"That's how we got him to wake up." Tatsmato concludes while the others nod in agreement.

 

"Oooohhhh.... What?" I ask.

 

"That's the third time I've explained it to you! Why aren't you listening?" The pink matoki screams, holding his head and shaking it back and forth.

 

"Well, for starters, there were a number of squirrels outside just running around. You should have seen them! A whole array of colours, or, at least, within the brown, black and grey spectrum... But there was one white squirrel too! There were at least ten! There was this black one that had a chubby belly and the bushiest tail I have ever seen. Holy baloni it was bushy. And-"

 

"Enough about the squirrels!!" Shishi yells. He rubs his temples and strides towards me. He points for me to come closer. When I bend down to his eye level, he grabs my face and looks me straight in the eye. "I woke up because Tatsmato and Jokomato pulled my ears. They are my weak spot." 

 

I'm not listening yet again. This time, it's Shishimato's deep voice that get's me distracted. With his tiny body, it's hilarious! I couldn't possibly imagine what he would look like as a human.

 

I nod my head when he asks if I understand (blatant lie) and I proceed to make dinner. Before we sit down to eat, I create a pact between Casey and Shishi, just so they'll stop glaring at each other. While the matokis began to eat dinner, I stare at them, not letting anything distract me. 

 

I must know what lies underneath their masks.

 

Each and every matoki freezes under my gaze. The air thickens with tension. A bead of sweat slides down Keke's face. Toto reaches up to pull off his mask so he can stuff my delicious chicken into his mouth, but one by one, the matokis turn their head in his direction. The blue masked bunny puts his food back on his plate and the other matokis look back at me. Nobody in the room dares to make a sound. Breathing is forcefully quieted and swallowing becomes impossible. My eyes dart from each matoki. First it's Toto, then Joko, Tats, Dada, Keke, and then Sh-

 

"Will you stop staring at us? You are really starting to freak me out!" Shishi yells, his voice booms off the walls and makes each of us jump slightly in our chair.

 

Dinner was quiet after that. I look down at my plate while I'm eating, but as soon as the idea comes back into my mind, the alien bunnies had already finished and were just sitting in front of me, waiting for me to finish.

 

•  •  • 

 

"Sooo... You wanna come?" I put my hands on my hips and look down at Shishimato.

 

"I'm only coming to make sure nothing happens to my matokis." He rolls his eyes and walks closer towards me.

 

After I get myself ready, I pick the matokis up in my arms and head out the door.

 

I completely forgot that today was the day I would be getting new neighbours. Walking out on my driveway and seeing the large moving van next door definitely reminds me of that fact. As the weird girl I am, I walk over to the man and woman standing on the front lawn.

 

Let me just convey the images to you.

 

They are both nothing special, but are still quite good looking. The woman is tall with long black braided hair reaching down to her hips. She's wearing skinny jeans with a few rips here and there and and loose grass green top. From the side, she looks very skinny with curves that can make a guy go crazy. She seriously didn't look any older than 20!

 

The man is also tall but a head taller than the woman. His hair is short and black with a few speckles of grey here and there. He's wearing jeans too, but loose, and a black t-shirt. His arms aren't big, but they are muscular. He, on the other hand, looked about 28, 29 ish.

 

As I get closer, the woman turns to me and greets me with a warm smile.

 

"Good morning!" She waves to me. I bow respectively to her and reply her morning greetings.

 

"My name is He-Jin, and I would like to welcome you to the neighbourhood!" I smile and shake hands with the man.

 

"I'm Park Sihyun, and this is my wife, Suji. Nice to meet ya!" The man smiles.

 

"Are you new to only the neighbourhood?" I ask.

 

"Nope! We moved from Busan." Replies Suji.

 

"Oh! Sweet! Well, if you ever need anything, you know where my house is, and I would be happy to help you!"

 

"Thank you!"

 

I check my watch and hug the matokis tighter.

 

"I have to go, but I'll see you some other time!" I bow and start to walk away.

 

"Wait, do you go to Koro high school?" Sihyun asks. I nod. "Perfect! Our son will be going there from now on, so can you please walk with him to school today? I have to work and Suji is watching the move."

 

"Of course-"

 

"WAIT!!"

 

A young boy, maybe younger than me, runs out of the house full speed towards me. He stops short and bends down to catch his breath.

 

"This is our son, Inhyung. Thank you so much for you help. Have a good day, you two!" The couple waves goodbye and walks into the house.

 

I wait for Inhyung to catch his breath. He stands up, pushes up his glasses and smiles weakly.

 

(this is Inhyung)

 

"Let's go!" I shout.

 

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