Despite it being the weekend, Taekwoon woke up early. There was no point staying in bed, though, for he knew sleep wouldn't come back to him anymore, and there were more than enough things he should work on and get done around the house.

A little disoriented still, he made his way to the kitchen, desperately needing some coffee if he wanted to be productive any time soon...

Speaking of the kitchen, he really needed to clean that thoroughly... He wasn't used to actually cooking multiple meals every day, usually cooking enough every time to last him for the whole day; more often than not even two, as he didn't usually eat lunch at home. But that was something that would change permanently now, and he needed to make sure he stayed more organized, or else the kitchen would turn into chaos... Like it was right now.

Sighing, Taekwoon rubbed at his face, wondering when he'd let it come that far… But he didn't have the brain capacity to master such a complicated thought process. Now, where was his favourite mug...? The big one, the only one that could hold the exact amount of coffee he needed to function.

He sighed again as he figured it was somewhere underneath a huge pile of dirty plates and pots. Rinsing would do, though, he'd used it only yesterday morning after all...

Before he could prevent it, one of the pots started to slip off the pile, and Taekwoon had no hand free to catch it. With a loud clatter it landed in the sink, and Taekwoon flinched at the noise. Mentally, he apologized to the hybrid who must still have been sleeping until now, but he was pretty sure the noise must have woken him up. And that on a weekend day, when they should supposedly be able to sleep in...

Shaking his head at himself, Taekwoon finally rinsed the cup and brewed his coffee. As he sipped at the hot drink, leaning tiredly against the kitchen counter, he couldn't help but think about how uncharacteristically quiet it was in the apartment even though he was not alone. Would the boy ever dare to make any noise that betrayed his presence? Was it even in his nature to make any noise when he moved about, given that he was part cat?

Taekwoon shook his head. What thoughts were those to have them at only just past six in the morning!

In some mysterious way, the coffee managed to disappear from his mug almost without him noticing it, and he eventually put the empty mug down with the rest of the dirty dishes, deciding he really needed to clean those up as soon as possible… But not before he checked if the boy was indeed awake and if he wanted breakfast already.

A small smile stole itself onto his face as he walked down the hallway to the boy's room, remembering that he'd decided to accept the clothes he'd bought for him. It was shocking how loosely they still fit the boy, but then again, he couldn't have gained all the weight he was lacking back in just a week, no matter how much he ate.

He knocked quietly, but as always got no answer. Opening the door anyway, he peeked inside... and halted at what he found. Against his expectations, especially because of the loud clattering of the pot, the boy was still fast asleep.

Curled up on the floor in the corner he usually found him in, he lay on his side, his hands folded under his face, legs pulled up and tail curled around him.

Taekwoon's brow creased. Now that he saw the boy like this, while he was unaware of his presence, and having the time to really focus on him while not distracted by his need to hurry to work or by some ailment wracking the boy's body, he consciously noticed it for the first time; the tail.

Whenever he met the boy while conscious, he never let him see his tail, tucking it away somewhere out of sight. As well as his ears, which he usually kept flattened into his hair, out of sight.

Now he could see both the tail and the ears clearly, though, and he wondered if they were as soft as a cat's would be. Before he could sigh because he knew that would most likely still take quite a while to find out, he closed the door again, as quietly as he could manage.

Only when he returned to the living room did it register in his mind that the boy had been sleeping without the blanket he'd been holding so dear for the past days. Again, Taekwoon couldn't help but frown. Sure, the blanket had been laying close to the boy, but not too close... What could have made him decide he didn’t want it anymore? It wasn’t really that warm that it warranted discarding the blanket.

He was still mulling over it two hours later, when he’d finally finished cleaning up the mountain of dishes. He’d been so distracted by it, in fact, that he hadn’t even noticed how much time had passed.

By now, the boy must definitely be awake, considering Taekwoon hadn’t exactly managed to be quiet as he cleaned the kitchen, and he started on breakfast for the two of them. He didn’t check if the boy was really awake before taking the tray to his room. He knocked but got no answer, and like always, he opened the door anyway to take the tray inside. The boy was actually awake now, sitting in the corner with his arms wrapped around his legs and watching him carefully.

