Chapter Text
Min Yoongi’s scary reputation precedes him, and just taking a look at him one can understand why. His leather jacket, ripped black jeans, messy bleached hair, were nothing compared to that deep look in his eyes, his raspy voice and his body language, so self-assured and aggressive, the total opposite to his beautiful face.
If he didn’t like you he’d gladly let you know, he wasn’t afraid to be rude if he thought you deserved his disdain. It was a well-known fact that he even hit some fellow students once or twice (or more) on campus… there were several video recordings of the events and they were honestly awesome.
His reputation, though, also included his talent in music. So much so that he was considered by classmates and some professors as a genius. He already had a mix-tape running around the alternative bars in Hongdae, with songs that criticized the system and talked about mental issues. The guy was a fucking poet, all pure passion and raw power.
So last year, when Oh-nim suggested Jeon Jeongguk that he should ask Min Yoongi to tutor him to polish his composing skills, it was as tempting as it was frightening. He thought about it for almost two weeks and he almost didn’t do it, but he eventually gathered his courage, talked to Oh-nim and she gladly set up a meeting for them.
And it was mindblowing how polite and thoughtful Yoongi was that first meeting. He immediately adopted his duty as the hyung, bringing coffee to the music room the teacher had arranged for them and asking Jeongguk everything, from “why are you minoring in music composition?” to “is latte okay? I can bring another thing next time” and a lot of in-betweens.
Jeongguk would never lie and deny he was nervous as hell that day, as he’ll never deny that all Yoongi had to do to ease him was to smile, extend him a cup of latte and tell him that we wouldn’t bite his head off. They laughed and the rest was easy. Now, almost a year after that, Jeongguk could proudly say that they were good friends.
Yoongi hyung always treated Jeongguk. He offered good advice when needed. He brought him to his gigs when he rapped live and taught him everything about music. Yoongi hyung was a neat big brother, protective, fierce, brutally honest, but a softie at heart.
“I love you, Yoongi hyung,” Jeongguk said after a lot of drinks one night, grinning and staggering.
“I love you too, Guk-ah. Don’t puke on my jacket,” said Yoongi with a fond smile and a chuckle.
Now, this didn’t mean that the rumors about Yoongi were fake or that he had changed since he had met Jeongguk, because that was definitely not the case. Min Yoongi had the ability to be cruel and violent, but Jeongguk now knew where all of that came from. He had gone through a severe depression growing up and his parents didn’t pay enough attention until it was almost too late. They were good now, but back then he was, according to himself, an insufferable brat, and his bad attitude never left completely. It was kind of a defense mechanism, kind of him being practical, kind of… just his personality. But he knew his manners damn well and if you weren’t a jerk to him then everything was fine.
“But how is it that they couldn’t tell you weren’t alright, hyung? My eonmeoni always knows when I’m upset,” Jeongguk asked one quiet afternoon. They were having beer and chips after another tutoring lesson in Yoongi’s apartment.
The elder hummed. He seemed deep in thought before answering. “My dad was taking a lot of extra hours at work to save for mine and my hyung’s universities, and my mom… since I was like eight or ten, I don’t know, she got involved in a group for the hybrids rights. They spend a lot of time away from home, sometimes they arrived after I got to bed. I kind of understood why dad was never around, but I remember I was so pissed at my mom,” he snickered. His eyes were sad. “I was a total asshole.”
“Why?”
“Um. After… you know, the pills episode and the institution and all that shit, she sat down with me and told me her reasons. It all started with the news. We never had the money to afford a freaking hybrid, you know? Besides, what’s the fucking point? Everyone knows hybrid owners are fucking perverts and disgusting. That, or an elder with an empty nest syndrome. Anyway, I never cared about hybrids, I didn’t even acknowledge them as humans,” he shook his head slowly. “But she paid attention to the cases of abuse that got to the media. She told me that particularly the stories involving minors broke her heart. That she felt actual pain inside her chest. That she looked at me and my brother and felt like every child, with or without ears on top of their head, deserved to have the childhood that we had.”
