Hongbin.

His breathing hitched shortly; He knew that name...!

“Hongbin-ah!” He remembered a voice calling, long, long ago. It was the voice of a child.

He blinked, but he didn't see the room with the man in front of him, but a long, blinding white hallway, where a small boy was running towards him.

Reddish cat-ears almost too big for his head stuck out of his messy hair, and a fluffy reddish tail twitched happily behind him as he jumped, sailing through the air further than any human child ever could and landed on top of him, rolling to the floor with him and eventually pinning him down and biting his ear to let him know he’d won. It didn't hurt, though.

“Hongbin-ah, let's play fetch!” The boy shouted before jumping off him and running off. “Catch me!”

He blinked again and the memory changed. It was calmer, but everything was still bright and white around him. The same boy as before was with him, resting his head on his stomach.

“Binnie… Where do you think the hyungs go when they are done playing?”

“Huh? Back to their rooms, I think…” He remembered himself answering, and the boy shaking his head.

“Hongbinnie~! That's not what I meant! I mean when they are done playing and don’t come back!”

“Oh… Hyung said they go outside… and they learn the letters and numbers and how to run faster and jump higher and be really quiet when they walk so no one can hear them…”

The boy sat up abruptly, taking his hand in his own and tugging at it urgently.

“Let's go learn how to do that already, Bin-ah! Come on, I want to walk without noise and scare the nurses!”

He blinked again, the images of his memories disappearing and the room he was in returning to his focus.

“Hongbin…” he whispered, the name feeling foreign and yet so familiar on his tongue.

His gaze fluttered upwards, catching sight of the man sitting on the floor on the other side of the room, still, chewing on his lower lip as he observed him nervously.

“That… I… It's… my name…”

The man nodded.

“It is…”

He took a deep breath, a foreign feeling spreading in his chest, and something wet landed on his hand. He jumped slightly, realizing then it was a tear. He lifted his hands to his face hastily, bowing his head low and wiping at it quickly, drying the tears away. He couldn't cry!

The man seemed to become nervous, and dread spread in him, drying his tears quickly. He took another deep breath and looked up a little, still avoiding meeting the man's gaze.

“Is that… Will-… will you call me that?”

The man stopped fidgeting, sitting still again.

“If you’d like that, yes.”

For once, he didn't have to think about his answer, nodding quickly in reply before catching himself.

“I… I would. I would like that.” He whispered, bowing his head again and speaking more to the floor than to the man.

The man didn't seem to mind, though, hearing him just fine, too.

“If you want that, then that’s what I will call you. Good night, Hongbin.” The man got up with a smile, taking the tray and leaving the room.

He sat still, staring after him for a while.

Hongbin.

He could think of barely anything else but that name… his name. Finally, he had one… or rather, had his name back. Gratitude flooded him, and yet, he was also wary. He was so thankful he had his name back, more than he would have ever imagined he would be over something so small he hadn’t even remotely thought about not too long ago, but at the same time…

The fact that the man had talked about him to his friends at work… It scared him. Why would he talk about him? Was it true that that friend was a hybrid, too? Why was he working together with hybrids? Was the hybrid even really a friend of his? And why would that hybrid help the man… and how?

He had so many questions, none of which he had a way to find the answer to.

He didn’t remember falling asleep eventually, but he woke up the next morning when the man knocked on his door, bringing in breakfast.

“Good morning, Hongbin.” The man smiled at him, and his ears twitched at that name. It would take a while until he got used to it again, he guessed.

The man placed the tray with the food on the chair, and left. It didn’t take long before he left altogether, heading to his work, and left him alone.

He couldn’t really find it in himself to feel the same relief he usually felt when he was alone, though. Not now that he knew the man talked about him to his co-workers…

He sighed wearily, laying back on the floor and staring at the ceiling. There wasn’t really anything to see there, not even as much as a crack or a spider-web, providing little to no distraction whatsoever.

He might as well eat, and then go and wash himself again… He shuddered at the thought of water touching his body, but he would have to get used to it. There was a time, he remembered, when water didn’t bother him. It was too bad it bothered him now, but maybe, maybe one day he would be able to tolerate it easily again. Maybe even enjoy it.

Today was not that day, he concluded later on, wrapping his blanket around himself and making sure his wet and still hopelessly tangled hair stayed out of the blanket cocoon.

*#*#*#*

Taekwoon made it all the way to his office completely oblivious to the whispering that was going through the company. He sat down behind his desk, starting his computer, keyboard, mixing station and other gadgets and started working as usual. Well, maybe not as usual, because he was actually in a really good mood.

It took exactly 47 minutes after he’d come in before his office door was thrown open and Hakyeon burst into the room, making him jump and slam his hands down on the keyboard, producing a horribly dissonant noise that had him flinch.