“Good morning. Did you sleep well?”

The boy’s eyes flitted away from the breakfast tray and up to him, without meeting his eyes though. Taekwoon could see him furrowing his brow.

“I made quite some noise earlier, accidentally, but when I came to check on you, you were still fast asleep.”

The boy’s eyes widened, surprise and disbelief shining in them.

“By the way…” Taekwoon nodded at the blanket. “I noticed you were sleeping without the blanket… Do you not want it anymore?”

A hint of panic flickered across the boy’s face, and he reached out with inhuman speed to gather the blanket up from the floor next to him and cradle it to his chest. He couldn’t mask the disgust on his face quite that quickly, though, and it was then that Taekwoon realized.

“Oh… It doesn’t really smell nice anymore, huh? I can wash it if you want; I’m planning to do a lot of laundry today anyway.”

The boy held on tighter to the blanket, his expression darkening with protectiveness, and Taekwoon sighed.

“Your choice… But I promise, I’m not planning to take it away from you. All I’m suggesting is to wash it so it regains its nice smell and softness, and then you can have it back. You are sensitive to its smell, right?”

The boy didn’t answer, and Taekwoon sighed again, shrugging. After expressing his hopes that the boy would like the meal he’d prepared, he left.

*#*#*#*

He looked at the door through which the man had left for quite a while longer after he disappeared, clutching the blanket to himself as his heart rate eventually slowed down to normal again. Only then did he put the blanket down, wrinkling his nose before burying it in the folds of his clean-smelling jumper. The blanket really smelled bad…

A permanent frown etched onto his face, he scrambled over towards the food and started picking at it. It was delicious, as always, but it didn’t manage to distract him like usual. His thoughts wouldn’t stop spinning around the man’s words…

Had he really slept through the noises the man made when he got up again? And even stayed asleep when the man had come to check on him? He exhaled slowly, swallowing thickly afterwards. That was the second day in a row… How could that be? How could he let his guard down so much?

He shook his head vehemently. He needed to stop letting his guard down like that; and he’d start doing so immediately!

How stupid did the man think he really was to willingly give up the blanket he had claimed, by the way? He didn’t believe for even just a second that he would get it back after it was washed!

Shaking his head again, he focused on his food, finishing it quickly out of habit. He was getting quite used to the feeling of having eaten too much by now…

After he slinked back to his corner, though, trying to find a comfortable position to lay in, his eyes fell onto the blanket again. It was quite chilly, actually and the floor wasn’t exactly warm, despite being a wooden floor. But he didn’t dare touch the blanket and wrap it around himself. It smelled so bad!

He huffed quietly, resting his head in his hands and massaging his temples as he thought. Really, what good was having the blanket and not being able to use it because it smelled so bad he couldn’t stand it? It was the same as not having it in the first place…

Should he actually let the man have it back?

He huffed again; he didn’t want to give the blanket up!

But if he wasn’t going to use it anyway…

Also, the man had said he’d just wash it and then give it back… What if there was a chance he would keep his word after all? Then he’d have a fluffy and nice smelling blanket again…

He weighed the pros and cons for a while, and ultimately decided the blanket provided a good way to test how sincere the man really was with his promises. It didn’t really matter if he had the blanket or not anymore, since he wasn’t going to use it like this. Might as well return it to the man and see if he kept his word and returned it after washing it…

A good while later, the man returned to pick up the breakfast tray, and he shifted nervously where he sat. The man noticed, of course, and stopped to lift a questioning eyebrow at him.

“Is there something you want to say?” The man asked encouragingly, and he froze, biting his lip slowly. The man didn’t move, waiting patiently, and eventually he took a deep breath and nudged the blanket further away from him, towards the man.

