Chasing the Truth

Unniedul, Saranghae! ❤ -- Discontinued --

Chapter 19

 

Yongsun's POV

 

I couldn't believe this.

I couldn't believe me.

"Oh, come on, Yongsun-unnie! You've been missing out on us since weeks ago! You have to come out and play!"

I shot an incredulous look to my work colleague, Jeon Somi. Or, crazy woman #1 according to me. She's number one because currently, there are two other crazy women currently dragging me to a nightclub. Somi, Yoojung, and Doyeon. The three musketeers. These three are my younger work colleagues who somehow grew a liking to me and dubbing me as their 'Workplace Unnie' instead of 'sunbaenim'.

So many people love to call me unnie. Am I that unnie-able?

"Please, unnie. It's been such a loooong time since we last hanging out together. Don't you miss us?" Yoojung whined, arms looping around my own while shooting me a pleading look. "Why are you so obsessed with coming home on time anyway? You've never done that before.. like... two months ago?"

I sigh. "There are a lot of shady people around my neighborhood these days. Can't really brush off the fear of criminal activity Yoojung-ah."

Not 100% lie. I'm not actually afraid of the nine Anihumans and their other three keepers hanging around my house lately, but you gotta admit that Sana and Hyejin are shady AF. Like who the whispers, "Ohyo ohyo ohyo ohyo," while knocking on someone's door, for god sake?

I feel bad for Chaeyoung. She must have had some traumatic experiences living with those devil incarnates.

"Just for tonight, unnie! Please?" Doyeon moves to attack. "Trust me– no! Pray with me that everything's going to be okay!"

I rolled my eyes at that. These girls didn't know about my whole Anihumans thingy. I'm not allowed to tell them, after all. But seriously, I've been losing my faith to Mina as the Voice of ReasonTM inside my house ever since they grew into adult Anihumans. The second night we returned home, she suddenly escaped my house on full wolf form, howling and running around the neighborhood saying, "The moon call for me."

I was terrified if my neighbor saw that but thankfully no one protests. Except for Dahyun because she legit kicked Mina on the head until she passed out.

But they're right.. it's been long since I hang out with them. I can't deny that I actually do miss them.

"Alright fine. Where are you guys going anyway?" I asked and they answer me with cheers.

"There's this new club downtown," Somi speaks but cuts herself. "Actually it's not new. But there's this new hot bartender–"

"Girl bartender," Yoojung quipped.

"–who make perfect drinks and I really want to check this club out. You in, unnie?"

"Sure. But only if you buy me a drink."

"YES! OF CROSS!"

"It's 'of course', dumb dumb."

###

Out of all the people I could meet in a nightclub, it has to be her. My fellow keeper. With her shining silver hair and shining dark eyes and shinier smiles.

Moon Byulyi.

And to think that she's the one standing behind the bar.

I squint my eyes. "Byul-ah?"

She raised her eyebrow. "Yongsun-sshi?"

Doyeon whispers to me. "Unnie you know her?"

It must have been the most awkward encounter I ever had in my life. Byulyi shot me a smirk, snapping me out of my stunned state. She then winked at the four of us, turning back to her shelf of liquors.

"Anything I could get you girls?" she asks with her usual deep voice. I could almost feel Somi melts beside me.

"Give us the best!" Yoojung cheered. Byulyi nodded still with her full on smirk, offering us to take a seat and moves between the shelf to make whatever concoction it is the best here. I sit at the leftmost stool, taking in Byulyi's appearance silently.

She actually looks pretty, with the black and white bartender suit. She wears her hair in a high ponytail, showing her nape and her usually concealed ears. I just noticed that Byulyi uses a round earring on her left ear.

"One special glass for my fellow," I was so lost in staring that I didn't notice Byulyi already handing me my drink. She winked, whispering lowly so that my other friends can't hear. "Keeper."

She grinned at me so I whisper back. "Keep it down before Tiffany scold us."

She laughed after she heard that and walked back to her station. I giggled, not noticing my friends who are looking at me. Only when I sip my drink did I noticed that they're all gaping their mouth at me.

"What?"

"What the , unnie," Doyeon exclaimed, placing her hand above her heart. "Did you just flirted with her?"

I choked. "No! She's a friend!"

"You sure?" Somi wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. I glared at her. "Yes, I'm sure. Try to ask her and she'll answer the same."

