Chapter Text
When the clock hits midnight, the Kalopsia Casino turns into heaven. Heaven for every business men who want to gamble their life away, heaven for every stripper or sex worker that wants to get some good money, and heaven for every low life men that hopes to walk out of the Casino with a fortune in their banks.
Jimin’s Chelsea boots can’t be heard at this hour down the Casino’s hallway because of the loud song that is played on the speakers, so no one knows when Jimin enters the main room, with Yoongi and Namjoon by his side. But everyone can feel it. Their presence is powerful, and the air gets thicker and the tension grows higher when the tree of them walk around nonchalantly, heading directly to the main gambling table in the middle of the room, where a game of poker is currently being played.
The three of them got bored up in their suite, since Hoseok and Seokjin are out with some business, and Taehyung is home sleeping, so they decided to come here for some fun.
Of course, nothing is better than stripping every man from their money and watching them cry as they’re kicked out of the Casino once they’re penniless, which the three of them decided to do today. Leave everyone at the gambling table with no money, and then wave cutely at them when security drags them out.
Yoongi sits down on the only empty chair, that is specially reserved for one of the six men that own the Casino. But as always, Yoongi is the one that sits down, his expression stoic as always. The men at the table stopped their game, and bowed their heads in respect.
“Good evening, gentleman.” Jimin salutes, prompting his hands on the back of Yoongi’s chair, before leaning forward to press a kiss on the top of Yoongi’s head. Every man turns their head away at the shown affection, not wanting to dare and upset the couple.
Everyone and their mother in this Casino knows about the polyamouros relationship that the six owners are in, and no one ever dared to look at their little acts of affection for longer than a second, or to look disgusted or upset. No one dared such a thing, because the six men are dangerous, and no one wants to lose their life over such a silly thing.
The six men are known as the Kalopsia, the owners of the biggest Casinos in the world, and the merciless individuals who don’t waste a second before ending someone’s life if needed. And no one wants to die by their hands.
“Namjoon here will be the dealer,” Jimin informs, and the young man that has been the dealer since now, bows and leaves quietly. The tall man gathers all the cards and starts shuffling them, while Jimin looks around the table, checking everyone out. The round table is big, and is situated right in the middle of the room, but only seven chairs are the table, for seven players.
Which is why an eight head catches Jimin’s attention. Or for better say, the bunny ears on his head catch Jimin’s attention before anything else. The ears belong to a young boy, with big, frightened eyes and a shaky figure. He is kneeling down next to an old, fat man, with a belly bigger than a woman’s pregnant belly with twins ready to deliver, and with a bald head that shines in the low lights. The bunny’s ears are floppy and almost pressed flat against his head, presumably in fear.
Normally, Jimin is not one to judge, but the man incites a deep rage in him, and the poor bunny on his side does nothing more but make him even more angry. The bunny keeps his head ducked down, eyes fixed on his lap, and doesn’t move even when the old man pats his brown hair. The boy has a thick collar around his neck that seems to be a lot tighter than it should, and there’s a leash attached to it that is tied around one of the table’s legs. Jimin notices that the skin on his neck is a little red, most probably irritated by the collar, and God...the poor boy’s clothes do nothing to protect him in this cold weather. Inside the Casino is warm, perfect even for the strippers, but outside is freezing cold, since it’s the middle of November, and Jimin is very certain that the old looking sweater and the short skirt do nothing to protect the boy from the cold.
Not to mention his knees, that are most probably scrapped because of the harsh moquette that’s on the Casino’s floor. He makes a mental note to give him some bandaids for those.
Jimin leans down, his lips close to Yoongi’s ear but eyes fixed on the bunny. “Who’s the hag with the bunny?” he asks, and then looks down at his boyfriend. Yoongi shrugs, and then signs “new” without looking at Jimin.
Jimin only nods and kisses his cheek quickly. “Keep an eye on him.” he says, before walking to Namjoon’s side. His boyfriend stops shuffling his cards immediately, and leans down so Jimin’s lips can reach his ears. He didn’t need Jimin to say anything else for him to understand that there seems to be something wrong that needs to be talked about immediately.
“Old, bald man with the bunny next to him. Apparently he’s new, so keep an eye on him. I don’t like him.” Jimin whispers, and Namjoon nods quickly. Jimin’s instincts about a person have always been accurate, something his boyfriends always like to joke about, but also take seriously. The boy has never gone wrong with his weirdly acute senses.
“Let’s start then, shall we, gentlemen?” all the men around the table nod at Jimin’s words, not a single one looking particularly excited, except for the old, bald man. They all know that there’s no way someone can win with Min Yoongi playing, but they don’t want to back down and be taken as cowards — but the old man looks particularly excited, and happy. Something that Jimin has never seen at the poker table.
