Chapter 9

Serpentine

It's been over a month since Josie has arrived and she wished she could say everything was fine but she has been stressed more than she ever was when she was a maid for Sir and Madam. Hojeong, Taehyun, Sungwoon, San, and Moonkyu all tried their best to help their best to help her feel comfortable and she recognizes that but all their attempts have fallen flat. Josie was beginning to think that it just wasn't in her to feel relaxed. It doesn't help that Aideen or Junhyuk have been stressed as well and she could feel it, putting her more on edge. She didn't know how to fix whatever it was that Aideen didn't like about her but apparently whatever it was it was bad enough that Aideen's dislike seemed to bleed over to Junhyuk who had seemed to be the more understanding of the two. They were both so cold to her and would glare at her every time they looked at her.

“What are you doing Josie Posie?” Hojeong said as he poked his head into her room, ears perked up and tail wagging so hard that she heard it hitting the door.

“Nothing, just cleaning up my room,” Josie said as her tail slightly sweeping the floor as she finished making her bed.

“But it's already so clean. How could you possibly make it any more clean?” The puppy asked as one of his ears dropped and he tilted his head in confusion.

“My bed wasn't made and I need to sweep and dust,” Josie said looking at Hojeong with big eyes and her ears pressed to her head.

“You realize that's what we have maids for right? They're paid to clean our rooms,” Hojeong still didn't understand why the little fox was having such a hard time in the house. She kept acting like she was a slave not their new friend. “You need to come with me though, Hoseok hyung is going to take us shopping”

“Shopping? Do we need to go get groceries?” Josie asked as Hojeong's smile dropped.

“We're getting new clothes for my Adoption Day dinner. Why would we be getting groceries? The kitchen staff has the food delivered to us,” The puppy gave her another confused look. He didn't understand why she kept trying to act like a she wasn't a part of the family.

“Why are we getting me new clothes? They already gave me more than enough,” Josie was confused now. She had a full drawer of clothes now, she didn't even honestly know what to do with them.

“Those are casual and you need some nice clothes for dinner. We'll probably get you more to clothes that you like better too. You didn't get to pick your own the last time,” Hojeong came into the room fully and lightly grabbed Josie's hand to pull her out of the room. “But come on! We have to go. Hyung is waiting for us.”

The puppy pulled the small fox all the way down to the front door where Hoseok was waiting with the other boys. Josie hadn't really looked up until Hojeong finally came to a stop and happily greeted the man. Hoseok was smiling down at Josie when she finally looked up and she shrunk in fear when she recognized him as the man that took her from her family.

“Well don't you look like you've been doing much better now,” Hoseok said with a bright smile on his face when he saw the fox. “I'm glad to see you again.”

Josie flinched and hid behind Hojeong as Hoseok reached down to try to ruffle her hair. She was absolutely terrified of the man but she didn't dare run. He might call the dogs on her again. She didn't want to make her stay any worse than it already was. She was scared that he would hurt her if he got the chance though and she hoped Hojeong would be able to protect her.

“Are you still upset with me for having to call the dogs? I'm sorry about that but we had to make sure you didn't run away. We didn't want you to get hurt anymore,” Hoseok said trying to sound as comforting as possible.

“You called the dogs on her?!” San asked with wide eyed fear. “Hyung! Why didn't you just send Sehyuk hyung after her?!”

“We needed to make sure she didn't run away. Sehyuk had just recovered from that sprained ankle too, so I didn't want him to strain himself too early,” Hoseok replied with an apologetic look.

“Hyung! No wonder she's terrified of you! You should have sent someone else to take us! You have to gain her trust back!” San yelled pushing Hoseok out of the door towards the car.

“He's really not a bad guy Josie. He would have never let anything hurt you,” Sungwoon said, coming to place his hand gently on her shaking shoulder. “He's normally really happy and caring, he was just doing his job when you first met him.”

