Chapter Text
“Hey, Jongho! Do you understand question four? I really have no idea.”
Jongho sighed at Mingi before getting up, going over to his friend and trying to explain. It was their lunch break, but Mingi had decided to try to do his homework so he could spend more time playing games after school.
“You should really let Sangie tutor you in maths, you're hopeless,” Yunho teased.
“Sangie as my tutor? No thanks, last time we sat here until I’d manage to solve it and I'm definitely not doing that again.”
Yunho laughed at the memory. That day Seonghwa had to tell Yeosang to let it go so both would come downstairs to eat dinner.
While Jongho focused his attention back to the task, Yeosang came over to join them, food tray in hand. He got there later due to the line getting longer over time.
“Yeosang, why do you always sit with those freaks? Come on, you're way better off staying with us!”
The three hybrids at the table snapped their heads towards the person who shouted.
Yeosang rolled his eyes, stopped and turned around to face the guy.
“What do you mean by ‘always sitting with the freaks’? I don't recall ever sitting at your table, Jinyoung.”
He turned around again and kept walking while the entire table erupted into chaos.
Yunho grinned at his brother.
“Wooyoung is a bad influence on you,” he said, making space for him.
“I just wish people would stop calling you guys freaks…” Yeosang said with a pout.
Jongho sighed. Sure, hybrids had the same rights as humans now, but that didn't change that humans still thought of themselves as better than hybrids.
Jongho knew that all too well.
“They won't. But it's fine, we’re used to it,” he answered while sitting back down in his seat.
“But you shouldn't have to get used to it,” the other whined.
“Unfortunately we have to. Otherwise we'll just be miserable all our lives,” Yunho told Yeosang with a sympathetic smile.
Yeosang sighed heavily, but relented and began eating.
After they were done in the cafeteria, but still had time, they agreed to go outside and play soccer for a little bit. Jongho needed to use the bathroom though, so he said he'd meet them there. After doing his business, he walked towards the meadow out the back of the school when he was suddenly grabbed and slammed against the wall. It was the same guy who had called them freaks in the cafeteria, with two of his friends standing behind him.
“Those other hybrids might be his family, but I'll never understand why he keeps hanging out with you. I can't even tell what you're supposed to be,” he spat.
Jongho rolled his eyes.
“I'm a bear. And you should really get it into your stupid head that Yeosang has absolutely no interest in you and he doesn't belong to you either.”
Jongho had tried to be brave this time, but that had clearly been the wrong thing to say. The guy was furious now. He grabbed Jongho's ear, pulling it harshly.
“You don't know what you're talking about, freak. He'll come around and realize I'm much better than you.”
He yanked the cup of hot coffee out of his friend's hand and poured it over Jongho, making sure to hit the bear hybrid's sensitive ears. Jongho bit back a scream.
“Let that be a warning. Stop making advances, Yeosang is way out of your league!”
The bear hybrid had enough. He shoved Jinyoung away from himself, causing the other to stumble into his friends.
“Get it into your stupid little brain that Yeosang doesn't want you! And I'm not even going after him either! He's a good friend, that's all there is to it!”
Jinyoung glared at the other.
“How dare you shove me?!”
He lunged at the hybrid.
Both of them got into a small fight, shoving each other, pulling on ears, Jongho even bit the human. Suddenly they were pulled apart. Jinyoung's friends had grabbed him while Yunho grabbed Jongho. The three had come looking for Jongho when he hadn't come outside.
“Jongho! Hey, calm down! What happened?!” Yunho asked.
“That madman just attacked me!” Jinyoung screeched.
“You attacked me, insulted me and my friends and poured hot coffee over my head and ears!” Jongho spat.
“What is going on?”
Both parties winced.
“Hello, Mrs Han…” Jongho greeted quietly.
“Mrs Han, Jongho attacked me!”
“That's not true, you attacked me out of nowhere, I was just trying to go back to my friends!”
The woman sighed softly.
“All of you to the principal's office,” she ordered.
While Jongho and the other three responded with “yes ma’am” and began walking, Jinyoung's friends protested.
“But we weren't even involved!”
“I said all of you. We can discuss who was involved when we're there. Go. Now.”
At the principal's office they were called in one by one to give their statements. In the end Jongho and Jinyoung had to face the principal together.
“Both of you will get away with a warning. Jongho, get your ears looked at by the nurse. Jinyoung, go back to class,” the principal decided eventually.
