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The bright flashes of white light glared into his pale skin. He felt like a sheet of paper. Loud, sharp commands sounded through the air, piercing the silent atmosphere along with the clicks of the camera.
“Yes, yes,” a voice encouraged. “I love that attitude.” A boy group’s single started blasting through the speakers and someone laughed.
“If you glare any longer, you'll get wrinkles,” a deep voice rumbled behind him. Wonwoo turned around and stared at his best friend who held out a water bottle. He sneered at the offending glass bottle stamped with a designer logo before his dry mouth forced him to take it.
“I don't give a fuck about skin care,” Wonwoo commented, snapping open the bottle and taking a huge gulp to soothe his nerves. He had been at this photo shoot for hours; no one gave a rat’s ass about him, leaving Wonwoo to stand in the sidelines as staff cooed over his adorable, but annoying boyfriend.
He turned his sight back into the white screen with a lithe figure posing in front of it. Little ears twitching in excitement at the praise the director shouted at him.
“Well, you give a fuck about your boyfriend over there,” Mingyu commented, joining the angry man in watching his friend pose.
He understood why his best friend was a bit peeved at his boyfriend’s newfound job. After Junhui was scouted out on the streets, which was also during Wonwoo's and Junhui's date, Junhui had auditioned to a large modeling company before being accepted pretty quickly.
Large fashion companies soon fell in love with the hybrid, making him the hybrid spokesperson. The growing acceptance of hybrids paved way to new industries for the hybrids, fashion being one. Companies like Gucci and Dior had scouted him out to be the face of hybrid-geared clothing. It was amazing how much had changed in just a year.
It's not like Wonwoo was mad that Junhui was quickly climbing the model ladder, in fact it made him extremely happy. Junhui was so excited these days, photo shoots were his favorite as he pranced around in the newest fashions, like cute hats that showed off his ears or pants that let his tail slip through with room to breathe.
Wonwoo absolutely loved when his boyfriend got too excited and padded over to him as soon as his naked butt was covered, twirling to show off the figure hugging jeans or eye shadow and contour the makeup artists had done on his face this shoot.
But it was like Junhui had no time for Wonwoo anymore. Every breathing second was photo shoots, work outs, or plans with the manager. Wonwoo couldn't get his daily cuddles he enjoyed before or humming along to stupid songs while cooking in their kitchen or the silly sex they had that was an attempt at sexiness, but ended with a fit of giggles.
Not to mention the absolute soul-devouring insecurities developing as his boyfriend’s absolutely beautiful face was plastered on magazines covers and billboards, the beauty his boyfriend had was amazing. Yet Wonwoo couldn't help, but feel jealous Junhui was the one scouted out and not him. Wonwoo hated comparing himself to Junhui. He loved that boy so much, it was unfair to both him and Junhui.
“And cut! Junhui you did amazing,” the director spoke up as the camera clicks and flashes died down. “Keep the clothes and you can expect a call from us next time we release a new line of clothing.”
His boyfriend smiled brightly, tail even wagging slightly. “Thank you!” he cheered, bowing down before scampering off to Wonwoo.
Wonwoo tore his gaze from Mingyu and turned to smile back at his boyfriend. Today, Junhui was modeling a clothing line that celebrated hybrid pride. Tight jeans with a tail cut and t-shirt with graphics lettering graced Junhui's body.
“Hey baby,” Wonwoo greeted, giving Junhui a tight hug. “You did great.” It was something he said every shoot, yet Junhui always looked genuinely surprised. A bright flush formed on his cheeks and he smiled brighter.
“Really?” he asked, intertwining his pinky with Wonwoo's. His boyfriend nodded, tightening his pinky grasp onto the pale pinky.
“You did absolutely amazing, baby,” the deep voice praised. Junhui had to suppress the shivers and he gripped Wonwoo's shoulders, hugging his boyfriend tightly.
“Thanks.”
Mingyu cleared his throat. “I'm going to head back home,” he said. “You have company now.” Wonwoo smiled weakly, he always forced one of his friends to accompany him to Junhui's photo shoots. He was a supportive boyfriend that wanted company when said boyfriend was posing his ass off. “Thanks for coming with me.”
Mingyu waved him off and headed out of the warehouse, mumbling about how whipped Wonwoo was.
