fate’s way ≫ EPILOGUE, REVELATIONS.
like hongjoong, this fluffy brown–bear hybrid was captured for hybrid ring fights. fortunately, he was rescued by a hybrid rescue team when they caught wind of the illegal fights occuring. he ended up being transported to kq hybrid recovery facility. fate has its ways and he ends up in jiyu’s care.
PART OF THE HEAVEN SERIES.
✧ taglist: @jaembluey, @joongs-moon, @sunsethw4, @t-tbinnie, @chanyeolol, @danibookmarks, @hello-its-ya-boi, @murralyn, @panini, @moon8894, @koasworld, @taetae123094, @luv3rxcha, @treasure-hwa, @etherealbyeol, @hwaseongzzz, @lovely-sanie, @orbitiiny, @pirate-of-the-dark-seas, @babydolljo, @ms-starlight, @everrrlasting, @bls-luv-me, @atzgiggle, @arohabyeol, @rainbowmagicpixecorn, @soverystupid, @ayetothezee, @kingalls00, @sanstreasure0305, @sparklingmallow, @kpopnightingale, @rosesarethebest, @stillcantfindaproperusername, @bonbonhwa, @its-sarah-stark, @sanismybb, @frankenstein852, @peachseok, @woopetals, @exhoaeriemars, @pvrkacciosan, @int0chae
✧ can’t be tagged: @alienmashup, @c-sanshine, @defsoul15
⚠️: mentions of death
back。
opening her eyes from the soft sun rays spilling through her curtains, to see the same ceiling from her childhood made her gasp awake before immediately shooting up in her bed.
“oh, right...i’m back home...” she mumbled, memories of the night before flooding back into her mind. the blood pirates, the negotiations, the ambush from her family’s and sunwoo’s security teams, and her father.
“long time no see, father,” she greeted, albeit stiffly.
feeling a hand gently rest on top of her head, she tensed at the sudden contact from the man she hasn’t seen in five years.
“...i’m glad you weren’t hurt,” he softly said, words that were only meant for her and the hybrids’ ears.
but jiyu couldn’t find it in herself to find any genuine warmth or concern in those words. “who’d run the company if i was hurt, right?” her own biting tone stung her, so how could she notice the slight falter in her father’s expression before he quickly returned to his usual, hard facade.
all of this unfolded before seonghwa’s and san’s eyes, and they waited with breath for the older man’s reaction.
“seeing as how these conditions are practically...unlivable,” he surveyed their surroundings; the broken glass shards on the floor from the broken windows, some overturned furniture from the brawl some of the blood pirate members had with their captors, and the blood on the floor from when her father shot the leader in an attempt to stifle the situation. “perhaps it’s best if you return to the family home now.”
“n-now?!” jiyu’s head shot up to stare at her father in shock, “but—”
“you sure have a lot of energy to argue with me for someone who was just held at gunpoint,” her father sighed, running his hands through his tousled hair.
‘did he...run all the way up here?’
“sir, the vans are ready whenever you and the young miss are,” one of her father’s secretaries informed him before acknowledging jiyu with a polite bow. “you haven’t aged a day, miss,” he chuckled.
jiyu always regarded him as an uncle. supposedly when she was a toddler, she always followed him around asking the man to carry her since her father always refused. growing up with the young heiress, the man grew to love her like she was his niece, despite her being his employer’s daughter.
“likewise, uncle,” she softly giggled.
“...go gather your hybrids. we leave in twenty minutes once the team finishes up here,” her father interjected the reunion with curt words before turning away from her and stepping out of the penthouse.
after gently urging seonghwa and san to go and gather the others, her eyes couldn’t help but catch the back of her father’s head as he discussed with the commander about what to do with the black market members. she couldn’t deny the heavy feeling in her heart from her father’s brusque tone.
“if i may be so bold, jiyu,” the secretary, mr. jeon, decided to speak on behalf of his boss after seeing the way jiyu’s eyes unconsciously followed her father, “your father was extremely worried about you once he received word of your situation from your butler. he was quite literally shouting at me from the back of the car to drive faster. he does care for you, and i think you know that, too.”
“good morning, lovebug,” a husky voice from beside her sleepily mumbled before she felt someone hug her from behind. “what’s got you so deep in thought so early in the morning?”
