A/N - This took forever to write! Apologies!

Truth Comes Out

The ride home in the family mini-van was silent.

No Jihyo singing along to the radio, no Nayeon and Jeongyeon arguing, no Sana babbling into her phone or Chaeyoung and Dahyun making Mina giggle at their jokes. Nothing but the hum of the motor as white knuckled Sang drove through the streets of Seoul towards home and the hammering rain on the wind shield. Min-Jun stared out the window, eyes red from his earlier meltdown and throat sore from screaming at his sister down the phone. Because she knew, she had known this whole time and didn’t tell them. The worst part, well one of the worst at least, was that Tzuyu wasn’t picking up her phone. Jihyo, who could never sit idle especially when she was stressed, sat in the middle row of the mini-van calling the youngest’s phone over and over. At one point she had contacted Hyewon via social media to ask if she had seen Tzuyu, but the younger girl had said that Tzuyu had wanted to walk home.

Sang and Min-Jun had watched the video in the Principal’s office, they had demanded to. They had to see for themselves what had happened, only to immediately regret it once they did. Tzuyu was supposed to be safe here, things like that shouldn’t be able to happen any more. They felt they had let her down, they HAD let her down. Their sombre mood was mirrored in the sisters who each thought back over how Tzuyu had been acting lately. It all made sense now. The acting out, the distance, the sadness in her eyes. Why hadn’t she told them? Everyone always said the girls were so close, they usually told each other everything….right? The amount of secrets in the van begged to differ.

Eventually it was Nayeon that tried to raise spirits, “It could be worse.”

“How!?” Jeongyeon snapped, not so much angry at Nayeon but more so at the situation,

“At least it was only a kiss…right?”

“She has a point.” Jihyo sighed, “We need to count our blessings and be happy nothing more serious happened to baby Tzu.”

They stopped at a red light and Sang looked at his husband, who looked back - tired. A decision was made.

“It’s a bit more serious than that.” Min-Jun sighed, rubbing his forehead, his headache had been raging for a while now,

The girls were silent again.

“What we’re about to tell you isn’t really for us to say, but given the situation…you all need to understand why this is such a big deal.”

“About Tzuyu?” Mina asked quietly,

“Yes. About Tzuyu.”

Then they were told a story, a story so horrific about the tortures Tzuyu had endured as a young child on the streets of Taiwan. They spared some finer details, choosing instead to tell them the dark truth as delicately as they could. This time the following silence was deafening, each girl taking a moment to steady their heads and attempt to stop feeling queasy. Nayeon wanted to throw up, who would do those types of awful things to a child? She almost wished they had never been told, that they had lived in blissful ignorance, that they could protect each other from the evil world around them. But that was a shattered ideal now. A few things began making sense, Tzuyu had always appeared older than she was, making many believe even Nayeon was younger than her. While Nayeon had always been the one to pull out the baby voice and demand princess treatment, Tzuyu would roll her yes and make a quick quip. Like their roles were reversed. She felt awful for that, she spent so long being the fake maknae she forgot she needed to look out for the real one.

They pulled up to the house finally and could seen Sunmi pacing on their porch. The girls got out slowly once the car stopped, leaving their fathers a moment of privacy. Neither man spoke for a moment before Min-Jun let out a sob, prompting his husbands gaze to land on him immediately.

“She tried to tell me….” He whimpered, “The day it happened, she came in looking like a ghost. She tried but I was so distracted….oh God I’m an awful father.”

Sang reached over the centre console and pulled him into a hug, “You couldn’t have known, none of us did. You’re not a bad father.”

“I am….I am….”

As the duo sobbed in the car the girls greeted there aunt with hugs, ignoring the rain that clung to their coats. Sana was the first inside, immediately calling Tzuyu’s name through the dark house trying to coax her out of hiding. Only she wasn’t home. This brought on a slight panic, they’d been at the school for two hours after the girls all met up with Sana and Momo outside the principal’s office - Tzuyu should have been home by now. Sana nearly tore the house apart, but Tzuyu definitely wasn’t home. This time it wasn’t the thunder clapping in the distance that caused her anxiety to flair, it was brought on by self reflection over her actions recently. She remembered how mad Tzuyu had been about Sana taking those pills, about her taking drugs. They had always known that Tzuyu’s mother had been a heroine addict, that was something Tzuyu had always been open about. They all knew Tzuyu would have seen things no child should of seen but not….not that…not any of that. It was then Sana got it, sure pills were different than heroine. But if Sana were so inclined one could lead to the other, like how people get addicted to pain medication. God…she should apologise to Tzuyu.

