“How are we going to make sure that Phoenix doesn’t find out about our upcoming meeting? They seem to know our moves as we make them.” Aideen mused, crossing one leg over the other.

“Let’s keep it to ourselves. We won’t tell anyone about it, none of our workers, not even the boys.” Junhyuk said as he looked over Josephine’s file.

“Do you suspect that we have a leak?” Aideen looked at Junhyuk who didn’t look up from the file but he merely nodded his head. “Who could it be? We have to do something! Someone is taking advantage of our trust and they will pay!” Aideen exclaimed, getting worked up until she was yelling, her tea on the verge of being spilled.

“Shhh, calm down my love. The boys will hear you and begin to worry and if we do have a leak and they’re here, we don’t want them to realize that we’re on to them. We will find them, my love.” Junhyuk moved to sit next to his wife and he wrapped an arm around her, kissing her on the temple.

“When we do, I want them to pay.” Aideen hissed. Junhyuk silently chuckled as he gave his wife another kiss.

“How are we going to deal with Josephine? People usually want a hybrid who they can later breed but she’s been spayed so she’s useless to them now.” Junhyuk said, leaning back on the couch, causing Aideen to move back with him since his arm was still around her. They looked like a very domestic couple at the moment, cuddling on the couch.

“She’ll need to be toughened up.” Was all Aideen said.

In the kitchen, Josephine took small bites of the food, occasionally looking at the five boys who sat in the kitchen with her. Her eyes would instantly go to the swinging door when different maids walked in and out before going back to watching the five boys. She wasn’t sure if she trusted them yet. Sure, the Meerkat and hummingbird lead her to the infirmary and stayed with her and helped her when the retriever got in her personal space but what if it was all a front? The red panda and mouse seemed like they could care less since the mouse was busy playing with a hand held game console and the red panda was on his phone but what if they were waiting for her to do something? And the retriever, well, Josephine wasn’t too sure about him. He seemed very excited about her presence and seemed like he wanted to please her but why, she wondered. Didn’t Madam send her here as revenge?

“So, your name is Josephine?” The retriever hybrid spoke up, breaking the silence that they had all been in. It had taken Josephine by surprise, causing her to yelp and choke on the food she had been eating.

“Aish, mutt! Be careful!” Josephine heard the red panda hybrid exclaim before she felt him patting her back and picking up the glass of water she had been given, urging it to .

“Sorry, hyung.” The retriever pouted, causing the Meerkat to ruffle his hair.

“Is she okay?” The mouse hybrid asked once Josephine’s coughing died down and she drank some water.

“Are you okay?” Josephine nodded her head to answer the red panda’s and mouse’s question. She cleared before speaking up. “Yes, my name is Josephine.” She softly said, looking up at the retriever who had a wide smile on his face, his ears perked up and his tail wagging.

“I’m Hojeong! This is Taehyun hyung” He pointed to the Meerkat who gave her a small hand wave and a smile. “Sungwoon hyung” The hummingbird grinned at her, his wings fluttering slightly. “That’s San hyung” The mouse gave her an awkward and brief smile before going back to his game. “And that’s Moonkyu hyung!” Hojeong excitedly finished his introductions by pointing to the red panda who had ‘saved’ Josephine’s life. He gave her a quick smile before standing up from where he had been kneeling next to Josephine’s chair.

“I’ll go and get one of the maids so you can get cleaned up and change out of your clothes.” Moonkyu informed her before leaving the kitchen.

“Is the food good, Josephine?” Taehyun asked, striking up a conversation in hopes of helping the fennec fox feel comfortable. That’s all the five boys wanted, even is San and Moonkyu didn’t show it much.

“It is, thank you.” Josephine meekly said, lifting her head slightly to look at Taehyun before looking back down at the plate. Moonkyu showed up with two maids at this time, calling out Josephine’s name to get her attention.

“They are going to help you get cleaned up and then they’ll take you back to Seogoong hyung.” Josephine gave a very small nod of her head to show that she understood and got up from the table with her dirty plate. One of the maids was quick to take it from her though.

“I will take care of this.” She said before walking to the sink while the other maid gestured for Josephine to follow her in the opposite direction. Josephine looked back at the boys and all five of them were giving her reassuring looks and it made her feel a little bit better.

Josephine was taken to a large bathroom. To be honest, a lot of things seemed large to Josephine because of her small height, but this bathroom was grand. The maid had her change out of her clothes and step into the bathtub that had been pre-filled with warm water. Josephine wanted to tell the maid that she was capable of washing herself but she didn’t want to get scolded either. She didn’t know how this all worked, she didn’t know the real reason why she was there. Sure, the cheetah hybrid told her that she will be taken care of here, but, how could she be so sure?

