Will TaekWoon ever get to wake up on his own over the weekend anymore?

This time, it was a feeling that roused him from his slumber. A feeling of being watched. Intensely. He slowly opened one eye, his vision focusing with difficulty.

Two pairs of eyes. One pair dark but twinkling with delight. The other pair sleepy but still gazing with interest.

TaekWoon groaned and rolled over, burying his face in his pillow, but his groan was accented with a loud OOF from HakYeon pouncing on his back.

“Uwah, hyung,” came the voice of a giant idiot who was somehow in his apartment. “You could probably sleep through a typhoon even if it carried you all the way to Australia.”

“Get out of my apartment,” TaekWoon grumbled.

SangHyuk ignored him. “I rang your doorbell a few times, but HakYeon opened the door. Then him and WonShik started wrestling around in the living room. I’m seriously surprised you didn’t hear any of that.”

TaekWoon grunted, losing air from the weight of HakYeon squishing him into the mattress. He quickly turned over to throw HakYeon onto the bed. Simply squealing in delight, HakYeon rolled off but jumped to his feet to dart out of the room, WonShik following close behind.

“Didn’t you say you got promoted? We came to celebrate.”

TaekWoon considered for the slightest bit. “Han SangHyuk. I, literally, was just told I was getting promoted two days ago. My pay raise probably won’t occur for another two pay periods, and just because I’m getting a pay raise doesn’t mean I’m suddenly a millionaire. The raise wasn’t anything more than 1,000 won, either. Just because I just got promoted doesn’t mean I suddenly have copious amounts of money.”

“Oh… Well… We’re already here, so let’s celebrate!”

TaekWoon grunted as he threw the blanket over his head. He could hear as SangHyuk sighed and flopped to the floor just as the sound of shuffling feet entered the room. Curses and damnation, he could smell coffee. Cautiously, he peeked out from the safety of the blanket. Of course. HakYeon was at the side of his bed with a fresh mug of coffee held out to his face, WonShik looming over HakYeon’s shoulder and sniffing with interest.

TaekWoon rolled over again so he could properly glare at HakYeon. “I hate you.”

The appropriate response was a sunshine smile and tail wagging vigorously enough to smack WonShik in the legs and SangHyuk in the face. TaekWoon had only just gripped the handle of the mug before HakYeon was dashing out of the room again, suddenly reappearing in a flash with a second mug for WonShik and water in a glass for SangHyuk, the momentum of HakYeon screeching to a halt pulling some water over the lip.

“HakYeon, are you making a mess in my bedroom?” TaekWoon growled.

The hybrid quickly jittered his head back and forth. He noticed the wet spot on the carpet, though, and quickly stomped on the offending area with his foot to cover any evidence. Apparently, HakYeon must have helped himself to an unhealthy amount of coffee before everyone else.

This is how the four ended up spending the day exhausting TaekWoon’s money. Normally, that would be unforgiveable, but HakYeon was ecstatic at finally being well from the stupid ear infection and being able to play with WonShik again, so TaekWoon begrudgingly let it slide. He restricted the amount of food SangHyuk ordered, though.

Even though his pay raise hadn’t gone into effect just yet, the seasons were changing, so the four found themselves perusing the dark shop in Myungdong after lunch. SangHyuk bantered with the shop owner as TaekWoon watched HakYeon skip through the aisles, WonShik slowly looking around for anything that would catch his eye.

TaekWoon sidled up to the two humans who were loitering at the register counter. The half-dogs were taking turns passing different hats to each other, haphazardly throwing them back on the hooks when they got too bored with the ones in their hands; they were probably replacing them in the wrong spot, but that isn’t TaekWoon’s responsibility.

“It’s been a while, huh?” the sales clerk chirped. TaekWoon chanced a glance at the clerk’s nametag. YookDuk, it said. What the heck. “How has he been? He looks like he’s become even more of a handful.”

TaekWoon scoffed. “That’s an understatement. Whatever. He hasn’t killed me or anything, so I don’t care. Yah, SangHyuk, I noticed it earlier, but what the heck is WonShik wearing?”

SangHyuk scanned the room to find WonShik, stared for a bit, then looked questioningly at TaekWoon. “Clothes…? And his collar?”

“A collar? Why?”

“Why not? He says he likes wearing it whenever he goes out of my apartment. Said it makes him feel better.”

“A collar,” TaekWoon repeated. “That’s weird.”