“Oh? Are you going to let me wash it?” The man asked, and he quickly shoved it further away from him, then scooted back the furthest he could into the corner of the room. The man didn’t move, still looking at him questioningly, and eventually he nodded, slowly; unsure.

The man smiled, though, and balanced the tray on one hand while carefully stepping further into the room to gather the blanket up. He didn’t react in the slightest to the smell that must be wafting out of the fabric, and earned a disbelieving look from him for it.

“I promise I’m just going to wash it, then you can have it back. Really.”

‘We’ll see’, he thought as the man turned to leave, taking the blanket with him.

It didn’t take long before he regretted his decision to let the man take the blanket. Was he really washing it? Only just washing it, not destroying it or hiding it?

He knew where the washing machine was, he’d seen it repeatedly before, and he could hear it working from where he was. Then again, the man had said he was going to do more laundry that day, so it might be something else entirely and not his blanket that was currently in it…

Maybe it wasn’t in the machine yet and the man had left it in the laundry basket! If so, there was still a chance for him to get it back!

His heart rate picked up as he hurried silently to the door, listening carefully if he could hear the man somewhere else in the apartment.

There was a different humming noise than that from the washing machine in the background, and he thought he vaguely remembered it from when he was way, way younger. A vacuum cleaner? Was that what they were called? He shuddered at the memory. He knew those machines were technically harmless, unless you were a speck of dirt, but somehow he had never managed to warm up to them. The noise was just… He shuddered again.

But if the man was currently busy with the vacuum cleaner, he wouldn’t see him if he slipped out of his room and checked if he could still retrieve his blanket, right?

He didn’t wait to think his plan over, hurrying out of his room and the short distance down the hallway to the bathroom. His steps brought him in front of the washing machine quickly, and he didn’t even need to check the laundry hamper to see he was too late. The dark and wet fabric spinning in the washing machine was definitely his blanket.

He bit his lip hard in regret as he placed his hand on the glass in the door of the machine, wishing he could feel the softness of his blanket instead of the hard surface… He tried the door-handle just because, but of course it wouldn’t open. Washing machines never opened when they were working.

There must be a way to stop it, though...! Somehow, there must be a button or something that would make the machine stop and then he could get the blanket out of it! He scanned the dashboard of the machine, and huffed in frustration as the signs on it made no sense to him.

Maybe if he tried all the buttons, there should be one that would work and did what he wanted it to… right?

He never got a chance to try any of the buttons as the noise of the vacuum cleaner suddenly got exponentially louder; the man had come into the hallway with the wretched appliance!

His heart-rate sky-rocketed as he found himself trapped in the bathroom. There was no way he could get back to his room without the man noticing him. Would he be in trouble for leaving his room? He was just in the bathroom after all, he had to come here anyway every once in a while, maybe he could just pretend he hadn’t come here to check on the blanket but-

His thoughts stopped as the vacuum cleaner silenced and he heard a knock on a door; the door to his room. He pressed himself against the far wall of the bathroom, never leaving the door out of his sight as he heard the door to his own room open and knew the man was about to find out he wasn’t there…

Hot fear ran down his back when he realized he hadn’t even closed the bathroom door as he’d come in! He winced, hoping the man wouldn’t come in here as well…

He heard the door of his room close, then footsteps approaching. They stopped in front of the door, even though it was ajar.

“Hello? Are you in there?”

How was he supposed to answer when his heart was beating frantically in his throat?

“I just wanted to ask you if you’d like to vacuum your room, too; or if I should do it.”

The man waited for an answer, and he blinked quickly as he tried to get his heart to calm down and beat in its usual place again while confusing thoughts rushed through his head.

The door was even open, yet the man wasn’t coming in? That was so strange…

“Ah, this is awkward…” He heard the man mutter. “Uhm, do you know how to work a vacuum cleaner? I can just leave it here in front of your door if you do…”

He took a couple deep breaths, trying to convince himself the man didn’t sound as if he was in trouble for anything and that he should answer. But what should he answer? There wasn’t a chance he would be able to work the vacuum cleaner himself; partly because he didn’t know how, but mainly because the thing terrified him. He guessed his room could use a clean though; but how was he supposed to ask the man to clean his room for him? He couldn’t. It was best to leave it alone.