"Aww," Yoojung shook her head in disappointment. "I was just starting to ship you."

"EXCUSE ME?"

Doyeon tapped Yoojung's shoulder. "I know your feeling. They'll look good together."

"AIN'T NOBODY LISTENING TO ME?!"

"Hmm, whatever," Somi downed her drink in one go. "If the bartender's taken. Imma go to the dance floor. Any of you want to go to?"

"Me me!" Yoojung drank her drink hastily then jumped from her stool, following Somi. Doyeon just shook her head, sipping her drink calmly until it's empty. That girl said nothing before she went to the dance floor, probably finding Yoojung and Somi. She's always been the most responsible out of the three so I let her wander the room.

I was just playing with my straw, mesmerized by the way the colors in my drink moves when Byulyi sat across me. I smiled at her who smiled back. She starts, "Rough night, eh?"

I hummed. "Not really. They were just bored so they asked me to come with them here."

She chuckled, playing with a golden coin between her fingers. "I'd never thought you'll end up here."

"Yeah," I sip my drink. "So.. this is your line of work? If only I knew earlier, I'll come by more often. You make perfect drinks."

"Why thank you," she laughs softly. "Though, no. It was just recently that I got this job. The old bartender moved out of town and he said he loves my works, so he taught me about being a bartender and... voila! I got the job."

"So you worked here before, too?"

"Yes, as the cleaning service," Byulyi smiled. "Jeong work here, too, actually, as the waitress. But she's down with flu since yesterday so I told her to take a day off."

"Flu?" I choked on my drink. "I thought Anihumans can't be sick?"

"You wish," Byulyi rolled her eyes. "Jeongyeon has had a bad cough before and Momo caught food poisoning thrice because she didn't pay enough attention to her food."

I giggled, imagining the strong-looking Jeongyeon on her bed coughing her lungs out. "Those girls really need some caretakers."

Byulyi nodded fondly. "Well, they've got me for a while now. Wonder what would happen to them when they go to the other side."

"The... other side?"

"Yeah, you know," Byulyi shrugged her shoulders. "When they passed the final exam and become rulers. That means they'll be living on the other side, no? The Anihuman world, I mean."

A couple suddenly sit a few stools away from me, making Byulyi excuses herself apologetically and serves the couple, leaving me thinking.

Byulyi said that so casually as if it's not a thing that's bothering her. But I myself have had some thought about my Anihumans sisters' inevitable leaving. Their stay in the human world is temporary. And once they pass the last examination, they'll be crowned rulers and leave the human world.

Leaving me.

I sighed.

I shouldn't be thinking this. There's still a lot of time because Yoona said that they'll train the girls first before the third examination come. At least for a month, I will still be able to live with them.

I closed my eyes, resting my forehead on the table.

This issue riles me up more than I thought it would be.

 

End of Yongsun's POV

###

Tiffany looks deathly pale when she greets the younger Anihumans. Her left arm's in a cast and exhaustion soaks her whole existence. Sana, as the one sitting at the seat nearest to the door had run to help her, but Tiffany simply smiled and waved her away. Behind the seemingly dying woman is Seohyun, her face near blank as usual.

"Hello..." Tiffany smiles, leaning her body to the headrest. "I'm... well. I'm sorry I'm not in my top form today. So I'm gonna make it quick."

She glances at the nine girls sitting in front of her until her eyes stop at Jihyo. "Care to report, Jihyo-ah?"

Jihyo nodded and explains everything to Tiffany. The ruler just closed her eyes, listening while Seohyun wrote what Jihyo said in a small notebook. Once the Phoenix's done, Tiffany sighed.

"Okay, thank you very much. It is just like what I've predicted. Seems like we have the same way of thinking, girls," the Pegasus smiled. But her smile didn't reach her eyes and it made the younger all looking in worry. "Seohyun's going to tell you something regarding the third exam, pay attention."

Seohyun cleared once. "Okay, so our third exam will commence approximately two months after today. Along the two months recess, you are expected to come to the castle every day to train your newfound power with us. The training will start next week. This week, I want you to practice perfecting your transformation, especially the Legends and Special ones..."

The ruler cocked her head to Momo, Jihyo and Chaeyoung. "Because you girls need more time to transform. I hope you'll be able to make your transformation time faster and more efficient before the real training start. Just in case you girls need a wider space, you are free to visit the Anihuman world whenever you want."

