The Silver Moon Region

Unniedul, Saranghae! ❤ -- Discontinued --

Chapter 06

 

"Now, shall we begin?"

Tiffany stood up from her throne. Her six companions moved to stand beside her. Staring at the still dumbfounded young Anihumans, Tiffany smiled. Her eyes changed into slits as she giggled amusedly.

"Don't you want to introduce yourself first?"

There's a collective gasp from the younger Anihumans before they quickly kneel. All, except the girl who showed up last–Momo. She grunted, clutching both her knees as she tried to bend her body lower. She gave up after a few moments, throwing an apologetic look to the Soshi representative.

Tiffany shook her head even before Momo opened . "It's okay, Hirai. You can stand. No, in fact. Yoo, hold her."

"Ne, sunbaenim," Jeongyeon bowed. She then stood up to support her friend. Momo smiled in gratitude.

Behind the nine Anihumans, Byulyi's looking at her sister with worry. Noticing the girl's discomfort, Yongsun gripped her arm to try calming her new companion. Byulyi shot her a smile. "I'm okay. Don't worry."

"What happened to your sister?" Yongsun asked. Her not-so-faint voice caught Wheein and Hyejin's attention.

Byulyi sighed. "She's been like that since we met. Not even Jeong know the full story. Heard something about accidents but I can't be too sure."

The girl then leered at Yongsun's leg. "Don't you have longer pants? You look like you don't wear any."

"Oh my god!" Yongsun, following Byulyi's line of sight then realizing that she's certainly not dressed properly, tugged her shirt down to cover her exposed thigh. "I'm sorry! I didn't know it will come to this!"

Wheein had to stifle a laugh while Hyejin gave her a thumb up.

"It's okay, unnie. Ahn Hyejin approves."

"I don't want your approval!"

"Let's continue, folks," Tiffany clapped her hands once, ignoring the bickering keepers. "And because now you've met us already, you're allowed to expose your surname. State your name, age, animal type, origin, and past region leader. Starting with your team leader."

The nine Anihumans fell silent. They looked at each other in confusion, making Tiffany's eyebrows rose. "You don't have any leader?"

Nayeon braced herself and shook her head. "No, sunbaenim. We were told that we should appoint a leader only when we've already reach our adult form."

"Ah, I see," Tiffany nodded. "Are you guys from SX? Sixteen Academy? Led by Park Jin Young?"

"Ne, sunbaenim."

"No wonder. He teaches that to all his student," Tiffany chuckled. "Okay, fine. Let us just follow the line. You, start."

Chaeyoung blinked in surprise. She looks at her sides to see that she's kneeling on the leftmost side. She then bowed. "My name's Son Chaeyoung. I'm nineteen. I'm a feline, more specifically a house cat. I came from the 2PM region led by Jay Park-sshi."

"My name's Minatozaki Sana," Sana continues. "I'm 20. I'm a reptile, horned lizard. I came from the AKB region led by Yokoyama Yui-sama."

"Im Nayeon, 21. I'm an arctic hare. I came from the 2ne1 region previously led by Lee Chaerin-sshi."

"The 2ne1? I heard a new ruler has finally took over after seven eras."

"Yes, sunbaenim. They were taken over by BP team led by Jennie Kim."

"Ooh, I have to contact Minzy after this," Tiffany grinned. "Must have been crazy epic fight. Alright, now. Where were we?"

Tzuyu lifted her gaze, staring straight at Tiffany. "My name's Chou Tzuyu. I'm nineteen. I'm a crow. I was originally from 4iL led by Ling Chia-lin. There was a civil war when I was four, so my family moved to F(x) region led by Song Victoria."

"Okay, next."

Jeongyeon bowed slightly before introducing herself. "I'm Yoo Jeongyeon. 21. I'm canine, a dog. I use to live in SuJu region led by Park Jungsoo."

"Annyeong, sunbaenim. I'm Hirai Momo. 21. I'm a raccoon dog. I'm from µ's area led by Nitta Emi-sama."

