“Okay, don’t move!” Yuqi giggled, grinning at Ju On, “I mean, it’s not like you could move if you wanted to, right?”
Ju On didn’t budge. His eyes just stared straight ahead, as usual.
“I’m almost done!” Yuqi chimed, almost done with her interesting paper mache project.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang.
That was weird. They never got visitors—especially not in a dead-end suburb where everything felt like it was frozen in time. It was raining, the sky was dark and moody, and it just screamed horror movie vibes.

“GHOSTFACE!” Yuqi yelled, calling out to her ever-reliable masked friend, “Can you check who’s at the door?”

Two minutes later, Ghostface walked up to her, holding a telescope.
“Thanks, buddy,” Yuqi said, rolling her eyes, but still taking the telescope. She peered through it dramatically.

"Okay, it looks like... an eighty jillion-year-old woman with three girls," Yuqi said, squinting, "I don’t know what the deal is, but we’re about to find out!”

Ghostface tilted his head, processing this information like it made total sense.
Yuqi shrugged. “Yeah, I dunno either. But I’m going down there. I’ll let you know if it’s a cult or just some lost grandma. You can move now, Ju On, thanks!”

Yuqi slid down the railing like she was straight out of a movie and opened the door with a wide grin.

“What’s up? Can I help you?” she asked, voice all casual like it was no big deal that she was standing in front of an eighty jillion-year-old woman in the middle of a rainy night.

The woman looked up from her clipboard, blinking like she was trying to figure out if Yuqi was some kind of prank.

“Oh, uh, hello! I run an orphanage in town called Home for Girls. Have you heard of it?”

Yuqi blinked back. “Pffft, nah. But I did hear some drama went down there last month... Someone kicked the bucket, huh? Spooky stuff.”

The woman’s jaw dropped. She looked like she was gonna pass out, but then she closed it real quick, like she was trying to hold it together.

“Well… every year, three thousand of our girls either get adopted or placed into foster care,” she said, voice shaking just a little. “I’m bringing three girls with me right now. Thing is… all the good homes are taken. And no one around here is really, well, active—except for you, it seems. So, I was wondering if these girls could stay with you, just for a month or so, until I find them a proper home…”

Yuqi didn’t even blink. She grinned. “Oh! Totally. We’re gonna have SO much fun, I can already tell!”

The woman let out a huge sigh of relief. “You don’t know how much this means to us. Thank you. By the way, this is Hannah, Niki, and Brie.”

Yuqi gave them all a quick glance. “Brie? Like, the cheese? Hell yeah, that’s cool.”

Brie, with her tan skin and shoulder-length brown hair, was about Yuqi’s height, which was perfect because Yuqi wasn’t really in the mood to be looking up to anyone today. Hannah was short with blonde hair and pink skin, and Niki had bright orange hair tied up in a ponytail. They all looked kinda shy, but Yuqi wasn’t here to be shy.

The old woman waved as she drove off, and Yuqi chuckled to herself.

“This is gonna be so much fun! C’mon in, girls!”

They walked into Yuqi’s house, the door creaking as it shut behind them. The vibe inside was distinct, for sure. Everything screamed Yuqi, but maybe with a little extra freakiness thrown in the mix.

Hannah was the first to speak up, clearly trying to break the awkwardness. “Uh, what’s your name?” she asked, looking at Yuqi curiously.

Yuqi grinned, continuing into her house. “Yuqi. It means bloody snow.”

Hannah blinked, clearly trying to process that for a second. “Why’s your hair red? And it’s long with bangs? I read somewhere that’s like… gothic?”

Yuqi chuckled like she had the funniest secret. “Really? Gothic? I love that description. No wonder Lilith and Lillico did this for me. It’s like a secret art project. I totally love it.”

Brie, looking a little more curious than the others, spoke up next. “What about your clothes? What’s with the colorful beanie, dark jeans, and, like, a billion keychains on it? I mean, not being rude, but is that just what you wear?”

Yuqi shot her a grin, bouncing a little on her heels. “Is there another way to wear clothes? Like, can I be a fashion queen and not have these bad boys hanging out? Honestly, it’s my vibe, you know?”

“Uh, yeah…” Niki cut in with a little laugh, clearly amused by Yuqi's energy, “There’s lots of ways.”

Yuqi raised an eyebrow. “Says the girl with the invisible fashion, huh?”

Hannah, now looking even more confused but intrigued, asked, “Who’s Lilith? And Lillico?”

Yuqi’s eyes lit up like she just remembered an inside joke. “Oh! Right! It's not just you guys and me living here. There’s ten of us!”

The three girls exchanged a glance, but Niki was the one who looked a little more concerned. “You haven’t already fostered someone, have you?”