Wonwoo sheepishly grinned and turned back to his purring boyfriend latched onto his arm. “How about we go get some food?”
“Yeah, let's go,” Junhui cheered. Wonwoo slung his arm around his boyfriend and smiled. He absolutely loved the time with Junhui.
“What do you mean you're going to Europe?” Wonwoo rubbed his temple, gripping his phone tightly. Mingyu looked up from his desk and quirked an eyebrow at the frustrated man before returning to his lunch, munching loudly on the vegetables.
“I know, I know,” Wonwoo softly growled, a frustrated hand ripping through his hair. “Why didn't you tell me sooner?” Wonwoo sat down at the table next to Mingyu and buried his face into his arms.
“Yeah, but you know I'm angry because you didn't fucking tell me about this until the day before you were leaving.”
Mingyu smirked at the lover’s quarrel.
“Whatever, we'll talk when you come back. Bye.”
The man groaned loudly before flopping backwards to lay across all the stools. The two men took their lunch break later than usual; the cafeteria was already closed and everyone was back at their cubicle.
“What happened with your pussy?”
Wonwoo's head snapped up and glared at his friend. “I might be in a fight with him, but only I get to call him that.” Mingyu gave him a knowing look and patted the seat next to him. Begrudgingly, Wonwoo stomped over and flopped down on the seat.
“Junhui got a modeling offer in Europe,” Wonwoo revealed, holding his arm over his face. “He’ll be gone for two weeks, working with the designers over there. But the thing is, he didn't even bother to tell me until today as he’s packing.”
Mingyu felt bad for the man. His boyfriend, the cousin of Junhui and just an adorable and sneaky fox-hybrid named Minghao, could be a bitch at times, and Mingyu means that in the nicest way. Minghao did what he wanted, when he wanted, whenever he wanted and Mingyu just had to follow his lead. It was absolutely frustrating.
But the way Wonwoo was acting, it didn't seem like he was upset over Junhui leaving. After being dragged to so many photo shoots, Mingyu could tell his friend was suffering from then. The spark of light in Wonwoo's eyes from seeing his boyfriend pose was slowly dimming as he no longer stood at the edge, throwing praises at the sassy cat. Only hanging out in the back around the food.
“Wonwoo?” Mingyu spoke up. Wonwoo only hummed a response. “You're not mad about Junhui leaving, right?”
Wonwoo stayed silent; their breathing was the only thing filling the silence. “What do you mean?”
“I may act dumb at times, but you're not mad at Junhui leaving,” Mingyu responded, setting down his chopsticks. “I've seen the way you act around him now. This is something different.”
Wonwoo squinted his eyes. “I still have no idea what you're talking about.”
“You're afraid of Junhui,” Mingyu simply stated and Wonwoo furrowed his eyebrows, biting his lower lip.
“Why would I be afraid of my boyfriend? Sure, our relationship had a rocky start, but we put that all behind us,” Wonwoo was becoming defensive because his inner voice was nagging him. What Mingyu was saying, it was right. It struck a tender cord inside h.
“Junhui's a model now,” Mingyu drawled. “He's off doing great things, surrounded by great things, being called a great thing. It's safe to say you're getting jealous.”
“Jealous of Junhui?” Wonwoo asked in bewilderment, despite the feeling in the pit of stomach that Mingyu's hammer was hitting the nail on the head. “I love him. I couldn't be jealous of the model lifestyle, it's too much for me.”
“But you’re jealous of what he's got now, and not to mention, you’re afraid Junhui's going to leave you,” his friend said.
Wonwoo frowned. “Please just stop,” he moaned. “I don't want to talk about this, right now.”
Mingyu stared at him, knowing he struck a nerve, and picked his chopsticks back up. “Whatever,” he mumbled. There was an awkward tension as the two men just sat next to each other in the empty cafeteria.
“I'm just worried, you know,” Mingyu finally spoke up. “It took you so long to fall for Junhui, and now it seems your suffering.”
“Glad to know you're being a good friend,” Wonwoo practically snarled. Mingyu just held up his hands in surrender, and both men knew Mingyu was right.
Wonwoo sighed. The honeymoon phase was simmering out in their relationship.
Junhui stuffed his phone back in his pocket as they waited in check-in. His ears twitched in nervousness. Minghao, his beloved fox cousin, wrinkled his nose as he gripped the carry-on half the size of the smaller hybrid. He scowled.
