"Y/N? You're here earlier than usual," Seokjin mumbles groggily as he watches you enter the house. The sugar glider hybrid is still dressed in his matching pajama set and the hair on the top of his head is sticking out in odd directions.
"Sorry, I know it's a bit early but I had trouble falling and staying asleep so I just thought I'd just come over," you smile apologetically at him. "We're not supposed to go shopping for another few hours. You can go back to sleep if you want. I'll find a way to keep myself busy."
"No, it's alright. I was bound to wake up within the next half hour or so," he shrugs you off nonchalantly.
"Is anyone else awake?" you ask, taking note of the unusually quiet environment of the house.
"Not that I know of," Seokjin shakes his head, his fluffy and albeit slightly tangled hair swinging freely with the motion. "Although, Yoongi might wake up fairly soon. He usually wakes up a little after I do. He'll definitely be up when he hears your voice."
"Then maybe I should stop talking so that everyone can sleep in a little," you joke quietly, eliciting hushed chuckles from the older male.
"I'm going to go wash up. I'll be back down very soon," he states after a moment of silence.
"Take your time," you nod. "I'll start on some breakfast for us."
"Thank you, sweets," Seokjin winks at you before disappearing out of the kitchen.
The sudden use of a nickname sends tingles down your spine and you swear your heart skips a beat. You stare at the entryway of the kitchen in shock and you can practically feel your cheeks heat up into a burning scarlet red.
"Get ahold of yourself, woman," you scold yourself in a quiet mumble. You quickly spin around on your heel and peel open the refrigerator doors, hoping that the cool air from within will cool your flush. But when your stomach still feels like it's flipping somersaults, you bring your hands up to tap lightly at your cheeks. "What's wrong with me?"
"Are you talking to yourself?" A sudden voice startles you, causing you to jump and let out an unconscious squeak. You instinctively close the fridge in a haste before spinning around to find the owner of the voice.
When your gaze lands on Yoongi leaning against the wall, smirking at you with his tail swinging lazily behind him, you swear your heartbeat is the only thing you can hear pounding in your ears.
"Or I guess you're not talking at all," the snow leopard continues to tease when he notices your flustered state.
"G-good morning, Yoongi," you stutter. "I was just asking myself where the eggs were." You grimace but try to smile at your poorly made-up excuse.
"We both know that wasn't what you were saying, sweetheart," Yoongi points out with raised eyebrows.
"Damn you and your good hearing," you scowl, causing the older male to throw his head back in carefree laughter.
"You know, my good hearing can also hear that your heart is about to beat right out of your chest?" he questions. "It's been beating so loudly since the moment you came in."
"Well I'm glad you're able to hear that I'm alive," you roll your eyes jokingly. You try to busy yourself by pulling out some suitable breakfast ingredients you had spotted in the fridge earlier.
"No, but seriously, Y/N," Yoongi continues in a softer tone. When you place the items down on the kitchen island and glance up at the older male, his gaze has softened from teasing to slightly worried. "Are you okay? Your heartbeat doesn't usually sound like that. It sounded a little panicked. Plus your scent was, and still is, a bit sour."
"Huh? Do I smell?" you ask in slight alarm.
"No, not like that," Yoongi chuckles softly with a soft shake of his head.
"He meant that your emotions are influencing your natural pheromones," Seokjin explains as he walks back into the kitchen. The sugar glider hybrid is now dressed in a casual outfit, his hair is neatly combed, and his face looks brighter after freshening up. "You usually smell sweet, but there's a pinch of a sour mood in your natural scent today."
"Oh," you hum in understanding. "To be honest, something has been bothering me for a couple of days now. But I'll tell you guys a little later once the entire pack is up."
"Okay," the snow leopard nods in understanding. "I'll go freshen up really quickly. I'll be back down to help with breakfast."
"You might be waiting a while to tell us what's been bothering you," Seokjin says softly from beside you where he's helping you prep the ingredients.
"And why is that?"
"Jungkook and Jimin can sleep past noon if you let them," the older male snorts.
"I'll be sure to wake them up once breakfast is ready then," you laugh.
