Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“The next participant is #0485, Kim Sumin. Male, 20 years old, Russian Blue purebred, standing at 176cm and weighing 68kg. As we can see, he’s a well-rounded cat hybrid…”

Park Seonghwa held his breath as he tried to stifle the yawn that was threatening to escape his mouth. He blinked a few times and double-checked that he was still smiling the way he was supposed to before subtly looking around in a desperate effort to find a source of entertainment. He ended up making accidental eye contact with the participant standing next to him, who looked as bored as he felt, and they both bowed awkwardly and turned around to stare at the scene in front of them once again.

The hybrid took a deep breath and smiled extra hard to make up for what many have called his ‘Resting Bitch Face’. Most people in the industry already saw him as the ‘stuck-up and arrogant Ragdoll who thought he was better than anyone else’, he couldn’t afford to have even more rumors about his apparent disdain for other showcats spreading around.

A sudden applause erupted in the arena so Seonghwa was quick to join them, smile getting even bigger as he gave Kim Sumin an enthusiastic thumbs up as the other participant was coming down from the elevated stage. His show of support was dismissively received with a single eyebrow lift as the other catboy walked past him, and Seonghwa had to use all his willpower to avoid rolling his eyes at the Russian Blue hybrid.

Whatever. I don’t even like you.

The Ragdoll sighed again and looked for his dad in the sidelines to try to get some much needed love and reassurance, but he found him deep in conversation with another owner and not paying any attention to him.

Ah, shit.

Seonghwa knew exactly who that human was and the fact that Kyung was talking to him was probably a really, really bad sign. 

Nothing good ever came from his dad talking to other Ragdolls’ owners, especially this one.

He turned around to focus on the contest once again, trying to push down the fear and worry he could already feel bubbling up inside him.

He needed to focus right now.

The rest of the show went by really slowly as he subtly sneaked glances to where his dad was still discussing something with Ultimate Asshole’s owner every now and then, so Seonghwa had to stop himself from cheering out loud the moment the winner announcement finally rolled around.

He fought against the urge to groom himself one last time, fully aware that he had many eyes on him right now and not wanting people to think he was so arrogant that he was assuming his name was going to be called out soon.

But, well, he’d been doing this for literally all his life and that’s just how things worked.

It wasn’t arrogance, it was self-awareness.

“Our second runner-up is…” the host said before pausing to add drama, “cat hybrid #0962, Lim Sangwoo!”

The participant in question walked up to the stage to take his ribbon as Seonghwa clapped and kept smiling, even though his face was starting to hurt by now. He couldn’t help the snort that came out of him while he listened to the boring list of Lim Sangwoo’s supposed achievements and fun facts, immediately chastising himself for such reaction.

He didn’t have anything against the other hybrid, he just found it funny when humans highlighted their so-called accomplishments and personal anecdotes like anyone here cared about them as individuals.

Nobody chose a good show catboy because of their outstanding personality.

“Alright, moving on. Our first runner-up is…#1065, Lee Seyong!”

Fucking great.

He glared as the aforementioned hybrid faked surprise with a very dramatic reaction before waving around and winking at Seonghwa as he walked past him to get to the podium, making him have to suppress the instinct to just grimace at the other cat’s mere presence.

“Congratulations!” the host said as he put the ‘2nd Place’ ribbon on the hybrid. “Lee Seyong is a well-known and powerful household name that is probably very familiar to everyone here! This Blue Bi-Color Ragdoll has certainly lived up to his parents legacy…”

Seonghwa very subtly brushed the tip of his tail with his fingers and touched the carefully styled silver hair around his ears, as he very pointedly ignored the way Lee Seyong was blatantly staring at him the whole time the host was waxing poetics about the hybrid and his long line of purebred showcat ascenters.

“And now, the moment I know everyone is waiting and anticipating. The winner of the 2022 National Cat Hybrid Show is…contestant #1117, Park Seonghwa!”

Unsurprised, he bowed politely in every direction and actually smiled for real when he made eye contact with his dad, who returned the gesture as he clapped aggressively in support. Seonghwa put on a fake smile once again and walked up the podium to stand in front of the host as the human carefully put the ‘1st Place’ ribbon on top of his black silk shirt.

“Ah, I think this outcome is not a surprise to anyone! Park Seonghwa is a truly magnificent specimen who has crowned himself as the champion of the national cat beauty pageant scene for almost a decade now. An incredibly outstanding hybrid with a beautiful bodyline, stunning colors, and a gorgeous face. Congratulations, Mr. Park Kyung! Your cat is a true wonder.”

“I have to agree!” screamed Lee Seyong stupidly as Seonghwa move to stand next to him, as far as he could without making it seem too obvious.

“Thank you, Sir,” he replied, ignoring what the other hybrid had said and the consequent laughter coming from the audience before turning around to face the judges. “Thank you, Sirs and Madams.”

“We definitely got lucky in this year’s edition! Korean Blue Bi-Color Ragdoll hybrids are so extremely rare but we happened to have two among our participants, it’s really no surprise that they’re both standing here next to me right now. Truly stunning and exquisite creatures,” the host explained.

“Ask about their mating!” someone shouted from the audience.

Seonghwa turned to the general area of the person who had yelled their demand and mentally cursed at them. He fake laughed as the rest of the arena screamed loudly, clearly excited about the prospect of hearing about their non-existent mating.

Goddammit.

“Ah yes! Should we ask about that? Since your owners aren’t here right now, let’s see what the power couple themselves have to say! I’m pretty sure everyone here has heard the rumors of the upcoming mating between the two of you. Anything you want to say about that?” the human asked before coming closer to Seyong with a smirk on his face, completely ignoring the other Ragdoll.

Seonghwa could feel his ears flatting down in annoyance and he hoped everyone else would assume it was just a natural response to the sudden cheer that exploded in the arena.

“I’m afraid we can’t disclose any specifics right now, but hopefully we will be able to share some good news soon! Destiny has decided to bring the only two Korean Blue Bi-Color Ragdoll hybrids in this industry together so we should do something about it, don’t you think? I keep telling our lovely Seonghwa here that we’d make a great couple and that we would have the most beautiful purebred kittens, but, well, we all know how he is!” said Lee Seyong with the most annoying laugh.

“You would definitely be THE royal couple of the showcat scene! And your potential children would for sure dominate this industry! The perfect culmination of two powerful household families, they could be nothing but completely stunning! The combination of some of the best genes right there, I have to agree,” replied the host with an equally aggravating laugh.

Seonghwa forced his own fake laugh again as his tail started to flick behind him in annoyance after he heard the immediate and collective laugh that echoed inside the venue.

Nothing better to make a hybrid feel special than treat him like a pretty pedigreed baby incubator.

His irritation must have been apparent despite his best efforts to hold it back, because the host was quick to clear his throat after he turned to look at him.

“Anyway, enough chatting! This is a contest, not a gossip rag. I apologize to the owners for my indiscretion. Ehm, congratulations to the winners, extremely well-deserved! You can come up to pick your hybrids now! Thank you for coming to the 46th Edition of the National Cat Hybrid Show in Seoul, South Korea…”

Seonghwa smiled at Lee Sangwoo and ignored the other Ragdoll before coming down the stage to go to his dad, who was quickly walking towards him to meet him halfway with a clear grimace on his face.

“Congratulations, baby!” said Kyung the moment he was within earshot and gave him a quick hug. “I’m so sorry, Hwa, he had no right to say any of that in front of everybody. I will make sure to file a complaint both against him and the host.”

“It’s okay, dad. I just want to go home,” the hybrid replied, meaning every single word.

It’s not like I haven’t heard that a hundred times before.

The Ragdoll sighed when he saw the cameras coming towards him and he forced the smile once again, holding his silver fluffy tail in front of him to prevent it from giving his annoyance away as he posed for the pictures with his ribbon. His dad stood next to him as he got interviewed by several TV and radio stations, mics shoved in front of the human’s face as everyone ignored the hybrid. As always.

He was still posing for the last couple of photographers by the time Lee Seyong showed up, standing next to him with his own ribbon as he wrapped a hand around Seonghwa’s waist to bring him closer to him, big smile on his stupid face as the cameras around them were quick to gather around them once again.

Seonghwa forced himself to keep smiling and not make a scene as he held back the urge to gag as the other hybrid’s overpowering and disgusting scent clogged his nose. He pushed Seyong away the moment the cameras around them seemed to move onto the next target and he didn’t even bother to hide the disdain he sent in the direction of the other Ragdoll, who simply laughed in response.

“I’m afraid we have to leave now, we have previous engagements,” said Kyung as he grabbed the ribbon from Seonghwa and subtly brought him closer to him before bowing respectfully in front of Seyong’s owner. “Lee Hoyoung, it’s been a pleasure as always.”

“You never gave me a definitive answer, Park Kyung, don’t think I haven’t noticed,” said the other human as his own Ragdoll walked over to stand next to him.

“I’m pretty sure I did, Hoyoung. I told you I have to discuss it with Seonghwa first,” replied his father coldly.

The aforementioned hybrid felt himself get tense at the sudden hostile atmosphere and uncharacteristically annoyed look on Kyung's face.

Lee Hoyoung snorted. “You’re his owner. It’s your decision, not his. I’m starting to get tired of your hybrid’s bitchy attitude, you clearly don’t know how to put him in his place. I know your cat doesn’t like mine but this is beneficial for both of us, you’re acting like there are tons of hybrids out there to choose from. We’re kind of stuck with each other if we want to breed pedigreed Korean Blue Bi-Color Ragdolls, all you have to do is tell your pet to be a good boy and do what he has to do. He’s getting old, he won’t be fertile for much longer. We need to act quickly before it’s too late.”

