My Hybrid's Duality [ KTH ]

Chapter VII. No More Dream

You awake to the buzzing of your alarm. Groggily, you stretch out an arm to turn it off. You rub your eyes as you swing your legs off the bed.

Wafting into your bedroom is...

'The smell of pancakes???'

You step out to the living room.

"Good morning!" comes Taehyung's sunny greeting, "Did you sleep well last night?"

Unbidden, an image flashes through your mind...

Golden eyes glowing in the darkness, moonlight kissing a chillingly beautiful face, the glint of sharp canines---

You shake your head to dispel the image.

"Huh? You didn't sleep well?"

Taehyung's worried voice brings you back to the present moment, and you look at him in surprise.

"Ah! N-no, I did! I was just remembering something..."

He tilts his head curiously, which in turn reminds you of---

'No!'

"What were you remembering?" Taehyung asks.

"I-It's nothing important," you say, hoping Taehyung won't pry further. To your relief, he doesn't.

"Oh, by the way, I made strawberry pancakes!" he announces, "I wanted us to have breakfast together before you left for work."

Looking up at Taehyung's cheerful face, sparkling in the daylight, it's hard to reconcile it with the panther Hybrid you encountered in the darkness.

This Taehyung is like a cute, fluffy puppy. The Taehyung from last night...

'But no, that wasn't even Taehyung... that was V.'

"[Y/N]ie, are you sure you're okay?" The concern has crept back into Taehyung's voice, "You've just been standing there, staring at me."

"What? Oh yes," you focus your attention back to the Taehyung in front of you, "I'm just not a morning person. My mind takes forever to wake up." It's not a lie. "Anyway, let's eat these pancakes before they turn cold."

Taehyung brightens up again.

"I hope you enjoy Taetae's super strawberry pancakes made with love!" he says, throwing you a finger heart. You waste no time digging in.

"Waaaa! Taehyungie, these are delicious!" you exclaim, "You should be a pastry chef!"

He blushes, and you find that you enjoy making him blush. You make a mental note to make Taehyung blush more often.

"It's just the boxed pancake mix," he demurs, "and I added the strawberries we bought," then, he smiles his boxy smile, "But it's all the love I put into it that makes it extra yummy!"

As you and Taehyung enjoy your simple breakfast together, with the morning sunshine glinting golden in Taehyung's dark curls... you become more and more convinced that your encounter with "V" was just a dream.

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"Haaaa... Taehyungie, please don't look so sad!"

Breakfast went by in a blink, and now you're standing by the door as you get ready to leave.

"You're making it harder for me to leave..." you pout.

"I'm sorry, I'll try to put on a brave face for you," Taehyung says, trying to school his expression into something not-sad, but failing.

"No, actually... please don't do that." He looks surprised at your request, so you explain, "I don't want you to ever feel like you need to hide your feelings from me, Taehyung."