Homosaurus

23

An hour of listening to Youngjae's moody groans and watching Jinyoung rush around the lab passed by quickly. Yugyeom and the others returned right on time, everyone seeming more excited to examine Youngjae once again than touring the rest of the building.

Jinyoung and Jaebum again had to pretend to be good and trustworthy hosts for the hybrid who had no interest in staying in that cage any longer than he needed to. All they had to do was sell the act for a bit longer, and eventually everyone would finally be able to return home.

Jinyoung led the group back to Youngjae's cage, everyone's eyes captured by Youngjae who was laid out on his back, staring blankly at the metal ceiling of his cell.

"It looks like everyone's using the facility nicely. I don't regret giving the lab the extra budget." Yugyeom commented as soon as he saw them both, smiling in satisfaction of the company's money well spent.

"I think we all love the bigger space." Jinyoung repiled.

"I do too." Yugyeom chuckled out before quickly turning his attention to the archaeologist in the room. "Jaebum."

Jaebum jolted to alert at the sound of his name echoing through the room. "Yes?"

Yugyeom's eyes shifted over to Youngjae who paid him no attention. "How does the specimen deal in this space?"

"Youngjae? Oh, he's okay..."  Jaebum trailed off, his chest tightening from the lie he'd just told. Youngjae did terribly in such a small and confined area, it was no good for him at all. Though, now that Yugyeom was asking the question, it gave Jaebum the opportunity to raise his concerns about keeping Youngjae behind bars for the majority of his life. "...but... he does wish he had more room to run around and stretch his legs, y'know?"

Yugyeom nodded, letting out a soft sigh. "I understand, but you know we can't do that."

"Yes I know..." Jaebum trailed off, taking a moment to think through his next words before pushing further. "...but I mean... what if I kept watch of him? I can take him outside and teach him human things-"

"He's not fully human."

Jaebum faltered; his agitation with his boss slightly peaked at the comment. He had to keep himself calm though as to not step out of line. "I-I get that sir, but he does act pretty human, so I think it's only fair to respect that part of him..."

"We have to keep him under wraps. No exposing him to anyone outside of this laboratory." Yugyeom took a few steps closer to Jaebum, his voice lowering just slightly. "You do understand how important this is, right?" 

Jaebum let out a soft breath, slowly nodding his head. The atmosphere was suddenly tense. "I do."

Yugyeom hummed. "Then, you get that if anyone were to find out about him, that would cause a lot of trouble not only to me, but to everyone, and even the hybrid himself. Do you wanna do that to your friend?"

"N-No sir I do not."

"That's what I thought." Yugyeom stepped back, smiling at the paleontologist. "So, if you must, you can take him out of the cage and walk him around the facility. But stepping foot outside this building is prohibited."

"Not even in that large field behind the building-?"

"Prohibited." His boss repeated firmly; he was having no arguments. "And we're installing more interior cameras this upcoming week. So I'll be checking in on them occasionally."

Jaebum faltered at the sound of more cameras. Hiding Youngjae's whereabouts was gonna be more difficult in the coming week. "Right..."

Yugyeom hummed, patting Jaebum on the shoulder once he felt they'd met a mutual understanding. "Well then, I think our visit has been fruitful. Good job Jaebum." He then turned to the scientist who had been keeping quiet. "Jinyoung, do you have the process as to how you created Youngjae written up?"

He shook his head in response. "Not yet sir, I have to find time to sit down and do it properly."

"Make time. I need it asap. We're gonna send it over to another organization who wants to partner with us and help monitor Youngjae's growth and advancement over his lifespan."

Jinyoung nodded, his usual snarky attitude nonexistent when dealing with Yugyeom. "Okay, I'll get on it right away."

Their boss smiled in satisfaction, giving the two a nod before turning toward the exit. "Nice seeing you two. Keep up the good work. I'll see me and the other's out."

Yugyeom gestured for the group to follow him, leading them out of the lab. Once the metal doors slammed shut, a heavy breath of relief escaped everyone remaining in the lab; even Youngjae.

"What the fuck was that?" Jaebum groaned as he leaned against the large cage. He was quite pissed off by Yugyeom's attitude about Youngjae; why did everyone seem to think of him as some exhibit rather than a person with feelings? It irked him, they all had the same stupid mindset, yet don't know the slightest thing about Youngjae.

"Yugyeom being Yugyeom." Jinyoung sighed.

The elder shook his head, letting out a noise of frustration. "Does he not understand the basic needs of every living organism? Imagine if we had really kept Youngjae in that cage all day, he would be going fucking insane."

"Look Jaebum... maybe it's best of you just kept him here."

Jaebum's jaw fell open at the ridiculous suggestion. "What!? You're switching up your opinion on this way to fucking much-"

"I'm worried about you! And Youngjae! If we keep risking taking him away from the lab, who knows what would happen if we're caught?"

"We haven't been caught, and we won't be caught." Jaebum stated while marching over to the cage's opening.

Jinyoung watched him while trying to figure out how to explain his view of the situation. "Jaebum just listen-"

"No, I'm taking him home." The elder concluded. He grabbed the keys hanging off the nearby wall and opened the cage, the hybrid inside eagerly standing up to finally get out of his confinement. "Come on Youngjae."

"How the hell are you gonna hide a nearly 6 foot tall titan?" Jinyoung asked while following the two toward the exit.

"Like I've been hiding him." Jaebum continued walking, half ignoring Jinyoung and only stopping to grab the hoodie Youngjae had worn into the lab and hand it back to the hybrid for him to put on. 

Jinyoung scoffed at the ridiculous method; hiding a half-human reptile under a hoodie wasn't going to work forever. "Are you kidding me-"

"See you Jinyoung." Jaebum waved, gesturing for Youngjae to hurry along so they could hop in the car and head home.

"Will I get my steak?" Youngjae asked eagerly.

Jaebum glanced back at him, flashing a warm smile. "You behaved, of course you will."

The hybrid gasped, his own lips spreading into a fangy smile. "Yes!"

"Jaebum be careful!" Jinyoung called after the two as they walked out the doors.

"Don't worry about it!" The elder called back.

 He's handled Youngjae thus far; and he intended on continuing to do so to the best of his ability no matter what anyone else said.