She then took a golden crest in the shape of a crescent moon from her pocket and gave it to Momo. "This crest will take you to a specific training spot. And you are also free to roam the region as you please. But you're not allowed to come to the castle until we contact you again. Am I understood?"

The nine girls before her nodded. Seohyun nods back, smiling as she pockets her notebook. "Alright then, any question?"

Nayeon raises her hand. "I.. I want to ask something. But it's not about the exam. Or the training. May I?"

"Sure, go ahead, Nayeon-ah."

"Umm..." the deer turned to look at Tiffany, who seemingly realizes her motive and sighed. "Tiffany-unnie. Are you okay?"

Tiffany was silent for a few moments, locking her eyes to Nayeon's worried stare. She then smiled. A broken, tired smile that made Seohyun loops her arms across the older's shoulders. "No, I'm not, Nayeon-ah. I haven't been okay since a week ago."

"Unnie.." Seohyun sadly pats Tiffany's shoulder.

"But don't worry. This is not something concerning you. You girls should focus on your examination, instead," Tiffany chuckled. "Just let us do our thing, yeah?"

"Unnie," Mina cuts through Tiffany's sentence. The usually silent wolf is now staring hard at the ruler, hands clenching on some papers. She then put the papers in front of Tiffany and Seohyun. "We went back to the Sixteen Academy yesterday, and we found these. Please explain."

Tiffany took a peek to the words filling the papers and sighed. "What do you want to know?"

"The truth," Jihyo speaks up. "The whole truth about the SM Region."

"Okay, then," Tiffany nodded. Seohyun seemed alarmed by this and tugged the older's sleeve. Tiffany just shushed her. "It's okay, Seo. They deserve to know."

"But, unnie..."

"No. They have to know," Tiffany said sternly. Her smile has gone and she's now wearing the most serious face she ever had. "First. Tell me what you know first. Who am I?"

"You're Tiffany Hwang," Mina starts. "Ruler of the SM Region. You are registered as the third in command. Animal form, Pegasus. Class Legendary."

"Wrong."

Mina blinked. "W-What?"

Tiffany shrugged. "I'm a Rare. And my actual form was not a Pegasus. I used to be a Snow Leopard. My form changed two eras ago."

"H-how could that–"

Tiffany gave Mina no chance to ask as she continues her question. "Next. Soshi team. How many members are there, how many are active and what are our forms?"

Jeongyeon coughed once. "There are nine members with seven current active members. Aside from Tiffany Hwang, there are Lee Sunny, fourth in command, head advisor, red panda. Seo Joohyun, advisor, Archaeopteryx. Choi Sooyoung, transporter, Allosaurus. Kim Hyoyeon, defender, Sarchosuchus. Kwon Yuri, internal relation, lioness. Im Yoona, ambassador, Inland Taipan."

"Wrong again."

"Eh? But the records at the Academy said–"

"We have eight active members and one member in a vacuum. Now tell me who are these two members?"

"Kim Taeyeon and Jessica Jung Sooyeon," Jihyo said.

"Who is our first in command?"

"Kim Taeyeon," Tzuyu answers confidently. "Jessica Jung Sooyeon was the second in command."

"At least you got one question right," Tiffany her lips. "Now. Tell me what happened at the SM Region two eras ago?"

"There was a war," Nayeon speaks, eyes skimming a small clipping of Anihuman newspapers. "Jessica Jung rebelled against the rulers. The war made Kim Taeyeon went berserk and she's now being kept at the high council facility. Jessica Jung was then caught by the high council and was banished from the K-continent."

"Out of all things you said to me, you only got one right," Tiffany sighed.

Nayeon blinked. "How could that be? All the newspapers two eras ago said the same thing!"

"It's because they're the media, Nayeon-ah. They twist ordinary stories into something more spectacular so their readers won't be bored," Seohyun said calmly. "But the only one who knows the truth is us, Soshi team and the high council themselves."

"Now, because almost everything you got from the Academy's directory was wrong, I'm going to tell you about our region. The truth about the Soshi team. About Taeyeon's condition. About Jessica's banishment, and most importantly.." Tiffany took a deep breath, closing her eyes to prevents herself from tearing up.

"The truth about the war that destroyed K-continent, two eras ago."

 

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!