After about an hour, Taehyung's cries were reduced to soft hiccups as he cradled himself in the corner of the teenage boy's empty apartment. Even then, suddenly the door was barged open. It almost hit Taehyung in the face as he stared at it with wide eyes.

      "Yah! What did I say about swinging my door open? The tattoo parlor doesn't pay me enough, dumbass," the teenage boy chastised whoever was at the door. All Taehyung knew was that the shadow was too big and tall, making his breath come in hitches.

       "Sorry, ggukie. If it ever breaks, I'll buy you a new one," the man promised with a chuckle, stepping in and closing the door gently.

      "You better. Considering you just randomly come here and chill. You don't even pay rent!" The boy exclaimed, exasperated.

      "Jeongguk," the man grinned. "Hoseokie was wondering if you'd give him another tat-"

      "Only if he's paying," Jeongguk glared at the man. "This shit is expensive and you assholes trying to get free tattoos is going to put me in debt."

    "So what have you been up to, Mr. Grumpy?"

     "I'm only grumpy because I had to save a kid's ass, then I've been trying to get him to calm down. Now you almost just broke my door, again!"
  
     "What's the kid's name?"

     "Like I know, hyung," Jeongguk rolled his eyes. "Ask him yourself, even though you almost smacked him with the door."

      The man turned, visibly jumping at the sight of Taehyung giving him big, scared eyes.

      "Hey bud. What's your name?" The man crouched, leaning over Taehyung to turn the lamp on. He didn't miss the hitch in his breathing or when he tried to shrink more into the wall. When the man sat back on his hunches, he took time to admire the boy while he stuttered. Taehyung's skin was the perfect amount of tan, but pale from the lack of sun and flushed from the harsh wind.

      "T- Tuh- Taeh- Taehyung- g," Taehyung looked down at his lap, bottom lip jutting out, letting the man see the bite marks adorned upon the pink flesh.

       "It's nice to meet you, Taehyung. I'm Namjoon and that over there is Jeongguk," Namjoon smiled a pearly white smile.

       Taehyung didn't say anything, playing with his fingers with a few silent tears falling every now and then.

       "Hey, hey, hey, what's wrong?" Namjoon swipes a finger under Taehyung's eyes- which widened comically except the circumstance they were in- swiping away the bitter, warm tears.

        Taehyung whimpered and ripped his head away from Namjoon, staring at the two fearfully.

       "He almost got- y'know," Jeongguk made an inappropriate gesture, "without his consent by those creepy old men."

       "You poor thing," Namjoon lowered his eyes, looking at Taehyung's pale hands.

       "He has dog ears," Jeongguk blurted out, making Taehyung jerk away with more tears building up.
 
       "It's alright! I think dogs are cute!" Namjoon blurted, looking desperately at Taehyung, who looked up.

       Jeongguk muttered something under his breath. It sounded suspiciously like "damn right."

       "Taehyung-sshi," Namjoon held out his hands. It shocked him more when Taehyung started crying harder.

     "What do you want?" The dog hybrid snapped at the two, teeth digging into his bottom lip.

     "Tae-"

     "No! Just tell me what you w- want from me!" Taehyung snarled, baring his teeth.

     "Taehyung!" Namjoon roared, making the scared teenager shut up immediately. "Let's call your mom, yeah? She can pick you up."

      "I'll just walk," Taehyung pushed Namjoon away.

     "You can't, so let's call you mom."

     "Nam-" Jeongguk walked over to tear his older friend away.

     "Let's call you mom," Namjoon stressed, not even noticing Taehyung, who started letting out barely audible whimpers.

      "Dude, stop-" Jeongguk put a hand on the elder's shoulder, just as Taehyung burst into tears yet again.

       "She's sick!" The boy cried, curling into himself, sobbing into his knees, getting his jeans wet with salty tears. "T- thah- that's why I w- wah- was going to the st- stuh- st- store!"

        "Taehyung," Jeongguk knelt next to Taehyung, unknowingly closing Taehyung's escape route. "Let's get you away from the door. You must be cold."

      The dog allowed himself to be carried, too mentally and physically exhausted to fight anymore.

      Whatever happens, happens, the small hybrid closed his eyes, trembling and sniffling into Jeongguk's bare chest. He expected to feel the harsh cold as he was kicked out, not expecting the warm softness of a pillow and the feeling of a leather couch, nor did he expect to be attacked with a fuzzy blanket.

      He opened his eyes, looking up with a trembling bottom lip. When he met eyes with the teen, he squeezed them shut, forcing more tears to leak out of his eyes and land onto the throw-pillow.