh my God!"

Much to my horror, two other girls showed up in my room. One with straight dark red hair yawning at the corner of my room, while the other one with orange streaks on her brown hair is sitting beside my closet. As I tried to process what the hell is happening, the one hugging me slowly rise to her feet, wrapping my blanket around her bare body.

I sprang into action, standing tall on top of my bed clutching my pillow in front of my chest. At least I'm still clothed, meaning that whoever these three are, I wasn't doing anything R-rated with them last night.

"W-who are you?!" I shout, pointing my pillow to the black haired one in case she decides to attack me.

"Mina."

"Dahyun."

"Jihyo."

"I wasn't asking that!" I point my pillow to the one speaking last, the red haired girl at the corner of my room.

"But you asked who we are!" the one sitting beside my closet–Dahyun?–stands and yelled at me.

"Shut up!" I threw my pillow to the girl. It hit her right on her head. She cries in pain, dramatically rolls on the floor while holding her forehead.

"Umm, unnie, I'm sorry. We're sorry. We'll explain but please, calm down," the black haired one–Mina?–extends her left arm trying to soothe my panicking . I couldn't help but notice that a portion of her upper arm is wrapped by a bandage.

"How am I supposed to calm down when three stranger showed up in my room?!!" I spat, making the black haired girl flinched at my tone.

"Don't be angry to Minari!!!" Jihyo–the red haired one–jumped in front of Mina, probably trying to protect her from my wrath. Nice timing because I happen to quickly snatched another pillow and hurled it straight at Jihyo's face.

"Explain all you want, but don't you dare to get close to me or I'll throw my entire bedroom to you and destroy your pretty faces," I growled, warning Mina with my tight grip at a picture frame.

"I won't, I won't," she softly said, retracting her arm and hugging herself.

"Unnie, I know this will be really difficult to understand, but you're the one who invited us all into your home," she spoke slowly. And really softly I'm struggling to hear her sentence.

"What do you mean by that?"

"What we meant," Jihyo suddenly butted in, staring at me with eyes I felt somehow familiar. "Is this."

There's a poof in the air that made me close my eyes. When I open it again, the three girls are gone. But in their place, are the three animals I rescued earlier. The small penguin flapped its flippers, showing me its bandaged left limb that's suspiciously looks like Mina's arm.

"Hello, unnie," the bat squeaks, but this time I fully understand what it's talking about. "I'm Jihyo. This penguin here is Mina and that hamster is Dahyun. It's really nice to meet you, unnie."

.

.

.

I'm sorry, what?

This is too much for me to digest in such a short amount of time. I look at Jihyo, then at Mina, then Dahyun, back to Mina and last to Jihyo. She raised her wings, squeaking happily. But I don't understand? I couldn't grasp the concept that a person is able to transform into an animal at wish.

Why? How? What for?

My brain shortcircuited before I decided to do what I do best.

I faint.

 

To be continued...

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Izarakovic
When I'm on my laptop I write too much case reports and playing Genshin :/ I need to write more lmao

Comments

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poplarbear #1
Chapter 41: Thank you so much for the closure ❤️ as cringe as it sounds, I really hold this story dear in my heart.
iNeedRomance2
#2
Chapter 41: Thank you for giving us closure author-nim! I'm sad that a lot of my favorite authors have seemed to have left their stories to focus on their own lives, so thank you for coming back to say goodbye and giving us readers a great ending to your wonderful story! I'll miss your stories! Have a great life author-nim!
iNeedRomance2
#3
Chapter 41: Thank you for giving us closure author-nim! I'm sad that a lot of my favorite authors have seemed to have left their stories to focus on their own lives, so thank you for coming back to say goodbye and giving us readers a great ending to your wonderful story! I'll miss your stories! Have a great life author-nim!
GG_sone_sz
#4
Chapter 41: Thank you author-sshi..
Wivern #5
Chapter 41: 💕
seungwaan
#6
Chapter 40: i'll miss your wenhyo fics! but be healthy and stay positive, i understand it's hard to keep consistancy as a writer. you've done so well until now! wish u all the happiness u can get 🥺
Wivern #7
Chapter 40: I am one with your wish.
May it come true.
Will be waiting for your return.
Until then live without any burdens.
Fighting authornim! 💕
urmamaroxs #8
Chapter 40: Thank you for sharing your stories with us. I'll read whatever you are willing to put up. All the best for everything!