// episode 1: Don’t You Remember?   
 

genre : slight angst, fluff
summary : Jinyoung gets someone standing in front of the door. It's not just anyone though.

             hybrid au, hybrid!Jaebum, human!Jinyoung

Jinyoung didn’t know what and how he got himself into the situation he’s in right now. But, what he did know was that he was tired, didn’t want to bothered, and was only wearing  sweats and a shirt. He had heard knocking on the door, thinking that it was just that weird person going around asking for money. No, he was not in the mood for that. Let alone anything. The knocking continued and it made his eyebrows furrow with his forehead creasing. The male let out a groan and got out of his bed, lazily walking over to the door.

He had opened the door slowly and only a little to get a glimpse at who was looking at him. Rubbing his eyes, he asked “And you are?” His voice was hoarse and low. Putting his hand down, he saw a person standing in front of him with a black ribbon around his neck, tied in a bow with a bell attached to it, as if it was one of those choker necklaces girls wear nowadays. A backpack was resting on his shoulders, eyes narrow.

The unknown person standing in front of him pouted slightly, reaching his back pocket and held out a piece of folded paper out to Jinyoung. With that, the said person took the paper and opened it.  

‘Aye Jinnie! I send you JB. He’s quite an intimidating person as you can see with his eyes. But anyways, I’m going to be out of the country for a good month or two, maybe even three. It all depends on how business goes. I would’ve texted you but knowing that you’re hardly on it and probably wouldn’t even read it, here you go! Please take care of him.

Btw, yes, those ears and tail are real.

-your hong kong bro <3’

After reading the letter, Jinyoung let out a soft sigh and opened the door more to be more welcoming. “Come in,” he said, raising his hand and gesturing the other to come in. He closed the door once the latter was in and looked at the other from behind seeing the ears and tale. Blinking a few times, he looked back at the letter reading the last part again.  Btw, yes, those ears and tail are real- So a hybrid? He thought to himself.

Jinyoung walked over to the kitchen to get himself a drink, the only thing that was distracting him was that he saw that things tail swaying left to right. “You want something to drink?” He asked from the counter that had a view to look into the living space, where the other was just standing there looking around. There wasn’t a voice as a response but just a short nod.

With that split second of silence then came a “Please” Jinyoung gave an okay and made a cup of water for the other. Those two were now sitting across from one another on the carpet that laid on the ground. They were both looking at each other, Jinyoung being tired had let out a yawn.  

“JB was it? So what are you?” The tone of his voice wasn’t meant to sound like he was a cold being but that’s how it came out.

“A hybrid,” JB’s answer was blunt and he folded his hands together, twiddling his thumbs.

Jinyoung couldn’t help but have his face fall flat into a expressionless one before raising an eyebrow. “Well that’s an obvious thing ain’t it? I mean animal. Dog? Cat? Leopard? Bunny- no you would’ve had some sort of puffball on that of yours if you were one” He said letting out a dry chuckle, the stupid reference he made getting to him. He needed a tiny laugh in his life for once okay?

JB made the same expression as the other, almost mocking the fellow. “I’m a cat. You know those pests that go meow?” he responded, narrowing his eyes slightly, the twiddling of the thumbs stopping.

The air those two were breathing at the moment was thick of annoyance and intimidation. Any sooner, Jinyoung would probably need to self-diagnose himself of having asthma. Clearing his throat, he made a short nod and stood up. “Well, I guess you’ll be staying here for the next month or two, maybe three. I don’t mind necessarily. Just,” He took a sharp breath in. “don’t mess around in here. I have no spare bed or anything, so the couch will be your bed.”

JB nodded his head as well and stood up walking over to the couch and sat down there, lying on his back; as if this was this was his own home. Jinyoung rolled his eyes at the sight and made his way over to his own room to take a shower. But before getting inside to relax, he went over to his phone and dialed up that hong kong bro of his. Holding the device up to his ear, it rang and rang until it stopped. “Jackson you-”

“The person that you have dialed is currently unavailable, to leave a message, wait for the sound of the beep.”

“Jackson you face. What the ? Who the is this JB? He came to my door and - a hybrid? Seriously? Call me” Jinyoung wasn’t mad or upset. Just, surprised and annoyed. His patience level in general and for that loud mouth of a friend is quite high. But somehow towards that JB out on the couch was somewhat pushing his buttons. Just a little.

