The Sun was still shining once you arrived at your parents’ house, it only made the white walls look even brighter. Given it was still only 5p.m., you were way earlier than you’d like, but in Baekhyun’s hyped state he had insisted that you left the apartment as soon as possible.

“How important is it that they like me?” Baekhyun asked as you pulled over, right next to the blooming magnolia tree.

“My parents? I don’t really care about that, they never like anything anyway.” Smiling, you blinked at him "But if Ji-woo hates you I’m gonna shoot myself so, yeah, make sure she doesn’t.” You finished the sentence with a strangled laugh.

The hybrid let out a softest “oh”.

That was it, the weekend had finally arrived and you surprisingly managed to drive to your parents’ house without hitting anything or stopping by at every shop on the way.

It was such a progress, you were so proud of yourself. “Maybe it's okay to turn back now? Oh, don’t look at me like that, I’m just kidding.” You quickly corrected yourself after Baekhyun threw a hurt look your way.

“I don’t get it, why are you so scared of your own family?” He asked.

“I’m not!” You answered, shaking your head. “I jus-"

Surprised, you let out a yelp when a tapping sound came from the car’s window. There, leaning forward with a cocked eyebrow, Ji-Woo curiously stared back at you.

You rolled down the window.

“Are you going to stay in there all evening?”

***

As opposed to Ji-Woo’s girly dress and perfectly applied eyeliner, you stood out of place in your ripped jeans and baggy hoodie. And that was before you all got into the fancy living room, staring at each other from across the dark oak furniture.

You should’ve picked something else to wear, it wasn’t even cold outside.

“Father will be here any minute now, we weren’t expecting you to be so early.” Ji-Woo said, catching your attention.

“What about mom?”

Ji-Woo shrugged “The usual, she was called at the hospital. Maybe she’ll be back before you leave.”

She probably wouldn’t, but that was a relief more than anything.

“For the time being, I’ll get something for you to drink.” Ji-Woo stood up, then disappeared walking passed a door behind the couch.

Before you left for college, the two of you were so close. You just couldn’t reconcile the memories you had with Ji-Woo with how awkward and rare your visits had become.

Baekhyun pulled your sleeve. “I thought she was your sister!” He whisper yelled. “You didn’t tell me she was a rabbit hybrid!”

“Of course I did!” You defended yourself.

Didn’t I?

Now it was his turn to vehemently shake his head at you.

“Oh, I really thought I had. If that’s any consolation, she’s kinda like a big sister.”

There was a pause, you could faintly hear the rabbit in the kitchen. Baekhyun furtively glanced at the door before turning back to you.

“Hey,” he began cautiously “is Ji-Woo-“

“Genetically tailored? Yes I am, thank you for noticing.” Startling the both you once again, Ji-Woo curtsied, unamused at finding out you had been talking about her. You cringed inwardly, not letting the smile leave your lips. At your side, Baekhyun cleared his throat gracelessly.

Honestly, she had no way of knowing that he was going to ask that. The rabbit just couldn’t miss the opportunity to boast about it. In fact, there was no way Baekhyun hadn’t noticed it himself, not with her long curly grayish hair in spite of her young age. There was nothing natural about that hybrid.

Well, not like hybrids were natural, but still.

With a clunk, Ji-Woo carefully set a tray with orange juice and cookies on top of the coffee table “I assume you still dislike tea.”

“Hm, yes. Thank you Ji.” Admittedly, tea wasn’t really your thing. Too watery.

Trying to keep the conversation going, you awkwardly gave out more details about your older sister to Baekhyun. “My grandparents had Ji-Woo custom made as a wedding gift to my parents. You know, a white rabbit for a white wedding. They thought it would be cute.”

At that, the rabbit hybrid preened with pride. Due to overpopulation and abandonment, most hybrids were simply born these days, so being custom made was not only rare but a sign of status.

“Wow”

“So, what about you? Were you custom made too?” She pried, leaning forward to pour him a glass of juice. “I mean, blue eyes and all.”

“Dunno, when I got in the shelter, I was so young I can’t even remember who left me there.” Baekhyun said matter of factly, grabbing a cookie.

Not exactly expecting that answer, Ji-Woo almost spilled some juice. She handed him the glass with a muttered apology.

Oh no.