The two of you continue to prepare a nice meal for the entire pack - with Yoongi returning to help, just as he said he would, a little later. In the midst of cooking some eggs, you're wrapped into a side hug when someone slings their arm around your shoulders.
"Morning, Hobi," you giggle when you see his fluffy auburn and white striped tail waving cutely in your peripheral vision.
"Morning, sunshine," the older male chirps happily. "You're here earlier than usual."
"I am," you nod, plating the eggs nicely onto a plate.
"I'm so glad. That means we get to spend even more time with you today," Hoseok confides, auburn triangular ears perking up in delight.
"You're adorable, Hobi," you laugh in adornment. When the red panda hybrid picks up the plate of eggs to set the table without being asked to, you fight the strong urge to tackle him into a tight hug. Can this man be any more perfect?
Seokjin and Yoongi notice your internal conflict from where they're cutting up some fresh fruit and they send each other amused glances. When you saunter towards them, they immediately school their features, and the older male opts to send you a warm smile.
"All done?" Seokjin asks, holding a piece of fruit up to your mouth for you to munch on.
"Yeah, I'm all done cooking," you nod before gleefully accepting his offer.
"Good morning," Namjoon's husky morning voice greets you as he enters the kitchen.
"Morning Namjoon!" you smile. "Should I start on some coffee for you?"
"Sure! I'd love-"
"Namjoon can make himself a cup of coffee. You've already cooked an entire meal for us," Hoseok cuts off the pack leader with a pointed glance as he re-enters the kitchen.
"Right, I can make myself a cup of coffee. Thanks for offering, Y/N," the white panther hybrid smiles sheepishly.
"Joonie, sweetie," Seokjin calls out gently as the said male makes his way over towards the coffee pot. "Make enough for the pack, please!"
"Of course," he nods.
"So, aside from shopping for our house, will we be doing anything fun today?" Hoseok asks as he casually links arms with you - the both of you just watching the two oldest hybrids as they finish preparing the fruits.
"Hm, I haven't thought that far yet," you laugh honestly. "Should we?"
"We should! I heard-"
You're distracted from Hoseok's excited suggestion when you feel something, or rather someone, bump into your shoulder softly. When you turn your head, you're met with the sight of slightly curly dark brown hair and droopy tiger ears.
"Tae?" you hum in amusement when the tiger hybrid makes no attempt of moving or speaking. You tilt your head in confusion when you hear him grumbling something under his breath and you look to the other pack members for help.
"That was his greeting," Yoongi snorts when he notices your lost expression.
"As you can see, Tae isn't exactly a morning person," Namjoon adds.
"Good morning, Tae," you whisper as you gently run your fingers through the soft hair near his ears. "I made breakfast for you."
"You did?" Taehyung instantly perks up, wrapping his arms around your waist snuggly. He rests his chin on your shoulder while his eyes sparkle brightly at you.
"I did," you nod with a small smile, eyes creasing into happy crescents.
"Well then let's dig in! What are we waiting for?"
"The two night owls," Yoongi points out.
"Seok-ah, would you mind waking up Jimin and Jungkook? I would ask Tae, but I'm afraid he'd just go cuddle up with them and fall back asleep," Namjoon requests just as he's picking up the coffee pot full of freshly brewed coffee.
"Yeah, I'll go wake them," Hoseok nods in confirmation.
"Y/N! Hurry! Now's my chance to guarantee I get to sit next to you," Taehyung gasps suddenly. You barely have any time to react before the tiger hybrid is pulling you urgently towards the dining room. When you enter, the table and all of the food are already set, courtesy of a certain red panda hybrid.
"I'll be nice and sit here today," Taehyung says, almost proudly, as he takes a corner seat. "This way, another pack member can also sit next to you."
"How considerate of you, Tae," Seokjin thanks sarcastically as he conveniently takes the open seat next to you.
"Thank you for making breakfast today, Y/N! I'm sure it'll be delicious. It smells heavenly," Taehyung smiles at you cutely as he plies his plate with a variety of the foods set out in front of him.
"Well I didn't do it alone," you chuckle bashfully. "Jin and Yoongi also helped me."