Little did he know though that the hybrid’s ears picked up what the male had said and that it was like getting a punch in the stomach. The expression that he may had showed earlier towards the male wasn’t because he thought he was a little stuck-up , but the fact that he’s actually nervous, yet playful at the same time. Why wouldn’t he want to just ‘mock’ the other with the question? Plus, he would’ve thought that the other would’ve remembered him.

---

Later on that day, the apartment was still quiet except for the sound of fingers tapping against the keyboard. Jinyoung was a writer. His newest novel that he was writing was just half way through. So he’d like to say. But with him, that guy is unpredictable. He could probably just be a fourth through. The male was stuck in his room with the air-con on and after a good writing of two chapters, he decided to get something to eat.

Walking out of his room, he saw the hybrid in the same position as he was in when he first saw him, except the ribbon that was around his neck wasn't there. It was around his wrist now. Huh He thought to himself but thought nothing of it. A backpack was leaning against the couch and he thought that was just stuff he brought. As he made his way towards the kitchen, at the corner of his eyes he saw a familiar book with a certain cover. It was his book. When the male was inside the kitchen and opened the fridge he couldn’t help but let out a huff of air when he took out an apple.

“You like that book?” He asked, grabbing a knife and leaning against the counter with the apple in his hand. He pressed the blade against the apple’s skin and started to peel. The male decided to ask the question just to see what sort of reaction he would get. Maybe even an amusing one.

JB was currently reading or trying to read at least the book that his owner, Jackson had given him. He had no clue why the male had given him the book to read. As much as he doesn’t like reading since it tires him out, he gave it a shot because : You’ll get to know him better without having to talk to him if you don’t feel up to it. When he heard the other’s question, he put the book down on his lap, closing it with his thumb holding his spot. Slowly, he sat up, ears peeking up from the couch from what Jinyoung saw until a full face was now showing. “It’s alright.” The hybrid responded with a shrug of the shoulders, causing the other to furrow his eyebrows.

Alright? Jinyoung thought knowing that he had worked his off for that book to get published. People had praised him and had said that it was his best work yet! So how could he say ‘alright’ as an answer? Unacceptable! The male made a nod and had finished peeling the apple, tossing the skin into the trash bin and taking a bite out of it. “What are your thoughts?” He said after he finished chewing on a piece of the apple he bit off.

Thoughts? JB rested his hands on the couch then rested his chin on them, thinking on how to answer it. His thoughts on the male's book was that it's actually quite spunky. It wasn't too cliche or too out of the ordinary. With a small smirk, he wanted to just poke fun at the author. "It's alright" he said with a shrug of the shoulders again

This cat is testing me, isn't it? Well for one, Jinyoung knows he's not gonna lose. He kept quiet, not knowing what to say now and just started to finish his apple.

JB had gone back to lying on his back and had put the book down on the ground. He really shouldn't have read because he's tired. Staring up at the ceiling, the feline had took the ribbon off of his wrist and held it up in the air, letting it dangle. His eyes were moving whenever the ribbon had moved as well, face written with a sad expression. His wrist making a light flick to see the ribbon jerk away from his face, a soft jingle emitting from the bell. The light jingles that the bell had made was a soothing sound to his ears. His eyes kept on focusing on the piece of satin, feeling it start to droop. Before JB knew it, his eyes had closed and his hand had fell down, along with the ribbon.

The whole time, Jinyoung had watched the other from afar, finding it amusing to see the ribbon dangle and move. Even though he thought that the feline had a sharp tongue, the little actions he made was somewhat cute. Somewhat. When the arm had dropped, the human had tilted his head, wondering what had happened. Throwing the core of the apple away, he walked over to the couch to see the other sleeping, hand on his chest but still holding onto his ribbon.

If he were to look closer, he could see that the ribbon was just any ribbon but an old tattered one. The way how the seams were loose and that the the string look like it was about to fall apart. But that’s only if he looked closer.

---

Dinner had gone by smoothly with JB just eating whatever Jinyoung had ordered in which was pizza. It was a quiet one. With soft chews and sips of water, JB was staring at the ribbon wrapped around his wrist and took short glances at the other. The feline wanted to say something. But just what did he want to say? He didn’t know how to start the conversation.

