______

Jeongguk is unsure what changes in the fox's demeanour, but it approaches him less fearfully, which Jeongguk interprets as a sign and places the fox in the tub. When he feels its fur under his fingertips, he can hardly believe how soft it is. Jeongguk believes the fox has been gifted with this fur since it's so silky and cuddly.

Jeongguk sits on the side of the bathtub and does his utmost to wash the mud off the little one and not hurt him in the process. Unfortunately, he doesn't have any fox- or animal-fur-friendly shampoo to hand, so he must rely on water and hope it will do the trick. As he washes the mud off with circular hand movements along its paw, he hums to himself. The little one watches him on the sly, how carefully he handles this situation and begins to trust him.

At one point, Jeongguk cleans its back, and with slow, easy breathing, he places a finger under the smaller's chin and brings it up to him to meet his gaze. "You have unique and beautiful eyes, are you aware of this? Even your fur..." he says in a warm voice, shaking his head and looking him in the eyes again with an open demeanour, a warm smile braces his lips. "That earlier... so young and brave, the way you defended your father... I'm proud of you, but I'm also super grateful for how you're beginning to trust me. I promise you, I won't let you or your father down."

A weak howling coming from the living room forces Jeongguk's head to jerk up. The small fox's whimper that follows the howl makes his heart drop. Jeongguk struggles to keep its suddenly energetic body back, afraid the fox might hurt itself. Impatiently, the little one paws up and down in the tub. "Stay put. I'll go check on your father. Don't worry, it's better if he takes a bath too." Jeongguk chuckles heartily and disappears into the living room, where he meets the frantic adult fox's gaze.

"How are you, hm? Are you feeling better? Your cub is currently taking a bath because of all the mud on his paws." Jeongguk chuckles and takes a closer look at the beautiful fox before him. "How about a bath and then some food? Your cub is very eager to see you again."

The fox barks, not in a threatening way, but it's showing eagerness. There's even a flash of contentment in its eyes. At least that's what Jeongguk interprets into it. While taking the fox into his arms, he's careful not to touch the wound and carries him to the bathtub. Both foxes bark delightfully as they see each other again, bumping head to head once Jeongguk lets the adult fox into the bathtub. Seeing this makes something with Jeongguk, craving suddenly the proximity of his parents or someone he can love. "I don't want to be a spoilsport, but I have to take you in my arms to clean your fur."

Placing an arm around the fox's belly, Jeongguk lifts it so that its paws are just touching the bottom of the bathtub, watching closely to ensure the bandage doesn't get wet. He's glad to go to the gym, this position could be really strenuous otherwise. Letting his eyes wander secretly, his gaze lingers for mere seconds on the fox's eyes, mesmerised by the sun rays shining through the window and letting its eyes shimmer in caramel colour.

Meanwhile, the water from bathing the small fox has become dark and grey, reminding him of the mud puddles he used to like jumping in. For this reason, his parents put muddy trousers and rubber boots on him after it rained. Jeongguk's tendency as a child was to just run to a mud puddle as soon as he saw one and then jump in. Innerly, he believes that many children were impressed by the mud puddles-in general, puddles.

Lost in thought, he lets some water out of the tub and fills it with clear and pleasantly warm water, using the shower head to wash the adult fox's paws. An unfamiliar feeling bubbles in his stomach at the sight of the pied foxes in the white bathtub, sounds of contentment rumbling in their chests. This is likely to be the first and last time he will come this close to foxes in his life. Perhaps I should capture this as a scene in a story. It wouldn't be the first time I've written about animals who shift into people— or hybrids in this case.

My readers would go absolutely crazy about it.

Jeongguk makes sure to bathe and linger in this moment. Soon it will all be over and he will go back to writing and come up with events which mostly haven't happened in his life. There's still so much he wants to experience and hasn't yet. Either because he doesn't know where to start and needs to find the time, having lately been drawn into the world of written words or because of the part of loneliness that simmers in his heart, waiting to be replaced by love.

For those reasons, writing words down is what comes close. Jeongguk can let characters experience a bunch of feelings, situations or expressions he may have buried deep inside him. Moreover, it's a good opportunity to process feelings. You can say it gives him a sane mindset. Even more so if there are people who bask in the words that are printed on new and crisp paper.

He shakes his head and lets the water run down the drain in the bathtub, helping the foxes out and then drying their fur with a clean towel Jeongguk finds on a counter.