Gathering all his courage, he eventually rose his voice.

“It’s… ok.” He wasn’t sure the man had even been able to hear him; his risen voice was still not much more than a loud whisper.

“Huh? What did you say?”

He felt like dying as his suspicion came true and the man didn’t understand what he’d said.

“I didn’t understand what you said… Do you know how to work the vacuum?”

He shook his head, then remembered the man couldn’t see him.

“…no.” He managed to answer, a little bit louder this time.

“Ah, alright. Should I clean your room real quick?”

Could he accept the offer? He probably shouldn’t. He needed to make the man understand that he didn’t mean to cause trouble. He didn’t need the room clean. But how…? His knees trembled and he had trouble staying upright as anxiety rose in him.

“P-Please…” His voice failed him, at the worst time possible.

“Alright. I’ll make sure not to take long.”

The man misunderstood. He misunderstood, and now he was cleaning for him, and he would be even deeper indebted to the man. Suddenly, he realized he was quickly reaching a point where he wouldn’t even be able to rightfully deny the man anything if he asked something from him, since it would only be fair if he asked things of him to repay for everything he had given and done for him.

He felt sick at the thought, and his legs finally gave in under him, having him slide down the wall until he was sitting on the cold tiles. The noise of the vacuum cleaner reached him through the wall the bathroom shared with his room, but it didn’t register. It registered faintly when it eventually stopped and the man wheeled it out and back into the hallway, though, and so did the man’s voice.

“I’m all done now.” The man announced, but what was he even supposed to answer to that?

“Uhm, are you still in there?”

He could answer that; provided his voice didn’t fail him, which it did.

“Uh, is it ok if I come in?”

No, it wasn’t, but how was he supposed to say that without a voice?

“Ok, I’m coming in then.”

‘Just do it already!’ he thought, wanting to close his eyes to not see whatever was about to happen, but at the same time refusing to give in to that urge and staring at the door instead as it started opening further.

The man stepped in, and in the much smaller room he looked way bigger than in his room; way more intimidating.

The man’s brow furrowed and he believed to see something like worry flash in his eyes as he took in where he sat, on the floor against the wall next to the washing machine.

“Are you alright?”

The man took a couple of slow steps towards him, eventually bending his knees to crouch lower and be closer to eye level with him.

It was then that a surge of energy shot through his body, and he jumped up. Before he even knew what he was doing, he darted past the man and out of the door, back into his own room. The door fell shut behind him with a loud bang, but it didn’t even startle him as he only stopped when he was back in the same corner of the room he’d spent the last couple of days in.

His breathing was far too labored for the short distance he’d just sprinted, but he guessed it wasn’t just from the physical strain. He felt so tired all of a sudden, too, but he didn’t dare rest more than he already was, sitting on the floor with his arms wrapped around his legs.

Thankfully, the man didn’t follow him to his room, and eventually his breathing and heart rate calmed down. He could hear the man shuffling around somewhere further away in the apartment after a while, and he didn’t stop monitoring the noises he could hear in the house.

He jumped when he heard the beeping sound of the washing machine, announcing it was finished. The meaning took a while to register with him, but when it did he jumped up and darted towards the bathroom to retrieve the blanket; only he was too late again. The man was already there, opening the door of the machine and pulling the blanket out.

Before he knew what he was doing, he took a step towards the man, alerting him of his presence.

Surprise shone in the man’s eyes as he found him standing there in the doorway.

“Oh… Sorry, just a second and I’ll be gone. Let me just pop this into the drier…” The man motioned at the wet bundle of cloth he was holding.

His fists clenched at his sides as the burning feeling of betrayal stung in his chest.

“Blanket…” Was all he managed as he wanted to ask for his blanket back.

“Ah, it’s still wet. Hold on a little longer, as soon as it’s dry you can have it back, ok?”