"I've heard about you," the representative interrupted. The serious expression she wore made Momo shivers. "Don't expect us to give you special treatment because of your disability, Hirai."

Momo bowed deeply this time, relying on Jeongyeon to prevents her from falling. "I won't, Hwang-sunbaenim. I will try to keep up with the upcoming tests."

"Good. Next?"

"I'm Kim Dahyun. I'm nineteen and I'm a hamster. I came from TVXQ area led by Yunho."

"I'm Myoui Mina," the black haired girl bowed, stiffly. It made Tiffany cocked her eyebrows but she said nothing. "I'm 20. Avian. Penguin. AKB. Yokoyama Yui."

The representative blinked in confusion. She shot her companions a questioning look in which Sunny answered by a shrug. Tiffany sighed. "Okay, the last one?"

"I'm Park Jihyo. I'm a 20 years old bat. I came from SX region led by Park Jin Young-sshi."

Tiffany nodded, satisfied. She then turned her attention to the four keepers standing awkwardly behind their kneeling Anihumans. The woman showed her eye smile as she bowed. "Before we start introducing ourselves, I would like to say thank you for all of you, keepers, who agreed to look upon and providing care for our dongsaengs. We couldn't fully express our gratitude for your willingness to participate in this tradition of ours."

"As I have introduced myself earlier, this time I'll give the spotlight to my fellow Soshi," she said as she winked at her friends.

"Hi, I'm Lee Sunkyu, but please just call me Sunny," the bright red-haired woman spoke first, waving at everyone below her. "I'm Soshi's head advisor."

The tallest woman was next. "I'm Choi Sooyoung. I'm the one responsible for transporting people back and fro. You guys may be able to open the gate to come to this world, but I'm the only one here gifted with the power of teleportation."

"That's cool," Wheein suddenly blurted. "I would like to have powers like that."

Sooyoung cocked her head, smiling cheekily at the college student. Wheein blushed hard when she realized that her musing was actually heard.

"I'm Im Yoona!" the brown haired woman who bought Sana's donuts raised her hand. Everyone could see that she's still holding the paper bag in her left hand. "I'm the ambassador of the team. Nice to meet you, everyone!"

"HYOYEON KIM CHODING IMNIDA!!"

The green haired woman beside Yoona immediately jumped into action the moment her friend finished. This earned her a pull on her collar and a glare from Tiffany. At her leader's disapproving look, Hyoyeon grinned sheepishly then bowed.

"Mianhaee~ I'm Kim Hyoyeon. Everyone called me Choding so if you hear that name, please don't be confused. I'm the guardian of the region. Cheers!"

After Hyoyeon comes the shy one of the group. She bowed once, timidly, then shot a smile at everyone watching her. "Annyeong. Seo Joohyun imnida. You can call me Seohyun. I'm also the advisor of the team."

The chestnut haired girl was last. She doesn't bow. Instead, she blew a kiss to the gaping guests. "Kwon Yuri imnida. I'm the one overseeing the citizens. Let's have some fun~"

"Thank you, Yul-ah," Tiffany smiles, but it doesn't reach her eyes as she shot Yuri another warning look. The tan skinned woman just laughed and even giving finger guns to her leader. Tiffany rolled her eyes.

"Well, I guess that's enough for an opening. Stand up, all of you."

At Tiffany's stern instruction, the seven Anihumans kneeling on the floor quickly stood up. They eyed their sunbaenim warily, with some sparks of awe and fear in their eyes. Sunny seems to notice this, as she chuckled and moved closer to Tiffany. She whispered something to the woman's ear, earning Tiffany's nod.

"Don't be afraid of us. We won't bite," Sunny said to the younger girls.

"Yet."

"Fany-ah!"

"Why?" the black haired woman yelped when Sunny slapped her arm. "It's true. We're only having an initiation today. We wouldn't do anything now."

"That's not what I... ugh," The red haired woman facepalmed herself and groaned. "You're hopeless. Let me take over."