When the maid deemed Josephine clean enough, Josephine was helped out of the tub and wrapped into a giant, fluffy, towel. The other maid had showed up and helped Josephine get dry, both maids being careful with her ears and tail and bruised areas. Josephine was unsure of what to do and allowed one of the maids to brush her hair while the other brushed out her tail as she sat wrapped in the towel. Sure, Josephine brushed her hair after she’d shower at her old house, but it wasn’t with as much care and attention as the maids were giving at the moment.

“Aigoo, it’s been some time since we’ve been able to take care of a girl.” The maid brushing Josephine’s hair said.

“It has! I think the last time we were able to was when Miss was 18. Aigoo, 8 years.” The maid brushing Josephine’s tail sighed, as if she were reminiscing.

When they finished, one of the maids handed Josephine undergarments and Josephine couldn’t help but be surprised by the fact that her underwear and bra fit her just fine. The clothes she had been handed were a different story though. While they might be fine for someone of average height, they were very baggy on her. The light blue pajama pants, while comfortable and soft, were long on her and slid down, even with the drawstring pulled tight. If it hadn’t been for her tail sticking out of the hole in the back, the pants would’ve slid off. The maids had to pin the pants so they didn’t fall. And the shirt that Josephine had been given could’ve worked as a dress but, Josephine was still grateful.

Josephine was taken back to the infirmary where Seogoong was found fixing the cot up with a comforter and a pillow. Josephine turned to thank the maid but stopped when the maid bowed to her and walked away. First of all, she was usually the one doing the bowing after a task, not the other way around so she wasn’t sure how to take it and second of all, the maid was much more older than her, old enough to be her mom.

“Sorry if it’s not too comfy. It’s the best I could do but don’t worry, this will only be for tonight. I just want to be sure that you’re in perfect health, or, as perfect as you can be considering your situation.” Seogoong said, smiling in hopes of making Josephine feel comfortable. She tried to smile back but it came out as more of a grimace.

“Thank you, Dr. Seogoong.” Josephine quietly said, bowing to the man.

“Doctor sounds weird. Just call me ‘oppa’, okay? No one here calls me doctor.” Seogoong chuckled. Josephine meekly nodded her head even though she knew that she probably wouldn’t call him ‘oppa’.

“I’m going to be in this room, okay. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to let me know. If you’re not feeling good, if you need an extra blanket, whatever, just let me know.” Josephine nodded her head again and Seogoong took that as assurance that she would do what he asked of her so he went into the adjoining room that served as his office and occasional bedroom, leaving the door open behind him. Josephine sat down on the cot, unsure of what to do. If she were being completely honest, she felt exhausted. The stress and events from the day has fully caught up to her and she was feeling drained but she didn’t know if she were okay to sleep or not.

“Uh, Josephine?” Josephine looked over to the opened door that lead out to the hallway and saw Hojeong standing there, hands behind his back and he seemed unsure about coming in. “Can I come in?” He shyly asked. Josephine was quiet for a moment, mainly because she wasn’t used to people asking for her permission like this. Sure she was used to the children doing it, but someone of the same age and older? Nope.

“Yes.” Josephine managed to get out, watching Hojeong walk into the room. He seemed unsure of how to carry himself around her since he was scolded each time. Hojeong didn’t want to hurt her, that’s the last thing he wanted, but, he seemed to do just that. He took notice though of what she was wearing and it seemed to give him the boost of confidence he needed and he was back to his happy self.

“I brought you a sweater. It’s my favorite sweater to be exact. I don’t even let San use it but I want you to have it because I don’t know how cold it gets here. In my room, I’m okay because I have all my blankets but it might get really cold here and I don’t want you to get cold so this sweater will keep you warm!” Hojeong presented the red knitted sweater to Josephine and she timidly took it from him. His smile widened when she did and his tail was wagging.

“I hope it keeps you warm! I need to go now, Moonkyu hyung said I wasn’t allowed to bother you the rest of the day! Goodnight!” And he was gone, leaving Josephine with the sweater that smelled really nice.

Josephine eventually fell asleep and the next morning, after another checkup from Seogoong, the same maid from yesterday—Josephine wasn’t sure if this maid was Mina or Jisu—came and lead Josephine to a room. The maid must’ve seen the confusion on Josephine’s face because she informed Josephine that the room they were in, was her new bedroom before the maid left. Josephine looked around the room in awe, it was definitely much than her old room that used to serve as a storage closet. The closet in this bedroom was bigger than the storage closet. She carefully treaded around the room, hugging the sweater close. Josephine ended up staying in the room the rest of the day, not wanting to get in trouble for walking around if she wasn’t supposed to be. It wasn’t until one of the maids from before came into her room after knocking and going straight to the closet.

“Dinner will be served and I know they would want you out of your pajamas. Here, this looks cute.” The maid smiled as she handed Josephine a pale pink shirt that had a flower design in white paired with light washed jean capris. Josephine changed into the clothes she was given and allowed the maid pull her to the vanity mirror in the room and sit her on the cushioned stool. The maid excitedly did Josephine’s long hair into a French braid and then she led Josephine to the dining room once she finished. When Josephine arrived, she noticed that the couple she was first brought to yesterday were sitting at the table, each on one end, and the five boys were scattered around the table.