“But dad-”
“Jinyoung, I said back to class,” the principal said firmly.
Both bowed to him and left, doing as they're told.
As he expected, just as he was leaving the school grounds later in the day, his phone rang. The others had already left to go home.
“Yes, Uncle?”
“Jongho! Why did I get another incident report from your school?!”
“I'm sorry I-”
“I don't want to hear your excuses!! A warning?! Seriously?! Stop getting into fights! Why did my sister raise such an unruly and misbehaving child… I'll be keeping your allowance for next week, maybe that way you'll learn to behave.”
He hung up without another word. Jongho winced. An entire week's allowance? That meant he really had to pay attention to every penny he was spending. And even then he wasn't sure how much food he'd be able to buy, given how even though he always made sure to use as little money as possible, he didn't have much left. He wasn't even really getting into fights… the only other time he had been shoved, causing him to fall down two steps into a lowered area in the ground. And he wouldn't even call that a fight.
At least he had the café. He could always count on them to get something to eat. It was run by his friend's parents, a lovely human and hybrid couple. They also employed a raccoon hybrid, called Wooyoung.
The moment he entered the café, he was met by a commotion.
“I thought this was a café! Why is there a hybrid working the counter and a raccoon hybrid at that! They're filthy!”
Jongho bit back a smile, that lady was absolutely messing with the wrong hybrid.
“My raccoon ass is cleaner than your bitchy caked up face!” The hybrid spat. Jongho struggled not to laugh.
The woman gasped and turned her attention to Seonghwa, a human who was absolutely in the same predicament as Jongho.
“Are you not going to say anything?! Your employee is mistreating a customer!”
Seonghwa briefly gathered himself.
“Well, you're not buying anything and you're definitely not going to, so I'd argue you're not a customer. Besides, I agree with him. Maybe you should look for a new foundation, yours looks like it's about to flake off.”
Jongho snorted at that, which turned into a laugh once the lady had stormed out.
“Oh my God she really messed with the wrong guys.”
“Ah, Jongho! Nice to see you!” Seonghwa said cheerfully.
“Hey, Hojong! How was school?” Wooyoung asked, back to his usually cheerful mood.
“It was alright…”
He walked closer. The two adults in front of him frowned a little when they noticed that Jongho's uniform was stained and his hair seemed to stick together in places.
“Did you walk around with that all day? What happened?” Seonghwa asked.
Jongho sighed softly.
“I… don't really want to talk about it. Besides, the others will probably tell you later anyway.”
Seonghwa didn't like that answer, but didn't press. He watched as Jongho grabbed a token from the board.
“Can you give me that sandwich? I'm starving…” He asked Wooyoung. The hybrid put it on a plate for him and added some pastries and a cup of lemonade.
“This token is only for one thing I can't-”
“Jongho. You've been coming here long enough to know you're not paying for anything I'm giving you. Take it. Besides, you look like you could use something tasty today,” Wooyoung said while rolling his eyes.
“Thank you…”
The bear hybrid sat down and began to eat while also doing some homework. Seonghwa watched him for a little bit. This kid had started coming by about a year ago. Him and Hongjoong had just implemented tokens you can buy, so someone else who really needs it can take one and get a drink or meal. At first he thought that Jongho was a high school student trying to use the tokens to avoid having to use his pocket money, but when his kids had told him that Jongho didn't get any lunch at school, he realized that this child needed it. Once they noticed that they began placing extra tokens on the board so there would always be one for Jongho to grab. Besides, he was a genuinely nice kid. Always polite and quiet, did as he was told and sometimes even helped out a little. He always wondered why Jongho spent so much time here and why he used the tokens instead of eating at home, but he never found an opportunity to ask.
After Jongho flicked his ears and shook out his hair for the umpteenth time, Seonghwa walked over to his table.
“Are your ears bothering you?” He asked gently, squatting down next to it.
Jongho looked a bit embarrassed.
“The nurse said they'll be sensitive for a little while, but right now they're just super itchy…” he admitted.
“Okay, come on. I'm sure I have something in the back that can help.”
Jongho followed wordlessly.
He sat in the office now while Seonghwa brought a bowl of warm water and a small cloth. The man began to very gently wipe down Jongho's ears.
“Is that coffee in your hair and the fur on your ears?”
“Yeah…”
Seonghwa had hoped for an explanation, but didn't press.