"Okay, I woke them up. They should be down within the next hour or so," Hoseok announces as he enters the room and sits himself down on the empty chair next to Namjoon.
"The next hour?" you repeat, rather confused.
"They do this practically every day," Yoongi shrugs. "You wake them up and they'll respond to you but then they don't actually get up until an hour later."
"I see," you nod with a chuckle.
And true to the snow leopard hybrid's words - Jimin and Jungkook did not join the rest of the pack until nearly an hour after Hoseok had rejoined the group. By the time Jimin, the first of the two to show up, trudged into the dining room, everyone had already finished their meals and were just chatting casually.
"Look who decided to join us!" Seokjin teases as the fox hybrid plops himself down in an empty seat, eyes still closed slightly.
"G'morning," Jimin mumbles softly before mindlessly shoveling food onto his plate.
"Be sure to thank Y/N for the food - she made almost everything sitting in front of you," Hoseok states as he gently jabs the younger male with the back of his elbow.
"Thank you, Y/N," Jimin mumbles almost robotically, but you find his response rather cute nonetheless.
"Did I hear someone say Y/N made breakfast?" Jungkook chirps excitedly as he finally joins everyone.
"Good morning, Jungkook," you giggle happily as the black panther hybrid brushes his tail teasingly on the back of your neck while he walks past you to his seat.
"Oh, this is so good!" Jimin exclaims, eyes suddenly very wide contentment. "I bet it tasted even better when it was hot and fresh off the stove."
"And who's fault is that for waking up late? I got to taste Y/N's amazing cooking fresh off the stove because I woke up early enough," Taehyung sasses his fellow '95 liner.
"You can always use the microwave to heat it up again if the food has gone cold," you suggest.
"Right, the microwave," the fox hybrid nods stiffly. His eyes glance around the room almost as if he's avoiding your gaze. Your eyebrows raise at his odd behavior before Seokjin scoffing next to you catches your attention.
"These two have never used the microwave before," the oldest male states matter-of-factly, pointing his chin towards the late risers. "Actually, I don't think Tae has either."
"Oh? But you guys have been living in the house for a few weeks now." You tilt your head in confusion.
"It's usually just Yoongi and me in the kitchen - sometimes Hoseok," the sugar glider explains.
"I see," you nod with a chuckle. "Well, it's rather simple. You just need to open the door, place your food in, close the door, and then punch in how long you want to heat your food. I also like to cover my food with a lid or a paper towel in case it gets everywhere."
"Oh really? That's it?" Jungkook perks up in interest, his tail standing straight up behind him. "I can do that!"
Without saying another word, the youngest cub picks up his own plate and Jimin's plate before trotting happily into the kitchen.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Namjoon mumbles under his breath as a subtle frown rests on his lips.
"The kid will be fine, Joon," Yoongi calms the worried leader.
"I trust Jungkook in the kitchen more than I trust you," Seokjin adds as a joke causing you and Taehyung to snicker.
The tiger hybrid sitting next to you watches you fondly as you laugh carelessly. He unconsciously takes one of your hands and plays with your fingers mindlessly.
"You're smelling a little better, Y/N," he mumbles, voice teetering on the edge of being a soothing rumble. You freeze in your seat when Taehyung leans in, the tip of his nose ghosting along the expanse of your neck. "Your mood smelled a little sour earlier this morning."
"Actually, Y/N said she wanted to tell us all something," Yoongi says as he listens to the younger feline's words.
"I do," you nod, suddenly sitting a little taller in your seat. You take a deep breath as you contemplate how you're going to tell the pack about your encounter with your mother and the phone call you had with Soobin. "Well, earlier this week my mother-"
You're cut off from your words as a loud shriek escapes from the kitchen. Within seconds, everyone is scrambling into the kitchen to look for Jungkook.
"Kookie? What happened?" Jimin panics, running into the kitchen ahead of you.
Upon first glance, the panther isn't anywhere to be seen. The microwave is still heating up the food, with only 30 seconds left to go.
"Jungkook? Where are you?" Namjoon calls out seriously, eyebrows scrunched together in concern.
The sudden thought of your mother runs past in your mind and you begin to panic slightly. There's no way she would've done something, right? She doesn't even know of this property.