She stood in Tzuyu’s bedroom, the younger girl had never really kept a lot of possessions. When she had first arrived this room had been a rather large linen closet, Tzuyu had shared Chaeyoung’s room initially but when Dahyun arrived and the new room built Chaeyoung begged to share with Dahyun instead. Not to be cruel, Sana could never see Chaeyoung as cruel, but rather because she was excited about her best friend moving in. The walls were white and bare, the only items on the floor were her shoes all lined neatly up against the back wall. There was a tidy desk on the left, a bed on the right and on the back of the door hung Tzuyu’s bow and quiver on a hook. Minimalist. Not like Sana, who’s possessions were EVERYWHERE in her shared room, as well as Momo’s (drove Mina nuts but she herself had plenty of game memorabilia out). Sana never spent a lot of time in Tzuyu’s room, usually because she had no real reason to - she mostly stayed with Mina or Momo and if Tzuyu was going to stick to anyone it would be Jihyo. But right now the whole room looked cold, that type of stale cold when you walk into your bedroom after a long day with no heating on.

Returning downstairs she found Appa Min-Jun on the phone with Tzuyu’s social worker, letting him know what was going on. Mina was stood away from the others, lip worrying between her teeth. Sana walked over to her and put her arm round her twin for comfort. Mina was probably the only person there that understood why Tzuyu hadn’t said anything, not due to the potentially traumatic reasons but rather she knew how hard it was to shout over everyone else. In retrospect Mina noted a few times Tzuyu had been asked a question which could have lead to a confession of why she was so down lately, only everyone talked over her and the conversation just continued. Being quiet, like herself, meant that often Tzuyu was sat on the outside looking in. Mina had always tried to involve her when she noticed but she supposed lately she’d been so fussed with her inappropriate crush that she just didn’t notice.

Thunder rumbled outside and Sana gripped her arm tightly with a whimper, Mina frowned - she hoped Tzuyu wasn’t out there.

“Okay, we should go out and look for her.” Sang announced once Min-Jun was off the phone, “We start from the house and comb out. I’ll head north towards the city, Lee if you head towards the industrial district and Sunmi heads in the opposite direction we should cover our bases.”

“If Sunmi drops us by the school we can walk the route she would have taken.” Nayeon suggested,

“Good idea,” Sang nodded, “Someone should stay behind in case she comes home.”

“I’ll stay,” Dahyun said quietly, “This seems like a family thing.”

“You are family!” Chaeyoung snapped,

“I know,” Dahyun smiled sadly, “But Tzuyu and I aren’t close, she needs you guys more.”

“I’ll stay too,” Mina announced, “I don’t know much help I’ll be.”

More thunder caused Sana to flinch again.

“Sana?” Momo called, “You wanna stay behind too?”

“No I want to help.” was the response through gritted teeth,

“You sure---”

“I’m going.”

Min-Jun sighed, “So it’s decided, we’ll search for an hour. Her social worker is going to drive round himself to see if he can spot her. If we can’t find her we all come home and call the police. Dahyun, Mina? Can you two message anyone you can think of to see I they’ve seen her?”

“Can do.”

“If anyone does find her,” Sang said, “Remember to show her how much we love her and let her know she isn’t in trouble. We just want her home.”

The remaining girls piled into Sunmi’s car, minus Nayeon who opted to stay behind too. The car didn’t have enough seats and so Chaeyoung ended up sat in the foot well by Sana’s feet. Jihyo was sat on the other side, Momo comforting Sana from her spot in the middle following every thunder clap. Sana was being brave and Jihyo knew Tzuyu, one day when the pain was over, would appreciate it. Jihyo had received the text from Momo during a student council meeting and had ran out without saying anything. She had been the one to cry at news, everyone had been stunned about her sudden water works - Jihyo was the one who was usually so put together. But this was Tzuyu, sure they weren’t the types to talk every day but the fact Jihyo had not noticed Tzuyu’s distance AT ALL was in her mind disgusting.

