STRAY // JJK x HYBRID (bunny)✔️ Re-Writing

CHAPTER 18

(IMPORTANT: The backstory established here is not consistent with the re-written chapters. Contradictions ahead, proceed with caution.)

BO-YOUNG

"What do you mean you got the wrong seats?" Jungkook asks Taehyung in disbelief. Hoseok is laughing, already sitting in one of the purchased seats. "How do you accidentally buy two seats in the middle and two in the back, then tell us they are on the same row? Do I need to buy you a pair of glasses?"

"I can buy myself glasses, thank you very much," Taehyung defends, before getting back on track. "It was an honest mistake," he says, shrugging with a guilty look.

This isn't adding up.

"Guys, the movie is starting in, like..." Hoseok checks his watch," two minutes. Hurry."

"Why can't we all just sit at the back? It's empty, plus you already have two seats up there," Jungkook suggests.

"That's rude, Kook. Didn't your mother teach you manners?" Taehyung chides, arguing back. "You know what they say. "Don't sit in a seat you didn't pay for, especially in a movie theatre."

"What- no one says that," Jungkook gapes.

"It's a very common saying," Taehyung lies. "Come on, Bo-young. Let's go sit," he says before Jungkook can interject.

"Are you sure you can see from this far, gramps?" I tease Taehyung as he drags me by the arm.

"I selected those seats on purpose. I'm not blind," he defends as he quickens his pace, almost making me fall on the steps as he drags me faster.

"Ah, yes. The interrogation," I groan, slumping a bit. I'm not thrilled about the predicament I'm in. "There isn't a single second that passes when I don't regret making that deal with you."

We sit down as the ads begin to play, the theatre filling with noise. I touch the red seat before sitting down, leaning back into the soft cushions. Taehyung looks from one side to the other, making sure no one else is in earshot to make sure that no one will be disturbed by our talking.

Jungkook, who is still standing, gestures at me, asking if I'm okay. I give him a thumbs up.

"I don't understand you," I mutter, turning towards Taehyung. "You have no reason to be interested in my past, yet here you are, pestering me about it.

"It's not pestering, it's being friendly and wanting to get to know you. Now, stop stalling and tell me why that cool pen is so important," he squints at me in a jokingly accusing manner.

"Ugh, sure. You'll be disappointed though because it isn't really interesting," I shrug, not bothered. If he's this interested, then I'll tell him.

"I doubt it'll be boring."

"Well, okay. Here goes:

"Like most other hybrids, I was born in a breeding center made specifically for bunnies. It was nicer than most breeding centers, but still not great. Most hybrids stay there for two weeks before being shipped out to an adoption center, I though stayed for just one week.

"That specific center mostly shipped their hybrids to general adoption services, but the batch o' bunnies I was with was shipped early, and to a service that specializes in rabbits and bunnies."

Taehyung suddenly interrupts, saying: "Those places are expensive as fuck. I got Hobi from a specialized adoption service."

"You're not wrong, it is expensive. That's why I ended up in such a wealthy household.

"A day after being brought in, an old woman came in looking for a hybrid to take home with her. She wanted a small and calm pet, so she was browsing the older rabbits. When she saw me, though, she came right over. I ended up going home with her the same day. She's the one who gave me the pen."

The lights go down as the movie begins to play. Jungkook has settled in next to Hoseok. Taehyung doesn't seem to care about the movie and is still listening intently.

"Her name was Grace Park. She lived in America when she was young, and then moved here to create a business. That turned out to be the best decision she made, finance wise.

"The pen was hers. She only ever used it to sign important things, like patents, contracts, and, as she reminded me often, my adoption papers."

"Sounds nice. So you lived as her pet for how long?" Taehyung asks, facing forwards to look at the movie.

"No, no, no. I was a pet for the first few days. It took less than a week for her to see me as a daughter," I chuckle. "She taught me how to read, write, and how to knit. She tried homeschooling me, but it didn't go too well."

Taehyung laughs, before his face twists into a look of confusion.

"Why were you on the streets, then?" he asks me.

"As I said, she was old."

"How old were you when-" he stops himself, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

"I was seventeen when she passed. She didn't have family in Korea, so I was the only one who showed up at the funeral. She left me some money and the pen. I spent the money on the funeral though, so I was left to fend for myself."

"Where'd the rest of the money go?" Taehyung asks.

"Well, you know how it is. Hybrids can't inherit shit," I scowl. "She left the money in cash too because she couldn't legally give it to me."

"That's bullshit," Taehyung breathes, glancing at me with his eyebrows knitted together in either worry or pity.

- not canon in the rewrite: -

"It really is. I had to assume the identity of Hannah Park, the granddaughter of Grace Park who flew over to arrange a funeral and wake. The moment Grace was announced dead, I became a stray," I ramble, happy to be talking about Grace, but sad about recounting her death.

Taehyung stays silent for a minute before asking: "Was she the one to give you a name?"

"Yes, she decided to name me Bo-young. I'm thankful she didn't go for an Asian-American name, because I would have stuck out like a sore thumb."

"That's true, Ms. Hannah Park," Taehyung teases, easing the tension. I smack him in the arm, holding back my laughter. Taehyung snorts loudly at my glare. 

"Call me that again and I will maim you."

1005 words