Chapter 02

Yongsun's POV

"Alright, so..." I start, rubbing my temple in fatigue. It's been an hour since I regain consciousness, fifty eight minutes since I ordered the girls to wear some clothes from my closet, fourteen minutes since Jihyo finally found a fitting top, twelve minutes since Dahyun nearly set my kitchen on fire, ten minutes since Mina made me a cup of tea, nine minutes since we re-introduced ourselves and five minutes since we sat together in silence.

Right now I'm slouching on my bed, face-to-face with the three girls sitting cross-legged on the floor.

"About this entire... human turns animal, animal turns human... stuff. Care to give me a little light?" I asked the girls carefully. Even if we started on a wrong foot, they actually care enough about me that they don't leave in the two hours when I passed out. Maybe I have to try and listen to them this time.

Jihyo, who I noticed as the spokesperson of the three, opens . "Yes, unnie, we will. First of all, I, on behalf of Mina and Dahyun, too, apologize for our sudden arrival. We also apologize for giving you a scare when you're barely awake."

"Nah," I wave my hand, dismissing Jihyo's apology. "I'm also sorry for yelling and attacking you like that. I could be really violent when I'm scared or surprised."

"Oh, no, no, your reaction is very much expected, unnie," Jihyo grins. "It's alright, we've been warned before."

I nod, gesturing for Jihyo to continue.

"Back to topic though. About what you asked, unnie. To put it simply, we are not humans. Technically, we're not even from this world."

A pause. Jihyo's probably waiting for me to say something as I only stare blankly at her. "Okay. You're not human. So what are you?"

Jihyo glances at Mina. The penguin girl seems taken aback, but speaks up nonetheless. "We're... we're Anihumans, unnie. We are considered not human as we're... able to transform into an animal at will. Just... like what you saw earlier."

Mina spoke softly, making me able to digest her words more thoroughly, but Jihyo nudged her rib and hissed.

"I thought you'll say more than that!"

"I'm nervous..!" Mina hissed back.

"You're the ace of the academy, you're supposed to be our spearhead to explain everything when we arrive here!" Jihyo speaks through gritted teeth.

I lift my eyebrow when I hear them hissing at each other. "Wow, hey, stop fighting. It's okay, Jihyo, Mina. I'm actually starting to figure this out," I said trying to defuse the situation.

Both look at me in awe. Both, because Dahyun seems to be deep in thought.

"So," I cleared my throat. "You guys are Anihumans. You're basically an upgraded human, huh? Having two forms like that must be exciting. And you came from another world... another dimension.. to the human world. May I ask, what for?"

This time, Dahyun lit up and answers my question. "All young Anihumans are required to travel to the human world and live here for a while, unnie. All of our teachers back at the academy said that if we live with humans, we'll learn a lot of things! So we must stay here and live with a kind-hearted human until further notice."

"What does 'kind-hearted human' mean?" I asked again, suddenly feeling cautious.

"Those are humans who are willing to take us into their care," Dahyun cheered, then quickly moved to hug my arm. "Like Yongsun-unnie!"

I'm aghast. "I do not..–"

Dahyun looks at me with her puppy –no, hamster eyes. I tried to evade her pleading stare only to find Jihyo smiling expectantly and Mina turned into full aegyo mode.

"Please, unnie?" the soft-spoken penguin pleads, and I feel my resolution crumbling.

"I... I..."

God, these three are too cute I can't–

"A minute, please!" I yelled, pushing Dahyun away from me. "I haven't fully understood your situation yet. Besides, there's still a lot I want to ask. I won't –stop pouting, Dahyun– make any decisions until everything's clear. Okay?"

A chorus of 'okay' echoes on the wall.

"Good. First question! After your period of living with a human, what will happen to you?"

Jihyo raises her hand.

"What will happen to us is that we will go through several test. Those tests are meant to see our growth, and to determine if we're worthy to become a ruler."

"Ruler? Ruler to what?"

"Ruler to a territory."

"What territory?"

Jihyo ponders for a bit, giving an opportunity for Dahyun to talk.

"Our world, unnie, is divided into hundreds, if not thousands of territory. Just like humans' nations! These territories are ruled by a group of Anihumans. Only perfect Anihumans are able to rule a territory. They live there for years until the next group takes over. After that, the retired Anihumans become the residents of said territory until their very last breath."

I nod, absorbing Dahyun's every word.

"So... Anihumans need to live with humans, then took the test to ascertain their worth. Only if they pass that they're able to become ruler?"

Dahyun seems to be so proud that I understand what she said. "Yes, That's how it is."

"Then what about 'perfect Anihumans'?" I continue our QnA session.

Both Dahyun and Jihyo simultaneously look at Mina. The previously dazed girl blinks when she feels all attentions are directed to her. "W-What?"

"Minari, you explain," Jihyo said in a commanding tone.

"N-no! I can't! Why don't you explain it... yourself?" she shook her head rapidly, in which Jihyo answers with a shrug.

"You know back at the Academy I failed on that subject three times to the point that Sunmi-sunbaenim threatened to straight up murdering me."

Mina turns to Dahyun. "Dubu?"

"I ranked last on that subject. Do I need to explain myself more?"

Feeling betrayed by her two group members, the poor girl looks at me miserably. I stifled a laugh. "What? You expect me to explain to myself?"

Mina blushed. She's such a shy girl I feel bad for teasing her. Thankfully, Mina took a deep breath and starts talking.

