The fat was sizzling in the pan by the time Ryeowook added the vegetables. As always, the pan was almost filled to the brim when he added the rice as well—then again, he had to cook for seven people. At least that’s what he called them all. ‘People’.

“Wookie-oppa~!!” Sohyun ran into the kitchen until she came to a stand right behind him. “How much longer are you gonna take?”

Ryeowook turned to look at the teenage girl with her cute monkey ears and monkey tail, smiling at the sight of her excitement. “I won’t take much longer.”

“What are you making~?” As always, the second girl from the shelter, Hyuna, followed right behind Sohyun. The day those two had met, they had become inseparable. Unlike Sohyun, though, Hyuna was a cat hybrid just like most of them. Over the years Ryeowook had found out that cat and dog hybrids were the most common ones while monkey, fox, and bunny hybrids were often considered elite—that was to say, rare and most expensive—hybrids.

“I’m making Beijing Fried Rice the way Hangeng-hyung taught me.”

“Fried rice!!” the two girls squealed and hugged each other.

Ryeowook chuckled. “Yes. It won’t take much longer.”

“Do you want us to set the table?” Sohyun offered, but the young man could see she rather wanted to play some more, so he shook his head.

“No, don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”

“Okay~” In an instant, the two girls had left again, already chatting about something entirely different.

Shaking his head, Ryeowook focused back on the meal he was making. It was only a matter of weeks until both of them would certainly leave again. He was actually surprised they were still at the shelter.

Sohyun and Hyuna were the only girls at the shelter and with twelve and fourteen years respectively also the youngest ones. Sungmin, a cute bunny hybrid who was a year older than Ryeowook, also lived with them, though that was by choice by that point. He had already surpassed the age at which hybrids were usually adopted, so the law said that he was pretty much free to live however he wanted to. Ryeowook didn’t know whether it was out of comfort or because he didn’t want to live alone, but Sungmin had decided to stay with them. Then there was Taemin who was also a cat hybrid. He was only fifteen, so Ryeowook was sure he, too, would find an owner rather soon, especially since he was both very dutiful and very playful.

The last hybrid who hadn’t been adopted was he himself. He, too, was a cat hybrid and nineteen years old. One more year, then he was also free to do whatever he wanted. One more year, then he could be certain no one else would take him… Then again, what could possibly happen now? At first, people had thought he was too young. Then he was in a ‘difficult phase’, as they called it. And then he had started getting too old. He had never been the right age and had always felt out of place, no matter where he had lived. Until his best friend had been adopted and his owner had opened a shelter as well—the one they were staying at now.

The shelter's front door opened, instantly followed by a “Hannie, he’s making your dish!!!” and someone laughing in response. Ryeowook couldn’t help but smile when he heard his best friend’s voice. Heechul was always a little noisy, but Ryeowook didn’t mind it at all.

“Yah, take off your shoes before you enter!” Hangeng called from the entrance area. His demand was followed by a whine Ryeowook was only able to pick up because of his better hearing. A couple of seconds passed by until he could hear soft steps approaching quickly and then he was engulfed in a tight hug including a fluffy cat tail wrapped around his waist.

“Wookie~!! You must love me!”

The younger man laughed softly and looked up at his best friend. “Of course I do, hyung!”

“But Hannie’s Fried Rice is still better.”

Ryeowook rolled his eyes. “Of course it is—he’s the one who taught me how to do it, after all.”

Hangeng entered the kitchen as well, laughing softly at the well-known image of Heechul hugging Ryeowook. The younger glanced towards the door and waved at the only human in the shelter—the one who made their close living together possible. “Welcome home.”

“Thank you. You know I could have cooked as well, don’t you?” Hangeng replied as he came over to them and automatically opened one of the drawers to grab silverware.

Ryeowook shook his head. “You do so much for us already. I’d hate to bother you with this as well.”

“So you keep saying.”

“I can also set the table!”

“How?” Hangeng grinned at him and raised an eyebrow and both of them knew he referred to Ryeowook’s limited moving space due to Heechul’s hug.

The younger man pouted. “You know what I mean…”

“I do.”

Sungmin strolled into the room. “Welcome home~” he greeted the two oldest men and made his way to one of the cupboards to grab plates.

