Ryeowook entered Hangeng’s shelter while holding on to Kyuhyun’s hand tightly. His heart was beating fast and hard and his eyes were restlessly scooting around. The young cat hybrid couldn’t remember ever having been as nervous in his life as he was on that day.

Years earlier, Hangeng had explained that process to him, that had been at a point where Hangeng had still partly relied on Heechul to help him find the right expressions. They had told him that every hybrid had to have a meeting with a notary on their 20^th birthday. If Ryeowook had gotten it right, they had to sign a document that stated that the hybrid, too, knew that they were free from the system, that no one could just come and take them away for an unclear and unjustified reason. On top of that, the hybrid was free to choose whether they wanted to stay with their current owner or leave—a clause that had only been added in recent years and that he was certain would often be intentionally overlooked by hybrid owners. Ryeowook had understood it as a means of security for the hybrids, still he couldn't help but wonder about the situation of those other hybrids, all the ones who had had their twentieth birthday and had then just vanished from the shelters over night, those who probably never got the chance to be officially granted this freedom. What happened to them? What if police caught them or someone else did and forced them into something? Did they have any option to defend themselves if they neither had an ID nor this form? After all, the twentieth birthday and the signing of this contract was meant to ensure their freedom, Ryeowook had concluded at some point.

But what if they didn't let him sign the form for whatever reason? What if they decided to make him part of the system again? Could they even do that?

“He’s not here yet,” Hangeng answered the unspoken question and even though his smile was warm and comforting, Ryeowook could sense the other was also curious and excited about this day, maybe even a little nervous. It was an important day, after all.

The boy nodded and stepped in far enough that they could close the door, then he took off his shoes, letting go of Kyuhyun’s hand for as long as necessary.

Hangeng led the way into his office where Sungmin and Heechul were already sitting around a small table. More chairs had been moved into the room, making it appear cramped and leaving even less space to move around than usually. Ryeowook gulped because he knew how much meaning there was to the neatly set coffee table with some glasses and small cookies—the sight of which instantly made his stomach twist and turn until he had to tear away his eyes, trying not to throw up. Kyuhyun squeezed his hand and when their eyes met, he gently nodded towards the sofa that just held enough space for two people to sit on. Ryeowook nodded softly, went over to it, and sat down, but he couldn’t make himself relax.

“What would you two like to drink?” Sungmin asked, his voice though calm betrayed his own excitement.

“Some water for both of us,” Kyuhyun answered and Ryeowook could pick up the way his voice trembled just a little, probably unnoticeably for anyone else, showing that even though the younger man appeared to be calm, he was just as unsure about what exactly the day would bring and just as much on edge as Ryeowook himself was.

Sungmin filled both of their glasses and then gently nudged his friend. “Wookie, drink a bit, okay? It’ll help.”

Their eyes met for a moment, then Ryeowook looked at Heechul who beamed at him before his gaze travelled further to the glass in front of him. With a shaking hand, he grabbed the glass and sipped on the cool, clear liquid.

The doorbell rang, making the cat hybrid jump and almost spill his water. He hurried to put the glass down while Hangeng answered the door. Ryeowook heard his friend greet the notary and he felt like his heart was beating even faster than before, the only thing keeping him in the reality and from panicking completely being the hand holding on to him, the thumb that seemed to almost absentmindedly caress the back of his hand until someone cleared his throat. Ryeowook’s gaze focused again and he had to look around for a moment until he saw Heechul had leaned in.

“Wookie? Remember what we told you, okay? The catch questions, tricky wordings… And remember one thing: They don’t know you or Kyuhyun, but we do, okay? So if you’re unsure look at us. We’ll try to help you. When we all walk out of here in half an hour or so, we will all be smiling, we’ll have a nice brunch together and when we let you two go home tonight, you’ll have a fantastic evening celebrating with your family, do you understand?” Ryeowook nodded slightly, gulping against the knot forming in his throat. “Good. Don’t forget any of this.”

When the notary and Hangeng entered the office, the four young men stood up and bowed before sitting down again with the other two. The business man was also given something to drink while he looked into his bag to get out a binder. He looked around in it for a moment before apparently finding what he had been looking for. “Kim Ryeowook and Cho Kyuhyun, am I correct?”

“Yes, sir,” Kyuhyun answered while the cat hybrid simply nodded, unsure if he could trust his voice enough to speak.

The notary took a sip of his coffee while apparently reading through the file or maybe just some notes he had taken, then he looked up and, to Ryeowook’s greatest dismay and shock, straight at the youngest hybrid in the room. “Kim Ryeowook?”

