Devil in the Shadows

Home Coming

"Tzuyu-ah… you better not touch my art supply for your school project." Chaeyoung 

"Oppa bought it for both of us. I can use it too." Tzuyu may be younger but she isn't going to back down from a fight. 

They were running around the living room. Chaeyoung being the shorter one is trying hard to get her precious limited edition art box from Tzuyu who is literally a giant for her. Tzuyu being the smart one held it high so that little Chae won't get it.

"Soldiers… at ease." A loud voice boomed from the doorway stopping the siblings dead on track. Standing in attention, they slowly turned around towards the voice. 

" Oppa….." Two screams can be heard simultaneously.

Jeongyeon barely set her bags down before two bodies crashed on her. 

"Ha..ha..ha.." She laughed loudly as her body was being tackled to the ground with little Chae on her lap and Tzuyu on her back.

"Okay…okay… I am here." She managed to speak while keeping the little ones in her arms. 

"Oppa…you didn't tell me you were coming." Tzuyu was upset. Her cute pout was so sweet to look at. 

"I wanted to surprise you both. I am sorry Tzu, look Oppa bought your favorites from London." Jeongyeon tried to reason. 

"I don't care about gifts. You were gone for two years." Little Tzuyu's lips quivered and her eyes filled with tears. It broke Jeongyeon's heart.

"Yeah. Tzuyu is right. You don't love us anymore." Little Chae crossed her arms across her chest and spotted a massive pout. Her eyes too were watering.

Jeongyeon held her ears and bowed her head." Sorry…sorry…sorry… a thousand times sorry." When no response came she said again. " Okay , how about I promise you both that I am not going anywhere from now on." Two pairs of eyes looked at her amazed and surprised.

"Really???" Little Chae all but screamed and hugged her Oppa tighter. Tzuyu kicked her legs up and down, clearly happy and joined the hug.

Jeongyeon laughed once again." Yes. Really" 

Their sweet moment was interrupted by someone clearing their throat. The siblings looked back to see Jihyo standing there with a bored expression clearly unamused or as she pretended.

"Didn't your Oppa teach you to treat guests properly." She accused pointing a finger at the two of them.

Once again twin screams echoed "Unnieee…." This time Jihyo was tackled to the ground. Jeongyeon shook her head, chuckling. Even though they are both her siblings, Jihyo had been there for them since they were children. Obviously she was just as important as their Oppa. 

"Jeongie…save me from these baby monsters." Jihyo yelled and screamed as they attacked her with hugs and kisses. 

" Sorry Captain, you are on your own" Jeongyeon mockingly saluted and dropped her luggage inside while she waited for her sisters to drag Jihyo inside. 

"You guys are the worst." Jihyo slumbed down on the couch, clearly exhausted from all the affection.

"Yet you love us." Tzuyu made a snarky comment and showed her tiny finger hearts at Jihyo, who just raised her eyebrow.

"Don't you two have school today?" Jeongyeon asked as she removed her jacket to get comfortable.

"We are not going to school today. You just got here." Young Chaeyoung answered confidently. Tzuyu nodded her head agreeing. Well it was rare to see them agreeing on something so quickly but everything about Jeongyeon was agreeable to them anyway.

"No..you have to go to school." Jeongyeon quickly switched from their Unnie to Oppa mode quickly. 

"But…" Tzuyu pouted again.

"No buts Tzuyu. I mean it. I want to rest and Jihyo and I have things to do today. So we will have fun after you both come back from school." Jeongyeon crossed her arms as she eyed the younger ones. 

"Okay." They said unison and got up from the couch to get ready for school. 

" We will drop you off though." Jihyo added trying to lighten the mood.

The sisters just looked at her and climbed the stairs still slouching. Jihyo chuckled.

" They are really excited. Gosh I wish I had sisters like them"  Jihyo said, still watching them go.

"They are your sisters too Ji." Jeongyeon remembered while getting water from the kitchen for both of them.

"Yeah. I know. Remember how I tried to make Tzuyu call me Oppa." Jihyo laid on the couch relaxing.

"That was fun." Jeongyeon chuckled. " You got her the entire candy store but still she won't call you Oppa." 

"I was so jealous of you. They are the cutest and sweetest sisters anyone could have." Jihyo is still upset and jealous at Jeongyeon.

"You still are Ji. But Tzuyu was only two when our parents died. She used to call me Appa, remember?" Jeongyeon handed the glass of water to Jihyo and sat down on the couch.

"Oh yeah. When we first met she was so little. Chae would hold her like a teddy bear and won't let me touch Tzuyu." Jihyo chuckled remembering those cute moments. 

"Well look at them now. Little Chae is still little but her teddy grew up to be a giant." 

"I think she taught Tzuyu to call you Oppa instead of Appa." Jihyo tried to recall how it changed.

"Oh no. Chae was already calling me Oppa. One time her teacher "educated" her very nicely that I am a girl and she should call me Unnie. Chae tried though." Jeongyeon chuckled, recalling the time when Chaeyoung tried to call her Unnie. It was the day her teacher told her to call Jeongyeon Unnie. Little Chae came home from school and looked at Jeongyeon, who was cooking their dinner, for a very long time and called out " Unnie" Jeongyeon almost dropped her soup but she laughed as she saw little Chae with her scrunched up face clearly disgusted at the name, holding her little skirt. 

"She never tried again though. She said and I quote, "Everyone has Unnies but I have Unnie, Oppa, Appa and Eomma all in one." I never tried to change." Jeongyeon sighed.

"Don't. You are everything to them. Let them have this. Maybe a few years later they probably would change it themselves until then enjoy it." Jihyo patted her best friend's shoulder.

"I don't think they will change. They are the reason I still have short hair." Jeongyeon ran her fingers through her short black hair.

"Well you should thank me for that. If I didn't remind you to cut your hair yesterday, it would have been a disaster now." Jihyo was telling the truth. Jeongyeon let her hair grow for a few months but hid it well from her sisters. She almost forgot to cut her hair before leaving London, but luckily Jihyo reminded her. 

"They both hated my long hair during high school." Jeongyeon snorted.

As on cue, Chaeyoung and Tzuyu came down the stairs in their uniforms. They were only two years apart. Chaeyoung will complete her highschool graduation soon and within two years Tzuyu too. Jeongyeon wants to be there for them when they get out into the world. 

"Alright fam. Let's hit the road." Jihyo hurrayed and walked out the door. The kids followed pouting.