Ryeowook got changed even faster than he usually did and already left the changing room again, still putting his water bottle into his bag, when the others hadn’t even entered that room.

“You’re done already?” Taecyeon asked when Ryeowook passed him in the hallway and the cat hybrid nodded.

“Yes. I’ll be off to a New Year’s dinner,” he explained without slowing down and finally closed his bag.

“Have fun,” his colleagues replied.

“Thank you,” Ryeowook called back and briefly glanced over his shoulder to wave towards the others, then he looked ahead again while he hurried outside. He went to the parking lot where the last customers were still bidding each other goodbye. His gaze wandered over the cars until he spotted Kyuhyun’s and walked over to it. Once he was close to the vehicle, he saw the younger man look up and wave towards him, then Ryeowook heard the soft ‘click’ that indicated that the car’s doors had just been unlocked.

The cat hybrid slipped into the passenger seat and put on his seatbelt while Kyuhyun started the engine. “How was work today?” he asked and pulled out of his parking spot.

Ryeowook put his bag between his legs and leaned back. “It was quite boring, I think.”

“That’s no surprise. People tend to spend New Year’s at home with their family instead of going out to eat,” Kyuhyun replied. There was a slightly bigger gap in the traffic, so he could finally pull onto the street.

“Yes, so you’ve said. That’s also why we’re going to your parents’ house now, after all, isn’t it?”

“Exactly.”

“All of your grandparents will be there, won’t they?”

“Yes, they will. The ones you heard about on Christmas are my mother’s parents. My father’s parents have a bit more experience with hybrids, but… it’s more of a social helping service what those hybrids do. It pretty much means that a hybrid comes to their place once a day to help with chores like cleaning, buying groceries, cooking, and all that. From what I heard, some of the first hybrids who turned twenty without having been adopted founded that organization.”

“Oh really? That’s so cool,” Ryeowook replied and smiled, wondering how exactly they had started and quickly coming to the realization that the beginning must have been really tough for them. “Do you know for how long this organization has already existed?”

“I’m not sure, actually,” Kyuhyun revealed and thought about it. “Maybe… seven or eight years? But I think those are just the official numbers, there might have been something like that going on even before the organization has been officially founded.”

Ryeowook nodded in understanding. “That would make sense… I think that was about the second or third year where some hybrids turned twenty without having found a home,” he recalled from what he had noticed at the shelter he had been at during that time without allowing himself to think further about that time. “It’s really cool that people can not only get help like this but that they also get in contact with hybrids this way. Judging from what I’ve seen so far, it might even be nicer to have a hybrid around than another human,” he replied, his voice getting quieter towards the end since he wasn’t entirely sure if he was allowed to say this.

“Oh really?” The cat hybrid simply nodded. “Is it because of what you mentioned, that hybrids don’t really judge others?”

Ryeowook nodded again but also added, “That and that I think hybrids tend to have a gentler nature than humans. I can’t be sure, of course, and there are a lot less hybrids than there are humans and regarding the ways we are raised… If they think like me, then they probably got out of those shelters still thinking they’d somehow have to improve people’s lives, that we have to still do something for your kind. Or maybe it was really just because it was something they’re good at, an easy way to make money. Thinking about it, that one is probably more likely…” He bit lip at that realization, wondering if he had maybe said too much because he assumed it was weird for anyone at all to think like that. There were probably a lot more hybrids who looked at the shelter system in a much more critical and bitter way than he did, he at least knew that Heechul had a much more negative perspective towards shelters than he himself did. He also knew, though, that Heechul had every reason to think that way.

“Is there anything else?”

Ryeowook glanced over at Kyuhyun, catching the other still turning his head to look at the road again. “No, there’s nothing,” he replied and shook his head lightly with a smile.

“You sure?”

The cat hybrid hummed and nodded in response as he leaned back comfortably, focusing on the music that was once again playing quietly in the background. “Ah, I know this song!”

“No surprise, I plugged my phone in again.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Do you like this song?” Ryeowook hummed and nodded, grateful to obviously get Kyuhyun on his train of thoughts as well. “We should sit down together sometime and put some music on your phone so you can listen to a wider variety of songs, if you’d like.”

