Everyone finally finds out what they are

oh honey this took longer to write than expected. i apologize about that, but here it is now! i made a few changes so there's that...

enjoy ! still stay safe wherever you may be !!

Osaka, Japan – 10:43 P.M. 1/9/21

“Happy New Year!”

As soon as Tzuyu walks through the sliding doors she’s immediately greeted by the smell of lavender, the warmth of cotton, and the force of a volleyball hitting her chest at 70mph. Sana waited for her exactly outside the gates to make sure she wouldn`t miss the younger woman.

“It’s never too late to celebrate considering I wasn’t conscious therefore missing the first midnight here in Japan and you were already sleeping on a plane before it was time in Spain!”

Sana led them out of the airport, stopping at a ticketing machine just outside. “How did you know?”

Tzuyu hadn’t visited Sana between their first meeting and when they spoke before the former’s flight where she informed the latter what time she’ll be arriving. As far as the flight attendant knew, she didn’t tell the woman what time she left Barcelona.

“I tried to visit you and luckily it worked!” Sana said beaming at the other “I’m not sure what I would’ve done if I saw the others instead.”

They didn’t have to wait long for the bus to arrive. Sana said it would take them to the ward where she lived without needing to ride on and off.

“That explains why I dreamt of your cat.”

“You dreamt of Tiger and not me?”

Needless to say, Tzuyu kept mum the whole ride. She didn’t even notice that she fell asleep until Sana tapped Tzuyu’s head resting on her shoulder, the other passengers already walking down the aisle to the door.

“I’m sorry”

“Don’t worry Tzu, I didn’t mind.”

Sana winked at the still drowsy girl, Tzuyu’s lower lip jutting out, pouting and her eyes still droopy. An adorable sight to see if anyone were to be asked and Sana would especially agree.

The walk to the apartment was quick and easy, you just let gravity pull you down the sloped street. Now, to Tzuyu, this is different from the other time’s she’s been to Japan - Tokyo specifically. That was all city lights and spectacles, this is more domestic and familial.

People used bikes to get around places that are near enough and park them by train stations if the journey requires it. Kids could be seen walking home alone from school and the elderly strolling about with the energy of a teenage boy who hasn’t slept for three days and just drank five cans of Red Bull.

“Here we are.” They stopped at a narrow, white-walled four-story building lodged between two public parking lots. Sana’s just on the second floor so they need not much climbing with Tzuyu’s single suitcase.

Baka is the first word Sana uttered as she opened the front door. “Oh gosh, it completely slipped my mind. There’s only one room.”

To be completely honest the thought also flew over Tzuyu’s head, considering this isn’t the first time she’s been to the abode, it’s just that now she’s actually here. The lack of an extra room isn’t what caught her attention though, believe it or not, it’s the casket shaped bookcase beside the vanity that housed numerous medical books and more than one artificial brain.

“We can go back to where the bus dropped us off, it’s a hotel.” Sana added, looking so unsure and embarrassed.

“Hey, it’s okay. If you have like a roll-out mattress or a few thick blankets, I could work with that,” assured Tzuyu showing the older her dimpled smile. “If you don’t mind having me, that is.”

It took Sana a few seconds to respond because sweet baby Jesus can she get any cuter? “Oh yes! Of course, there’s a futon in the closet.” Which the Japanese hurriedly took from its hiding place collecting dust since she moved in.

“Tiger walks around at night so you might wake up with him right beside your face. I’ll stay down here instead so you can take the bed.”

Sana failed to hear any form of acknowledgement from the younger, she peeped over her shoulder where she sees her cat all cuddled up on Tzuyu’s lap while she lightly scratched the feline’s head. Either the Taiwanese is naturally good with animals and the Japanese obviously is not or Tiger just likes giving his owner a hard time. Whichever it is, it’s safe to say that Sana’s not the only one who’s pleased to indulge in the flight attendant’s company.

I could get used to this.

*********

Jeju-do, South Korea – 1: 57 P.M. 1/11/21

Is it Christmas again already? Well, at least for Yoo Jeongyeon, it feels like it. The entrepreneur believes she knocked the ball out of the park on that last of three, business meetings with the high stake’s investor. They were positively impressed and genuinely interested in what she wanted to do for the café to take root and bear fruit.

Now that Jeongyeon’s done she can get back to doing her research, she’s gotten quite well versed on the whole sensate idea, but something doesn’t quite add up. Specifically, how there’s a whole organization working on this, but no one has ever heard of it before. Nothing from any major news outlets or even conspiracy buffs.