“Oh.”
“I know, right? So, instead of conforming to whine from a distance, she actually did something about it and joined this group as a volunteer. She told me some of the stories of the people they rescued. I don’t want to repeat them, you’re a good kid so I’ll spare you, but they were horrible, Guk. I ended up apologizing to her because I honestly didn’t have a clue and I finally realized what an amazing thing she was doing, but she was also apologizing to me because she couldn’t make the right balance between her voluntary work and her duty as a mother. And, okay, she was right about that, but it’s whatever now. Things got much better after that.”
“She sounds brave.”
“She’s the shit. I’m so fucking proud of her. She even adopted a kid that they rescued from an illegal hybrid mill soon after that. He’s a pain in the ass but I love him to death. We all do. I thank god everyday that she got to him before some disgusting creep.” He smiled. “My baby brother. You’d like him, he’s as obnoxious as you.”
“Ha, ha, hyung,” Jeongguk deadpanned. “You never told me your little brother was a hybrid.”
“That’s because I don’t care, Guk-ah,” he smirked lazily.
“Yeah, but, you don’t really mention him much, or like, at all. I actually don’t even know his name. I think I only know you have a little brother because he called you once while we were having lunch.”
Yoongi blinked. “Ah. Yeah, sorry about that. It’s just… habit, I guess?” he sighed and scratched his head, frowning. “Whenever I tell people about him they start throwing remarks. You know how it is, most hybrids are practically sex slaves and ignorant retards assume I’m a rich kid with a hybrid of my own or then they start to ask these nasty questions about us. It pisses me off. I know you’re different and you wouldn’t do that, but I guess I already took the habit of omitting him.”
“Okay.”
Silence. Yoongi took a chip from the coffee table. Jeongguk kept staring at him pointedly, not even blinking. Yoongi noticed and froze his chewing. Then he started laughing, swallowed and said:
“His name is Taehyung, asshole. Stop looking at me like that.”
…Which led to the reason behind the beatings. It wasn’t just Yoongi’s mother, there was a lot of people concerned with the wellbeing of hybrids. The pressure was enough to force governments around the world to take action, and South Korea was no exception. The change in the laws was slow, though. Hybrids still weren’t considered as legal humans, equals in rights and duties as regular people. But there were some positive things, like the allowance to all hybrids to take the national admission exam and enroll in universities. Yoongi told Jeongguk that his parents wanted for Taehyung to have the experience of a normal young man studying in a proper university, with the parties and the all-nighters and the suffering and all (thus Yoongi told them ‘jokingly’ that then they really didn’t love Taehyung that much after all. His mother smacked him). Because of this, in spring last year Yoongi took his baby brother to Seoul to show him around campus and then went to other universities. It was a fun day, all perfect, and then he left his brother on the train and called his parents to pick him at the station in Daegu.
But people had seen Min Yoongi holding hands with a hybrid. They obviously assumed the worst, or at least the most twisted students did. And some, the most stupid ones, dared to share those assumptions with Yoongi.
“You should have heard him, Guk. It made me sick. I couldn’t hold it, I had to beat that fucker.”
The nasty comments didn’t stop after the first fight, so then it came a second and a third one. The last one was particularly vicious because the offender had been particularly disgusting.
“And it’s not just that they imply those things about my little brother, you know? It’s the fact that someone could see him in such a dirty way. It’s not just infuriating, it’s actually fucking sad.”
The university higher-ups took action and gave a single warning to the offenders over harassment. One of them did it again and Yoongi reported him. The guy was expelled and no one dared to say anything else, at least to his face.
“I always thought you got into fights just because people looked at you the wrong way.”
Yoongi laughed.
“Bunch of idiots. Now you know, kid. Spread the word, that’s what happens if you mess with my baby brother.”
“Nice.”
“Damn right I’m nice.”