Even if he was gentle it took Jongho everything not to flinch. He knew it was necessary, but the touch was burning, causing tears to fill his eyes.
“I'm sorry sweetie, I'll be quick…” The human tried, noticing his pain.
When he was done he applied some soothing ointment.
“There, all done. Though, you should take a shower at home to remove the coffee from your hair. I don't think I have any spare clothes though…”
Jongho shook his head.
“You already did a lot for me, thank you so much.”
He bowed to Seonghwa before going back to his table to do his homework.
When the café closed Jongho went home.
“I'm home…” he called into his empty, one-room apartment. He'd been living on his own for a year now, but as they say, old habits die hard.
He took off his shoes before sitting down in front of a small shrine, cuddling the plushie he had since he was a toddler.
“Mom, dad… today was horrible. Jinyoung poured coffee over my head and Uncle yelled at me again, because I defended myself. I won't have an allowance for next week… I'm not sure what I'm supposed to eat apart from the meals I can get at the café. I miss you… I miss you so much. I wish you were still here with me. I wish you could come back…”
Now that he was alone, Jongho let himself break down. He cried and cried, clutching the little bear close, until he eventually cried himself to sleep.
“Joong, you don't understand! Jongho looked so sad today! And he had coffee all over him… Yunho told me that kid Jinyoung poured it over Jongho's head and that Jongho got into trouble for defending himself…”
Hongjoong sighed at his husband, cuddling him as they both laid in bed. Hongjoong had curled his squirrel tail around Seonghwa, trying to comfort him.
“Hwa, I do understand. But what are we supposed to do? I want him to be happy too, he's such a sweet kid. But we're not his parents… we're not responsible for him. I'm sure he and his parents will figure something out.”
He kissed Seonghwa's temple, who just pouted.
“I wish I could do more…”
“Baby, you're doing enough. More than enough.”
“Doesn't feel like it…”
Hongjoong sighed and gently grabbed his chin, making his husband look up at him.
“It's more than enough. You're helping him more than you think you do, I promise. Try to get some sleep, okay?”
He placed a gentle kiss on Seongwha's lips.
“Fine… you're right. I still don't like it, but you're right.”
The next day Jongho found it hard to focus in school. His ears were troubling him a lot.
“Go to the nurse, she'll have something that helps…” Yunho tried when they had a brief break between classes.
“No, she'll just make another incident report and I'll get in trouble for it,” Jongho said, irritated by his ears. He was sitting on his hands, trying to stop himself from scratching.
“Why would you get in trouble for that?” Mingi asked, genuinely confused.
“I just will, okay!” Jongho yelled.
He flinched back immediately, that came out way harsher than he expected.
“I- I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell like that…”
Mingi had been startled, but smiled softly.
“It's okay, we all have bad days.”
Yeosang took out his phone.
“I'll text Pa to bring something for your ears to the school.”
Jongho wanted to protest, but realized Yeosang didn't even give him a chance.
“He's coming over in like 15 minutes,” Yeosang informed him.
“Thank you, but you really didn't have to…”
“I know,” Yeosang simply said.
About 15 minutes later Jongho found himself being called to the front desk. Yunho mouthed an apology as Jongho walked by, they had all expected Seonghwa to simply leave it there for Jongho to collect.
“Jongho! Sorry I had her call you over, but I wanted to check if you're okay…”
He smiled softly at the café owner.
“I'm okay. They're just really itchy and a bit sore… it's been quite distracting.”
Seonghwa nodded and handed him a bag.
“There's an ointment in here for your ears. I also packed some painkillers, I wasn't sure if you're in pain… they're hybrid safe, Hongjoong uses them all the time.”
Jongho took the bag and bowed.
“Thank you so much.”
“Now hush, back to class. See you later!”
Jongho stopped by the bathroom to apply the ointment before going back to class. He handed the teacher a slip from the front desk that explained why he had been called in before sitting down.
The next three days continued in a similar manner. He went to school, hung out with his friends, then went to the café.
Even on Saturday and Sunday. During those days he often spent the entire opening hours there, helping out, studying or doing homework. His ears were better again. However, he was only able to eat something substantial once a day, otherwise having nothing but cup noodles, and he was running out of those as well.
It wasn't the first time his uncle had kept some of his allowance, but this time the hunger gnawed at him more than he wanted to admit.
“Hey man, you alright?”