Even though Jackson had said something about how easy Jinyoung is easy to talk to- and he is one to be able to talk. Even though his owner was one to just start the conversation. Ears were limp and tail rested around his waist. He chewed the inside of his cheek before opening his mouth to speak. “Can I take a bath?” He asked, looking at the other, lips slightly pursed out.

No, the scene in front of Jinyoung was not cute whatsoever. The male nodded his head as a response and got up from his seat, motioning for the other to follow. JB had grabbed his backpack and the light jingle of the bell following them along. The feline was given a towel and the direction of where the bathroom was shown and the water started to run.

When the hybrid was in the shower, it just so happened that Jinyoung had gotten a call from his Hong Kong Bro. “Dude, who’s JB? I didn’t know you liked hybrids” the male had said with a more calm voice. He was over this and just wanted to know the exact situation.

“Well a hello to you too wise . And yes, I like hybrids. Especially JB. What did he do now?” Jackson asked with a somewhat of a sarcastic tone.

Jinyoung had let out a huff and sat on his bed. “He didn’t do anything, just made some mockery out of me. How did you find JB?” A chuckle came out from the other line which caused him to roll his eyes.

“I didn’t find him. It’s more like he was given to me by an old friend of mines” Jackson replied. “He’s not hard to manage, trust me on that one. Just know that he’ll treat you how you treat him.”

That makes sense. It clicked. It was Jinyoung’s turn to let out a laugh. “Well, I guess I should be nicer to him then, huh.”

“I’m glad you figured that out, this isn’t math Jinnie. It shouldn’t have taken you this long to figure it out” Jackson said, Jinyoung could totally imagine that stupid grin the other has on his face that he would just smack off right now.

“Oh shut up”

That's only if Jinyoung was able to figure it out when he didn't.

---

When the next morning came, JB was sitting on the couch while reading the same book from the day before. He’s actually starting to enjoy the book written by Park Jinyoung. The feline had actually finished it by now and closed it, putting it into his backpack. His hands tugged at his sleeves of the hoodie he was wearing with his joggers, hugging his legs.

Back falling down to his side, he held up the ribbon with the bell on it, swaying it in the air like how he did before. He shifted his body so now he was fully lying on his back. Flicking his wrist, he watched the ribbon jerk, a sad smile now forming as he watched the ribbon sway with the light jingle. “You don’t remember do you?” He asked to no one but himself, eyes never leaving the ribbon.

Rain was falling, he was lying underneath what shade he could get. Fur wet, body shivering. He was just watching people walk by as if his existence was never there. Sad, the feline was sad that he was being ignored. Lying down, head on his two paws, ears lowered. JB didn’t know what to do. He felt like he was about to die. To be abandoned by his owner from such a young age- his eyes were closed, listening to the drops of water fall.

“Jackson!” He heard a kid yell a name. Heavy footsteps were coming closer, he could hear it.

‘Just one look’ He thought to himself. Opening one eye slowly, he saw two kids running up to him. ‘They’re both kids’ He closed his eyes again, exhaustion taking over him. Body running warm. The feline felt something ‘heavy’ thrown on top of him.

When he opened his eyes, it was dimly lit. The light source coming from the window. The sound of music playing in the background, laughter filling the air. It was a nice sound. Something that Jaebum could probably hear all day. “Jinyoung! Come back here!” He heard someone yell a name. It’s like time was repeating itself. The feline heard the sound of footsteps getting closer. This time, both eyes were open. The feline raised it’s head and saw the two kids running around, it looked like they were chasing each other. The scenery was different. Where was he.

The two kids stopped running around and looked at Jaebum. “Oh! He’s awake!” A kid said and ran up to the cat. ‘Oh god, gotta get out of here’ he thought to himself and started to stand up but had no energy to do so. Blinking, he then saw two pair of eyes looking at him. The two kids were sitting in front of him and looked at him like he was some valuable piece of artwork or whatever.

“Do you think it has a name?” The kid on the right whispered, earning a shrug. “We should name it”

“Name it what?”

“Fluffy!” The kid said with excitement.

The other kid on the left gave the right kid a look that was filled with judgement. “You’re kidding right?”

