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

CHAPTER 55

BO-YOUNG

I take a sip of my hot chocolate, a shiver of satisfaction running down my spine as it slides down my throat. I sigh contently.

"Ahahaa, if it weren't for your skills in hot chocolate making, I would have usurped you long ago," I say, looking up at Jungkook with pure mischief in my eyes.

"Thank god for me being a hot chocolate virtuoso, then," he laughs. He looks between me and the Christmas tree with both anxiousness and anticipation.

I take a long, slow sip of my hot chocolate. Jungkook bounces impatiently. I smile and decide to tease him a bit longer.

I lean back into the couch cushions and lounge lazily, swirling the hot chocolate in my mug as if it were wine. Jungkook grimaces as he rocks back and forth, peeking over at the small gift I set under the tree. I let out a drawn-out yawn.

"Gah!" Jungkook snaps impatiently, puffing out his cheeks a bit and pouting. "Can't you drink that while exchanging gifts?"

I take another long sip. "Maybe."

I stand up lazily, hiding my excitement. Junkook, on the other hand, is beaming.

We make our way to the tree, sitting down across from each other near the base. I place my mug down onto the hardwood floor.

I take the gift from under the tree and place it delicately onto my lap, watching as Jungkook looks at me in anticipation. I take in a deep breath before offering him the gift.

"I hope you like it," I say nervously. Jungkook takes the small wrapped gift. He looks surprised at how light it is.

"Are you sure you remembered to put the gift in?" he asks jokingly. I chuckle, giving him a nod. He smiles before beginning to unwrap it. After discarding the messily torn wrapping paper on the floor, Jungkook finds a plain cardboard box. Opening it, he finds the paper.

"A paper?" he asks in confusion.

"Stop questioning it and look closer," I say. Jungkook raises his hands in surrender, laughing as he does so.

He takes the paper into his hands and reads over what is says. A couple of sentences in, he gasps. He quickly looks up at me, a surprised and elated look on his face.

"Did you- How- Wh..." he sputters. "How much did this cost?"

"500€ for half a month," I tell him.

"I can't believe it. It's such a good spot too, and you got it for so cheap," he gushes. "Thank you, Bo-young."

Jungkook is now beaming, talking excitedly about what pieces he should display. I think I can see a tear in his eye. He suddenly stops and looks at me.

"How are you going to pay for it?" he asks, worry evident in his face.

I stifle a chuckle. "It's already been paid for. If you look at the bottom of the contract, you'll see that Taehyung signed it. Hyungsik, the owner, let me sign underneath," I tell him as I point at the bottom of the page, where I see Taehyung's signature, that in reality looks more like a horizontal scribble, scrawled over the line. Under it is my shaky signature. I continue by saying: "Taehyung was kind enough to call in a favor Hyungsik owed him. I'm planning on paying him back once I get a job."

"Ah, I should have guessed. But how exactly are you planning on getting a job?" he asks. His doubt comes from a good place. He and I both know that hybrids are not likely to be hired unless they have outstanding talent in something. Hybrids can work as freelancers, but that rarely makes any money.

"I have a plan. It's going to rely a lot on the pity of a certain middle-aged woman," I tell him.

"You're going to ask for a job at the cafe?" he asks in surprise.

"Jeez, sometimes you can be incredibly obtuse, and other times you're Sherlock Holmes. Yes, I'm thinking of asking the woman at the cafe for a simple job," I say before taking a moment to think of an example. "I would make a great mascot, I could burn down her kitchen in an attempt to make pastries, I could-"

Jungkook cuts me off.

"How is burning down her kitchen supposed to be worthy of a wage?" he questions.

I simply answer by saying: "Insurance."

Jungkook face-palms in both disappointment and laughter. Once he's calmed down, he says: "Seriously, though. Don't do that. I'd be liable."

"I can't make any promises. You adopted a hybrid of the streets, I don't know what you expected," I joke.

"That's the one decision I will never regret, even if you were to burn down a business," he swoons half-jokingly. I dramatically put my hand on my heart.

"Ahah, there's the cheesiness I've been missing," I laugh.

Everything becomes quiet as Jungkook and I sit next to the mini-Christmas tree. The colored lights light up half of Jungkook's face, making him look like he belongs in a polaroid. He wordlessly grabs a moderately large and somewhat flat gift wrapped in silver wrapping paper and hands it to me. The gift is surprisingly heavy.

"Oh, I forgot that you got me something too," I mutter.

"You didn't see the large silver gift under the tree?" he asks in disbelief.

"I was too focused on giving you my gift. I was nervous as hell," I justify.

Jungkook chuckles. "I know how you feel. Now, open it."

I nod before carefully removing the tape with my nails. Jungkook groans.

"Ah, I forgot you were like this," he says. "Hurry."

I shoot a quick glare at him before continuing my careful process of removing the tape. I begin to unwrap the gift after I've gotten rid of the tape, moving the paper aside to see the gift Jungkook got me.

"Oh my-"