Chapter Text
A small frown littered Jeongin's visage as he mentally retreated back into his own demeanor and, as a result, physically retreated behind Chan.
Still, Jeongin had mustered up enough courage to be the one to question the offputting atmosphere.
"What's wrong?" Jeongin asked almost inaudibly.
Nevertheless, Chan was proud of the boy for taking the initiative.
Minho gave a small smile, "Nothing big Innie, don't worry so much" his gaze shifted towards the bags in Chan and Jeongin's hand, "Why don't you go and try on some of the stuff you got? Changbin and I would love to see what you got."
"If you want to of course," Changbin was quick to add on, "we just have to talk to Chan about something work related real quick"
Jeongin still had an uneasy feeling about everything, but his mindset still was not past disobeying or disagreeing with a human's order so he gave a small nod, grabbed the rest of the bags Chan held, and headed to his room with his ears and tail drooped.
Once Jeongin had disappeared from their sights, Chan gave Changbin a little smack on his biceps followed with an inquisitive "What was that about?"
Minho ran a hand through his hair already tired of the whole situation while Changbin gave a dramatic "Ya!" as he gripped his abused bicep.
"Well?" Chan asked again pointedly.
With a sigh Minho began, "Someone took photos of you and Jeongin while you guys were out and the media has been spreading it like wildfire."
Changbin got his phone out and showed Chan some of the photos and articles taken.
"They're twisting the whole narrative, saying that you're a hypocrite and a liar and all because you got a hybrid". Changbin added with a sigh.
And true to their words Chan scrolled through dozens of clickbaited titles ranging from a simple, "Producer Bang Chan spotted with an exotic hybrid" to "Bang Chan caught in a hypothetical act of owning a hybrid. The lies a hybrid activist has fed to his audience".
Now Chan was never one to curse, he was known for being levelheaded and reasonable, but even he couldn't help but mutter "shit" under his breath when he saw the manipulated articles.
"I know you aren't fond of interviews hyung, but you should really consider going to one to clear everything up. This isn't good at all for your market value or image," Minho proposed.
"Do you think we should tell Jeongin?" Changbin asked worriedly for the hybrid's sake.
At the same time Chan had exclaimed an "absolutely!" Minho had said his own "absolutely not!"
Minho stared at Chan like he had grown a second head.
"Hyung, it hasn't even been a week since he has arrived, don't you think something like this would overwhelm him?" Minho reasoned.
Chan considered it for a moment and rebutted with an, "I understand that but he is just as involved in this as I am and I don't want to make any decisions without his input".
With a sigh Minho put his hands up in defeat just as Jeongin had finished changing into an adorable oversized pink sweater and a pair of comfortable black shorts that had him all giddy because they had a hole where his tail could comfortably hang.
"Hyungs look!" Jeongin excitedly skipped to where the older boys were, having momentarily forgotten the tense atmosphere he had walked out of.
Doing a little twirl, Jeongin happily showed off how comfortable he was and even put on the hood of the hoodie to demonstrate how there was even a hole for his ears to poke through.
Chan couldn't help but smile fondly at the younger boy in front of him, "That's great Innie! It looks great on you baby."
Chan let Jeongin enjoy himself a little more by letting him get showered with compliments from Minho and Changbin before transitioning the atmosphere to a more serious one.
It was an understatement to say that Jeongin wasn't nervous when Chan told him to take a seat because "there was something important they had to discuss," but Jeongin did what he was told and sat next to Chan anxiously.
After Jeongin was filled in, the hybrid couldn't help but let his ears droop.
"It's okay hyung," Jeongin began, "you can send me back. I understand".
Eyes widened across the room at the notion and Chan instantly raised a protective hand to pet Jeongin's ears with a reassurance of "that was never an option. You're here to stay Jeongin and I'm not letting you go"
Even though that proclamation had made Jeongin feel better about the entire situation, he still couldn't help but slump into Chans lap. Laying across Chan's lap with his face buried into the older's stomach served as almost a way of shielding himself from the current situation.
Silence filled the air as everyone attempted to brainstorm a solution. For a while it seemed almost hopeless but Changbin's exclamation of "I got it!" broke the silence.
"Jeongin should go on an interview with you!" Changbin elaborated.
