Hybrid Discovery [SKZ fanfiction]| Lee Felix and Bang Chan

Curiosity

There's been new neighbors in the apartment next to them. They've been loud all day, but quiet in the morning and at night. She's seen them a couple of times when she walked around the lobby. There's a big, scary dog. Twice, no- six times her size. He doesn't seem that quick or active, but the big muscles behind all the floof don't lie. He must be equivalent to a small bear or something with his strengths.
The other she's only seen in his human form, walking beside his owner. A slender, elegant man with long hair and slim eyes. He seems to be a chatterbox as he talks and talks to his owner like there's no end. He has the weird quirk of sticking his tongue out every so often.
And then there's the new neighbors himself. The owner of these two hybrids. He's... handsome. Yeah, There's no better fitting description. She likes his black hair. It reminds her of her own pelt. She wishes it would shine as nicely as his hair does, but after all these years hers is still a bit... dull. Maybe it's because of her diet, she can't choose her meals. Or maybe it's because her owner only feeds her cheap cat food. Stuff she doesn't even digest that well.
The black cat turns around when the new neighbors have left and makes her way back to her own apartment.
'Miss Muffles?' A shaky, old voice calls for her and with a soft mewl she lets her owner know she's outside.
'Ah, there you are, my cuddlebug. Were you out on an adventure?' She gets picked up by a pair of wrinkly hands who hold her close to her chest. Granny Jeon takes her inside and closes the door behind her. Her hands are having trouble fully shutting the door.
'You're back right in time. Grangran cooked up some delicious soup. I know Sora doesn't like it when I feed you human food, but you like it, right dear? Just don't tell him.' The old lady holds her finger up to her mouth and smiles at the black cat in her arms. Miss Muffles purrs and gives the old lady a tiny headbut to show her appreciation.
'Now, be a dear and wait over there. I'll scoop some in your bowl.'
The old lady places her on the kitchen table and scuffles to the gas stove. Miss Muffles patiently waits for her owner. After some forbidden soup, granny Jeon scoops the cat up and takes her with her to her favorite chair to sit on. She picks up her needlework and Miss Muffles swats her tiny paw to the loose strings from time to time.
'Enjoying yourself? My lovely kitten? Don't ruin my work, will you, dear?'
Miss Muffles stares at the knowledgeable hands who work on autopilot while granny watches tv. The rhythmic ticking of the needles with the soft blabbering sounds on the tv make her sleepy. Being a cat makes you sleep a lot. Not that she's complaining, there's nothing better to do when there's always someone at home. At least it's peaceful most of the time. Or at least until that piece of thrash comes back home. How granny gave birth to people who, on their turn, gave birth to such a miserable human is beyond Miss Muffles comprehending. But she knows the world is full of evil people. If she compares those to granny's grandson, he isn't that bad. Just a not so nice human. Or simply said, he doesn't care for animals. He cared about her former owner, his girlfriend. Now all he cares for is money, partying and something humans call "stuff"? Whenever grandson Jeon wants to relax, he uses the "stuff". Not that he seems to get really relaxed from it. He gets hyper fixated, delighted, as if he has all the power in the world. But with that, the aggression comes as well. Most of the time ventilated at his phone or a piece of decoration like a couch cushion or a simple plate from the kitchen. Sometimes she is his outlet, but only if granny is already gone to sleep. He yanks her through the room, steps on her tail on purpose or douses her under water in the sink if she's not quick enough to get out of his reach.
Before, he did these kinds of things to Jolanda. His American girlfriend. The girl who picked her up four years ago when she was attacked by the street cats who shunned her away for what she was. The lovely foreign girl found her cowering on the street and decided to take her in. She fell in love with the small, black kitten and nursed it back to health with care. Those were happy times for Miss Muffles, then known as "little kitten". She knew she had to stay like that in order to survive. If this girl knew she was different, she would kick her out. Just like the street cats did. No, she had to stay like a kitten. A normal black cat.
Jolanda was amazing. She was so different from the Korean people. She was outgoing, had a beautiful smile and her bright red hair was something Miss Muffles was jealous of every day. Jolanda got her treats, toys to play with and gave her all the care she needed. With her was her boyfriend. Jeon Sora, now known as grandson of granny Jeon. In the beginning Jeon was nice. He seemed deeply in love with Jolanda, his angel. They shared a big apartment, all paid by Jolanda and shared their daily lives together. They laughed together, watched movies on the couch or went on a date. Sometimes they disappeared in their bedroom and locked the kitten out. Weeks turned into months and as the beautiful spring days turned into gloomy winters Jolanda got gloomier as well. Jeon came home late, sometimes walking funny. Laughs got replaced with yelling and screaming. Jolanda wasn't outgoing anymore. She stayed inside and talked for hours on her phone. There were no more moments for the kitten to turn back into her other form to sneak around and learn about the human things of the world. After the second gloomy winter with Jolanda being a zombie and Jeon coming home later and later a final argument broke out, resulting in the kitten being pushed into Jeon's hands with the pleading of Jolanda to at least take care of her. Jeon took her with him to his granny. Jolanda never to be seen again.
Granny Jeon took her in like she was her long lost daughter. Jeon didn't care for the cat. His grandma was happy to have company and now he could live his life carefree like how he wanted. That was another two or three years ago, she believed. This was her life now. Being a lapcat by day, her true self at night if the right circumstances were there. Which wasn't often or long, but enough to keep herself in touch with her human side.
There wasn't much fear to be discovered by other hybrids as the only other one lived downstairs and was so old he barely could hear or see a thing. The old terriër and his owner barely came up this floor and the few times he sniffed her out, his owner shushed him with his walking cane saying 'Shut it, you old fool. Not every animal is like you.'
She was grateful for their old age as it kept her secret safe. That was until the new neighbors arrived.