And he was. Yonngi was one of the nicest people Jeongguk would ever meet and he knew it. Min Yoongi was a little bit more than a friend, he was a big brother, a role model, a beacon. At one point Jeongguk even got to believe he was falling for him, honestly, he was just that amazing.
But then.
“So, Guk-ah. As you know, I’m graduating this spring.”
“Damn it, hyung, we already had this conversation. You want me to cry again?”
“Of course not,” he smiled. He was particularly soft that cold morning. The café was almost empty and the sunrays shone in gold. “This is about something else. Okay, where do I start…”
“What is it?”
“It’s about Tae.”
“What about him?”
“He’ll come live with me next year. My parents will help me get a bigger apartment and while I work all day Tae will be attending classes in our university.”
“Hyung, that’s great!”
“It’s also fucking scary, but yeah, it is great.”
“Oh. You’re worried about him.”
“Yup. He says I’m worse than mom.”
Jeongguk grinned. “Okay. Ask.”
Yoongi glared. “Don’t be a jerk, you already know that I came to--”
“No, no! I want to hear it!”
“Will the stupid brat take care of Taehyung when he’s on campus or what?”
“Just because you’re buying breakfast.”
Now Yoongi was grinning.
“If something happens to him, I’ll kick you. He’s your responsibility now.”
“Sure, sure. Can I have pancakes?”
“Guk,” he put a hand over Jeongguk’s, “I mean it. Just… pay attention to people, okay? If someone’s trying to take advantage of him, talk to the dean. My parents are the legal guardians of Tae and they already sorted this out with him. He never went to school, there’s a lot he doesn’t know about the world. You don’t even have to be his friend, just talk to him once in a while, make sure he’s safe. Please?”
Moments like this were rare, when Yoongi opened up his heart to Jeongguk and through pleading and honest eyes the younger swore he could see the other’s soul, unguarded and transparent. So, so vulnerable.
He took his hand and gave a little squeeze.
“I’ll keep an eye on him, hyung. You can trust me.”
Jeongguk meant that. With all his heart, from the depths of his soul, he meant it. He didn’t have Yoongi’s reputation but because of his shyness disguised as toughness people used to think he was way meaner than he actually was. He could take that to his advantage, keep Yoongi’s brother company to let people know he wasn’t on his own. He could do that for Yoongi. He wanted to do that for Yoongi.
Here’s the thing, though. It was a very well-known fact that hybrids were like runway models with fluffy ears and tail. They had a childish character and were submissive by nature. The wet dream of all those sick bastards who inspired Yoongi’s ranting. Delightful creatures by design, literally. Jeongguk was aware of that and he was probed right when Yoongi showed him pictures of his brother on his laptop and phone.
“That’s Tae and that’s our older brother, Yoonhyun. That’s Yeontan. Dad bought it to Tae after my parents decided to homeschool him.”
“He’s hot,” Jeongguk said casually.
Yoongi blinked. He raised his brows at the blushing younger, who realized too late what he had said, and smiled.
“Yeah, I guess he is.”
So Jeongguk, keeping all this in mind, thought he knew what he’d be dealing with. He believed that for weeks until the day they met. Yoongi asked him to go to his new apartment to present them officially one day, about a week before the start of the new semester. Jeongguk brought some cinnamon rolls just to be polite. He got there on time, prepared more for a formality than a friendly meeting. He wasn’t even nervous, to be honest.
The door opened. Yoongi greeted him, Jeongguk took off his shoes, and a figure stood up from the couch on the living room. It was a tall young man, slender and good looking, as expected, the same tanned skin and brown hair and kitty ears as he had seen on pictures before, smiling with curiosity at him.
He felt cheated on.
There was something on those eyes that the camera failed to capture.
“Taehyung, this is Jeongguk The Brat. Jeongguk, this is Taehyung The Baby.”
Something weird happened at that moment. This was no longer “Yoongi’s little brother,” this was now Taehyung, a real person (with cat’s ears and tail), grinning and bowing, and when he spoke for the first time, damn…
“Hi! Nice to meet you! Yoongi hyung has told me so much about you.”