Minho and Chan raised a hand to smack Changbin upside the head at the seemingly radical idea.
"Yah!" Changbin yelled defensively as he cradled his struck head, "What is this? Hit Changbin day!"
But as everyone dismissed Changbin's idea, Jeongin's ears perked up and he rose his head off of Chan's lap.
"That's a great idea hyung!" Jeongin said eagerly with his eyes lighting up at the prospect.
The air was hesitant for a moment before Changbin also matched the younger's excitement, "I knew I could count on you Innie!"
"Wait wait wait," Minho backtracked suspiciously, "You're okay going on national TV and share your thought Innie? It won't overwhelm you?"
Jeongin bit his lip. The more he started to think about it, the more he started to get nervous, but Jeongin was determined to, for the first time ever, have a say in what happens in his life. Still, it didn't take away the fact that he was still nervous.
Jeongin looked up at Chan and, in a small voice, asked, "You'll be with me right hyung? You won't let anyone hurt me?"
Chan rested his warm hand on Jeongin's head in comfort, "I'll support whatever decision you want to make. I'll be right there with you. Even though I can't control what the interviewers might say or how the public will react, I'll always do my best to protect you."
"Okay," Jeongin slumped down and relaxed back into Chan's lap as he continually let the older pet him, "I want to do it for you hyung. I don't like it that people are talking bad about you because you are the best thing that has ever happened to me and I don't like it that people don't see that. I also kind of want to do it for me too. I want to try and do this and to have humans actually hear me.``
Jeongin expected a lot of things, sniffles however was not one of them. Whipping his head around Jeongin was surprised to see Chan struggling not to cry.
Frowning Jeongin asked, "Did I say something wrong…?"
"No no! I'm just so incredibly proud of you. You've come so far in such a short amount of time and you're so strong. And that's also the longest I've heard you talk and hearing your voice is just so sweet to hear. Please never stop talking Innie."
Now it was Jeongin's turn to tear up. He turned around in Chan's lap and clashed into giving Chan a massive hug.
Quickly reciprocating the hug, Chan brought one hand to hold the hybrid's back securely and left the other hand free to continue pressing Jeongin's hair and ears.
Trying to find a news outlet that was likely to give them an unbiased and respectful interview was much harder said than done. Chan had personally sat down with his managers and gone through each possible news source that offered an interview or that they could request one from and after hours of searching Chan thought that he had finally found one that would meet all his requirements.
Korean Media Times, KMT news, was one he had had a positive experience with before. The host was one of the best he had ever seen and was always sure to make him comfortable and avoid sensitive questions she knew he wouldn't want to answer.
The morning of the interview Changbin and Minho had stopped by for moral support. Minho made a well balanced meal for Chan and Jeongin while Changbin had helped the younger brush his fur and reassure the boys outfit choices.
With a great start to the day, Chan left feeling hopeful about the interview. However, he should've known that the universe wouldn't let things be so easy.
The first element that had gone wrong was the production teams frantic apologies upon his arrival. Apparently, the original host, the one Chan trusted, had fallen suddenly ill and was unable to host the interview. Chan was amid requesting to cancel the appearance but the production teams reassurance of everything going smoothly had fooled him to the point where he had, with Jeongin's approval, agreed to still go through with the interview with a fill in host.
The second aspect that had ticked Chan off immensely was the fact that Jeongin wasn't originally given a chair. They had expected him to sit on the floor which was met with a wide range of outrage from Chan's team and Chan himself.
10 minutes to air Chan huffed in frustration. What had brought him out of his thoughts was a small tug on his button down shirt belonged to Jeongin.
Eyes softening after seeing how nervous his little brother was, Chan brought the boy into a hug and reassured him by reaffirming, "The moment you want to leave you tell me and we'll leave no questions asked. Okay?"
It wasn't until Jeongin nodded in affirmation did Chan release his grip. His grip transitioned into one that held Jeongins hand as he led them into their interview positions.
For the most part the first half of the interview went smoothly. Chan had answered the majority of the questions since Jeongin still hadn't worked up the courage to actually speak. The fact that Jeongin was even there next to him was enough for Chan and Chan would never force the boy to speak.