“What’s weird about it?” SangHyuk’s eyes grew wide. “Yah! Don’t be thinking of weird things, hyung! … Unless you’re that type of person…”

“What the hell kind of person are you thinking of?!” TaekWoon exploded, the giant idiot and the idiot clerk bursting into laughter. “It’s just weird to me, alright?”

Of course HakYeon would choose that moment to prance up to TaekWoon, eagerly holding out a hideous-looking collar with too much bedazzle and shine.

“Absolutely not!” TaekWoon roared, catching even WonShik’s attention on the other side of the store. “Put it back!”

He minutely regretted his explosive reaction when HakYeon wilted sadly, turning around obediently. The scalding, judging looks from SangHyuk and “YookDuk” added to his remorse.

TaekWoon coughed. “It would be better if it was red, anyway…”

Pointed dog ears perked up, and HakYeon was off like a shot, returning instantly with a different style.

“Quit picking up the obnoxious ones!”

“You know, the collars also come as a set,” YookDuk added helpfully as he scanned the barcodes of the clothes on the counter. The barcode that was tagged on HakYeon’s collar had been taken off, HakYeon proudly displaying his new accessory to WonShik who only looked on with vague interest. “We have a matching wristband in the event the human companion would be privy to a couples look.”

“What day would you like for me to set your store on fire?” TaekWoon replied menacingly.

“Aw, come on, hyung!” SangHyuk piped up. He held out his hand where the wrist was adorned with a band that looked rather similar to the thing around the floppy-eared hybrid’s neck. “Look, I even have one with WonShik!”

“As if I want to be anything like you.” There was no way he would get anything obnoxious red around his wrist – since obnoxious red featuring black stitching was the only thing he would settle for among the nonsense HakYeon kept bringing him.

SangHyuk eagerly elected to help clasp the black-with-red-stitching band around TaekWoon’s wrist before they left the shop. Even though he was obviously being a sourpuss, TaekWoon relented at the bright look on HakYeon’s face when he held up his hand to look at it. He quickly followed it up with a knuckle into HakYeon’s midsection to get that dumb smile to disappear.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Jung TaekWoon. I’m moving to this department starting today.”

TaekWoon’s low bow could have gotten his shirt collar caught on a door handle. The department head who stood before him looked rather unimpressed, frowning at the courtesy.

“You don’t have to be so uptight,” he replied. “We’re way too chill on this floor. Here, straighten up.” He offered his hand. “My name is Lee JaeHwan. I’m your direct supervisor, so I get to demote you if you mess up.”

TaekWoon faltered a bit as he reached out to shake JaeHwan’s hand. “Errr… right. Nice to meet you.”

JaeHwan, however, simply smiled brightly. “Likewise. I must ask you, though…” With TaekWoon’s hand still in his grasp, he rotated their hands so the top of TaekWoon’s hand was exposed. “This bracelet… Where did you get it?”

Oh God. He had forgotten to take it off that morning. TaekWoon could feel a slight blush creeping to the tips of his ears. “Ah… This? It’s, uh… just something I bought when I was out shopping the other day…”

A knowing smirk. “Did you happen to be shopping, maybe, at Myungdong?”

“Eh? Er, maybe, but…”

“How funny.” JaeHwan held up his other hand, and adorning his wrist was a wristband that seemed almost similar in style. The color was different, obviously, a cotton-candy pink. “I have one just like it.”

“Eh?! Do you…”

“I do!” JaeHwan finally released TaekWoon’s hand as he quickly whipped out his phone, swiping a few times before shoving the screen in TaekWoon’s face. “Cat boy! Isn’t he cute?!”

The face on the screen looked like the cat boy was not at all happy about being called cute nor being displayed so freely to a stranger. TaekWoon tried to look away from the deep scowl on the screen. “Y-yeah… Um… Where's my desk?”

“Ah, right. This way. Hey! We should make a play date for our kids! Do you do anything over the weekend?”

 This is how TaekWoon and HakYeon ended up loitering at the park near TaekWoon’s apartment the following weekend. HakYeon contented himself with ambling around, carefree, since TaekWoon parked himself on a bench. It took some number of minutes of HakYeon being constantly distracted by first a butterfly, then a piece of trash rolling with the light breeze, then the same butterfly, then someone shouting on the other side of the park, for TaekWoon to pull out his phone and–

Click.

HakYeon spun around to look at TaekWoon, ears pointing straight up. TaekWoon blinked then pressed the shutter button again.

Click.