“Why did you make me come send you off?” Minghao complained, ears furrowing in anger. “Wonwoo’s is going to be so pissed when he finds out.”
Junhui whirled around as his manager grabbed the large suitcases. “You wouldn't.”
Minghao just smiled snarkily back. “I didn’t say I was going to tell. Besides, you're being a bitch and you know it. You have to admit it was a dick move to tell your boyfriend of almost two years that you were leaving for two fucking weeks to a different fucking continent.”
“Language!” Junhui mumbled, guilt festering in his bones. “He's just been so distant lately and I don't know what to do about it. I didn't want to make him angrier.”
“So your automatic response is to tell him about your business trip the day you leave?”
Junhui groaned. “Shut up, I already know my decision was horrible.”
“You know Mingyu texted me,” Minghao brought up. “Wonwoo’s pretty upset right now.”
“Stop making me feel worse,” Junhui whines, ears lying flat against his head.
Minghao opened his mouth to shout another insult before Junhui’s manager interrupted him. The tall, thin woman waved her hand over at the boys, bangles bouncing against each other.
“Look,” Junhui said, standing up. “I have to go now. Please don’t tell Mingyu.”
“Sure,” Minghao said; both hybrids knew Minghao was lying.
“Bye, Minghao,” Junhui said as he left to catch up with his manager. Tail swinging behind him as he dragged the large carry-on.
“Bye,” Minghao replied. He knew a shit storm was going to happen, and it was going to be soon.
Minghao’s orangie-tan ears twitched as Mingyu’s large hands scratched the sensitive spot between the two fluffy ears. The two boys had gone to bed early to avoid Wonwoo’s wrath as he angrily cleaned the whole house. It was good for them, but bad for Junhui. Minghao’s chin dug into Mingyu’s chest, smiling and showing off his sharp teeth.
He was basically purring as he snuggled into the tanned man, tail wagging back and forth against the sheets. “Do you think Wonwoo and Junhui are going to be okay?” Mingyu asked.
The fox hybrid yawned, showing off his sharp canines. “I hope so,” he whispered. “Junhui had the biggest crush on Wonwoo forever, and now he’s just fucking it up.”
“I think they’re both fucking up,” Mingyu replied, removing his hand to stretch his arms above his head, making Minghao growl softly. “You know how constipated Wonwoo gets with feelings and communication. It’s gross.” Minghao stretched his back with a canine yowl, making his boyfriend laugh.
“Whatever,” Minghao hissed as Mingyu resumed scratching the foxy head. “Let's just hope they don't kill each other.”
“Or worse, break up.”
Minghao snickered and bumped his head onto Mingyu’s chest. “Shut the fuck up.”
Mingyu sighed. At least Minghao still put up with his shit; he didn’t know how he would survive without Minghao in his life.
Wonwoo was seething. His fingers crinkling the glossy magazine cover with Junhui's body plastered on it. It was two days after the shit storm with Junhui, and Wonwoo was still on edge. He had woken up and took a quick walk to their local coffee shop, picking up the mail that piled up in their mailbox. Wonwoo was simply flipping through the bills, coupons, and several magazines Junhui had gotten free subscriptions to until he flipped to a magazine Junhui had never modeled for, and Wonwoo froze.
Mingyu hobbled into the kitchen, awoken by his growling stomach and Minghao knocking all the toiletries off the sink because he was too sleepy. The tanned man could sense the anger radiating off his friend, and he walked over to him, a banana in his hand.
“What’s up buddy?” Mingyu asked, sensing it was about Junhui, and he peered over Wonwoo’s shoulder to see Junhui’s half-naked body sprawled across some supermodel sitting on a throne, cocky smile plastered on his face with a hand teasing the waistband of Junhui’s tight jeans; the caption, stating in big, bold characters: Hybrids: The New, Sexy Thing. Mingyu sighed and started peeling his banana. “Oh.”
“Did you know about this?” Wonwoo asked, surprisingly calm for someone that just found out his boyfriend went on a shoot without telling him.
“No,” Mingyu said. “I did hear something from Minghao about a shoot that Junhui felt awkward with, but I thought you were there to make him feel better.”
“No, I wasn’t,” Wonwoo said flatly. His fingers dug into the magazine cover again, and he just chucked it into the waste bin. “I need to get out of here.” Wonwoo grabbed his coat and shoved his feet into his shoes and slammed through the door, leaving Mingyu with a sense of dread.
