Chapter Text
When Mingyu woke, the first rays of sunshine peeked through the Olive House windows. He could distantly hear his housemates going through their respective morning routines from their rooms.
As usual, Mingyu was the last to wake, stretching with a groan. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he changed and headed to the kitchen to start making their breakfast. Despite him being the best cook, they had decided on a rotation for breakfast, even if that meant Wonwoo’s day meant only eating toast.
A minute later, Seungcheol walked in, heading straight for the coffee machine and turning it on. He ruffled his messy hair, his ears twitching, silently registering his surroundings. His fluffy, uncombed tail wagged lazily behind him.
“Morning, hyung.” Mingyu greeted, giggling at Seungcheol’s sleepy look.
“Hmmm,” Seungcheol acknowledged, placing his head on the dog hybrid’s shoulder to look at the food the younger was preparing. “Egg Fried Rice?”
“Something simple and quick. Nari-Noona wants us to be as early as possible today.” Mingyu explained, seasoning the sizzling food.
“Oh, really? Why?” Seungcheol questioned, walking over to the couch and sprawling all over it.
“Well, with the expansion starting soon, she’s gonna give us a short run-through of everything that’s gonna happen, so we’ll be prepared and stuff.”
The wolf hybrid’s ears suddenly tensed. “The investor guy. He’s going to be there, isn’t he?”
“Yeonwoo-nim? Yeah, probably.”
Seungcheol’s rain scent suddenly got more oppressive, a small growl bubbling in his throat. “Tell the others to avoid coming to the café if they can.” The pack leader commanded.
Mingyu nodded quickly. “I planned on that. I’m also going to try to keep Wonwoo in the back as long as possible. He might not say it, but Yeonwoo-nim mentioning his cat bothered him.”
Wonwoo entered just as Mingyu finished speaking. He looked at him with a deadpan expression. “I’m right here, you know.” He crossed his arms. “You’re not quiet. I could hear you clearly from my room.”
Mingyu winced, turning away from where he was plating their breakfast to look at Wonwoo. “Ah… good morning?”
Wonwoo didn’t respond immediately, serving himself a cup of coffee he gripped with both hands, tightly.
“I appreciate the concern, Gyu,” he started, a thoughtful look on his face. “But he knows what he knows for a reason and hiding away in the back when there’s no immediate threat just makes us the suspicious ones. We can’t afford to provoke him when we barely know anything about him.”
“Sorry,” Mingyu said, sheepishly. “I’m just worried. My instincts scream at me that he’s a threat, but I don’t know why.”
“I talked to my parents,” he continued. “They said they didn’t tell him anything and suspect he might’ve found out through watching the café before approaching them, but he’s never come in. Even then, how would he know Wonwoo hyung’s a cat?”
Seungcheol sighed, “Let’s just worry about acting normal around him and keeping the others away for now. Just in case. As Wonwoo said, we don’t know anything for sure. He might just genuinely be very observant and we’re taking it out of proportion.”
“I’m sure you don’t believe that hyung,” Mingyu argued, frowning.
“Maybe not, but our instincts aren’t always perfect and we’ve all been decently isolated by the outskirts. A reaction like this to a stranger may be misplaced.”
“What about Minghao, then? He was pretty suspicious too.”
“Because Jun was,” Seungcheol countered. “I’m not saying we’re wrong, I’m just saying that, like everyone else, we could give him the benefit of the doubt. With some caution, of course.”
Mingyu frowned but didn’t argue further.
Mornings in their new homes became a more enjoyable experience for the pack. It meant sharing a meal with at least two pack members—even Joshua and Soonyoung, who always snuck over to the Ivory house to eat with Jeonghan and Seungkwan.
“Hong Joshua!” Was the first thing Joshua heard from Jeonghan that day when he walked into the Ivory house. The fox hybrid had a desperate look in his eyes as he walked up to Joshua and grabbed him by the shoulders. “What do I get him?”
“What?” Joshua grunted as Jeonghan’s weight fell on him completely. “Get who?”
“Seungcheol!” Jeonghan yelled as if it was obvious. “I’m desperate! What can I get him that is good enough?”