Seonghwa could feel the hairs on his tail puffing out even more. 

He was getting really tired of humans talking about him like he wasn’t standing there.

“His pet has told you several times before that it’s never going to happen. I’m not going to mate with him and I’m not going to carry his spawn. End of discussion.”

Both the Ragdoll and his owner laughed at him, acting like he had shared a funny joke instead of his very serious and final decision.

“Your cat has a barbed tongue, that’s for sure,” said Hoyoung with a chuckle.

“Yeah, but that’s the only thing about you that’s barbed, isn’t it?” asked Seyong as he got closer to Seonghwa. “You can act all high and mighty but I can smell it on you. You’re just a molly, a bitch meant to lay down like a good boy so your tomcat can mate you and pump you full of kittens.”

Seonghwa hadn’t even noticed that his claws were out, all he knows is that a hiss came out of his mouth as thin bloody scratch marks suddenly showed up on the other hybrid’s face.

The reaction was immediate. 

The other Ragdoll moved back in shock, hand coming up to touch his damaged cheek as he stared at him with fury in his eyes. Lee Hoyoung was quick to move to check on his injured cat too, screaming the moment he saw the blood on his hybrid’s face.

“How dare you, you fucking bitch—”

“Control your fucking pet, Park Kyung!”

His dad was quick to grab him and push him behind him before things could escalate more. Seonghwa felt some shame sneaking up under the pure anger he could feel as he looked around and saw that people had noticed the altercation and were openly staring at them.

“Let’s go,” said Kyung to his cat as he guided Seonghwa towards the door. “You’re the one who should control your hybrid, Lee Hoyong. I’ll be forced to take legal action if he keeps harassing my boy.”

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. YOU are taking legal action on ME?!? I’m going to sue your ass, Kyung! You better pray that it won’t leave scars!”

Seonghwa could hear both Hoyong and Seyong still yelling obscenities at them as they quickly left through the door, and he tried to ignore all the eyes that had turned towards them as they walked out and headed straight to the car.

Kyung opened the door of the passenger side and gently pushed him inside before closing it behind him, quickly walking over to the driver’s side and standing there for a few seconds before opening the door and sitting down, turning the car on without even looking in his direction. 

They stayed in awkward silence the whole drive home and Seonghwa struggled to keep the tears at bay as he could feel the disappointment coming in waves from his dad. Kyung was usually tolerant and understanding with him, way more benevolent that the average hybrid owner, but the Ragdoll was fully aware that he had completely fucked up this time.

Badly.

He had impulsively scratched one of the most popular catboys in the industry on the fucking face, in front of everybody at the goddamned televised National Hybrid Cat Show Contest.

That asshole had it coming, but Seonghwa could still feel regret and guilt creeping up on him as the car stopped in front of the traffic light at the end of their street.

He was already seen as bitchy and pretentious by other showcats and owners, and now he was going to be seen as violent too.

He looked out through the window as he tried to subtly dry his eyes and mentally prepare for the argument they were surely going to have the moment they got home. His breath stopped as his attention was immediately drawn to a group of hybrids who were yelling and running around noisily in the closeby park, excited meows and screams traveling all the way to the car.

Seonghwa had never seen them before but he smiled softly when a catboy climbed a tree while laughing as a dog hybrid ran after him and unsuccessfully tried to reach up to him. The puppy didn’t seem to react badly to the cat’s antics though, he just laughed and determinately started to climb the tree too while the other members of the group stared at the duo as they laid lazily on the grass.

The Ragdoll felt a slight pang of jealousy as he watched them. He’d never had the chance to interact with strays before but they always looked so …happy and carefree. He knew he should feel grateful for the privileges he enjoyed as an indoor house cat, and that he discrimination he faced was nothing compared to what these hybrids went through. These people would probably give everything they have to enjoy just a mere fraction of the perks he got, but Seonghwa couldn’t help but think that he’d give everything he had too just to enjoy that apparent happiness and freedom just once.

For some reason, his attention was momentarily drawn away from the duo on the tree as he focused on one of the catboys laying on the grass, an orange tabby who was already staring at him by the time their eyes met. Seonghwa took a deep breath as he felt his heart beat faster at the intensity he found in the unknown hybrid’s gaze, but the exchange only lasted mere seconds as the car started moving once again and they were forced to break eye contact soon after.

The Ragdoll sighed and wondered what kind of things strays thought when they looked at him, a privileged pedigree cat who enjoyed all the luxuries of having a rich owner. Not just a mere purebred hybrid too but a queen, a member of that exclusive and remarkable ‘1% Club’ who had the ability to get pregnant and give birth to other so-called ‘pureblood cats’.

A glorified pedigreed baby incubator with a pretty face and a fluffy tail.

His internal pity-party got to a stop as they drove through the gates of the house and he took another deep breath, ready to face his dad and stand his ground the moment they stepped through the door. They were still silent as Kyung parked the car in the garage and they both walked out, heading towards the living room as they had done many times before. The place where the arguments took place.

The hybrid sat down on the sofa and waited for the inevitable to happen.

“I completely understand that he was antagonizing you, but I hope you know that you’ve put us in a very difficult position,” said his father. “Do you know how powerful and influential the Lee family is in this industry? I don’t like them either, but we have to be really careful with our behavior or we’d be completely ostracized. People are already talking poorly about you and your behavior, what do you think is going to happen now? You physically attacked him at a fucking show, Seonghwa! In front of the whole industry!” 

“He called me a bitch and a molly, Kyung! He fueled the rumors about our non-existent mating and practically confirmed that I’m a queen at the podium, in front of everyone there AND the people watching at home! I know that literally everybody and their mother already knows what’s going inside my body, but he had no right to do that. It’s really fucking rude!” the hybrid yelled back. “I’m trying very hard to behave properly, but what am I supposed to do when everyone keeps talking like that to me? I already have to deal with humans who think I’m beneath them because I’m a hybrid, am I supposed to just shut up and let entitled cats think they’re better than me because I have a fucking uterus?”

“That’s not what I’m saying and you know it. Do you think I enjoy seeing the way they treat you? I’m the first one who wishes things were different, but I’ve been trying to solve things in a civil way to avoid exactly this. You should leave these things to me!”

“Why? Because I’m just a dumb pet who can’t make his own decisions about his own fucking body?” the hybrid asked. “I’m fully aware that you’d prefer it if I just did what they want me to do and simply rolled over to let that asshole breed me, so everyone can win money with all the pureblood rare babies I can potentially pump out.”

Kyung sighed. “You know I’d never force you to do that. I’m trying my best here, Seonghwa.”

The hybrid looked through the window for a moment before replying: “I know, I’m just exhausted. I’m tired of everybody judging my every move and talking shit behind my back, no matter how much I smile and try to behave like a good catboy. Nothing is ever enough, this isn’t fun anymore.”

“Do you want to retire? Is that it?” asked his dad after a moment of silence.

“I don’t know what I want,” the catboy said with a sigh. “I’m sorry I scratched him, I promise it was completely instinctual and I didn’t mean to do it. I was really trying to just do what I had to do and come back home as quickly as possible.”

Seonghwa continued to stare at the sky through the window as awkward silence settled in the room. He could feel Kyung sitting next to him and wrapping an arm around him.

“We will do whatever you want to do. Just make the decision and I will take care of the rest.”

The hybrid got teary eyed as he turned around to return the hug. “I’m sorry I’m being so difficult, dad. I don’t know why can’t I just be a good hybrid and do what is expected of me like everyone else.”

“Seonghwa, you’re the best hybrid anyone could ask for.”

The catboy smiled sadly.

He knew his father was lying, but he chose to go along with it anyway.

–

Things were kind of tense for the next couple of days.

Neither Lee Hoyoung nor his lawyers had contacted Kyung and his dad had tried to pretend to be relieved because that meant they were probably going to put this whole interaction behind them and not take legal action, but they both knew that would be extremely out of character for them.

Seonghwa had been in a sad mood since the day of the competition and he hadn’t even dared to look online to see what kind of things they were saying about him. He had heard his dad talking on the phone more than usual, so he assumed it was probably pretty bad.

His own iPhone had just rang once again and he had turned around on the bed to reject the call without even looking at who it was.

He knew anyway.

The Ragdoll didn’t know how long he stayed lying there dozing off after the rejected call, but he was startled awake at some point later by three loud knocks on the door before it got violently pushed open.

“Rise and shine! Why are you even in bed at noon?”

Seonghwa groaned and covered himself with the blanket before he felt someone jump onto the bed and pull the fabric away.

“What’s wrong with you? Self pity-party's over, we’ve given you a few days to mope around and get over it but it’s clearly time to intervene,” said the other catboy as he dragged the Ragdoll across the big bed to help him get up.

“Minho, please. I don’t feel like having people over right now.”

“Tough luck, bitch. We’re here to give you a proverbial slap in the face to snap you out of it, but I’m perfectly willing to slap you for real if you don’t get up now.”

Seonghwa sighed and pushed his friend aside in order to get up. He knew the short hair Bombay hybrid would be perfectly capable of slapping him for real.

“Hi, Juyeon,” said the Ragdoll as he walked past the Himalayan catboy.

“I’m sorry, he’s just really worried about you,” he whispered as Seonghwa smiled softly at him.

He walked into his ensuite bathroom to wrap his pink silk robe around him and look into the mirror to make sure he didn’t look as shitty as he felt.