“Hakyeon, what in the name of-?!”

“Have you heard the news yet?!”

Taekwoon blinked, unimpressed.

“No. And I don’t have time for gossip right now, I’m about to finish this piece that I’ve been working on for ages, and you are not going to keep me from it when I’m this close to finishing it!”

Hakyeon took a deep breath.

“But-!” He was interrupted by a sharp look from Taekwoon.

“Fifteen minutes. Until then, hush!”

Hakyeon clamped his mouth shut, dropping into the armchair opposite Taekwoon’s desk. He knew his friend all too well to know when he really meant it that he needed silence and knew not to interrupt him. It was hard, though, especially today, but he tried to keep his fidgeting to a minimum as he listened to Taekwoon finding the perfect ending for his composition.

“Want to listen?” Taekwoon eventually asked, and Hakyeon knew it was a rhetoric question and that he would have no choice anyway. He nodded.

Taekwoon played the song, and Hakyeon couldn’t help but be amazed, like always. There was one little part, though…

He waited until the end of the song, for Taekwoon to give him his usual questioning look.

“It’s good. There is one part, though, after that crescendo before the second chorus; the transition seems quite rough.” He answered sincerely, and Taekwoon played the part in question again.

“That part, exactly. The silence is too abrupt, and the pick-up, too. It’s like… a hole in the song.”

Taekwoon played the part again, listening closely, then nodded and started fixing the part. After roughly five minutes, he played the song again in full, and Hakyeon nodded.

“Perfect. Another great composition by the incomparable Jung Taekwoon!” Hakyeon clapped, and Taekwoon rolled his eyes, saving the file in several back-up places, just in case. Finally, he leaned back in his chair, though, focusing on Hakyeon.

“What was so important you came barging in like a tornado earlier?”

Hakyeon sat up excitedly.

“You’ll never guess!”

Taekwoon rolled his eyes.

“I won’t guess. Spit it out.”

Hakyeon huffed, but scooted to the edge of his seat, excited again.

“Raul adopted a dog hybrid!”

Taekwoon blinked, brow furrowing in confusion, and Hakyeon groaned.

“Raul, Taekwoon! The guy you went to the shelter with where you ended up with your cat-hybrid?”

Taekwoon frowned, opening his mouth to protest, but Hakyeon was faster.

“Ok, ok, not your cat hybrid, but you know, the cat hybrid that lives with you now… Anyway! Raul went to another shelter and apparently got a dog hybrid out of there yesterday! It’s the talk of the company today!”

Taekwoon rolled his eyes at his friend.

“I bet… Well, congratulations, I guess. To the hybrid. I hope your friend is up for the challenge.”

Hakyeon chuckled, huffing a little.

“Aye, Taekwoon, the veteran in dealing with hybrids, should know.”

Taekwoon gave him a miffed look.

“You keep making fun, but it’s not as easy as you’d think. Maybe not everyone is as traumatized and difficult as Hongbin, but they’re not just pets you take out of a shelter and everything is well.”

Hakyeon rolled his eyes.

“I know, Taekwoon. I’ve been working with several of them for years now, remember?”

Taekwoon shrugged.

“Our co-workers are different. They are the luckier ones…”

Hakyeon shook his head.

“There are plenty who’ve seen some , too. You just never talk to them. Sungjae alone could tell you stories to give you nightmares, from what he’s heard from others. Speaking of Sungjae! What were you two conspiring about yesterday?”

Taekwoon sighed.

“We weren’t conspiring about anything. Sungjae found out a name for me.”

“A name? What name?”

Taekwoon gave him a blank look.

“Hongbin.”

Hakyeon took a while to understand.

“Hongbin? Who’s Hongbin? Do I know them-… Wait. Wait a minute, hold up! Didn’t you just say that name-… Taekwoon, who’s Hongbin?!”

Taekwoon sighed again, resting his head in his hands and massaging his temples.

“The cat hybrid who lives with me. His name is Hongbin.”

Hakyeon gaped at him, words failing him for a moment. For Taekwoon, they didn’t fail him long enough, though.

“What? You found his name? How-… When?! Yah, when were you going to tell me?!”

Taekwoon slumped back in his chair.

“Yes. Yesterday. Sungjae found it… It’s complicated. For goodness sake, Hakyeon, it’s been a day and I wanted to make sure he’s ok with the name first; will you calm down?!”

Hakyeon pouted, sitting back in the armchair, too.

“Why didn’t you ask me to help you?”

“Because you aren’t an expert in hybrid matters with access to dubious sources to find out classified information.”

“And Sungjae has?”

Taekwoon shrugged.

“Apparently.”

Hakyeon frowned.

