Chapter 09

Hyejin's POV

"Satang, you done cooking?" I peek my head from behind the wall, immediately locating Sana who has her back to me. She giggled once, then turned her head to give me a wink.

"Not yet, unnie," she said airily. I groaned, feeling my hunger rising.

"Just be patient. I'll be done before you realize it," Sana chirps as she returned her attention to the ingredients before her.

I nod tiredly. My agenda at the campus today was very busy. I crammed everything I'm supposed to do tomorrow into today because tomorrow is the day when the first Anihuman test will commence. According to Tiffany and co., the other keepers and I are expected to participate, so Wheein and I tried our best to clear out tomorrow's schedule.

"How much longer?" I asked, embracing her waist from behind. She's taller than me so instead of placing my chin on her shoulder, I planted my face flat to her spine.

She laughed. "Just a few moments. Why don't you go watch TV with Chaeng or whatever."

I shook my head. Chaeyoung's watching some animal documentary which I don't really like. Moreover, Chaeng's territorial when it's concerning the TV channel. She's going to throw a tantrum if I asked her to switch it.

"Hey, Hyejin-unnie I think your remote battery is–Oh my God why."

I had to move my face from my comfortable position so I could see my youngest sister. Chaeyoung is standing in the doorway, scowling at me.

"Couldn't you guys stop flirting in front of me?! My eyes are burning with sin!"

"Hello, my daughter," I snickered.

Chaeyoung's face contorted. "I'm calling the Jung residence."

The girl in my arms laughed. Sana turned to Chaeyoung, giving her finger guns and blown her a kiss. "You're just jealous because your personal body pillow isn't here with you."

"Well, I'm sorry if being loyal is an alien concept to the both of you," she sighed, flopping down onto a chair. She pouted, fingers combing her black hair. If only I'm not observant, I would only think that she's sulking because she's disgusted with me.

(I mean... Chaeng's been disgusted with me since day one.. no, two, since we met)

I unwrapped my arms from around Sana and sat beside Chaeng. The cat grumbled before I pat her head. "It's okay, daughter."

"Don't call me that.." Chaeyoung whined. "Unnie..."

"I know, I know," I her head, knowing full well that Chaeyoung loves to have her head caressed. "You don't have to worry. It's just an exam."

"Yeah, but," Chaeyoung sulks deeper. "Why are you needed to participate? I'm afraid they'll do something bad to you."

"Aww, don't worry, baby cub," I put my arm around her shoulder, pulling her close. "No matter what happened, we'll survive. Besides, you've promised to protect me, ne?"

I winked at Sana who winked back. Slowly, I felt Chaeyong's tense body slumped against mine comfortably. She closed her eyes, fingers finding mine and she laced it together.

"Yeah. I've promised, alright."

End of Hyejin's POV

###

Yongsun's POV

"Mina's awfully giggly today," I commented after seeing a small penguin and a smaller hamster clawing each other's face playfully. Jihyo nods while slurping her kimchi jjigae, eyes sometimes flickered to her two younger teammates in case their play fighting escalates.

"That's her defense mechanism. Back at the academy, every time an exam came, Momo would sleep at the dormitory canteen to avoid Mina," Jihyo stated. She gathered our dirty dishes up and brought them to the dishwasher.

Having no other thing to do, I followed Jihyo to the kitchen. She's doing her chores silently. She doesn't even budge when I sat at the kitchen island, playing with my toes.

"So.."/"Unnie.."

We spoke at the same time, making us stare at each other then burst out laughing.

"You first, Unnie.." Jihyo said after she finished laughing.

"Nah, you spoke first," I shook my head.

"Your script was written first, unnie."

"Huh, what?"

"Nothing!" Jihyo giggled, putting the last plate to its place. She wiped her hands on the towel hanging beside the dishwasher and smiled at me. "No, but seriously, you first."

I cleared my throat. "So, yeah. I just want to ask, how's your feeling?"

"Honestly?" Jihyo grinned. "Nervous. But that's how it always is. We know nothing about the exam tomorrow, and you are expected to participate. Just know this, unnie. Whatever thing the Soshi team throw to us tomorrow, we will always protect you."

She leans to my arm, hugging my waist as she nuzzled my shoulder. I instinctively her back. "What about you, Ji? What were you going to say?"

