Two more days passed like that: Kyuhyun went to work in the morning, Ryeowook made sure to have lunch ready by the time the other came back to the apartment, they would talk about the task Kyuhyun had made up by then, the rest of the day would be spent calmly either together or with Kyuhyun playing games in his room while Ryeowook did some chores around the apartment or read or tried to figure out more things about his phone.

It was on Thursday in the afternoon that the doorbell rang. “I’ll get it!” Kyuhyun called out and left his room.

Ryeowook, who had been lying on his bed with the door open and scrolling through something on his phone, simply hummed in response until a very familiar scent got through to him—faint but too familiar for him not to notice.

He was up and running downstairs within a heartbeat, just in time to hear Kyuhyun unlock the door and see him open it.

“Hangeng-hyung! Heechul-hyung!”

The other two men laughed. “You should see your faces!” Heechul commented and was lightly hit by his boyfriend in response.

“Hello you two. I hope we don’t come at a bad timing?”

Ryeowook could see Kyuhyun look down on himself and then back up again. “I honestly didn’t expect to see you… Um, Ryeowook?” He turned around and the cat hybrid’s ears perked up. “Would you mind if I go change?”

Ryeowook shook his head. “Of course I don’t mind.”

Kyuhyun nodded, then he turned back to Hangeng and Heechul to bow towards them. “Please excuse me for a moment,” he said and then hurried to go back upstairs.

The cat hybrid stepped closer to the door and motioned for the other two to come into the apartment. “Please come in. I hope you don’t mind that I don’t have anything prepared for you?”

Heechul shook his head with a grin. “Knowing you, I made sure to grab some cookies on the way here.”

“You did?” The older nodded, making Ryeowook beam. “Thank you, hyung!” Without waiting for the other to take off his shoes, he hugged his best friend tightly, then he stepped out of the hug again and closed the door. He waited impatiently while Heechul and Hangeng took off their shoes, then he also stepped closer to hug Hangeng as a welcome.

“You look pretty good. After how reluctant you were to leave, I honestly thought I’d see you in a different state today,” Hangeng observed with a warm smile.

“I’m just glad you two are here now,” Ryeowook replied and looked down shyly.

“But you’re also not as unhappy about having moved out anymore, are you?” Hangeng asked further and Ryeowook opened his mouth to respond, but he closed it again when he heard Kyuhyun leave his room, not wanting to say anything bad about living in this apartment when there was a chance Kyuhyun would hear it. Hangeng, though, simply shook his head. “Wookie, I think you do like it here more than you would let me see so far.”

“That’s not it,” the young hybrid mumbled while still looking down, only looking up again when Heechul ruffled his hair without coming in touch with his sensitive cat ears.

“Then just wait a little longer. If you can smile at me like this, then I’m not as upset anymore with having allowed you to leave.”

Hangeng laughed softly at that remark and Ryeowook was tempted to comment that it had been Heechul, after all, who had pushed him to leave, but he remained quiet.

Kyuhyun arrived at the foot of the stairs and Ryeowook stepped aside a little to give him space, allowing the youngest to bow respectfully. “I am sorry to have greeted you at first in such inappropriate clothing.”

Hangeng shook his head. “Please don’t apologize. You were simply making yourself comfortable after a long day, that’s normal,” he argued gently.

Kyuhyun nodded in relief and smiled softly. “Please come inside.”

“Would you like anything to drink?” Ryeowook asked automatically, earning an amused glance from Heechul.

“You know the answer to that, kiddo.”

The younger hybrid blushed at that remark. “True. Hangeng-hyung, is it tea or water today?”

“Water will be fine. There’s no need to bother making tea,” the older man answered.

Ryeowook nodded, but before he could leave for the kitchen, Heechul retrieved the box with cookies he had mentioned earlier from a small bag. Ryeowook smiled at him thankfully, then he turned to Kyuhyun. “What would you like to drink?”

“Also the usual, please,” the younger answered and Ryeowook nodded once more before he walked into the kitchen to prepare everything. In the hallway, he could hear Kyuhyun asking their guests to come further into the living room with him, then he could hear their footsteps as they walked and started some small talk. Ryeowook wondered if it was always like this when Heechul and Hangeng visited someone—if it was always cheerful, if Hangeng always knew exactly what was going on just by looking at the hybrid whom he had given the chance of a new home. He figured that Heechul at least wouldn’t always bring along cookies.

