#exo hybrid!au | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

byunbhyunz · 2 years ago

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Being Fond of You Comes Naturally

Pairing: Chanyeol/Reader (but not really)

Genre: fluff, angst, hybrid!au

Rating: +18

Warnings: mentions and hints of abuse, sexual abuse, so please don’t read if you’re triggered by it.

Word count: 18,908

Five years went by since hybrids were introduced to the world. Half-human, half-animal beings, who needed to be taken care of. Most people treated them as pets, just as lovingly, but sometimes also just as bad. Yet, you never sparred them a thought until your roommate decided to bring home a tall Labrador Retriever hybrid.

You were stunned. Standing in the living room speechless, bare feet rooted to the fluffy carpet, you stared at your roommate and what she has brought home. Or more like who she brought home. You weren’t sure how you should refer to hybrids. The whole thing was still new to you, even though more than five years passed since they were officially introduced to the society.

Cocking an eyebrow, you glanced questioningly at Seoyun, who fiercely refused to look away. The hybrid next to her seemed to be nervous. He was tall with big doe eyes, and despite his dark hair, his perked ears were covered with golden fur. Strange combination, you thought. He slightly trembled under your inspecting eyes, and grabbed Seoyun’s hand.

“What is this?” you asked slowly.

“He’s a hybrid, not a thing.” She pouted at you, voice lazy and not really caring.

“I can see that. I mean, what is he doing here? What is this situation?”

“I bought him. I was lonely, and he looked so sad at the shelter.”

You hummed. Clicking your tongue loudly, you plopped back down on the couch. You wanted to get back to your work, but your mind wasn’t in the right state at the moment, and you didn’t even know what was the reason for it. Maybe because she forgot to discuss it with you beforehand? Or you were just simply against taking hybrids home as pets? Maybe both. However, you didn’t like this whole idea overall.

Staring at the screen of your laptop with empty eyes, you heard your roommate murmuring softly to the hybrid as she led him to her room. It was right next to yours, and you wondered how can or will the two of them be comfortable in there. Neither room was too big. Well, comfortable for one, but not for two.

From the corner of your eyes, you glanced at the hybrid. He was tall, but at that moment his shoulders slumped forward, as he was trying to shrink to the same size as Seoyun was; and he failed miserably. He must have felt your eyes on him, because the next moment he whipped his head in your direction. His eyes widened, and you didn’t like the scared shine in them. Were you that intimidating? So much for a first impression!

Sighing, you turned back to your laptop, the design for the next spread of the magazine not really registering in your brain.

You were a free-lancer graphic designer. Well, free-lancer on paper, but you were hired for a monthly magazine to design and edit for them. It wasn’t a big job, twenty pages on top, which you usually finished in a week. The only problem was that they didn’t pay you too well, so you also had to take side jobs and even ran a little site where you took commissions for portraits. From the both of them combined you made enough to live well.

It wasn’t like that in the beginning. You barely made any money from your commissions. You had to slowly build up your reputation, so word about your work would spread in the required circles. During the harder days, you worked in a café. You liked in there, but felt relieved when you finally could quit to concentrate on your the work you did with passion.

After maybe an hour, Seoyun came out, the hybrid lingering closely behind her, holding onto her hand.

“What’s your name?” you asked, not looking at them. You didn’t want to scare him off more than you already did. The way he pulled his shoulder up, hunched forward as if he was trying to disappear from your eyes, told you how he didn’t like you just yet.

“Chanyeol,” Seoyun answered for him, her tone slightly colder than before.

You hummed, not wanting to piss her off. You had a nice relationship with each other. She was you roommate in college too, and since you lived together well enough, you decided to find an apartment and move in together after graduating. Your lifestyles were the exact opposite, but maybe that was the reason why it worked so well. You usually stayed at home working, doing the house work, while she was away a lot (not just for work), and did grocery shopping or went to the post office to pay the bills.

Your dynamic worked out, but you wouldn’t call her your friend. Maybe companion would be a better word for what you were to the other. You despised the way she had turned in too many men’s bed, but you even hated more when she told you about it. In great details. She lived her life in a reckless way in you opinion, but as long as she was okay with it, you were too.

And that was exactly your problem with her taking a hybrid home. With her sleeping at other places for more nights than she slept at home, how could she take care of a hybrid? You wanted to tell all of that to her, but decided against it. It would only make bad blood between you two, and you didn’t want to look for a new apartment just because Seoyun grew to hate you for your big mouth.

Still, you couldn’t stand to not make a comment.

“Okay, but I won’t take care of him, if you forget to come home for days.”

Seoyun snorted and laughed sarcastically. You looked at her with a blank expression on your face to make her stop. Then she finally smiled, and said:

“You don’t have to worry. I’ll be the perfect owner of Chanyeol.”

It was your turn to snort. You hoped so for your own good!

Sighing out loud, you stared at the empty counter top. Originally, you planned to make yourself something for dinner, but then you noticed the silence in the apartment. It shouldn’t have been like that. Frowning, you wondered where Seoyun disappeared. She didn’t came home on time, and it wasn’t the first time since Chanyeol lived with you two.

Your roommate went to work in the morning, and haven’t came home since then. Usually she got off from work around three or four in the afternoon, depending on how much work she had to do, but it was already eight and there was no sight of her. You were working in the living room all day, so you were pretty sure that Chanyeol haven’t left Seoyun’s room all day.

You decided to make some pasta and souse, and prepared some for the hybrid too. He wasn’t your responsibility, but you couldn’t let him starve himself to death because of your roommate’s ignorance.

You really wished that she was being honest when she said she won’t be out late and will take care of Chanyeol. That you wouldn’t have to look after him, because she would be responsible from that point on. But that crumbled down only in a week.

Well, it didn’t happen in one day. Not like she went to sleep as a prefect owner of her hybrid, then woke up as a careless person the next morning.

It started with staying out for one or two hours after work, which wasn’t that big of a deal for you. She told you beforehand, so you were aware of it. And she left food for Chanyeol in the fridge too. On the other hand he barely ate when she wasn’t home. You even talked about it with Seoyun, but she shrugged it off, saying that he doesn’t like to eat alone. You didn’t offer to eat with him, when she wasn’t home, and she didn’t ask you to do it.

But after some point, Seoyun stayed out for more and more hours, leaving you and the hiding hybrid alone in the apartment. Last weekend, she didn’t even sleep at home.

The souse sizzled in the pan as you stirred it up, and eventually mixed it with some chicken breast. Then you let it cook while covering it with a lid. Leaving it, you readied the pasta and portioned it out on two plates. When the chicken was ready, you did the same with it too.

Leaving one of the plates on the counter, you put the other one on a tray, accompanied with a pair of chopsticks and a glass of water, then brought it to Seoyun’s room. You knocked softly on the closed door, and when no answer came, you said:

“I made some dinner. I leave it next to the door for you, and will come back and take the plate later when you are finished with it.” You hesitated slightly before adding: “Enjoy your meal!”

You went back to the kitchen, and washed the remaining dishes before sitting down to eat. The whole time you listened to the noises in the apartment, checking if he came out for the food. A few minutes later a soft click of the door could be heard, then some shuffling, and the door closed back.

You caught yourself smiling as you went back to the living room and ate your pasta while checking your e-mails. There were more than enough of them, part of them from previous clients and some new asks for portraits with reference photos and details, even some checking ins with the magazine you worked for. You already finished three pages from next month’s issue, since the journalists and photographers were fast with their job. Only seventeen more to go and you still had the next three weeks to work on it. Most journalists liked to do their parts in the very last minute, meaning that you had to work hard and fast in the last moments too before it had to be sent out for printing.

The pasta went cold long before you finished it, the better half of it wasn’t even warm while you ate it. Your attention was set on your laptop, mind on work, not on basic human needs.

Humming to a forgotten song, you took a break after a few hours, letting the left over souse go hard on the plate, making it more difficult to wash later. You checked on Seoyun’s room – or more like the door of her room –, finding the tray with an empty plate on the floor. You hummed some more; feeling somewhat happy that Chanyeol ate what you cooked, and didn’t just continued with his fasting. Next time, maybe he will even leave the room for a couple of minutes.

You pitied him. You really did. Being locked up in a small room all day long, because the person responsible of you decided to ignore your needs.

Absentmindedly, you typed in the word ‘hybrid’ in the search bar. A lot of links appeared on different topics, and most of them didn’t help you at all. You didn’t even know what you were looking for, just read some articles on the current state of the hybrids in society, but you couldn’t grasp the meaning of them. They were always referring back to previous articles and news, that you didn’t know about. It was a mess, and your head started to hurt soon, so you closed those tabs and went back to work.

It wasn’t your job to do anyway. He was Seoyun’s hybrid to take care of, not yours, and you didn’t have a say in what way she was treating Chanyeol.

Softly approaching Seoyun about your concerns wasn’t a successful way of making her realize your issues. Well, they weren’t your issues really, since you had no relation to Chanyeol, but you were living in the same apartment, and you hated to see him being so lonely and sad whenever your roommate decided that it was a good idea to stay out for the night. And it happened more often than not.

You tried to casually bring up the topic of staying in more, you even stooped so low to ask her to watch a movie with you at home, which she never did. Her answer was a simple no and a weird look you could understand. You never really spent ‘bonding’ time with her, since your relationship was purely transactional, not friendly.

On the other hand, in the past weeks Chanyeol got used to you little by little. He started to come out of Seoyun’s room when she was away. He ate with you when you cooked for him too instead of locking himself away, and lately he even joined you in the living room. He usually watched dramas while you worked on your laptop.

The first time he did that, you were very cautious of your actions and his presence. You refused to move around too much, even when your legs got cramps, you barely flinched because you were scared that he would run back to the bedroom. But to your surprise, he huddled up on the armchair furthest from you, and started to watch the TV. You couldn’t help, but stare at him, and when he noticed, his whole face turned into a burning shade of red and locked his eyes on the screen until Seoyun came back home late night.

This went on for a while: him coming out to watch the news or dramas, and after a while he scooted closer to you.

You usually worked while sitting on the floor, back pressed to the couch, laptop either on your lap or on the table. At first, he sat on the edge of the couch, then the next time he was a little closer, and closer, and the last time he was sitting next to you on the carpet, openly watching what you were doing, but never spoke.

Lunch and dinner was different, but not really. He did the same method; approaching you from afar, until he was sitting next to you at the dining table. And eventually, he even started to speak; thanking for the food, asking for more or if you wanted some water to drink, and he would bring a glass of it for the both of you. Sometimes he even helped you with washing the dishes or cleaning the table after you finished.

You often wondered if this calm, quiet side was truly his personality, or he was still holding himself back from you for whatever reason. Seoyun slipped you that Chanyeol was a Labrador Retriever hybrid, and from what information you could gather, he should be much more energetic and needed to let off a lot of steam.