Namjoon shuffles the car once more, before starting to deal two cards each, and the game begins. At first they only play on small bets, and Jimin talks for Yoongi, as always, and they win, as always. But with each round, the men grow a little impatient, a little annoyed, and they start betting more, and some even get better at it, even though Jimin doesn’t really know how that's possible.
But soon, in the fifth round, Yoongi finds himself at the edge when an older man almost wins against him, and that’s when the old, bald man finally makes his big move.
“I bet on my pet right here,” he says, and the table falls silent. Namjoon’s hands freeze on the cards, and he immediately looks at Jimin warily. Until now, the man was clean. Playing by the rules, losing, nothing suspicious happening. Jimin should’ve expected this to happen the moment he saw the bunny by his legs. Of course he didn’t bring his pet with him just for company.
“The rules of the Casino forbid anyone to bet on anything else but money.” Jimin speaks loud and clear, enough for the man to hear and frown when his request has been denied.
“C’mon, man. Look at this pet right here, he’s a treasure. Pretty and with a perfect body, and he’s a rare breed, too. I’m sure someone at this table would be excited to own it, heh? He’s a pleaser, if you get what I mean.” the man continues, and finishes his sentence with a wink that makes Jimin want to throw up. This man had the audacity to come into his Casino and whore his pet around just for some money, and neither Jimin, Yoongi or Namjoon like it.
Jimin knows he can’t let the poor bunny get on someone else’s hands, but he also can’t let him go back with his owner. God knows what the poor thing has been through, and for how long, so Jimin decides that it has been enough. He has never thought about owning a hybrid, and neither did his five boyfriends, but they never said never. And it seems like tonight, Jimin will go home with a little surprise for his boyfriends.
The dealer shoots a quick glance at Jimin, who simply nods and leans down in Yoongi’s ear. “Get the bunny, and then we kill the man.” he orders, earning a curt nod from Yoongi before the man pushes forward all his black chips, which seem to be a little over fifty, at least. After everyone else calls a check to avoid betting, the cards are being revealed. And as expected, Yoongi wins, both his money back and the bunny.
“Game over.” Jimin announces, not giving room for interruptions as he stands up straight and walks around the table, stopping behind the bunny hybrid. “I believe this one is ours, now.” he says in a low voice, his hand heavy on the old man's shoulder. “And we need to have a talk, but I’ll let Yoongi deal with you, yeah?”
And before the man can say anything else, Yoongi has a hand on the man’s nape and is pushing him forward, towards the back exit of the club. The old man knows very well what will happen, since talking to a mute man is pretty much impossible. He barely has time to shout and protest before he is dragged outside, and dealt with silently.
Meanwhile, Namjoon cleans the table, the rest of the men leaving quietly, not wanting to anger the gang members more than they already are. They are smart enough to know what happened to the pet’s owner, and they really do wish to live some more.
Jimin immediately crouches down to untie the bunny’s leash from the table’s leg, before looking at the bunny with soft eyes. The boy has his head still ducked down, but now there are tears streaming down his face, and he sniffles quietly, and Jimin’s heart — as cold as it is — breaks a little.
“Hey there, bunny. What’s your name?” he asks in the softest voice possible, trying not to wince at the way the bunny flinches at his voice.
“I-it’s Jeongguk, s-sir.” the boy says through sobs, and Jimin has to give everything in him not to cradle the bunny to his chest and calm him down. It’s not every day that Jimin gets to see a hybrid, since they’re not too popular around Seoul, especially bunny hybrids, and it’s also not every day that he sees someone gamble one so easily and without any remorse.
“Jeongguk, that’s a beautiful name.” Jimin murmurs, and then he slowly stands up. “Can you stay up for me, Jeongguk?” he asks, and the bunny complies immediately, almost stumbling over because of how quickly he stands up. But luckily, there’s Jimin right next to him, and Namjoon right behind, to hold him up. His poor knees must hurt so bad.
“Easy there, precious.” Namjoon mumbles, and Jeongguk flinches at how low his voice is and how close he is. The man immediately notices and takes a step back once the bunny can keep himself up by himself, his legs obviously sore and hurting after kneeling for God knows how long. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.” Namjoon apologizes sweetly, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips when the bun just nods and ducks his head down again. He’s still crying, and Jimin can’t help but feel sorry for him.
Poor thing must be so confused and frightened at everything that is happening right now.
“You have some band-aids?” Jimin asks his boyfriend, one hundred percent sure that he has some lost bandaids somewhere in his pockets. Namjoon’s the type to have almost everything you need on him.
“Here,” Namjoon hands Jimin two simple band-aids, big enough to cover the scrapes on the bunny’s knees.