“Does Eunkwang know that?”

Taekwoon glared at Hakyeon.

“No. And if he finds out Sungjae is going to find a way to kill us both and get rid of our bodies without raising suspicions. Keep that tidbit to yourself, alright?”

Hakyeon huffed, rolling his eyes.

“Fine…” He sat quietly for a little while, but not too long before a smile curved his lips.

“Hongbin… Hongbinnie, that’s such a cute name!”

Taekwoon shook his head.

“Don’t. No nicknames.”

Hakyeon rose an eyebrow.

“Why not?”

Taekwoon sighed.

“He forgot his name because no one ever used it since he was little, Hakyeon. He only just got it back; now is not the time to start calling him nicknames.”

At least, that made sense to Hakyeon, and he nodded.

“Alright, no nicknames. Hongbin is a cute enough name already, anyway.”

Taekwoon rolled his eyes at him, but got interrupted when his door flew open yet again, startling him again. His eyes widened when he saw his boss standing in the door, too.

“Taekwoon, I’m sorry, I need your help!”

Both Taekwoon and Hakyeon looked at him in worry.

“Eunkwang… What’s wrong?”

“Oh, hi there, Hakyeon… Ah, it’s a disaster, really! Taekwoon, you have to save our asses! Again…”

Taekwoon shook his head.

“Eunkwang, you’re not making sense. What happened?”

Eunkwang raked his hands through his already plenty disheveled hair.

“You know that boy-group we wanted to debut in three weeks?”

“Hmm.”

“My SeeSun babies?! What’s wrong with them?!” Hakyeon shrieked, jumping up from his seat.

“With them, nothing.” Eunkwang waved off. “But… We have no songs for them anymore. Nothing. Nada. Not the tiniest note.”

“What?! Why?! What do you mean?! The album was done, we were practicing the choreography this morning, they have the music video shoot this weekend!”

“Had, Hakyeon, had. The producer… He upped and left, and took everything with him. We’ve been dealing with his lawyers all morning, but it looks like there’s nothing we can do. I… I still don’t understand how he did it, but legally, we can’t do anything about it. We have nothing for SeeSun to debut with. We have venues booked, show spots secured, all the promo in full swing… but not a single song.”

Hakyeon slid to the floor dramatically.

“Do they know yet?”

Eunkwang shook his head.

“Their manager is telling them right now. Taekwoon, I’m begging you, can you help out? I know it’s terribly short notice, but… I’ll give you everything you want, pay you twice your wage, give you a whole month off work when this is over, whatever! Just, please help out?”

Taekwoon was taken aback by the whole situation.

“What… I… I’m not… Eunkwang, I don’t do idol compositions, you know that…”

“I know, Taekwoon; of course I know! But… These idols are different, too, I’m sure you can come up with something for them… In fact, I’m sure you are the only one who can come up with songs that fit them, especially on such short notice! I wouldn’t ask you if I had any other option!”

Taekwoon frowned.

“We have tons of other composers in this company, Eunkwang…”

Eunkwang shook his head.

“I know, but none of them… They compose elevator music, advertisement tunes, I don’t know, nothing of the quality-… I can’t debut SeeSun with some second class hastily written jingle, Taekwoon. It’s not fair on them, it doesn’t do them justice, I need the best for them! I need you!”

Taekwoon sighed.

“Eunkwang…”

“Please!” Eunkwang begged, looking as if he was ready to drop to his knees. “Please, Taekwoon. At least meet the boys, listen to them sing. They have a very unique colour, you’ll see, you’ll be able to fit something for them. Two or three songs, that’s all I’m asking of you. I’ll find someone else in time for their next comeback, but please save our collective asses for this debut!”

Taekwoon rubbed his hands over his face.

“Eunkwang! Let me think about it, ok?”

Eunkwang, who’d been ready to launch into another round of pleading with Taekwoon did a double take, gasping for air for a second, before launching himself across Taekwoon’s desk and hugging him -or rather, choking him half to death.

“Thank you! Taekwoon, you’re not just employee of the month, but of the year! What am I saying, the decade! Century, even!!” He let go, storming towards the door, just to catch himself against the doorframe and turning back shortly.

“Meet us in Hakyeon’s practice studio in the basement at 1!” And then he was gone.

Taekwoon groaned, letting his head thump against his desk.

“He already made the choice for me, didn’t he. I never had a choice to begin with.”

Hakyeon bit his lip nervously.

“Taekwoonie… You should really meet the boys. They’ll fit your usual compositions perfectly, really. They have that whole dark, gloomy, melancholic ballad style… The song you finished earlier, that one would be perfect for them, too!”

Taekwoon shook his head without lifting his head from his desk.

