Hybrids | BTS FF

Chapter Forty

Seokjin's story

"I was adopted by a sweet old lady who taught me a lot about the world. During my younger years, she looked after me and during my older years, I looked after her.

We had an amazing bond on a parental level. She was like a mother to me and I was like a son to her. Despite her being human, she still taught me about how horrible others could be, especially the HSC. She taught me to be strong-minded and unafraid. I never really knew why she was trying to cram so much into my mind until a month after our first lesson. I often collected the post for her, sometimes even read it when she was having a particularly bad day with her eyes.

I'll never forget the day that she asked me to read the letters and I found out that she was dying from stage four breast cancer. It broke me to pieces but I tried not to let it show because I didn't want her to worry when she had enough on her plate as it was.

My whole life changed...

I cooked more, cleaned more and did everything I could just to make sure that she was comfortable in her final stages. She was a stubborn old bat who didn't think that she needed medical treatment or help.

She'd often say that she felt like she was stuck in a care home with me constantly hovering around. She'd joke around the idea but it still made me cry because I felt like I'd failed her.

I didn't want to lose the only parental figure in my life because she was all I'd ever known. The outside world was strange for me. I hardly ever ventured past the four walls that confined me unless it was to the local market just 'round the block.

It was mainly home deliveries and takeaways once she became bedridden. I never wanted to leave her because of the fear of her dying alone. I wanted to be next to her so that I knew she wouldn't be in pain.

All I did was step out to make tea...two minutes and I was back to her, but it was too late. She'd died before I'd even made it back...

It was the worst feeling in the world to experience someone you cherish die. I felt like I'd died with her. All I really remember is dropping the cups and rushing over; the sound being muffled and my sight being blurred. I could only focus on her at that moment.

The first tears dropped when I felt how cold she was getting and saw how blue her lips were turning. I was scared of fully letting go so I didn't report her death until a few hours later.

With hybrid senses being stronger, it didn't take long before her natural scent was being replaced with the strong smell of decaying flesh. I think at that moment, it finally solidified in my mind that she was actually gone.

I needed to move on somehow...

I reported her death under a false name and fled with all of my belongings. I knew that the HSC wouldn't be so nice to me if they were to find me still there. It was obvious that they would turn up with the police to get the body removed because she had a hybrid registered under her name.

She was a smart woman, I'll tell you that...

She never registered me under my legal name, but instead as bear...of course this was done illegally. She knew that without my proper identification, the HSC would have a harder time tracking me down.

I never used the money left to me for shelter because I knew that it'd be risky. One of the top rules was to never trust other humans, no matter how hybrid friendly they are.

I couldn't risk getting caught when I'd already made it so far. The centre was a new area for me. It was scary but I couldn't risk letting that fear be seen because it can be used as an advantage against you.

The first ever time I met Jimin, I ignored his entire existence despite the tug I felt every time I saw him in human or fox form. It didn't take long until my walls were being cracked by the sly devil and I was welcoming him into my arms.

The first time he shifted, he pounced. He had me begging for him to stay by the end of it."