Seungkwan side-eyed Jeonghan from inside, shrugging at Joshua’s concerned stare. “He woke up like this.” The red panda hybrid said, his long fluffy tail swaying behind him. “Soonyoung gave Seungcheol his courting gift yesterday and it sent Jeonghan spiraling.”
“What you get him is up to you, Hannie,” Joshua stated, letting himself into the house and bringing Jeonghan over to sit on the couch with him. “You know I can’t help you.”
“Stupid hybrid rules,” Jeonghan mumbled, before latching onto Joshua’s arm again. “Pleaseee, Joshuji” He pleaded. “If I take any longer, he’ll think I rejected him.”
Joshua shot him a deadpan look. “He knows you haven’t. You rub all over him at any given chance.”
Jeonghan whined louder, and Joshua finally sent him a sympathetic look. “You’re fine. Channie and Jihoon still haven’t gotten him anything either.”
“Aigh, but it’s been three months.” The fox hybrid argued, pouting, his ears flat against his head.
“And courting can take as long as the pack needs.” Joshua comforted, petting the older’s auburn hair. “Whatever you give him will be good enough if you make it with him in mind.”
“Yeah,” Seungkwan interjected, their breakfast plates in his hands. “Stop worrying. I’m missing, like, five courting gifts. There’s no rush.”
He pointed at the empty seats at their dining table. “Now eat. Seungcheol won’t take much longer to start knocking on our door.”
Jeonghan pouted but didn’t protest further and ate in silence.
As Seungkwan predicted, Seungcheol was at their door no longer than twenty minutes later. “Time to go.” He said, pointing at the car being driven by Mingyu.
The baristas followed Seungcheol out the door and bid Seungkwan goodbye. The red panda hybrid waved, climbing into his car to drive to college.
That had become the routine of the early riser half of their pack. It was rare that the rest of them woke up early enough to greet them. Aside from Soonyoung when he had a shift, They enjoyed the domestic bonding experience and found their mornings to be less miserable thanks to it.
Minghao was, most often, the first one to wake up after the café workers and Seungkwan left for their respective responsibilities. Joshua was always careful to be quiet in his morning routine to avoid waking his housemates, and—while he did a good job—Minghao always ended up waking soon after anyway.
The martial artist appreciated the calm atmosphere of their home. He could spend his mornings quietly reading a good book or tending to his growing collection of herbs and flowers in the garden. Vernon slept in his room in a similar peace, waking later due to his night schedule.
He had most recently taken to sketching and painting in a sketchbook that Soonyoung gave him as a courting gift. Minghao especially loved it capturing the beauty of his growing garden and couldn’t wait for it to begin blossoming in the spring.
A knock on his door didn’t surprise Minghao. His future packmates had the habit of finding any excuse to be together. The added proximity only made their visits more frequent and longer.
He knew it wasn’t Jihoon or Soonyoung, as both of them would hurt anyone who dared wake them so early in the morning, so it had to be either Chan, Jun, or Seokmin coming to share breakfast or chat.
Minghao’s suspicions were confirmed when he answered the door and found Jun. His fellow martial artist was one of the only—relatively—early risers of their group. They often shared meals or exercised together before heading to their studio.
“Up for a sparring match?” Jun said, his tail flicking excitedly behind him and his eyes glinting with mischief.
“You couldn’t at least wait until after we ate breakfast?”
“I’m hyper!” The cat hybrid announced proudly.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be all lethargic and shedding right now?” Minghao raised an eyebrow, confused by Jun’s mood.
“Nope! Not yet, at least. I should begin shedding by October.”
“Ah, right.” Minghao realized, inviting Jun into the house. “My bad.”
He led Jun to one of the cleared-out sections of the backyard where they could train without damaging any of Minghao’s plants or risking injury on uneven terrain.
“Chan and Soonyoung are fixing up our basement,” Jun said as they warmed up. “We might be able to train more comfortably there once they’re done.”
“I hope so,” Minghao replied. “This is nice, but it’s getting hot and stuffy with all the rain.”