“Hakyeon, I don’t do idol music. I can’t, I’m a flop at that. Remember the disaster I composed in our last year of college? I’m not doing that again!”

Hakyeon got up from the floor, crossing the room to sit on Taekwoon’s desk, poking his shoulder insistently.

“Taekwoon, that was ages ago! You improved by miles since then! It won’t be a flop, I promise. As soon as you hear them sing, I promise you, you’ll fall in love with them and never want to write songs for anyone else!”

Taekwoon lifted his head only far enough to glare at Hakyeon.

“Get off my desk.”

Hakyeon ignored him.

“Come on, Woonie! Give them a chance! They need you! Eunkwang needs you! I need you!”

Taekwoon remained impassive, keeping up his glare.

“Get. Off. My. Desk!”

Hakyeon huffed, rolling his eyes, then lifted his legs and turned where he was sitting, his feet narrowly missing the computer screen, and hopped off the desk on the other side; Taekwoon’s side. A kick to Taekwoon’s chair had it scoot back so that Taekwoon had to sit up to catch himself, and before he knew it, Hakyeon was sitting in his lap, arms around his neck.

“Please, Taekwoonie?”

Taekwoon leaned back, utterly defeated, and gave Hakyeon a dull look.

“Do you always have to get what you want?”

Hakyeon shook his head.

“This isn’t for me, Taekwoon.”

Taekwoon rolled his eyes.

“No. It’s for your ‘babies’…!” He made air quotation marks around the word babies, and got his neck hit for it.

“Yah! I’ve been training them for ages, Taekwoon! They are really good kids, and they don’t deserve this misfortune thrown upon them! They’ve been working so hard for so long, and were so excited about their debut, and now they’re standing in front of their dream in shambles!”

Taekwoon clenched his teeth, not wanting to show Hakyeon how what he was telling him affected him. He didn’t need to, anyway, for Hakyeon knew exactly what to say to affect Taekwoon; they’d been friends for too long for him not to know. He was already as good as sold, against his will.

“Please, Taekwoon. Come down to my studio with me during lunch and try to save those six boys’ dream…” Hakyeon tightened his grip on Taekwoon, jostling him slightly.

Taekwoon froze, his stomach dropping.

“I can’t, Hakyeon.” His voice sounded hollow.

Hakyeon sat up in his lap.

“What? Why?! Taekwoon, pl-!”

Taekwoon shook his head, getting up and dislodging Hakyeon in the process.

“No, I really can’t, Hakyeon! Hongbin…!”

Hakyeon frowned.

“What’s with him?”

“He’s going to be expecting me to come home during lunch. I didn’t tell him otherwise this morning, and I didn’t even leave him anything to eat. I have to go home during lunch, I can’t go see your boys.”

Hakyeon stared at him pensively, yet at the same time pleadingly.

“Can’t you, I don’t know, call him?”

Taekwoon shook his head.

“He won’t pick up the phone. Nor online calls; he’s never even been near my electronics.”

A soft knock sounded at the door, and a second later Sungjae stuck his head into the room.

“Hi, Taekwoon-hyung! Oh, and Hakyeon-hyung! Uh… bad time?”

Taekwoon rolled his eyes.

“If you’ve come to try and convince me to compose for SeeSun, save your breath.”

Sungjae stepped inside the room, closing the door behind him.

“I didn’t, actually. But it’s a ing move, isn’t it? How dare that Thom-… Pom-… whatever dude just leave and pull that stunt on us?! I would love to get him between my claws and rip him a new face for that, seriously! Especially on the boys’ behalf!”

Hakyeon nodded grimly in agreement, while Taekwoon didn’t move at all, staring darkly at nothing in particular while Sungjae sauntered through the room and sat on Taekwoon’s desk, immediately attracting Taekwoon’s dark look.

“But, I actually came to ask how it went yesterday, have you talked with…?” He trailed off, noticing Taekwoon’s look.

“Get off my desk!”

Sungjae got up quickly, looking around himself to find a different place to sit while Hakyeon quickly sat down in the desk chair. Sungjae pulled the armchair closer and sat down, too, leaving Taekwoon the only one standing. With an annoyed sigh, Taekwoon sat on his own desk, given that all his chairs were taken now.

“So, did you?” Sungjae repeated his question, and Taekwoon hummed.

“I did. He remembered the name, and asked me to use it.”

Sungjae’s face lit up.

“He did? Aww, that’s great! I’m so glad! How’s he doing, in general?”

Taekwoon shrugged.

“It’s complicated, I guess. I think he’s starting to get used to talking to me, little by little. He still won’t look at me, though, and maintains a huge distance whenever he can. And as soon as something, even something small, doesn’t go the way he’s gotten used to it in these few days he’s been with me without forewarning, it throws him for a loop. Which is why I can’t just stay here over lunch and check out SeeSun’s skills with you today!” The last bit was directed at Hakyeon, who slumped a little in Taekwoon’s desk chair.