Once he had arranged said pastry on a plate and their drinks were prepared, he put everything on a tray he had found during one of his many times of roaming through the kitchen and carried everything into the living room, setting it all down on the small table by the sofas.

“Wookie, Wookie~ Before you sit down, will you show me your room?” Heechul asked excitedly and jumped up from his spot where he had been sitting next to Hangeng once the younger hybrid had set down the tray.

Ryeowook looked at him in surprise, then at Kyuhyun. When the other simply shrugged lightly in response, he looked back at his best friend and nodded hesitantly. “Sure,” he replied in the end and before he could react any further, Heechul took his hand and pulled him along.

“It’s upstairs, right?”

“Yes, it is.”

“That’s great! You must have a fantastic view from up there! You guys live so far up already anyway.”

“Well… It’s really just the streets of Seoul…” Ryeowook replied timidly.

“Ah, you’re just downplaying it,” Heechul argued.

They arrived on the top floor and the younger cat hybrid took the lead. He went to his room and stood beside the doorframe, allowing his best friend to enter first, watching Heechul almost anxiously, even though he quickly noticed there was no need to be afraid. Heechul hummed softly in approval as he looked around. “Woah, you weren’t kidding when you said your room is huge…” Ryeowook looked down shyly, not used to living in more luxury than others did—and he knew Heechul had never owned such a big room, making him feel a little uncomfortable. “Will you mind if I snoop around a little?”

“Of course not.”

“Great!”

The younger hesitantly looked up after a moment to see Heechul look around the room just like he himself had one and a half weeks earlier. The older looked into every cupboard he could find, eventually turning around with a look of disapproval on his face, making something inside Ryeowook tighten. What was wrong?

“Seriously, Wookie, you’ve been kept way too short all this time… This place lacks any kind of personal stuff!”

The younger looked down, half-relieved because Heechul didn’t seem to have anything else to nag about and at the same time feeling bad because especially after having seen Kyuhyun’s room now and knowing this would be his home, he knew the older was right: he hardly had any personal belongings that could mark this room as his own. “But I only just moved here… And… I mean, my clothes are here and everything… and the plushie you all insisted on me to get…”

“Still, that’s not much,” Heechul argued and went over to the bed with fast steps. Ryeowook heard the other sit down and when he looked up after a couple of seconds of silence, he found Heechul holding the giraffe, studying it. Apparently noticing he was being watched, the older looked up again and then turned the stuffed animal around so Ryeowook could see its front. “So, does your giraffe have a name yet? And have you already decided on the gender?”

“I even have to decide on a gender?”

Heechul nodded. “Of course! Every animal has a gender and obviously the name should be chosen accordingly.”

Ryeowook went over to his best friend and sat down on the bed next to him, taking the giraffe from his hands to study it thoughtfully for a couple of seconds. “No, I don’t have a name yet…”

“Why don’t we make one up together?”

“Is it really that easy?”

“It can be.” They remained silent for a couple more seconds until Heechul spoke up again, “When you think about this place, what do you feel or connect with it?”

“Huh?” Ryeowook looked up at the strange request.

“Just tell me.”

“I don’t know…” The cat hybrid looked back at the giraffe as he thought about what his answer would be, only answering slowly, “I still feel insecure… But I know Kyuhyun is doing his best to make me feel comfortable and welcome here. He’s not pressuring me into anything, quite the contrary actually. He gives me the chance to try things out for the first time… So I guess I’m also starting to be a little curious about what he might show me next. There seem to be so many things I know nothing about…” He fell silent for a couple of seconds, but when Heechul remained quiet as well, Ryeowook eventually spoke up again, “I want to learn more about this world that I’ve only experienced so little of until now…”

“So it’s hope.”

“Hope?” Ryeowook looked up again to see his best friend nod.

“Of course. You hope to be able to start a new life here, you hope Kyuhyun will keep on being patient with you, you hope to see everything you never have until now, you hope to find out that this place can truly become a home for you.”

The younger hybrid looked at the giraffe again, knowing Heechul was indeed right. “So you suggest heemang as a possible name?”

“I’d rather use gwangmyeong, actually. After all, we’re not just talking about a simple wish but also a version of a bright future that may become reality soon,” Heechul argued.