Yuqi laughed loud enough to echo through the hallway. “No! The five other people are my besties. I’ll introduce you soon. But trust me, we’re a mess. In a fun way.”

Brie’s eyes widened slightly. “So, it’s like a whole… squad?”

“Exactly,” Yuqi said, beaming. “You guys are gonna love them. I mean, if you can survive all the chaos.”

Yuqi knocked on the kitchen cabinet with a grin plastered on her face.

Out from the shadows, Ghostface emerged, casually munching on Betty Crocker’s cake mix straight from the box.

All three girls screamed, their voices high-pitched and synchronized. Ghostface didn’t even flinch.

Brie, looking like she might pass out, managed to stammer, “W-w-w-when you said ‘survive the chaos,’ I didn’t think we’d actually n-n-n-need to survive! Is it gonna e-e-e-eat us?”

Yuqi just burst out laughing, like she was having the best time of her life. “What? Him? Nah! The only thing he eats is my lunch, so just keep it hidden around him.”

Niki’s eyes went wide. “So, we’ve met two. You and G-g-g-ghostface. Plus us… Do you have more freaky friends?”

Yuqi grinned, giving them a little wink. “Freaky? I kill for that word! You betcha I do! C’mon, I’ll introduce you to the rest of the freak show!”

They walked down to the basement, where Jigsaw was sitting in the corner, drumming on an old set of drums with an eerie precision.

All three girls screamed again—louder this time. It was a full-blown symphony of terror.

Hannah, wide-eyed and on the verge of a meltdown, turned to Yuqi. “How do you live with all these freaks?”

Yuqi let out a carefree laugh, crossing her arms. “That’s my favorite part.” She leaned in, flashing a grin at Jigsaw. “Hey, Jigsaw, do ya love me?”

Jigsaw looked up, nodding solemnly before returning to his intense drumming. The sound was almost hypnotic.

“He’s very focused,” Yuqi remarked, sounding oddly proud.

Suddenly, the basement door creaked open, and in walked the twins—Lilith and Lillian.

All three girls screamed louder than ever. Even Yuqi screamed, but then she started laughing like it was a joke no one else was in on.

“Right! That’s Lilith and Lillian! I can never tell them apart, so you guys get to guess who’s who,” Yuqi said, winking at them like it was a fun game.

“Oh my god…” Niki stammered, her voice shaky.

“Can we, uh, go somewhere without all this? Like, to your room?” asked Hannah, her eyes wide as she glanced nervously at Ghostface, who was still eating cake mix like it was no big deal.

“Sure!” Yuqi chirped, grinning as she waved her hand in the air. “C’mon!”

As they walked toward the stairs, they froze when they spotted Ju-On.

All three girls screamed again, but this time it was more of a high-pitched squeal. The only thing that made it a little less terrifying was that Ju-On wasn’t moving at all.

Yuqi just smiled mischievously. “That’s Ju-On. NEVER play a staring contest with him!” she warned, her tone mock-serious before she burst into laughter. “Let’s go!”

They finally made it to Yuqi’s room. Everyone looked around, clearly unsure of what to expect.

“Is this your own room?” Brie asked, glancing at the weird assortment of things scattered about.

Yuqi shrugged casually, unfazed. “Not exactly. Ghostface sleeps on the bed. I sleep under the bed.” She flashed a grin. “But it’s pretty much all mine since he spends all his time in the kitchen.”

Niki, cautious as ever, peered under the bed. It was just as Yuqi said—a floor bed with a random mix of things like a phone, books, and a flashlight.

“Okay…” Hannah sighed, taking a seat on the floor. “Anything else we need to be careful of?”

Yuqi scanned the room, her eyes lighting up with mischief. “Brace yourselves for that door and closet,” she said, pointing to the corner of the room. “You’re good other than that, though. So, are you having a good time so far?”

The three girls exchanged glances, their faces still a little pale but slowly starting to relax. “Sure,” Niki said, her voice wavering just a bit, “I guess this is kind of fun… in a really weird way.”

Yuqi just laughed and threw herself down on the floor next to them. “Good. Because the fun’s just getting started. By the way, dinner’s soon. I ordered some food. We’ll go pick it up in around 10 minutes.”

All three girls immediately sat up, jumping off Ghostface’s bed at the same time, eyes wide.

Yuqi chuckled, shaking her head. “That reminded me of the twins! FREAKY!” She let out a snicker, practically vibrating with amusement. “You guys are gonna fit in just fine.”

Brie looked over at Yuqi nervously. “Do you always… live like this?”

Yuqi’s grin grew. “Oh yeah. You get used to it. Or you don’t.” She shrugged, totally unbothered. “Either way, we’re all gonna be one big happy freakshow soon.”