“Models?” Jeonghan looked at him, his body tense. What was this short man thinking? What was the use of hybrid models? Even if the hybrid looked like him. Seungcheol wasn’t up to par, even if Joshua showered him with compliments like he did Jeonghan.

The pink haired man nodded. “Yes.” He smiled at them. “I’m looking for models for my new collection. And you two want something from me right?”

They nodded. Seungcheol’s ears were perked up, interested in what he had to say.

He held out his hands. “I want something too. You two would be perfect for the collection. Wild and exotic and y. In exchange for the modeling work you’ll each get one thing from the collection and the commission will be free of charge.”

Seungcheol all but jumped up, ready to shake Jihoon’s hand and say yes to the deal. But Jeonghan pushed him back into the chair.

“It sounds nice but how can we trust you?” Jeonghan was more suspicious of the deal. It sounded too nice to be true almost.

Jihoon laughed, throwing his head back. “You got guts,” he said, still laughing. His skinny body shook as he explained, “I’ll have my people draw up a contract. You can have it looked over and then once we agree, we’ll schedule the shoot and have it. Then talk about what you want for you owner and I’ll hand it over once I’m done. Sound good?”

Jeonghan nodded, ignoring the wolf’s vibrating next to him. Seungcheol was always too excitable, a disgusting trait.

Whipping out his phone, Jihoon said, “Let’s exchange contact info. So we can keep in touch and I can email the contract to you two.”

Jeonghan handed Jihoon his unlocked phone, silently watching as he put in his information while Seungcheol inputted his in Jihoon’s phone. Trusting a total stranger for something like this, on something like this. He smiled wryly, how Joshua changed him. He used to be so paranoid and untrusting.

Taking the phone from the wolf, he tapped in his phone number and email. But still, he had to be alert on something like this. You never knew what would happen.

“You need me to come with you?” Mingyu looked between the two of them, his eyebrows raised. “How did you two even meet Lee Jihoon, the jewelry designer?” He took a sip of his americano, “He’s rather famous and super elusive. He’s like half a hermit.”

Fingers going through his collar, Seungcheol lifted it. “We went back to the store where we got the collars.”

Interrupting him, Jeonghan continued, “We were looking for something for Joshua.” Sighing, Jeonghan’s tail moved in slow waves, as if tired, “Nothing appealed and the owner said he happened to be coming in.”

“We talked,” Seungcheol said, taking over, giving Jeonghan a little snarl for cutting him off, “and we made sort of a deal.”

“Deal?” Mingyu looked curious now, eyebrows raised, eyes sharp.

“We model for his collection. We get each get a piece from it and the commissioned piece is free.”

Mingyu nodded, getting the gist of it. “So, like normal models who get paid with things, except with fine jewelry and not the silver stuff. I got you two covered. I’ll bring my manager along too.”

“Thanks,” Jeonghan said. “And thanks for looking over the contract too.”

“No problem,” he grinned at them, his tiny little fanged canines flashing. “You’re friends now. And Minghao would kill me if I didn’t help you.” He let out a laugh. “And if let you two go in their blind and you got taken, Joshua would flay me alive with his scalpels.”

“He’d be beautiful doing it,” Seungcheol said seriously.

Jeonghan grinned. “Joshua would look amazing. He’s always ing hot when he gets angry at us.”

“You two have problems,” Mingyu barked out with a laugh. “But then again, Minghao looks hot when he gets all angry with me too,” he said, trailing off.

“The anger gets them all y,” Jeonghan said trailing off, remembering the rage in Joshua’s eyes when he bit him on the hip bone. “It’s hot.”

“True,” Mingyu said. “As long as if he’s not seriously angry,” he pouted, “that just gets me the dog house.”

Seungcheol laughed, being the only dog like hybrid sitting at the table. He shuddered though remembering the times Joshua was truly furious with them. Nothing good. “To our rooms without kisses,” he whimpered, ears falling flat.

“He’ll give us nothing but kisses for this present,” Jeonghan said, shoving at Seungcheol. “Don’t jinx it.”

“Hey,” he said, snapping his jaws at Jeonghan.

The two growled at each other. Mingyu sat there looking back and forth wondering when they’d be just a bit nicer to each other.

“Lee Jihoon is freaking famous,” Seungkwan, Mingyu’s manager, said his voice rising. “Like freakishly so. I have no idea how you two got to model for him, but it’s a good place to start if you two are thinking of getting into modeling. It’ll kick start your careers.”

“No thanks,” Jeonghan said.

“No,” Seungcheol said. “I don’t want to do Mingyu’s job.”

Mingyu snickered. “Don’t bother with their future aspirations Seungkwan,” Mingyu said, leaning back into his seat as Seungkwan drove them to the photo studio Jihoon gave them the address for. “Their only goal is getting into their owner’s pants.”

Seungkwan frowned, wanting to move his head but it was dangerous to take his eyes off the road. “That’s rather…”

“Hard,” Mingyu said. “It’s hard since Joshua hyung is very stubborn.”

“I was about to say unambitious,” Seungkwan said evenly, “But to each their own.”

“We’ve heard plenty from Minghao about how you’re gone for periods of time for things. Some of which you can’t take him with you,” Jeonghan said.

“We can’t take Joshua with us considering his job,” Seungcheol said. “Being without Joshua isn’t fun. We haven’t even been a day without him in the same house minus the days we were having out heat.”