That’s why you decided to ask him to come with you when the time for grocery shopping came around.

Seoyun asked you to do it this week, since she had a lot of work, and she probably has to stay late at the office. You were okay with it, most people can’t control their work amount if they work for someone else. It also happened from time to time, so it’s not like it was surprising. It was the dynamic of the two of you: you had your assigned housework, but you would switch it up sometimes if it was more convenient for one of you. Being flexible was necessary in any kind of relationship.

You felt strange as you knocked on Seoyun’s door. You rarely did it, since usually she was the one coming for you, so knocking on her door was new to you. As if it wasn’t even your home, but someone else’s.

Chanyeol opened the door slightly, looking at you wide-eyed through the narrow gap. You tried your best not to look intimidating, as you said:

“I’m going to grocery shopping. Do you want to come with me?”

You noticed how his ears perked up at your words – golden fur peaking out from his dark locks of hair. He even tilted his head, as a confused puppy would. A knot formed in your throat, and you felt a sudden urge to pat his head and tell him how cute he was.

“Can we walk?” he asked finally.

“We’ll go by car. I have to buy a lot of stuff and I don’t think we could bring them all home in hand.”

A pout naturally came to his lips, and you really wanted to make it disappear, so your next words slipped out your mouth before you could realize what you were saying:

“But we can go for a walk tomorrow, if you want to.”

That worked like magic. A smile, bright as the sun appeared, and lit up his features. It made you smile too.

“Really? Can we go to the park?”

“Of course. Wherever you want.”

“Thank you, Y/N Noona.”

You hummed in response, and went to your room to change into something that didn’t scream ‘I was working from home’.

“We’ll go in ten minutes!”

Chanyeol was truly amusing, you found that out during shopping. And pretty much like a child. He wanted to see and touch everything that was colorful or interesting even a little bit. Your previously one hour long shopping became a three hour trip around the supermarket, with you pushing the shopping cart and him checking out every single item on the shelves. When he wanted something badly he would stare at you with the softest, shiniest eyes you ever saw on anyone; there was no way you could say no to him.

“Are you planning making me buy the entire store?” You laughed when he dropped the third kind of cereal in the cart.

He suddenly turned to you, a little startled, like a deer caught in headlights. You just smiled, and pushed the cart forward.

You noticed how he often still looked scared of you, so you tried your best to make him comfortable. You were aware to always talk in a soft and slow tone to him, carefully picking each word before letting them fall from your lips. No fast actions or anything that could surprise him in the wrong way. Not really sure if all the hybrids were like this with new people around them (except for their owners), but you wanted to clear your first impression on him. It must have been bad, but you were thankful that he slowly eased up around you, letting his guards down.

“Okay. Most important decision today.” You looked at him seriously as you arrived to the meat section. “Beef or chicken?”

His eyebrows furrowed at the question, eyes roaming between the different kinds of meat. You could almost see his mind running in an incredible pace. After a few minutes passed, Chanyeol looked at you shyly, ears flushing a deep red.

“Can it be both? I want to eat both.” You nodded at him, motioning for him to give you a few of said meats, and he complied happily.

“But which one do you want today?”

“Chicken? Maybe. I’m good with beef too.” You just hummed, getting lost in your thoughts as you strolled towards the cashier with your cart. It was almost full with meat, vegetables, some fruits, juices and snacks – mainly for Chanyeol. He had a really sweet tooth, you noted by looking at all the cereals, chocolates and candies he gathered in the furthest corner from you. There were some instant ramyeon and rice too.

“We’ll figure out something.”

It was late for lunch by the time you arrived home, so you made some instant noodles, which didn’t make Chanyeol the happiest. He looked at the ramyeon as if it betrayed him by not being a full course. He didn’t say anything about it out loud, but disappointment was written all over his features.

“Stop looking at it like that. I’ll make bulgogi stew for dinner.”

You quickly looked away when his eyes lit up once again, and started to eat the noodles fast. He was done in a few minutes. Chanyeol rushed to throw the used cup away and placed his chopstick in the sink, then basically ran back to the table, staring at you in anticipation. Returning the look, you cocked an eyebrow questioningly.

“What?”

“When are you going to start making it?”

A laugh escaped your mouth against your will at his eagerness. Does he love meat that much? He didn’t took your joy in the good way: he pouted and rather rushed to the living room. You wanted to call after him, but didn’t.

You cleaned up the table after finishing your ramyeon too, and went after Chanyeol. He was sitting on the floor, right next to your usual working spot and hugged his knees to his chest, looking like a big, sulking puppy.

“I work for a few hours, then make dinner. You can help if you want to.”

He kept on his posture, but faced you as you sat down next to him, forcing your laptop to life. The screen lit up, and you focused on the edit you left in half yesterday, and frowned a little. You made a big mistake upon editing a picture, which seemed to be impossible to ignore now, but didn’t even notice the day before.

The air stuck in your lungs as Chanyeol stretched his legs, and scooted so close to you that his thigh was pressed to yours. He seemed unfazed by the close proximity, only hummed a soft tune under his breath and turned the TV on, searching for something to watch until dinner time.

You wondered if you should have mercy on him: just ditch work and start making the bulgogi stew immediately, but then abandoned the idea, since you remembered that the deadline was getting closer, and there will be articles coming in fast in the next few days. It wouldn’t do any good for you getting behind your schedule.

Chanyeol’s soft sighing helped you focus. It was a nice background sound along with the voices coming from the TV, and soon you noticed that he was watching you work on your laptop rather than paying attention to the show on the screen. You realized you could get used to it.

The rest of the afternoon went by in a blink of an eye. You fixed yesterday’s editing mistake and worked on today’s to-do’s, and time seemed to fly by fast. After some time, Chanyeol fell asleep next to you, his head bobbing forward from time to time. You nudged his side with your elbow to send him to Seoyun’s room to sleep comfortably, but he leaned on you rather than waking up, his head resting on your shoulder, so you just let it as it was.

One would say you had a soft spot for him in your heart, and they wouldn’t be that far from the truth. You felt responsible for him when Seoyun wasn’t home. And you weren’t even his owner.

As you finished working for the day, you tried to wake Chanyeol up again, but he didn’t even budge, so you started to make dinner alone. He fell down to where you were sitting before, knees hugged to his chest, soft huffs escaping his lips in his sleep. You put a blanket on him before preparing the meal.

He only woke up when the food was almost ready, the smell of it filling the whole apartment. Chanyeol wandered into the kitchen, eyes scanning over everything as he tried to comprehend what was happening. When his eyes rested on the food at last, a pout forming on his lips, eyes bigger than ever. You hid your smile behind your hand as you turned back to the stove.

“You said I can help.”

“You were sleeping too heavily for me to wake you up.” You shrugged. “Isn’t it better to wake up from a nap to food ready to be eaten, then have to make it too?”

“But you said I can help.” He was on full puppy-eyes-mode now, and you couldn’t hide your smile anymore.

Something came over you, so you went to him and patted his head a few times.

“You’ll help next time, okay? Let’s just eat now.”

You found yourself feeling weird when Chanyeol wasn’t around while Seoyun worked, although it rarely happened lately. The tall hybrid came out of their room in the morning and stayed around you ever since you went out for grocery shopping with him. He didn’t just sit next to you while you worked, you two also started to watch the news together, though he hates it with passion, but you also watched some dramas with him which he picked and seemed to love greatly. You watched one or two episodes with him each day, eating food during it, while the both of you waited for Seoyun to find her way home.

It wasn’t that different that day too. You just finished some pad thai, you ordered earlier. Chanyeol taking up the whole couch with his lean body, while you sat in front of him on the carpet, remaining of the late dinner scattered on the coffee table, and the announcer on the screen spoke about the day’s news with a serious expression on their face.

Your ears perked at the word ‘hybrid’ coming from the TV, and you heard Chanyeol’s breathing stop behind you. Eventually, he scooted a little closer to you, feeling his body heat clear.

The announcer spoke about a protest that was held in front of the Municipal Court. People were demanding more precise laws on the hybrids’ keeping, and demanding the bare rights for them that every being deserves.

You felt a lump form in your throat as one of the protesters told the interviewer an insane amount of cases where the owners abused their hybrids and no one did anything about it.

Anger bubbled up in you as you switched the channels, trying to find one where you can watch Chanyeol’s drama instead. Your other hand shot out without really thinking about it, and grabbed the hybrid’s hand that was hanging from the couch. He stiffened at your touch, but soon relaxed again.

“What’s the name of that show we were watching yesterday? I can’t remember.”

“It’s on Channel 6. But there’s still an hour before it starts.”

“Okay. What about the one before it?” You asked while already turning to said channel.

“We haven’t seen the previous episodes yet.”

You smiled. His voice was whiny, you could literally hear that he was pouting. You silently switched to the next one, settling with a variety show that didn’t need any explanation, it could be seen as it was. Chanyeol probably liked it too, since he didn’t complain again, only his soft breathing could be heard.

Carefully, you let go of his hand and pulled your knees to your chest, eyes wandering to the digital clock under the TV, then to your phone. Seoyun promised to be home by dinner, yet she was nowhere. She didn’t even send you a text to let you know she will be late or when will she come back. Maybe she went out for a drink with his colleagues again. Or someone else.

You tried hard not to glance in pity at Chanyeol. He was left behind a lot more than he should have been. He was just too kind for an owner who neglected him like Seoyun did.

You finished the show, even his drama, and Chanyeol slowly but surely fell asleep on the couch. You brought a blanket to put on him. Covering his whole body wouldn’t be an easy task if he wouldn’t sleep with his legs pulled up. You smiled, when you remembered how his body never fit on the couch when he tried to stretch on it while laying down. He seemed to be ridiculously tall sometimes, yet you couldn’t imagine him being any shorter.

Stifling a yawn, you threw out the empty boxes of the pad thai, put the left overs in the fridge and cleaned the kitchen a little, being very aware not make any loud noise that could wake Chanyeol up.

It was past midnight, and you were cleaning the bathroom too, when Seoyun arrived home. You welcomed her in the hall, and offered her some water as you saw her pitifully drunk form. She refused it, and rambled about some man he met during drinking with her colleagues, and how this mysterious man was so polite towards her, even paid for her taxi after they spent an hour at his place. You didn’t need to ask what they were doing there, it was obvious from the messy state of her clothes and hair.

You quietly listened to her, and tried hard not to chime in and broke down her hopes. This kind of story happened a few times to her. A man charmed her in a bar, they spent some happy hours at his place, he told her he will call tomorrow, yet he never even asked for her number in the first place. Seoyun somehow believed them every time, and hoped that finally this one would ‘the one’, but they never were.