“How was your day, you two?” Hangeng asked.

“It was alright… But nothing really happened… It’s good you’re home now!”

Ryeowook looked up from the pan in time to see a grin on Hangeng’s face that made him frown. “What’s going on?”

“Huh?”

“Something’s going on. Do you have news for us?”

“Maybe~?”

“What is it?” Sungmin asked, instantly catching on to Ryeowook’s questions.

The Chinese man laughed at their enthusiasm. “I’ll tell you when we have dinner, alright?”

Ryeowook nodded, but he already had an idea what Hangeng was referring to: there was a new customer. So nothing that should be interesting for him or Sungmin. When their eyes met, he could see Sungmin thought the same, but he was smiling brightly nevertheless. It meant one of the other three could potentially have a real home soon. Ryeowook nodded lightly to show he understood as he smiled back and then he turned to the food, stirring it once more. Life was good. He was living with his best friend. He had a place where he could stay even after he turned twenty. He had found his home. They both had.

As if on cue, the always hungry Taemin entered the room. “Welcome back~ Wookie, when are you done~?” he asked with aegyo in his voice.

Heechul instantly let go of Ryeowook to hug Taemin instead. Those two were like brothers and it was always fun to watch them and to see how much they, too, had grown attached to each other.

Apparently having heard all the welcomes, the two girls came running back into the room to hug Hangeng and Heechul and within heartbeats the room had turned into one of talking and laughing. Sungmin and Hangeng set the table before they sat down with all the others, talking about their days and about anything else they came to think of. Ryeowook mainly listened while he prepared dinner.

A couple of minutes later, he turned the stove off. “Careful, everyone!” he called out and carried the pan to the table, setting it down in the middle. Out of habit, he filled Hyuna’s and Sohyun’s plates first before he sat down, letting the others fill their plates as well.

When everyone had some fried rice on their plates and had started to eat, Hangeng spoke up again. “Listen up.” The conversations died down and all eyes focused on the owner of the shelter. “In two hours, the Cho family will pay us a visit.” Sungmin and Ryeowook exchanged gazes. Exactly what they had expected. “I don’t think all of you know them yet. They came for the first time a couple of years ago to adopt a hybrid for their firstborn daughter, Cho Ara, when she turned eighteen. Sadly, though, they didn’t find a match here.”

“Is that the famous gay story?” Sohyun blurted out.

“Shush,” Sungmin instantly stopped her and nudged her shoulder, shaking his head when the young girl looked at him with big eyes. “You shouldn’t talk about that when other people are around. How do you even know about that?”

“Taemin-oppa and Heechul-oppa talked about it one day…” the young girl replied innocently while holding Sungmin’s eyes.

Sungmin looked up at the mentioned cat hybrids and shook his head lightly in disapproval, though he didn’t say anything.

Hangeng shook his head lightly as well. “Really, you two hear everything that is discussed in this house, don’t you? Yes, it is that story. Since I don’t know what you two heard,” he glanced at Heechul disapprovingly before looking back at the girls, “Donghae and Eunhyuk are both hybrids whom the Cho family found in the same shelter. Rumor has it that those two are in a relationship that is more than just friendship, but since I haven’t met them personally yet, I don’t know to which extend that may be true. But like Sungmin said, it would be better not to talk about any of that.”

Ryeowook leaned forward a little, trying to make eye contact with Hyuna and Sohyun so he could distract them with a different topic. “Do you know what this means? You can dress up very nicely for this visit.”

In an instant, the two girls cheered up again and they started to talk about what they should wear. Taemin, too, started to wonder about that and they all continued to eat. Ryeowook smiled as he watched the three youngest ones, happy for them because there was a chance at least one of them would find a home that was not a shelter.

Ryeowook enjoyed his food with that thought in mind and smiled when he watched the girls leave first because they were too excited about the visit and wanted to get ready. Eventually, they all finished dinner, put their dishes into the dishwasher, and then left the kitchen. Ryeowook stayed behind, grabbing a cloth and a towel, wetting the cloth so he could clean the table.

“Aren’t you gonna get ready as well?”