He didn’t believe the man. He’d said after washing it he could have it back, and now it was after it was dry. When it was dry it was probably after it was folded, then after it was stored away for forever, most likely.

Without waiting any longer, he turned around and walked back to his room.

He should never have trusted the man to take the blanket. He should have kept it, even if it stank. He would have used it again, when the nights got colder, despite how bad it smelled; he knew he would, he had done so plenty of times before when he had the chance. But of course, he had to act all spoiled and reject the blanket and the comfort it offered after he’d been granted just a little bit more comfort than usual. He was an idiot.

He knew he was sulking, but he didn’t care as he curled up in his corner. He didn’t bother following the noise of the drier to know when it stopped, signaling the blanket was dry. It wouldn’t matter, anyway.

When the man came in again to serve lunch, he couldn’t help but glare at him the whole time he was in the room. He didn’t even remember what the man said to him, not listening as he was too busy glaring.

Despite his need to sulk and glare, he didn’t pass up on the food, though, emptying the plates quickly. When the man came in to pick the tray up, he reverted back to glaring at him, feeling rather offended when the man just gave him a questioning look this time around, and then a small, amused smile curved his lips. When the man whispered a ‘Cute!’ under his breath, he felt ready to hiss at him before he left.

He was surprised, though, when the man returned shortly after. And he didn’t come empty-handed; he was carrying the blanket!

His eyes fixed on the bundle the man was carrying, neatly folded over his arm, he completely forgot to glare at the man. Until the man chuckled again, taking a couple of steps towards him, and placing the blanket on the floor in front of him, just at the edge of where he could still reach it, and then took a couple of steps back.

The man sighed, and there was something akin to fondness in that sigh.

“I told you you could have the blanket back once it was washed. I never planned to take it away from you. It’s just that it dries a lot faster in the drier than it would if you hung it up somewhere here in the room. This way you can sleep with it tonight and don’t have to wait any longer.”

He swallowed as his eyes darted from the blanket to the man and back, not quite believing the man had actually returned the blanket just yet.

“You really thought I had betrayed you, didn’t you.” It wasn’t a question. “I’m sorry. I should have explained better from the start that drying it was part of washing it.”

His eyes wandered back to the man, and he could tell the man was being sincere, the little crease between his brows that he was learning showed the man’s worry bothering him somehow.

The man sighed again.

“I’ll make sure to be clearer in the future so there won’t be any more misunderstandings like that. I always keep my promises, and I hope I won’t make you worry again, thinking I broke a promise. Again, I’m sorry.”

The man inclined his head, then left the room.

He stared after him for a moment, confused about the man’s words, but then he couldn’t stand it anymore and darted forwards to gather the blanket up again, holding it like the precious thing it was after he’d been so sure he’d lost it forever.

To his surprise, he noticed something falling out as he gathered it close. It looked like a bundle of rags at first, and he frowned. Why would the man give him a bundle of rags? Carefully, he picked up a corner of the fabric, and soon realized what it was: his old T-shirt.

He frowned, tucking the blanket away safely before finishing unfolding the garment. It was definitely his old T-shirt, but it looked… cleaner? There were some stains that had only faded a little, but not gone completely. But otherwise, it looked almost clean. Tentatively, he smelled the air around him and as he couldn’t find any kind of bad smell, dared to smell the T-shirt directly. It smelled like laundry soap, nothing else.

He furrowed his brow as he picked up the other rags that had fallen out of the blanket, discovering his pants. They, too, smelled clean, even if some of the stains hadn’t faded out completely. For some reason he couldn’t quite understand, he was glad he had those clothes back, even if they were torn and ripped and not really fit for wearing anymore. He probably wouldn’t wear them again if he had a chance to avoid doing so, but he liked that the man had returned them to him. And that they were somewhat clean now. He guessed he liked the washing machine, too.