“You really don’t want some water? Or something to eat? There’s some pad thai from earlier.”

“No, I don’t want food, I want… Hm… I want to sleep, I think.”

“Good,” you sighed in relief. You would be doomed if she would have wanted to dance or sing like she usually did. “Chanyeol fell asleep on the couch.”

“Oh, I should wake him up. I want to cuddle with him.”

You furrowed your eyebrows at that. Seoyun should just let him sleep peacefully for once. You really wanted to tell her no to bother him in his sleep, but you pursed your lips tightly together and refused to say anything. It wasn’t your place to intertwine, you reminded yourself, which you caught yourself doing a lot lately.

“Do whatever you want, Seoyun, just take a shower first. You stink…” Dramatically putting your hand in front of your nose and mouth, you tried to lighten the mood, and it worked. Seoyun snickered in a high pitched voice, one she only used when she was drunk. She jokingly hit you on the shoulder, almost missing it and stumbling a little, but the smile on her face couldn’t be wiped away.

“It’s not that bad. Oh, would you look at my little Chanyeollie?”

You listened to her cooing upon seeing Chanyeol’s sleeping form on the couch. Her features softened, she even sobered up a little, and you thought, maybe she wasn’t as bad as you thought of her lately.

Shame was something that you rarely felt, but now it washed over you in a big wave, hit you in the head and made you lower your gaze. Still standing in the kitchen, you listened as Chanyeol woke up and happily greeted her owner, then they went to her room, the door closing behind them with a soft thud.

You noted how she never went to wash up.

The next morning Seoyun has already went to work when you woke up. You turned off your alarm, wanting to sleep in for a few more minutes, or for ten, so it was not such a surprise that she wasn’t home by then.

You were getting dressed, as a soft, almost hesitant knock on your door startled you. Surprised, you kicked your feet in the edge of your wardrobe. Hissing and swearing in pain, you called out:

“What is it?”

Chanyeol’s mumbling was too quiet for you to comprehend his words. Sighing, you buckled your belt, then wondered why did you even dressed for going out. Your original plan escaped your mind.

Another knock echoed through your room, tearing you out from your thoughts. Opening the door, Chanyeol towered over you, but his troubled expression made you feel like you were the taller one and he’s just a little kid. His lips even quivered as he opened them to say something.

“Can we go for a walk? Seoyun noona said I’m not allowed to go out alone.” His voice got smaller and smaller as he spoke, you could barely hear his last words. Yet still, your eyebrows furrowed. Something felt off with him, but you couldn’t wrap your fingers around what it was. He looked the usual. Maybe there was faint dark circles under his eyes, but it could be the aftereffect of Seoyun waking him up in the middle of the night.

“Of course. Let’s go!”

As he kept looking at you with a troubled expression, you wondered what was really up. And why did you originally dressed for going out. You gave up on solving any of those mysteries, and just asked him.

“Is there something else?”

“Um, no… I mean, yes. Can we get hot chocolate?” You smiled at his innocence. He must have took it in the wrong way, since he looked away quickly, avoiding eye contact very obviously.

“Yeah, but where did that come from?”

You went back to grab a sweater and your wallet. Chanyeol awkwardly lingered in the doorway.

“I saw on a drama that people like to drink hot chocolate around winter. And there were commercials for it lately, so I want to try it.”

“Right, dramas.”

The corner of his lips slowly lifted up, forming a shy smile. You motioned for him to move and get ready, then you went out.

You quickly searched for a coffee shop near your apartment on your phone and decided on route that you would walk by. Even asked Chanyeol how much has he seen of the city, so maybe you could show him some places he never heard of.

To your surprise, he barely saw anything of it. In a hushed voice, he told you that his first owner never let him out of their house, he could only run free in the garden, and they never let him meet with other hybrids. In the end, they put him in a shelter. You couldn’t say anything to him at the moment. The words in your mind felt overused and cliché, so instead you just patted his shoulder and told him that things will be okay now.

He shot you an unsure smile, then nodded along. His next words surprised you even more though:

“I think I’m happy now.”

Patting his shoulders again, it was your turn to smile, reassuringly.

“That’s good! I’m glad about that,” you said. “There’s a river nearby. We can go there after getting hot chocolates. It has a really nice scenery.”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

And so you did. Tasting hot chocolate for the first time, he looked like a child on Christmas Eve, eagerly opening their presents and finally getting the toys of their dreams. And his eyes sparkled like two stars in the night sky when you arrived to the river.

There was a park near it, a path for runners following the line of the river. You always thought, it must be nice to go on runs while listening to the splashes of water so close to you, but you weren’t the runner type.

Winter coming, the green has faded away from the plants, but the gloomy gray sky made the water look even prettier like that. Slowly, nature was dying to give way to the cold months, which would be followed with its rebirth. You couldn’t wait for spring to come. The even better thing was that if you walked down the road for a few more minutes, you would meet with cherry trees. They looked mesmerizing when they bloomed.

“It would be nice to come here during the first snow,” he mumbled.

When you turned to him, Chanyeol’s eyes were on the river, sometimes glancing up at the sky, as if he was expecting it to start to snow at that moment. A tiny smile played on his lips. As he sighed, white puffs of air escaped his mouth, and you thought maybe it was time to go back to the apartment.

“Saw it on dramas too, huh?”

“You saw it too, noona?”

“Maybe. Romantic dramas tend to mention it, you know. They say if you kiss your loved one under the first snow of the winter, you will stay together forever.”

“Really? Is it true?”

“I don’t know.”

You didn’t want to wipe the soft smile off his face by saying it was just an urban legend that’s useful for drama writers. He doesn’t have to know that kissing under the first snow not always meant forever. At least not for you.

You really didn’t know what you should have believed. You saw the bruise on Chanyeol’s wrist clearly and an another one higher up on his arm, but he quickly tugged his sleeves down when he noticed you staring at it. They looked like ugly purple and blue roses that bloomed on his skin.

“What happened?” you asked him cautiously.

Muting the drama he was watching, when he refused to look at you and answer, you turned to him. Chanyeol’s eyes were trained on the screen, the main characters only mouthing words, he couldn’t make out. The hybrid’s eyebrows furrowed into a serious and stubborn line, one, which didn’t suit him at all. A pained look on him wasn’t something you wanted to witness at all. It was simply strange.

He cleared his throat before speaking.

“Well, the King is mad at his son for disobeying him, but it’s understandable because he just wanted to…”

“Not in the drama, Chanyeol.” He flinched at your low tone, scurrying a little further from you on the couch. You felt a slight pang in your chest, and continued a little softer. “Your wrist. What happened to it?”

“Nothing.”

“Did someone hurt you?”

“No. I was just…” The words died on his lips, and refused to say anything more, no matter how you twisted your questions around.

A bad feeling settled in the pit of your stomach.

Chanyeol was barely in contact with anyone beside you and Seoyun. And you never grabbed his arm or wrist with so much strength to bruise him. Hell, you barely ever touched him!

And it left you with only one option you could think about, but that was unbelievable for you. Seoyun couldn’t. She would never, right? She would never raise hand on him. Right?

“Can I take a look at it?” You asked him softly, voice above a whisper.

He stared at you for long moments before scooting closer on the couch, the old furniture creaking under his weight. He slowly held his arm out for you, and you took his hand, being cautious not to grab his wrist on instinct. Fingers gently brushing together with his, you stroked them in a calming manner. Then with your free hand you pushed his sleeve up, revealing the ugly roses on his skin again.

Chanyeol sharply inhaled as you brushed your fingers on the bruise, only letting it go when he hissed a little in pain.

Without a word, you went to your room, looking for a cream you remembered to be in there somewhere and to be good for bruises. You just hoped it didn’t expire yet, since it was a long time ago you bought it.

You found it and was still good, so you went ahead and applied it on Chanyeol’s arm. He hissed again when the cold cream touched his skin and you ignored it, continuing your motions, but with gentler strokes.

Putting the volume back up on the TV, you instructed him to wait until his skin fully absorbed the cream, but the rattling of the lock from the front door startled both of you.

In a hurried manner, Chanyeol pulled down the sleeve of his sweater, then basically ran into the bedroom, quickly closing it behind himself.

You sighed in defeat. Something was very, very wrong, and it was too obvious for you to ignore. Biting down on your lower lip, you argued with yourself whether you should bring it up to Seoyun or not. Was it your place to talk to her about something like that? You weren’t anyone to Chanyeol, you just lived with them, but… What an awful human being you should have been to shut your eyes when the evidence of abuse was right in front of you.

You closed your eyes. The drama still went on, and for once you wished for Seoyun to come home later, so Chanyeol could have finished the episode in peace as he always did. You wished for those ugly roses to never bloom on his skin, so you wouldn’t have to do what you will as soon as your roommate comes into the living room.

Sailors must have known something when they said it’s always the calmest before the storm. Your mind went empty and calm, but it was filled with cold anger at the same time. You wanted to yell your questions to Seoyun about those bruises, and hoped that she would be either honest with you or could lie so well that you would believe her. Hell, you wanted to believe that it wasn’t her who hurt Chanyeol, but the subtle fear in his eyes told you otherwise.

Seoyun was sober for once, and you were thankful for it. You didn’t know how would you handle her if she was drunk at that moment. Probably not so well.

Your feelings must have been clear on your face, because your roommate stopped in her track when she looked at you, then quickly averted her gaze, checking the room for Chanyeol’s presence. Even after making sure he wasn’t there, she refused to look at you.

“I think we should talk, Seoyun.”

“Ah, is it time for paying the rent already?” Her light tone made you fist your hand on the blanket that was previously wrapped around Chanyeol. It also made you insecure about what you saw and thought. Would she talking like that If she hurt him? “Or are we running low on groceries?”

“No. Nothing like that. I just saw a couple of bruises on Chanyeol. It concerns me.”

“It shouldn’t. Really.” “Seoyun, those aren’t the kind you get when you hurt yourself on accident. So what happened?”

“It’s none of your business, but he was bad.”

Once again, you closed your eyes and bit down on your tongue before something slipped out of your mouth. Mostly nasty words crowded in your mind, but after taking a deep breath, you pushed them aside. Reminding yourself that it was not your job or place to dig into someone’s life. Even if it was your roommate. You were always on good terms with her, so why was she getting you off with every word she said today?

“He was bad,” you repeated finally, in a low tone. She nodded fast, still standing in the middle of the living room as if he froze to that place.

“Yes. He needed to be disciplined, so as his owner, I did.”

“What do you mean by disciplined?” you asked, stunned by her words. Though, it couldn’t be any more obvious, you still asked. “And bad? What has he done?”

“He didn’t obey when I told him to do some things. And you know what I meant. I punished him, so he can learn how to behave next time.”