HakYeon leapt at TaekWoon. “What was that?”

“I was taking a picture,” TaekWoon replied.

Much to his supervisor’s dismay, TaekWoon had absolutely no pictures of HakYeon to share, contrary to the storage-depleted memory card of JaeHwan’s catboy. He never really thought about it; TaekWoon wasn't exactly the type to take pictures of much, in general.

“I wanna see!”

HakYeon almost crushed TaekWoon as he tried to look at TaekWoon’s phone. His grabby hands abruptly stopped, and HakYeon’s ears perked straight up again, completely serious, his attention drawn elsewhere. It was so sudden, TaekWoon was almost alarmed.

“What is it?” he asked warily.

“There’s…” HakYeon didn’t finish his sentence, jumping to his feet in an instant.

But TaekWoon had a pretty good idea about what grabbed HakYeon’s attention. “Don’t go running off. That’s probably my supervisor and his hybrid.”

“Yeah!” HakYeon’s eyes glittered. “Yeah! They’re coming from over there!”

TaekWoon turned his gaze in the direction HakYeon was looking, but the only people nearby were definitely no one he knew. Anyone else that way was a speck in the distance.

“Calm down. They’ll be here soon. SangHyuk said he and WonShik are almost here, too.”

“Oooh!!! WonShikkie!!!”

“HakYeon, stay here.”

It was an excruciating five minutes for HakYeon, having to stay in one place as this new friend and other new friend came within waving distance. TaekWoon was just starting to stand as JaeHwan – looking very different in civilian clothes – raised a hand as a greeting when HakYeon was bolting forward to the slight figure trailing behind JaeHwan. Groaning, TaekWoon swiftly followed suit.

“Sorry,” he immediately apologized. “Uh, this is HakYeon, and he’s way too easily excitable. HakYeon!”

Their introduction was very different from when HakYeon met WonShik. The catboy, looking very annoyed and harassed, dodged away from HakYeon and tried to keep JaeHwan between them. HakYeon found the game entertaining and circled around to follow, stopping short from TaekWoon yanking him back by the arm. His tail still swished energetically as he looked with bright eyes from JaeHwan to the hybrid.

JaeHwan merely laughed. “He’s cute, though. A fitting contrast for you. And this is HongBin. Much like the cat stereotype, he’s rather leery of strangers at first, but he’s nice after he figures you out.”

The catboy scowled from behind JaeHwan’s shoulder, not showing any sign of warming up to the two. His tail flicked with agitation, and he pointedly decided to glare in a different direction.

“I actually called another one of my friends to join the… uh, play date,” TaekWoon admitted. “He’s a university student, but he also lives with a hybrid. I hope that’s okay…”

“Wow, really? Yeah, that’s perfectly fine. The more, the merrier.”

“His hybrid is a dogboy, too, and he and HakYeon get along really well, so I hope they don’t end up annoying HongBin too much – ”

With perfect timing, HakYeon was gone without a trace, HongBin recoiling backwards from the sudden movement. But TaekWoon already knew before he looked over that HakYeon was bear hugging the floppy-eared hybrid, WonShik groaning in protest. SangHyuk, lagging behind, had his phone in hand but, spotting the crowd, ended up slipping it back into his pocket. He trotted forward, giving a quick bow in JaeHwan’s direction.

“Ah, this is Han SangHyuk,” TaekWoon said, gesturing at the kid. “This is my new supervisor, Lee JaeHwan. And behind him is HongBin.”

JaeHwan offered his hand as HongBin continued to scowl, the scowl becoming more prominent when HakYeon tugged WonShik over. WonShik looked over with interest, but HakYeon pulled him back and sagely wiggled a finger, keen on sharing the recently-attained How to Deal with Moody Catboy knowledge, himself. Not at all fond of the dogboy attention, HongBin made an attempt to slink away. However, all restraint dissolved from HakYeon as he pursued the catboy’s attempt to escape which made HongBin break into a run, made HakYeon run after him even faster, and made WonShik give chase because why not. The three ran along the path at first but dodged into the trees.

“Yah, HakYeon!!” TaekWoon felt like he may as well have been taking care of a kindergartener what with having to shout after him all the time.

“Eh, they’ll be fine,” JaeHwan interjected airily. “This is actually pretty interesting for me. It’s been a while since I’ve seen this many hybrids in one place.”

SangHyuk nodded. “Besides WonShik, I’ve only ever seen HakYeon, though.”

