It's night time when Seokjin leaves, and I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.
It was awkward, mostly Jin and I were the ones speaking, and Taehyung was silent the whole time, not even glancing at us.
I stand by the counter of the kitchen, having a full view of the living room where Taehyung is sitting, his arms crossed as he ponders in deep thought.
His eyebrows are furrowed and his lips are tugged down, his eyes unfocused, as if he isn't even here. His tail is laying lifelessly beside him, the soft fur not moving, and his ears twitch once every five minutes or so.
I let out a loud sigh, and Taehyung blinks, his ear twitching again. He slowly turns to look at me, and I stare back. We stay like that for God knows how long.
His eyes hold mine captive, and I stare blankly into his. Again, I'm not even sure if he actually is looking at me. Perhaps he's wandering and isn't even aware of my existence.
Even though he's not close, I could tell his pupil was constricting, and his tail finally moved, swiftly swaying to the other side and stopping, and I realize, no, he isn't thinking, he's staring me dead in the eye, probably planning my murder from the way he glares.
My eyes glance at the collar adorning his neck, then I look back at his eyes, still holding the same expression. The guilt of leaving that heavy metal thing around him strikes me again, and I start wondering, for the nth time, if I should remove it or not.
I shift my weight from one leg to the other, slowly, his eyes on me making me feel like I'm doing something wrong.
At this moment, I hate I don't know what's going on in his head, and I know asking won't get me anywhere. I wonder if I'll ever get to know what he's thinking.
"Taehyung," I say, and he shows no sign of response. He's still staring me dead in the eye, and the only thing that makes me sure he actually heard me is his ear flinching.
I stay leaning on the counter, and after a few seconds, I speak up.
"The collar... " I trail off, studying his expression when I mention it which doesn't change. "If I remove it, will you promise me you won't hurt anyone?"
It's silent for a while to the point I'm actually not sure he heard me or not, but then he drops his arms which where crossed over his chest the whole time, and he looks away.
"If you don't want to remove it, don't. You don't have to play nice," He says.
"I feel guilty," I say, taking in a breath. "Seeing you like this, it makes me feel guilty, you know. This... this isn't right."
He scoffs, and looks away, a bitter smile forming on his face.
"I'm trying, alright?" I say, and walk away.
I head to my bedroom and grab the remote, pressing the small button to bring out the small key.
I walk out to the living room, and Taehyung's in the same position. He scans me, then his eyes fall on the key in my hand.
"Once and for all," I start. "I'm dead serious this time, Taehyung. You hurt anyone, I'll put the collar back on and never remove it again, I mean it."
"Is that a threat?"
"You can hurt me," I go on, ignoring his question. "But not my friends, not anyone at all. Even if it's a stranger. You say you can't control yourself? That's a lie, but if it's true, then get it all out on me, and only me. You're my responsibility, anyway, and I don't want to get neither of us in any more trouble."
And with that, I step closer, then I sit down beside him. I slowly approach the collar, and put the key in, and twist.
Click.
The red light goes off, and the collar opens. I study his face as I slowly remove it, settling it on my lap.
I gulp, feeling my heartbeats increasing. Last time I was this close to him, I thought I would die, so I can't help but feel my hands shake the slightest bit.
He's got nothing holding him back now, and he can attack me this instant. I'm much weaker and weapon-less. If he attacks, I'm dead for sure, and this just makes my heart accelerate even more, but I don't get away.
I stay seated, my eyes in his, trying my best to hold the eye contact firm even though I'm struggling to.
His pupils go narrower, his ears standing straight, and for a moment, I believe this is how I'd die. I think about my parents, my brother, my friends, and how disappointed my boss would be.
By time, my thoughts get even more dramatic, and only when I tighten my grip around the collar on my lap do I realize it's been only two seconds ever since I removed it.
Taehyung's pupil dilates again, going back to its normal size. I involuntarily let out a shaky breath, and something flickers in his eyes that I fail to decipher.
"Thank you," I say and stand up, taking the collar with me to the bedroom, putting it on my desk, knowing that I'll probably never use it again.
---
A/N: Please don't skip this
I feel like I haven't described the whole code classification thing well I should've added it but I'm too dumb i-
Anyway, here's the explanation
Humans were the ones who started the classification.
Code: GREEN is given to obedient hybrids. Those who don't do crimes and simply, act like pets.
Code: YELLOW is given to mildly obedient hybrids. They're not very attentive and nice, but they're easily tamed and don't do crimes.
Code: RED is given to disobedient hybrids. Those who commit crimes, and disobeying your owner is considered a crime. You have to at least physically attack your owner or any human once to be classified a RED.
Taehyung says he "can't control himself" in some sort of mocking way, not because he actually can't. He's actually as human as anyone and is willingly hurting those people.
Humans lock him up and treat him like some monster only because he stood up for himself. True, he attacked way too many humans, but no one knows what they did so he hurts them.
And no one cares what they did.
When a hybrid hurts a human, he's guilty no matter what, even if he/she was defending him/herself, because society sees hybrids as animals. So no matter how much a human hurts you, you shut up and obey, cuz humans are "superior", and you're just a "mutation".
And adding a small note, wolf/lion/tiger hybrids or any breed similar (those who eat us, yes) are usually hidden from the world, either in labs with doctors and breeders where no one knows what's being done to them, or are with strong and wealthy people in the country who can get anything they want.
People know they exist, but they've never seen one, and that's why Hanseol doesn't think twice when Jin tells her he's not a wolf hybrid.
I wish it cleared any misunderstandings and you can ask me any questions if you feel confused.
I also hope you're enjoying the book so far, it's definitely not your common fluffy hybrid au, I wanted something different and doesn't normalize the whole "hybrids treated like pets" thingy where the hybrid lives with y/n very happily after she rescued him from bad owners and not giving a care about the rest. No offence to hybrid au writers.
Take care of yourselves and stay hydrated yall 💕