"The perfect Anihuman is.. is the true form of an Anihuman. When... when we pass the tests, our power will be unleashed and gave way to our true form. That means, our form now... me as a penguin, Jihyo-unnie as a bat and... Dahyun as a hamster, are our juvenile form. There are also... four classes of a perfect Anihuman."

I'm listening to Mina intently, slowly getting the hang on this whole Anihuman deal.

"The Common class, the lowest class are weaker than the other three classes. Most are in the form of preys or smaller predators. Though Anihumans of this class are usually gifted with extreme stamina... in exchange of power. The Rare class, usually consists of top predators. They're stronger than the common class by a low margin."

The girl paused, looking at me with a very apparent question mark hanging above her head.

"Go on, Mina. I understand."

She smiles brightly at me. "Okay, unnie... the third is the Special class. Consists of extinct or aquatic animals. They're significantly stronger than the previous two class. Most leaders of the territories are Special Anihumans. The last one is the Legendary class. The animal counterpart of these Anihumans is what you call as myths, unnie. Dragon, pegasus, you name it. Only a select few are gifted with this exceptional power. Even now, only five known legendaries are currently living in our world, unnie."

After her lengthy speech. Mina sinks into a curling position, hugging her knees. "I-is that enough?"

I nod. Jihyo groans. Dahyun yawns.

"That was a lecture," the batgirl whines.

I glare at her. "That was a fantastic lecture, Jihyo."

Apparently sensing my irritation, Jihyo stood up straight and bows to Mina. "Yes, it was. Thanks a lot, Minari."

Mina shook her head, smiling at her red-headed companion. "Aniyo, it was.. nothing."

"Nooo... it's good! Thanks a lot, Minarii~~~" Dahyun chirps, throwing her arms around Mina in a firm hug.

The penguin girl yelped but doesn't make any effort to remove Dahyun from her side. Then chaos ensues when Jihyo yelled that she's jealous and tackled her members to the ground. Dahyun shrieked because Jihyo squeezes her hard while Mina just lay there, silently despairing her fate.

I chuckled watching their antics. From what they said beforehand, they're all younger than me with Jihyo as the oldest being 20 years old, 6 years apart from my age. It feels as if I'm having three younger sisters.

My laugh seems to catch the girls' attention. Dahyun grins widely I'm afraid her face will split into two. "You understand now, unnie?"

My smile grew mischievous as I hid my mouth behind my arm. "A bit."

"So..." Jihyo plays her finger, looking at me nervously. "Do you accept us to live with you for a while, unnie? We promise it's only until the tests finished!"

"And I promise I won't disturb your sleep again, unnie," Mina said meekly.

"I... I promise I'll be nice!" Dahyun butted in, wanting to offer something about her too.

I ponder for a while, enjoying their expression for quite some time.

"To be honest, I really don't appreciate the sudden arrival and the cuddling," as I said that, Mina curls into a ball of shame. With how red her face looks like, I could imagine steam coming out of her ears.

"...but who'll have the heart to say no when there are three cute girls pleading to them?" I exclaimed loudly, laughing at their surprised expression. The girls' faces are priceless, going from anxiousness, pure panic, surprise, relief and then happiness as all of them throw themselves at me.

"THANK YOU UNNIE!!! WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!" both Jihyo's and Dahyun's screams are ringing in my ear, but I just laughed it off and patted my new (temporary) sisters' hair. Mina looks relieved, wiping her teary eyes before hugging me as well.

"There... there.. Don't worry girls. You're allowed to live here. Besides, I think the house will be livelier with the four of us rather than me alone," I chuckled, gently tap their head one by one.

All three nodded cheerfully.

"Trust me, unnie, it's going to be a delight to live with us," Dahyun grinned as she latches onto my arm.

"I do believe it. Though as now you live here, I expect you to help me with daily chores, okay?" the three of them nodded at my request.

"Don't worry, unnie. Mina's here a certified housewife to-be," Jihyo laughs, teasing the younger girl. Said girl giggled and punches Jihyo's arm playfully.

I laugh with them, already feeling the warm sensation on my heart. I've always been alone growing up, being the only child in my family. It feels really nice to have a sibling, even if only for a limited amount of time.

"Well, now that you've got a house, do you know when the test will start?" I ask Jihyo, suddenly curious about their tests.

Jihyo shook her head twice. "Not yet, unnie. We haven't even met our full team. The test will commence when all members of a group have already gathered."

"Oh, I thought you've already a complete group."

"Nope. We're scattered at arrival. But don't worry! We always landed in the same area so we don't have to travel far."

"I see," I rubbed my chin in acknowledgment. "If that so, how many members are there in your group?"

Right after I finished asking, there's a sudden change of mood in the room. I only managed to catch a flash of hurt on Mina's eyes before Dahyun' voice distracted me. "There's eight of us, unnie."

"Okay..." this feels awkward. There's certainly something about their group that's painful for the girls so I choose to divert my attention somewhere else.

Hmmm... that clock on the wall seems interesting.

"Hold on, it's eleven already?" I squint my eyes, realizing that it's nearly noon and we've done absolutely nothing. I turned to the girls. "Have you eaten yet?"

"No, unnie.." came the synchronized response.

I sighed and got up from my bed. The three followed suit as they stood up from their sitting position. My eyes drifted to scan their attire. All three of them are wearing my shirts and pants, but I couldn't help to notice their discomfort.

Mina keeps on pulling the hem of her shirt to cover her exposed stomach. Jihyo looks suffocated while Dahyun seems to be just fine. I coughed, capturing their attention.

"You know what? Go get ready. We're going shopping."

To be continued...