This was supposed to be a nice visit, why did she have to bring that up? You don’t just ask an adopted hybrid about his past. But should you even say something? She was a hybrid too, you weren’t. You were the odd one out there, how could you possibly know what it was like to be a hybrid anyway.

You locked eyes with Ji-Woo, silently willing her to change the subject. Though all she did was groan. “Oh please, first meetings are always weird. You don’t have to freak out every. single. time.”

Way to be subtle about it!

“I’m not!! I-I don’t!”

“Yes you do.” Baekhyun bumped his knee on yours, then smirked at Ji-Woo. “You know, when we first met, she complimented me, then turned all shades of red before running to the exit. I was so confused.”

“No way.” Your sister hid a laugh behind her hand.

“I had to run after her, I swear.” He held one hand up.

“Oh sweetie…”

You gasped. “Well, excuse me for being shy!”

“No darling, I’m shy, you’re a maniac.” She answered playfully.

You never got the chance to dignify that with a response. Not with how Baekhyun turned into a ball of laughter, taking the bunny with him. To be fair, you were a little giggly too.

Things escalated quickly after that, and soon Ji-Woo was showing Baekhyun embarrassing old pictures and weird notes your teachers had written to your parents about you.

She had two whole albums of those.

***

Your father arrived around 7:00, saying his goodbyes to someone on his cell phone and apparently with no clue as to why you were in the house. He actually did a double take when you waved at him.

“We’ve got company for dinner.” Ji-Woo reminded him.

According to him, it’s not that he had forgotten, just that he hadn’t believed you would come. Which you couldn’t really blame him for.

Trading pleasantries was easy enough, and soon you all focused on the matter at hand: what to have for dinner?

The cat hybrid was very much confused when you started to beg for pizza and Ji-Woo insisted on Chinese. With all the expansive furniture and huge house, he had been expecting some fancy dinner.

Too bad that cooking hadn’t been a skill either of your parents ever bothered to master, it was too unrelated to their jobs. Even you only decided to try it out a couple of years ago.

“We never have a proper meal in this house.” Your father complained. “No one here can cook to save our lives.”

Baekhyun’s ears perked, maybe this could be his chance to make a good impression. “We could cook for you.” The hybrid offered, not missing how Ji-Woo’s smile faltered, her head turning to you in a heartbeat

“We?” She asked, though it sounded more like an accusation. “Since when you can cook?”

Not sure as to what had triggered that reaction from the bunny, you hesitated a few seconds to answer. “Yeah, my roommate taught me a while back.”

Annoyed, the rabbit rolled her eyes, quietly letting out a “Typical.” You and Baekhyun could only trade confused looks as she dismissed you with a wave of her hand. “Go on then, I’m hungry.”

***

“That was weird, right? Please tell me I’m not the only one that thought that was weird.” You whispered to Baekhyun, worried your voice would echo off the kitchen’s walls.

Busy washing tomatoes, Baekhyun responded with a hum.

“Was that a yes?”

“Actually, I know why she was mad.” Baekhyun announced, sounding way too smug for someone on washing vegetables duty. And definitely way too loud for your liking.

Fighting your curiosity, you shushed him, just as Ji-Woo walked in. “So, what are we eating?” Her eyes were as sharp as an eagle's, and you were once again as nervous as you had been this morning.

Given the few ingredients they had for you to work with, you and Baekhyun decided to make spaghetti with red sauce. A simple and rather fast dish to cook.

The rabbit wasn’t impressed.

But your father was, or at least he acted the part really well. “I didn’t know you were good at anything.” He said cheerfully in-between bites of spaghetti. Ji-Woo coughed once, and he seemed to catch himself “I mean, cooking related.”

You willingly chose to let that one slide. “I’m pretty good at it. Like, when it’s the end of the month and I’m waiting for my paycheck? The variety of soups I’ve learned to make with little to no ingredients could impress anyone.”

That one was supposed to be funny, but only Baekhyun laughed. You loved him a bit more for it.

“And you really went and got yourself a hybrid with all that money you aren’t making, huh?” Your father remarked sharply.

Oh no.

Your eyes darted to the cat hybrid sitting in front of you. To his troubled expression and how his cat ears went down. Yup, time to change the subject again.

