Chapter Text
“And that is why I think we would all benefit from adopting a hybrid,” Jimin finished with a flourish, clicking to the final slide in her presentation. “Any questions?”
“Yeah,” Aeri replied, raising a single well-manicured brow. “When did you even have time to make this? We literally just got home from the tour.”
“I have my ways,” Jimin said. “Any relevant questions?”
“I’m sold,” Ning chirped, beaming. “I was convinced by like the third slide, unnie.”
Jimin thought back through her presentation. “Ningie, the third slide was literally just a photo of a puppy hybrid. I hadn’t even made any points yet.”
Ning just shrugged. “It was a cute photo.”
Jimin smiled fondly. She had expected that Aeri would be the harder one anyways. She turned towards the woman in question, her eyes pleading.
Aeri’s arms remained crossed. “I think it’s a bad idea, Jiminie,” she said.
Jimin deflated. “But—but fluffy! And so cute! And they could come with us on schedules!”
Ningning nodded along enthusiastically, focusing the full power of her pout on their reluctant rapper. “C’mon, Aeri-unnie! Imagine how much more fun promotion weeks will be with a cute lil puppy napping on your lap! If you’re tired you can pet their soft little head, and we can bring them everywhere with us so you won’t have to miss them like if we got a puppy puppy.”
Jimin could see Aeri’s resolve wavering, unable to resist the charms of their maknae. She had a real soft spot for Ningning, one that the younger girl wasn’t shy about exploiting. Still, she managed to stay strong. “Yeah, but doesn’t it feel a little inhumane to thrust a hybrid into this life? The attention, the cameras, the travel. It just doesn’t seem fair.”
Jimin nodded. Those were all valid points, and ones she had considered. “If we go to a good adoption agency, we’ll be matched with a hybrid who suits our lifestyle and wouldn’t mind the attention. And puppies have no jobs, they would be able to nap or play or whatever while we are in rehearsals and stuff. If we don’t find a good fit, I’ll drop it. Promise, Aeri-yah.”
Aeri groaned, tossing her head back. “Ugh, fine. We can at least go meet some pups, I guess.”
Ningning and Jimin looked at each other and squealed in glee. Now the only challenge was to get their managers on board.
Jimin sighed, leaning back in her chair. She could feel the same disappointment that was curdling in her chest radiating off her members. They had met nearly every hybrid at the agency and though the puppies were so cute that it made her heart hurt, they had yet to find anyone that really clicked with them.
The social worker who ran the home re-entered the room, her face falling as she took in their expressions. “Not the one?” she asked quietly. When all three of them shook their heads, she bit her lip in contemplation. “I do have one other idea,” she ventured.
Jimin raised an eyebrow curiously. “We’re open to meeting anyone,” she answered, wondering what made this last hybrid so different from the others.
The woman nodded, relief clear on her face. “Just… give her a fair chance, okay? I know she seems super shy, but I actually think she would be a really good fit.” With that, she left the room again, presumably to get the girl in question.
“Well that was weird,” Ningning said, turning to look at her members. “None of the other pups we met came with a disclaimer.”
Aeri hummed in agreement. “Super weird.”
Jimin stayed silent. She had been so excited to go back home with a new friend, but that dream was starting to feel less and less realistic. She sighed, catching the attention of her best friends.
“Aw, Jiminie, it’s okay,” Aeri soothed, reaching out to lay a comforting hand on Jimin’s shoulder. “Maybe she’s the one! And if not, we can always try again later.”
“Yeah,” Ningning agreed, leaning to press her side against Jimin’s affectionately. “Don’t look so sad, Jimin-unnie.”
The affection from her girls thinned the rainclouds Jimin had felt gathering over her. “Thanks, guys,” she mumbled. “I was just really hoping it would work out right away, I guess.”
Aeri opened her mouth to reply, but before she could, the door opened again and the social worker re-entered. But this time, she wasn’t alone. Following behind her was the cutest girl that Jimin had ever seen, and considering the current record holder was Ning, that was saying something.
She was tiny, with a bleach-blonde bob and a face so perfect that it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see her as part of an idol group. Jimin stared at her huge brown boba eyes and her fluffy mochi cheeks and she was smitten instantly.
It wasn’t until she heard Ningning let out a surprised oh that she processed the reason the social worker had seemed so hesitant.
Minjeong was not, in fact, a puppy hybrid. She was an arctic fox hybrid, rounded white ears peeking out of her hair and a bushy tail waving behind her.
Non-domestic hybrids were uncommon compared to the traditional catgirls and puppygirls, but that wasn’t the only reason Jimin was given pause. Non-domestics had… a spotty reputation at best. They were considered prone to misbehavior, anti-social, and all around difficult to deal with. It was no wonder that the worker had been so worried that they would reject her right off the bat.