He kind of did.

The hybrid sighed and walked out again just to find that both of his friends were already laying on the bed, tails lazily swinging around as they stared at him.

“I find the fact that you’ve been ignoring our texts extremely rude, FYI, but I’ll allow it because I’m stupidly proud of you for scratching that asshole right on the face. Someone recorded you and the video is spreading around, it’s hilarious,” Minho said with a laugh.

Seonghwa groaned and fell down on the bed, ears flattening on his head. “Fuck, I’ve been too afraid to check what people are saying online. Is it bad?”

“No.”

“Definitely.”

Juyeon chuckled as he turned to look at the Bombay hybrid. “Didn’t we agree that we were going to be supportive?”

“What? I’m being supportive!” exclaimed Minho. “I’m supporting his right to defend himself against someone who has been sexually harassing him for years. I’m sick and tired of people treating us like shit just because we’re queens, fuck that. Yes, we’re part of the very few purebreds who can push kittens out. Does that mean you can automatically put your disgusting barbed dick in me? Hell no!”

The Himalayan sighed again.

“You’re a tomcat, shut up. Your opinion is not valid here. No uterus, no opinion,” added Minho before turning to face Seonghwa once again. “It is kind of bad because we can’t really hear what Seyong said, the video only shows you two talking and then you attacking him out of nowhere. A lot of people know, though. You looked really uncomfortable on the podium while you were getting your ribbons, so many of them have put two and two together. There are many tomcat assholes who are saying the same old shit about you, but the queen community is definitely rooting for you!”

The Ragdoll whined as he curled up and covered his face with his own messy tail.

“He called me a molly and basically said that I was just meant to lay down and let tomcats breed me.”

“Wow, what a fucking asshole,” said Juyeon.

“Ugh, I hate that word, it’s so fucking offensive. Now I’m even prouder of you, I hope you scratched deep enough to leave scars,” said the Bombay hybrid.

“I just want people to leave me alone. I’m tired.”

“You should take a break, Seonghwa. I know you’re still at the peak of your career, but you clearly don’t enjoy it anymore and you haven’t for a long time. I think a well-deserved break should do you good,” said the Himalayan cat.

“Fuck taking a break, you should just retire,” added Minho.

He sighed. “My dad asked me if I want to retire and, to be completely honest, I’m considering it. I…I don’t know what to do.”

“I mean, most show hybrids are retired by this age anyway,” said Juyeon.

“Yeah, most show hybrids retire by this age because they’re too busy selectively breeding the next generation of show hybrids,” added Minho with an eye roll. “I’ve been retired for three years now and I couldn’t be happier. I fucking hated that shit, you do feel like you’re just a pretty object your owner can show around, and if you are anything but perfect they just treat you like you’ve failed as a catboy. I was also considered a bitchy queen and it drove me up the wall, I can’t imagine how hard it must be for someone with a pedigree like yours. I’d be locked up for murder already if I were you.”

Seonghwa groaned and hugged a pillow.

“Maybe I just need to stop fighting it and accept that it’s my destiny. I’ve been delaying the inevitable, but sooner or later I’ll have to mate and breed. That’s just what hybrids do, especially if you’re a queen. I’m 23, Kyung has been extremely patient with me, anyone else would have just forced me into an arranged mating after my first heat. I’d never let that asshole put his dick anywhere near me, but there are other non-blue Ragdolls out there. Maybe I can try breeding with one of them again, see if it works out this time so I can just get pregnant, retire, and get people off my back.”

Both of his friends stayed quiet for a moment.

“Excuse me, what kind of bullshit is that? Should I slap you for real?”

“Minho, please,” said Juyeon. “You don’t need to get pregnant to retire. You have a great owner who wouldn’t force you to do that, I think you should take advantage of that. Neither Minho nor I are mated either and our owner doesn’t care, times are changing and we’re slowly gaining more rights. I know it’s different for you because you have more pedigree than us and you’re a queen on top of that so it’s more complicated, but you shouldn’t do something like that again just because you feel forced too,” said Juyeon.

“Seonghwa, you already tried breeding with Choi Soobin and not only it didn’t work out but it traumatized you into not having sex ever again!” exclaimed the Bombay hybrid. “Juyeon is right, though. Most catboys don’t have the privilege to choose, you should take the opportunity and do what you really want to do. Maybe this is your chance to walk away from the industry, just take some time to ‘reflect on your actions’ and never come back. Tomcats will probably be scared of getting too close to you after what you did as well, so it’s a win-win. A fresh start without any thirsty assholes sniffing around.”

“Okay, first of all, the experience with Soobin didn’t traumatize me! I actually like him, he’s the only Ragdoll tomcat I tolerate in this industry so he seemed like the best option to have kittens with. It’s just that sex is not that great, I don’t see the point in going through all that hassle if I’m not even going to end up pregnant at the end. That’s the whole point.”

“Seonghwa, the point of sex is not always to get pregnant! And it can definitely be that great, Soobin is just a lousy lover. Well, you were both 19 so I guess he's probably better at it by now, Yeonjun has most likely taught him a thing or two. Anyway, just because someone is a nice guy and you have a decent work relationship with him doesn’t mean you’re going to be sexually compatible. You need to find someone who will rock your world, but you never will if you only interact with stuck-up, boring and empty headed hybrids.”

“Don’t say that, Soobin did what he was supposed to do!” said the Ragdoll. “And I don’t only interact with other showcats, I…I mean, I have you?”

“Are you asking me?” asked Minho. “You only have us because I forced you to be friends with us and it still took you a long time to warm up to us. You’re so sheltered, you should go out with us more often. It’d be good for you.”

Seonghwa sighed and sat down, distractedly brushing his tail with his fingers before he noticed what he was doing and stopped.

His groomer would yell at him again if he ruined the way it looked by touching it all the time.

“Like we can just go out without our owners like that," he said before he sighed. "I do want to go out. I feel like I’ve wasted my life, to be honest. I used to enjoy being a showcat because of all the love and the attention, but the focus has shifted over time. People don’t talk about how pretty my silver fur is or how fluffy my tail is, they talk about how old I am, how bored I look, and who I’m going to mate or not mate.”

The hybrid stopped talking and looking through the window, mind going back to the clowder of hybrids he had seen playing around in the park a few days ago.

“I’ve never properly seen the outside world, I just go out when it’s needed and I…I do feel like I’ve made a huge mistake. I’m starting to realize that I thought I was happy, but I genuinely don’t know if this is true happiness. I’ve been doing what I was supposed to do and never stopped to wonder if that’s what I actually wanted, and now that I’m doing exactly that, I feel like I’m missing out on life,” he started tearing up as he voiced the feelings he had kept to himself for a while now. “But I don’t even know where to start. What am I supposed to do if I quit the business? I want to look for happiness, but I don’t know where to start.”

Juyeon hummed before saying: “That’s okay, just take it a step at a time. You don’t have to be sure about anything right now. Minho is right, just take some time away from the industry and figure out what you want to do. Don’t think about it too hard.”

“What would you do if you weren’t a showcat?” added the Bombay hybrid. “Imagine this: you’re not a queen, you’re not a pedigree cat, you’re not a showcat. You have all the freedoms and rights humans have. What would you do?”

Seonghwa inhaled and closed his eyes, thinking about it for a second before replying.

“I’d go outside. I’d go out without Kyung and discover all the things I don’t know anything about. I’d met interesting hybrids who don’t treat me like shit because I get more attention than them and who care about something more than how pedigreed we are,” he explained, words coming out of his mouth without his direct control. “I…I want to fall in love. I want to have a family. I want to have kittens I can keep and who won’t be sold out to the highest bidder the moment they’re old enough. I want them to be able to aspire to be anything they want to be, not just be stuck with the expectations put on them before they were even born because they have specific genes.”

He stopped as a sob made him choke up and his friends were quick to wordlessly hug him, petting his hair as they simply offered their comfort.

There was nothing they could say after all, they knew his dreams were completely out of his reach as a hybrid.

And Seonghwa knew it as well as they did.

He’d never be able to do any of that, but that didn’t stop his heart from wanting it.

–

He started to feel a bit better over the following days.

He had finally caved and searched himself online to see what people were talking about, and even though he had ended up crying after a couple of mean comments, he also felt more determined than ever to take a break from the industry.

Seonghwa didn’t know exactly what he wanted to do, but he was pretty convinced that it wasn’t this.

The hybrid had tried to look for other options, things he could do besides standing in front of a row of judges while they picked apart every single detail of his appearance, but there was little else he could do.

He had never stopped to think about it, but he was starting to understand why catboys and catgirls were either an expensive pet humans showed around or a stray. There really wasn’t anything in between.

He hadn’t had the courage to tell Kyung that he wanted a break yet and the anxiety was kind of eating him up. He spent half of the day sleeping, both to try to avoid interacting with anyone and to pretend he wasn’t going through an existential crisis, so he wasn’t tired at night most of the time. He felt too restless and worried about the future to be able to fall back asleep, so he just laid awake as he tried to figure out a new life goal.

Which is why he had even been awake that fateful day.

He had been lazily laying on bed while scrolling on his phone at 3am, trying to find something easy and hybrid-friendly to do outside so he could begin this new chapter of his life, when he felt it.

The fur on the back of his neck stood up in warning as he stopped scrolling and sat straight on the bed.

There was another hybrid in the house.

His ears flickered around, trying to catch any strange sound coming from the silence of the night.