The oldest Anihuman in my household hummed. "Just wanted to make sure that unnie's okay with all of this."

"Tsk, of course. I'm not declared as the best unnie of the universe for nothing," I puffed my chest, making Jihyo giggled again. "Don't you worry, Ji. We'll do this together, and we'll win this together, too."

Jihyo doesn't answer, but her tightening embrace was enough to give me an answer.

End of Yongsun's POV

###

Wheein's POV

"Unnie, can I come in?"

"Sure! The door's unlocked!"

I turned off the music playing on my laptop when I heard Nayeon's soft voice from behind my bedroom door. I lift my eyes from the documents displayed on the screen to look at my cough-actually-older-cough Anihuman sister. She's fidgeting, eyes flickering here and there but refusing to meet mine.

"What is it, Nabong?" I pat the space beside me, gesturing her to sit down.

She only shook her head. "Unnie, can I ask you something?"

Why are you suddenly so polite to me?

–is the sentence I've wanted to say. But Nayeon seems troubled so I relented.

"Fire away," I said as I reach my glass of water. She fidgets again for a few seconds until she took a deep breath.

"Can I sleep with you?"

I nearly spat my water before I realized the innocent meaning of 'sleep with you' and gulped it with difficulty.

"Y-You want to sleep with me? Here?"

Nayeon nodded. "Yes."

I coughed, trying to soothe my aching throat. "Sure. Why not?"

The rabbit girl beamed. "Gomawo yo! Can Tzuyu come, too?"

I was actually starting to doubt if my bed's large enough to accommodate the three of us. Especially with Tzuyu's long long limbs. But seeing Nayeon smiling so happily at the prospect of sleeping together, I nodded. She squealed, rushed to the living room calling her partner and returned with a pillow and a blanket.

I closed my laptop, lying as close as possible to the wall to give space to my two gigantic (not really, I'm the one who is too tiny) sisters. The bunny immediately laid herself beside me, covering both of us with her blanket. Tzuyu arrived not long after, turning the lamp off and drapes herself on top of both Nayeon and I.

"Chewy you jerk I can't breath!" Nayeon hissed, swatting Tzuyu's arm with her own. Our youngest just laughed softly.

"Oh, am I not lying on a mattress?"

Nayeon bit Tzuyu's arm after that, making her yelped. "Get your heavy away from me or I'll rip it off."

"Okay, okay, geez, calm down," Tzuyu grumbled, rubbing her sore arm before tucking herself behind Nayeon's back. She still has the gut to lay one of her arms on Nayeon's waist, but the latter doesn't argue.

I twist my body so I'm facing Nayeon. She smiled at me and I just her hair.

"Good night, unnie," Tzuyu said, yawning.

I sighed, resting my forehead against Nayeon's.

"Good night, my babies. Let us pray for our test tomorrow," I said as I felt Nayeon's breath hitting my face.

"Yeah, sleep tight, unnie."

End of Wheein's POV

###

Byulyi's POV

"Unnie, you know you don't have to do this."

I shook my head at Jeongyeon's protests. Ignoring her, I served three plates of food worth twice my weekly allowance on top of our rickety table. Momo was silent. She seemed conflicted whether to scold me for wasting money or to thank me for feeding her something delicious.

"Don't say that, Jeong," I slapped her arm softly. "Tomorrow's a big day. Go eat. You'll need your full energy tomorrow."

"B-but.."

"And, you, Momo. Eat before you turned to Owow," I warned her, referring to the personality she gained when she's starving.

"B-but.."

"See, Jeong?" I turned to Jeongyeon who is facepalming herself. "She's been repeating that word since I returned home. She's Hirai Owow, now. You guys really need to eat something healthy for once in a while."

"Unnie," Jeongyeon sighed tiredly. "She's always been a pabo when it's concerning food."

I agreed with Jeongyeon. My younger Anihuman sister is dumb in general, but her intelligence sinks straight to the underground when she's in extreme hunger. That was why we called her 'hungry personality' as Hirai Owow.

I pushed Momo's plate to her peripheral, catching her attention. She lifts her head for her eye to meet mine. "I-is this for me..?"

"Yes, Mo. You too, Jeong. No more arguing or I'll devour everything myself."

That seemed to be their trigger to start eating. Momo clapped her hand happily then quickly inhaled the Jokbal I bought only for her. Jeongyeon smiled, still a bit hesitating but easily melts into the tteokboki once she tasted it.