Before your thoughts can spiral any further, you suddenly catch sight of a trembling jet-black tail, poking out from behind the kitchen island.
"Jungkookie?" you call out, approaching the tail. When you round the corner, you're met with the sight of the hybrid sitting on the ground with his legs drawn in so that he's curled up in a tight ball. He has his hands covering his ears and his eyes are screwed shut.
When you reach out to gently touch his arm, his eyes snap open and his pupils are blown wide in a clear state of panic. You instinctively flinch when he lets out a loud warning snarl at you. But just as quickly as he growls at you, he recognizes that it's you and reaches out to bury himself in the crook of your neck. Within a heartbeat, you're wrapping your arms around him tightly and setting your chin gently on the top of his head.
"What happened, Kookie?" you whisper, carding a hand through his hair gently. A frown settles on your lips when you feel your body trembling slightly just from how much the hybrid in your arms is shaking.
The rest of the pack crowds around you two and Jimin scrambles to sit next to you, reaching a hand out to rub comfortingly at the younger cub's shoulder.
"It was so loud," Jungkook whispers into your neck, nuzzling his cheek as the sound replays itself in his mind.
"What was?" you prompt carefully.
"The big pop. It sounded just like that day."
"The big pop?" you murmur in confusion.
"Oh, Kookie," Jimin frowns.
"I heard a popping sound coming from the microwave earlier. He must have heated the food a little too long causing it to pop," Namjoon says softly when he notices your confused expression.
"And I think that reminded him of that day and the sounds he heard back then," Jimin adds, still rubbing comforting circles on the trembling hybrid.
Finally, everything clicks for you and you gasp softly.
"Oh, Jungkook. You're okay," you coo, rubbing a hand up and down his back. "See? We're all here with you. You're okay, Kookie."
When the microwave suddenly beeps to indicate the food is done heating, the black panther startles in your arms and buries himself impossibly deeper into your hold.
"No, it's okay. That was just the microwave signaling the food's done," you explain in a hushed tone. "Here, let's go to the living room, okay?"
The panther nods stiffly before Jimin reaches a hand to help him up. The younger cub gladly accepts the fox hybrid's help and soon, everyone is trailing behind the two as you all make your way into the living room.
♡ ♡ ♡
Happy Monday, my beautiful Dalgis! Here's this week's update. I hope you enjoyed it!
I feel like so much has happened since my last update. First, TXT released the new teaser for Loser = Lover, then Soojin "left" (G)I-DLE (don't even get me started on this topic - I am p i s s e d ), and now Red Velvet's comeback. Multi-stans, how are we doing?
Question of the Week: Do you have any k-pop merch? If so, (1) what was your first merch (either purchased or gifted); (2) what's your favorite purchase; and (3) what's your most recent purchase?
I do have merch! All of it being BTS and Enhypen merch. So far I have all of Enhypen's Korean EPs, the Enhypen lightstick, all of BTS's Korean albums, the ver. 3 & SE army bombs, 2 army membership kits, a lot of BT21 merch, and some other miscellaneous BTS merch like Uno BTS, lol. I've been looking to buy TXT albums and the TXT lightstick for a while now, but I don't have space on my bookshelf so I'm trying to figure that out first, lmao. But to answer the question, (1) my first merch was actually a gift from a friend - they got me the Dark & Wild album for Christmas; (2) my favorite purchase is the BT21 car phone holder - I have RJ and I love it so much since I drive almost daily so I find it extremely useful; and lastly, (3) my most recent purchase was actually the BT21 bluetooth Cooky microphone.
I go back to school this upcoming Thursday and I don't know how to feel about it. Part of me is really excited because I've been in "Zoom University" for a little over a year now so I'm excited to be back in the classroom setting. However, the other part of me is dreading it because it means I'll have less time to write. Hopefully, I'll be able to find a good balance in my schedule!
Anyway, I'm so close to finishing my upcoming short story request which means the next short story I publish after that one will be the 1K special short story. I hope you're all looking forward to that!
Have a great week! Stay safe and healthy! I love you lots!
Until next week,
Dalgi Jungoo 🍓