Sungjae hummed.

“Oh, so that was what you two were fighting over…”

“You eavesdropped?” Hakyeon rose an accusing eyebrow, but Sungjae only smirked at him.

“A little. I need to know the tea to clean it up should you two try to get a divorce!”

Before Sungjae could react, even with his cat reflexes, Taekwoon threw an eraser at him, which hit him in the middle of his forehead.

Sungjae frowned, rubbing his forehead, but knew to drop the topic.

“Anyway. Why don’t you send someone to tell him you won’t be coming home until tonight? Just from the front door, doesn’t even need to go in. He’ll be able to hear it, if he isn’t asleep like a stone. Of course, it might surprise him, but if no one comes inside and he’s left alone, all he gets is the information you’ll be home at night at your usual time, and he can prepare himself mentally for that.”

Taekwoon thought about it, then shook his head.

“I didn’t leave him anything to eat for lunch, though.”

Sungjae hummed at that, leaning back as he thought about it.

“But you have food at home, right?”

Taekwoon nodded.

“But nothing cooked.”

Sungjae waved his words away.

“Your cabinets didn’t have locks the last time I checked. And he’s probably explored the house before, so he knows where to find the food…”

Taekwoon shook his head.

“I don’t think he did. The only place he ventures is the bathroom, and he’s peeked into the living room like once.”

Sungjae sat up, denying Taekwoon’s statement.

“Nah. He’s part cat, hyung. We’re curious little monsters. I’m absolutely sure he must have at least checked the perimeter the very first chance he got without you noticing. Even if he didn’t touch anything or left any marks, I bet you, he’s snooped around every corner at least once by now. Especially where the food is! He probably has a secret food stash somewhere, too; just in case.”

Taekwoon’s eyes widened as he listened to Sungjae, remembering the hidden sandwich, and the missing chips as well as the crackers he had given him for that exact purpose. He sighed.

“Ok, assuming you’re right and he knows where to find food or that he has a food stash; if I just send anyone to my front door to tell him I’m not coming back until night, that will still scare him out of his mind. He’s very skittish, trust me.”

Sungjae bounced a little in his armchair as he thought about that.

“Haven’t you mentioned anyone to him so far; any of your friends?”

Taekwoon thought about it quickly.

“You, yesterday. And Hakyeon, when we got him the clothes.”

Sungjae jumped in his seat.

“Oh, that’s perfect! Hyung, did you try on any of the clothes for him?”

“That was the whole reason this big old grump took me with him in the first place!” Hakyeon grumbled, reaching out to poke Taekwoon’s thigh with his foot from where he sat.

“Great! It should be Hakyeon-hyung who goes and tells him about Taekwoon-hyung staying out until night, then. He’ll recognize hyung’s smell from his clothes and will be able to identify him!”

“What?! Me?!”

Sungjae nodded vigorously.

“Yup!”

Taekwoon stayed quiet, mulling it over, but Sungjae’s plan seemed to be the most viable course of action.

“It might work…” He eventually conceded, and Hakyeon sat up in his seat.

“Yah! Is anyone even going to ask me?!”

Taekwoon shook his head.

“You’re adamant I check SeeSun out as soon as yesterday, preferably, right? I’m not going to do it and leave Hongbin alone all day without notice, though. And I won’t agree to anything that scares the daylights out of him; like sending a perfect stranger over to tell him I’ll be out longer.”

Hakyeon frowned.

“I should be there when you watch SeeSun, though! I’m the one who knows them best and has trained them the longest! What about Sungjae, you told him about him, too, and they’re the same hybrid species; that should scare Hongbin less than when a human shows up!”

True, that made sense to Taekwoon, but…

“If I went, you’d have to come with me because I can’t go out alone, and wouldn’t be able to be here, anyway.”

Also true.

“And I’ve known SeeSun just as long as you, and I dare say know some of them even better than you!”

Hakyeon crossed his arms in front of himself, glaring at Sungjae, but Taekwoon only sighed, rubbing a hand over his face before turning to his best friend.

“Hakyeon… please?”

Hakyeon pouted, but not for long.

“You better decide to save SeeSun’s debut for that, Jung Taekwoon. And, I demand a lunch date this weekend; your treat!”

Taekwoon rolled his eyes, knowing he’d won anyway.

Sungjae got up, clapping his hands once.

“Great! I’ll see you in the basement during lunch, hyung! Movies tonight, Hakyeon-hyung?”

Hakyeon glared at Sungjae.

“Like hell…!”

Sungjae sighed, faking a pout.

“You’re no fun, hyung…”

With that, he left.

