Chapter Text
Kemonomimi (獣の耳, けものみみ or ケモノミミ, lit. beast ears) describes humanoid characters that possess animal-like features.
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“Eomma? Appa? Eeeeooommmaaaaa!!! Apppaaaaaa!”
Trying to fight the waves that are crashing on top of him, Jimin is calling out for his parents, but it would be a miracle if they heard his screams, because all he can hear is the wind howling and the water sloshing in his ears. His eyes aren’t helping him much either, because every time he tries to open them, he is knocked down by another wave and with the amount of snow falling down, whenever he can see for a second, everything around him is white. He’s not sure how long he has been searching for his parents, it seems like hours, but it’s probably only a few minutes, but eventually his arms and legs grow tired and all he knows in this moment, he either has two options. Fight the cold, pain and tiredness in his limbs in order to survive or give in and let the Arctic Ocean swallow him up.
It’s the water that makes a choice for him, because before he can even close his eyes and give in or swim around, looking for a land, a bale of sea turtles shows up out of nowhere and allow for the younger to lean on top of a few of them while being carried to land.
He has no clue where he is or how long he has been carried by the sea creatures, but after a while he starts to feel warmer, the water looks less intimidating. Jimin even finds the water inviting and not in a negative way, but in a way where it starts to feel calm and soothing. He can move his legs to help the turtles out and while he’s always been a decent swimmer, he feels like his movements in the water are even faster and stronger than they were whenever he swam in swimming pools, rivers or ponds with his parents.
To his surprise, the turtles keep pulling and pushing him, helping him swim and stay above water every step of the way. Eventually, he sees the shore and right after crawling his way to safety, or at least far enough from the water not to drown, he collapses in the snow that feels surprisingly soft and not as freezing cold as he had expected it to be.
Jimin isn’t sure how long he has been asleep, where he is or exactly what happened to him, but all he can think of right now is that he needs to find his parents. Everything else he will deal with later, but if he’s alive, maybe his parents are too.
It’s when he gets up from the bed, that he realises he isn’t surrounded by snow anymore, that he isn’t wearing wet clothes and that he isn’t lying down near the ocean shore. He’s currently standing in a tent that looks very similar to what his parents taught him was called a tupiq. The tent is covered in animal skins, but in between there’s also leftovers from what seems are plastic bags. The bed is made from the same skins, rope and wood. If he weren’t this distraught about his parents gone missing, he would be very intrigued about the mechanics of it all.
Jimin has always been a curious kid and his parents did nothing but motivate him. He never attended, what people would call, a normal school, he gained his knowledge through the school of life. While his parents, who both worked as teachers before they had Jimin and in his first three years, did teach him math, Korean, English, history and every other subject he would learn at school, they would also teach him about all the different different cultures of the countries they would be visiting. Jimin would find people who could teach him how to cook local dishes, every religious building him and his parents would encounter, they would find all the information about it and visit each and every one of these holy buildings. Despite not being religious himself, he wanted to know why people believed, how religions started and why it was often used to explain both the good and bad actions of human kind.
He would also learn about the children’s games of that culture, the language, the way people greet each other, literally everything. It has shaped him into becoming the sweetest human being, or that is what everyone told his parents after spending some time with him. Whenever they were ready to visit a new place, the people they were leaving behind made them promise to come back to them.
Jimin was loved, by everyone in his life, so standing in this tupiq, he wanted to believe that the people who helped him survive would love him too. But what if they only loved him because his parents were actually the ones who were charming and perfect? What if, without his parents, he is a completely different person, someone not as good as everyone claims? And what if... The people who found him are not good people? He has always been lucky in life, everyone he has met before was kind to him, but not everyone is... What if these people kept him alive, simply to torture him or keep him as a slave? What if...
No. He shouldn’t think this negatively. His parents wouldn’t like that. They taught him to give everyone a chance, even a second chance and to never follow his first impression on someone. So that is what he will do, if he meets anyone. Stepping out of the tent, he hears the crunch of the snow underneath his feet, he smells the salt of the ocean water and he feels the wind dancing around him. He allows his heart to calm down a bit and focuses even more on the things he can feel, hear and see.
“Ehm, Hi. I don’t want to freak you out or anything, but are you aware that you are standing in the middle of a snow-filled clearing in just a t-shirt, shorts and no shoes on? You may be an otter hybrid, which is really cool by the way. I’ve never met one, but when you are in your mostly human form, you can still get frostbite or freeze to death if you aren’t careful. Oh, I’m Moon Hyunwoo, or Kemono Woo, by the way.”