It was no secret that Tzuyu looked up to her, from a young age Tzuyu had always looked to Jihyo for guidance and advice. Even as Jihyo got busier and busier she always made time for Tzuyu. The fact Tzuyu didn’t tell her something this important was devastating to her. What was worse was that someone had let slip to Jennie that Tzuyu had been the one assaulted and now social media was filled with people talking about it. Tzuyu wouldn’t like all the attention and would probably be off school for a while until it had blown over. She kept an eye out the window, hoping to see the familiar tall figure through the rain. Though in all honesty she had no idea what she’d do if she did see her, jump out and run to hug her? Ask her why she said nothing? Tzuyu was never open about her thoughts or feelings, it was like talking about personal things made her feel weak so she ensured nobody ever saw her as vulnerable. As Jihyo tried yet again to call her phone she cursed the younger girl’s name, why couldn’t she just tell them things? Why did she have to fight the world on her own?

Then her phone vibrated and Jihyo whipped her phone up straight away hoping it was a message from Tzuyu…only it wasn’t.

From Unknown:

Hey Jihyo, it’s Daniel - from the party? Anyway I heard about Tzuyu and just wanted to say if you guys need anything just let me know.

Why would Daniel message her? Maybe he was just being nice, he seemed like the type to just try and help anyone he could. Yeah, it wasn’t about Jihyo at all - it was just him trying to be kind and helpful during a horrific event. Because he was a good guy, that was it.

To Daniel:

Thank you, Tzuyu’s missing atm so if you see her around could you let me know?

He responded almost immediately taking Jihyo by surprise.

From Daniel:

Of course! I live by the mall so I’ll get dressed and search there, see if she’s doing some retail therapy.

To Daniel:

You don’t have to do that!

From Daniel:

It’s fine, I just want to help you find her. Keep me posted?

To Daniel:

Thank you…we’re so worried about her.

From Daniel:

Don’t worry, she’ll turn up x

Jihyo sighed, why did he have to make it so hard to get over this stupid crush!?

Sunmi dropped the girls outside the school, the building looming and dark due to the time of day and the rain - the scene of the crime. Chaeyoung looked up at it, usually her adrenaline craving would compel her to break in and vandalise something but now she didn’t want to be anywhere near that place. She felt too guilty. Her mind just kept going back to that conversation she had over text with Mina. Tzuyu used to tell her everything, back when they shared a room and would sit up after being sent to bed and tell each other “secrets”. Sure, they were kiddie secrets - nowhere near the ones they had now in terms of seriousness but more like their celebrity crushes or gossip on the older girls. Chaeyoung tried remembering when they had last had a night like that and realised it would have been before Dahyun moved in.

She was walking ahead with Jeongyeon, Momo and Sana holding hands behind while Jihyo followed along at the back of the group. Chaeyoung looked at her elder sister, watching her call out Tzuyu’s name into the rain.

“Do you think I ignored Tzuyu when Dahyun came?” She asked,

Jeongyeon looked at her, heart breaking at the sight of Chaeyoung’s eyes looking so sad, “I think that was when you two began to grow apart, but that happens it isn’t anyone’s fault.”

“I just realised I don’t know anything about her any more.” Chaeyoung frowned,

“You can always get to know her again.” Jeongyeon reasoned gently, “You just have to be willing to try, she’s not the most open person at the best of times.”

Chaeyoung thought over that idea, Jeongyeon was right. Once they found her Chaeyoung would have all the time in the world to earn back the friendship she once had with her younger sister. It that it had taken such an awful event for her to realise how little they spoke now, but she would change that. Anger then coursed through her, replacing the guilt. Now Chaeyoung still had a few friends that lived on the streets, they still taught her things from time to time. Like how to deal with people that hurt those she cared about. If she ever ran into that teacher again she didn’t know what she’d do, but she knew it would cause him a lot of physical pain. For now she would focus on finding her sister and letting her know that she was going to be there for her a lot more than she had been.

Jeongyeon felt terrible.

They all did, by now that was clear but for Jeongyeon it was a lot heavier in her chest. She had known something was wrong and had written it off to teen angst, but that wasn’t how Tzuyu was. She was quiet and would occasionally brood in the corner, it wasn’t in her nature to be cruel. Jeongyeon had realised something when her attitude started; Jeongyeon and Momo were close, Sana and Mina had each other, Jihyo usually went to Nayeon about things and Chaeyoung had Dahyun - Tzuyu was always the odd one out. Up until recently the only friend Jeongyeon knew she had was Hyewon, Tzuyu must have felt so lonely at the house. Jeongyeon still remembered that time she ruined Tzuyu’s new archery uniform and Sunmi scolded her. Her promise to be the best big sister she could hung over her head, she had failed.