“Sure, let’s do that. Can we also put the songs you put on my CD on my phone?”

“So you like all of them?” Kyuhyun asked and briefly glanced at Ryeowook who nodded in return.

“Yes, I do. Thank you again, the CD was a really great idea!” The cat hybrid smiled brightly at the other young man to show him his gratitude.

He received a smile back in response. “I’m glad you like it that much. For a moment I had been really worried that my sister’s present might have been better than mine!”

The slightly older man couldn’t help but laugh at that comment. “All of them are really special to me.”

“But whose was the best?”

Ryeowook shook his head. “I won’t say anything about that. I like all of your presents too much to pick just one of them.”

Kyuhyun huffed in defeat. “If you say so…”

The older one smiled to himself and nodded but decided against elaborating his opinion any further because he didn’t want to hurt Kyuhyun’s feelings.

It didn’t take long until they arrived. The moment Ryeowook left the vehicle, his nervousness was back again. Sure, Kyuhyun’s grandparents sounded nice judging by what he had heard so far, but would they also like him? Would they approve of him? What if they wouldn’t? It was nice to know that Kyuhyun’s parents seemed to be more or less fine with him, but his grandparents…

He shook his head lightly and followed Kyuhyun to the front door, trying not to overthink the situation—so far, he had for once managed not to think too much about this meeting and thus not to drive himself crazy. But having arrived now, it was more difficult to remain calm.

Instead, he used the time he had to take in the garden that was probably neat and colorful in spring and summer but now seemed dead in the freezing cold. There were three other cars parked in the driveway, indicating that the two of them were probably indeed the last ones to arrive. And then there was the house… Or was it already a mansion? The building looked insanely huge to the cat hybrid, especially considering there were only three people living on the inside. Even the outdoor design was ostentatious and at the same time strangely elegant, making it obvious that a great architect had created this house. But to him it still seemed a bit too much.

Kyuhyun pressed the door bell and then turned to smile at Ryeowook. “Don’t worry. Like we all said, they’ll love you. There’s literally no other option.”

The cat hybrid smiled back shyly, grateful for Kyuhyun’s cheerful and confident words. “Thank you.”

The younger’s eyes were twinkling while they held their gazes for a moment until the front door was opened and they turned towards it to find Eunhyuk standing behind it. “Welcome you two, come on in.” They did as they were told and Kyuhyun hugged his sister’s hybrid while Ryeowook simply bowed lightly as he stepped in, then they started to take off their shoes and coats while Eunhyuk continued to speak, “Aren’t you two kinda early? I mean, you only got off, like… twenty or thirty minutes ago, didn’t you, Ryeowook?”

The cat hybrid nodded. “Yes, that’s true. But I hurried to get ready and we came here right away, Kyuhyun picked me up from work.”

“Ah, I see,” Eunhyuk replied and motioned for them to come along towards the living room.

“Are Mihye-noona and Ara-noona cooking already?”

“What do you mean with ‘already’? They’ve probably been cooking all day! Or maybe they just locked themselves away in the kitchen to have some girls’ talk, no one really knows.” The monkey hybrid shrugged and Ryeowook suddenly felt bad.

“Do you think I can still help them?” he asked, having wanted to help from the very beginning, but he also realized that this thinking had been naïve because in order to have everything ready for dinner, they’d obviously have to start preparing the meal before 4PM…

“Probably, yeah. Why don’t you ask once you greeted everyone?” the older hybrid suggested and Ryeowook nodded right away.

“I’ll definitely do that.”

They entered a huge living room and Ryeowook couldn’t help but briefly let his eyes wander to take in the luxurious interior. He immediately felt intimidated by it and a tiny bit reminded of the meeting room of one of the shelters he had been in. A cold shiver ran down his spine at that thought and he subconsciously searched for Kyuhyun’s hand, needing a comforting reminder that his time of living in those huge shelters was over for real. White seemed to be the dominant color and the entire room seemed to have been made to emphasize the family’s wealth rather than to actually live in this room, so he figured there would be another living room somewhere in this house, one that was actually used on a daily basis.

