Family Complex | TWICE!FamilyAU

Ch7.1

"Alright, class dismissed!"

Tzuyu was about to bolt and dissappear out the door before everyone heads for their lockers when someone called her name from across the room.

"Wait, Tzuyu-ssi," It was Sana, her teacher. She gestured for the tall maknae to come forward. "Can you stay back for a moment, I have something I'd like to discuss with you."

Tzuyu waited for everyone to leave the room before approaching the teacher's desk. She didn't want any of her classmates to eavesdrop on their conversation and start weird rumors. "Do you need something, seonsangnim?"

"Yah, I told you to call me Sana unnie instead!" Like a drop of a hat Sana's calm expression turned into a cute pout, moments like this made Tzuyu question who's actually older between the two of them.

"Do you need something, Sana?" Tzuyu asked again in a monotonous tone. The maknae was used to her antics by now but she couldn't control the nervous tapping of her foot against the marbled floor. There was something about them being alone in a room together that made the maknae feel antsy.

"Yah!" Sana playfully slapped her shoulder and that definitely didn't help the anxiety bubbling around in her stomach.

"What is it?"

Sana looked at her sternly before sighing and looped her arm through Tzuyu's. "I can't be at our spot during lunch hour because of a meeting, I just wanted to let you know so you wouldn't wait for me."

"Our spot?​​​​​​"

"Yes, our spot," The blonde smiled sweetly, rubbing circles with her thumb over Tzuyu's knuckles. "I mean, we're the only ones there so it's ours, right?"

Tzuyu blinked as if the information wasn’t actually being processed. 

"Chewy?"

"Hm?"

"Are you okay? You're even more quiet than usual," Sana tilted her head, eyeing her worriedly. She tried to touch her cheek but the taller girl closed her eyes and looked away.

"I'm fine, I need to go," Tzuyu left the room in a hurry. Once she was a safe distance away the tall maknae pressed a hand against her chest, trying very hard to ignore the way her heart was stuttering.

Is she okay? Was she having a heart attack? What in the world just happened?

—

Jihyo was busy typing on his laptop when his phone rang. He thought it was his mother again and was about to ignore it, but a quick glance at the caller ID made him promptly stop whatever he was doing to grab the device.

It was a name he hasn't seen for a very long time. He pinched himself just to make sure he wasn't dreaming and ouch, okay, that hurts. Maybe use a little less force next time? Wait, what was he doing again? Oh right, phone's still ringing.

Jihyo sat up straight and cleared his throat. "Hello, Wendy?"

"Oh thank goodness you answered!" The woman on the other line sighed in relief. Son Seungwan or Wendy, as her family and friends call her, was a close friend of Jihyo's. He hadn't seen her after she moved back to Canada. They stayed in contact for a while until eventually falling out of touch, something Jihyo resented because of his work.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" Jihyo chuckled, feeling a wave of nostalgia washed over him.

"Yeah," Wendy awkwardly laughed, trying to search for the right words. "Uhm, so I'm visiting next month. I tried calling Joohyun unnie and Seulgi but I guess they changed their numbers? I'm really glad you're still stubbornly using yours!"

"So what? Am I the backup plan? Plan B? The last resort?"

"What? No!" Wendy immediately stammered. "No, of course not! I—"

"I'm just teasing you," Jihyo laughed as his friend muttered a few profanities in English. It was fun to poke jokes around without having to worry about being on the receiving end.

"Yah! Don't do that! I really thought you were mad at me!"

"So what's up? For how long are you staying? Do you need a place? We have three guest rooms," He leaned back against the backrest with a relaxed posture. Jihyo's slowly getting comfortable talking to Wendy after having zero contact for years. He liked her. Wendy's nice and outgoing, a social butterfly. She can be little sleazy at times though.

"Of course you do. And no thank you, I don't want to be scrutinized by your mother, again," Wendy specifically emphasized the last part, knowing full well what Yoo Nayeon was capable of.

"She's not that bad," Jihyo scratched the back of his neck. He wasn't mentally present at that time. He only heard snippets of the story from his siblings. Wendy also refused to look him in the eyes for weeks after that altercation.

"Ji, she literally followed me to the bathroom when I really need to pee that one time and didn't have a choice but to use your restroom in your goddamn mansion. I wasn't even staying the night, we just dropped you off because you were drunk and that woman tried to pry the door open while I'm peeing!"

"I mean, she's worried about me."

"There's a line between concern and obsession, Jihyo."

"I'm sorry?" He weakly offered an apology. Her side of the story corroborated with what he heard from his siblings although he knew there were some things left out that they weren't telling him. It's probably better that way so he wouldn't question it. "Enough about my mother and her eccentricities. What do you need me for, Wendy?"

"You, me, and the whole gang for two weeks. No work, no hassle, just relaxation. What do you say?" There was an underlying smugness in her voice as if she's taunting him, daring Jihyo to say yes.

He mulled that over for a moment, he’d never been one to plan vacation trips. He never did because he was too busy for anything that doesn't involve his family and their company. Maybe he does need a break, a long overdue vacation.

"Fine, I'm in."