when you talk to me (my whole world lights up)

chapter two

"you guys , this is not what i meant by 'finding my hybrid'." yoongi grumbled angrily from the sidewalk. after some convincing from the boys, yoongi had finally caved into going out. at the time, he wasn't sure what out meant.

well, now he knew.

"come on, yoongi-hyung!" namjoon called from the entrance, standing next to an impatient hoseok. seokjin had agreed to stay behind and watch the other three hybrids. god only knows how that's going. yoongi gave both of them an unimpressed look, not budging from his spot.

"we've tried this so many times, i've never been able to find a hybrid in one of these... these... pounds ." he gritted the last part through his teeth, giving the building a disgusted once-over. he definitely wasn't fond of places like these, and they all knew that.

"this place is supposed to be different!" hoseok responded, already halfway through the door. yoongi rolled his eyes, begrudgingly following the duo inside. the two younger boys immediately found one of the workers, chatting away with the poor young girl who just stared in awe at them. yoongi retained his unamused expression when they turned and motioned to him, saying something to the worker who didn't quite seem to understand where they were going with this.

eventually, the duo clambered back over to him, big grins on their faces. yoongi stared down the both of them, ready to turn and bolt right through the front door before they lurched forward and grabbed him by the arms. he let out a yelp, gaining the attention from a few passersby as he was dragged forward.

against his will, he followed the two boys to one of the rooms. they seemed to know their way around this building, and honestly it struck him as kind of suspicious. regardless, they stepped into the room, immediately struck with soft pastels and calming music. a range of hybrids dotted the big room, from bunnies like jeongguk to puppies and more. they all turned their eyes on them, wide and expecting. yoongi stepped back a bit under the sudden attention, pressing up against the wall as the duo turned to look at him.

"do you see one you'd like to get to know?" hoseok asked, sensing his uneasiness. yoongi's eyes darted around the room, his hand subconsciously reaching for the doorknob. as soon as he found it, the door was open and he was in the hallway again. hoseok followed him while namjoon remained inside, caught up in a conversation with one of the cat hybrids.

"hey, are you okay?" hoseok asked softly, linking his arm with yoongi's. the shorter boy leaned into him a bit, appreciative of the grounding he was giving him. the two remained quiet until yoongi's breathing evened out, patting hoseok's arm to let him know he was fine. separating, yoongi looked up at hoseok, smiling at him.

"sorry, i just got a bit overwhelmed. i don't like seeing them like that, all... in there and stuff." yoongi muttered at the end, rubbing his arm awkwardly. hoseok nodded in understanding, a thoughtful look on his face.

"you've never really liked the modern hybrids, have you?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest. yoongi shook his head, glancing through the little window in the door. namjoon had a crowd gathered around him, reading off some sort of book to the attentive hybrids.

"not really. i mean, they're great and all, don't get me wrong. i just... never really clicked with them on a caregiver level." yoongi responded, watching how namjoon got along with the hybrids.

hoseok took another moment to think this over before slipping away without a word. he set out to find another worker, his mind replaying the same thought over and over. yoongi was a little bit hard-headed, for sure, but he also loved a challenge. hoseok saw how he worked with taehyung versus the other two hybrids, how well he handled the more... undomesticated hybrids.

finally finding another worker, hoseok pulled the young man aside, explaining their situation to him. the other guy seemed to understand, motioning to another hallway that was comparatively less crowded than the rest of the building. hoseok took one last glance at yoongi before treading down the hallway.

it was fairly dark, with only one door at the end. the light underneath the door contrasted brightly against the shadows, and it took hoseok a minute before he opened the door. inside was smaller than the other rooms, but still big enough to inhabit. it was furnished nicely, but there weren't any hybrids in sight.

"uh, hello?" hoseok stepped inside, closing the door behind him. it was quiet, not a sound to be heard off the bat. he stood there awkwardly, debating in his head whether or not he should just turn around and leave when a rustling came from the corner of the room. hoseok turned towards the source of the noise, locking eyes with a pair of vibrant orange eyes. the striking color startled the poor boy, causing him to back against the door.

"u-uh, oh, um, h-hi?" he stuttered out, unable to tear his gaze away. the hybrid crawled out from their hiding spot, head tilted in wonder at the newcomer. they didn't answer like the others did, though. the unsettling silence gave hoseok cold chills.

"i-i'm, um, i'm hoseok. what's your name?" he tried again, but to no avail. the hybrid was fully emerged now, sitting in a crouching position, eyes wide and ears perked up. silence settled over them again as they stared at each other. hoseok wondered for a moment why they weren't talking before he finally decided to get yoongi.

"i'll be right back." hoseok gave the hybrid a smile, slipping back outside into the hallway. he made his way back to where he left yoongi, seeing the smaller boy pressed up against the door with a fond smile on his face. hoseok placed a hand on yoongi's back, causing him to jump a little bit.

"hey, sorry. didn't mean to startle you." hoseok patted his friend's back softly, giving him an apologetic smile. yoongi only shook his head in dismissal, turning to give hoseok his full attention. he smiled at his friend, holding out his arm for yoongi to take, which he did. he led him back down the well-lit hallway, tugging him down the other when he stopped a bit reluctantly.

"don't worry, nothing's going to happen." hoseok patted yoongi's hand comfortingly, giving him a moment to recollect before gently pulling him down the hallway. hoseok motioned for yoongi to be quiet when they reached the door, giving him a soft smile before opening the door and sliding inside. yoongi followed him, an intrigued look on his face.

"i'm back!" hoseok called out softly. to yoongi, it looked like he was talking to himself, and he was about to comment on it when a noise cut through the silence. hoseok was grinning, excitedly looking around for the source. "it's okay, this is my friend, yoongi! he wants to meet you."

yoongi furrowed his brows, glancing around the room as well. it wasn't until the striking orange eyes caught his attention that he unintentionally latched back on to hoseok.

the pair of eyes watched his every movement, observing and alert. hoseok continued to speak quietly, coaxing the other out of the shadows with increasing success. eventually, the hybrid was in full view, head cocked at the pair of humans as they sat in a defensive crouch.

"hey! you finally came out!" hoseok clapped his hands, startling the hybrid. they loud out a sort of wild noise, scrambling around the room before hurtling right for the duo.

everything seemed to move in slow motion to yoongi. from the minute the hybrid started to move up until he shoved hoseok behind him. he steeled himself as the hybrid changed direction, aiming right for the pair of boys. furrowing his brows, he stuck his hand out towards the incoming hybrid.

"stop!"

the hybrid skidded to a stop, side-stepping yoongi's arm and hovering a few inches away from him. they barely came up to his nose, yet that didn't stop them from giving him a threatening look. their head tilted to the side, eyes narrowed as if they were debating on making another move. yoongi leveled his gaze, keeping calm as hoseok seemed to mildly panic behind them.

after a very long, agonizing period, the hybrid moved away from yoongi, smacking his still outstretched hand away from them. yoongi let it fall to his side, watching the hybrid walk away from them. they threw another look over their shoulder, as if asking why are you still here?

"hoseok." yoongi couldn't take his eyes off the hybrid, locked in a battle with them. they had draped themselves over one couches, tail flicking lazily over the side.

"i want this one."