The woman cleared once and turned her head to her dongsaengs. "So, what Tiffany said. We're only having an initiation today. To know about each other a bit better. I'm pretty sure you've at least learned about the Silver Moon Region at the academy. I would like to elaborate more, but we, Soshi Team, had agreed to let you understand our region more as the tests proceed."

She took a deep breath to sweep her gaze to her dongsaengs. "I am aware you must be thrilled to finally be called to a region, but please do remember that SMR is not a region that easily gave a pass to the ruler candidate. There will be three tests, all of them would be hard, and you all know the consequences if you're not strong enough."

Feeling as if Sunny's sentences are directed to her, Momo stood a bit straighter. This movement was caught by Sunny's eyes but she did nothing to acknowledge it.

"You'll die."

All four keepers gasped. Meanwhile, the nine young Anihumans simply nodded. They knew that already.

"But we're not that heartless, no," Sunny smiled. Her gaze softened, and a storm of emotions are reflected in her chocolate orbs. "We won't let you die. But even if you survived, you automatically failed the test and are not allowed to continue. Am I understood?"

"Yes, sunbaenim."

Hearing Sunny's reassurance, the four keepers sighed in relief. At least their sisters won't die. They know that it's delusional to wish that their Anihumans will pass the test unscathed, so at least even if they're injured, they're still alive.

"We will give you three days to regroup and solve any issues in your team," Sunny smiled, but her eyes drifted in concern to the black haired girl currently hanging her head low. "When the test starts, Sooyoung will fetch all of you. Anyone wants to ask something?"

Yongsun raised her hand. "Will us keepers involved in this tests?"

Sunny's eyes gleamed in surprise and appreciation. It was rare for a keeper to ask about the test. "Yes, you will. Only for the first test, though. And we assure you nothing bad will happen to all four of you."

The pinkish haired girl nodded in satisfaction, but Hyejin clicked her tongue and mumbled lowly. "Doubt it."

"Hyejinnie, don't say that," Wheein nudged her friend's hand.

"No, but seriously, Wheeinnie," Hyejin huffed. "Eh, doesn't really matter anyway. They've promised so I trust they will honor it."

Sunny ignored the exchange happened at the very back, once more sweeping her gaze on the younger Anihumans. "Anything else?"

"Ani, sunbaenim," Nayeon answered slowly. Sunny nodded, gesturing Sooyoung to approaches the younger ones.

"Okay, then. Our initiation is finished. You are dismissed, and remember we will meet again four days from now," Sunny winked, waving at the young Anihumans and their keeper as they slowly blurred because of Sooyoung's teleportation power. "I expect great things from you, young ones."

After their guests vanished, Sunny turned to Tiffany. The leader was sitting on her throne, eyes closed while massaging her temples. Sunny kneeled in front of her and rubbed her knees. "Fany-ah. Go rest. You look like ."

"No, I can't," came the weak reply. "I have to make sure the test is...–"

"Fany-ah, don't say that. You are not alone," Yuri ran her hand through Tiffany's hair. "We're in this together, ne?"

"I've secured the perimeter three times before we fetch them," Hyoyeon confessed. She wore a serious expression rarely seen on the self-proclaimed choding. "Nothing out of ordinary. I've also asked the citizens to report to us if anything suspicious happens."

"I've also talked with region rulers near ours. TVXQ, F(x), RV, 2PM and SuJu had agreed to keep an eye for our perimeter. Irene from RV had promised to aid us in case the worst scenario happens again," Yoona pats Tiffany's arm. Seohyun simply rubs Tiffany's hand in silent support.

Tiffany laughed, despite softly and laced by tiredness, still a laugh nonetheless. She spread her arms, hugging her friends tightly. "Thank you, guys. Really. I love you all so much."

"Now, now," Sunny broke free from their group hug to pull Tiffany's wrist. "Let's go rest, all of you. I'll wait for Soo to come back first. We'll continue our preparation tomorrow. Besides.."

She sighed, ruffling her hair in memory of a certain brown haired Anihuman. "I think our dongsaengs need to straighten up something."