“sunwoo...!” so wrapped in her thoughts, she failed to notice her fiancee asleep next to her. “yesterday—”
“eric and i snuck into the room jongho and the others were in just in case things went south and they needed backup,” he explained, tightening his grip around her waist, he buried his face into the crook of her neck. “do you know how much i wanted to barge in with my team when i hard you say they were holding you three at gunpoint?”
reaching up to tousle his already-messy hair, she pecked his cheek. “sorry for making you worry,” she apologized, imagining how worried he must’ve been while in the room with the others.”but where did you go after? i didn’t see you or eric after we left.”
“...we snuck back out the window since my father technically didn’t know i went along with our team...one of my bodyguards rushed us back home before i came here later,” he sheepishly explained, whining when he heard laughter. “i-i was scared to death you know...!”
“i know, i know, i’m sorry...it’s just amusing imagining you and eric climbing out of my window afterwards to rush back home.”
“hm...what should i do to silence you?” he asked, lips climbing up and down her neck as he placed butterfly kisses here and there.
“sunnie, quit it...!” she covered his mouth with her hands, looking down to see his chocolate brown eyes staring back at her like a puppy. “we’re in my family home!”
wrestling her back into bed with him despite her protests, he tucked her head under his chin before drawing comfortable patterns on her back. “speaking about being here, will you be okay? i know you don’t have the best memories here...”
it’d be a lie to say she’d be completely okay. being back in her family home only reminded her of her limited days of freedom before she was subject to a life of corporate meetings, business parties, and the pointless chit-chats and gossip from the other elites. “i have you and the other eight boys. it’ll be a lot more tolerable.”
sunwoo didn’t reply, only humming as his way of acknowledging what she said. the two didn’t say anything else, allowing the peaceful silence to engulf the room. feeling sunwoo’s hand draw random patterns onto her back while occasionally dropping pecks onto her head, it practically lulled her back to sleep.
had someone not knocked on her door, she definitely would’ve fallen back asleep. peering up to see who had cracked her door open, she giggled when she saw jongho peeking in before yunho’s appeared above jongho.
opening her arms out towards the two, she beckoned them over. “come over here before someone sees you peeking and gets the wrong idea,” she chuckled before grunting at the impact of yunho charging into her open arms.
jongho lagged behind. jiyu knew physical affection wasn’t exactly his cup of tea, so when he sat down on the bed next to her and laid his head on her shoulder, it surprised her, but who was she to complain during this rare moment?
“are the others still asleep?” she asked.
yunho burrowed deeper into her comforters before nodding. “the bed that the lady showed us to last night was really comfy so they all fell asleep the moment their heads hit the pillow.”
“after yesterday, it’s understandable that they’d all be exhausted,” she mumbled, reaching over to run her hands through jongho’s hair. “i’m just glad nothing bad happened to you all. i still never formally apologized for putting you all through that. you especially, jongho.”
"i don’t blame you,” he reassured, rubbing his head on her shoulder for good measure. “and it wasn’t scary because i trusted you and everyone else. i knew you weren’t going to hand me over so easily or give up without a fight.”
that was the first time jiyu’s ever heard words of confirmation from jongho that he trusted them. despite him not ever voicing it aloud, jiyu always knew that jongho created such strong bonds with the other boys, that he had subconsciously put his trust into them, too. last night’s incident proved it to her with how he so easily allowed them to help him leave his old life behind.
“thank you.”
although jiyu only offered two words in response, it conveyed so much more— feelings that she couldn’t put into words.
“and thank you for helping, too,” jongho added, lifting his head up to face sunwoo. “you and eric really came through to help in a tight spot...”
softly smiling at the boy’s words, sunwoo reached over and tousled the bear’s chocolate brown hair, even scratching behind his bear ears. “any loved ones of jiyu is someone i’m willing to protect. i’m just glad we all made it out in one piece, buddy.”
it truly was a heartwarming sight. to see how sunwoo so warmly accepted the eight boys was a gift that she always cherished. deep down, although she never admitted to anyone, she was always thankful to her father for choosing sunwoo to be her fiancee.
“jiyu!” a knock sounded on her door before it cracked open to reveal yuta peeking in. “breakfast is—when did sunwoo arrive?”
not missing the little smirk on her personal attendant’s face, her cheeks flushed a light red before she hurled a pillow in his direction. “we didn’t do anything!”