“Y-yes, sir?” Even in his own ears his voice sounded a little high pitched and he could hear the trembling of his words.

The older man smiled and put the cup of coffee down, then he leaned back in his seat, the file still open on his lap. “Tell me what it’s like living with Cho Kyuhyun.”

Ryeowook blinked at the other man, that being a request he certainly hadn’t expected. “Excuse me?”

“I’m sure you heard correctly.”

The cat hybrid’s eyes wavered to Kyuhyun, proving the other was just as confused, then he looked back at the notary. “It’s… It’s nice. I like it there.”

“Do you have the freedom you need?”

Ryeowook simply nodded in response, but the notary gestured for him to keep on talking. “I-I do… I… I have a key and a room… a big one… He allows me to work so I won’t be alone during the days and we can talk a lot and…” The cat hybrid had absolutely no idea what the notary wanted to hear, causing a wave of panic to rush through him that he might fail.

“What if I told you that you can’t stay with him?”

For a moment, Ryeowook could swear his heart stopped beating before falling and crashing into pieces at those words. A different panic started to submerge him, one that had nothing to do with failing but with losing everything he had thought he had worked for those past months. No. No, they couldn’t do that, could they? They couldn’t take him away from Kyuhyun when the other had come to be one of the people he trusted the most, someone who had taken over his heart, someone who had given him a home and a true family. Kyuhyun’s parents were just beginning to accept that he was there, he had learned to get along so well with Eunhyuk and Donghae and Ara! NO!!! Not again!

A glass was put down with a little too much force and Ryeowook’s eyes flew to Heechul who raised an eyebrow at him as if waiting for something that should be obvious, then the younger’s eyes met Hangeng’s who was frowning in confusion, a confusion that stirred something inside him, reminding him there was something he wasn’t seeing, something he should know…

“Kim Ryeowook?”

The cat hybrid glanced at the notary who had said his name and then at Kyuhyun who looked shocked and confused and suddenly Ryeowook understood. A calmness washed away the panic that had made his breath go shallow and eventually happiness and that warm love that he had come to treasure took over its place.

In the end, Ryeowook looked back at the notary with a determination in his eyes that was new even to him. “I’d refuse,” he stated matter-of-factly, meeting the notary’s eyes with a new-found will and clarity. “I’d refuse because you can’t do that anymore. This is my life, the law states that I am old enough to decide over it from this day on, no matter what you say. You can’t put me back into the shelters if I don’t want to go there anymore.”

“Why should you not want to go anymore? The file says you haven’t been too happy to leave in the first place,” the business man replied with a nod towards the binder in his lap, but the question seemed to be rather mandatory than anything else because the man looked content with the answer he had already gotten.

Instead of looking at him any further, Ryeowook’s eyes shifted to Kyuhyun, though, and this time he could see pride and love in them that made him smile. “Because there’s someone who indeed gave me more than I had ever thought I could have or even deserved. A home, a real family, and most of all he showed me feelings I never thought existed or believed I could feel. I learned what it’s like to feel alive and what it’s like to learn how to walk on your own. I never knew there were that many interesting things about me until I met you.”

Kyuhyun’s gaze and the tightened grip on the young hybrid’s hand revealed how much those words meant to the former and that if the notary hadn’t been there, he would have hugged Ryeowook and Ryeowook smiled at those thoughts and the feelings they caused. No, knowing someone this well was nothing to be afraid of, he knew that now—it was something he could cherish, something that gave him an advantage towards others, and something he wouldn’t want to exchange for anything in the world. He had found his home and his luck and he could now proudly say that he loved this young man in the most platonic way with all his heart and that his wish from all those years ago had finally come true; that he had found a real family.

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Thank you to all my sweet commenters, you all really made my day! I really enjoyed your feedback! <3

And also thanks a lot to my dear beta-reader JakeDov for reading over the FF so quickly and for correcting the mistakes I made as well as pointing out when things didn't make sense.

By the way, here's a small one shot sequel to Kyuhyun and Ryeowook because I somehow kept on thinking about Kyuhyun's car accident and, since it would kind of come next in chronological order, I decided to write about it. Since it's not exactly part of the story, though, I decided to include it like this, so if you want to, please feel free to click on the following link to read the sequel: Twenty Percent

Once again thank you to everyone who accompanied me through this story, readers, subscribers, and commenters alike. Thank you for staying with me through this entire story~ <3 And please don't forget to also leave a comment on this epilogue~