Seonghwa’s heart started beating faster as he heard the faint sound of a door silently opening up, adrenaline fueling his heightened senses. The catboy got up, panicky looking around and trying to figure out what to do.

There were security cameras everywhere and the alarm should have gone off by now. It wasn’t the first time someone had tried to sneak into their house with nefarious intentions, but it was the first time the trespasser was another hybrid.

The Ragdoll walked closer to the bedroom door, opening it as slowly as he could and peeking through the small opening. The intruder’s presence was even more noticeable now and he could feel himself freaking out.

I need to tell dad.

He slowly got out of the room and tip-toed towards Kyung’s room, only to suddenly stop on top of the staircase before he could reach the other side of the hallway.

A cat.

He could easily smell them now, a really strong scent traveling all the way up to the second floor of the house.

A tomcat, more specifically.

Even more panic flared inside Seonghwa. Humans scared him way more than other hybrids did, but he could only think of a few reasons as for why a tomcat would silently sneak into a house where a queen lived.

Before he could snap out of it and run towards his dad’s room, the trespasser walked silently out of the kitchen and stopped the moment he noticed Seonghwa standing on top of the staircase, slowly turning his head around to look at the Ragdoll.

It was pitch black, but fear had made the queen go into full cat mode and his pupils had adapted to be able to see what was going on, so he could very clearly see who the intruder was. Recognition quickly sparked inside his brain as their eyes met, flashback popping into his mind as he stared into the other’s dark gaze.

The stray from the other day.

In front of the stairs, holding what seemed to be a bunch of bags of Seonghwa’s very expensive hybrid food between his arms, was the orange tabby he had seen the previous week in the park.

The queen felt his claws instinctually come out and the furs on his tail puffing out in an attempt to show that he was ready to react in case of an attack, and he could see the tomcat reacting the same way in response as the puffed orange tail stood high behind him. The intruder didn’t seem to have any intention to attack him though, he simply stared at the Ragdoll with curiosity on his face as two bags of Seonghwa’s favorite salmon jerky snack hung from his mouth.

The silver-haired hybrid had relaxed a little due the lack of aggression in the air, but the fear was quick to return as the tomcat’s intense gaze moved down his body slowly and he was hit with the sudden realization that he was only wearing his pink silk pajama shorts and the matching crop top.

The Ragdoll watched as the stray quickly returned his eyes back up to look at his face and he freaked out when he noticed a new kind of fire in them, fully aware of his delicate situation. 

Desire.

He had been on the receiving end of that stare enough times to know what it meant. 

He was fully expecting the tomcat to just drop what he was holding and walk up the stairs to do all sorts of bad things to him, but much to Seonghwa’s surprise, the orange tabby simply winked at him as a wide smirk showed up on his face, fangs poking out from under his lips as they continued to hold tightly onto the bags of snacks in his mouth.

And just as quickly and silently as he had appeared, the stray broke eye contact to head towards the living room, sending one last heated look in the queen’s direction before disappearing into the dark room.

The Ragdoll stood there as he faintly heard the tomcat escaping through the window and closing it carefully behind him, leaving an extremely confused and stunted hybrid standing on top of the staircase.

…what the fuck did just happen?

–

Seonghwa never told anyone what he had seen.

He didn’t know how the stray had managed to get inside the house without triggering any of the alarms or security cameras, but nobody else seemed to be aware of what had taken place that night.

Neither the staff nor Kyung had mentioned that there was anything missing, not even the food, and the Ragdoll hadn’t acknowledged it either.

Part of him almost wanted to think it had been a fever dream, but he had obsessively gone through the encounter over and over again in his head since that night.

It had happened. He could clearly remember the way his body had shaken with fear and the strong non-aggressive scent of the other hybrid.

He knew he should have said something, but the stray hadn’t tried to hurt him at all, not even after he had slowly and heatedly checked him out in his tiny summer pajamas. He had simply and silently sneaked into the house to grab some food just to leave again.

Seonghwa couldn’t stop thinking about the crowler he had seen with the tomcat too, about the fact that there had been at least five people in the group and that the only thing the orange tabby seemed to have stolen was food.

He had been so obsessed with the encounter that his reading material had quickly shifted from his search for happiness to ‘stray cat hybrid resources’. 

The Ragdoll had been horrified about the things he had read, embarrassed by the fact that he hadn’t known that these cats probably didn’t have easy access to a lot of food outside what the Hybrid Rescue Centers offered until now.

He had known strays had it hard, but he hadn’t known how hard.

So, he had chosen to just stay quiet. He had plenty of food and nobody had even noticed there was a bunch of stuff missing. He was just doing his part as a privileged hybrid and helping his fellow catboys, that’s all.

He had tried to bury the other weird feelings that creeped into his stomach as he also remembered the strong scent, the intense look on the tomcat’s face, and the way the pointy fangs had stood out against the dark bag of salmon jerky even from a distance. 

The encounter had made something snap inside Seonghwa, though. Reading about strays and just how fucked up hybrids had it in general made him want to do something about it. Expensive pet or alleycat, you were fucked either way. 

Determination fueled the Ragdoll to stop moping around and find a way to use the privileges he had at his disposal to do something much bigger than himself. 

He had also sat down with Kyung and had explained that he wanted to take a long break and possibly retire, that he wasn’t happy and that he wanted more in life than the options that had been given to him just because he was a pedigree hybrid. The conversation had been intense and emotional, full of tears and hugs and whispered reassurances that they both loved each other and were proud of one another no matter what.

Seonghwa had always known that he was extremely lucky to have an owner like Kyung, but he had never fully understood just how much until that day. He would never forget the way his father had broken down into tears, apologizing for pushing him into such a toxic industry as a child without wondering if it truly made him happy or not.

The Ragdoll knew he was in a position other hybrids can only dream of, and he was going to use that privilege to do something. He didn’t know what or how exactly, but he’d figure it out.

He was a cat with a mission now.

–

It had been five days since the encounter with the stray and he was determined to stop thinking about it so he could put it behind him and focus on his brand new life goal, but life had other plans for him.

Seonghwa had ended up staying up late once again that day, too caught up on reading about cat hybrid discrimination laws in Europe, so he found himself trying to silently dry his wet hair without using the hairdrier and failing miserably at it at 1am. He sighed, fully aware that there was no way he’d be able to successfully dry his fluffy tail without help, and put on his pajamas and robe before applying his skincare, taking his heat suppressant and walking back into his bedroom.

Seonghwa opened the balcony door and walked outside, hoping the nice Spring breeze would help dry the damp fur of his tail. He leaned over the railing and looked into the bright city, wondering what kind of things humans and strays did out there while everyone else was asleep. He was so lost in his daydreams about the wonders of the outside world that he only noticed he wasn’t alone when something fell loudly to the ground next to him, startling him out of his sleepy daze.

The Ragdoll looked down to see a bunch of acorns laying by his foot and he frowned before he stared into the massive oak tree that stood proudly next to his balcony, trying to look past the leaves to figure out how the acorns had traveled all the way there in the absence of wind.

His confusion turned into fear when he heard a giggle coming from the oak and he took a step back, heart beating fast in his chest when he saw a head full of orange hair poking out as the intruder pushed some of the branches away to reveal himself.

“Please, don’t scream!” said the other hybrid hurriedly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I’ve been trying to catch your attention for a while, but you seemed really lost in your thoughts.”

The stray.

Seonghwa took yet another step back, unsure of what he should do. He subtly stared at the closest security camera and quickly realized that the tomcat was most likely out of frame considering his current location.

“I promise I mean no harm, you don’t have to worry. I won’t come any closer but feel free to just lock yourself in your room and call security if you feel unsafe anyway.” 

The Ragdoll stared at him intently, wondering why he wasn’t doing exactly that. They both looked at each other for a moment, assessing one another to figure out the other catboy’s intentions as they stood there in silence.

The stray was wearing faded jeans and a hoodie once again, and he seemed as non-threatening and laid-back as he had looked during their first encounter a few days prior, which gave Seonghwa an odd (and possibly false) sense of security. He didn’t know why exactly, but he could feel that the orange tabby didn’t have any intention to hurt him. He was aware that he didn’t have any reason to trust this random tomcat who had broken into his house twice now, but he felt rooted in place as he stared at the other hybrid with interest.

Seonghwa knew he should definitely walk back into his house and alert security, that it was something he should have actually done after the first time they had ran into each other, but he had to admit that intense curiosity had been consuming him since their brief encounter at the staircase that day. 

He had never met a stray before and he assumed the other hybrid had never met an indoor cat either. The tomcat was staring at him with a playful and inquisitive expression on his face and the Ragdoll suspected that he also had an endless stream of questions running through his mind, desperate to know more about someone so similar yet so different.

I guess it won’t hurt to talk to him just a little bit, he seems safe enough.

Seonghwa was about to break the silence to tell the other catboy that he would keep his presence a secret once again, but the tomcat beat him to it and spoke first.

“Damn, kitty. I had convinced myself that I was blowing your beauty out of proportion in my mind and that there was no way you were as stunning as I remembered, but somehow you’re even more beautiful than the image I had in my head. It’s true what they say: pedigree cats really are in a whole different league,” the stray said with a big smirk on his face, his intense gaze slowly moving down the Ragdoll’s body as he checked him out.

The queen yelped as he noticed that, once again, he barely had any clothes on and he was quick to firmly secure the previously untied robe around him. The orange tabby laughed and playfully covered his eyes with the hand that didn’t have a firm grip on the branches.