“when did i ever—never mind,” giving up arguing with her, he cleared his throat to recompose himself. “anyways, as i was saying, breakfast is ready so come down to the dining hall whenever you’re ready. the kitchen staff made enough for a feast considering your return to the family home, so you’re always free to join as well...sir,” yuta finished his piece with a polite bow.
hearing that title being addressed to sunwoo, jiyu crinkled her nose before turning to the said man, who mirrored her expression.
“i think you can just call him by his name, yuta,” she stifled her giggles upon seeing sunwoo’s weirded-out expression. “and act normally! it’s weird seeing you all formal and polite.”
“...even i have to admit that didn’t suit him, and i’ve known him for less than a day...” jongho mumbled.
“thank god, being polite and formal’s too stifling,” yuta sighed out of relief before handing her an envelope. “i almost forgot. this is for you.”
ripping the envelope open, the blatant surprise and confusion was evident on the girl’s face. looking over her shoulder, sunwoo made the paper out to be an official adoption form—an adoption form with jongho’s name on it. all that was left that needed to be filled out was jiyu’s signature.
“was this your doing, yuta? i never asked yet, but thank you—”
“it wasn’t me,” yuta interrupted with a small smile. “it was your dad.”
silence filled the room as jiyu took a few seconds to comprehend the information. ‘father did this? there’s no way, maybe yuta’s just messing with me—’
“no, i’m not lying if that’s what you’re all thinking,” yuta quickly defended himself upon seeing the four pairs of doubtful eyes on him. “your dad personally handed me that folder a while ago. you can ask uncle jeon if you still think i’m lying.”
“...but why?” she whispered, still trying to connect the dots behind her father’s actions. “why would he—”
“i think that’s something you’ll need to ask him yourself,” yuta said before handing her a pen. “first things first, are you signing it?”
taking the pen from yuta’s outstretched palm, jiyu signed the paper, eliciting small cheers from yunho, who threw himself at the bear out of pure happiness. “come on! let’s go tell the others!” he excitedly suggested before dragging jongho out of the room despite his protests of not wanting to wake them up.
seeing the door close behind the duo, jiyu couldn’t stop the warm smile from spreading across her face as she steeled her resolve to protect the eight boys from whatever may come in the future, whether it be from outside threats or her own father.
“i’m going to give this to him myself,” she announced, standing up from bed and burning with determination. “he never does these things unless there’s something that benefits him or the company.”
“i think you’ll be fairly surprised this time around,” yuta quietly mumbled as he remembered what the man had told him when he, too, questioned as to why the man did this for his daughter.
marching to her father’s office, millions of possibilities were floating around in her head as to her father’s intentions. to gain her favor? to gain the favor of the eight boys? what is it was a trap and it wasn’t even an adoption form to begin with?
standing at the door for a few minutes as she gave herself a pep talk, she took a deep breath before knocking. “it’s me....”
hearing a muffled “come in”, she pushed the two doors open to see her father working at his desk. the office was quiet, spare the clacking of the keyboard. seeing his daughter standing at the door with a piece of paper in her hands, a quiet sigh escaped his lips. “i see you have a question about that. was there something i missed on there?”
“what’s the reason for this?”
roughly, but gently slamming the paper on the desk in front of him, jiyu had so many questions that she so badly wanted answered, but she knew bombarding her father with them was no use.
“do i need a reason to give that to you?” standing up from his chair, the older man took his glasses off before turning to look out of the floor-to-ceiling windows behind his desk. “there’s only one reason for an adoption form. i thought your years of working for that recovery center taught you.”
“you know that’s not what i meant,” she replied, feeling the irritation bubble within her chest. “you and i both know that you wouldn’t do something like this unless there was something behind the scenes that benefitted you. if this is your way of making me stay, there was no need. i could’ve gone through with the process myself.”
her father was silent. not hearing anything from him made her more frustrated, yet she was also afraid if she had overstepped her boundaries. not that she cared much.
“is it so strange that i did it with no hidden motives?”
“must i answer that with how you’ve treated me all these years since mom died?”
her mother’s death was a sore topic for both herself and her father, although it greatly affected her father more than it did her. she knew it was wrong of her to bring up her late mother, but she figured it was the only way to get her father to talk.
“you treated me more as a puppet for this company rather than your own daughter. ever since the funeral, you’ve never once listened to my wishes, you never listened to my feeling, to me. so forgive me for doubting my own father when he does listen to my wishes all of a sudden.”
with his back turned to her, jiyu failed to realize brief expression of hurt that flickered across his face. it was true that the death of his wife impacted him in more ways then he could’ve imagined. but it wasn’t just the death of his wife, it was the reason. he may have took care of the “reason” but it still haunted him to this day.
and seeing jiyu, a carbon copy of his wife, it scared him that there was a slim chance of losing her the same way he lost her mother.