The only significant thing that Chan had accounted for was Jeongin touching his collar, which resembles a choker more than a collar, in annoyance. Throughout the past couple of weeks living with Jeongin Chan had learned that the boy hated things around his neck. It was really unfortunate that hybrid laws required hybrids to wear identification tags in public but Chan did his best to get around such a rule. In this circumstance, Chan reached around and unclipped the uncomfortable collar off of Jeongin and clipped it on its loosest loop.
Even though the change wasn't a big action to be noted, the studio was shocked. The collar was no longer resembling a choker but now a dangling necklace but Chan didn't care. As long as Jeongin was comfortable, which was evident by the hybrid's small relieved sigh, Chan was happy enough.
The majority of the questions were nothing significant, it was just the logistics of how Chan had gotten Jeongin and Jeongin trusted Chan enough to retell that part of his story. It wasn't until the interviewer asked Chan a question which directly addressed the malicious rumors about Chan did Jeongin feel the need to say something. Meeking, raising his hand, Jeongin looked to Chan for permission to speak.
Seeing Jeongin's actions in his peripheral vision Chan breamed, "Go ahead Innie, you don't have to ask me for permission to speak."
Still not completely comfortable with the camera's pointing at him, Jeongin looked down but bravely began speaking, "Um...Chan hyung-"
"I think the public would rather hear Chan's perspective on-" The interviewer rudely cut Jeongin off but was cut off himself by Chan.
"Go ahead Innie" Chan reaffirmed with a pointed glare that shut the host up instantly.
It wasn't till Chan turned back to give Jeongin's hand a supportive squeeze did Chan soften significantly.
"C-Channie hyung, he...he's the best thing that has ever happened to me. I ran away from the shelter because I, like a lot of other hybrids, want freedom. We want a place where we can be in charge of our feelings. But, with the way the world is set up, we can't get that freedom because we'll just be caught and sold and beaten into submission. But Channie hyung is like a light. He is my freedom. He lets me feel, he lets me have opinions and express them, he lets me explore and enjoy my entry test. He doesn't touch me sexually or punish me or treat me like property or an object. He isn't a master or a sir, he's my hyung and my big brother. He tells me all the time that I am not below him just because I have a different dna, a dna that gives me features I didn't ask for, he tells me that I am equal to him and treats me like all his human friends. S-so please don't be mean to him. He doesnt deserve it at all."
Now Chan was one to rarely cry but he had sworn that his emotions had peaked ever since Jeongin's arrival. Which was why he was currently a sniffling mess but, in his defense, he couldn't help it. Seeing someone he cared for so much make significant progress just made his heart overwhelmed with happy emotions that spilled over into tears.
At one point Jeongin had looked directly at the camera in his response but was pulled out of his passionate rant when he heard soft sniffles next to him.
"Aw hyung" Jeongin gave a little giggle, having now forgotten their current location as he focused on snuggling into Chan's neck as a means of comfort.
Rubbing his soft ear fur and general hair into Chan's neck, Jeongin was no longer concerned about the cameras still pointing at them.
Quickly bringing a hand to rest on Jeongin's head and another to wipe away his straying tears, Chan composed himself to close out the interview ending it with, "Before Jeongin came into my life my perspective on hybrids was black and white and I was convinced I was in the white. Owning another person, a hybrid, was wrong. In an ideal society and world I still think it's wrong, but at the same time, if we as hybrid rid activates don't prioritize helping hybrids we can never achieve the ideal world. I was fighting the fight for hybrid rights for hybrids and not with them. From now on any stance I take will be with Jeongin's input and right now that will be through aiding their developmental and physical safety. There are a lot of loopholes in the system that we can take to help hybrids but those same loopholes can be used by those seeing hybrids as property to hurt them. This is why we must push for shelter reforms and help hybrids and in some cases that means adopting them legally to give them a fighting chance at actually living their lives."
Chan knew that this one interview wouldn't be the solution to the issue at hand, in fact he knew it would serve as a catalyst for future struggles, but at the same time he knew this would be the beginning of actually contributing to useful change.
More importantly however, taking one glance at Jeongin's close eyed and content expression, Chan knew that it was the beginning of a happier life with his little brother.
And while Chan still didn't know all the answers in giving Jeongin the free life he deserved, he knew he would do everything he could to protect and love the boy who had crawled into his heart.