She had taken that promise to mean she needed to be overprotective, trying to get her away from someone who she had now learned was a good friend to her. That wasn’t what Tzuyu needed, Tzuyu just wanted someone to notice her pain and she hadn’t. Jeongyeon had let her down, they all had. They passed an alley, in which were two people Jeongyeon recognised. She immediately took the turn and Amber bristled when she spotted her going for Elkie. The duo had seen the rumours online and had gone out to try and find where Tzuyu had gone. When the rain got heavier they had ducked into the alley in order to shield themselves a little while planning their next move. Elkie had been panicking ever since her texts were ignored, Tzuyu always replied to her.

“I don’t wanna fight,” Elkie snapped as Jeongyeon approached, “Not now.”

Jeongyeon just stared at her a moment.

“What?”

“Thank you.”

The sincerity in Jeongyeon’s eyes startled Elkie, that was certainly not what she expected. She exchanged a look with Amber who looked equally as confused.

“You saved her and supported her when we couldn’t,” She explained, “I don’t like you and Tzuyu can do better but I still owe you for being there when she needed you.”

Elkie shrugged awkwardly, “I care about her, whether you like me or not she knows that I’ll always have her back.”

“Do you have any idea where she could be?” Jeongyeon asked,

Elkie nodded, “We were going to try by the Han River, she has a specific part she likes - if you comb along the river she’ll probably be there.”

“Okay, thanks!” Jeongyeon turned to head back to where the others waited on the street,

“Can you get her to text me when you find her?” Elkie called, “Please? Just to know she’s okay.”

“I will.”

They ran down the street to the park that surrounded part of the Han. Once they arrived they decided to split up, Sana went with Jihyo as Momo was the fastest runner She bolted ahead as the others walked along behind, if Momo didn’t spot her through the rain they would but chances were Momo would find her first and the others could call their Appas to pick them up. Jeongyeon and Chaeyoung headed the opposite way while Jihyo and Sana crossed the bridge to search the other side. This was one of those few times Momo was in unnie mode, her legs were burning and the rain hitting her face was making it hard to see but she was not going to stop, not until Tzuyu was safe and at home where she belonged. After a while she stopped to catch her breath, panting and looking out into the mist around her. As she pulled her hood back up over her head, it fell while she ran, she spotted a figure curled up in a ball by the river bank. It was like all her energy snapped back and she took off,not too many people would be out in the pouring rain and thunder this late.

Tzuyu was shivering, no coat, school bag soaked through. She was staring out over the water, no longer reacting to the rain as it battered her. Without even thinking about it Momo took off her own coat and draped it over the shaking girl’s shoulders. She practically fell next to her and hugged her tight, ignoring the stiffness that consumed Tzuyu at the sudden contact. When she realised it was Momo she relaxed a little but there was still tension there.

“Tzuyu are you okay?”

Tzuyu didn’t answer, instead just curling into this new warmth Momo provided. She’d been sat there in her own thoughts for hours and only just realised how cold she was. The older girl shot a text to the others letting them know she’d found her and that she would bring her home. The other girls offered to walk home and Sunmi said she’d come pick up Momo and Tzuyu and get the poor girl out of the rain.

“You shouldn’t have run away,” Momo told her, “You should have told us.”

“I tried.” Tzuyu muttered, voice hoarse, “Nobody was listening to me.”

Momo’s heart broke at the defeat in Tzuyu’s voice, “I’m listening now, we’re family and we love you.”

Tzuyu let out a sob, “No we’re not. We aren’t related, why do you even care?”

Tzuyu never cried.

“Hey!” Momo snapped, “What does being related have to do with anything? Just because our real families didn’t want us doesn’t mean we never get another chance. The best part about being left behind is that now…now we get to choose our family. And I think our family is pretty great.”

Tzuyu continued crying in Momo’s arms, “I’m sorry.”

“I love you Chewy.” Momo pecked the top of her head,

“I’m sorry…”

“Let’s go home.”

Sunmi came to pick them up and when they got home the girls were told not to overwhelm her right now and so they stayed in the living room fighting the urge to run out into the hall where their Appas were hugging Tzuyu tightly, promising her that they would never let anything like that happen again. Apologising over and over for letting her down, but they weren’t sure she was listening. She was icy to the touch and almost immediately sent upstairs to have a bath and warm herself up. Sunmi went up to run it, hugging her brother before she went up so that the air was cleared between them. Things were said out of anger but they were family and so they knew they needed one another. An hour later Tzuyu had warmed up and was sat up in bed quietly, she had texted Elkie to let her know she was home safe. The other girl had been worried and blown up her phone all night but had accepted Tzuyu request for space to deal with the aftermath of everything for a few days. Tzuyu really liked Elkie, she didn’t know what they were but she knew she wanted more.