“I was wondering about that,” TaekWoon spoke up. “I thought hybrids were a rare sight these days, but in a few months, I’ve heard of at least four in this general area alone. Are there more than we thought?”

JaeHwan sighed, crossing his arms. “Well, here’s the thing. Back in the olden days, they were spread pretty evenly around the world, never really emigrating to one place or another and just maintaining their population wherever they were. But at some point, I’d say, around 50-ish years ago, humans started moving them around, and their existence became more concentrated around Europe. This was because of the sudden interest in hybrid competitions of sorts.

“Because most hybrids weren't able to attain any sort of certification what with not being able to read, write, and properly communicate and such, they weren’t able to do anything for society, so that’s when people started to assume ownership over them and use them for status and gain. If you had a hybrid, you were seen as authoritative, a good leader or commander. If the hybrid was attractive, they were swept off to the fashion industry to be famished models. If the hybrid was strong, they were thrown into hybrid fights, gladiator-style. Thankfully, groups of people around the world started to speak out against those practices, demanding humanity. It still took a few years, but now hybrids don’t have to go through that sort of treatment.”

“It still happens, though,” TaekWoon added. “HakYeon told me how he was involved with hybrid fights before.”

SangHyuk’s eyebrows shot up, but JaeHwan nodded. “People will find ways to make money, even if it is illegal. I found HongBin in a different situation. He had just been discarded by who knows what industry and was being sold off for breeding. The organization was busted, the hybrids in captivity ran free, and I found HongBin wandering around the streets of Hong Kong.”

“How did he end up following you?” SangHyuk asked.

Looking down in thought, JaeHwan eventually admitted, “That's a good question. Maybe it’s just my charm.” At that, he suddenly flashed a huge, cheesy grin, looking to the other two for affirmation.

Adamantly disregarding such behavior from his work superior, TaekWoon looked back in the direction where the hybrids had disappeared. “Maybe we should follow after them.”

JaeHwan backpedaled quickly and straightened up. “Yeah.”

The ease between the three humans slowly ebbed away with each step they took, each step taking them further into the trees and bringing the sun closer to the horizon. They couldn’t rely on following tracks since the hybrids could still wear human shoes, were wearing human shoes, and there were human shoe prints everywhere. Their names were frequently called, but the only reply came from the birds and insects.

“How far did they go…?” SangHyuk muttered.

TaekWoon sighed, having shouted HakYeon’s name for the third time that minute. Already, their surroundings had turned to the hazy, post-sunset blue. It wouldn’t be long before everything around them would be completely dark. Then how could they possibly find the hybrids?

A sudden, piercing yelp answered that question, followed by faint shouts and very familiar snarling that made TaekWoon’s blood turn to ice.

“That’s…” JaeHwan’s eyes widened.

SangHyuk spun around. “That was WonShik!”

“This way!!”

They plunged through the trees, following the noise, TaekWoon pushing to the lead. His breath rattled in his ears, and he tried to focus on which direction the growling was coming from. Turn here, more right, just ahead…

The sudden drop caused all three to stumble and almost lose their footing, slipping on grass and dead leaves. They were forced to a halt from the spectacle before them.

There were four men, strangers, all fanned out and crouched, waiting to lunge. One had his hand up to his face, pinching his nose to keep blood from getting everywhere. They all looked unfriendly, not the type one would call up for a casual outing. Then there were TaekWoon, SangHyuk, and JaeHwan, covered in leaves, almost dogpiled on each other, staring dumbly.

Between the groups was HakYeon, low in a menacing crouch with dark ears pressed back, holding WonShik around the middle with WonShik hanging limp like a doll, paralyzed from a snare pole looped around his neck. HakYeon kept a steady growl aimed at the strange men even as his ears twitched at TaekWoon and the others’ loud arrival.

“H-HakYeon…” TaekWoon stumbled to the hybrid’s side. “What’s going on…?”

He didn’t reply, kept his eyes trained on the strange men. WonShik, however, wriggled out of his grasp at the sight of SangHyuk, and HakYeon released him without looking away or losing his stance. The men looked wary, uncomfortable with the idea of the random newcomers. When one of them moved the slightest bit, HakYeon swiftly shifted to shield TaekWoon. It seemed the men weren’t interested in any further confrontation, though, as they quickly turned around to run through the trees, away from the group.

“HakYeon…” The hybrid still didn’t move, focused on the backs disappearing in the darkness. “HakYeon, come on.”