You felt sick in your stomach, a lump already forming in your throat. Seoyun’s expression hardened, stare grew colder and heavier as she added:

��Still. This is none of your business. I’m the owner of Chanyeol, not you, so don’t act like you know anything about keeping a hybrid. You don’t even want one in the first place.”

Gritting your teeth, you nodded, because she was right with everything she said. But that didn’t mean you won’t protect Chanyeol from her if needed or that you won’t seek any kind of help for him if things get out of hand. You will have to make sure about all of your rights in this situation first, then you can act.

You hummed and you plopped back down on the couch, eyes returning to the drama. You were long behind the plot, missing out a bunch of scenes, but your mind was still wrapper around the argument just had with your roommate.

From the corner of your eyes, you saw her stand there frozen for a hew more minutes, and when you refused to look at her again, she went to her room. You immediately lowered the volume down, fearing to hear noises of her hurting Chanyeol again, but there was mostly silence, mixed up with a couple of low murmurs, nothing bad or serious.

You turned the TV down, washed up before going to bed, but still couldn’t fall asleep. The thought of Chanyeol being hurt by your roommate kept you up for hours, and the next thing you noticed was the sunlight peeking through your window and the noises of Seoyun getting ready to work. Your ears were trained for listening to anything suspicious, but the only sounds were her getting a shower then leaving the apartment after talking to the hybrid about something you couldn’t make out.

“I’m not hungry, Noona!” Chanyeol’s muffled voice could be heard well in the quiet apartment, even through the locked bedroom door. You knocked on it previously to let him know you made breakfast for the both of you.

“Then how about a walk? We could go to the market or the park.”

“No. I just want to sleep.”

Defeated, you sighed. This wasn’t how you planned the day to go by. You wanted to eat with him and take him somewhere nice before working, then watch his dramas in the evening as you usually did, but now he refused to come out of the bedroom.

You knew he must have been hungry by now. He always ate a lot of anything you gave him, and even snacked afterwards, and it has been more than ten hours since the last meal he had, and he says he is not hungry. The red flags instantly appeared in your head, making your eyebrows furrow in worry.

Most of last night instead of sleeping you spent your time working in your room, while listening to every noise in the apartment, in hopes of catching any evidence against Seoyun’s nasty behavior. You also tried to seek some useful information online, but not really much was said on forums about laws regarding abusing hybrids.

“I’ll leave some food for you in the fridge,” you said after a while. When no answer came, you went to the living room to work away your frustration.

Your appetite disappeared with Chanyeol’s rejection, so you simply put the food away. You wanted to go out to clean you mint with the cold winter air, but didn’t have the heart to leave him completely alone. Even though he didn’t want to come and spend time or eat with you, it was a whole another story to be the only person in the apartment. If he changed his mind, he would have no one to turn to with Seoyun being at work.

Still, you sent a message to your roommate, asking her a favor, which you rarely did.

Y/N: Hey, would it possible for you to get home earlier today? [8:37]

Y/N: I have somewhere to be at 3, and can’t take Chanyeol with me there. [8:38]

Seoyun: Okay, I talk to my boss, but he’ll probably let me off. We did a lot of overtime, so he has to. [9:03]

Y/N: Thanks! [9:04]

Seoyun: Welcome. I’ll be home around 2. [9:10]

Your heart felt a little heavier and easier at the same time. Ever since you saw those bruises last night on Chanyeol’s skin, you feared to leave him fully alone with Seoyun, and now you will do exactly that, willingly even. And you felt relieved, because it was for the better.

Since you couldn’t find anything useful online, you decided to go down the old roads, and visit some hybrid shelters. Their workers must know what to do in situations like this.

Were you taking it too seriously? Maybe. People discipline their dogs too when they behave bad. But Chanyeol wasn’t just a dog. He was a hybrid with human feelings.

Lunch time came sooner than you expected. Working and editing made hours fly by fast, and you cooked something quick and easy that was also filling too. A pasta with some creamy chicken did wonders. You took your sweet time making it, despite it being an easy meal to do. Cooking took your mind off of your problems. Instead, you made a list in your head about what you still had left from work today and planned your schedule for the rest of your day.

Going to the nearby hybrid shelter you found online. Making sure you ask everything you wanted from someone working there. If failing, then going to another shelter. Continue until you get your answers. After getting home, fixing yesterday’s editing mistakes on page eight and fifteen.

So your plan wasn’t that difficult at all.

When the food was ready, you put two servings on plates and started from step one with Chanyeol. You put his meal on a tray and brought it to Seoyun’s roo.

He didn’t answer to your knocking, and definitely didn’t open the door for you. You sighed, putting the tray in front of the door.

“Chanyeol? I made lunch, it will be at the door, please, eat it up.” You waited for him to reply, but his voice never came. You only heard the rustling of fabrics for a few seconds, then there was silence once again. “Also, I have to go out, so Seoyun will be home in an hour.”

Noises of his movements could be heard again, and you sighed in relief as the door creaked open for some inches. You even smiled a little when Chanyeol’s mop of hair and fluffy ears peeked out through it. He looked down at you with wide eyes, gaze full of questions. Then, in a small voice, he asked:

“Can’t I just go with you?”

Instantly, your smile turned bitter, giving him an apologetic look and the shook of your head.

“I’m sorry, Chanyeol, I can’t take you there.”

Averting eye contact, he looked down at his feet. He huffed, a scowl coming to his features.

“But I’d be good. I could just wait outside.”

You felt bad for him, and scowled yourself too. He was so persistent about going with you, but you couldn’t just bring him with you to the shelters. At worst, he would misunderstand it, and you certainly didn’t want him to hear you talking about legal options for abused hybrids. You were pretty sure, he would shut off in front of you for a good while, if he heard that conversation. No, you had to go alone, and talk with an expert with a clear mind. Chanyeol would distract you, since you would had to censor your words with him in the room. And you couldn’t just leave him waiting for you in front of a hybrid shelter. What the hell would he think about you after that? Your relationship took a turn for the better lately, ruining it wasn’t something you wanted or needed.

Slowly, you reached out, ruffling his hair a little. He leaned into your touch, so you kept petting him, stroking his golden-furred ears with care.

“You really can’t come along now, Chanyeol.” His face scrunched up at your words. A sudden emptiness got cozy in you chest when he stepped back and shut the door right in your face. Your hand fell back next to your body, the feel of his fur and hair still tingling your skin.

Chanyeol didn’t come out to eat until Seoyun arrived home sharp at two. You changed a few words with her, mainly thanking her for coming home early for you, but that was all. She acted a little distant, but still as if the conversation from last night never happened. You were stiff around her too, tiptoeing around with your words and actions with knowing where you were planning to go.

You updated her on Chanyeol not eating and about the food for her being in the fridge. She didn’t have to know that you didn’t eat your lunch either, because of the unsettling feeling in the pit of your stomach. Handling secrets and nervousness wasn’t your thing.

Inhaling the cold, but clean winter air you finally noticed your head throbbing with pain, so you took an altered route to the first shelter with bumping into a pharmacy too for some painkillers.

Rubbing your hands together, you blew air on them for warmth, but it wasn’t much help. Luckily, you finally arrived to your destination.

EXO Shelter wasn’t fancy or too outstanding from the outside or the inside. A simple gray building with tinted windows and only the opening hours plastered on the door. A bell tinged when you entered, and the light gray theme continued on the inside too, accompanied with some white furniture.

At the counter a red haired man gave you a smile, and with warm, but curious eyes followed your moves.

“Hello! How can I help you?”

You hesitantly walked up to him, not so sure what you were supposed to do anymore. Was it really the good thing to do? Or your place to do it?

The man waved a hand in front of your face, and you shook your head to get unnecessary questions out of your mind. His name tag said he was Baekhyun, and his smile was a little hesitant now.

“Sorry. I don’t know if I came to the right place,” you said.

“Well, if you are looking for adopting a hybrid or need some advice with taking care of them, then I assume you are right where you need to be.”

“I’m looking for more of help with something a little more… sensitive.” “Ah!” He winked at you and nodded along knowingly, which only confused you. “Is your hybrid experiencing their first heat?”

“Heat? No, no, no. It’s not like that. And not about my hybrid.” You look around the small welcoming area and the door. People could walk in any moment. “I’m looking for some legal advice.” “About what?”

“Abuse.”

The pleasant smile fell from his face. Nose scrunching up, he nodded to himself. With a finger held up in the air, he motioned for you to wait, and he reached for the phone on the counter. His fingers quickly put a number in, then in a few seconds he already got hold of who he called.

“Hey! I have a customer with me, I’m sending her in. Hm, no, I don’t know much, but you’ll need Jongdae too, probably. She said abuse and not hers. Okay! Thanks, Junmyeon!” With that, he turned back to you. His smile reappeared, although a little strained. “The boss is ready to see you. You can meet our legal advisor too, but I have to warn you: don’t get your hopes too high up!”

You wanted to ask him what he meant by that, but he already slipped out from behind the counter and went ahead to a closed door at a further corner of the room. He was fast on his feet, leading you through a few corridors and doors, not once crossing the real shelter area, where the hybrids were. You mostly saw storage and staff’s room, before you arrived to Baekhyun’s boss’ office.

Junmyeon was waiting for you with his door opened, standing up from his chair as soon as you stepped in. Another man, probably the mentioned legal advisor, Jongdae was there with him, both of them giving you rather sad smiles. It only racked your nerves up more.

Baekhyun left you alone after a quick introduction.

Junmyeon offered you a seat opposite from himself. Jongdae stood next to him, resting his hand on the back of his boss’ chair.

“Baekhyun mentioned you are here for advise with hybrids’ abuse. And they are not yours?”

“Ah, yes. My roommate took home a hybrid a few months ago. It wasn’t ideal in the first place… I mean, she stays out a lot because of her job and… Anyways, last night I noticed some bruises on her hybrid’s wrist and arm. They were pretty nasty, and when I mentioned my concerns to my roommate she only said that Chanyeol was bad so she punished him.”

Your voice was weak, and the words left a sour taste in your mouth. Pictures of Chanyeol’s sad eyes came to your mind as he asked you to let him come along. Combined with the thought of him being in pain, it made your heart twist in a painful way.

“What is his breed?”

“Chanyeol is a Labrador Retriever hybrid.”

“From what I understand, mainly you are the one spending time with him. Is that correct?”

“Yes. I work from home, so yes.”

“Good. Have you noticed anything unusual about his behavior beforehand? Any signs that it wasn’t the first time it happened?”

“I’m not sure. He was always a little shy with me. I’m not familiar with hybrids, so I don’t know how he should naturally act, but he always seemed to be afraid to ask to ask for anything from me, if that makes sense.”