“Yeah! Hyung is the best!” Hojeong said with a bright smile to Josie as he pulled her out of the door and to the large black SUV in the driveway.

San was closing the driver's door for Hoseok and came to open the door for Sungwoon, Hojeong, and Josie. He got in and took the seat in the very back next to Josie before Hoseok started driving them to the store. Shortly after the drive began Moonkyu started up a conversation with Hoseok and Sungwoon and Taehyun went into their own conversation while Hojeong added in his own comments excitedly on the other side of Josie. San leaned in to whisper into Josie's ear so that the others couldn't hear him.

“The same thing happened to me when I came to the house too. That's not what you should judge your new home on,” Josie turned to give the mouse a surprised look.

“You were stolen away too?” San shook his head with a small sad grin.

“I was rescued and so were you. Noona wouldn't have had them take you away from your home if there wasn't something bad happening there. It seems like it's a bad thing right now but I promise you it really isn't,” San's ears brushed up against Josie's as he spoke.

“Madam was a bit hard on me but the rest of the family loved me,” Josie shook her head as her ears drooped down.

“Josie, I think she was more than a bit hard on you,” San said giving her a sad look. “We all saw the bruises on your arms when you came to us. Noona and Hyung just want to help I promise. It's not as bad as it seems I promise.”

When Josie didn't respond, or even look at him, San took out his phone and put in his ear buds to listen to music. The ride was an uncomfortable one for Josie after their conversation and she tried to see her whole experience from San's perspective but she still couldn't understand. Aideen and Junhyuk were nothing but cold to her and she couldn't see how that was any better than the house where everyone loved her except for Madam.

When they finally pulled up to the store Josie noticed that there were a group of employees standing outside ready to greet them. As they approached, the employees all bowed deeply and Josie had a hard time trying to bow to every one of them and keep up with the group. Eventually Hoseok noticed that she was lagging behind and came over to her while she was in a deep bow herself to an employee.

“Josie, you don't have to do that. They're all here to help you today. You're their respected customer, not their inferior,” Hoseok said as he lightly patted her back causing her to jump. “Come on sweet pea, let's catch up to the boys and get you something pretty to wear for the night.”

Josie nodded and scurried away to the rest of the boys, glancing back at Hoseok from time to time with big fear filled eyes. Hojeong smiled at her as soon as she showed up at his side. The pup was always excited but he was definitely looking forward to his first shopping trip with Josie. He wanted to see how she would react to how the employees treated her.

“Are you excited Josie Posie?” Hojeong asked as his tail started to wag excitedly.

“Why would I be excited?” Josie's confused face kind of hurt the pup's feelings.

“Because we're going to buy you things and we're going to have a nice dinner,” Hojeong said as his tail and ears dipped down.

“Hello, thank you for visiting us today. I see we have a new edition,” A female employee stated with a bright smile and deep bow to Josie and the guys. “How can we be of service to you today?”

“Well these five are looking for something to wear for a nice dinner and she's looking for something a bit nicer than children's clothing and also something for a nice dinner,” Hoseok answered with a large smile.

“We would be more than happy to help you with your shopping. Would you like to have the employees that usually assist you?” The employee continued to smile as she asked her follow up questions.

“That would be wonderful. Josie here is a bit skittish so it might be best to have your most gentle employee help her,” Hoseok added as he lightly pat Josie on her head making her flinch again.

“I have the perfect person to help her,” The employee bowed one more time before going back towards the main desk and calling for the employees that would help them shop for the day.

Before long a group of twelve employees made their way to the group. There were men and women employees though two women came directly to Josie and bowed deeply. They motioned for Josie to follow them and she followed sheepishly after some encouraging smiles from the boys. The two women smiled at her as they walked together towards the petite women's section of the store.

“May I ask your name?” The younger of the two women asked.

“Josie, ma'am,” The fox said as she avoided eye contact.

“You don't have to call me ma'am,” The giggle that came out of the young woman helped calm Josie down. “You're very pretty Josie.”