“No, why would I jackson? Look at it! He’s so fluffy” The kid on the right said, reaching his hand out to JB, lightly resting it on it’s head before running his fingers through the feline’s fur, earning a pur. ‘don’t’

“Why don’t we call him bummie?” The kid, ‘Jackson’ said with an eyebrow raised earning a weird look now.

“Why bummie?” The kid on the right asked and he earned a shrug. ‘These two are literally the same’ JB thought to himself, closing his eyes.

“It sounds better than fluffy.”
 

“Does not.”

“Does too.”

“Jackson.”

“Jinyoung.”

“Boys, why don’t you just call him Jaebum?” A female voice came into the room which stopped the combing of the fingers and the perk of the ears.

“Mom, that sounds like a weird name.” Jinyoung whined, earning a nod from Jackson.

‘oh my god, just settle on a name already’ Jaebum thought to himself and watched the three of them conversed.  A hand wasn’t placed on his head and he was now sitting up.

“Jaebummie,” The kid, Jinyoung said with his lips in a pout as he looked over to the feline. The cat had caught it’s attention and he looked right back with the tilt of the head. “You’re really cute. Here” the kid was wrapping a ribbon around the kitten’s neck into a bow with a bell attached. “Now you won’t get lost!” he continued but this time a huge smile from ear to ear was on. It was to die for. “You’re going to stay with me forever and ever alright?” The smile was cheeky and Jaebum knew he had fell for the kid right then and there.

A few months had passed and Jinyoung and his family had to move to another city. Meaning that he couldn’t take Jaebum with him. The two of them were sad, so to say. Tears were shed by the kid while the feline just stayed by the other the whole time, not wanting to separate.

Jinyoung had decided to give Jaebum to Jackson as a ‘gift’. There was a promise that was made though. before the kid had left, he sat right in front of the feline with a sad smile. “Jaebummie, I have to leave now okay? But Jackson will take care of you! I’ll come back and look for you one day. I promise that okay?” Water had started to form in the kid’s eyes while he was giving his proposal. With a small sniffle, he reached his hand out to the feline. Running his fingers through his fur, all jaebum did was lean into the other’s touch. Before he knew it, the kid was gone.

I found you. But it looks like you’ve forgotten me haven’t you?  Jaebum thought to himself, hand turning into a fist, fingernails digging into his skin. He didn’t mind the pain. Nothing hurt more than his chest anyways.

“JB!” The feline heard his name being yelled, as a reflex, his body sat up and he turned his head to the direction the voice came from. “I’ve been calling you for the past ten minutes. Geez” Jinyoung let out a groan and leaned his back against the wall, an evident pout standing on his lips. “I’m asking you what do you want to eat for breakfast?”

Jaebum thought for a moment and relaxed his body at the question. He thought he was in trouble or something. “Strawberries” He replied.

“Just strawberries?” Jinyoung asked, walking towards the fridge in the kitchen. “I have eggs and rice if you want that.”
 

“Just strawberries, please”

---

Throughout the whole day, Jinyoung was being nicer to Jaebum. In return, the feline would be nice back. So Jackson was right.  The human would do whatever he usually does throughout the day which is just continue to work on his next novel. The only different thing was that he would just casually check up on the feline to see if he was alright. In return, he would just get a nod.

Jaebum thinks to himself that maybe Jinyoung is being nice to him because he remembers him. But, if he did, then wouldn’t he have said ‘I remember you’ or something of the sort?

While those two were sitting on the couch on one end and the other end of the couch, the tv was on, playing some random variety show. “JB,” Jinyoung started out, getting a turn of the head. “How’d you meet Jackson?”

Jaebum blinked a few times in response, confused. Did this guy really just ask how he met Jackson? So he doesn’t remember. He turned his head back to face the tv and responded. “What did he tell you?”

“You were given to him by an old friend of his” Jinyoung responded in a monotonous tone.

“Did he?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you know who that friend is?”

“Nope.”

“Seriously?”

“Yup. Why? What was his name? Do you remember? Was it Mark?”

Jaebum furrowed his eyebrows and now faced the other fully. Irritation shown on his face. “You’ve got to be kidding right? He just met mark a couple of years ago. he’s not an ‘old friend’”

I think this is the most I’ve heard him talk before. Jinyoung held his hands up in defense. “My memory isn’t the greatest” He let out a chuckle earning a glare. “By the way, did Jackson give you that ribbon? It doesn’t seem like his thing to do.”