Junmyeon shifted in his seat, eyebrows furrowed, lost in his thoughts, a not so promising look in his eyes. And his next words confirmed it too.

“Look, it might sound harsh, but I need to be blunt with you. There’s not much we or you can do yet. Jongdae?”

The other man cleared his throat before speaking up.

“Yeah. The laws are really behind at this moment. I don’t know if you follow the news, but lately there seems to be a shift for the better. There are plenty of protest for hybrids’ rights, including abuse too.”

You leaned back in your seat, feeling defeated. This wasn’t the answer you were looking for. In your mind pictures of the late night news flashed, remembering all those strangers shouting their demands for hybrids to anyone who cared to listen.

Jongdae must have read the hopelessness from your face, as he continued in a softer tone.

“Right now, your only option would be to prosecute your roommate for hybrid abuse and hope for the best. The most favorable option would be if you had firm evidence on what she did to her hybrid, or have him make a statement, and even then it wouldn’t be sure if you could get him out of that situation.”

“Remember that case from last September?” Junmyeon asked suddenly, looking up at his colleague, then back at you. “It was similar to yours, only it was between siblings. The younger one took home a cat hybrid, and after some time the older noticed that something was wrong. The owner physically and sexually abused the hybrid. The older sibling had video evidence of it from different times, so it was a pretty solid evidence. Took it to court, and in the end the abuser got out free and without any punishment. They didn’t even took the hybrid away. A few weeks forward, the hybrid passed away because of ‘unforeseen things’.”

“But how?”

“The owner had a good lawyer.”

“The devil’s advocate, if you ask me.”

“Yeah, that guy only held back for any hybrid case in court. He and the owner basically made up lame excuses for each piece of video evidence. ‘I did this because my hybrid refused to learn to use the toilet’, ‘It happened because they peed on the carpet’, and the forever classic: ‘I punished them because they were bad’. And it wasn’t dismissed in court. What a shameful punch in the face for hybrids rights!”

“So you are telling me that I should sit back and watch my roommate destroy Chanyeol because the law don’t do shit?”

You started to loose your calm. Listening to all these disgusting details about the poor hybrid’s life, you wanted nothing more than spare Chanyeol all that pain. He won’t end up like that, you promised yourself.

“Not at all. But right now, you have nothing to secure your success if you would report your roommate. You should watch and maybe step in if you catch her in action. It would be even better if you could ask for a neighbor to come over when it happens. It means you have a witness on your side, which can’t be that easily dismissed in your case.”

“Also,” Junmyeon chimed in. “You should think hard and long about the future of that hybrid before doing anything rashly. Would you take him in? Could you provide him a safe place, so he could be far from your roommate? Or you would put him in a shelter? Would you ask us to take him in? There’s a lot you have to make clear for yourself before you act. You can’t just get him out of a situation then leave him without any option for his future. I mean, yes, hybrids are partly humans, but the animal part of theirs make them very depending on humans.”

Drumming your fingers on your thigh, you could only keep nodding in response. Your head got full of questions and answers, things that needed to be done, preferably right now, all at once.

Both man gave you expecting looks, but you simply nodded one last time and thanked them for their time and help, promising you will be back after thinking through everything.

Time around Christmas was never your favorite. Before the holidays, you had to rush with editing for the magazine, but afterward it seemed time has stopped, everything was so slow. Anyway, you were happy to get out from your comfort zone and go home to your parents for the holidays, although more than a little anxious for leaving Chanyeol alone.

Seoyun went home for Christmas too, taking Chanyeol with her, so it made you a little relieved. You like to believe that she wouldn’t hurt him while there was a possibility of her parents figuring out what she did.

Until then, you haven’t really talked to Seoyun. All of your conversations were mainly put together of formalities, and Chanyeol shut you off too. He stayed in the bedroom, locked away, only coming out when you told him the meal was ready to be eaten. You tried to talk to him, explaining him what you were planning to do, but he never listened, rather scurried back in the safety of the bedroom before you could tell him anything. So you just sighed, and kept preparing everything for the time when things would go south. And you expected it to happen. Just not right after Christmas.

Happy about finally getting home, you had plans about tucking yourself in your bed and sleeping away any thought of the cold; you fiddled with the lock a little. Your fingers were shaking, since you never wore gloves and the winter air bit into your skin harshly. You felt a weird sense of pride, since you had done so much during the holidays. You checked every point off of your list of things-needed-to-be-done, as leasing a new apartment, getting in touch with a moving company and in all secrecy, you talked with one of your neighbors, explaining them the situation in vague words and asked them to come over if you called them.

You were on a good way to make sure everything was ready if Seoyun acts dangerously towards Chanyeol and you had to give him a new life.

After leaving EXO Shelter, there was only one thing you were sure about: you are not going to let Chanyeol get into there. You will give him a new home if he agrees and wants to live with you.

Shaking off your coat and boots after going in, you dropped your bags down, deciding to put it in your room later. First you needed a mug of hot tea. This cold weather was seriously messing with you, and it haven’t even snowed yet. Maybe soon it will happen, since the sky seemed to be nearly white with all the clouds melting into each other and thermometer never showed numbers above zero lately.

The apartment was quiet. Seoyun sat on the ouch, watching some rerun of a drama in the living room.

“Hey! Happy New Year!” You greeted her with a little bow of your head and she returned it, ripping her eyes off of the screen for a few seconds. You looked around, then casually asked: “Chanyeol?”

She waved your question off, so you assumed he was still moody and locked up in the bedroom. You didn’t want to think about any other options. You noted that you should check on him when Seoyun goes to showering, making sure she didn’t hurt him again.

Shrugging, you went to finally make some tea while listening to the sounds coming from the drama. It must have been a historical one, assuming from all the old kind of talking and mentions of kings and thrones. Otherwise, the apartment was eerily quiet.

It all downed on you when you reached for your mug; an unsettling feeling creeping its way into your body. Something was missing from the shelf. Chanyeol’s mug wasn’t there. He refused to drink hot beverages from anything else than that stupid blue mug with a smiling sun on it. It was childish from him, but that’s just who he was. You tiptoed a little, to see if it was deeper in the cupboard, but you couldn’t see any signs of it, and you just got a really bad feeling. Something dark and bad settled in your stomach, making your guts clench. All that quietness seemed to be more of a ‘calm before the storm’ now.

You rushed back to the living room, forgetting about the cold and the tea.

“What happened to Chanyeol’s mug?” For a moment you felt stupid for asking that, but the bad feeling in you heightened when Seoyun turned her head to you with a nonchalant look.

“I threw it out.”

“Why?”

Her hesitancy made your heart drop, forgetting to breath for a moment. Quick on your feet, you stormed to her bedroom, almost ripping the door open. And you froze right there.

Chanyeol wasn’t in there. All of his stuff were gone. Not even a sign he even lived there, everything wiped out of existence. Seoyun lingered behind you, face a little more careful now, eyeing you for reaction.

“Where is he?” You asked through gritted teeth, seeing red. She noticed your anger too, since she took a step back. It made you aware how you must have looked and acted. Anger got the best out of you. Forcing yourself to calm down a little, you looked back at her expectantly.

“I took him back to a shelter.”

“Why?”

“We weren’t matching, really. He was stubborn, never listening to what I told him to do. Honestly, he even listened to you better than he did to me.”

“So you hit him at first. And now you put him into a shelter because you were a bad owner to him.”

Your words stunned her into silence. You watched her constantly opening and closing her mouth, unable to mutter a response. For a second, you wondered if you hurt her feelings, then you remembered Chanyeol. The bruises on his wrist and arm. The begging look in his eyes as he asked you to let him come with you to whatever place you were going. The curious glances he stole at you while you were working. His little, hopeful smile when you walked to the river and talked about the first snow of the season.

It was too late for Seoyun to be the hurt one in this scenario. She caused irreversible damages to Chanyeol, the innocent hybrid, who she was supposed to take care of. And in that moment you felt relieved that you decided to plan everything out for the time when shit hits the fan.

“Which shelter did you take him to?” Your voice was strong and unwavering, almost demanding. She shivered upon hearing it, but her hands balled into fists.

“I don’t remember its name. It’s the closest to us, near that fancy coffee shop.” In comparison, she whispered, eyes not really meeting yours anymore. You nodded, but she didn’t see it.

“I’ll be moving out in the next week. I will take care of paperwork, talk to the landlord, and pay my share for this month’s rent, bills, everything, but that’s it. You can start looking for a new roommate, or whatever you want, just leave me out of it.”

You walked out of her room, planning to go and find Chanyeol, having a hunch feeling which shelter he could be and hoping you were right, as Seoyun called after you.

“Y/N.” She sighed when you didn’t turn back to her. “I’m sorry.”

“I don’t care. I’m not the one you are owning an apology to.” Thinking a little, you turned to look back at her with a hard, pointed look in your eyes. “On the other hand, if you ever try to go near him, you’ll regret it.”

Eyebrows furrowed, you saw that she wanted to question you, but didn’t do it and you were thankful for it. You may have looked all cool and collected to her, but your hands were slightly shaking and your heart was beating so erratically as if it was planning on suicide.

You put your boots and coat back on, biting down on your tongue hard. Your bag waited for you at the front door, right where you put it down, but laundry had to wait some more.

Walking in a fast pace down the streets, you once again looked up hybrid shelters online, searching fo the closest to your apartment. And your intuition was right: EXO Shelter was the closest one, so you really hoped to find Chanyeol there.

You set yourself a quick walking pace. Worry seeped into your thoughts, mixing with your anger towards Seoyun. You wanted to curse at her and tell her off for hours and hours, but you also wished to fin Chanyeol immediately. Since the two couldn’t be done at the same time, obviously, the latter became the priority.

You payed no mind to the people passing by you who looked at your running form questioningly, or even weirdly, you only thought about reaching the shelter fast and begging to an unknown deity to let Chanyeol be there.

And maybe someone up there listened to your silent pleas.

Your abrupt arrival to EXO Shelter must have been a sight to see. There was hours of traveling from home and an argument behind your back, your insides bubbling with worry, anger and hope, all at once.

Baekhyun was behind the counter, watching you pant in the welcoming area. Bending in half as you tried to catch your breath, he tilted his head to the side, then asked:

“Hey, you came back! You okay? ‘Cause you don’t really look okay.”

“Hi! Is Chanyeol here?” You chocked out finally, and went to him.

“Who?”

“A tall dog hybrid. He was put in here after Christmas?”

He seemed to be thinking for a good few seconds, each felt like a minute, and your hopes started to sink to find the lanky puppy here. Damn it, Seoyun, which shelter did you bring him to?

