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

CHAPTER 22

BO-YOUNG

Hoseok's hand leaves my back as he turns to face me.

"You killed someone?" he asks, bewildered. His usual heart-shaped smile is now gone. 

I stay silent, struggling to find the words.

"Bo-young?" Taehyung asks, but I can't utter a single syllable. I choke on whatever words I'm trying to say. "Did you..."

"No," I croak, struggling to explain. "I didn't, but they think I did," I rush, unable to think straight. This is exactly what I wanted to avoid.

"Can you prove that you didn't?" Hoseok asks, his tone soft and careful. Taehyung catches my eyes, looking at me with his eyebrows furrowed and his head resting on his hands. He's looking at me with pity and sympathy, yet I can also see weariness behind his eyes. I know he doesn't see me as a threat, though.

"I wasn't even there when she had the heart attack. I had run away earlier that day," I explain, tugging on my bunny ears absentmindedly. "We had fought, but it was nothing big. I was just out for a breather."

Silence falls in the room, Hoseok prying my ears, which have started to sting from my constant stress-induced tugging, out of my hands gently. Taehyung seems to be deep in thought, his fingers laced together in front of his face.

"I trust you," Taehyung says, his eyes closed. I know that him taking my side is a leap of faith. "The law probably didn't grant you the right to have a lawyer, so you ran."

"I risked almost everything just to give her a proper funeral," I sigh, feeling relieved that he isn't going to turn me in. Hoseok pulls me into a slightly awkward yet endearing side hug. I sniffle, but not a single tear falls from my eyes.

Taehyung suddenly moves, turning the screen towards me. I look at my file, seeing a large red marking on the corner claiming me to be a fugitive.

"Here, click that button and it'll be deleted. Then I can register you again," Taehyung smiles, pointing at an inconspicuous button that the cursor is hovering over saying "delete". With little hesitation, I click down, watching as a loading bar appears. After a couple of seconds, the file is deleted. Hoseok cheers happily, rocking back and forth, pulling me with him. Taehyung is beaming, typing furiously.

The doorbell rings, but this time, it's definitely the pizza.

Hoseok and I run to the door, opening it and being greeted by a woman in a pizza delivery uniform. She gives us a polite smile before passing us the single pizza box and a coke bottle.

"It's already been paid for online," she tells us, giving us a curt nod before rushing away to her next delivery. Hoseok and I return to the small bar table and place the pizza down. I take out three plates and three glasses, pouring the small bottle into equal parts. I place a slice onto each plate, sliding them over to the two men who are looking at me eagerly.

"Dig in, I feel like we could use a bit of a mood lifter," I say with a chuckle. Both of them take bites. Taehyung goes back to typing, occasionally asking me questions like: "When is your birthday?" and "What breed of bunny are you?"

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but what happened with your owner?" Hoseok asks, trusting in the fact that I won't be offended.

"They thought I killed her. They tried taking me to a hybrid center for disturbed hybrids, you know, one of the ones where most end up being euthanized if they aren't adopted. Who wants a "disturbed" hybrid? No one," I tell him. "She had a heart attack, but they thought I had killed her. It's bloody ridiculous. The tests clearly stated it was a heart attack!" I rant.

"Jesus Christ..." Hoseok says. "That's pretty fucked up."

"I think there was a mistake with her medication. The doctors changed her meds a week before she died, and now deny ever even treating her heart condition," I tell him.

"I could try-" taehyung begins, but I don't let him get far.

"Don't risk your career for me. One time is enough. I'm fine, I have been for a while," I interrupt. He just nods in response, finishing off his pizza slice before taking another. "What time is it?" I ask Hoseok, too lazy to turn around and look at the clock.

"It's around midday," he tells me, glancing at his phone screen.

Taehyung pauses his typing to ask: "Hoseok, could you go plug in the printer?"

Hoseok gets up, the remainder of his final slice in his mouth as he disappears into Jungkook's room.

"We need to leave once these are printed. We've stayed for half an hour too long," he explains. "I'm printing out your new records, and another paper. Give them to him. I'll let you choose whether or not to let him know about your records and your real legal status."

"Thank you so much," I smile at him.

"It's my job-" he says, before cutting himself off with a correction, "well, no, but it's what I like to think is my job. A favor for a friend."

I hear the whirring of a printer coming from Jungkook's room. Hoseok comes out after a few moments, a hefty stack of papers in his hands. I gawk at the number of papers.

"What size font did you use? 84?" I ask Taehyung. Hoseok snorts.

"Nope, those, my dearest Shortie, are adoption papers," Taehyung replies smugly. "Now you can be legally adopted, and you won't be euthanized if found out. I do have a feeling that you have some unresolved business, though. When you feel like doing something about it, come visit me, or call me. Kook has my number."

"I can't thank you enough," I say, happy tears on the brim of falling. I hold the heavy stack of papers in my hands, noticing the original file stating my supposed crime under my new files.

Hoseok gives me a friendly hug, ruffling my hair. Taehyung rushes him out of the door, checking his watch as he jogs to the elevator. 

1038 words