Shit just hit the fan.
Mingyu glanced over to see Wonwoo had left his phone on the countertop. Shit was going down. “Minghao,” he called out, and a little foxy head popped out of their bathroom, toothpaste foam still on the corner of his mouth.
“What? I'm trying to maintain good personal hygiene, unlike some people.” Mingyu smiled.
“You have toothpaste on your mouth.” The hybrid frowned and pawed at his cheek, wiping the foam off.
“What did you need?” he asked. “Because you did not call me to tell me about toothpaste on my face.”
“One word,” Mingyu sighed. “Junhui.”
“Oh,” Minghao padded out of the bathroom and sat at their island, climbing onto a tall stool, feet swinging. “What happened?”
Mingyu walked across the kitchen and grabbed the crumbled magazine. “What did Junhui tell you about this shoot?”
Minghao quirked an eyebrow. “Just that he was excited to work with a famous model, and he was scared of being too awkward. Why do you want to know?” Mingyu stared right back at his boyfriend, and Minghao's ears twitched. “Oh, Wonwoo didn't know about this.”
“Yep,” Mingyu sighed. He pulled at a tuft of black hair and huffed. “Wonwoo’s pretty pissed.”
“Well, I don’t blame him. Junhui might be my favorite cousin, but he still being an absolute asshole.”
“Can you text Junhui or something? You know, just to prepare them,” Mingyu suggested.
Minghao looked apprehensive. “I don’t know. It sounds like I’m adding fuel to the fire.” Minghao knew his cousin. The cat hybrid would start freaking out and find a way to confront his boyfriend, whether it be demanding an immediate flight back to Korea or fighting through the phone.
“Well, what should we do?” Mingyu asked. Why was his life filled with drama? The couple needed to take a relationship 101 class since they just sucked at dating. “I feel like we should just inform Junhui before it gets worse.”
“Fine,” Minghao said flatly. “It’s going to get worse either way. So, we might as well get it over with.” Mingyu sighed. The little fox always hated when things didn’t go his way, and Mingyu didn’t want to fight right now. He walked over and hugged his boyfriend tightly.
“Let’s go sign our death certificates.”
Jun-Babe
Minghao: Can we talk?
Junhui: Sure, Hao! What’s up? Everything okay with your man?
Minghao: Uh, yeah. But that’s not what I wanted to talk about
Junhui: Then what? I have a shoot with Dior and I get to wear cute hats with little ear holes!! So, excited!!
Minghao scoffed. Junhui was a little shit.
Minghao: It’s about Wonwoo.
Junhui: Oh… what happened? Is he okay?
Minghao: You know your shoot with CeCi?
Junhui: oh no
Minghao: Your boyfriend’s pretty pissed about it. Junhui, why?
Junhui: I don’t know. He was just acting all mopey about going to my shoots so i went to one without him.
Minghao: you guys are horrible at dating
Junhui: what should i do
Minghao: talk to him, but not now. He stormed out of the apartment and didn't bring his phone with him.
Junhui: Can you text me when he comes back home?
Minghao: Sure
Junhui: Thank you
Minghao: Anything for you
“He took that surprisingly well,” Mingyu commented as Minghao set down his phone.
“It’s Junhui,” Minghao drawled. “He acts like the sun shines out of his ass every day, 24/7. He’ll be fine… for now.”
Wonwoo breathed heavily as he reentered the apartment. He had taken a quick jog around the block, trying to replace the heartache with the strain of sore muscles. It didn't really work.
Just the thought of Junhui sent a painful squeezing to his heart: his beautiful eyes, fidgeting ears, bright grin, everything about him was so soul-wrenching amazing. He didn't want to be cliché, but love hurts… so, so, so much.
Wonwoo saw the fox hybrid curled up next to Mingyu, both staring through narrowed eyes. “I'm fine,” he growled. “Perfectly fine.”
They didn't say anything. Not a word. Wonwoo took that as a blessing, grabbed his phone and retreated to his bedroom… the bedroom shared with Junhui. He flopped down onto the bed, burying his head on Junhui's side, breathing deeply. The stray Junhui hairs tickled his nose as the sweet mammal scent filled his nose.