“Yeah. My fur’s been getting frizzy lately. Brushing’s a nightmare now.”
“I can imagine.” The human sympathized. “Okay, you warmed up?”
“Ready! Let’s go.”
“Loser makes lunch.” Minghao proposed as they got into position.
“Oh, you’re on.” The cat hybrid lit up, standing eagerly.
“Better not cry when you lose.” Challenged the youngest martial artist
“Like I’d lose to you.”
The martial artists got into position and began their sparring session, their bet motivating them further.
The drive to the café was quiet. Mingyu gripped the steering wheel tightly, trying to use the road as a distraction from his inner turmoil regarding Yeonwoo and the renovations set to happen soon.
Mingyu didn’t understand why Wonwoo and Seungcheol were willing to give Yeonwoo the benefit of the doubt. To the dog hybrid, it was clear from the start that the man couldn’t be trusted. Even with his parents’ reassurance, Mingyu couldn’t find a reason to believe the investor.
The dog hybrid relied heavily on his instincts to help him read people. So he trusted that—in the same way they had told him Seungcheol was the key to bringing the pack together—they were right to be wary of Yeonwoo.
The investor had maintained a professional image long enough for Mingyu’s parents to trust him, but Mingyu wasn’t going to let Yeonwoo’s comment about him and Wonwoo slide. In the year Wonwoo had worked alongside him as a baker, the cat hybrid had never had his ears or tail out at the café. So, to Mingyu, there was no logical explanation as to how Yeonwoo could know about his hybrid counterpart.
The only other way—though Mingyu found it was impossible—was that he had been spying on their conversations. But there was no way, their security cameras didn’t record sound and they hadn’t seen Yeonwoo at the café before he was introduced as an investor by his cousin. Mingyu dismissed it though, he didn’t believe that, with ten hybrids in their pack, no one noticed anything.
He didn’t notice Jeonghan was pumping out a soothing scent until he felt his mind calm and the road suddenly took up most of the space of his thoughts. The dog hybrid figured his stress had begun to show and the fox hybrid had decided to take advantage of Mingyu’s sensitive nose to help him focus.
“Alright!” Nari, their manager and Mingyu’s cousin, clapped when they entered the café.
“Work as normal for today.” She began to explain. “Yeonwoo-nim will likely be here in a few hours and he’ll inspect the infrastructure inside and outside, check our installation’s equipment and such. His job today is to determine what areas will be expanded, and what purchases will need to be made; like more espresso machines, ovens, and the sort. Nothing more, understood?”
They all nodded and she continued. “If he says anything or does anything unrelated to what I’ve just told you, you come straight to me. I will do my best to not be apart from him while he’s here, but I feel the need to tell you this anyway.”
“Thank you, Noona,” Seungcheol said, the others echoing him. “We’ll keep it in mind.”
“You better.” She replied. “Get to work, this café doesn’t run itself.”
“It doesn’t?” Joshua teased, earning a smack to the head from Nari.
They all silently got to their stations as the café opened for the day. Joshua served clients with the same practiced smile and polite small talk. Jeonghan and Seungcheol served drinks and pastries, keeping a constant eye on the door.
In the pastry kitchen, Mingyu and Wonwoo kneaded dough in silence. Their focus on Yeonwoo’s impending visit. Mingyu was particularly struggling to keep his ears and tail from coming out.
Just as he opened his mouth to speak, Wonwoo beat him to it.
“I don’t trust him, either, you know?” He said, voice low. His eyes were on the cookie dough in front of him.
“What?”
“I just don’t see the point in acting right now. We don’t have anything to back us up other than instincts and we both know that isn’t in any way enough.” Wonwoo finally turned to look at Mingyu, wiping his hands of flour. “It’s not that I haven’t noticed. Believe me, I have. My cat’s also yelling at me, but we can’t rush into things.”
Mingyu felt a certain relief at the admission. “Then what’s our next step?”
“Waiting,” Wonwoo said, determination in his eyes. “We don’t know his story, his intentions, or anything. We need to observe and not jump to conclusions. We need to see this through. If we provoke him, we could land ourselves in a mess we won’t be able to get out of.”