Ryeowook looked at the toy in his hands and thought about the word for a couple of seconds until he nodded. “Yes, I guess gwangmyeong would indeed fit…” he replied slowly, eventually nodding more firmly and looking up again. “Thank you for helping me find a name!”

Heechul chuckled softly. “Oh come on, it wasn’t all that difficult,” he replied, but he nevertheless raised one hand to gently ruffle the younger’s hair, affectionately brushing his fingers against Ryeowook’s sensitive cat ears as well, caressing them in just the perfect way that the younger had found out Hangeng had had to learn slowly while it seemed to come almost naturally to hybrids.

Ryeowook closed his eyes comfortably, allowing a soft purr to spill past his lips, evoking a quiet laugh from his best friend. “And now there you are, telling me you don’t like skinship… If any of the others could see you like this, they wouldn’t believe a single word we’ve said in the past.”

The younger opened his eyes again, unhappy with what Heechul was saying and leaning away a little, making the older stop what he had been doing. “You know I say the truth when I tell people I’m not comfortable with skinship.”

“I think the actual problem is rather that you’re not comfortable putting trust into people while you’re uncertain if they’ll stay.”

“I guess that’s true in a way—but remember I also took a very long time until I was okay with Hangeng hugging me.”

Heechul thought about it for a moment, then he nodded softly. “True again, I guess that kind of opposes what I said since you could be certain Hangeng, too, would stay in your life.”

Ryeowook thought back to the beginning and to how long it had taken until he had been comfortable enough with Heechul’s boyfriend to not feel bothered by his embraces anymore. That had been long after the point of having realized Hangeng, too, would stay in his life from that point on and also long after the point at which he had started to also confide in the Chinese man and not only in Heechul.

“By the way, I really like your room,” the older cat hybrid said eventually, changing the topic to a lighter subject.

“I thought you said it’s lacking personal belongings?”

“It is. But I see you’ve already started changing that, so I’m sure it’s only a matter of time until this place can turn into a proper home for you and until this place will also look like it became your home.”

Ryeowook nodded softly. “Then thank you… I still think this is too much, though… There’s so much space for only me…”

“You’ll grow used to it eventually,” Heechul assured him with a warm smile and stood up, holding one hand out. “Let’s go downstairs?”

Ryeowook nodded and carefully put the giraffe—no, Gwangmyeong—back to where he usually left it during the days, then he grabbed his best friend’s hand and let the other pull him up. They went back downstairs where Hangeng and Kyuhyun had been talking seemingly comfortably, though Ryeowook could easily sense the youngest was still a little on edge and nervous. He seemed to relax a little, though, when the two cat hybrids re-entered the living room.

“There you are! I was already wondering when you would return,” Kyuhyun said with a soft smile and patted the space next to himself on the sofa, inviting Ryeowook to sit next to him.

“Sorry, Wookie-baby and I still had a few things to discuss,” Heechul replied and confidently went over to the sitting area. He let go of Ryeowook’s hand when they got to the table, walking past it, picking a cookie up on his way as well as one of the two unused glasses of water, then he sat down on the arm rest of the armchair Hangeng was sitting in, leaning back comfortably. Ryeowook on the other hand hesitantly sat down next to Kyuhyun, as always leaving some space between them.

“Don’t you want to sit somewhere else?” Hangeng asked and looked up at his boyfriend, cocking one eyebrow questioningly.

Heechul, who just took the first bite of his cookie, simply shook his head, though. “I’m actually pretty comfortable here. And from what I heard, our Kyuhyun here should be rather used to this kind of sight anyway.”

“Those are rumors, Heechul.”

“Rumors that Sungmin told me Wookie already confirmed,” the oldest one pointed out with a smug smile.

“What are you talking about?” Kyuhyun asked, watching everyone carefully. The younger cat hybrid looked down, instantly feeling like he had done wrong by telling Sungmin that he thought the rumor about Eunhyuk and Donghae was indeed true.

“Oh, he just confirmed what everyone in our shelter already thought anyway—that your sister’s hybrids are having a thing for each other.”

Kyuhyun sighed and leaned back. “Seriously, at some point everyone will know about it… I don’t think those two will ever keep it down.”

“Why should they?” Heechul asked and Ryeowook knew his best friend would be watching Kyuhyun closely, yet he didn’t look up to be certain.

“Because there are way too many people out there who would want to harm them just because of what they feel towards each other. They’re drawing attention already anyway because they’re hybrids. I wouldn’t want them to have to go through anything bad because of who they are and what they feel.”