“Thank you,” Josie blushed deeply. She hadn't been told that by anyone other than the kids before.

“So you're looking for something for a nice dinner? Do you know your size?” The older employee asked as they came to a couch in the petite section.

“I don't know. I usually fit into kids clothes. I'm sorry,” Josie responded while staring at her shoes.

“It's fine Josie. We'll find something really nice for you. You can relax here while we pull some options for you,” The older employee said as the two bowed and headed off towards the racks.

Josie cautiously sat down on the plush couch as she waited for the employees to finish with what they were doing. She looked around a bit and noticed that the clothing in the store appeared to be the expensive clothing that Madam liked. There was a lot of clothing with beading and crystals on it with lace and silk and beautiful patterns. There were some clothes that were more geared towards younger girls or less formal occasions but even they seemed to be extremely expensive and made with high quality material. Josie wasn't quite sure why she was there exactly if she were honest. It wasn't too long before the women came back with a rolling rack filled with clothes. Josie's eyes widened at the items on the rack trying to calculate how much they were.

“Okay Josie let's try on the more formal things first so we can try to get them fitted if necessary,” The younger of the two women said as she pulled a few dresses off of the rack and put them into the dressing room. “Do you need any help?”

“I should be okay, thank you,” Josie said as she went into the dressing room.

Josie quickly undressed and put on the first dress. It was lacy and had some small crystals on it. She pulled it over her head quickly and looked at herself in the mirror. It was beautiful but was baggy on her and there wasn't a hole for her tail. She knew that it wasn't made for hybrids but she was still surprised by how badly it fit her. She walked back through the door and went to stand on the small platform in front of the mirrors where the employees were waiting for her.

“Okay we're going to measure you now. I'm sorry if this is a bit uncomfortable for you,” The older of the employees said as she brought out a tape measure from her pocket and started measuring. Josie stood as still as a statue, only flinching when she felt the employees hands around her tail.

“Alright, we'll send this one off to alterations if you want it,” The younger employee said as she looked Josie over.

“Okay,” Josie nodded and headed back into the dressing room to change into the next outfit.

Josie tried on what felt like a hundred more outfits. They went through so many different outfits and fittings that Josie was overwhelmed by the end of their time together. When they finally made their way back to the front Josie was tired and ready to go back to her room. The guys were waiting for her when she got there with cups of iced coffee in their hands and Taehyun handed one her one of her own when she approached them.

“Did you find lots of cute clothes sweet pea?” Hoseok asked.

“Yes sir,” Josie answered in a small voice.

“Don't call me sir sweet pea, just call me Oppa,” Hoseok's smile dropped into a dramatic pout which caused Josie to shrink a bit. “Alright if we're all done then we'll head home.”

Hoseok turned to begin walking out of the store with the group of kids and Moonkyu following close behind, the items that had been purchased in the hands of a couple of the employees that had helped them.As the group made their way out of the doors of the store they heard a very loud argument coming from near where their car had been pulled up by a valet. The employees bowed to them yet again as they left allowing them to see the lady that was arguing with the employees.

“What do you mean the store is closed?! I am a VVIP at this store! How dare you block me!” Josie looked over and saw Chae Young In yelling at the large security guard that was blocking her path. When Young In rolled her eyes they landed on the group.

Josie immediately bowed a full ninety degrees and stopped walking. The boys hadn't really been paying any attention until they saw that Josie wasn't with them anymore. They looked over and saw her in a deep bow and shaking before looking over towards the direction of her bow. They didn't understand why she was bowing like that.

“Josie? What the hell are you doing here you disgusting hybrid?” Young In said in the most disgusted voice she could manage before turning to the security guards. “You closed the store for a group of revolting hybrids?”

Josie flinched and the boys quickly moved to surround her. Sungwoon lightly pulling her up out of the bow while San stood in front of her glaring at Young In. The other boys took a similar stance as Sungwoon and San before Hoseok came to stand in front of them all. He smiled cruelly at the older lady before crossing his arms.