Oh, how he loved and hated that boy
Suddenly, a Chinese pop song, the same one Junhui forced him to pay for because he wanted a special ringtone, blasted from his phone. Wonwoo sighed, pulling strands of dark hair from his scalp. Reluctantly, Wonwoo pressed the green, square icon.
“Hey.” The smooth tone sent waves of comfort through Wonwoo. No matter what Junhui did, the hybrid was everything to Wonwoo.
“Hey Jun.” The hybrid relaxed at the mention of his nickname, and Wonwoo could hear the quiet thumping of a tail onto duvet.
“Minghao told me.” The short statement was all Wonwoo needed to feel dread fill his chest, expanding every breath he took until it felt heavy.
“Why?” Wonwoo’s voice cracked. He wasn’t feeling good. His heart ached so, so much. “Why would you do that?”
Junhui sniffed, crinkling the cheap hotel sheets. “You seemed distant.” He sounded desperate, so, so desperate, as if Wonwoo was slipping out of his fingers. “You looked like you hated going to my shoots, so I went to one by myself.”
“Did you know? Did you know you were going to be with another guy before you went?”
“Yes.” The whisper shy of silence. “That was the other reason.”
“Do you know how you make me feel?”
Silence.
“Like I hate myself for loving you so much.”
“No,” Junhui protested. His fingers were tightly gripping the duvet.
“The day you left, I talked to Mingyu. And he said something that made so much sense. You’re some hotshot model now, doing big things. And I’m going to be left behind. Your extraordinary and I’m just ordinary.”
“No, stop it Wonwoo. Stop hating yourself. I love you so much; I could never leave you.”
“But that’s what it fucking feels like. I feel so fucking horrible around you, comparing myself to you. And I know it’s unfair to you, but I hate it so much.”
“Wonwoo, please. You mean so much to me.”
“We should take a break.”
“What?” It seemed like the world stopped. Only their breathing echoed through the phones.
“You’re off at Europe, and we’re both upset. Let’s take a break and when you come back, we’ll talk.”
“No, Wonwoo. Please. We can talk about it now,” Junhui sounded near to tears, his chest ached so much. “Do you want me to quit? I can do that. I’ll do anything, please.”
“Junhui, please,” Wonwoo pleaded. “You know how I get when you cry. Please, this break will be good for us. We won’t contact each other.”
“Wonwoo,” Junhui whined. “I don’t want to.”
“Please, for me.”
Junhui sniffed. “Okay,” he said in the smallest voice Wonwoo’s ever heard and he swore his heart just cracked. Just the image of Junhui’s tear stained cheeks, chocolate ears flat against his scalp tugged at his heart.
“Good-bye, baby. See you in two weeks.”
“Bye.”
Wonwoo should have felt a breath of fresh air, bittersweetly in his lungs. But all he felt was heartache.
A week passed and Wonwoo was still moping around the apartment. Junhui had kept with the promise and there were no phone calls, texts, Facetimes, or anything. Wonwoo felt like shit, but they needed a break. The honeymoon period lasted too long; it was bound to shatter. Minghao had offered him updates on Junhui, a worried look across his face, but Wonwoo refused.
He needed to reassure himself he could live without the hybrid. But it was hard. Everything in his apartment reminded me off the cat, the smell permanently engrained onto the bed sheets, his favorite spicy ramen in their pantry, and especially the billboards and magazine covers with Junhui’s face plastered across it.
It was hard.
Mingyu took him out and they dyed their hair together. Bright orange for Mingyu and teal for Wonwoo. But he still felt the same, unlike Mingyu, where Minghao teased him endlessly for looking like an oompa-loompa. Even with new hair, he was still the same, old boring Jeon Wonwoo who didn’t deserve his amazing model boyfriend.
He sat at their coffee table, staring blankly at the TV droning about some weather catastrophe in China, steaming bowl of ramen sat untouched in front of him. Relationships were hard.
Suddenly, his phone rang, blasting Junhui’s ringtone. His heart pounded. Why was he calling now?
“Hello? Jun, are you okay?”
“Um, is this Jeon Wonwoo, Junhui’s boyfriend?”
“Yes?” Wonwoo scratched his head, that wasn’t his boyfriend. The voice was definitely a woman.
“Yeah, this is Junhui’s manager, and you were his first emergency contact.” Wonwoo’s heart dropped, standing up abruptly, almost knocking over the ramen. Mingyu and Minghao stared at him.