The cat hybrid jumped when he heard Hangeng speak up and he turned around to face the older, smiling sheepishly because he hadn’t even noticed the other had stayed behind, but then he shook his head. “No. I should clean the kitchen before I do anything else.”

“I could do that for you.”

Ryeowook shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. You’ve had a long day in town today, I didn’t do much.”

“I bet that’s not true.”

“But Sungmin helped me!” the young man instantly defended himself since Hangeng was right.

The latter laughed softly at those words. “Really, Ryeowook, you should get ready as well.”

Said man shook his head. “The bathrooms are probably blocked anyway.”

“Then why don’t you look for something nice to wear?”

“I can still do that when I finish here.” Hangeng remained quiet and he seemed to think about something. The smile was still there, but the look in the older’s eyes made Ryeowook feel insecure; there was something much bigger in them, a deep care and also sadness. Slowly, the cat hybrid put away the cloth and the towel. “I mean… I can also get ready if you’d prefer me to…” he added slowly.

The older man nodded. “Don’t give up hope, Ryeowook. You’ve only just turned nineteen.”

Ryeowook looked down. “Hyung, we’ve had this discussion already countless times.”

“I know. But it still breaks my heart to see you’re not even trying anymore.”

“Why should I?” He looked up again with a smile that didn’t match the sadness in Hangeng’s eyes. He pushed himself off the counter and instead walked over to the man who had become his close friend. After hesitating for a moment, he hugged him briefly yet tightly before stepping back again and looking into the older man’s eyes. “Hyung, I’m happy here. This is my home. No other place. I have you here and Heechul-hyung and Sungmin-hyung. I know I can stay here, it’s not like before when I had to live in fear of my future. Why don’t you understand that?”

Hangeng’s eyes were searching something in his for a couple of seconds, but when he couldn’t seem to find it, it was the older man’s turn to look down. “I wish you lied to me.”

“Why though? Hangeng-hyung, this is my home. You’re making me feel welcome here. I wouldn’t want to leave anymore.”

“But you should. You should go out there and find love, start an exciting life, go out… Or at least find someone to rely on, someone who will protect you.”

“I have everything here that I could ever wish for. You protect me. You and Heechul-hyung and Sungmin-hyung love me like we are a family. I have a place I belong to and where I can be helpful. I don’t need anything else.”

Their eyes met again and Ryeowook could see how torn Hangeng was between accepting what he said and fighting more to change his mind. In the end, he took away that decision from his friend. “I’ll get ready now as well. Call me if you need anything, alright?”

“Alright, Wookie,” the older agreed eventually and looked down again.

Ryeowook smiled softly, but he too started to feel sad. Why could Hangeng not understand that he felt happy and welcome and that he didn’t want to leave anymore? He didn’t want to have to be afraid of his future again, didn’t want to move once more when he had found people who cared about him and who stayed by his side.

Just like he knew Hangeng wanted him to, he went to his room to get ready, though. He picked out something nice to wear and then grabbed his book to read for another while. When there was only one more hour to go, he went to the bathroom to get ready there, then he got changed and afterwards went to the kitchen to prepare the living room for the guests. He arranged cookies on two plates so they looked nice and prepared napkins and glasses in case they were needed, leaving the drinks in the fridge, though, so they would be nice and cool when their guests arrived. He busied himself with a few more things, hearing Heechul and Sungmin help Hyuna and Sohyun get ready while Taemin talked to Hangeng nervously. He knew if he didn’t get adopted soon, his highest chances of finding an owner would be over and Ryeowook could tell Taemin really wanted to find a different home.

When Ryeowook was done, he looked around, wondering if there was anything he had missed out on, and even though he couldn’t find anything, he ended up walking back and forth between the kitchen and the living room a couple more times, trying to figure out how to make everything even better until Heechul stopped him in his tracks, nearly yelling at him to sit down because he was driving him crazy.

Not too long after that, the doorbell rang. Everyone instantly gathered by the door, the girls holding hands in excitement and smiling brightly, Sungmin standing next to Sohyun, Taemin next to Hyuna and Ryeowook next to Taemin. With one last glance at them and another smile, Hangeng opened the door, Heechul standing behind him to curiously look out. Before the other hybrids could see anything, Heechul gave them a hidden thumbs up, making Ryeowook bite his lip so he wouldn’t burst out laughing before their guests even entered. Somehow, he wasn’t surprised to see Heechul approve of the newcomers.