In front of Jimin stands a boy, wrapped in a big coat, scarf, beanie, some warm looking winter boats made out of the same fur as the tents. He seems older than him, but not an adult yet. Another thing he notices about the boy is that he has a big, black nose, sharp nails on his hands and if he looks closely, his scarf isn’t a scarf, it’s light brown fur?
“Oh, yeah, I’m a Kodak bear hybrid, like most people here. You’ll also see sea turtle and whale hybrids, though, I’m not sure you’ll see them in their human form. Everyone here loves to stay in their animal body. I’m sure by now you can tell why.”
When the younger stays silent, Hyunwoo continues, “It’s easier to survive in this harsh weather with fur, thick skin or a house that follows you around. You must have noticed that, seeing as you are standing in the snow with barely any clothes on. Although, looking at your confused complexion, I doubt you have seen yourself and what you look like right now. Maybe, you can look at your feet and your arms.”
Holding up his arms, the younger sees that they are somewhat covered in a dense fur. He can still see his arms, but his arm hair is unusually long and dark. His feet and legs are undergoing the same faith and it’s such a weird sight that he hasn’t even noticed the nails on both his feet and hands.
“You also have small other ears poking out of your hair and your teeth seem much sharper than your human teeth, which is mostly a sign that you are hungry. My bear teeth also come out when I’m extremely hungry. It’s our body’s way of telling us to survive. How about, we go get some food, some warmer clothing for you and while we are eating, I’ll answer all of your questions. Sounds good?”
“I... But...”, Jimin is still too confused, too weirded out by everything, but he manages to point out towards the ocean, which is enough for Hyunwoo to catch up on what the boy is trying to say.
“Your parents? Yeah... We’ll help you with that too.”
Nodding towards a different tent, that is standing in the middle of the snow covered clearing, Hyunwoo starts walking, hoping that the new boy will follow him. When the otter hybrid stays put, clearly too overwhelmed about everything that is going on right now, the bear hybrid offers him his hand. Jimin can’t help but smile and runs towards the older boy, clinging onto his hand, and arm, anything to feel somewhat safe in this weird environment.
“I’m starting to see why your body thought the otter was the right animal for you.”, Hyunwoo chuckles, “It suits you by the way. Very adorable.”
All he gets in return is a shy smile, but for now that is more than enough for the Kodak bear.
“So, do you remember your name?”, Jimin nods, but stays quiet, “Do you mind sharing it? I don’t really want to refer to you as otter boy, you know. Though, it has a ring to it.”
“Oh, sorry. It’s Jimin. Park Jimin.”
“Ah, another Korean. I’m going to think the ocean only sends Asian people here.”, Seeing the younger tilt his head to the side, to indicate that he is confused by that sentence, Hyunwoo continues, “Most people here are at least partially Asian. I’m Korean American, we have a lot of Japanese Americans, a few Thai people joined us some years ago, we have an older Indian couple and we had three brothers from Bangladesh up until like, three months ago, if I’m not mistaken. But they decided to go back to their home country to see if they have some family there. Who knows, they might return one day and if they do, they are more than welcome. We also have some African Americans in our pack, there are French, Norwegian and Swiss people and about six months ago, some Canadians walked into our clearing. People come and go, we live our own lives here, even though we are a tight-knit pack, but the Asians always tend to stick together. That’s probably also because we are all Kodak bear hybrids. The African American people are all whale hybrids, orcas and humpback whales and our white people are funnily enough all turtle hybrids. I’m not sure how all of that came to pass, but we fit well together and that is what matters. As of today, we have our first otter boy. Also, while your name is and always will be Park Jimin, if you stay here for a while, you will also be given a pack name, to create unity, and to give you a sense of... Belonging. With that name, you know you will always have a home here. If you don’t mind, I have a suggestion for you. You can of course refuse it, but I was thinking, Kemono Mimi. Kemono, because we are the Kemono pack, Mimi as short for Jimin, or Min. Also, it’s as cute as you are.”
“Can I think about it? Because... All this... It’s a lot to take in and if I find my parents again... We might not stay here...”
A look of disappointment and sorrow flashes across Hyunwoo’s face, but he nods and quickly changes back to his happy self, “Of course, take your time.”