Taekwoon turned to Hakyeon to usher him out of his desk chair, shooing him to the other side of his desk again, where he sat back down in the arm chair.

“I have a million other things that I need to get done, how am I supposed to keep up…?” Taekwoon sighed, and Hakyeon shrugged lightly.

“You still have until lunch…”

Taekwoon glared at him.

“Are you seriously telling me to get three weeks’ worth of work done until lunch?”

Hakyeon shrunk a little in on himself.

“Oh… Of course not. I thought you meant today…”

“That, too.”

Hakyeon hummed, not moving from the armchair.

“What about you? Don’t you have anything to do?” Taekwoon prompted, and Hakyeon shook his head.

“The other groups I’m training are out, classes aren’t until after lunch, and I can’t work with SeeSun without any music.”

Taekwoon sighed.

“Why don’t you go and tell Hongbin now that I won’t be home for lunch?”

Hakyeon sat up abruptly.

“Now? I can’t just leave, I’m on working hours!”

Taekwoon shrugged.

“Clock out with my card.”

“I can’t do that!”

“Why not? I’m out of the clocking system, no one will check.”

Hakyeon sunk back into the chair.

“You won’t give up, will you?”

Taekwoon shook his head.

“Neither will you, ever. So, are you going?”

Hakyeon sighed, stretching his hand out towards Taekwoon.

“Your card, please.”

Taekwoon fished it out of his desk drawer, but then halted.

“You know what you’re doing, right?”

Hakyeon rolled his eyes.

“Of course I do!”

Taekwoon still hesitated.

“You can’t go in… You’ll have to stay in the hallway and talk through the front door… Maybe speak a little louder, so he definitely hears you, but don’t shout. And don’t expect an answer; he won’t give you one.”

“I am aware.”

“And… You’ll have to prove who you are, but I don’t remember if I told him your name… He just knows you as the friend I went clothes shopping for him with. So, introduce yourself as that one.”

Hakyeon mock saluted, then held his hand out again. Taekwoon wasn’t done yet, though.

“And when you tell him I’m coming home later-…. Ah, damn. I don’t know if he remembers my name…”

Hakyeon blinked confusedly.

“He doesn’t know your name?!” He asked, incredulous, and Taekwoon gave him an impatient look.

“I don’t know if he does! I told him, but he might have been too distracted then to remember. So he might not know. … You’ll have to make him understand somehow that it’s me you’re talking about… And he won’t believe you anything you say unless you can prove yourself in some way… Like… Call him by his name, he should understand that not many people would know it. And reference something inside the apartment that only he and I should know of, like… Oh, you’ll have to tell him where to find food! Tell him I said he can have the leftover chicken-rice in the fridge, and that there are more of the crackers I bought him the other day in the cabinet over the sink!”

Hakyeon nodded in understanding, but sighed.

“Aren’t you being a little too thorough?”

Taekwoon shot him an annoyed look.

“Nothing is too thorough when it comes to Hongbin! Speaking off, you can’t just tell him I’ll be home later. That’s too vague, you have to specify and say I’ll be home at my usual time. Then he will know what to expect.”

Hakyeon nodded, looking as if he was starting to get a headache.

“Alright. Will do.”

Taekwoon nodded, slowly handing Hakyeon his card.

“Remember, you really can’t go inside the apartment, ok? I’m still trying to make him understand that that’s a safe space, that there is nothing he has to fear there. Someone who’s a stranger to him coming in would be really counterproductive…”

“I am aware, Taekwoon. It made sense why I should stay out the first time it was mentioned.”

Taekwoon flinched.

“I’m sorry. I’m just worried.”

“I know, and you’re, like, best-roommate-of-a-traumatized-hybrid of the year, but you can trust me. I’ll do everything in my power not to scare Hongbin and leave him as reassured as possible.”

Taekwoon sighed, reaching into his coat pocket and taking out his car keys.

“Ok. Take my car…”

Hakyeon took the keys from him and leaned over the desk just enough to ruffle Taekwoon’s hair.

“Thanks, boo! I’ll see you later!”

Taekwoon grumbled to himself, sorting his hair as he watched Hakyeon skip to the door.

“Drive safely, will you! Speed limits are laws, not suggestions!”

Hakyeon rolled his eyes so hard he almost walked into the door.

“I know, mother!”

A balled up sheet of paper fell uselessly to the ground where Hakyeon had been standing just a fraction of a second ago.

*#*#*#*

He was on the brink of dozing off when a noise startled him, making him jump and sit up quickly. The noise sounded again, and he realized it was the sound of someone knocking on a door. Not his door, though, but… The front door?!

His heartbeat picked up speed and he untangled the blanket from around himself, scrambling to his feet and hurrying to his door to find out what was going on.

