I turn the key, tightening my grip around it when I notice my hands shaking. I push open the door and let out a breath, stepping in and aside, watching Taehyung as he steps in after me silently.
I shut the door and lock it, then muster up all what's in me to put a smile on my face as I turn back to him.
"Welcome home, Taehyung. This is my apartment and where we'll be staying," I say.
His eyes scan me from head to toe, a look of pure hatred and disgust adorning his face. His arms are crossed in front of his chest as his eyes settle on my face, glaring.
A shiver runs down my spine and my hand starts sweating. Only then I remember I have the remote in my hand. The remote with the button that if I press, will activate the electric collar around Taehyung's neck.
My body relaxes down at the thought and I take a step in further.
"Let me show you your room," I say and gesture Taehyung to follow me. I walk past the kitchen and through the corridor, till I finally reach the door at the end.
I open the door and walk in, gesturing him to follow me. "This is your room. My room is right beside yours, if you need anything."
He scans the room and his eyes fall back on me.
"Why am I here?"
His deep voice cuts through the silence, and I feel my heartbeats accelerate again.
"What?" I blurt out, not really processing his question, but rather too focused on his voice.
"Are you deaf?" He raises an eyebrow.
I clear my throat and look away. "What? Why are... Oh, Right. You don't want to be here?"
"That's not my question, you idiot. I asked why you brought me here," He grunts. "There's no way in hell you wanted to get a Code Red Hybrid all of a sudden for no reason."
"It's true," I lie. "I just wanted to adopt a Code Red out of nowhere. Sounds challenging. Don't you love challenges, Taehyung?"
He squints his eyes at me, and I gulp again when I feel exposed, but he simply shrugs it off and looks away.
I look down at the remote in my hand, then back at the heavy-looking collar with the red light he wears. The remote has two buttons. One big and one small.
As I have been instructed, the big one was to activate the collar and electrify him if he attacks. The small one emitted a small key from the top of the remote with which I could unlock the collar.
Naturally, no one would ever use this button since no one would like to exist in a room with a Code Red who could do absolutely anything.
But I am doing a research. And what I am about to do is one of the most important things I should start with.
My research is to prove that Code Red Hybrids can be, in fact, tamed. Especially dog hybrids, since dogs are loyal in nature. If he trusts me enough, he'd be loyal. And if he's loyal, he'd never attack me.
So I take in a deep breath and press the small button. A small key pops out.
I step closer and Taehyung steps back, but his eyes linger on me. He glares again, and his ears stand on edge.
"I'm not going to hurt you," I start, raising the key in the air to show it to him. "I promise. Just don't move."
I step forward again, and he doesn't move this time, but his eyes are still shooting daggers at me. When I'm close enough, I stand on my toes and bring the key closer to the small hole on the left.
I put in the key and slowly turn it. I hear a click, the light goes off and the collar pries open. I take the key back and remove the now opened metal collar, wincing when I realize how heavy it is.
I step back and look up at Taehyung, a small smile on my face.
And I know, that right now, I'm either too smart. Or too stupid.
His ears perk and stand on edge. His tail flicks once then stands upright, his soft fur now facing upwards.
Attack mode.
I inhale a sharp breath and take a step back. Just as he lifts his foot to launch forward, I turn on my heel and sprint out of the room.
Only now I realize I'm too stupid.