Not much more than a second or two had passed while he had taken in the living room and during this time they had walked further towards the others who finally caught his attention as well. There were two elderly couples sitting on two of the chic sofas in the room. Donghae was sitting with one of them while Eunhyuk just got comfortable again with the other elderly couple. On a third sofa, one that held four seats, as Ryeowook observed, Kyuhyun’s parents were sitting, watching them as they entered.

Kyuhyun let go of the hybrid’s hand so he could greet his grandparents and parents, leaving Ryeowook standing between two armchairs awkwardly. He looked down to avoid catching any curious glances, feeling uncomfortable because he didn’t quite know what to do or how to behave. When Kyuhyun was done greeting everyone, Ryeowook bowed towards the circle of the other’s family. “Hello, I am Kim Ryeowook,” he introduced himself politely and straightened again at the same time as Kyuhyun arrived by his side again.

“Ryeowook-sshi, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” the woman sitting next to Donghae spoke up first and the other three elderly people nodded.

“Yes, finally,” the man next to Eunhyuk agreed. “We’ve already missed our chance at Christmas.”

“The pleasure is all mine,” Ryeowook replied and made a note to himself that the couple sitting next to Eunhyuk were the parents of Kyuhyun’s mother. Hopefully he would be able to remember it!

“Wanna go say hi to Ara-noona and Mihye-noona?” Kyuhyun suggested and Ryeowook nodded. He bowed towards the others in the room again before he left with Kyuhyun. Once they were back in the hallway, the latter leaned a bit closer to mumble, “Does something in that room make you feel uncomfortable?”

The cat hybrid bit his lip when he realized that the other had actually drawn the right conclusions after he had taken the younger’s hand. “The room itself, kind of… the way it has been furnished.”

“Why?”

Ryeowook shook his head lightly. “Maybe I’ll tell you about it someday. But right now is not the time for that,” he brushed it off in part because he simply didn’t want to talk about it and in part because he wouldn’t be able to talk about it in just a few seconds. No, that topic would most probably require more lengthy explanations.

“Alright,” Kyuhyun replied and even though the cat hybrid could tell that the other was tempted to ask further, Kyuhyun leaned away again to walk beside him normally. “Oh, in case it helps: the dining room is a different one,” he informed the hybrid next to him.

Ryeowook nodded lightly, relieved but at the same time also wondering if it would be designed similarly because that might still stir up uncomfortable memories.

After leading Ryeowook through a comparably plain hallway, Kyuhyun came to a stand and opened a door on their left. The cat hybrid had been certain that they’d arrive soon because not only the smells of food had gotten through to him but also the soft, familiar noises of silverware clinking against each other and of something being cut as well as Ara’s and Mihye’s voices. When the door to the kitchen was opened, all those sounds increased in volume for a moment until the two women noticed them.

“Kyuhyun-ah, Ryeowook-ah!” Ara greeted them cheerfully from where she was standing by the counter, pushing some meat off a cutting board and into a pan.

“Hey you two,” Mihye also welcomed them, looking up from what she was doing—it seemed to Ryeowook like she was just preparing some kind of sauce.

“Hey,” Kyuhyun replied right away and entered the kitchen to hug the two women in a greeting.

“Hello,” Ryeowook said and followed after the youngest hesitantly, staying off towards the side for the time being to avoid getting in the way.

“Did you get here alright?” Mihye asked further and turned back to the sauce.

“Yes, we did. I’m sorry that it got kinda late.”

“What are you apologizing for?” Ara asked and looked at her brother in amusement while she got a spatula. “If any of us had needed to work, that would have obviously been our first priority as well!”

“True again,” Kyuhyun replied and shrugged lightly. “Is it alright if I head back to the others?”

“Sure, go ahead,” his sister answered and stirred the meat a bit.

Ryeowook stepped forward a little. “Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Sure. We’re a bit behind schedule anyway because someone forgot to bring the groceries I had asked her to buy on the way,” Mihye remarked with an amused side glance towards Ara.

“Yah! If you had just remembered to bring them yesterday, I wouldn’t have been able to forget them in the first place!” the young woman immediately defended herself, making the fox hybrid laugh.

“You’re right. Maybe I just wanted to test your memory then?” Apparently not expecting a reply, she stopped preparing the sauce and turned around instead. “Let me get you an apron, then you can help us, alright?”