Jaebum just shook his head and looked at his wrist with the ribbon wrapped and tied loosed around it. “Someone special gave it to me.”

“And that’s not Jackson?”

“Nope.”

“Then who?”

“The one that called me fluffy when he was trying to pick a name for me” If Jinyoung didn’t click with his memories, Jaebum’s sure he’ll be damned.  

“Fluffy? What kind of silly name is that? C’mon it had to be Jackson to have given you that” Jinyoung said with a light chuckle to earn an even more already irritated feline on his hands.

“You two seriously are the same. But Jackson has better memory than you.” Jaebum said with a huff.

The chuckling had stopped and an eyebrow was raised. “Excuse me, I’ve gotten higher scores in academics than him okay. All he did was just sleep in class.”

“Let me rephrase this then. He’s more sensible than you are. You’re just a complete .”

Jinyoung’s eye twitched with what the other had just told him. “Excuse me? I’m a complete ? How so? You don’t even know me”

Jaebum’s eyes widened from the accusation. “I don’t know you?! You don’t know me obviously. But I know you. Do you not remember me?” He asked, the facade of having a straight face was coming to an end and he knows it. His voice began to raise which startled the male.

In return he earned a confused yet annoyed look. “What are you talking about? I’ve never met you until just the other day.”

The feline felt the pain from his chest spread throughout his whole body as if it were becoming numb. He grabbed the ribbon from his wrist and held it in front of the other male. “I’ve met you when Jackson and you were just kids. You even put this around me because you were my owner.” Jaebum said, eyes watering. If this didn’t smack Jinyoung then he’ll just leave. He’s done.

On the other hand, Jinyoung looked at the ribbon that was held in front of his face. His eyes were glued onto it, examining each and every part of it. His eyes widen from the biggest realization he’s ever made. If the phone call with Jackson wasn’t obvious than this one was a big punch in the face. “You’re kidding. That's not true” Jinyoung asked, his gaze to the hybrid in front of him. “How- what? Jackson would've mention it to me.”

Jaebum looked at the male and just threw the ribbon with the bell at him. When it made an impact against the other’s chest, the bell had fell to the ground; letting out a loose jingle. “I'm going out” the sentence was blunt, cold. The feline got up from his seat and walked over to his backpack, grabbing his wallet and walked out the door with his shoes on, slamming the door shut. He left a dumbfounded Jinyoung who had just sat there, taking in what just had happened.

His appetite was gone once he remembered that he did have a cat when he was younger. The black fluffball he called Jaebummie. “Oh my god” Jinyoung got up from his chair and ran over to his phone, dialing up jackson’s number. A few rings went by until he heard a tired voice on the other side saying hello. “Jackson, I'm an ,” Jinyoung started, going along with the name that the feline had gave him earlier.

“Well, what's new bro? You just realized that now?” The voice had a hint of snark in it.

“Ja- shut up. I'm being serious” Jinyoung said with a flat tone. “Why didn't you tell me?”

“Tell you what? That's you're an overall? Nah, you're actually a great guy.”

“If you were in front of me, I'd beat the out of you” he huffed out and swallowed that lump in his throat. “Why didn't you tell me JB is Jaebummie? My cat that I owned?”

The line went silent for a good moment. “You're ing kidding me right?”

“I kid you ing not you face. Now tell me. Why?”

“I thought he told you when he got to your place or something. He wanted to keep it a surprise or something.”

“Surprise?”

“Yeah, when I told him I had to do something back in Hong Kong and I couldn't take him, I told him to go to you.” Jackson let out a soft chuckle, following a sigh. “He's so cute, I swear. He wanted to wear the ribbon how he did before when he was still in his cat form.”

That explains the choker like thing. “Cat form?”

“You really don’t know?”

“Know what?

“That JB was a hybrid?”

“Why would I know?”

“He never you know- went into a human-like form when you had him?”

“Uh, no..?”

“I'll be damned” Jackson let out a laugh. “After he moved in with me, he was just in his half and half form. But I do remember him saying that going into that form would freak you out. And I think you got your answer when you called me for questioning me.”

Jinyoung went over to where they were eating dinner at and picked up the ribbon, the bell still attached and looked at it. He let out a sigh. It was filled with exhaustion. “Jackson, what am I supposed to do? I don't even know where he went.”