Jimin glanced at her members and saw that they seemed similarly skeptical. A pang of guilt coursed through her at how they all seemed to be writing the girl off right away. “C’mon, guys, let’s give her a chance, okay?” she whispered. Aeri and Ning exchanged another look before both nodding and they all stood to greet the approaching girl.
The social worker reached their table and gently ushered the tiny hybrid to stand in front of her. “Introduce yourself, Jeongie,” she prompted quietly.
The fox hybrid bowed formally, her eyes remaining downcast. “My name is Kim Minjeong. It’s nice to meet you.”
Jimin melted. Minjeong’s voice was high and soft, so cute it made her want to squeal. Instead she returned the bow, feeling Aeri and Ning doing the same next to her.
Minjeong let out a tiny gasp, probably surprised that they were greeting her as an equal, but something that they had all agreed on when this whole thing had begun was that though adopting a hybrid blurred the lines between having a pet and having a friend, they would respect her as a peer, not a belonging.
After a moment they all settled back into their seats, the social worker encouraging Minjeong to do the same. But when the woman turned to leave, to give them a chance to get to know each other, Minjeong let out a panicked noise, grabbing her hand desperately. “Unnie,” she whimpered. “You’re leaving?”
The social worker patted her head comfortingly, scratching between her ears. “You’ll be okay, Jeongie, they’re nice. I promise.”
Minjeong looked skeptical, but she released the woman’s hand nonetheless, hesitantly turning to face the three humans who might become her new family.
Jimin cleared her throat to catch Minjeong’s attention. “I’m Yu Jimin,” she introduced quietly, trying to temper her enthusiasm so she didn’t overwhelm the little fox in front of them. But her efforts were in vain, because at the sound of her voice, Minjeong’s head shot up as she finally looked at them properly.
Jimin could see the exact moment she processed who they were by how her face paled and she glanced towards the door. But after a moment, she took a deep breath and looked back, gathering her courage.
“It’s nice to meet you, Jimin-ssi,” Minjeong said softly. She made no mention of aespa then or when Aeri and Ning introduced themselves, even though she obviously knew. That was a point in her favor to Jimin, since it seemed like the girl wanted to actually get to know them rather than relying on what she already knew about them.
“So what do you like to do for fun, Minjeong-ssi?” Aeri asked, ducking her head a little to make eye contact with the shy girl.
Minjeong cleared her throat, shifting. “Um, I like to—to sing,” she admitted. “Which is kind of embarrassing to admit to you, of all people. And also dance. I’ve done, um, dance covers of a lot of your songs for fun, actually.” She trailed off, looking humiliated by her own confession.
“Ah, that’s not embarrassing, Minjeong-ssi!” Ningning said with a grin, radiating warmth like she always did. She had an incredible ability to set people at ease. “Maybe we can dance together sometime!”
Minjeong’s eyes widened. “I… would like that,” she replied, flushing even further. “None of the hybrids here will do it with me.” She pouted at the floor a little.
“Their loss. Do you have any other hobbies, Minjeong-ssi?” Jimin prompted, smiling encouragingly when the fox peered up at her from under her eyelashes.
“I like going on walks,” Minjeong offered. “And I like watching anime, and YouTube and stuff.”
Jimin and Aeri both lit up, immediately asking about what animes she had watched and which were her favorites. It was no time at all before Minjeong let down her guard, chattering to them happily, first about anime and then about anything and everything.
She was smart, Jimin learned, and incredibly dedicated to whatever she did, whether it was her studies, or her dancing, or even just the Lego sets she apparently liked to build sometimes. She was a perfectionist, she loved snacks and sweets, and she was from Yangsan, which explained her adorable satoori.
It felt like it had only been a few minutes when the social worker knocked on the door. Jimin called for her to come in, catching how Minjeong’s ears flattened in upset when she did so. That was odd. The fox had seemed very fond of the woman earlier.
“How did it go?” the worker asked anxiously, her eyes flitting between all of them before landing on Minjeong.
Surprisingly, it was Aeri who spoke first. “Super well,” the rapper replied, smiling at the hybrid across the table from them. “Minjeong-ssi is a delight.”
A thump echoed through the room as Minjeong’s tail wagged hard against the wood, and the social worker’s relief was palpable. “Incredible,” the woman said, beaming. “Let me speak to Jeongie and then I’ll be back.”
Minjeong let out a bereft little sound, standing up reluctantly. She bowed to them once more. “It was nice to meet you. Thanks for being so nice to me,” she mumbled, ears flat and tail low.
