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Who have the same dream like us. Shout out all you want, sing pop, rock or dance. And dance the night away. We'll be kids forever.
Kidz Zone, Zerobaseone
First thing that Gunwook noticed as he opened the door was the noise level of the apartment. He sighed. It was a miracle they hadn’t received a noise complaint yet. Next, it was who was making said noise and what they were doing in the apartment. He could see a clear bubble around each person, leaving the occupants mostly oblivious to their surroundings.
Resident couple, Sung Hanbin and Zhang Hao, were arguing on the sofa. “Something something Scent something something Heterophobe..”
Next, and probably most normal, was Han Yujin. Yujin just sat on the loveseat beside the couple, watching with mild interest as Hao threatened Hanbin with a raised fist and wide, challenging, eyes. Gyuvin draped himself across the back of the chair, insistently poking Yujin’s cheek, whining about the lack of attention.
Then there was Seok Matthew, Mr. Wizard on the Block, as he loves to put it. Matthew looked to be attempting to cook for the group today. Judging by the purple hue enveloping the pot, Gunwook wasn't sure he wanted to try it. Beside him stood Kim Jiwoong, who was attempting to stop Matthew from testing spells on the food. It seems Sir Howl had taught Matthew another “recipe.”
Just sitting at the counter, listening to this argument, was Kim Taerae. Taerae had his phone out, fingers typing on the screen. If Gunwook’s hearing was correct, he seemed to be ordering food, muttering about how at this point, they wouldn’t be eating anytime soon. Ricky, lying besides Taerae’s arm in his cat form, motioned his agreement, waving his tail ever so slightly over the table ledge.
With a sigh, Gunwook shut the door behind himself, hanging his coat on the rack beside the door, and taking the other empty seat beside the sofa. Gyuvin had noticed his arrival, waving enthusiastically before returning back to bothering Yujin. The TV displayed a random K-Drama OST playlist that Hao must’ve turned on. Gunwook let himself relax, embracing the chaos around him.
“Matthew-yah, we can’t risk one of us dying just because he said that it would “cancel” the effects on specific creatures!” Jiwoong desperately explains, which he probably has been arguing for a while at this point.
“Do you not believe in Howl-Sunbaenim??”
“No– It’s– Matthew. If that were the case, wouldn't it have been used before? Wouldn’t it have been public information?”
“It’s because he trusts me!” Matthew defends.
“Or is it–” Jiwoong gets cut off when Matthew turns away, trying to continue his spell.
“Ricky, should I get chicken or beef?” Taerae asks the Ragdoll cat in front of him.
Meow, Ricky lazily glances up at the man in front of him.
“Right. Beef it is.. Actually I’ll just order all the meat options.” Taerae nods as he clicks on a few options and then pulls up the payment page.
“Is it alright if I use your card? I forgot mine at home.” Taerae looks over to the cat. He decides to not react to his own blatant lie, trying to ignore the obvious that he is in fact at home.
The cat glances at Taerae before standing up, stretching, and with a poof of smoke, leans over the phone, pupils narrowing into vertical slits.
“...Huh, not as much as I would’ve thought this much meat would cost.” Ricky states, the numbers ₩910,000 in bold at the bottom. “Yeah, go for it.”
“... Yeah. Yeah okay.”
“Yujin-ssi… Yujin-ah… Yujin–'' Gyuvin poked his finger into the soft of Yujin’s left cheek.
“Hyung, do you ever wonder what would happen if Hao-Hyung and Hanbin-Hyung broke up?” Yujin suddenly asks.
Gyuvin stops what he was doing and sits up, mouth agape at the question as he looks at Yujin with wide eyes.
“Yujin, my son, do not bring that kind of thought into fruition. Do not think of it in general, actually.” Gyuvin shakes his head dramatically, going into a full-body shiver as if the idea alone brought him chills.
“Why?”
“Yujin-ah, if Hao-Hyung and Hanbin-Hyung broke up, not only would I stop believing in love, but I think the world would end. Like, that’s how strong their love is. It would be the means of our collective extinction if they were to end it… Now, why do you ask?” Gyuvin asks, now wondering what brought this up.
“Look.” Yujin says simply, as if what he is pointing at is justification enough.
Gunwook, now caught up to what Yujin said, follows his hand and finds his eyes on the couple in question.
“Honey, I told you! I’m a known heterophobe. I didn’t have my past embarrassingly disclosed for you not to believe me!” Hao huffed, glaring at Hanbin.
Vaguely, Gunwook wonders how long this argument has been going on.
“Hyung!” Hanbin whines, lips pouting as he argues back, “I’m sorry, but you smell just like she does!”
“I’m her teacher!” Hao drags out, “I’m in an enclosed space with her for an hour every other day!”