Folding the clothes back neatly, he got up to store them in the bottom drawer of the dresser, underneath the other clothes in there, and then returned to his blanket, unfolding it and wrapping it tightly around himself. It was fluffy again, and smelled so nice. And it was so warm… He felt content, and curled up on his side, longing for a nap. He didn’t dare, though, feeling wary knowing the man wasn’t going to sleep himself any time soon and continued prattling about the apartment. After a while, a soft knock sounded on the door, and he sat up before the man stuck his head inside the room.

“Hey… I’m leaving for a bit to visit some friends. I won’t be gone too long, I’ll be back before dinner time. Do you need anything?”

He blinked at the man, shaking his head slowly, and the man nodded in response.

“Alright. I’ll see you later, then.”

He closed the door quietly, and a few moments later he could hear the front door falling shut behind him.

*#*#*#*

As soon as the door to Hakyeon’s apartment opened, Taekwoon found himself with an arm full of Jaehwan, staggering back under the sudden weight of his friend barreling into him.

“Our hero has arrived!! I missed you, hyung!!”

Taekwoon blinked confusedly, hugging Jaehwan back once he’d regained his balance.

“H-hero?”

Jaehwan squeezed him tighter once, then let him go, stepping back to let him into Hakyeon’s apartment.

“Yes, hero! You saved that cat hybrid’s life, right?”

Taekwoon sighed quietly, sending Hakyeon an accusing glare while he took off his shoes. Hakyeon raised his hands in defense, pouting lightly.

“He asked me why we were meeting in my shoe box instead of your luxurious loft. I had to tell him at least part of it!”

“And now that you’re here, you can tell me the rest!” Jaehwan supplied helpfully.

Taekwoon finished taking off his shoes, hugging Hakyeon in greeting before following the two of them to the living room. Years ago, he would have asked Jaehwan to calm down and breathe first, and let him do the same, but he’d learned long ago that that was futile.

“I adopted a cat hybrid who was supposed to be euthanized when I happened to be at the shelter and found out.”

Jaehwan plopped down on the couch next to Taekwoon, poking him insistently.

“That’s what Hakyeon already told me. Now tell me more! Why was he supposed to be killed? And how did you get him out of there? What’s his name? How old is he? How is he? Do you- ooompf!” Jaehwan was cut off when Taekwoon whacked him in the head with one of the pillows that overflowed Hakyeon’s couch.

“They said he is feral.” He answered the first of the questions only, mainly because he needed some time to recollect what all the others had been.

Jaehwan’s eyes widened and he froze.

“You adopted a feral hybrid?!” The shock was evident in his voice, and Taekwoon hit him with the pillow again, though this time only on the shoulder.

“Of course not. He’s not feral, just really, really scared of everything.”

Jaehwan sat back, turning more serious now, and instead of answering verbally just nodded in understanding.

“I don’t know his name or age yet. He’s only getting used to me slowly. But…” A small smile curved his lips. “He accepted the clothes Hakyeon and I bought him earlier this week yesterday. And today he left his room even though I was home, too.”

Jaehwan shuddered.

“I can only imagine what he must have been like so far when that counts as progress…”

Taekwoon nodded, starting to recount his experiences with the hybrid during this first week, and both Jaehwan and Hakyeon, who’d returned with coffee, tea and snacks for the three of them, listened intently.

“But, I’m hopeful that he’ll open up more, eventually. I just have to be really patient with him… Anyway, Jaehwanie, how did the tour go? I heard the play was quite successful…!”

Jaehwan jumped in his seat, scooting forward on the couch.

“Ooh, it was! We were sold out everywhere we went! Even out in the most backwoods country towns we thought we wouldn’t fill half the seats in we sold out, and even added a few extra plays when we could. It was amazing, really. And seeing so much of our country, too… Incredible! There is so much to explore and discover even in the tiny country cities. In a way, I think they have even more to discover than we have here in the big cities. And they are nicer, too. The people are so different from here. More open. Friendlier.