“Chae Young In. Shopping with borrowed money again? I'm pretty sure you learned how dangerous it is to do that,” Hoseok's voice wasn't as sweet and kind as it had been all day.

“Why would trash like you even be here?” Young In asked callously.

“I believe that my coworker told you once before, the only trash here is you,” Hoseok said before herding the group back towards the SUV.

“Who was that Josie?” San asked as he buckled in beside her.

“That was Madam,” Josie answered in a shaky voice.

“She was part of your family? What was her problem? Why did she say those awful things?” Hojeong asked with a disturbed look on his face.

“She doesn't like hybrids,” Josie's voice was still meek and shaky.

“She's a ing ,” San said resolutely making Josie flinch.

“San! Language!” Moonkyu scolded from the front seat.

“Sweet pea, are you okay? She can't hurt you anymore. Do you hear me? She'll never hurt you again,” Hoseok said, turning around to look at Josie's tear filled eyes.

“Thank you... Oppa,” Josie said in a small voice making Hoseok smile a 100 watt smile.

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A/N Hey there guys this is BinguRani, sorry it took so long for this update to come! We've been pretty stuck honestly but finally got a bit of a roll going now.. Have you seen the new comeback from HotShot? Wasn't it beautiful? I only have one complaint and that's that Junhyuk hasn't been smiling in his pictures recently! It makes me so sad because he has such a perfect smile! Junhyuk, my tall baby, I need you to smile for us! We love you! Thanks for reading guys!

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RockabillyHippie

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DO MY EYES DO ME A DECEIVE OR IS JUNHYUK A DRAGON?!

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ann1914
#1
Chapter 9: Hey Rani and Angie! Glad to see an update! Hope you guys are doing well. :)
Aw, Josie is still having a hard time fitting in. Can't say I blame her if the heads of the household give her those glares every time they meet. Perhaps those glares have something to do with what's going on with the chickens hence they can't relax yet? Hojeong though, aw. The pup is trying hard. And wow, San! It's nice to read the other hybrids' backgrounds. Kinda makes me wonder how the others ended up there too. And when they were surrounding Josie at the mall... I smiled when I imagined a mouse hybrid doing a fierce face, hehe. They're so nice though. I know Hoseok means well but he basically frightened her during their first encounter. I'm sure Josie will eventually warm up to him (hopefully). He seems like a nice big brother figure. ^^
St-renaissance
#2
the cover is smashing as well
St-renaissance
#3
wow this is amazing from start to finish.
ann1914
#4
Chapter 8: I feel bad for Jin. He just wants to help, confused as he may be, but he's scared of Aideen.
Ooh, a rival mob composed of chickens? Wait, did I miss something? What's Jungkook and Aideen's relationship? This happy bunny can come visit me instead, haha.
I volunteer to baby sit the kids! Wow, ripping people to shreds as a lovely trait for a husband? Sounds dangerous, omg. I kinda like this Byunjoo guy though, lol.
To be honest, I'm with Josie here. Aideen scares me too. -__- Don't worry, Josie! You can do it!
ann1914
#5
Chapter 7: That part where it went 'from toys and action figures to flat screen televisions and different video game consoles...' I was like, whoa there. That's a cool upgrade! What about for the little ones though? Unless there hasn't been new little ones then I guess just having those makes sense.
A tail as a comfort blanket and for fighting the cold! I want one! <3
Aw, I'm glad that Josephine seems comfortable around Hojeong at least. I can sense that Timo is someone who's meticulous with that clean-cut paper tear (I know, totally random).
I wonder if we'll ever get to know where each hybrid came from/got rescued - maybe in the form of side chapters like the one when Edward and San met (Rain On Me) - or maybe not. Just wondering out loud~
I kept putting off reading this chapter for some reason... I'm sorry! ><