“Thanks, baby.” he says, then turns to Jeongguk. “Is it alright if I put these on your knees? I’m sure the scrapes must hurt,” he says, and shows the bunny the two band-aids he’s holding. The boy takes one look at his red knees, and one at the band-aids in Jimin’s hands before nodding slowly.
The man complies immediately, kneeling in front of Jeongguk and using his handkerchief to gently wipe away any dust or dirt from his knees, before blowing softly on his knees and making sure they’re somehow clean for him to put the band-aids. He unwraps them slowly one by one and places them on the bunny’s legs gently, patting them to stick, before standing up when he’s done.
“All done, darling.”
“Thank you, sir.” the bunny whispers under his breath, really thankful for the band-aids. His owner never cared when his knees hurt after scraping them on the floors or rugs.
“We should call the rest and go home, we have a lot to talk about, especially with this little one here,” Jimin says, and doesn’t miss the way Jeongguk starts shaking as soon as he hears the words ‘go home’. He figures the poor bun must imagine the worst case scenario in this situation, but Jimin is quick to assure him.
“It’s okay, darling. No one will touch you or hurt you in any way, yeah?” he says softly, picking up the leash from where it’s hanging around the bunny’s body. “Can I take this off?” he asks, eyeing the leash and collar, to which Jeongguk frowns confused. He raises his hands slowly and wipes away his tears, sniffling cutely.
“Take...off?” he asks, his floppy ears twitching in curiosity, a small frown on his face. His owner would have never allowed this to happen, especially in public. Taking off your collar, Jeongguk knows, it means you’re a stray hybrid, free for anyone to use as they want, or take away.
“Yeah, you don’t need it.” Jimin says, and takes a quick glance at Namjoon when Jeongguk keeps frowning. There’s a lot to talk about tonight, it seems.
“But...owner said that pets must always be kept on leash, sir.” Jeongguk replies in a quiet voice, and Jimin can already feel his blood boil.
“That’s not true, precious,” Namjoon replies. “You don’t need a leash, not even a collar, even if you’re a hybrid. You seem very well behaved, and I am completely sure that you won’t hop around on your own and start biting people, right?” the man continues and chuckles, his words seeming to lessen up Jeongguk a bit.
The bunny shakes his head immediately, his floppy ears moving cutely. “Bunnies don’t bite…” he says, a little pout forming on his lips, and Jimin can’t help but smile and bite his lip to keep himself from giggling.
“Of course bunnies don’t bite, silly hyung.” Jimin says, mostly to Namjoon, who just rolls his eyes and bites down a smile. Yoongi enters the Casino before any of them get the chance to say anything else, and walks towards them with the same stoic face that he always has when he’s out in public.
“Done?” Namjoon asks, to which Yoongi simply nods, before moving his attention to the bun. He checks him up and down, scrunching his nose when he sees the tangled fur on his ears and the poor outfit he has on him, that consists of a loose and old sweater, paired with a frilly, way too short skirt, that does nothing to hide the bunny’s red knees from kneeling for so long. He eyes his neck when Jimin gently takes off his collar and leash, and frowns at the red marks around his neck. There’s even some bruising and scarring around it, that suggests that the poor thing has barely even taken this collar off.
Namjoon presses his lips in a thin line, and Jimin keeps himself from wincing, before asking softly. “Darling...has your owner ever taken off your collar?”
The bunny doesn’t waste a second before shaking his head quickly. “Owner said that the collar must always be around my neck, sir, or else he’ll punish me.” he whispered, and the three men simply sighed and nodded.
“It’s okay, you don’t have to wear it anymore, yeah?” Jimin assures him quickly, and throws the collar and the leash on the poker table. The collar looks old and worn, so he can only imagine that Jeongguk kept it on for a long time, a lot longer than really needed.
Now none of the Kalopsia members are experts in hybrids, but they know a thing or do, and so far, everything that Jeongguk’s owner did was extremely wrong.
“Let’s go, then. I’ll call the others on the way back, there’s a lot to unpack here.” Namjoon says, to which Jimin and Yoongi only nod.
“Let’s go, darling.” Jimin murmurs, walking side to side with the bunny, not touching him without his permission. He fears there’s a lot of trauma behind those big eyes, and the last thing Jimin wants to do is to trigger the bun unknowingly. Thankfully, the bunny follows them without making any fuss. Jimin expected some more tears, maybe some pleading or screaming, but Jeongguk is quiet. Even on the ride home, when there’s a stray tear rolling down his face, the bunny wipes it away quietly, and keeps his head ducked down, preparing for the worst.
⟷
Only half an hour late everyone is in the living room, five of them splayed on the couch, while Jimin is next to the bunny on a smaller couch, holding a bowl of cut up fruits in his hand so the bun can snack on them. “C’mon darling, eat some more.” the man encourages when he sees Jeongguk look at the bowl and almost salivating but not eating. He only had one raspberry.
