- The Clan Prequel Chapter 4

Tùy Chỉnh


"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh so tired." Siyeon opened the door to their motel room, whining about the whole busy working day at the shop. Most of the times, she had to keep an eye on the magic spells that remained around the booth after Ji-U's tricks.

Sua and Handong looked out as the door swung open. Sua dashed to them greeting with a warm smile, "How was the day?" She closed the door after Yoohyeon, Siyeon and Ji-U going in.

They then rushed toward the bed where the youngest sister Gahyeon was lying. Ji-U sat down next to Handong who was looking after the unconscious girl. "Is she any better...?"

Handong shook her head, holding one of the little girl's hands in hers. "She never woke up after that."

"Oh no..." Ji-U took the other hand and squished them against her cheek. "I'm so sorry, my little sister..."

"I found this..." Siyeon showed out the small blue flower she picked up from before. "This is the same flower me and Gahyeon met yesterday."

"What is that—?" Sua let out a soft sound of surprise. Her eyes explored every edge of the flower carefully. Handong left Gahyeon's side and raised up her hand slightly to touch the flower. Yoohyeon also came closer to examine the 'strange thing'. They had never seen this kind of flower before.

Noticing the sparkling light in Siyeon's eyes, Ji-U stayed silent to let her speak. "As I witnessed, this flower saved that guy and somehow healed him from pain. I'm just wondering if..." She looked at the sleeping Gahyeon on the bed.

"You mean...?" Ji-U's eyes moved from Gahyeon's face to Siyeon's when she figured out what Siyeon wanted to say.

"But we shouldn't use her as an experiment..." Handong came back to the bed, fixing Gahyeon's dress. "What if the flower harms her?"

"Don't say it like I don't care about Gahyeon." Siyeon made a serious face. She walked towards the bed with the two other girls. "She is already unconscious. Dami is guarding in the forest. Without them two, Ji-U will not let us go hunt because we don't have full power if we are not together as seven. A high risk is that we may meet difficulties again. So, there's no way we can feed Gahyeon now. Besides," Siyeon looked down at the blue flower, "I actually have a very good feeling about this."

Sua, after listening to her explanation, nodded her head in agreement. "I trust Siyeon. Her suggestion is not that bad anyway."

"I don't think we have any choices though, Gahyeon is already unconscious like that," Yoohyeon added after evaluating the situation by herself.

Handong kept quiet as she turned to look at Ji-U, the person who would make the final decision. Ji-U inhaled deeply then fetched out a heavy sigh. "Alright then..." She stood up and moved aside, standing next to the bed. Her eyes wandered to see her sisters' expressions. She furrowed her eyebrows in worry. Taking another good look at the unconscious girl, she finally spoke up, "I guess we have no choice."

But just a minute after, her gaze dropped to the floor, avoiding eye-contact with all other girls, even with Gahyeon. Her own disappointment weighted down on her shoulders. She carried a great failure of being the oldest sister. The responsibility of taking care of her six younger girls, she couldn't fulfil it. She didn't only let them down but even put them in danger, both about their health and safety.

Suddenly, a soft feeling of warmth spread on her left shoulder. Turning to look at it, she found that Sua was standing next to her, leaning a hand on her shoulder and comforting her with a soft smile. "It's not your fault. Please don't blame yourself."

Ji-U only sighed in return, tapped slightly on Sua's small hand as if to say thanks to her.

Siyeon sat down on the bed, slowly feeding Gahyeon the little blue flower. She cleared her throat and swallowed in nervous. More than anyone, she was worried for her youngest sister. Yet, she felt extremely confident with this decision, regarding what she saw that night inside Jooheon's dream. Holding the flower in her hand, she slid it in inside the young girl's mouth.

Ji-U couldn't bear to see it. She pushed the door to the balcony and shut it behind her back. The guilt was eating her up. Biting her lips, she tried not to cry. It was all her fault that Gahyeon had to go through this. She blinked her eyes, staring at the clear sky. The sun was going down and the night was coming. She wondered if Dami was fine being in the forest alone. Her face was buried onto her palms, wishing for everything to be alright.