“I apologize. I was trying really hard not to stare, but my eyes just wander on their own when they see pretty half-naked kitties with long legs and small waists. It’s a serious medical issue.”

Seonghwa snorted as he felt disappointment start to bubble up inside him.

He had felt excited by the prospect of having an actual conversation about the outside world and the stray lifestyle with someone who lived out there, but it turned out the other hybrid was just another tomcat who thought he was God’s gift to queens.

“Why are you even here making unwanted comments about my body? Just go ahead and rob us again,” he said.

“I’m not here to borrow food today, I was actually hoping I could talk to you. I apologize if I offended you, I just can’t help but appreciate the fact that we keep running into each other while you’re wearing tiny pajamas.”

“You didn’t ‘borrow’, you stole from us! And we don’t ‘run into each other’, you’re trespassing into private property and stalking me from a tree!” the Ragdoll exclaimed.

“Ah, I guess you’re right. My behavior does sound kind of bad when you say it like that, my apologies,” said the tomcat, not looking apologetic at all. “Let’s start again. I’m here because I wanted to thank you for not calling Hybrid Control Services on me even though I borrowed your fancy food right in front of your face. I wasn’t expecting to run into you that night, but I’m really grateful by the fact that you simply stared at me with your big doe eyes and let me leave without alerting your owner,” said the stray.

Seonghwa chuckled and looked away with a huff, embarrassed by the fact that he had just stood there as they were robbed and then didn’t even say anything about it after.

“How do you know that? Maybe I did alert my owner and he called Hybrid Control Services.”

“You didn’t. Trust me, I’d know,” the stray said. “Anyway, what’s your name, gorgeous? I’m Hongjoong.”

“Did I ask?”

The other hybrid laughed. “Ooh, feisty. I like that. I thought indoor cats were supposed to be submissive and agreeable, but this is a nice surprise.”

The Ragdoll glared at him, ears flattering on his head and tail tensely swinging around.

This conversation wasn’t going the way he had anticipated when he decided to stay in the balcony to chat with the other hybrid. He was starting to think he had given the tomcat too much credit.

“Hey, kitty, what’s your opinion about strays? Hypothetically speaking, would you be up to having some naked fun with a mere commoner? Asking for scientific purposes.”

Seonghwa’s annoyance ended up overpowering the curiosity he felt towards the orange tabby, so he silently turned around to get inside his room and lock the door behind him, closing the curtains without looking at the oak again even after the other hybrid had started calling for him.

Fucking tomcats. They’re all the same, no matter their breed.

–

“Why are you even here again?”

Seonghwa didn’t know why he was standing there exactly, but he had walked out to his balcony the following night just to find the orange tabby sitting comfortably in the oak one more time.

He really shouldn’t be here entertaining the tomcat once again, but he was just too curious to just let it go.

“I told you, I just want to properly meet the fluffy half-naked catboy who keeps hiding my existence from his owner. I truly appreciate you not saying anything, I don’t feel like dealing with the assholes from Hybrid Control again and we like this area so I don’t want to move to a new one just yet. You’re doing us a solid here, I’m very grateful,” said the stray. “And, you know, I don’t mind the pretty view I get when I come here. That’s a massive bonus too.”

Seonghwa snorted, choosing to ignore the other hybrid’s attempts at flirting and wondering what would exactly happen to the other catboy if he had indeed called the authorities on him.

“What would Hybrid Control Services do to you anyway?”

The stray stared at him in silence for a moment before he chuckled. “Must be really nice to be a hybrid and still be completely unaware of what HCS does with folks like us.”

The orange tabby’s demeanor had changed completely, usual playfulness and flirty aura completely gone and replaced by a haunted and solemn expression. 

It made the Ragdoll feel extremely weird and guilty for some odd reason.

“My name is Seonghwa,” he said impulsively, trying to ease the sudden tension. “There, you have officially met me and thanked me. You can leave now.”

“Mhm, Seonghwa. Your name is as pretty as the rest of you,” the stray said, light reflecting on his eyes once again as the smirk came back.

He tried to fight the strange fluttering feeling that spread in his stomach at the way the orange tabby had said his name.

“Hey, I’ve been wondering about something,” the tomcat said suddenly. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but why is your scent so strong? We've only seen each other from a distance but I can smell you so clearly every single time. Is that a pedigree thing?”

Seonghwa snorted.

“Are you kidding me right now? Are you playing dumb?”

Does he want me to admit I’m a queen out loud or what?

The stray was a tomcat, he would definitely be able to tell just by smell.

“How am I supposed to know? I’ve never met any other purebred hybrid before!”

The Ragdoll sighed in annoyance. “Do you even have a filter? Do you just blurt out every single thought that comes into your head?”

“What? It’s a genuine question! You said that we could ask each other stuff earlier! I don’t know anything about purebloods, you guys are basically mythical creatures in our eyes.”

“Ugh, please don’t call me that,” the Ragdoll said with a grimace.

“Okay, okay. Sorry! I don’t know anything about pedigree hybrids,” Hongjoong said with a laugh. “I have a sensitive nose, but I just don’t understand how I can smell you so clearly even from meters away. And, I’m saying this in the most non-creepy way possible, but you smell so fucking good. I’ve never smelled anything like it, you literally make my mouth water, I’m not even joking—No! Wait! Come back, I’m sorry! Seonghwa!”

–

“What kind of breed are you, anyway? I’ve never seen any other hybrid like you.”

“I’m a Ragdoll.”

Why do you even keep coming out to the balcony every single night, Seonghwa?

He wasn’t completely sure why, but he just felt the pressing need to keep interacting with Hongjoong, even if the stray always ended up ruining the moment by being a fuckboy.

Curse his curiosity about the outside world.

“Never heard of it, I’m afraid I don’t know a lot about pedigree breeds. You’re so incredibly fluffy tho, I really want to pet your tail. We barely get to see any long-haired cats among us lowly commoners.”

Seonghwa hugged the appendage in front of him in response and the tomcat was quick to laugh at his reaction.

“Don’t worry, I only touch pretty catboys’ tails after they’ve given their enthusiastic consent,” Hongjoong said.

The Ragdoll found himself slightly grooming it once again, brushing it with his fingers and it slowly dried out in the cool night.

“That makes you more polite and respectful than 90% of the people, human and hybrids, I’ve interacted with in my life,” he said instead, choosing to ignore the blatant flirting. “What kind of breed are you?”

The stray laughed loudly, almost losing balance and falling from the tree as his body shook the branch due to the force of his reaction.

The other hybrid had a playful expression on his face when he stopped laughing, eyes shining with their usual intensity and a big smile that showcased his fangs. Pointy teeth that made the back of Seonghwa’s neck tingle with a weird sensation he’d never felt before.

He averted his eyes, quickly looking over to his dad’s balcony to make sure the loud noise hadn’t woken him up.

“Oh, kitty. I’m a stray. We don’t have breeds, we’re just a mix and match of everything. My bloodline is as diluted as they get too, my mother told me that my dad basically looked like a human. No cat ears, no tail, no claws. Nothing. It’s kind of a miracle I came out looking like this, my hybrid genes are pretty watered down.”

The Ragdoll raised an eyebrow in disbelief. He knew diluted bloodlines were extremely common among strays, some of them barely had any hybrid traits on them and could easily pass as humans. This cat definitely didn’t have ‘watered down hybrid genes’, though. Not only did he have all the visible traits, but Seonghwa could smell it on him. 

Hongjoong was a tomcat, there was no doubt about it in his mind. Members of diluted bloodlines couldn’t be tomcats. 

He might be really cross-bred, but he was a 100% full cat hybrid.

Seonghwa snorted and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Only barbed dicks could trigger all the necessary changes to make queens get pregnant, and only tomcats had barbed dicks.

The stray probably thought he could convince him to sleep with him without risking getting knocked up.

He had heard that lie many times before.

They really are all the same.

“Hey, Seonghwa,” said Hongjoong suddenly, a mischievous look on his face. “We’re clearly vibing, don’t you think? I’m sure I’m not the only one feeling the intense chemistry between us. Should I sneak in to show you how we do things in the streets? Your owner doesn’t need to know if you stay real quiet.”

The Ragdoll sighed and moved back from the railing, walking into his room without bothering to say goodbye.

Every time the conversation got interesting and Seonghwa got comfortable, the other hybrid had to quickly bring it back to sex.

“No, wait! I’m sorry, I’ll shut up. Don’t leave, kitty!”

Fucking tomcats.

–

“I want to apologize, I swear I’m not always this horny,” Hongjoong said the moment the queen walked outside the following night. “Okay, that’s a lie, I’m kind of always horny but you’re just so fucking hot and you smell so incredibly good that it makes thinking rationally really hard. I’ve been so rude to you, it’s a miracle you even talk to me at all. I’m sorry, I promise I will be on my best behavior from now on.”

The Ragdoll snorted.

It was true, though.

It was kind of a miracle that he talked to him at all, he had completely shut down other tomcats for a lot less before. 

“Tell me about you, Seonghwa. What do purebred kitties like you do all day in their big mansions?” asked Hongjoong as he laid back against the trunk and got more comfortable.

He stared at the stray for a moment, wondering how much he should share about himself.

“We don’t do much, to be completely honest. Most of us are just fancy pets. I’m kind of lucky because I have a job,” the Ragdoll said before he snorted and smiled sadly as he fidgeted with the sleeve of his robe. “If you can call it that, I guess. I’m a showcat, I stand in front of a bunch of humans so they can analyze every detail of my body and genetic makeup to decide if I’m pedigreed enough to be crowned the best specimen in the place.”