“But...not supposed to eat at night, sir.” he whimpers, and Jimin shuts his eyes closed with a sigh. It’s even worse than he expected it to be.
“It’s okay, I promise it’s fine, yeah? Fruits are a healthy snack that you can eat no matter what hour it is,” he explains. “Here, have a strawberry.” Jimin holds up a big strawberry between his fingers, that the bunny finally takes and bites after a while, gasping cutely at how sweet it is, his eyes sparkling brightly.
The man lets Jeongguk keep eating while he turns his attention back on his five boyfriends that are looking at him and the bunny with fond eyes.
“So, first of all, we have a bunny now.” Jimin says, to which his boyfriends chuckle and roll their eyes.
“We can see that, babe.” Taehyung replies, curling up on the couch against Hoseok’s body. “The question is, why do we have a bunny?”
At his question, Jimin shot a quick glance to the boy before clearing his throat. “Jeongguk’s owner...gambled him at poker.” he says, and winces internally when the bun flinches as if burned. It must hurt the poor bun to hear it, and Jimin can’t even imagine how the bun has not made a fuss yet and why is he so calm. But the man thinks that this might not be his first time going through such a thing.
Hoseok, Seokjin and Taehyung freeze at that, their eyebrows shot up and eyes open wide.
“I’m sorry, he did what?” Hoseok asks, his lips curled downwards and eyebrows furrowed. Jimin has rarely seen Hoseok look like that, since his boyfriend is always a happy pill, brightening up their day.
Seokjin and Taehyung seem to be still frozen, as if time stopped, and all they can see is the little bunny that munches on some mango, head ducked down and eyes fixed on his lap. He hasn’t dared to look up ever since they got home, and Jimin gently seated him down while they waited for everyone else to arrive. They all know the rules of the Casino, after all, they made them. And hearing someone broke one of the main rules? That’s rare.
“It’s not that long of a story, but I’ll explain some more in private. Now, we must decide what to do with Jeongguk.” at the sound of his name, the bunny’s ears twitch cutely, and his nose scrunch up. Jimin is sure there is a tail hidden somewhere behind that sweater too, but he doesn’t feel like it’s appropriate to ask just yet.
“What’s there to do? We keep him.” Namjoon replies, to which Yoongi that is seated in his lap nods in affirmation.
“But we know nothing about hybrids and how to care for them,” Seokjin says. “We can’t keep him.”
“We also can’t let him out in the streets, and there’s no way he can go back to his owner.” Jimin contra-attacks, earning a confused hum from Taehyung.
“Why not? We can just go and talk and—” the boy immediately shuts up when Yoongi drags his thumb along his neck, a gesture that Taehyung immediately understands. “Well, fuck.”
Jimin sighs, and brushes his hair back. “Can we stop talking as if Jeongguk is not right next to us? He can hear and understand us very well.” his voice is serious and somehow shaky, and his boyfriends understand that he’s a lot more upset than they thought he was. He seems to be really affected by Jeongguk’s situation, which confuses them a lot, but not enough to make them go against his word.
“S’okay.” Jeongguk whispers, his voice shaky and quiet. “I can go to a hybrid adoption center, sir…” he suggests, his words shocking everyone. A hybrid adoption center? Not happening anytime soon.
“No, darling, absolutely not. We know very well how those places treat their hybrids.” Jimin says firmly, to which Jeongguk shrugs. He must have been there before if he’s so nonchalant about it, Jimin thinks.
“They’re not that bad, sir…” the bunny mumbles. “Owner was a lot worse.”
Jimin’s heart hurts at his words, and he knows he’s not the only one. Each five of his boyfriends look as upset as him, a frown on their faces, their lips curled downwards. Even if they’d want to keep the bunny or not, they’re still hurt just by thinking about what the poor little thing must have been through. The hybrid adoption centers are known for a lot of bad things, such as starving, abusing and beating their hybrids, and when hearing that Jeongguk’s owner has been even worse, the six of them can only think of the worst case scenario.
“Hyungs...please, we can’t let him go there. He’s—he’s been through enough.” Jimin says, his voice strained and a little shaky, sincere eyes pleading his hyungs silently. Jimin knows what going through hell means, they all know, so it doesn’t take that long for them to nod and accept.
“Okay,” Seokjin breathes out. “Okay, we’ll keep him.”
And before anyone could say anything, Jeongguk’s head snaps up, and looks at them with wide eyes, looking a lot more frightened than he probably should. But at the same time, they understand. They’re complete strangers, who just took him away from his owner just a few hours before. And even if his owner was probably hell for the poor bunny, it’s still a big change, and it’s scary for the boy “K-keep me?”
