Yura wants to bow in greeting, to say something, but she's frozen, and her tongue feels clumsy and too big for her mouth, unable to form words. The silence stretches on, and every second it lasts leaves her feeling like the walls are closing in on her.
It's the oldest man in the room—her biological father and the Daesun patriarch, Jin—who breaks the silence when he lifts one of his hands and runs it down his face, faint wrinkles betraying his age. "Of course, you're our daughter. You're the spitting image of Saeri."
Saeri, naturally, is the Daesun matriarch and Yura's biological mother. After her husband's comment, Saeri gasps and brings her hands up to cover her mouth, the tears that were already building in her eyes now falling down her cheeks. "You're right," she says, her voice muffled. "She looks just like I did at that age."
Yura has a difficult time wrapping her head around the idea that her mom—this elegant woman with regal posture, brown hair tied into a perfectly braided updo, warm brown eyes, and a nose that tilts up ever so slightly at the tip—once looked like her, a girl with dull, messy hair and skin damaged from the hours she's spent helping who she believed were her relatives in gardens and farm fields in exchange for a place to live and food because her former parents didn't want her in the same house. The idea that Yura could look like her real mother simply feels far-fetched.
Her dad's comment breaks the tension that filled the room just moments before, and her mom takes the few brisk steps needed to close the distance between them and wraps her arms around Yura, who flinches when Saeri raises her arms. She doesn't seem to notice, as she still embraces Yura without hesitation, but Yura knows that it wasn't exactly a subtle reaction. It's likely at least one of her other new family members noticed. She can only hope they'll be merciful enough to not mention it.
With shaking hands, Yura returns her mother's hug. Since the Daesun family is always professional in public—at least at the rare events they bother to attend—Yura expected to be treated distantly at best. Though, in truth, she really thought she'd be dismissed and sent to another boarding school. After all, she has sixteen years of experience in being abandoned again and again by the people who were supposed to be her parents.
That's why she doesn't get her hopes up even with her mom holding onto her as if she wants Yura as a real part of her family. The scars of being left behind can't be forgotten that easily.
As her mom holds onto her, Yura risks a glance at the rest of her new family. Her dad is nearby, wearing a complex expression that's dominated by a blend of sorrow and joy, but her siblings are more interesting in their expressions. While Yura knows the names of her older siblings, she can't attach those names to the proper people aside from Soraya, who's her only sister. As for her brothers, she can't guess at which one is which. Unlike their parents, they're far less excited to meet Yura. Their expressions are more mild and wary.
Of course, Yura understands. There's no reason for them to jump into trying to know her. She's a stranger in their home that they're being told is their actual little sister after they spent years with a different girl in that role. Now, Hirae has left, and Yura has stepped into their home. Maybe they feel like she's an imposter.
Not that she'd blame them. She certainly feels like one.
Her mom pulls back from the hug but keeps her hands on Yura's shoulders as she looks down at the single suitcase on the floor. "Is your driver handling the rest of your things, dear?"
A rush of heat floods Yura's face in her embarrassment. She had hoped that they wouldn't ask, and she wouldn't have to explain. "There's no driver. This is everything."
Her mom glances back at her dad with a questioning look. "You didn't mention that the Quin family is poor. I would've sent them a gift for raising Yura for so long."
"They aren't," her dad says. "They're a new money family. Not big but well-off."
Then, all eyes are on Yura again, and she wants nothing more than to be invisible. Unfortunately, that's not an option.
Yura tries to hide how badly her hands are shaking by clasping them together. She doesn't want to tell them the full truth, but she has to give them some kind of explanation. "I spent most of my time living with distant relatives who needed help or attending a boarding school. It was easier to not have a lot of stuff to keep moving with me."
She doesn't know them well enough to tell if they believe her or not, but they don't press for more answers. At least not yet. Maybe she'll have to tell them more in the future if she stays here.
Maybe they'll send her away to be someone else's problem, too.
For now, she gets a simple introduction to her new siblings. Soraya's identity she'd already been able to guess. Then, she learns that the guy who greeted her at the door is Renji, her second brother. Finally, there's Zeyan, her first brother and the heir to the Daesun family's holdings, and Rikuan, her third brother.
After introductions, her mother leads her to a plain room with an attached bathroom. The entire hallway is bedrooms, she's told, and it didn't feel right for them to give her Hirae's room. Instead, Yura is placed in a guest room like she doesn't belong here. Like she won't be staying for long. Her mom promises that they're working on changing the room and that she can tell them what she wants for it, but Yura lets her leave without any helpful ideas or desires for her room to look any specific way.
Alone, Yura leaves her meager belongings in the middle of the floor and lies on her bed, staring at the ceiling. She's not going to unpack. It's useless to get her hopes up.
After all, this will likely be just another house she stops at before moving again.