Hongjoong didn’t say anything, so the words continued coming from Seonghwa’s mouth.

“All that matters is how pretty I look and how purebred my parents and grandparents were. I’m one of the top cats in the industry but it has nothing to do with me as a person, it’s just stuff I was born with because I was carefully bred to be this way,” he added before stopping for a moment, sudden rage bubbling up inside him. “What do purebred cats like me do all day inside our mansions? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. We sit around waiting for the next contest, the next photoshoot, the next modeling gig, until we hit the peak of our fertility and then they put us away to be selectively bred and push out as many pedigreed kittens as we can so we can continue making them money.”

Seonghwa hadn’t meant to just word vomit like that, but he felt unable to stop talking now that he had opened that box.

“I don’t even know my parents or my siblings. I’m lucky my owner lives in Korea and he took me to see my mother several times as a child, but she never cared about me. And why would she, to be honest? I’m just one of the many kittens she was forced to have with other random pedigree cats of the same breed. I’m just that extremely expensive one, the one who was literally auctioned as a baby because of the accidental genetic mix that made me part of the fucking exclusive ‘1% Club’,” he continued, choking up on his words but still refusing to stop. “And that would have been my destiny too if it wasn’t for the fact that I have an amazing owner. I’ve only been pushed to breed once and it went badly so my father took pity on me and let me be, even though everybody keeps talking about how old I am and how my precious and unique genes are being wasted in a stuck-up bitch like me.”

The Ragdoll stopped to take a deep breath before using the sleeve to dry the tears that had started to build up in his eyes. He could feel himself shaking and he released a humorless laugh when he noticed he had just gone on a rant about how hard he had it in front of someone who had to literally steal food in order to survive.

You’re being a privileged asshole, Seonghwa.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know why I told you all that. I recently decided to take a break from the industry because of something that happened during my last contest and I’ve been bottling a lot of things up because of it. You probably think I’m an entitled jerk for complaining about something like that when you guys have it much worse than me. I apologize.”

Hongjoong hadn’t said anything at all since the beginning of his speech and he finally looked up to him, shocked by the expression he found on the stray’s face the moment they made eye contact. 

Seonghwa had never seen the tomcat look this serious, not even during their very brief talk about Hybrid Control Services a few days ago. He felt slightly scared as he looked at him, afraid that he had completely fucked up whatever tentative friendship they were building by accidentally offending him.

“I’m really sorry, Seonghwa, that’s horrible. I…I’m embarrassed to say that I didn’t know any of that. I’ve always felt so incredibly jealous of you all, sitting safe and warm in your big houses, eating the tastiest foods and getting access to all the privileges humans have. Enjoying life in ways I can only dream of,” the stray said before snorting. “I should have known that humans would still do their best to fuck you up even if you are expensive and pedigreed pretty things.”

“It’s not that bad, I think I made it sound worse than it is,” he said, trying to fix things for some reason. “It’s a bit more complicated for me because I’m a queen, but we still get a lot of privileges and I am grateful for that. I’m just being whiny.”

“Don’t try to defend them, you have all the right to complain. What you told me is so incredibly messed up, they’re treating you like objects they can show off and then they hide you away to force you to breed. That’s horrifying!” Hongjoong replied, tone of voice rising the more he kept talking. “Sure, you get to enjoy certain privileges but that doesn’t make up for the fucked up shit you have to go through. I’m glad you decided to take a break, I hope you never go back to that. If your owner tries to force you to mate again just let me know, I will break you out and you can come live with us. We might be poor invisible strays no one cares about, but nobody will ever force you to do anything you don’t want to do, let alone something as serious as breeding.”

Seonghwa snorted before playfully raising an eyebrow. “Are you insinuating I should run away with you and become a stray?”

“I…No!” the tomcat said, looking somewhat flustered for the first time since he met him. “I…I’m just saying that if you ever feel unhappy with your life and feel forced to do something you don’t want, I—oh shit!”

The orange tabby didn’t say anything else before he quickly hid back behind the branches and the queen frowned, unsure of what had just happened.

“Hong—”

“Seonghwa, what are you doing?”

He yelped and jumped startled when he heard Kyung speak behind him, turning around to find him staring at him from the open balcony door.

“Nothing, just enjoying the fresh air.”

Kyung looked at him suspiciously as he walked out to stand next to him.

“Were you talking to someone?” he asked as he looked down to the ground.

“What? No. I…I was talking to myself out loud,” the hybrid said, feeling panicked as his father turned to stare at the oak tree. “Why are you awake, dad? It’s late.” 

“I could ask you the same thing. I felt like eating something and noticed that you had your lights on when I was heading down,” Kyung replied before looking at him again with the same suspicious look on his face. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes, I just…I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately, you know? With the whole incident with Lee Seyong and me trying to figure out what to do with my life and everything,” he said truthfully.

His father hugged him and he let himself enjoy the warmth of his support. 

“You don’t have to worry about the Lees, I will take care of that. They haven’t said anything yet but I’m prepared to face them when they do, just focus on relaxing and trying to figure out what you want to do next,” Kyung moved back to look the Ragdoll in the eyes. “I’ll never force you to breed with him or with any other hybrid, no matter what anyone says or how much money they offer. You have my word. You’ll never have to…what did you say exactly? ‘Mate with him and carry his spawn’”

Seonghwa laughed wetly and subtly looked into the oak, wondering if Hongjoong was still there.

“I will schedule a playdate with Minho and Juyeon tomorrow. You don’t have to be out here talking to yourself at 2am if you need to speak with someone, Seonghwa,” said Kyung.

The hybrid groaned. “Dad, I don’t need you to arrange playdates with my friends! I’m 23 years old! I can call them myself if I need to.”

Kyung chuckled and gently pushed towards the door. “Sure, whatever you say. Let’s go to bed.”

Seonghwa forced himself to not look at the tree again as his father closed the door and the curtains behind before tucking him in.

“I’m not a child,” the Ragdoll said with a pout.

Kyung laughed and gently ruffled his head before heading to the door and turning the lights off.

“Goodnight, Seonghwa.”

“Goodnight, dad.”

The hybrid looked at the door for a while after that, tuning his ears to hear his dad grab something from the kitchen before eating it downstairs and heading back to his room. Seonghwa waited for a moment after the human had the door closed and sprinted out of bed, quickly opening the balcony door and walking outside.

“Hongjoong?” he whispered.

The Ragdoll didn’t get any answer, so he just walked inside and closed the door after waiting for a while.

–

“Are you kidding me right now?! You’re having a fling with a fucking stray tomcat and I’m only finding out about it now?!”

Seonghwa giggled before making shushing sounds, looking at the door and hoping that Kyung hadn’t heard his friend’s outburst.

“Minho, please! I’m not having a fling with anyone! We just talk,” the Ragdoll replied, feeling flustered for some reason.

“‘We just talk’ he says like he didn’t tell me that he’s been having date nights every single day for like …how long?” the Bombay hybrid says with a snort.

“Four days,” he says straight away. “They’re not date nights! We just meet and chat for a bit. None of us has ever met anyone with such a different background so we’re both really curious.”

“Mhm, right. You’re curious.”

Seonghwa laughed and mindlessly picked on the tip of his tail. “I’ve actually had to cut it short several times because he’s such a fuckboy, it’s like we’re incapable of talking for more than 10 minutes without him thinking with his dick. He never tries anything, though. He’s always horny but he’s way more respectful than any other tomcat I’ve ever met – besides Juyeon, obviously. I don’t know, I just feel weirdly comfortable and safe with him, even when he’s just being a horndog.”

“Holy shit, you do want to fuck him!” Minho exclaimed before grabbing the other hybrid’s hands. “Seonghwa, I need you to listen to me very carefully: do it, ride that stray dick like there’s no tomorrow. You clearly want to, and I don’t know anything about him, but I can already feel he’d be a much better lay than Soobin.”

The Ragdoll yelped and took his hands away. “I’m not going to fuck him! Are you crazy? He’s a tomcat, have you forgotten that the barbs can make me ovulate even if I’m on heat suppressants? I don’t feel like explaining to my dad why I’m magically pregnant.”

His friend smirked knowingly and raised an eyebrow. “Is that the only thing stopping you? It’s fine, the chances of you getting pregnant outside a heat are slim. I can give you the name of a plant you can use to make some magical tea that will prevent that from happening, anyway. You don’t have to worry about that.”

Seonghwa raised his eyebrows. “How do you know that?”

Minho looked down to pick non-existent dust particles from his own tail. “I’m a well educated hybrid who knows many things.”

The Ragdoll snorted and rolled his eyes. “I’m not going to fuck Hongjoong, magical tea or not. I just want to learn more about strays and the outside world, that’s all.”

“Oooh, his name is Hongjoong. You totally think he’s hot and would like to do it, though,” his friend said matter-of-factly.

“I never said any of that!” he exclaimed.

“Seonghwa, he’s a tomcat and you still tolerate him enough to go out to talk to him for four nights in a row. Not just that, he’s a horny tomcat but you still do it. I’ve seen you shut hybrids down for simply looking at you weird, you’re definitely not going out simply because you’re curious about the outside world. You totally think he’s hot, admit it. Does he have a nice scent?”

“I…that’s not…huh…”

The silver-haired hybrid stopped talking and bit his tongue.

He could admit to himself that the stray had a really pleasant scent. Like, really really pleasant. It was very strong, as it was the norm with tomcats, but it wasn’t aggressive and overpowering. It was as spicy and chill as the owner himself, warm but fresh at the same time.