###

Back at the human world, Sooyoung waved the group goodbye as she once more teleported to the SM Region. Before she goes, she told the worried Anihumans that the memories of the people interacted with them during the day have been altered. Sana, Chaeyoung, Dahyun, and Jihyo are relieved to know that they won't be fired immediately because of their absence at work.

Byulyi glanced at her watch, noticing the late hour and smiled apologetically to the three other keepers. "I'm sorry, but I have to go. Jeong, Mo and I have to work overnight. Annyeong."

"Wait!" before she could stop herself, Yongsun catches Byulyi's wrist. At Byulyi's quizzical look, she hastily let the latter go. "W-we should meet again, you know. Before the test. To know about each other more. I-I mean! Hyejin and Wheein and I have already acquaintanced since so long ago, but we only met you today. I would like to... y'know. Bond?"

Yongsun slapped herself mentally for her choice of words, but Byulyi simply smiled. "Of course. How about tomorrow?"

"S-sure.." the pink haired girl nodded. She turned to the two other keepers who quickly agreed.

"Okay, let's meet at the town square tomorrow," Byulyi bowed slightly. "You guys want to say something before we go?"

This brought attention to the nine stunned Anihuman. Turns out, when their keepers are conversing, the nine of them are staring at each other dazedly, not knowing what to say or what to do. But Wheein loves to see things thoroughly, and she knows that most of the Anihumans' eyes are directed to the limping girl.

It's certainly not a coincidence that she's the one who broke the silence. "Tomorrow. Let us meet too, tomorrow. I owe an explanation to all of you."

The other eight nodded silently. The trio excused themselves, walking into the night leaving the neighborhood. But before they walked too far, Momo turned, staring sadly at the black haired girl behind Yongsun.

"I'm sorry, Mina."

###

"What was that all about?"

Yongsun cornered Dahyun the moment she gets into her house. After Byulyi and her sisters' departure, Mina had burst into tears and ran straight into her room followed by a worried Jihyo. Sana and the other Anihumans offered to look for Mina, but Yongsun declined and told them all to go home. Four attempts of dismissal later, they unwillingly left. Yongsun accidentally managed to caught Tzuyu's painful expression before the tall girl wrapped her arms around Nayeon.

Dahyun exhaled, gesturing her unnie to sit down with her on the couch.

"What about?"

"Everything!" Yongsun flailed her arms in frustration. "The Soshi team. The tests. But more importantly is why Mina suddenly cried when that Momo girl left?!"

Dahyun held her gaze low. "She wasn't supposed to be here."

"What?"

"Momo. Hirai Momo-unnie..." the red-brown haired girl took a deep breath. "She wasn't supposed to be here."

"Why so?"

"I-I can't tell you," Dahyun shook her head, bringing her hands up in case Yongsun tried to strangle her to submission. "I don't have the right to tell you. I was not there."

"Okay, fine," Yongsun huffed, crossing her arms in annoyance. "I'll ask Mina myself. Then what about the Soshi and their region? You seemed really afraid of them."

"Yeah, you could say so," the younger girl cleared once, running her hand through her hair. "I've told you the day we met, that there are thousands of regions on our world. Among those regions, some are small, some are wide. The widest areas are always ruled by the strongest Anihumans."

"Let me guess. This SMR is one of the widest areas and that made those women some of the strongest Anihumans?"

"Not 'some', unnie," Dahyun tapped her fingers on the armrest. "The Silver Moon region is that Legendary region."

Yongsun gasped. "W-what?"

"The SM region ruled almost half of a continent. And have we told you about the ranks of the adult Anihumans? Oh, well. Most of their members belong under the Special category. The only common Anihuman there is Lee Sunny. She's a red panda but that doesn't make her weak. In fact, she's declared as the number one healer currently living in our world."

The older girl's jaw dropped open even further.