Hanbin gasps, “So this has been happening on other days??”
Gunwook cannot believe this is a real argument, and that his Hanbin-Hyung, his cool Hanbin-Hyung, is acting like this. By the looks of it, Yujin and Gyuvin both feel the same.
“Hanbin-ah, you are acting ridiculous. You do not see me complaining when those girls drape themselves all over you when we visit the pack!” Hao’s face is beginning to turn red, a sign that he is getting frustrated.
“I’m their next pack leader! They are just showing respect–”
“They were scenting you! In front of me, who scented you prior to us even walking into the territory!”
“You wouldn’t understand Hyung–”
Suddenly, a surprise for no one except Hanbin, Hao blows.
“I wouldn’t understand?! Hanbin. I am older than you are, and you are not my first lover. I have been around werewolves before, and I know animal behavior. Goddamnit Bin, I was a literal fox for a hundred years! I understand their behavior very well. Do not attempt to justify it.” Hao takes a deep breath, running his fingers through his red hair.
Something in Hao’s rant had ticked Hanbin off. Now, one would think it was the fact that Hao was essentially targeting the wolf pack, but it very well could be the idea of Zhang Hao having relationships prior to Hanbin that did it.
What happens next surprises everyone to the point that silence envelops the apartment for the first time, as far as anyone could remember.
Sung Hanbin growled at Zhang Hao.
Mr. Simpiest Werewolf within a 50 mile radius, jealous at anything, possessive of his fox, Sung Hanbin growled at Mr. Sweetest Nine-Tailed Fox except when he’s angry, equally possessive of his wolf, yet will not let bullshit slide by, Zhang Hao.
Hao’s jaw dropped slightly as he stared at Hanbin. With sharpened teeth, Hanbin’s eyes glowed a dangerous yellow color at Hao. By the time he figured out what he did, it was too late. Zhang Hao slid back away from Hanbin with a predatory stance, as if challenging him. Pupils now narrowed into slits, they glow in an orange tint.
“You didn’t just do that. Not to me, that is, Sung Hanbin.” Hao narrows his eyes at the man in front of him.
Gunwook thought he heard a "Fuck. Government name.." from someone but honestly he couldn't find himself to look away from the scene in front of him.
Hanbin’s eyes had returned to their warm brown, but all color in his face disappeared. His lips parted, but no sound exited. With this, Zhang Hao seemed to develop an eerie aura around him, his features seeming to become more alluring and yet everyone felt their senses warning them of danger.
Jiwoong seemed to break out of this trance first. His back straightened as he barked out, “Alright! Taerae, I heard you ordered food? How about we go pick it up. Wouldn’t want the poor delivery guy to be trekking in such terrible weather.”
This caused a ripple effect, everyone gathering their things in a hurry, grabbing a coat and scrambling out the door.
Jiwoong wasn’t kidding about the terrible weather. The seven of them were practically hiking through at least a foot of snow.
“Hyung, thank you for getting us out of there but did we have to actually walk through the snow? We could’ve just gotten Matthew-Hyung to teleport us to the place.” Gyuvin groaned, tripping over himself for the fifth time since their journey had started.
“You do realize the snow should be melting just by being in proximity to you, right?” Gunwook pointed out, seeing the realization hit Gyuvin in real time.
With Gyuvin now allowing his body to radiate an appropriate amount of heat without burning the ground he walked on, he continued walking comfortably. Ricky had transformed into his cat form once again, his light steps allowing him to walk across the snow with no issue. Gunwook glared at him in envy, but alas, a wolf would not be a normal sight in the middle of the city, and he doubted he could pass for a giant dog. Yujin radiated a slight glow that allowed for some visibility but not enough to benefit anyone but himself, and Taerae used his powers to push the snow out of the way. Why would he not do it for the rest? They didn’t bother asking.
Matthew and Jiwoong stood side by side, behind the group. As subtle as he could, Matthew used his magic to create patterns in the snow as they walked. Jiwoong watched with a small smile as he continued to watch ahead.
It took a good amount of time before they arrived at the restaurant. Taerae, as the name on the order, walked up to the counter.
“Hello, um, I ordered for delivery but I was hoping to catch it before you guys left so you wouldn’t have to deal with the weather.” Despite his shivering, he gave a bright smile as he talked to the lady at the counter.
After providing his name, she glanced back at him, a sad look in her eyes.
“I’m sorry dear, but the food is already on its way to your house. Thank you for trying to help though.” she gave an apologetic smile.
Taerae sighed but turned around and walked back to the other six boys, who all stood by the heater in the corner.
“Hey! Where's the food?” Yujin asked, taking note of Taerae’s empty hands.
“Already on its way to the apartment. We gotta head back.” Taerae responded, resulting in a huff by a very tired Gyuvin and a hungry Gunwook. Ricky rolled his eyes but nodded as if accepting their predicament.