What was it? What the hell was it? Jeongguk never believed in love at first sight and it wasn’t just Taehyung’s beauty that impressed Jeongguk—he wasn’t that vain and he didn’t have that reaction every time he met someone attractive unless it involved women, thank you very much—so what was it? And then Taehyung was tilting his head and his ears were flattening against his hair and his tail stopped moving and fuck, he had to say something, didn’t he?
“It’s okay, Tae. He’s just shy, you should’ve seen him the first time we met.”
That sobered him up a little. “It wasn’t that bad, hyung.”
“Yes it was,” Yoongi scoffed. “You looked like a freezing squirrel.”
“That doesn’t even make sense.”
“Well, that’s what you looked like.”
“You--” the younger decided to drop it. He turned towards Taehyung and bowed again. “I’m sorry, it’s nice to meet you too. Yoongi hyung also talks a lot about you.”
“Only to those who have earned my trust,” said the elder.
“You must be special if Yoongi hyung trusts you,” Taehyung smiled. And, oh, that smile.
“I guess he is.”
“Yeah. I guess I am.”
The question kept repeating itself long after that first encounter. Jeongguk thought that feeling would eventually go away, since it refused to abandon him for days to come.
It didn’t go away.
The new semester started, Jeongguk could spot some new faces amongst the student body but the only hybrid seemed to be Taehyung. People stared at him, obviously, but he didn’t seem bothered by it. All teachers asked their students to treat Taehyung (“a freshman who also happens to be a hybrid, most of you must have spotted him by now”) with respect in a short announcement at the beginning of their lessons and gave the general warning that the university would take measures against anyone who mistreated him in any way. When Yoongi found out about it he seemed to melt in his couch out of relief, and when the elder asked Jeongguk if anyone had approached him to ask about the nature of their relationship or make an unpleasant comment, Jeongguk told him the truth, that the worst that happened were some dirty looks and suggesting smiles. That, and the fact that some treated Taehyung as if he was dumb, which he was definitely not.
“God. Einstein was right, Guk. The universe and human stupidity are infinite. So how are things with you and Tae?”
Jeongguk didn’t blush. He didn’t, right? He hoped not. He knew he smiled, at least. “Great, hyung. We watched all the Naruto movies yesterday at one of the editing rooms.”
“Yeah, he told me. I’m glad you’re getting along, kid, but try not to fail your editing classes, ‘kay?”
They became friends. Taehyung was older but he refused to be called hyung. He actually called Jeongguk hyung sometimes by accident. It was sweet. Taehyung was sweet. His eyes were huge and expressive, his laughter was precious, he was addicted to cuddles and puppies and children were his happiness. He was like a kid in the body of one very gorgeous young man with a beautiful everything. He had weird ideas about the world and space and he kept talking and talking and it had this ASMR effect on Jeongguk and he was so expressive and his eyes shone so bright when he was happy and when he was sad it was the worst because then all his expressions died and the energy disappeared and Jeongguk just wanted to keep him happy all the time.
“Are we friends, Gukkie?” Taehyung muttered with his head on Jeongguk’s lap while they watched Your Name for the eleventh time.
“I hope so, Tae,” Jeongguk whispered, carding his fingers through the cat’s hair.
“Have you ever had a girlfriend, Gukkie?” Taehyung asked one sunny Friday after classes, sitting on the grass under a big tree.
“One girlfriend and one boyfriend,” Jeongguk answered looking at the clouds and feeling his chest tighten.
“Is this alright?” Taehyung said right after their first kiss. They were sitting next to each other in Jeongguk’s bed, it was so dark they could barely see each other.
“I—yes,” Jeongguk gulped. “I really like you, I need you to know that before—” Taehyung laughed softly and kissed him again before he could finish.
“I really like you too.”