“Good evening, Mr. Cho, Mrs. Cho, and Mr. Cho.” Hangeng bowed towards the family who had just arrived, so the hybrids did the same, repeating his ‘good evening’. “Please come in.” At those words, the six hybrids straightened again and curiously watched as Hangeng stepped aside.

A middle-aged couple entered first, followed by their son. Ryeowook took him in curiously, looking up his slim figure covered in designer clothes that still seemed comparably casual from what he could tell, going up to a thin face, friendly and curious eyes that had just started taking in the first ones in line, and honey colored, slightly messy hair. He was truly good-looking and Ryeowook figured he would be really nice. At least that’s what he looked like at first glance.

The family bowed lightly towards Hangeng, then they took off their shoes. “Mr. Han, thank you for welcoming us at this late hour,” the older man began.

“Thank you for making time to come by, Mr. Cho, I really appreciate it.”

“I wish we didn’t need to! But my son is having certain difficulties finding a pet for himself.”

Ryeowook kept his face neutral, but glancing to the side, he could see the girls’ expressions change from excitement to disappointment and they moved a little closer to each other. Being called a ‘pet’ was more of a curse word than anything else. It was true, all of them were part animal, but they were also human, hybrids indeed, but they had their own will and mind as well.

“If I had to find a pet, it would be ten times easier,” the man’s son replied in a tone that made obvious they didn’t have this conversation for the first time.

Ryeowook could see Hangeng and Heechul exchange a brief glance that held a lot more information than Ryeowook would ever be able to read, then Hangeng turned back to the Cho family. “Please follow me into the living room,” he changed the topic before an argument could start and went ahead into the room he had mentioned. The others followed him, Ryeowook forming the end of the small train. The cat hybrid remained standing even when everyone else sat down. “May I offer anything to drink?”

“Some water would be fine for all of us,” Mrs. Cho replied.

“Yes, ma’am. Would you like sparkling or still water?”

“Still for my husband and I, please.”

“I’ll take sparkling water,” her son replied and for a moment, his eyes met Ryeowook’s, then the hybrid lowered his head as he bowed.

“I’ll be right back.”

“Please tell us about our options,” Mr. Cho asked still before Ryeowook had left, and Hangeng answered by briefly introducing the hybrids. Ryeowook sighed softly when he entered the kitchen and began to fill the glasses he had prepared on a tray. He hoped he wasn’t mistaken and this couple’s son would be nice! And that he would take Taemin, Hyuna, or Sohyun. At least the parents weren’t looking for a hybrid for themselves, so that was a good thing!

When he returned, he quietly placed the glasses in front of each person, then he put the tray aside and sat down in the free spot next to Taemin. He listened quietly to the perpetually same arguments: Which one would be best suited for an 18-year-old? Which one would be too young or too old, which one might end up being a bother and which one not so? At some point, Sungmin left with Sohyun because she was about to start crying since Mr. Cho found absolutely no arguments for her; Hyuna didn’t seem to be feeling much better.

When things began to become heated, Heechul stood up and bowed towards the Cho family, signaling Ryeowook, Taemin, and Hyuna that they were allowed to leave as well. They all met again in Sungmin’s room where he was still trying to comfort Sohyun, and when the girls saw each other, Hyuna burst into tears as well.

Ryeowook watched the scene, feeling his heart break because he knew as well as they did that they didn’t stand a chance. Maybe they would decide for Taemin, but he hadn’t heard much good about him yet either. As always, he himself and Sungmin had barely been part of the conversation.

After watching the scene unfold for a couple of minutes, Heechul and Taemin left, so eventually, Ryeowook left the room as well. He found himself in the kitchen again, wondering what on earth he could possibly do to make time pass. In the end, Ryeowook decided to go ahead and prepare breakfast for the next morning since he most likely wouldn’t be up when Hangeng left the house early the next day.

A knock startled him. He spun around, expecting to see one of the other five standing in the doorway and wondering why they would knock first – but instead he was faced with a certain young man with honey-brown hair. Ryeowook frowned, but then he bowed. “Can I help you somehow?”