“Yeah, darling. If you want to, of course. We won’t keep you against your will, okay? And we won’t hurt you nor use you for...other things, even though I know that’s what your owner suggested.” Jimin’s words don’t surprise the others as much, since they have been expecting to hear this at some point. It’’s very clear that the bunny was not kept as a companion, but more as a sex toy, and that makes everyone’s heart clench. No one should go through such a thing.
“Then...why keep me?” the bunny asks, and his voice is so shaky and he looks so fragile that Jimin wants to cry right there and then. He can’t even express in words how upset and angry he feels right now, but also how sad and useless. He has known the bunny for a little over an hour, but the hollow feeling in his chest grows with each minute, and Jimin feels like it’ll only grow bigger once he gets to hear about Jeongguk’s life, that is if he’ll ever get too. The boy may not want to talk about it.
“Hybrids are not kept just for sex, precious.” Namjoon says, his voice gentle. “You are a companion, and people get hybrids because they need a companion, someone to spoil and love, or sometimes because they’re lonely.”
“Are you...lonely then, sir?” the bunny asks innocently, his head tilted to the side, and the six men can’t keep from laughing at his cuteness.
“As you can see, darling, we’re not really that lonely. But we’d love to have you as our companion, and to spoil you and spend time with you.” Jimin gives the bunny a big smile, swallowing back a coo when the hybrid’s ears twitch happily.
“So no playtime?” Jeongguk asks, and the men understand that his view of the word ‘playtime’ is completely different from theirs, so Namjoon makes sure to clarify that when replying.
“No intimate playtime, precious. Not now, and not without your consent, okay? If there’s something we do or say that you don’t like, you tell us, yeah? And the same will go for us.” he explains slowly, making sure that the bunny’s attention is on him completely. From what Namjoon knows about bunny hybrids, they are pretty active and can lose focus very quickly, so he had to make sure that at least for that, the bunny gives him every bit of attention.
“Okay…” the bunny nods, still a little bit confused. There are so many things happening in such a short time that he gets overwhelmed, but he tries his best to focus and not miss anything that is spoken around him. But as time passes, it gets harder and harder, and his eyes are droopy and ears floppy on his head, shoulders relaxed. The atmosphere in the living room is now a lot more welcoming and a lot less tense than it was at the beginning, which allows the bunny to feel more comfortable and relaxed now, surrounded by warmth and faint perfume scents.
The bunny is extremely sensitive to any strong scents so he feels relieved that none of the six men are wearing strong perfumes. And only when the bun looks at them one by one, he realizes that he doesn’t know them at all. Not even their names.
“Uhm...sirs?” the boy interrupts their not really important conversation, and all six men freeze for a second before bursting out in giggles at the name he called them.
Jimin laughs besides him and turns to look at him. “You can call us hyung, darling. I guess we’re all older than you.”
The bunny hums and nods quickly in understanding. “I am not really sure how old I am...owner said that age is not important, but the body is.” he explains, and scrunches up his nose in displeasure at the mention of his old owner, who now is possibly dead. Jeongguk doesn’t know for sure, but by the way the cat-eyed man dragged him out, he thinks he could be.
Jimin takes a deep breath before nodding slowly. “That’s okay darling, we’ll take care of all that tomorrow. Now, did you want to ask us something?”
At his question, the bunny immediately remembers what his main question is, and nods rapidly. “Your names...don’t know them.”
And only at his words to the men remember that in fact, none of them introduced themselves to the bunny, being so focused on the whole taking in thing, that they forgot the most important things.
“Oh God, we really forgot to introduce ourselves,” Taehyung groans embarrassed, rubbing his face with his hands. “I’m Kim Taehyung,” he adds. “I’m twenty four.”
“I’m Jung Hoseok,” the man next to him adds. “Twenty five.”
Jeongguk nods and mumbles their names under his breath, till the next person speaks. “Kim Seokjin, I’m the oldest.” the handsome man says. “I’m twenty seven.”
“Park Jimin, and I’m twenty four.” the man next to him says, to which Jeongguk nods. Jimin is the only one whose name he knew.
“Kim Namjoon,” the tall man from the Casino says. “I’m twenty five, same as Seokie.” he says, and tilts his head towards the red head. The bun hums and nods shortly. “He’s Min Yoongi, he’s twenty six.” he adds then, pointing at the man in his lap who’s now waving at the bunny.
Jeongguk recognizes him as the man with cat eyes that has probably killed his owner and that doesn’t talk. The bunny waves back at him slowly, a little bit confused but too shy to ask why the man doesn’t talk. He for sure is not deaf, but seems to be mute. Was he born mute? Or did he have an accident? Should Jeongguk use sign language with him or can he freely talk? He still knows the basics of sign language so it wouldn’t be too hard for him to do that, but he’d want to know what the man is more comfortable with.