'I tell you, granny, that neighbor is a weird one. I mean, who has a reptile AND a rodent. That's asking for a battle of life and death!'
Jeon vents at granny as we hear stuff falling over next door. There hasn't been a single day when there hasn't been some weird kind of sound from them. Almost every week there's a loud bonk against the balcony window or door and yesterday the owner had a full on shouting battle with what sounds like a bird or some other screeching animal. The big, scary dog hybrid has a loud voice as well, but is only heard when it's about food, so mostly around dinnertime. It was only when she heard the sounds of a cat she got interested in taking a sneak peak. So, she observed the neighbor and his "pets" when they went outside. Hiding herself in the lobby to get glimpses of what his house looks like when his front door closes behind them.
Now she knows the big, scary looking dog is also scary looking as a human. His curly hair falling in front of his eyes and with muscles he could easily squish her to death. The hybrid dog seems to be allowed outside without its owner. Same for the lanky dude with slim eyes. They wear their collars and go in and out almost every day. Sometimes bringing back arms full of bags with food, most of the time leaving with their personal bag and coming back with it. The owner seems to work in the evenings and nights. He leaves on weekdays around nine and comes back around five in the morning. He looks tired most of the time, but still looks handsome in her eyes. There's something captivating about him. His bright smile when his pets greet him at the door? Or maybe it's the hair. She can't put her finger on it.
It's another night and she knows granny is getting suspicious of her sneaking out of the house after dinner. 'How are you even capable of sneaking out, you naughty little rascal,' she cooed at her last night, but the black cat knows she can't resist her curiosity. She hasn't seen the mystery cat the neighbor seems to have.
'Okay, I'm off to work,' the neighbor boy says as he leaves the apartment. 'Ash- Bin? Have you seen my keys?' The boy walks back in without closing the door and that's her chance. The golden opportunity to sneak in. She hides herself in the shadow of the hallway while the boy sprints out the door and closes her in his home. She made it!
With careful steps she escapes the shadows and walks into the moonlight lit hallway. This apartment is a mirrored version of granny's. There's a small kitchen with sliding doors to the living room and a narrow hallway leading up to the bathroom at the end. There's two bedrooms before the end of the hallway and there's a small balcony which can be entered from the living room. Everything is bright and clean. Different from all the brown colors in granny's home. There's no rattan chairs or brown cabinets with porcelain plates. Instead there's a big L shaped couch and a wall mounted tv above what seems like a glass box filled with plants and rocks. Above the large kitchen table hangs a birdcage and on the table stands another case with funny looking tubes poking out of them.
'Ah, You're still up?' An unfamiliar voice talks to her, which scares the living shit out of her. She jumps up and runs to the first dark place she sees. Under the couch it is.
'Tsk, scarycat,' the owner of the voice chuckles. He walks to the kitchen and Miss Muffels sees how the man opens the fridge and takes out a milk carton which he places on his lips to take big gulps out of. He only wears a pair of gray sweatpants. He wipes a droplet of milk off his body which has escaped the corner of his mouth. She's intrigued by the white liquid. She knows it's something humans like to drink or use in their cooking. They gave it to her once and she still remembers how creamy it tasted. This was before she met granny. Before she met Jolanda or even the street cats.
'Can't tempt you to join me?' the man asks her, but she stays where she is.
'Suit yourself,' the man yawns before walking over to the couch.
Right before she thinks he'll bow down to get her from her hiding space, he transforms. So HE's the cat! She can only see his blue grayish legs jump up the couch where a loud huff can be heard. Shit, the scary looking dog sleeps above her too?! She's doomed. No way she can sneak out without them noticing her. She has no other choice. She has to wait for a good opportunity to sneak out.