“I’ll get out of here then,” Kyuhyun excused himself and left the room, still smiling.

Ryeowook went over to Mihye who roamed through one of the cupboards until she had found another apron. “It may be a little too big for you, but I hope it’ll work for you anyway.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Ryeowook assured her automatically and took the apron to put it on. It was a blue one with white, lacy ribbons at the seam and at the top part, pockets, and two cute teddy bears over his stomach. “It looks really cute,” he observed as he stepped up to the counter.

Ara glanced over and suddenly, a bright smile appeared on her lips. “My grandma sewed it for me when I started to help a lot around the kitchen. I usually always wore it when I came here again and cooked as well, but this year I brought mine from home because I wasn’t sure if there’d be any others and I was certain it would fit you.”

“Thank you very much. It fits really well.”

“It also looks really cute on you,” Ara noticed with a grin.

“Thank you… that’s just because the apron itself is cute, though,” the cat hybrid reasoned.

The young woman clicked her tongue in disapproval. “If you say so?”

Ryeowook hummed and looked around. “How can I help?”

“Could you make a spicy sauce? Eunhyuk and Donghae always claim that it’s not spicy enough when we make it,” Mihye opted and Ryeowook nodded right away.

“Of course. So I can make it as spicy as possible?”

“Pretty much, yes,” the other hybrid agreed.

“Make them regret their complaints about our cooking,” Ara emphasized with a nod and Mihye laughed.

“I have a feeling that’s not exactly possible… The spicier the better for them.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Ryeowook promised and looked over the ingredients he could work with, taking a couple of seconds to see what he could make or how he could vary a recipe. “What meat do we have?”

“We have pork and beef.”

Ryeowook nodded and looked over the other ingredients to roughly figure out what other traditional Korean dishes would probably be made, then he started to get to work.

Ryeowook didn’t realize how much time he spent in that kitchen with Ara and Mihye, fooling around and telling funny stories, until the door was opened and Eunhyuk peeked into the room.

“Are you guys done soon? We’re kinda starving out there…”

“I think we should be done soon,” Ara replied and when Ryeowook looked up, their eyes met and he nodded lightly to show that he, too, thought that way. “If you want to make time pass faster, why don’t you and Donghae go ahead and set the table? You guys can also go ahead and sit down in the dining room, then we should be done.”

“Alright,” Eunhyuk replied and left again enthusiastically. Ryeowook stared after him for a moment, then he burst out laughing.

“What?” Ara asked almost right away, but Ryeowook just shook his head, leaning against the counter to avoid losing his balance with how much he had to laugh.

“It’s just… now I understand why Kyuhyun called them ‘kids’ before I first met them,” he explained once he had been able to calm down.

“Ah, I see,” Ara replied and laughed softly as well. “I guess it’s true that they do act like children…”

“At least it’s just as easy to get children to help around the household as it was just now with Eunhyuk-sshi.”

“That’s true,” Mihye agreed and even without looking the cat hybrid could tell that the young woman was smiling. “I’ll start carrying the dishes over to the dining room, alright?”

“Sure. We’ll help you once we’re done here,” Ara replied and a moment later Ryeowook could hear Mihye take off her apron.

Eunhyuk and Donghae re-entered the kitchen mere seconds afterwards. “The others are sitting down right now,” the monkey hybrid announced and went to the plates. “Will we take the ones with the golden brink again?”

“What silverware should I take?”

“Noona, will we also need cups?”

“What about teaspoons?”

“I’m giving up on you two,” Ara interrupted the questions and stepped away from the stove. “Ryeowook, could you keep an eye on this for a moment?”

“Of course.”

“Thank you,” the young woman said and went over to get the silverware. “Seriously, if I didn’t know any better I’d say that this is you guys’ first time celebrating New Year’s here and not Ryeowook’s!”

“But we’re never in charge of the kitchen so we don’t know,” Donghae reasoned.

“We’re also no good cooks while Ryeowook is,” Eunhyuk aided his boyfriend.

“And last year one of the plates fell down so that I’m not sure if we still have enough of those plates,” Donghae added and when Ryeowook glanced over at them, both hybrids looked like the personification of childish innocence and like they could under no circumstance be expected to help any further.