As if reading his mind, Jimin clears things out from next to him. “Yoongi is selective mute, so he has no problem hearing you. You can talk freely to him, and you can ask one of us to translate sign language if there’s anything. We could also teach you a little bit of sign language if you want, so it would be easier for you.” he suggests, to which the bunny shakes his head slowly.
“I know a little bit of sign language,” he says softly, looking at Jimin. “I forgot some of it, but I know the basics of a conversation really well.” he explains, to which the boys raise their eyebrows in surprise.
“That’s amazing, darling.” Jimin says with a smile, to which the bunny slightly blushes and ducks his head. He likes being praised, and it’s been a long time since someone said nice words to him.
Jeongguk startles a little when Jimin nudges his leg and looks up at the man with wide eyes, but then quickly looks back at Yoongi when Jimin points towards him. He wants to talk to Jeongguk.
'How did you learn sign language? Yoongi signs, and Jeongguk has no problem in understanding him. The bun looks at his hands, then thinks for a second as if trying to remember how to sign properly, then tries to reply the best he can.
‘An old friend was deaf.’ he signs slowly, wanting to make sure everything is okay. He figures the rest of the men also know sign language since they live with Yoongi, so he doesn’t bother to also speak. ‘He taught me, but then he was adopted. Haven’t seen him in many years.’ he tells the short-short story, not wanting to bring back sad memories just now. He doesn’t think he’s ready for them.
The six men nod all along at him, all eyes on his and Yoongi’s hands. The cat eyed man has nice hands, Jeongguk realizes. They’re pale but big and veiny, and it’s easy to say that Jeongguk is...impressed, and amazed. He always had a thing for pretty hands, especially ones cradled in silver rings, just like the five of them have, all except for Seokjin, who only hands one on his middle finger.
And they all have really pretty hands, different but so beautiful, and the bunny finds himself so amazed with their hands, that he almost misses when Yoongi starts signing again. ‘You’re very good at sign language,’ he signs slowly. ‘You’re doing a great job at it, and you’re quick to understand it too,’ he continues, and Jeongguk’s cheeks grow hotter under the attention of six pairs of eyes. The bunny wants to sign back, but quickly realizes that he doesn’t know how to properly sign what he wants to say, so he just drops his hands in his lap and twitches his ears.
“Thank you,” he mumbles, looking everywhere else but at the six men. They’re all a little bit...intimidating. “I’ve been practicing alone when I could, in case I’d ever meet my friend again, so I wouldn’t forget it. But it’s hard when there’s no one to practice with, and Owner wouldn’t even let me bring it up, or else I’d be punished.” he explains, fidgeting with his fingers quickly. He doesn’t really know why he’s being so open to some strangers, from all he knows they could kill him in the next second, but they give this comforting feeling...of warmth and safety, that Jeongguk has been craving for a very long time.
“You can now practice with us, if you want. So that when you’ll meet your friend again, you’ll be fluent!” Seokjin suggests, and the bunny can’t help but give him a small smile. He appreciates that the man used when instead of if, and nods cutely.
“Thank you, hyung.” he mumbles softly, before hiding a yawn with his hand. His ears straighten up when he yawns, big and sturdy, twitching cutely before flopping right back down when he stops yawning. He barely even notices that all six pairs of eyes are on him, or more accurately, on his ears.
Jeongguk never liked his ears in particular, or his small tail. His owner never really took care of them or let him do it himself, so the fur is tangled and a little bit dirty, even sticky in some places, traces from how the owner used to spend his days with him. And his tail is in no better state either, if not even worse. He always tried to wash it really well when showering, but hybrid’s fur needs a special kind of shampoo, one that Jeongguk’s owner never got for him, so now his tail fur is all tangled and weak and sick looking. Jeongguk really doesn’t like it.
“Your ears are so long and pretty!” Hoseok is the first one to exclaim, clapping his hands excitedly and eyeing the bunny’s ears shamelessly, the other men joining in praising the bun’s ears soon enough.
“Thank you?” Jeongguk replies more like a question than an actual answer, but no one minds. “The fur is a little...tangled and messy right now so they don’t look their best, but thank you.”
“You can take a bath tomorrow, and you can wash your ears and untangle them then.” Namjoon says, to which the bun nods with a little hesitation that doesn’t go unnoticed by the six men.
“Is there a problem, darling?” Jimin asks softly, scotting a little bit closer to the bunny, who seems to be getting sleepier as seconds pass by.
Jeongguk shakes his head quickly at that. “No, no, no problem. It’s just…” the bunny refrains himself from finishing his sentence. He doesn’t want to bother his hyungs more than he already had, or to seem ungrateful for their kindness, and asking for more than they are already willing to give him is not something Jeongguk likes to do.