They said their goodbyes, Minjeong’s despair only becoming more and more visible until she left with the worker.
Immediately, Jimin turned to look at her members. “I want her,” she said firmly. “She’s perfect.”
Ning nodded in agreement, practically wiggling in her seat with excitement. “She’s so cute, oh my god. And she likes music and dance, so she’d probably like going to rehearsals and concerts and stuff.”
Aeri bit her lip contemplatively. “I agree. But… it’s gonna be a bit hard with her being a non-domestic. People will be mean about it.”
Ningning rolled her eyes. “Fuck them,” she responded, crossing her arms. “People will always find things to be mean about. Who cares what they think?”
Jimin paused, forcing herself to stop thinking about the cute little mole beneath Minjeong’s eye and start thinking about the potential consequences of taking her home with them. “People will be pissed,” she muttered, “but more than that… the company.”
Ning and Aeri both groaned. The company could definitely be an issue. It had been hard enough to persuade them that adopting a puppy hybrid wouldn’t be a distraction from their work, but to add on the public backlash from adopting a non-domestic? It would surely be a no from them.
“So what now?” Aeri asked. She and Ning both looked at Jimin expectantly, but there was no time to answer before the social worker returned.
“Minjeongie likes you,” the woman said with a huge smile. “Most people just say no as soon as soon as they see her, or they get really weird about it, like they think she’s a little wild animal that they can treat however they want.”
Jimin’s heart broke. She knew the smart thing would be to say no, they couldn’t take her, the company wouldn't allow it, but…
“So, what do you think?” the worker asked, painfully hopeful.
Jimin sighed. “We really want to adopt her, but I’m not sure if the company will allow us to take home a non-domestic.”
The woman deflated. “I understand,” she said, her voice a little rough. It almost sounded like she was about to cry. “So, you probably won’t be making an adoption today, then?”
“How long has she been here?” Ningning asked, ignoring the question.
The woman winced. “A… long time. Most non-domestics are never adopted. Minjeong has a better chance because—well, you saw her. I hate to say it, since obviously looks aren’t everything, but the cuties like her always find a home faster. But Jeongie is usually so shy that it kind of evens out.”
Surprisingly, it was Aeri who spoke next. “We’ll take her,” the pink-haired woman blurted out, ignoring the shocked looks that the words prompted from Jimin and Ningning.
But it wasn’t like Jimin had really wanted to argue anyways, so now that Aeri had made the jump, they were all in. “Yes,” Jimin echoed. “We want to adopt her.”
The social worker lit up like a Christmas tree. “R-really? That’s incredible news, let me go talk to her! As long as she says yes, we can send her home with you today since you’ve been pre-approved already!”
She rushed out of the room again, and Jimin and Ning turned to Aeri with twin questioning looks.
“... oops?” Aeri said. She sighed. “I just couldn’t help it, I know I’m the one who said that we shouldn’t take her but she’s so sweet and she probably won’t get adopted otherwise and—”
Jimin cut her off by wrapping her in a tight hug, Ning joining them a second later. “Thanks, Aeri-chan,” Jimin whispered. Aeri might have been brash, but her sudden yes took the weight of being the leader and making the responsible decision off Jimin’s shoulders.
They stayed that way for a moment, soaking in each other’s warmth before separating. Immediately, Ningning started talking a mile a minute about the preparations they still had to make and what they should do for Minjeong’s first night home.
Before long, there was another knock at the door. The social worker peeked inside. “Minjeong said yes. Let me give you some paperwork to fill out and then I’ll take you to her room.”
Jimin waited until the woman had given them the forms and left to pump her fist in the air in glee.
They filled out the paperwork quickly, all itching to see Minjeong again. When they called the social worker back, she led them down the long, clean hallway, passing open doors and common spaces as they went. Jimin had been sure to pick the best rescue around, and their facilities were all immaculate.
Minjeong’s room was all the way at the other end of the building, tucked in a corner. When the social worker opened the door, it was small but cozy, filled with books, stuffies, blankets, and a scattered few plants.
Minjeong was already packing, humming to herself as she folded clothes, her tail waving back and forth happily. As soon as Jimin stepped foot in the room, Minjeong’s ears twitched and she whirled around.
Jimin barely had the chance to blink before Minjeong was barrelling into her in a tight hug, pulling Ning and Aeri into the embrace too. Minjeong was so soft and small, fitting perfectly in their arms, and she smelled so good, like jasmine and rain.
Jimin felt it then, and she knew Ning and Aeri did as well. Minjeong was meant to be with them just like they were meant to be with each other. It felt right. It felt whole.
It felt like home.