“you really do take after your mother. personality and looks.”
he sounded so wistful, as if reminiscing the past. “i can’t explain it to you now, but i really did do everything to protect you, even if it meant taking away your freedom. i’m sorry for that.”
the more jiyu heard him speak, the more it sounded so foreign to her. what was he trying to hide? did it have something to do with her mother? just what piece of the puzzle was she missing?
“what do you mean—”
“despite my worries, you’ve built yourself a good life outside.” seeing san and seonghwa’s protectiveness over her last night, it gave him a surge of relief to know that his daughter was safe. and perhaps, things could be different this time around. “seeing how much you risked your life to help that boy, i figured i’d hand that to you,” he motioned to the paper on his desk.
“you’re not making any sense right now.”
“one day, jiyu. one day...i’ll be able to share my reasons. but all i can offer now is my apologies for everything i’ve done.”
walking over to the coat hanger, the man grabbed his black trench coat and picked up his briefcase before offering her a sad smile. “i have to take care of some business abroad for a while, so i won’t be home. the staff will help you and your friends settle down, and you’ll have lessons to take over the company starting next month—”
“wait, time out. what’s the meaning of this? where are you going? what have you been talking about—”
“i really need to leave soon, so i’ll answer your questions when i come back. and don’t worry, i’ll be back in time for your’s and sunwoo’s wedding. i’ll be back soon, jiyu.”
and with that, her father left.
and jiyu couldn’t process a single thing that her father had been rambling about. she came to get an answer about the adoption form, and she never received one. yet oddly, despite the rollercoaster that she just went through, something in her gut reassured her that things will turn out okay.
“man, why does he always have the last say in everything? the least he could do is offer a better explanation,” she grumbled, grabbing the form off the desk before leaving her father’s office.
joining the others in the dining room, her earlier worries melted as she heard the laughter and voices of the eight boys that had burrowed their way into her heart. seeing them laugh so freely after going through such a horrific experience brought her an unexplainable amount of relief and joy.
hearing wooyoung cheerfully usher into the room and hearing seonghwa softly telling her to join them, she took a seat next to sunwoo, who gently held onto her hand before worriedly peering into her face. “everything okay?”
she didn’t know how to respond. the truth would be no, since she had absolutely no idea what her father was going on about in the office. but her gut answer was yes, she felt okay and strangely at peace.
she glanced at the boys seated at the long table.
seonghwa, her first ever hybrid friend that everyone thought was violent and unapproachable, but is now the softest and kindest wolf that has an impeccable amount of love to offer.
yunho, the puppy seonghwa found and offered a second chance to. the puppy that they all loved so dearly for his bright and warm energy.
hongjoong, the one that was initially so distrustful and cold, but grew to be the best “leader” and protective spirit for his loved ones.
mingi, the bunny who would run away from her at every given chance, but with some talking and a gentle spirit, he was able to build his trust in the world and reunite with his best friend—perhaps fate brought them together again.
yeosang, the elegant fox that went through so much more than one could imagine at a breeding facility, but was able to get through it all with the help of seojun and the love and care that he’s received ever since escaping.
san, the cat that had snuck his way into her room to escape the winter cold, the cat that had carried years and years of guilt over something that wasn’t directly his fault, the cat that showered all his friends with love to make up for the years that he couldn’t with anyone else.
wooyoung, the loud and cheeky dolphin that had been on the run from people that were willing to hurt him in the name of science. the dolphin that just longed for people he could call his family.
and lastly, jongho. the bear that spent years in the same place as hongjoong. the bear that had no choice in hurting others to ensure his own life. the bear that just wanted to badly to break away from his life of blood and killing. and he did. because he was also the bear that was the new addition to their little family.
of course, she couldn’t forget eric, the german shepard that was sunwoo’s best friend. the one that gave sunwoo the nudge to follow his feelings, which led jiyu and sunwoo to where they are now.
seeing all their faces around her, she smiled before squeezing sunwoo’s hand a bit tighter.
“yeah, i’m okay.”
✧ notes: and we are finished with season one of the series! thank you for all of the support and love received on this season, and i’m sorry for my lack of consistent updating :(
season two will begin in the near future!