"Right so, okay." Jeongguk gets up and stretches, moving his chest to the right and then to the left, feeling a little sore from sitting and then squatting. Silence spreads in the bathroom as his gaze wanders from one fox to the other, blinking as he observes them rubbing their heads on one another in a loving way. "You guys need food. Let me prepare some and then I guess you are good to go if your wound looks better."

Despite the words leaving a bitter taste in his mouth, Jeongguk proposes to them to get comfortable in the living room and then disappears into the kitchen, looking up on his phone what foxes can eat. With some luck, they can have some vegetables and some fruits. The first thing he does is look through the fridge where he has stowed the fruits and vegetables. Looking down at the food in there, he contemplates if this is something both can fill up. When it comes to Jeongguk, fruits and vegetables count as a snack. It simply wouldn't still his hunger.

In the end, he settles for preparing what he has at the moment; fruits and vegetables. If they're still hungry he'll have to see what else he can make. If he's honest with himself there's this heavy feeling in his stomach lingering when he looks towards the living room. He can't pinpoint if it's because he's afraid something might harm them or because innerly he knows their place is in the forest and not with him. The truth shimmers as clear as the stars on a starry night even though he doesn't want to admit it. The foxes have slightly grown dear to his heart.

It doesn't even surprise him that he rushed back to the living room carrying a plate of what he thinks is suitable for foxes to eat. "Here you go," Jeongguk announces, voice soft and tinkling. "The only thing I found were fruits..." He's eyeing the fruit slices with every step and once he darts his gaze to the fox before him, he catches his breath. Jeongguk's eyes go as wide as the plate he's holding, the fruit slices wiggling as his hands shake.

"I-I mean fruits, and vegetables," Jeongguk eyes the now human before him, scanning his pale skin as he finds himself struggling to avert his gaze. His brown hair is wet and some strands hang into his face, which makes Jeongguk's fingers itch to reach out and expose more of face, more than willing to see if he has those enchanting almond brown eyes in human form. The man is just a little smaller than him, but his cute button nose and plush lips pull Jeongguk in and his eyes when he lifts his head right then-

He really should get a grip now.

But Jeongguk couldn't get a grip because for one, his eyes linger on the fox ears on the pretty man's head, two he's only heard about hybrids and three, there was one in his living room and he was offering a raw vegetable of all things. Actually, make it two hybrids.

Jeongguk's jaw drops upon the sight of a small boy with brown hair and white brown ears—very similar to the man's ears—peeking out from the bathroom door frame. He's probably not older than five years old. At this point, Jeongguk considers his eyes are deceiving him... wouldn't it be for the pretty man to speak up and make him realise that he's very naked indeed and Jeongguk has done absolutely nothing about it. Jeongguk can't hide how his cheeks turn scarlet, whether from being flustered or humiliated.

"I- Thank you for what you've done. You've been very kind to us and we really don't want to take up more of your time. I-I'm sorry, we will be out of your hair before you know it but can I ask for a favour? It might be too much to ask for, but... can we stay? At least until my wound looks better? Just—"

This pretty man seems to be desperately trying to hide how nervous he is and his fear of getting rejected by being unable to meet his eyes and stuttering. The man doesn't even faze to grab the blanket from the sofa next to him to cover his skin. That's how far he's into his thoughts. Jeongguk sighs and shakes his head, which must have been misunderstood by the other.

"I'm sorry, I know it was too much to ask for. We'll go."

Before he can take one step, Jeongguk raises a hand and waves it in a dismissive manner. "That's not what I implied. I've just been too stunned by you being hybrids that I didn't even offer you some clothes. How rude of me. Let me get some and then you can eat."

Jeongguk puts down the bowls, which he has been holding this entire time in his hands on the wooden table, feeling terribly sorry for how shameful he acted. Going to the bedroom he tries to find some fitting clothes. It's difficult to find some for the small boy considering Jeongguk's height. So he decides a t-shirt should be just fine for him for now. He walks out of the bedroom and hands them both the clothes, going then to the kitchen to give them a moment to put on the clothes.

It feels surreal to him that something he writes his books about is actually truly real. Believe it or not, a few books with higher sale rates are based on hybrids—a human falling in love with a hybrid. Now seeing a hybrid for the first time in his life within proximity just feels so strange but also exciting. It's not often you see hybrids in the city (from what he heard), many hide their true form in order to blend more in with the people. But having used his fantasy, and done some research Jeongguk thinks hybrids shouldn't feel the need to hide and blend in. They are all unique in their own way.