“Uhm, hi, Hongbin, can you hear me?” A voice he’d never heard before called out, and he paled, gripping his doorframe tightly. How did whoever that was know his name?!

“My name is Hakyeon, I’m a friend of Taekwoon’s; I’m the one who went with him to pick out the clothes for you… He might have told you about me.”

Taekwoon? Who was Taekwoon? Wait… he vaguely recalled the man using that name days ago… Was that the man’s name? It could be. And this stranger was his friend? He remembered the man telling him he’d gone with a friend to buy the clothes for him…

“I’ve come to tell you that Taekwoon won’t have time to come home today during lunch because of an emergency at the company; but he’ll be home tonight, like usual.”

He frowned. An emergency? What kind of company did the man work for?

“He asked me to come over and tell you so you won’t be waiting in vain for him to come home. Also, to tell you you can eat whatever you want from the kitchen. He said there is leftover chicken rice in the fridge, if you want that, and more of the crackers he gave you the other day in the cabinet over the sink, but you can eat whatever you want.”

He bit his lip. He would have to go look for the food himself? Was that ok? Was the stranger telling the truth? Wouldn’t the man get mad at him if he went and ate whatever he wanted? What if he ate something he wasn’t supposed to? But then again, how could the stranger know they’d had chicken rice the night before if the man hadn’t told him? Or where the man stored the snacks? The man must have told him these things, which meant he’d probably really sent him to tell him that. But could he dare and actually go out to the kitchen and take food for himself?

“Uhm… Taekwoon is sorry he can’t come and cook real lunch for you today, Hongbin, but he’ll make up for it tonight, I’m sure. And… Since it’s partly my fault he can’t come home until later, I’m sorry, too. I hope you won’t be mad at me.”

His eyes widened; him, being mad at someone? At a stranger he knew nothing about? How?!

“Anyway, I have to go back to work, too… I… I hope you could hear me and what I was told to tell you… Taekwoon was really worried about leaving you alone all day without notice. Don’t be mad at him, either, ok?”

He gaped at that; why would he be mad at the man for not coming home? He didn’t have a right to expect anything from the man, why would he be mad? Especially since the man not being home meant he couldn’t hurt him all of a sudden if he chose to; he definitely couldn’t be mad about that!

“Well, then… That’s all… I’m going… Bye, Hongbin…”

He tilted his head, listening intently, and really; there were footsteps leading away from the front door, and then the dinging of an elevator in the distance. The stranger was leaving, like he’d said.

Still, he kept listening for any telltale noises for a little while longer, but nothing happened. Exhaling slowly, he walked back to his corner with the blanket and sat down. That had been strange… But was that stranger really telling the truth? Would the man not be home for lunch?

He looked outside, trying to guess the height of the sun on the sky through the thick layer of clouds. It might be close to lunch-time already…

He decided to wait and see, sitting quietly in his corner, but nothing happened. Lunch time came and went, but the man didn’t.

His stomach protested as the afternoon progressed, and he winced. He’d gotten so used to regular meals that missing one was already uncomfortable.

But…

There was food in the kitchen. And he’d been told he could have it. In fact, the man had told him before he could get whatever he wanted from the kitchen.

He chewed on his lip worriedly; should he try it, see for himself if the man had really meant it? If he went and took something, the man could get mad as well as he could be indifferent. He’d been telling him the truth so far, and whenever he’d told him he could do something and he did it, he’d never suffered negative consequences… So far.

On the other hand, if he went and ate something the man hadn’t given him specifically, that could lead to the man stopping to give him food altogether. He’d had that happening to him before…

But back then, the whole situation was different. His owners back then had been different, never allowing him anywhere near as much as this one did from the very start. So maybe, maybe he could risk it here. If he was wrong… He’d survived before, he might survive again.

It took a little while longer before his resolve was set and he ventured out of his room, to the kitchen.

In some childish way, he found this place magical. There were so many different smells, all of them indicating food… His mouth watered, and he bit his lip again.

He approached the fridge first, more daring this time around to touch the handle since his hands weren’t dirty anymore.

He almost whimpered when he saw the amount of food stored away in the fridge. It was so much! And it smelled so wonderful…!

His stomach churned with hunger, but he couldn’t seem to decide what to eat. He chastised himself, though, setting out to find the leftover chicken rice, since that was what the stranger had pointed out he could eat. He found the transparent container with the blue lid quickly, taking it out and closing the fridge.

It was so cold, though! That was something he never liked about fridges, that they always kept the food so damn cold… But how could he get the food warm? Sure, there was the stove, and there were pots, and he’d been forced to learn how to use them once, but he couldn’t really remember. What if he made a mess here, or worse yet, what if he broke something?