“Wait, you mean the sulky one?” Seeing your arched brow, he explained himself: “Sorry, after the holidays there’s always a ton of hybrids brought in. People are just so irresponsible. They get them for their kids, then kick them out when they realize they should take care of them. Idiots, if you ask me.”

“So, Chanyeol?”

“Ah, Junmyeon told me about you, and yes, he is here. But I should take you to the boss first, I think.”

You bent forward again, still being breathless, but for other reasons than being tired from running so much. A huge weight has been lifted off your shoulders, and the invisible hand that had a strong grip on your heart, finally released it.

Baekhyun lead you down the same way. You knew from there you couldn’t see any of the hybrids, but you kept looking around, hoping to catch a glimpse of Chanyeol. The man must have noticed your fidgety peeking actions as he chuckled to himself, then knocked on his boss’ door. After a few seconds, you were invited in.

Your appearance got more reaction out of Junmyeon than it did from Baekhyun. The man behind the desk looked at you with widened eyes, then ever so slowly, a careful smile found its way to his lips.

“I’m happy to see you again.” You bowed at him, feeling nervous. You shifted from one leg to the other. “Thank you, Baek, I’ll handle it from here.”

The red haired man nodded. He gave you a nod too before he went back to his job, and closed the door behind himself.

Despite the smile, the look in his eyes were tired and alerted. You wanted him to tell you everything and take you to Chanyeol immediately, but his gaze held you back from asking. Fidgeting with your fingers, you simply sat down on the offered chair.

Junmyeon took his sweet time before he started to talk.

“I’m glad you came.” Mustering up your courage to protest, he dismissed it with waving. “It will probably seem unnecessary to you, but we have to go through some formalities. Is that okay with you?”

“Of course.”

“I assume you are here for Chanyeol.” You nodded, he continued. “Good. Do you have anything to do with his injuries?”

The air was knocked out of your lungs. You both knew you didn’t. He even said it was just formalities. But the way he phrased it meant Chanyeol was hurt again.

Your hand balled into fists, and you had to internally count to ten – or maybe sixty –, to be able relaxing. Letting out a long breath, you covered your face with your hand, thumb and index-finger massaging your temples. Whatever you tried, you couldn’t ready yourself for anything that were coming after that.

“So? Do you?” Junymeon’s voice tore you out of your thoughts.

“No. Last time I saw him was before Christmas.”

“That’s good. Are there any witnesses to confirm that?”

“I was with my parents the whole time. I wasn’t even in town, only came home this morning.”

His smile widened into a relieved one; one which you couldn’t read well. You had pieces of the puzzle, but your hands were trembling so bad you couldn’t put them together, to get the full picture. You figured that Chanyeol was injured again, and apparently they suspected you, too? Or maybe they just…

“Okay. I had to make sure you weren’t involved in what happened. And for Chanyeol’s sake, I hope you decided what you would do since last time we met.”

“Can you tell what happened finally? How’s Chanyeol? Can I see him now?”

“In a few minutes, you can. First, tell me your decision.”

The words stuck on your tongue, but you sputtered them out. You wanted this. Chanyeol needed and deserved this. A peaceful home together.

“I’m going to adopt him.”

“When?”

“Right now, if it’s possible. But I need a week before I can take him home.”

He cocked an eyebrow. The grip on your heart was back, but not so harshly.

“Your roommate?”

“I’m moving out. I won’t be taking him near that place ever again.”

Junmyeon must have been satisfied with your answers, since he abruptly stood up, motioning for you to do the same. You followed him as he walked out of the office, leading the way. With a few quick steps you fell in pace with him.

“That woman brought Chanyeol here, telling us how he was not up to her expectation. At first glance, he looked okay, but sad and drained out of life. He refused to eat, only asked for ‘Y/N Noona’. We noticed his injuries only on the second day.”

The lump in your throat grew as his words got heavier. Your heart beat to a fast rhythm, you hated it. You felt sick in your stomach.

With a dry mouth, you asked:

“How is he now?”

“He lets us tend to his bruises so they are healing fine, luckily. Barely eats, not even the home-cooked meals. Refuses to talk, and… he often asked us to find you in the beginning, but two days ago he stopped talking completely.”

Junmyeon’s words hung over you heavily, like a sword ready to kill you if you dare to make a mistake. And you didn’t plan making any. You wanted to comfort Chanyeol and make sure he is willing to come home with you.

“Let me talk to him alone. Please.”

“Okay. But I will be on the other side of the door, listening and step in if you upset him.”

Arguing wouldn’t do you a favor, so you nodded instead. After going through one more door, you arrived to the… well, you didn’t know what to call them. It was a plain hallway with a lot of glass doors, each one of them having a hybrid behind them.

Junmyeon led you to the last one, pointing at the glass.

“He’s in there.”

You followed the direction of his finger, seeing a little yellow room, with a brown bed. A curled up figure laid on it, golden ears peeking out of brown hair. His face was hidden from you, and he wore gray clothes: sweatpants and a hoodie. The pants were too short for him, his ankles were uncovered along with his feet.

Junmyeon opened the door for you with a key taken from his pocket. Your hands were shaking as you reached for the handle, but before you could walk in, he spoke up once again:

“I’ll be right here, listening.”

You hummed in agreement, eyes never leaving Chanyeol’s figure. You saw his ears twitch a little, but still not moving.

Walking in, your hands were sweaty and warm. Feeling restless you shifted from one foot to the other, looking for the perfect words to say to him. But they weren’t needed.

You saw Chanyeol’s chest rise as he breathed, then he froze. His head shot up, ears perking up in anticipation as he looked right at you. When you locked eyes with him, Chanyeol was quick on his feet, caging you with his arms after two long strides of his feet.

Tears were fast to come, fingers tightly clutching into the fabric of the hoodie. His lanky body was wrapped around you, the hug felt more like a bear’s rather than a dog hybrid’s, but it was perfect. All the words you planned to tell him died on your lips as you felt him shiver and shake against you, a drained noise leaving his mouth, involuntarily.

You twined your fingers into his hair, caressing and petting his head and ears, while he hugged you tighter.

“Y/N Noona,” he chocked out, and your heart shattered right there. “I knew you would come for me.”

“Of course, Chanyeol, of course I came.”

Soft voice and hands seemed to work wonders on him. He slowly calmed down in your arms, but refused to let you go. He kept tugging the sleeve of your coat when you let him go, only to look for a napkin to clean his face a little. You didn’t have one on you, so you wiped his tears with your fingers and the back of your hand. Chanyeol leaned into your touch, starved of affection for a long while. You were willing to give him anything he needed to see him smile again.

“Let’s sit down, Chanyeol,” you guided him to the single bed in the narrow room, very aware of the gaze staring holes into your back, watching your every move. You had to work hard to ignore it completely, and only focus on him.

Chanyeol pressed himself close to you when you took seat on the edge of the mattress, his thigh and arm aligning with yours, hands still grasping your wrist. He was trying to stop you from leaving, you realized.

“Are you here to take me back?” He asked in a raspy voice, words small compared to his size. He hiccuped and fresh tears streamed down his cheeks as you looked at him. You caught the tears before they fell, then hugged him. He felt so little in your arms. “I don’t want to go back, Noona.”

“We’re going to go home, Chanyeol,” you choked out, caressing his back slowly. “Nothing bad will happen to you ever again, okay?”

“But I don’t want to go back there! I’ll be a good boy, I promise you, so please, don’t take me back there,” he begged you.

“I won’t. I promise. Just give me a little time.”

Your whispered words were welcomed with soft humming, and he started to calm down in your hold. He just laid there, clinging to your hand and his breathing finally became even, sobs not escaping his lips anymore.

Sighing, you hugged him a little tighter.

“Can you do something for me, Chanyeol?” He stiffened in your arms, still as a stone, making you assume you said the wrong thing. But it needed to be cleared, so you continued: “You are going to come home with me, but I still have a few things to take care of. I need a week to prepare everything before I take you home. That is, if you want to live with me.”

“You’ll leave me here for one more week?”

His grasp on your hand was hard as steel. You softened your voice, trying not to upset him more.

“I’ll visit you everyday. But right now, our home is not ready yet. I have to move my things and buy you new ones.”

You decided he didn’t need to know the details of today’s happening. In a week, you’ll move out of your shared apartment and take Chanyeol to your new place. A fresh start for the both of you. You will figure out the rest together when you get there. First, you wanted to get over with this week, because you had a lot of things on your plate for now. Like moving, shopping basic stuff for Chanyeol (you would go and buy personal ones with him, so he could choose anything he wants or likes), getting paperwork done about moving out, talking with your current landlord, and the list just goes on, and on, and on.

Waiting for him to react felt like an eternity. But you were willing to wait. It was all for him, so you had to be sure he was okay with all of this. If he wasn’t a hundred percent sure, then you have to change your plans, until he is satisfied.

Voice low and shaky, he asked:

“You’ll come tomorrow too, right?”

“Yes. I will visit you every day until you can come home with me.” One of his hand landed on your knee, and gave it a squeeze. He was holding onto you with all of his might, so you added: “You’ll be okay. I promise.”

“I’m just happy that Noona found me. I thought…”

“And I’m happy that I found you. Nothing else matters. I found us a nice home, but we have to go pick your furniture and clothes yet.”

This seemed to catch his interest. His ears twitched in anticipation, and he twisted and turned in you arms until his back was laying on your lap and he could look up at you. Smiling down at him, you pushed his bangs back from his forehead. The skin around his eyes were red from crying, but the dark brown orbs finally shined with some happiness.

“I can pick anything I want?”

“Only between reasonable bounds. I’m not buying anything crazy or too pricey. I can’t afford going overboard right now.”

Chanyeol’s gaze drifted to the ceiling before locking eyes with you again. He was a little more serious now.

“I’m sorry for making you go through all this trouble for me.”

Your heart jumped in your chest, trying to escape through your throat, and you failed to slow its beating down. Without thinking, you placed a hand on his cheek, carefully caressing it. He hummed and closed his eyes in content. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

“It’s not a trouble at all, Chanyeol.”

He didn’t reply, rather leaned into your touch. The crease between his eyebrows seemed to dissolve slowly, and you sighed loudly. Chanyeol’s eyelashes fluttered as your breath hit his skin, but didn’t open his eyes. His hands blindly reached out, feeling around until he found yours and grabbed them. Your hands were much smaller in his warm hold.

Time went by fast, and you noticed Junmyeon knocking on the glass door.

Chanyeol shuddered in your lap, his fingers squeezing your hand, but not letting them go. As you looked up, the owner pf the shelter motioned at his wrist watch, and you knew your time was up. They were probably closing for the day.

Stroking Chanyeol’s hair and ears one more time, you urged him to get up and asked for one more hug.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

“Mm-hm.”

“Hey, don’t be so sad! I said I’ll come by every day, and the week will be passing by fast, you’ll see.”