“He’ll come back. When he does, just apologize and hug it out. You know? Give him a pat on the head, he likes those. He also likes to- you know what, you can just find out for yourself. Let him cool his head. The cat is actually a hot head. I'm surprised that you didn't call me sooner if this had happened.”

“You're not helping. But fine” Jinyoung said. The two of them said their goodbyes and that they'll call each other up for a check up on Jaebum.

How could I be so stupid? The male went over to the fridge and took out a can of soda, popping the cap. He never knew that his cat that he owned was a actually a hybrid. Then again though, he only had the feline for a couple of months. Curse the time when he had to move just for his family. Jinyoung felt the guilt wash over him. As if he was just the sand that the rough waves were riding up to shore.  

Nothing had clicked with the male because the hyrbid didn’t look like his cat he had owned from before. Jaebum didn’t have black hair now. Instead it was an auburn color, not black. His eyes were- well his eyes were narrow just like a cats. As he was going over and over, even repeating some thoughts; He just wondered how the hell he didn’t realize it was his old pet. What am I going to do?

---

When Jaebum came back, it was already the next morning. He opened the door slowly to let himself in. Making his steps, the feline saw that the pizza was still out and that there was a can of soda, half empty sitting down on the table. After he took his shoes off, he tossed his wallet on top of his bag and looked up to see a sleeping Jinyoung on the couch; his bed. Sitting up right with his head lulling to the side, mouth slightly agape. Hand holding onto the ribbon. Jaebum didn’t know what was going on by this point.

He had self-reflected when he was out. Realizing maybe he should’ve told Jinyoung that he was his old pet from before he moved to a different city. He shouldn’t have acted like how he did last night. It was selfish of him. The feline just thought that maybe, maybe the human could remember him? Jaebum was sad and felt guilty. He had to apologize. Soon.

The hybrid had adjusted the way the other was sleeping and threw a blanket over him. He sat on the ground and leaned his head back against the couch, his ears lightly brushing against Jinyoung. Even though he was tired, Jaebum had reached his hand out to the other, taking a light hold. Before he knew it, he had fell asleep as well.

The two of them had slept for a few more hours, Jinyoung being the first one to wake up. He felt something warm around his hand and saw another hand on top of his. Eyes looking towards the sleeping hybrid, relief had washed over him. He didn’t have to worry about Jaebum being lost. The male used his free hand and reached over to the other’s head, combing his fingers through the strands of hair. Jaebum’s ear had twitched, but it didn’t stop the combing. A small smile was on the human’s face as he watched the hybrid sleep. He has to apologize when the other wakes up.

When Jaebum wakes up, he nuzzled into the touch of his hair being combed. Eyes opening slowly, he looked to see a Jinyoung looking at him. “Jaebummie” The voice was soft coming from the other. Ears perking from the name, the hybrid lifted his head up from the couch. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I didn’t remember you. I’m sorry that I was being an . I just- I didn’t know” Each and every word that Jinyoung could say was like a moment of time pausing for the other to listen. It caused the other to drop his head, pulling his hand away.

“I’m sorry too. For all the trouble I caused you. I didn’t mean to-” Jaebum continued to look at the other, eyes sad. Both pairs of eyes were sad.
 

Jinyoung sat up, moving his body around and making space for the other. He tapped the space in front of him for the other to sit. The hybrid had obliged and sat on the couch in front of the male. “You don’t have to be sorry. Just next time, tell me it’s you okay?” Jinyoung said with a small chuckle, smiling. This had earned a nod of the head and a small smile back.

Jinyoung leaned closer to the other and started to wrap the ribbon around the hybrid’s neck. “Jaebummie,” he started, tying the ribbon into a bow. The gesture felt like it was a usual thing to do. “I’ve finally found you. Now you won’t get lost right?” It was cheesy to say these words. “I’ll make sure to not lose you again and you’ll be with me forever and ever right?” But when those two made eye contact, they knew it was just a new chapter to begin.

“I think so.”

A/N: I never read a bnior fic with a hybrid au - lol so i decided to just make one. 
       I kinda wanna make a sequel... Take the poll please

       Tell me what you guys think. I'll get to you requests real soon. 

-turtlebum 

p.s.: merry christmas!