“Is he okay?”
“Um, he collapsed during a show.”
“What?”
“We had a show and Junhui was just modeling some new jeans and when he reached the end of the runway, he collapsed. He was sent to the ER. The doctors are currently checking on him, but he’s still unconscious.”
“Where is he?”
“I’ll text you the address, but please don’t rush. Junhui’s been worried about you all week, and I think that’s why he collapsed.”
“Thank you so much.”
Wonwoo sat silently as he pushed his phone back into his pocket. It was like a moment of clarity before he shot out of the living room. “I'm going to England.”
“What?” Mingyu asked, jaw down to his chest. “I know you've been on break with Junhui, but it's only been a week.”
“He collapsed,” Wonwoo drawled.
“Oh,” Mingyu looked extremely awkward. “Do you need any help?”
“Can you look up airline tickets for me?”
“Sure,” Minghao responded, pushing his boyfriend down, tail smacking the tan boy in his face.
“Good luck,” the fox whispered as clothes were stuffed into a suitcase and backpack cinched around his shoulders. Wonwoo smiled and walked into the airport.
Wonwoo found himself crammed between a tall businessman typing furiously on his laptop and a young teenager already knocked out. Wonwoo brought his knees together, cursing his long legs.
The playlist Junhui made for Wonwoo blasted through his ears, a mix of Junhui's favorite Chinese songs and popular Korean bands. It made the cramped space and throbbing headache from the turbulence worth it. Just to see Junhui again.
England was very overwhelming. Groggy passengers filtered around, grumbling at Asian just standing dumbly in the middle of traffic. He couldn't help, but curse his inability to speak English, other than a few basic phrases, before a tall and thin lady spotted him and ran up to him.
“Wonwoo?”
A wave of relief engulfed his body at the familiarity of Korean and he turned to the stranger. “Yes?”
“Hi,” the lay greeted brightly, reminding the teal-haired boy of Junhui's happy demeanor. “I'm Junhui's manager, Lee Arjae. I have to say, you look very different from Junhui's lock screen.”
“It's probably the hair,” Wonwoo said.
Arjae laughed. “It definitely is. Let’s catch a cab. Junhui’s vitals are stable, but he’s still out. The doctors said he has mild malnutrition and dehydration due to limited food and water consumption under labor intensive activities. So, his body just had no more energy and he passed out.”
“He’s okay now, right?”
“Totally. The angel is just sleeping it off and has an IV pumping his body with nutrients, you have nothing to worry about.”
“That’s good.”
Wonwoo was glad Arjae was Junhui’s manager; she was someone that could take care of the hybrid. It wasn’t long until they reached the large white building, ambulances parked out in the front with a large wall of windows. It seemed hopeful and Wonwoo’s heart pounded, leg bouncing up and down.
Junhui was in 419. Four agonizing levels to endure on the slow elevator, almost twenty doors to pass, Wonwoo just wanted to see his boyfriend.
The room was dark, curtains drawn as the air condition rumbled. Junhui’s lithe figure laid on pristine white sheets, an IV drawn to his forearm. The hybrid’s ears lazily perked up and feline eyes opened, brown irises gleaming in the darkness.
“Wonwoo?” Junhui asked before confusion dawned onto his face. “No, I’m just imagining stuff. Wonwoo’s angry at me, he wouldn’t come down. We’re on break.” Wonwoo smiled.
“Baby, I’m here.”
“You’re not real,” Junhui whispered as he saw the large figure come closer. “God, I’m even hallucinating his smell.” The hybrid turned as much as the IV would let him before letting out a kittenish whine. “Wonwoo, I miss you,” he sighed.
“Jun.”
The feline eyes met his, still unbelieving. “I don’t like this break, but I’m doing it because I want you to be happy. I’m sorry.” Junhui squeezed his eyes shut and his ears flattened against his head.
“Junhui. I’m real.”
“No, you’re not. Wonwoo’s angry, I don’t blame him.”
Wonwoo rolled his eyes and sat on the bed, and Junhui’s fingers curiously brushed against his arm. “Wonwoo?”
“Yes, babe?”
“You’re here,” the hybrid stated, moving his fingers up and down the pale arm. “I’m so stupid.” His voice started clogging up with emotion, tears starting to make their way out of tear ducts. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.