“Mm-hm,” he still sounded like he didn’t believe you. You patted his back, then grabbed his shoulders to look him in the eyes.

“And, Chanyeol? Eat the meals they’re giving you.”

“But they smell bad. Can’t you cook and bring it for me, Noona?”

He gave you big puppy-eyes, and you knew you were bought just like that.

Junmyeon knocked again, so you let Chanyeol go, and one more time, you promised to visit him tomorrow, too.

It felt weird tiptoeing around Seoyun in the apartment, so you went out early to work from a coffee shop or to order basic stuff for your new place. Though, after you got home last night she tried to talk to you, carefully choosing her words to find out whether you reported her or not. You refused to speak to her, and went straight to your room. Fortunately, she wasn’t brave enough to follow you.

The next day, Baekhyun waited for you with a stack of papers and a boxy grin.

“There you go!” He handed you the papers over the counter. “Junmyeon isn’t here, but asked me to give you these. It’s mostly about the usual things you should know about hybrids, their needs and how to provide them a safe home. You should go over it a few times, Junmyeon will probably test you on it before letting you sign the adopting papers.”

You were quick to flip over the pages, your eyes scanning the sentences, a few words stuck to your brain. You only paid half attention to Baekhyun. Your mind was already on the task to memorize most of those stuff sooner – it meant that Chanyeol could be with you sooner, too.

A light chuckle from the red haired man brought your attention back to him.

“You don’t have to learn all of it by today. I thought you are here to see our Chanyeol.”

“I am. How is he today?”

Stuffing the papers in your bag, next to your notebook, your eyes wandered to the food you brought for Chanyeol.

You watched Baekhyun close the shop before leading you to the back, down the same path that Junmyeon walked with you.

“He started to eat. Not much, but it’s a progress so far.” He seemed to be getting lost in his memories for a good second, before adding: “Oh, and he talks now. Mainly about you and that you will be taking him home in a week.”

Your cheeks felt hot and your head was dizzy for no apparent reason. Chanyeol must be really excited to finally get away from here, so he couldn’t stop talking about it. It was heartwarming. Now, you wanted to take him to your new home even sooner.

Baekhyun took you to the same hallway filled with doors that hid hybrids behind them. You were more confident in walking in there today, already having an idea what was waiting for you on the other side of the door.

And you were right.

Chanyeol threw himself at you, his long strides almost invisible to your eyes since he was so fast.

You heard Baekhyun laugh from behind, as you could barely keep yourself standing with all of Chanyeol’s weight put on you. You smiled and took a deep breathe of his scent. His mop of hair tickled your face, and you caressed his back with gentle touches.

“I’ll be back later, okay? I have to re-open the shop before Junymeon gets back, so be good you two!”

Barely registering his words, you were too occupied with hugging Chanyeol.

He smelled better, and wore fresh clothes. The apples of his cheeks were tinted with a light blush as he smiled right in front of your face.

You squeezed out a small ‘Yes, thank you!’ before giving your full attention to the giant hybrid attached to your body. He doesn’t seemed to listen to any of your conversation, just happily sighed in your ear and hugged you tigther.

His fluffy ears tickled your nose. You pressed a light kiss on the top of his head. Shiver ran through Chanyeol’s body.

For a long second, the world seemed to stop around you. The only sound you could hear was Chanyeol’s soft breathing. You held back your own. Waiting. And waiting.

Then the door clicked shut behind you, and you snapped out of the weirdly silent moment.

“Did you eat?”

Your question resulted in him pouting and letting his arms loose around you.

“I did. It wasn’t good.”

“I’m sure they gave you the food you need.”

“But what’s the point if it’s not delicious?” Chanyeol was acting sulky, and he kept sniffing around in the air. With his senses, he will find the food and the goods in your bag, rather sooner than later.

Combing through his hair, you petted his ears, then decided to have mercy on him and give him the dish you prepared. His head immediately shot in the direction of your bag. Eyes trained on your hands as you took out a plastic container, filled with some pasta and sauce; the very first meal you made for him.

It seemed to threw Chanyeol off. He could only stare at you and the container, eyes getting shinier with each passing second. He stopped moving over all, so you guided him to his temporary bed, and sat him down.

“You still love pasta, right?” You asked him, although you knew the answer.

He hummed eagerly. The look of concentration didn’t leave his face when you took off the container’s lid. His nostrils flared up as the meaty smell filled the small room. A warm, fluttery feeling bloomed in your chest, making you smile.

Your hand moved on its own as Chanyeol hesitantly opened his mouth, patiently waiting for you to feed him.

So you did.

Trying to stop the shaking of your hand, you moved the utensil fast close to him, ending up stuffing Chanyeol’s face. His eyes grew wide, and a satisfied smile spread on his lips. Those puppy-eyes of his shut in content, and an invisible weight quietly lifted off of your shoulders.

Seeing him eat and smile was all you could ask for in that situation. Maybe if you knew for sure if he slept well and for long enough hours, you could call it a day, but things weren’t that easy. They never were.

“In the evening I will go through all that paper, then in the morning start fixing if anything needed to be before the week ends,” you told him between two bites.

Chanyeol only hummed in response, being more interested in the food than your words. But you saw him glare in the direction of the stack of papers that were peeking out of your bag.

“Will you come tomorrow too?” He asked in a small voice.

“I will. What do you want to eat then?”

“Pasta and meat are good for me.”

After gathering and feeding Chanyeol the last pieces of the meal, you put away the container and the fork. While packing, you wondered what could you talk to him about without being insensitive. You really wanted to tell him about how it snowed during early morning, but worried if it would make him fall back into the pit of despair, so you didn’t. You remembered how you talked with him about experiencing it together by the river this winter.

Chanyeol’s face softened, a troubled expression took over his features, his smile slowly disappeared. You couldn’t solve the mystery behind the sudden change in his feelings. His eyes fell on you again, begging you to understand what he tried to communicate to you. Never in your life you wished more for the gift of reading people’s mind. But you didn’t have that power, so you asked him:

“What’s wrong, Chanyeol?”

“It’s nothing, Noona. I just… What happened to…”

There was no need for him to say who or what he was talking about anymore. You were most certain it was Seoyun. The fear in his eyes spoke more than words could. You opened your arms, inviting him for a hug to chase away his demons that manifested in the form of your old roommate. And you were willing to keep him as far away from her as you could.

Stroking through his hair, you gently whispered in his ear.

“You don’t have to worry about that. You will never meet her ever again.”

“I believe you, Noona.” He let out a sigh after saying that. Your heart shyly fluttered in your chest, and it was pointless to pretend he couldn’t hear how fast it was beating.

Days seemed to be flying past rather fast; time only seemed to slow down when you were not with Chanyeol.

He became more and more excited with every passing day, his ears kept twitching when around you, and the happy smile never left his face.

You read through all paperwork Baekhyun gave you during the time you weren’t working or with Chanyeol. Sleep wasn’t your companion lately, there was always something to do around the new apartment. Some parts even required you to make the place child-proof for him. Your days consisted of work, visiting Chanyeol, shopping and working on the apartment. Then the next day it repeated all over again.

The day finally arrived. Junmyeon welcomed you as soon as the shelter opened. You didn’t tell him that you went there an hour earlier and waited in your car until it was time.

Feelings were funny little things. They made you do stuff you never dared to imagine, but here you were: ready to adopt a hybrid – no, not just a hybrid, but Chanyeol –, who you grew so fond of. You were curious what life held for you from that point on.

“Are you ready?” Baekhyun’s red mop of hair made a sudden appearance in front of you, forcing you to make a halt in your steps. He answered his own question before you could even react. “Of course, you are. Chanyeol is really excited, he just won’t shut up about finally going home.”

“He is happy,” Junmyeon added with a more head-level tone. “But be gentle with him. He went through a serious trauma, its effect might kick in later.”

“Nightmares are for sure to be expected. Victims of abuse most of the times experience PTSD in the form of nightmares. They usually come out when they finally feel safe. Our mind do that to protect us from falling apart.”

The red head’s voice sounded sincere, free from joy or his usual spirit. You nodded at both men, not so patiently waiting for them to lead you to Chanyeol or the other way around. As if they heard your thoughts, Junmyeon motioned with his head for Baekhyun to go. His smile only then returned.

“I’ll be back with him in a moment.” With that, he left the office.

Junmyeon cleared his throat. You sat down, and the owner of the shelter gave you a little stack of papers.

“Read through them carefully, then sign at the bottom of the last page on both copies. As you requested, we included that you will have full responsibility of Chanyeol and you won’t be able to give him up in any shelter. It will be showing up on your file, just in case, and we will be sending your files to other shelters.” He coughed bashfully again. “This may seem a little too much, but we are trying to make sure he won’t have to go through that experience again.”

“It’s perfectly understandable. It will give Chanyeol reassurance, too.”

“Yes. We also included that only on his request can he be returned. I hope it won’t be the case, but if somehow the same patterns occur, Chanyeol can ask us to take him back, and a legal case will be opened up against you.”

It might have sounded scaring or alarming to anyone else, but you knew better. It was all to protect Chanyeol in the future and to secure him a safe home.

As you were going over the adoption papers, you heard a soft knock on the door. Junmyeon called them in. You watched Baekhyun return with a tall and smiling Chanyeol. His fluffy ears were twitching in excitement. When your eyes met, his smile widened and shyly walked to you. He placed his hand on the back of your chair. You couldn’t resist stroking his fingers before going back to the papers.

You finished reading them rather fast, then signed them with your initials.

It was done. The papers were signed, the apartment is ready for your future lives. It felt liberating, and a warm, bubbly feeling seeped into you. Is it what pure happiness felt like?

The four of you would have seemed like a merry little group to an outsider, but you knew that all of you were not just happy, but relieved. For Junmyeon and Baekhyun, it was a case won without any battles and they would know that a hybrid brought to their shelter will be in good care from that point on. For you, it was like saving someone so dear to your heart – a member of your family. For Chanyeol… It was written all over his face. A brand new start of his life. Finally being himself, being comfortable.

There will be difficulties, you knew that, and Junmyeon warned you earlier. But after the rain, the sun will always shine a little brighter and warmer. It was the course of life – with its occasional ups and downs.

They way to your new home was rather quiet. You saw how badly Chanyeol wanted to question where you were going, but never uttered a word. He just stared out the window from next to you, his ears still twitching from time to time as he watched the traffic around you. At a red light, he reached out for your hand. Quickly squeezing your fingers, then his hand was back on is lap.

Taking a look at his too short sweats, you said:

“Let’s go home first, and after that we could go get you some more comfortable clothes, okay?”

He nodded.