“What is it, bun? You can tell us, yeah? No one will judge or laugh or anything like that.” Taehyung says, and his voice is so low and soothing that Jeongguk thinks he’d love to have Taehyung’s voice lule him to sleep sometimes.
The bunny yawns once again before replying in a small voice. “S’just that...bunny’s fur needs a special shampoo and conditioner...to keep it healthy and help it to untangle. But Owner never bought one, that’s why my fur is so messy right now.” he explains.
They all hum and nod in understanding. “That’s alright then, we can go shopping tomorrow and you can choose whichever shampoo and conditioner you like, yeah?” Namjoon suggests, earning a surprised gasp from Jeongguk.
“Really?” he asks, his eyes now wide awake and shining happily, a thing that makes the men’s hearts clench. The bun is so precious and perfect, that they’re all already smitten for him.
“Really, darling. We’ll get you everything you need tomorrow, okay? Clothes, toiletries, decorations, anything you want, you name it.” Jimin smiles, and then stands up slowly while checking his watch. “We should head to bed now, it’s almost 3 a.m.”
“Good idea,” Hoseok replies, and stands up with a hand around Taehyung’s waist. “I’ll cuddle Taehyungie tonight, called it first.” the man says before pressing a gentle kiss on Taehyung’s forehead, a gesture which makes the other man smile and kiss him back on the cheek.
“I’ll take hyung to bed, then.” Namjoon says while standing up with Yoongi curled up in his arms, already half asleep. “I’ll go with them.” Seokjin adds.
“Guess then it’ll be just me and the bunny.” Jimin says and smiles brightly at the bunny, who only nods slowly at his words. He’s a bit wary of going into a room alone with a not that of a stranger anymore, but he sucks it up and goes anyway.
After saying their goodnights, everyone goes into their rooms — leaving the talk about Jeongguk’s future room for another day — while Jeongguk follows Jimin into a room so big that Jeongguk thinks he just stepped into an apartment. The bed is huge and there is a plush carpet on the floor along with a giant television in the corner of the room. The window is almost as big as the wall, and there’s a big desk in front of it with a black leather chair right in front. There are also two other doors, one on each side of the room, that Jeongguk can’t even imagine what they’re for. One could possibly be the bathroom...but the other one? Another room? Or maybe some sort of playroom?
“You can sit down on the bed,” says Jimin as he walks towards the door that Jeongguk’s curious about. “I hope you’re comfortable here. We have yet to prepare a room for you, cause we didn’t really expect to get a bunny so soon.”
Jeongguk doesn’t really know how to respond. He looks at the bed again and thinks for a little, before sitting on the floor at the end of the bed, just like his owner taught him, trying his best not to fall asleep even though his eyelids feel heavy and his mind is all fuzzy. He’s too nervous and scared to sleep. He hears soft footsteps coming closer towards him. When he opens his eyes, Jimin is standing right next to him, looking down at him with a small smile.
“Want to take a shower now or tomorrow?” he asks, and Jeongguk feels himself flush slightly. This is the first time someone asked for what he wants to do and is so considerate of his needs, that Jeongguk almost finds himself tearing up.
“Tomorrow…” he whispers, hoping that his answer is good enough. And it seems to be, when Jimin keeps smiling at him.
“Okay then, let’s get you some clothes to sleep in and get to bed, yeah?” he says, extending his arm in front of him for Jeongguk to take.
The bunny looks warily as he stares at his hand for a while, as if weighting his options, but he eventually puts his hand into Jimin’s, and stands up slowly with his help. His owner never let him sleep in anything else but panties, so he doesn’t really know what clothes he’s supposed to expect from the man, but clearly not a pair of sweatpants and a large t-shirt.
“The shirt is Namjoon’s, but I’m sure he won’t mind. And the pants are Taehyungie’s, so I hope they’ll fit you well enough.” he says, and hands the clothes to Jeongguk, who takes them with shaky hands. The clothes feel soft and comfortable, and the bunny can’t wait to wear them in hopes that it’ll keep him warm on this cold night.
“There’s the bathroom, you can go change in there if you want, or change in here. Anything works.” Jimin adds, pointing at a white door, and Jeongguk only takes a few seconds before starting to walk slowly towards the bathroom. He wants to wash his face and take his time and maybe a few seconds for himself alone.
Back in the room, Jimin sighs as soon as the bathroom door closes behind Jeongguk. He’s absolutely exhausted, and he wants nothing more than to sleep for a week straight, and wake up in a world where everything is pink and rainbows. And sadly, he knows that’s not possible, but he still wants to.
He quickly changes into some loose pants and a hoodie, because he’s always cold, especially in the winter, and gets in bed. His head feels heavy, half because of the migraine he has and half because it’s too full with so many thoughts. So many things happened today that he feels a little bit overwhelmed, but he knows he can’t afford this right now. He has a bunny to care for and help feel safe. He can’t even imagine what’s going on through Jeongguk’s head at times like this.
