Jihoon stared in surprise for a moment, shock taking his entire body over.

Seungcheol watched from the side lines, bewildered and a little upset.

“Mingyu.”

“Hello, Jihoon. Uh, this sounds a little stupid, but… I changed phones back then, and only recently switched on my old phone and got your text. Do you… I don’t suppose you still have my singlet ring?”

Jihoon was frozen for a moment before he could move. “Not sure. Sit down. I’ll go look.” The man plodded back into his bedroom, where he knew damn well where Mingyu’s precious singlet ring sat. He simply sat down on the edge of the bed, and hid his face in both his hands, as a black hole in his chest began to consume him alive.

Mingyu stood awkwardly before noticing the hybrid on the couch: he started, and then he moved to sit on the other couch. “Here boy,” he said, smiling. “Here boy, come here!”

Seungcheol looked at him in vague disdain. “I’m not a dog, you know.”

“…oh.” Mingyu straightened out, putting the roses on the table. “Sorry.”

Seungcheol didn’t react.

“Wow, I guess Hoonie really did move on. Hey, just between the two of us – isn’t it hard to live with him? I mean, he’s so cold. Isn’t it a pain? When we were together, the man was awful. Couldn’t even say I love you. Is he babysitting you, or does he-”

“Jihoon is my master.”

“…right. So, how do you deal with him hating everybody?”

“He doesn’t.”

“Well, okay, but he doesn’t love anybody.”

“He loves me.”

“Yeah, sure he does.”

“He does. I know he does.”

“How?”

“…Jihoon calms me down when I’m scared, saves me when I need him, wakes me up if I’m having nightmares. He pets me and my arms and makes food for me whenever I ask. Jihoon asks a dozen times whether I’m feeling okay. He’d never let me get hurt. He calls me precious. He tells me off when I’ve done something stupid, because he cares about whether I’m okay or not. Jihoon likes it when I’m near, and he gets anxious if I’m gone for a long time or he can’t find me. Jihoon loves me a lot.”

Mingyu blinked in surprise at the passionate hybrid.

“Didn’t Jihoon ever do any of that for you? Hold you and tell you that you’re precious?”

“…yeah, I guess he did.”

“Then he loved you, too. And in return, you broke him.”

The two sat there, staring at each other for a while until Jihoon returned with a small jewellery box, Mingyu’s ring inside. “Mingyu. Here.”

 “Oh, thanks.” Mingyu sprang up, taking the flowers up again. He fumbled a little getting to his ex-boyfriend. “Jihoon… I know… what I said to you last time was wrong. I know I – I was mean and I don’t think I was thinking straight. Having you around was one of the best things I could have had. You know how they say you don’t know what you have till it’s gone? Yeah, that. So I don’t care if you don’t love me. If you can’t. I want you back.”

Jihoon stared at the man whom he’d thought had been his everything.

“Please?”

“…it’s been over a year, Mingyu.”

“I know that, but-”

“I have somebody else now.”

“…what?”

“Somebody who holds me when I’m scared, instead of just telling me to get over it. Somebody who is patient with me. Somebody who actually loves me and wants me to be happy. He is… the most precious person in my life now. So I’m sorry, but you had your chance. You screwed up. You broke me on the inside. Now I’m with somebody better.”

“Oh yeah? Who?”

Jihoon turned his head a little. “His name is Seungcheol.”

The hybrid slowly got up and put his hand in Jihoon’s.

Mingyu had a little rant and rage – how could he, a strong, tall, handsome man – have been dropped for a measly hybrid? But none too soon Jihoon kicked his ex-boyfriend out on his and shut the door behind him, doing up all the locks.

The two waited inside the apartment, listening to the sounds as Mingyu exited the building.

“Master.” The hybrid pressed his face into Jihoon’s clavicle. “Master, master I love you. I love you so much. I love you so much!”

“Shhhh, it’s okay. Did he scare you?”

Seungcheol shrugged. “Yeah. I was scared you would take him back and I’d…”

Jihoon gripped his hybrid tightly, as if the hybrid was the man’s last hope of salvation. “No, baby. No, I’ll never let you go. I’ve said it a thousand times, and I’ll say it a thousand more, if I must.”

“But you loved him.”

“…it’s been a long time since I was with him.” Jihoon scratched behind one of Seungcheol’s ears. “As long as I’ve got you, Cheollie, what do I care about him?”

Seungcheol’s tail began to wag a little.

“As long as my Cheollie is here, who else am I going to need?” Jihoon fettered kisses all over his hybrid’s face, making him giggle. “Who else could I want when Cheollie is near-by?”

“Nothing, I hope.”

“Nothing! Absolutely nothing.” Jihoon gripped his hybrid, kissing him very deeply