In a sudden, she heard some small noises inside the room. Sua swung the door open and waved at her. "Ji-U! Gahyeon is awake!"

Ji-U's face turned bright at the news. Happily, she ran inside to the bed. "Gahyeon!" She exclaimed when she saw her youngest sister was well and awake.

Gahyeon blinked her round eyes looking up all these heads clutching above. She seemed lost and unsure of what happened.

"But she... looks... different?" Sua tilted her head to the side, asking if other girls also realized the same thing.

"Yeah... she does." Yoohyeon squinted her eyes, taking a good look at her youngest sister.

Her turquoise eyes turned black. Her dark wavy hair became the chestnut color. The white lace dress she was wearing also changed into pale blue. Ji-U looked at her from head to toe with her eyes widened and jaw dropped. The little girl's whole body was glowing up. Hadn't it been for the fact that her sisters were nightmares, they wouldn't bash her like this and instead, they might have been cheering over her angel-like figure.

"It can't be—You are- You are now... A DAYDREAM?"

"No way—How can—" Siyeon covered her mouth in disbelief.

"Disgusting..." Yoohyeon uttered, turning her head away from the horror scene.

"I told you the flower would harm her!!!" Handong dashed toward Siyeon and grabbed her by the collars.

"Relax! Relax!" Ji-U barged in and separated the two heated girls. "We need to know how she's feeling first." Then she turned to Gahyeon and questioned her. "Gahyeon... are you okay?"

"Yeah..." Gahyeon slowly sat up, propping her back against the bed head. "I'm feeling very good. And I'm not hungry anymore."

Yoohyeon covered her mouth and sent Gahyeon a look of discrimination. She couldn't believe the fact that her sister became a daydream. The feeling of throwing up was slowly attacking her.

Gahyeon put her legs down to the floor, trying to stand up. The older girls held their breath watching over each and every of her movements. They were still confused with the new transformation; therefore, they were as well unsure of what to do. As a natural reflex to defence themselves, the girls instantly moved away from the beautiful daydream, but not too far. Somewhere deep in their hearts, they still recognized their nightmare sister Gahyeon. Albeit knowing they wouldn't get hurt, they kept the distance so everyone would be safe.

Gahyeon took about two steps towards her sisters. With each step, tiny little flowers with many colors grew out from the floor under her feet. They were sparkling up even though the sky outside blended darker into the night.

"Eww! Stay away from me!" Yoohyeon screamed out in fright at the scene. She jumped and hid behind Sua's back even though the girl was shorter and smaller than her.

The look on Gahyeon's face was symbolizing for pain. She disliked herself being a daydream and being hated by her own sisters. "Sisters... Please..." She cried out in despair, falling onto her knees. The teardrops shined up like small stars spilling out from her round eyes. "Please save me..."

The dazzlingness all around her body stopped her sisters to come and hold her, even though they really wanted to. Ji-U took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. She was about to burst into tears as well, but she held them back. Knowing that right now, her sisters need her and she had to be strong, Ji-U dropped her shoulders relaxing. After thinking in silence for several minutes while the other girls were still panicking at the transformation of Gahyeon, Ji-U spoke up her solution.

"Earlier, that guy Hyungwon asked me to come to the Club. I told him I would go with Sua. If we go there, maybe we can get some more information about the blue flowers, and somehow figure out the way to rescue Gahyeon. For now, Handong, please continue watching out for our little girl..." Her eyes looked at the girl in pity and love at the same time before handing Handong the responsibility through her nod. "Hopefully her condition will change. At the store, I cast a spell and copied a mysterious symbol from that guy. Gahyeon and Siyeon, please do a research into it. Any information we have from the X-Clan now can give us a clearer view of the blue flower, so don't overlook it. We need to wait for Dami to hear from the forest as well. Now, we need to do everything we can to help Gahyeon."

Trying to distract herself from the disgust feeling towards Gahyeon's weird appearance, Sua took the order and came closer to Ji-U with a smirk. "The Club? Is it that 'The '94 Club'? Sure, I'm in." She gave Ji-U a high-five that she did not even ask for. "And more importantly, we need everything to blend in with the human, Ji-U. Did you get the ID cards already?"