Entering the living room again, Jeongguk sees them eating from the fruits and vegetables like they have been starving. He wrinkles his nose in dislike, not being pleased to see this. Taking a step forward he eyes them for a moment. He would have to say goodbye to them soon.

"I didn't expect you to be hybrids so I only prepared this. Please let me know if you want more proper food. It looks like you haven't eaten anything today." Jeongguk says, not knowing he couldn't be closer to the truth. All this running from the hunter in the forest made them hungry and tired.

"I'm Jeongguk by the way."

Jeongguk doesn't expect much when he tells them his name, but the pretty-looking man surprises him again. This time by telling him their names.

"I'm Jimin and this is my son Myung. Thank you again, you can't imagine how much this means to us."

"Somehow I have a feeling I do," Jeongguk mumbles and Jimin's ears move, trying to catch what he says.

"Hm?"

Jeongguk shakes his head and points to the chairs at the living room table. "Nothing. Please take a seat. How come you're both this deep in the woods? That's only if you're comfortable with telling me."

Jimin nods in understanding and helps his son (who's still standing close to the bathroom) in pushing the chair back so he can sit at the table. Jeongguk watches with curiosity the close father-son relationship they appear to have as Jimin reassures him that there's nothing to worry about and he doesn't need to be afraid. Myung seems to hesitate for a moment before he comes closer, climbing onto the chair, his brown hair falling into his face, which Jimin tugs to the side and then kisses his forehead. Jimin's ears curl forward and a painful smile develops on his lips as Jeongguk smiles slightly. He's probably thinking of an answer which tells Jeongguk to kindly fuck off and mind his own business.

"Ehm, you could say someone saw us and thought we would be good prey." It's clear what Jimin means. He doesn't even need to say the word and Jeongguk immediately knows what kind of person he means. Some hunters are just cruel to fulfil their desire no matter what the cost. Jeongguk sighs with an uncomfortable feeling creeping through his chest, he eventually squints with concern at the man in front of him.

"I'm sorry this happened to you."

"It's not your doing." Jimin shrugs his shoulders and directs his gaze at the food on the table. Being hungry he grabs the fork and shovels the fruits and vegetables into his mouth. From then on they eat in comfortable silence, no other words are spoken. Jeongguk decides to make some more food in the end which they gratefully accept.

"Do you mind if I go to sleep? I feel like all this running made me lose my energy."

"Absolutely. You know where the bathroom is and ehm... I only have one bedroom with one bed but you can transform the sofa into a bed. Let me just do this quickly." Jeongguk gets up and strides to the sofa where he moves the pillows to the side, grabbing the sofa parts and putting them into a space where Jimin and Myung can lay down.

"Thank you for the food." Jimin smiles at Jeongguk and peeks at his son. "Come on Myung. Papa is a bit tired, you must be tired too, no? How about some sleep?"

The said boy nods, watching Jimin get up and go into the bathroom. As soon as he disappears behind the door, Myung turns to Jeonguk, who then raises an eyebrow at him and looks at him waiting. It is not hard to notice that something is on the little boy's mind. In the very next second, soft brown almond eyes shine with something like admiration and Jeongguk can't react fast enough as two small arms hug him at the hip.

"Thank you for looking after my dad and for letting us stay here.''

His words make the corners of Jeongguk's lips curl up in a gentle smile, eyes lingering on the head of the boy. His fingers itch to run his hand through his hair, the uncertainty of whether he's allowed to touch him or not makes him leave it be. Instead, his smile widens as Myung looks up at him with his beautiful eyes, so much like Jimin's eyes and just carrying as much emotion and mysteries as his father's, which Jeongguk wants to discover.

"Don't mention it. You should make your way to the bathroom and then you can get some sleep. You must have had an exhausting day. When you wake up we can do something exciting together, hm?"

There are so many questions forming in his head he wants to ask, so many things he wants to talk about and is curious about. He knows those thoughts might keep him awake longer than he'd like to in the night, but he's no one to invade someone's privacy on purpose. Jeongguk will have to find out tomorrow how far he can go because this fascination which blooms in his chest ever since Jeongguk got to know they are hybrids drives him mad. There's just something about them and he's willing to find out if they let him.

"Yesss," Myung exclaims, running towards the bathroom where his father has vanished, missing the amused expression that settles on Jeongguk's face as he looks forward to tomorrow. Right, tomorrow... The next few days would most likely be very different from his usual routine, even so, he doesn't care.