Ara was quiet for a moment before she spoke up again. “We’ll take the plates with the red pattern around the brink, they fit New Year’s much better anyway,” she decided, then Ryeowook could hear her roam through silverware, probably taking out everything they’d need. “There you guys go. Now make sure to set it all up neatly. And don’t forget that we have quite a lot of dishes so we’ll have very little space on the table.”

“We won’t, noona,” the two hybrids promised and then left the room again, chatting happily.

“They really are a handful,” Ara mused and when Ryeowook glanced up, he realized she was smiling again. “But I love them. I can’t imagine my life without those two anymore.”

“I guess it never gets boring with those two.”

“It really doesn’t. But I’ve gotten so used to having them around… It was a bit too much when they had first relaxed enough to be this way around me, but by now I wouldn't want it any other way.”

“I can imagine. I guess it’s pretty much the opposite for Kyuhyun.”

“Probably, yes,” Ara agreed and laughed softly. “But I know that he’s really happy with you.”

“I know that he is,” the cat hybrid replied quietly and looked down as he finished preparing the salad with a fond smile. “I couldn’t be happier either.”

“You have no idea how glad I am about that. Not only me but all of us—Hae and Hyukkie and Mihye-noona and all the others in my family. No matter what anyone else says, it’s most important that you two are comfortable with each other and happy with how things are.”

“Thank you, Ara-sshi. It really means a lot to me that you think that way.”

“You’re welcome then,” the young woman replied and turned off the stove. “I’m done now, what about you?”

“Almost,” Ryeowook replied, not entirely happy yet with what the salad looked like, but after a few more minor arrangements, he was done preparing as well. “Alright, done.”

“Great! Then come on, I’ll show you where the dining room is,” the young woman suggested and Ryeowook nodded. He grabbed the salad bowl and followed Ara, who carried another bowl, back out into the hallway of the huge house and past a variety of doors until they arrived at an open one from which Ryeowook could already hear the chatter of soft conversation.

Just like he had been taught to do it, he kept his eyes on the food he arranged on the table. He had to go back two more times with all the others until he, Ara, and Mihye figured they had indeed gotten everything they had prepared and there was no more space on the table anyway, even the glasses for their drinks barely fit.

Kyuhyun’s father poured some see-through liquid into small glasses. “None for me please, father,” the youngest was quick to object and a moment later when Mr. Cho changed his grip on the bottle, Ryeowook was able to read the word ‘Soju’ on the tag.

“Ah right, you’re driving. And you’re still responsible.”

“Father, don’t talk to him like that. It’s good that he’s not drinking when he’s driving, everyone should do it like that,” Ara defended her brother softly.

“Then what about you, my dear?”

“I’ll take about half a glass, but I wouldn’t want to drink more either.”

Her father nodded. “Alright, honey.” He continued to fill the glasses and his wife began to pass them around.

Sitting at the end of the table, across from Eunhyuk, and between Mihye, who sat at the head part, and Kyuhyun, Ryeowook was surprised when not only one glass of Soju arrived with him but also a second one. He stared at it for a moment and then at the one already standing in front of Mihye, but before he could consider passing the glass on to Eunhyuk, the dog hybrid put a glass down in front of his boyfriend. Ryeowook glanced over at Kyuhyun who smiled at him and nodded lightly, then he hesitantly put the glass down in front of himself. When everyone else had a glass of Soju—except from Kyuhyun—Mrs. Cho took the bottle and filled a glass for her husband, then she put the bottle down and he stood up with his glass raised in a toast.

“Thank you everyone for coming today, I’m glad all of you were able to make it. So here’s to us and to the latest addition to our family.”

“To us,” the others replied and all of them raised their glasses, so Ryeowook did the same and, since he noticed everyone else drink the clear liquid afterwards, he also raised his glass to his lips.

“Only take a small sip,” Kyuhyun mumbled towards him just in time for the cat hybrid to still follow the advice. Nevertheless, he couldn’t help but grimace at the burning sensation that ran down his throat just a moment, causing Eunhyuk across from him to burst out laughing, barely keeping from spitting out his drink as he did so.