Jimin’s pulled back to present when the bathroom door opens, and the bunny steps out quietly, his old clothes neatly folded in his hands, looking at Jimin with big eyes.
The older man understands before the bunny even asks. “You can put them on the desk right there, we’ll get you some new clothes tomorrow, okay?”
Jeongguk nods at his words, still standing in front of the bathroom door, fidgeting with his fingers as he looks around on the floor. There’s no blanket there for him to sleep, which confuses him a little, but he’s too shy to ask. He can just sleep on the floor, it wouldn’t be the first time anyways, but Jimin seems to have other plans for him.
“Come on, darling. Let’s get some sleep, yeah?” he says as he pats the empty spot next to him, earning a confused look from the bunny. Is Jimin inviting him to sleep on the bed? With him?
“But...pets sleep on the floor?” the bunny replies, his voice small and merely above a whisper.
And at his answer, Jimin understands that there are some things that need to be cleared right now, so he gets off the bed, and steps closer to the bunny, which starts to shake, scared. He didn’t want to upset Jimin, he really didn’t, and he hopes the man won’t punish him too badly for replying back to him.
“Jeongguk,” Jimin says in a gentle tone, stepping one foot away from the bunny whose head is ducked down. “Look at me, darling.” The bunny complies immediately, not wanting to upset the older even more. He knew he should’ve kept his mouth shut.
“Hey,” Jimin murmurs. “I’m not mad, darling, please don’t be scared.” he adds, trying his best to keep his voice soft and his eyes gentle. The bunny is a little taller than him, so Jimin has to look up to see his face clearly, and his heart clenches when the bunny visibly relaxes at his words.
“Not mad?”
“Not mad,” Jimin assures him with a small smile. “Just wanted to clear some things up. I want you to try and forget whatever your owner has taught you about hybrids, and what you should do or shouldn’t, okay?”
When the bunny blinks at him confused, he continues, trying his best to choose his words carefully. “Your owner was not a good man, darling. He didn’t treat you properly or took care of you. Hybrids are not supposed to be kept on collars, to wear so little clothes, to sleep on the floor or whatever he has taught you. Hybrids and humans are equal. You get to sleep in a bed, to wear proper clothes, and you get to decide what happens with your life and with your body, so please, even though it seems hard, try to forget what your owner has taught you.”
His words take a little bit to sink into Jeongguk’s mind, but when they do, the bunny can only give a small nod, still trying to process everything. Forget everything his owner has taught him? That seems to be a hard thing to do, and Jeongguk is not sure he’ll be able to do it, but he’ll try his best. And the humans equal with hybrids part..that seems surreal. He has never thought that it would be possible, since his whole life he grew up being taught that hybrids are the same with pets. Should be treated like nothing else but mere pets solely used for people’s pleasure.
“I know that it’s a lot to ask, and that it seems hard, but I promise it’ll get easier and easier, okay? Now let’s get some sleep, we’ll have enough time tomorrow to talk more, yeah?” Jimin says, extending his hand for Jeongguk to hold.
The bunny just nods again before placing his hand into Jimin’s, smiling internally at how small the man’s hand is and how warm. Jeongguk really likes it. Jimin slowly pulls him towards the bed, before turning at the boy.
“C’mon, lay down and I’ll tuck you in. If you’re not comfortable with me sleeping with you, I can sleep on the floor or go sleep with hyungs.” he suggests, as Jeongguk slowly sits down on the bed, trying his best not to gasp at how comfortable the bed is. It feels like a cloud.
“S’okay,” Jeongguk whispers. “I don’t mind it, really. M’just grateful to sleep on the bed.” he says, and Jimin’s heart hurts once again. He doesn’t think it’ll ever get easier to hear about what the poor bun must’ve been through.
“You’re so precious, darling.” Jimin whispers, before grabbing the blanket and draping it over Jeongguk’s body, tucking the boy in. “I can’t wait to spoil you rotten,” he says. “And I’m sure the hyungs can’t wait either.”
Jeongguk blushes faintly at the statement, using the blanket to hide his rosy cheeks as Jimin giggles and circles the bed to finally lay down. “Thank you, hyung.” the bunny whispers, his voice barely audible, words muffled by the blanket, but Jimin hears him nonetheless.
“You’re welcome, sweetheart. Now get some sleep, okay? I’m sure you must be tired.”
The bunny nods at his words, and stifles a yawn with the blanket. He really is tired, so so tired of everything. “Good night, hyung.” he murmurs, before finally allowing his eyes to close and his body to relax under the warm blanket.
“Good night, darling.” Jimin replies, and it only takes him a few minutes to fall into a deep slumber, lulled by Jeongguk’s quiet breaths.