"Moreover, their leader is a Dragon Anihuman. Those Anihumans, unnie, are the legends of legends. From what I've heard back at the academy, there's only seven known Dragon Anihuman ever walked the earth. She's the eighth one, and have been declared as the second strongest Dragon-Ani right below the mythical G-Dragon himself. The first Dragon."

If it's possible, Yongsun's jaw must have hit the ground. "T-they're that strong?"

Dahyun sighed, heavily. "Yes, unnie. They are that strong."

"Omo," Yongsun slumped into the couch, rubbing her forehead. "No wonder you guys are so terrified."

"Yeah, well. I mean, as happy as I am to be honored as the ruler candidate of the SM Region, I'm also afraid we will fail the tests just like the people before us."

"The people before you?"

Dahyun nodded. "Yeah, well. Not every year a new team sent to try and took over a region ruler. They came every five years in human year, or as we called them, era."

"Ah, I remember Tiffany-sshi said something about 2ne1 ruled for seven eras?"

"Yeah, they are."

"So, how many eras have they ruled for?"

The younger girl lifts both her index finger. Yongsun's eyebrows rose. "Two?"

Dahyun's face blanked.

"Eleven?"

"Ne."

"HOW?! They looked so young!"

"Actually human time and Anihuman time are moving at a different pace. But how we age are similar to the human world. In human world standard, they ruled for about eleven years."

"Ah, no wonder. I thought we only stayed at the Anihuman world for half an hour but it's nearly ten pm when we arrived here."

"Yup. That's how it works, unnie."

"So that means... you're actually 19 eras old now?"

"Kinda... we still preferred years but whatever. It's kinda confusing if we thought about it."

Silence engulfed the both of them now. Dahyun occupied herself with picking at her nails while Yongsun is deep in thought. She exhaled slowly then leaned towards her youngest sister.

"Dubu... you really really can't tell me what happened with Minari?"

Sadly, the hamster girl shook her head. "No, unnie. I'm sorry. We've agreed to not talk about this to another people unless Mina-unnie said so herself."

"Okay.." Yongsun fell into her thinking state again. It continues for a few moments until she stood, startling Dahyun who already drifted into a daydreaming state.

"Unnie, where are you going?" called the young hamster when she sees her unnie walked towards her shared room. But Yongsun just smiled, then knocked on the door twice.

She listens for a bit, catching faint whimpers behind the door. Her heart aches because she knows that her sister's hurting. Yongsun knocked again, a bit louder this time. "Mina? Jihyo? It's unnie. Can I come in?"

There's a muffled groan at the other side of the door. Yongsun was prepared to leave but the door creaked open. Jihyo stood behind it, fatigue clearly written on her face. Her eyes are dull but she lets Yongsun in nonetheless.

The girl's eyes immediately caught the trembling bundle of blanket at the bed near the closet. Yongsun slowly uncovers the blanket, careful not to startle the girl curling inside. Yongsun caresses Mina's hair softly and wrapping her arm across her sister's torso.

"U-unnie..."

Yongsun just hummed, tucking Mina's head under her jaw. She doesn't need to talk because talking is exactly the last thing Mina need. Apparently sensing warmth from her sister, Mina unfurled herself from the blanket and turned to Yongsun, hands clutching tightly at her clothed back.

The soft click of the door told Yongsun that Jihyo had left.

"Unnie.. why? Why is she here? I don't... I don't understand! She's not... she shouldn't... she should not be here, unnie.. why is she here?"

Yongsun listened to Mina's ramble, occasionally hiccups with how hard she'd been crying for the past few minutes. She just offered her a silent comfort, continuously running her hear through her sister's black tresses.

"She... she's supposed to be... *hic* she's supposed to be..."

Yongsun patiently waits.

"She should have been... died... why? Why is she here?"

This took Yongsun by surprise. She instinctively pulls Mina closer. Yongsun closed her eyes, and for the first time since she got in, Yongsun finally whispers. "How are you so sure about that?"

"B-because... because..."

Mina cried harder, burying her face to Yongsun's chest.

The next sentence Mina said made Yongsun's breath hitched.

"Because I'm the one who killed her."

 

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!