No matter, there’s got to be an explanation for it and Jeongyeon’s sure it’s probably just right under her nose. She’ll get there, but first, her mini fridge has got to be restocked. Fuel to pull an all-nighter, uni days style. Red bull and coffee milk haul.

The convenience store next to her apartment luckily had enough for her to buy so that was great, minus the concerned look the lady at the cashier gave her. Seulgi’s still at work so Jeongyeon could stay in the living room and have the tv for background noise, silence kind of unnerves her sometimes.

This day is just going in all the right ways.

What she didn’t expect though is the girl sitting outside of her unit huddled over a sketchbook with coloured pencils littering around her. She’s never seen this person before, but she didn’t want to call the security on the kid, so she did what was most natural.

“Hey, there” Jeongyeon sat beside the girl taking a peek at what she’s drawing “watcha working on?”

Probably not Jeongyeon’s best conversation starters.

“Oh ! Calm down kid, I should be the one keeping my distance. You’re outside my apartment.”

You know what they say about karma. The girl had panic in her eyes before they fluttered to relief. She threw her stuff into her bag and stood up. “Hi, my name is Son Chaeyoung”

Jeongyeon followed her lead and introduced herself as well. “What are you doing here Son Chaeyoung-ssi?”

“I’m a sensate, and so are you though you probably already knew that.” she replied. “There’s not much to say about it considering you already did your research, so I’ll cut to the cha-"

“Woah Woah! Hold on, slow down. I can’t understand your Korean.”

She shook the girl to pace her from ranting, deliberately cutting her off. To be honest, she did understand Chaeyoung, albeit the tinge of an accent making it a little difficult. Jeongyeon simply could not believe her ears.

Chaeyoung awkwardly chuckled in response, “Right, I’m sorry about that. I didn’t grow up here.” scratching her nape in slight embarrassment. “Okay, slower… Well – uhm”

“You,” She said, pointing at Jeongyeon, “and me” now pointing at herself. “We” Chaeyoung motioned her hands in between the two of them, much like a card dealer in the casino. “are sensates.”

If not for the gravity of it, Jeongyeon would be laughing instead of keeping silent to digest the girl’s revelation. She already thought of the possibility but hearing it and for it to be true is a harder pill to swallow. A whole 24 years of her life lived without knowing her true self.

I guess I wouldn’t have to stay up anymore.

Still, Jeongyeon recovered quickly. There’s no point in wallowing on the thought any further. “Do you want to stay out here or…” She jiggled her keys, inviting Chaeyoung in.

The latter nodded “Oh yes, we wouldn’t want your neighbours thinking that you’re crazy now don’t we”

Small but spacious could be a good word to describe the place. The kitchen and living area joined into one room with a coffee table big enough to be used for dining. Two rooms to the right from the entrance and the bathroom adjacent to that. A window with a view of the street and the tv hung by the corner of the wall.

Jeongyeon headed straight to their fridge and shoved the drinks she purposefully bought but has subsequently lost said purpose. “Can I offer you something to drink?”

To which Chaeyoung replied, “Whatever you’re having is fine.” with an innocent smile on her face. It seems as though the older isn’t as well versed as they thought. But anything is better than being straight-up clueless.

“Okay… We’re in the same cluster, am I correct?” The artist excitedly nodded her head. “How many of the eight have you been in contact with?”

Chaeyoung held out three fingers. “That already includes you, the other half of us is yet to be known.” She looked out the window and sighed. “Wherever they are, we need to know, and fast.”

Jeongyeon narrowed her eyes, “There’s a problem. What’s the problem?” the question startled the other woman.

“Oh right! You see, our cluster mother is missing. We need to find her.”

Another surprise to Jeongyeon’s seemingly extraordinary day. On the top of her head, she has absolutely no skills whatsoever to help and find this woman. Better yet why is it that it has to be the eight of them specifically. She’s read that a sensate can birth multiple clusters. Surely, they’re not the only ones.

“No offence but who told you that it has to be us? As far as I’m concerned, the police take care of missing people cases. Not a bunch of strangers banding together.”

Chaeyoung was taken aback by what the older said, the, she has a point. A good one at that, definitely something that never crossed her mind for unknown reasons. She blindly trusted Tzuyu without giving what she said much thought.

“She hasn’t been reported to the authorities, whoever took her made sure of that.”

Leaning by the bathroom door is another woman, young, most probably in her early 20s. Even younger than Jeongyeon herself. Long dark brown hair hid underneath a blue baseball cap. She might have spoken in Korean but Jeongyeon knows a foreigner when she sees one.

“Tzuyu!”

Hearing the name just verified Jeongyeon’s assumption. She probably tapped the skill either from Chaeyoung or from the her but it’s most p