“Then why don’t you start by being one of the supporters instead?”

Ryeowook’s head shot up at his best friend’s obvious criticism and his eyes widened lightly. That was not the way Heechul should be talking to Kyuhyun! Apparently Hangeng thought the same way because he started to protest. “Heechul—“

“No, I’m serious,” said man cut his boyfriend off. “If you don’t support them, then how are others supposed to do so? Support has to start with one person in order to spread towards others since that’s what people are like. You don’t need to be too afraid about what other hybrids might think since we are prone to simply accept who others decide to pair with. It’s a human-made issue that there are troubles regarding homouality at all.”

“That’s true, but the people my sister and I deal with tend to have a lot of influence. And they’re from an older generation that doesn’t tolerate homouality.”

“Then make them.” Heechul leaned forwards until he could rest his elbows on his knees and lean his weight onto them, lazily swirling the water in his glass as if it was liquor. “Nothing will change if our generation doesn’t speak up and nothing would have changed if the generations before us hadn’t spoken up. We’d still get married off to whoever our parents or grandparents find fitting and set as many babies as possible into this world. But things are changing because young generations speak up. If you don’t do it, then who will? Will you expect your future children to bear the burden of having to speak up and fight for equal rights no matter the ual orientation?” Heechul and Kyuhyun simply stared at each other and Ryeowook didn’t even dare to breathe with the tension in the room. This was certainly not how he had thought these meetings would go!

Eventually, Heechul leaned back. “Think about it, Cho Kyuhyun. And if you can’t speak up actively, find a passive way to make this place a better one for future generations. From what I heard, you’re already opposing your parents to a certain degree, which is good, I think. Make sure to always keep on working towards the direction you’d like society to go. Maybe you can’t change the way everyone thinks, but if you manage to change the views of one single person, that’s already a success.” The cat hybrid looked aside and his eyes grew softer when they met Ryeowook’s. “I know for a fact that there’s one person whose way of thinking you’re changing already, so you’re doing a good job. Keep it up that way. Don’t lose your focus on the world you’d like to see, even if you may never fully see it develop.”

Ryeowook frowned at the sudden change in Heechul’s speech and, glancing at the other two, he could see he wasn’t the only one who was confused.

“Wait, was this a lecture or a congratulation now?” Kyuhyun asked and leaned forward again as well, obviously trying to understand the other’s ways.

Heechul simply shrugged, though. “You decide on that. Just make sure not to forget my words.” His eyes were still on Ryeowook, but eventually they shifted back to Kyuhyun and this time the oldest was smiling softly, before he looked at his boyfriend instead. “Alright, Hannie, is there anything else you have on your checklist?”

“Yeah—learning to understand you and your ways,” Hangeng replied dryly.

Heechul laughed and finished his cookies. “That might take a little too long for tonight’s session, so why don’t we move that home and leave these two alone to enjoy their evening?” He wiggled his eyebrows and Ryeowook could see the sparkle in his best friend’s eyes that revealed he had already moved on from his sincere talk with Kyuhyun.

Hangeng simply shook his head. “Is there even a chance I’ll ever understand you?”

“Oh, you’re doing a pretty good job! So keep it up and don’t trail too far behind me, alright~?” He leaned down to peck the man’s cheek with a daring sparkle as he glanced at Kyuhyun, then he finished his glass of water and stood up. “Let’s go now, alright~?”

Hangeng shook his head lightly. “Whatever, Heechul,” he replied and finished his water as well, then he stood, too, so Ryeowook quickly got up, followed a little more slowly by Kyuhyun. They all went to the front door where Heechul and Hangeng put on their shoes again. Eventually, the oldest cat hybrid turned back to the two people living in the apartment.

“It was great seeing you two again. Keep up a positive attitude, alright? And Wookie-baby, don’t forget why we named your giraffe just now~”

“I wouldn’t, hyung,” Ryeowook replied softly, still unsure what to make of this evening.

Heechul grinned and stepped closer to hug his best friend, then he stepped back to allow Hangeng to hug Ryeowook briefly as well before both of them bowed towards Kyuhyun. “Please have a good night. I’m sorry for troubling you,” Hangeng apologized and smiled a little helplessly.

“It’s okay…” Kyuhyun replied with a careful glance at Heechul, then he looked back at Hangeng again. “I hope you’ll get back home safely.”