He shrunk in on himself instinctively, remembering the time he’d let a cup fall and it splintered into a myriad of pieces. He clenched his hands, hiding the tic he still had in his right pinky finger from when the backhand that had warranted him had sent him falling into the shards and left him with bleeding hands.

Holding on to the plastic container tighter, he decided fridge-cold food wasn’t that bad after all, and sat down on the floor next to the kitchen table. He forewent looking for utensils to eat the rice with, scooping it into his mouth with his fingers.

It was still great, even cold, and he sighed contently as he ate his fill. He only stopped when he noticed the container was almost empty, and apprehension caught up with him.

Would it be ok to eat it all? Would it be ok to leave just this little behind? It wasn’t anywhere near enough to make for another meal… He fidgeted nervously. Surely, it wouldn’t matter at this point if he ate all of it or left that tiny rest, the damage was done. He might as well eat the last little bit, too…

He did, only to find himself with a new dilemma: where to put the empty, dirty dish? Back in the fridge? That didn’t make sense. The sink? He shook his head at himself rapidly. Dirty dishes in the sink were a mistake he had no intentions to repeat, ever.

Maybe there was a dishwasher somewhere… He looked around the cabinets under the counter, finding one that might be hiding a dishwasher, and opened it carefully. Sometimes, water came out of these, and he’d had enough of water for one day. To his chagrin, he had to find that the dishwasher was full; of clean dishes, no less. So, no room for his dirty container even there.

Nervously, he looked around, finding no dirty dishes anywhere else with which he could leave the container.

Should he just hide it somewhere?

He shook his head; that was a bad idea. The man didn’t like hidden dirty things, he’d figured. If it was better to leave the beyond dirty towels in the bathroom out in the open, the same probably went for dishes.

But what if he cleaned the container? Then, maybe, it would be ok if he left it somewhere in the open; on the counter, or on the table. He didn’t know where it belonged, but if he cleaned it up, it might make up for leaving it standing around in the otherwise clean kitchen.

He sighed; that meant more water, after all. But it would be worth it; hopefully.

Tentatively, he tried the controls of the tap over the sink, which were different from those in the bathroom. He figured them out quickly, though, setting them to get hot water, and went to find dishwashing detergent. The most likely place for that was the cabinet under the sink, in most households, he remembered, and this one was no exception.

Unfortunately, he didn’t remember how much detergent to use, and in no time he found himself in front of a huge pile of fluffy, white foam in the sink, hiding the dirty container underneath it.

He stopped the water flow, staring at the mountain of foam. What should he do? Carefully, he poked at the foam, making a small hole in it that quickly collapsed.

Foam was weird. It was wet, but also… not really. And it was so light…! He scooped some of it in his hand, holding it up. It was pretty; if he looked closer, he could see so many colours in the tiny bubbles! It wasn’t just boring white. And he could make shapes with it. He played with the foam quietly, until it a big bubble formed between his hands. He stared at it in awe as he tried to see how big he could make it by pulling his hands apart.

He jumped when the bubble burst, but it was too fascinating; he had to try again! Again, the bubble eventually burst, but… It formed a big bubble on just one of his hands! And it was so pretty, with the swirling colours. And it wobbled funnily when he moved his hand. Eventually, it detached, and floated in the air for a moment before starting to sink to the floor. Out of reflex, he jumped after it, catching it -and bursting it- before it could reach the floor.

His heart beat faster at that, but in a nice way. He tried making more of those bubbles, succeeding sometimes, and catching them before they could get too far away.

He completely forgot the time over his playing, especially since the lights were always on in the kitchen since it had no windows, until the sound of a key in the lock of the front door had him freeze. Only then did he see the mess the kitchen had become due to the bursting bubbles, soapy water covering the white tiles of the floor and some of the cabinets where bubbles had burst too close to them. Now, it was too late, though. He didn’t have time to clean it up. He was so screwed…!

Still, he made a run for it, dashing into the living room just as the front door opened, where he waited with bated breath and frantically beating heart to find out where the man would go next.

He almost whimpered in distress when the man seemingly took ages to take off his shoes and hang up his coat, but then-…

The man opened the kitchen door, and he ran out of the living room, down the hallway and to his room, the door falling shut behind him with a way too loud bang just as he dove into his corner and under his blanket, covering his head with his soaking wet and wrinkly hands.

-------------------

Hi hello I'm back! Sorry this is two weeks late *cringe* and with a filler chapter, pretty much, no less. Yikes.

A lot happened that contributed to this delay, but me getting a job (two, starting tomorrow), having writers block (for this story, anyway), and two new stories being born in my head and demanding to be planned/started being written were probably the main factors. Please bear with me, for I can't even bear with myself anymore...