I chuckled, eating my own share of tteokboki. All three of us ate fast, leaving nothing uneaten. Momo who had returned to her Hirai Momo personality collected our dishes and went to wash it.

I lean my back to the chair. "Everything okay, right, Jeong?"

My sister who has the same hair color as I nodded. "Yup. Nothing to be afraid of, unnie. Besides, Momo and I had asked for a day off today and tomorrow. Just in case we're too tired to continue working."

"Good. I've asked for a day off, too."

She's silent for a few moments, seemingly contemplating what to say until I stood and stretched my body.

"Welp, it's nine already. Come on, let's sleep. We have a long day ahead of us," I said, touching her shoulder once.

Jeongyeon nodded. Before I left the kitchen, Jeongyeon called me softly. "Unnie?"

"Hm, yes?"

She grinned, widely. "I love you."

I winked.

"I know. I love you too, Jeong."

"DON'T FORGET TO LOVE ME TOO!!!"

End of Byulyi's POV

###

As promised by Sunny, Sooyoung showed up knocking on Yongsun's door when the sun's high enough. She invites herself in, teasing everyone who is panicking at her arrival. She told them to relax because she intended to rest for a bit and giving them the time to assemble.

One hour later, all fourteen of them are already standing inside the castle, waiting for Tiffany to show up. Sooyoung leaned against one of the pillars, sipping on a cup of tea Yongsun served her before. The owner of the cup was baffled.

"I'm sorry for the delay," Tiffany's husky voice echoes on the silent castle wall. She walks gracefully from the door behind the throne, followed by the other Soshi team members. Hyoyeon waved cheekily at the younger Anihumans, slightly calming their nerves down.

"As promised before, today we will commence the first examination for the seat of the ruler of the Silver Moon Region," the black haired woman announced once she stood in front of her throne.

"Before I start, there are a few things I wanted to explain about the following event. This first exam will evaluate your team's dynamics, planning, and teamwork. I've heard a lot of good things about your team on the resume from the academy, so I expected a lot of things from you."

Tiffany took a deep breath. "Next, the objective of the exam. You are to retrieve four objects from four different locations. There will be hints on the location that will be explained by Seohyun. Lastly, there is a time limit for this exam. You are limited to six hours. If you are unable to retrieve the objects under the mark of six hours, you are automatically failed as a group. Everyone got me?"

The younger Anihumans are all nodding, listening intently to what Tiffany said.

"Now, listen. Seohyun will read the hint to you once. It's a key to what you'll be chasing."

By Tiffany's instruction, Seohyun stepped to the front. She took a deep breath before reciting the hint that sounds suspiciously like a poem.

Star, wind, flower, sun, and you

Hear the wind sings, it echoes in my ears

The call of those who were walking distant from each other

One

The trembling star is twinkling

But where are you looking at?

Trapped in a fog, inside your mind

Two

When the cool wind blows over

When the sunlight hides my body

Should we meet?

Three

The passion flower has already bloomed

Like a picture that's floating in the air

The sparkling flash clash with my gravity

Four

The summer sun is like a jewel on top of the ocean

Even if the path to you hurts so much

With a heart bigger than ours

Star, wind, flower, sun, and you

Hear the wind sings, it echoes in my ears

The call of those who were walking distant from each other

Seohyun finished her reading and bowed, returning to her spot behind Yoona. Tiffany gave her a curt nod in acknowledgment.

"Now that you've got your hint. This has exam officially start! Go, young ones!" Tiffany exclaimed, clapping her hand excitedly.

All the younger Anihumans bowed then rushed to the exit gate. Before they went past it, though, Jihyo who led the team halts.

"Wait," she backtracked, turning her head right and left in a panic. "Where's our unnie?"

"Oh, did I forgot to mention?" Tiffany's low notes sent shivers to the young Anihumans' spine. The Soshi team representative's smiling darkly, eyes condescending to the people below heer.

"The 'objects' you're going to retrieve is alive."

It took Jeongyeon exactly one second to decipher Tiffany's words. She ran through the castle's gates, her friends trailing behind her as they realized late what Tiffany meant. Once all the test participants are gone, Tiffany sat on her throne, eyes fixed on the rolling clouds from behind the glass windows.

She smirks.

The storm is brewing up.

To be continued...