“And we won’t ever again,” Jeonghan added.

“Isn’t that rather codependent?” Seungkwan never owned a hybrid before and he honestly didn’t know if that was normal or not.

Jeonghan shook his head. “It’s more like we have lives outside of Joshua’s, but we go home, see him, eat with him, and at the end of the day sleep in the same house. I want to see him every day, have him kiss me goodbye and kiss me good night. I don’t want to be in another city, or another country where I can’t be physically close to him.”

Humming in agreement, Seungcheol explained, “It’s like being so in love that not seeing that person for one day makes you feel like you want to die.” He looked at Seungkwan, who finally managed to glance at him through the rearview mirror, “I spent almost a week without seeing him and I felt like I was dying, symptoms of wanting to screw something really badly aside. I don’t want to go through it again.”

Seungkwan turned his eyes back to the road. “I’ve never been in love like that,” he whispered.

“Sounds like me and Minghao,” Mingyu muttered. “It’s hard being away from him.”

“He comes over to cuddle, to stave off the feeling of loneliness,” Jeonghan smirked. “Wears your clothes I think. Stinks strongly of you.”

“Really?” He perked up in his seat, turning around to look at Jeonghan.

If there was a moment where Jeonghan thought Mingyu looked and acted dog-like now was one of them. He seriously was rather puppy like. How did Minghao deal?

“Really.”

Mingyu opened his mouth to ask more questions but he was interrupted. The car came to a halt.

“We’re here.” Seungkwan grinned. “Time for you two to become models.”

“Don’t cover up his markings,” Jihoon instructed, pointing at Jeonghan, “I want them showing.”

“Eye makeup?” The makeup artist looked at him, her head tilted.

“Make his eyes pop.” Jihoon too tilted his head, “Bring out that gold coloring he has.”

“Got it,” she said, “please come with me this way Jeonghan-ssi.”

Jeonghan stood up and followed, hearing Mingyu trail after him. Seungkwan probably wanted an opportunity to talk to Jihoon and perhaps snag a spot for Mingyu in the future collections.

He zoned them all out as the makeup artist went to work. As he let her put on foundation, Jihoon swooped in.

“Pity,” he said, fingers against his mouth. “You don’t have piercings.”

“You have the ear cuffs,” a voice interjected.

“That’s right,” Jihoon, snapped his fingers. “Good job Chan. Go get them for me would you?”

“Got it,” that peppy voice said.

Jeonghan sat there as hands moved over his face and hair, getting him ready for the photoshoot.

“Here they are,” Chan said.

He sat still as clinking was heard and Jihoon held things up to his ear, head shaking a few times before he settled. “This will be great. Add it to set three of Jeonghan’s outfit. After they’re done we’re doing number one.”

“All right,” Jihoon said, fixing the bedecked necklace on Jeonghan, making sure it showed, framing Jeonghan’s collarbones.

The necklace, Jeonghan thought was a bit heavy, dotted with a myriad of colorful diamonds and other fancy jewels, like the rainbow. The ear cuff he sported was reminiscent of a cat, mildly abstract but a cat, its eyes a nuclear green almost.

Seungcheol was also bedecked in things. Hanging from his ears were a pair of color leaves, a gradient of green jewels, his fingers had on a ring or two.

“Relax and smolder. We want this to be a quiet sort of y.”

“Smolder?” Jeonghan and Seungcheol looked at the photographer perplexed.

“Look at the camera like you want to eat Shua,” Mingyu said from the side. Best way to describe a smolder, or anything to them was to use Joshua. It was something Mingyu had learned early on. Using Joshua as leverage worked well.

“Ahhh,” Jeonghan said, getting the picture in his mind. Predators, he had to look and act like a predator.

“Got it,” Seungcheol mumbled, like he wanted to spread Shua open and have his way with him.

The photographer smiled. “Perfect. Keep giving me that look and we’ll be done in no time.”

Joshua smiled as Jun set down a steaming tea cup in front of him, before the fox plopped down in front of him.

“What brings you hear hyung?” The fox hybrid seemed excited, his ears flicking up and down like strobe lights moved.

Joshua smiled back; Jun’s energy was infectious. “I can’t come to see some of my favorite people?” He took the tea cup, blowing on it gently before taking a sip of perfectly brewed oolong tea.

Chuckling, Jun eyes wrinkled. “Wonwoo’s not home yet, but here you are. It’s something semi-important if you’re here before Wonwoo’s back.” He tapped at his lips, “Not to mention Jeonghan and Seungcheol aren’t here either. Definitely something important and involving them.”

Poker face on, Joshua smiled back benignly. “You’ll know when Wonwoo comes back and we finally talk.”

Jun nodded, knowing that trying to break Joshua’s poker face was too hard and too much to even try and attempt. Best to wait for his beloved to come back home.

The door started to jingle and move at that moment. Bounding out of his seat, Jun rushed to the door, opening it the rest of the way for Wonwoo. “Welcome home!” He leaned in and kissed Wonwoo on the lips before taking his briefcase and gently undid his tie.

Wonwoo returned the kiss, pulling away to say hi. “Hi Shua hyung. What brings you here?” He looked around, “Without your hybrids even.”

“I need some advice,” Joshua said slowly, as if he were picking the right words to say. “I’m unsure about what to do and you’re the best person for this I think.”