“We all made that expression when we first tried soju, don’t worry about it,” Ara assured him and when their eyes met, her expression was soft and warm. “And in case that helps you make up your mind: we all also passed the rest on.” Her smile became knowing and Ryeowook looked down at his glass for a moment, pondering if he shouldn’t just keep it, but then he figured he really wouldn’t be able to drink it, especially not all of it!

A hand reached out from across him and took the decision away from him. “You can give it to me, Hae and I will share it.”

“Yah, I never consented to that!” Donghae protested immediately and Ryeowook looked up to see the other look at his boyfriend miserably, but Eunhyuk simply shrugged.

“Ryeowook is our dongsaeng, though. We should at least take on our role as his hyungs from time to time. If you tell me you could easily let him keep his drink, you don’t have a heart.”

“Of course I can't do that, but—“

The monkey hybrid clicked his tongue. “No ‘but’, we’re his hyungs and we’re the ones here who are most familiar with him, so we will share the drink.”

“You just say that because you don’t want to drink it alone,” Donghae muttered but he seemed to give in because Eunhyuk grinned triumphantly and looked at Ryeowook again, motioning for the younger to hand over the glass. The cat hybrid did as he was asked, grateful to have passed on the liquor, then he watched as Eunhyuk drank about half of the remaining content, obviously trying to keep a straight face, then he handed the glass over to Donghae who unwillingly drank the rest, grimacing as well. Ryeowook felt a bit better knowing that the other two at least also didn’t take that burning sensation all too easily.

Hoping it would be okay to change the topic, Ryeowook motioned to the sauce he had positioned between Eunhyuk and Donghae. “Ara-sshi and Mihye-sshi told me that you two like spicy things, so they had me prepare your sauce. I hope that one’s spicy enough for you but not too spicy.”

“I don’t think ‘too spicy’ is possible,” Eunhyuk replied and Donghae nodded, immediately excited again.

“Thank you, Ryeowook! I’ll try it right away!” he added and looked towards the head of the table where Mr. Cho was sitting.

The middle-aged man nodded in response. “Let’s start to eat then.”

This time, Ryeowook didn’t wait but instead also picked up some food along with all the others. Since he hadn’t prepared the entire meal on his own this time, there was not really a need for him to be as nervous as he had been the last times. He still took his time to mainly listen to the conversations Kyuhyun and Ara’s grandparents engaged in, trying to find out more about them, but unlike the last times, Kyuhyun immediately involved him in the conversation he was having with one of his grandmothers.

The cat hybrid quickly came to realize that what Eunhyuk and Donghae had mentioned around Christmas, that the parents of Kyuhyun’s mother were quite fond of hybrids, was true because she indeed seemed to be very interested in him and how well he got along with Kyuhyun. Slowly, he relaxed and making conversation felt easier to him. For the first time, he felt like he was really becoming a part of this family. No, he wasn’t just someone watching from the outside, he was actually participating in everything, he had a right to be there, and everyone shared that way of thinking.

“My grandma loves you.”

Ryeowook glanced over to the driver’s seat. He was exhausted from cooking all day and from having done the dishes and from all the social interactions that day had brought, but at the same time a tingling, exciting and also calming ecstasy and a sensation of belonging filled him, making him feel complete. “I think you’re right about that.”

“I guess I can consider myself lucky that I was still allowed to take you home with me!”

The cat hybrid couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh come on, from what I’ve heard, they’re not interested in getting a hybrid anyway, are they? That means there’s at least one hybrid missing out on a lot of love, but I can understand her sentiments.”

“Me too. Lucky me that I’m still young enough~”

“You’re almost too young to own me.”

“True again!” Kyuhyun laughed as well and shifted a little in his seat. “You seemed to be quite comfortable tonight.”

“Well, I already knew most of the people and I had only heard positive things about the others and they were also really nice to me. Plus, I wasn’t the only one who had been cooking, so it wasn’t only my food that would be judged in the end, meaning even less reason for me to be nervous,” Ryeowook explained while he looked ahead onto the nightly streets, only glancing over at Kyuhyun again when the younger spoke up.

“But still, it was really good to see you like that. After how tense you’ve been getting to know the rest of my family, I was glad that you were more relaxed today.”

