Jaehyun breathes slowly, letting the scent of the familiar shelter fill his nostrils. The smell is heavy. It reeks of despair. He’s grown accustomed to it, as much as he hates it, he hates that he’s so used to it even more. He extends his small limbs, further shutting his eyes and yawning deeply. Growing quite weary, he ponders the idea of a nap.
2 O’clock
Seeing as he is completely void of anything to do, he stirs momentarily in his cage; pacing in small circles and eventually sitting himself down. His black fur ears twitch to the sides, and his tail curls towards his legs. Another weekend passes where he is trapped within the confines of the shelter. It is here where he (and a room full of other hybrids) spends his days waiting for someone, anyone, to come in to adopt him. He’s quite used to the system now. He’s been in and out of homes since he was five years old. Now at the age of seventeen, he is at the cusp of adulthood. The feline hybrid has now come to terms with his inability to remain in any sort of housing longer than a 2 year period. It had become exhausting following rules and being forced to live with people that he didn’t know, or even want to know. Before he had turned thirteen, many families wanted to welcome him into their home; however as he soon he stepped into adolescence, he adopted a troublesome and rebellious personality that many families deemed, “impossible to live with”.
The visitor door was opened in the distance, however Jaehyun did not stir. He remained planted cross legged in his cage. The visitors never walked further than halfway through the large room full of hybrids. Always paying more attention to the younger kids than the teenagers. His black matted hair hung over his eyes as he looked down to the floor of his cage, making small spiral patterns with his sharp fingernails. He had a plan. His goal was to be left unadopted until he turned eighteen; once considered legal age, he would be able to live on his own accord. No more fretting over others or what would happen once he was behind the door of another’s home. His plan was not only simple in concept, but simple in execution as well. A school record as tainted as his and a file folder of previous owners and adoptive papers- surely no one in their right mind would be ludicrous enough to even consider taking him into their home, much less their arms!
As he sits in his cage, mind numb, he begins to hear approaching footsteps, sounds of barking, hissing and even the rattle of chicken wire being shaken harshly. Guess this visitor didn’t seem interested in the younger hybrids at the entrance of the shelter. Still, Jaehyun pays no mind. He begins to play with the hem of his hoodie sleeves; distancing himself from this grey reality. He refuses to play with the other hybrids, better said, his privilege was revoked after he attempted to start a brawl over a shaded area in the yard. What he would give for some silence right about now.
“It’s him.”
Thoughts broken, Jaehyun’s eyes lift up from his hoodie, his body unmoving. Dark circles beneath his eyes accentuated by the shadow casted over his face from the frayed strands of jet black hair. Before his cage stands the woman from the receiving area, a face he’s come back to time and time again. Her features look bewildered, shocked and almost concerned. Shifting his black orbs over he notices the longest pair of legs he’s ever seen in his life. Scanning them further, he notices a pair of suit pants adorned over them. Upward, his eyes fall on the face of a very serious man, with eyebrows the likes of which he’s never seen before. The man held such an intense look in his gaze, as if he’s been deprived of something and he’s finally found his fix in Jaehyun. The hybrid returns his glance to the woman, eyes trying to find an answer in her. However, she fails to give him one and instead proceeds to unlock the cage.
Jaehyun’s relaxed form tenses, he scoots further back towards the wall of the cage, cold metal pressing into his skin. Squinting his eyes he stares at the woman, then focuses solely on the man. He has large glasses and hair swept to the side, and an infuriating gaping mouth. As if he’s never seen a hybrid before, regardless of the fact he’s in a shelter for them. As if the man could read his mind, he offers a small smile and a raise of his eyebrows. Jaehyun wants nothing more than to claw that smile off of his oblong face. He hisses when the woman reaches inside the cage; bites at his chapped lips and opens his mouth, venom dripping from his voice,
“Stay the hell away from me, I’m not going anywhere near that caterpillar-eyed bastard.”