“Hey Ji, did you finish that show yo-“

“No, I’m with him. Don’t even try to get out of this one.” She angrily let her fork down. "You just bought a hybrid without consulting the family, who even does that? And I only found out because I called you and he picked up!”

The anger in her eyes only helped fuel your own, but still you tried to ease the situation. “I was going to tell you later.”

She let out a mirthless laugh, mouthing an “wow” at you father’s direction.  So predictable, they always ganged up on you.

“Your sister is right honey. Hybrids are expensive, especially for you. You should’ve at least mentioned something.”

“Hm, should I leave the room or-?“ Baekhyun wanted nothing more than to be out of that table, but no one listened to him.

You clicked your tongue at how your father spoke as if you were a petulant child, not an adult who paid her own bills. “Especially for me? No one makes a lot of money at the beginning of their career.”

“What career? You don’t even have a degree.”  He said bitterly.

“And didn’t even bother to tell anyone you had dropped out.” Ji-Woo added unhelpfully."For months!”

This couldn’t be happening again. You couldn’t keep on having the same fight over and over until the end of time. Feeling nauseous, you stood up and headed for the door, not even bothering to look back as you announced. “We’re leaving.”

“Yeah, sure, let’s just talk about it later!” She screamed after you, muffling your father’s pleas for you to come back.

Not that you were truly listening.

The air around you felt heavy and cold as you marched your way to the car. Leaving that stupid house was the only thought in your brain. So much so that  you only had the mind to look back and see if Baekhyun had followed you after you reached the magnolia tree.

Tears filled your eyes once you realized that yes, he had. Just like when you first met, he followed you, even though you were acting ridiculous. Your eyesight began to blur.

“Hey…” he said softly, holding you in a tight hug.

Attempting to control your sobs, you rested your head on the crook of his neck and closed your eyes. You wanted to apologize that he had to see that, wanted to thank him for not treating you like an idiot, but all that left your lips was an ugly whine that sounded more like a sowwy than a sorry.

He held you like that, tenderly caressing you hair. And you held him too, crying like a schoolgirl.

You hadn’t cried like that the last time you fought with your family, but this time was different. This time you weren’t alone, Baekhyun was here with you, and that was both wonderful and horrible at the same time. Because tomorrow you would die of embarrassment. Only tomorrow though, tonight all you could do was cry and feel his heartbeat in his warm embrace.

When you finally calmed down enough to speak, you stepped back trying to look at anything but him. “I’m sorry you had to see that.” You finally managed to say, still not letting go of the hybrid.

Smiling fondly, Baekhyun shook his head. “Don’t say that.”

“It’s just that… They think I’m a failure.” You sobbed again. “And maybe they’re right.”

Baekhyun cupped your face in his hands, holding you so you’d meet his gaze. “You’re not a failure.” Slowly, he closed the gap between you, letting his soft lips brush against your forehead in a delicate kiss. You closed your eyes.

“I don’t think they were even mad about college, not really.” He kissed you again, this time on the right cheek. “They’re worried because they’re feeling left out. You need to talk to them more, you have this tendency to keep everything to yourself.”

Hearing those words, your eyes opened instantly. You were ready to complain, but Baekhyun didn’t give you a chance, your mouth froze up as soon as he kissed it right at the corner.

“You’re all salty” he smiled. “Just answer me this, you weren’t against me meeting your parents, right? You just didn’t want to argue with them?”

You nodded.

“Next time, just tell me, okay? I wouldn’t have insisted you called them if I knew you would fight.” There was a hint of guilt in his voice, and it broke your heart to hear it.

Baekhyun was right, you did have a tendency to bubble things up, to keep your problems to yourself. You just didn’t want to be a burden.

“I need you to rely on me more.” Baekhyun said, determined in a way you hadn’t witnessed before.

You nodded again in a silent promise, putting your arms around his neck then pulling him closer. This time it was your turn to kiss him.

***

Ji-Woo [8:43PM]

Wow.

I can see you through the window.

Idiot.

Ji-Woo [09:44PM]

Did you get home safely?

Ji-Woo [11:00PM]

I’m sorry I screamed at you.

It wasn’t polite.

For what it’s worth, I had fun.

You know, before.

Just felt like you should know.

Goodnight.

Y/N [11:02PM]

Ily too