Siyeon nodded her head firmly at Sua's question, heading towards the mirror hanging on the wall. "Yup. I did." Then, she drew invisible patterns against the mirror, which seemed like a spell to open the secret magic of the mirror. On the surface appeared the reflection of the ID card that Siyeon stole from the female customer earlier and the mysterious symbol on Hyungwon's neck. Siyeon dragged her fingers on the mirror's surface. The symbol was thrown away to the corner of the mirror. She tapped on the reflection of the ID card then used her other hand to press on it for a few seconds. Next, she pulled her hands away and two ID cards appeared. Sua and Ji-U walked to the mirror and each of them touched their index finger on one of the ID cards. The moment they lifted their fingers up, the information on the ID cards changed to theirs, also with their squared photos. Jiu and Sua exchanged the smiles with each other, then reached for the cards and took them. They looked at the ID cards in their hands, the information was fabricated to match with theirs, especially the birth year: xx94.

Handong left the sick bed of Gahyeon to join the girls, offering her help for the outfits. She said she noticed some girls at the market in the morning, buying their clothes for the grand opening of the club tonight. Handong had always paid attention to the people's costumes; therefore, no matter where they go, she had been in charge of giving them the suitable clothes to blend in with the people there. She closed her eyes. Her lips mumbled the spell that she learned by heart from all those times she had made the outfits for them, even the white dresses they wore today. Her eyes were opened. She drew unknown objects in the air then pushed the invisible shapes towards Sua. Poof. Sua looked down at herself and her jaw dropped.

A black short high-waisted leather skirt with a thin black short-sleeved crop-top, embroidered with a branch of roses. Her feet were covered by low-heeled ankle boots that were also in black. A cute simple necklace was slowly formed on her neck. Handong hummed in thoughts for a while before pointing her finger at Sua again to add a pair of knee-length stockings. If they were not nightmares, wouldn't Handong look like the God Mother while Sua were Cinderella?

Ji-U turned to check out Sua's outfits, nodding her head in admiration. "I love this." She kept nodding non-stop, with a bright look on her face. Yoohyeon and Siyeon also gave compliments, raising their thumbs up for the girl. For a moment, they forgot about Gahyeon's incident.

But a moment later, Ji-U felt bad again. Turning her head to look at Gahyeon on the bed through her shoulder, her serious face came back. "Hurry up and transform me". She slurred.

Without any further hesitation, Handong worked her spell on Ji-U, coating a new magical look on her with a red velvet tight shorts that embrace her curves, a black loose low-shouldered long-sleeved shirt that showed off her slim shoulders and knee-high simple boots. Ji-U eyed herself in the mirror. She looked stunning. Handong added several accessories on her. Necklaces, bracelets, rings and earrings.

Sua frowned. "Shouldn't I get that much too?"

Yoohyeon hugged Ji-U from behind, wrapping her arms around the older girl's waist, turning to Sua's direction. "Ji-U especially received this fancy look because she has a mission to complete."

"I'll try to get as much as information about the blue flowers, I swear." She sighed. Her eyes wouldn't stop checking on Gahyeon and her condition.

"But alright, I'll give you some too, Sua." Handong smiled softly. She and her kindness. She touched her finger in the air and more accessories appeared on Sua's wrists, neck and ears.

Siyeon carefully checked the two girls and nodded in approval. "Good enough. Now go get them, girls."

"Wait, we still need something." Sua halted and headed to the mirror hung on the wall. Poking her arm through the surface, she brought out two smartphones. "We have to be real human beings now. No jokes." She handed one to Ji-U.

"Is this... a phone?" Yoohyeon clutched her head together with Ji-U, tapping and swiping on the phone's screen.

"Yes, my nightmares. It is called a smartphone. Catch up, we are living in this modern time with these humans." Sua flicked her fingers and a small purse appeared right on her palm. She slid the phone inside and hung the purse's strap on her shoulder.

Ji-U shoved the phone down her pocket, fixing her clothes one last time in front of the mirror. "I'm ready."

Handong came back to the bed, sitting next to Gahyeon. Siyeon and Yoohyeon promised to do thorough research about the weird symbol. Sua nodded, heading outside with Ji-U. They went to the club.