One ear lifted in TaekWoon’s direction, and HakYeon finally tore his gaze away to look TaekWoon in the eye, reaching a hand up to latch on to TaekWoon’s shirt, his brow furrowed in concern. His hand was shaking the slightest bit.

TaekWoon brought his own hand up to rest atop HakYeon’s head. “Good job, puppy. I don’t know what just happened, but you did well.”

The tail did a half-wag, and HakYeon suddenly remembered WonShik. He spun around, TaekWoon following suit, and they found that SangHyuk and JaeHwan had successfully removed the noose from around WonShik’s neck, the floppy-eared hybrid’s face pressed into SangHyuk’s shoulder. Whining, HakYeon edged towards WonShik, but WonShik, glancing up in fear, cowered away, retreating to hiding between SangHyuk’s shoulder blades. HakYeon was dumbfounded by the reaction, and he looked to TaekWoon for an answer.

“Wait…” JaeHwan suddenly broke the silence. “Where’s HongBin?”

Ah. They’d forgotten all about the moody catboy in the confusion. HakYeon stared blankly for a second, but then his eyes lit up, and he trotted off, nose in the air and scanning the trees. By the time they were able to find HongBin, it was already well into nighttime, and it took a while before they realized HongBin was high in the dark branches of a tree that HakYeon circled.

It took quite a bit of coaxing from everyone to get HongBin to finally come down, and as soon as his feet touched the earth, HakYeon moved forward. HongBin was in an even fouler mood – with obvious thanks to whatever ordeal had occurred – and all it took was a poisonous glare for HakYeon to shrink away and mope behind TaekWoon, ears and tail dipped low.

“I don’t know what all this was about,” JaeHwan sighed, “but I think it’s time to go home.”

“Yeah…” SangHyuk agreed, absentmindedly patting WonShik on the head.

They trekked forward in silence, GPS glowing on phone screens to guide them out of the park. It didn’t seem to take as long getting back out of the trees, and the three and respective hybrids parted ways as they reached the sidewalk at the edge of civilization.

Even after passing through the door to TaekWoon’s apartment, the two were still silent, TaekWoon lost in his thoughts. As he crossed through the living room, he turned to see HakYeon watching him intently. Startled, HakYeon stopped in his tracks, ears and tail drooping even lower.

“Yah…” TaekWoon turned to walk back to HakYeon, but the hybrid shrunk on himself like he knew he was about to get a scolding. “Why are you acting like this again?”

HakYeon wrung his hands together. “I… It was… the same men as before…”

At first, TaekWoon wasn’t following what HakYeon was talking about. But he suddenly realized, with goosebumps rising on his skin, “You mean…”

HakYeon nodded. “The same men who stole me before. They must have seen me, and it’s my fault they chased us…”

“What? No. No, it’s not your fault.”

“But WonShikkie…”

HakYeon seriously looked as if he was about to cry. TaekWoon rested his hand on HakYeon’s head again, ruffling his hair for good measure. “Hey, don’t worry about it, okay? SangHyuk texted me earlier saying WonShik is alright. The thing on his neck didn’t hurt him too badly. He was just scared since nothing like that had ever happened to him before.”

“But – ”

“No more buts. It’s not your fault, and no one is mad at you. Now let’s go to bed.”

By the time TaekWoon stepped out of the shower, HakYeon was back to his normal self, sprawled on his side of the bed. The tail thumped a few times as TaekWoon collapsed on his own side, heaving out a deep sigh.

“Still…” he muttered, “this was definitely a crazy day.”

HakYeon hummed, already dozing off. TaekWoon turned his head. The hybrid’s face was content, cheek mashed into the pillow. The blaring red collar caught his attention.

“Hey…” HakYeon’s ears twitched. “Do you seriously like wearing that thing? The collar?”

“Mhmm. It’s kinda… like an old blanket. It just feels good…”

TaekWoon stared. It could’ve just been sleep talk. Or not. Either way, he changed his mind about taking his own wristband off for the night.

​A/N: I'M NOT DEAD I SWEAR I'VE JUST BEEN WAY TOO BUSY IRL

Ken and HongRib appear! Fun facts: Ken was originally the shop clerk in Myungdong, and I was never really sure where I was gonna put HongBin, if I did put him in. But my thoughts fermented, and all of this madness appeared. And it was an opportune time to give a little hybrid history. Not that it matters that much, but I felt like throwing it in there.

In any case, HakYeon has a Throwback Thursday. What else was I gonna write here...?