The Hybrid House

His name is..?

Key took the picture out of Onew's hand and held it close, "If what you say is right, for six years our lost mate has been with us this whole time. Well, I don't believe it. We would know. He would know. We would have found each other. He loved us and we loved him and he wouldn't have abandoned us like this." The fox's voice rose in volume with each sentence till he was yelling, tears running down his face. "I don't believe you!"

With that, Key turned and ran from the room. Both Minho and Onew looked sadly in the direction that their mate had run.

Onew opened a drawer and drew out a small photograph with all five mates in it and handed it to Jungkook. The picture was tiny and the edges were frayed indicating it was handled often. "Show this to your ghost and see if he remembers".

"Jonghyun," Jungkook murmurs, looking at the photo and remembering the name.

Onew nodded, "Jonghyun,".

*************************

His footsteps were heavy. Mindlessly walking, he left the confines of the center and headed to a nearby park where he could sit and think. The last thing he wanted was to be bothered by anyone.

The picture in Jungkook's hand showed five happy boys, contrasting from what they were now. Key's heartbroken cry as he ran from Onew's office flashed through his mind. What was the point of having mates if losing one could be so devastating?

He thought about Jin and his other potential mates. Was it worth the hassle?

Jungkook took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Such a big sigh," a gentle voice said.

He turned around and saw a young man sitting on a bench nearby reading a book.

"Sorry if I'm interrupting," the young man said.

Jungkook shook his head, "No, I was just thinking."

The young man looked around the park. "This is a good place for that. I come here often to enjoy the trees and read." He smiled at Jungkook, showing two dimples, "It's a calm sort of place."

Jungkook couldn't help but smile back. There was something about this young man that he liked. "I haven't sat here long enough to find that out."

The young man hesitated, "Do you need to talk about it?"

The cat shook his head, "You'd probably think I was crazy,"

"I'm a human talking with a hybrid, aren't we already crazy?" This made both of them chuckle.

The cat stood up and moved to the same bench the young man sat on, "Okay. How would you tell someone who can't remember who they are, that they have 4 mates?"

"Wow, that's a tough situation. Don't hybrids feel who their mates are?"

Jungkook nodded, "Usually, we're supposed to be able to tell, but this person seems to be avoiding them. I just don't know if it's intentional or not."

"So they might not want to remember. That sounds rough." The young man shook his head and then adjusted his glasses. "Being human, we don't get any clue as to who is a good match for us. We have to guess and hope that the other person chooses us too. I would think that knowing who your mate is would make that so much easier."

"Hardly," the cat snorted, "Being trapped with someone you have no choice about? Sounds like a prison to me."

"You don't want a mate then?" The cat shook his head.

"No, I'm a former street cat. The only people who want to be mates are usually hybrid slavers. The fastest way to find yourself sold is to fall for someone claiming to be your mate."

"Surely not?" The young man was startled.

"Believe me, if anyone claims to be your mate, run away, fast." the cat said seriously.

"What about your real mates? Wouldn't they want to find you?" the young man asked.

"Probably, but I'm not about to initiate anything if I ever find them," Jin's face flashed across his mind, but he pushed it away.

"That sounds very lonely," a sad expression filled the young man's eyes.

Jungkook held up a picture, "Not any more lonely than losing your mate. At least this way, I won't have initiated any bond and can't grieve if I lose them,"

"Are those your mates?"

"These? No, this is a picture of the hybrid I was referring to and his mates." Jungkook pointed to the one in the middle as the young man leaned over to get a better look, "This one in the middle has had an accident, I think, and forgotten his family. He's taken to bothering me lately and I thought I would help him find them. I just don't know how to tell him that he's been living next to them all this time."

"That does sound hard. You probably should just show him the picture and see if he remembers anything. At least you have proof of who his family is. That should help."

"That sounds so simple, but for the life of me, I was worried about doing just that." Another sigh escaped him, "What if this doesn't help? What do I do?"

The young man patted the cat's shoulder, "Until you show him, you won't know what to do next."

"Yeah, I suppose so." His shoulders slumped in imagined defeat.

"Don't be so down about it." The young man checked his watch. "Look, I come here most afternoons on my break from work. How about you show your friend that picture and then you can come to talk to me about it tomorrow? We can figure out what to do next if it doesn't work out."

Jungkook smiled, "I can do that. Are you sure you will be here? What time?"

The young man smiled again, his dimples getting deeper, "Say about 1 o'clock?"

"I'll see you tomorrow then," The young man started to get up and as he walked away, Jungkook called to him, "What's your name?"

The young man looked back and smiled, "Namjoon. Kim Namjoon,"

A/N:  I hope the year is treating you well.  I've had a lot going on, but I just high a major milestone birthday and am making some serious changes to my work life so that I'm not worked to death anymore.  Burnout is a bitch.  But, it will mean I have less stress and more time to write.  yay me, I hope. lol   

I hope you guys are doing well?