“I guess it also helped that I mostly spent time with Ara-sshi and Mihye-sshi and that I only sat with people I knew.”

“Probably, yes. And you and Mihye-noona seem to be alike anyway.”

“That’s true.” Ryeowook smiled to himself and continued to think about that evening until his thoughts drifted off to how the past New Year’s celebrations had been and suddenly he realized that he hadn’t even called Heechul yet. “Kyuhyun? Can we visit the shelter tomorrow?”

“Sure.”

“Umm… Just hypothetically and I’m certain Heechul-hyung will protest at first… But could I maybe spend a few nights there?”

The cat hybrid could feel Kyuhyun glance at him, but he continued to stare ahead. “Sure?”

“It’s just that I’ve always spent New Year’s with him these past years and… You see, hyung doesn’t do well when he’s on his own, but Hangeng-hyung is usually in China for New Year’s so he can celebrate it with his family.”

“But won’t Sungmin-sshi and the other hybrids be there?”

“Of course they will, but… I don’t think it’ll be the same to him. I’m Heechul-hyung’s family…”

“He’s a grown-up man.”

“I know…” Ryeowook frowned in frustration because he felt like he couldn’t bring his point across but he also didn’t want to argue about this topic. Having experienced how clingy Heechul could be when Hangeng wasn’t around, he didn’t feel comfortable leaving his best friend alone. Of course there were the other hybrids, but aside from Sungmin, there was no other longtime friend around and Heechul and Sungmin had never been as close as Heechul and he himself—at least during the time that the cat hybrid had been at the shelter.

“Of course you can stay at the shelter until Hangeng-sshi returns. I can tell that it’ll make you feel more comfortable to be by Heechul-sshi’s side.”

“Are you sure you’ll be fine with that?”

Ryeowook glanced to his side again to see Kyuhyun nod in response. “I told you in July that you could still go and see your friends whenever you want to, remember? So far we’ve only returned for you to try out those dishes. Months have passed since you’ve last been there.”

The cat hybrid hummed softly. “I know, but… New Year’s is a family—“

“Ryeowook,” Kyuhyun interrupted him gently and firmly at the same time. “It’s fine. Really. But make sure Heechul-sshi really does want you to stay, okay? He’s an adult.”

“But not really a functional one when Hangeng’s not around,” Ryeowook pointed out with a slight shrug.

“Really not?”

Ryeowook blushed lightly when he realized he hadn’t mentioned that before and that he probably also shouldn’t have revealed that now, but he shook his head anyway. “No. They’re lucky that Sungmin and I have been there long enough to also more or less know how to run the shelter…”

“Oh…”

“And Heechul needs a lot of attention… He’s always been one to like skinship a lot, but I think during those times you can see very well how much Hangeng-hyung really means to him and how much he needs Hangeng.”

“Wow… Somehow… I don’t know, I had thought Heechul was more independent.”

“That’s the image he wants everyone to have of him. But in reality he needs to have us around.”

“Did you learn that during these past years with him?”

Ryeowook hummed. “Then and when you spent that one night in university to continue studying. I called hyung that night and he told me that he felt the same way I do.”

Kyuhyun laughed softly. “So I assume it really wasn’t your free will that you told me that you don’t feel comfortable spending the nights alone?”

The cat hybrid blushed once again. “No… I actually had to promise Heechul-hyung that I’d tell you. He wouldn’t have stayed on the phone with me if I hadn’t promised him…”

“Somehow I’m not even surprised.”

“No wonder, you’re getting to know him as well, after all.”

“It really would be a shame if I didn’t even know your best friend,” Kyuhyun reasoned.

“I don’t know any of your friends,” Ryeowook deadpanned.

The younger man opened his mouth but then closed it again. “Right… We have to change that.”

The cat hybrid couldn’t help but laugh softly. “I’m all up for changing that.”

“Great, then let’s take care of that when Hangeng has returned from China.”

Ryeowook hummed and changed his position a little to get more comfortable for the rest of the drive. This was the best start he had ever had into a new year!

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Hey guys~ I hope you enjoyed this chapter <3

Please don't forget to vote on the poll I included last time or to comment your preference regarding the sequels (because right now the votes are 50/50...)

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and a successful next week :*