He is definitely not ugly.

He’d never properly seen him standing up without anything in the way, he didn’t seem to be very tall but it looked like he had good proportions and was muscular enough. Not that he was actively looking , but he had noticed the way his worn out jeans hugged his thighs and how his thin t-shirts showed off the curves on his chest.  

Kind of handsome, I guess.

Hongjoong had very nice features, objectively speaking. He had really intense eyes, a cute pointy nose and pouty lips that always seemed to be stretched out around a smile. And his teeth. They were nice too. 

Nice teeth and sharp fangs. 

Seonghwa snapped out of it when he noticed that he had completely spaced out thinking about the stray and cleared his throat, hoping that his face didn’t look as heated as it felt.

Judging by Minho’s grin, it probably was.

“He’s that hot, huh? Wow, now I’m really curious. Can I stay over tonight so I can meet him?”

The Ragdoll surprised himself as a sudden wave of annoyance quickly took over the embarrassment.

“No,” he said, way harsher than he had intended. “I mean, I don’t even know if he’ll come back tonight after the whole thing with my dad yesterday. I don’t want to overwhelm him or anything either, I should ask for permission to have company first. Why do you care about that anyway? Are you tired of your Australian Shepherd already?”

Minho snorted and diverted his eyes with his head high, trying to pretend that he wasn’t as whipped for the dog hybrid next door as he was.

“Calm down, bitch. No need to go all possessive on me, I don’t want to fuck your alleycat boyfriend. My hands are full with the overexcited puppy, I don’t have time to steal other queens’ tomcats. I totally could, so be careful. You should go for it before I change my mind.”

Seonghwa snorted, knowing full well that the other catboy only had eyes for the Australian Shepherd.

“Anyway,” Minho said, clearly looking to change the topic now that the focus was on his sex life. “Fuck the stray, I’ll write down the name of the tea you have to drink to avoid getting pregnant. Enjoy the opportunity that has literally fallen on your lap – or your balcony, I guess.”

The Ragdoll rolled his eyes and laid down on the bed.

He didn’t need the plant, there was no need to drink that tea because he wasn’t going to sleep with Hongjoong.

Even if he is kind of hot.

–

Seonghwa looked at his clock once again and focused on intently listening to any potential noise coming from inside the house. His dad had turned in a while ago and he seemed to be asleep.

The coast was clear.

He got up and quickly headed towards the balcony to open the door and walk outside. He tightened the robe around his waist as he stared into the oak tree, trying to catch a glimpse of orange.

“Boo.”

The Ragdoll yelped loudly and turned around just to find Hongjoong standing next to him.

He took a deep breath as he took a step back, trying to process the fact that the stray was right in front of him.

His scent was clearer and crispier than ever and he just…

He smells so fucking good.

Seonghwa could see every single detail of his face now too and he almost felt the urge to laugh nervously as he noticed for the first time how long the tomcat’s eyelashes were.

Hongjoong swallowed and cleared his throat before taking a step back, looking almost bashful.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to crowd you or anything. I was just going to drop something for you here before going back to the tree, but you came out earlier than I expected,” the stray explained.

The Ragdoll noticed then that the stray had one arm behind his back, presumably holding whatever he was going to drop for him.

“Fuck. You are even more stunning up close, how is that even possible?” said the tomcat with a flirtatious tone, even though he still looked shy and hesitant. “Your beauty never ceases to amaze me.”

Seonghwa couldn’t help the giggle that came out of his mouth and he wanted to hit himself for acting like an idiot. 

This is Minho’s fault. He put weird ideas in my head.

“Anyway,” said Hongjoong before he cleared his throat again. 

The stray had a light blush on his face and the Ragdoll found that extremely endearing. He hadn’t known the other hybrid was even capable of exuding anything but extreme confidence. 

“Here, this…this is for you.”

He brought his arm from behind his back and pushed his hand into Seonghwa’s direction without looking him in the eyes.

“Oh.”

Hongjoong was holding a handful of pink carnations in his hand. They were slightly crushed and had clearly been picked from someone’s garden, but they had been carefully arranged and tied together in a way that somewhat resembled a bouquet.

Seonghwa swallowed hard to try to contain the cocktail of emotions that had flourished inside him as he stared at the flowers in front of him, shyly reaching out to grab them from the stray’s hand.

The queen had received thousands of flowers in his life, expensive and beautiful gifts sent to him to celebrate his awards or intended to be a sign of courting. He’s lost count of the amount of tomcats who had given him the biggest and most colorful bouquets, yet none of them had ever made him feel as flustered and flattered as these stolen carnations.

“Th…thank you.”

The blush on Hongjoong’s face had deepened considerably and he scratched the back of his neck as he cleared his throat yet again and took another step back.

“I owe you an apology.”

Seonghwa frowned and lifted his eyes from the flowers to stare at the other hybrid. “I don’t understand.”

“I’ve been thinking a lot about the conversation we had yesterday and I feel terrible. I know I already apologized for being a horny idiot, but I really think it bears repeating. If I’m being completely honest, at first I kept coming back sorely because I wanted to have sex with you and I was trying to coax you into it. I had actually been coming to try to meet you for days by the time you walked out to the balcony the first time,” Hongjoong explained, pausing to take a deep breath. “I thought I could just come in, seduce you, have some fun with the dumb indoor cat and then never see you again. I took advantage of your curiosity to try to get in your pants and then bail without really caring about your feelings. I treated you like an object, just like everyone else in your life ever has, and I’m deeply ashamed of myself. You can slap me and ignore me from now on if you want, I deserve that.”

Seonghwa stared at him for a moment before looking down at the pink carnations once again, processing the words that the other hybrid had just said.

It’s not like it was a surprise exactly, he had kind of known that was what the tomcat had wanted to do since the beginning. He felt somewhat disappointed because in a way he had hoped Hongjoong was different, but the information didn’t really change that much in his mind.

The Ragdoll looked up at the stray again and took in the obvious guilt and regret in his flushed face, and he couldn’t help but chuckle.

“You are not as slick as you think you are and I’m not as dumb as you think I am either, Hongjoong. Do you actually believe I can’t tell when a tomcat is trying to manipulate me into sleeping with him? This isn’t my first rodeo, I’ve been dealing with hybrids you like for many years. I won’t slap you but I’m not going to sleep with you either, so you can fuck off now if that’s all your want.”

“No,” the stray was quick to say. “I’m sorry, you’re definitely not dumb, Seonghwa. I have to admit I had a lot of prejudices about indoor cats before meeting you, but I actually like talking to you. You’re really interesting and I’d like to know more about you. I promise I’m being 100% truthful now. I will try to keep all the comments about how hot you are to myself from now on, I’ll probably slip up from time to time so I apologize in advance.”

Seonghwa laughed again and rolled his eyes.

“Don’t worry, calling me hot is the least offensive thing a tomcat can do. You’re actually really respectful for someone who just wanted to fuck the dumb indoor cat and disappear after. I’ve had to deal with much nastier things, trust me.”

“...that only makes me feel worse.”

“Good,” the Ragdoll said playfully. “Anyway, I’m going to put the flowers away. You don’t have to go back to the tree, just sit on the couch and I’ll be back in a moment.”

Seonghwa rushed into his ensuite bathroom and hastily put the flowers in a cup before looking at himself in the mirror.

What the fuck are you doing?

It seemed like he couldn’t stop making stupid decisions when it came to Hongjoong. He knew he should be way more offended than he was, but the fact that the stray had felt guilty enough to just come clean when he didn’t really have to was kind of cute and wholesome.

Getting flustered by the bare minimum. Great job, Seonghwa.

The Ragdoll whined and carefully groomed his silver hair before coming out, impulsively grabbing the two bags of salmon jerky he had in a drawer and walking out to the balcony again just to find Hongjoong sitting awkwardly on the white couch.

“Are you sure this is a good idea? What if your owner comes out again?” the stray said the moment he sat next to him, close enough to be able to talk comfortably but far enough to not touch accidentally. 

“Don’t worry, he won’t. He sleeps like a log, yesterday was a rare occurrence.”

They both fell into a tense silence after that and he focused on opening the bag of snacks and giving the other hybrid a strip.

“Thank you. We all loved this shit, sadly we inhaled the two bags in a single day,” said the stray before taking a bite and looking around. “Your balcony is bigger than most of the places where I’ve lived.”

“Please, don’t say that. It makes me feel bad.”

“Good,” the orange tabby said, mocking the playful tone he had used earlier. “Anyway, our conversation got cut short yesterday because of your owner. My offer still stands, though: if you ever feel like running away, you can tell me and I will help you out. That’s the stray way, hybrids stick together no matter what!”

The Ragdoll smiled as he leaned back against the cushions, tail swinging lazily next to him.

“Must be nice. Pedigree cats despise each other, especially in the showcat business. Everyone is too obsessed with being the best and most awarded, even if that means that you have to step over other hybrids to get there.”

Hongjoong hummed and got more comfortable on the couch too.

“Wow, humans treat you like objects and other hybrids push you down to get some praise from a bunch of assholes. Being a pedigree cat sucks a lot more than I imagined, I’m not that jealous anymore,” the tomcat said. “Your owner sounded like a nice guy yesterday, though. I kind of thought that all the humans who were weird enough to buy other people were creeps, but it seems like you love each other a lot.”

“He’s a great owner, I’m very lucky. We see ourselves more like a father and son than owner and pet, to be honest. Anyone else in his situation would have taken the big sums of money he’d been offered and allowed any asshole to breed me without caring about my opinion.”