“Oh, since we just were on the topic of hybrids, there's something I noticed: They don’t have shelters for the hybrids in the countryside. They live and work among humans as if there was no difference between them. Well, hybrids still do tend to stick together and a little more to themselves, but they are accepted as part of the society in most cases. There were quite a few hybrids who came to watch the play, too, and Sora -you know Sora? Park Sora, she’s the head of the light-tech team- anyway, Sora has family in one of the small towns we went to, and they invited a few of us to come visit them; they live in a part of he town where only hybrids live. It's not like a seclusion thing, the hybrids weren't forced to live there, it just happened over time that it became exclusively hybrid territory, so to speak, as far as I understood, and they have it really nice there. It was by far one of the best experiences on this tour.”

Hakyeon sighed.

“That sounds really nice. I wish people here were as accepting, too.”

Taekwoon hummed in agreement, purposely distracting himself with his coffee so his thoughts didn’t return to speculating what horrors Hongbin must have gone through in his life when Jaehwan continued after a deep sigh.

“I got so used to how normal everyone treated hybrids out there that when I returned to the city yesterday and saw five hybrids crammed into a literal cage on the back of a pick-up in pouring rain I almost went and punched the guys working it in the face.”

Hakyeon nodded, huffing.

“It is disgusting, really, how they are treated here. Not just the ones on the streets, even those accompanied by humans. I went to the movies with Sungjae the other day, since Eunkwang didn’t have the time and Sungjae doesn’t want to go alone -understandably, if you ask me- and when Sungjae went to buy the tickets the woman straight up ignored him, calling up the next person in line! I got so mad, I wish I had gone feral on her and clawed her eyes out, the old hag! But I just took Sungjae and we went to another theater. But really, I’m never going to that theater again!”

Jaehwan huffed.

“Which theater was it?”

“The Palace Theater. They are so run down anyway, but still hold that name so high, along with their noses… Disgusting really.”

“Hmm, I never heard good things about them, either.”

“Oh, that wasn’t all, though! After the movie -I don’t even remember what it was about, it was so loud and flashy and fast, I don’t understand how Sungjae manages to follow that- anyway, Sungjae seemed to have forgotten about the earlier incident and was happily chatting about the movie when we decided to go to one of these fast food restaurants, the really unhealthy ones, just this once. I left Sungjae at a table to go and place our order, and I didn’t even have the food yet when he called me and when I looked back there were two security guys shoving him towards the door! I ran over to tell them to leave him alone and that he was with me and you know what those bastards said? ‘We don’t serve animals!’ And if I wanted something then I should leave my ‘pet’ outside, and not just outside the door but outside the lot, too, on the street. I swear, if it hadn’t been for Sungjae and that I didn’t want him to feel any worse or get him into trouble I would have fought these s right then and there! How can people be so heartless?! I just don’t get it!”

“There is nothing to get about that, hyung. People like that are just horrible, plain and simple.”

A momentary silence settled over them when Hakyeon leaned over the armrest of his armchair and nudged Taekwoon on the couch.

“Woon-ah, you’ve been awfully quiet… Are you alright?”

Taekwoon lowered his cup, that he had been clutching way too tightly, and tried to relax his shoulders. He’d tensed up further and further as he listened to Hakyeon’s story, and was actually a little startled by Hakyeon addressing him like that all of a sudden.

“Ah… I’m just… Trying not to think about what… what he must have gone through in his life so far, too. He’s so… So scared, wary, untrusting… I can tell that whatever he does, he fears that he’s going to be punished for it. There are so many things that are perfectly normal for us that he’s afraid of. And I don’t even know half of them yet, I don’t know what I can do or say and what not so I won’t scare him further. And I can’t help but wonder if there will ever be a time when he won’t be scared of everything. Or even if there should be a time like that, in a world like ours, since him being afraid and hiding of everything could very well be what’s going to save him eventually…” Taekwoon trailed off, turning his empty cup between his hands slowly and staring unseeingly at the floor. “I wish we could change the world as it is right now. Or, well, at least this city, since it seems to be better out in the countryside. But here… Something needs to change here. The people need to change here.”

Jaehwan hummed in agreement.