He lifted his head from his table at school, looking at Mingi, who seemed quite concerned. It was Monday morning.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Didn't sleep well,” he lied.
“Alright, if you say so… we're going to the arcade later, wanna join?”
Jongho frowned. That sounded amazing. He really wanted to, but with what money?
“I don't have the money for that, Min…”
The lynx hybrid rolled his eyes.
“I'm paying, don't worry. You in?”
Jongho thought about it. He hated it when they paid for him, he even kept a secret notebook of everything they spent on him, planning to pay it back the moment he earned his own money. Plus, he definitely couldn't stop by the café to grab his food if he went with them…
“If you don't accept I'm gonna scream.”
Jongho chuckled at his friend.
“Okay, okay, fine… I'll join. Thank you, Min.”
“You're welcome!” The lynx beamed and sat down.
“Oh come on Yunho! How are you so good at this?!” Mingi whined after the wolf hybrid had beaten him at the asteroid shooter once again.
“You just suck at games!” He shot back, sticking out his tongue.
“Oh I'm gonna get you-”
Jongho and Yeosang watched while Mingi began to chase Yunho around the arcade.
“You wanna try basketball?” Yeosang asked eventually.
“Yeah, sure.”
Yeosang grinned.
“I bet I'm better at it than you are,” he said while walking over.
“Really? Let's put that to the test~” Jongho teased.
Yeosang was, in fact, better at it than Jongho, but at least he could blame it all on the dizziness that had crept up on him mid-game.
“Hah, I won!” Yeosang cheered.
“Only by a small margin though,” Jongho retorted.
“Wanna go again?”
“Nah… I'm good.”
Jongho shook his head, regretting it immediately as his world tilted and he had to lean on the machine.
“Jongho? Are you okay?”
“Yeah, just got a little dizzy. Let's go find the others.”
Yeosang frowned at the dismissal, but followed Jongho.
They found the two hybrids on a bench outside the arcade, staring down a security guard.
“Why are you outside?”
“Cause that guard over there kicked us out for no reason! We weren't even running anymore, we were playing dance dance revolution!” Yunho whined.
The guard didn't react.
“Looks like someone has something against hybrids,” Yeosang said loudly enough for the guard to hear. Jongho could see his eye twitch.
“Who has something against hybrids?”
Yeosang's head whipped around, face lighting up.
“Sannie!”
Jongho looked at the human. He had never met him before, but the others seemed to know him.
“San, that guard over there kicked Min and me out even though we didn't do anything!” Yunho whined.
San sighed heavily.
“Yeah, this arcade isn't known to be hybrid friendly. If you want a hybrid friendly arcade, head to the one in the other mall.”
He turned his attention to Jongho.
“I haven't met you before, have I? I'm Choi San, a family friend. Nice to meet you!”
Jongho shook his hand, chuckling a bit.
“What a coincidence. My name is Choi Jongho.”
“Oh, really! So we share a last name, that's cool!”
Jongho nodded, forgetting what happened last time he moved his head like that. He grabbed San’s arm to stabilize himself, but his world tilted so hard he couldn't find his balance. San grabbed him and guided him to sit down.
“Woah, easy there… Are you sick?”
“No… I don't think I am.”
When his stomach suddenly growled loudly, Jongho blushed in embarrassment. San raised an eyebrow at the boy.
“When have you last eaten?”
“...Yesterday around lunch.”
“You haven't eaten since yesterday?! Jongho, it's almost 8pm! How can you not eat for a whole day?!” Yunho whined loudly.
“I just couldn't find the time…” he tried to protest.
“Nonsense, you always have time to eat at least a snack. Come on, let's find you something,” Yeosang said sternly.
Jongho hesitated. They'd just spend more money on him…
“I'll be fine, I'll eat at home.”
San raised an eyebrow at the boy.
“You just fell over just from nodding your head. Your blood sugar must be quite low, I agree with them. Let's get you something to eat.”
Before Jongho could protest he was on his feet, supported by Yeosang, and dragged to a nearby fast food restaurant.
After that incident his friends made sure to always bring something to school for him. They hadn't done so before since Jongho insisted he didn't feel hungry around lunchtime, but now it was their turn to insist.
And while Jongho was happy that they did, he also felt bad about it. He depended on them for so much, he should really get his shit together. He really hated depending on them, he was old enough to handle himself after all. So this time Jongho decided he wouldn't go to the café. He could tough it out alone.