Those damn scientist knew what they were doing when they designed hybrids. Jeongguk cursed them every time he ended up with a hand wrapped around himself and those images of his boyfriend in his head. Taehyung was a pleaser, pliant, adorable, so fucking vulnerable, and not just in a sexual way, as most people liked to highlight. Now he understood why hybrids were so popular, now he got the cat-calling, the dirty looks, the knowing smiles.
Jeongguk kind of felt guilty about it.
They were alone at Taehyung’s apartment one particular cloudy afternoon and they knew Yoongi wouldn’t arrive until late at night. The past ten days or so since they became boyfriends had been great, and every time they were alone it seemed like things escalated a bit more than the last one. It was actually nice, but it would be even nicer if Jeongguk knew for sure that they both were on the same page before continuing.
It was probably not the best time to do so when he had Taehyung all over him, without a shirt and his lips already swollen, marking a new bruise on Jeongguk’s neck. But hey, one thing led to the other and…
A pause.
“Um. Are you alright, Gukkie?”
“We need to talk.”
They sat up. Everything was suddenly heavier.
“Okay,” Taehyung whispered.
“I’m not breaking up with you.”
“Okay,” he smiled, but his ears remained flattened against his head. “But?”
“No buts, it’s just. Am. Do you want to have sex?”
Taehyung blinked while his eyes grew a little bigger.
“Not now! God, I suck at this,” the younger groaned. “What I mean is… we need to have this talk, Tae.”
“The sexy-talk?”
Jeongguk chuckled. “The ‘sexy-talk’?” Jeongguk thinned his lips when he noticed his boyfriend’s pout. “The sexy-talk,” he confirmed, nodding solemnly. He grabbed the adorable boy by his waist and sat him on his lap. Taehyung straddled him and put his hands on Jeongguk’s shoulders while the younger rested his hands on the cat’s thighs. Taehyung’s tail was wobbling slowly and his ears were perched up pointedly, the caramel of his fur in perfect harmony with the tan of his naked skin. “You’ve talked about this with your parents, right?”
“Yup. I don’t have to do anything if I don’t want to and nobody can force me to do anything I’m uncomfortable with. I know that, Gukkie.”
“And you know how it works when it’s two guys and no girl involved?”
“You know we’ve seen porn together, right?”
“We weren’t watching porn. We were watching a video that happened to have porn in it.”
“It was porn, Gukkie. But what about you? Do you want to have sex with me?”
A sigh. “The first time is kind of a big deal for some people. It was for me, and it sucked. First, because I felt pressured to do it, so I’m not doing that to you. I’d like to do things with you, but we can take it slow.”
“And… and if I didn’t want to? Like, at all?”
Jeongguk smiled. “Then we won’t do anything more than what we’ve done, baby. Okay?”
“Yeah, that’s okay. Thank you.”
“Pfft, what for? I’m just being a decent human being.”
“Still,” Taehyung pecked his lips. “Thank you for starting the sexy-talk. I still feel bad if I don’t give you what you--”
“Shut up,” he hugged him tight. “Now let’s watch something that’s not porn, please.”
But Taehyung didn’t leave his lap.
“And what if… what if I wanted to have sex with you with no condom?”
Jeongguk nodded. His mouth felt suddenly dry.
“I—I’d have to get tested before. How far have you gone?”
“Just kissing and touching. I… I’m not sure yet, though. Can we wait?”
“Yes. I want to wait too. I wouldn’t be comfortable if we rush it.”
“Let’s set a date.”
“Okay. Yeah, okay. Just to be sure, you don’t want the candles and roses, right?”
“Eww, no. I mean, if that’s what you want--”
“No way. But some music would be nice? Just to make it less awkward?”
“Nothing romantic, please.”
“You do know how to turn me--”
Bang!
They froze. That was their first reaction. They froze, stared at each other in dreadful silence and for two eternal seconds neither of them dared to look at the door that had just been shut with a hard push.
“What the fuck is going on?”
There, standing in front of the door and holding a bag with takeout, was the one and only, Min Yoongi.