Jin POV
I sat down carefully on the other end of the park bench. Yoongi said nothing.
"Please don't say anything" I blurted out. I was planning on asking a little more nicely but my anxiety forced me to speak as quickly as possible.
"Do you know how much shit we gave her for coming home every day, smelling like another hybrid?" He chuckled to himself.
"And everyday, she was so confused, trying to think of where the smell was coming from"
He finally turned to look at me.
"The whole time it was you. She never would have been able to know"
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry it caused you stress, especially her. She's been nothing but kind to me. I'm just trying to survive," I started to explain.
"I'm part of a pack as well, this is the only way we can make money... to live."
Yoongi just listened. His face was completely blank and I couldn't tell what he was thinking. I quickly glanced at the collar on his neck. Although sometimes I really loved having my freedom, I was always quickly reminded that I wasn't really free. I was a stray.
The threat of being taken away to who knows where, or being separated, it would always loom over us. We couldn't go to a shelter, we had ended up there too many times, returned too many times, stayed there for too many months.
We knew that the next stop wouldn't be as nice. We knew that we would most likely be separated. We would never truly be free. We would never have freedom from cruel people.
As much as we wanted that freedom, we also craved a home. A person just for us, to take care of us and love us. We couldn't fight our instincts. We wanted the secure feeling of a safe house, a warm bed, a person that would protect us from other bad people.
"We can't go back to a shelter... we- we can't" I looked up to the sky, trying not to get emotional.
"I don't know if they'd even take us to a shelter, they'd probably separate us at a pound"
"I thought I could smell others on you" he finally spoke. "I must admit, I thought you were either really stupid, or really brave for going out onto the street as a stray"
He stared at me intensely.
"But," he continued, "I would do the same for my pack"
I sighed in relief at his words, even though he hadn't made any promises, at least it felt like we were on the same page.
Yoongi POV
He seemed relieved. I had to admit that, as annoyed as I was about this hybrid getting close to our Y/N, I did feel a little bad for him.
I woke up this morning cuddled up to my person in a nice warm bed, inside a safe house with my packmates. We ate whatever we felt like this morning, and spent the early afternoon watching movies. What was his morning like?
Did him and his pack have a place to stay, or did they just sleep anywhere that was dry? How many meals a day could they eat? Were they warm enough at night?
As tough as any hybrid might seem to be, we all craved affection. It was how we were made so that we wouldn't turn on humans. We craved their approval and their touch. At least in the shelter we got a bit of that, they probably got nothing.
"How many of you are there?" my curiosity got the better of me.
"Me, and two others" he replied, looking solemnly at the trees in front of us.
I could smell fear and anxiety coming from him, and I decided to put him out of his misery.
"We won't tell her - or anyone else"
His head snapped towards me, eyes wide and mouth parted.
"Thank you, thank you so much. I-"
"Just so you know," I interrupted him, "even if I did tell her, it's not like she would call Hybrid Services or anything. Hell, she'd probably ask you if you wanted to come live with us" I chuckled at the thought.
I didn't need to tell him that, but I felt the need to defend Y/N.
Jin's eyes went wide, and I saw something flash in them, hope? I suddenly realised that maybe I shouldn't have said that last bit.
"Hey, hey! That wasn't an offer! Don't get any ideas!" I sternly added.
"No, no, that's your home. Don't worry about us. We're doing just fine. As long as I'm able to make a bit of money on the street, we should be ok" he assured me.
I noticed him taking a moment to stare at the collar on my neck. Although it wasn't anything fancy - Y/N had mentioned she wanted us to pick our own and bought these ones for the time being - it still showed off the fact that I had a person.
It showed that I had a home, I wasn't a stray or in a shelter or a pound. It showed that I belonged somewhere, I had a family.
Maybe Jin longed for that too, even though he seemed strong, he seemed like a leader. He seemed like someone who wanted to take care of everyone, but maybe he just wanted to be taken care of too?
"What kind of hybrid are you anyway?" I was curious.
"Owl" he responded flatly.
"Must be handy being able to blend in so well"
"It has its perks, lately I've been wishing we could all blend in just as easily"
I wasn't really sure what he was talking about, but the sound of my name being called drew my attention.
"Well, it's been lovely chatting but I have to go now. See you around I guess" I gave Jin a small nod, which he returned, and made my way back to our group.
Y/N POV
I was so happy that everyone was getting along. The boys seemed very apprehensive when they properly met Rose, but they started talking and exploring the park. My heart was so full seeing them all play together.
I was especially on edge after our meeting with Jin. The boys were acting so weird around him and I was scared that maybe bringing them out into the city was not the best idea. Perhaps they just didn't like seeing me interact with other males? Michelle did say that hybrids would become protective over their owners.
"To be honest I thought they were going to hate each other" Lisa piped up, as we sat on the park bench watching them.
"Me too" I laughed in agreement.
We caught up with each other as the others kept exploring around, sitting on the grass every now and then, talking about whatever, sometimes chasing each other.
After a little while I noticed that Yoongi was no longer with them. I panicked a little and looked around to try and find him. I couldn't spot him from where we were sitting and I was getting worried.
The others didn't seem to be that fussed about it at all, still sitting calmly in the grass chatting. Maybe he had to use the bathroom? I decided that was probably the explanation, and settled for a few more minutes.
When Lisa mentioned that she couldn't see Yoongi either, I decided to call out for him.