“Maybe? I don’t think I had the time to introduce myself yet—my name is Cho Kyuhyun.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Cho. I am Kim Ryeowook.”

“Ryeowook? Ah, weren’t you the one who cooks a lot?”

“Yes, sir,” the young man replied, surprised to hear the other remember something about him that must have been mentioned briefly in the beginning during the introduction.

“You all escaped the chaos, huh?”

“I suppose so?”

Kyuhyun laughed. “It was a good move!”

“If you’re looking for the others, I could lead you to the rooms,” Ryeowook suggested, figuring that was what the other man wanted.

“The others? What about you?”

“What about me?”

“I’ve heard so much about the others now. About entertainment and female influences and about how it’s good to have a woman in the house and about their abilities. You were up, too, weren’t you?”

“Um… yes, kind of…” Ryeowook took a small step back until he stood right against the counter. “But you haven’t gotten the chance to talk to the others yet and get to know them. So if you’d like me to—“

“What are your specialties?”

“Sorry?”

“I want to know what’s special about you. You cook, what else do you do all day?” Kyuhyun repeated his question more precisely and took a step into the kitchen.

Ryeowook’s cat ears twitched lightly because of the lack of escape options and because at the same time he could hear Hangeng’s tone getting more stressed. Apparently, he wasn’t the only one who had heard that, because one of the doors opened and Taemin was ushered out of the room he had been in. A moment later, Heechul walked past the kitchen, flashing Ryeowook a raised eyebrow in an inaudible question if everything was alright. When the younger simply shrugged, Heechul kept on walking and entered the living room again to be by his boyfriend’s side and be able to support him.

Ryeowook’s eyes flickered back to the young man standing in the same room as he did. “I don’t know… there’s not really anything special about me. It’s mainly Sungmin and I who take care of the household, but everyone helps clean, do the laundry, prepare meals…”

“What else do you do all day?”

Ryeowook shrugged helplessly. “I… I don’t know… I like to sing..? And read..?” He felt his tail wrap around himself in a useless try of self-defense and comfort.

“You sing? That’s cool, I like singing, too! And reading… I have to admit, I don’t have too many exciting books at home, the majority is for university…”

“Ah, that’s fine. Everyone has different interests, after all. Now, if you would—“ Ryeowook tried to get back to introducing Kyuhyun to the others, but the other quickly interrupted him by striding through the kitchen and grabbing his wrist, holding it tight enough so Ryeowook couldn’t pull his hand back just like that.

“Why don’t you come with me?”

“Me!?” The word sounded way too high pitched to belong to him and his heart seemed to skip a beat. No, this was not the way things had been planned! This was not the way any of this should go!

“Yes, you! We’re about the same age, we both like singing, I’ll be out a lot, but we can surely find something for you to do in the meantime! Please, I’m really sick and tired of running around and looking at hybrid shelters and hearing my parents argue about which one would be the best for me. Just come with me.”

“But… the others…”

“I want you.”

Ryeowook’s eyes widened. Kyuhyun meant it. He didn’t want to take Taemin or Sohyun or Hyuna or even Sungmin with him, he wanted to take him, Ryeowook!

“Why?” he breathed out, unable to grasp what Kyuhyun had said.

“I just told you! So come on, let’s tell them and make sure everything gets settled!” Kyuhyun replied with a grin and then turned around, pulling Ryeowook along. The hybrid couldn’t do anything but stumble after the young man, trying to understand what was happening, but with each thought he grasped, his world seemed to shatter into more and more pieces. He was supposed to leave the shelter, leave Heechul and Hangeng! Leave the others when really one of them should be the one leaving!

By the time Kyuhyun entered the living room without bothering to knock first, Ryeowook was in a state of shock. He stared at Kyuhyun’s parents, then Hangeng, and then Heechul, seeing all four of them look back at him in surprise.

“Mom, dad, I’ve made up my mind.”

“Kyuhyun, honey, we don’t—“

“I don’t care. I won’t go to another shelter. Not this month, and not the rest of the year. It’s Ryeowook.”

“But… he’s older than you, isn’t he?” Mrs. Cho replied.