“The outskirts have many laws protecting hybrids, if anything happens, we need to remain the victims so he can’t turn it against us.” Wonwoo finished.
Thirty minutes into their sparring session, Jun was on the ground, groaning.
“Lunch better be delicious,” Minghao teased, reaching out a hand to help the older martial artist up.
“I hope you know my cat’s mad at you,” Jun grumbled back.
“Yeah, yeah.” Minghao rolled his eyes, giggling. “I’ll cuddle the pouty kitty later.”
“You better,” The cat hybrid pouted, heading to the kitchen.
“I’ll round the others up.” The humans volunteered, receiving a nod in response.
He went up the stairs, stopping at the second door and knocking. “Vernon-ah,” he called, opening the door slightly, finding the snow leopard hybrid on his phone. “Jun is making lunch,”
“Oh okay,” Vernon replied, quickly following Minghao downstairs at the mention of food.
“Text the others for me, please, Vernon-ah.” Minghao called. “I’m gonna shower.”
“Yes, hyung!” Vernon called back, pulling up their group chat.
One look at Jun told the youngest hybrid everything he had to know. “You lost to Minghao again, didn’t you?”
“I don’t understand how I can’t beat a human. I’m supposed to be stronger, no?” Jun groaned.
“Minghao isn’t just any human.” Vernon easily replied.
“He didn’t even use any of his new witchcrafty tricks.” The cat complained.
“I don’t think he even knows any offensive spells yet.”
“Help me out, will you?”
“I’m just saying.”
If Jun’s ramyeon intentionally ended up mushier than it should’ve, then that was only for him to know and the others to suspect.
Soonyoung, Jihoon, and Chan arrived together, tired from their morning workout. “We brought meat!” Soonyoung proudly announced as they walked in the front door.
“You’re cooking it.” Jun deadpanned.
“Wasn’t planning on letting you do it.” Soonyoung sing-songed back. “Jihoonie will.”
“Wait, what does that mean?!”
“I’m cooking?”
Jihoon and Jun looked at each other and at Soonyoung’s bright, unapologetic smile. “I’ll set the table!” The tiger hybrid announced, his orange tail wagging mischievously.
“You better not be fighting in the kitchen!” Minghao called from upstairs.
“We’re not!” Everyone echoed back, well aware they shouldn’t mess with Minghao and Joshua’s kitchen.
They ate enthusiastically, Chan telling stories of his first group of students now that he was officially a teacher at him and Soonyoung’s dance studio, Rhythm17 Studio. He was in the middle of an anecdote about a foreign student he was trying to learn English for when their phones pinged with a message from their shared group chat.
The message was short and left no room for discussion.
Cheollie: Pack meeting at the olive house at 10:00p.m.
Cheollie: Don’t be late, bring food.
“Pack dinner?” Chan asked.
“I doubt it,” Jihoon replied, analyzing the message. “Seungcheol wouldn’t send it like that. Plus, since that investor guy, Yeonwoo? was supposed to visit the café today…”
“You think he did something?” Soonyoung interjected.
“It’s possible.” Minghao said, a thoughtful look on his face.
More messages popped up.
Kwannie: What kind of food?? Are we talking four course meal or snacks?? @.@
Kyeomie: I might be a bit late ㅜㅜ
Kyeomie: Rehearsal’s going slowly, but I’ll try to not take too long ^^
“How much you wanna bet Kyeom-hyung has no clue what’s going on?” Chan challenged.
“I don’t think anyone thinks otherwise,” Vernon countered.
They finished eating in silence. A new weight fell on their shoulders as they parted ways for their jobs, promising each other to stay safe. A silent promise to make it to dinner as early as possible to hear the news lingered among them.
Yeonwoo’s visit was going smoother than expected. As Nari had said, he had only briefly greeted them before proceeding to inspect everything at the café. The man hadn’t made a move to talk or even interact with any of them aside from formalities.
Seungcheol didn’t know whether to be relieved or confused.
Confusion took over once the man declared his exit only 2 hours later, claiming he had everything he needed and would contact them about the official inspection with the architects and builders.