Hongjoong bit his lip and hesitated for a moment before speaking again. “Both you and your owner have said some stuff that makes me feel very curious about something. Feel free to not answer if I’m crossing a line, but he made it seem like they were trying to make you breed with another male cat?”

“Yeah,” replied Seonghwa absently while taking a small bite of his own snack.

“How…how is that even possible?”

The Ragdoll stopped chewing and stared at him, feeling confused. “What do you mean how?”

The stray seemed hesitant for a moment. “Aren’t you male too? I’m sorry for assuming you were, I…”

The silver-haired hybrid laughed. “I am male, but I’m a queen.”

Hongjoong blinked a few times, looking as lost as he had looked before he explained it to him. 

“You’ve said that before but I don’t know what it means, I assumed it was just another way of saying ‘pedigree’.”

“A molly?” he tried, even if he despised the word.

The tomcat gasped and stared at him with his mouth wide open. “No fucking way! You guys are real?!?! I thought it was an urban legend!”

Seonghwa looked at him in silence for a moment before chuckling. “Not an urban legend, just very rare. Around 1% of purebred catboys are queens, that’s the proper and nicer way of saying molly.”

“Woah. I had heard of pureblood male cats who went into heat and could carry litters like females do, but I thought it was just a sexy myth to make horny gay hybrids like me have a good time imagining it.”

The Ragdoll snorted. “Well, now you know. I thought you had smelt it on me and that was why you kept trying to sleep with me, to be honest.”

“Nah, I want to sleep with you because you’re really hot and…oh, that’s why you smell like that! I thought your scent had a fertile tone to it but I didn’t think much of it,” Hongjoong said as he took another strip of jerky from the bag. “That’s just amazing. Is it rude if I ask how it works exactly?”

Seonghwa was finding the other hybrid’s reaction very entertaining for some reason, so he decided to humor him. “The easy explanation is: the tomcat will trigger certain hormonal and physiological changes when he puts his dick inside the queen. Eggs are released, things that weren’t connected now are, and places that were closed are suddenly open for business. Basically, those goddamned barbed dicks send a signal to our brain that creates havoc inside our bodies.”

The stray proceeded to choke on the jerky, trying to cough as quietly as he could in the silent night before staring at the Ragdoll with teary eyes. “Wh…what?”

“Tomcats have spiky bumps in the lower part of their dicks that trigger the domino effect that makes pregnancies possible.”

“...please, stop saying the word ‘dick’, it’s distracting me from the important issue here. What’s a tomcat exactly?”

The Ragdoll was starting to figure out what was going on here. 

“It’s another type of genetic mutation found in some catboys, not as rare as us but not super common either. The barbed penis is the main identifier, but they have very strong scents and sharper senses too,” he explained. “I thought only purebred cats could be tomcats, but…well.”

“Oh my God.”

Seonghwa could see that the other cat was trying to process the whole thing so he stayed silent.

“You’ve called me a tomcat before. I thought it was slang for 'stray' or something, but that means you somehow know, right?”

“Yeah, I can smell it. I’ve met enough of you to be able to pinpoint the specific smell easily. I take it you didn’t know?”

“I mean, I knew I was different. I freaked out when the barbs came out during puberty, but the guy at the Hybrid Healthcare Center told me that some cats had them and it was normal so I never gave it much thought after that. I have never seen another catboy with a dick like mine and I…mhm…I have seen a few in my lifetime.”

The queen snorted.

Fuckboy.

“Holy shit, wait! How do I know if any of the guys I’ve fucked are queens?! Is there a chance that I have sired kittens who are running around out there?! I…I’m getting dizzy.”

Seonghwa laughed again. “The fact that you’re a tomcat as a cross-bred stray is kind of a miracle in itself, queens are only found in very specific breeds and family lines so it’s extremely unlikely you’ve come across any. You’re probably safe.”

Hongjoong released a breath and he couldn’t help but snort once again. They stared at each other for a moment and Seonghwa had to force himself to break eye contact after a while.

“Everything you said yesterday sounds 100 times worse now,” said the orange tabby suddenly. “Being able to give life is such a wonderful gift, but I can see how being in our situation can turn that into your worst nightmare.”

The Ragdoll looked down to the jerky in his hands and smiled sadly.

None of them had said anything deep after that, they had just stared up to the sky between small talk and comfortable silence until Hongjoong left with the unopened bag of salmon snacks.

Seonghwa laid on his bed awake for a long time that night, trying to understand why he kept opening up about himself so effortlessly. 

He didn’t know why he had decided to put his trust on this random tomcat who he had known for less than a week, but the truth is that it felt both freeing and exhilarating.

Hongjoong himself made him feel free and excited at the same time.

He knew it was potentially a bad idea, but he was determined to see where this new friendship would take him.

–

They continued with their daily meetings, a silent promise that none of them acknowledged out loud but that made them both show up at the balcony every single night at midnight. Something had shifted between them after their deep conversation too, the air felt more intimate as they’d end up whispering secrets under the moonlight while laying on the big couch.

The Ragdoll had shared some of his struggles and aspirations, and had shyly talked about his newfound quest in the search of happiness. The stray had partly opened up about being an alleycat too, sharing stories about his mother and his litter, about his new clowder of hybrids and how they kept traveling from one place to another to avoid Hybrid Control Services and try to help other hybrids find their place in the world.

Hongjoong never ventured too much into the darkest parts of being a stray, clearly avoiding the topic when he had tried to learn more about them, so the queen had stopped asking altogether.

Things seemed to evolve nicely, friendship blossoming between the catboys as they hid away in the middle of the night to talk about their shared struggles and differences.

Until one day Hongjoong stopped showing up.

Twelve days after their first official meeting, the stray had stood Seonghwa up. The Ragdoll had waited at the balcony for a long time, thinking the other hybrid was simply running late, and he had even kept the curtains open after he had given up and gone to bed just in case.

The tomcat didn’t show up the next day either though, or the one after that.

Seonghwa had tried to not freak out at first, trying to convince himself that the stray had been coming every day for almost two weeks and that perhaps he was simply busy and unable to make it, even if he hadn’t given him the heads up first. His attempts at convincing himself didn’t work for long, and the panic he had tried to bury inside him took over on the third day he had failed to show up.

Worry that had skyrocketed after he had shared his fears with Minho that very same day.

“What if he’s hurt?” he had asked Minho on the phone after explaining Hongjoong’s sudden disappearance.

His question was met with silence and the Ragdoll had to check his iPhone to make sure the line was still connected.

“Seonghwa, try not to assume the worst after hearing what I’m about to say, okay? But…” his friend said before pausing. “I saw a Hybrid Control truck closeby as I was coming back home yesterday. No need to freak out yet! It could be a coincidence or maybe he’s just laying low for a while because he knows they’re in the area. Let’s wait a couple of days before jumping to conclusions.”

The Ragdoll knew the other hybrid only wanted to help, but nothing he said after that could make him not go straight to the worst case scenario.

Hongjoong had disappeared without a word around the same time HCS had been patrolling the area; that couldn’t be a coincidence. The stray had never told him what would happen to him if the authorities caught him and his frantic internet searches didn’t seem trustworthy (the language was too sugary, he knew not to trust humans who spoke like they cared about hybrids that much), so he only had his imagination to fill in the blanks.

He knew nothing would probably happen, but he still went out to the balcony to wait for the tomcat on the fourth day. He sat down on the coach and looked into the full moon, wondering how he could be this worried for someone he’d only known for such a short time.

It’s just empathy, you’re worried about a fellow hybrid who doesn’t deserve anything bad happening to him.

He knew that was true, but he still felt like there was something else buried underneath. The ghost of the potential found in the connection they had been building with teasings, deep conversations and shared snacks. 

Seonghwa waited for a long time once again, but soon accepted the fact that Hongjoong wouldn’t be coming that day either.

He laid down on the bed, curled up in a ball, and wrapped his tail around him to get some kind of comfort before he let himself cry for the first time since Hongjoong disappeared. 

Please, be okay. Please.

He hadn’t even noticed he had dozed off, but he woke up startled and feeling disoriented at some point later. The Ragdoll sniffled and sat up, feeling like something had woken him up but not hearing anything coming inside or outside the house. 

He sighed and got up to grab a bunch of tissues to try to clean the mess that was his face, only noticing that he hadn’t showered yet when he saw in the mirror that he was wearing the sweater and jeans he had been wearing all day. He cursed out loud as he considered if washing up right now was really worth it or not, but a noise and a strange feeling brought his attention away from his inner struggle.

He turned his ear towards the door, trying to figure out if it was his dad going to the kitchen once again. His heart started to beat faster when he noticed that the noise wasn’t coming from their floor but from downstairs, from the living room.

He noticed the presence soon after, fur standing up in alarm.

There was a hybrid in the house.

Hongjoong.

Seonghwa opened his bedroom and walked out straight away, running down the stairs as silently as he could. He blinked a few times as he opened the door of the living room, trying to get his pupils adjusted to the dark, and headed towards the open window.

“Hongjoong?” he whispered.

Hope was quickly replaced with fear when he smelled it. 

A familiar and disgusting scent that definitely didn’t belong to the stray. 

He opened his mouth to scream but a cloth was pressed against it straight away.

“You’re going to regret what you did, molly.”

Seonghwa tried to fight him off, but the other hybrid managed to overpower him easily as he started to feel extremely dizzy and sleepy.

Everything went black soon after.