I had only shouted out his name once, and I saw him emerge from a bush a little way away. Maybe I just had really good timing.
"Hey! Don't wander off like that, you scared me!" I lightly smacked his arm when he got to me.
Yoongi looked a little surprised, before he ducked his head down a little, mumbling a sorry and shuffling off to sit with the others. He whispered something to them, and they nodded. I let out a sigh and sat back down next to Lisa.
"I'm scared of being too overprotective over them, but I'm also terrified of something happening to them" I voiced my worries.
"Me too, I just want to keep my eyes on Rose all the time, make sure she's safe, make sure no one's hurting her. I'm just thinking about her constantly!" Lisa threw her hands up in frustration, making me laugh.
"No one warned us about this! I feel like it's worse than having a baby" I leaned my head back, looking into the sky.
After another hour or so in the park, we started walking towards the restaurant. Lisa was talking to Jimin, and Hobi was talking to Rose. Yoongi and I were walking a little further behind.
"Sorry for scolding you before, I was just really worried something happened to you" I apologised for earlier.
"No, it's ok, I probably shouldn't have snuck off." Yoongi replied quietly.
"What were you doing anyway? Did you find a bird to chase or something?" I giggled, trying to lighten the mood.
He just looked at me with the most deadpanned, bored face, and I burst out laughing. Imagining Yoongi chasing a little bird and getting frustrated not being able to catch it just made me laugh more.
"Sorry, sorry" I gasped out. My stomach hurt from laughing. "Sorry, that was just a funny image in my head"
Yoongi let out a huff and walked a little faster, as if trying to get away from me.
"Aww I'm sorry, please forgive me" I laughed out again, and I held onto his arm as I walked next to him.
He seemed a little surprised at my action, but kept walking.
"Maybe - if the food is good at this place" he replied.
I was happy with that, since I knew the food was good. The guys were going to love it.
The guys did love it. Seeing tray after tray of meats being placed onto our table, watching Lisa and I cook it on the hot plate, trying every different cut, the side dishes too. Rose also looked very happy, excitedly trying everything that Lisa handed to her.
To be honest, I wasn't sure what the boys were more excited about. The delicious food that they were being fed right now, or the fact that they were inside a restaurant, eating that food, with other hybrids all around as well.
My heart was happy. If my wallet could handle it, I would take them here every day just to see them like this. I bet Lisa was feeling the same.
I got up quickly to go to the bathroom, noticing the worried looks on the guys. After promising that they would be just fine with Lisa for a few minutes, I was able to scurry off.
As I came out of the bathroom, about to walk towards our table, a tall man stood in front of me. I nearly bumped into him, but he didn't move away at all.
"Sorry Miss, I just wanted to introduce myself," he said.
I looked up to his face, confused. I really hoped he wasn't hitting on me in the middle of the restaurant.
"My name is Jun Lee, I work for the Hybrid Research Centre. I couldn't help but notice your group"
I frowned. Hybrid Research Centre? Was there something wrong with my hybrids?
"Don't stress," he noticed my frown, "nothing's wrong. I was actually intrigued by the black panther hybrid. Is he yours?"
"Yeah, he's with me" I answered, still feeling unsure about all of this.
"Well, I'm sure you probably haven't seen many more of his species around, black panther hybrids aren't very common. At the Research Centre, we obviously try to research as much as we can about hybrids. This way we can help them medically, we can understand their behaviours, basically we learn more about them so that we know how to help them"
I nodded slowly, listening to all of the words, and I realised he was right, I hadn't seen any other panther hybrids. For some reason I was having difficulty trusting what he was saying though. Logically, it made sense. Of course research needs to be done on hybrids, just as it has to be done on humans.
But some part of me was scared that he wanted to conduct freaky science experiments on my Yoongi. I was obviously also still uncomfortable that he was a total stranger talking to me about my hybrids in a restaurant.
"Obviously, rarer species are more difficult to come by, therefore we have less research and knowledge on them. This is why I'm intrigued by your panther." He explained.
"I see" nodding again, I looked over to our table, where I could roughly make out our group still chatting and eating. I noticed Yoongi looking over in my direction, probably looking for me, but it was difficult to see eachother with all of the people and tables between us.
"I don't want to take up too much of your time, so I'll just quickly explain. At the HRC we accept willing volunteers to help us with our research. Of course, all volunteers are reimbursed. Owners are welcome to stay with their hybrid for most studies. Everything is explained, and consent forms must be signed before any studies are conducted" he sounded very professional.
"Here is my card, there is a website that explains a bit more about what we do. Please do get in contact with me, I would be more than happy to answer any questions, or just have a chat" he handed me his card.
"Can I ask your name?"
"It's Y/N" I said, still a bit hesitant.
"It was a pleasure to meet you tonight miss Y/N, I hope we speak again soon. Enjoy the rest of your night!"
He lightly bowed his head and walked towards the other side of the restaurant.
I just stood there for a few seconds, feeling a bit dumbfounded at the encounter. This was the first time I had taken the guys out, and people were already trying to scout them? I only became more worried now. I knew that larger predator hybrids were less common than, say, a housecat hybrid, but not to the extent that strangers would approach me to talk about them.
Slowly walking back to our table, I hid the card in my pocket. Yoongi noticed my changed demeanour and me fiddling with my pocket. I guess he chose not to say anything though since he just slid over a bit to make room for me.
I would have to chat with Yoongi about this.