There was a knock and Jihyo poked her head round.

“Hey…”

Tzuyu smiled a small smile and that was taken as a sign she could come in.

“How you feeling?” Jihyo asked laying next to Tzuyu on her bed,

“I think I’m getting sick.”

“You were out in the rain for a while so I wouldn’t be surprised.”

Tzuyu hummed, “Are you gonna make me talk about it?”

“No.” Jihyo told her, playing with her hair softly, “When you want to though, we’ll listen.”

Another knock came and Sana walked in with Mina and some tea.

“Tea always makes me feel better after a storm.” Sana smiled, placing the mug on the bedside table,

She had already drunk her own when the storm outside became a light patter of rain against the window, that had sparked the idea of bringing some up to Tzuyu. Jihyo shuffled closer so that Mina could squeeze under the covers with Sana also jumping on - legs draped over the girls’ and her back against the wall. The door opened again, Nayeon walked in and smiled.

“Guess I wasn’t the only one with this idea,” She looked at Sana, “Scoot!”

“Room for two more?”

Everyone looked to the door where Chaeyoung and Dahyun were peaking round, resembling floating heads. Tzuyu just nodded, head resting on Jihyo’s chest as the older girl continued to play with her hair. With no more room on the bed, Chaeyoung and Dahyun sat on the floor resting their back against the bed.

“I know this wont mean much,” Dahyun said standing awkwardly in the room, “But I prayed for you, not in a weird way just that they’d find you and bring you home safe and sound. I’m glad they did.”

Tzuyu knew that religion meant a lot to Dahyun, that praying was something important to her and so recognised that Dahyun was trying to show she cared, “Thank you, it means a lot.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Chaeyoung asked,

“Chaeyoung!” Nayeon snapped in warning,

“Sorry…just….” The second youngest sighed, “I wanted to know.”

Tzuyu looked at the faces of her sisters and noted the unsaid questions in their eyes, she swallowed and sat up as best she could.

“When I was little Mama told me it was a secret, that no one would believe me. So we never talked about it, I wasn’t used to talking about it.”

“Oh…” Was Chaeyoung’s response, “No offence but you’re Mama’s an idiot.”

Tzuyu cracked a smile, “Yeah I know.”

The door opened a final time and a pile of blankets with legs entered followed by Jeongyeon.

“We saw you were all heading in here so thought blankets were needed!” She explained as Momo dropped the fabrics on Sana who whined in response,

Momo noted Tzuyu was still wearing the jacket Momo had given her earlier, that was fine Tzuyu could keep it if she needed it. The dancer pushed Nayeon and sat next to her in the final available space on the bed. Jeongyeon settled for the desk chair, turning it to face the others and stealing a blanket to wrap round herself. Guilt was all over her face.

“I’m sorry for…y’know everything over the last few weeks.”

“It’s cool, I’m sorry for being a brat.”

“I get it,” Jeongyeon smiled, “You’re the youngest - you’re allowed to be a brat. I don’t know what Nayeon’s excuse is though…”

There was a laugh from the others and a scoff from Nayeon as she grabbed one of the spare blankets and flung it at Jeongyeon.

“Oh! I also still hate Elkie but I’ll try and back off a little…just till everything’s back to normal and then I will continue asking her to back up!”

“I guess I can deal with that.”

Order was restored and they sat up for a little while laughing and joking, Tzuyu just stayed quiet laying on Jihyo’s chest as the elder played with her hair as she slowly dozed off. She wouldn’t say she was happy, she couldn’t be with everything that had happened, but in this moment she had what she had wanted for a long time - to be involved with her sisters. She felt, for lack of a better word, content in this little bubble they had made in the warmth of her room. Eventually she fell asleep, the first decent sleep in weeks, and the girls hadn’t the heart to leave her.

So when their Appas peaked in to check on Tzuyu they found nine girls asleep around the room, all bundled together with a mug of tea going cold on the bedside table. They smiled, happy that something good had come out of all the hurt. Tomorrow would be harder, the family would be forced back to the rumours, gossip and pain of the real world but that was alright, they’d survive together. They were family after all!

That was the best part about being left behind, they were able to chose their family - and theirs was pretty great!