Jeonghan, Joshua, and Seungcheol exchanged looks as Yeonwoo left, their faces holding the same doubts. Mingyu and Wonwoo had only gotten visited briefly and asked about their ovens, electric mixers, and work stations with no further comments, sparking curiosity in the cat and dog hybrids.
“I’m going on break.” Wonwoo announced, grabbing his wallet.
“Be careful.” Seungcheol warned from his place refilling the pastries.
The cat hybrid raised an eyebrow, “I’m going to the convenience store…?”
Wonwoo paid for his snacks, already imagining the scolding he’d get from Mingyu for his lack of ‘healthy food. He walked the short distance to the café, pausing when he heard a familiar low voice from a dark alley two buildings from the café.
He instinctively shrank into the shadows, well skilled in stealth thanks to his cat counterpart, Wonwoo’s eyes darted towards the man that had been at the café only minutes ago. He stood bathed in the dim glow of a phone screen against his cheek from the ongoing call.
Yeonwoo.
Wonwoo crouched lower, his purchase forgotten outside the alley. He breathed as quietly as he could, trying to capture everything Yeonwoo spoke with his heightened hearing. Though what Yeonwoo said sent a chill down his spine.
“...No signs of suspicion yet. They’re wary, but unaware.”
Wonwoo tensed. Suspicion? of what? Him? Unaware?
“It is evident they thrive when they are together, but it is unclear if they’ve bonded or not.”
Wonwoo’s heartbeat seemed to thunder in his ears. Mingyu was right. This wasn’t just a highly observant investor. But then, who was this guy?
He wanted to run, to go back to the back and hide behind Mingyu and Seungcheol. Or suddenly wake up in his room to find everything was a dream and there wasn’t a random guy observing them and apparently reporting to someone else.
“Are you sure, sir? I can keep surveilling them if it’s necessary.”
The cat hybrid moved faster than he intended in his shock, his foot making a slight noise in the pavement.
A tiny sound for humans, but a big giveaway for hybrids. Either way, Yeonwoo stilled.
“Hold on.”
Wonwoo swallowed hard, begging the ground to swallow him whole.
Yeonwoo turned to look at his surroundings. For a horrifying second, Wonwoo almost expected their eyes to meet.
“No, it’s nothing. Just my imagination.” Yeonwoo sighed, turning away. “Alright, sir. I’ll proceed as instructed.”
Wonwoo took the opportunity and slipped away, his food left abandoned in favor of not getting caught.
His heart was pounding out of his chest as he speed-walked to the café. Opening the door and rushing inside, close to hyperventilating. His legs suddenly felt weak, and he slumped against the first person he saw, Mingyu, who rushed to him as soon as he caught a whiff of the distress in Wonwoo’s scent.
Wonwoo buried his head in Mingyu’s chest, his whole body trembling now that the adrenaline had worn off. “He’s watching us.” He managed to wheeze out.
Mingyu instinctively wrapped his arms around Wonwoo, holding him up with the help of Seungcheol, who had come in soon after. “What? Who’s watching us?” The dog hybrid demanded, exchanging a wary glance with Seungcheol.
“Yeonwoo.” Wonwoo pulled back, facing them. “I heard him on the phone. He’s been observing us and reporting to someone.” His voice shaked with every word he said. “He said we’re unaware of something—then he said something about bonding. I don’t know what he meant.”
Seungcheol focused on comforting Wonwoo, hugging him close and releasing a soft fresh rain scent. “It’s okay. You’re safe here. You did well coming straight here.” The leader suddenly regretted his earlier dismissal of Mingyu’s concerns—even if he knew believing the other wouldn’t have changed anything.
Mingyu, on the other hand, stood in place, frustration evident on his face. “We need to tell the others.”
Seungcheol nodded, passing Wonwoo to Mingyu and reaching for his phone. “This isn’t about the café anymore. If Yeonwoo’s working for someone, we need to know why—and what we have to do with it.”
He typed out a simple message.
Cheollie: Pack meeting at the olive house at 10:00p.m.
Cheollie: Don’t be late, bring food.