All of them seemed to have already started eating and that worried Josephine. Was she late for her duties? How much trouble was going to be in? Josephine was too busy stressing over this that she didn’t notice the empty seat next to Hojeong that had a plate of food set. She ended up pacing slightly, ready to get anything for anyone if they needed it but it seemed like the other maids had everything under control because before Josephine could do anything, a maid would have done it already. When she finally found an opening to do something, she quickly jumped on it but in the process, she bumped into a maid and almost caused the maid to spill what she was carrying.

“Sit the down. We have people to take care of that, not you. What the kind of manners did those ers teach you?” The only woman at the table hissed, irritation evident in her tone and face. Josephine quietly responded, fear evident in her voice; her ears pressed against her head and her tail going between her legs. Josephine began to make herself smaller, afraid she’ll get hit.

“I’m just doing what I know, M-madam.”

With that one word ‘madam’, it caused reactions from everyone at the table. Sungwoon could be heard whispering quickly ‘Abort’, repeatedly and slowly getting louder with every other ‘abort’. San rubbed his temples and shook his head, groaning about how he didn’t want to deal with any drama today. Taehyun had been bent over his plate but as soon as he heard the word ‘madam’, he sat up straight with his mouth full of pasta and pasta hanging out of his mouth as he stared at Josephine with wide eyes. Moonkyu, who had been taking a sip from his cup, choked on his drink because he had wanted to gasp once he heard that word but it caused the liquid to go down the wrong pipe. Hojeong slowly sank down in his chair and began to whimper, not wanting the woman to start yelling because of this. The man that sat at the end of the table, he merely looked at the two girls with a smirk, looking forward to what was about to unfold. The woman, the one who had all of Josephine’s attention, slowly put her eating utensils down and turned her head slowly to look at Josephine.

“What the did you just call me?” She said with a cold glare.

“It’s just what I was always told to call me owner.” Josephine said, her voice a bit high in pitch as she tried to not cry. It caused the woman to growl which in turn caused Josephine to bite down on her lip to keep from crying out.

“I am not your ing owner so get that straight right the now.” Josephine quickly nodded her head, not wanting to upset the woman even more. The man at the other end began to chuckle, finding the scene a bit humorous. The woman took deep breaths, trying to calm herself down. Josephine instantly began to bow repeatedly and apologize.

“I’msorryI’msorryI’msorry~” Josephine didn’t even try to keep her voice steady as she fought the urge to cry. The woman turned back to her food, feeling calmer as she cut into her steak.

“Hojeong,” She called out to the retriever who immediately stopped whimpering, his eyes sparkling and tail wagging.

“Yes, noona?” The woman put down her knife so she could pick up her wine glass and take a sip.

“She’s your problem now. Teach her how this place works and how she should act. Don’t let her irritate me anymore.” The woman flatly said. Josephine’s ears dropped even further as she looked around the table, trying to figure out where she belong.

“Yes noona!” The retriever said before looking at Josephine with a bright smile. “Josie Posie, sit right here!” Hojeong pointed to the empty chair.

“What did you call her?” The woman asked, slightly annoyed.

“Josie Posie! It’s a nickname that I thought of last night since she’s small but pretty like posies. Is that okay?” Hojeong aimed the question to Josephine who merely nodded her head, scared of saying no—or yes for that matter—in front of the couple. She quickly made her way to the empty chair and sat down, Hojeong beaming at her the entire time.

“Listen to Hojeong and you’ll learn well your place here, Josie Posie.” The man at the end of the table said with a smirk in somewhat of a mocking tone as he took a sip of his wine. Josephine was scared to even look at him but she knew he was looking at her.

“Noona, do you really think it’s a good idea to have the mutt teach her? All she’ll learn is how to fetch! I don’t think this is a good idea, noona.” Moonkyu said.

“I’ll teach her.” San offered with a shrug of his shoulder.

“Yah! You tried selling me on eBay!” Sungwoon screeched.

“Only because you deserved it!” San fired back.

“Greet people with hugs and kisses.” Taehyun stated.

“That only works for your type of hybrid and Europeans and people from Latin America.” Moonkyu deadpanned, looking at Taehyun with a blank expression.

“San! I’m a good boy! What do you mean that she won’t learn from me?! Moonkyu hyung, I’m a good boy! She’ll learn how to be a good girl!”

While the five boys continued their conversation, Junhyuk gave Josephine a once over, taking in her rather girly and somewhat childish outfit. He looked over at his wife with a raised eyebrow.

“My love, what is she wearing? Pink?” Junhyuk couldn’t help but smirk at his wife’s reaction.

“Kid clothes are the only clothes that I could find that fit her. Piss off, Junhyuk.”