The apartment wasn’t that far from EXO Shelter with car, but it was far enough to make sure you wouldn’t accidentally run into Seoyun on a daily basis. A different part of town, more calm and modern then your previous place. You thought Chanyeol might like it when you picked it.

After parking in the buildings garage, you showed Chanyeol how to get to the lift from there, then went outside to show him the main entrance. Nothing special, but you knew he preferred walking instead of car rides, so you figured you should go that way first.

You didn’t even enter the building, but he was already holding onto the sleeve of your coat, tugging it a little with every step you took. Smiling, you got a hold of his hand, and never let go until you arrived to your apartment.

Fifth floor, door fifty-seven. A simple, light brown door, with the numbers painted on them with black.

Chanyeol clinged to you as you unlocked and opened the door, giving both of your a good look at the place. A little front area, barely big enough for two people to stand there and take their shoes off, which immediately opened into the living room. Not so big or spacious, but good enough. A TV, a coffee table, a couch and an armchair could fit in, but nothing really more. You had to make the decision of not having a dining table, since there wasn’t enough room for it, but to your luck, the kitchen was big for a little table with two chairs, and you could still comfortably cook – even if the two of you were in there. It was on the right side of the living room.

The two rooms were on the other side right next to each other, and a little bathroom next to the right bedroom. You planned to give Chanyeol the bedroom on the left side, since it had view on both the street and the small playground next to your apartment.

Chanyeol was in awe. His eyes grew bigger than you have ever seen them as he looks around the apartment. He touches everything with a little hesitancy, but as you never scold him for doing it, he becomes more courageous. Fingers dusting off your laptop on the couch, holding up some papers you have left on the small diner table, peaking into every cabinet and wardrobe.

Lastly, he goes for the bedrooms. He marches into yours, and comes out with a warm smile. Then hesitant again, he goes to his own. It seems he doesn’t like that so much, which makes your heart heavy. You know it doesn’t feel like a home to him yet – hell, it doesn’t feel like that to you either yet! –, but together you could make it.

Waiting for his reaction, still standing in the entrance area, you said:

“I know it isn’t much yet, but we can also buy some furniture tomorrow.”

He failed to respond, but you saw his tall figure slightly shake as he looked around the place again, turning his back to you. A long exhale escaped him, shoulders sank along with his whole body. The sudden change in his mood through you off too, but it was understandable. He went through a lot, more than you could ever wrap your head around now. Maybe, later he would feel safe and be comfortable enough to share it with you.

Chanyeol quickly turned and charged in your direction. Before you could understand what was happening, his arms were wrapped around you, his larger frame locking you in a tight hug. He was still shaking, more violently than before. You felt wetness falling on your face, but the tears didn’t belong to you.

“Thank you, Noona. I’m just… so happy. I’ve never had someone do so much for me and… make me this happy. I feel…”

Overwhelmed. He was feeling a lot of kind of feelings all at once, you figured from the way he sobbed and choked his words out. The torn, yet positive tone in his voice made you tear up as well.

No words were needed.

Being there for him was enough for Chanyeol to realize: he was finally home.

The first night in the apartment together was rough for both of you. Until the sun was up, everything felt light and dream like, but with the night came unsettling feelings, restlessness, mostly on Chanyeol’s side.

After dinner, he took a long shower while you cleaned up the aftermath of the meal. Washing the dishes, you proudly thought about how Chanyeol basically destroyed the dinner, even ate your leftovers.

You watched a movie later, but time was running by fast, and both of you were yawning crazily, so you decided it was time to go to bed. Wasn’t one of your best ideas, you figured later on.

Quickly showering you put on your pajamas, said goodnight to Chanyeol, but he lacked his usual shine. He was back in his gloomy mood, but you couldn’t help the tiredness that took over you. Running errands all week, while working and doing your daily things were exhausting, not even mentioning the emotional side of it all. It took its toll on you greatly.

“I’ll leave my bedroom door open, if anything happens you can come in and wake me up. Okay? And by anything, I mean anything. Bad dreams, sleeplessness, really anything. But I have to sleep for a few hours.”

“Okay. Have nice dreams, Noona.”

“You too, Chanyeol. Sleep tight, we have a long day ahead of us.”

He hummed in agreement, but it left a bitterness in you. You were prepared for a few hours of sleep, but despite the heavy feeling in your eyes, you just couldn’t fall asleep. You were hyper aware of all the noises Chanyeol made in the other room. You could hear him toss and turn almost every minute, and you couldn’t blame him. With everything that happened to him, in a brand new place, it wasn’t an easy task to sleep.

After he started to pace up and down in his room, you decided it was okay to put your tiredness aside for a little while. You went to Chanyeol’s room, and found him looking out the window, the blanket loosely wrapped around him. His tall figure looked even bigger in the mere moonlight that shone from outside, but his eyes made him vulnerable. Those lost puppy-eyes reflected loneliness and pain, that was too much for you to comprehend.

“Can’t sleep, Chanyeollie?”

Your voice was merely above a whisper.

“Mhm.”

“I told you to come to me if you have trouble sleeping,” you scolded him lightheartedly. Reaching out a hand for him seemed to work like magic, as his body responded immediately. His fingers wrapped around yours tightly.

“You were breathing slowly, so I thought you were already asleep.”

Leading him to the living room, you motioned for him to sit down, but instead he followed you to the kitchen. In two mugs, you warmed some milk for yourselves. Your mother used to give you warm milk with a hint of sugar to help you sleep easier when you were little.

Armed with your mugs, you sat down on the couch, getting comfortable in the blanket Chanyeol threw over you. It was warm from his body heat, soothing your mind with his familiar scent. He is finally safe with you, your mind kept telling you again and again.

Chanyeol kept wriggling next to you, until his side was pressed to yours, legs and arms aligning. You extended your arm for him to come even closer. He must have been touch starved, he was very much showing signs of it. You flickered through channels on the TV, desperately searching for some drama Chanyeol loved so dearly. The one you watched together last time has already finished, but some reruns would be good for now too.

“Let’s watch that,” Chanyeol said quietly at one point.

With the softly blinking lights from the TV, your eyelids got heavy again as you slowly stroked Chanyeol’s hair. Eventually, he put his head on your lap, long limbs stretching out on the little remaining space of the couch. You couldn’t see his face well, but you heard his breathing getting even and quiet, and after the first snore he let out, you allowed yourself to fall asleep.

It was still dark outside when you woke up. You couldn’t quite pinpoint what made you wake up. The TV was still flickering, the early news shows have already started. The anchor lady was talking about some petty theft case that’s been finally concluded after months of work on the police’s side. You didn’t really care, maybe if they were telling something about the hybrids, you would be glued to the screen.

Chanyeol was still sleeping on your lap, looking like haven’t moved all night, only his arms snaked around your waist. Even in his sleep he held you with a firm grip, hands fisted with the material of your shirt.

You picked up caressing his hair and his face eventually, wondering how your day should go. Shopping and arranging the furniture would take up all of your time, and you also wanted to squeeze in some cooking and working.

While you were lost in your thoughts, Chanyeol stirred. His eyelids slowly fluttered and opened, a sleepy smile instantly tugged on his lips. You returned it just as happily.

“Good morning, Chanyeol.”

“Good morning, Noona.”

“Did you sleep well? You look well rested.”

“Yes. I haven’t had any bad dreams, so it was good.”

“That’s good to hear! Soon you’ll have sweet dreams, too.”

Chanyeol looked a little unsure about your claim, but only shrugged. His eyes were big, almost begging you not to lie.

Things took a turn for the better, but it was such a slow progress, that if you wouldn’t pay attention to the little things slipping from Chanyeol’s mouth, you’d barely notice it day by day.

Half words about feeling safe. A lazy smile after a dreamless night or a nap. His innocent voice thanking you for the food you prepared. Afternoons spent together binge watching dramas. His body aligning with yours while you worked away on your laptop. The little things that showed things were going right.

There were also bad days. And even worse nights when he woke up from a nightmare, sobbing, crying, shaking endlessly, sometimes even screaming. To avoid the difficult night, he started to sleep with you more often and often. Being close to you gave him enough sense of comfort to sleep soundlessly. The promised sweet dreams only came after three months of sleeping with you.

You became used to Chanyeol being there in your room when you went to sleep. Him, looking up at you soft and sleepy from under the comforters. Every night, you went to sleep silently thanking Junmyeon, Baekhyun and Jongdae from the shelter for helping you go through with your plans. Because you wouldn’t have it any other way.

During weekends, you two went on walks around the city, always visiting a park, but you were being careful not to go near the area of your old apartment. Chanyeol was healing, he didn’t need his barely closed wounds to be ripped open again.

He even made a few friends in a nearby park. Kyungsoo, a cat hybrid and his owner, Minseok stole a place in Chanyeol’s heart. The other hybrid didn’t seem to be so fond of him and his over the place personality at first glance, but soon warmed up to him. Both you and Minseok noticed his soft expression when he thought none of you were paying attention. They became friends and regular visitors at your place, and the other way around.

Minseok was easy to talk to. Never asking too much, knowing when not to pry further into certain topics. A welcomed change after being holed up in your own world, surrounded with only work and Seoyun for so long.

The next snowfall came only in February, on a calm Saturday evening. You were already walking home. Chanyeol occasionally sniffing the air for a few hours now.

“It smells weird, Noona. So clear and fresh.”

“Do you like it?”

“I don’t know yet.”

His hand were engulfing yours while walking in silence. Chanyeol insisted holding your hand when he noticed you rubbing your fingers together, fighting against the cold. He always noticed everything when it came to you.

Chanyeol was still trying to find out why the air was so eerily fresh, and you were smiling on the inside. The weather forecast promised snowing for tonight, and you hoped it would happen before you arrive home from your little trip.

And hope was fulfilled. The first snowflake caught Chanyeol by surprise, quietly landed on his face as he was looking up at the white clouded sky, and melted immediately. He froze on spot, yanking your hand and making you stop too. His eyes grew big as the snow started to fall. White flakes landing without a pattern, first here and there, then a moment later it was everywhere. In only ten minutes there would be a white blanket laid on the city.

With bright and shining eyes Chanyeol looked at you, smiling so widely that his teeth were showing. He looked up at the sky again, watched the snow cover everything, then his eyes were on you.

“I like it, Noona, if it means it’s going to be snowing.”

He jerked your hand, making you almost trip and fall, but before any of that could happen, he catches you in his arms, hugging you tight. His breath was warm, chest rising and falling fast as he sniffed once more.

“You won’t miss the first snow with me again, Chanyeol,” you whispered to him almost shyly, and felt yourself blush as he let go of you.

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

Yeah, you thought as you continued walking home and Chanyeol kept looking at the sky, but never let go of your hand. You wouldn’t change anything about the past months if it meant you could see his smiles forever.

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