Luckily for them, Jiwoong had also had enough of the walk and dragged them to a dark alley where he asked Matthew to teleport them back into the apartment. It seemed all of them had remembered as to why they had left in the first place, as the moment they felt the carpet below their feet, they had all shut their eyes in hopes that they wouldn’t see anything unwanted.
“You guys look ridiculous.” they heard first.
Opening their eyes, they saw Sung Hanbin and Zhang Hao sitting in the dining room, already eating their food. They looked fine, honestly happier than they were when they first entered the apartment just earlier that day.
"We threw out that weird concoction Matthew had made, sorry Maechu, and got the table prepared. Come on, let's eat." Hao gestured to the empty plates.
Ignoring any caution he should’ve felt, Yujin excitedly skips over to the table, already taking off his jacket and shoes. His eyes shine at the sight of the food and immediately sits down beside Hanbin.
Taking this as a sign, they all follow his example and gather around the table, carrying food onto their respective plates and digging in.
Midway through their meal, Yujin spots something that causes them all to freeze.
“Hyung, what’s that below your collar?”
Hanbin’s freezes, eyes widening as he slowly drags his eyes to Yujin who had pointed just above the neckline of his white tee. He then makes eye contact with each person at the table, stopping at Hao and then his face goes red. On the surface, Hao seemed to be nonchalant about the whole scene except for if you focused on his hands, hands which are clearly tightening around his utensils.
“Nothing, Yujin-ah,” Hao responds, voice unwavering, “Hanbin had just run into something while we were preparing the table for when you all got back.”
“But it looks like–”
“Yujin, would you like to come with me later and practice healing magic again? I think Hanbin-ah would appreciate you healing him up since you are so concerned.” Hao proposes, looking at Yujin who had immediately brightened up.
The boy nods enthusiastically before going back to eating. Ricky clears his throat before going back to his plate as well, followed by the others. No one catches it but Hao finds Hanbin’s eye and glares, kicking him below the table. Hanbin silently yelps but tries to convey his apologies through his infamous puppy eyes. Hao rolls his eyes but with a small smile, nods back, causing Hanbin to glow and smile throughout the rest of their meal.
The rest of the night, the boys cleaned up and then split up to do whatever it was that they desired. Ricky and Gyuvin playfully argue over a movie in the living room, which ends up with Matthew playing Howl’s Moving Castle claiming, “It’s a documentary!” which no one believes. Taerae and Jiwoong are discussing recent music that has been released, and Gunwook comments something about a song that throws both of them into a fit. For them, the night ends as it does time and time again.
It’s the only sense of normal they have, the only they can afford to have. With nine supernatural creatures living under the same roof, all with a past, they find comfort in one another. Their own little family.
EXTRA SCENE
Yujin had followed Hao and Hanbin into their shared room and sat on the bed, waiting for his time with Hao. The couple had discussed something in whispers as the trio made their journey and have seemed to just come to a conclusion.
“Alright Yujinnie,” Hao claps his hands together, smiling at the younger boy, “Do you remember what I taught you last time?”
“Yes, Hyung!” the boy responds.
Hao requests for Hanbin to strip off his shirt before looking back towards Yujin, and with a small nod, encourages the younger boy to begin.
“So I just… take a deep breath,” Yujin closes his eyes, pressing his hands to his stomach as a calming gesture, “and embrace nearby lifeforms.” Yujin opens his eyes, both of which now carry a blue gleam to them.
Hao, who watches Yujin with pride, nods as he readies for the next step. Hanbin watches as Hao grasps Yujin’s hands and guides them to the wolf’s bare shoulders. Hanbin feels his hackles stand as the warmth of Yujin’s magic runs through him. Within minutes, the bruises previously decorated Hanbin’s pale skin had disappeared, leaving him almost sparkling.
“Yujin-ah, you did it.” Hao softly praises.
Hanbin shivers as Yujin removes contact as watches, admiring the young boy. Hao seems to notice Hanbin’s amazement as he covers his mouth and giggles.
“Yujin has been practicing magic with me recently. He is a very fast learner, faster than I was at his age.” Yujin preens at the praising from Hao.
“You did wonderfully, Yujin-ah. Who knows, maybe you’ll be able to use your abilities without breaking a sweat soon.” Hanbin compliments, wiping the small beads of sweat from Yujin’s temple.
Just as the older men were about to continue their Yujin-appraisal, a voice called out from beyond the room.
“GYUVIN, I SWEAR IF YOU TOUCH ME AGAIN–”
Yujin jumps in surprise as Hao rubs his temple and proclaims, “I hate this house,” to which Hanbin laughs and grabs both of them, leading them back to the rest of their little family.