“Thank you,” Hangeng replied and before Heechul had the chance to say anything else, he maneuvered the two of them outside, waving once again before he pulled the door close.

Ryeowook and Kyuhyun continued to stand in the silent hallway for a couple of seconds afterwards with the slightly older man being too afraid to make eye contact. “Ryeowook?”

“Mm?”

“Is that normal for this Heechul?”

Ryeowook hummed once again. “It is… I’m sorry for the things he said. I didn’t know these meetings would be like this…”

“So you knew they would come over?”

The cat hybrid gripped the hem of his shirt and nodded softly, feeling uncomfortable especially after what had happened that day. “Kind of… They always do it like this. More or less at least. When we come to Hangeng-hyung’s shelter, he talks to us individually to tell us the rules and a few security concerns. Among those is that he wants us to always memorize his phone number in case of an emergency and that we are to find out about our owners' schedules without saying anything to you all so Hangeng and Heechul can come by for a surprise visit… I’m not even sure if I’m supposed to tell you this now…”

“They don’t want us to know?”

Ryeowook shook his head and wrapped his arms and cat tail around himself. “You see, there are many owners out there who treat us badly. Hangeng already tries to eliminate those from the very beginning, but he nevertheless wants to come over for a surprise visit during our beginning time of being with our owners. There have already been a few cases during my time living with Hangeng-hyung and Heechul-hyung that they brought one of us back home.”

“Ah, I see. So they made this a mandatory meeting that we wouldn’t know about so they can see us in everyday situations and so we wouldn’t have any time to fake anything with how we usually treat you guys.” The young hybrid nodded softly when Kyuhyun summed his explanation up but still didn’t look up until the other called his name softly. When their eyes met, he saw unexpected warmth in Kyuhyun’s. “You did well, okay? I wasn’t supposed to know and I can imagine it’s better this way occasionally. It’s for your safety. So don’t be troubled, okay?”

“But what hyung said—“

“He’s right. If I don’t want Eunhyuk and Donghae to be discriminated, it should be a first step that I will show others that I don’t discriminate them either. Society is changing slowly and we’re living in a part of it that prefers to turn towards old values, but we are its future, so we have to make sure people understand our lifestyle. If we don’t do it, then who else will?”

“But hyung shouldn’t have said it. He should have been respectful towards you.”

“I’m younger than him.”

“That doesn’t matter.”

Kyuhyun shook his head lightly and raised his hand before apparently rethinking his decision and letting it drop again. “You know, you’ve been raised with very good manners, Ryeowook. But I hope someday you will be able to be eye to eye with me. There’s no need for you to feel inferior towards me and I think your friend sensed that.”

“So you want me to be more like Heechul-hyung or Eunhyuk-sshi and Donghae-sshi?” Ryeowook asked hesitantly, diverting his eyes again, but he could still see the younger one shake his head.

“No, not that. You’re yourself and you’re perfectly fine like that. What I do want is that you can eventually become comfortable around me. I’m not saying I’m expecting you to behave around me like you do with Hangeng-sshi or Heechul-sshi, but I do hope you’ll someday be as comfortable around me as you were around the others from the shelter,” Kyuhyun explained in a soft voice.

The cat hybrid frowned, trying to combine everything and create a proper picture with it of what Kyuhyun was thinking about, but so far what he could make was still very abstract, yet it was colored with the warm colors of a promise or maybe a simple hope that Kyuhyun would indeed accept him the way he was.

Even though he knew he’d have to wait longer and get to know Kyuhyun better before he’d be able fully comprehend what he was talking about, Ryeowook nodded in the end. “Okay. I’ll do my best to fulfill your wish eventually.”

“I don’t dare to doubt that you’ll succeed,” Kyuhyun replied with a warm smile and eventually turned back. “Well, it seems like we have quite a lot of cookies left now… What do you think about watching a movie while we eat some more of the cookies and then put the rest away later?”

Ryeowook nodded, grateful that the topic was changed once again. “Okay.”

Kyuhyun nodded and took a step towards the living room, but then he stopped again and turned to the cat hybrid once more. “By the way, what did you two name your giraffe?”

The slightly older man blushed and looked down. “Gwangmyeong,” he answered quietly and in embarrassment without looking up to see the other’s reaction.

“I like it,” Kyuhyun replied after a moment and it sounded like he was smiling, then he turned again and walked into the living room.