“Jun,” Wonwoo said, snaking fingers down to lace their hands together, squeezing tightly. “I’m sorry too.”
No words were said. Just the quiet breathing of the two men. Nothing needed to be said, they were back together.
Junhui was released from the hospital early the next morning, ears perked back up in the air and tail swinging back and forth, and most importantly hand clasped tightly in Wonwoo’s grip. The hybrid only had two shoots and one show left.
“You don’t have to stay the whole time,” Junhui protested as they walked to a shoot in the gardens of a local London castle. Arjae followed behind.
“I want to,” Wonwoo replied, squeezing the hybrid’s hand. “These shoots are important to you.”
“I still can’t believe you dyed your hair,” Junhui commented, tip toeing so he could brush his fingers through the teal strands.
As they walked into the garden, the assistants and photographer seemed to be in a heated discussion. One of them cleared their throat as Junhui walked in with Wonwoo hanging off his hip.
“Um, Wen Junhui?” the photographer asked. Junhui nodded and untangled himself from Wonwoo. His English was shitty, but he was improving. “There seems to be a problem. Your partner in this shoot has called in sick and we have no backup models.”
“Oh. Do we need another model?”
“Well, the theme of this shoot is boyfriends as you are going to be modeling boyfriend jeans.” The photographer frantically twisted the strap of his fancy camera. “What are we going to do? None of the workers today are male.”
One of the assistants’ eyes fell upon Wonwoo and a sly smile formed on her face. “Um, Mr. Genovich?”
“Yes?”
“I think Mr. Wen brought his boyfriend to the shoot. Could we use him?”
“Where?” Wonwoo looked like a deer in the headlights as he stood in the back, all eyes on him. The photographer gave him a once over, and Wonwoo felt so judged. “The teal hair is a bit too much, but I’ll take what I can get. What’s your name?”
Wonwoo blinked and cleared his throat. “Jeon Wonwoo.”
“At least his voice is sexy,” the photographer muttered. “Well, Mr. Wonwoo, go get fitted with your boyfriend and just listen to my instruction.”
Junhui giddily bounded up to him, eyes sparkling. “What just happened?” Wonwoo said in a daze.
“You get to be my modeling buddy!”
It was strange really. Being made up, hair styled, fitted, everything he had seen Junhui go through, but now being next to the hybrid, going through the same thing. It was surreal. Having Junhui perched in his lap or hanging off his shoulders, ass tilted towards the flashing lights, photographer shouting praise. He especially loved when Junhui’s tail twined around Wonwoo’s fingers, silky fur gliding between the pale digits.
Hybrids: The Next Big Thing?
Wen Junhui, the up and coming hybrid model, shocked the fashion community when the shoot for Divine Jeans came out. The hybrid modeled Divine’s new hybrid jeans, styles including the boyfriend cut. What shocked the whole world was the presence of an unknown face the model was hanging off of. We had the honor of sitting down with this gorgeous model and have a short interview with him.
I: So, how’s modeling life for you?
J: It was a bit overwhelming, but I love being able to show hybrids aren’t accessories, but fashion icons.
I: What’s your favorite things to model?
J: Hats, definitely hats. The ear holes are so comfortable and they all look cute
I: So, the question everyone is dying to know is, who’s the man with you with Divine Jeans?
J: (laughs) He’s my boyfriend of over two years.
I: Really?
J: Yeah, his name is Jeon Wonwoo and I lived with him as a roommate for a year before we finally got together.
I: Is he a model? Or at least planning on becoming one?
J: No, that’s not his style. He feels more comfortable working in an office job, but I still love him.
I: Does modeling affect your relationship at all? And why did he suddenly join you at a shoot?
J: Actually, it started becoming rough for us last month, since I got so busy. And we got into a fight and I collapsed at a show in London. Nothing major, just dehydration, but he flew all the way from Korea to visit me and we made up. Then the day I was released, I had a shoot for Divine, but the other model got sick, so they just stuck Wonwoo in.
I: Was it awkward at all?
J: No, Wonwoo was a natural.
I: Well, I guess that is all. Thank you so much for joining us.
J: Thank you for having me.
I: Do you have anything to say to your fans or your boyfriend?
J: Please continue supporting me and Wonwoo, keep your hair teal because nobody does it the way you do.