“It’s not so much the people but their mentality that needs to change. Of course there are s who get off on hurting others and the hybrids are just the perfect excuse for them. But the majority of the people aren’t like that. They just don’t say anything since they are told by media day in and day out how evil hybrids are and how they deserve the treatment they get. I’m sure if people actually knew more about hybrids and how they really are, they wouldn’t be like that. They wouldn’t stand by and watch when hybrids are mistreated in front of them. They would protest the conditions they are kept in in the shelters. I’m sure it all comes down to properly educating people about hybrids. I mean, we only have this whole mess on our hands now because back then, people did care about how sentient beings were being treated. If they were reminded of that, that hybrids are sentient, too, and just as conscious as humans -if not maybe even more- and that they are in fact not irrationally violent, like they are depicted now, but just like us in so many things, I’m sure an outcry would go through the population and this horrendous treatment would end. All that has to happen is that people learn the truth and stop lapping up the anti-hybrid propaganda some media love to splatter everywhere, and actually think for themselves for once.”

Hakyeon sighed, sinking back into the cushions of his armchair.

“And how are we going to achieve that? The government is surely not too interested in funding awareness campaigns in favour of something they’d rather have seen eliminated in the first place. For them, it’s going splendidly, all those hybrids rotting away in the shelters, killed on the streets. A problem that is taking care of itself, almost. I’m sure somehow they manage to profit from the mafia, too… I don’t know, half of those senators most likely only got where they are now because they have ties to the mafia, wouldn’t surprise me if they couldn’t care less about improving things for those they exploit for profit.”

Jaehwan huffed dejectedly, but he wasn’t going to give up yet.

“There has to be something we can do, though… Every single one of us. I mean, look at Eunkwang! He managed to change the entire company into a place that is safe for hybrids, where they can get jobs, earn a living, meet people who’re willing to help them even outside of work.”

“Yeah, but do you have a company up your sleeve that you can use to your advantage to make a difference?”

“Of course not! But that was just an example! But… we don’t have to start that big, either. A small start is better than none at all, and even if we manage to help only a few hybrids in the beginning, it’s still worth something! Look at Taekwoon-hyung! He made a huge difference already by adopting the hybrid he took in. At least for the hybrid, what with him not being dead now and such. It is a start, at least!”

Hakyeon shook his head slowly, slumping even further into his armchair.

“Of course it is, Jaehwan, but we can’t just go and adopt all the hybrids out there. I mean, we can’t even adopt one, you and I. I have no room, and you are always travelling. You have no time.”

Jaehwan huffed, before picking up the pillow Taekwoon had used to hit him earlier and throwing it at Hakyeon indignantly.

“Damn it, hyung!! It isn’t like you to be like this, this- this… defeated! Do not tell me you have given up on everything before you even started trying! I will- I don’t know what I will do to you yet if you tell me you are seriously believing we can’t do anything at all! I refuse to accept that!!”

Hakyeon was startled as the pillow hit his face, and his eyes widened with every heated word Jaehwan threw at him.

“Jaehwanie…”

“Don’t ‘Jaehwanie’ me! Start putting that clever brain of yours to use and think about ways how we can make a difference instead of excuses why we can’t!” he took a deep breath, calming himself down. “I’ll try to come up with something, too… But for now, I have to go home. I have to drive out to mom’s for dinner still, she made me promise I’d come over today.”

Taekwoon sat up at that.

“I should leave soon, too. I promised I would be back before dinner time, but I don’t want to leave him alone for too long if I don’t absolutely have to.”

Hakyeon sighed, pouting a little.

“So you’re both leaving already?”

“We’ll see each other Monday at work…”

“I guess…” Hakyeon deflated visibly and Taekwoon got up to pat his shoulder after Jaehwan hugged him.

“I could probably use some time out tomorrow afternoon anyway, we can meet up then if you have nothing else planned.” He suggested, since him going out probably gave the hybrid a much needed reprieve, too.

Hakyeon agreed with an appeased smile, and the two younger ones left.