Heechul stood up and walked up to them while Hangeng answered, “Yes, he just turned nineteen last month, ma’am.”

Heechul gently loosened Kyuhyun’s grip on Ryeowook’s wrist and this time, the other man let it happen as he engaged in the discussion. The two cat hybrids quietly left the room and went back into the kitchen instead.

“Wookie? You alright?”

“I don’t know… Hyung, this is not what was supposed to happen!” Ryeowook sat down on one of the chairs, starting to tremble. His eyes were wide and he suddenly felt cold. “I can’t do this. I can’t leave! He should take one of the others! Not me. I wouldn’t be good company!” He looked up at his best friend, hoping to find support—but instead he only saw a comforting smile.

“Wookie, you’re just surprised,” Heechul replied as he sat down as well. He took both of the younger’s hands, holding them securely in his. “I know you didn’t expect this. But would it really be so bad for you to go with him? He did seem pretty nice, didn’t he?”

“Do you want me to leave?”

“Kind of?” Ryeowook’s heart sank as he heard that and he suddenly started to feel sick. Tears burned in his eyes and he tried to pull his hands back, but once again he wasn’t allowed to. “Wookie, no, this isn’t how I meant it. Listen to me: You’re offered a real home now. A proper family. You have the chance to be happy somewhere that’s not here, somewhere where people will stay around you.”

“You stayed.”

“That’s because Hangeng opened a shelter. Listen up, Ryeowook, and look me in the eyes.” The younger obeyed, but he had trouble seeing clearly. “You know Hangeng won’t sign the contract as well if you don’t want to go, don’t you? You know Hangeng won’t force you. You know we will pay you a visit randomly to make sure you’re really doing alright, and you also know you can come back any time if you don’t like it or he’s treating you badly. I’m just begging you, Ryeowook—give it a chance. You know what Taemin would do to get out of here. How could you face him if you let this chance pass?”

Ryeowook looked down again. Heechul was right. He wouldn’t be able to face any of them again if he didn’t do this, the others would hate him for letting this kind of chance pass. “We can talk, right?”

“Of course we can. You still know our phone number and Hannie’s and my cell phone numbers by heart, don’t you?”

“How could I forget them?”

“Good. Talk to us as much as you need to in order to feel comfortable. Don’t think about being bothersome because you’re using his phone, talk to us about anything, alright?” Heechul asked and when Ryeowook looked up, their eyes met. The younger hybrid nodded softly. “Alright then. Are you ready to go in there now?”

Ryeowook shook his head. “I can’t do this… I can’t leave…”

The older shrugged. “Seems like that’s the best I can get. Let’s go then.”

“Hyung!”

“Give him a month. And give him an honest chance during this time. He can be worth it, but you’ll never know if you let this chance pass,” Heechul said and stood up. “Come on.”

Ryeowook followed the lead, feeling sick to the stomach at the sudden change. No, he didn’t want to leave. There was no reason for him to leave a place he felt comfortable at!

He clung tightly on to Heechul’s hand as they went back into the living room. Hangeng and Heechul exchanged gazes once more, then Hangeng turned back to Kyuhyun. “In one week you said, right?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I can have everything ready by that time. I’ll send you an email with the things you’ll need to know.”

Looking over at Kyuhyun, Ryeowook saw a grin on the other’s lips and just then it frightened him more than anything else. “Great, I can’t wait!” He looked at his parents, then at Ryeowook and for a moment, their eyes locked and the grin turned into a smile instead. “I’ll see you in a week, Ryeowook. Give me a call if there’s anything you’d like to know or are concerned about, Mr. Han has my number.” With those words, Kyuhyun turned around and left.

Ryeowook’s eyes flickered to Hangeng and the older nodded with a warm smile to show that he indeed had Kyuhyun’s phone number, then he motioned towards the living room door. “Mr. Cho, Mrs. Cho, let’s follow your son.”

_____________________________________________________________________________

Hey guys,

I hope you enjoyed this chapter~ Please let me know what you think about it!

By the way, if at any point of this story you should have any questions about this alternate university and its rules, please let me know so I can make sure to answer them for you either in chapters, a sequel, or in comments, depending on what I think will fit best :)

Love you <3